IntenseDebate - hellomike

13 years ago @ Macleans.ca - Why Rand Paul couldn�... · 1 reply · +1 points

Wow, Andrew, you really attract some nut commenters these days.

Interesting piece, thank you.

13 years ago @ Macleans.ca - Why Rand Paul couldn�... · 0 replies · +1 points

You sir are hilarious.

What clown brigade drafted you to accuse Andrew of "smear journalism" for writing an open-minded and interesting short piece on the right to contract? How completely ridiculous.

14 years ago @ Macleans.ca - Robert Fowler wakes up... · 6 replies · +5 points

The people who are saying that Fowler's speech was too inflammatory to be taken seriously says very poor things about what kind of conversations our "intelligentsia" -- or the Liberal intelligentsia, I guess -- will tolerate. Fowler had poignant and substantive things to say about our pathetic, drooping foreign policy. Why dress it up?

I would like to see rebuttals, not dismissals. How patronizing and disrespectful of the man's experience and expertise -- and critically important points -- to shrug it all off as "a bit over-the-top." If that becomes the official party line, it'll be a sad, sad thing to hear.

14 years ago @ Macleans.ca - UPDATED: Wrong again · 7 replies · +4 points

There's not actually a lot of contradiction.

Wells says social conservatism is still on the radar for Harper, he's an incrementalist and always has been, and even though changes have been minor they have been taking place, and -- relatedly or not -- the Canadian public is growing more conservative at the same time as these slow and halting steps to the right.

Coyne says that the conservatives are not conservatives at all, especially not fiscally, and these tiny bones thrown to the socons have really added up to very little - they're just happy to get any attention at all. By the way arg arg arg fiscal restraint arg.

So, combining those two: Harper throws little bones to the social conservatives, which add up to very little but seem to be enough for them to know someone's on their side, and continues to help along the slow starboard list of Canadian society. He'll continue pushing in that direction until he isn't Prime Minister anymore, whether you voted him in for that or not.

I don't think they're really arguing as much as framing things differently, but I'm sure Coyne had fun writing his piece in the style he did anyway, and it was a good read, as always.

14 years ago @ Macleans.ca - How should Ottawa go a... · 8 replies · +4 points

This is a terrible poll with terrible options.

How about "cancel the billions of dollars of 'stimulus'"?

14 years ago @ Macleans.ca - A terrible perfect beauty · 0 replies · 0 points

Well, we can all stop evolving now. We have finally reached the highest form of life. Truly, a great day for us all.

14 years ago @ Macleans.ca - And speaking of Australia · 0 replies · 0 points

huh.

14 years ago @ Macleans.ca - Primus inter pares · 0 replies · +2 points

How prescient. It would be nice if the UK could figure out a good way to avoid the presidential-PM problem, it might give us some ideas too.

A parliament that works the way it was designed to sounds like such a good, novel idea.

14 years ago @ Macleans.ca - Closing Ceremonies: Th... · 0 replies · +3 points

I am stunned by how horrible that got

stunned

14 years ago @ Macleans.ca - Closing Ceremonies: Th... · 1 reply · +3 points

I don't think I will ever be able to drink enough to make John Furlong's speeches tolerable. Slowly.... getting... tired.... zzz

IntenseDebate Comment System

Connect with hellomike

People I'm following

hellomike