Neal.F.

Martin is the most boring excuse for a leader i've ever seen this side of Dalton McGuinty. Harper has demonstrated true ability in terms of enginnering the merger, , not to mention getting the Alliance back on a solid footing, and keeping the caucus in good order. He may very well surprise the swaggering cocky Liberals. Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare. Martin can count on losing 30 + seats in Ontario. The plethora of scandals that have hit the BC Liberals will erase any gains he may have made for the FedLibs out there. He will have to make big gains in Quebec, which is no sure thing. I still don't think he has anything to offer, he's no different than Crouton. After all, he signed all the cheques between '93 and 2001. Harper is far more intelligent, and will destroy him in debate.... Layton, as much as I despise everything he stands for with every fibre of my being, will shred Martin from the left with more flamboyance than substance. Let Martin's minions become more arrogant and overconfident. they may well wake up one fine may morning, on the opposition benches..... but not before running the paper shreddders 24/7 until the transition takes place. I really , truly and objectively don't think Martin has anything to offer. He can't run his campaign with Nick Discepola, Scott Reid & Stan Keyes as his spokesmen

[Mod]I agree with the sentiments of both Neal and Alliance Fanatic. However the blame for the decline in pop culture lies squarely with the public] To a certain extent... after all they elected the spineless turds that removed the restrictions that society had observed for so long, and had served us so well. [mod]The people that run record companies probably don't even know half their artists. They're not in business because they love music - they're in business because the want to make money.] When you speak of the execs at Sony and other such operations, they are like any other businessmen. all that matters is the bottom line. I think its time they were held accountable for what they put out. they should not have license to put out any filth they want for the sake of a buck. As I said, we hold execs responsible for air and water pollution, why not make them accountable for their destruction of the cultural landscape? Then there are other record company execs. One i can think of is Madonna, head of "Maverick" records. She knows EXACTLY what she is putting out: ie: Britney spears, etc, and she is doing her best to make huge profits, AND destroy the fabric of society. [mod]Neal with regard to censorship. It's a tricky issue because who gets to decide? I am in favor of the following: First - self censorhip - or put another way self control. It is my personal responsibility to control what I read, hear and see.] Filth was always available, only it came in plain brown wrappers, and people did not parade it in public. [mod]Second - Censorship of distribution - limiting acces to where offensive materials can be purchased, advertised and seen. An example would be putting shows with sexual content, nudity and excessive violence on after say 10 PM, limiting who certain products can be sold to. Covering up the titles of pornographic magazines.] That is too liberal as far as I'm concerned. Pornography should NEVER be on TV in the first place. That should be a quality standard enforced by the CRTC. Even the prime time sit-coms are chock full of cheap sexual innuendo, and even explicit scenes, and these are on in what used to be called "the family hour". Remeber Ellen degenerate? REmember Roseanne Barr's lesbian kiss? Someone sent me an article today about a poll that said that 40% of girls in the US admitted to girl-on-girl sex before the age of 18. This is the fruit of Madonna's labour. [mod]I think censorship of production is too difficult and not worth while in the long run.] Yes it is. It was done before, until the likes of Trudeau came to power, it can and should be done again. [mod]We should remember to place a lot of blame on parents as well. Like it or not it's their job (difficult as it may be) to censor what their children are exposed to and what is appropriate.] I agree with that. Most parents have no idea what their kids are watching. If they think MTV/MuchMusic is a harmless modern version of the Ed Sullivan Show, they have