Saturday, October 11, 2008

Daily Digest October 11, 2008


The DAILY DIGEST: INFORMATION and OPINION from ST. JOHN'S to VICTORIA.
ARCHIVED at http://cdndailydigest.blogspot.com/

EDITORIALs

CAPE BRETON POST -
Strange campaign lurches home
http://www.capebretonpost.com/index.cfm?sid=179673&sc=151

HALIFAX CHRONICLE HERALD -
Poor priorities

Life after caricature

MONTREAL GAZETTE -
Conservatives are our best bet in troubled times

Atwood editorial angers some readers

OTTAWA CITIZEN -
It is about leadership

BELLEVILLE INTELLIGENCER -
Harper has only himself to blame for election showing

War cost should not be an issue

TORONTO STAR -
Star's choice: Dion, Liberals

NATIONAL POST -
Language skills count
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2008/10/11/national-post-editorial-board-language-skills-count.aspx

TORONTO SUN -

Harper team a classless bunch

HAMILTON SPECTATOR -
PM's culture bashing will cost him dearly, voters weren't fooled

No price on blood

Cast your vote thoughtfully

PM's culture bashing will cost him dearly, voters weren't fooled

NIAGARA FALLS REVIEW -
Good ideas from all four parties deserve our ears

WINDSOR STAR -
Federal vote

Assessing the local options

WINNIPEG FREE PRESS -
The Right Choice
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/editorial/story/4237418p-4880617c.html

WINNIPEG SUN -
Harper team a classless bunch

SASKATOON STARPHOENIX -
Canadians still have good cause to offer thanks

REGINA LEADER-POST -
Turkey Time

CALGARY HERALD -
Vote Conservative for their record

CALGARY SUN -
Harper team a classless bunch

EDMONTON JOURNAL -
Harper deserves re-election

EDMONTON SUN -
Harper team a classless bunch
http://www.edmontonsun.com/Comment/Commentary/2008/10/11/7049446-sun.html

VANCOUVER SUN -
Despite some hard times ahead, Canadians have a lot to be thankful for

VICTORIA TIMES-COLONIST -
The vote that matters is yours

 Lessons from the federal race for B.C.

 Thanksgiving and children and so much change

Tank Man reminds us democracy worth our vote


ISSUES

AFGHANISTAN -
US targets safe house in North Waziristan
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/10/us_targets_safe_hous.php

 Afghanistan.NATO's mandate expands  

Gates: U.S. would support Afghan peace talks with Taliban

Tribesmen attack Taliban after Pakistan bombing

Pakistan is the obstacle to advances in Afghanistan
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2008/10/11/david-frum-pakistan-is-the-obstacle-to-advances-in-afghanistan.aspx

 NATO troops withdraw from north-east district
Taliban claim to have forced NATO-led troops from a remote district


CANUSA/USACAN
It's past time for a new continental point of view

Single-payer health care warning for the U.S.


FOREIGN AFFAIRS
When nations kill their own
'Reponsibility to protect' has come a long way, but not far enough.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1010/p09s01-coop.html

Europe to Canada: Get your act together
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081004.wxdoug04/BNStory/International


HEALTH CARE RELATED
Five policies on mental health ...


JUSTICE SYSTEM
HIV man lured runaways with drugs


POLITICS IN THE PROVINCES
Harper helps sovereignty:
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=548cde0a-6d04-4d5e-9411-6d4c4b175952


PARTY POLITICS
Not Doctored'  Expert contradicts Harper's claim about Cadman tape
Stephen Harper's press secretary says the analysis plays in their favour because the audio expert's analysis concluded the tape did not represent the entire interview, even the most critical part was authentic. http://watch.ctv.ca/news/#clip101822

 Harper must explain Cadman tape, Dion says

PM 'has a lot to explain' on tape issue: Dion

Harper: Cadman tape findings won't undermine case

Economic crisis could slow Liberal agenda, Dion says

Harper says Cadman tape won't undermine defamation case

Layton urges Quebeckers to go beyond Bloc

Harper says he's been demonized in Quebec

Harper Q & A

Duceppe doesn't want un-elected minister appointed to cabinet

 
POLITICAL OPINION -
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Riding by Riding projections
http://nixtuff.blogspot.com/

 It seemed like a good idea at the time...

