Prairie Fire

The End of the Beginning

2010-05-17T21:22:00.009-04:00

Though this blog has been dead in practice for almost a year now, I thought that I should make it official with a virtual tombstone:

As some of you will know, in May I took the big walk across the stage and finished my Master in Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. It was an amazing two years that has enriched me in countless ways, not the least of which has been the pleasure of getting to know some amazing people from across the globe. I've made the decision to move back to Ottawa where I am about to start a position with the federal government working on a set of issues that are of great interest to me: how new technologies and ways of sharing information, specifically social media and collaborative technologies, are being incorporated into our institutions of governance. It promises to be a challenging and exciting role which I am sincerely looking forward to!

As always, you can continue to find and follow me at:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/RyanAndrosoff
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ryan.androsoff
Linked-In: http://ca.linkedin.com/in/ryanandrosoff

This is Prairie Fire, signing off...for now...

Back at HKS

2009-08-31T15:53:00.002-04:00

After promising in my last post to try keep this blog more active, I have now gone through almost three weeks of silence. Chalk it up to a very busy two weeks back in Boston getting moved into my new apartment and serving as an orientation leader for the incoming 1st year class at the Kennedy School. It was a blast, but exhausting at the same time.

Today is my first "real" day back on campus, with task #1 being to attempt to figure out the Rubix's Cube that is my course schedule for my final year here.

Student politics is also kicking back into gear here at HKS with our student government election process starting later today with the opening of nominations. Today's Crimson (that would be the Harvard-wide student newspaper, not to be confused with the HKS' Citizen) features an article about a big issue here on campus at the end of last year, namely the shrinking availability of public space. As one of the students who was engaged in this issue last year, there are a few quotes from yours truly.

Off to my next set of "course preview" sessions...

Round Our Way and back again

2009-08-12T15:17:00.002-04:00

As you may have noticed, this blog has been pretty silent over the summer. As per my last posting in June, that is because what time I did have for blogging was directed to our Saskatchewan Liberal Party's "Round Our Way" Summer Tour website. 5323km and 31 communities later the tour is over and I'm in Ottawa for a short visit on my way back to Boston to start my final year at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

For those who are interested, the Saskatoon and Regina newspapers ran a wrap-up story on the tour today which you can read here.

Anyway, this should mark a restart of activity on this blog on a semi-regular basis (though I am sure that as always I'll have less time to post than I think I will). As this blog has officially reached its 3rd birthday as of Monday (hard to believe it has been three years), I'd also like to check in with you all as to any feedback or suggestions you might have for improvement. Aside from the obvious suggestion of posting more regularly (I know, I know!), I am wondering if people have found the content here relevant and/or interesting or if a change of direction is in order.

Sask Liberals "Round Our Way" Summer Tour - The First Four Days

2009-06-29T13:32:00.002-04:00

We are a few days and 1474km into the Saskatchewan Liberals "Round Our Way" 2009 Summer Tour! For some tales and pictures from the road, check out the tour website at: www.saskliberals.ca/tour

Just to prove that I am working hard, here I am flipping burgers at our kick-off BBQ in Saskatoon on Thursday:

Oh yes, and though we are definatley doing some old school, grassroots politics this summer, don't think we aren't trying to connect with people in more modern ways as well:

Snowmobiles Sans Snow

2009-06-21T00:01:00.002-04:00

A good ol' Saskatchewan Saturday afternoon in June...

Round Our Way

2009-06-18T19:16:00.003-04:00

“The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.”

- Muhammad Ali

A little more clarity on my summer plans.

My plans for the summer

2009-06-10T16:57:00.002-04:00

Stay tuned for more details soon...

My blog is blocked in China (and yours probably is too)

2009-06-02T20:22:00.003-04:00

Last week a friend in China tipped me off that he could no longer access my blog and had wondered what I had done to attract the attention of the administrators of the Great Firewall of China. Though I have never even blogged about China to my recollection, I thought it was somewhat interesting that this little corner of the internet would be considered scandalous enough to warrant being blocked from 1 billion+ readers.

Alas, it seems that I am not in fact that special, and that all blogspot and wordpress blogs have been blocked in recent weeks in advance of the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square this Thursday. And Youtube. And Flickr. And Twitter. And....well...you get the idea.

For those who are interested, there are three nifty little services linked to from here that allow you to check around the world to see if your website is being blocked anywhere. Prairie Fire seems to consistently be blocked from all of the Mainland China test locations, however it is still accessible from Hong Kong.

NBC: Nixon is to Trudeau as Obama as to ?

2009-06-02T03:18:00.003-04:00

Was browsing through the website for tonight's premier of the NBC 2-part special "Inside the Obama White House" and stumbled upon a fascinating archives section with full versions of their "Inside the White House" videos for virtually every President since Truman in 1952.

Having nothing better to do at 3 a.m., I was doing a quick scan through a few of them and stumbled upon some fascinating footage from the Nixon tape. Seems that the day that NBC was at the White House with Nixon was the very day that Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau stopped by for a working visit. There is about 7 min of tape with Trudeau which I have posted below for your viewing enjoyment. I can't remember ever seeing any of it before, at least not on Canadian TV. And while fairly un-newsworthy (which is probably why I haven't seen it), if nothing else the body-language between the two of them is fascinating. Maybe it is just me, but the tension and awkwardness seems almost overwhelming at times. It is, of course, no secret that the two men weren't exactly enamoured of each other.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

A little something to brighten your day

2009-05-21T13:26:00.001-04:00

I guarantee that these 90-year olds will put a smile on your face:

A Saab Story: MPs with clearly nothing better to do than talk about what kind of cars they drive

2009-05-14T23:33:00.003-04:00

Sent to me this morning by a friend, Hansard confirms that this is an actual exchange from the floor of the House of Commons yesterday. Wow.

[Following question period]

Hon. Dan McTeague (Pickering—Scarborough East, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. During question period, I distinctly heard, not only today but also yesterday, the Minister of Finance suggest that other people were driving certain other vehicles. I think he was making reference to the member for Markham—Unionville.
I am concerned about that because I do not think that the Minister of Finance himself has quite clarified the fact that he drove a Subaru convertible for a number of years.
I would like to ask if he could clarify whether the minister continues to drive that vehicle.

The Speaker:
I am not sure this is a point of order. The minister wishes to rise to discuss his motor vehicle.

Hon. Jim Flaherty (Minister of Finance, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, I have nothing against Subarus or who owns Subarus, but I have never owned a Subaru.

Hon. Dan McTeague:
Mr. Speaker, because this did come out of question period, I want to make it absolutely clear whether in fact it was a Saab that he drove over a number of years. Does he still drive a Saab?

The Speaker:
It sounds like a Saab story to me, but I do not think it is a point of order.

From the Department of Unfortunately Worded Signs

2009-05-11T21:33:00.004-04:00

The Minnesota State Legislature...

Let's take a closer look at the sign on that booth...

So is the Star Trek we Knew Dead to Us Now? (Spoiler Alert)

2009-05-10T16:20:00.003-04:00

Had a chance to go see the new Star Trek movie last night and if I may be permitted a brief descent into geekyness, I have an existential question to ask (spoiler alert for those who have not seen it yet):

Is the Star Trek we grew up with (depending on your generation: TOS, TNG, DS9, or Voyager) dead to us now?

I don't consider myself a full fledged Trekkie, but certainly in my youth I was a pretty avid viewer of the show on TV and still enjoy it sometimes in spite of the occasionally high-levels of "corn-ball"ishness in the writing. To my memory, in every instance I can remember when time travel was used as the basis of the plot (which to be frank, has always struck me as a crutch for lazy sci-fi writers unless done VERY well) the timeline was more-or-less restored back to normal; not so in the new Star Trek movie. So unless I am missing something, the Star Trek universe that we grew-up loving is now gone for good (Or maybe I am just being a little too linear in my thinking?) - an unfortunate result of what could have otherwise been a great movie.

Thus I am forced to disagree with the reviews of the film by most critics, not the least of which being that of America's Finest News Source, The Onion:

Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film As 'Fun, Watchable'

On The Mark

2009-05-10T16:07:00.002-04:00

Wanted to draw the attention of my loyal readers to The Mark, a new Canadian news and opinion website that is undergoing its beta launch right now. Its mission is to capture a wide range of views from Canadians both at home and abroad on anything and everything that is of interest to them.

I was honoured to have been chosen by them to be one of their founding contributors and published my first article the other day (one that will be familiar for those who follow this blog).

Liberal Change Commission - Someone Finally Gets It!

2009-05-05T16:21:00.004-04:00

Today I have been digging through the backlog of e-mails from the past few weeks while I have been in academic seclusion from the rest of my life and finally had a chance to read through the report of the Liberal Party of Canada "Change Commission" that was released last week. My first thought upon reading the Forward was "Wow - someone finally gets it!"; that thought did not go away as I went through the rest of the report.

Below are some key passages worth sharing from those opening pages that lay out the problems facing the Liberal Party better than I think I have seen anywhere else:

There may have been some members of our party who thought that as the ‘national governing party’ we could just carry on as ‘we’ve always done it’. They thought we could just wait for the people of Canada to decide that Stephen Harper was bad for Canada and would return the Liberal Party of Canada to government soon enough. We were not of that view.

Einstein defined insanity as, “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” We are big believers in Charles Darwin’s observation: “It is not the strongest of the
species that survives, not the most intelligent but the one most responsive to change.”

Three leadership races in five years and three disappointing elections have taken a toll. If we are to win back the respect of former Liberal Party members and supporters, and of enough
Canadians to form a government, we are going to have to improve our performance. We believe that the Liberal Party has remained one of the strongest brands in Canada because it has steadfastly represented the core Canadian values of fairness and respect and has been always able to ‘s’adapter’ to changing needs and the evolving understanding of what is fair. It is time for change.

The recent success of the U.S. Democratic Party did not happen overnight. After their terrible
showing in the 2002 mid-term elections they made a conscious decision to effect a radical shift in their approach. Governor Dean enhanced the process with his presidential candidacy in 2004 and the innovative two-way accountability of his online campaign. He then continued his commitment to ‘bottom up’ renewal as Chair of the Democratic National Committee. At the Liberal convention in 2006, he described the ‘50 State Solution’ – his theory that focusing on the democratic ‘blue shoulders’ of New England, Washington, Oregon and California would never bring them a moral authority to govern America. Since then, Barack Obama combined an inspirational message of hope with an authentic community development model to actively turn every Democratic Party supporter into a worker, a policy resource, and a donor. The result: a genuine motivation to go out and vote! After six long years of genuine renewal, the Democratic Party won over the hearts and minds of the American people and won the Presidency and a majority in both houses.

We must show that we have both the capacity and the genuine, effective mechanisms to listen to the real problems facing Canadians in these challenging times, and that we are prepared to harvest solutions from the knowledgeable people on the ground.

Jane Jacobs said that: “Good public policy comes when the policy makers can see in their mind’s eye the people affected.”

We believe, as you do, that the Liberal Party of Canada needs to rebuild from the ‘bottom up.’ It is clear that we must ensure the culture of the Liberal Party of Canada is not ‘top down’ but has a genuine respect for the values, ideas, and the contributions of time and energy of its members and supporters in the trenches. Liberal Party members and candidates in all 308 ridings in this country must feel that they are valued and can play a role in winning back the Canadian people’s confidence of in our party. But it is also clear that culture change has to be more than reassuring rhetoric. As Commissioners, we hope you will see in our report the concrete ‘deliverables’ and timelines that will embed the necessary changes into the DNA of our organization.

