Symmetry break
Take a break from the election with this new video from NPR's Radiolab: H/T: Silas...
25 April, 2011
#elxn41 as seen through Google trends
Contrarian reader DCM kindly corrects the party colors on my Google Trends Election Chart, and look who's taken over the lead: Produced from Google's trend tool, the chart shows Google searches in April from within Canada for the full names (firstname + lastname) of Canada's five party leaders. Previous (non-color corrected) instalment here....
24 April, 2011
That “unnecessary election” – updated
On the morning after the English Language leader's debate, CBC Radio's James Cudmore ended his reaction piece from Brixton's British Pub in Ottawa with an audible smirk: "One blessing: the campaign just has three weeks left to go." [audio:http://contrarian.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/debate_react2.mp3|titles=debate_react] This is one Harper meme (among several) that many press gallery reporters have embraced with alacrity: the May 2 election is an unnecessary, money-wasting, irritating, imposition on voters who have better things to do than contemplate national issues and chose among those who want to do them. It is scarcely an original observation that, as we trudge begrudgingly to the polls, citizens of Tunisia,...
24 April, 2011
That Layton surge in Quebec
What to make of the Layton's remarkable late-campaign surge in Quebec? Contrarian friend Richard Stephenson suggests an explanation: We have been told repeatedly that the voters are tired of these frequent (and expensive) elections. I suspect many are tired of the stories the Bloq and the Liberals have been telling. Having voted consistently for the Bloq over the past decade, maybe the people of Quebec are tired of the story they've been sold, and are now looking for a Federalist party they can trust...
21 April, 2011
Trending federal leaders in Google searches
Google's Trend feature lets users track and compare the frequency of searches for particular words or phrases in any country, or worldwide. This chart compares searches within Canada for the full names (first and last) of the five leaders contesting the May 2 Federal Election. I used Gilles Duceppe as the standard, so you could say Stephen Harper scored 12.6 duceppes; Jack Layton 7.8 duceppes; Michael Ignatieff 7.2 duceppes; and Elizabeth May 4.0 duseppes. (Sorry about the confusing colour assignments. Google picked 'em.)...
21 April, 2011
A serving of crow, best eaten promptly
After listening to wrongness guru Kathryn Schultz's TED talk on the counterintuitive blessings of making mistakes, it seems an opportune moment to get this out of the way. A quiet but astute observer of provincial and national politics writes: I meant to ask you where you get your drugs from. They are obviously very powerful. I mean, how else can you explain your federal election campaign outcome prediction? That would be this prediction: I look forward to their stories a month from now acknowledging April 12 as the turning point when a majority slipped from Harper’s grasp, and a minority Liberal Government became...
20 April, 2011
The triumph of taxophobia
Writing in Democracy, Jonathan Chait plumbs American right's aversion to taxes: The conservative movement’s embrace of taxophobia is probably the most important development in American political life over the last three decades. It is the one quality that most distinguishes American conservative elites from conservative elites in other countries. They’re more likely to question climate science, more sanguine about people dying for lack of health insurance, and less xenophobic (which is rather nice). But above all—far above all—they hate taxes. Understanding the American Right is critical for Canadians, because if voters make the mistake of giving Stephen Harper a majority on May...
16 April, 2011
TSA still groping kids
Families wishing to board commercial aircraft in the US or Canada can choose between irradiating their children with x-rays, or submitting them to a full-body pat-down. Check out the latest viral example: The official TSA response? A video taken of one of our officers patting down a six year-old has attracted quite a bit of attention. Some folks are asking if the proper procedures were followed. Yes. TSA has reviewed the incident and the security officer in the video followed the current standard operating procedures. H/T: Daily Dish...
15 April, 2011
Mr. Leahey’s advice to non-voting students
The guru of Sunnyvale speaks out: Over a million students? In Canada? Man, you guys could have a lot of political weight if you put your little check mark on the day on the ballot box. You woulnd’t have to worry about lowering tuition fees. You could say, “LOWER THE DAMN TUITION FEES!” and they’d do it. ‘Cause they’d listen to you. Ah I’m wasting my time, you guys aren’t going to go and vote anyway. You guys are all heading down into Shit Valley, you shitweasels. You’re just a bunch of dickweeds. And for anyone who missed it, the ShitHarperDid video: During the...
14 April, 2011