Australian wildfires

Here is one touching photo from the Herald Sun Homepage, where you will find great coverage of the terrible fires with interactive maps.

Praise for Ignatieff

Looks like the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix agrees with me about Ignatieff's leadership:

Saskatchewan citizens know there is not one Conservative MP with the courage to stand up publicly for their province if that means raising the ire of the unelected officials in Mr. Harper's office. At least the people of Newfoundland know where their MPs stand and they know Mr. Ignatieff had the courage to allow them to walk a different path to the same destination.

Is anybody surprised

that Mike Duffy said something offensive and sexist?

No matter how cynical I get, I just can't keep up

Stephen Harper has dropped his defamation suit against the Liberal party over the Cadman affair.

Everybody limbo!

Just when you think that the news couldn't get more trivial, they lower the bar again.
In Canada, when Saskatoon's mayor announced everyone had to wear a tie in his office, the whole country laughed and he was dubbed Craziest Mayor in Canada.
Washington takes itself way too seriously.

Oh Noes!

Posted by commenter Begone at Kos

Mad as hell

Kos:

During the Bush years, the best interests of our country took a back seat to the GOP's failed ideology. Right now, it looks like the best interests of our country are taking a back seat to the failed ideology of "bipartisanship".

Lance Mannion:

It never occurred to me to worry, even at four in the morning, that [President Obama's] vanity lay in his seeing himself as the Great Conciliator. . . . .
[but with the appointment of Gregg as Commerce secretary] Gregg has said, Sure, I'll come work to enact your programs and policies, Mr President, but only if my friends in the Senate retain the same power they had before to sabotage and destroy those programs and policies, and the President agreed to this.
Which looks to me as though it's more important for the President to be able to boast about the number of Republicans in his cabinet than to get his own programs and policies passed by the Senate.

Talking Points Memo:

Obama is, sadly, much to blame for giving the Republicans so much leverage. He defined the challenge as biparitsanship not saving the U.S. economy. . . . He spent the last two weeks empowering Republicans -- including negotiating with them to get more into Senate and his administration and giving them virtual veto-power over his agenda -- and also spending time on his personal cool-guy image (as in interview before the Super Bowl). The country is in danger and he ran for president to solve this crisis in a socially inclusionary way. He should be fighting on that front all the time with all his energies.

Digby:

I think the administration thought they could be mediators between the two parties rather than leaders of the Democratic party. That just won't work . . .

Chris Bowers:

. . . what does President Obama want the American people to do? We are in the midst of a major crisis right now, and shown time and time again that we are willing to take action to help remedy the problem. Millions, tens of millions, of people feel incredibly frustrated, trapped even, and are unsure what to do next. While they are ready to act, someone needs to make the ask. Right now, the person to make the ask is President Obama, but he isn't doing it. What does President Obama want us to do? The silence is deafening.

The difference between Liberals and Conservatives

So with all the sturm and dang about the Newfoundland Liberals voting against the budget, what we are seeing now is the essential difference in leadership now between the Harper Conservatives and the Ignatieff Liberals: The Conservatives will listen only to what their leader wants, while the Liberals will listen to what their constituents want.

Sweet Jasmine

This is an amazing story: What happened to Michael Vick's dogs... . Beautifully written and dealing honestly with the tragedies of these poor animals, and the debate that rages still about whether it was worthwhile to put the effort into saving them. Yet it also shows the amazing grace of these animals, how much they have enriched the lives of the people who now love them.
And you'll never forget Sweet Jasmine:

"Vick showed the worst of us, our bloodlust, but this rescue showed the best," Reynolds says. "I don't think any of us thought it was possible to save these dogs -- the government, the rescuers, the regular people -- but we surprised ourselves."
Jasmine doesn't know about any of that as she sits on the back deck of Stirling's house. Stirling kneels next to her, gently stroking the dog's back. "I used to think any dog could be rehabbed if you gave it food, exercise and love," she says, "but I know now it's not totally true. Jasmine's happy, but she'll never be like other dogs."
It's quiet for a moment, and the breeze blows a shower of brown and red leaves off the trees. Then Jasmine turns, looks up, and licks Catalina's face. It is the sweetest of kisses.

I love the internets

Here is a website devoted to versions of the Donald Duck family tree.
(H/T Roger Ebert's blog)

Great line of the day

Tabatha Southey at the Globe and Mail is not impressed with the federal budget:

it's as if the government, faced with a depressed and worried people, patted us all on the head and told us to all go out and buy a new hat.

Sorry

Limited blogging for the next several days -- I'll be back as soon as I can.

Free at last

Here is Cam Cardow's powerful cartoon about Obama closing Guantanamo



What makes this so powerful is its basic truth: when Guantanamo is closed, it is the United States that will be free -- free of its taint to their legal system, free of its distortion to their foreign policy, free of its drain on their morals and values, free of its malignant influence over everything they are trying to achieve in the world now.

Ode to a Deficit

From "anon 1.01" in Comments

Ode To A Deficit by J. Flaherty
Oh budget, how do I blow thee, let me count the ways.
There was that trifling 10 billion in red I was hiding until summer.
Cost of that war and tanks and planes coming due, oh man, tis such a bummer.
By fate we stumbled on this reprieve, a deficit allowed.
That heap of debts I hid till now are lost among the crowd.
Experts like me, we don't come cheap, on the job all the time.
By the way buddy, with pockets deep, think you could spare a dime?

As Saskboy says, anon writes good stuff!

Can the Harper Conservatives manage a deficit?

Basically, I'm with Chet that there is nothing inherently wrong with a government running a deficit as long as the money goes into jobs and roads.
But as I see Conservatives freak out it occurs to me that maybe they know something I don't know.
They know the Harper Conservatives much better than I do.
They know whether these guys actually have the management skills to use deficit spending for the short-term and/or long-term benefit of the country.
So let's consider the track record -- what other complex and controversial programs have the Harper Conservatives managed successfully in the last few years? ... [crickets]
Oh, dear.