Lazy Blogging Alert
One of the drawbacks to the entire leadership process is that I'm now way behind on school work and with finals this week that means you'll have to look elsewhere for insightful and/or entertaining blog materials.
So, instead, I'm going to do the lazy blogging thing and just slap up links to various Globe & Mail stories with comments like "this is an interesting story" or "this is an interesting idea". Enjoy!
-This is an interesting story; The opposition is threatening to pull the plug over Afghanistan. I must say, I'm looking forward to the daily election speculation we're sure to see in the new year. It'll bring back fond memories of pretty much all of 2005 when every time Jack Layton sneezed, it was interpreted as a sign an election was imminent.
On the same topic, I'd wager money that once the new critic portfolios are handed out, Michael Ignatieff doesn't find himself in foreign affairs. Just a hunch.
-This is an interesting story on the unraveling political career of Andre Boisclair. Were PQ members stoned when they picked this guy? Everyone keeps saying that Stephen Harper is Jean Charest's best chance at re-election but I tend to think it's Mr. Boisclair.
-This is an...umm..."interesting" story on the Cape Breton separation movement. Maybe they can get advice from Jerry Boyle.
-Gordon Gibson proposes the interesting idea of going to a preferential ballot for elections. Makes sense to me. It'd remove some of the silly strategic voting strategies we're forced to employ and would ensure that MPs command the support of a majority of voters in their riding.
-Cindy Klassen is Canada's athlete of the year. What an interesting choice.
So, instead, I'm going to do the lazy blogging thing and just slap up links to various Globe & Mail stories with comments like "this is an interesting story" or "this is an interesting idea". Enjoy!
-This is an interesting story; The opposition is threatening to pull the plug over Afghanistan. I must say, I'm looking forward to the daily election speculation we're sure to see in the new year. It'll bring back fond memories of pretty much all of 2005 when every time Jack Layton sneezed, it was interpreted as a sign an election was imminent.
On the same topic, I'd wager money that once the new critic portfolios are handed out, Michael Ignatieff doesn't find himself in foreign affairs. Just a hunch.
-This is an interesting story on the unraveling political career of Andre Boisclair. Were PQ members stoned when they picked this guy? Everyone keeps saying that Stephen Harper is Jean Charest's best chance at re-election but I tend to think it's Mr. Boisclair.
-This is an...umm..."interesting" story on the Cape Breton separation movement. Maybe they can get advice from Jerry Boyle.
-Gordon Gibson proposes the interesting idea of going to a preferential ballot for elections. Makes sense to me. It'd remove some of the silly strategic voting strategies we're forced to employ and would ensure that MPs command the support of a majority of voters in their riding.
-Cindy Klassen is Canada's athlete of the year. What an interesting choice.
posted by calgarygrit at
8:43 p.m.
11 Comments:
I am in favour of Cape Breton's separation, but on the condition that the referendum question not include any mention of a "partnership" with Nova Scotia. Sydney could use a nice legislature to make its downtown slightly less unattractive, though, admittedly, it's still nicer than Saint John...
By
JG, at 9:41 p.m.
My mother's family is from Cape Breton, and they have a framed version of an old editorial cartoon that shows a band of kilt-wearing Cape Bretoners guarding the Canso Causeway, with a sign reading "We Will Defend Our Sovereignty To The End;" however, there's no one on the other side of the causeway, and one of the guards says "Do you get the feeling that nobody cares?"
By
IslandLiberal, at 9:56 p.m.
What's wrong with Cindy Klassen for the Lou Marsh?
By
jonathan, at 10:56 p.m.
You know, I used to think Boisclair was formidable. I sure messed up on that one...
I've got a killer interesting story for you, Dan (h/t to SaskBoy).
By
Jacques Beau Vert, at 12:47 a.m.
Dan,
The Ontario Young Liberals (OYL) passed a resolution supporting the preferential ballot system for general elections last year.
Good luck on finals.
By
Anonymous, at 3:47 a.m.
hahaha
i did the lazy blogging thing during super weekend
On boisclair tho, this is long forgotten. Was good for a laugh.
Although appearing in a skit mocking the sexuality of Harper and Bush does open the door for the PLQ to do it to him.
Nothing crass, but still the gay jokes are in...which might make for a fun campaign.
By
Anthony, at 10:38 a.m.
cdlu's got a post up that talks a bit about voting systems. Useful resources include the wikipedia article on voting systems and condorcet.org.
As in many discussions, the devil is in the details. While it is easy to call for preferential balloting, there are a number of ways to count a preferential ballot. Not all of them "remove the silly strategic voting" that we're plagued by (as was evidenced by the IRV vote for the second and third rounds of the Alberta PC leadership). This is a decision that we need to have, but this is not a discussion that can be framed in simplistic terms.
By
Patrick Kobly, at 12:19 p.m.
Preferential voting for ridings plus PR for all non-winning preferential votes is a really kick-ass electoral system; preferential voting on its own is more or less just a band-aid over FPTP.
Mind you, I'd take the band-aid, but Preferential + PR mixed member would be the system I'd aim for in the long term. (I'd weight the PR votes at around 1 seat per 45,000 first preferences, but some people would prefer to have the PR votes weighted less strongly)
The tactical advantage of going for preferential first is that the Liberals and Tories could agree on it, unlike most electoral reform.
But I think it'll be an uphill battle to explain to voters that they all need to rank their candidates; Australia went the mandatory route with provisions against donkey voting, and that'd be a big change from Canada's system.
By
Jason Townsend, at 1:21 p.m.
Hey Grit. You have been Tapped. The challenge is to post 5 things about yourself that your readers don't know. Then do the same to 5 others.
http://socialistgulag.blogspot.com/2006/12/i-have-been-tapped.html
By
McGuire, at 5:54 p.m.
Although appearing in a skit mocking the sexuality of Harper and Bush does open the door for the PLQ to do it to him.
It wasn't mocking their sexuality, unless you know something about them their wives don't.
Falsely portraying Harper as gay, particularly in relation to Bush, is not an uncommon topic for satire, for the obvious reason that they have both made capitalizing on anti-gay bigotry a major part of their campaign strategy.
By
Reality Bites, at 6:59 p.m.
Yea, clearly its okay to make jokes about someone being homosexual if they "campaign on bigotry against gay people" because suggesting that a civil union which includes all the state created benifets of a marriage but reserves the title for those consistent with the traditional and religious usage. How horribly intolerant is that to have quibbled over the definition.
Beyond that how bigotted is it to claim someone else is a bigot simply because they disagree with you on an issue where broad segments of the population disagree. Silly liberals always displaying intolerance while decrying others as intolerant.
By
Chris, at 9:24 p.m.
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