------------------------------------------

As for those deliverables, Calgary Grit had a good run down of the major areas explored by the Change Commission and a list of the 47 specific recommendations.

All I can say on this one is great job to all involved and now let's get it done!

Vote Yes for STV in BC

2009-05-05T02:56:00.002-04:00

Though I am not a British Columbian, I am very much excited about the possibility of the historic referendum that will be taking place there next week that might see the first major change to Canada's electoral system since Confederation in 1867. I have long been an advocate of electoral reform in Canada and believe that this could be an important first step in modernizing our democracy.

Here is an op-ed that I authored for an international politics course this past spring on this very topic which lays out some of the reasons that I support BC-STV:

Canadians Deserve a Better Electoral System

Last fall, millions of Canadians went to the ballot box to participate in the democratic process in Canada’s 40th general election. Yet few voters likely stopped to consider that at the fundamental level of how Canadians cast their vote, this election was essentially no different than the 39 that came before it. We still use the familiar First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system in Single Member Districts, which in simple terms means that you get one vote and whichever candidate gets the most votes wins. Simple.

Yet consider this: in the October 2008 federal election some 940,000 votes were cast for the Green Party, yet they received not a single seat in Parliament. In sharp contrast, 813,000 Conservative votes in the province of Alberta alone sent 27 Conservative MPs to Ottawa. What is the alternative to these types of electoral distortions? In two simple words: Proportional Representation.

Proportional Representation, or PR, can come in many shapes and sizes. Dozens of countries around the world, from wealthy and long established Western European states to impoverished and burgeoning democratic regimes in Africa, have chosen to adopt one form or another of PR. Everything from single-transferable-votes, to multi-member districts, to party list voting may fall under its umbrella, but they all share the common aim of ensuring that the legislature elected more closely mirrors the democratic will of voters. For example, after last year’s federal election the 308 seat Parliament consisted of 143 Conservatives, 76 Liberals, 50 Bloc Quebecois, and 37 New Democrats. Yet according to an analysis by Fair Vote Canada, if Parliament actually mirrored the share of the vote that Canadians gave to each party it would look strikingly different:

117 Conservatives (38% of the popular vote)
81 Liberals (26% of the popular vote)
57 New Democrats (18% of the popular vote)
28 Bloc Quebecois (10% of the popular vote)
23 Greens (7% of the popular vote).

In a Canada operating under PR, our government could well be a coalition of Liberals, New Democrats and Greens, united by their common commitment to addressing the issue of climate change. With a clear majority of 161 seats, they would have formed a government representing a majority of Canadian voters, instead of the current Conservative minority which represents the voting intentions of less than 4 in 10 Canadians.

Defenders of the status quo argue that the exaggerated majorities that the FPTP system tends to create help ensure political stability in Parliament in pursuit of that most Canadian of constitutional values as first enshrined in the British North America Act, namely “peace, order, and good governance”. Yet despite three elections in the past five years, all of which produced minority governments, the sky has not fallen, the Canadian ship of state has continued on course, and most Canadians living outside of the Ottawa political bubble have likely seen little disruption to their daily lives except political ads on TV a little more frequently than usual.

On May 12th voters in British Columbia will have a chance to vote on a referendum to institute what has been called “BC-STV”. If passed, this would see Canada’s third most populous province abandon the FPTP system and replace it with multi-member districts, a preferential ballot, and partial voting transfers. This would be the first major overhaul to Canada’s electoral system in our history as a nation and an important experiment in democracy. Isn’t it time for Canadians see for themselves that democracy is not a one-size-fits-all proposition?

Ryan Androsoff has been actively involved in Canadian politics for over a decade, most recently as a candidate for the provincial legislature in Saskatchewan’s 2007 general election. In that election his party, the Liberals, received 9.4% of the popular vote and 0% of the seats in the legislature.

Rumblings of a 308 riding strategy emerge

2009-04-24T00:14:00.004-04:00

I am a little bit behind on this, but last week the Liberal Party publicly released its "308 Riding Strategy" report of the Renewal Commission. As readers of this blog will recall, the findings of the Renewal Commission and deliberations of the national executive on these issues were a topic of much debate here a few weeks ago.

This evening I had a chance to read through the report, and in general it seems to have a number of fairly reasonable suggestions which are obviously the result of much negotiation. A good chunk of the report deals with the interplay between the provincial offices and the national office and proposes some solutions which primarily result in "administrative" functions being taken over by the national office to allow provincial offices to focus on outreach, organization, and election readiness. Though the report findings make logical sense, I'm not in much of a position to take a position on which arm of the party is best suited in practicality to assume the various functions discussed and leave that debate to others. What I am interested in though is the section on the "308 riding strategy" (which despite being the title of the document, only actually explicitly constitutes two pages of the report).

One of the key lines from this section that stood out for me was the following:

This leads us to the critical element which has gained currency in the Party, that of executing on a “308-riding” strategy to restore the Party to a minimal level of organizational effectiveness in every riding in Canada.

For those of us who have been talking about this issue for years, recognition that the idea has "gained currency" is certainly welcome. What is also welcome is the recommendation that follows, namely:

that LPC adopt, as a matter of policy, a “308-riding strategy”, reflecting the objective of organizing and competing in every riding in Canada

What the report doesn't do is really lay out in any serious detail what this is going to look like. My read of it is that they are counting on the removal of the "administrative burden" from the PTAs to free up resources to hire field organizers. And while this would be a welcome first step if it happens, I feel it is important to point out that provinces are not monoliths. There is a big difference between Edmonton Centre and Wild Rose or Winnipeg South and Provencher and if PTAs are going to hire organizers and just put them to work in ridings where we are already strong (relatively speaking) anyway than this defeats the entire purpose. I also wonder whose job is it going to be at the National Office (or in the Party more generally) to be the advocate for these ridings and their interests when operational or policy issues come up for debate?

On a related note, the G&M ran a story this week about the "308 Riding Strategy" which says something quite different than in the report, namely:

The Liberal Party's national executive has agreed to take money it currently provides to provincial wings of the national party and redistribute it to ensure it is equally divided among Liberal associations in each of the country's 308 ridings.

It goes on to say that:

The plan is similar to that put forward by former Democratic National Chair Howard Dean, who insisted that the Democrats fight the past two U.S. elections in every electoral district in the country.

Two points about this:

1) That is NOT similar to what Howard Dean did in the US. What he did was put in place field organizers and resources in weak states BETWEEN elections, not equally divvy up the DNC's money to every congressional district during election cycles.

2) I don't think anyone advocating a 308 riding strategy (or at the very least not me) is suggesting that we should place equal weight on all 308 seats DURING elections. That is just plain silly. What I am worried about is what happens in-between elections because as anyone who has worked on an election campaign in a rural Western riding knows, there is little that you can do during the writ period to change hearts and minds, but there is a lot you can do by building up relationships over the course of a number of years.

Bottom line: This is all a good first step. Those who care about this in the Party need to keep the pressure up to make sure that this actually happens. From the e-mails and Facebook messages I have gotten since the the Macleans article was published last week, I have some confidence that there will be people at the Vancouver AGM who really do care about this issue and will make their voices heard.

More from the Ministry of Shameless Self-Promotion (updated w/ new pictures)

2009-04-15T12:08:00.012-04:00

As alluded to in my last posting, last Wednesday was the annual HKS vs. HBS debate, held this year in the historic John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum. You can read the official post-game analysis here.

If I may kick the shamelessness of this post up a notch, allow me quote myself from the same article:

Androsoff recognized the event’s entertainment value, but also noted that it was not devoid of content.

“Obviously, this was a light-hearted event that was designed to foster a sense of camaraderie between the schools,” Androsoff said. “I do think, though, that a lot of real issues were raised. It might have been a more raucous event than the G-20, but a lot of the content was similar.”

What the article fails to mention is the highlight of the event also bore a striking similarity to a G-20 meeting in that those representing the government side (figuratively and literally in this case) presented "HBS Alumni" with a sizable bailout cheque to help in their efforts to clean up after themselves.

Though in fairness I am not sure if the actual G-20 uses over-sized novelty cheques for such purposes.

One of the other highlights I am told was my telling off of a heckler whom was obnoxiously (even by the relatively low etiquette standards of the event) interjecting his two cents from somewhere on the third floor. There is a great picture of this, however it seems that my dear friend whom took said picture seems to feel that writing essays is more important than uploading images to the Internet. Go figure.

Finally, one other fact that the article also failed to mention was the following: we won!*

* won in this instance meaning as adjudicated by our "impartial" moderator based on a "fair" and "accurate" assessment of relative audience applause for our team

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While we are on the topic of shameless self-promotion, it may also be worth mentioning that my writings on this blog the other week concerning the Liberal Party's commitment to enacting a "308 Seat Strategy" has gotten a bit of attention by the MSM, namely Macleans.

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UPDATE

So it seems my public shaming has worked, and my anonymous friend has finally managed to pull herself away from the joys of essay writing long enough to upload a few pictures:

Wednesday Night in Cambridge: The Main Event!

2009-04-07T02:47:00.002-04:00

Did the Liberal Party let us down? A few additional reflections

2009-03-31T16:36:00.003-04:00

Since my post in the wee hours this morning about the decision of the Liberal Party of Canada's National Executive to not approve the bulk of the recommendations of the Renewal Commission I have received a number of e-mails and phone calls from people on different sides of this issue (and trust me, there are more than just two sides) along with an unprecedented amount of blog traffic (which, admittedly, for this blog doesn't mean all that much!). Upon reflection I have two additional thoughts I want to share on this topic:

1) This isn't rocket science. Everyone agrees, give or take, on what needs to be done to retool and rebuild. We just need to get out there and start getting it done!

2) It doesn't matter whose "fault" it is. The fact of the matter is that if at this stage in the game, after talking about 308 seat strategies and party renewal for 3 full years since losing government in 2006, the national executive is split on issues that everyone says they agree are urgent priorities, something somewhere has broken down. It needs to be fixed and we need to collectively move on and direct our energy to more important endeavours (see point #1). Unless of course we are okay with having only 2 Liberal MPs in the 4,000 km stretch between North Bay and the Lower Mainland.

The Liberal Party has let us down today

2009-03-30T23:43:00.002-04:00

Those who know me personally or follow this blog know that I am a passionate supporter of the Liberal Party of Canada and Saskatchewan but also an equally passionate believer that the Liberal Party needs to undergo some major soul searching and transform itself if it is going to be a relevant political force that can tackle the challenges that face us as a nation and as a province in the years to come. Some of these changes are internal and have to do with how the party as an institution does business - the most fundamental being the embrace of a 308 seat strategy. And though much of my energies over the past few years have been dedicated to the Saskatchewan Liberals, I have long been an advocate of a robust 308 seat strategy as a cornerstone of a broader national party renewal initiative.

I have been impressed with the discussions and consultations that have been going on in recent months at the federal level with the renewal and change commissions and was optimistic that this might be the beginning of a real shift in the culture and operations of the party. This evening we learn via Calgary Grit that the National Executive of the Liberal Party of Canada has voted down all of the substantial recommendations of the Renewal Commission - central to which was the institution of a 308 Seat Strategy.

It is both shocking and saddening that even after the wake-up call of losing the election in 2006 followed by one of the worst showings in the party's history last fall, turf wars seem to have trumped a long-term vision for rebuilding and reconnecting in the regions of the country that have become most distant and disenchanted with the Liberal Party. There still seems to be far too many who believe that "business as usual" will lead us back to the glory days of old. But as the old saying goes, if nothing changes, nothing changes.

