fellowtraveller

The result is simialr though, for Dion- he is done. All that is left is the timing of his departure.

We cannot overlook personal considerations. Dion also knows that what is ineviatble is that he is done like dinner as leader of the Liberals. He will lose the next election, and he will be dumped right after that. So, if he wants to control his personal destiny somewhat, he'll either have to suffer a defeat at the polls soon and resign immediately after, or quit soon. That is also a possibility.

Is it possible that Dion will surprise us all and roll the dice on an election? There are a coupe of reasons for thinking he may. At present, the most likely result is a Tory Minority. If Dion waits, he risks a Tory majority. And any way he looks at it - he is unlikely to ever be Prime Minister. And he knows that the knives are out, and that he will be dumped before another election. He is done,and I think he knows it.. He may as well get it over with, have an election and quit before he is fired.

Screw that. You were doing not bad up until the bit about "allow them to mature according to majority interest of society." In my version of Canada, every person can 'mature' into whatever sexuality or lifestyle they choose for themselves. The majority interest of society has zip to do with it.

Harper is just following the lead of the Liberals and NDP. He doesn't give a stuff what the riding association does or says. Remeber Bev Desjarlais!

Does this book explain what ultimately happened to the $200 million or so involved in Adscam? I'd really like to see a forensic accounting of the money, an intensive examination of accounts of the ad agencies to see just where the big bucks went from there. Either that or I'll have to subscribe to the Liberal Party line: A rogue bureaucrat(Chuck Guite) working indepenently and without any oversight, decided one day to select Montreal ad agencies at random out of the Montreal Yellow pages and give them $200 million. The political book I'd like to read would be an expose authored by Jean Pelletier and Jacques Corriveau, written from a jail.

I have heard rumours that as part of the throne speech, the Tories plan to issue every citizen with a seal club. It is the new Home Guard.

It is a strategic masterstroke by Harper, but I think he has another thing happening in the background as motivation and I'm afraid it is wholly cynical. I'm one of those that thinks he wants an election ASAP, which is reinforced by the latest polls today which put him at 40% support, within reach of a majority. The Taliban are not fools, they know that if there is an election here they will do their best to mount an assault and kill Canadian soldiers. During a campaign, body bags arriving in Canada would be the worst possible optics for Harper. The existence of this panel, headed by the perfect chairman, John Manley, just takes that out of the Opposition bag of weapons. But... it is also one less reason for the Libs to vote aginst the Government. Now I'm not so sure what Harper will come up with to oblige everybody to vote aganst him. Big tax cuts? Major Senate reform?

Perhaps their crimes were minor. Maybe they should seek pardons, which would allow them to travel more freely. I have an acquaintance who was caught with a couple of joints 25 years ago. The whole process: from apprehension to an appearance in front of a Justice of the Peace took less than 90 minutes. His penalty was a $25 fine plus $4.75 costs. He cannot travel to the US, ever. That's the law, that's the consequence.

Anne Coulter is going to behead all atheists? I didn't know that, is there any sort of schedule published yet? Oh yeah, I forgot - praise the Lord.

I feel the need to point out yet again that the joining the American military is 100% voluntary. Going to war when you are part of the military should not come as a big surprise to anybody, including mothers. Cannot be done. You have to be 18 to enlist, legally an adult. You cannot enlist somebody else anyway.

What a bit of misdirection that is, the head of the CMA moaning about a shortage that is largely the creation of his members. Doctors/medical associations control admissions to medical schools, graduation from those schools, licensing of all physicians,heavily influence hospital privileges, conduct their own disciplinary and ethical investigations, and essential;y control licensing of all applaications for license or residcency or accrediation from outside their own province. The first place they should look when pondering the shortage of doctors is in the mirror. The doctors who left Canada to work in the USA should be required to repay their expensive, heavily taxpayer subsidized educations before being licensed again in Canada. It would only be fair.

Mr Layton Your party has existed for 46 years as a national presence and has never been the Official Opposition, much less the government. The Party has been mired in fourth place for quite some time now, lagging even behind a Party committed to the dissolution of the country. Very few political observers outside your Party believe that there is any realistic expectation that will change significantly in the foreseeable future. Canadians simply have consistently chosen not to vote for NDP polices or candidates for a couple of generations. Your traditional message has failed to convince many Canadians that you offer a palatable option. Does the NDP under your watch have any specific plans to change that reality? Does the NDP have any specific plans to offer policies and candidates more in keeping with the mainstream sensibilities of the Canadian electorate?

How very convenient for Williams to have a permanent bogeyman in Ottawa. If something goes wrong, blame Ottawa. If something goes right, take the credit. He must be envied by every Premier.

We have a special word for that 'line' in Canada. We call it 'tradition' or 'politics as usual'.

What law would that be? Where exactly is the Criminal Code legislation that allows or forbids abortion? Canada has very little legal precedent on abortion, or relatively little - and that is a constant source of frustration for the ProLifers. They cannot present a coherent legal challenge where there is no lawon the books. Nothing to rescind either. Advantage to the Pro-Death side.

Only in the rural areas. In the cities, the silent black helicopters are at work picking up dissidents. Of course, none of the Sea Kings would start so we've had to borrow them from the Americans.

How do you know that- how do you know that they've identified themselves publicly at all? By the way, every place you have a loyalty card - like Blockbuster or Safeway or Petro Canada or Air Canada -as well as every credit agency - has a profile on you.

jdobbin has loosed a fox in the henhouse with this talk of the Alberta Alliance and Wildrose Party. If you're wondering about the analogy, you're the chickens. Neither will do anyhting at all in any election. The AA leader will have to work hard to retain their single seat. The leader of the Wildrose is a certified whack job hardcore Christian who slips further into madness every year.

He can and he will. Another OP from the guy who claims Canada does not understand Quebec, while demonstrating he hasn't much clue about the rest of the country.

Having two cops in a car or a busload of cops would not necessarily mean this young man would still be alive. Crazy people do stupid things.

Man, is it ever hard to get lists of Canadian Jews! This one took almost 1 second

Clever man. he is articulating some options for remaining after 2009, but has not committed to remaining in a combat role. And he still has his often articulated fallback, which is that parliamnet will decide. All of this puts more and more pressure on the Liberals, who are going to be backed into a 'put up or shut up' mode - or 'fish or cut bait' as Harper said yesterday. I think all of this will serve Harper, who will either force an election this fall, or force the Liberals to look even worse by being oblioged to vote with him indefintiely.

What? Somebody better tell Arnie about this ASAP. I thought that the only office denied somebody born outside the USa was the Presidency?

Simple. It's what the Church teaches. The long term effects of religious indocrination are rooted very deeply in victims psyches. The Church is all about control. They want your womb to dance to their tune. Guilt is the weapon employed.