John Duffy: Still Insane

Duffy will not let go of this ridiculous hobby-horse:

At the risk of becoming a skippy Ipod track, I’ll repeat a question that continues to loom ever larger in the wake of last week’s dudget [sic]: Is the Prime Minister considering asking the Governor-General for dissolution?
…
So if Harper wants an election and three opposition parties do not, how does he get one? Does he flat-out recommend dissolution to the GG? What does the GG do?

This would be a most unusual situation – no precedent exists since 1925 for a government seeking dissolution in the teeth of Opposition resistance. Indeed, the GG of the day, Lord Byng of Vimy, overruled the Government.

Duffy is either remarkably stupid or lying through his teeth. The only reason that King’s request for dissolution was ignored in 1925 was that it was clear that his government was going to be defeated on a vote of confidence, and had thus, in a practical sense, lost the confidence of the house. There is zero precedent for the GG ignoring the advice (including dissolution) of a prime minister who does enjoy the confidence of the house, as is the case with Harper. To make all this perfectly clear read pages 72-79 in Patrick Monahan’s Constitutional Law.

Duffy:

Constitutionality aside, the political viability of forcing an election no other party wants is a very real question. Would there be an electoral backlash at so opportunistic a move? How does it square with the government’s plan to have regular elections starting in 2009?

As I said before, how would this be any different from the snap elections in 2000 or 2004?

Give Garth your opinion so he can ignore it and do whatever he wants to

Go fill out Garth’s survey. In so doing, ask yourself, “What does Garth think on this issue?” and then provide the opposite answer. Reading his elite interpretations of mass opinion (”the people agree with me and support me, always, no matter what the issue…”) is always entertaining.

Feminism Kills Little Girls

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It is perhaps obvious why sex-selective abortion is an embarrassment to feminism: while the preference for sons is deeply rooted in history, the other factors, such as reduced family size and cultural acceptance of abortion, are central pillars of feminist thought.

Is the Climate Change Debate a Recent Phenomena? Think Again!

Noel Sheppard goes through the archives of New York Times, dating back to 1885, and pulls out all the articles relating to the issue of climate change.

Here is just two of the many many articles written:

THIS CLIMATE OF OURS; WHY THESE OPEN WINTERS AND TEMPERATE SUMMERS? THE GEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF THE ALTERNATE PREVALENCE OF A SEMITROPICAL ATMOSPHERE.

June 23, 1890, Wednesday

Page 5, 1905 words

DISPLAYING FIRST PARAGRAPH - Is our climate changing? The succession of temperate Summers and open Winters through several years, culminating last Winter in the almost total failure of the ice crop throughout the valley of the Hudson, makes the question pertinent. The older inhabitants tell us that the Winters are not as cold now as when they were young, and we have all observed a marked diminution of the average cold even in this last decade.

Apparently they were worried about Global Warming in 1890. However, that worrisome tone changes in the next few decades,

International Team of Specialists Finds No End in Sight to 30-Year Cooling Trend in Northern Hemisphere

January 5, 1978, Thursday

By WALTER SULLIVAN

Section: Sports, Page D17, 817 words

DISPLAYING FIRST PARAGRAPH - An international team of specialists has concluded from eight indexes of climate that there is no end in sight to the cooling trend of the last 30 years, at least in the Northern Hemisphere.

Muslims Offended; Reasonable Discourse Ensues.

The Koran gets thrown on the floor and mayhem ensues,

At least four Yemenis and a French man were injured in clashes Sunday between local and foreign workers at a gas plant in Yemen, prompting government troops to intervene to restore calm, security officials said.

The violence began when a French employee at a natural gas liquefaction plant being constructed by Yemen LNG in the coastal city of Balhaf threw a copy of the Koran, Islam’s holy book, on the ground, a move that angered Yemeni workers at the plant site, the Yemeni officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.[Via Hot Air]

Thanks to lorien1973 for the post title wording…

How President Bush Can Recover: 4 Steps to Follow

John Hawkins, from Right Wing News, outlines the steps George Bush needs to take to get his approval rating back above 50 percent.

So obviously, what the Bush Administration has been doing politically for the last couple of years has been an enormous failure and even though Bush doesn’t have to run again, his lack of popularity is a big problem. As long as Bush is sitting at 35% in the polls, the Democrats will be emboldened, it will hurt the war effort, and it will make it very difficult for Republicans to make significant gains in 2008.

