Harper thinks I'm Stupid

The conservative party is airing ads saying that Stephane Dion is a poor leader. I know that!

What the ads are really telling me is that the Conservatives are so bereft of ideas that matter to most Canadians that all they can do (when sitting in Government) is say how weak the opposition is. If that's the best they can do, one has to wonder whether they deserve to be in control. Unfortunately the options aren't very good. At least, however, the Liberals are proposing ideas. I may not like them much but all I get from the Conservatives is that the Liberal ideas are bad and that they have no leadership.

Perhaps they should be paying their advisers a bit more to come up with ideas rather than nice suits for Steve.

Where can we find a better option? Is our entire national leadership completely devoid of good ideas?

Sportsnet and B list "celebrities"

I was watching the Blue Jays game last night on Sportsnet. The news followed so I watched it as an alternative highlights package. Pretty standard package until a spot on Anna Kournakova and the young Iglesias breaking up. Now Anna hasn't played a competitive tennis match in about five years. Why is this news? Why is it sports news? Sure they had a funny old clip of an announcer asking her out during a news conference but is there nothing better. A poor introduction to the heavily hyped Sportsnet Connected. I'm sticking with the Score and TSN.

Harper's Boys Just like Everyone Else

Stevie

You said you were different.

You said you would be accountable.

You said you would be transparent.

You lied.

I'm not sure why it surprises us but it does. You had an opportunity to be different and get a majority. You just wanted it so much you became just like - gasp - the liberals. You're probably worse because you said you wouldn't do it and you did.

You want Quebec so bad you can taste it. Mr Cannon used a whole bunch of rented flights to drum up support. You know it was fine but you felt guilty so hid the costs outside of expenses. It was fine till you hid it.

Then we find that Mr Cannon has a full time staffer who also got a sole source contract from the feds to help with speeches (seems like something a staffer might do anyway). Conveniently he was paid about $24,800 per year, which is $200 under the amount requiring an open bidding process. We got the Liberal copyrighted "we followed all the rules of the Treasury Board." Yes you did. But you played the rules. It makes you look slimy.

Rantman has voted fairly consistently for the conservatives. Next time he won't.

What else are you guys hiding?

Keith Richards - Dead or Alive?

Its been a hard life Kieth - mostly self inflicted.

But from this picture I'm thinking retirement to a personal care home might be a better idea than ongoing touring.

Perhaps you shouldn't have snorted your Dad's ashes or all of that coke.

Only in Canada

The Vancouver Olympic bid announced $20 million dollars (actually I believe that's US) for an arts and cultural festival before and during the Olympics (apparently a pretty standard part of an Olympics program). Canadian artists are complaining that its insufficient. Never mind that almost no one will pay attention to it and that this is found money - they simply want more. Its hard to believe. Brian Williams may spend 30 seconds talking about the arts festival. People might attend if there's bad weather one day and events are cancelled.

This is free money folks. Take it and say thanks. The alternative was nothing - not more. The cultural snobs feeling shortchanged again.

Manny Being Manny

This is good.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/09/onion.ramirez.work/index.html

The original source for those who are interested.

http://www.theonion.com/content/?utm_source=CNN00

Perhaps Boston Pops Needs Hells Angels Security??

So the Boston Pops had their opening the other night and it was interupted by a fight in the Balcony. The Boston Pops is not a soccer team. They are not a hockey team. They aren't even a metal band. They are a symphony orchestra. And a fight broke out in the stands. I expect they serve beer (but that most of the froo froos who go sip wine or scotch and soda). Perhaps they should stop serving alcohol after the overture.

But come on guys. What could you have been fighting about? Second fiddle should be getting first fiddle minutes? Vivaldi's spring adagio is better than the summer in Four Seasons? This orchestral hooliganism has to stop or they will be building baricades between fans of the strings and woodwinds.

At least some thick necked bouncers to clear out the riff raff before things get out of hand.

A Taxing Question

There is a proposal out there to tax disposable coffee cups at a rate of 20 to 30 cents. This is intended to reduce the number of cups that end up in the ditch, the landfill . . . .

I expect that Tim Hortons (not the kind of press they want necessarily) is the number one source of litter on Canadian highways. Actually, to be fair, they are not the source but their logo is on all of it. I do know that coffee cups (and by market position Tim Hortons makes up most of that) are the biggest source of contamination in recycling at McMaster University.

I actually love this idea. Tim Hortons currently gives you a discount of 10 cents if you bring your own cup (I didn't know that until I saw this clipping) but that's clearly not sufficient. I think Tims is against this because they fear a decrease in coffee sales - there may be a short term dip but they've got us all hooked. This is a garbage tax with a real alternative for those who don't want to pay it.

Let's do it!

Yes Virginia - Rantman is actually arguing for a new tax.

An inconvenient Goof II

A funny alternative.

http://www.superdeluxe.com/sd/contentDetail.do?id=D81F2344BF5AC7BB970E63516484018E786ABF300B594CB5

The War on Error

Canada minted a quarter with a poppy coloured red as a token of remembrance of its war dead. The thought was nice. Although there was a coating to slow the loss of the red colour on the coin, the red rubbed off relatively quickly. I have to admit I thought it was a bit cool but probably more money than it was worth.

BUT, visiting members of the US military and some of the their contractors thought the coins were suspicious and reported back that they looked like some sort of nanotechnology and might be tracking or listening devices. Never mind that perhaps if a spy was trying to track or listen to someone using coins they might PERHAPS NOT COLOUR IT BRIGHT RED TO AROUSE SUSPICION. I suppose that says something about paranoia and perhaps the pervasiveness of US espionage (I have a US quarter that's all one colour - might it be a tracking device?).

But really. Either they think we're significantly stupid (red on a coin means listening device, blue means tracking device - it makes it easier when we're planting them on Yanks) or they are significantly stupid. Guess which one I'm thinking?

OBAMAMETER - CLAY AITKEN

Wow - an Oprah endorsement.

An article in Time that's about Hilary's response to Obama.

A secret service detail.

He's at the top but we have to see if it lasts.

A clear sense of priorities

A Canadian parliamentary committee yesterday summoned Hockey Canada. Hockey Canada is to testify as to why they could possibly appoint Shane Doan Captain of the World Championship Team Canada. After all, Mr Doan was accused of using a derogatory word towards a French Canadian official during an NHL game. Mr Doan denied it and continues to deny it. Regardless of whether he said it or not, don't MP's have anything better to do than this? No wonder we're all so cynical about politicians. It makes me wonder:

1) Are they trying to distract Canadians from the other issues that are burning in Ottawa. Dion's incompetence? Layton's irrelevance? Harper/Day and Afgan torture? A lousy environmental plan. Frankly I don't think many Canadians are that stupid.

2) Are they pandering for Quebec votes? This seems to be the most likely. MP's said nothing when Todd Bertuzzi was appointed to the Canadian Olympic Team after his attack and guilty plea. Frankly as a parent of hockey players that one bothered me more. There are other examples of imperfect people representing Canada in hockey and other sports. An alleged insult against the French (vehemently denied by Mr Doan) suddenly looks like a vote getter so we'll waste time and money grandstanding.

SHAME ON ALL OF YOU!!! Spend your time and energy on something that matters.

This simply defies reason. I wrote to my MP to tell him what I think. He sits on this committee and supported the motion. You should write to your MP too.