Shocking video footage of the Prime Minister playing the piano and singing to the tune of The Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My Friends” at the National Arts Centre Gala held this past weekend in support of Canada’s next generation of performing artists.
Life is indeed rich with irony at times.
Update: As referenced in the comments and provided for a bit of perspective…
Red Tory v.3.0.3 
The video has gone Viral over 120k views.
Simply impressive public relations coup.
Richard Nixon – 1961 plays piano on Jack Parr, all by himself without an orchestra to back him up and soon that video will go viral.
Yes, the measure of a man is told by playing a piano.
Rural sandi,
some PR stunts fail. This clearly did the opposite.
Jack Layton, and a few Liberal bloggers are big enough to admit the fact he hit a homerun.
Sadly W.K. and your leader would rather spin a negative. The Liberal party is slowly falling apart.
The Liberal obsession with Quebec is damaging the Liberal brand in the rest of the country. The first cracks in the Liberal tent were evident when Ignatieff was forced to accept the action of some Newfoundland MPs who voted against the party line because of the actions of the Conservative government. “If that’s the criteria to vote in Ottawa,” one Ontario Liberal MP told me last week, “why does a Liberal MP from Ontario have to vote against the same government? I believe our province has been fairly treated by Harper.”
http://www.thehilltimes.ca/page/view/backrooms-10-5-2009
Whooee! I’ll give King Steve props. I reckon his choice of material is a little bit questionable. Maybe next time he an’ ol’ Rahim Jaffer could do a duet on gettin’ high.
What really stands out to me in the video is the ghoulish blue-grey tone of the HarpoonTosser and the warm skin tones of everybuddy else. With all the vampire an’ zombies showin’ up in the movie pitchers lately, I’m wonderin’ what Steve’s got coursin’ through his veins.
JB
Angelo Persichilli? Really Common Sense, you need a snowshovel to haul off all the bias in his articles. Why didn’t you just cite Michael Bliss?
Jeez. What’s common sense about ultra biased op-ed pieces?
Canadiansense – speaking of Jack Layton – he did his thing at a press dinner and everyone from all political stripes loved it…….you don’t suppose the Harper gang didn’t consider that when they pulled this PR stunt?
If you vote because someone plays a piano or golfs or some other hobby – that is sick.
“The video has gone Viral over 120k views.”
Yeah I think I’m going to wait a bit to see what the long tail of the entire thing before I’d call it Viral. One million views and it’s viral. 120 ooo; that’s just gawkers, media and Harper hardons.
Citing Persichilli is pretty lame. The guy is a ceaseless critic of the Libs, so what else would one expect from the guy.
I happen to think that Ignatieff’s strategy was brilliant. He took a calculated gamble managed to maneuver the Liberals back into the role of Opposition without provoking a much unwanted election (despite of his well-acted posturing about possibly doing so) where they can now, one hopes at least, speak with a little more integrity against the Harper government without the awful taint of hypocrisy stinking up their caucus while at the same time perhaps making inroads into territory held by the NDP (which has now been forced into the uncomfortable position of supporting Harper in exchange for some minor concessions) and the Greens (that has become sort of a parking lot for disaffected Liberals and Red Tory conservatives who regarded the major parties as being too close for comfort).
The plain fact of the matter is that over the past several years the Conservatives under Harper have not only successfully consolidated the Right, but have made serious inroads into the “mushy middle” of the political spectrum. A process that has been accelerated with their dramatic reaction to the latest recession in the form of their multi-billion dollar stimulus spending package or “Action Plan” that — courtesy of the other parties in parliament, it should be added — has essentially given them a free license to spend up a storm across the country and behave like fiscal maniacs (effectively buying up votes in the process). Accordingly, it was absolutely necessary for the Liberals to finally take a stand so they can begin clawing their way back to a credible position of counter-attack when the economic recession either: 1) worsens (which is entirely possible); 2) improves slightly (but still with a jobless situation affecting millions); or 3) rebounds (in which case the severe belt-tightening process will have to commence to restore fiscal balance).
