Hang the bastards, hang them high.

Give it a couple of weeks for what he's done to sink in...

/Bush was at 90%

Well, a REAL country wouldn't have some nanny giving their legislature a time out.

Canadia - still just a Brit colony.

I found this Facebook group's writeup pretty amusing:


We don't know anything about Parliamentary Democracy, but we know that Stephen Harper won the election to be Prime Minister, and that means that if anyone else is prime minister, that's undemocratic.

Here's a good example - Imagine if it's your birthday party, and you want to order pizza. You and 36% of the invitees want pepperoni (Conservative). But 10% want bacon (Bloc), 17% want pineapple (NDP) and 30% want ham(Libs). So pepperoni wins right?

No! The other people at the party decide they would rather have bacon, pinapple and ham pizza. So they team up against you and they ruin your birthday.

Even worse, the bacon people want to burn down your house, and the pineapple people want to make you share your presents.

That's not fair, that's not democracy.

This is clearly an attempt to subvert democracy, by allowing the majority of Parliament to overthrow the Government. Parliament should not have the right to tell the Government what to do. Who elected them anyway? Separatists and Socialists, that's who!

There is absolutely no precedent for a minority government to be replaced by a coalition government, or at least, I can't remember one, and I'm almost twenty nine years old. And I don't have to look in a history book to tell you it's UNDEMOCRATIC!!!

For the Liberals and the NDP and The Bloc to team up, against the Conservatives, they should get together as a party called the New Liberal Bloc, and win an election. THOSE ARE THE RULES

TheOther: Well, a REAL country wouldn't have some nanny giving their legislature a time out.

Who is this Nanny (pops) you speak of?

56 per cent of poll respondents suggested they'd rather head to the polls again than see the coalition form a government

Did the conservatives win the last election only because they weren't the other guys?

I hope subby is being sarcastic...

Regardless of your political leanings, the proposed coalition in no way constituted a "coup," or anything remotely illegal.

Personally, while I voted left, I'd have preferred to see Harper stay in power and deal with the situation like a man rather than take his ball and go home. Why the guy can't just accept what he's got and learn to govern effectively with a minority I don't know.

Jean should have told everyone to STFU and GBTW. Instead, we get to see everyone whine and complain through attack ads and TV spots for the next 7 weeks, followed by the same shiat again when the prorogue is over.

TheOther: Well, a REAL country wouldn't have some nanny giving their legislature a time out.

So how much time did your tard-in-charge spend on `vacation' at his Texas ranch? Hmmmmmmm?

I'll just leave this here

oldfarthenry: TheOther: Well, a REAL country wouldn't have some nanny giving their legislature a time out.

So how much time did your tard-in-charge spend on `vacation' at his Texas ranch? Hmmmmmmm?

Clearly not enough.

oldfarthenry: So how much time did your tard-in-charge spend on `vacation' at his Texas ranch? Hmmmmmmm?

Yah, I forgot our ruler was appointed by the Saudi's. Damn! eh?

I like how they explained the margin and p-value in such layman's terms. Cute. But stupid.

Snarfangel: So how much time did your tard-in-charge spend on `vacation' at his Texas ranch? Hmmmmmmm?

Clearly not enough.

Beat me to it.

So why did the pro-coalition rallies across the country have nearly twice as many people at them than the anti-coalition rallies?

strathcona: So why did the pro-coalition rallies across the country have nearly twice as many people at them than the anti-coalition rallies?

Coalition supporters don't have jobs.

/relax, I'm kidding

TheSpaceAdmiral: I found this Facebook group's writeup pretty amusing:

No, a better analogy is... (americanized for our southern friends)

10 people are going out to lunch in a mini-van. 4 of them want to go to Cracker Barrel, 2 of them want Denny's, 2 want Ruby Tuesday's (for the salad bar) and 2 want Waffle House. The six that didn't want Cracker Barrel decide to compromise on McDonald's and head to the parking lot to take the minivan. The Cracker Barrel group says f*ck that and flushes the car keys down the toilet. Now everyone has to wait until the plumber shows up.

peck: 10 people are going out to lunch in a mini-van. 4 of them want to go to Cracker Barrel, 2 of them want Denny's, 2 want Ruby Tuesday's (for the salad bar) and 2 want Waffle House. The six that didn't want Cracker Barrel decide to compromise on McDonald's and head to the parking lot to take the minivan. The Cracker Barrel group says f*ck that and flushes the car keys down the toilet. Now everyone has to wait until the plumber shows up.

BWAHAHAHA... well done!

/Your snark-fu is strong today.

TheSpaceAdmiral: /relax, I'm kidding

No, really?

:)

peck: Waffle House

Well now I want Waffle House. Biscuits and gravy from Denny's just ain't the same, and that's the only place I can get'em here.

