Fables & Foibles

Foible: But seriously, Jane

2006-08-16T10:51:00.000-04:00

I came across this weblog while looking for news on the upcoming Mayoral race in my home base of Toronto, Ontario. It gets my vote for worst colour scheme, ever!

http://seriousjane.blogspot.com/

Foible: July 2, Party in my front yard (Toronto)

2006-06-26T21:01:00.000-04:00

Everyone is invited to a party on July 2, 2006. It will be held in Bellevue Square Park (AKA My front yard) ,
Located in the south end of the Kensington Market, Bellevue Square Park features a wading pool, public washrooms and a playground.

Free food & beverages, live music and dancing, games and activities for the children.
Party starts at 12 noon and goes until 5 PM.
The event is free as our local MP is covering the costs and hosting the event.

I urge all local Conservatives to attend this event and, hey, lets all wear blue tops so we can recognize each other.

Bellevue Square Park is 1 block north of Dundas and 1 stop west of Spadina or 1 stop east of Bathurst. Best to take public transit

Those persons wishing to display their opinions on MP Chow's abilities are advised that Sun Wah Fruits (one block north) usually has over-ripe tomatoes marked down.

Fable: A solution for street racing?

2006-06-16T12:08:00.000-04:00

The federal government recently proposed a bill to deter street racing. Opponents suggest that the yahoos who choose to risk their lives street racing will not be stopped by the slim possibility of a life sentence.

How about this for a solution? A fleet for jet-black bulldozers, patrolling the streets nighttime streets favored by street-racers. A fleet of jet-black bulldozers able to shrug off any collision with a speeding sports car.

Foible: Generic drugs and Indian givers

2006-06-04T14:37:00.000-04:00

A couple of items in the news are of particular interest to me:

The Caledonia standoff

I lived in Caledonia for a couple of years in the mid-70’s. My first job after university was with the Canadian Gypsum Corporation, applying statistical quality control methodology to their operations. The plant was closer to Hagersville but the nearest rental accommodation was in Caledonia. The first modern subdivisions were being constructed south of the main part of town. At that time, there was no indication that the First Nation residents of the nearby Six Nations reserve felt that this was encroaching on the lands.

Now, it seems some of them (not all) are claiming that these lands were only leased and not transferred to the government way back in the 1800’s. I can certainly understand why the Caledonia residents are upset. How would like to find out that the land your home and possibly your place of employment was built on might not belong to the putative owners? What does do to the resale value of your property?

Frankly, I cannot imagine the developer of the disputed property could have received financing for this project if the bank had thought there any doubt to the ownership of the land. Therefore, I suspect this is more of a publicity stunts for native protestors than an actual legitimate claim.

The Apotex/Volpe/Bill 102

Twenty years later, I worked for Apotex, the big generic drug manufacturer. I was brought in to supervise the clean up of their bug-ridden software. Generic drug manufacture is a very lucrative business and Barry Sherman has deservedly made a fortune for both himself and the other executives. To give an idea of just how profitable manufacturing generic can be, consider that customers are typically allowed to put off for nearly a year paying for their shipments. When I questioned this rather unusual payment scheme, I was told that if we (Apotex) pushed for payment, the customers would simply switch to another generic manufacturer.

There certainly was an active campaign to promote Apotex products to druggists. This ranged from cash payments for displaying products to gifts and prizes. I was asked by the sales department to create a programme to track the value of incentives to store versus any increase in actual sales to those stores. Their interest in that software stopped when I pointed out that the tax people could possibly seize that data and use it to prosecute storeowners who failed to declare the value of these incentives.

The controversial donations made by Sherman, his family and other Apotex executives and their families to Liberal leadership candidate Joe Volpe are understandable considering that Apotex feels that Liberal governments are supportive towards generic drug manufacturers. During the 1995 provincial election, Elie Betito suggested that any employees willing to campaign for Liberal candidates would be compensated for their time. That offer was retracted when it shown to be illegal.

I suspect that the donations to Volpe were made not to fund his upcoming campaign for the Liberal leadership but also to reward him for his hard work on behalf of Apotex employees in the past.

Foible: What about adult care?

2006-03-24T16:18:00.000-05:00

With all the talk about a national daycare system for children, haven’t we ignored another pressing social need?

I’m talking about subsidized adult care. Like many other baby boomers, I have to worry about two elderly parents. While my parents are in their late 70’s and early 80’s and in relatively good health, I can imagine there will be a time when they won’t be able to manage their own care. While for some people there is the option of moving into a retirement facility, I expect my parents will strongly resist that choice.

When my mother had her first cataract operation, I spent a month at her place. While my career allows me the opportunity to disrupt my normal activities, many boomers with families and traditional jobs couldn’t do the same thing.

While there are provisions under EI for leaves of absence to handle short-term problems, the fact is that many of us will still have parents requiring care when we are ready to retire. I know that when my father was researching investment opportunities in retirement communities nearly 15 years ago, he found that there are many instances where a retired couple will have a surviving parent living with them.

This issue will only become more crucial over the next decade as the boomers start to retire themselves.

Foible Freedom of speech and the man with beard

2006-02-19T15:43:00.000-05:00

Foible: Freedom of speech and the man with the beard
     I am back online after a little break and I guess the thing that concerns me the most is not the recent furor over the Mohammed cartoons but the reaction to Garth Turner’s comments regarding the Emerson defection.
     Mr. Turner expressed his concerns over Emerson’s crossing the floor and being rewarded with a cabinet position. While I do not agree with Garth that this was a bad thing, I do understand his concern that the whole thing weakens the high moral ground that Harper took regarding the similar Stronach affair. Creation of a senator from Quebec and his inclusion in the new cabinet would also seem to be contrary to stated Conservative policy.
     Mr. Turner pointed this out and was roundly chastised by many bloggers on Blogging Tories and received a warning from the PMO. This was wrong, for so many reasons. One of the many faults of the preceding Liberal government was the way they stifled dissent amongst the members of their caucus. Our shiny new Conservative government should encourage MPs to speak up about any government actions that they feel are contrary to stated party policies.
     As far as Emerson goes, do we elect the candidate or the party? I believe we elect the candidate and we depend on their judgment to fulfill the best interests of their constituents. If they fail in that regard, then they will not be reelected.

Foible: Old fashioned cooking

2006-01-31T19:56:00.000-05:00

Now that the fun and games are over for the next eighteen months or longer, I’m back to my part-time job as chief cook and bottle washer here at the Simpson plantation.
With a fully equipped kitchen at hand and several demanding mouths to feed on an irregular basis, I’ve decided to bring back a tradition from the old days, the ever-present pot of hot food. In the past, a heavy pot would reside on a back burner, containing a stew or soup that was constantly available for irregular meals. Well, these days the slow cooker or crock-pot has replaced that practice. We have the biggest crock-pot I have ever seen, it must hold two gallons or more. I put in about 8 pounds of beef brisket, 5 onions, 2 carrots, a head of celery, garlic powder, black pepper and enough water to cover. After cooking for eight hours, serve with crusty bread. Even with the unseasonably warm weather (it was 60 in Atlanta today), the crew enjoyed the stew.
The beauty of this dish is that you can just keep adding ingredients to the existing mix. Later, I tossed in some pot barley and bulk onion soup mix, which changed the taste enough, that there were no complaints that today’s meal was leftovers. You can keep adding meat and vegetables to fill the pot back up. Next, I’m going to try adding some canned tomatoes, chili powder and kidney beans to make an ersatz chili con carne.

Foible: Reflections on a winter campaign

2006-01-21T20:48:00.000-05:00

Foible: Reflections on a winter campaign

     I am at home tonight. I am planning to go to bed shortly. I want to get a good night’s sleep. I figure Sunday will be a very busy day. It will be the last chance to get everything ready for the vote on Monday.
     It seems hard to believe that we started working on this campaign two months ago. On November 23, the election committee had the last preparatory meeting before the election was called. Since that time, I have spent about six weeks working the campaign. I have setup the computers, created a website, dealt with Elections Canada, answered the phone about a 1000 times and had almost 300 cups of coffee.

     Why have I done this?

     Because Canada is worth six weeks of my life.

Foible: Fear & Loathing in Trinity-Spadina

2006-01-15T12:24:00.000-05:00

As I've mentioned earlier, I worked on the 2004 Trinity-Spadina Campaign for David Watters.
One big change from that campaign (other than the smoke-free office) regards election signs.
We put out a lot of signs in 2004 campaign and I don't recall ever having to replace a stolen or vandalized sign.
This time, there have been several reports of vandals stealing or defacing signs. The candidate reports that signs have been taken from his property three times so far. Looking at the locations where we've had to replace signs, it seems that the area north of Bloor and west of Bathurst is worst area for this sort of petty crime.
I guess it is an indication that your candidate and their campaign is having an impact, if the opposition is resorting to this sort of activity.
There is positive side to this sad tale. A gentleman who had his sign torn down came by the campaign office yesterday, picked a replacement sign, three more for his neighbours and left a donation.

Foible The Magnificent Seven?

2006-01-13T17:16:00.000-05:00

Foible: The Magnificent Seven?

While I hope my readers will be voting for Sam Goldstein or their local Conservative candidate, it is a sad fact that about 60% of Canadians are not going to vote Conservative in this election. For the benefit of those poor deluded fools, I would like to present a quick rundown on the other candidates in Trinity-Spadina.

Explanation of rating system:
Since I've spent a lot time waiting for streetcars during this campaign, I've expressed each candidates' chances of winning as the possible outcome of waiting for a streetcar.

The incumbent, Tony Ianno

First elected in the great Liberal sweep of 1993, Tony has won re-election 3 times, including two times against Olivia Chow. Tony was born in 1957, attended Central Tech and the University of Toronto, graduating with a B. Sc. Getting elected to Ottawa was his chance to get out of the riding.
Tony has a reputation of being an ineffectual MP with a poor attendance record and few mentions in Hansard. Luckily, his frequent absences have kept him uninvolved and uninformed about the AdScam affair despite his fundraising efforts for some of the participants.
Ianno has taken some flak for his involvement with the Toronto Port Authority and the island airport expansion plans. He claims that the airport can be closed down, but it will cost big bucks. Since he claimed it cost 35 million to stop a bridge that was supposed to cost 22 million, it could be doubtful if the economy can afford the billions that closing the airport might cost.
Tony has also come under fire for having a trust fund sheltering $260,000 in anonymous contributions. He has since released these funds into the Trinity-Spadina riding association. He is unable to divulge the law protects the donors since their identities. His campaigning style resembles that of the possum, seemingly not doing anything during the campaign period but counting on an effective "Get Out Every Possible Vote" organization on E-day.

Pro:
Knows the way to Ottawa, not sleeping with party leader, we're already on the hook for his pension.

Con:
Starting to remind some voters of Emperor Palpatine.

Highlight of Political Career:
Getting to sit at the kiddies's table in cabinet

What will happen if their party wins a majority?
4 more years of same shenanighans

Chances that he will win (expressed in transit terms)
Equal to the probability that the next streetcar will be going in the direction you want.