another thing coming. Furthermore, I strongly resent being FORCED to finance those operations via my cable bill. Get rid of cable you say? I would, but you see, my wife wants her CNN, A&E and Newsworld. IF you want those you have to pay for the other filth. I'd wager that the owners of MuchMusic are terrified that if people could pick and choose which channels they would pay for, that they'd be out of business in a hurry. [mod]Take movie theaters for example - movies are rated according to content. The problem is not so much sexually explicit movies as the complete lack of enforcement of age restrictions.] Sorry Mod, but that is just not true. even most childrens movies have blue humour in them these days, and what is now rated PG would have been R rated 20 years ago. The content is terrible. They almost all convey a post-modern message, present revisionist (read liberal) versions of history, are filled with profanity, and have absolutely unneccessary sexual content that adds nothing to a movie except the titilation factor that is designed to draw in adolescent boys with raging hormones who want to see skin. Now I'll visit your point about enforcement of age restrictions: Trouble with that is that cinemas and movie studios are businesses, and don't give a damn about protecting youth and innocence. all they care about is the almighty dollar, and if they can get away with letting horny teenage boys into a cinema, they damn well will. Severe penalties should be applied to enterprises that breach these rules. Nevertheless, I still say, RAISE the bar. Don't lower it. [mod]I think people have to look in the mirror and say to themselves I'm part of the problem.] I won't argue with that. Those in the marketplace are PART of the problem. But as long as purveyors of pop-culture filth have the blessing of the state to market their garbage (could it be because of tax revenues? If so then our government shares in this responsibility too), they will continue to push the envelope. [mod]The pornography, pop music business and television industries are big business bringing in billions of dollars a year. They are not going away and it's the fault of the public.] Partially the fault of the Public, partly the government for permitting it. As for Porn, I must say that some of the SPAM that comes in is very disturbing. it is designed to LURE new clients into these websites, and they do not care if these clients are seven or seventy seven, as long as they PAY. how does a child pay?if you'll recall the obscene phone bills that people were getting from their kids calling sex lines, just think about the profits these bastards are making from adolescent boys who borrow their parents credit cards. [mod]And with regards to censorship I don't take to kindly to people telling me what I can and can't listen to. To those who would tell me I say get lost.] Anyone who thinks that the Madonna/hiphop/rap movement is a spontaneous grassroots movement is dreaming. It is a carefully orchestrated marketing assault . It's a whole package: It's the "music" (I use the term losoely, since i can't find a way to equate some pierced, tattoed half naked guy banging on a guitar or a gangsta with two turntables spouting profane doggerel, with for example, Ludwig van, Prokofiev, Chopin etc) It's clothing, it';s jewellery, it's even drugs (ever heard of Ecstasy?) it's Raves. It is a very unpopular thing to advocate in these "in your face" libertarian times, but standards are neccessary for any society to remain viable and functional. LEt me assure you, we are headed for, if not already engaged in a civil war of values. It is the post-moderns of the "me" generation, the throwaway society (everthing from resources to babies) those who want the law of the jungle (libertarian anarchy), vs those who believe in the advancement of civilization, edifying culture and the preservation of the values that promote a culture of life. Watch out: as KrustyKidd pointed out: "Know any leaders? These kids do. They're the one's singing." What do you suppose would happen if Bono or Madonna ran for President? You never know, Madonna might. I would not be surprised if she tries in 2008 or 2012. She has the money, the brains and the culture of death agenda. All she needs is the following to come of age. She has laid her foundations well.

