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Stephen Harper - famous for sticking to his prepared script and not answering questions from the media (that is, from the people, because that's as close as we get) - has decided he will answer questions after all. Five. He'll answer five questions. Harper has transferred his famously control-freak style of governance from the PMO to the campaign trail. He will answer questions, but only five, and from a media held behind a yellow fence, 12 metres away. The strategy described by this Vancouver Sun commentary is well-known to USians: it's exactly how Republican handlers worked GWB. Prime Minister Stephen Harper held his news conference Thursday and declined to tell journalists — corralled behind a yellow fence over 12 metres away — why he limits the daily encounters to just five questions. The episode highlighted the brewing issue of whether Harper, as the apparent front-runner in the race, is running a campaign in a bubble to prevent embarrassing mistakes. After several da...

If you read only one piece on this year's Super Bowl advertising hypocrisy, make it Antonia Zerbisias . I read this on Facebook, copied with permission: Pro-choice people have better use for their money! By now most of you have probably heard about the anti-choice ad CBS plans to run during the Super Bowl. Multiple media sources have reported that the segment will cost sponsors Focus on the Family $2.5 million. Here at NYAAF, we have been wondering: what kind of non-profit has an extra $2.5 million lying around to spread misinformation to sports fans? How, we wonder, was such an expense justified to their individual supporters and their board? While extra cash lying around has never been our problem, neither has irresponsible spending. Our pledge to our supporters remains true: %100 of your tax-deductible donations go directly to helping women obtain abortions they need but cannot afford. Our board is %100 volunteer and our personal donations as board members cover all overhead cos...

This is making the rounds through the Canadian blogosphere, and worth reading: Canada cannot be both a parliamentary and a populist democracy. Parliamentary Democracy In Crisis , an explosive new book analyzing December's constitutional showdown, written by 15 of Canada's leading parliamentary experts, says Canada must bridge its two largely irreconcilable democratic cultures or face an uncertain future. Canada's two solitudes are no longer Quebec and English Canada. Today, the two solitudes are Historic Canada and The West. Polls taken during the crisis found that Historic Canada -- Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes -- backed parliamentary democracy and the Liberal-NDP coalition supported by the Bloc Quebecois. Under parliamentary democracy, the government of the day must win and maintain the confidence of a majority of the members of parliament to retain power. The West overwhelmingly supported the populist outcome -- a two-month prorogation allowing the minority Conserva...

I wanted to do a round-up of progressive bloggers on this latest Liberal capitulation, but I don't have the time. Fortunately, Allan does. Here's another Redsock guest post to help keep us informed. Thanks to Accidental Deliberations for doing this first. - L From various progressive blogs: Disaffected Lib : Puffing himself up as perhaps no one else can, Iggy said, "We are putting this government on probation." Gee, Mike, I thought a minority government with an unruly opposition was always on probation. Was I missing something? ... Let's get this straight. The interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, our nation's Official Opposition, is content to allow Canada in the face of this fiscal emergency to wallow haplessly under the weight of Harper's visionless bailout budget. ... If you support this budget, Mikey, you're saying "okay" to everything that's in it - and that's anything but okay to me. To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak ...

Shorter Ignatieff: The budget is very bad, it's very bad, it's kind of bad, it's bad. But... it's not so bad. I'm going to live with it anyway. * * * * These goddamn Liberals. They get to act tough, showcase Ignatieff's tough-talking leadership, and then defeat the Government and have an election when they're good and ready, and when they feel Canadians are amenable to it. And we're stuck with this bullshit Government and their unfocused, grab-bag budget that does more for wealthy folks remodelling their kitchens than working people thrown out of work and barely hanging on. It's no big surprise, we knew Ignatieff wasn't really into the coalition, but it still sucks.

January 26 has finally arrived. On that awful day when the Governor General allowed Stephen Harper to suspend democracy to avoid a no-confidence vote, January 26 seemed so far away. Our hopes had been raised so high, thinking we'd have a new government, then crushed. Now here we are - minus two war resisters - on January 26. For non-Canadian readers, today is the Throne Speech , the day the Government, through the Governor General, outlines its goals and how it plans to accomplish them. Coming after the unprecedented events of last November and December, this must be the most anticipated Throne Speech in Canada in a very, very long time. Tomorrow, Harper brings his budget to Parliament. After that, we hold our breath. Either the Government will fall and the Liberals and NDP will form a coalition government, or the Government will survive. It's theoretically possible an election will be called, but no one expects that. Most insider-politics people believe the Harper Government w...

