waldo

oh my! More... yet more... of your '(Hillary) guilt by association'? Why are you further victimizing Hillary Clinton for the long past infidelities of her husband? That's far from holding and projecting Christian values - yes? .

just days ago, Trump plays his man-baby card at a campaign rally!

again: your statements and references concerning China have been debunked. In spite of repeated challenges put to you, as I'm aware, you have never offered anything to substantiate your claims concerning India. More pointedly, as you've been apprised repeatedly, your continued and purposeful sole focus on Canada's domestic emission levels is simply a red-herring intended to ignore, as you do ignore, the emissions associated with Canadian oil&gas exports and the impact those exports have in terms of heightening/continuing long-term dependencies on fossil-fuels. .

possible electoral reform alternatives: - First past the post, or single-member plurality: The person with the most votes in a riding wins the seat. The candidate doesn't need a majority (50 per cent plus one vote) but rather a plurality of votes cast — more than any of the other candidates. The party that collects the most seats in this way gets to govern. Benefits: Simple and familiar, it's been used in Canada for 150 years. Drawbacks: First past the post routinely results in MPs elected to represent a riding even though more than half of their constituents didn't vote for them. Since Confederation, there have been only six governments take office with more than 50 per cent of the popular vote, as Maryam Monsef, minister of democratic institutions, noted in a statement Wednesday. - Preferential, or ranked, ballot: Voters rank the candidates on the ballot — first choice, second choice and so on. If no candidate emerges with a majority after the first count, the lowest-ranked candidate comes off the ballot, and their votes are redistributed according to the second choices cast. This continues until one candidate achieves a majority of 50 per cent plus one vote. Benefits: It would eliminate vote-splitting and strategic voting and lead to "more choice, more voices, more engagement and more diversity," according to Dave Meslin, founder of the Ranked Ballot Initiative of Toronto. Drawbacks: Fair Vote Canada says a ranked ballot would be useless in a system like ours in which we elect only one member per riding. "It would continue to waste about half of votes cast, produce distorted overall results (false majorities) and replicate many of the problems experienced under our current system," the group says on its website. A ranked ballot is more effective when it's built into a proportional system, Fair Vote Canada says. - Proportional representation: The percentage of seats a party holds corresponds to the percentage of votes it receives. It's a simple idea employed by many Western democracies, but with many variations. Benefits: Proponents say proportional representation more accurately reflects the will of the people. Drawbacks: The main criticism is that it leads to coalition governments, which can be fragmented and ineffectual because they cannot find enough common ground. Tiny parties — or even extremist parties — can hold larger parties ransom in legislative negotiations. - Mixed-member proportional representation: Voters have to make two choices on the ballot: one for a candidate to represent them and one for a party. Roughly half to two-thirds of seats would be filled by the individual candidates who win their ridings, as in our current first-past-the-post system; the remaining seats would be allotted according to each party's share of the popular vote, with the candidates taken from a predetermined list. Benefits: "The overall results in these systems are highly proportional, that is, for each party, the percentage of seats it obtains in the legislature closely mirrors its share of the vote," says the Law Commission of Canada, which recommended Canada switch to mixed-member proportional representation in its 2004 report to then justice minister Irwin Cotler. Drawbacks: "MMP can create two classes of legislators — one group primarily responsible and beholden to a constituency, and another from the national party list without geographical ties and beholden to the party," says the ACE Electoral Knowledge Network, a collaborative elections information project of which Elections Canada is a partner. "This may have implications for the cohesiveness of groups of elected party representatives." - Single-transferable vote system: The number of electoral districts is greatly reduced, with each represented by two to seven members. Voters rank some or all of the candidates in order of preference. In the first count, any candidate who has enough first-preference votes is elected automatically. In subsequent counts, the elected candidate's surplus votes are transferred to the next choices in fractional amounts. After each successive count, candidates who reach the quota are elected, and those who don't are eliminated. Benefits: The B.C. Citizens' Assembly, which proposed moving to a single-transferable vote for provincial elections, says the system is easy and fair and empowers voters. Drawbacks: B.C. voters twice rejected a proposed move to the single-transferable vote, in 2005 and 2009. The No STV campaign said the newly drawn electoral districts would be too large, with populations between 200,000 and 300,000, and that the system made it possible for a district to elect all of its candidates from one part of the community and leave others unrepresented. - P3 (proportional-preferential-personalized): Each riding elects between three and five MPs (determined by population density). Voters rank parties in order of preference, then pick their preferred candidate from their top-choice party. The seats in each riding are distributed according to the party rankings. If any party fails to get enough votes to win a seat, they are dropped off and their votes redistributed according to voters' second choices. Then, the candidates are installed into the number of seats the party won: the top two Conservative candidates take the two Conservative seats in the riding, for instance. .