But, isn’t it too late for George Bush to turn things around? Not at all if he’s willing to change his tactics and start taking advantage of the opportunities that present themselves. So, what does he need to do?

Read the whole article for each of the four steps. Hawkins maybe optimistic, but the comments left below his article certainly don’t instill much confidence…

Elizabeth Edwards Has Cancer - Should John Edwards Quit?

Elizabeth Edwards was diagnosed with cancer on Wednesday of this week. Initial reports had John Edwards suspending his Presidential bid, however, Edwards quickly ended those rumors by publicly stating he would continue.

Andrew Sullivan doesn’t think Edwards should quit,

The campaign should go on, as life goes on. The cancer should neither help nor hurt it. But I will say this: Elizabeth Edwards is a truly remarkable human being. And her marriage is an inspiration.

The guys at OpinionJournal are a bit more reserve,

Our own reaction to the (erroneous) news that Edwards would suspend his campaign was the same as Kidwell’s: a surprised admiration. [...]

Elizabeth Edwards received her diagnosis Wednesday; the press conference was Thursday. This was a quick decision, perhaps a rash one. It really tells us nothing about either Edwards’s character, one way or the other.

What do you think?

Dinning Releases Donor List and Won’t Run Again

Rick Bell pores on the love for Jim Dinning in his recent article, “Jim Dinning hands out list of campaign donors, then walks off into sunset as Good Ship Tory drifts under leadership of Unsteady Eddie.” Bell can barely contain his contempt for Stelmach and does his best to prove his point with his trademark one sentence paragraphs:

Jim Dinning, the best-qualified but ultimately unsuccessful Tory leadership hopeful, reveals his list of campaign donors to the Sun.

Jim promises to bring out numbers by the end of March and the former treasurer, who put together the plan to balance Alberta’s books in the ’90s, does just that.

And he actually produces a complete list of donors, unlike the premier who keeps 15% of his donations secret since the donors want it that way.

Then, to prove his point that Dinning would have been a better provincial Premier, Bell starts dropping names like a giddy little schoolgirl -

Scanning the big donors you see Gail Asper, the daughter of the late media mogul Izzy Asper.

There are also a lot of law firms and oil and gas companies, including some of the bigs, such as EnCana and Petro-Canada.

There’s Cowboys bar and Woodridge Ford Lincoln and two Flames owners, Harley Hotchkiss and Doc Seaman, along with ATCO Group and Jim’s old boss, TransAlta.

On the under $5,000 list is everybody from former premier Peter Lougheed, who publicly backed Jim, to the Chinese Masonic Club and the Centre Street North Liquor Store. There are 1,544 individuals and companies.

Wow Gail Asper donated - I’m impressed! Finally, Bell points out what most of us already know, Dinning was more interested in being Premier than serving Albertans in Edmonton.

“Putting my name on a ballot is not in my future. This is the end,” says Jim, of a campaign where he was the frontrunner, had the backing of most Tory MLAs and lost.

Will Apple Sue? 1984 Clinton Mashup Video Gets More Attention

Following up on Wednesday’s posting, “Youtube, 1984, Apple and Hillary Clinton for President,” the creator of this innovative attack video has been identified:

The creator of the so-called online video mash-up was identified Wednesday as Philip de Vellis, a strategist who worked with a digital consulting company that has ties to Obama. The Illinois senator’s campaign has denied being behind the ad.

The debate now is whether Apple will sue Philip for copyright infringement, although I doubt suing anybody will accomplish anything,

The Cupertino-based Macintosh and iPod maker could argue that viewers would misconstrue that the political ad was done with Apple’s blessing, or that Apple was expressing support for Obama, said Erica Klein, an attorney with Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP.

Meanwhile, Hillary is taking all the attention in stride,

Asked about the ad, which has been viewed online by more than 1.3 million people, Clinton brought up another embarrassing Internet video - this one revealing her painful attempts to stay on key singing the “Star-Spangled Banner” at a recent Iowa rally.

“I’m just happy if it is taking attention from me singing,” the senator joked at a Capitol press conference.

Garth in a Glass House

Garth today in QP:

What third rate economist gave advice on the budget - The Prime Minister?

Garth in 2000 just prior to Nortel’s collapse:

If you own Nortel, or a mutual fund holding it, don’t bail out now… If you do not own Nortel, then this is the time to start accumulating it.

By the way, if you’re not reading RepoCreepo’s blog, you’re missing out. Here is the best Catch-Garth-In-A-Compromising-Position post yet.

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