Economic philosophy is Conservatives' big weakness
http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/opinion/article/444777

The last minute: wild ride to the polling booth

Strategic voting masks a deeper frustration
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/election/story/4237590p-4880598c.html

Suddenly, Harper's election gets interesting
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=638eef93-99b2-4ecc-b09c-a861a604747d

Guelph a riding to watch election night
http://news.guelphmercury.com/News/article/391060

Which Harper will be PM?

Talk of a Liberal win quietly whispered

Harper had Quebec in his grasp, but he blew it

Ontario boosts Tory lead

Minority government looms

Once invincible Tories fail to take stock
http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=874165

 Suddenly, it's a horse race

Quebec must be present at the table of decision makers
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ledevoir.com%2F2008%2F10%2F11%2F210272.html&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=fr&tl=en

Immigration minister in tough election fight amid land dispute, tobacco decline
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/canada/cp

Dion répond à Charest


OPINION AND INFORMATION
Restore political trust with vote for guardians of public interest

Street justice' for those who assault children

Anglos are shunned or taken for granted

'Deplorable' Québécois accent has royal roots, linguist assertsComment86
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081009.waccent09/BNStory/National/home

 Even fringe candidates deserve a hearing

Conservatives: Stop complaining and get into the game

The Taliban factor

Clash of tendencies provides drama

Voters should sing their ABDs

Getting ready is also a plan


INFOS 
Afghanistan: les É-U vise une nouvelle stratégie
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/international/etats-unis/200810/11/01-28716-afghanistan-les-e-u-vise-une-nouvelle-strategie.php

Dion pourrait retarder certains programmes en cas de crise
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/elections-2008/enjeux/portefeuille/200810/11/01-28643-dion-pourrait-retarder-certains-programmes-en-cas-de-crise.php

Nation québécoise: Justin Trudeau se défend d'être une menace
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/elections-2008/partis/parti-liberal/200810/11/01-28715-nation-quebecoise-justin-trudeau-se-defend-detre-une-menace.php

Votez selon votre conscience, exhorte une candidate du Parti vert
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/elections-2008/200810/11/01-28714-votez-selon-votre-conscience-exhorte-une-candidate-du-parti-vert.php

 Layton veut offrir un choix progressiste aux Québecois
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/elections-2008/partis/nouveau-parti-democratique/200810/11/01-28695-layton-veut-offrir-un-choix-progressiste-aux-quebecois.php

Un gouvernement minoritaire servirait mieux le Québec
http://www.ledevoir.com/2008/10/11/210273.html

Le Québec doit être présent à la table des décideurs
http://www.ledevoir.com/2008/10/11/210272.html



 Tory majority possible: poll
Prime Minister Stephen Harper appears to have survived the Conservative campaign's moment of crisis and is again knocking on the door to a majority government mere days from Tuesday's vote. MORE...

Harper had Quebec in his grasp, but he blew it.. MORE...

Your choice: Mean Steve or bumbling Stephane. MORE...

Could a coalition be in the cards? MORE...

Harper team a classless bunch. MORE...

Dion looks a doofus while Harper is Mr. Nasty MORE...

We don't understand either. MORE...

Dion interview shows need to extend clarity to journalism.. MORE...

Stephane Dion, the director's cut MORE...

We're shocked - and voting MORE...

Strategic voting masks a deeper frustration MORE...

It seemed like a good idea at the time. MORE...

A surprising storyline with an uncertain outcome. MORE...

How a rout became a bout.. MORE...

Election about you. MORE...

The NDP 'pipe dream'. MORE...

Restore political trust with vote for guardians of public interest. MORE...

The last minute: wild ride to the polling booth MORE...

No party can stop the economic meltdown.. MORE...

Economic illiteracy and the policies of harm. MORE...