today, the Trudeau Liberal Government announced the formation of an all-party committee to study alternatives to the way members of Parliament are elected - promising an "open and transparent engagement process that is inclusive to all Canadians." - WHY REFORM THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM: In a multi-party democracy like Canada’s, (the current) First-Past-The-Post system (FPTP) distorts the will of the electorate. It is part of the reason that many Canadians don't engage in or care about politics. Our electoral system must ensure that Governments appeal beyond a narrow base of Canadians and encourages the building of national consensus. Our country is better when governments address the needs of all Canadians, including women, young people, Indigenous Canadians, new Canadians, those of lesser means, Canadians living in rural and remote parts of our nation, and people with disabilities and exceptionalities. We need to move beyond a system that appeals to narrow constituencies. Elections should unite Canadians and not pit them against one another Canadians deserve a government that treats their views with respect. - WHY AN ALL PARTY COMMITTEE: The Government wants the views of all Canadians to inform the debate on electoral reform. The proposed all-party committee to study electoral reform is an open and transparent vehicle for ensuring that there are meaningful consultations with individuals, experts and organizations across Canada. - KEY GUIDING PRINCIPLES: Restore the effectiveness and legitimacy of the voting by reducing distortions and strengthening the link between voter intention and the electoral result. Encourage greater engagement and participation in the democratic process, including inclusion of underrepresented groups. Support accessibility and inclusiveness to all eligible voters, and avoiding undue complexity in the voting process. Safeguarding the integrity of our voting process. Preserve the accountability of local representation. - MANDATE OF THE SPECIAL ALL-PARTY COMMITTEE: To identify and study viable reform options and assess each option against the five key guiding principles; To take into account the applicable constitutional, legal and implementation parameters, seeking out expert testimony on this matters; To conduct meaningful consultation with a broad cross-section of Canadians, travelling widely and making a range of input opportunities available to citizens; To develop its plans and recommendations with the goal of strengthening the inclusion of women, Indigenous peoples, youth, seniors, Canadians with disabilities, new Canadians, and residents of rural and remote communities. - IS THERE A TRUDEAU LIBERAL GOVERNMENT PREFERENCE?: The Government pledged to make 2015 the last election under the current first-past-the-post system and it is proposing that the special all-party committee study electoral reform - including preferential ballots, proportional representation, mandatory voting and online voting - and assess options against the five key guiding principles that the Government has outlined. There is no consensus amongst experts as to a single best electoral system. The Government is proposing to engage all Canadians in a discussion on the balance that should be struck between different principles when it comes to changing how we vote. It is looking forward to receiving the special all-party committee’s final report and will carefully review its recommendations before deciding how to proceed with electoral system reforms. .

are you talking about the Harper Senate reform intent that went no where... or the expressed Harper reservations about appointing Senators... followed up Harper appointing, in the "good ole' fashioned way", count em... 56 Senators! .

note: again, quoting statements and purposely removing the name of the MLW member being quoted is, of course, following a purposeful step/action to do so. Again, it doesn't allow for a MLW member to leverage the notification support function to be alerted that a post of theirs has been quoted. And, of course, unless a quoted member happens to recognize his/her words were quoted, no opportunity to reply... a situation that certainly does not lend itself to continued and expanded upon MLW discussion. As I've been on the purposeful end of past "name gleaning" quotes, and only realized I'd been quoted "days later", I've taken up opportunities to highlight this most unfortunate practice being followed. .

danger, verboten, verboten... as you're well aware, this improper use of the generational suffix is not allowed on MLW! .

waldo talking point correction: Peter Harder spent 29 years in the federal public service... with his most significant and profiled positions being within the Conservative Clark and Mulroney governments. He has been outside of government since 2007, working in the private sector until asked to oversee the transition of the newly elected 2015 Liberal party into governance... apparently the Liberal party felt he had some experience in that regard! .

please stay focused on the thread topic - no one here wants to rehash the failed Senate appointments Harper made! By the by, just who did the Harper legwork to bring forward all those Senate candidates presented to Harper... or did Harper do that all himself, yes? .

say what! Eight of the ten current members of the CBC Board of Directors were all appointed by Harper... all eight are or have been financial contributors to the Conservative Party of Canada. Bloody hell, where was the advisory panel for those CBC Board appointments Harper made? .