The good news is that as was rightly pointed out to me, instituting a 308 seat strategy does not require a constitutional amendment at a national convention; it only requires political will. This is why I sincerely hope that all those seeking leadership positions in the party at every level will move forward on the hard work ahead of rebuilding a truly national Liberal Party and that grassroots Liberals from coast to coast to coast will hold the leadership of our party accountable for their action or inaction on this front.

Much ado about nothing - Greg Gutfeld and all that jazz

2009-03-24T16:49:00.005-04:00

Catching up on my news last night, I noticed that rocketing to the top of the Globe and Mail most read stories was something about Canadian troops in Afghanistan being hurled insults from south of the border. Was it a big name politician? Diplomat? Major media figure?

Nope. Some nobody Fox News talking head named Greg Gutfeld who runs a mock-news talk show in a time slot in which no one watches. His major claim to fame seems to be that he used to work for Maxim and that he fancies himself a ladies man:

"My life in New York has run its natural course. I have done all the drugs, drunk all the booze, slept with all the women, yelled at all the cabbies and kicked all the rats along 43rd Street. I have used all of Manhattan up. And vice versa."

—From Mr. Gutfeld's book Lessons from the Land of Pork Scratchings, Compiled by Jessica Leeder

It seems that some rather disrespectful comments from this media "personality" of no particular importance has warranted comment by the Minister of National Defence, a number of statements and questions during Question Period, and comment by virtually every major news outlet in Canada. Am I the only one scratching my head here?

One moral of this story seems to be that Conservatives don't appear to be the biggest fans of free speech. Though Gutfeld and Galloway, to name but two recent examples, may have rubbish to spout, assuming that they aren't crossing the line of inciting violence, upon what basis are we trying to prevent their ability to speak it? The very notion that the state even could prevent views that it does not like from being expressed is comical in the 2.0 era.

Budget Day in Saskatchewan (updated)

2009-03-18T17:40:00.004-04:00

The 2009 Saskatchewan provincial budget was presented at the Regina Legislature this afternoon - you can read the details here.

Some good moves with respect to dealing with Saskatchewan's outdated and bloated property tax system and giving municipalities stable funding. However, the Sask Party has continued to drop the ball on some of the really big, long-term challenges facing the province. Here is the official response from Saskatchewan Liberal Leader Ryan Bater, which hits on a number of these issues:

For Immediate Release
March 18th, 2009

Budget 2009: Wrong and Petty

Sask Party fails Saskatchewan, misses historic opportunity

Regina- Liberal Leader Ryan Bater called the 2009 Saskatchewan Party budget short sighted and lacking vision. “The Saskatchewan Party has come up with a petty, bureaucratic, and short sighted budget,” said Bater, “they have squandered today’s prosperity instead of building opportunities for tomorrow.”

“At a time when Saskatchewan is an economic oasis in the global economic desert, the Saskatchewan Party government is wasting an historic opportunity to make bold plans that address the three issues that threaten Saskatchewan’s future: our over- reliance on natural resources, our long term debt, and the need for First Nations entrepreneurship and participation in the economy. The government has failed on all three counts.”

“Government spending is unsustainable and they have no plan to reduce public debt over the next four years. The practice of using non- renewable resource revenue for program spending is unacceptable and threatens our economic security. Instead of increased program spending, this income should be invested in debt elimination to achieve a half billion dollar dividend.”

“The single biggest priority for Saskatchewan should be the empowerment of First Nations and Métis people in our economy. We urgently need a real push for aboriginal economic development with the start up and expansion of small businesses and entrepreneurship. We need to promote self governance, self determination, and personal initiative as the keys to personal liberty.”

“To diversify the Saskatchewan economy, eliminating the small business income tax would be a huge step to growing our economy and providing for future growth” said Bater.” We had the opportunity to attract small and medium business to Saskatchewan, we could have built a truly modern 21st century economy, and instead the Saskatchewan Party has put a closed sign on Saskatchewan’s future.”

- 30 -

P.S. You just have to laugh when the NDP is complaining about poor economic forecasting and irresponsible levels of government spending!

UPDATE

Link to quick clip of the Sask Liberal Leader responding to the budget here.

A little bit of shameless self-promotion

2009-03-10T03:20:00.003-04:00

Video report from today's Washington Times regarding the "brain drain" that the Obama administration is causing as noted academics move to government service:

The print article is here.

Heard in the Halls of Harvard Today

2009-03-05T03:02:00.004-05:00

Kennedy School Student #1: Hey, did you see CNN.com today?
Me: No, what's up?
Kennedy School Student #1: It is all about Saskatchewan!
Me: Huh?
Kennedy School Student #2: Yeah, apparently you guys are hot.
Me: Huh?

That's right, good ol' Saskatchewan was on the big stage today!

And of course, in true Canadian style, the news that we are news down here is...uh...news.

Government 2.0, the Glass Snake and Tweets

2009-03-03T22:53:00.006-05:00

Over the past week, I've managed to soak up a few interesting bits of intellectual stimulation on the issue of technology and connectedness which I thought it would be worth sharing in the interest of sparking some discussion:

Government 2.0

Last week I had the pleasure of attending an excellent talk by Don Tapscott whom is the author of the ground-breaking book "Wikinomics". He gave a fascinating overview of some of the big trends that are starting to put pressure on our traditional notion of governance and how the state operates, an area that I believe we are just starting to scratch the surface on. For those who are interested, you can watch his talk here.

The Iron Snake goes Glass

Just today I sat in on a talk by Kennedy School professor Calestous Juma on a subject which I admittedly knew nothing about when I woke up this morning - Internet access in Africa. Specifically, I had little to no concept of how little access there is, how expensive existing services are, and the geographical challenges involved in providing such access. That said, there are some exciting developments going on with major broadband sea-cables connecting Africa via Europe and India being laid literally within weeks, as well as major satellite-based initiatives being driven by Google. Juma contended that the work being done on connecting Africa to the web is arguably the largest and most important infrastructure project in Africa since the British built the "Iron Snake", the first major commercial railway network in East Africa, (it cost approx 5-6 million by the time it was completed in 1903, which in today's dollars would be around $700 million!).

Twittering Dixie

It is official, I have joined Twitter. I held off for a little bit, but given the fever pitch that the Twitter chatter seems to be at, at least in media and political circles in the US, I figured I better find out what all the buzz is about (and, you know, keep up with the Joneses and all). I'm still skeptical of its value, though my doubts about other social media in the past have been wrong. That said, for the moment I think I still share John Stewart's sentiments (my apologies to non-US readers whom I believe sadly can't watch Comedy Central on-line):

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Twitter Frenzy

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

Prairie Liberal

2009-02-24T21:10:00.005-05:00

In follow-up to my post yesterday, for those who want to learn a little more about the new Saskatchewan Liberal Leader, below is the excellent video "Prairie Liberal" that was premiered at the convention on Saturday (it is split into three parts). Enjoy!

A New Day for Saskatchewan Liberals

2009-02-23T12:34:00.003-05:00

I had the great pleasuring of being back in Saskatchewan this weekend for the Annual General Meeting of the Saskatchewan Liberal Association. Aside from the fun that is always had at political conventions as friends old and new get together, three fairly momentous things took place:

1) By a nearly unanimous vote of the delegates, the Saskatchewan Liberal Association was dissolved and replaced with two separate organizations: the provincially-focused Saskatchewan Liberal Party and the federally-focused Liberal Party of Canada in Saskatchewan

2) The Saskatchewan Liberal Party officially has a new leader - Ryan Bater

3) The members present endorsed a "Declaration of the Principles of Prairie Liberalism" which focused on the three principles of Personal Liberty, Free Enterprise, and Responsible Government.

Bater gave one hell of speech on Saturday night which got those present energized and truly excited to be a Liberal. One of the most memorable lines to be was when Bater was talking about the "Principles of Prairie Liberalism" and said (I am paraphrasing a bit here), "These aren't right-wing vlaues or left-wing values. They aren't socialist values or conservative values. They are Liberal values. And we're taking them back!"

And for anyone who doubted the sincerity of this new direction (although it is probably more accurate to call it a return to our roots) for the Saskatchewan Liberals, one need look no further than today's newspaper and the bold headline: Privatize Liquor Sales: Grits

The fact that both the far-right and far-left are getting their virtual knickers into a knot over Bater's leadership, values, and policy direction might just be a sign that we are on to something here!

Where have all the ideas gone?

2009-02-09T17:41:00.004-05:00

It seems that the financial crisis has left the "best and brightest" searching for solutions to give to a public eager for someone who has the answers. The harsh reality is that perhaps we are looking at a situation for which there are no known remedies sitting on a shelf which if taken 3 times a day can cure this fiscal bellyache.

A friend remarked today that "we've all become Keynesians". Aside from being extremely true (particularly within the political realm), it is worth asking if this is because there is virtue in this particular approach or if we simply haven't come up with any better ideas since the 1930's (or are too afraid to try).

As some additional food for thought, I point you to an op-ed in today's Washington Post penned by one of my professors here at the Kennedy School. I found his comments particularly interesting as he is someone with a strong business and management background taking on the sacred cow of the capitalistic right to maximize profits at any cost. It seems to beg a question worth asking in this current situation, namely is greed a driving force behind or by-product of free markets?

Where have all the Bloggers gone?

2009-01-26T23:55:00.005-05:00

I was doing a little bit of blog maintenance this evening and noticed that a significant number of those in my blog-roll have either shut down their blogs completely or have pretty much stopped blogging with any regularity (I know I have certainly been guilty of this myself over the past few months). What gives? Coincidence or is there something else going on? Perhaps the blogosphere is seeming to be too much of an echo-chamber?

On the plus side, I have added fellow Kennedy School Student, Texan, and all around great guy Sam Sanders' blog "The Not So Angry Black Man" to my list along with former Kroeger College colleague Crispin Bottomley's blog "Nwt-O-T-L" where he is chronicling his adjustment to living in the Northwest Territories - check it out!

Some Final Thoughts on Obama's Inauguration

2009-01-26T23:33:00.003-05:00

It has been a few days since I got back from DC, and I thought it would be worthwhile to share a few final thoughts and images from that historic day. Everyone I talked to while down in Washington had something to say along the same lines, namely that there was a sense that for the first time in awhile that America could once again renew itself. President Obama said it himself:

Less measurable, but no less profound, is a sapping of confidence across our land; a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights.

The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

There were a million other people that day saying the same thing in their own way. Be it Michael from Chicago who told me that he felt a weight off his shoulders lift as the oath was taken by Obama that made the sacrifices he made to work on the campaign for the past year worth it, or Nick from California who told me that he had a conversation with a young black man on the street and felt a barrier melt away that he had always felt before, or this conversation between a father and son that I overheard behind me as I walked by the White House the day after:

Father: "You know where the President's family is from, don't you?"
Son: "Yeah - Kansas and Africa"
Father: "That's right, his Dad was from Kenya"
Son: "That's where you are from Dad, right?
Father: "Yes, I grew up in a village close to where his Dad was from. You know what that means, right?"
Son: "What does it mean?"
Father: "It means you can do anything you want to now"

All I can say, is that despite the cold, the sore feet, the lack of sleep, and the occasional feeling of being human cattle, I will always remember being there for this moment:

Heard on the Monument: Part II

2009-01-20T11:57:00.001-05:00

"See, Aritha she's got some sense. She's got a hat on"

This following an earlier dialogue:

"Look at Obama's daughters with not hat on. Bad parenting"

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Heard and seen at the Washington Monument

2009-01-20T11:43:00.000-05:00

Upon Bush Jr.'s entrance: "only 20 more minutes and then we never have to see his face again!". Loud cheers followed.

