Today on Seanquixote: Another self serving introduction.

More thoughts on the Secret Mulroney tapes:

1) It was no secret that Mulroney loved patronage, but what gets overlooked even more than that is that he loved quotas more. He wanted his cronies and carpet baggers to look like Canada. Having been in the NDP (involuntary shudder at PTSD), I can tell you that they elect their representatives in much the same manner. You get to the point at the bottom of the quota barrel where the last spot has to be filled by a lesbian left-handed west coast immigrant bagpipe technician of mixed Polish and Ugandan descent. Which is fine I have nothing against LHWCIBToMPAUD's, I'm sure that they display equal competence to WASP's (Neither of which I am BTW) But all I'm saying is that the pickin's get pretty slim and that brilliant bio-chemist who fits your quota might not be well suited for the freshwater fish salting board.

2) Failings of FTA: Yes we all know that trade has increased. The question isn't whether trade has increased. That's the point of a trade agreement. The question is whether we have been made better off as a result. The TD study notes that personal incomes have risen less than 4% between 1989 and 2004. Free Trade has made us more trade dependent. It has not made us wealthier.

3) Peter Newman did not stab Brian Mulroney in the back. Brian had 12 years to get these papers to him and then decided that he was going to write his own memoirs. I have no doubt that he gave his good friend every opportunity to live up to the terms of his agreement.

4) Brian didn't realise that even though he wouldn't change the rules of the game, the Americans would. The president has friends, the American government has interests.

5) Chapter 11?! Where American companies can sue the Canadian government for numerous irritants including delivering the mail?! What were you thinking?!

That's about it for now.