we shook jack layton's hand! oh oh!

"Woah, Dave! You're certainly wading into enemy territory" were the words that came from the mouth of an acquaintance last night when they saw us at Jack Layton's rally at the Bonnie Doon Community Hall.

That is correct, Senator, we were indeed in attendance at the Jack Layton rally. But no, we are not now, nor have we ever been a member of the New Democratic Party of Canada.

Anyway... having been to and organized many political rallies in the past, we have some reflections about this one in particular...

1. There was definitely a lot of positive energy in the room.

2. 100% Props to the organizers, it was a packed and well managed event.

3. We attended a rally way back in 2004 for Paul Martin in the same hall (this is more of a general comment).

4. Though he was speaking to a converted crowd, Mr. Layton's performance was impressive. He had energy, and his message was clear. He also made a convincing call for soft-Liberal voters to "put the Liberals in the penalty box."

Suggestions for Jack Layton...

1. Don't wade into provincial politics. Last night, in the presence of Brian Mason and the mighty Alberta NDP Caucus of 4, Layton took a tiny swipe at the Alberta Liberal Opposition, calling the Alberta NDP the "real opposition" in Alberta's Legislature.

Number 1#, perhaps Mr. Layton doesn't realized that there are a lot of Alberta Liberal/Federal NDP supporters in Linda Duncan's Edmonton Strathcona riding who will be supporting Linda on the 23rd.

Federal support for a political party does not equal support for a provincial party. We may support Linda Duncan in Edmonton Strathcona, but provincially, we support Alberta Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman in Edmonton Centre. There are many like us who support different parties at different levels. We don't appreciate the slam (plus, Brian Mason is a flake).

This has to be one of our top "pet peeves" we have with the NDP, and one of the main reasons why we would never join them (among other reasons). When you become a member of the federal wing, you automatically become a member of the provincial wing. Not a positive in our books. Provincial and Federal politics are two different puppies.

2. Working Families. Mr. Layton majorly overused this phrase during his speech. It's fairly obvious that "working families" is code for "union members." Call it what it is. Working families sounds corny when it's overused. It also assumes that someone is classified by their occupation. Perhaps it's because we don't believe in the overall "class-war," but it sounded quite flakey.

Yeah, that's our take... check out c-lo's take on the rally here

Comments?

he's watching...

Look who stopped by the other day....

Domain Name: paulmartin.ca (Canada)
IP Address : 66.46.213.# (Allstream Corp. Corporation Allstream)
ISP : Allstream Corp. Corporation Allstream
Continent : North America
Country : Canada (Facts)
State/Region : Ontario
City : Britannia
Time of Visit Jan 18 2006 4:53:57 pm
Last Page View Jan 18 2006 4:54:45 pm
Referring URL http://liblogs.freethought.ca/
Visit Entry Page http://daveberta.blogspot.com/
Visit Exit Page http://daveberta.blo...es-getting-free.html
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EST - Eastern Standard
Visitor's Time Jan 18 2006 6:53:57 pm
Visit Number 32,546

ted morton on the federal election.

Why doesn't Ted Morton for for Parliament? It would probably a more effective waste of taxpayers dollars than having him pontificate as a backbench Tory MLA in the Alberta Legislature...

Here's part of an email we recieved from the "ConnecTed" Group...

"It’s a New Year! Let’s get a new Federal Government!

Hello Fellow Friends!

In just a few days, we’re going to have a Federal election. Ted has been campaigning with a number of Conservative MPs and candidates as he supports the efforts to get a new, clean Conservative Government elected.

He’s been door knocking in Edmonton-Centre with Laurie Hawn, the former fighter pilot who’s poised to send Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan back to a law school somewhere. And with Mike Lake, the young family man who will be replacing another Edmonton Liberal, Dave Kilgour.

Ted has also been out with Blaine Calkins, another first-time candidate, who will be the next MP from Wetaskiwin. He’s been helping a couple of incumbent MPs as well, including Jason Kenney, one of the Conservative stalwarts in Calgary, and Rahim Jaffer, one of the young stars of the Conservative team in Edmonton-Strathcona.

It’s nice to see that voters in other areas, especially Ontario, are starting to get the message that the Liberals are not worthy of getting rehired to be the Government. If you had employees who made mistake after mistake, wasted company resources, and told whopper after whopper, you wouldn’t hesitate to fire them. You wonder why it’s taking so long for some people to grasp what has been so obvious to Albertans for years. But let’s do all we can to make sure that this time, there is a change in Ottawa.

If you have friends, relatives or colleagues in Eastern Canada, make sure they understand that a vote for a Liberal is a vote for more waste, squander, scandal and mismanagement. Is that the way they run their personal and business affairs?

ConnecTed wants Ted Morton to be the next Premier. We also want Stephen Harper to be the next Prime Minister. What a one-two punch that will be in making this a great place to live, work, invest and raise a family!"

"you'll get a free wig!"

Check out Klein's Discount Medical Supplies!

"Your one-stop mail-order do-it-yourself home-surgery mega-store!"

we wish our name was paul martin...

... well, not really. But maybe Dave Duceppe or Dave Layton...

"Got a party leader's name? Hop on board, free
CBC News

If your surname is Harper, Martin, Layton, Duceppe or Harris, you could be flying high after the federal election and at no cost.

A new promotion by WestJet is offering free airfare anywhere in Canada to anyone with the last names of the federal party leaders.

The offer goes to "all Canadians who share their names with any of the contenders for Canada's next prime minister," said Bob Cummings, vice-president of marketing for the Calgary-based airline.

There are some catches in the WestJet Gets Political promotion.

The trips must be booked by Thursday at 7 p.m. MT, and flights must be taken the day after the federal election Jan. 23. Travellers also have to pay all taxes, fees and surcharges."

At least Don Martin will be getting a good deal.

it's official...

The Second Session of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of Alberta will convene on February 22, 2006 at 3:00 p.m.

soft landings for tory hacks in alberta...

Speaking of a culture of entitlement...

From the Edmonton Sun...

"Paula Tyler is back.

The former Alberta deputy minister who made headlines in New Zealand over her abrupt departure midway through a contract is going to work for Capital Health.

Cabinet approved a deal yesterday that would enable Tyler, the partner of Ralph Klein's chief of staff Peter Kruselnicki, to maintain her provincial government benefits while working for the regional health authority.