There are three types of flags I can see in the crowd - American, Kenyan, and Canadian.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Prairie Fire: Live from DC

2009-01-20T02:06:00.008-05:00

Though I doubt that Prairie Fire has many friends or fans left after a two-month, unscheduled hiatus from blogging, I wanted to break the silence with a few random updates from the political center of the world (at least this week) - Washington DC.

I'm doing some blogging for the Harvard Kennedy School's inauguration blog, and thought I would re-post my "report" from tonight here.

.......................................................................

Monday, Jan. 19, 2009 7.45 p.m.

In a couple hours us HKS-ers who are down in DC will meet up for some night-before toasts to, and celebrations of, soon-to-be President Obama. I had some free time late this afternoon and decided to take a walk and explore the festivities down on the Mall. Though there are no formal events going on today, there are still hundreds of thousands of people roaming around who, like me, are just taking in the atmosphere.

Everywhere I went, preparations for the big day tomorrow are in full swing. Metal barricades are being put up. Brigades of tow trucks are removing stragglers. Helicopters are whirling. Pundits are pontificating. All in all, everything you would expect as a city prepares for the biggest political event in the world.

The advantage of everything being in set-up mode still is that I managed to get up fairly close to places that I have no hope of getting close to tomorrow. The Capitol building looks stunning with all of the staging and flood-lights in full deployment and I feel fortunate to have been able to get a look at it right up from the seating area. I was then inspired to walk the parade route down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, where reviewing stands were still being set-up as I walked by. My timing was quite fortuitous as I managed to get right up to the Presidential reviewing stand behind the White House literally 30 seconds before the Secret Service shut the whole area down.

Having now seen the places I won't get to see tomorrow, the biggest thing I am looking forward to while watching history unfold on the Mall is the energy of the crowd. I still remember what an amazing experience it was watching the election night results come in with my fellow Kennedy School students in Cambridge. And while that night was marked by the exuberance of victory, I suspect that tomorrow will have a different, but equally overwhelming, feeling to it - one of accomplishment, pride, and responsibility.

The Presidential reviewing stand for tomorrow's parade.

The Capitol building the night before.

The MSNBC stand on the Mall.

Lest We Forget

2008-11-10T20:28:00.004-05:00

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

- John McCrae

Living down in the United States makes one a little more aware of the military than I think most Canadians are used to. I received an e-mail over the weekend reminding me of some Veteran's Day activities that were taking place today and tomorrow, and it noted that some 52 of my classmates are active or former service members. It was somewhat striking today to see the active duty members wearing their uniforms on campus. And it is always sobering when we are discussing a security related issue in class, such as managing the reconstruction of Iraq, and inevitably someone raises their hand with a unique perspective because they were actually there.

In honour of Remembrance Day/Veteran's Day tomorrow, allow me to share with you a song that was written by my step-brother and performed by the Gospel group Avalon which seems most appropriate for the occasion:

For Freedom

Jody:
Somewhere a trumpet sounds in the night
A soldier is standing there
It’s calling him out to the stars and the stripes
It’s calling him God knows where

Melissa:
He kisses the ones he loves goodbye
and leaves in the dead of night
For freedom he’ll heed the call
Leave all he knows
(duet) And for freedom he’ll stand and fight

Greg:
And somewhere a man and wife
can’t believe they’re waving their girl goodbye
For gone are the days of pigtails and curls and candlelight lullabies

Janna:
If they had their way she’d stay young forever
and never be far from home
But freedom has drawn her heart to danger’s shore
And for freedom they’ll let her go

Jody:
And somewhere a thunderous crash in the night
It echoes all through the hills

Greg:
Though many escape it’s wrath and it’s rage
A soldier lies wounded still

Melissa / Janna:
Remembering the land he loves, he cries
I’ve loved you with all my might
For freedom said I’m her son whatever comes (whatever comes)
And for freedom I’ll say goodbye

Everybody:

And somewhere beneath the stars and the sky
Our flag is still standing there (she’s still standing there)
She bled and she brought one land under God (under God)
Her colors still lead us there (it’s still there)

She’s carried the lives of those before us
She’s buried the bold and brave
For freedom she holds our hopes and and hands up high
And for freedom she’ll ever wave

Written by Matt Moran
Produced by Shaun Shankel
©2005 Meadowgreen Music

Obama on his new Chief of Staff

2008-11-08T18:50:00.002-05:00

h/t to Ben Smith

We Shall Overcome

2008-11-06T14:57:00.002-05:00

As people keep soaking in what Obama's victory really means, these two clips of young and old reacting to the news perhaps sum it up better than anything else I have seen.

On a lighter note...

2008-11-05T15:51:00.003-05:00

I couldn't help but note the Star Wars feel to parts of last night. First, the bizarre CNN experiment with holographic correspondents:

Then, after Obama's acceptance speech as CNN starting showing live feeds from around the world of cheering crowds, I couldn't help but think of the final scene from Return of the Jedi:

However instead of Ewok music, the DJ where I was most appropriately decided to throw on "Love Generation" by Bob Sinclar which I think from now on will always make me think of November 4th, 2008:

We Are All Americans Today

2008-11-05T15:18:00.004-05:00

Those were the words that ran through my head last night as the Harvard Democrats election night party literally exploded at 11:00 p.m. EST when CNN declared Barack Obama would be the 44th President of the United States of America. Many of you will remember that phrase from a much darker day some seven years ago, when the front page of Le Monde on September 12, 2001 read "Nous sommes tous Américains".

We spent a good portion of both my ethics and international relations classes today talking about people's reactions to the election. Time and time again the idea came up that irrespective of how successful Obama is as a President, the very notion that he could become President has restored the world's belief in the ideal of a progressive and liberal society (small p and small l) where your starting point in life does not dictate your ending point and that you can in fact achieve anything.

As I looked around the packed room last night and saw my friends and colleagues, both Americans and those from every corner of the globe, embracing and high-fiving (and the occasional fist bump thrown in for good measure), some with tears in their eyes, all with exuberance in their voices, my faith in the idea of a common humanity was restored. In America's darkest day and most brilliant evening of my lifetime, I saw the world embrace to first mourn together and then to celebrate together and make the profound statement that in the end, what divides us is much less than what unites us.

Sask Liberals Respond to Sask Party Tax Break

2008-10-21T19:39:00.002-04:00

For Immediate Release
October 21, 2008

Bater says Debt Elimination Must be Focus of Surplus

North Battleford - Saskatchewan Liberal Leader-Elect Ryan Bater says the government is “failing to seize a golden opportunity” to eliminate the provincial debt after hearing the Saskatchewan Party Government’s announcement to spend surplus revenue on income tax cuts, infrastructure, and debt reduction.

“We should be nervous about governments that make short-sighted political decisions at a time when we need long- term business decisions,” says Bater. “Our government has an exciting opportunity to finally free the people of Saskatchewan of the burden of public debt. Unfortunately, they are failing to seize that opportunity.”

Bater’s comments come after hearing the Saskatchewan Party Government’s recent announcement to increase the personal exemption on provincial income taxes by $4,000. The announcement also included an additional $1billion toward provincial debt and $500 million to infrastructure.

“The recent financial crisis that started in the United States and is spreading around the world should be giving policy makers in Saskatchewan serious concern,” warned Bater. “If there was ever a time to make some tough decisions regarding debt reduction that time is now. Otherwise we risk having our province’s financial future be dictated and constrained by the unaccountable and potentially irresponsible decisions of international bankers in New York, London, or Shanghai.”

“As exciting as these economic times are, we must be cautious about fostering an economy and a society that is dependent on outside forces. This economic boom has largely been based on commodity prices that are unpredictable and established by international market forces. For example, the price of a barrel of oil has recently plummeted to half of what it was only six months ago.”

“To use this one- time money for tax reduction that requires ongoing funding is irresponsible. How is this going to be paid for next year? Or the year after that?” Bater added. “Windfall revenues are filling our treasury, but government spending is also at a historic high, personal debt loads are increasing, and our public debt that has existed since the 1980s is still hanging over our heads.”

“If we don’t take the opportunity to eliminate our debt while we can then the boom will come and go and we will have nothing to show for it.”

- 30 -

---------------------------------------------------------------------

On a completely unrelated note, apologies everyone for being absent from the blogosphere for the past few weeks. In the coming days I hope to have some thoughts on the aftermath of the federal election (particularly the future of the Liberals in Western Canada) and some updates on life at Harvard.

McCain the Lizard

2008-10-01T15:23:00.003-04:00

Check out this explanation for McCain's interesting "tick".

While we are on the topic of American politics, obviously there is a lot of interest both down here and I presume back home in the Biden vs. Palin match-up tomorrow night (interesting side note - I wonder how many Canadians are going to choose the American VP debate over the Canadian English debate?). Everyone I have been chatting with here (in, I grant you, one of the most "liberal" zip codes in the entire United States) thinks Palin is going to be a complete disaster. As a former debater, I am not so sure. Not only are expectations ridiculously low for her, but I think this analysis by Dahlia Lithwick is right on the money. In particular, her point about it being easier to debate a good debater than a bad debater is a very important one.

On the other hand...

2008-09-25T02:58:00.002-04:00

Perhaps the conclusion of the article I posted the other day about "What an Obama loss would mean" may be all backwards. Certainly the wise words of my favourite fictional US President also ring quite true to me:

You’re a 47-year-old black man with a foreign-sounding name who went to Harvard and thinks devotion to your country and lapel pins aren’t the same thing and you’re in a statistical tie with a war hero and a Cinemax heroine. To these aged eyes, Senator, that’s what progress looks like.

Darth Harper

2008-09-24T18:51:00.002-04:00

On Measuring Progress

2008-09-23T15:37:00.003-04:00

Between all the talk as of late about the financial services sector meltdown that is happening before our eyes (I have to tell you, there are a lot of my classmates who are pretty happy we aren't Business School students right now!) and having spent the past 48 hours working on economics and statistics problem sets, one of my favourite RFK quotes popped into my mind today - as applicable now as it was 40 years ago:

PM's e-mail system got hacked?

2008-09-22T03:22:00.003-04:00

As I was cleaning out my inbox for the evening I got rather intrigued when I read the following notice from the Prime Minister's office sent at 1:03 a.m. :

-----------------------------------------------------------

Unauthorized Messages Purporting to be from Prime Minister Stephen Harper

NOTICE:

A number of subscribers to the Prime Minister's website (http://www.pm.gc.ca/) have received what appear to be two emails from Prime Minister Stephen Harper. These communications were unauthorized uses of the Prime Minister's email listserv and do not represent the views of the Prime Minister or his Office. We regret these unauthorized communications.

The circumstances surrounding the unauthorized use of the Prime Minister's listserv are under investigation. The relevant government agencies are working together to conduct this investigation.

Privy Council Office: (613) 992-4211

------------------------------------------------------------

I didn't remember having received any strange e-mails from the PMO, but decided to take a look in my junk e-mail folder just in case. Sure enough, at 7:55 p.m. I had received the following from the pm@PM.GC.CA e-mail address:

-----------------------------------------------------------

Serbia's Southern province of Kosovo declared independence in February 2008. Harper's government recognized it's independence. Does this lead to slowly accepting sovereignty for Quebec? Here's why Canada must follow International Law, the UN Chart, UNSC Resolution 1244 and the Final Helsinki Act of 1975.

concerned citizen

-----------------------------------------------------------

There was also web links in the subject line of the e-mail and at the bottom of the message which I won't reproduce so as not to do the SPAMers work for them.

So what do you think? Random crank? Russian espionage? Disgruntled PMO staffer?

