Buckdog

"As the Prime Minister of a long-established, if complacent, democracy, Stephen Harper is supposed to say that for him the will of the people is paramount. He is supposed to declare that whatever House of Commons Canadians establish through their votes, he will accept it and work with it. He is supposed to say that he is the servant of the people.

Remarkably, Harper says none of these things. He insists that the only House of Commons he can work with after the election is one in which his party has a majority of seats. Should his party end up with the largest number of seats in a minority Parliament, he has declared that he cannot work with the other parties.

He will not alter a single jot or tittle in the budget he presented in March in a bid to win the support of one or more of the opposition parties. Quite simply, he does not recognize the legitimacy of the members of the other parties in the House of Commons, even though their presence in the House is the result of the expression of the will of the people. He is not required, he is saying, to heed the voices, the wisdom or the ideas of other Parliamentarians.
...
Not only does Stephen Harper refuse to acknowledge the will of the people and the legitimacy of parties that are not his own, he calls into question the essential principle of the Westminster system of parliamentary government. The principle is that a ministry must enjoy the confidence of the majority of the members of the House of Commons. Furthermore, if one ministry does not enjoy the confidence of the House, it is appropriate for the Governor General to seek to form an alternative ministry that does enjoy the confidence of the House.
...
In the democratic world, Stephen Harper alone wraps himself in the cloak of: “Sans moi, le deluge.”
James Laxer

After an unabated onslaught of smear and slander against Mr. Ignatieff and the Liberal Party of Canada, Stephen Harper is now begging Liberals to vote Conservative! Typical of a bully. Taunt and push and shove a victim, and then expect love and respect back from the victim! Screw that!!

"Stephen Harper is pleading with traditional Liberal voters to support his Conservatives to stave off a “disastrous” leftist government headed by NDP Leader Jack Layton."
The Star

In this video we finally get a glimpse of the real Stephen Harper without scripts, props and all the other window dressing that his entourage and the MSM uses to make him look good.

Our sleazy Prime Minister (not for long) held a rally in Brampton this morning. Here's an eye witness report on Harper's ongoing dishonesty:

"At a rally later in Brampton – attended also by Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak and Toronto mayor Rob Ford – Harper thanked Ford for his support and for cleaning up the mess left behind by Jack Layton on Toronto City Council (never mind how many years that Layton has not been on council), and then had the crowd applaud the royal newlyweds. He then began his pitch for a majority government, but changed his target, saying it was now a choice between a Conservative government or an NDP government, and a vote for the Liberals is a vote for an NDP government. He then went on a rant about tax increases, occasionally changing his attack between the Liberals or the NDP (possibly a cut-and-paste error), and closed off with his usual “trouble lapping at our shores,” appealing to patriotism, and plea for his majority."
Xtra.ca

'Unnamed' sources have come forward to slander Jack Layton in a bid to assassinate his character prior to Monday's Federal Election.

In a bid of sheer desperation, the Conservative War Room, in conjunction with Sun News and anonymous Toronto City Police officers are trying to ensure that Jack Layton does not win the election.

If we had a Reichstag, it would be burning, right now!

Scum. Pure scum.

-Layton Smeared - CBC News

(Click on graphic to enlarge)

Stephen Harper and the bleating Conservative crew are hollering that the 'markets will crash' if Layton ever forms a government. Harper forgets to tell you that one of the largest market collapse on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) happened while HE was in government.

Harper is scared and he's trying to scare Canadians!

Harper realized yesterday that a majority is not possible for him. Look at the expression on his face .. and to the left of him, of his wife.

"NIAGARA FALLS—Stephen Harper's Conservatives must win 23 more seats in Ontario to achieve their coveted majority, a task that senior party insiders now admit is almost impossible, the Star has learned.

High-ranking sources confide that even with the collapse of Michael Ignatieff's Liberals — and NDP Leader Jack Layton's surge, which helps split the vote in many Ontario ridings — it will be very difficult to make such immense gains in Canada's most populous province.

At the dissolution of Parliament, the minority Tories held 51 of Ontario's 106 federal seats.

Party sources say the possible loss of several British Columbia ridings to the New Democrats — and others in Quebec, where Layton is surfing an orange wave — has forced them to revise their projections.

As of Thursday, they said they needed to win at least 74 seats in Ontario to achieve a majority.

“It all comes down to Ontario and we're just not there,” a source said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the party's internal polling is closely guarded.

