ReeferMadness

This is a fair point. Dennis Pilon, a political scientist, did some research on how proportional systems came into being. He found that many of the European PR systems were a reaction to the rise of Socialism in the earlier part of the 20th century. In many countries, the socialists were on the brink of winning majority governments under the FPTP systems. To counteract this, the traditional parties banded together and changed the system to adopt PR. The history of PR adoption shows that it is very rare for a country to adopt it at a time when it is not in the interest of the major parties of the day. And if you look at the actual behaviour of parties within Canada, you'll find interesting behaviour: Parties who can win under FPTP either won't support PR or will support it in principle but never spend any political capital on it (provincial NDP are a classic case) Parties who get significant amount of the vote but can't win under FPTP are strong proponents of PR (Green Party, both provincially and federally, NDP up until now). I'm quite confident that if the federal NDP were to suddenly get to a position where it could command majority governments, it would suddenly forget its past dedication to PR.

Or we could just sit this one out and wait for a plane based on a sound understanding of the real world. Another choice quote from my link above: too delicate and flammable to withstand ground fire.... ouch. Not something I'd want to fly. I can't help but notice that your responses attack Canada but don't defend the F35. Or do you think that in a war zone, pretty pictures will be all the defence needed?

What, did you go out and max the Amex by putting a down payment on one of these butterballs? Best keep it in the garage, it would look a bit gauche in the driveway. No doubt. I'm sure there's more than a passing relationship between that fact and your national debt, which is definitely more than I can imagine.

True enough - but the Cons have taken it to a whole new level by muzzling the scientists.

Sure - I'd go with that too - if I were in your situation. The sheen is wearing off Chairman Harper's helmet haircut.

Hang on, now. I grew up in a rural area and yes, it was common to hear gunfire and see spent casings. However, this is not a rural area - it appears to be in the midst of a group of cul-de-sacs. Check out the picture.

Thanks for the war porn. Please don't share with us the things you do when you're alone with these images. Even for a war-cheerleader like yourself, you seem to be pushing this particular button with all your fingers and thumbs. Care to divulge any personal interest in the F-35 success? It's not as exciting as your pictures of course, but I thought you might be interested in some actual analysis on this supersonic turkey. Oh, dear.

Are people in Calgary deaf or are the Calgary police a little slow? 30 shots fired and they aren't even sure when? http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2013/03/09/calgary-bullets-monterrey.html?cmp=rss

You keep 'em. Up here, we'd like some birds that actually work!

You're right. I need to get back to reading tea leaves.

Why not? We got it in 2011.

Is this the old "you need a strong economy so you can look after the environment" chestnut? There are so many things wrong with that argument, I hardly know where to begin. We don't need to look after the environment, we just need to stop wrecking it.

Assuming the good idea was to pay a parliamentary officer to parrot Harper's talking points, you're absolutely right!

More like, Mulroney cut and run and left someone else to accept the defeat that was rightfully his.

With billions of advertising dollars spent "informing" the voters, how could any of them be uniformed? I agree with you but ignorant and uninformed voters are not unique to the USA.

5) Actually give a crap about something besides the almighty economy.

It'll be obvious, eh? And yet, polls consistently show that if an election were held today, your boy would get his ass kicked by a school teacher with a famous name. You just can't count on the public to do the right thing, can you.

The electoral college is an anachronism and should go. However, it's a small problem compared to the role that big money plays in the campaigns. When it takes a billion or so dollars to win the presidency, it means that a relatively small group of super-wealthy have a virtual veto on anyone who is detrimental to their interests. Plutocracy, thy name is the USA.

Well, I suppose that would be your definition of democracy.

Use STV. It produces proportional results but still allows independents to run and win.

This is a big problem for the Cons. Their red meat base doesn't even believe there are any environmental issues. All they can do is keep their mouths shut and hope nobody notices.

Probably not far enough, unfortunately. There are still too many cretins and dinosaurs out there.

I've taken the liberty to write a ad that describes what the Conservatives (and their uncritical camp-followers, some of whom are here) are really looking for:

He's supposed to be a watchdog. Watchdogs are sorely needed as the government is out of control. You wouldn't be whining about him if he were publicly shouting Harper's praises.

Yes, he was the new Sheila Fraser. It's a pity that Canadians are so apathetic - most of them won't even notice Harper replacing Page with a lap dog more to his liking.