Probable future career if defeated:
Really expensive pizzas, with the motto “Delivering for Trinity-Spadina”

The challenger, Olivia Chow
Twenty-year veteran in municipal politics, Olivia immigrated to Toronto from Hong Kong and has degree in Fine Arts. She has been selected a dozen times as best local politician by those free newspapers that feature sex ads in the back. She also claims credit for 10 balanced city budgets, which might be admirable if not required by provincial law.
She and her husband, Jack: Layton was a power couple in local politics. Now that Jack is head honcho of the federal NDP, it is only natural that she wants to join him in Ottawa as a power couple.
She has run against Ianno twice before, barely losing last time. Remember, it is three strikes and you're out, Olivia. There is a feeling that she devoted too much time campaigning in Jack’s Toronto-Danforth riding after assuming that she had a lock on Trinity-Spadina.
Last year, it was revealed that she had undergone treatment for thyroid cancer and that it was in full remission.
This time she seems to be campaigning strongly, even resigning her seat on Metro Council to quash the complaints that arose last time when she ran while retaining her seat. Much like Tony, there have been hints of scandal in her past, allegations that she and Jack lived in subsidized housing while city councilors. There is even controversy over the severance pay she is supposed to collect after resigning as city councilor.

Pro:
Experienced municipal politician, already sleeping with party leader, many will be glad in to see her go to Ottawa.

Con:
Experience in municipal politics doesn't always translate to federal politics (see Art Eggleton et al), prospect of hearing her ask questions in house is daunting to CPAC viewers, many will be glad to see her leave Toronto.

Highlight of Political Career:
Getting Jim Pattison (owner of several car dealerships) to donate 10 grand to Pedestrian Sundays, a group which promotes car-free Sundays.

What will happen if their party wins a majority?
Socialist paradise followed by a collapse of the economy.

What will happen if the Conservatives win a majority?
Mass suicide of babble forum posters.

Chances that she will win (expressed in transit terms):
About the same as the chance, the next streetcar will not be going in the direction you want.

Probable future if defeated:
Crossing guard/ Governor-General

Thom Chapman, the Green candidate

First-time candidate, farm-boy from the Ottawa valley, Thom comes across as the eager environmentalist that you would expect as a Green party candidate. Honest enough to admit when he does not have an answer, he realizes that he lacks the political experience to handle many question. A likeable fellow who may have a future in politics.

Pro:
Likeable young man, concerned about environment

Con:
We all know how long he would last in Ottawa

Highlight of Political Career:
Getting this nomination.

What will happen if their party wins a majority?
Kyoto Accord would be ratified.

Chances that he will win (expressed in transit terms):
About the same that the next streetcar that comes along will be solar-powered.

Probable future if defeated:
Media sales person.

Asif Hossain, Progressive Canadian Candidate

This is his second time running in Trinity-Spadina which suggests he doesn't learn from experience.. Represents a party created by the folks who pouted when the Alliance and Progressive Conservatives joined forces back in 2003, a group that seems to feel that adopting the initials of Brian Mulroney’s former party makes them more attractive to the voters. Asif is an earnest candidate, albeit a candidate who has trouble spelling and no sense of humor.

Pro:
Likely to take votes away from Liberal candidate

Con:
PC party name on ballot might confuse voters who haven't read a newspaper since 2002.

Highlight of Political Career:
Coming up with 100 names AND $1000.

What will happen if their party wins a majority?
President's Choice will sue for trademark infringement.

Chances that he will win (expressed in transit terms):
About the same that the next streetcar will be pulled by elephants.

Probable future if defeated:
Unemployed student trying to pay off student loan.

Nick Lin, your Marxist-Leninist candidate

Every election, the M/L folks run candidates. You have to admire their persistence if not their knowledge of recent history. Nick is an especially sad example, mumbling his way through the recent debate and offering the view that a Marxist-Leninist government would not interfere with citizen’s personal lives.

Pro:
Not likely to drive over students in tank

Con:
Not likely to steal votes from NDP either.

Highlight of Political Career:
Read Das Kapital.

What will happen if their party wins a majority?
American troops will be occupying Canadian cities.

Chances that he will win (expressed in transit terms):
About the same that Lenin will be driving the next streetcar that comes along..

Probable future if defeated:
Morose coffee shop employee

John Riddell, Canadian Action Party

Hard to have a lot of faith in a candidate who does not have the right postal code on his website. When asked what his party would do about many issues, his stock answer was that they hold an inquiry on the subject. Maybe they should be called the Canadian Inaction Party. Holds a peculiar concept about economics that I cannot comprehend.

Pro:
Platform gives economists the giggles.

Con:
Platform gives bond-holders the willies.

Highlight of Political Career:
Found a party that would let him run as a candidate

What will happen if their party wins a majority?
If the Weimar Republic is an example, sales of wheelbarrows will rise.

Chances that he will win (expressed in transit terms):
About the same that the next streetcar that comes along will be solid gold.

Probable future if defeated:
Concrete poet or concrete post.

Foible Martin's Bad Company

2006-01-09T22:16:00.000-05:00

Foible: How to tell that Paul Martin has spent too much time in Ottawa

Ralph Goodale is the most honest man he knows..

Fable: When Jack gets desperate?

2006-01-08T20:03:00.000-05:00

Foible: The strain of the campaign

2006-01-08T19:44:00.000-05:00

Foible: The strain of the campaign

I went down to the debate at the Harbourfront Community Centre today. I was working the Conservative Party table with Stephen Frank, handing out flyers and answering questions. They had a good crowd show up, about 600 I’d guess.
When Olivia Chow entered, I could hardly recognize her.
She was wearing a striking peacock blue pantsuit and was extremely thin. I’ve met her a few times in past, at various community events. I last saw her in September at the PS Kensington community meeting and it seemed now that she looked gaunt and very tired. I took some photos but not with the digital camera.
Later, I had a chance to speak with Helen Kennedy, her former assistant at City Hall. She agreed that Olivia had lost weight but attributed to 12-hour campaign days.
Olivia revealed last year that she had been treated for thyroid cancer. She had made a full recovery or so it was stated.

Foible: What are the Liberals running on?

2006-01-03T11:32:00.000-05:00

EMPTY!

Foible: Mirror, mirror on the wall

2006-01-02T22:37:00.000-05:00

Foible: Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who are the rudest ones of all?

Based on last Thursday’s experience, I would have to say supporters of the NDP.
Today, at the campaign office, we were trying to get passersby to sign Sam Goldstein’s nomination papers. It is a great chance to talk to strangers and hand out campaign literature. Most of the people we talked to were polite enough but there were a few who were just plain rude. Sam’s mother was outside inviting people into the campaign office for coffee and cookies (when I tried this, people would flee to the other side of the street)
Some came in, but a few said they supported the NDP and would rather die than vote Conservative. I was not aware that was an option.
Now, I realize that during an election, tensions can run high. That is not a reason to be rude to people who support the other parties, especially a pleasant older woman.

Foible: Is Jack Layton tedious?

2005-12-29T19:56:00.000-05:00

Going through the papers that piled up during my absence.
Toronto Star had a fluff piece on the three party leaders.
They were asked various non-political questions, the kind that are meant to show their human side. Martin obviously has a grandchild fixation since many of his answers mention his desire for grandchildren. Harper's answers where pretty much what I expected; bland and non-controversal. Layton, on the other hand, seems to spend all of his time thinking about politics. His favorite reading material? The collected speeches of Stephen Lewis. The one subject they won't discuss over dinner? Tony Ianno! The man probably recites Victor Considerant's Principles of Socialism while having sex.

Foible Back to life, back to reality

2005-12-28T19:36:00.000-05:00

Foible: Back to life, back to reality
     Back to Blogging after a Christmas break. Spend the time up north at the family compound away from computers, the Internet, cell phones and decent TV reception.
     It was a chance to catch up on my reading and eating with the surrealistic addition of watching “101 Dalmatians” in French via CBC-Sudbury.
     Returned to the comfort of my home Tuesday night and then hit the malls with my friend Jaime, who comes down from Montreal every year, She wanted to buy some DVDs so we went to the Pacific Mall at Steeles & Kennedy. We had some dim sum, she picked up a few DVDs, and I bought a crock-pot.
     I see there was a bit of a scandal affecting the campaign here in Trinity-Spadina. I am not going to rehash the details, but it is fair to point out that the guilty party is not a member of the Ianno team. Whether this will help the Chow election bid is to be determined but the amount of spin this little gaffe is getting is quite amazing.

Foible: The complete ad

2005-12-22T15:13:00.000-05:00

A word of explanation: This phony ad is in response to the leaked Liberal attack ads shown at:
http://www.stephentaylor.ca/archives/000496.html

I sure hope the Liberals didn't pay their ad agency big money for these ads. I was able to create these fakes in about an hour.

Foible: Should TO Conservatives vote NDP?

2005-12-20T16:31:00.000-05:00

Foible: Should TO Conservatives vote NDP?
     Jack Layton and Olivia Chow were loitering outside Bathurst subway station this morning. Jack was interviewed and suggested that strategically, Conservatives in the Toronto should all vote for the NDP since no Conservatives  were going to win here anyway.
     Hello? Didn’t the NDP only win 1 seat here last time? That was 1 seat out of 22, as I recall. So you beat us by just 1 seat, Jack and now you want us to give you the other 21?
     How about this, Jack?  If you really want to take seats away from Martin, how about if you ask the NDP supporters in ridings like Eglinton-Lawerence  or Etobicoke-Lakeshore to vote Conservative. After all the Tories got more votes than the NDP in those ridings last time.

Chow campaign going downhill at Christie Pits

2005-12-20T11:44:00.000-05:00

Simpson Family Christmas December 17, 2005

2005-12-19T00:38:00.000-05:00

Foible: Sticks & Stories

2005-12-17T22:23:00.000-05:00

Foible: Sticks & Stories
     Do those members of the current Conservative party who are former members of Reform/Alliance party consider the word “Tory” derogatory?
     I’ve always felt that the term was perfectly acceptable for members of the Conservative party, whether they come from the former Progressive Conservative or the Reform parties.
     Members of my family have been Tories ever since they fled from the American rebels during the unpleasantness of 1776-83.
     This came up after I was talking about Blogging Tories with some friends. They felt that those persons who were members of the Reform/Canadian Alliance wouldn’t appreciate being called Tories.
This is the first time I’ve ever heard of this allegation. Is it true?

Foible: Senate Reform School

2005-12-16T20:31:00.000-05:00

Foible: Senate Reform School
As I mentioned earlier, after the Harper rally last Saturday, Al Heisey and I talked about the triple-E senate concept. Al is concerned that some of the areas with smaller populations demanding equal number of seats.
This started me thinking, admittedly a dangerous thing, about how to have an elected senate that would be representative of Canada and serve the purpose of being the sober second thought on government legislation.

No politics. Candidates wouldn’t be associated with any political parties.

No politicians. No one who had ever served as an MP could be a Senator.

No campaigning. Maximum of $1000 to be spent on the election.

No geography. Candidates would run nationally. The top 100 candidates get in.

This schema keeps the Senate from being burdened with party politics. It would open the Senate to be representative of all Canadians. Let the politicians craft the legislation. Let the non-politicians validate that legislation. A reasonable limit on Senate power would be to require the same or greater percentage of senators to vote against a bill as voted for it in Parliament to cancel that vote. The campaign spending limits would allow more citizens to participate in the process without requiring the support of lobbyists and special interest groups. Having the candidates run nationally provides a form of proportional representation. Requiring candidates to get 100 signatures and pay a nominal filing fee ($100) would provide an adequate check on the number of candidates.

This is just a preliminary proposal. I haven’t considered term limits/compensation or whether we could have a virtual senate with members connected via the Internet.

Discuss among yourselves.

Fable: Good news for the gang that couldn't govern straight.

2005-12-13T22:45:00.000-05:00

Fable: Good news for the gang who couldn’t govern straight
     It’s doubles all around at Liberal Party HQ after Justice Heather Holmes of the BC Supreme Court ruled that section 467.13 “is of no force and effect.”
     That section reads in part:
“Every person who is one of the persons who constitute a criminal organization and who knowingly instructs, directly or indirectly, any person to commit an offence under this or any other act of Parliament for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with, the criminal organization is guilty of an indictable offense and liable to imprisonment for life.”
     That nearly came around to bite you in the ass, didn’t it?