What an Obama loss would mean

2008-09-22T03:07:00.002-04:00

Stumbled across this Slate article from about a month ago, and I have to say that as ugly as the implication is, I think it hits the nail pretty much on the head when it comes to the inexplicably close race for the American Presidency. A few key passages:

"Barack Obama, with every natural and structural advantage in the presidential race, is running only neck-and-neck against John McCain, a sub-par Republican nominee with a list of liabilities longer than a Joe Biden monologue....If you break the numbers down, the reason Obama isn't ahead right now is that he trails badly among one group, older white voters. He does so for a simple reason: the color of his skin."

"Choosing John McCain, in particular, would herald the construction of a bridge to the 20th century—and not necessarily the last part of it, either. McCain represents a Cold War style of nationalism that doesn't get the shift from geopolitics to geoeconomics, the centrality of soft power in a multipolar world, or the transformative nature of digital technology."

"You may or may not agree with Obama's policy prescriptions, but they are, by and large, serious attempts to deal with the biggest issues we face: a failing health care system, oil dependency, income stagnation, and climate change. To the rest of the world, a rejection of the promise he represents wouldn't just be an odd choice by the United States. It would be taken for what it would be: sign and symptom of a nation's historical decline."

Last train to legitimacy...all aboard!

2008-09-21T18:46:00.008-04:00

I have been trying to spend a little bit of time each day keeping track of what is going on with the Canadian federal election. My sense from a distance is that largely so far it has been, as Shakespeare would say, "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing".

Since the first round of election hype two years ago, I have maintained that without a significant shift in the political landscape in Canada, there are not more than a couple dozen seats in play one way or another - meaning that the outcomes on the two ends of plausibility are either a razor thin Conservative majority or a razor thin Liberal minority. The likely outcome has always seemed to me to be that the Cons pick up a larger minority and the Liberals, NDP, and Bloc all lose or gain a handful of seats each, depending on regional dynamics. Essentially, Canadian politics is at a stalemate.

The most interesting thing to watch given this stalemate has been the rise of the Green Party as a legitimate force in Canadian political discourse. Now I don't mean to say that I am entirely expecting to see Green MPs in the House of Commons after October 14th, but having had some personal experiance with political parties who don't hold any seats, the fact that they have secured a spot in the debate and are getting the level of mainstream media coverage that they are is somewhat remarkable.

Today I came across some information about Elizabeth May's "Green Train" tour which will see her have events in 17 different communities literally from coast to coast over the next week. Logistically it makes no sense from a traditional leader's tour planning & media cycle perspective (for example, the Saskatoon stop is at 2:25 a.m.). However, it is one of those things that is just so crazy it might just work. And if you are the Green Party, seriously, why not? Moreover, if they actually do have some press riding along with them, it could be an interesting story which reporters might buy into just because it is so unique.

3 A.M. Revisited

2008-09-15T16:53:00.002-04:00

A good friend of mine decided to take the now infamous Hillary Clinton "3 a.m." ad and give it a McCain & Palin twist. And the best part (worst part?) is, it is funny because it is true.

The View from Down South

2008-09-13T19:09:00.002-04:00

Apologies for my relative absence from the blogosphere as of late, but it has been a very eventful few weeks with my recent move down to Boston and re-adjustment to the student life (which, somewhat surprisingly, actually requires a bit more re-adjustment than one would think!). I am of course really enjoying it here, have met tons of very cool and very genuine people from all sorts of backgrounds, and the Harvard experiance from both an academic and personal perspective looks like it is going to be an amazing two years.

So it seems that since I left the country they decided to call an election back in Canada - the first campaign I will be sitting out of in a number of years. I have been doing my best to keep up to speed on developments back home and doing my patriotic duty by informing my new American and International friends down here that there actually IS an election going on in Canada. A Harvard Kennedy School of Government Canadian election 2008 debate watching party is in the works for October 2nd - stay tuned!

On the topic of American views about the Canadian election, I came across this article in Slate today which I thought was a pretty interesting read.

Also, I would be negligent not to direct some traffic to Calgary Grit's seat projection project and commend him for taking a cue from 538 (the BEST site on polling analysis for American politics) and using some of his own statistical skills to do a fairly sophisticated analysis of Canadian public polling data. His results feel instinctively right to me, but no doubt things could change quickly one way or another over the coming weeks.

That's it for now - hope to start posting again regularly very soon!

Of all the gin joints...

2008-08-27T11:35:00.006-04:00

I've been meaning to do a post on this for a few weeks now and since I am going to be fairly busy with the imminent move down to Boston (48 hours and counting) I thought my loyal blog readers (of which I am told there actually are a few) could use a little red meat to chew on. Okay, not so much red meat as self-absorbed navel gazing...

As I occasionally check on my stat counter to see who is visiting my little corner of the internet, I have noticed that there are a number of google search terms that seem to keep showing up on a regular basis as entry pages to Prairie Fire. With Google fast becoming the source for most people's day to day information on, well, EVERYTHING it is actually somewhat shocking to learn that through the thought process of the Google hive-mind, this little blog might actually be a Google recommended authority on something.

So the first few that pop up often are things that aren't that surprising at all - my name and the name of the blog (though I do have to say it was surprising how regularly people seem to be googling my name!):

Prairie Fire Blog

Ryan Androsoff

Prairie Fire

Then of course are people and things that I have written about:

Ryan Bater

Arthur Kroeger

the dropjoys

Serge LeClerc

Now the most surprising are the phrases which to me seem fairly obscure (and thus why are people googling them?) or alternatively quite common which you would think a million other monkeys in front of keyboards would have written about a million other times. As it turns out, Prairie Fire is consistently getting links from Google search results for a pretty eclectic group of phrases, including:

read my middle finger

How do I write serge leclerc?

1 2 3 4 penguins that are by the door

Karma It's a Bitch

Me thinketh thou doth protest too much

obama open mic

The Old Grey Mare She Ain't What She Used To Be

that's gold jerry

Saskatchewanisms

What is Stephen Harper Reading

Finally, the one I found most surprising - Trau Vang. This is my Vietnamese nickname that I was given when I was working there about 18 months ago. It means Golden Buffalo and is a fairly common term there - in fact for Trau Vang there are 582,000 entries and for Trâu Vàng 1.28 million. Yet out of all of these, Google puts Prairie Fire as the first search result. Who'd of thunk it!

Bater on the Economy

2008-08-22T20:44:00.002-04:00

This morning the next Leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party, Ryan Bater, made his first public appearance in his role as Leader-Elect. At a breakfast event in Saskatoon, he laid out some initial ideas about managing the resource boom - including a focus on debt-elimination and the creation of a sovereign heritage fund. You can read some initial coverage of his speech here and here.

It is too bad I couldn't be there (I'm currently making my way to Boston with some pit-stops in Ottawa and Toronto along the way), but I have heard he did a great job. Congrats Ryan - keep it up!

Could it be Hillary?

2008-08-21T16:51:00.002-04:00

Hot of the wires from USA Today:

In an interview in Chester, Va., the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said he's made up his mind, but he would not say whether he's informed that person yet. "I won't comment on anything else until I introduce our running mate to the world," he said. "That's all you're going to get out of me."

Obama said it was a difficult decision. "We had some great choices."

Obama said he wanted somebody who is "prepared to be president" and who will be "a partner with me in strengthening this economy for the middle class and working families."

He said he was looking for not just a partner but a sparring partner. "I want somebody who's independent, somebody who can push against my preconceived notions and challenge me so we have got a robust debate in the White House."

Those comments certainly wouldn't rule out Hillary, that's for sure.

One way or another we will know in the next 48 hours...

It's a New Day

2008-08-16T16:36:00.010-04:00

It is official - Ryan Bater will be the next Leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party!

There was a great article about Ryan in today's StarPhoenix and Leader Post which you can read here.

And of course, if you are in the Saskatoon area this coming Friday I would encourage you to come meet the new Leader-Elect of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party and hear about his vision for Saskatchewan's economic future:

Wake Up to a New Day

Join Ryan Bater
Leader-Elect of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party

for breakfast and the opportunity to

learn about his vision for Saskatchewan’s economic future

Friday, August 22nd
7:30 a.m.

Hilton Garden Inn Hotel

90 - 22nd Street East
Saskatoon, SK

Tickets: $25.00

cheques can be made payable to

“Ryan Bater Leadership Campaign”

For more information or to RSVP, please contact:

Tracy Muggli

(306) 220-5566 or tracy@ryanbater.ca

Finally, let me just say that it has been a real honour and pleasure to get to know Ryan over the past year. He brings to the table not just energy and enthusiasm, but also integrity, intellect, and great instincts. I am proud to call Ryan a friend, and even prouder to now be able to call him the next Leader of the Liberal Party of Saskatchewan.

But this is only the beginning - the real work begins today. For all of you who believe as I do that we must have a strong political party in this province that will fight for personal, economic, and political freedoms, then I ask you to stand up, be counted, and help Ryan as we begin the exciting journey ahead.

Some groundrules

2008-08-10T21:27:00.001-04:00

I really hate to have to shut down discussions on this site, but please take note that I am not going to allow personal attacks to start in the comment sections.

If people want to continue to have a respectful discussion about provincial politics (or any other topic) on this blog, by all means, carry on.

Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Talk to the Hand

2008-08-06T18:31:00.002-04:00

Never thought I would write these words, but...well done Paris Hilton. Well done.

Paris Hilton Responds to McCain Adfunny videosFunnyOrDie.com

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Obama caught on open mic

2008-07-26T16:00:00.005-04:00

Seems Obama stumbled into the usual open mic gaffe that is so common to politicians at international meetings while he was talking with British opposition leader David Cameron.

However, instead of inadvertently announcing the start of World War III, or calling reporters assholes, he...well read the transcript for yourself:

--------------------------------------------

CAMERON: You should be on the beach. You need a break. Well, you need to be able to keep your head together.

OBAMA: You’ve got to refresh yourself.

CAMERON: Do you have a break at all?

OBAMA: I have not. I am going to take a week in August. But I agree with you that somebody, somebody who had worked in the White House who _ not Clinton himself, but somebody who had been close to the process _ said that, should we be successful, that actually the most important thing you need to do is to have big chunks of time during the day when all you’re doing is thinking. And the biggest mistake that a lot of these folks make is just feeling as if you have to be …

CAMERON: These guys just chalk your diary up.

OBAMA: Right. In 15 minute increments

CAMERON: We call it the dentist’s waiting room. You have to scrap that because you’ve got to have time.

OBAMA: And, well, and you start making mistakes or you lose the big picture. Or you lose a sense of, I think you lose a feel …

CAMERON: Your feeling. And that is exactly what politics is all about. The judgment you bring to make decisions.

OBAMA: That’s exactly right. And the truth is that we’ve got a bunch of smart people, I think, who know 10 times more than we do about the specifics of the topics. And so if what you’re trying to do is micromanage and solve everything then you end up being a dilettante, but you have to have enough knowledge to make good judgments about the choices that are presented to you.

-----------------------------

I don't know about you, but to me it is actually pretty comforting that in an unguarded moment we discover that Obama is actually being thoughtful about how to manage the demands of one of the toughest jobs in the world.

Harper runs a deficit - isn't this kind of a big deal?

2008-07-25T21:27:00.002-04:00

So it seems that Stephen Harper, Jim Flaherty, and the rest of the Conservative gang have managed to run over half a billion dollars in charges up on on the national credit card this past spring. And just to stick it to them, it seems that this is due primarily to the loss in revenue from the GST cuts.

