Beneath Jack Layton's moustache, there is only socialism.

I believe that if you look up the phrase "sh*t eating grin" there would be a picture of Finance Minister Flaherty.

I really do hope he doesn't get cancer and die a slow, painful, lingering death... I really do.

/_{... not really}

This is stupid, Canada isn't even a real country.

The RIchest Man in Babylon: This is stupid, Canada isn't even a real country.

This has got to be the funniest, most original post I have ever seen on Fark. So witty and insightful...

Seriously... did you come up with it all on your own... your parents must be SO PROUD!!!!!

/Please say something funny again. I long to hear your rapier wit.

I didn't even realize Bananada had conservatives. Thought they were all fundie left wing Chomksy loving filthy hippies.

OlafTheBent: your parents must be SO PROUD!!!!!

I thought you guys cursed in French. And is it true your mom was a Sasquatch?

goeniegoegoe: I didn't even realize Bananada had conservatives. Thought they were all fundie left wing Chomksy loving filthy hippies.

Those are the Conservatives.

goeniegoegoe: I thought you guys cursed in French. And is it true your mom was a Sasquatch?

Mom was a grizzly... Dad was a Sasquatch

co-conspirator: goeniegoegoe: I didn't even realize Bananada had conservatives. Thought they were all fundie left wing Chomksy loving filthy hippies.

Those are the Conservatives.

Indeed... but they felt that taking over the banks and financial institutions was a bit too Socialist.

That's why I love the USA. You guys would never do a Commie pinko thing like that eh?

/... eh?... is this mic on?

OlafTheBent: The RIchest Man in Babylon: This is stupid, Canada isn't even a real country.

This has got to be the funniest, most original post I have ever seen on Fark. So witty and insightful...

Seriously... did you come up with it all on your own... your parents must be SO PROUD!!!!!

/Please say something funny again. I long to hear your rapier wit.

Jeez, who pissed in your poutine, eh?

j/k
don't hurt me
not the face!!

Yo, a-holes! Seething Steve Harp-on-your-ass here and boy, am I pissed off!
Why - I'm so cheesed that I'm going to Layton's office washroom and clogging his toilet with this kitty.
Grrrrrrrrr-* (Fiddlesticks, I sharted myself!)

For cryin out loud, you Canucks need to get over yourselves. Someone may notice if you keep on misbehaving.

TheOther: not the face!!

Congrats, opposition. It took you, what-2 months to break your pledge to work together and make Parliament function this time around?

/getting pissed off with this Parliament. Not any one party-all of them

Jack Layton and the Video professor: separated at birth?

The last time we formed a coalition government (1917-20), we got to conscript the French.

So it can't be all bad.

/kidding!

Pfftt.

It's Canada. Like anyone cares.

Loud_Mouth_Soup: Congrats, opposition. It took you, what-2 months to break your pledge to work together and make Parliament function this time around?

/getting pissed off with this Parliament. Not any one party-all of them

You are blaming the OPPOSITION for this? They didn't include the poison pill in this update, Harper did.

This is the second thing the Tories have done to specifically financially kill the Liberals. Historically, Liberals have had good solid financial support, because they got money from rich people and corporations, as well as some unions. Harper tightened the screws hard on that - no corporate, no union donations, and down to $1000 max donation. The counterbalance to that was supposed to be this public financing. If you get rid of the financing, you have to let them raise some money the other way.

The Opposition CAN'T let this pass - they won't be able to afford to fight elections. It takes time to build up the grassroots and the Liberals, being so centrist and unextreme, has so few hot button topics to fire up the troops, have a hard time with grassroots. It is hard to get excited about plain, boring good government.

sepuku2: For cryin out loud, you Canucks need to get over yourselves. Someone may notice if you keep on misbehaving.

And then we'll have to liberate them.

"Oh noes! The government is heading toward it's first deficit in 13 years!"

"Okay, howsabout we cut back on spending instead of spending even more?"

"I HATE YOU! I WANT YOU DEAD! I WANT YOUR FAMILY DEAD! I WANT YOUR HOUSE BURNED TO THE GROUND!"


Under the thin veneer of Canadian politeness, politics is just as stupid on this side of the border as it is in the States.

OldGrover: It takes time to build up the grassroots and the Liberals, being so centrist and unextreme, has so few hot button topics to fire up the troops, have a hard time with grassroots. It is hard to get excited about plain, boring good government.

Not to mention that after years of diverting federal money back into their coffers using scam sponsorships, they don't even know how to raise money legitimately, regardless of the blandness of their message.