Klein said last year that Tyler would not be returning to work as a deputy minister in his government after he hired Kruselnicki to replace Rod Love.

The order in council passed yesterday appoints Tyler to the position of senior official, health services, but she'll actually be seconded by Capital Health to serve as vice-president of mental health, said Alberta Health spokesman Mark Kastner.

...

"There seems to be a lot of soft landings if you are in the top echelon of the Conservative government," said NDP MLA Ray Martin. "It seems to me to be a very unusual approach."

Tyler made headlines in New Zealand when she quit midway through a three-year contract as CEO of the Kiwi Child, Youth and Family Services Department to return to Alberta after Kruselnicki's appointment."

(For more info, see previous posts here and here)

why are edmonton tories getting a free ride?

While the national Conservative campaign rides a wave, the Liberals campaign stumbles with the dexterity of a beached whale*, and the NDP try to be heard, Edmonton's candidates from all parties are door-knocking, canvasing, and getting ready to get out the vote on January 23rd.

But, as some Edmontonians may have noticed, many local Conservative candidates in ridings across Edmonton have been missing from local all-candidates forums and meetings.


Though Edmonton Strathcona Tory Rahim Jaffer couldn't find the time to meet with his constituents and attend the all-candidates forum at the Knox-Metropolitan United Church (one of two candidate forums in the riding), it was funny to see that he was able to make the time to pose for some cheap photo-stunts with Alberta Progressive Conservative Leadership candidate Jim Dinning (see left and right).

Way to be a responsible candidate and representative, Rahim!

As well, Edmonton Centre Tory candidate Laurie Hawn was also a no-show at a candidates forum in that riding sponsered by Edmonton's Pride Centre. The Tories were also a no-show at the Public Interest Alberta City-wide forum at the Royal Museum.

What gives? At this point, it is fairly obvious that the Tories are going to sweep all but one Edmonton-seat, so what are they afraid of? Why is the media not "going after" the no-show Tory candidates who will be Edmonton's elected representatives? If your Tory candidate can't even give up 2 hours of their time to attend an all-candidates forum, can we expect them to responsibly represent us in Ottawa?

*Merci a Graham Thomson and for this fun phrase from his weekend article in the Edmonton Jounal.

key implications of a tory victory.

Scott Proudfoot, Principal from Hill Watch Inc., has released a neat little document which outlines the "key implications" of a Conservative victory on January 23rd in the face of 13 years of Liberal governments.

Parts of the implications have to do with the Conservatives agenda and policies, and the others have to do "with how Ottawa is likely to work under the Conservatives..."

The key implications Mr. Proudfoot lists are:

- Shift of decision-making power back to Cabinet and away from Public Service;

- Some initial confusion about how decisions are being taken;

- Corporate Canada lacks history with the party and will need to establish channels with the new players;

- Expenditure review will be key initial driver of government agenda;

- Retrenchment into federal areas of jurisdiction;

- Repair mode on Canada-US relations; and

- Substantive agenda but business impact is limited with defence being the main area of new spending.

Though many of the symptoms listed in his analysis are probably felt by any incoming government, it is interesting. Check it out.

(100% props to our good friend Howard for passing this along to us)

what happens when you're #1?

Well, we can stop blogging now...

We've officially reached the pinacle of our blogging career.

stephen harperer

From today's New York Times...

A Conservative Evolves, and Leads a Canadian Race

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
Published: January 16, 2006

HUNTSVILLE, Ontario, Jan. 14 - "God bless all of you, God bless Canada!" is the way Stephen Harper finishes every campaign stump speech as he appears to be heading toward a landslide victory to become prime minister.

Although not known for kissing babies, Stephen Harper, campaigning in Huntsville, Ontario, on Saturday, has worked to soften his image.

It is an unusual line in a country where politicians do not customarily talk about God or their religious beliefs, where church attendance is plummeting and same-sex marriage has become legal and widely accepted despite the opposition of many religious leaders.

"It sounds very American," said Jackie Mitchell, a 45-year-old music teacher who attended a Harper rally on Saturday in this woodsy, rural community. "But what he's saying is, let's get the country moving."

The reference to God may be a signal that Mr. Harper and his Conservative Party are preparing to take the country in a very different direction after 13 years of Liberal rule characterized by a softening of drug laws, an expansion of the rights of gays and a distancing from United States positions in foreign affairs. (read le rest ici)

(95% props to the wonderful Anonymotronic for letting us know about the article - minus 5% for not providing a link to our site, even though he said he would... months ago...)

david suzuki in edmonton

Since Grant MacEwan's Students' Association has been doing a less than stellar job at publicizing this...

Dr. David Suzuki will be speaking at Grant MacEwan College tomorrow evening:

Doors for the general seating event open at 6 p.m. with the presentation beginning at 7 p.m. and a question and answer session to follow.

For tickets, contact the MacEwan Students' Association at 420-1757 or visit Tix on the Square.

We'll be there!

and the lamest party logo award goes to...

The Western Block Party! This bunch of crazies, led by holocaust denying lawyer Douglas Christie, may only be running 4 candidates in this campaign, but they're sure to win Mrs. Jenkins Grade 2 Art competition...


As well, the NDP have a new game up on their website... Creibility Hunt. We think the NDP may have spent too much of their energy thinking up of these website games, rather than on how to run an effective national election campaign... :-P

And in the weirder than the Western Block Party category... Edmonton's Northern Star College of Mystical Studies is now accepting applications for the fall semester. Courses at the college include:

• Body Feng Shui
• Meditation
• Massage For Couples
• Reiki - Levels I, II, III
• Certification Programs:
• Aromatherapy
• Flower Essences
• Herbology
• Journey Through The Chakras -
A Pathway To Freedom.

And tuition is only $4650 per year!

the marc garneau connection.

We found out this weekend from "top men*" that we are indeed related to Canadian Astronaut and Vaudreuil-Soulanges Liberal candidate, Marc Garneau.

Our great-great-Grandmother, and his great-Grandmother just happened to be the same person (our great-Grandmother, and his Grandmother were cousins).

Not that this means much, it just means that we're related to someone who's been in space... ooooooooh!

Top men, indeed.

*Said in a voice similar to that of the CIA agent from the end of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.

whack the pm...

okay, seriously folks. In this disturbingly entertaining game, you can smash the bejesus out of your favorite (or least favorite) Canadian Federal Party leader...