So while things might like rather dire for the Liberals at the moment, I think their prospects will improve considerably over the longer term. This was a good bit of generalship and forward planning on the part of Ignatieff.
Funny watching the pundits, who were, up until yesterday, bemoaning the lack of serious debate in our country and our “broken” system, fall over themselves trying to tell us that Harper should get a majority because he played a Beatles’ tune on the piano.
Simply impressive public relations coup.
Get a life.
A day of Conservative panty-wetting gush over this is quite enough for me.
Let’s all remember that a scant few weeks ago, Herr Harper was telling his insiders he’s gonna teach the rest of us a lesson we’ll never forget.
Anyway who falls for this stunt is too stupid to be allowed to vote.
Red Tory
Citing anyone citing anon. Liberal MP is lame?
The trend in the polls and the pundits regarding the Liberal Party has been negative.
Everytime insiders want to cause damage they talk to the press. What party is having that problem again?
Chantal Herbert also stated the MP’s in QC do not want an election.
“We’re going to hell in a hand basket. This is like the time just before the election of 1988, with [John] Turner,” said one Liberal MP who spoke to The Hill Times on condition of anonymity. -Hill Times
http://www.thehilltimes.ca/page/view/grit_battle_outremont-10-5-2009
I don’t blame the reporters who are being manipulated by insiders who don’t like the direction of their party.
I think it speaks to the cynicism of many pundits in the media who feel that the rubes, err, public I mean, can be easily swayed by such facile stunts. Who knows? Maybe their cynicism is well-founded. Perhaps there are many people comforted by the notion that their leader is an actual human being that can tickle the ivories, sail a yacht, shoot a basket, or catch a football.
Those things are all nice, but personally, I’d just prefer they weren’t an asshole or a corrupt mouthpiece.
I was expecting Yellow Submarine.
Canadiansense — I’m not sure what you’re attempting to “prove” with your flurry of comments. A quick review of your recently minted website indicates it’s little more than a vehicle to make negative attacks on Ignatieff and the Liberals while pushing Conservative propaganda, so to me, you’re just profoundly dull and boring.
Contrary to appearances, this isn’t a terribly partisan site. We prefer honest discussion and good faith arguments here, not party political hackery.
Canadiansense just wants wilson’s job of official cut and paster for the cons.
Precisely. 🙂
I think it speaks to the cynicism of many pundits in the media who feel that the rubes, err, public I mean, can be easily swayed by such facile stunts.
Apparently, rubishness is spreading
I thought at first that that piece by Dawg was satire, but it isn’t.
*sigh* Oh, well, as they say: “Someday all the hippies will be dead.”
Redtory
I don’t agree with several things the current government has done. GM bailout top of mind.
I agree MI had to reboot his party, but he has “over reached” again but boxing his position to vote against 100% of every motion before reading it.
Some MP’s do not like being whipped voting against certain Bills before reading them.
The Bloc at least pretend to “examine” on a case by case basis.
I don’t think I have made an hyperpartisan comment.
Do we both agree the NAC-PR stunt was successful?
Current views is 170k # 1 in Canada, beating Rick Mercer clips. The comments from many anti-cpc voters were positive.
Politicians of all stripes try to recast their image, this stunt has worked.
Jack Layton also sang at the Press Gallery dinner but it was did not go viral.
Cheers.
once again it’s not Viral. Has to hit a lot higher in a short time.
Geez Canadiansense, how long have you been working as a viral marketer?
and it was a partisan comment because you chose hyperpartisan op-eds to back your claim. Persichilli sounds like a broken record when he writes. A mild Michael Bliss sort of like how you are a cardboard wilson.
since when did singing a Ringo Starr song (written because Ringo can’t really sing) make a difference in one’s ability to be a PM?
“Politicians of all stripes try to recast their image, this stunt has worked.”
