lotusland - nervous politics from a laid-back city

chantal hebert's secret message: liberals are like a second green party, so ndp/pc better catch up

if i didnt have three finals this week, id write a long post about how the greens need to reclaim the environmental issue.  while we greens often find ourselves asked to articulate what we stand for "besides the environment," we are now in a political arena that is focussed on using environmental issues to differentiate the parties.

dion's minions hand out green scarves to distinguish him from the pack.  chantal hebert issues an exhortation to the tories and dippers to catch up on the environment.   may's 2nd place byelection finish is one of the more exciting bits of news this year.

green groups have been ranking the parties' respective environmental records for ages.  dion was environment minister for quite a while, and his name definitely comes up in these evaluations.  you can wear all the green you want, but it doesnt make you irish on st. patrick's day or green in the eyes of those devoted to studying the impact of environmental policy.

if i had more time to do anything but rant, id cite some of these.  ill return to this over christmas break.

i hope the green party studies and employs these critiques, busts a slim shady, and tells the other parties that we are the green party, yes we're the real green party, all those other green parties are just imitating, so wont the real green party please stand up, please stand up?

had ken dryden won, this would be more interesting

ken dryden was a member of the semi-secret quill and dagger society at cornell.   imagine ezra levant freaking out, regaling us with hypothetical scenarios he stole from  the skulls, which he rented the night before as opposition research.  so much more interesting.

can someone please fill me in on precisely what kind of twat you have to be in order to treat dual citizens with suspicion?  dion spends a decade or so serving the canadian government, but the fact he has french citizenship is just questionable.  his mom's french, so what?  it's an identity thing.  he hasnt used the passport, voted in the elections, or any of that. 

and damian penny counters this dion quote

"There is nothing wrong with multiple identities. The hearts of people are big enough to accept different identities. Canadian citizenship will give me my rights. Identity is the way I feel about the country."

with this, something the media apparently shouldnt let him off the hook for:

No talk of loyalty or obligation, not talk of duties.

do actions speak louder than words, or what?  the guy served in your little legislature as a cabinet minister for years.  he didnt even vote in a french election.   

people, get over it.   this is beyond stupid.

its a dion deal

hey, liberals, its not so bad.  you got the media's favourite candidate.   that should help, eh? 

ignatieff supporters, i dont know whether to give him props for taking on the big nation issue or lols for the inevitable 'losing to a guy from quebec' which ensued after kennedy was delivered and rae let his minions loose.   

dion is easier to defend than an iraq war-supporting, american, effete urban thoroughbred bourgeois.   he is easier to defend than an unpopular ndp premier.   he is easier to defend than  some guy from toronto who doesnt speak french.  the type of voter who would overlook these flaws is actually in the bag - the liberals have that miniscule-l liberal urban yuppie support locked up.

i still think they should have gone with dryden.  everyone knows the only way to beat manboobed hockey dad is with a goalie who displayed legendary pwnage.

im on the gazette website courtesy of antonio! BYAAAH!!!

and then im going to link to the site like BYAAAAAAAH!  and im going to remind you all to watch chappelle impersonate howard dean on youtube like BYAAAAAAH!  because the liberal convention made mr. dean all topical again.

i have to say, i made antonios first blogger layout by stealing a pepsi (national icon of quebec) layout from another site.   and now hes all the way up on canada.com ... snif, all grown up.

anyway, im sure youll all be reading his convention bloggery.  nice pic, dude.