But here is what I don't get - why isn't the media making a bigger deal of this? I mean, hasn't Canada had something like 15 years of consistent surpluses? Have we even had a single fiscal quarter in the past decade where we were in deficit? Isn't running a deficit in Canada now pretty much tantamont to political suicide short of an economic, military, or natural disaster forcing our hand (of which, an ill-conceived campaign promise to lower the GST certainly does not count)?

So why is this story currently #10 on the CBC website, #10 on the CTV website, and not even on the front page of the Globe & Mail website? Am I missing something here?

A tale of two campaign events

2008-07-25T05:05:00.004-04:00

Foreign policy address to 200,000+ people...

...or hanging out in the "dairy delight" aisle.

Who do you think won the battle of the photo-ops yesterday?

1, 2, 3, 4....penguins that are by the door?

2008-07-21T22:47:00.003-04:00

While I am on the theme of childhood television memories, I just don't remember Sesame Street being quite this cool when I was a kid:

Nope - the coolest song on Sesame Street in my day...well it did start with the letter C...

h/t to Matthew Yglesias

P.S. As a commenter on Yglesias' blog rightly pointed out, I guess the education system IS getting dumbed down. I remember we used to learn how to count to at least 12!

Don't say the NFB never did nothing for ya!

2008-07-20T19:46:00.004-04:00

My childhood memories were twigged when reading HuffB's post about the "Little Black Flys" Song which was also a National Film Board cartoon that I believe CBC used to run between shows (at least in the post-elementary school, pre-supper time slot).

That of course made me think of that other classic NFB cartoon short that used to run in that same time slot on CBC which I am sure virtually every Canadian of our generation has burned into the back of their brains somewhere - The Log Driver's Waltz:

Now watching that of course one can't help but also think of that other classic NFB short cartoon which used to run from time to time on CBC as well:

Ah, the memories!

And another thing...

2008-07-20T03:05:00.004-04:00

Almost forgot...happened to come across some media about HNIC's search for a new anthem. Seems they have had quite a good response with respect to submissions, but Logan Aube's entry takes the cake. At over 45,000 views, it is by far the most listened to submission on the site. And it is, well, in a league of it's own. Just listen for yourself:

On a more serious note, while kicking around the HNIC site I also stumbled upon a great piece of patriotic Canadiana by the Dropjoys called "I'm a Canadian". Enjoy!

This, that, and the other thing

2008-07-20T02:15:00.004-04:00

A random sampling of things that have caught my attention over the past 24 hours:

The Worst Building in the World

I had never heard of the Ryugyong Hotel before, and I guess it is no wonder why. To spend 2% of a country's GDP on a building which has not been completed after over 20 years is something that I think safely falls into the category of "only in North Korea".

Living on a Million Dollars a Day

Buried in this interesting article about rational economic decision-making on the topic of climate change, this particular passage caught my eye:

If you expect economic growth to continue at the average annual rate of 2.3 percent, to which we've grown accustomed, then in 400 years, the average American will have an income of more than $1 million per day—and that's in the equivalent of today's dollars (i.e., after correcting for inflation).

I had to think about that for a moment. In perspective, that would be like saying that when compared to the average person whom lived in Quebec City at the time of its founding, the average Canadian today lives a lifestyle on par with an Oprah of 1608. And actually, upon some reflection, that seems about right.

The Dark Knight

Managed to get in to see an afternoon matinee of the new Batman movie yesterday. Believe the hype - it is a magnificent accomplishment which is currently ranked as number #1 on IMDB's list of the Top 250 movies of all time. Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker is simply remarkable - without doubt one of the best movie villain performances...ever.

That's gold, Jerry! Gold!

2008-07-14T17:42:00.001-04:00

Some Sunday Entertainment

2008-07-06T21:26:00.002-04:00

Now for something completely different...a few clips from my step-brother Matt's performance of "Singing in the Rain" down in Nashville this past spring. I had the chance to see it live when I was there visiting in March.

And in case you are wondering, Matt played Gene Kelly's role of Don Lockwood. Great job buddy!

The Front Lines of Blogging: Afghanistan

2008-07-04T02:07:00.002-04:00

Stumbled upon this fascinating article in Slate this evening about Nasim Fekrat whom is a pioneering Afghan blogger and is actively organizing bloggers across Afghanistan as part of an effort to push for more openness and transparency in the media and government in his home country.

They even have an Afghan blog aggregator set-up with about two dozen English language blogs and by my quick count over 80 Farsi language blogs. Haven't had time to dig through the blogs in much depth (and unsurprisingly it seems that the Farsi aggregator is much more active than the English one).

With Canadians far more engaged and aware of what is happening in Afghanistan now due to the thousands of our men and women whom are serving there, this is potentially an interesting new window into understanding what grassroots Afghans are thinking.

Bater Announcement Speech (Update w/ Audio)

2008-06-30T18:13:00.007-04:00

I had meant to post this earlier, but for those looking for some long-weekend reading here is Ryan Bater's announcement speech from last week's press conference:

Update:

For your listening enjoyment: Ryan Bater Press Conference Audio (MP3)

------------------------------------------------

Ryan Bater Announcement Speech

Below are the prepared remarks for Ryan Bater's announcement in Saskatoon on June 25, 2008, that he will be seeking the Leadership of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party.

My name is Ryan Bater. During the provincial election this past fall, I was proud to be the candidate for the Saskatchewan Liberal Party in the Battlefords. And though the result was not what we had planned for, I have never been more convinced that our best days as a party and a province are yet to come.

Because I believe that we must seize this new day that is dawning in Saskatchewan, I am happy to announce here at Innovation Place- the front line of new ideas, innovation, and research in Saskatchewan- my intention to seek the Leadership of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party.

I was raised in the Battlefords and educated here at the University of Saskatchewan where I earned a degree in Business Economics. After graduation, I chose to return to my hometown when many of my friends and peers left this province in search of opportunities elsewhere. I chose to stay here in Saskatchewan because I saw tremendous potential and opportunity.

My career has focused on promoting and assisting the economic development of the Battlefords as the General Manager of the Battlefords Regional Economic Development Authority – a non-profit corporation formed as a partnership by local municipalities, First Nations, and the Province of Saskatchewan. Over the past seven years I have had the pleasure of working with community volunteers, entrepreneurs, and small business people.

I found my passion very quickly after I started at the Battlefords REDA. I have always believed very strongly in the entrepreneurial spirit of the individuals in our province, and I saw that spirit first hand with the people I worked with. When you work with someone with that ‘spark’- someone who takes the personal initiative to take their ideas, skills, and talents and build a life out of it, a life based something they love- it really is a beautiful thing.

This entrepreneurial spirit has been the reason I love the work that I do. It’s what gets me out of bed in the morning, and ultimately it’s why I am seeking the Leadership of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party.

Over the course of my professional career, I have noticed that people have a growing detachment from their government, and at the same time a growing feeling of dependence on that same government. People are less inclined to participate in the political process, no longer see themselves in those chosen to represent them, and now believe that politics is nothing more than a power struggle between political elites.

We are not empowering the people of this province. We are not embracing this entrepreneurial spirit.

This is truly a new day in Saskatchewan. We are at the dawn of a new era in our history. We now see ourselves as a ‘can-do’ province full of opportunity and optimism infused with the spirit of entrepreneurship and risk- taking. We have a new confidence that cannot be held back by the divisive politics of the past.

If we want to truly reach our potential, we need to empower ourselves and get away from the negativity of old- style politics. Saskatchewan needs a party that will treat our people and the political process with dignity. We need a party that will listen to people, give them a voice, and put them first before partisan and outside interests.

But it is not enough to simply say that we are going to practice a style of politics that puts people first and opens the doors of government to them, we must show it in our actions. That’s why today I am also announcing that my leadership campaign will be voluntarily implementing two policies which we believe are important fist steps towards greater openness in the Saskatchewan political process.

First, the practice of not requiring those seeking the leadership of provincial political parties to disclose their donations or expenses is one that must come to an end. It is simply unacceptable that someone could become Premier of Saskatchewan through a party leadership race and no one would know who funded their campaign. That is why this leadership campaign will voluntarily operate under the same disclosure rules that I and every other candidate in last fall’s provincial election followed. Namely, we will publicly disclose all donations over $250 and I will also publicly disclose all of my campaign expenses.

Secondly, there has been in recent weeks a renewed discussion in this province over the appropriateness of Saskatchewan political parties fundraising outside of Saskatchewan. This discussion has been sparked primarily in response to a fundraiser that the Saskatchewan Party held in Calgary in which they took in over $300,000 in one evening. Now let’s be honest – this is a completely legal practice that all political parties in this province have engaged in for decades. And likely in most of these cases the donations are made without any untoward strings or conditions attached. But if we are to ensure that the people of this province have faith in the integrity of their institutions of government, then even the appearance of being beholden to outside interests must be eliminated.

That is why today I am also announcing that this leadership campaign will not accept any donations from outside of Saskatchewan. Moreover, should I be honoured with the opportunity to serve as Saskatchewan’s Liberal Leader, I will immediately implement a ban on out-of-province donations to the Liberal Party of Saskatchewan.

These announcements are two small steps in a journey toward a more open, accountable, and transparent political process in Saskatchewan.

Thank you again for your time this morning, and I look forward to working with all Saskatchewan Liberals in the weeks, months, and years ahead as we build our Party and empower the innovative spirit of the people of Saskatchewan.

Ryan Bater Campaign Launch - Media Round-up

2008-06-26T03:27:00.004-04:00

Here are links to some of the media coverage from Ryan Bater's annoucement this morning that he plans to seek the Leadership of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party:

Saskatoon StarPhoenix

CTV

News Talk 650

Saskatoon Homepage (also see footage from the press conference in the video news section)

The Canadian Press

A New Day Starts Tomorrow for Saskatchewan Liberals

2008-06-24T20:15:00.011-04:00

You heard it here first - the Leadership race for the Saskatchewan Liberal Party and the next step in our renewal process will be starting in earnest tomorrow!

Ryan Bater to Launch Liberal Leadership Campaign

On Wednesday, June 25th, Ryan Bater will officially announce his candidacy for the Leadership of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party. Please join us Wednesday morning for his announcement to the media and Wednesday evening for a social meet and greet with Saskatchewan Liberals.

Campaign Launch Press Conference

Date: Wednesday, June 25th

Time: 11:00 a.m.

Location: Innovation Place near the fountain outside the Galleria Building
(inside the Galleria Building atrium in case of rain)
15 Innovation Boulevard, Saskatoon – north end of U of S Campus

( Google Map )

Campaign Launch Meet and Greet

Date: Wednesday, June 25th

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Nino’s Restaurant
801 Broadway Avenue, Saskatoon

( Google Map )

For more information, please contact Ryan Androsoff at:
(306) 261-1202 or newday@ryanbater.ca

Tugging at the heart strings

2008-06-17T15:54:00.003-04:00

Was struck by this latest anti-McCain ad by MoveOn.org for it's low-budget feel and straight to the heart message. Very effective.

Daddy needs a new pair of wooden shoes

2008-06-12T20:53:00.003-04:00

An interesting take over at Daily Kos on tech-savyness (or at least basic competence) as a job requirement to be President in the year 2008.

Key Quote from McCain when asked if he is a PC or a Mac guy:

"Neither, I'm an illiterate that has to rely on my wife for all of the assistance I can get."

Yeah, that's cute and all, but Kos actually has a point. It is pretty tough to understand your country (and the world) on a gut level if you don't understand how the vast majority of your citizens interact with each other intellectually, socially, economically, and spiritually on a daily basis. Hell, my Baba could give a better answer than that and she's even got a solid decade on McCain!