What exactly did it recast him as? Ringo Starr?
Cripes Canadiansense, hold onto the ground you’re floating away from reality.
once again it’s not Viral. Has to hit a lot higher in a short time.
It also has to come from a relatively obscure source. This thing was plastered all over the mainstream media all day yesterday.
CanadianSense is getting lost in all the PR bafflegab…re-branding, viral marketing, cross-platform media synergies. Still, not as bad as Doctor Dawg’s hair-brained over-analyses…
Take a look at his blog Ti. It could easily be argued that viewing stats and Ignatieff seem to arouse the Sense from Oakville.
I had a look at it a week ago or so, when he first started trolling Liberal blogs.
Whole lot of nothing.
Canadiansense – interesting title. Rather arrogant in fact. 33 million Canadians and only about a third agree with your leader’s policies.
Jack Layton wasn’t doing it for a publicity stunt to try to convince the electorate that he was warm and fuzzy – it was a Press Gallery dinner. Viral or not, everyone loved it – because it was done for “simple fun”.
But again, Cons have trouble with simple fun – it has to have a motive of mind manipulation – Canadiansense falls for it – sign of a very weak mind.
RT – you are right. It reminds me that just a few weeks ago the pundits were praising Ignatieff for getting the Libs out of a difficult situation.
The imporant issues are missing in the media – because they may need taxpayer funding. So, swoon over Harper and his huge ego and keep in the good books.
because they may need taxpayer funding.
I really do believe that’s the case.
The writing is on the wall. Much sooner than later, the Internet is going to be the only mechanism through which all information is disseminated. At that point, corporate media will have to deal with a real level playing field and from the looks of it, they have no idea what they’re going to do. Apparently, their last stand will be to secure public funding, or at least secure a more nurturing taxation environment to maintain their creaky edifice for a little while longer.
This, after decades of railing against the distorting effects of government interference on the unassailable wisdom of market forces.
I think most of them are counting the remainder of their careers in months at this point. The ossified elite that runs the corporate media can retire safely on the money they’ve socked away but the younger mediocrities who came into the profession recently are going to be particularly destitute, unless they’ve managed their careers in the way Carole MacNeil has. Unfortunately, there is a limited supply of bosses to fuck.
Still, not as bad as Doctor Dawg’s hair-brained over-analyses…
Well, not much to do but agree with this. I thought the general mood would be a kind of cringing, but the stunt was popular across the political spectrum.
It’s “hare-brained,” by the way.
It’s “hare-brained,” by the way.
I shall prepare a lavish mea culpa to redeem myself.
I thought the general mood would be a kind of cringing, but the stunt was popular across the political spectrum.
Based on the cherry-picking you did, I can see how you came to that conclusion.
I personally didn’t cringe…I just thought it was as manipulative and pandering as the blue-sweater garbage.
Sandi — Patience is a virtue. 😉
I think Ignatieff is headed in the right direction and his plan (presuming he has one and/or that my guestimate of it is accurate and not just a crackpot theory) makes a lot of sense.
A while back I suggested there might have been some collusion involved because this gambit of threatening an unwanted election that would never materialize actually benefited all of the political parties involved. And it most certainly has done so… I was right to that extent at least. But perhaps more credit has to be given to Ignatieff for devising his approach independently and subtracting the conspiratorial aspects from consideration.
I’m not sure if Ignatieff is a student of military history or not, but his tactics remind me a lot of the Duke of Wellington who was renowned for patiently biding his time, carefully surveying the ground on which he would fight beforehand and then drawing his enemies (that usually outnumbered him by a significant margin) into cleverly devised traps — that were inevitable really, but cunning nonetheless.
Well, that’s one way of looking at it anyway… War is, after all, just politics by another means, right?
Dawg — I read you’re post (following TG’s link) and have to say that you may be guilty of “overthinking” in this case and reading too much into this little stunt.