Harper must explain Cadman tape, Dion says

 Harper recording in Cadman affair intact: expert

May's confusing us, Green candidate says

 Harper says Quebeckers will see through character attacks

Mood grim at G7 summit, Flaherty says

 IMF in global 'meltdown' warning

Canada backs crisis plans

Bush plea for unity amid crisis

Tories won't need to make budget cuts, Harper says

CTV defends airing Dion interview
.
Harper's dig at dion's on-camera stumbles not considered a classy move

Ontario boosts Tory lead

 Leaders step up attacks as campaign winds down

Tory attacks on Dion 'personal,' Chrétien says

 Dion 'can make a difference': Chrétien

Tory riding VP defects to Liberals

 Tory riding official quits, backs Grewal opponent

Harper sticks to strategy

 Harper helps sovereignty: MNA Lapointe

 Poll shows Tories have solidified lead

Minority government looms

 Liberals face handful of tight races in Toronto

More senators in cabinet?

 Once dreaming of gains, Tories praying for a soft landing in Quebec

 Conservative inroads Bloc-ed in Quebec

 Duceppe blasts Trudeau for backing bilingualism

 Vote-switchers add spice to Thanksgiving meal

 The battle over Baird

The case that Tuesday's vote is illegal

 Experts divided on shifting 'Green effect'

It isn't easy being Green

 Greens, Grits deny strategic voting plan

Maple Leaf CEO calls for single inspection system
..says there are hundreds of provincial meat plants across the country operating under "significantly" lower standards than those applied to his company, and it's time to create national rules for the sake of Canadian consumers.

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Pots & Kettles

Stephen, after having spent millions in trivializing Stéphane, is suggesting Gilles
has demonized him?  He's someone who loves to dish it out but can't take it.
Shall we have a pity party for him or say "As ye sow, so shall ye reap"?

Harper tells Quebecers he is not the 'devil'
Vancouver Sun - 31 minutes ago
LONGUEUIL, Que. - Stephen Harper, looking to stem the dramatic slide of his party in Quebec, reassured Quebecers on Saturday that he is not the "devil incarnate.
Harper considers eliminating questions Sunday National Post
 Harper says he's been demonized in Edmonton Sun
 Globe and Mail - The Gazette (Montreal) - Toronto Star - Calgary Herald
 all 143 news articles »  Langue : Français »

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From: "Nancy Clarke
Subject: Re: Daily Digest October 10, 2008

So much to read and digest. What I was thinking tonight of why the banks are not lowering the interest rates or for that manner lending out money, I read Phyllis Wagg post.  I have thought of that from time to time especially in the past year, but what Phyllis Wagg has written, if true even just a small fraction of it - why would a core group destroy the world's economy - What would the point be? To have a federal government of any democracy destroy the social net, would lead to the breakup of large countries such as Canada and United States and for smaller countries - probably a great deal of civil uprest.  Premier Williams has spoke how dangerous Harper is, and his intentions towards Canada are not good. If what Phyllis describes ever became the new reality, Canadians would NOT take this lying down. Nor, would Danny Williams. Newfoundland and Labrador would separate, and we probably take Quebec and the other Atlantic provinces. This leaves Ontario to decide. I bet Ontario would go where Quebec goes.

Why is the economic crisis happening? I can't believe its just greed and it got the better of everyone. So maybe Phyllis has a point, if  government(s)  wanted to get rid of their social responsibilities - why do it in such a way where it is destroying many people's stockfolios, retirement funds, pensions, job losses which will soon to follow if the banks are still stingy with credit; the recovery would take years.  Of course, this leads to another question -  is Harper setting out to destroy Canada, and in so doing handing the bits and pieces over to the United States?

Nancy

===================================
From: "Jacob Rempel"
Subject: http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=2545

 http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=2545
EXCERPT
JAY: And in terms of the closing of the polls, for American viewers, they might not know that the party at the moment that's running in number two, the Liberals, who used to be in power for many years, in fact the climate change issue is one of their primary planks. This isn't just something that's coming from the periphery.

SALUTIN: Yeah. I mean, the Liberals are a corporate party like the Democrats, but they elected a new leader a couple of years ago, Stéphane Dion, who was a kind of grassroots candidate a bit out of the mainstream of the party and an environmental fanatic. And there was a kind of a party, grassroots revolt that elected him. But he's been a nebbish. He's been a real problem. He has none of the leadership qualities, strong leader qualities, that are supposed to matter so much. And I think you could feel Canadians through this campaign period thinking, "Are we really allowed to support a guy who's such a loser in terms of standard political imagery and culture?"
 
http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=2545

===================================
From: "Wendy Forrest"
Subject: The REAL election issues
 
This is what the election should be about...why isn't it?
 