Foible: Adam Vaughan misses the bus

2005-12-13T16:35:00.000-05:00

Foible: Adam Vaughan misses the bus
While the rest of the press was reporting on Stephen Harper’s announcement in Trenton regarding the acquisition of heavy lift cargo aircraft, doubling the size of the Disaster Assistance Response Team and creating a new rapid response force; CITY-TV’s Adam Vaughan was wondering why the big blue Conservative campaign bus hadn’t visited Metro Toronto so far this election.
The admittedly partisan Vaughan continues to embarrass principled journalists everywhere.

Foible: You're not qualified

2005-12-12T12:24:00.000-05:00

Foible: You’re not qualified
Doesn’t all of the foofara over the “Beer & Popcorn” comment remind you of the following bit from “Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life”?

Expectant Mother: What do I do? Doctor #1: What? Expectant Mother: What do I do? Doctor #1: Nothing, dear, you're not qualified

Basically, doesn’t it just boil down to the fact that the Liberals don’t think we’re qualified to determine the process that cares for our children? Only government-funded crèches are acceptable in their view, not the care of parents, family members or neighbours.

Foible: It has started

2005-12-10T22:29:00.000-05:00

Foible: It has started
As I commented earlier, during the last election, the candidate’s mailbox got a lot of e-mails containing malicious attachments.
We just got the first one for this election. It looks like the MyDoom virus. Fortunately, I’m using a Mac to handle the e-mail service, so we weren’t affected by it. I’ve started tracing the message to the source. It looks like it was forwarded from a foreign server:
203.156.44.90 (203.156.44.90) is located in Milton, New South Wales (state), Australia.

Relayed from another server:

203.156.47.161 (203.156.47.161) is located in Milton, Australia.

Everyone should watch for suspicious e-mails in their candidate’s e-mailboxes.

Foible: Rally caps

2005-12-10T19:50:00.000-05:00

Foible: Rally caps
I’m just back from the Harper rally by the airport. Well, not just back. I did cook and eat dinner, feed the cat, talk to my mother and go to the bathroom. However, you get my point.
Al Heisey was kind enough to give me a ride to the convention centre. Al is one of the riding executive (Communications) and a former candidate himself. We talked about how the campaign was going and a couple of cute tricks to use on our opponents.
We got there just before 2 and I managed to get a seat right on the aisle. Excellent view of the stage, where I could see Sam Goldstein mingling with the local candidates.
The audience was about 800-1000 strong with all of the GTA ridings represented. I noticed that there seems to be considerable variance in the design of election signs. Some have a blue background with a faded white maple leaf, others a solid blue area, Fonts varied as well with most using a sans serif (Helvetica or Frutiger) and some an italic serif font (Times, Palatino). Most signs did not show the riding name! Only Toronto-Centre had their name on the signs. Many also had the web address for their campaign as well.
About 2:30, they started to introduce the candidates. At 3:00, security started to clear the aisle, so we knew that Harper was on his way. Interestingly, one his handlers told us that we should shout “Stephen” not “Harper”. Shortly, he and his wife came down the aisle, preceded by media type walking backwards.
His speech lasted about 30 minutes and was the usual bombastic style that we’ve come to expect when a party leader addresses the faithful in a controlled environment. No big announcements as he had made today’s declaration on a cancer programme earlier at noon.
He did mention an elected senate, which led to a lively discussion on the ride back as Al has some strong views about how seats should be distributed in an elected senate.
More about that later.

Fable: Ballsy approach to gun control

2005-12-09T14:33:00.000-05:00

Fable: Ballsy approach to gun control
     Paul Martin has put forward his party’s platform on gun control. It is obviously a plan, which took much time to prepare. After all, they’ve had 12 years to consider the problem, factor in the growing use of handguns and the raise in gang-related violence.
     In the science of problem-solving, one of the first things you learn is to beware of the “eureka” solution. Often when there is a problem, the feeling is that “something must be done about it”. Then, “this is something, let’s do it.”
     Banning handguns is that type of solution. Even if we could seal off the border without stifling vital commerce and tourism, there is still the issue of the hundreds of thousands of handguns already in the country. They aren’t going to vanish overnight.
What is needed is a way to effectively discourage the use of firearms in the commission of crimes. Increasing prison terms might be an idea if the criminals could be expected to think that far ahead. Unfortunately, those most likely to use guns don’t seem to consider the penalties that their crimes might incur. For some of them, the carrying and usage of firearms is a macho requirement. We need to cut off that cultural influence.
     I’m not going to go in the socio-economic causes of gang violence. They are basically insolvable given the resources at hand. No government has ever considered one possible solution. Surgical castration of anyone caught carrying an illegal handgun or using a firearm in a crime. That would be an effective deterrent to the use of firearms.
     How would we punish women who use guns? Well, we could sew some of detached testicles on them. That would be a fitting punishment.

Foible Getting credit for something

2005-12-09T13:38:00.000-05:00

Foible: Getting credit for something
The Conservative Party of Canada is a Registered Political Party and your contribution in any one year may entitle you to generous tax credits on your next tax return.
Use this Tax Credit Calculator to sum up the benefits of giving.
The refund (or reduction in tax payable) depends only on the amount donated and not on taxable income. One only needs to file a tax return in order to receive it. The 2005 tax credit formula is:
For contributions between 0 and $400, you will get back 75%;
For contributions between $400 and $750, you will get back $300 plus 50% of the amount over $400;
For contributions over $750, you will get back $475 plus 33 1/3% of the amount over $750 up to a maximum of $650.00 annually.
The most you can donate is $10,200, $5,100 in both 2005 & 2006

Donation Cost

100 25

200 50

300 75

400 100

500 150

600 200

750 275

1000 442

2000 1350

5100 4450

Foible: Political Strategy

2005-12-08T23:52:00.000-05:00

Foible: Political Strategy
     As of right now, there doesn’t seem to be a Conservative candidate running in Toronto-Danforth. Doubtless the party elders are beating the bushes for a candidate to run against Jack Layton and Deborah Coyne.
     My question is: Why?
Why not just concede the riding to either the Liberals or the NDP? No Conservative is going to win there, and not running a Conservative might toss enough votes to Ms. Coyne to defeat Jack Layton.
     It seems delicious to imagine the NDP needing to select another leader or sacrifice a seat to give Jack a safe seat. It would certainly shove a spanner in any future Liberal-NDP alliance.

Can I vote for Sam Goldstein?

2005-12-08T23:42:00.000-05:00

Can I vote for Sam Goldstein?
To be Eligible

You must be a resident of Trinity Spadina

Be a Canadian Citizen, and

Be 18 years of age on or before the election date.

To be added to the Voter's List:

Contact Elections Canada.(Toll-free 1-800-463-6868)

Provide proof of Age *

Provide proof of address **

If you are not on the voters list, you can still vote on election day. You must bring proof of ID and Address to the polling locations.

To vote early at Advance Polls:

You must present your voter card (or Photo ID*) at the Polls.

* (Valid Driver's License, or Birth Certificate and Photo Identification, or Canadian Citizenship Card or Valid Canadian Passport)
* * (Driver's license with your current address in Trinity Spadina on it or two pieces of official mail such as a bank statement, or a pay stub, or a telephone or power bill).

Foible: Funraiser

2005-12-08T23:23:00.000-05:00

Foible: Fun-raiser
We are organizing a fundraiser for Sam Goldstein (Trinity-Spadina) a week from tonight

Sam Goldstein, your Trinity-Spadina Conservative Candidate invites you to a

Christmas Fundraiser
Hosted by

Robert Burke Q.C.
&
Lory James

Thursday, Dec 15, 2005
66 Fraser Ave
Toronto
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Tickets: $200 (Tax Receiptable)

Foible: Chowing down

2005-12-06T13:14:00.000-05:00

Foible: Chowing down?
     There is speculation that Trinity-Spadina NDP candidate and Ward 20 City Councilor, Olivia Chow, will be receiving some sort of severance or termination pay when she resigns her seat later today.
     I’ve never been comfortable with the concept of politicians getting severance pay or EI after losing their seats or resigning. I’m sure the uproar over Dingwall’s claim of entitlement would cause her to reconsider accepting any payout.
     Olivia was an effective City Councilor. During the past few years, I’ve had contact with her over various Kensington Market issues, and she has come though.
It would be a shame if she spoiled her record by making a cash grab.

Foible: Shock & Awe

2005-12-04T23:12:00.000-05:00

Foible: Shock & Awe
Sparks flew at the first formal meeting of the Trinity-Spadina election committee today. We met at the candidate, Sam Goldstein’s place in the Annex. He had just moved in recently and still hasn’t unpacked everything.
We covered a lot items; Money, never enough of course, has to be closely rationed between the vote getting and background expenses. Should we get plastic signs or cardboard? How many signs to buy? What is the cost of producing campaign flyers and getting them delivered to as many households as possible. Do we need a campaign office that is more accessible to the public? Should we eschew door-to-door campaigning and consider more public gatherings? What about a public debate? Just the big four or should every candidate get a chance?
Sam had been interviewed earlier on Global. We watched a tape of the show and I thought Sam acquitted himself well. Olivia and Tony have faced each other so many times in past that they bicker like an old married couple. Sam held back while they talked over each other and then made his points.
Assignments were handed out and nomination papers were signed. This time we have a team that has worked together on the 2004 Watters campaign. We have a better idea of how to conduct a campaign, a campaign with achievable goals.

Foible: Looking for King Kong

2005-12-03T22:12:00.000-05:00

Foible: Looking for King Kong

Every election seems to have one major issue that sways the local voters. Last time, the hot local issue was the bridge to the island airport.
For those not familiar with Toronto, we have an airport located on the westernmost of the islands located in the harbor. Up until 20 years ago, the harbor was a typical port lands district, with commercial and industrial. buildings. Since that time, urban renewal has resulted in a number of condominium residences. These upscale units are occupied by people who are concerned about the operation of an airport nearby. Recently, it was proposed to increase the number of flights using the island airport. To accommodate this expansion, the airport wanted to construct a bridge to replace the ferry used to bring passengers across the western entrance to the harbor.
The bridge issue dominated local discussion during the 2004 election.

We are still looking for the big, King Kong issue this time. In fact, the airport is back in play, with the airport wanting to use a larger-capacity ferry instead of the cancelled bridge. Gun violence is on the up tick, not so much in this riding as in other parts of Toronto, but a possible issue. Outsourcing of jobs, which affects not only the IT community but the local needle trade workers as well could come up in debates.

Foible: Martin tea bags Ignatieff

2005-12-01T22:04:00.000-05:00

The situation in Etobicoke-Lakeshore has been prominent today. For those who aren’t familiar with the situation, here is a précis:

Liberal star candidate Michael Ignatieff was parachuted into the rapidly vacated ‘safe’ Liberal riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore (in the south-west side of Toronto). So swift was his nomination that two other potential nominees were unable to get their papers submitted in time. In fact, it seems that the local Liberal office closed their doors early in order to block any possible opposition.

Now, Ignatieff is an academic, not that there’s anything wrong with that, who has been touted as a possible future Liberal leader. Returning to Canada from an extended sojourn and destined to be a professor at the University of Toronto, a supposedly safe riding was selected to be his rotten borough. Yet, he may have to run there with the aid and support of his riding association. Now, no doubt, the boys in Ottawa will send in the A- Team to handle his campaign. Will the disgruntled Liberal party members in Etobicoke-Lakeshore put forward their own candidate? Will the split allow a Conservative or NDP candidate to seize the prize?