We can’t know what the motivation or intent was and it’s likely a waste of time to speculate over much about such things. Different people will read different things it, but objectively speaking, it certainly can’t be harmful to Harper’s public image.
So good for him; he can play the piano and sing. That’s nice. So could Nixon and Condi Rice. I believe Emperor Nero fancied himself something of a performer too…
Hate to interrupt, but I just saw this on Sadly no! and it’s the coolest thing I’ve seen in months:
http://conservapedia.com/Conservative_Bible_Project
Well, I suppose some feel an election is coming soon. I received an email from the Green Party (as a member and supporter???). I’ve never been a member or supporter and given the small list of members and supporters you’d think they could keep their records straight.
Now, how did they get my email? I think perhaps Farley (Mowatt) who lives in my little town got it from one of my friends. One of my girlfriends rented from him when she moved her – could be anyone. He used to have fundraiser stuff for Jack Layton but is now Mr. Green. He’s a strange man – I went to a Christmas cocktail party a few years ago and heard these screaming wolf calls – my girlfriend said “not to worry – it’s Farley”.
And, why in hell would the Greens wait until now to have a fundraiser?
“The video has gone Viral over 120k views.”
Most of those views are from “Hunter”, so it doesn’t count…
Navvy — Good grief.
This probably belongs on the previous thread, but thanks for chipping in.
Wow… I can hardly wait for the impending hilarity.
I guess the question is does this stunt have any effect on the voters (undecided and swing).
Does anyone change their vote one way or the other because Harper plays piano and can carry a tune? Probably not, and really why would it?
PS: I see people comparing this to Mulroney singing with Reagan (Kinsella) or Nixon (red t.).
Is it any different than Clinton showing up on Arseneo Hall’s show playing sax?
I didn’t see TG’s link, but you might want to check out this subsequent post of mine:
http://drdawgsblawg.blogspot.com/2009/10/damn.html
That’s the same post I referred to in my link.
Both of the posts were hare-brained.
Still pissed off at being banned, eh? Poor, increasingly bitter old man that you are. I can see you shaking your cane at the computer screen.
Always wondered what frame of mind made him fail so miserably to foresee the economic meltdown even in Oct., and then, out of the cold blue Canadian skies, to foresee a 1920’s depression only 2 months later (after he had coolly advised investors to put their money in the stock market). Now he sings … “I get high with a little help from my friends”…. hmm, I wonder ….
TDA — Short answer: No. Ordinary people pay little to no attention to this kind of stuff although it may contribute to some nebulous, utterly superficial conception of their leader. From this we get Bush cutting brush on his so-called ranch, Reagan riding horses, Clinton… um, never mind.
But you get the idea.
Harper’s appearance was a good thing, for a good cause. And perhaps it’s just best left at that.
Hey, I’ll admit that watched it and thought it was pretty cool — it’s nice to know that politicians are real people that do actual things and aren’t just strangely remote abstractions we often project our speculations onto. At the same time, that doesn’t detract from what they do in practice or espouse in public (or more especially, in private). So, it all needs to be kept in perspective.
If Harper scored some points in making the case that “HE’S NOT COMPLETELY EVIL” well then great for him. But look at the record — he’s still a petulant control freak, a self-serving asshole and quite probably a wannabe corporate spokesbot, so tickling the ivories a bit to a popular tune won’t diminish that impression amongst his critics. By much… But perhaps a little.
To most however, they’ll just register it as a nice thing for Harper to have done and move on.
And that’s what I suggest we do.
Still pissed off at being banned, eh?
Of course. It’s like a stone in my heart.
*rolls eyes*
Dawg — I hadn’t read your original post about this, but had merely followed TG’s link, but I have to say that my opinion remains unchanged — you’re over-thinking this whole thing. As too, I might add, are most the pundits weighing in on it (but then, that’s their business, isn’t it?).
Look, it’s great that Stephen Harper can sing and play the piano, but if Stalin had been able to do a soft-shoe or belt out a tune while playing the harmonica would it have made him a more likeable character? Well, you know what… maybe it would have. Not that I’m making a comparison between the two, although I do know that Harper was a great admirer of Uncle Joe.
