There's a reason why the coalitions videos was late last night. They had so many rejects and retakes....
Here's a few of the rejects, most would have been better that the out of focus, extreme close up, cell phone shot, "Hot Air" video we saw.
Enjoy.....
Reject #1:
Reject #2
Reject #3
This about sums it up this freak show....
Then the coalition gets to together on national TV....with the US watching closely.....
After being a complete asshole for so long, Danny Williams "Willing to let bygones be bygones".
I guess Williams wants to make nice now that he's screwed himself by being such a loud mouthed jackass.
If it was me, I'd say "SCREW YOU DANNY BOY!". Well that felt good. I guess that's why I'm the PM.
At least Harper is willing to listen. I guess that's why Harper's the PM.
Harper, meanwhile, said later Wednesday he is also willing to move beyond a dispute that had put the two Tories on a crash course.
Given last night's resounding defeat for the Liberal Party, I have to wonder what is left for Liberals now. The vulture's were already circling for Dion last night.
Here's how I see it, Dion will have to resign or will be shown the door.
If Dion's is unceremoniously shown the door, this could create a situation where of Liberals may leave with him, specifically the stalwart Dion supporters and possibly the more left wing elements. I already read on Jason Cherniak's site this morning of a "Progressive Liberal Party". This choice will be another nail, this time a big one, in the coffin for Liberals.
If Dion quits, although they wouldn't say it last night, Micheal Ignatieff and Bob Rae are the early standouts to be the next leaders. These two possible leaders represent polar differences for Liberals, that could be a real problem for a united Liberal Party and may initiate the breakup of this long standing party.
This could come down to couple of possible scenarios:
"I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind."
- July 1, 1960. From the Canadian Bill of Rights.
Given today's election, these words are as important today as they were then.
Other equally important words from Mr. Diefenbaker...
"Freedom includes the right to say what others may object to and resent... The essence of citizenship is to be tolerant of strong and provocative words."
- April 9, 1970, House of Commons.
"Freedom is the right to be wrong, not the right to do wrong."
- March 11, 1958
*
h/t many bloggingtories espeically Blazing Cat Fur: Election Day Blogburst: Vote for Freedom
The Toronto Star's endorsement of Stephane Dion and the Liberal Party is nothing short of a paid political announcement.
As Joanne points out, it contains many Liberal Talking points, such as Bush, neo-conservative, Mike Harris, and even the Kelowna Accord.
It reminds of a 15 year old's high school history report, researched and desperately written the night before it's due date. In this case using only one poorly choosen source, Liberal.ca. It's really sad that a major publication could be this bad. I, like Joanne, give a "P" for plagiarism.
I suppose it's release today is done in an attempt to shore up Liberal support on the final weekend of the election.
Some not so memorable quotes.
"Independent voices in the Conservative caucus were expelled" this must been for Garth Turner.
"To top it all off, in calling this election Harper broke his own law fixing the election date for 2009."...obviously not because the election has continued without legal challenge.
"On the environment, Harper scrapped the Kyoto accord and came up with a new plan that allows greenhouse gas emissions to continue to grow, especially in his home province of Alberta"...that should have added "continue to grow from the 13 Liberal years of inaction"
"He has also demonstrated strength of character in withstanding a withering negative ad campaign that would have brought lesser leaders to their knees"...this is hilarious considering the Liberal campaign has been exclusively negative. ie neo-con,bush-harper, mean-spirited, harpernomics, psst see the top of your article TO Star.
It's truly frightening that Mr. Dion could be on the verge of becoming Prime Minister giving his train wreck of an interview.
I don't think that the interviewer could have been clearer. It's simple "If roles were reversed what would you be doing?". Dion also seemed to understand that they were talking about the current economic crisis.
Not only could Mr. Dion not understand the question, but he didn't even understand the answer he was giving. His initial response was about a 30-50 plan. This 30-50 plan is something that exists. It is a Liberal plan from 2007 to, as they say win the war on poverty
Under the Liberal 30-50 plan, federal income support will significantly increase for three groups of Canadians.Also, I keep reading from the Media and Liberals about Mr. Dion's hearing problem. Sorry that doesn't fly because by Mr. Dion own admission, his problem exists in crowded room with lots of noise...
He said he has trouble, for instance, if everyone is speaking at once during a cocktail party. Dion and his officials on the Liberal campaign were unable to say what the condition is called.A 1-1 interview doesn't qualify as a crowded room.
But he said it affects his ability to "catch the music of the beautiful language of English."
"I hear everything when it is isolated, but when it is confused with other sounds it is completely confused," Dion, 52, said Monday during a campaign stop. "My mother has the same problem. It is kind of a hereditary problem, but it does not stop me from listening to Canadians."