Another source confirmed the Tories' data echoes publicly available polls, such as Wednesday's Toronto Star-Angus Reid survey showing the Conservatives at 35 per cent, the New Democrats at 30 per cent and the Liberals at 22 per cent.

Nationwide, the governing party has 143 seats with two vacancies previously held by Conservatives. They must win 155 of Canada's 308 ridings for the majority that Harper insists is vital for economic stability."
-Majority Out Of Reach: The Star

(Click on graphic to enlarge)

- Saskatoon, Thursday April 28, 2011.

AND unlike Conservative events:
-No one was screened prior to attending!
-No ones Facebook page was checked before attending!
-No one was refused entry!
-Jack took MORE than 5 questions from the press!

'DEMOCRACY' ... what a concept!

Photo lifted without permission from Rosemary Barton's Plixi page ...

(Well with all the nonsense that they have been doing with fabricated photos of Mr. Ignatieff and other assorted shenanigans, it wouldn't surprise me)*.


H/T to my twitter pal @Tony_Tracy

Harper is talking (not favourably) about the possibility of a Jack Layton victory on Monday. For Harper to even acknowledge the possiblity of losing the government benches says very clearly that he is worried.

And after the slur and slander that Conservatives have bombed Mr. Ignatieff with in ongoing attack ads, it's pretty rich to see them asking Liberals if they aren't considering voting for Harper.

(Click on graphic to enlarge)

The above chart shows the number of years that a balanced budget was achieved by provincial governments of various political stripes. It covers 23 fiscal year periods from the 1986-87 to 2008-09 across various administrations.

New Democratic provincial governments achieved the highest period with surplus budgets followed by Conservative administrations. Liberal provincial administrations had the worst record of deficit.

Don't let Conservatives or Liberals succeed in their scare tactics concerning New Democrats and their fiscal achievements.

The Fiscal Reference Table is produced annually by the Federal Department of Finance. This chart is from the report for 2008-09.

Not this time! The vast majority of Western Canadian grain producers consistently elect pro-Canadian Wheat Board Delegates to the Board. If the majority of farmers hated the CWB they would elect delegates who would work with Harper to disband and destroy the grain marketing agency. But that's not the reality back home on the farm.

It's also time for pro-Wheat Board farmers who still think it's okay to vote for Stephen Harper to maybe examine the risky business sense of voting for him!

Seriously Harper, your 'values' are all about power and corporate welfare. Take the hint ... you're NOT loved / liked by the vast majority of Canadians and it's time for you to exit ... stage RIGHT.

"This government will not put Canadian industry in a position where it is discriminated against in a market where sale is permitted."

If I hear one more freakin' Conservative try to lecture us about Stephen Harper's 'ethic's, I think I'll be sick.

-Harper Defends Asbestos Industry

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Note:
Earlier today I read a completely hysterical tweet by my new friend, Ciaoneocons who also has a GREAT website 'unseatharper.ca' - here's a HUGE tip of the hat to him for cracking me up like few others have this campaign!!

Here's an example of Conservative priorities - both in the Tory Motherland of Alberta and in the PMO in Ottawa. Stephen Harper's government gives billions in tax cuts and taxpayer funded subsidies to the Oil Industry in Canada. As a nation, we seem to bow and scrape to ensure that the fortunes of large oil companies (and large banks) are highly profitable. Apparently, working Canadians are somehow supposed to benefit from national Corporate Welfare. I paid $1.26 a litre today for some gasoline. Enough is enough!

"Alberta will take in more money from gambling than it will from oilsands royalties, according to provincial budget forecasts for 2009-10. Oilsands revenue is expected to drop to about $1 billion this year because of the global recession, but gambling revenue will remain steady at about $1.5 billion, according to the forecasts. Charities are expected to directly collect another $325 million from gambling revenue, mostly through volunteering at casinos."
CBC online

The ORANGE DOOR!

In spite of the rather LARGE Tom Lukiwski sign, no one at this house will be voting Conservative on May 2nd. That is because the house is vacant! For some reason, these large, oversized signs seem to be popping up on empty properties in the Riding. Buckdog is checking to see if the Realty company is aware of this .. or perhaps part of it.

La PORTE ORANGE

The above video is from an 'all candidates' forum for Saskatoon Humboldt Riding in Saskatchewan. Here is an excerpt of Brad Trost, Conservative candidate (& incumbent MP) and Denise Kouri, NDP candidate. The forum did not allow direct exchange between candidates.