*note* *don't take it too seriously...*

captain james tiberius harper?

The always insightful Interlocutor has written a great post about Conservative leader Stephen Harper's alleged fondness for everything Star Trek... a little part of us died when we heard the news... the Captain James Tiberius Kirk and the adventures of the U.S.S. Enterprise just won't be the same anymore...

"So it turns out Stephen Harper is a huge Star Trek fan (see the revelatory blog post from "The Shotgun Blog" at Ezra Levant's shitty magazine, as well as a corroborating Edmonton Journal story).

I am saddened on so many levels to hear this, and also profoundly confused.

Why? Because this news grievously undermines one of my long-held theories concerning how this particular pop culture preference reflects political alignment: specifically, as I'm sure everyone knows, conservatives typically prefer Star Wars, and progressives usually prefer Star Trek. (If you're not convinced, salon.com has an illuminating four-part piece on the subject.)"

We are saddened as well. We recommend you read the rest of Interlocutor's post here.

horowitz, facism, negative ad's, and the holocaust: a summary of an edmonton strathcona election forum

As promised, here we go...

Wednesday evening was the night of the second all-candidates election forum in the riding of Edmonton Strathcona. Held at the Myer Horowitz Theatre in the University of Alberta Students' Union Building, six out of the seven candidates duked it out (Marijuana Party candidate, Dave Dowling, was unaccounted for...).

The evening started out great, the candidates showed up and respectfully lined up on stage, waiting to speak to the mass of about 200-300 Edmonton Strathconians who trekked the -5 snowless conditions to be there.

As things started out, the candidates first answered three questions prepared by the Advocacy Department of the U of A Students' Union (the wonderful group who organized the event). The three included questions on topics ranging from student debt to youth apathy. Though most of the answers were standard, Conservative incumbent, Rahim Jaffer, brought up the idea of Income-Contingent Student Loan Repayment. An idea, which isn't bad on it's own, just that every jurisdiction which has enacted it has seen tuition deregulation and massive tuition hikes, which equals larger student debt.

Mr. Jaffer of course, was a smooth operator as usual. Watching from the audience, you could tell he'd done this a couple times before (finishing his answers 58 seconds on the minute, etc).

Andy Hladyshevsky, the Liberal Candidate, was in our mind, the best speaker of the evening. He answered all the questions with energy, and left you remembering his comments afterwards.

Hladyshevsky Quote of the evening: "I don't like the way the Conservatives are spreading the word 'corruption' like ketchup into every thing that every good person in government stands for."

Linda Duncan, the New Democratic Party candidate, answered all the questions intelligently, but that was all. Though Ms. Duncan has, in our opinion, the most impressive resume of all the candidates, she didn't have very many memorable quotes of the evening and didn't overly impress us (though we still may vote for her on the 23rd).

Mike Fedeyko, the Progressive Canadian candidate, was a pretty good speaker. He also made sense. Other than the Progressive Canadian Party being the Progressive Canadian Party, he made them sound pretty good. Not having actually read their official policy positions on their website, Mr. Fedeyko made their policies sound fairly moderate, centrist, and filled with common sense.

Green candidate, Cameron Wakefeild, also did a fairly good job.

Kevan Hunter, the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) candidate (who is rumoured to be the son of Edmonton Centre Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) candidte Peggy Morton), was most definitely the most entertaining candidate at this forum - best quotes of the forum as well! He also continued on the theme of Canada's illegal occupation of Haiti...

Here are some of the better Kevan Hunter quotes...

"If we really want to do our part in helping the real world, we need to stop recking it."

"You have a choice between negative ad's… and fascism."

"I think fascism in this country is a serious concern"

As well, some dumbass in the audience asked Andy Hladyshevsky a question comparing the Liberal attack ad's to Hitler's tactics in Nazi Germany... Andy had a kick ass response... here is part of it...

"I'll give you a comment to that, that person may be flat ass wrong. No one is going to trivialize the Holocaust in this auditorium, not in Myer Horowitz's auditorium!"

pm in edmonton (it almost rhymes...)

Liberal leader Paul Martin is going to be in Edmonton tomorrow, speaking at the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 488 Hall around 4:00pm.

We're going to be out of town, so there's no chance of us going...

daveberta on citytv

Unlike another blogger, we have not been pontificating about our regular media appearances since the beginning of the election. But for those of you in Edmonton who haven't figured it out yet, since the beginning of December 2005, we have been a regular member of CityTV’s election panel.

Every Friday for the past month during the 6pm news and continuing until the end of the election, our very own handsome and dashingly charming self has been staring on CityTV.

And of course, on January 23rd, on election night, we will be on CityTV as part of the election night political panel.

marxist advertizing

The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) - not be be confused with the regular Communist Party of Canada - has released election campaign ad's on their website and they are just priceless!

The ad's, which star Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) leader, Sandra L. Smith, promote the virtues of the worker's revolution and the evils of American imperialism... :-P

They even used old school Soviet propoganda pictures! Check out the picture of the 1890's worker at the end!

UPDATE: The Community Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) radio ad's a great as well. Make sure to check out the second half... totally old school fiddle potato farmers...

alberta stuff.

Well, not tones has happened in the realm of Alberta provincial politics in the past month or so, but there has been a bit of movement...

- Infrastructure and Transport Minister Lyle Oberg has re-launched his Leadership Campaign website - Oberg Online (not quite as cool and hip as "Hancock's Crew")

- Both the Alberta Liberals and Alberta PC's will be holding Party Conventions in the upcoming months - the Alberta Liberals will be holding a policy convention in Edmonton, and the Tories will be holding an AGM and convention in Calgary.

Though it looks largely boring, the Tory convention will include a Leadership review on Mr. Klein. Though it is not widely expected that any of the pretenders to Mr. Klein's slowly crumbling throne will mount a "dump Ralph" campaign during the review, it should be interesting to see what type of approval rating he receives. Anything lower than 90% (which seems inevitable) would definitely make a large dent in the Premier's armour (and his oversized ego).

So... we shall see... we're more that sure our 'deep throat' in the PC Party will be filling us in with all the goodies come convention time. :-)

- By the end of January, Kevin Taft's Alberta Liberals will have nominated at least 20 candidates for the next provincial election (out of 83 seats).

