Dirty Deeds…

Apparently not done dirt cheap. In fact, as the Postmedia reporter indicates, whoever was responsible for attempting to suppress the vote for the benefit of the Conservative candidates in tightly contested ridings required money, organization and voters lists. Doesn’t exactly sound like a formula for some obscure “rogue” now does it?

In addition to this story of bogus “robocalls” misdirecting unwitting Liberal/NDP voters to the wrong polling station (a time-worn dirty trick in U.S. politics) come revelations of another campaign of deceit whereby certain groups of voters were apparently targeted by miscreants (presumably Conservative operatives) posing as Liberal volunteers who would phone repeatedly during the supper hour, late at night, or on the Sabbath in the case of Jewish voters, and then act rudely on the phone in an effort to annoy and alienate those targeted by the calls.

Crazy Stupid Politics

Bill Maher’s first live stand-up special that was netcast via Yahoo! the other day…

Not sure how long it will survive on YouTube, but if you missed the netcast, enjoy it while it’s available.

Ron Paul: “Fake” Libertarian?

When asked at the end of this week’s GOP debate to describe themselves in a single word, Ron Paul chose “consistent” as being the most appropriate moniker. But here Lawrence O’Donnell points out a glaring inconsistency in the old coot’s supposedly “libertarian” philosophy when it comes the matter of sex:

Of course, this is a logical problem shared by all so-called “conservatives” that claim to believe government should butt out of people’s lives, get off their backs, and otherwise stop interfering in the private affairs of citizens – EXCEPT when it comes to various social issues; most particularly those relating to sex. Then, it becomes an entirely different matter wherein the “small government” philosophy of so-called “conservatives” gets turned completely on its head.

In matters of contraception, reproductive choice, defining what constitutes a legitimate marriage under the law, and numerous other things involving their Christian “values” so-called “conservatives” and even some “libertarians” such as Ron Paul feel entirely justified by the imperatives of their religious beliefs in legislating their own dubious concept of morality and then forcibly imposing it on others.

Most recently we’ve seen that some so-called “conservatives” will even take their religious zealotry so far to the point of demanding by law that a transvaginal probe be inserted into a woman without her consent prior to an abortion – not for any medical purpose whatsoever, but solely to “enlighten” her about the consequences of the procedure.

It’s always baffled me how these so-called “conservatives” square the circle on their astounding hypocrisy and inconsistency in this regard.

17th Century France in 3D

Hundreds of years before the advent of satellite photography and Google Earth, French monarchs used detailed scale models to micromanage their realm…

Not only is it fascinating these intricate models of cities and forts would have been commissioned in the first place, but quite amazing they’ve actually been preserved intact for hundreds of years.

Death Star Project Under Attack!

Supposedly “scientific” calculations from elitist, fancy-pants researchers at Lehigh University released today estimate it will take another 833,315 years to produce enough iron ore and steel at current production levels to build the apocalyptic space weapon proposed by President Gingrich. The research team furthermore projects total cost of the “Callista” Death Star to be more than $852 quadrillion (roughly 13,000 times the world’s present GDP).

Republicans in Congress characterized the study’s findings as unpatriotic, counter to the relentless optimism provisions of the Exceptional Planetary Existence of Americans Act of 2015, and furthermore dismissed its estimates as wild exaggerations based on “excessive facts and inordinate reason.” Pentagon officials also weighed in on the controversy, insisting that continued development of the colossal 140km space weapon is absolutely vital to the national security interests of the United States and its ongoing war on unspecified intergalactic terrorism.

Latest Ron Paul Attack Ad

Here’s the latest negative attack ad from the Ron Paul campaign slagging Rick Santorum for not being a “fiscal conservative”… (Seems to have been done by the same agency that created the snappy, tough-talking Ford F-150 truck ads.)

I suppose one could quibble about specifics of the dubious allegations made if there was a point to such an endevour, but perhaps a more intriguing question for Ron Paul supporters is why his campaign NEVER attacks Mitt Romney… Rather curious, that.

Maybe, as some have speculated, Ron Paul’s entire campaign is nothing but an enormously expensive venture to become the “last” Chairman of the Federal Reserve under a Romney administration. Seems like a highly improbable outcome of his inevitably doomed bid to be the Republican Party nominee, but hey… it’s no less detached from reality than the rest of his batshit crazy domestic policy proposals, so who knows?

Online Privacy

Rick Mercer lays a smack-down on Vic Toews and Bill C-30, his warrantless online spying legislation.

Remember folks… you’re either with the philandering old pervert accused of shtupping his babysitter or you’re with the pedophiles and child pornographers. Sorry, but those are the only available choices on offer in Harperland.

C-10 Omnibus Crime Bill Illustrated

A whiteboard re-cap of Bill C-10, the Harper Government® omnibus anti-crime legislation that is currently being reviewed by the Senate…

The video urges viewers to contact the Senate to voice objections to the bill in its current form. Should you be interested in doing so, a while back the Canadian Bar Association helpfully identified ten key reasons why the passage of Bill C-10 would be a mistake.

Update: “More than two dozen current and former law enforcement officials in the United States – including police officers, prosecutors and judges – are warning the Canadian government against mandatory minimum sentences for minor marijuana offences.” Read more here.

Newt Will Destroy Alberta’s Economy

Desperate Republican no-hoper Newt Gingrich is currently promising that, if elected, he will reduce the price of gasoline to $2 per gallon. Maybe a terrific prospect for gas-guzzling American consumers feeling the pinch of rising oil prices, but not one without consequences…

To realize the promise of $2 per gallon gasoline would require a per barrel oil price of approximately $67. Most estimates, however, are that a market price of $75-$90 per barrel is required to make the heavy oil (bitumen, tar sands, or whatever you want to call it) strip-mined in northern Alberta a profitable venture. So, in other words, a Newt Gingrich regime delivering on its promise would effectively shut down the Oil Sands, thereby collapsing the Alberta economy and seriously damaging Canada’s bottom-line as a whole…

Of course, it’s ridiculous to imagine that the President of the United States can actually control the price of oil… Or is it? Well, according to Republicans (and their surrogate right-wing media outlets), President Obama is DIRECTLY responsible for ALL increases in gas prices at the pump. If that is true and if what Newt is promising is true… well, you do the math. Or, it could be that both of those things are complete bullshit.

Cleese Responds to Futile Comments

John Cleese responding to YouTube comments in a video posted on the Monty Python channel. In this video, hear what elderberries taste like, Cleese’s take on religion, and what, exactly, constitutes true stupidity.