Hear hear Springer. If the party's chances of succes were dependent on the whims of a 38 year old provincial premier, the party would not be worth a tinker's damn to begin with. Harper would be a good leader , as would Strahl, Runciman or Flaherty. There is depth in the organization. and any one of the above could ter the hapless empty giorgio Armani suit paul Martin to shreds in a debate. martin has nothing to offer. he's Chretien all over again. He has 10 years of mismanagement and arrogance to answer for.

I must say that I agree with Alliance Fanatic. Freedon of expression cannot be without limits. there need to be standards set where certian things are not tolerated. I agree with Hugo that the swine who market these ghastly pieces of excrement that they try to pass off as art should be blamed.... Onlty I'll take it further, not just blamed, but prosecuted. I personally want to punch their lights out for marketing the filth of pop culture to my children. There was a time, not long ago, when there were "seven words you couldn't say on television". They were much better days. Days when your children were protected from swine who wanted to steal their innocence in the name of the almighty dollar. I am totally in favour of bringing back that kind of censorship, in the name of raising the standard of behaviour this society finds acceptable, instead of lovering the bar so much that you can feel the fires of hell burning your toes as you try to pass under it. It's time that obscene music was taken off the airwaves, reality and gratuitous sex and violence taken off the TV screens (When sex or violence needs to be present to make a point, it can be done creatively, and to greater effect , by implication) . And no it would not be boring. the closure of MTV/MuchMusic would improve the quality of life greatly for everyone except the morally bankrupt swine who profit from it. Who needs to watch videos of tattooed "musicians" chasing naked dwarves down the street? Or watching caterpilars eat their way out of people's head through their eyes? Or the little Aguilera trollop doing her stripping nun routine? We don't allow people to toss McDonalds wrappers on the ground without making them pay a fine. Nor do we allow corporations to dump toxic waste into the water supply. Why should we allow corporations to pour filth and ppollution into the airwaves which empty out into people's living rooms. This is not about censorship , it's about maintaining standards. Censorship is not the bad word that libertarians make it out to be. To lock people up for expressing their political opinions in a non-violent and no-inciteful way is wrong, but to tell people that they cannot express their views in the form of a disgusting public spectacle like gay pride parades, other such nonsense is another. there are more civilized ways of making one's views known. It also follows that when people cross the line to incite hatred against Policemen, who symbolize the authority of law and order should NOT be tolerated in a society that values freedom. If you value freedom, we should honour those without whom it would not be possible: ie: armed forces personnel and police. Now if these "musicians" started singing about hating and beating up a protected minority. then there's be hell to pay. I wonder if liberals and libertarians can answer this: Why is it acceptable to censor people like Larry Spencer, or call for censorship of Elsie Wayne, or anyone who dares speak out against homosexuality (Bill C-250) but not to censor the filth on MTV and other such venues?

Paul elliot Chretien's new/old cabinet left quite a few Liberal noses out of joint for example the betrayal of Maurizio Bevilaqua a longtime martin loyalist and organizer who was offered a demotion that he considered a slap in the face, and refused to accept. There are many more such cases which will no doubt soon become public. Gone are the days where the Liberals can conceal the blood on the floor, try as they may. Nick Discepola, Jim Karygiannis and others were frozen out of cabinet while people like Bill Graham and John McCallum were kept. Now that Martin actually has to govern and make decisions that will be unpopular, his days of being all things to all people are coming to an end. he will lose his shine very quickly, I think. Chretien got away with it for years because of a divided opposition, and iron fisted control over his caucus. Martin does not have that luxury, nor the absolute ruthlessness that Chretien did. Welcome to reality, Paul.

As much as I like and respect Ezra, the problem is that his focus continues to much on an us vs. them tone, and this is what MUST come to an end. I think what will attract the coalition we need to replace the Liberals is a party that promises less intrusive government, and where the government is involved, that it acts in fairness, not favouring one region over another. Can the day ever come when Canadians coast to coast can be Canadians first, and Albertans, Qyebcers, Newfoundlanders etc second, just like our neighbours to the south? It can but only when we are rid of the Liberals and their pork-barrel politicking and demagoguery which feeds the fires of regionalism to their advantage. The old Quebec separation fight has served the federal Liberals incredibly well for many years, you know the old line "vote for us or the PQ/BQ will get in" . If that's not demagoguery, nothing is.

Maplesyrup, Good post. Just two things: Martin is actually from Onatrio, but moved to Quebec, and Layton is from Quebec and moved to Ontario. Bilingualism will make the difference, whether we like it or not. You need to be able to reach the people by speaking (not reading) to them in their own language. It really is seen as a question of resp[ect for the other founding people. I live here, and I know that for a fact. In the heady days of Rene Levesque, I was told by many people that there would never have been a separatist movement if English canadians had shown respect for French canadians. If Joe Clark spoke French in 1979 as well as he does today, he could probably have wone even a handful more seats in Quebec, and made his government a majority. Instead, it took Brian Mulroney to give the Conservatives a majority. John Turner's French was mediocre. Alliance fanatic. What sweet memories you bring back with those poll niumbers from 1992. Jean Chretien was yesterday's man, and would soon be replaced after yet another conservative victory..... sigh.... how things went wrong! Lord did not allow gay marirage in NB. But provided for civil unions. Bad move. it was a compromise that nenver should have been made. Only Ontario, & BC allow gay marriage. But before we jump on one bandwagon or another we need to watch carefully what these guys can do. All we have now are first impressions. The leadership race should be viewed as a dry run up to the real election, which by all indications will happen shortly after the new leader is chosen. we need to see how much attention their campaigning can generate, since ultimately the campaign is what will make the difference as to whether the CP unseats Martin or not. HArper may have the qualifuications, but if he can't generate appeal, the qualifications are for nought. Lord may have his quakituies too, but if the don't move the numbersa what's the point..... Then there's Chuck Strahl, who might well be a dark horse. And his French has come a long way too. This may NOT be a two horse race.