Welcome, Mr. Ignatieff to world of real-life politics. A little different than it seems in the textbooks, isn’t it?

Oh, yeah. That tea-bag reference? That is when your leader drops you into hot water. Steep.

Fable: Judge exonerates Martin, accepts ‘govomnia’ defense.

2005-12-01T17:03:00.001-05:00

Canadian PM, Paul Martin has been acquitted of fiscal assault after a judge ruled he was asleep during the AdScam scandal, reports said today.
Martin had been the Finance Minister during the assault on the public purse. While he was in charge of the budget during the period, he claimed no knowledge of the crime. Government funds, intended to promote Canadian unity were instead, diverted to party-friendly advertising firms. These firms then kicked back funds to party coffers.
The country discovered what the Liberal party was doing shortly before Mr. Martin took over the leadership of the party. The party has agreed to pay back over $1 million dollars in illegal funds.
Martin claimed he only discovered the crime after he came to power. A sleep expert testified that Mr. Martin suffered from govomnia; a sort of sleep walking that includes unsound fiscal activities and going through the motions, likely brought on by sleep deprivation and liberal genetics.
Various political parties protested the decision, claiming that the court didn’t take taxpayers’ rights seriously, adding another item to the list of Liberal excuses for bad governance.
Prime Minister Martin, when asked about the decision, replied, “Stephen Harper (the opposition party leader) is scary"

Foible: Even during an election, EDA work continues

2005-12-01T16:18:00.000-05:00

Trinity-Spadina Communications Committee Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Attendees:
Robert Aterman
Susan Brunner
Ken Chan
Al Heisey
David Simpson

The meeting was held at Al Heisey’s condo. After a general discussion of local political websites and blogs, a number of specific suggestions were proposed.

For the EDA website:

Include links to EDA directors’ blogs. There are currently four such: by David Artemiw, Robert Aterman, Jason Hickman and David Simpson. The links should be accompanied by a disclaimer to the effect that the opinions expressed are strictly personal and do not necessarily represent the views of the EDA or the Party.

Include a web tracker on the site so that we can see how many visitors we have and where they are coming from.

Publish statistics about the EDA membership: e.g. how many members there are how many have email, etc. All information would be in aggregate statistical form; no personal information would be disclosed.

Include email addresses and photos of, as many directors are comfortable in volunteering this information.

Link to the candidate’s website

For the candidate’s website:
The committee is aware that the campaign committee is running the candidate’s website, so the following are respectfully offered purely as helpful suggestions:

Establish who the webmaster or contact person for the candidate’s website is.

Link to the EDA website.

Include a picture of the candidate’s flyer

Include photos of the candidate on the campaign trail (or earlier in the year; e.g. at 05 Gay Pride); also photos of the candidate with Stephen Harper, if there are any.

Include the candidate’s schedule

List the campaign committee, with contact information.

Have the candidate start a blog to record his thoughts on the campaign as it unfolds; link to this if on a separate site.

List the candidate’s platform and views on policy issues.

Include pro-Conservative material from the media – e.g. a very pro-Harper letter published recently in the Globe and Mail.

Updates on the campaign: It was also suggested if possible that the campaign committee start a newsletter to be circulated to the EDA board and other interested parties advising them of the state of the campaign and recent and upcoming events. This might also help with enlisting and coordinating volunteers. Alternatively, some of all of this information could be posted on the candidate’s (and the EDA’s) website.

Foible: Do you love Canada?

2005-12-01T15:53:00.000-05:00

Foible: Backbone and the lack thereof

2005-11-29T15:35:00.000-05:00

Foible: Backbone and the lack thereof

     As I’ve previously mentioned, I edit the local riding newsletter.
Available here: http://www.trinityspadinaca.com/index.html

     The latest issue, #3, seems have created some controversy. An article submitted by Robert Aterman concluded with the following text:
This describes precisely the situation in the rest of Canada as well. In fact, replacing the word
"Quebec" with "Canada" throughout would make a good first draft for a conservative manifesto for the nation. Bouchard et al clearly state the problems we all face. While they also outline a few practical measures their primary point, and rightly so, is that what is really needed is a new, forward-looking, innovative and modernizing attitude. Finally, they vigorously chastise the statist zombies and tax-and-spend foot-draggers who have been suppressing for far too long the much-needed debate on these issues. However, this challenging document is not simply a wake up call for Quebecers. It also sends a message to conservatives and (which is not always the same thing) to Conservatives. In particular, it stands in bold contrast to the wishy-washy, inoffensive, idea-free pre-campaign we are currently waging. Where is the Conservative spokesperson who says aloud that we are facing a long-term crisis? That our economic model is not sustainable. That we need serious tax cuts and sweeping tax reform? Who in our leadership is prepared to aggressively challenge those who shout down even the smallest suggestion of reform? Here we are being extremely busy with policy initiatives like tiny tax cuts for transit passes, hammers and tampons. When was the last time we heard an address from a leading Conservative about the broad demographic, economic and educational challenges we face over the coming decades? Lucien Bouchard was once a senior Conservative. Maybe he should be once more.

     So what was the controversial portion? Why; the brief mention of having Bouchard rejoin the Conservative party!

Now, I’m not saying I agree with the idea, but it doesn’t likely to offend the usual ‘reasonable person’ that I consider when accepting articles. The complaints were concerned that political opponents would bring opinion up when debating our candidate, Sam Goldstein.

Here is my response:

I read Aterman's article while I editing the last issue.
No reasonable person would take his comments as promoting a
Separatist agenda for the Conservative party or our candidate.

Many of the original BQ members were at one time Progressive Conservatives. The current leader of the Quebec Liberals used to be a Progressive Conservative. Two members of Martin's cabinet used to be Conservatives. Political allegiances in Canada aren't fixed like eye colour but mutable.

If anyone mentions Robert's article to Sam, all he has to say is "That is his opinion. In my party, people are allowed to have opinions. How about yours?"

Foible: Terms of Entitlement

2005-11-28T15:40:00.000-05:00

Foible: Lineup cards

2005-11-28T14:50:00.000-05:00

Foible: Lineup cards
     With about 4 hours to go until the non-confidence vote, we finally know who is going to running here in Trinity-Spadina.
     Olivia Chow has come down off the fence and announced she will be seeking the NDP nomination. No one who would challenge her will be walking into the hastily called nomination meeting, so she is certain to be the candidate.
     Tony Ianno wasn’t replaced by Michael Ignatief, so he will be looking to 6-peat as MP.
     Sam Goldstein will be the Conservative candidate and he must be champing at the bit since the nomination over 8 months ago.
     No word on the Green candidate or the usual fringe parties, but I’m sure we’ll find out shortly.

Fable: Black on Black, a rant by Lewis Black

2005-11-25T17:46:00.000-05:00

Conrad Black says he is innocent. Who is Conrad Black you ask? He’s some high-falooting Canuck who came down to the States to buy up newspapers and loot their assets. Doesn’t he realize that only Americans are allowed to that?
The feds claim he skimmed millions of dollars from Hollinger International.
Hollinger International? Doesn’t that sound the front company for some villian from a James Bond film? You know, one that wants to take over the world and marry a woman with big breasts!
This is the genius who gave up his Canadian citzenship because it was impeding his progress. Idiot! Doesn’t he realize that tinpot dictators all over want to become Canadian citizens? Cable television, welfare and free healthcare, that’s why!
And he gives it all up to become a British Lord. That might be worth it if it came with a castle and the right to fornicate with virgin brides, but for a chance to wear robes and sit in a drafty building with a bunch of drooling, no-chin twits? Please…
And he thinks he’s going to go free because he’s innocent. Do innocent people try to rig things so they can serve their sentence in sunny Canada? Doesn’t he realize that if Martha Stewart got 5 months in slammer for insider trading, a dirty British Lord going to be doing time until the icecaps melt.

Listen, Conrad. Here’s some advice from one Black to another. See if you can flee to Nigeria. They know how to treat thieving blacks there. They make them governor.

Foible: I’ve got mail!

2005-11-25T12:05:00.000-05:00

As the editor of The Point (Trinity-Spadina Conservative Riding Newsletter), I get a lot of mail. Usually, it just says “unsubscribe”, but sometimes it is a real letter. Here, unedited, is one I just got from a subscriber:

David

Two comments: one about Trinity-Spadina, the other about the national party.

Being active in the the riding association, particularly last election, I've noticed that the riding has too many on the lib-left. I doubt that Kronos (I forget her first name) was ever a real conservative. Like others in our riding association, she should have always been in the NDP. The Conservative Party is supposed to be just that, conservative.

Regarding the party as a whole, last week I heard someone from IPSOS-REID say that the Conservative Party is a party of rurual Canada, and it is a diminishing. If true, and I think it is true, do you think it is time for a major change. I see little logic in staying on the current march into oblivion. Is there any talk about the current situation and the bleak future of the party?

Larry Callaghan

My reply:

Larry:

A brief reply to your points.

Tamara Kronis* decided to resign her position based on her interpretation of potential party policy. She did this knowing that our Candidate, David Watters, supported same-sex marriage.
While I don't agree with her decision nor her timing, I'm sure her position on the subject was known before she was elected to head the association.
In Trinity-Spadina, during the 2000 election, support for the Progressive Conservatives (5.5 %) and the Alliance (5.3 %)** were about equal. Therefore, it seems that the merged party in this riding would contain roughly the same number of supporters from each parent.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'lib-left'. Anyone who supports the Liberal party should be a member of the Liberals, not the Conservatives.

I'm not concerned about any IPSOS-REID survey. The proof is in the pudding. I am pragmatic about our chances here, but hopeful for the nationwide results.
As far as membership in this riding, we’ve enjoyed a 25% increase in member in the last month. We’re still short of my target, but I’m anticipating a boost with the election call.

David Simpson

* Tamara Kronis was the Trinity-Spadina EDA president in early 2004. During the election, she resigned her position and issued a press release because of comments made by another candidate regarding SSM.
** According to: http://www.votetoronto.ca/TSresults.html

Foible: Is Tony going on a permanent vacation?

2005-11-24T21:24:00.000-05:00

Tony Ianno used to have the worst attendance record in parliament. I’m hoping it has been better since he was made Minister in charge of hanging up the coats.
Now, the speculation is that Tony is going to step aside to allow Liberal wunderkind, Michael Ignatieff to run here in Trinity-Spadina, Presumably, Tony will get the usual golden sinecure that follows taking one for the team.

Michael Ignatieff has been touted as a possible leadership candidate. Possibly, Martin is hoping to avoid the bitter in-fighting that marked the search for Chretien’s replacement.
If Ignatieff does run here, look for Trinity-Spadina to get extensive media coverage during the campaign.

Foible: Robbing Peter to pay Paul

2005-11-24T16:39:00.000-05:00

Foible: Robbing Peter to pay Paul
It seems that the Liberal government has used funds in Public Service pension fund to help plump up those gigantic surpluses.
According to: http://www.pipsc.ca/english/pensions/pension-nov2305.html , the government used strong-arm tactics to strip money from the pension funds. The government claims they were entitled to take these assets.
An excerpt:
“The documents, however, clearly contradict this claim, as many refer to” assets” and” funds” that exist in the pension accounts and some speak of the government’s use of the surplus as” a painless way to reduce the deficit.” In summarizing the contents of memos from Treasury Board, our lawyers pointed out that” the surplus was used as the single, biggest tool to fight the deficit.”

This happened with the knowledge of then Finance Minister, Paul Martin.
Maybe this will convince those civil servants who consistently vote Liberal to reconsider.