Brad Trost says that the majority of voters in the Riding are social conservatives. Denise Kouri begs to differ.

Interesting points raised at the forum on the issue of reproductive rights, sexual health and the election in general.

(H/T to Queer Liberal - The following post appears on the Blog site of Queer Liberal)

"CTV's Jane Taber's horrified eyes at the thought of an 'NDP-led coalition' government...
I'm through with CTV's Question Period, the hour-long political gab fest held each Sunday. The show's bothered me for years with its barely contained conservative biases (symptomatic, of course, of CTV's biases.) There have been moments of fairness and objectivity, but overall the show has always profiled the state of Canadian politics through the narrow prism of the centre-right. Rarely have serious investigations into things like health care delivery, poverty, climate change or social justice found their way onto 'Question Period's line-up. Instead, the show has almost exclusively focused on the bogus games, scandals and inside baseball antics of Ottawa that have turned off so many Canadians from politics in recent years (which plays into Stephen Harper's playbook quite nicely, as we know.)

During yesterday's panel discussion between co-hosts Jane Taber, Craig Oliver and journalists Joel-Denis Bellavance and Mercedes Stephenson, there was a key moment in which Taber's anti-left biases shown through her journalistic facade.

Taber and Oliver have been talking up the possibility of a NDP-Liberal coalition as a possible outcome of this election for weeks, sometimes using tongue-in-cheek tones (and despite Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff's ruling out such an arrangement.) But in yesterday's show, Oliver brought up the possibility again, this time musing it could be led by the NDP if they come in second in the vote count. Taber's reaction was priceless and undeniable:

OLIVER:
It could be going even to the extent if this momentum continues...we could even be seeing an NDP-led...

TABER:
Coalition? Ugh!!!

(Her eyes dart open in a look of horror)

OLIVER:
Agreement with the Liberals, yeah.


Click here and then fast forward to around the 03:00 minute mark, you'll find it.

Taber also mentioned in yesterday's broadcast that she had voted in the advanced polls this weekend. That sent a shiver down my spine as I could imagine her putting her X next to the Conservative party candidate, then running off to host her weekly political show.

With days to go in the 2008 campaign, CTV showed its biases when they betrayed their word and broadcast the false starts of former Liberal leader Stephane Dion during an interview about what he'd do as Prime Minister yesterday to fix the economy tomorrow, or something like that. Shortly thereafter, CTV host and now Conservative Senator Mike Duffy went on air questioning Dion's basic comprehension and competence.

I've been worried CTV would also go to bat for the Conservative Party in this election. Oliver raising the spectre of an NDP-led coalition could just be the kind of trick the Conservatives are hoping for from their beloved network. If enough Ontario voters get scared by such a prospect (kind of like how Taber reacted to the notion), perhaps CTV figures it'll help swing more voters behind the Conservative Party and hand that party its majority.

All of this makes we wonder how successful Sun TV will really be. Sun TV puts it pro-Conservative bias up front. But why would Conservatives need to watch the amateur coverage on Sun TV when they already have a very powerful and clearly Conservative broadcaster in CTV?

If you're watching CTV this final week of the campaign, be very aware of the pro-Conservative biases you will no doubt be witnessing."
Queer Liberal

Everyone knows I am not a supporter of the Green Party .. BUT ... I also don't like election antics such as these pics show.

-Liberal Switch-er-roo (Pic by pic)
-Liberal Switch-er-roo (Contact sheet)

-Kady O'Malley gets on the case .....

UPDATE:
" Hi Kady:
I do not engage in or condone this type of campaign behavior. When this issue about the canvasser was brought to my attention by the Green Party candidate, in deference to his concern and to the hard work of my own campaign, the canvasser was released by the campaign.
Joe Volpe"


UPPERDATER:
The MSM finally catches up with the blogosphere!

The following post appeared in the Dog Blog - of the Prairie Dog Magazine, published in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

NDPs Surging In Regina
by Paul Dechene

I’ve been watching the polls for Saskatchewan kind of obsessively and have been depressed a lot as a result. The Conservatives have been so far out in front I’ve been assuming that Harper would walk away with a bunch of wins here — despite all the ranting and raving we’ve been doing in the p-dog of late.

Well, I’m pleased to discover that some recent polling is more optimistic (if you’re one of those people who’d like to see Harper lose some support around these parts). Seems the NDP surge that people are talking about in Quebec and BC is happening here too. Have a look at these charts that I’ve lifted off projectdemocracy.ca.