The Democratic Race for President in 8min and 37sec

2008-06-10T18:28:00.003-04:00

For those who may have been living under a rock for the past 9 months, this should get you up to speed. Enjoy!

Liberals behaving badly

2008-06-09T17:29:00.003-04:00

Two items caught my attention today in the psydo-MSM:

- David Akin on the dueling press releases between Gerry Ritz and Ralph Goodale. The interesting thing here is that Ritz is brandishing about polling done on the future of the CWB and is trumpeting the fact that former Paul Martin strategist David Herle is the one who did the polling. This leads to Ritz making ridiculous comments in the press release such as (emphasis mine): "How can Ralph Goodale and the Liberal Party claim to have any respect for democracy while ignoring the clear results of their own survey?". Uh huh. One can only assume that Herle must be pretty pissed after doing non-partisan work for the CWB and then being used personally as a political tool in a Ministerial press release.

- Adam Radwanski has a piece on the Liberal Party's response to the CBC Hockey Night in Canada anthem saga which speaks for itself.

So much carbon, such little taxes

2008-06-09T03:16:00.003-04:00

Was doing my usual weekend catch-up on the blogosphere and seems there is, predictably, a lot of talk about carbon taxes as of late. You have heard most of the arguments from both sides already (and really, until Dion puts out the specifics of his plan most of the arguments against aren't really based on much more than hot air). So aside from all the usual noise, two items really caught my eye:

1) Leighton over at The Heresy has a unique take on the topic, arguing that the dramatic increases in the price of oil and natural gas over the past few months has essentially made the introduction of a carbon tax a moot point. He notes that the market is increasing the price of the major carbon-based fuels at a far greater rate than even the most audaciously green-minded politician ever would dare through a carbon tax. I find this argument particularly interesting coming from Leighton as he is a very passionate and thoughtful advocate for greener thinking in our society, both in government and at home.

2) I am sure you have heard all about the Conservative's new advertising campaign against Dion's carbon tax (and no, I will not dignify it with a link. For that kind of free advertising, go to CTV news, or look at the front page of the SUN). Smart timing, because it certainly is easier to attack before there are actual facts on the table which have that pesky habit of constraining your arguments to things that are remotely possible. Thus Harper's new media attack-thingies get to wax on about lettuce-head Dion and his ongoing campaign to ensure that only the wealthy elites of society can enjoy leafy green vegetables.

I was also surprised to get an e-mail tonight from the Conservative Party inviting me to view their anti-carbon tax website and ads. That struck me as quite strange as I can't remember getting an e-mail from them in many months (which is I assume because someone at CPC HQ flagged me as a member of the "red menace" and removed my e-mail from their system). I didn't think much of it until I read this, which got me wondering if perhaps there is indeed an organized effort by the Conservatives to send their anti-carbon tax campaign materials out to identified Liberals. But then again, that seems a little too clever by half.

But maybe knowledge is hell?

2008-05-31T00:44:00.005-04:00

While I am on the topic this evening of social connectedness, no doubt the exact opposite of my previous post would be this amusing (and embarrassingly useful!) piece on social networking etiquette in the age of Facebook.

I have in fact noticed recently that a lot more people have been undertaking what Salam refers to as a "Great Facebook Purge". As my friend count slowly climbs towards the physiological marker of 500 (only 24 more to go!) I have noticed every few days that my count goes down one or two. I don't recall being exceedingly obnoxious as of late, either on-line or in real life, so I can only assume that many of my acquaintances are finding themselves hitting the Dunbar's number wall and trying to unclog their neocortexs.

Actually I remember first reading about Dunbar's number in the excellent book by Malcolm Gladwell entitled Tipping Point. I wonder if any research has been done in the past few years to see if the 150 person maximum that Dunbar proposes for the limit to a person's meaningful social network has been altered due to social networking technologies like Facebook, or even its precursors like MSN, ICQ, and e-mail (man, I am starting to show my age!)? I would hypothesise that these technologies act in a very real way as a bionic enhancement to our brain's physical ability to keep up-to-date with the number of people we come into somewhat meaningful contact with in the scope of a modern life.

Also it would be really interesting to know how Dunbar would explain people who thrive (or even just survive) in relationship intense environments, the best example of which I can think of is politicians. Consider that aside from the normal number of people that any person connects with in their life, be it family/friends/classmates/etc..., politicians live in a world that requires them to socially interact with other people in an intense way all the time. Just the House of Commons alone provides a Canadian MP with 307 largely new social contacts as soon as they are elected, not to mention their staff, party staff, riding association members, provincial and national party members, national and local media, key business and community leaders, etc... which they all have to interact with on a fairly regular basis. No wonder politicians seem tired all the time...their neocortexs are about to explode!

P.S. it is interesting to note, however, that 150 is just short of the number of caucus members needed to form a majority government in Canada. In fact, I have no data to back this up (nor the time to do the research) but from what I can recall most legislative assemblies around the world tend to be in the 300-600 member range, regardless of population size of the country. Interesting, no?

Is ignorance really bliss?

2008-05-30T20:40:00.004-04:00

I found this piece in today's Globe and Mail quite fascinating. It is about an Amazon tribe in Brazil that has remained almost completely cut-off from the rest of the world, albeit with the caveat that "Anthropologists say almost all of these tribes know about western civilization and have sporadic contact with prospectors, rubber tappers and loggers". The article also mentions the Sentinelese who live on an island in the Indian Ocean and are described as "the only truly uncontacted tribe" left in the world (of course if there was still completely uncontacted tribes in the world, by definition we wouldn't know about it!).

The fact that in 2008 there could still be people on this planet who have no connection with modern civilization in any form is really quite an astonishing thing to consider. And I must say, I am quite torn in terms of my thoughts about the current approach that seems to be the policy of the Brazilian and Indian governments (and I am sure others) when it comes to these so-called "lost tribes" - that of minimizing any contact with the modern world. While I understand the humanitarian intention behind the policy so as not to disturb the culture or spread disease, it also seems very paternalistic to me.

Think about it this way - if one day we found out that in fact there was an advanced civilization of humans living on the dark side of the moon for thousands of years who had hid their existence from us all of this time (along with their knowledge, technology, companionship, etc...) just because they didn't think we could handle it, wouldn't you be a little pissed off? I know I would be.

Off to the races!

2008-05-29T22:52:00.003-04:00

Just in case you hadn't heard the news, yesterday the race to pick the next leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party officially got underway.

I strongly suspect you won't see any candidates officially announcing for about a month or so, as per past precedence. But rest assured, I will have quite a lot to say about the leadership race and the future of Saskatchewan Liberal Party over the coming weeks and months - so stay tuned!

So you think the race down south is pretty exciting do you?

2008-05-29T22:27:00.002-04:00

Well here is some counterintuitive thinking which says actually it isn't. Key quote from David Runciman's article in the London Review of Books:

Followed day by day, the race for the Democratic nomination has been the most exciting election in living memory. But viewed in retrospect, it is clear that it has been quite predictable. All the twists and turns have been a function of the somewhat random sequencing of different state primaries, which taken individually have invariably conformed to type, with Obama winning where he was always likely to win (caucus states, among college-educated and black voters, in the cities), and Clinton winning where she was likely to win (big states with secret ballots, among less well-educated whites and Hispanics, in rural areas)...The salient fact about this campaign is that demography trumps everything: people have been voting in fixed patterns set by age, race, gender, income and educational level, and the winner in the different contests has been determined by the way these different groups are divided up within and between state boundaries. Anyone who knows how to read the census data (and that includes some of the smart, tech-savvy types around Obama) has had a good idea of how this was going to play from the outset. All the rest is noise.

He concludes his article by saying that when it comes to an Obama vs. McCain match-up in the general election, the key swing demographic is "unaffiliated 40+ white voters in the swing states" which are pulled between the two candidates fairly evenly for different reasons. Thus, the prospect of another very long night watching CNN on November 4th.

If that is in fact the case, then I would predict advantage Obama given that he has a much stronger ground organization than McCain does at this point.

...the harder they fall

2008-05-26T20:57:00.003-04:00

This latest dispatch from the Prime Minister's Office is certainly quite the exercise in spin on all sides of the aisle. If leaving "classified" documents laying around a spouse's/partner's/significant other's residence was an offence worthy of dismissal from Cabinet, it would be a literal revolving door given the hundreds of briefing papers Cabinet Ministers are given each and every week to digest (the vast majority of which are deemed "classified" even if there is little in there that truly is). Moreover, if anyone deserves to get axed over the specific offence of "classified" government documents going missing it should be the Chief of Staff whose job it is to make sure that their boss doesn't get hung out to dry for bonehead mistakes like this.

Let's call a spade a spade - this wasn't about any real breach of national security. This was about an interview that was going to air this evening which was going to mix sex and Ministerial responsibility in a way that made the conservative hairs on Stephen Harper's neck stand up straight.

The Liberal caucus I am sure is pleased tonight with getting this tactical victory under their belt. It just seems a little empty to me that in the end Bernier gets taken down on a technicality instead of a matter of substance. But then again, that is usually how the mop flops north of the Queensway.

On surprise and inspiration

2008-05-24T20:31:00.002-04:00

A few months back I was going to write a post inspired by an impromptu visit I made to the Frist Center for the Visual Arts when I was in Nashville in early March. It was one of those lazy days a person sometimes has when they are visiting in an unfamiliar place where you unexpecidly have no agenda for the day, no commitments, or even a particular direction in mind.

I was staying at a bed and breakfast and my host there suggested that if I was interested at all in art I should go check out the Frist Center. I am by no means an art connoisseur of any degree, but I've always found walking through art galleries to be therapeutic, so this sounded like as good of an idea as any to kill a few hours. I took a long walk to get there with absolutely no expectations as to what I would find (Nashville after all is known more for art of the musical variety) - thus I was blown away when I discovered on display a collection of pieces by giants in the art world which even a philistine like I would recognize: Monet, Picasso, Renoir, Van Gogh, Rodin and Dali, to name but a few. Talk about surprise and inspiration.

On the second floor was an equally fascinating, if not as famous, exhibit about the evolution of African American art in the United States. And while browsing through the various displays I was really struck by a quote from Harlem Renaissance artist Aaron Douglas where he said:

"We must let down our buckets into our own souls where joy and pain, mirth and sadness, still flows swift and deep and free, and drink until we are drunk as with an overpowering desire for expression"

Without doubt, the best description of the origin of artistic expression and inspiration (irrespective of your canvass of choice) that these eyes have ever read.

Caution: Turtle Squishing Ahead

2008-05-21T11:56:00.004-04:00

On my way back to Saskatchewan after a couple weeks in and around Ottawa. Over the long weekend I ended up heading to Quebec City with a few friends and as we passed through Rockland I discovered what must definitely be in my top 3 of most absurd road signs ever:

Absurd primarily because...well....it is a sign to avoid running over turtles. But at second glance it is even more absurd because if you look at the picture on the sign you can't help but notice what clearly looks like tire tread marks over the poor little guy's shell. Now given the normal reading of road signs, and given that there is no "slash" through this sign, it would seem that the behaviour on the sign is being condoned (though in a cautionary fashion given the yellow background and diamond shape of the sign).

Thus my interpretation of the above road sign based on my Saskatchewan Government Insurance drivers training back in grade 10 is that from the months of May to September, while driving on the highway near Rockland, you should make your best, but cautious, effort to run over any turtles you see on the highway.

In honour of the Rockland turtle crossing signs I give you everyone's favourite amphibian squishing game....FROGGER!

Old Games

Coming full circle

2008-05-21T01:02:00.000-04:00

I'll let Barack speak for himself:

Portland says go big or go home

2008-05-20T00:11:00.003-04:00

Regardless of whom you are cheering for, you have to admit that this is pretty impressive!

