Gimbol's diatribe and screed

The most unsurprising announcement ever

PET inducted into queer hall of fame

Nuff said.

Labels: beer and popcorn

posted by gimbol @ 8:14 AM 0 comments

Talkng point - election campaign (door knocking)

Before I go further I'd like to state that there are two items I want to see as platform.

1. A pledge to eliminate Chretien's vote subsidy.
2. Reform or remove the HRC's.

Now then, as to the subject matter. Should one of the candidates come knocking at my door be sure that my questions will be to find out what you want to do if your party forms a government. Not grand idea's and vague generalities, I want specifics.

Also know this, especially if you're a liberal candidate. I'll be asking which piece of legislation that the Harper government has passed, or was pending, that your party is opposed to. Do not say all of it, I'll remind you that the NDP and the Bloc where more than willing to vote against the government many times, but all those times you're party allowed those laws (which you say you oppose) to pass. So I'll ask again, please be specific, on which one of those laws you want to reverse that you think are so bad.

Is it raising the age of consent?

The GST cut, so you'll want to raise the GST then?

Elected Senators? You either want reform to be a big constitutional package like Charlottetown, or you like it just the way it is....so all that noise about Harper's senate appointments was just more flatulance?

I think you get the point.

BTW

One more thing I'd like to see in the next election. Is if Harper indicates that he is only willing to debate one representative of the opposition....and they can figure out which one gets to go head to head with him. Oh I can hear the accusations of divisive already. Here's the phsycological two by four that you'll get hit with. If you guys where willing to go into a coalition in the fall and have one leader speak for all of you, whats the problem now? If it happened I can just imagine the opposition tearing each other apart if Harper refused to relent. Want a bet the liberals will be hard pressed to justify to Bloc voters that they should speak for them.

The beauty of a suggestion like this is that the leaders debate is not held by law, its a tradition that the leaders have agreed to participate in. Thats the catch, they agree to be there, but they don't have to be there. The thing is run by the broadcasting consortium, and they negotiate with the leaders to arrange a debate.

Last time when Lizzie May demanded a spot, Harper almost refused. This time with the justification that only one representative of the coalition be present so that the odds are fair will have the opposition foaming at the mouth. What it could also do is cut off attempts by the liberals doing what they always do when the campaign comes apart at the seams and plead with the NDP to lead them their vote. It would definitely harden up the NDP base and not allow the liberals to raid it.

But hey, I'm just speculating. No truth in anything I've posted. Not one word.

Labels: beer and popcorn, May's little green monster, Quebec politics, the free lunch crowd at it again, useful idiots

posted by gimbol @ 3:32 PM 0 comments

The national media's past time - election watch

Before everyone gets gung ho about an election, I'd like to make one or two meager points.

The commons hasn't even sat, and the politicians will be wanting to test drive their narrative during QP. I fully expect Iggy to do some grandstanding, however if he's not careful Harper will end up giving him a wedgie.

Second point. To have an election, the liberals have to have the Bloc and the NDP on side. Two issues now make that more difficult for him to do that. Some of hte NDP and Bloc MP's may still be po'd at Iggy for dissing the coalition after they stuck their neck out, just as well there may be some lib MP's that will have a hard time holding their seat because they like Iggy went along with the rest of the lemmings and signed the damned thing. But I digress....if the NDP can manage to come away with something better than a blue ribbon panel on EI, Jack can stand before the microphones and say he got parliament to work. Iggy will be able to say he didn't back down, and the government keeps on.
Lets throw out another scenario. What if Jack and Gilles don't back down and tell canadians that though they never wanted an election, they don't want to support the government.
Then there's the other scenario, Harper chooses the hill on which his government will fall with a piece of legislation that the opposition has a hard time justifying voting against....like the reno credit. The liberals must then make some very tough choices, vote it down to save the rep of their leader, or vote in favour and watch Iggy get painted a wimp. Of course if the liberals say they can do better than this, its very hard to expect a leap of faith from voters when they force an election because they don't want a conservative government giving out tax breaks.
The conservatives need only remind voters about the track record of how many tax cuts the liberals promised to follow through on and the ones that Harper did follow through on.