First, here are the projections for my riding, Palliser:
This is a roll-up of an Ekos poll from April 21 and a Nanos poll from April 22. Just a few days ago, Nanos had Ray Boughen slaughtering the NDP’s Noah Evanchuk. Now, the NDP have a slim lead.


Now, here’s how things look in Regina – Qu’appelle:
Again, this is a roll up of an Ekos poll from the 21st and a Nanos poll from the 22nd. And again, a few days ago it really didn’t look like NDP candidate and city councillor Fred Clipsham had a chance. Now, he’s neck-and-neck with Con golden-boy, Andrew Scheer.


As for Regina-Lumsden-Lake Centre, have a look. (Again, a rollup from the same Ekos and Nanos polls as above.):
NDP candidate Brian Sklar still has some ground to make up on self-described fucking old and fucking-A Conservative candidate Tom Lukiwski. But based on these numbers, it’s entirely possible that he could come from behind and take the seat.


... continues at Dog Blog ....

(Outside)

(Inside)

A huge crowd lined up outside the Layton Montreal Rally this afternoon waiting for the doors to open!

Surge Jack, Surge!!


-Montreal Gazette: Layton Draws Big Crowd

-google.com

"Yes, Wall is a conservative at heart who fundamentally opposes Liberals. Yes, his thought process might be shaped by his desire to see Harper get his majority. But one shouldn't underestimate Wall's sincere dislike of the separatist Bloc Quebecois, its disruption of Parliament and the legitimate fear that it could have a major role in a future coalition government. And if such loathing of those eager to break up our country has led Wall to his irrational position, maybe he's not so different than a lot of Canadians."
Murray Mandryk
Regina Leader Post

I nearly gagged on my morning coffee as I read the most recent defense of Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall by local pundit poo bah, Murray Mandryk. Mandryk opines that there may be a good reason why Wall has broken his pledge to stay unengaged in the federal election - his undying love of Canada and dislike of the Bloc Quebecois who would shatter Confederation.

Excuse me Murray, if Premier Wall wants to see someone putting the political boots to Gilles Duceppe and the Bloc ... he should be supporting Jack Layton's New Democrats, not Stephen Harper. Who else but Layton is taking support away from the Bloc in Quebec this time around??

... background ....

When they were Opposition, Harper & the Conservatives promised that they would be open and accountable if they formed government. #FAIL.

Here’s a list of Conservative candidates refusing to show up at All Candidate forums:



