Wednesday, September 24, 2008

And On That Note



*

Well They Are Actors, After All...

From the Globe and Mail:

The performers — including Colm Feore and Wendy Crewson — noted that the arts provide 1.1 million jobs within cultural industries and contribute $86-billion to the GDP.

They say the $45-million that the Conservative government cut from culture funding last summer could seriously damage their industry.

Yep. an $86 billion-dollar industry. A $45 million dollar, highly targeted cut (for those arties who aren't too strong on math and science, that's 0.05 %). Serious damage. And they said that with a straight face, too. Where else could a 0.05% cut in subsidies cause 'serious' damage?

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Ignorance Is Bliss

Scene: Kitchen at Doggerel Party HQ, early morning.
Doggerel Jr (age 22 months), holding out half-eaten and well mashed banana for parental inspection: "Dirty."

Doggerelle (sighing): "Well, what did you drop it in this time?"

Doggerel Jr: (beaming with pride): "Dog"

Monday, September 22, 2008

Just Fancy That!

One of these quotes is a disgraceful denigration of Canada's most populous province. And the other is a responsible comment from one of the greatest leaders and statesmen of our time (c) Kinsella, 2008.

No prizes for knowing which is which.

"Ontario Set to Become Have-not Province" - Jim Flaherty, Globe & Mail, March 19, 2008

"Ontario May Face Future as Have-not Province" - Dalton McGuinty, CBC News, September 22, 2008.

And this one might be just a teeny bit embarrassing:

"Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is “absolutely wrong” in suggesting that Ontario is in jeopardy of becoming a “have-not” province under Confederation," - Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan.

Who Will Survive The Cache?

So, the NDP is losing candidates to their pot-laced past; the CBC is mounting insider hatchet jobs with Liberal operatives against Ritz; BCL has demolished another CPC candidate; Garth Turner is establishing a deathwatch on his opponent. The blogosphere seems to really be doing it's long-awaited magic this time around.

This endless loop of digging through Google cache, finding the bad stuff and killing off the candidate (sorry Garth, not literally) is all very well - perhaps in some cases a valuable contribution. But what will happen in 10 or 15 years time, when virtually everyone will have something online that they'd rather hadn't happened? Where will you find anyone who hasn't posted an angry thought they'd like to take back, or some ill-advised pictures from a drunken university party? Nearly everyone under 25 is on Facebook and most of them will mess up at some point in their lives.

If Canadians and their MSM continue to be as thin-skinned and twitchy about these kinds of things, it's hard to imagine how anyone of any stripe will be electable in the future.

Monday, September 15, 2008

TDPC Exclusive: The Definitive May Explanation

Lots of folks have noticed that there are at least two explanations being put forward by Elizabeth May and the Green Party for how she came to call Canadians 'stupid' on TVO's The Agenda With Steve Pakin. After giving two completely different stories to TVO and CTV, Ms. May agreed to an exclusive interview with Doggerel Party researchers, to set the record straight:

Agreeing To Disagree

I watched the Elizabeth May 'it depends what your definition of "say" is,' video over at TVO. She's adamant that she says 'disagree with that assessment' - which is clearly not the case. Pass the girl a bigger spade.

What hasn't been mentioned in any of the posts I've read is that her minion John Bennett actually contradicts Ms. May's version of events in the apology he sent to Leftdog. Bennett says:
In the TVO clip, Elizabeth May clearly says "they" think Canadians are stupid, referring to the opinions of some politicians. She then turns to the questioner and agrees with HIS assessment that a carbon tax is essential. No spin can change that.
When you're going to go on television and tell lies, you should let your staff know first, Liz.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Are You Smarter Than A Montreal Gazette Columnist?

Don Macpherson thinks that Stéphane Dion has 'outsmarted' Stephen Harper in the debate-about-the-debate, by backing the inclusion of Elizabeth May from the beginning.
I disagree. I think that on the contrary, the Tories played this one brilliantly. By initially threatening the PM's boycott of the debate, they laid the bait which was taken by the NDP and the Bloc. Jack Layton has been on the defensive ever since, and not just with the media, but within his own party. It had the so-called 'progressives' going at each other for a good 48 hours, and swayed them off-message nicely.

For Harper, the decision to oppose May's inclusion had little cost - Green supporters aren't likely to be swing voters the Conservatives could hope to win anyway. By the same token, he doesn't stand to lose many votes by her inclusion in the debate. Both by initially excluding May, and then by including her, the Tories have simply encouraged greater and deeper divisions in the 'progressive' vote. I suspect a brilliant mind may be behind this devious plan, and I love it. 

Monday, September 08, 2008

Three Way Lookalike

Has anyone noticed this photo on the Liberal Party website?

And has anyone noticed the striking resemblance between the man to the left of Dion, and the evil Mr. Victor Kennedy, whose alterego Absorbaloff is the bad guy in the Doctor Who episode Love and Monsters?

Sunday, September 07, 2008

And They're Off....

Into the election we go. Things have been quiet around here for a while, as I have been very busy at the day job of late and generally too tired at the end of the working day (1am-ish) to be blogging before the new one begins (generally around 7am). Still, an election is an election and so I'll try to get some stuff out there as we go along.

One thing I did come across was this gem from Lulu and CC. We really should have consulted Osama bin Laden and the Taliban before scheduling an election, eh? Given that we know how much CC loves and respects our troops.

You just know they're hoping against hope for that 100th death, salivating at the bogus political points they'll make with it. That's Canada's left-wing - chasing the medevac helicopters.