Hey Canadians, help me out here. Is Harper basically going to the Queen of England to help him avoid a no-confidence vote as huge a deal as it seems?

It seems the whole "group of minority parties forming a coalition is undemocratic!!!" thing is highly stupid when an unelected monarch is interfering on behalf of the Conservatives.

strathcona: Well now I want Waffle House.

So...you're Bloc?

Cagey B: It seems the whole "group of minority parties forming a coalition is undemocratic!!!" thing is highly stupid when an unelected monarch is interfering on behalf of the Conservatives.

... in order to stop from being voted (in Parliament) from power... but the Left is undemocratic.

As a leader, Stevie's days are numbered. The sharks have begun circling.

Cagey B: It seems the whole "group of minority parties forming a coalition is undemocratic!!!" thing is highly stupid when an unelected monarch is interfering on behalf of the Conservatives.

1) It's not undemocratic, it's highly democratic. To go back to my 10 people in a mini-van analogy, when the 6 were divided into 3 groups of 2, the majority consensus was the 4 who wanted to go to Cracker Barrel. But once the other 6 "merged", they now represent the majority.

2) The Queen is not involved, the Governor General is. (Yes, the GG used to work for the Queen, but not anymore, since 1982) That appointed post is a procedural buck-stops-here position. The GG provides the check/balance to ensure the gov't follows constitutional rules and is pretty limited in her options. Her primary goal is to maintain a stable gov't. By granting prorougue, she allows the sitting gov't to have a chance to get it's act together and provide continuity. If there had been a vote of no-confidence, you can bet she would have given gov't to the coalition instead of calling an election.

/mmm...chicken fried steak...

peck: So...you're Bloc?

Well Duceppe is probably the smartest pol of the 4 party leaders.

strathcona: Well Duceppe is probably the smartest pol of the 4 party leaders.

What does that have to do with the far more important issue of biscuits and gravy?

peck: What does that have to do with the far more important issue of biscuits and gravy?

And on that note, I'm off to Tim's.

Cagey B: It seems the whole "group of minority parties forming a coalition is undemocratic!!!" thing is highly stupid when an unelected monarch is interfering on behalf of the Conservatives.

Still, a black woman being in charge, in the place of the white woman who is the owner, is cool. Throw in the black guy being chosen to take over next month in the US and it's been a pretty bad Q4 for Bigotry, Inc.

strathcona: So why did the pro-coalition rallies across the country have nearly twice as many people at them than the anti-coalition rallies?

I saw a ton of union signs there. I guess the NDP told their base to come out or their dues would go up.

hahawinnipeg: strathcona: So why did the pro-coalition rallies across the country have nearly twice as many people at them than the anti-coalition rallies?

I saw a ton of union signs there. I guess the NDP told their base to come out or their dues would go up.

The pro-co rally in Halifax was right next to the ongoing postal workers strike. That was no mistake.

Tr0mBoNe: The pro-co rally in Halifax was right next to the ongoing postal workers strike. That was no mistake.

They should have held the pro-co rallies in front of EI offices, they would have had an even larger turnout.

:)

Interesting article, but an election will not be held today. It'll be held months from now, if at all. In that time, the Liberals will be forced to choose a new leader and that alone will be worth a major swing towards their total. In addition to this, when Quebecers are forced to take a long hard look at what's happened, we'll either see increased Bloc MPs or, hopefully, a Liberal resurgence in the province. I'm inclined to say that in the last few weeks Harper has consolidated the Bloc's power in Quebec to unassailable levels.

In any case, yes, an election today would mean a runaway Conservative victory. An election in a few months... be careful what you wish for.

The question is:

Is this going to slow down or hurt the BC bud industry?

TheSpaceAdmiral: strathcona: So why did the pro-coalition rallies across the country have nearly twice as many people at them than the anti-coalition rallies?

Coalition supporters don't have jobs.

/relax, I'm kidding

*ROFL* :)

/Coalition support, currently jobless (thanks Dell!)

Cagey B: Hey Canadians, help me out here. Is Harper basically going to the Queen of England to help him avoid a no-confidence vote as huge a deal as it seems?

Yes. Votes of no-confidence are built into our system specifically to prevent 8-years-of-Bush scenarios. When a government party goes too far, that power gets removed.

But when the PM himself can evade such votes by abusing procedure, you get the mess we find ourselves in now.

It seems the whole "group of minority parties forming a coalition is undemocratic!!!" thing is highly stupid when an unelected monarch is interfering on behalf of the Conservatives.

That said, the GG isn't interfering. The GG accepts the requests of the PM unless there's a very pressing reason not to. (The last time a GG did so, it triggered a constitutional crisis (See King/Byng).