From today's press conference: Liberal and New Democrat MPs pledged Wednesday that U.S. war resisters would not be deported under a coalition government. Five Americans could face deportation by the end of the month unless there's a last-minute court reprieve or an unexpected policy change by the federal government. Liberal Mario Silva and New Democrat Olivia Chow said their parties would protect war resisters if Stephen Harper's government were to fall after next week's budget. Silva invoked the words of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, who during the Vietnam War said "Canada should be a refuge from militarism." "To all those brave men and women who have in fact objected to (the Iraq) war we say, bravo. We say welcome, you should be here in Canada," Silva said at a news conference in Toronto, which was attended by several war resisters and their young families. The House of Commons passed a motion last June 3 calling for a stop to deportations ...

Let me add my voice to the chorus calling Stephen Harper a hypocrite of mammoth proportions. Hypocrite hardly seems like the word. There ought to be a bigger, more expansive word to express hypocrisy of this magnitude. The man repeatedly states he will not appoint anyone to the Senate because he is committed to Senate reform. Then he dissolves Parliament to avoid a no-confidence vote. Then, while he shouldn't be doing any government business, since he's governing by himself, he appoints a record number of Senators , many of them clearly patronage gifts. And, after repeatedly stating that Supreme Court of Canada appointments should be subject to Parliamentary review, he appoints a Supreme Court Justice on the same day. And may I just say, Mike Duffy? That Mike Duffy?? I thought there must be some other Mike Duffy, besides the Conservative media hack. But no. I don't know who to credit for this little bit of brilliance, but some smart blogger said CTV stands for "Canad...

The prospect of a coalition between my party of choice and an Ignatieff-led Liberal Party has got me thinking of two cliches. "Be careful what you wish for." and "You lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas." I will still agitate for a coalition to stop Harper. But now it's quite a bit scarier.

I have read many articles by Mr. Ignatieff that were published in the New York Times Magazine . My low opinion of Mr. Ignatieff was formed by reading his own words, in long, in-depth stories. He helped make the case for pre-emptive invasion, he supports the use of torture, he supports overthrowing governments to install new regimes. This comes from the man's own words. Some links were posted in comments in this thread , but they are only a small sample of what I've read. Again: my judgement of this man was formed by reading his own words . Got it? Thanks. Update: A reader alerts me that on a pro-Ignatieff blog, I am listed, along with a bunch of other people, as a "Rae Liberal". Do these people bother to read before they write? (Silly question, I know.) Earth to trolls: I am not a "Rae Liberal". I am not a Liberal at all! Upperdate: Go look up the definition of "smear campaign". You will find it does not mention quoting the person's own publi...

By now you've all heard that Bob Rae has dropped out of the Liberal leadership contest. This is a big disappointment to me, but we can't waste time on disappointment. It would hurt to see the left cut a deal with a pro-war, pro-torture apologist for U.S. foreign policy... Geez. Just read that over. Kind of leaves a hollow pit in your stomach, doesn't it? ...but if Ignatieff represents the Liberal platform, and the coalition accord is specific to economic issues, I can live with it. I have to live with it to get rid of the Conservatives, and I have to count on the NDP to stay who they are. That may be a lot to hope for, but I've got plenty of hope. Write, call and email the offices of Michael Ignatieff . Tell him we want a Liberal-NDP coalition! Etobicoke: 416.251.5510 Ottawa: 613.995.9364 Ignatieff.M@parl.gc.ca Also: if you have a Liberal or NDP MP, email and call them, too. Tell them we are the majority and we believe the coalition is best for us, and best for Canada!

I'm sick of hearing that the coalition is dead. Until it's officially withdrawn, until both parties announce definitely that there will be no coalition, I'm still fighting for it. Why shouldn't we? Why not keep fighting for what we want? Because we're afraid of being wrong? Who gives a shit. We should be more afraid of not being heard. We should be more afraid of ending up with another Conservative government. Here's the latest (English portion only) from Canadians for a Progressive Coalition . + + + + Hello - bonjour, This is a crucial moment. We must act together to reach out and build a new era of cooperative governance in Canada. Last week fear spread faster than facts. We have learned that the Conservatives have a massive, well-funded, and impressively effective political machine. This machine swamped Canadians with unfounded fears about democracy and national unity. The Conservative machine is going to fully mobilize over the coming weeks in an attempt to...