my faith is waning... MLW member betsy is wearing me down. I see how those, those... believers, so blissfully wander about, smiles so broad, so ever content with their being. I wants me some of that... and only the supposed evidence will bring me there! I just think MLW member betsy is purposely stretching this out in the spirit of those grand tent-show fundamentalist revivals - saving the best for the last. If only she would get there soon! I don't know how much longer I can wait. .

during a GOP debate, no less, Trump guaranteed there was no member problem - guaranteed it! Granted, he didn't qualify the metric and the extent that guarantee covered! .

stop your 'stop asking for it' routine! I want more, I need more than an undetectable celestial teapot... and if it's there, if in the remote possibility that MLW member betsy can present or direct towards that supposed evidence, that world-shattering, heads-exploding supposed evidence... well then - we must remain ever vigilant and keep the requests flowing! I just know she'll come through; I just know it! .

your statements and references concerning China have been debunked. In spite of repeated challenges put to you, as I'm aware, you have never offered anything to substantiate your claims concerning India. More pointedly, as you've been apprised repeatedly, your continued and purposeful sole focus on Canada's domestic emission levels is simply a red-herring intended to ignore, as you do ignore, the emissions associated with Canadian oil&gas exports and the impact those exports have in terms of heightening/continuing long-term dependencies on fossil-fuels. Is your purposeful repeating of debunked statements/claims concerning China, your purposeful avoidance in substantiating your statements/claims concerning India, and your purposeful sole focus on Canada's domestic emission levels... is that... as you say, moronic? I don't read anyone labeling you a moran - such liberties you take! .

without naming names... naming one particular name, there is tendency for MLW posters... for one poster in particular, to purposely respond to items posted in the U.S. Politics forum by posting references to Canada, to Canadians, to Canadian political leaders, etc.. Invariably, by design, this shifts the focus away from the OP and towards Canada/Canadians/Canadian political leaders. . in keeping with the OP thread focus, there is certainly an opportunity for you to attempt to dispel the reference put forward, the premise initiated by Jon Stewart that, yes, Trump is a man-baby! You speak to "no more so than other politicians"... in keeping with the situated forum, you would be referring to other U.S. politicians, yes? Please elaborate, please proceed Governor! .

no, no - the OP is clearly defined and is about 'man-baby Trump'. There was a derail attempt to introduce a 'man-child' reference, but the thread had been been put back on course again. And... Trump is a very thin-skinned man-baby as he is very quick to sue people. Case in point the Bill Maher incident where at the height of Trump's "Obama birther" nonsense, Maher challenged Trump's ancestry comparing his orange-hair to that of an orangutan... that Trump is the love-child of a hook-up his mother had with an orangutan. .

do you have a single Fraser Institute study to support your statement? .

care to identify the make-up of "new stock" and % proportions therein? Just who has your claimed "white guilt"... and how widespread do you recognize it as... do you have a percentage of just how many "suffering white Canadians of the left persuasion" there are? .

why can't anyone... why can't YOU... state what that evidence is? You keep falling-back to your ready go-to, "just ask the NAS"! Why isn't that supposed evidence published anywhere? Why can't you readily point to that scientific evidence? Why did you need to find some obscure reference in a most dated article for you to even thump forward with this latest nonsense of yours... something you never even heard about before in spite of all your many years of trying to convert the unwashed/unfaithful? state the evidence... or point to where it can be found. .

my how you're milking that, hey! I read Alberta Health Services reps state it is nothing unexpected in association with large-scale evacuations, pointing to the ~15,000 persons that came through the facility in a very compressed time-frame... some who had already been evacuated from other locations, twice already. I read that 40 people were initially identified and isolated and it is believed the high-point has been reached at ~100 people with the gastrointestinal problem. all told the facility has medical staff, including EMS crews and nurse practitioners... and Infection Prevention and Control staff. Anything else to complain about? .

there's also an element focused on John Stewart and the somewhat void left by his absence. A few wanting and wholly speculative writings I've read want to see the sudden return of Stewart (and his 'man-baby Trump') as the harbinger of much more to come... not just from Stewart directly, but also other politico-comic types who have been somewhat quiet to this point. Stewart's, Trump is a man-baby! .

so you didn't answer a question... how unCool! I trust your imaginary friend presses you further to answer the question simply seeking you clarify for the benefit of my... imaginary friend. .

a friend just asked me to ask for you to be more specific with a name/example? By the by, in keeping with that offered idiotic Hurricane Katrina/New Orleans comparison... would it have been okay for PM Trudeau to have done a GWBush fly-over of the city, one ever recorded in infamy by media allowed on the U.S. Air Force One just for that single photo-op looking out the plane window? .