The GG was backed into a very bad position. No matter what she decided, it would have been a technical violation of the intent of her role. I'm not convinced she made the wrong choice, given the trio of shiat sandwitches she'd been given. This one may have been the thinnest.

Don't blame GG Jean. Harper put her into that spot.

peck: The Queen is not involved, the Governor General is.

Though, to get really picky: if the Queen had happened to have been vacationing in Canada yesterday, she'd have been involved.

It's one of the reasons why she never visits Commonwealth countries during elections and political spats, because otherwise she becomes the one who has to get involved.

Tr0mBoNe: hahawinnipeg: strathcona: So why did the pro-coalition rallies across the country have nearly twice as many people at them than the anti-coalition rallies?

I saw a ton of union signs there. I guess the NDP told their base to come out or their dues would go up.

The pro-co rally in Halifax was right next to the ongoing postal workers strike. That was no mistake.

Well as one of the striking postal workers, I know that in Ottawa the union paid for buses to take 'em to Parliament Hill for the rally.

Me I'm staying at home until this strike gets resolved.

MooseUpNorth 2008-12-05 01:15:43 PM
"The GG was backed into a very bad position. No matter what she decided, it would have been a technical violation of the intent of her role. I'm not convinced she made the wrong choice, given the trio of shiat sandwitches she'd been given. This one may have been the thinnest.

Don't blame GG Jean. Harper put her into that spot."

A great big: THIS.

g026r: Though, to get really picky: if the Queen had happened to have been vacationing in Canada yesterday, she'd have been involved.

Really? I'm no constitutional lawyer (IANACL), but I thought as of 1982, Her Highness is out of the loop entirely.

Of course, I also believe that biscuits should be served with white gravy.

Whidbey, you ask the questions that matter. I sure hope not.

BergZ: MooseUpNorth 2008-12-05 01:15:43 PM
"The GG was backed into a very bad position. No matter what she decided, it would have been a technical violation of the intent of her role. I'm not convinced she made the wrong choice, given the trio of shiat sandwitches she'd been given. This one may have been the thinnest.

Don't blame GG Jean. Harper put her into that spot."

A great big: THIS.

I third this message.

peck: Cagey B: It seems the whole "group of minority parties forming a coalition is undemocratic!!!" thing is highly stupid when an unelected monarch is interfering on behalf of the Conservatives.

1) It's not undemocratic, it's highly democratic. To go back to my 10 people in a mini-van analogy, when the 6 were divided into 3 groups of 2, the majority consensus was the 4 who wanted to go to Cracker Barrel. But once the other 6 "merged", they now represent the majority.

A majority consists of 50% plus 1. When you have 4 of 10 being the largest group, that is called a "plurality" not a majority. Just FYI. There would be no majority if no group has over 50%.

peck: eally? I'm no constitutional lawyer (IANACL), but I thought as of 1982, Her Highness is out of the loop entirely.

I'm running off memory, so it's equally likely I could be wrong. (Likewise IANACL, though I'm beginning to think it might be fun.) From what I recall, if she's present in the country than she's the one who opens/prorogues/dissolves parliament, and whatnot.

I think the pizza ordering analogy would have worked better if the 4/10 insisted on ordering it with cheese and the other 6/10 were all lactose intolerant.

The bully finally pushed the other kids enough that they ganged up on him, nothing more.

Pechorin: When you have 4 of 10 being the largest group, that is called a "plurality" not a majority

You sir, are absolutely correct. I salute your revision. Cudos and huzzah.

g026r: if she's present in the country than she's the one who opens/prorogues/dissolves parliament, and whatnot.

Ya know, I think I remember her opening parliment a few years back during one of her visits, so you may just be right. She was all up in the big chair, leg flopped over the arm rest hanging with a fattie, lookin' all chill and sh-t...

whidbey: The question is:

Is this going to slow down or hurt the BC bud industry?

Hellz no.

Ah hell. I want to be the guy who knocks on the doors of Parliament with that big-ass ornate caber each session.

We need a Nate Silver to help break down the polls. I've seen a few polls right now, but they all leave quite a lot of questions unanswered.

Is the support distributed evenly accross the country?
What has been the effect of Harper's rhetoric on Quebec?
Would you support a different party if it had a different leader?

For my money, those numbers would change significantly if Dion and Harper got the boot. I also haven't seen a lot of informed opinion in papers like the Sun (hardly surprising), just rah-rah coalition bad.

As it stands now, if a confidence motion happens end of January and is successful, I'd think the more likely option would be another election. I also think that Dion will be gone be the time parliament resumes (although the Liberals continue to defy reason, so who knows). Harper will stay on until the budget, but if it fails, he will resign.

Harper may have farked up the chances of a stable government in Quebec. Charest was on his way to a comfortable majority. Now, the PQ seem poised to get a significant chunk of power.