Here is Part 2 of last Sunday’s conversation between Chris and I. I’ve included about a minute of audio you’ve already heard to set the stage for where Chris goes. The audio is below the fold. [Read more →]

Much like Alex Massie, I’ve largely given up on trying to understand the health care reform acrobatics of US politics and policy, not in the least because there is plenty going on in my own country that deserves attention and scrutiny. But this whole Joe Lieberman calling the shots all by his bad self is just beyond mind boggling to me. I mean that one person could wind up wielding so much power on something as huge and important as health care reform seems not only an irresponsible state of affairs, but also, frankly, more than a touch undemocratic and brings me back to the issue of representation in American politics and the two-party system.

In my original post talking about the potential benefits of introducing a National Tea Party into the political arena (and my hopes around what might wind up being a tectonic fracturing of the two bloated parties into more sincere and grounded constituencies), I talked a lot about the impacts such a movement might have on discourse. I remain at least somewhat convinced that a more closely parsed system of party representation would do a lot of good for American political discourse, both in terms of grounding the different factions in a space of not needing to rail against the more/less moderate factions of their teams, as well as providing for a more full-throated representation of different and, frankly, important (thought perhaps not equal) perspectives. That said, I think there is also a realpolitik component as to why there ought to be support for discursive break up, the various logistical challenges besetting such a proposal notwithstanding, that speaks directly to the Lieberman toll booth through which Democrats have just had to pass. [Read more →]

Elaborate though it may be, this recent email hoax targeting the Canadian government and its lackluster showing in Copenhagen strikes me as precisely the kind of antic Erik has criticized environmental activists for, as it does more to distract from the issue than promote real action. [Read more →]

Rocking in the Free World doesn’t hold a candle to these distinctly anti-American covers: [Read more →]

Just realized that I posted the wrong version of Rocking in the Free World when I bumped the Swell Season doing Into the Mystic as my candidate. The version I posted is good with Pearl Jam and Neil Young, but I’m not sure a song that involves the original writer/performer can be considered a cover. Check out the ‘92 Pink Pop Festival version below the fold. In the words of Barney Stinson, it is legen – wait for it – dary! [Read more →]

The news that Canadian National Defence Minister Peter McKay does not intend to resign over mounting allegations that he either did know or should have known that Afghan detainees transferred by Canadian forces were likely being subject to torture, in spite of top Canadian commander Walter Natynczyk’s blockbuster confirmation that a detainee who was transferred by Canadian forces was tortured, should surprise no one. [Read more →]

It’s been a while since Chris and I jumped on Skype and rambled on for a while about the state of the world and associated topics, so we decided to remedy that fact last night. What follows is the first part (approximately 35 minutes) of our discussion about Obama’s decisions around Afghanistan, counter insurgency strategies, and American foreign policy vis-a-vis the Middle East more generally.

Part 2 will follow in a day or two so as to break up what are usually hour plus conversations into smaller, bite sized chunks. Check out the audio below the fold. [Read more →]

I’m feeling very non-politic-y today, as you no doubt can tell. And so part of the trade off you accept for the benefit you receive from the brilliant political analysis we provide day-in-and-day-out is that your have to humour our random tangential posts from time to time. The President has a “bully pulpit”, we have a “dork pulpit” — you get the idea. Anyhow, I’ve been doing a lot of You Tube listening today and would like to submit the following as a contender for “The Best Cover of All Time”: [Read more →]

This stuff is funnier than a moose in a Tim Hortons, y’all. Money tweet: [Read more →]

So, one of the hazards of blogging obsessively about politics, only occasionally paying attention to pop culture, and basically never turning on the television or radio is that once in a while you miss some great stuff. That is absolutely the case for me re: the below song, with which, I’m sure, you’re all thoroughly familiar.

