Joe Mason
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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Joe Mason" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
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01:29 pm
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Obama says the right thing
From Reuters:
"America supports now the restoration of the democratically elected president of Honduras, even though he has strongly opposed American policies," Obama said.
"We do so not because we agree with him. We do so because we respect the universal principle that people should choose their own leaders, whether they are leaders we agree with or not," he said in a speech in Russia.
I can't believe we live in a world where there was any DOUBT that the President would take such a stance, but there was, and I'm glad it's gone.
Tags: politics
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11:30 pm
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There oughta be a law
I think there should be a law that if the government runs commercials demonizing its opposition, it automatically triggers an election. Because clearly they're campaigning already.
I'm gonna keep hammering on this every time I see one of those damn commercials.
Tags: politics
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11:15 pm
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What's with all these ads?
So, are we having an election campaign or something? When's the election date?
Tags: politics
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12:30 pm
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FUCK
Bob Rae just dropped out of the Liberal leadership race. So Ignatieff is the only candidate left, and he's almost certain to be the next Liberal leader.
That means:
- the coalition is dead
- neocon as the PM, neocon as Leader of the Opposition
- Harper's little stunt worked
We are SO FUCKED.
Tags: politics
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10:21 am
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Response to a post that doesn't allow comments
[url=http://alumnit.ca/~apenwarr/log/?m=200812#04]Reply to Avery[/url]:
That would be true if it was only legislation that mattered, but there's also the matter of who gets to fill cabinet posts and do all the procedural stuff like cancel opposition days so the other parties can't even propose any legislation.
Tags: politics
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03:54 pm
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Breaking news: politician uses phrase "let the terrorists get away with this" correctly
http://www.thestar.com/federalelection/article/512033
Tags: politics
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06:57 pm
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How you should vote
In this country we now have one right-wing party and three left-wing parties running (four in Quebec). That means that the Conservatives are guaranteed to win, and win big, because of vote splitting.
There are a lot of differences between the Liberals, the NDP and the Greens. For example, there's disagreement on whether a carbon tax or cap and trade system would be better for reducing pollution.
But there's no question that electing the Conservatives again won't get anything done. To that end, I recommend checking out voteforenvironment.ca - it's a very nice looking strategic voting tool to help elect whoever in your local riding will have the most impact. Yes, strategic voting sucks, but this time it's important, dammit!
Tags: politics
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04:19 pm
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Telling Joe Biden how to do his job
I've seen lots of people giving advice to Joe Biden: "Sit back and do nothing so that people don't think you're bullying Palin; she'll tank on her own without your interference." "Attack Palin as hard as you can; you can't be complacent and assume she won't surprise everyone with a great performance." "Go slow!" "No, go fast!"
Nobody's giving the obvious advice: slow... then fast!
He should start out answering the questions put to him but not directly attacking Palin - and spend the first few questions addressing how she's doing. If she doesn't seem to be tanking as badly as hoped for, turn up the heat in the second half.
Really, it's not like they're submitting their answers beforehand. Being able to adjust on the fly is the whole point of picking a smart, experienced guy like Biden.
Tags: politics
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11:06 am
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Doing my part
Hey, Americans! Worried about your taxes? This neat site that's making the rounds will tell you how much of a tax cut you'll get under Obama's tax plan vs. McCain's tax plan. Share it with your friends.
Tags: politics
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08:42 pm
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The NDP is alive and well
Some people may be shocked to hear it, but Jack Layton is the best party leader in Canada today.
Tags: politics
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06:23 pm
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Tidbits
Tidbit #1:
Today I left work early after falling asleep at my desk, and followed sfllaw's lead in going to my local Elections Canada office and registering to vote. It was a different building than his: in fact, it turned out to be the same building my French class was in. Probably nobody finds this interesting except me.
Tidbit #2:
I had soup for lunch. I decided to buy No Name brand cuppa soup, cause it was slightly cheaper than Lipton and there was much more in the package. Much more salt, it turns out. After I started feeling the soup sucking the water out of my mouth as if it were a slug, I decided to check the nutrition information. That one bowl of soup? 160% of the recommended daily intake of sodium. I have thrown the rest out.