Canada in Peril - Election 08
 
Trading Democracy for Corporate Rule
 
Connecting the dots worldwide....
 
David Icke:  Big Brother, Big Problem

Wendy Forrest
Independent Candidate for Davenport

What is the Security & Prosperity Partnership?  Watch:  The Nation's Deathbed

===================================
From: Scout Finch
Subject: News Clip re Cadman, Harper's people still lying in spite of evidence, contradicting evidence

Listen to how Harpers people grossly manipulate and lie about the truth in this clip after news Harper lied reported and confirmed... http://watch.ctv.ca/news/#clip101822

===================================
From: "James Christian Parsons"
Subject: For Below (30)
 
Dear Joe:
 
I should like to thank Ron Thornton for, once again and as obnoxiously as always, articulating so blatantly the Canada-hating spirit animating the "Conservative" Party.
 
His Canada-bashing has provided an excellent electoral tool to those of us who actually love our nation, are worthy of living in it, and who are willing and ready to fight for it.
 
I suggest we all circulate Thornton's most recent blast to acquaintances who are tempted to vote CPC, in order to lift the rock of the party and reveal the sentiments underlying its base. Who knows? It might make the difference in some key swing ridings...
 
Yours,
 
Sir Francis ( http://www.dredtory.blogspot.com/)
 
===================================
RECEIVED AT POINT OF SENDING.

Subject: RE: Daily Digest October 10, 2008
From: "Efstratios Psarianos"

No-show Tories don't deserve support
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscriber/westview/story/4236959p-4879924c.html

Personally, I sympathize with this. But then I remember my 2% rule: at least 2% of each party's candidates are dingdongs who can't help but say something stupid in public leads. Two percent of 308 means 6-7 dingdongs attracting the media's attention, disrupting a national campaign, and tarnishing a party's reputation. Six to seven dingdongs makes for one a week throughout the campaign, on average.
 
So there you have it: let candidates campaign as they need to, so don't muzzle them. But keep their chains short so that they don't bark out stupidities. What's to be done, especially when a hoped-for majority might depend on a handful of seats going the right way?
 
Personally, the problem that the CPC has had throughout this election is that it hid its platform. If Party Central demands that candidates toe the line messagewise, it's incumbent that Party Central provide a message to be told. Sure, people communicate at many levels (speech, body language, etc.), but Canadians can reasonably demand that political messages be expressed more substantially than by having Mr. Harper wear a sweater.
 
More on this later ...


 NDP fears being lost in shuffle
Which is too bad, really, because they've had the most effective campaign this time around. Mr. Layton (whom I resolve to never again call 'Jacko' unless he provokes me) has come across as a believable politician whose prime focus (and the NDP's) is 'the little guy'. Buzz Hargrove and company opened the door to this development by disestablishing the NDP as their sole political voice, and now Mr. Layton is slowly making it evolve towards being a party to be taken seriously (despite the fact that their prescriptions make no sense). Bravo, this is actually THE bottom wave that's begun to swell ... time will tell if anything will come of it (e.g., the NDP striving towards and attaining credibility as a potential governing party and in the meantime as an Official Opposition).
 
 

Suspect strategy
Harper's dream of a Conservative majority has collided with reality
http://news.therecord.com/Opinions/article/427315
What, suspect? The 'roll oneself up in a tiny ball and leave no parts sticking out' (i.e., smile, say nothing, and look serene) wins no wrestling matches and it certainly doesn't win election campaigns. I've seen so many campaigns flop because of this (and I don't recall even ONE having succeeded) that I feel that adopting such a strategy is almost a guarantee of failure.
 
I say only 'almost' because such a strategy MAY work, but it will only if the opposite parties speak and act like dingdongs. Then again, if they do, they'll be easy to dispatch by a party with a sharp leader.
 
All that to say: active, take-charge campaigns can lead to victory; passive, defensive ones leads to failure or disappointment (and possibly both). If a party chooses not to say what its future objectives are during an election, opposing parties will be glad to do so instead. And if a party can't make up its mind as to what its objectives are ... again, opposing parties will happily provide horrific 'hidden agendas' instead.
 