Alberta

- Leon Benoit (CPC) - Wainwright Vegreville

- Deepak Obhrai (CPC) – Calgary East

- Rob Anders (CPC) -Calgary West

- Michelle Rempel (CPC) - Calgary Centre-North

- Jason Kenney (CPC) - Calgary South East

- Stephen Harper (CPC) - Calgary South West

- Devinder Shory (CPC) - Calgary North East

- Dianne Ablonczy (CPC) - Calgary Nose Hill

- Jim Hillyer (CPC) -Lethbridge

- Peter Goldring (CPC) - Edmonton East

- Laurie Hawn (CPC) – Edmonton Centre

- LaVar Payne (CPC) – Medicine Hat

Ontario

- Julian Fantino (CPC) – Vaughan

- Peter Kent (CPC) – Thornhill

- Aijaz Naqvi (NDP) - Mississauga-Streetsville

- Terence Young (CPC) – Oakville

- Susan Truppe (CPC) – London-North Centre

- Stephen Woodworth (CPC) – Kitchener Centre

- Diane Finley (CPC) – Haldimand—Norfolk

- Royal Galipeau (CPC) – Ottawa-Orléans

- Theresa Rodrigues (CPC) – Davenport

- Leanna Villella (CPC) – Welland

- Kevin Moore (CPC) – Toronto Centre

- Elie Salibi (CPC) – Ottawa South

- Pierre Lemieux (CPC) – Glengarry-Prescott-Russell

- Terry Anderson (CPC) – Hamilton Mountain

- Marty Burke (CPC) – Guelph

- James McLaren (NDP) – Ottawa South

- Ed Holder (CPC) – London West

- Patrick Brown (CPC) – Barrie

- Peter Braid (CPC) – Kitchener – Waterloo

- Chris Alexander (CPC) – Ajax-Pickering

- Larry Miller (CPC) - Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound

- Corneliu Chisu (CPC) – Pickering-Scarborough East

- Fred Slade (CPC) – Sudbury

- Damian Konstantinakos (CPC) – Ottawa Centre

- Phil McColeman (CPC) – Brant

Manitoba

- Wally Daudrich (CPC) – Churchill

- Rod Bruinooge (CPC) – Winnipeg South

- Bev Pitura (CPC) – Winnipeg Centre

New Brunswick

- Rodney Weston (CPC) – Saint John

- Robert Goguen (CPC) – Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe

British Columbia

- Donald Leung (CPC) - Burnaby-Douglas

- Dona Cadman (CPC) – Surrey North

- Mark Strahl (CPC) – Chilliwack – Fraser Canyon

- John Koury (CPC) – Nanaimo-Cowichan

- John Duncan (CPC) – Vancouver Island North

- Jennifer Clarke (CPC) – Vancouver Centre

- Ronald Leung (CPC) – Burnaby-Douglas

Nova Scotia

- Gerald Keddy (CPC) - South Shore-St. Margaret’s

Saskatchewan

- Randy Hoback (CPC) – Prince Albert

- Andrew Sheer (CPC) Regina

- Kelly Block (CPC) – Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar

Northwest Territories

- Sandy Lee (CPC) – Western Arctic

Quebec

- Daniel Petit (CPC) – Charlesbourg-Haute-Saint-Charles

- Sylvie Boucher (CPC) – Beauport-Limoilou

If we have missed any hiding Conservatives ... let us know so that we can update the list!

Elect Michael Charrois In North Vancouver

"Si M. Harper a un mandat minoritaire et persiste à présenter un budget qu'il sait ne pas avoir l'appui de la majorité de la Chambre, il n'aura que lui-même à blâmer. Cet échec ne sera pas celui des autres partis, mais le sien. L'impasse qu'il prépare déjà et ses suites seront le fruit de sa propre intransigeance, celle qu'il affiche sans complexe et qui n'a rien de rassurant. S'il est prêt, en contexte minoritaire, à se montrer aussi têtu qu'un enfant qui boude quand on lui refuse un jouet, qu'est-ce que ce sera s'il est majoritaire?"
Le Devoir


Cette fois, je vote pour Jack Layton!

This new Conservative ad is not the product of a party that is happy to see the New Democrats surging. The ad is completely irrational because while Layton is busy taking voters and hopefully, seats from the Bloc, Harper accuses the NDP of joining WITH the Bloc?????? This is completely idiotic, and I'm not the only one saying so.

Defeat Harper - Vote NDP!

-Calgary Herald

UPDATE:
It appears that Stephen Harper has made up a number of things in this particular ad. Seeing how sensitive he was over a Liberal ad this past week, let's see if Harper and the Conservatives will do the right thing and admit to the stuff they simply 'made up'in the video above:
-Will Harper Withdraw his made up ads?

"The survey of 2,727 voting-age Canadians was conducted Wednesday evening. It was an interactive voice response survey with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 per cent 19 times out of 20. The margin of error for regional and provincial breakdowns is slightly higher, but in such a large survey, with 348 citizens reached in the GTA alone, it is a reliable indicator of election trend lines.

Nationally, the survey gave the Conservative Party support from 36 per cent of decided and leaning voters, 25 per cent for the NDP, 23 per cent for the Liberal party, and six per cent each for the Green Party and the Bloc Québécois. A separate Forum Research analysis, based partly on ridings won and lost in the 2008 election, suggest the survey results would give the Conservatives 149 of the 308 Commons seats if an election were held today, with 71 seats for the NDP, 64 for the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois would have 24 seats."
The Hill Times

After announcing that he will not involve himself in the Federal election campaign, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall couldn't restrain himself and embarrassed the province with his idiotic statement on 'minority' governments. Mr. Wall has bought into Stephen Harper's concept that minority or majority, the party with the most seats gets to do whatever they want, Parliament be damned .. (excuse me Brad, Canada is STILL a Parliamentary DEMOCRACY):

"The party that wins the most seats on May 2 should be recognized as the government, period. If that were to be the Liberals, I would join with other Canadians in accepting this result and recognizing Mr. Ignatieff as our next Prime Minister. However, if the Conservatives win the most seats but come up short of a majority, I would expect Mr. Ignatieff and his party to accept that result … Ironically, this election was caused by a confidence vote over “contempt for Parliament.” I can think of no greater contempt for Parliament or for Canadian voters than the spectre of a party leader refusing to recognize the democratic outcome of the election."
Macleans.ca

Meanwhile, backbench Conservative Member of Parliament, Brad Trost has set off alarm bells in the War Room of the Conservative Party because he has exposed the deep rooted social conservative bent of the Harper administration:
"Let me tell you, and I cannot tell you specifically how we used it but those petitions were very, very useful and they were part of what we used to defund Planned Parenthood."
Winnipeg Free Press

... Saskboy has more ....