Tidbit #3:
( Possibly too much information about my state of health )
Tags: canada, food, politics, sick
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08:04 pm
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Hypocrite
"Hypocrite. Don't let that one little word stop you from talking to your kid about pot because once upon a time you smoked pot. Be the parent, talk to your kid and tell him it's not okay."
What the hell kind of message is that? Presumably if you're the affluent, solidly middle-class parent in the commercial who smoked pot once upon a time, you're aware that it didn't actually ruin your life. So why would you tell your kid that it's not okay, as opposed to, say, "If you smoke, do it responsibly and don't overdo it or go overboard with the partying and neglect your studies." Too nuanced? Not snappy enough? Yeah, "go ahead and be a hypocrite, as long as you never touch the demon weed," makes much better television.
Tags: politics, tv
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03:52 am
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RIP Chuck Cadman
If you follow Canadian politics, you'll have run across Chuck Cadman's name - the wildcard in the incredibly close-matched Parliament, the Chuck Cadman party, the one vote which had the opportunity to tip the balance between alliances of the Bloc/Conservatives and Liberal/NDP. Later on he was joined by David Kilgour (who left the Liberals) and Carolyn Parrish (who was kicked out), but Cadman was the first Independant in this Parliament, and has the distinction of having enough support in his riding to be elected without a party backing him.
Cadman's wildcard status was made even more dramatic as his treatment for cancer made it difficult for him to attend voting sessions. The government's timing of critical budget votes came under scrutiny as it was alleged they tried to make them fall when opposition politicians under medical treatment could not attend to cast their negative votes. This gave Cadman a double uncertainty: which way would he vote, and would he even be well enough to cast a vote?
On Saturday, he finally succumbed to cancer. He will be missed.
Tags: canada, politics
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12:55 pm
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Paul Martin just bought my vote
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/07/06/martin-g8050706.html
"He wrapped up his visit by slipping behind the bar at a local pub and pouring pints of Guinness Tuesday evening. Patrons at Johnnie Fox's in the mountain village of Glencullen said they were more than happy to accept the free beer, saying it's not every day they're served by a world leader."
Our Prime Minister just personally gave free beer to the Scots. Now that's a photo-op. It's sad that electoral laws would probably prevent him from doing this in Canada.
(Thanks to kjrose for the link!)
Tags: booze, canada, politics
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10:37 am
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Good news for a change!
Once again, that title was already in the autofill in the subject line. Am I that predictable?
US House of Representatives kills library-spying parts of Patriot Act
Tags: america, politics
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03:22 pm
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Remember the other scandal?
News in the Maher Arar case, which is a much more important scandal than a couple of million missing dollars.
Tags: canada, politics
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07:13 pm
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I rate the speeches
Four speeches tonight from four leaders. How'd they do? Martin obviously had the advantage in that he had time to prepare his, and it wasn't delivered live, so I'll hold him to a bit higher of a standard.
Wow, it's been a while - I've forgotten how to do an ( LJ cut )
Update: Interviews with Harper and Layton on Newsworld:
Harper came across a little better than in his speech; at least he sounded a little more believable when he said that he was waiting to listen to "Canadians".
Layton was even weaker than in his speech. Peter Mansbridge cut him off to say, "You sound like you're pleading," and he really was.
Tags: canada, politics
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11:34 pm
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Sanity prevails!
I haven't read the whole story, because I'm drunk, but Slashdot says Canada will not get its own version of the DMCA. Hooray for sensible government!
Tags: canada, politics
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06:38 pm
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Just heard on the news
Apparently at the "height of the Abu Ghraib scandal" (What, it's over? Why is it over?) Rumsfeld offered his resignation to President Bush several times, but Bush refused it.
Well, my estimation of Rumsfeld just went up slightly, from "lying weaselly criminal autocratic idiot" to "lying weaselly criminal idiot". My opinion of Bush, however, has gone down.
Tags: america, politics
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05:43 pm
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[politics] Awesome
Ann Coulter, not exactly taking correction gently, but at least civilly:
http://www.blogscanada.ca/egroup/PermaLink.aspx?guid=e90d8ace-1c70-4583-aa75-8a7e6f108cb9
Tags: america, canada, politics
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