Victory.

PC's Not Dead!

And what's more, we're fiesty nationalists concerned about civil liberties as evidenced here.

I'm so damn proud of the kids. Maybe I'll even get my act together and make a coherent point or two at city council tomorrow, wish me noble failure! (I like my fans to bet with the smart money)

"I don't think what he's doing is mere magic. I think it's darkest bureaucromancy."


Too pissed to blog properly:

Here's why.

Nobody earing under 20K on the editorial board of the Journal I guess. Coincidentally that's how much Diotte has spent on his suit against EPS for the Overtime incident. He too is glad to be rid of the 'crazies' oh, why Kerry. Just because the Buffalo Terminator (an homage to Haultain) is wandering the streets of Edmonton, unelected and hungry, is no reason to keep him off the podium. Then he'll be the crazy guy at the end of the mike at a public forum. I'd rather run against the crazies, they don't get to ask a question that is four minutes incoherent preamble and two seconds question.

Tired, going for a drink. Bye.

Comment you bastards.

Mandel, Nickel unappreciative of 'crazies' in politics.

This morning while perusing the Edmonton Journal I found this article about a proposed plan to raise the requirements for those wishing to seek a council seat. I was, needless to say, taken aback for numerous reasons. I was both saddened by the proposal, and angered by the rationale given for the decision. The decision was taken apparently to discourage 'crazies' from running. Actually, from the tone of what I heard it's to stop them outright. There are a long list of reasons as to why this is a bad idea.

The move will discourage already underrepresented working class Edmontonians from running for council. To put it in perspective: One in four Canadians earns less than $10 an hour. Now for a candidate running her or his campaign out of pocket, that deposit alone, amounts to at least 10 hours of work to run for council and 50 hours to run for mayor. This is a considerable sum. One that would make a would be candidate think long and hard about a decision to run. Not enough to beggar a candidate, but enough to ensure that those that really cared about the process would run.

However, a deposit of $1000 represents one hundred hours work, $10,000 means one thousand hours. In my case, and in the case of many working Edmontonians, that ten thousand is more than a half a years take-home pay. This is not an amount of money designed to ensure committment, this is an amount of money that demands the support of someone, or some organisation, with ten thousand spare dollars. Joe Devaney, who was a fellow candidate in the 2001 City election, (He in ward one, I for Mayor) spent some five thousand dollars, which he worked countless weekends to raise. This 'reform' in one fell swoop puts the position of Mayor completely out of reach of a lot of working Edmontonians and puts councillor much further as well.

The move won't make these as yet unnamed fringe candidates stop and consider, but they will make other possibly legitimate candidates stop considering. When I have run for office (I've done so three times) I feel it absolutely necessary to secure my campaign deposit, before I begin to ask others for money. Call me crazy, but I don't like asking people for money for a venture that will fail before its started.

An increase in deposit will discourage the cash poor, not the common sense poor. Does anyone recall the spoiler of the 1992 presidential election, H. Ross Perot? There was no amount of money that would have stopped him from unleashing his personal agenda onto the American political scene. Let's not forget that the most ridiculously expensive position to run for in the world is the United States presidency.

But why complain? Someone who can't raise ten thousand dollars surely can't win? There are two reasons whay that arguement is fallacious. First, the large deposit would further slant the race in favour of the biggest spenders. Consider A candidate who raises $4,000 against a candidate who raises $40,000 is at a ten to one disadvantage in terms of money she is able to spend during the campaign. Subtract a thousand dollars from each, (giving us three a nd thirty-nine, respectively) and the advantage becomes 13 to one. When the last election saw three candidates spend more trying to win the mayorality than the job paid for three years, why on earth would we want to exascerbate such a debauchery of the democratic process?

And moreso, what's the difficulty with having candidates running for office that aren't going to be successful? Should Tracy Parsons, (Progressive Canadian Party Leader) Laverne Ahlstrom, (Social Credit Leader) and myself not run, because the smart money wouldn't touch us with a ten-foot pole in the current election? Civic politics has an incredible success rate for incumbents, why should we seek to entrench that further. Sheila McKay ran for council seven times before winning a seat. The Rt. Hon. John Diefenbaker lost eight consecutive elections (one for Mayor of Prince Albert) are these people too much of an inconvienience to the political system to tolerate their presence at election forums?

That of course brings me to the chiefest example given of 'crazies' the election forum. according to the Journal:

Nickel says he has heard many complaints from voters about "frivolous candidates" taking up time at election forums.

I've been to many forums and been on both sides of the mike. And I think that many attendants would agree with me that more time is wasted by a question posed that is two minutes preamble and ten seconds question than is wasted by additional candidates, who were nominated by their fellow Edmontonians, answering those questions.

I don't presume to know who is being referred to when the talk turns to crazies, but my guess is that a good representative would be Buffalo Terminator Tomlinson. Mr. Tomlinson is without a doubt the most eccentric person I have directly observed seeking office. In his 2001 election profile on Shaw they showed him in his rent-controlled one bedroom apartment showing off his collection of political paraphanaelia. I have to assume that this is the typical individual that His Worship and Councillor Nickel refer to. Mr. Tomlinson certainly brought some crazy ideas into the 2001 race. My personal favourite was his idea to build a bridge to Calgary Trail from downtown. Except, three years later, that was part of Robert Noce's platform. So we can conclude one of the following: Robert Noce is a 'crazy' or The Buffalo Terminator brought a new and at least somewhat feasable idea into the debate.