Quebec numbers suggest Conservative debacle
Hebert: Win or lose, Stephen Harper is bracing for a hit next Tuesday. More so than any non-Quebecer of his political generation, the Conservative leader has relentlessly pursued an aggressive Quebec agenda. MORE...
Hhhhmmm ... well, not psychologically aggressive, anyway. Several issues have been neutralized (e.g., the so-called fiscal imbalance), certain ones have been neutralized and been revived (e.g., the Quebecois nation), and some have been played down. Overall, things have been pretty quiet during the past two years.
 
All this was made possible because of the breakthrough that the CPC made during its Quebec campaign in 2006. Then Mr. Harper made a few choice statements (in general, about the CPC's respecting and being willing to work with Quebec, along with some particular promises/proposals), which over 2-3 weeks raised the Tory tide. The CPC gained 10 seats here, when at the start of the campaign the likely prospect was zero. Pulled the rug under the Bloc's feet, it did, and it gravely shook the Bloc's confidence. And it did so to the point that the Bloc's pertinence was made open to question.
 
No  more. That's all been squandered now because of campaign stonewalling.
 
So, "aggressive Quebec agenda"? More like poised and dignified, without much obvious pandering. But whatever sympathy that that may have aroused in Quebec, that sympathy is gone to a large degree.
 

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From: "Suan H.Booiman"
Subject: voting
Joe,
Looking forward to hear that Ontario and Quebec will elect Dion
as Prime Minister,to return a Francophony, the choice of Central Canada.
 
Whoooooa, manny! Two thirds of Quebec MPs are Bloc, not Liberal/NDP/CPC. Blame Ontario (and the Maritimes, except for 1997) for sending so many Liberals for the past decade plus (100+ out of 102-107 during the Chretien years, for Heaven's sake!). The Liberal situation here in Quebec is like the one in BC ... Liberals strong in the Lower Mainland and swept out everywhere else.
 
Atlantics will join the selection, the WEST as always will be left out
of this country, just waiting for one Premier to take the lead and snuff
Ottawa where it belongs. Good luck.
If that's what the West is thinking (which I doubt, having been there three times this year), then 'being left out' can be easily solved by 'voting the right way'. So being left out either means that the West is either poor at sensing which way the wind is blowing or just obstinate.
 
Then again, if the point of elections isn't to vote for whoever's going to win, this argument falls down. Which I feel it does.
 
 
Happy Thanksgiving, thanks again for all your work.
Likewise!
Suan

===================================
Phyllis Wagg
Subject: Harper's Plan

          When Dion says that the reaction of the government is too little too late he is accurate.  However, when he says that the Conservatives did not have a plan he is incorrect.  Their plan was to use the ?shock? of the economic crisis to destroy what they refer as the welfare state.
 
The Conservatives had hoped that the crisis would not emerge until after the election.  The ?shock doctrine? would be applied by implementing drastic changes to the role of government.   There is no doubt that they miscalculated the timing.  They may have believed that the crash would come between mid-October and the U.S. election in order to use it to re-elect the Republicans in the U.S.  The U.S. government had not been able to stop the freight train.
Hi, Phyllis.
 
No Canadian government has ever applied shock treatment to Canada in the past. This 'shock' thing is a concept that Naomi Klein's come up with in one her books (called 'The Shock Doctrine' or something). I read some of it as recently as two weeks ago, which was a turgid slog. Just as (overwhelmingly American) right-wing yoyo-yayas have a way with writing shrill, self-righteous prose (e.g., Anne Coulter's "If Any Democrats Were Smart, They'd Be Republicans", or something stupid like that), so left-wing boohoo-wahwahs have a way with run-on series of superficial stories to prove the point that The Powers have hidden, evil agendas because how else can one explain all the monstrosities they've done.
 
Any, back to Shock Doctrine. Socio-economic shock HAS been applied to developing countries going through rough patches, most notably by the IMF. As a lender of last resort when a country hits the skids and no bank/whatever wants to risk lending to it (e.g., during the Southeast Asian currency crises of 1997, and many others) the Bank's standard approach was to prescribe deregulation, cutbacks in government spending, lower taxation, etc., in order to free that countries creative minds and energies. This was meant to restabilize a country's economy to a more 'natural' state. In practice, however, it often led to economic dislocation and political destabilization.
 