Toatally agree Dennis. Susan Delacourt must be slipping for her spin to be so obvious. That support could again be that high , without a leader, is astonishing. People ARE looking around. Paul Martin had only one thing going for him. he was not jean Chretien. Chretien only won in '93 in the first place because of Kim Campbell's implosion. And only held power because of the split PC Reform vote. This must have the Liberal strategists worried. Very worried. Great news. We've hit 25% sooner than I thought possible.

Sorry Michael, but you are right. there is nothing Martin can do that will make me happy, short of resigning. However, it hasd nothing to do with CPC partisanship, and everything to do with the neccessity of cleaning out an extremely arrogant and corrupt government, and restoring multi-party rule in this country. Canada has nothing of import to say about the Iraq war. Paul Martin still leads the same bunch of anti-americans as Chretien did. Heck, he even has HEDY FRY as a parliamentary secretary. This woman applauded as Sunera Thobani gave her snippy little speech a couple of years back about how the US is a nation with bloodstained hands, and deserved everything it got on 9/11. same old bunch. some need their pinks, while others need to cool their haunches in opposition for a few years. Paul Martin signed every bloody cheque that went through the governmnet betweem Oct. 25th 1993 and the day he went to the backbenches. Now he's trying to cover up the messes by re-arranging the furniture. What do you call splitting HRDC up into two organizations? I call it muddying the water.

What Gugsy has pointed out, is a question that is going to dog Harper throughout the campaign. Likeability is going to become an issue. It will also be one of the factors that Party members will be watching for. Not just likeability but the ability to really shake things up with their personality. Look at George W Bush. he is a strong personality. You either love him, or hate him with every fibre of your being. It's one or the other. Lukewarm doesn't cut it in the age of the soundbite. Brian Mulroney came in with the same boyish good looks (and at a relatively similar age) as Bernard Lord. Whether you liked Mulroney or not, he made an indelible impression. Remember the stature and respect in the world Canada had under Mulroney. He flew with Eagles, while the Liberals run with the turkeys. US canada relations were never better than when Brian and Ronald Reagan sang "When Irish eyes are smiling" . Image will count for much. Chuck Strahl has the kind of presence that one cannot ignore either. He speaks clearly, and forcefully. He's also got that very fashionable look about him, with the Goatee. Shallow as all this seems, it will have to be considered carefully.

you don't go about mending fences with the US by, as a country that did nothing but sneer along with Gaul and Prussia and contribute nothing but obstruction to the US war effort, making holier-than-thou demands that one of the most sadistic mass murderes of modern times should be brought before lame liberal world court instead of being held accountable by the people he tormented for 30 odd years. Then he revives Chretien's Marijuana bill, one of the most shameful pieces of legislation this country has ever seen in that it shows the country putting THAT on the frontburner while more important issues are left waiting. Just shows what an immature crybbaby, spolied brat socialist nanny-state this country is, if they allow this shameful childish excuse for leadership to continue. Paul Elliot Chretien has been Prime minsiter one week too long already. Martin is provng to be every bit the disappointment I thought he would.. Time to show him , and the Liberals the door. If I may borrow, and adapt a line from the Republicans that was popular while slick willie lived in the white house: "PAul MArtin is not MY prime minister."

GRanted the PC Party was in no great shape after the past 10 years, but they had picked up enough strength, that Mr Harper came to the conclusion that he needed them alongside instead of dismissing them. The fact is that both parties needed each other, and at this point in time, they both brought strengths to the table which could help overcome the other's weaknesses. We should also remember another fact. The Canadian Alliance no longer exists. Nor does the PC party. all loyalties should be transferred to the new entity. I do not care which "side" the leader comes from. I am onlyy concerned that he can win, without selling out conservative values. Dennis, I think your slagging Lord for coming from a small province with small problems was most unfair. New Brunswick is a small provoince, indeed, but one with big problems. he has also managed a caucus nearly the same size as the former CA's in Ottawa. Where a leader calls home is of no consequence to me as long as he is willing to govern with the best interests of the whole country in mind. Lord is going to have to go through the rigours of a leadership contest. He will be going up against the intellectual policy wonk Harper, and the forcful, charismatic Chuck Strahl among others. If he is left standing after that, then he's earned it. And the same applies to the other candidates. Maplesyrup's prediction is quite interesting. And if it holds true, then Mr harper will end up as the probable kingmaker. It will be interesting to see where he casts his lot, should this be the case.