Perhaps I am the proto-typical crazy of which Mr. Nickel speaks. The most radical idea I have ever proposed as a candidate, in my view, was the elimination of the in camera meeting. When I ran for council I spent $337 dollars including the deposit. I was pleased to have an opportunity to take part in the democratic process and address what I felt were burning issues facing the city. It may have inconvienienced Mr. Mandel to have me lecture him about the fallacy of Say's law in the middle of a crisis of commercial vacancy, but democracy is not designed to be convienient, it is designed to be a pure and noble expression of the people's will. A healthy democracy includes both winners and losers and the continuing right of the vanquished to challenge the victors. I am in complete disagreement with Rod Love's axiom: "I don't care if you finish second or tenth, you lost." From a mayor who has stated that tolerance is not enough, these actions demonstrate the absence of even tolerance. A healthy democracy cannot afford to dismiss the also-rans, rather, it must celebrate them.

... And the balance is restored.

I kept meaning to bring this up, but anyway, I talked to Kerry Diotte and he acknowledged that he couldn't at that time produce a first-hand source for his 'kiss my gas' columns. As far as I understood, and maybe I'd mis-interpreted the conversation, but the column was based on a Tor Sun column. Kerry was gracious and studious about it and after some minor prompting, he even remembered me from when I ran for council. I might not agree with Mr. Diotte, and he may write for the Sun readership (i.e. sixth grade level) , But he is a consumate gentleman and capable of some high level thought. He should be doing work for a classy right wing rag. Kerry, you are a reasonably responsible journalist and your response to my call was far more adult than say, all politicians are shitheads and children anyway so I see no reason to even dignify this goodb... Good for you. Sorry about that stuff I wrote about you earlier. Your column was off, but you aren't dishonest.

Which brings me to a casual discussion I had with my regular mountie contact (I'm protecting this source BTW). Saying over the public airwaves that if given the chance you would kill a child molester with your bare hands, in addition to being, in my opinion, classless jackassery, could, in his opinion, easily be grounds for incitement to violence, a far more serious crime in Canada than incitement to hatred. So K-97 morning DJ Terry Evans, if you're out there, and in fact you are because I've copied and e-mailed this to you, that whole thing where you declared your pedophile killin' wants and the morality thereof was uncalled for and can get you in trouble. And given that you have also said that you think that when the police arrest someone who has blatantly committed a crime of serious nature, that the police ought to use physical force as a punitive measure (not as a saftey measure, which is when force is used now) should you ever get brought up on similar charges... rememberthe maxim: All architects should live in the houses they design.

And do remember:

-Occasionally I do listen to your show. Bill and Steve are funny
-I am an attentive listener

You got a beef? You know where to find me. And we'll talk it out like gentlemen over coffee. Otherwise, this is just an elaboration on Gord Disley's 1st, 4th, and 6th commandments: If you don't know what you're talking about, (and don't want to know) Shut the F@(% up.

Kellis, you ignorant slut,

I'm in a furious discussion right now on the merits of radical feminism:

Specifically do you agree with the following?

To say things that are contrary to feminist beliefs is anti-feminist.

I didn't realise that feminism, or any ideology had a programme defined by rigid consensus I thought it was a school of thought, loosely contiguous. Well then I'm probably not a conservative. Sigh, now I have to get rid of my Joe Clark and David Orchard posters... I shold also tell them to sell their copies of Burke. Sigh...

Rod Love to Quit:

"I don't care if you finish second or tenth you still lost"
-Darth Love

Damn. And just when I had the torches and the pitch forks ready.

For those of you who are interested in a debate on the natuture of government and conservatism, I'm sorry. I have to send you here instead to hear Rod love act like a crazed jackass.

And here's a plug for David Orchard's website, just because I'm eating his bandwidth with the previous post.

Based on this debate some Quick questions:
When have you ever been on a ballot Mr. Love?
You claim double voting is inclusive politics. Was the second vote for landholders in PEI inclusive?
You claim the Conservatives have the Liberals in a corner (2003) . Now the fact that you couldn't win after the Liberals shot themselves in both feet would put to word to the lie on that one wouldn't it?

And in addition, more evidence against Rowdy Roddy.

Wow. Classy guy. Good riddance, but then you won't really be gone will you? That's the worst part. Untill we get rid of Ralph Klien Jim Dinning and the whole Willie Stark crew here, we won't be free of this huckstering at a rate that would make Boss Pendergrast blush.

Don't bitch at me about Liberal corruption today, at least others acknowledge it. These yahoos sullying my party's initials are much more vexing.

Kerry Diotte's back from vacation and continuing on the Gas Tax screed. I'll try to reach him...

No luck yet, hold on cats and kittens.

This just in: We have a GGILF, but don't tell anybody.

Our new Queen's representative is a 48-year old, CBC broadcaster, Hatian-Born, Penti-Lingual, Afro-Canadian Michelle Jean. This you knew.

Apparently she's pretty hot. This many of you also knew.

Sylvain Bouchard however has it really bad for her excellency.

This to some degree reminds me of the contrast between the first PM reputed to be sexy, Pierre Trudeau, and the Second, Avril Phaedra Campbell. Of course Kim's cuddliness soon gave way to general flakery, but the point remains: There was general sneering at the sexism with which Kim was treated, but of course Trudeau's personal life was under a much greater microscope during his time in office.

It's not classy for sure, to graphically describe how you would make sweet sweet love to the new Governor General, who is married, but then it's better then responding that the ideal course of action for the new minister of human resources is bukkake. (Kudos Terry Evans, June 18th, 2005)

I for one don't think it's worth a CRTC complaint, but then there's a lot of things that I don't think are worth CRTC complaints. Until dishonesty becomes less acceptable than lewdness than we really have to give our shock jocks a bureaucratic pass and just call them idiots to their faces.

In other distorted media news Kerry Diotte's on vacation, his editor has skipped town, and Terry from what I can tell is broadcasting out of his ass. Therefore, no change.

Continue with your day.

Sean