- It looks like the provincial budget may come down in February. This means that the Legislature is probably going to reconvene in the next couple weeks for a Spring Session.

- Oh, how we wish we had a computer scanner... believe it or not, we got a Christmas card from Mr. Jim Dinning this year. Boy, was that fun. :-P

- Rumours of who might run for the NDP nomination in Edmonton Strathcona when popular three-term MLA Raj Pannu retires have continued to swirl... though usual names like former ATA President Larry Booi are still around, names like Rachel Notley (daughter of former NDP Leader Grant Notley) have recently been floating. (**June 15, 2006 UPDATE** It looks like my Rachel Notley prediction has come true as she is now running for the NDP nomination in Edmonton Strathcona...)

- For those of you interested, the youth-wings of the three main Alberta parties now all have websites - the Alberta Young Liberals (AYL), New Democratic Party Youth of Alberta (NDYA), and Young Albertans Progressive Conservative Association (YAPCA, pronounced as- we're assuming - yapka). Not sure if the Alberta Alliance has a youth-wing...

coming soon... myer horowitz review...

Coming tomorrow!

A complete recap of the Edmonton Strathcona Myer Horowitz Election forum! You won't want to miss it!

ohhh, it was a fun night!

Who would have thought someone would have dropped the 'H-Bomb' at a campaign forum!?!

tory cabinet: alberta content.

We're sure that many bloggers have seen this ensemble, written up by the always awesome Rick Mercer, with his thoughts on a potential Conservative Government Cabinet.

Though his were obviously satirical in nature (Stockwell Day in a Federal cabinet? hahaha)

As much as we dread the thought of Stephen Harper as Prime Minister, if the Liberals national campaign bombs any further, it may be an inevitability.

This got us seriously thinking about which Alberta Conservative MP's would make it in a Stephen Harper-led Conservative cabinet. Though we're sure that every current Tory MP with Reform Party pedigree circa 1993 (ie: Diane Ablonczy, Art Hanger, Ken Epp, John Williams) believes he or she (singular) will make the cut, we would predict that there would only be three or four Alberta MP's that would make it to full Cabinet Minister positions (the rest being dealt out to other Western, Maritime, Ontario, and possibly Quebec MP's).

So, right or wrong... here's our predictions for Alberta Tory MP's who we believe would make the cut as full-Cabinet Ministers in a potential Stephen Harper-led government:

Rona Ambrose, MP Edmonton - Spruce Grove since 2004;
James Rajotte, MP for Edmonton - Leduc since 2000;
Lee Richardson, MP for Calgary Centre since 2004 (MP for Calgary Southeast from 1988 to 1993);
Monte Solberg, MP for Medicine Hat since 1993;
and duh... Stephen Harper, Calgary Southwest since 2002 (MP for Calgary West from 1993 to 1997).

This will no doubt meet the ire of many Alberta right-wingers, who will probably never be satisfied until the National Capital gets moved to Calgary. And even then, they will still be bitter about it ever being in Ontario in the first place.

If anything, a Tory government in Ottawa should be a major blow to the Alberta's Provincial Tories, who will no longer be able to use that fancy "it was the fault of those evil Liberals in Ottawa" card they love so much.

Thoughts?

five weird things...

Last week, Angry in T.O. tagged us in a game of "Five Weird Things..."

As the game-name suggests, we list off five weird things about ourselves and then tag a couple of non suspecting blogging folks... so... here... we... go...

1. We love Maynard's Wine Gums. In fact, we can eat an entire pack without even thinking about it (the 7 hour sugar rush is a bit of a kick though).

2. We've been to Ribstone, Alberta (how many other people can say they've done that...)

3. Everytime we see an NDP lawnsign, we think of orange popsicles (we live in the Garneau area, so we end up thinking about orange popsicles quite a bit).

4. We have an unhealthy obsession with public policy. We can't stop reading policy reports. Not just on the job, but at home, and at Tim Horton's, and at the Sugarbowl...

5. Our Cross-Country Skis were "Made in the USSR." And yes, they are wood. They are awesome.

So, in retaliation for Angry in T.O.'s tagging us, we shall tag Socialist Swine, Section 15, Zorph, Peter Rempel, and Taracool.

upcoming candidate forums!

Here are some upcoming Edmonton riding and City-Wide Election Forums we know of...

Wednesday, January 11th

Riding: Edmonton Strathcona
Horowitz Theatre
University of Alberta Students' Union Building
115th Street & 89th Avenue
5:30 PM

City-Wide Forum
Topic: Immigration
Norquest College Auditorium
10215 – 108th Street
7:30 – 9:00pm
Sponsored by Edmonton Mennonite Centre for New Comers and Norquest College
Moderated by: Portia Clark

......

Thursday, January 12th

City-Wide Forum
Royal Alberta Museum
12845 - 102nd Avenue
7:00 PM
Sponsered by Public Interest Alberta

......

Friday, January 13

Riding: Edmonton East
“Spotlight 2006 – The Candidates’ Forum”
On Shaw TV channel 10 and 630 CHED
7:00 PM

......

Monday, January 16

Riding: Edmonton Centre
10804 - 119 Street
7:30 pm
Sponsed by the Unitarian Church of Edmonton's Social Justice Committee

City-Wide Forum
Vote Alberta Young Candidates Forum
Red Star Pub
10534 Jasper Avenue.
8:00 - 9:00 PM
(Edmonton East candidate Nicole Martel will be representing the Liberals)

......

Thursday, January 19

Riding: Edmonton East
Eastglen High School
11430-68 Street
7:00-9:03 PM
Sponsored by the Newton Community League.
Moderated by Dave King, former Minister of Education for the Province of Alberta.

cold war 2006.

Do you think being indicted by a US Federal Grand Jury and being accused of being a spy could be bad for your career?

HUSBAND, WIFE INDICTED AS BEING CUBAN AGENTS

A husband and wife who work at Florida International University were indicted by a federal grand jury Monday on charges of being covert agents of Cuba.

Carlos and Elsa Alvarez are being held in jail, pending a bail hearing. They have not entered a plea, but their lawyer told local reporters that they were not guilty. Carlos Alvarez is an associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies. Elsa Alvarez is a social worker in the university’s counseling center.

A spokesman for Florida International said Monday night that they had been placed on paid leave, pending further developments.

We also thought this was interesting...