But seriously, I guess my point in the comments here is that at some point we have to just accept that, as Freud said, “a cigar is just a cigar” (and someone may correct me on that citation). Can we not simply accept the premise that Harper involved himself in this event — or got drummed into it by his wife — because he thought it would be fun and liked the idea of singing a Beatles song? If that had added political benefit, well great… but maybe he just wanted to ham it up for a bit — in his own kind of awkward and modest way. Who wouldn’t want to get on stage with a great performer and revel in something you’ve always deeply loved and enjoyed?
p.s. As for your spat with TG, leave it at home. I’m not interested and I hate it when people bring their grievances from elsewhere to here.
Red:
When people say “This is just…” I tend to get irritated. Nothing is “just…” If this event was so trivial, then it wouldn’t have been noticed–no attention would have been paid to it. We wouldn’t have hundreds, maybe thousands of people talking about it in print, many informing us at some length that the matter isn’t worth talking about.
I get interested in that sort of thing, and I think the paper I quoted goes some way towards explaining it.
This, in any case, is wide of the mark:
We can’t know what the motivation or intent was and it’s likely a waste of time to speculate over much about such things. Different people will read different things it, but objectively speaking, it certainly can’t be harmful to Harper’s public image.
So good for him; he can play the piano and sing. That’s nice. So could Nixon and Condi Rice. I believe Emperor Nero fancied himself something of a performer too…
The matter was certainly discussed beforehand. Harper’s advisors were not keen, because there’s a controlling mindset at the PMO. But the thing about frames is that they become successful when others take ownership (the paper focusses mostly on the Obama campaign, in which that happened). This has nothing to do with whether the event is planned in advance or not–as I pointed out in my posts–nor with facts about Harper, his motives or his politics. It’s about story-telling.
I have no doubt at this point that it’s already reconstructed “Stephen Harper” to some degree.
Anyway, I had no idea of the effect this little stunt would have, but I should have. I coursed over the blogosphere and the on-line media, the reception to my surprise was positive, and it’s a hot topic still. I just find that of interest, with all due respect. Sometimes a cigar is a phallic symbol, and an “impromptu” performance is part of an on-going narrative.
Red, agree with your post, albeit your view of harper is alot harsher than mine.
watching this i kinda got the same feeling in my stomach that i had when i saw a teacher i wasn’t crazy about shopping for groceries. It suspends some of you negative feelings long enough to stare and think, “huh. guess he/she doesn’t rise out of a coffin in the basement of parliment/school every morning……….”
Incidentally, Red, it’s your blog, and if you want to tolerate TG’s pointless trolling, that’s strictly up to you. But it’s a little much to object when I finally respond to it. I’ve been more than patient on that score in this thread.
Anyway, I had no idea of the effect this little stunt would have, but I should have.
Yeah. He thought it wouldn’t go down well with Conservatives but was shocked…shocked…by how well received it was at Small Dead Animals.
Of course, the Liberal reaction was dismissive and classless, for the most part.
Dawg — I’ve never considered TG’s comments as “pointless trolling” even though we’ve had our disagreements about things from time to time and even a few personal spats over the years. His remarks are acerbic and frequently intolerant, to be sure, but not generally that wide off the mark when he takes aim at particular targets.
Whatever. I don’t consider wishing death on someone particularly civil, but, as I say, it’s your blog.
I don’t consider wishing death on someone particularly civil
And yet, Jay “Rachel Corrie House of Pancakes” Currie is welcomed lavishly at his blog.
Harper: effete elitist piano-playing, gala-attending, latte-sipping politician pretending to be a ‘real’ canadian dazzles the gala-goers. and of course the rubes, i.e. ‘media’, eat that shit up.
i thought it was impressive for such a snide, petty small man to show his chops. not bad…although the song doesn’t have much vocal range. nonetheless, kudos to harpy.
agree with you rt; iggy’s strategy was clever and will pay off in the long run (i.e. forcing dippers to support the harpies).