I will openly admit that I’m a complete and total sucker for a song like this, but these lyrics just kill me every time I’ve listened to it now (about twenty times since late yesterday afternoon),

Open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and damn you’re free
Look into your heart and you’ll find
Love, love, love, love…

Listen to the music of the moment people, dance and sing
We’re all just one big family
And it’s our god-foresaken right to be
Loved, loved, loved, loved, loved…

Yeah, I know: I’m totally a big hippie. But at least I’m prepared to admit it. Ironically it was the kid-with-the-ukulele version that Andrew linked to as yesterday’s Mental Health Break that clued me into the song. I was like, “Uh, yeah. That kind of sounds familiar-ish.” So I looked it up and now I’m hooked.

Anyhow, happy Friday. Have a good one and be loved, loved, loved, loved, loved…

Update: given the trajectory of the comments, you can consider this your Friday open thread in Mark’s absence.

I thought this recent Angus Reid poll on the Tea Party movement in America was a brief but interesting read,

A third of adults in the United States appear satisfied with the proposal to establish a third political party, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 32 per cent of respondents think the National Tea Party would be a good thing for the country.

Honestly, and I’m not liberal concern trolling here, I couldn’t think of a better thing for American politics right now. A third of Americans (and this was an online poll, so caveat emptor) isn’t a majority, but it’s also nothing to sneeze at.

Contra the liberal blogger to whom Andrew linked the other day that has sparked a whole “leaving the left” discussion at the Dish, I’m of the opinion that strong voiced progressives and conservatives should not only continue to voice their opinions in a vociferous fashion, but even crank it up a notch or two. There was a time when I was a strong supporter of the “tack to the centre” school of thought on politics where you try, as much as possible, to moderate the party lines towards the most middle of the road and “practical” place you could. That was the best way to steal as many voters from the other party as possible, pick up those always elusive independent voters, and generate bipartisan agreement.

I have, frankly, abandoned that view of politics. My shift is due in no small part to the fact that I think such maneuvering winds up doing far more harm than it does good. It creates much of the intra-party drama that fuels so many of our, to quote Charles Johnson, “nontroversies” and it stifles sincere and vehement debate that is the cornerstone of a vital and successful democracy. That Americans continue to labour under a two party system only really exacerbates and reinforces the worst of those tendencies. A National Tea Party would be more than just a breath of fresh, if not somewhat frenetic, air, but I think would go a long way in helping to break that archaic and dysfunctional dualistic mold. And unlike in Canada, I think you’d actually have some decent, helpful, and better defined debate that would fall out as a result.

So any movement towards creating a National Tea Party is a move I would support. My ultimate hope would be to see the Democratic Party split into versions of its neo-liberal/centrist/blue dog and progressive/Kennedyesque/Dean constituencies, along with a possible reclamation of the Republican Party by the more economic/political conservative class and see what happens. I actually think there would be a lot of grounding to each segment given that they woulnd’t feel any compulsion to rail against the other end of their current teams. That grounding would, I might suggest, tamp down on some of the crazy and could really flesh out some of the different perspectives in interesting ways and allow for a much greater degree of flexibility and mobility in American politics in general.

Thoughts?

Previously, polling company Harris Decima had released poll results demonstrating that a majority of Canadians believed Richard Colvin’s testimony about the likelihood of Canadian detainees in Afghanistan being handed over for torture, despite the government’s rebuttal. Some people dismissed that poll, saying that it had come out prior to testimony by key witnesses like Rick Hillier and David Mulroney (which, to some degree, missed the point as the respondents were expressing their agreement with Colvin, not the government, which had had ample time to respond).

Well, polling company Ekos has a fresh poll out that was conducted between December 2-8, after Hillier, Mulroney, and various other high level officials testified in front of the House of Commons committee (save Peter McKay himself, who spoke yesterday), showing that,

A clear majority of Canadians believe that Canadian Forces handed off prisoners with the knowledge that they might be subject to torture (61% nationally and over 70% outside of CPC supporters). Of that, the vast majority (83%) believe that transferred prisoners were undoubtedly subjected to torture.

Graphs below the jump… [Read more →]