The charges are less severe than espionage. According to a press release issued by the U.S. attorney’s office in Miami, the charge of being a covert agent carries with a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Check out the rest here.

naked old white guys don't inspire people to vote.

Seriously, folks...

leader's debate party- in edmonton...

... on the U of A Campus at RATT tonight starting at 6pm (yes, only one hour away, but hey!)

RATT's on the 7th floor of the Students' Union Building for those who are interested in joining the festivities!

And... unlike Mr. Jaffer, we're pretty sure Stephen Harper will show up to this debate...

edmonton strath-to-the-cona.

Last night, along with Mr. Robertson and Mr. Smith, we attended the Edmonton Strathcona candidate forum held at the Knox Metropolitan United Church. Though it wasn't the most exciting forum, we do have some thoughts...

1. Tory candidate Rahim Jaffer, the three-time incumbent for the riding was a no-show at the forum. Mr. Jaffer was joined in the no-show category by Marijuana Party candidate Dave Dowling... was Mr. Jaffer too busy campaigning for Tory candidates in Ontario to show up to a forum in his own riding?

2. Liberal candidate Andy Hladyshevsky was the most polished speaker. He was calm, cool, and humerous at times. For the most part, we would have a hard time disagreeing with many of the things he said.

3. Marxist-Leninist candidate, Kevan Hunter was great entertainment. His answer to nearly every question, ranging from Kyoto to committing 0.7% GDP to International Development Aid had something to do with Canada's "illegal occupation of Haiti..." crazy Marxist. :-P

4. Progressive Canadian candidate Mike Fedeyko was a pretty good speaker, though he slightly misjudged the crowd when he started quoting a Fraser Institute report...

5. Green Party candidate Cameron Wakefield was okay. Not the most polished speaker, he wasn't able to compensate oratorical for the Green Party's lack of solid policies...

6. NDP candidate Linda Duncan was a good speaker. Though we're most likely going to vote for her come January 23rd, we were not overly impressed with her performance at the forum. But it's nothing against her personally, none of the candidates really impressed us.

Overall, it was a pretty tame forum, we're looking forward to the next Edmonton Strathcona forum at the Myer Horowitz Theatre on the U of A Campus on January 11 at 5:30pm - tell your friends and show up!

So, ending it off, here are our current predictions in the Edmonton Strathcona race (rounded off, of course)...

Rahim Jaffer, CPC - 18,000
Linda Duncan, NDP - 13,000-14,000
Andy Hladyshevsky, Lib - 12,000-13,000
Cameron Wakefield, Grn - 3,000-4,000
Dave Dowling, MP -500
Mike Fedeyko, PC - 400
Kevan Hunter, ML - 100

jon stewart to host the oscars!

How sweet!

green university

As we continue our analysis of the federal parties Post-Secondary Education platforms, we would like to welcome everyone to the Faculty of Platitudes! (aka: the Green Party of Canada PSE policies...)

In their recently released main policy document, the Green Party has lived up to their name and proved that they are green in the PSE policy arena (nyuk nyuk nyuk...). Not a very good PSE policy package, it sits on the extremely vague side of the scale on just about every point.

In the document, they left us with six main PSE points... and not much to analyze...

Here it is...

"166. Work with provinces and higher learning institutions to reduce post-secondary tuitions."

Okay. This sounds fine and we're assuming it means giving the provinces more money for PSE. Dedicated transfer? Vague.

"167. Boost participation in cooperative education programs and apprenticeships."

Vague...

"168. Encourage more hands-on learning in our post-secondary education system."

Really vague... We would seriously like to know what "Hands-on learning" means... does this mean anything at all?

"169. Harmonize government programs such as the Millennium Scholarship Fund to provide a single need-based grant program to reduce student debt."

We agree that harmonization of programs is good for efficiency, but we have a suspicion that our definition of harmonization and their definition of harmonization may be different. Tones more needs-based grants are needed, but we need more details.

"170. Increase investments in post-secondary education and ensure that public funding plays a major role in research and development initiatives."

Sounds good. But vague.

Well, in our professional opinion, the Greens have definitely dropped the ball on this policy area...

As well, the Globe and Mail has released some of the details of the Liberal PSE policy, which is supposed to be released tomorrow. We're not going to comment on the details from the story; we'll wait until it's actually released before we do the critiquing.

(As well, be sure to check out our take on the Conservative PSE policy and an NDP PSE announcement.)

tagged by that crazy swine...

The always fun Socialist Swine has tagged us in another one of those blog meme's that float around... so, here you go....

Four jobs you've had in your life:
Pizza Chef, Fundrasing & Event Coordinator, Research Officer, Executive Policy & Information Officer

Four movies you could watch over and over:
Spiderman, Primary Colors, Shawn of the Dead, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Four places you've lived:
The Bayou & Edmonton, Alberta

Four TV shows you love to watch:
Family Guy, the Daily Show, The West Wing, The Sopranos

Four places you've been on vacation:
Halifax, Paris, Brussels, Nice

Four websites you visit daily:
CBC, Newsfutures, CalgaryGrit, Homestar Runner

Four of your favorite foods:
Maynards Wine Gums, Oranges, Frosted Mini-Wheats, Chicken

Four places you'd rather be:
Rather be? Why? Edmonton rocks!

Four albums you can't live without:
- At Folsom Prison by Johnny Cash
- The Royal Tenenbaums Soundtrack
- The Get Shorty Soundtrack
- Riding with the King by B.B. King & Eric Clapton

Four vehicles I've owned:
- None. :-)

So, assuming this is how it works, I tag the following four people for this meme:
- c-lo, interluctor, lotusland, & senator catalyst

sit, chicken. sit.

And it will.

and they rejoiced at our triumphant return...

As the eve of 2005 has passed, we find our creative juices running fairly low. We had a very relaxing holiday, but after spending the past three days in party/celebratory-mode, we find our desire to even write this blog post on the low end of low.

But alas, we shall force ourselves to please the mighty blog gods with a post...

We have a couple things to mention...

Federal Leadership. We're still having a very hard time getting excited about this writ period. All the party leaders are boring and uninspiring. We don't particularity enjoy Paul Martin, but we enjoy Stephen Harper even less. We are also fairly disappointed with Jack Layton in this election (so far), he's just not very inspiring. Please, someone offer VISION. Please.

Income-Trusts. We don't really know much about them, but the entire thing seems slimy.