Here's my prediction:
Harper is going to table a confidence motion before the liberals get to test run their talking points. Iggy will be pressured by just about anyone in the liberal braintrust and his MP's to back down on the election threat.
If he does, he loses any momentum he may have garnered and he also gets to wear the wimp moniker.
Busybodies, killjoys, and nancyboys

Labels: beer and popcorn

posted by gimbol @ 3:54 PM 0 comments

Talking point on Senate reform

The libs bitch about senate appointments. We can now presume that the LPC policy is that the Senate needs reform.
Please indicate which is liberal policy:

1. An LPC government would pursue constitutional reform and will meet with the premier's in a lockup until they cave and signed on. (like Meech with the same resounding success)
2. A liberal government will create a working group to travel across the country consulting Canadians after which a group of experts will publish a HUGE document that voters will get to vote on. (like Charlottetown, same success rate as above).
3. The liberal party favours the dynamic approach that the current government has choosen (but the liberal dominated senate has refused to pass three times).
4. The LPC really has no policy on senate reform. The liberals are just mad that they didn't get to appoint liberal partisan's and cronies to senate seats.

Labels: beer and popcorn

posted by gimbol @ 6:01 AM 0 comments

Things are getting better

Anyone else get the same idea when they heard Bill Clinton went to N Korea to pick up two asian ladies....and he did not have sexual relations with those two women.

How about how pissed Hillary got when some interpreter got a question wrong and asked what she thought her husband was thinking? Yep, two a.m. and the phone rings, who do you want answering it?

And later this week, the NDP will ditch the new from their party name and run Democrat candidates. This little tid-bit is getting some guffaws but as we all know how the lib-left in this country is all ga-ga over the US party of the same name and by extention its President, the chances that Jack will try to have a pic with him and the O so as to confuse the voters will have an impact on that demographic. Odds are it will get the libs in a fighting mood to make sure the name change doesn't poach some of the same voters they where going to try the same thing on.

Lastly, Harper is setting Iggy up just like he set up Dion. Throw out a debate in parliament that divides the liberal caucus between the blu-libs and the leftwing kook fringe that worships Trudeau ( that would be the Chretien-Martin divide).
Last time it was extending the Afghan mission the liberals sent us on, this time its to fix the refugee process the libs created.
Oppose it because they don't want it changed, or admit its broken and vote with the government. The DP and the Bloc will be voting agianst, that leaves Iggy ready to be tarred with the coalition moniker, or the guy that is afraid of an election.

Labels: beer and popcorn

posted by gimbol @ 6:06 PM 0 comments

todays post

Though I don't care for Obama's policies, I know in my heart he means well. What worries me though is the gang of carpet baggers surronding him. However, with all the blunders being made, I can't help but feel that his conversion to Regan conservatism is very near.

Iggy is walking into a minefield today when he has to start putting "meat on the bone" for the fair weather federalists and closet separatists in Quebec regarding the definition of nation. Advise for Iggy, keep an eye on Coderre, unless you want to see him replay the role of Lucien Bouchard.

Good move for Harper signalling that now is the time to get rid of the long gun registry.

Jean Charest, is an ass. Always was, always will be.

Warren Kinsella, has long passed his best before date. When he gets thrown off the bus, hopefully he takes the rest of the dead weight with him.

Lastly, haven't heard much of Sister Lizzie May of late. Wonder if she will show up at the lib convention? That would make an easy story for the MSM, and would add some excitement to that yawnfest.

Labels: beer and popcorn

posted by gimbol @ 9:27 AM 0 comments

Questions for liberals to ponder

If the pundits maintain your party has to "move to the center" and the perception currently is that the LPC is too far to the left, the assumption is made then that any move would be to the right.

So I ask, if the LPC is going to move to the right, what conservative principles do they agree with?

More importantly, whose support are they going to lose when they do so?
Ditch the carbon tax idea and lose what soft green vote they have?
Ditch the cradle to grave social program idealism and lose what soft NDP votes they still have?
Ditch judicial activism idealism and lose the support of those that want to remold the country in their image?

Frankly I already suspect its none of the above, which is why the talking point is "move to the center".
I know it, they know it, so you better believe its the elephant in the room. And because it is I look forward to a future political talk show where a well known liberal gets sandbagged with..."so if your party needs to change direction from where it is now, what would you do differently than the current government?"
I won't be too worried if I miss the live showing, it will get repeated when the CPC runs its next set of attack ads.