OldGrover: Harper tightened the screws hard on that - no corporate, no union donations, and down to $1000 max donation.

I was under the impression that this subsidy was brought in by one of the Liberal governments, but I'm not 100% sure.

NYZooMan: Pfftt.

It's Canada. Like anyone cares.

Pfftt - $2 million per minute in trade between the US & Canada!
Pfftt - Canada supplies most of your import energy!
Pfftt - I can make a condescending noise like a douche-bag!
Pfftt - Hey! It sounds like a fart! How amusing!

OldGrover: Loud_Mouth_Soup: Congrats, opposition. It took you, what-2 months to break your pledge to work together and make Parliament function this time around?

/getting pissed off with this Parliament. Not any one party-all of them

You are blaming the OPPOSITION for this? They didn't include the poison pill in this update, Harper did.

This is the second thing the Tories have done to specifically financially kill the Liberals. Historically, Liberals have had good solid financial support, because they got money from rich people and corporations, as well as some unions. Harper tightened the screws hard on that - no corporate, no union donations, and down to $1000 max donation. The counterbalance to that was supposed to be this public financing. If you get rid of the financing, you have to let them raise some money the other way.

The Opposition CAN'T let this pass - they won't be able to afford to fight elections. It takes time to build up the grassroots and the Liberals, being so centrist and unextreme, has so few hot button topics to fire up the troops, have a hard time with grassroots. It is hard to get excited about plain, boring good government.

Find the most charismatic guy you can. You only really need one, but make it a good one. Let him lead the charge. Charismatic liberals are damn near unbeatable.

The Liberals are privately livid about the decision to end the funding. However, they were cautioned at their emergency caucus Thursday morning to focus on the economy and job losses rather than the subsidy to political parties. The Conservatives are better than the other parties at raising donations from the grassroots. Mr. Layton called the package on the vote subsidy an attack on democracy.

Not providing artificial life support to parties that can't light a fire under voters well enough to raise funds is an attack on democracy?

Flab: OldGrover: It takes time to build up the grassroots and the Liberals, being so centrist and unextreme, has so few hot button topics to fire up the troops, have a hard time with grassroots. It is hard to get excited about plain, boring good government.

Not to mention that after years of diverting federal money back into their coffers using scam sponsorships, they don't even know how to raise money legitimately, regardless of the blandness of their message.

The sponsorship scandal was mostly about Liberals lining their own pockets, not the pockets of the party, I'm afraid. Not significant bucks to the party. It really is the lack of corporate donations and rich people donations.

Let's face it - there are a lot fewer right wing people in Canada, but they all, if they donate, will donate to the Tories. Hard core left wingers will go Green or NDP. It takes moderates like me to donate to the Liberals, but it is a hard message to push - what can we use? Tories have religion, Greens have environment, NDP have anti-corporate rhetoric - Liberals just have "we'll be prudent". Not nearly as easy to get excited about.

goeniegoegoe: I didn't even realize Bananada had conservatives. Thought they were all fundie left wing Chomksy loving filthy hippies.

To be fair, Harper is probably, in his heart, well to the right of Barack Obama. Yet, even if both were in power in eight years, Harper would still have same-sex marriage and universal healthcare. Obama would still have a military much more expensive than every other military on the planet combined. Such things don't change.

The fact that the entire government could change without a vote is an interesting quirk of parliamentary systems, though. I'm trying to remember... has that ever happened in Canada (except King/Byng)?

OldGrover: Harper tightened the screws hard on that - no corporate, no union donations, and down to $1000 max donation.

I was right, it came into force in 2004 when Paul Martin, a *gasp* Liberal, was PM.

GooberMcFly: OldGrover: Harper tightened the screws hard on that - no corporate, no union donations, and down to $1000 max donation.

I was under the impression that this subsidy was brought in by one of the Liberal governments, but I'm not 100% sure.

It was, but with a limit of $5000 for individuals. Harper dropped it to $1100 (which includes things like conference fees and such, so anyone who goes to the Liberal Leadership Conference, for instance, can't donate the full amount to the party for its warchest).

That disproportionately hurt the Liberals, because they depended on fewer donors donating more.

Son of Thunder:
Not providing artificial life support to parties that can't light a fire under voters well enough to raise funds is an attack on democracy?

In Jack's green-and-orange-sky world it is. I've always had an issue with providing taxpayer money to poltical parties based on the number of votes you get. Hell, just giving them taxpayer money, period.

Raise it yourself.

