woo hoo! way to go Jack Layton! he wasn't nearly as obvious about pointing fingers or doing the whole name calling thing. accusations abounded, but Jack seemed less involved somehow. (or maybe I missed those parts of the debate...) And, he gave us some 'new' ideas, instead of just asking why old ideas weren't being used, worked on, etc. he won the debate for me. Do I know who I'm voting for? not really, but meh... I'll figure something out, so that I'll throw my vote away in some artful manner...

Rajotte has not responded to my e-mail yet. (and I wasn't rather sardonic either)

My eyes!!:

For those who watched the debate (I believe there's at least one or two of you), and were looking for a bit of context on a few issues:

Fiscal Imbalance: According to the fiscal imbalance theory, the Federal government has achieved an important surplus by cutting its contributions towards provinces, leaving them with responsibilities much too expensive for their resources.

The provinces claim that the feds are screwing them and should restore payments, the feds say that the provinces are too afraid to raise taxes. And, as usual, the answer is probably both.

Option Canada: Option Canada is a a Montreal-based lobby group established some eight weeks before the voting day of the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty.

There was involvement from both the Libs and the PCs on this one. Separatists allege that Option Canada broke electoral law, whereas the Supreme Court ruled parts of that law unconstitutional. The whole affair is still under investigation. (Although, apparently, allegation is fact in elections.)

Income Trusts: An income trust is an investment trust that holds income-producing assets. The term also designates a legal entity, capital structure and ownership vehicle for certain assets or businesses. Its shares or "trust units" are traded on securities exchanges just like stocks. The income is passed on to the investors, called "unitholders", through monthly or quarterly distributions. Distributions are typically higher than stock dividends, offering yields of up to 10% a year (up to 20% for riskier trusts).

The issue here was that the Liberals were thinking about taxing these trusts (which subsequently drove the stock values of these units down.) Then, in November, they announced that they wouldn't tax them. Prior to the announcement, the was heavy trading in the trust units, and since then, many have recovered their values (I know mine have.) The RCMP is investigating this one, too (at the request of the NDP.)

Drive by smear:

I don't really have context on this one. I just thought it was interesting that accusing others of making personal attacks became, in itself, a personal attack.

happy birthday clarky!!

hey remember when i was asking about how to hack the myspace audio player?

http://www.tech-recipes.com/internet_tips1139.html

well now you know

Happy B-day Clark!

the search for the worst sound ever begins here. Vote for the worst if you can bear them all

I SUCK AT THIS GAME!!!

Shhhhhhh

No, you haven't missed it. The Day of the Top Duck is later this week.

Today is, I believe, the birthday of one Eric Clark, though. Happy Birthday, buddy.

HOLYSHIT DON'T TELL ME I MISSED PERCY'S BIRTHDAY!!

(if indeed i did, happy birthday man)