Vous Pensez Voter Pour Le Bloc?
Pensez-Y Bien

Vous Pensez Pouvoir Faire Confiance A Michael Ignatieff??
Pensez-Y Bien

Vous Pensez Pouvoir Faire Confiance Aux Conservateurs?
Pensez-Y Bien

Trouvez votre candidat(e) par le nom ou le nom de circonscription

Quebec:
NPD: 31% (CROP), 32% (EKOS)
Bloc: 28% (CROP), 22% (EKOS)
Libs: 9% (CROP), 12% (EKOS)
Cons: 7% (CROP), 9% (EKOS)

NDP take the Quebec lead - ipolitics.ca

Gilles Duceppe

Elizabeth May

Steve Harper

Michael Ignatieff

Jack Layton

"It wasn't enough for Stephen Harper to dismiss her from cabinet and expel her from caucus. Or to banish her from the party, deny her the nomination of her riding, and, perhaps, take away her seat.

No, that wasn't humiliation enough. There would be one more blow upon a bruise.

Now she is nameless. The thriceelected honourable member from Simcoe-Grey -who was made a minister and positioned prominently in the House of Commons to put her youth, sex and glamour on television every day -is officially a nobody.

"There were, as you know, a variety of political problems around this individual," Harper explains. "They have been discussed among members of our caucus. There is simply no desire to see the return of this individual to caucus."

These problems. These members. This individual.

So, the excommunication of Helena Guergis from the Church of Power is complete. One dares not speak her name. She doesn't exist. She is a non-person." ...
more in the Ottawa Citizen

Cartoon by kind permission of
Graeme MacKay at mackaycartoons.net

Liberals were warned back in 2009 that problems were on the horizon ... but did they listen??

"I will finish by telling you why Liberal Party fortunes have not gone well (and what everyone seems to understand except for Liberals themselves) ... Liberals have a misguided sense of entitlement. In the core of their political being they believe that they deserve to be the government. It is arrogance. Canadians don't like it. Liberals haven't figured that out yet.

Go after soft right wing vote, Liberals. Ideologically and philosophically, you are more closely related to soft Tory vote.

Coming after New Democrats will be disastrous for you. If you don't believe me ... just wait and you will see!

Have a nice day!"
posted by leftdog at Monday, November 09, 2009

Fat Cat Conservative (and some Liberal) Senators are crossing the country actively working as partisan hacks for their particular Party during #elxn41.

Do these campaigning Senators take an upaid leave of absence from their fat cat Senate pay cheques while this is going on? Just askin' ... AND .. 'if' the Senate is paying salary and expenses to these campaigning Cons & Lib Senators, is the total amount being added into the declared election expenses of their Party?? ... Just askin' .. :)

My friend Allan Blakeney died on Saturday, April 16th. He was a great, great son of Saskatchewan. Born in Nova Scotia, he adopted Saskatchewan and made it his home. The following post, written by Dennis Gruending appears on Next Year Country:

"Allan Emrys Blakeney was Premier of Saskatchewan between 1971 and 1982. Born in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia on September 7, 1925, he was a gold medalist in law school at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, where he studied economics, modern history and philosophy.

Following his return to Canada, Blakeney went to work for the government of T.C. Douglas. He married Molly Schwartz in Halifax just prior to moving to Regina in1950. She was to die suddenly in 1957, and Blakeney was remarried in 1959 to Anne Gorham.

Blakeney occupied increasingly senior posts in the Civil Service, then in 1960 he won election as an MLA and was soon appointed to Cabinet. In 1962, the CCF government introduced North America’s first public, tax-financed Health Care system. Most doctors were opposed, and on July 1 they went on strike. Blakeney played a key role in the negotiations, and when the crisis ended he was appointed Minister of Health.

Blakeney succeeded Woodrow Lloyd as NDP leader in 1970. Premier Ross Thatcher called an election for June 1971 and campaigned on his record. The NDP offered a detailed program called New Deal for People, and on June 23 won 45 of 60 seats. Blakeney turned quickly to improving health and social programs—a dental program for children, a prescription drug program, subsidized housing, home care, and a guaranteed income supplement to improve the lot of the elderly poor. The centerpiece of the agriculture program was a Land Bank (see Agricultural policy), where the government purchased land, usually from older farmers, and leased it back to others, most often family members.