Labels: beer and popcorn, Liberal leadership race, May's little green monster

posted by gimbol @ 5:04 AM 0 comments

Why Harper's law and order platform closes the deal

More specifically it has to do with the promise to start naming young thugs that have by the grace of past liberal adminstrations, been able to maintain their anominity in the neighbourhoods they reside in.

It plays to the soccermoms that go to the ramparts whenever the authorities notify them a sexual offender has just moved into the neighbourhood. Presently the police are obligated to notify communities if a sex offender has moved in. I always knew when I was in my formative years that if I did something that my parents disagreed with that repercussions would be forthcoming if they found out, this also applies on the community scale.

What this does, is it allows parents the ability to protect their children from those that would do them harm, by having the ability to identify a credible threat. The opposition by denouncing this is merely reinforcing the "beer and popcorn" concept that they believe parents cannot raise their own children.

Like I've pointed out before, if the opposition ever got its way, in two election cycles liberal, NDP, and Green candidates will be attacking conservatives for trying to privatize childcare or creating a "two tier" system that allows parents to determine how their children are raised.

Speaking of which.

The conservative candidate in Paladeau might want to press the prince on how he and Sophie would react if they discovered a 14 year old serial sex pedophile was living nex door.

Labels: beer and popcorn

posted by gimbol @ 3:48 AM 0 comments

Why HRC cannot go negative

Because when (not if) she does, the republicans just sit back and take notes for the general election. Effectively what her negative attacks will do is excuse any republican attack on her.

The double edge sword is that the "experts" are now saying this is the only way she can win. So if she wins this way she can't whine about return fire during the general election. If she doesn't go on the attack, the general election won't be a mud slinging contest. Either way, Obama comes out smelling like a rose and she ends up with mud on her face.

Labels: beer and popcorn, principles and idealism

posted by gimbol @ 3:42 AM 0 comments

Working on a new list

Everybody does one of these.

I'll call it the top list of people that are damaging the liberal party.

So far they are.

Justin Trudeau - Because he thinks he's entitled to his dad's old job.

Micheal Ignatieff - Because he really isn't a liberal.

Bob Rae - Because he not only thinks he's entitled to lead the party, but also because he really isn't a liberal but a socialist.

Elizabeth May - Though she's not a liberal she is doing the damage that comes with being associated with them. Dion should do his party a favour and break the "agreement".

General cataegories are

Quebec Young Liberals - If there was any group that has more influence than it deserves I can't think of one. Its the behaviour of this group and how it will skew any position the party takes out to the far left, has convinced me that giving special party status to interest groups is a recipe for disaster. The LPC should seriously consider doing away with the delegated convention before the next leadership vote, otherwise they can treat themselves to a repeat of the least disliked candidate being the winner.

The media - The perception that these guys are in the tank for the liberal party can only have so much credability. The fact is that the media isn't interested in political allegiance as much as sensationalism. And frankly its always so much more shocking when a paragon of conservative ideaology is involved in a scandal than a liberal one because liberal ideology is basically to excuse all the behaviours that are considered scandalous. Once a behaviour is no longer considered scandalous the media tends to ignore it and go look elsewhere. But I digress, the point is that the media cannot be depended on to righteously trot out the liberal talking points like they once where. Frankly its much more sensational to report on the latest misstep of the opposition liberals than it is to report on a complicated story on a percieved wrongdoing the liberals want to use for their own partisan purposes.....worse so by the fact that its obvious why the liberals are doing it. No the media is no friend of the liberal party, they care only for their own.

Party bagmen- Their problem is they only support the meal ticket and not the party as a whole. Once this meal ticket is down and out they take their toys and go home, until the next sure thing comes along. the problem for liberals is twofold. One, when they don't have a golden boy or girl to hitch the wagon to they will be throwing brickbats at the current leadership if not providing the ammo. Secondly, there's a great many "hangers-on" that hold liberal memberships, and they inhabit one faction or another in the liberal party. Folks like these care less about the direction of the country, and more for whats in it for them. These are the folks the media likes to refer to as "anonyous source" and can always be depended on for the added content for the prewritten template.

KHS - And guys like him. These are the folks that liberals look at as the useful individual. The problem is that guys like Karl regard politicians as useful idiots. Nuff said, if Dion wants to regain some street cred, he needs to pull his caucus on the carpet next meeting and in no uncertain terms let it be known that this guy is poison ivy.