I never blog about partisan political maneuverings. It's just not my thing. But privately, I have been hoping against hope that Bob Rae would be chosen as the next leader of the Liberal party. I worry about his baggage, sure, but I'm betting - or hoping - that most people so bothered by The Baggage Factor would be voting Conservative anyway. However, Michael Ignatieff as Liberal leader would seem to spell the death of the Liberal-NDP Coalition. Speaking strictly from an NDP perspective, how can the New Democrats ask us to support someone who laboured for years to promote destructive US foreign policy, including the invasion of Iraq and torture of anyone declared a terrorism suspect? Although Ignatieff backed away from his stance on Iraq, his writing, especially his frequent features in the New York Times , show his true colours very clearly. I used to read his work - or try to, repulsed as I was by his war-mongering - before I knew he was Canadian, and before I knew I was mov...

Impudent Strumpet on potato chips vs. junk food. I know several linguists read this blog, so please feel free to weigh in.

In case you haven't seen it yet, the old reliable "Untergang" video is back, Harper style. If Godwin's Law offends you, do us all a favour and don't click. From Harper Dictatorship .

If you haven't signed yet, please sign and circulate: Coalition for Change: 62% majority . As bloggers and pundits declare the Liberal-NDP coalition dead, we must sidestep their cynicism. They are more concerned with making predictions than with making change. If we decide the idea is s dead and not worth fighting for, then dead it will be. The accord can only live if we are behind it. Rally in Toronto and Montreal this weekend. Sign the petition. This is a different petition from the one circulated by Canadians for A Progressive Coalition . Please sign both! [And since I haven't mentioned it lately... why not vote for we move to canada for Best Progressive Blog in the 2008 Canadian Blog Awards? Vote here. ]

Ed Broadbent elaborates on his statements about Stephen Harper throwing Quebec under a bus to save his political career. Fanning the fires of national disunity By Ed Broadbent Since first being elected to the House of Commons in 1968, at a time of great national unity, I have never witnessed a Canadian prime minister consciously decide to disunite the nation. Until now. After failing to bring forth an essential stimulus package last week, Stephen Harper has betrayed the fundamental obligation of a prime minister: to build and strengthen national unity in possibly the world's most difficult federation to govern. Beginning last week, Mr. Harper has sought to avoid a legitimate vote of confidence and its unpleasant consequences not by sober or even merely partisan constitutional arguments but, culminating in Wednesday's television address, by a barrage of deliberately gross distortions. He is turning a serious dispute over the need for immediate economic stimulus into an unrelated...

"When a government starts trying to cancel dissent or avoid dissent is when it's rapidly losing its moral authority to govern." - Stephen Harper, April 18, 2005 "The Prime Minister has the moral responsibility to respect the rule of the House." - Stephen Harper, April 13, 2005 * * * * This morning the full force of yesterday's event hit me. I looked at my calendar for next week. Monday says: "Confidence Vote!!!!" I thought the resisters were safe. I was sure after the coalition formed a government, the deportations and threats of deportations would stop. And now... what? Believe me, I know the shut-down of Parliament has very serious consequences for thousands of Canadians. People will lose their homes, their jobs, their savings. But the thought that a family with a six-year-old boy with epilepsy - whose only "crime" is a father who was sickened by war and lies and said, "No more!" - could be expelled from this country, and the ...

Naturally I'm upset. I'm upset that the Governor General allowed her office to be used for political chicanery and self-interest. And my disgust for Stephen Harper can scarcely be put into words. But we are where we are, and we have to work with that. And we have a lot going for us. We have a Liberal-NDP coalition in place, with real potential to defeat the Conservatives in an election. Only weeks ago, a centre-left coalition was a dream. Now we have it. We have the Liberal leadership contest sorted out through next May. We have six weeks for the public to get used to the idea of a coalition, and decide whether they prefer a centre-left coalition to the Harper Government. We no longer have the excuse that there will be a change of government without an election. The confidence motion that Harper took such unprecedented steps to avoid was democratic and constitutionally legitimate, but many people didn't understand that. Now that fear has been removed from the table. Stephen...

It is unsurprising that Stephen Harper would rather pull the plug on the House of Commons than face a no-confidence vote. It is deeply disappointing that Her Excellency the Governor General assented to his plans. Harper has lost the confidence of the House of Commons, and parliamentary democracy demands he lose the privilege of governing. Instead, he demonizes one party, questions the patriotism of all the opposition parties, and hides behind a parliamentary sleight of hand. Today Harper had the hypocritical gall to talk about working together, when he does nothing but divide and play politics. Now he plays the ultimate political game, as he takes his marbles and stomps off. He is a liar, a hypocrite, an embarrassment to Canada and an enemy of democracy. The sooner we are rid of his Government the better. Canadians who are so afraid of the word "coalition" that they prefer a dictatorship need to wake up and educate themselves. He won't be rid of this Government on Decemb...