Gosling: OldGrover: Loud_Mouth_Soup: Congrats, opposition. It took you, what-2 months to break your pledge to work together and make Parliament function this time around?

/getting pissed off with this Parliament. Not any one party-all of them

You are blaming the OPPOSITION for this? They didn't include the poison pill in this update, Harper did.

This is the second thing the Tories have done to specifically financially kill the Liberals. Historically, Liberals have had good solid financial support, because they got money from rich people and corporations, as well as some unions. Harper tightened the screws hard on that - no corporate, no union donations, and down to $1000 max donation. The counterbalance to that was supposed to be this public financing. If you get rid of the financing, you have to let them raise some money the other way.

The Opposition CAN'T let this pass - they won't be able to afford to fight elections. It takes time to build up the grassroots and the Liberals, being so centrist and unextreme, has so few hot button topics to fire up the troops, have a hard time with grassroots. It is hard to get excited about plain, boring good government.

Find the most charismatic guy you can. You only really need one, but make it a good one. Let him lead the charge. Charismatic liberals are damn near unbeatable.

Yep. Iggy ain't bad. I'm glad he didn't win the last time around (I honestly do think Dion would have made a fantastic prime minister - he just made a lousy candidate), but now he's been in Canada, been in Parliament, for the last few years. He's made the connections he needed to, Canadians have seen him in Parliament, seen him speak...

It'll be interesting in a few more years - Justin Trudeau has some of that charisma of his father, without some of the controversy. But in the current generation, Iggy will be the man and he'll be more charismatic than Harper or Layton, at least.

Selling assets in a down economy is just stupid. You will not get a good price, since those assets belong to the taxpayer it is the taxpayer who is losing.

The problem with the Harper gov't (as I posted much earlier in the CDN election thread) is that they honestly don't believe that the government should do ANYTHING, even when the reality starts to show that the gov't should do anything they'd cannot admit that to themselves.

They screwed our relationship with China over ideology, which is now hurting Canada as the USA sinks into recession. They also screwed Ontario a lot in favour of the oil rich west, and now as oil sinks to 40 bucks a BBL that is hurting Canada as well because no part of the country is doing well.

Now they refuse to discuss a fiscal package (it doesn't have to be on the order of the US or European one) because it goes against what they believe. That said Canada can afford to start fixing bridges and roads and for gods sake, our telecommunications infrastructure in on par with Africa. When I got back from Japan I felt like I had come to a third world nation.

I'd love to see them fall. Getting a coalition government might not be a bad thing right now. The Liberals are actually a pretty fiscally conservative group, and have shown the ability to fix a fiscal mess, whereas the Tories haven't.

Loud_Mouth_Soup: Son of Thunder:
Not providing artificial life support to parties that can't light a fire under voters well enough to raise funds is an attack on democracy?

In Jack's green-and-orange-sky world it is. I've always had an issue with providing taxpayer money to poltical parties based on the number of votes you get. Hell, just giving them taxpayer money, period.

Raise it yourself.

Fine, but then reverse the rules on them raising it! Basically, the Tories are trying to make the only way to raise money be the way they are the best at, while making sure no other source is available. That's not good for democracy.

Can we get a charismatic visible minority to run in our next Canuckian election? OOO - and a good-looking yet hopelessly clueless redneck female, too? Also, a dithering old white dude who f**ks up at every turn? - Wait, we have tonnes *snert* of those!

GooberMcFly: OldGrover: Harper tightened the screws hard on that - no corporate, no union donations, and down to $1000 max donation.

I was right, it came into force in 2004 when Paul Martin, a *gasp* Liberal, was PM.

See above - Paul Martin's levels were $5000/individual, Harper dropped them to $1100/individual. Significant for the Liberals, insignificant for the Tories.

I'm sure Canadians are snickering left and right.

Me, I don't get it, and summarily ignore everything on this thread except LOLpics with boobs in em

OldGrover: The sponsorship scandal was mostly about Liberals lining their own pockets, not the pockets of the party, I'm afraid. Not significant bucks to the party.

I'm not that versed in the sponsorship scandal, but from what i remember, the people caught were doing the "one for you, one for me..." thing with the money they got printing Canada tuques and organizing the opening ceremony at the Rimouski Olympic Stadium, and pumping some of that moeny back into the Lib coffers.

If the NDP and Liberals want to form a government with the separatists, good luck to them.

OldGrover: Justin Trudeau

Not now. He may eventually become a good politician, but for the moment, he's Palin-esque in his inexperience and has nothing to offer other than his good looks and his father's name.

wilde_at_heart: Jack Layton and the Video professor: separated at birth?