Unlike Lord, Prentice is an unabashed social liberal. HE believes in gay marriage, legalized pot, and abortion. But you are right about electability. it is unfortunate that we must consider something so shallow. Case in point: Adlai Stevenson was twice the Demcratic nominee (sacrificial lamb?) that went up against Eisenhower for the US presidency. It was said of him that he was a brilliant policy wonk, and possibly the most imntelligent man ever to seek the job, but he was unelectable.

Crooks and thieves.... as is the fate of any one-party-rule that continues too long. One of his fiort orders of business was to abolish HRDC, and split it into two new organizations (smaller government?) which strikes me as an attempt to muddy the waters, and hope that in the resulting period of change, that the HRDC billion dollar boondoggles are swept under the carpet and quickly forgotten. Next, he immediately ressurrects Chretien's marijuana bill that died when Parliament was prorogued in October... (Prorogue...bery good term: the Liberals are professional rogues...) He's been PM a week too long, methinks. As much as the punditocracy is still bleating about how he slices, he dices and is the only appliance canada will ever need, and that it's inevitable that he will lead the biggest landslide in Canadian history, and that the conservatives will finish behind the NDP and blah blah blah, I'm tempted to ask them, whether they prefer ketchup, chili sauce, or dijon mustard with the crow they'll all be eating in May. Time to throw the bums out. BTW, Martin is saying he wants to be PM for 10 years.... Arrogant, swaggering pig. Let's hope canadians wake up, and give him no more than 5 to six months.

Craig, if anything, the UNO is too liberal already! I know you are referring to classical liberalism, a term which relatively few understand. "Liberal" today has come to mean Michael Moore, Pierre Trudeau or Hitlery Clinton. I can see the point of the existence of an organization where various governments can get together and discuss how to deal with various issues & problems in the world on a co-operative basis, it must not serve as a supranational governing body. For one thing, it has no business operating a "world court", nor should one nation which decides to act in its own interest, (as all inevitably do), have to go and beg for permission to do so. Should issues like Iraq be brought up before the international community to see if the problem can be resolved peacefully, or with the assistance of other willing nations? yes. Should the UNO be able to tell the US that unless France, germany China and Russia agree, the proposed operation is not legitimate? No. Don't be surprised if one fine day the UNO tries to have George Bush and Tony Blair prosecuted as war criminals. We don't need Blue helmeted peacekeepers. Coalitions of the willing should be formed for such eventualities. That way no soldier may ever have another allegience than to serving his country in the manner he is asked. Essentially, the UN should exist so that global problems can be addressed, and coalitions of the willing can do something about them. The idea of one-world socialist government must be abandoned.

Springer, note that quite a few western Conservative (since there are no more PC or CA parties) MPs and backroom boys are coming around to Lord as their choice. It was noted this morning that Hal Danchilla and Rod Love are going to support Lord. From among MPs, Jason Kenney and Art Hanger will as well, and so might Stock Day. I'm going to attempt to dispel misconceptions about Mr. Lord. New Brunswick is the most socially conservative province in Canada. even more so than Alberta. At least 8 of 10 federal MPs are considered pro-life, including the NDP's Yvon Godin in Acadie-Bathurst. Only Domenic Leblanc in Beausejour-Petitcodiac is a known pro-abort. There are a couple of others sitting on th fence. Lord fought Alan Rock for years as the latter, when he was health minister, tried to pressure New Brunswick into forcing taxpayers to pay for abortions. Lord also refused Morgentaler permission to open private clinics. You can see why he is palatable to conservatives right across the country. he supports the right positions, but without coming across as a pentecostal bible-thumper. He is NOT Paul Martin lite. Let's dispense right away with the myth that easterners are a bunch of flaky socialist liberals. Let's not forget, he comes from another region in Canada that feels like it doesn't matter, so many westerners might well identify with him. ON the other hand, while he must also sell among the Toronto/Montreal crowd, he must not SELL OUT to them. Perhaps we might finally have a party that learns the lessons of history and tries to govern the country as fairly as possible, without pitting one region against another. And Senate and electoral reform woulkd be one way fro the boy from New Brunswick to increase the clout of his, and other provinces, within the federation.