Foible: Nattering nabobs of negativity

2005-11-24T12:56:00.000-05:00

According to a story by Jane Taber in the Globe & Mail:
(sorry link requires a signup)
the Liberals are planning to run a negative campaign. Rather than lauding their dubious achievements, they're planning on attacking Stephen Harper.

So, what is the worst thing they could say about Mr. Harper?

Ouch!

Foible: Just when you thought, it was safe to go back to the waterfront.

2005-11-23T21:12:00.000-05:00

Expansion of the Toronto Island Airport, a hot-button topic in Trinity-Spadina during last year’s campaign has resurfaced, just in time for the coming election.
The proposed bridge from the foot of Bathurst Street across the Western Gap to the Island airport was halted after the last election. Now, an expanded ferry is proposed, leading to an increase in the number of flights using the facility and concerns of increased noise.

This was probably the biggest issue in the riding last time. It certainly impacts the voters in the large number of condominiums that run along Queens Quay near where the planes takeoff and land. This is also the part of the riding where Tony Ianno did much better than the NDP candidate. Given his failure to resolve this issue before this election, that may not be true this time.

Foible: Conspiracy theorists: start your engines!

2005-11-23T19:57:00.000-05:00

     In the news today was word that a police informant alleges that a $300,000 contract was placed on Paul Martin in 2003. While the information comes from an accused cocaine trafficker, Vincent Brown, the most intriguing fact for me was that Mr. Brown’s attorney is Sam Goldstein, Conservative candidate of record for Trinity-Spadina.

http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2005/11/23/1319316-sun.html
     There haven’t been many political assassinations in Canada. Thomas D'Arcy McGee and Pierre Laporte are the only two that I can recall. This conjectural assassination seems to have ties to organized crime and not the typical Liberal party sort of organized crime. There has been some speculation that this might be linked to the discovery of cocaine on one of Martin’s Canada Steamship Lines vessels but I can’t imagine that could be the connection.
     Since Martin was in a leadership race at the time, was there another leadership candidate that organized crime favoured to be leader? I guess we will never know.

Foible: King Ralph

2005-11-23T16:01:00.000-05:00

Foible: King Ralph
Alberta premier Ralph Klein says that he expects the forthcoming election will result in another Liberal minority.
http://www.canada.com/national/story.html?id=1d14983c-b6c3-4da4-a1dd-13e5c3728ff2

Ever heard of the term “self-fulfilling prophecy”, Ralph?

Just like Dalton McGuinty hurt the federal Liberals during the last election with his cuts to OHIP, Ralph seems determined to hinder the Harper campaign this time.
Luckily, most Canadians don’t seem to believe Klein at the best of times.

Fable: Just get on the bus, Gus

2005-11-21T15:25:00.000-05:00

I’ve just finished negotiations with the other Toronto-area campaigners. I couldn’t get 100% agreement but most of them have agreed to contribute for a mobile campaign vehicle.
I had to call in a favor from my pal, Howard Moscoe (TTC Chairman) but we've managed to rent an old TTC bus for the duration of the campaign.
Right now, it is being fixed up in the Wilson yards to become a rolling campaign office with a conference room, multiple mobile phones, internet connections and a bathroom. A full length Conservative Party logo is being applied to the outside of the bus.

Look out Liberals, here we come!

The use of a former transit vehicle is an endorsement of the Conservative policy advocating transit tax credits and shows the degree of cooperation among the Toronto candidates.
We’ll be able to take the election to the streets, carrying candidates and canvassers in heated comfort and style. This bus was used in the bio-diesel conversion trials, so we’ll be accompanied by the smell of French fries wherever we go.

Foible: A rare sighting indeed!

2005-11-21T14:28:00.000-05:00

Tuned into Question Period and what do I see?
Tony Ianno (Liberal, Trinity-Spadina) up on his feet and responding to a question!
What were the odds on that? I guess since he got a cabinet post (Minister in charge of biscotti) he has had to show up in the house. Finally!

Tony and Paul

Foible: Gearing up

2005-11-18T23:43:00.000-05:00

Just back from tonight’s meeting of the Trinity-Spadina EDA. The main purpose of this meeting was to get everyone up to speed on the campaign preparations. The candidate of record, Sam Goldstein, was there and let us know what he needed from the group. Unfortunately, due to the long lead up to the actual election call, we’ve lost the campaign manager to career obligations. Luckily, the party came up with a substitute who is going help us get ready for the startup.
Before the meeting started there was an informal discussion regarding possible opponents. Tony Ianno, the Liberal incumbent, may decide not to run this time. He’s done enough time for a pension and faces a tough campaign this time. That is assuming, of course, that Olivia Chow actually decides to run this time. There is speculation that she might not, citing her recent bout with thyroid cancer. There she would be free to assist her husband, Jack Layton, with a difficult campaign in Toronto-Danforth. We’re also expecting a Green candidate as well as the normal complement of fringe party runners.
The long precampaign has enabled us to build up a war chest. There’s not enough there yet for the full effort but money will start flowing once the writ is dropped.
As I had mentioned Sam Goldstein was there and he conducted the part of the meeting concerned with his campaign. He did a good job, handling a potentially controversial issue effectively and indicating that he and his team will be responsible for running the election campaign without alienating the rest of the EDA.
All in all a good meeting, setting up for the campaign that is coming shortly.

Foible: Page 28

2005-11-18T23:14:00.000-05:00

I was reading the Toronto Sun today. On page, 28 there were two items that caught my attention. The Sun runs a sidebar column entitled “Best of the Blogs” which references recent blog postings. Today there was a mention of the “V for Victory” blog http://vforvictory.blogspot.com/ that is the personal blog of Jason Hickman, the CPC Trinity-Spadina EDA president. In this entry, he discusses a possible reason why the Liberals want to put off the election. They only have 93 candidates nominated out of the 308 ridings in Canada.

Jason Hickman

The second item that I noticed was about the proliferation of discount tobacco stores on native reserves. It seems that you can buy smokes there for about a sixth of what they cost off reserve. While it is illegal for non-natives to buy these cigarettes, the law isn’t enforced. In fact, sales are so high that the natives are starting to produce the product of their reserves. Recently, Canadian manufacturers have started to shut down their plants and are moving production to Mexico. This gives me an idea. Why don’t we just cut the payments to these reserves and let them produce all of our tobacco products? With the ever-present threat of lawsuits hanging over domestic producers of cigarettes, they might be willing to accept a buyout of their product lines and trademarks. Since natives have a limited immunity to lawsuits, placing these factories on reserves would provide them with gainful (and untaxed) employment. We could cut our annual payout and they would have a steady source of income.

Foible: Coyne of the realm?

2005-11-15T23:11:00.000-05:00

According to this:
http://www.mirror-guardian.com/to/easty/story/3154848p-3655691c.html
Deborah Coyne is planning to run in Toronto-Danforth, Dennis Mills former riding currently represented by Smilin’ Jack Layton. Don’t know if Ms. Coyne has a real chance of taking the riding.

Coyne & daughter

Last time there was a nasty rumour that the Liberals and NDP worked a deal to give Jack the riding, since the projected minority Liberal government would need a stable NDP to prop them up. Maybe the Grits are going to run a strong campaign on Layton’s turf to force him to spend more time in TZip. Then again, maybe Olivia Chow will decline the Trinity-Spadina nomination so she can stump along the Danforth for her hubby. Just like last time.
More at: http://www.anticorruption.ca/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1762&

Foible: Victory Portraits

2005-11-15T11:00:00.000-05:00

Since the Conservative Party’s slogan is “Stand up for Canada”, I’ve been thinking that maybe we should change the format of our election signs from landscape (wider than tall) to portrait (taller than wide). Not only does this echo that slogan but it would make our candidate’s signs standout from the other parties.
Here is an example I cobbled together based on our candidate. This is just an example, I know the font is wrong and the photo should be cleaned up, but you get the idea.

(This sign NOT approved by the candidate in any way, it is just an example)

Foible: 35,000 reasons not to vote Liberal

2005-11-14T22:48:00.000-05:00

Goodale claims that the middle range of income runs from 35 to 75k. I figure that over my entire fulltime working career, I’ve probably averaged 35K/year. My first job after university paid 11,400 and the most I’ve ever made was around 68,000. I consider myself comfortably middle class but I couldn’t imagine raising a family on just 35 grand a year.
You have to remember that ANYONE can promise tax cuts in some far off future time. Five years from the now, the situation will be different and today’s promises long forgotten. I think Goodale is being just a little arrogant to think that the Liberals will still be in a position to provide such tax cuts in 2010.

Foible: Who says the Conservative party isn’t progressive?

2005-11-14T20:28:00.000-05:00

I’m going over the riding membership list in preparation for the you-know-what that is coming shortly. Lots of fields for updating members’ personal data. Things like change of address (if they’ve moved) change of voting status (if they’ve turned 18 or become citizens) e-mail change, usual stuff. Here’s a field I never noticed before “Gender_Changed”! Guess we really aren’t all homophobic racists after all.

Foible: The Winter Cotillion

2005-11-14T19:38:00.000-05:00

Since the Martin government has, uhm, declined the opposition’s offer to hold the next election at more holiday-friendly date, maybe the three leaders should try a different playbook. Get your motion of non-confidence passed then go to the Governor-General and offer to form a replacement government. Tell her that is only going to be for 4 months until the RCMP has had a chance to investigate the Adscam players.
Let’s see if Martin has a comeback to this possibility.

Foible: Ehmphasis (and that is not a spelling mistake)

2005-11-13T23:00:00.000-05:00

Many years ago, I was the editor/copy editor/graphics/layout person for an underground humor ‘zine called Ehmphasis.
See article here: http://www.answers.com/topic/ehmphasis
A ‘zine is an amateur magazine created without any anticipation of profit and Ehmphasis purported to be a fanzine for then MuchMusic VJ Erica Ehm. It was created without her assistance or permission. During its 10-year run, it published 60 issues, of which I edited etc. about 24 and contributed to about a dozen more. Most of the contributors were students at George Brown College or Ryerson and I had the duty of whipping their submissions into something publishable. We won some CAPA awards during that time and received some favorable press. Despite the title, it wasn’t really just about Erica but poked fun at a number of topics, including music videos, fashion, CITY-TV and Toronto politics.
Anyway, the experience I got with editing and graphics has proven useful over the years. Recently I’ve taken on a new responsibility, editing and laying out the Trinity-Spadina EDA newsletter. Since we were starting from scratch, I got to select the name “The Point” and a matching logo.

Each issue is about six full-colour pages long. Keeping with modern times, we don’t actually print any copies. Instead, they are converted into .PDF files and emailed out to the membership.
One of things that hasn’t changed over the years is that so many people just don’t know how to write. Luckily, these days I have spell and grammar-checking software to do the heavy lifting. In the past, I was using a desktop publishing program called Ready, Set, Go. Recently, I was using Quark Xpress but now I’ve switched to MS Publisher. It doesn’t have as many features as the other programmes, but it is found on most Windows machines.
Unlike the days when it was just up to my publisher and me to decide content, with an EDA publication there is, dare I say, a lot of politics involved. Before we can publish, the content has to be vetted by the Association president and he is very leery of anything controversial or contrary to party policy. All of this checking takes time, so much that an issue I worked on over the Labour Day weekend was sent to the members last week.