This is a preliminary list and will be refined when I can collect the quotable quotes and factual content. Seeing as the conventional limit set by the opposition is now 17 years there should be plenty to work with.

Labels: beer and popcorn

posted by gimbol @ 10:29 PM 0 comments

Remember when Harper warned the opposition about giving him justification about investigating past Prime Ministers?

They should be careful what they ask for.

"The long-delayed report examined a sample of 39 contracts signed in 2002-2003, during the last year of the Jean Chretien government and in the midst of the sponsorship scandal.
At the time, the Privy Council Office — home to the prime minister’s office and the centre of the public service — signed more than 3,000 contracts annually, worth $21 million."

They asked for it, they got it.

Labels: beer and popcorn, liberals

posted by gimbol @ 7:12 AM 0 comments

Christmas and Year end wrap up

First and fore most:

I'd like to wish a Merry Christmas to all, especially all those in Afghanistan fighting th egood fight against those who would subvert a religion for their own desires.
I'd also wish a merry christmas to those same enemies as its a christian thing to heap good will on your enemies, espcially now when they are going down in defeat at the hands of NATO troops.

Now on to the wrap up:

-Bitching about the timing of the by-elections isn't going to get the liberals any extra votes in ridings that are already overwhelmingly liberal. What you should be worried about is the NDP and the Greens spliting the vote. That and that the next budget doesn't provide the Harper government another chance to get the liberals to sit on their hands for a nonconfidence vote.

- Perhaps all you Mulroney haters might want to rethink that inquiry thing. You got your chance to make something stick to Harper and that fell flat. What's happened is that in your rush to convict your own personal demon, you've erased all the protections in the process. My prognostication is that when the good doctor Johnson tables his advice the liberals will be trying to find some way to show that Harper unduly influence the Dr's recomendations, which coincidentally will not help the liberal cause either.

- J Trudeau is not his father, unfortunately for liberals there are more than 50% of them that think he is. Trust me on this, the guy is a walking time bomb. Now that the fair warning was given by all means please annoint him leader once you get Dion pushed out of the big chair so we can be assured continuous conservative majority governments. Don't believe me? Here's teh test then. Would pompous, self-annointed elitist be a term that would describe the young prince or not?

-The economy might go sour and it might not, but if the demand for oil stays high Canada will weather the storm. Though the outcome will be a reallocation of wealth in this country from central to the east, west and north.

See you next year.

Labels: beer and popcorn

posted by gimbol @ 1:26 PM 0 comments

Duffy Live and At Issue

As I watched the two last night I have to remark on a couple of subjects.

First, Dion's remarks on raising the GST have caused more damage to the liberals than any CPC attack ad ever could. MHF's panicked response said more than the spin she was trying to put forth.

Second, to liberals the thought of having a referendum on the senate has them in full damage control. It became obvious when senator Baker couldn't answer yes or no to whether he was in favour of reforming the senate. As an aside, to those that think it can't be don't due to the amending formula, think again. If a referendum result went contrary to what certain premiers where advocating (yes Dalton thats you), would they suddenly be more favourable to reform instead of abolishion? Also, Quebec you are only one province, so saying it can't be done without your say so is only true in light of the amending formula? The whole story is that the 50%-7 province rule is what decides, not one province (like Quebec) alone.

Third, the only ones feeding the rumour that the government wants to fire Rick Hillier are the ones reporting it, coughCBCcough. Here's a rumour I'll start to counter your stupid story.
Harper wants to make Hillier the next GG, because he wants a Commander in Chief that has actually commanded the troops. Why? Because he wants the appointment to be less about political correctness, and more about legitimacy as a head of state. Of course unlike Mansbridge, I'm not pretending my story is anything but a rumour.

Labels: beer and popcorn

posted by gimbol @ 3:44 AM 0 comments

Is that beer and popcorn I smelll?

I wonder if Warren will be sending a libel chilll missive to Kate soon?

The liberals may want to make school funding the election issue but unfortunately its about Caledonia.

Big h/t to all the folks running with this story and especially CHCH for standing its ground.

Labels: beer and popcorn

posted by gimbol @ 9:19 PM 0 comments