I am more disturbed by the retention of the most inept foreign minister this country has ever had, , Bill "How's your boyfriend?" Graham. what's worse is that he holds the same post. And McCallum who has botched defense remains in cabinet. Shampoo Pettigrew, who was responsible for the mess at HRDC, and left the explaining to Jane Stewart stays as well. Bad call. And when you think it can't get worse, it does. Denis "Big Brother" Coderre also stays. What is truly bizarre is that it exposes the fact that Martin has suicidal tendencies. Coderre, while head of the Young Liberals in the '80's , a Chretien loyalist worked tirelessly to undermine Turner at every opportnity. He will likely do the same to Martin. Somebody must have some really damaging negatives of Martin for Coderre to have remained. Then the Quebec nationalists: Liza Frulla and Lucienne Robillard. Yes, she who voted to have the Canadian flag removed from the national assembly. Way to go Martin. In the lower echelons of cabinet, to wit, the parlaimentary secretaries, we find three of four Tory turncoats, (Brison, Price and Harvey) and none other than.....Headless Fry, the BC former Cabmin who was found, while practicing medicine, to have issued fraudulent prescriptions, and who is famous for the famous "Right now, there are crosses burning in Kamloops as we speak! I have a letter from the mayor to back it up" When asked to produce te letter she could not. And who appluded Sunera Thobani's "the US has bloodstained hands, and throuroughly deserved what it got on 9/11" Yes, martin, real change.

The French were also bound to come to the defense of Czechoslovakia and Poland in teh event of a German invasion. They sold the Czechs to the Nazis for a bill of goods, and completely reneged on Poland. Had they stood up to Hitler on Czechoslovakia, Hitler would have had to have backed down. At that time he would not have been able to fight on both fronts, and that might well have been the end of Hitler there. But Hitler had sized up the French, and to a certain extent the Brits well. He marched into the demilitarized zone of teh Rhineland with 10 thousand troops, and made it look like more by marhing some ouyt again, and back over the bridge. The brits and French did nothing. "afetr all, it IS their land anyway...Maybe we were a little harsh with them at Versailles." At that thime there was a prevailing peacenik sentiment in both countries. There was no stomach for war. Brit PM Stanley BAldwin even said that never again shall British soldiers go shed blood on foreign soil. Hitler again tested the waters in 1936 with Austria. The French and Brits again turned a blind eye, confirming Hitler's belief that the western leaders were cowardly "little worms". "After all, Austria is , essentially German...Versailles hardly left Austria as a viable state anyway." Then finally he was ready to devour Czechoslovakia, he knew that by asking for little, getting the concession would enable him to finish the whole thing off shortly thereafter. The Brits (PEace in our Time) and French caved in in Munich. "After all, The Sudetenland is pretty much German. What harm is there in returning them to the Fatherland?" What was worse was that the French were under treaty with Czechoslovakia to defend her against German aggression. The Brit attitude as expressed by some at the time "Why should we be overly concerned about a faraway people of whom we know little?", in reference to the Czechs and Slovaks. Then he tested the waters once again, by demanding, and getting the Port city of Memel (Klaipeda) from Lithuania, under threat of force. The Allies again did nothing. This set the stage for Danzig (aka Gdansk). Poland was the last straw for the Brits, who honoured their treaty , but the French continued on their merry path to eventual enslavement. So you can clearly see wht Hitler thought he could get away with Poland, and only had to toss a few crumbs out to Stalin to get it. He did not count on Churchill. Canada should not emulate France in attitude, and should learn from history that one cannot always count on Allies unless the ally is the USA, Britain or Poland, and that keeping one'sforces at teh peak of preparedness in terms of modernization, and personnel is crucial. The enemy will.

