You know that feeling you get when something is both hilarious and heartbreaking?

I have a book review due the day after reading week. I left the book I'm supposed to review in Ottawa.

As soon as I deal with this fucking toothache from hell, I'll try to solve the book review problem.

Tags: school

So. Sarah Palin gave a speech to the conservative Tea Party association this past weekend. Photographic and videotape evidence have revealed she needed crib notes on her hand to remember what to say.



Zooming in on her hand shows that she needed to remember "energy", "tax", and "lift American spirits"

This, I think, is one of those things that speaks for itself on its own. No need for commentary required.

Tags: politics

...you deserve what's coming to you.

South Carolina has passed a law requiring "subversive organizations" operating within South Carolina to register with the Secretary of State. No Joke. If you plan to overthrow the American Government, you must register your intentions with the South Carolina Secretary of State, and pay the $5 processing fee to file your paperwork.

In case you think I am joking, you can read about the law here or just look at the "subversive organization" registration form:



Am I the only one who thought "well, this is just a little too much like Paranoia?

Toothache entering hour 56. A dull throbbing pain in my mouth is not fun. Both eating and brushing my teeth change the dull throbbing pain into a stabbing burning pain. Also not good.

Dentist appointment made Tuesday, on account of me going home tomorrow. Hopefully I tough it out for that long and then dentistry magic fixes me.

Finally I have physical pain to match the emotional trauma of the past month. That's a brightside!

Seriously. I remember it. I don't do it much anymore. I spend so much of my day reading for school that I can't read for fun during school. I watch the Simpsons for fun now. I've been making a very half-assed attempt to read for fun, but I can't bring myself around to doing it.

Reading Goal 1/20. Crowner's Quest, Bernard Knight. 1999, 328 pages
The third in the Crowner John series. I've been enjoying the Crowner John books - the mysteries are challenging, but they aren't infuriatingly hard to figure out. More importantly, the backdrop of swording things and political intrigue really hooks me - although I blame this on my love of Harn and all things simulationist in fantasy.

In this book John is investigating the murder of a priest, and it leads to a larger investigation of the political situation in England - it appears as if another Rebellion against Richard is at foot....

Tags: books

The Toronto Star is reporting that Jack Layton is seriously ill, while the CBC is reporting that Layton is suffering from prostate cancer. Both are reporting that Layton will stay on as leader.

That's all for now. No analysis. Just the news.

Tags: ndp

A simple fact exists in Canadian politics: if you want to form a majority government, you need to win seats in either Ontario or Quebec. It is very difficult to win the country without winning these provinces. Perhaps the biggest stumbling block to a Harper majority is the hesitancy of Quebec to embrace the Tories: there is certainly a Conservative foot-hold in Quebec, but not enough to create a feasible majority.

The last Conservative government to form a majority in Canada was Mulroney's; it fell apart, in large measure, because the uneasy coalition between the West and Quebec fell apart. Certainly one of the biggest regional tensions in Canada exists between the West and Quebec, and while Mulroney was successful in patching the two together, it didn't last that long.

Flash forward to today. As Chantal Hebert points out today in her column, Harper is risking his small foot-hold in Quebec to appease his Conservative base in the west. Jim Pretence, the federal Environment minister has lashed out against Quebec's strict environmental standards, suggesting that Quebec's method of dealing with climate change will lead us all to ruin.

Fair's fair: slapping Quebec environmentalists around is a great way to win votes in Alberta, and to show you're conservative base you're not abandoning them. Fair's also fair: slapping Quebec environmentalists around is a great way to lose votes in Quebec. Slapping environmentalists around is also a great way to lose votes in Ontario and B.C.

I can appreciate the conundrum that Harper is in. Cutting out your base means that while your supporters may not abandon you for another party, they may chose to stay home on election day or decide not to donate cash to you: look at what happened to Dion. At the same time, Harper will never get his majority if he continues to kick around vote-rich provinces.

Harper needs to find a way to score a major political victory before the summer. On exactly how many fronts can he fight a political war: The Environment. The Afghan detainee question. The attacks on democracy.

Tags: politics

Pamela Taylor, the PC Candidate for the Byelection in Toronto Centre was being interviewed by Andy Barrie on the CBC earlier this week. Taylor is running in George Smitherman's seat, and Smitherman is openly gay. Barrie posed a question to Taylor, as he wanted to know why there are no openly gay Conservative candidates at either the provincial or federal level. He why this was so.

Taylor responded: "Openly? John Baird."

See, John Baird has never outed himself. And neither Baird nor his office will comment. That's a fail right there for Taylor

For more on the hilarity, and to see that Baird isn't completely awful on gay rights, read the original story

Tags: politics

Carly Fiorina is running for the U.S. Senate. She has made an ad. It's something else.

I burst into uncontrollable laughter around 2.25, and continued laughing uncontrollably until the end.

Tags: politics