Nepean This Week Doesn't Believe In Google

Some hard-hitting journalism over at Nepean This Week, under the headline Community believes Conservatives come out on top at Nepean-Carleton debate:

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre received the most positive audience reaction during the two hour debate. ... Richard Fromm, 41, of Barrhaven has two children and was upset with Mahfouz’s answer when questioned about his position on young offenders. “The Liberal candidate is opposed to tackling violent crime, this concerns me,” he said. Fromm believed that Pierre Poilievre was the most professional of the candidates. “Pierre came out on top,” said Fromm.

Fascinating stuff. Richard Fromm of Barrhaven, concerned community member, giving his objective, non-partisan view of the debate. I wonder if he's related to Richard Fromm, former President of the Ottawa West-Nepean Conservative Association?

But wait, there's more:

“I am very concerned about the cost of living with the carbon tax.” Bill Ayyad, 44, a resident of Centrepointe said after watching the debate he will be voting conservative. “Pierre did very well. He had an in-depth knowledge of the issues”.

Just another average Joe voter, attending the debate, giving his dispassionate and reasoned views to the community newspaper. I winder if he's related to Bill Ayyad, Chair of Community Affairs for the Nepean-Carleton Conservative Association? It's hard to believe that Nepean This Week could dissappoint with a new low in journalistic standards, but they just did. Their "reporter", Meghan Graham, must be either a Conservative plant, or incompetent. The smart money is on "all of the above".

Baird's Bad Day

Next door, in the riding of Ottawa-West Nepean, our friend John Baird is having a bad day:

... who should appear in front of me but a friendly neighbourbood John Baird campaign staffer, bearing a stack of freshly printed press releases bearing the fabulously evocative headline: “SHADOWY FOREIGN ORGANIZATION ATTEMPTING TO INFLUENCE CANADIAN ELECTION” - which would be awesome enough all on its own, but the subhead made it even better: Apparently - their words, not mine - a “Wall Street Billionaire” is “bankrolling [the] campaign”.

Which is apropos this. Did David Pratt just become the luckiest Liberal of the year? Avaaz raised over $100K in 4 days to run anti-Baird ads, like this:

The Mocking, It Burns

Hello Canada, and welcome to The Debate. Don't touch that dial, there's Pakin on it! Ha ha, I slay me. Now for the opening statements.

First, I am always asking the questions, like why am I never have the blinking? You have the blinking, she has the blinking, he has the blinking, but I never have it. And it makes me look the crazy and also be the crazy. Also, where is my pant? I was wearing my pant before, but now it is not on.

Canadians need leaders who are wearing pants, especially at the kitchen table. I always wear pants. I was at the kitchen table while flying over Exxon. I will sell ordinary, working Canadians pants at a 20% discount, with no money down until 2011!

This is such a sausage fest. But I like the cut of your jib, Jack, which is why I'm announcing a plan where Canadians can give up their gas guzzling cars and ride Jack Layton to work, reducing their carbon footprint by using this alternative mode of transportation.

(I can ride Layton to work? Wheeeeee!!! Golly, smiling in this rubber mask hurts.)

Dis is a good plan, but not a great plan. The Layton, he has a very aerodynamic head, but we would shave the excess face hairs. We will make the Canadians ride the Layton to the work, but ride the Gilles Duceppe home. The Liberal carbonation tax is simple. We put a tax on what is bad, such as the Pepsi, and we cut taxes on what is good, such as the wine. Vote for more of the fun.

You panicked, Stephane. You came in here and saw Gilles without any pants, and you panicked, and now you're making up plans as you go. Let me be clear. Our plan is simple. We've ordered another fifty rubber masks from the mother ship, and these ones will fit a lot better. Plus I have a new pair of pants.

Are you having my pant, Harper? Because you don't make me becoming mad, or if I am becoming mad, I'll cut you! I'll cut your face Harper!

And that's all the time we have for tonight. Pakin FTW!

"Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon...

Going to the candidate's debate.

Laugh about it, shout about it

When you've got to choose

Every way you look at this you lose."

Hibou attended the Nepean-Carleton all-candidates debate on Tuesday night, and posts his thoughts. Interesting read.

(And now you've got Simon and Garfunkle stuck in your head like I do.)

Friday Mocumentory

Got some spare reading time?

Why not pour a cup of coffee, kick up your feet, and check out these three links:

1. "66 Said Yes" - an insider's look at the In and Out Scandal. If you're like me, you know the outline, but not the details. Pages 10-12 are what you want, a nice, concise explanation of what the Conservatives did to break election financing rules.

2. "Listeriosis is the least of it" - by the Canadian Medical Association.

Last November the Canadian government instituted astrategic review of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency(CFIA). Among its outcomes was to transfer inspection duties for ready-to-eat meats from the government inspectors to the meat industry.

... Maple Leaf Foods, the company at whose plant the Listeria contamination originated, was an early adopter of the government’s new plan.

3. "The Nordic approach to financing the welfare state" - in (very) short: raise the GST, lower corporate taxes.

Stephen Harper: Not An Economist

This is an excellent article from the Citizen today. In a short interview with a very conservative economist, it clearly and succinctly explains why a carbon tax ("tax shift"), proposed by at least two non-Conservative parties in this election, is sound economics.

This is all orthodox economics, Mankiw insists -- a 2006 survey of American Economic Association members found two-thirds agreed that "the U.S. should increase energy taxes" -- and so the issue shouldn't be cast as left versus right.

And GST cuts, it turns out, is bad economics.

Attacking the attack ads

Despite having a wealth of material to work with, the Nepean-Carleton Libs have served up two poorly written, text-rich attemps on their web site: This one is every so slightly better, just because it focuses on a single Poilevre "moment" rather than try to tackle everything, but it still brings on a bit of a yawn: This one, which ran in the Nepean Weekender this weekend, is actually pretty good:

• it's brief
• features a large photo of Baird's annoying face
• it doesn't actually mention David Pratt's name (or even the Liberals), probably a good idea, all things considered!

I was against snap elections before I was for them

"Fixed dates stop leaders from trying to manipulate the calendar. They level the playing field for all parties... Hopefully, in the next election, we can run on our record and we won't need the manipulation of the electoral calendar." - Stephen Harper, May 26, 2006