Edmonton Strathcona. We're still unsure of who to vote for. We think we like our local NDP candidate, Linda Duncan, but we haven't ruled out voting for Green candidate, Cameron Wakefield, as a protest vote.

For those of you interested, there are a couple of Edmonton Strathcona election forums coming up in the near future (at the University of Alberta and Knox-Metropolitan Church). We'll post more info when we confirm them.

As well, Edmonton Strathcona Progressive Canadian candidate, Mike Fedeyko has set up his website and has joined Linda Duncan in candidate sites linking to our blog. Props to both of them!

Warren Kinsella. We're a little disappointed we didn't make Mr. Kinsella's top 10 blogs list. What's up Warren baby!?! ;-)

Blogs/Webboards. Mike Klander. Gordon Stamp. Seriously folks. Did they think that people weren't reading their stuff?

As for Mr. Klander's Olivia Chow comparison, we can assure everyone that Oliva Chow (see right) is much much better looking than a Chow Chow dog (we met her last year).

Also, see Derek's take on Mr. Klander... hahaha. keep it up, Mr. Raymaker.

As for Mr. Stamp, well, we don't think very highly of Alberta separatists, so we'll leave it at that.

Movies. We've seen a couple of good movies over the holidays. We saw the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Fun with Dick and Jane, and Walk the Line (for the third time...). They were all good. Fun with Dick and Jane was particularity funny.

haha. We're watching Office Space as we blog. This movie is too funny... har har har...

oh la la!

Yes, we have triumphantly returned to our lovely hovel just in time for that great annual event we all call "New Year's Eve."

We shall post more soon, but for now we leave you with this lovely doozy.

(props to c-lo for the linkage)

joyeux noël.

As we shall soon be heading out of town for a couple days, the blogging will be light (if non-existant) until our trimpant return... we really hope you can cope without us...

We here at daveberta would just like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season. Have fun, stay safe, and enjoy yourselves! Tis the Season! :-)

god bless milk and cookies.

Today, we found this lovely site with tonnes and tonnes of Family Guy video clips. Check it out, it's on the awesome side of radtacular.

michael ritter scandal - UPDATE!

Click here for the complete Michael Ritter Scandal Chronology.

Yes, that's right, just in time for Christmas, we bring you an update on our good friend, the former Chief Legal Consel to the Alberta Legislature, Mr. Michael Ritter and his adventures in international money laundering (for backstory see here, here, here, here, and here).

It just keeps getting juicier and juicier!

It seems that the U.S. Department of Justice has sentenced Mr. Larry Toshio Osaki to 20 years in prison for his involvment in the $250-Million Ponzi scheme...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 16, 2005
UPLAND MAN WHO RAN $250 MILLION PONZI SCHEME GETS 20 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON Los Angeles, CA - A man who ran a gigantic Ponzi scheme and continued to offer bogus investments in accounts receivable "factoring" after being ordered to stop by a federal judge was sentenced this morning to 240 months in federal prison. Larry Toshio Osaki, 57, of Upland, was sentenced at the end of a 3 1/2-day hearing by United States District Judge Stephen V. Wilson, who said the defendant "single-handedly caused huge loss and havoc." In addition to the prison term, Judge Wilson ordered Osaki to pay more than $145 million in restitution to victims. Osaki pleaded guilty on March 22, 2005 to conspiracy to commit securities fraud, two counts of securities fraud, obstruction of justice and one count of money laundering. Osaki’s scheme cumulatively collected a quarter billion dollars from nearly 7,000 investors and caused $145 million in losses. That scheme started at his Pasadena company, J.T. Wallenbrock & Associates, and was continued with a second firm based in Edmonton, Canada. Read the rest here.

well... you know what they say about small political parties...

Props to Mr. Smith for tipping us off about the rumoured Progressive Canadian candidate in Edmonton Strathcona, Mr. Mike Fedeyko.

We don't know too much about the Progressive Canucks (we're not sure there is much to know), but from what we can see, they seem like a group of mainly red Ontario Tories who don't want to be in a conservative party with people like Stockwell Day, Jason Kenney, and Myron Thompson while also not wanting to join Ms. Stronach or Mr. Brison in the Liberal Party.

We've updated our Edmonton 2006 Federal Election Candidates list, but also click here for more info on Edmonton Strathcona.

wallpaper blues...

No Joe Volpe or Jean LaPierre desktop wallpaper...? darn.

pierretrudeau.ca

We thought this was a little funny... check out where this little link directs you: pierretrudeau.ca.

they had to hire researchers to discover this?

From the Globe & Mail...

Researchers found that, contrary to popular belief, success doesn't necessarily bring happiness but rather that happy people tend to be more successful.

“This may be because happy people frequently experience positive moods and these positive moods prompt them to be more likely to work actively toward new goals and build new resources,” said lead author Sonja Lyubomirsky of the University of California, Riverside.

If you like your job, you're probably going to do better at it... Duh!?!

...passing interest in falconry...

It's Sunday. It's winter. And we're slightly stressed out (as usual). Haven't bought any Christmas gifts yet... waiting until the 23rd... :-P

anyway... NEW STRONG BAD EMAIL!

hitch in y'r giddyup update!

As we first began here, we've decided to update the list of Edmonton Federal Election 2006 candidates...

As before, we'll keep updating the list as more candidates are declared, nominated, appointed, or turfed.

ELECTION 2006 MANIA!

EDMONTON CENTRE (2004 results & profile )
Laurie Hawn - Conservative
Donna Martyn - NDP
Anne McLellan - Liberal
Peggy Morton - Marxist-Lenninist
David Parker - Green
Chandra Segaran Swamy, Independent
(Marijuana Party candidate Lyle Kenny dropped out of the race)

EDMONTON EAST (2004 results & profile)
Trey Capernhurst - Green
Arlene Chapman - NDP
Peter Goldring - Conservative
Nicole Martel - Liberal
(Canadian Action Party candidate David Vanzella and Marijuana Party candidate Ken Kirk both dropped out of the race)

EDMONTON LEDUC (2004 results)
Jim Jacuta - Liberal
Ben Pettit - Green
James Rajotte - Conservative
Marty Rybiak - NDP

EDMONTON MILLWOODS BEAUMONT (2004 results & profile)
Kate Harrington - Green
Neal Gray - NDP
Amarjit Grewal - Liberal
Mike Lake - Conservative
Kyle McLeod - Independent (according to nodice.ca)
Naomi Rankin - Communist