===================================
From: Ray Strachan
As for myself, I am getting tired. I am at the point where I cant fight. I
have 3 children and & grandchildren.   My name is STRACHAN, that is
SCOTTISH .I was born in Saskatchewan (CANADA)  yes CANADA.    I am supposed to
watch Stephen Harper translate  Canada into meaning A STATE of the USA. 
Warmongering,Superior, Uneducated State. What I have decided when the people
who run the United States ,and by the way that is not,  IDIOT Bush or MAD DOG
INSANE CHENEY, They are just the Cardboard figures,    The brains are 100
times more cunning and devious. So as I was saying ,what I have decided is, I
will die on my feet if necessary rather than live on my knees like people in
countries where the PIGS have taken over. Yes,they take over your Rights and
Freedoms, and its like Cancer, it just creeps up on you until either you are
dead or wish you were.   So centralize control in the hands of Stephen Harper
and bring on death,merciful death quickly.   It is a fact that danggling money
in front of their eyes, will mezmerize the stupid.


Doone with the Sassenachs!
I'll be the first to say that George Bush is a US-right-wing dingdong yoyo-yaya (how much more insulting can I get?), and I say this after having given him the benefit of the doubt for the first five years of his two Presidencies.

As for Mr. Cheney ... well, this particularly diseased character has achieved the distinction of my judging him to be a truly evil man. To this kind of great beast, it's OK to smash things and hurt people in grasping for power and dominance.
 
Canada's working out various agreements and protocols with the US in order to ensure that business doesn't get held up unnecessarily, etc., but it's far from turning into the US as concerns social and internal policy. As concerns foreign policy, Canada's simply confused more than anything else. Mr. Harper is the master at the centre of things policywise and otherwise, but he's known to have a weakness in foreign policy. This is unfortunate, given that there's more to foreign policy than keeping the US happy (witness what happened in Georgia recently ... to my horror, the Canadian government was FOR opening discussions with Georgia and Ukraine into NATO, with foreseeable results). Right now, in foreign policy, Canadian confusion equals Canadian mediocrity.
 
In terms of foreign policy, the Liberals were even worse! And they've been so since Trudeau days. Truth be told, Canada's foreign policy was MUCH more driven by US policy by the simple fact that Liberal governments made it a point to advocate its opposite (at least in public anyway ... who knows what they were saying and doing when out of sight). Thus, the US would set or state a policy and Liberal Canada would push for the opposite ... in a twisted way, the US called the shots.
 
All that to say, we have reason to believe that we'll be able to manage the current economic mess without taking on too much damage. This seems paradoxical at first, given that Canada's the country most tightly coupled with the US economywise. But hey ... in the end, we're not Americans and that's a damn good thing.
 
DISCLAIMER: I'm not anti-American and I don't pretend to like Americans and hate their government. The whole issue is that the American political system was state-of-the-art when the US was founded. Unfortunately, the 17th-century Tudor-England model that it's based on is outdated, its internal working is corrupt (by Western standards), and the system as a whole is decadent. I could go on about this, but that's a long discussion right there, which I'll keep for another time.
 
In the meantime, let's all keep a few things in mind:
 
1. We're not American.
 
2. We must NEVER confuse US politics for Canadian ones. Many of the so-called issues that keep getting discussed here are US issues, not Canadian ones. Don't let media chatter from the US lead you to forget item 1 above.
 
(Case in point: John McCain has publicly announced that, should he become President, he'll name to the Supreme Court ONLY JUDGES WHO ARE PRO-LIFE. His specifically-stated intent is to have the Roe vs. Wade judgement, the  one that legalized abortion in the US, overturned. See for yourself on his campaign website. The point here is that that's a US issue that will almost certainly have no bearing on Canadian jurisprudence ... here, judges are appointed base don competence, in a more hands-off way).
 
3. The American political system is corrupt and decadent, but Americans don't know any better. They're starting to put two and two together, though. Their being told that they'll have foot the bill for bailing out recently high-flying yoyos who subverted their country and filled their own pockets while doing it doesn't please them. Interesting things may happen down there ... if ever there was a time for a third national party to be formed to compete with the Democrats and the Republicans, the next few years will be it.
 
 
Cheers, all!
Stratos
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