Foible: Freebies, not from the Liberal Party

2005-11-13T17:01:00.000-05:00

     With the forthcoming campaign taking place in cold weather, I’m wondering what kind of promotional stuff will be coming down the pipe from Conservative HQ.
Last campaign, we got some buttons, a few T-shirts and temporary tattoo stickers (!).
The buttons were very popular, as it seems there are some collectors who specialize in that sort of ephemera, the shirts went to some volunteers, and the tattoos were largely ignored.
     If anyone at Party HQ is reading this, here are some suggestions for this time:
     Toques. Quintessentially Canadian, I’m sure we could get nice CP blue ones.
     Scarves.  Also suitable because of the climate, get the party logo on them.
     Sweatshirts. It is too cold for T-shirts these days and these are informal.
     Thermal Mugs. Keeps hot beverages hot, can be emblazoned with the party logo.

I know that it probably too much to expect the national party to shell out for these goodies, but perhaps they could make a bulk purchase and sell them to local EDAs at cost.

Foible: Changing Colours

2005-11-12T22:59:00.000-05:00

I got tired of the colour scheme from the standard template that Blogger provides, so I tweaked the html code to display a more restful palette. I mean, who uses orange anymore?

Foible: More grey hairs

2005-11-10T11:32:00.000-05:00

Foible: More grey hairs
Saw this article about the dangers of lead acetate in “Grecian Formula”
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051108/hair_dye_051108/20051108?hub=Health
Now lead is a known toxic metal, and lead acetate (sugar of lead) is blamed for poisoning the ancient Romans. Professional hairdressers won’t use dyes containing lead due to the toxicity. Vanity has a price, I guess.

Foible: Polling the pollsters

2005-11-09T11:25:00.000-05:00

     I’ve been doing a little math, and since 30,000 people read “Blogging Tories” every day and since the usual number of people questioned by pollsters is around 1,000, I’m figuring that the odds are pretty good that at least ONE person who comes here will be called every time a poll is conducted.
     So, as a test, how about posting a comment here every time a pollster contacts you. I’d like to see what kind of questions they are asking.

Foible: Cyber campaigning, Part 2.

2005-11-08T22:03:00.000-05:00

     Earlier, I wrote about the use of computers and the Internet during an election campaign. Today, I’d like to discuss the use (and abuse) of modern technology during an election campaign.
     Internet access is a requirement. The campaign is going to need e-mail access and a connection link to party headquarters. You can get high-speed access from either Bell Canada or your local cable company. Depending on the number of workstations, you will also require a hub or router with the appropriate number of ports. Units are available with 4 to 24 ports, and some have a parallel printer port allowing you to share an inexpensive laser printer. You can buy pre-made network cables, check the lengths required before purchasing.
Computers may either be donated or purchased. Many members will have old computers that are suitable for use as workstations. Any machine capable of running Windows 98 is suitable. Office 97 provides word processing and spreadsheet software, which is all that is required. I would suggest removing Internet Explorer, as there should be a dedicated machine used for e-mail. I recommend using an old Macintosh for e-mail and “Internet surfing”. The rationale is that it seems a campaign attracts all kinds of e-mail viruses, worms and spy ware. Not using a Windows machine minimizes the risk from these problems.
A good laser printer is a requirement. Colour capability is not.  Over the course of a campaign, we printed nearly 20,000 pages. An inkjet printer is not a satisfactory substitute. You are going to enough paper and toner cartridges to last the 5 weeks. Refilled toner cartridges are much cheaper than new and are adequate in quality. If possible, get a printer with an Ethernet connection. If all you have available is an older parallel port model, get a hub that has a printer port or setup a computer to act as a print server. If you don’t have ready access to a copy shop (and you should) a scanner combined with the printer allows for limited copying.
The campaign manager will require a special computer. He or she will be receiving secure communications and/or generating sensitive documents. I suggest a laptop with either XP Pro or W2K. This will require Office 2000 Professional or better.
I suggest a laptop for portability and security with an inkjet printer for confidential printouts. Just remember to ensure the laptop is kept in a secure location.
Proper backup is essential. Either CD-RW or USB memory stick is acceptable. The amount of data that accumulates during a campaign doesn’t seem to exceed 500 meg.
Having internet access allows for the use of VOIP (Voice over Internet protocol) to replace multiple phone lines. We experimented with this during the last campaign and it worked well. This technology drops the cost of a phone bank but stops people from phoning back in response to the number that shows up in caller-id. The limit seems to be 6 simultaneous calls per high-speed connection.
In addition to the phone bank system, the office will require a regular line with a fax machine and answering machine. This will be the primary connection for people calling into the office for information and I recommend having caller-id for this line. The candidate, campaign manager and office manager should have cell phones. If the candidate has an assistant, they should have a cell phone. If the campaign has a separate media contact person, they should have a cell phone. Luckily, most people seem to have them these days.

Foible: 2006, the year with two elections?

2005-11-07T20:02:00.000-05:00

Well, it sure looks like we are facing an election early in the New Year. The current polling suggests that neither party is going to get a clear majority or even a supportable minority. See my comments below (Minority Report) on the calculus of party seat counts.
We have managed to make the 2004 version of a minority government last 18 months, which is about the average. Since it, looks like the CPC will get the most seats and they do not have any natural allies, I am guessing that any CPC minority government will have a brief half-life. Thus, we could be facing another election, possibly in the fall.
A second full moon in a month is called a blue moon. I hope that a second Federal election will be a blue one as well.

Fable: Layton takes a walk in the leaves

2005-11-07T00:53:00.000-05:00

Fable: Layton takes a walk in the leaves

Toronto, November 7, 2005
     NDP leader Jack Layton announced during a speech at the Empire Club that he has decided to continue his party’s support for the minority Liberal government.
     “I feel that we must continue with this alliance in order to ensure that public services continue to be the only source of healthcare for all Canadians except, of course, those who live in Quebec or who can afford to get needed care outside of the country. While I’m not entirely satisfied with Prime Minister Martin’s latest proposals, I’m would rather have these limited safeguards in place before an election is called. There will be no election this year.

”Toronto, November 7, 2005
     NDP leader Jack Layton announced during a speech at the Empire Club that he has decided to discontinue his party’s support for the minority Liberal government.
     “I feel that we must discontinue alliance in order to ensure that public has confidence in the integrity of the democratic process. Prime Minister Martin’s latest proposals on preserving healthcare were too dependent on the country continuing to have a budget surplus, a surplus whose amount,  as we have seen, the government is capable of manipulating to its own purposes. I’m going to act in concert with the other parties to defeat this corrupt party.”

Foible: Big tower of….

2005-11-06T20:50:00.000-05:00

One of the guilty pleasures of Canadian politics is observing the behavior of the folks who post on Babble.
The URL is http://www.rabble.ca/babble/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_daily. One of my fellow campaign workers showed the site to me during last year’s election.
I’m not going to claim that this site represents typical NDP thinking. In fact, I suspect many of the posters are members of other parties, pretending to be socialists.
Where else see a discussion concerning whether or not Layton is supporting corrupt regime degenerate into a recipe exchange?
(See http://www.rabble.ca/babble/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=005023 for details.)
There are posters who would rather commit seppuku than see Harper as PM. There are some who feel that everyone who votes Conservative is a card carrying racist, Nazi who would stick homosexuals into prison camps, ban abortion and bring back the death penalty. There are even those, who unbelievably, think the NDP can form the next government. Check it out; it is good for a laugh.

Foible: Pardonnez-moi

2005-11-04T23:50:00.000-05:00

With the current RCMP investigations into possible illegalities regarding the AdScam fraud. I think Paul Martin has a clear course of action. He must issue a blanket pardon for Jean Chrétien. It is obvious from the testimony given during the Gomery inquiry that Chrétien had no idea that illegal actions were taking place within the group that he had setup to promote Canada nationalism within Quebec. He had set the organization in motion after the 2005 Quebec referendum resulted in a hair-raising near loss. His failure to monitor closely the group enabled them to divert funds to friendly firms, obtain kickbacks and subvert election-funding rules. Given Chrétien’s poor state of health and mental deterioration, it was easy for him to lose control of these scoundrels.
Do we really want to see this poor, tired and broken man dragged before the courts to defend his reputation? Do we want to see him forced to sell his prized golf ball collection on E-Bay? Do we want to have hours of this case shown on CBC News World?

Pardon Chrétien now!

Foible: Minority Report

2005-11-04T23:48:00.000-05:00

A federal election is inevitable. If not before the end of the year, then certainly we’ll be at the polls before Easter.
What are the prospects for another minority government after the next election?
After the last election, the totals were Liberal 135, Conservative 99, NDP 19, BQ 54, and Independent 1.
Right now, after the next election, I would estimate the following ranges:
Liberals: 100-140
Conservatives: 80-120
BQ: 45-65
NDP: 10-30
Other 0-5
These estimates are based on how I interpret the impact of the Gomery report on the voting public. The actual ranges would vary if some new issue polarized opinion. I don’t think the reservation drinking water issue will have that much impact on the polls.
What does this mean? It means we’re facing another minority government!
I don’t see any combination of results that give any party a clear majority. Even another Liberal-NDP union is unlikely to create a definitive majority, since a large number of NDP wins would reduce Liberal victories and vice-versa.
How to avoid this undesirable occurrence? Without the voters in Ontario coming to their senses and turfing out the Liberals, nothing else comes to mind. Since the BQ will take about 55 seats, forming a government requires taking 155 seats out of the 253 or so available.
What are the alternatives? Even if some of the less committed NDP voters decide not to vote for the party after it supported the Liberals, they are most likely to vote either Liberal or for an non-mainstream alternative party. Disaffected Liberals might shift their votes to either the Conservatives or NDP. The Conservatives might have a chance of stealing some voters from the BQ but would there be enough to swing even a single Quebec seat their way? Perhaps, in 2007, when faced with consecutive minority governments and forced to go to the polls 3 times in less than four years, Canadians will make a clear choice.

Foible: No el-ection

2005-11-03T00:50:00.000-05:00

The three opposition leaders face a dilemma. If they cause the Martin government to collapse on November 14, an angry electorate would be facing an election campaign over the Christmas/Hanukah holidays. If they do not, the country suffers under a suspect government until at least the new year and most likely until the start of spring.
What to do?

How about this? Win a vote of non-confidence and then all three go to the Governor-General and offer to form an interim coalition government. Explain to the voters that the evident corruption involving the Liberal party has forced this unlikely alliance, which will allow the RCMP investigation to proceed and allow the affairs of the government to continue under a triumvirate caretaker government, which will call an election within six months.

Foible: Question Period, November 1, 2005

2005-11-01T14:27:00.000-05:00

Now I’m watching Question Period. Do I have too much time on my hands? Possibly. Right now, Stephen Harper is badgering the PM on his role in the AdScam scandal. Of course, Martin is refusing to accept anything more than collateral blame.

How about asking this question: Mr. Prime Minister, the nation has been shocked by the corruption revealed in the Gomery report. You have been in power for nearly two years, can you guarantee that there aren’t more scandals waiting to be uncovered?

Foible: Gomery Pile on

2005-11-01T13:18:00.000-05:00

Today, I’m sure there will be many comments on the Gomery report.
I’m watching Paul Martin on Newsworld, and I have a question.

If, as you claim, you were totally unaware of the problems with the Sponsorship Programme; why was canceling it the VERY first thing you did upon becoming PM?

After all, if you didn’t know about potential scandal brewing over this issue why would you make ending the programme your first priority?