By 1975, Blakeney had concluded that the key to diversification and prosperity lay in Saskatchewan’s burgeoning mineral sector. He created new Crown corporations, such as SaskOil, that became vehicles for government to become a major player in resource development. When potash companies balked at paying increased royalties and refused to pay their taxes, Blakeney responded by buying out half of the industry and creating the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan to operate the government’s mines.

On the national stage, Blakeney played a significant role in the constitutional debates of the 1980s. Prime Minister Trudeau made known his intention to bring Canada’s constitution home from Great Britain, and to add to it a Charter of Rights. Blakeney was apprehensive about Trudeau’s charter, which he believed would remove power from elected legislators and hand it to appointed judges. He played a pivotal role in negotiating a compromise where provinces accepted a Charter of Rights, but one that could be overridden by elected Legislatures.

Blakeney seemed poised in 1982 to win a fourth election. His was a clean and competent administration, and one that delivered an unbroken string of budget surpluses despite an activist government agenda. The Conservatives offered both lower taxes and more spending, a program that was popular but was later to almost bankrupt the province. The NDP suffered a resounding defeat in 1982, retaining a mere eight seats in the Legislature. Blakeney felt he had an obligation to rebuild the party, and he led the NDP into the 1986 election, which the NDP lost despite receiving marginally more votes than the Conservatives. Blakeney resigned in 1987, and was replaced by Roy Romanow as leader.

Blakeney and his wife Anne then spent two years in Toronto, where he occupied the Bora Laskin Chair in Public Law at Osgoode Hall. Later, they settled in Saskatoon, where he accepted the Law Foundation Chair at the University of Saskatchewan then remained as a visiting scholar at the College of Law. Blakeney has remained active, serving on numerous boards of directors and volunteer associations, but his most intense engagement has been with South Africa, where he helped to develop the structures for democratic government following the dismantling of apartheid.

Tommy Douglas, summarizing the contributions of his successor, said that Blakeney had proved social democracy is a practical program and not just an impossible dream. He brought to his task as Premier an extraordinary mix of intellect, stamina and experience. He was a principled pragmatist, a decent, extremely capable man who provided good, honest and compassionate government, a most valuable contribution in any age."
Allan Blakeney - Next Year Country

-Simple Massing Priest

-Halifax Chronicle Herald

Canadians NEED to know the real Stephen Harper!

Here's an example:
"The majority of the human body is water, the majority of Stephen Harper's body is cruel.

In the 2011 budget, the Harper government failed to allocate any new funding for drinking water on First Nations reserves. 100 First Nations communities currently have water advisories, including 49 communities which are high risk. Harper also refuses to sign the UN Declaration designating clean water as a human right."

Things are starting to get a bit shaky on the good ship 'Harper Government' these days! .... and it's all totally self inflicted!

-Tories misled Parliament on G8 spending: Auditor-General

-NWT Tories request sneak-peek at questions

-Harper met Bruce Carson’s former escort lover at 24 Sussex party

-The G8 legacy: buildings empty, Parliament misled

-Tories used praise for Liberals to defend summit costs: Fraser

-Baird defends G8 spending as putting a ‘good face’ on Canada

"It has recently come to my attention that I have been quoted in the Committee's 11 th Report, Effectiveness, Management and Operation of 1h Expenses Incurred the for the GEIG20 Summits, that was presented to the House on March 25 , 2011. The quote Is included in the Supplementary Opinion to the Report it appears to have been retrieved from an interview with the CSC In 2010, that refers to the findings of our March 2004 report on national security spending following the September 2001 attacks on the United States. Therefore, the comments attributed to me in the Report are completely unrelated to G81G20 spending. I did not appear as a witness before your committee on this subject. Furthermore, I do not comment on audit findings until the related report has been tabled in Parliament. We had planned to table our audit on the G8/G20 expenditures this month, but cannot do so due to the election. We hope to present that report shortly after Parliament resumes, in June. I would appreciate it if the Report could be modified as it is clearly erroneous. Yours sincerely,
Sheila Fraser
Auditor General Of Canada"
-Auditor General's Letter To Harper Government

-CBC News: Tories used praise for Liberals to defend summit costs: Fraser

Update:
Day apologizes, says 'proper quote' will be added to Tory dissent report

"The Harper government has quietly approved increases in the maximum salaries political staffers are entitled to receive. In addition, suddenly out-of-work staffers could find the blow considerably cushioned if the Tories lose the election. That's because the government has also approved a 50-per-cent increase in the maximum separation pay political aides can receive — up to six months from four — and that's on top of severance pay."
Winnipeg Free Press

Unlike the Conservatives who practice 'corporate welfare' by giving Billions of tax dollars to banks and big business, (in hopes of the odd job being created), New Democrats believe that any stimulation to business must be tied to actual jobs being created right here in Canada by small business.