You don't realize how shiatty we pay our politicians. He IS The Video Professor.

OldGrover: GooberMcFly: OldGrover: Harper tightened the screws hard on that - no corporate, no union donations, and down to $1000 max donation.

I was right, it came into force in 2004 when Paul Martin, a *gasp* Liberal, was PM.

See above - Paul Martin's levels were $5000/individual, Harper dropped them to $1100/individual. Significant for the Liberals, insignificant for the Tories.

That's because more people who vote for the tories have jobs and are not lazy socialist students/freeloaders. :-) You know it's true.

Basically they're upset because the tories want to tighten the screws and the only thing the others can promise the people is to spend tax dollars on them (to no end). If that's not buying votes I don't know what is.

tombotia: Basically they're upset because the tories want to tighten the screws and the only thing the others can promise the people is to spend tax dollars on them (to no end). If that's not buying votes I don't know what is.

I'm upset because if I wanted to live under a US style government I'd try to move to the US. Most Canadians feel that way too. If not for the sponsorship scandal, Harper wouldn't have served even one term as PM.

If I was Layton I'd be lining up to support this. He can take over the left side of the house. It'll clobber the Green, the Bloc and the Libs. The NDP has a fair amount of true believers so while it'd be tight, they'd do okay.

Flab: OldGrover: The sponsorship scandal was mostly about Liberals lining their own pockets, not the pockets of the party, I'm afraid. Not significant bucks to the party.

I'm not that versed in the sponsorship scandal, but from what i remember, the people caught were doing the "one for you, one for me..." thing with the money they got printing Canada tuques and organizing the opening ceremony at the Rimouski Olympic Stadium, and pumping some of that moeny back into the Lib coffers.

Not a huge amount of money, though, compared to the warchests needed to fight the election. Yes, it was a bad thing, but it wasn't the difference between then and now as far as money.

If this goes through, I hope Gilles Duceppe becomes PM.

Flab: OldGrover: Justin Trudeau

Not now. He may eventually become a good politician, but for the moment, he's Palin-esque in his inexperience and has nothing to offer other than his good looks and his father's name.

Agreed. He's gaining experience and he sounds good, but he's nowhere nearly ready for anything yet. And he's smart enough to realize it too, which is good.

Personally I'm kind of excited about this. The Conservatives just come back with their government and decide to try and piss everyone off hoping the Liberals would blink like last time and just not vote in protest, allowing the bill to pass. But the Liberals know that hurt them in the last election. They also know that if the Governemnt was defeated and we went to another election already the electorate would be PISSED. So, coalition government instead. It's perfect for those of us on the left side of the aisle. The Liberals will moderate the NDP and the NDP will push for some much needed spending on key areas. I sort of hope steve sticks to hus guns just so we can all laugh when he gets booted out of Sussex drive.

And the fact that Dion will need to step down and the Liberal Party declare it's leader (which looks like it will be Ignatieff) works out nicely as well.

trackerbri: If I was Layton I'd be lining up to support this. He can take over the left side of the house. It'll clobber the Green, the Bloc and the Libs. The NDP has a fair amount of true believers so while it'd be tight, they'd do okay.

Figures I've seen is that it'd cut the NDPs budget by something like 60%, slightly less for the Liberals, more for the Greens and Bloc. Tory figure is about 35%.

trackerbri: If I was Layton I'd be lining up to support this. He can take over the left side of the house. It'll clobber the Green, the Bloc and the Libs. The NDP has a fair amount of true believers so while it'd be tight, they'd do okay.

And really, what would be better than a ruling Liberal party forced to vet their decisions against a closely scrutinizing NDP? It's like a majority government with a private investigator on it's tail 24/7.

/Hell, we got socialized medicine under a Liberal/NDP coalition gov't.

entropic_existence: Personally I'm kind of excited about this. The Conservatives just come back with their government and decide to try and piss everyone off hoping the Liberals would blink like last time and just not vote in protest, allowing the bill to pass. But the Liberals know that hurt them in the last election. They also know that if the Governemnt was defeated and we went to another election already the electorate would be PISSED. So, coalition government instead. It's perfect for those of us on the left side of the aisle. The Liberals will moderate the NDP and the NDP will push for some much needed spending on key areas. I sort of hope steve sticks to hus guns just so we can all laugh when he gets booted out of Sussex drive.

And the fact that Dion will need to step down and the Liberal Party declare it's leader (which looks like it will be Ignatieff) works out nicely as well.

It does have potential to be exciting for us Canadian political junkies :)