EDMONTON SHERWOOD PARK (2004 results & profile)
Ken Epp - Conservative
Laurie Lang - NDP
Lynn Lau - Green
Ron Symic - Liberal

EDMONTON SPRUCE GROVE (2004 results & profile)
Rona Ambrose - Conservative
Brad Enge - Liberal
John Lackey - Green
Jason Rockwell - NDP

EDMONTON ST. ALBERT (2004 results & profile)
Stanley Haroun - Liberal
Peter Johnston - Green
Mike Melymick - NDP
John Williams - Conservative

EDMONTON STRATHCONA (2004 results & profile)
Linda Duncan - NDP
Dave Dowling - Marijuana Party
Mike Fedeyko - Progressive Canadian
Andy Hladyshevsky - Liberal
Kevan Hunter - Marxist-Lenninist
Rahim Jaffer - Conservative
Cameron Wakefield - Green
(Click here for more info on Edmonton Strathcona)

r.i.p. leo mcgarry.

USA Today is reporting that John Spencer, who played the character Leo McGarry on the awesome TV show, The West Wing, has died of a heart attack.

LOS ANGELES — John Spencer, an Emmy-winning original cast member of NBC's The West Wing, died suddenly Friday morning of a heart attack, according to a statement released by his publicist.

Spencer, four days short of his 59th birthday, is best known to viewers as Leo McGarry, the chief of staff to West Wing President Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen). This season, McGarry was the vice presidential running mate for Democratic nominee Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits).

Spencer's portrayal of McGarry, a tough politico and recovering alcoholic, earned him an Emmy for supporting actor in a drama in 2002. The character actor, a veteran of theater and film work, also received four other Emmy nominations for the role and a Golden Globe nomination.

Spencer, who grew up in New Jersey, also played streetwise attorney Tommy Mullaney on NBC’s L.A. Law. His film roles include Presumed Innocent, Black Rain and Sea of Love.

Read the rest here...

che guevera to run for the ndp?

From Derek's recap of week 2 of the election...

"Now it’s rumoured that former vice-regal and Manitoba relic Ed Schreyer, 70, is lined up for the NDP in Selkirk-Interlake. Somebody, for the love of god, hide the corpse of Che Guevera before it’s drafted as an NDP candidate."

fun-eh.

Yesterday, we were catching up on the latest from Scotty F's blogboy site... man, this guy is funny... here's a post from December 13th...

Dear Blog Boy: After the Liberals win and the Prime Minister makes you a Senator, can I be your faithful hunchbacked manservant? I'll change my name to Igor and everything. - S.M.

Do I appreciate the offer? Yes. Of course I do. But I've been down this road before with hunchbacked manservants. And it's always the same story. They change their name to Igor and maybe develop a comic-tragic limp of some kind. I go to the trouble of getting their lab coat tailored to fit the precise contours of their hump. And then the problems begin. Igor gets a little sloppy pulling the levers that deliver life-inducing energy to my unholy corporeal abominations that are an affront to nature. Igor starts to ignore the knocks at the door from attractive, underclothed stewardesses whose cars have broken down on foggy nights. Then Igor unionizes my laboratory and joins the Brotherhood of Hunchbacked Manservants, Midget Sidekicks and Steelworkers. And all of a sudden the Invisible Man and Dracula are totally razzing me about it on bowling night. Been there, done that.

chuck norris: nerves of steel.

Okay... last Chuck Norris reference of the week... but seriously folks, did anyone know about Chuck Norris' kid cartoon series from back in the 1980's? Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos.

Not only is this great because we found this action figure pic, but we've also tracked down a clip from the actual show!

You can check out a clip from the "Deadly Dolphins" episode here.

rahim! where's the beef!?!

It appears that Tory Rahim Jaffer is the first local candidate to come out in support of Edmonton Strathcona's bustling rural community!

This would be fine and dandy... but last we checked, there weren't very many farmers in this constituency (which is probably near 100% urban).

No word yet whether Mr. Jaffer is going to take some time off from supporting local cattle ranchers to support post-secondary students (the University of Alberta just happens to be in his riding...)

(To be fair, Liberal candidate Andy Hladyshevsky doesn't have anything about PSE on his website either, but at least he's not out campaiging for local farmers... but, NDP Candidate Linda Duncan does! - PSE that is... not cattle ranchers...)

2 a.m. funnies.

For those of you who don't know, we've become slightly addicted to "you're the man now, dog!" aka ytmnd.com. The quality of most of the clips on ytmnd aren't great, but it's just really funny.

Here are some of our favorites... here, here, here, here, and what has to be one of the nerdiest ones: here.

In addition... this Walker: Texas Ranger clip from Conan O'Brien is ridiculous (apologies for our sick sense of humour)

bold predictions.

Interlocutor, over at Civilization As We Knew It, has made four fairly bold predictions about the state of Canadian politics in the upcoming year...

It's an interesting post. You can check it out here.

bill clinton coming to alberta!

Former US President Bill Clinton will be coming to Edmonton in March of 2006!

Check out more info here!

prez zilla

We're hoping we're not the only one's who find this ridiculously funny...

(props to the radtacular mr. face for the linkage)

alberta tory watch update!

A couple of Alberta political updates...

- It appears that former Tory Cabinet Minister Mark Norris' campaign for the Alberta Progressive Conservative leadership is being backed up by some pretty influential corporate heavy hitters. The list includes Murray Edwards, vice-chairman of Canadian Natural Resources and one of Canada's wealthiest people; Barry Heck, President and CEO of Westaim Corp; Guy Turcotte, chairman of Western Oilsands; and Edmonton Oilers part-owner Cal Nichols.

We find it very interesting that heavy hitters like those mentioned would come out and support Mr. Norris' after he lost his seat of Edmonton McClung to Liberal Mo Elsalhy last November...

We also wonder how long it will take before they jump ship to Team Dinning...

- It's been reported by The Armet Report that former St. Albert Tory MLA Mary O'Neill has been appointed Executive Director of the Edmonton-based Glenrose Foundation. Ms. O'Neill, who served as MLA for St. Albert from 1997 to 2004, was defeated last November by Liberal Jack Flaherty. Our sources in St. Albert tell us that Ms. O'Neill is hinting a run in the next provincial election.