"Rewarding job creators
Under Stephen Harper, your tax dollars went to companies shipping Canadian jobs overseas. New Democrats will target investment to small businesses and companies actually creating jobs right here at home."
-New Democratic Platform

-CBC.ca

-Stephen Harper's Corporate Welfare

(Ottawa) "Thomas Mulcair est en train de faire d'Outremont un bastion du NPD au Québec. Et tout indique que l'ancien président des Alouettes de Montréal Larry Smith sera incapable de permettre au Parti conservateur de faire la percée tant attendue dans la métropole."
Cyberpresse.ca

"La campagne électorale prend un virage spectaculaire au Québec alors que le Nouveau Parti démocratique (NPD) détient sans conteste la deuxième position au classement des intentions de vote des électeurs décidés."
Cyberpresse.ca

"We'll never go back into deficit."
PM Stephen Harper
October 14, 2008

"This will allow us to eliminate the (largest in Canadian history) deficit in 2014, a full year ahead of schedule,"
PM Stephen Harper
April 8, 2011

The following post appears in The Dog Blog - Prairie Dog Magazine:

What The Hell? Wisconsin Election Just Went Sideways
by Aidan Morgan

The Wisconsin State Supreme Court election just hit… a bump. After a result on Tuesday that landed in an extremely narrow victory for challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg, a clerk reported that 14,000 votes from Waukesha County had gone uncounted.

That’s the bump that reverses Tuesday’s election results and hands the Supreme Court back over to Republican incumbent David Prosser back in charge with a margin of 7,582 votes.

What is significant about that number? Well! Under Wisconsin State law, an automatic recount is triggered whenever an election’s margin is under .5 per cent – which in this case is approximately 7,400 votes.

Even better, the ‘clerical error’ that somehow missed 14,000 votes was committed by a woman named Kathy Nickolaus. If the State of Wisconsin were a high school, Nickolaus would be voted Most Likely To Commit Election Fraud. To wit:

"Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus, a former staffer for the Assembly Republican Caucus, has been sharply criticized in recent months for her handling of recent elections. Even the archly-conservative Waukesha County Board has sharply condemned Nickolaus after past elections, demanding an immediate audit of her practices following ominous red-flags that emerged regarding her lack of oversight, failure to create backup files and her stubborn insistence to “keep everything secret.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8/18/10; 1/17/11]

The County auditors said it was eminently possible—including historical precedent—for Nickolaus or a rogue employee to tamper with data. Why? Nickolaus insists on controlling password access and has unilaterally decided to move sensitive files, like election results, onto her personal computer.

Nickolaus has actually scoffed at complying with impartial audits, thumbing her nose at critics. A move that drew a sharp reaction at the time from the County Board Chair:

“There really is nothing funny about this, Kathy,” said Waukesha County Board Chairman Jim Dwyer when Nickolaus willfully ignored complying with the earlier impartial audit. “Don’t sit there and grin when I’m explaining what this is about.” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8/18/10; 1/17/11]

On Tuesday, shockingly-large turnout suddenly emerged from Waukesha County, which did not comport with either the results of previous spring elections, or even internal estimates from city officials mid-day. In fact, a Waukesha City Deputy Clerk said at 1:18pm that turnout was very typical, predicting somewhere between 20 to 25 percent. As Tuesday night wore on, reporting in Waukesha County stopped altogether for hours, leaving observers to wonder what was going on. Then suddenly, results suggesting massive turnout started to pour in rapidly with Prosser adding dramatically to his total by a 73-27 percent margin.

One Wisconsin Now estimates put overall turnout near 38 percent, a wild outlier to historical data and the earlier mid-day estimation of Waukesha’s own officials. In April 2009, turnout was 20 percent; April 2008, turnout was 22 percent and in April 2007, turnout was 24."
One Wisconsin Now

Daily Kos is keeping up on the story as it develops.

-Officials dispute reliability of Waukesha County clerk's election data system