I thought Harpy said that us “ordinary Canadians” didn’t “resonate” with “a bunch of people at a rich gala… subsidized by the taxpayers”?
“forcing dippers to support the harpies”
Although it is tragic to watch how intellectually discombobulated they’re becoming.
Haven’t heard it but am impressed. I tried to learn guitar and kept breaking the thin string tuning it. Almost auditioned to be a lead singer in a Cgy metal band.
Wonder why he was so against the free high of arts funding last election if he knows music can make people happy?
All Canada USA leaders seem like great people in private. Too bad Right Wing parties and their AB/Texas base are committed to exterminating species and anarching civilization. The problem with CPC and sold their souls PCs is they curb anyone who isn’t their friends.
This PM wouldn’t let me smoke a spliff outside before sitting down to really enjoy his performance because he believes it would affect my productivity working a CPC fiscal induced deadend job. Should be friends with middle classes and poor people too, Stephen. If you take requests I wanna hear you belt out the new U2 tune debuted on SNL. Or piano version of “If you Must” and then destroy the piano. Punk more fitting in recession.
If any of the Liberal luminaries had done this, the same people railing away at Harper would be extolling the strength of the big tent Liberal’s and how they are such “real” people and how this is simply beyond the narrow scope of any Harperclone.
The reaction from partisans (right and left) is so predictable and just sad.
Just like when Harper appointed Gary Doer. You could have gotten 100:1 that he would never do such a thing, and when he did it, those same people saw it in the narrowest partisan terms. Sad, but predictable.
Hey RT,
Just thought i’d pop in and give a quick .02 here on this. Frankly I think this is an all out last ditch push by Harper to somehow claw in the mushy middle with some warm fuzzy “human” activity facilitated by his wife, who had (apparently) nothing much to do with it…uh yeahh… maybe this is a desperate attempt to change the channel from all of the new scandals and news of mismanagement…. perhaps this little youtube clip better explains it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY64meMb7-s&NR=1
Alberta Report,
That was both crude, and also crude.
I guess you must be Ted’s missing Link.
Get it… Byfield?
Gee Tomm, you sure are a sharp one. How’d you get so smart huh? Oh you conny trolls are just so smart and clever – I *never* would have made that connection… ugh…
Get a grip, bub. Its a family guy clip, not family circus.
But, Tommmmmmmm I’ll play along. Care to have any cogent comment on your dear leader’s penchant for warbling out a tune while his minister is being grilled for using the Port Authority as a political slush fund? Or how about a proper accounting of the infrastructure ad budget (even a conservative senator can’t get the info), or maybe how about the mismanagement of the gun registry to the tune of 16 million a year – while the head of the association of police groups across the nation say there are thousands of guns out there not tracked because of the cons intransigence on the issue….
Any word on that Tommmmmm or do you have some more sleuthing to do about my handle and Alberta Report?
AR,
My, my, aren’t we out of sorts. Could it be that your least favorite Prime Minister of all time is doing OK?
Maybe if you took off the rose coloured glasses and really looked at this government, you would see an entirely different set of circumstances.
Do you think perhaps that they are governing in a way Canadian’s are comfortable with. Do you think that the Liberal party’s continual whining is starting to get on Canadian’s nerves? Do you think perhaps you are so full of bile you can’t enjoy the winds of change?
You are like a hungry child waiting at the teat of the media to feed you that warm soothing milk of hate and loathing against redneck reformers.
Hush now. Things will look better once Uncle Michael forces an election.
So not one commenter has whispered a peep about why this really happened, eh?
I mean–there are hints on twitter, and on FB, but I figured the worst kept secret in Ottawa would have gotten onto the blogs by now. Guess not….
Honestly, this wasn’t campaign stuff. Well, not in the way you are all thinking….oy.
