Thursday, September 07, 2006

Randomness

Random news and views updates, from Doggerel Party HQ. Brief by necessity; we have been having a new furnace installed; we are dealing with an influx of bats who took advantage of the work to come down the chimney; we are awaiting tests on one of aforementioned bats after a scratching incident; and one of the corgis is very sick. All good fun, especially when expecting a baby in a matter of weeks.

Sara at Choice for Childcare digs up a historical gem from Ken Dryden, erstwhile Minister For State Child Assimilation.

Staying on the child theme, what is with Suri Cruise?

Stephen Taylor's leak of the NDP policy resolutions is rich pickings; let's nationalize everything in sight, because that worked so well in the USSR and in 1970s Britain, and it's doing wonders for Venezuala as we speak. Let's accuse Canadian troops of atrocities in Afghanistan, 'cos you know, that's the kind of Fascist pigs they are. Truth outdoes fiction once again.

Premier McShifty of Ontario announces he is 50% towards achieving 90% of a campaign promise on class sizes. Well, 45% is a pass mark, isn't it? Apparently, Ontario schools don't have any money for textbooks, because it's all gone to paying off the teaching unions, but as long as the class size is small, I'm sure the book thing won't hurt too much. It's not as if all Ontario high-school graduates can read, anyway.

Foreign news headlines: Canadians blame US for 9/11 attacks ; NDP draft policy resolutions blame Israel for everything.

Everything old is new again: Alex Munter proposes creating borough councils under the umbrella of Ottawa's mega-city. How this differs from the two-tier local government that was just abolished, and how productive it was to spend billions moving to one tier, only to spend more to go back to two, is not documented.

A new Royal Ottawa Hospital (Ottawa's psychiatric hospital) is set to open amid glitz and glamour. Watch for a feature article, coming soon here at TDPC, on this jewel of the mental healthcare system.