"When you're running a trillion-and-a-half-dollar economy, you don't get a chance to have do-overs, over and over again," Harper told reporters at a campaign stop in Winnipeg.No wonder Mr. Dion is still insisting that his carbon tax would be implemented right away, he clearly doesn't understand the answer to questions on the economy.
He contended that the stumble by Dion - on a question dealing with the economy - clearly showed that Dion has no plan for dealing with the global credit crisis that is sideswiping Canada.
When a francophone reporter asked if the problem wasn't Dion's imperfect English, Harper replied:
"I don't think this is a question of language at all. It was very clear, it was asked repeatedly . . .
"What's important in the end is that, after all the times the question was put, the answer was from Mr. Dion that he does not have a plan, that if he was elected he would spend 30 days trying to create one."
H/T Joanne.
Stephen Harper has been endorsed by Torstars "The Record" in spite of existing in an area with 2 long time Liberal MPs.
Here are a few excerpts from the paper:
Each voter will have to respond to this question as he or she sees fit. The way The Record's editorial board views the situation, there are only two viable options, one coming from Harper's Conservatives, the other from Stéphane Dion's Liberals.
And when we weigh things as fairly and carefully as we can, we conclude that Harper and his party deserve another term in government.
...
So far, and Harper is correct to point this out, Canada has escaped the worst of it. We are not in recession. There have been no collapses in our banks or lending institutions. There have been no bailouts. Instead, the Bank of Canada has already intervened to secure the liquidity of our banks and facilitate the flow of money. But we are not an island that can escape the storm. We are a trading nation peering out at thunderclouds and surging seas.
...
On balance, Harper has put Canada in a good, even enviable position to weather the coming economic storm. Proof of this came this week when the International Monetary Fund predicted that Canada will lead the Group of 7 industrial nations in growth next year, with our gross domestic product estimated to rise by 1.2 per cent.
...
Unfortunately, it is at this precise moment that Dion and his Liberals are asking Canadians to take a leap of faith that could land them on their backsides in the dust. It is at this precise moment that Dion wants voters to endorse his Green Shift and the major change in Canada's system of taxation and redistributing wealth it would bring. Throughout most of its history, The Record has endorsed Liberals in federal elections. In fact in the past 40 years, there have been only two other occasions on which we did not. However, the Green Shift is a stumbling block we cannot clear.
The hits just keep coming from Andrew Coyne. If he keeps nailing targets like this he is, he'll soon achieve sniper status. This time it's looming savings crisis that Dion and Layton keep talking about.
Again, take it away Mr. Coyne:
“Mr. Dion said that unlike the Conservatives, the Liberal Party understands that Canadians are worried about their savings and pensions….” - Only the Liberal Party can stop Harper’s government, Liberal press release.
“Ordinary families are very worried about their savings, their pensions, their homes and their jobs,” Mr. Layton said…” — Harper denounced as insensitive, National Post
Meanwhile, back in reality…
...
When will this Prime MInisterdo somethingshow he cares aboutprotecting Canadians’ savingsthis frightening run of bank failuresthe demise of global capitalismATM fees?
Every time I read Andrew Coyne, I'm more and more impressed. Here is latest about the impending doom, according to Layton and Dion, of a American Style meltdown in Canada.
Take it away Mr. Coyne
This means about 0.3 per cent of Canada’s 8.05 million home owners are behind on their mortgages by three months or more, he said.
By contrast, arrears in Canada hit about 0.7 per cent in 1992, as the effects of the housing bubble in the late 1980s and early 1990s worked their way through the mortgage market, Mr. Dunning said….
The closest comparison to Canadian arrears levels in the United States are 90-day mortgage delinquencies, Mr. Tal said. They are now in the 2 to 3 per cent range, meaning that about 1.5 million U.S. home owners are currently in delinquency.
In August, the last month for which data were available, one in every 416 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing, a 12 per cent increase from July and a 27 per cent increase from August, 2007
...
When will this Prime Ministerdo somethingshow he cares about thisavalancheentirely unremarkable rate of foreclosures?
10 points goes to Mr. Harper. Dion and Layton 15 points off for fear mongering.
I wonder if the Liberal and NDP war rooms are lying on the floor in the fetal position sucking their collective thumbs this morning with this latest positive news for Canada.
I wonder what Dion and Layton's negative gibberish response will be to this news. Harpernomics? Kitchen Tables? I sure Dion's will take credit that his plan to make a plan to have a plan is responsible.
Canada has the world's soundest banking system, closely followed by Sweden, Luxembourg and Australia, a survey by the World Economic Forum has found as financial crisis and bank failures shake world markets.
But Britain, which once ranked in the top five, has slipped to 44th place behind El Salvador and Peru, after a 50 billion pound ($86.5 billion) pledge this week by the government to bolster bank balance sheets.
The United States, where some of Wall Street's biggest financial names have collapsed in recent weeks, rated only 40, just behind Germany at 39, and smaller states such as Barbados, Estonia and even Namibia, in southern Africa.