Interestingly, one of Ms. O'Neill's former colleagues, Drew Hutton (Tory MLA Edmonton Glenora 2001-2004) served as Executive Director of the same organization before becoming an MLA. Glenrose Foundation Trustees include former Liberal MLA Sine Chadi (MLA Edmonton Roper 1993-1997) and former Director of the Edmonton Glenora Progressive Conservatives, Ms. Nancy Cumming.

- We find it quite silly that former Calgary Currie Tory MLA Jon Lord still has his MLA website up and running after being defeated by Liberal Dave Taylor over a year ago... (did someone forget to tell him that he's no longer the MLA?)

sir, no sir, sergeant goldring!

Are you quitting on me? Well, are you? Then quit, you slimy f**king walrus-looking piece of s**t. Get the f**k off of my obstacle. Get the f**k down off of my obstacle. Now. Move it. I'm going to rip your balls off, so you cannot contaminate the rest of the world. I will motivate you, Private Pyle, if it short-dicks every cannibal on the Congo.

Could these be the words of a future Canadian Boot Camp Drill Sergeant, Peter Goldring?

Does this have anything to do with THIS?

UPDATE: sure, okay, perhaps this may be a little harsh, but we just think the whole boot-camp thing is slightly looney.

albertans are angry!

According to the CBC reporter who only interviewed one angry Albertan... that's totally proportional, one angry Calgarian equals 3 million angry Albertans... sure...

nerd factor eleven

ATTENTION POLITICAL NERDS: the Prime Minister Forever 2006 simulation computer game is now available for FREE via the wonderful Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Now you can get your nerd-on for free!

poll a little harder.

We're trying out something a little different and have added a little poll on the sidebar - check it out, vote, and let us know if you like it. The jury is still out if we're going to keep it around.

hoisted by our own petard!

Well, the results of the Canadian Blog Awards were released last night and we didn't fair too badly.

When the final ballots were counted, we ended up in a strong second place behind Ms. Samantha Burns. Not too bad considering we only made it past the first round of voting in 5th place by 1 vote (54-53 votes against the Cassandra Pages).

Here are the results from the BEST PERSONAL BLOG category...

1. The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns - 248 Votes (24%)
2. Daveberta - 245 Votes (24%)
3. Jenandtonic - 196 Votes (19%)
4. Postmodernes Sprachspienlen - 192 Votes (19%)
5. Postcards from the Mothership - 148 Votes (14%)

Though we didn't think we stood much of a chance in the beginning, an agressive campaign, followed by endorsements by Buckets and CalgaryGrit almost pushed us over the top!

So, props to all our lovely competitors and make sure to check out their blogs!

Props to Sam Burns for her first place finish - by 3 votes! (now we know how Laurie Hawn will feel on election night when Anne McLellan once against sqweeks through in Edmonton Centre... BA-ZING! :-P )

And of course, %100 props to all those who voted for us! May all your Christmas wishes come true. :-P

we're downtown.

Props to Socialist Swine for the quiz linkage...

Downtown Loft You scored 29 out of 40 on urban-rural and 35 out of 40 land intensity.

People know you as: The Yuppie Quote: "Sushi is so 1990s. How about Lebanese?" Congratulations. You are the coolest type of person. Or you like to think you are, anyway. Your score indicates you are a through and through urbanite who likes to live in the densest, most central part of town. Realistically, though, you're probably a "new money" type who, although you claim to hate chains, still occasionally sneaks a Big Mac and always, always gets your coffee from Starbucks. The main difference between you and The Bohemian Gentrifier is that you have a better job. Examples of places you should live: Manhattan, Chicago's Loop All Categories Secluded Hideaway / Farm or Ranch / Small Town / Little City / Suburb / Streetcar Suburb / Rowhouse 'Hood / Downtown Loft

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 75% on urban-rural You scored higher than 97% on land intensity

Link: The Where Should You Live Test written by TwelveFloorsUp on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

dumb headphones...

Friday, while downtown on business, we headed down to the HMV to check if they had a copy of the Muppet Christmas Carol Soundtrack on CD. Unfortunately, they did not. That leaves us dumbfounded at where to get a copy! Seriously folks! What kind of world do we live in when in EDMONTON - a city of nearly a MILLION people - you CANNOT find a physical copy of a Muppets Christmas Carol soundtrack!

1000% props for ANYONE out there in blog-o-land who can tell us where we can track down a copy in Edmonton. We pondered ordering a copy over Amazon.ca or ebay, but it most likely wouldn't get here before Christmas....

Here are the places we've checked out so far...

1. a&b sound - downtown
2. Blackbird Music - Whyte Ave
3. Megatunes - Whyte Ave
4. HMV - Edmonton City Centre

So... back to the title of the story... while at HMV, we made a purchase or two, one being a pair of headphones. In the past, we have opted to buy the $6.99 headphones (which tend to break after a month or so), so this time we decided to be economically smart and buy the $11.99 pair (in hopes of saving money over the long run). So, very pleased with our purchase, we made our way back to our hovel in Garneau only to discover that the said $11.99 headphones were DEFECTIVE! ARRRR! Imagine our reaction. It twas not pleasant.

So, as time would have it, we broke out of the womb of academic submergence for 1 hour this afternoon to travel back to HMV downtown to exchange our headphones for an undefective set. So, the conclusion of our story is, HMV has nearly no problem exchanging stuff. They didn't even ask us for a receipt! (we also stopped at Staples downtown to pick up some cheap printer paper).

And finally, Edmonton people: Isn't it insanely beautiful outside? It must have been +10C today! Big blue sky! Spring jacket time! Very sweet!

the hancock, unleashed...

Watch out ladies, Alberta PC leadership candidate Dave Hancock is stylin' a fancy new website.

He's hip, he's cool, his website has a picture of old people kisssing, and he's got a Crew.

happy weekend.

mwahahahahahaha!

blog of the week: taracool

This week's Blog of the Week goes to taracool.

Taracool is a fun blog we found a while ago. It's writen by Tara, a fellow political science geek (except in Ontario). Check it out!

Also - 16 days 'till Christmas!!!!!!! :-)

vote vote vote!

It's officially the last day you and your's can vote for this wonderful blog in the Canadian Blog Awards! So GO VOTE NOW!

VOTE DAVEBERTA FOR BEST PERSONAL BLOG!