Just wondering…

Foible: The Sexual Evolution

2005-10-31T23:03:00.000-05:00

     While there are some skeptics who doubt that evolution is a valid process, perhaps an example will help confirm that it works.
     There is a species of bird. Let’s call them the “Milk Sapsucker” instead of the Latin name. Normally after a male and female sapsucker breed, both birds protect and feed the young. Sometimes they will become a breeding pair that mates exclusively for life. Sometimes they will mate for just one or two seasons. This arrangement worked for the benefit of the species. Both parents would protest and nourish their offspring and thereby ensure that their genetic material would be passed onto another generation.
     Sometimes, if parent were killed or neglectful a chick wouldn’t survive. This, while tragic, kept the numbers of sapsuckers at a level their environment could support.
     Then a group of biologists decided to conduct an experiment with the sapsucker population. Enough food was made available that only one parent was required to provide for the chicks. Over the course of the next few generations, several changes to sapsucker society were noted.
     Male sapsuckers, who in the past had normally mated with a solitary female, attempted to mate with as many females as possible. This maximized the spread of their genetic material by giving them as many descendants as possible. Since the males weren’t required to hunt or gather anymore to sustain their offspring, they could strive to breed with many females.
     Female sapsuckers no longer had to judge possible mates as co-parents or consider their ability to feed chicks. Larger, more aggressive males were able to breed more often and passed their genes and temperaments to their children.
     When the experiment had run its course, the sapsuckers had evolved to adapt to the change in their environment. Few pairs mated for life any more and the average number of offspring per clutch had increased as females who produced more eggs per season had more children survive to breed in the future. Fighting between males reduced their numbers; so many males had harems of breeding females that they jealously guarded. Males were now so territorial that they spent their time protecting their ranges rather than gathering food.
     When the project was over, the funding spent and the free food stopped, the colony of milk sapsuckers nearly became extinct. They had forgotten how to survive. The males weren’t interested in helping to nurture the young, the females produced so many young that the food they were able to gather, when divided among that many hungry mouths was unable to sustain them. Due to the limited number of males, the sapsuckers have lost the genetic diversity they require in order to readapt to their new environment.

Can humanity learn a lesson from these unfortunate birds? Only time will tell.

Foible: Where is the anti-matter?

2005-10-25T22:56:00.000-04:00

Quoted from http://www.physorg.com/news6709.html
What is antimatter and why does it matter?
Antimatter, as the name implies, can be described as the opposite of ordinary matter. Every particle in the universe has characteristics such as mass and charge. With antimatter, the mass remains constant, but the sign of the charge is reversed. All particles have an antimatter counterpart, even the chargeless neutron (Its constituent quarks do have a charge; the antineutron is composed of antiquarks). Unlike matter, antimatter is not common. Unless you're in the upper atmosphere, or inside a particle accelerator, you're not going to stumble across it. "Antimatter was not always so rare," Stéphane Coutu, Penn State particle physicist says. There was a time when it was as prevalent as matter itself. "Right after the Big Bang," Coutu explains, "we believe there must have been exactly the same amounts of matter and antimatter…and yet owing to some small asymmetry in the laws of particle interactions, all of the antimatter and most of the matter in the early universe was annihilated. We are left today with the resulting matter-dominated universe."
End quote.

Well, I’m thinking, what asymmetry could we talking about? Since the only thing that can destroy anti-matter is an equal quantity of matter, how can some small asymmetry explain that we occupy a universe is exclusively regular matter?
It has long been speculated that a massive rapidly rotating object could cause a rift in time. My theory is that the nascent big bang blob was rotating rapidly and all of that anti-matter actually ended up going backwards in time. Makes a certain sense as well. Normal matter travels forward, anti-matter, the complete opposite in every respect, travels backwards in time. Now there is symmetry.

Foible: Parks’ place

2005-10-25T09:55:00.000-04:00

     Rosa Parks, whose refusal on December 1, 1955 to surrender her seat to a white man. This incident with provoked a 381 day bus strike and is considered to mark the start of the modern civil rights movement. No doubt, the upcoming 50th. celebration of this event will be tempered by the sadness of her passing.
     Now, I was only 2 at the time and I was living in Scarborough. I can remember the first black student at my public school. Her name was Darlene Upshaw and I don’t recall that she was ever subjected to any form of racism. It may be difficult for my younger readers to believe, but 50 years ago, Toronto was almost entirely white. It was not entirely WASP, because there were many Catholics around. As I recall, the outsider group of my youth was the Italian immigrants, who came to Canada starting in the 50’s.
     In any event, Rosa Parks shows just how much influence a single person can have on  the course of history.

Foible: Cyber Campaigning (Part 1)

2005-10-24T21:39:00.000-04:00

     One of the ways that political campaigning has changed in the last few years is the availability of the Internet. It allows a candidate to stay in rapid contact with supporters and allows voters the chance to consider a platform in far more detail than any flyer or door-to-door campaign allows.
     No wonder then, that getting an Internet connection is one of the first steps in setting up the modern campaign. Creating a webpage and e-mail addresses allow the voters to find out about the candidate and communicate with the campaign.
     Sending a piece of literature by Canada Post to the 40,000 households in Trinity-Spadina would cost nearly 25 grand*. Using a flyer delivery service is about 10 grand and they can’t deliver to every address**. Using volunteers to hand deliver flyers is time consuming and not an efficient use of this resource.
     Cyber campaigning allows the voter to get information any time of day. If the candidate accepts and answers e-mail, a voter can ask questions and get personal answers in return. A well-designed website, Internet access and e-mailboxes are about $1000. This price will be lower if the party makes Internet resources available at cost to candidates.
     There are perils to Cyber campaigning. Web pages can be hacked, e-mails can contain viruses, and the candidate can easily be distracted by spurious time-wasting requests.
*   Cost includes printing of a flyer, address labels and postage.
** Delivery services can’t deliver to condominiums and tend to lose flyers.

Foible: Keeping your digit on the pulse of the public

2005-10-24T19:15:00.000-04:00

A few posts ago, I mentioned the controversy over the opening of the Zimmerman Freshmart here in the Kensington Market. I was glad to see the store open because it gave Market residents ready access to a variety of groceries. Items, which formerly required a streetcar ride, are now just a stroll away. I did mention a few qualms about the selection of meat available but generally, given the size of the store, it has a decent selection.
Anyway, a while ago I popped into the store on one of my bi-weekly grocery runs. Martin Zimmerman, the owner, who had a copy of my earlier post, met me in the meat aisle. He asked what additional meat items I would like to see him carry. I suggested that some nice blade roasts, suitable for pot roasts, would be appreciated. Organ meats like liver, kidney and heart are available elsewhere since he doesn't carry them. I asked about fresh fish since he only has canned and frozen but he indicated he did not want to compete with the local fishmongers.
It is gratified to see that at least one of the local merchants takes the time to search the Internet for comments about their businesses.

Foible: Foul play at sea.

2005-10-23T00:09:00.000-04:00

Since Friday was the 200th.anniversary of Traflagar, some General Staff Games Club members decided to break out "Wooden Ships & Iron Men" and play out the battle. Chaos occurred when the French and Spanish admirals couldn't decide which way was left, which caused a few collisions.
We had to end the game after 8 turns, Each side had captured one ship but the Franco-Spanish Alliance had 6 ships strike their colours due to excessive damage while the British lost only 2 ships.

Foible: Blazing Saddles Reviewed

2005-10-21T21:18:00.000-04:00

Foible: Blazing Saddles
Last Friday after I finished working on Tony’s computer, I stopped by the used CD/DVD store at Bloor & Bathurst. While I was looking around, I found a copy of the 2004 “30th. Anniversary” release of “Blazing Saddles”. I used to have a videotape of the movie but this one promised some interesting extras so I bought it.
I watched the DVD last weekend. Excellent transfer to disc and unlike the version usually shown on TV, it was uncensored. Even the raucous farting scene was uncut, Sorry about that.
Among the extras was the pilot for a TV series, “Black Bart”. I’m guessing it was meant to take advantage of the movie’s success. It has Lou Gossett in the title role and Steve Landsberg (Dietreich from ‘Barney Miller’) as ‘Jim’ the gunslinger, originally portrayed by Gene Wilder.
Now, Lou Gossett might be fine dramatic actor, but he is no comedian. The whole episode was embarrassing. I think it shows what happens you take a movie and try to clean it up for the small screen.
The other extras were deleted scenes and the censored scenes with changed dialogue (and sound effects). I find deleted scenes interesting because it lets you see how much of an influence the film editor has on the finished film.

Foible: No foul stench of corruption here.

2005-10-19T14:45:00.000-04:00

     With all of the stories about corruption at City Hall, I’m pleased to announce that my councilor, Ward 20’s Olivia Chow is keeping her hands clean.
     It seems that the ‘standard operating procedure’ at City Hall is to have businesses that want to circumvent the bylaws kick in an ‘in-lieu’ payment to the appropriate councilor. Each councilor can then use these discretionary funds to fund worthwhile projects in their ward.
     For example, when the PS Kensington group’s request for funding was turned down by city council, Olivia got us 10 grand from the Pattison Outdoor Advertising. This was available because the company had some non-standard advertising signs in this ward.
     Last night, Olivia’s assistant, Helen Kennedy, told me that a company looking to build eight townhouses over on Lippincott had donated 20 grand for improvements to Bellevue Square Park. We’re looking at upgrading the playground equipment and some landscaping improvements.
     That makes 30 thousand in discretionary funds that this neighbourhood has gotten from Councilor Chow in just a few months. No doubt she has been equally generous to the other districts in her ward even though these sub rosa payments could have easily been diverted to other less civic purposes. I wonder if other Toronto councilors have such a spotless record in allocating these clandestine payoffs to their wards.

Foible: And now there is a name for it.

2005-10-18T21:55:00.000-04:00

Just heard that there is now a term for the kind of deal that Jack Layton and the NDP cut with Paul Martin’s Liberals. You know, the 4.6 billion dollar in extra spending that Jack weaseled out of that minority government last spring.
It is now called “Jackmail”

Foible: Maybe one fell on his head?

2005-10-18T21:29:00.000-04:00

     I was watching Cityline (CITY-TV, 12:35 PM) on Monday. The subject was safety on the TTC, probably because a TTC driver was shot on the weekend.
     TTC Chairman Howard Moscoe made a curious comment that you were more likely to be hit by a falling piano than you were to be shot on a TTC vehicle. Now I can recall a couple incidents in the last few years where people have shot while using the TTC but I cannot recall any incidents of people being injured by plummeting pianos.
     Is the press guilty of a massive cover-up regarding the unsafe transport of massive musical instruments? Alternatively, does Mr. Moscoe simply need to choose a more plausible cliché?

Foible: Ok, that explains it.

2005-10-17T20:25:00.000-04:00

Earlier, I had commented on the private member’s bill put forward by a member of the NDP caucus that would require any MP who crossed the floor to resign and run in a by-election under the banner of their new party. I could not understand why anyone would think this was an issue that required legislation.
However, it now seems that Bev Desjarlais, NDP member for Churchill has decided to leave the party after she did not win the nomination for the next election. She feels it was because she voted against same-sex marriage an. Therefore, she has decided to sit (and run) as an Independent.
I wonder if any of the Conservative MPs who voted for SSM had their nominations blocked? Of course not, that only happens to Liberals and NDP candidates.

Foible: So, long Quebec. Don’t let Labrador hit you on the way out.

2005-10-16T22:51:00.000-04:00

I was reading that there is a good chance that the Parti Quebecois will win the next election in Quebec. If they do, they will hold another referendum.
May I suggest that they hold this vote on September 13, 2009? That will be the 250th. anniversary of the Plains of Abraham, the battle that resulted in the British conquest of Canada. If the separatists win, then make February 10, 2013 the date for the final handover. That is the anniversary of the Treaty of Paris, which resulted in France handing Canada over to England.
In my opinion, if the separatists get a clear and honest mandate, the rest of Canada should let them leave. I lived in Montreal for five years and I don’t believe that Quebeckers really want to separate. However, if the majority want to split, then I can’t see that we have any moral authority to make them stay. Assuming that a reasonable deal for the West Island and Dorian regions and navigation rights on the St. Lawrence can be arranged, let them go.