Just like the bloody cowards defended Poland, Czechoslovakia and Romania back in the thirties. The Germans used to ridicule the French by saying the way tob defeat the French was to roll out a few kegs of wine and some dancing girls.... Their Maginot line, supposedly the most formidable line of defense ever built by a country was penetrated and the cowardly nation went down to defeat faster than Poland who at least fought a damn courageous fight against the Nazis, sending hussars out on horseback out against panzers. it wouild have been too easy for the Poles to surrender and cut a Vichy style deal with the Nazis, like the cowardly French swine, but Poland at least had, and still has a sense of honour. Liberal Canada chooses instead to emulate the French, one of the most sneering, politically correct regimes in the world.

Gugsy, Cool the rhetoric, please. Posts like THAT are exactly what Kinsella and the Liberals want to see more of. IT's no longer "us against them" It's one party now, remember? Seriously, Stephen Harper may have been a regional candidate in 1993, as was Preston Manning, but both men have matured and developed a national vision. Don't play into the Liberals hands with their line that the CA is a regional party. At its dissolution, it was no longer so. Hasn't been since the l;ate '90's. No more so than the PCs were regional since the bulk of their caucus came from Atlantic Canada. If Bernard lord can withstand the logic and intellect of Stepehen Harper, then let him win. If he cannot, then he doesn't deserve it. and vice versa. It may even be that another candidate will outshine both of them, and the party will be all the richer. The most important thing, is that at the end of the day, no matter who wins, everyone gets behind him or her. And the wounds will be much easier to heal, if we talked ideas and policies, rather than ressurrecting Liberal spin and justifying it in the public eye with PC vs CA infighting. Neither party exists anymore.

I've learned a long time ago not to jump abaord anyone's campaign bandwagon until you've had a chance to evaluate all the potential candidates strengths and weaknesses. There's nothing worsee than signing up with one, and then the one you really want joins later.

Here's a website I've set up as part of a larger historical survey (in the works) that gives an eyewitness acount of the executions at Nuremburg. It also has an account of the last days of the prisoners by the US army chaplain who was charged with caring for their spiritual needs during their captivity. Some interesting stuff there, especially on Hermann Goering.

Tomorrow, according to Bourque Newswatch Former NDP leader Ed Broadbent will announce his candidacy for the now vacant seat of Ottawa Center, which became open when Mac HArb got his plum from Chretien. It will be delightful to watch the first chink in Martin's armour as he loses a by-election right off the bat. Even if its the NDP that has to win.

Memories of Hermann Goering, who, hours before he was to hang, swalwed a vial of cyanide that someone had somehow smuggled into him. I assure you that Saddam will be the loneliest man in the world between now, and the day he swings from a Baghdad lamppost. And Moderate Centrist, just where are the Americans politically losing in this (unless you are referring to Dumbocrud Presidential candidates ) ? Nobody gives a rat's patooty what Gaul and Prussia think anymore.

I am not at all decided as to whom I would support in the race.... Now, as to the "moderate" label being tagged on Lord, I wonder if those who peg him as one realize that he opposes abortion. (Most in NB do, by an overhelming margin. Even the lone NDP MP , Yvon Godin , acadie-Bathurst, is said to be pro-life, as is Claudette Bradshaw. The only firmly pro-abortion MP in NB is Domenic LeBlanc) Lord fought constantly with Alan Rock as the latter tried to force NB to pay for abortions out of tax dollars as other provinces do. He certainly is no champion for same sex marriage either. The Reform/CA element of the new party has been unfairly painted by the Liberals as right wing extremist. If you look at what they actually stand for they were a mainstream centrist party that leans to the right. Sure there were some members who helped create the image (ie: Darrell and Myron in their 10 gallon hats) but you tell me how are these men considered extremists while Hedy Fry a left-wing radical is not? Yes, I totally agree that Lord's entry into the race is great news. It lends a credibility to the process taht just was not there for the last PC contest, and dare i say, even the last CA one. I hope that Preston Manning and Stock Day get into the race too, and maybe a few others. Then there's no way the liberal media will be able to ignore it. We need a nail biter. That way, in addition to the publicity that will dimninish Martin's stature greatly, the eventual winner, whoever that will be, will have earned it, and there will be some high profile names up there being seriously talked about as cabinet material. (which implies that achieving government status has become an acknowledged possibility)