Dawg — There are many people I would happily wish dead and if that’s “uncivil” well, to quote you: “whatever.”
For example, I wish that every Bible-thumping fundie would immediately keel over and go join the choir invisible. I mean… after all, what are they waiting for? Go enjoy the afterlife already, and quit endlessly nattering at those of us still entwined in this mortal coil with your God-bothering nonsense!
In fact, if pressed, I could draw up quite an extensive list of those individuals that I wished simply didn’t exist as their non-presence would likely make the world a much better place. Dick Cheney comes immediately to mind… and the producers of The View to name a couple off the top of my head.
AR — I love Family Guy in the same way as I do Happy Tree Friends. Not quite sure why, but they always make me laugh uncontrollably. Maybe because they’re deliberately evil and perverse. Anyway, thanks for the clip.
Aurelia — Don’t be such a tease. What’s the poop (sorry, I couldn’t resist — and good luck with that issue, btw) on this that you’re hinting at? Are you suggesting that we can’t simply take this at face value… that there’s some nefarious sub-plot lurking under the radar?
Inquiring minds want to know, but don’t have as much time to indulge our curiosity as others…
He took a calculated gamble managed to maneuver the Liberals back into the role of Opposition without provoking a much unwanted election
Wondering if sending Harper into majority numbers was also a plan….
That crafty little WK, making Dion look good….
Poll numbers come and go… Sometimes they’re up and at others, they’re down. Big deal. They’re not important at the moment so I wouldn’t worry about them. Better to start acting like a real opposition and build up some credibility as a critical voice and legitimate alternative. Then roll out a plan… yeah, that would be good. An actual plan. Imagine that!
Aurelia, I think it was mentioned over at Dawg’s place. I won’t talk about it, God knows we don’t need to lower the bar any further.
There goes Tomm again speaking for all Canadians…. Once again Tomm you don’t so put a sock in that context.
Better to start acting like a real opposition and build up some credibility as a critical voice and legitimate alternative.
How long do we have to wait, these horses are getting restless….
Really Navvy? Off to check.
I normally don’t care about politician’s personal lives at all, but after the vicious way Dion was attacked, and his daughter treated like she wasn’t even real family—I figure someone’s got something coming. If sweater boy hadn’t brought it up first, no one would ever mention it.
I fell asleep after commenting, emails forthcoming. and yes, thanks, my health is getting better, now I just have to take the doctor out to the barn and explain what informed consent means…..
@RT – yep, I figured you’d appreciate the humour. Sadly it can be lost on others.
Clown control to major tommmm…. can you hear me major tommmmm? Still waiting for those answers?
Aurelia, I think it was mentioned over at Dawg’s place. I won’t talk about it, God knows we don’t need to lower the bar any further.
What is this all about? You’re all talking like you’re privy to state’s secrets or something.
Is this the dumb rumour about Laureen seeking a divorce? I couldn’t possibly care less and I really doubt that’s true. She’s already been divorced, and the meal ticket she’s snagged now is a dream come true.
I dunno Ti-Guy, 24 Sussex is pretty drafty.
CWTF — I think we’re looking at possibly another year. I can’t really foresee anything sooner than that. By then the stimulus money will have been exhausted, the economic situation going forward should be more clearly perceived, and the grounds on which an election could legitimately be fought may be more favourable than is now the case.
There doesn’t seem to be much of a public appetite for one before that time and it seems highly unlikely to me that the Liberals would trigger one and risk a Harper majority as a consequence.
Ti-Guy — I’m almost interested in what this deep, dark secret is, but not sufficiently so to go digging around to find out about this mysterious rumour as I suspect disappointment awaits…
I dunno Ti-Guy, 24 Sussex is pretty drafty.
It reminds of when I was newly arrived in Germany (I went to school there for two years). The Germans loved Trudeau but were convinced his wife’s antics had led to his downfall. It was my first exposure to how things work in a culture that has a trashy tabloid press.