Foible: Pro Bono, sonny

2005-10-14T17:04:00.000-04:00

     Just back from helping out Tony. He is one of the people in my cardiac therapy group. He had a stroke about ten years ago and it affected his ability to read. I went to his house and setup OmniPage Pro, a programme that converts scanned images into text, to work with TextAloud a programme that takes text and converts into spoken words.
     Now he can read a book or magazine, a page at a time. It was interesting to see how much optical character recognition has improved over the last decade. I was working on a project back then to convert the cryptic characters from a court reporter’s paper record tape into comprehensible text. The OCR software back then could not handle strikeover characters, odd fonts or misaligned text. The current software seems handle everything well, including multicolumn and embedded graphics.
     I am surprised, given the number of people who have difficulty reading, that some software company has not already combined the two functions into one programme.
     Since Tony has trouble reading, I created some pictorial documentation for him, cutting and pasting images from the programme screens to create an illustrated guide. This is also something that would have been more difficult ten years ago.

Foible: Sundays in the ‘hood

2005-10-13T22:58:00.000-04:00

     As I have stated earlier, since I have had a lot of spare time on my hands during my recovery, I have been doing volunteer work.
     One of the groups I have been working with is the Pedestrian Sunday Kensington working group (henceforth PS Kensington).
     The main purpose of this group is to organize events in the Kensington Market neighbourhood. These events are held on Sundays and involve limited street closures.
For the benefit of any readers who are not familiar with this quaint Toronto district, the Market is an area, south of College, west of Spadina, north of Dundas and east of Bellevue/Denison. The main commercial district is located on Kensington/Baldwin and Augusta. The Market is over 100 years old and has many narrow streets. For further details, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kensington_Market.
     Anyway, in 2004 the group organized seven weekly events. I was not involved at that time due to my work on the Watters campaign (see previous entries). Anyway, some of residents who live around Bellevue Square Park had issues with the noise, and as a member of the resident’s association, I decided to join the working group to represent the people who live around the park.
     The organizing group is small, only about eight or nine members. Three of them are associated with ‘La Palette’ a trendy restaurant located at the north end of Augusta, there is a representative from St. Stephen’s Community House, another from the local environmental group, a resident from the condos on Baldwin, a couple of students and myself. Despite the paucity of members, we seem to get the events organized. There were only four of them this year, as the community felt that weekly was too frequent and we switched to bi-weekly.
     We had themes this year, Earth, Water, Fire & Air. We tried to link the themes to the special events for each day. The street closures involve closing off Kensington, most of Baldwin and the northern 4/5s of Augusta. This is done by placing metal barricades across the streets to keep motor vehicles out thus allowing pedestrians, cyclists and others the full use of the streets. While there are those who contemplate a full and permanent closure of the market, sober reflection shows that would be impractical. The shops in the Market have no alternative access available getting deliveries.
That is enough for today. More later.

Foible: Freshmart Frenzy

2005-10-10T21:19:00.000-04:00

Nine months ago, the Zimmerman’s Freshmart opened in the heart of the Kensington Market. According to the doom and gloom crowd, this was supposed to result in the death of the small independent food stores that are the core of the market.

It has not, of course. The market is a dynamic environment. Businesses come and go every month. Over the last 20 years, the food-shopping paradigm has changed. In the past, people came to the market to get food items that just were not available elsewhere.
In today’s world, with superstores in nearly every neighborhood, the average consumer does not feel the need to travel downtown, pay for parking and visit shops that have not been updated since 1965.
These days, the market attracts people looking for inexpensive food, gourmets seeking exotic foods, tourists and folks who have always shopped here.What the Freshmart has done is provide those of us who live in the market a place to get a selection of groceries that previously required a car or a streetcar trip. While the other supermarkets had the basics, their selection has always been limited. The Freshmart is open 7 days a week and has longer hours. They have a limited selection of meat, which beats the Lusitania (Thurs, Fri, and Sat), and the old Zimmerman’s (none).

Foible: Turkey Time

2005-10-10T20:39:00.000-04:00

This weekend, of course, is the celebration of Thanksgiving.
Over the last few years, we have not gotten the family together to celebrate the event.
Since some of live a fair distance away, getting everyone into the same spot to have dinner is very difficult. That plus the fact that none of us has a house that can handle 35+ family members.
We do make an effort to have an inclusive family Christmas party that involves renting a church hall and coordinating 6 siblings, 2 aunts, 2 uncles, 4 spouses, 8 children, 3 grandchildren and about a dozen stepchildren. The logistics of getting this mob together and fed are comparable to Napoleon’s campaign in Russia, minus the frostbite.
So how do I celebrate Thanksgiving? Well, Saturday was spent at the Lillian H. Smith Library at a meeting of the General Staff Games Club. I played “Settlers of Catan”, “Power Grid” and “Air Baron”. We had 12 attendees and two new members show up.
Then on Sunday, I met my mother for our annual luncheon. She took the bus into town and we had a meal at the nearby Pickle Barrel. Then we went to the bookstore and finished off with traditional visit to the pet store. Only one kitten in the store and it was $999!
Today I cooked a turkey. Just a small 10 pound bird because as much as I like turkey after a week it gets boring. This was the first bird I have done this year. The new convection oven did a great job, cooking a stuffed turkey in 90 minutes. Did the whole works, gravy, stuffing, baked potatoes and salad. No room for dessert.

Foible: Holy firebreak, Batman

2005-10-07T20:22:00.000-04:00

     Despite this newstory:
http://www.news24.com/News24/Entertainment/Abroad/0,,2-1225-1243_1812908,00.html
     the house that stood in for Wayne Manor in the iconic 60’s TV series “Batman” has not been destroyed by the wildfires ravaging Southern California.

     Another nearby house has actually been destroyed.

A piece of trivia: While everyone knows that Bruce Wayne’s father was named Thomas, few are aware that Thomas’ father was apparently named “Stately”

Foible: Idol speculation

2005-10-06T23:18:00.000-04:00

The MSM have been full of speculation regarding the viability of Stephen Harper’s leadership. This followed a minor party officio issuing a statement calling for him to step down. While I do not agree with the sentiments expressed, let us consider the prospects available.
Peter MacKay would have to be considered a strong contender. In my opinion, there are two main issues with his selection. First, some former progressives still despise him for merging with the Alliance. This is foolish to my mind since the chances of a divided conservative community forming a government are negligible. The second and more political element is that as the perceived front-runner he will be subject to the greatest number of attacks, both internal and external.
Bernard Lord is another possible candidate. The well liked, former premier is another golden boy in the Conservative ranks. The only thing he has against him is the dismal record that former premiers seem to have as national leaders. Are they considered to be biased towards their former province? The same factor applies to Mike Harris as well.
MPs Jim Prentice and Jason Kenney may decide to enter the race, mainly I suspect, to become kingmakers if a close race develops.
Tony Clement? Not likely.
David Orchard? Belinda Stronach has a better chance.
Tell you what, Stephen. Do well enough in the next election and we can put this difficult issue behind us for another decade.

Foible: Vote for the party, not the candidate?

2005-10-06T21:14:00.000-04:00

According to a story in the Globe & Mail.
The NDP wants bill to govern floor-crossers.
A most curious choice to be submitted as a private member’s bill. Is MP Peter Stoffer that concerned that so many members are going to be crossing the floor that he feels there should be a law concerning the activity?
The bill would force any MP leaving their party to join another party to undergo a by-election to continue as an MP. This suggests a viewpoint that voters are not electing a person; they are electing a party member. This would consider candidates to just a proxy for their party’s policies and not an individual with their own views and opinions.
Since it is a private member’s bill, it does not have a high likelihood of being passed. However, it is an insight into the mindset of this particular NDP minion.

Foible: Generally speaking.

2005-10-06T20:48:00.000-04:00

     For the last 22 years, I have been a member of the General Staff Games Club, a Toronto gaming group that has been around for 35 years. It is group of people who get together on a bi-weekly basis for about 8 hours to play games. We used to play conflict simulations (aka wargames) exclusively but over the years, we have drifted towards multiplayer games. Board gaming is in a bit of renaissance these days. They are very big over in Europe where their annual Game Fair attracts nearly 150,000 attendees and popular designers are big celebrities. There is even a class of games known as “Euro games” which combine superb graphics and components.
     Anyway, the vast majority of club members are single, professional men. Over the years, I have met a number of female gamers; fine, intelligent women. Usually, they end up married to male gamers.
     Therefore, if there are any female gamers out there who would like to meet some male gamers, the General Staff meets at the Lillian H. Smith library (College, near Spadina).
     The next few meetings are October 8, 22; November 5, 19; December 3, 17.

Fable: Iraq chooses a constitution

2005-10-06T20:20:00.000-04:00

This will probably be of most interest to my gaming buddies:
http://www.sjgames.com/ill/archives.html?y=2005&m=September&d=29

Frankly, I would think they should choose a Charisma next.

Foible: Question Period should be followed by Nap Time

2005-10-06T20:03:00.000-04:00

Watched Question Period today (see my earlier post). Assuming that it is always like this and not that I tuned in on a bad day, I have a suggestion for Harper and the other Conservatives.
When you have asked a question and some Liberal MP is answering, stop with the catcalls and heckling. Trust me; you want voters to hear what they are saying. I know the other parties will probably continue to act like 5 year olds while you are talking. Let them.
I think more voters will be impressed with our party if we show we can behave in parliament especially if the other parties’ members are going to behave like the group of feral baboons I saw today.
In addition, a note to the Speaker. If the MPs will not shut up when other people are talking, try getting that nice person with mace to give them a timeout. Works with pre-schoolers.

Foible: Too many cooks?

2005-10-06T16:26:00.000-04:00

Can anyone explain why the United States has only 435 representatives in Congress, while in Canada we have 308 MPs?
The US has a population of 295,734,134 as of July 2005. Canada has a mere 32,805,041.
That means an average US Congressman represents 679848 citizens while a Canadian MP has only 106509 constituents. If even you factor in 100 senators, (and ignore the 105 ineffectual Canadian senators) it boils down to 552774 citizens per elected federal politician for the United States.
So why does it take at least 5 times as many Canadians to govern a country?
There is always the argument that we need more representatives on a per capita basis because with our smaller population density, increasing the number of citizens in a riding would result in ridings so large that one person could not cover the territory.
That might have been true in the 19th. Century, but today, with modern transportation and communication, that concept is as outdated as buggy whips and hoop skirts.
What we should consider is reducing the number of seats in Parliament. I would suggest making each electoral district contain an average of 300,000 residents. That would result in about 110 MPs being elected. Imagine the savings that streamlined parliament would bring. Imagine how efficient a reduced government would be.

Foible: Enough, already

2005-10-06T14:22:00.000-04:00

Watching Question Period, and Stephen and the boys are ragging the Liberals over the Dingwall severance issue.
Enough, already.
We get the point, David Dingwall shouldn't get any severance pay.
Let's wait and see if he does before making an issue of it.
Aren't there more important issues facing Parliament than whether some Liberal sluggo gets another payoff?

Foible: It's a nude thing

2005-10-05T19:46:00.000-04:00

Maybe, if Martha Stewart wants to enter Canada, she should tell Immigration that she's coming here to work as an exotic dancer.

Foible: Up is down?

2005-10-05T16:26:00.000-04:00

Flying your flag upside down is a distress signal.
Would displaying a crucifix upside down indicate that your church is in trouble?