gdp's Comments

Macleans.ca : Fascist takeover! Or else a Commalition! Consensus at last!

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 01:15:46 +0000

One difference between Ekos and these others is that Ekos projects from a single very recent poll. The others are evolving projections averaged across several more or less recent polls. On a fast-changing situation it's hardly axiomatic that projections based partly on last Wednesday are more accurate than one that isn't. Of course I don't know where objective truth lies, or where it's going. But if Ekos looks weird, it should. Things are getting weird.

Macleans.ca : Let the games begin

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:10:34 +0000

in·sip·id (n-spd) adj. 1. Lacking flavor or zest; not tasty. 2. Lacking qualities that excite, stimulate, or interest; dull. The Conservatives should feel free to win 600 seats in this election. It was an insipid budget.

Macleans.ca : Let the games begin

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:47:36 +0000

Super-gewaltige politische Betreiber

Macleans.ca : Hey look: Election speculation, 2020 edition

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 21:19:41 +0000

Persuasive.

Macleans.ca : The future: Trudeau vs. Kenney

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 17:32:27 +0000

Flee.

Macleans.ca : The Carson show

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:11:15 +0000

This is indeed an excellent scoop by APTN. Scoops of this nature -- a very specific misfeasance instead of some generalized system gone bad -- are almost always the product of tips; the "digging" comes after you're told there's a story there. The people delivering a tip go either to a reporter they know, or to a news outlet chosen because it'll go big with a certain kind of story. Recall that this is about water quality on First Nations reserves. I'd go to APTN too. "Surely the media knew?" In five years that this government has been in power, I've met the spouses of two ministers out of about 40, and of about two staffers out of hundreds. It's actually not Facebook up here.

Macleans.ca : The Carson show

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 04:02:10 +0000

You mean 2011? I've been on Team 12 all year and I don't like to change a categorical prediction once I've made one, because that's lame and easy. It's like what bank economists do with their growth projections. I'm sticking with my 2012 prediction.

Macleans.ca : France: Land of Conrad Black's dreams

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 16:02:51 +0000

"The government will join, notwithstanding its failure to prepare, its neglect in co-operating with its allies, or its inability to contribute. In the end it will join out of the necessity created by a pattern of uncertainty and indecision. It will not join as a leader but unnoticed at the back of the parade.” — Stephen Harper, April 2003

Macleans.ca : France: Land of Conrad Black's dreams

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 15:59:20 +0000

"Boss" these days is indeed a term of endearment, not contract law.

Macleans.ca : Free trade with Europe? Never mind

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 05:10:48 +0000

(After deleting a few rounds of insults back and forth) Please stop sniping at each other. I'll shut comments down rather than put up with it.

Macleans.ca : Coyne v. Wells on the protests in Egypt

Fri, 4 Feb 2011 21:36:17 +0000

That Guergis/Charest video was awesome, though.

Macleans.ca : Who the Tories stand with on human rights

Fri, 4 Feb 2011 21:25:10 +0000

I'm traveling and just read Dan now. His take does diverge from mine but it's well worth reading and considering.

Macleans.ca : What you don’t know about Stephen Harper

Tue, 1 Feb 2011 18:32:13 +0000

If this is full attack mode, I'm overpaid.

Macleans.ca : Music: As good as it gets

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:36:49 +0000

Try this guy. http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/01/11/richard-nixon-...

Macleans.ca : Music: As good as it gets

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:30:03 +0000

I'd debate including Vaughan Williams, but I'm just glad to see Haydn there. If the mandate were "stuff I like" instead of "try to set up some quasi-objective measure of greatness," I'd include Morton Feldman, Saint-Saëns and maybe Charles Ives. And Wagner wouldn't be on my final list.

Macleans.ca : The longer he's prime minister

Fri, 7 Jan 2011 21:39:11 +0000

I think that's fair. One should also look at the times. The postwar period was an extended period, in much of the world, of sustained rapid economic growth and unprecedented expansion of government ambition. The French call the period "les trentes glorieuses," the 30 glorious years, because universal pensions and social programs were implemented in lots of jurisdictions. Probably if Pearson hadn't radically increased the scale and ambit of the federal state, he'd have been vulnerable politically.

Macleans.ca : The longer he's prime minister

Fri, 7 Jan 2011 19:47:10 +0000

Maybe?...

Macleans.ca : How Stephen Harper will survive in 2011

Fri, 7 Jan 2011 16:49:18 +0000

Coyne drew the short straw. He's Meaty Policy Man this week.

Macleans.ca : How Stephen Harper will survive in 2011

Fri, 7 Jan 2011 16:05:23 +0000

Could Durward and ABC maybe arm-wrestle and decide whether I'm a lackey for the Liberals or the Conservatives?

Macleans.ca : The historic unpleasantness of the Vaughan by-election

Mon, 3 Jan 2011 18:52:57 +0000

Or it may remain Conservative forever. http://www.cherylgallant.com/