Looks like that after tomorrow night's primaries in Oregon and Kentucky, it is just going to be a matter of dotting the "i"s and crossing the "t"s before Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee for President of the United States of America.

I'll quit procrastinating...tomorrow.

2008-05-15T03:17:00.002-04:00

A pair of great articles by Slate on the nature of procrastination in the relm of writing (though it could frankly apply across the board) and the biggest procrastination enabler of them all, Solitaire.

As for me, my poison of choice is still Snood.

In Memoriam - Arthur Kroeger

2008-05-11T20:05:00.009-04:00

I was given the news by a friend late last night that Arthur Kroeger has passed away in Ottawa at the age of 75.

For those who don't know of Arthur Kroeger, he was considered by many of those who work and study in the field of Canadian public administration to be the "Dean of Deputy Ministers" and one of the exemplary public servants to come from the "golden age" of the Canadian civil service in the 1950s & 60s.

A much younger generation of those interested in Canadian public administration (myself included) got to know Arthur Kroeger when he went by a different title - Chancellor. Not only was he the Chancellor of Carleton University from 1993 until 2002 but he was also instrumental in setting up the first undergraduate program in Canada specifically dedicated to training the next generation of public sector leaders. I was very fortunate to have been a part of the inaugural class of the Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs and as such we got to spend more than our fair share of time with him over the four years that we were there.

Arthur Kroeger (far left) with four of the founding members of AKCESS (Arthur Kroeger College Educational Students' Society) at our first event

This afternoon as I was reading some of the coverage of his passing, I thought back to a reception that was held about 5 years ago for students, family, and faculty in honour of our impending graduation. I was asked to give some remarks on behalf of the students and I remember making the point that so many institutions end up becoming a very expensive tombstone for some great man or woman who once upon a time left their mark on society and then departed this earth long before getting to meet any of those who would benefit from the institution to which their good name was lent. And I then remarked that we were truly blessed that not only was the exceptional Canadian public servant for whom our institution was named still with us, but that he had taken an active interest in our aspirations and enriched our educational experiance in the process.

Around that same time, Arthur Kroeger asked the Carleton University Board of Governors to allow him to serve as Chancellor one last time on the afternoon of June 12, 2003. He made this request, which was of course granted, so that he could personally present diplomas to the first cohort of students to graduate from the college that was founded to celebrate his contributions to Canada and ensure that his legacy of public service would live on.

It occurs to me today that we have a lot to live up to.

Alberta Liberals ponder future as well

2008-05-07T14:31:00.002-04:00

Looks like the Saskatchewan Liberals aren't the only ones doing some soul searching these days...

Giving Credit Where It Is Due

2008-05-06T02:48:00.006-04:00

I want to somewhat belatedly congratulate International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda on this announcement last week, specifically:

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Untying food aid

The Government of Canada has changed its food aid policy to remove restrictions on sourcing food aid allowing for greater flexibility in where Canada’s food aid can be purchased. Canada will increase the untying of its food aid from 50% to 100% this year, which will open up to 100% of its food aid budget to international procurement with a special emphasis on purchasing food in developing countries. Purchases from developed countries will be limited to countries with similar policies on untying food aid. By untying restrictions on where food is purchased, Canada is promoting the development of local and regional markets and more importantly, increasing the speed, effectiveness, and efficiency of Canadian food aid.

------------------

One of the professional accomplishments that I am proudest of is the work I was able to undertake with former International Cooperation Minister Aileen Carroll back in 2005 to change Canada's food aid rules to increase untying from 10% to 50%. Though it wasn't the sexiest policy issue (certianly no 0.7), in simple terms it meant that without the Government of Canada spending an extra dollar, fewer children in the world had to go to bed hungry. Now, even fewer will.

A Good Weekend to be a Saskatchewan Liberal

2008-05-05T20:28:00.002-04:00

Between the over 100 people who came out to the In The Red event on Friday night (and an outstanding performance by Doll Talk and Ransom) and the three dozen or so folks who invested a beautiful Saturday to start talking about where we have been, where we are, and where we should go as a Saskatchewan Liberal Party, I am feeling for the first time in months like there is some real momentum again.

To spark some conversation, here is the front-page story in today's StarPhoenix about the renewal workshop. I will note however that though it gives a bit of the flavour of the weekend, I do think that the characterization of "Liberals may try leaning to right" (as the headline read in the Regina LeaderPost) is a gross over-simplification of the discussions that are taking place right now.

---------------------------------------------------------

Liberals discuss policy with eye to future
Provincial members examine direction after election shutout

Janet French
The StarPhoenix
Monday, May 05, 2008

The Saskatchewan Liberal Party has begun a period of introspection after party candidates were shut out for a second consecutive provincial election last November. And suggestions emerged Saturday the party could be nudging toward more right-wing ideals.

About 35 Liberals met in Saskatoon to ponder the party's next steps, including what policies it should espouse in the future, organizer Ryan Androsoff said.

"There is a debate happening in the party right now . . . as to what our values and messages should be," said Androsoff, who was the Liberal candidate in Saskatoon Northwest in the 2007 provincial election.

Former B.C. Liberal MLA Lynn Stephens was a guest speaker at the event, dispensing advice from her party's experience during the last two decades when it went from shutouts in the 1990s to taking 77 of 79 seats in B.C.'s 2001 election.

Androsoff said Stephens wasn't there to talk about policy, but advise Saskatchewan Liberals on how to organize themselves successfully.

Her advice? Know what your party's messages are and stick to them, Androsoff said. Stephens also advised party members to build social networks and avoid top-down decision making.

Androsoff wouldn't say directly whether the Saskatchewan Liberals are thinking of moving further right in the political spectrum, where the B.C. Liberals sit, but did describe himself as a "small-l Liberal" who believes in personal and economic freedoms.

He also hinted a move to the right could be beneficial for the party.

"The Sask. Party has really become NDP-like in its first six months in government, and that, I think, provides an opportunity for the Liberal Party to show some leadership far into the future," he said.

Liberals will meet several times over the next six to seven months to set goals and talk about the party's future, he said.

Although he admits the Liberals have much work ahead after their failure to make gains in the last election, Androsoff frames the party's recent political misfortunes in an optimistic light.

"We have one of those unique windows in the life of a political party where you don't have the baggage of the past and you really have a clean slate," he said.

"If people are willing to grab this moment, we have a chance to come together around a message and a set of values that we can all agree upon, and, I think, be able to able to fill an important space in the Saskatchewan political scene."

Androsoff did not know when the party's leadership race will begin -- that has yet to be announced by the Saskatchewan Liberal Association, he said.

Frank Proto has been the Liberals' interim leader since David Karwacki stepped aside in December. Karwacki made the move after the Liberals' failed to get back into the legislature.

Androsoff said although he has heard rumblings from some people who are interested in running for the Liberal leadership, none have declared publicly.

© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2008

And For The Record

2008-04-27T01:26:00.003-04:00

I find it unexplainable that while Obama continues to get heat for Rev. Wright, John McCain's cozying up to John Hagee seems to largely get a pass. But Obama obviously has a much closer personal and spiritual relationship with Wright than McCain to Hagee you say? Sure, that is no doubt true. But I find it tough for a reasonable person to argue that Wright's worst "soundbites" are on the same level as Hagee's worst (see video below).

Moreover, neither of these guys are running for President, right? So why does this continue to be an issue?

The Wright Stuff

2008-04-27T00:41:00.002-04:00

If you have a little bit of time on your hands, I'd strongly recommend watching Bill Moyers interview with Rev. Jeremiah Wright that aired on PBS this past Friday. It certainly gives a much fuller and more sympathetic view of the man who has been defined for so many people by short soundbites.

One clip of his from the introductory portion of the show struck me in a way I did not expect - a clip of him giving a sermon where he says the following:

REVEREND WRIGHT: In Genesis:2 it says God breathes into the nostrils of what God had formed from the dust. God donated some divinity to some dirt and we became living souls. That’s God breath you have in you, that’s God’s breath that you just breathed. God is the giver of life. Let me tell you what that means. That means we have no right to take a life whether as a gang banger living the thug life, or as a President lying about leading a nation into war. We have no right to take a life! Whether through the immorality of a slave trade, or the immorality of refusing HIV/AIDS money to countries or agencies who do not tow your political line! We have no right to take a life! Turn to your neighbors and say we have no right to take a life!

It struck me because it mirrors one of the central tenants of my own Doukhobor faith, which includes a belief that violence against others is wrong because the divine spirit lives within all people. Now obviously Wright expressed it in a very different way than I would choose to, but the philosophical linkage I found to be quite interesting.

Federal Election Watch

2008-04-26T17:47:00.002-04:00

I haven't been commenting much over the never ending election speculation that seems to be all that the Parliamentary Press Gallery can will itself to write about. Mostly because I just don't buy any of it - it is in no one's self-interest right now to have an election and I think that the game theory dynamics of the current federal political scene would point towards a fall 08' election at the earliest, with my bet being sometime in 09'.

That said, I am bringing this up because in the last few days I have been at presentations by both Paul Martin (yes, he is still alive and actually in fine fighting form) and Martha Hall Findley, and have conversations with friends and colleagues involved with the Liberals and other parties both here in Saskatchewan and in Ottawa. My conclusion - a 50/50 chance that the Government will fall within the next two weeks. Either over the immigration legislation or a non-confidence vote surrounding the in-and-out scandal.

That said, I do think that two weeks from now there will still be no election and we can look forward to a summer of attack ads by the Conservatives so they can take advantage of not having to deal with such pesky annoyances as spending limits.

Some good news...

2008-04-25T17:09:00.000-04:00

...for the spell-check generation.

I know what I'm doing next Friday, do you?

2008-04-25T16:14:00.005-04:00

If I may paraphrase Mark Twain: "The reports of our death have been greatly exaggerated. "

Come join us for an evening of non-partisan fun - because you don't need to be a Liberal to have a good time (but it helps!).

Hillary Wins, Beats the Spread (well my spread anyway)

2008-04-23T03:35:00.002-04:00

As everyone I am sure knows already, Hillary won by a decent margin in Pennsylvania tonight. I lost $5.

In my quick, before bed, recap of the political news south of the border I thought the far more interesting story coming out of the past few media cycles was that Hillary Clinton has gone on record saying that she would nuke Iran. I am not kidding.

Harper Today, Gone Tomorrow

2008-04-21T23:38:00.005-04:00

If the following screen shot is any indication, it would seem that Stephen Harper's witness protection program coordinators may want to find him a more convincing new identity:

(h/t to Dan Cook)

Underground Weather Report: Prairie Fire on the Horizon

2008-04-17T15:42:00.004-04:00

As part of her I'm-desperate-so-lets-throw-everything-including-the-kitchen-sink-at-Obama performance at last night's debate, Hillary Clinton brought up Obama's links (which is using the work VERY generously) to former members of a group called the Weather Underground. Which left me, and I am sure many others under the age of 40, scratching their heads wondering: who the heck is the Weather Underground?

So as I was doing some quick research on them today I discovered that in the mid-1970's the Weather Underground somewhat de-radicalized (i.e. stopped blowing things up) and reorganized under the name of Prairie Fire. I'd normally say right about now that great minds think alike, but in this case, not so much.

Though my real motivation for this post is to see how much Google search traffic I can get today by putting the words Obama, Clinton, Debate, Weather Underground, and Prairie Fire all into one post!

The Ins and Outs of In and Out

2008-04-16T17:04:00.004-04:00

I hate to sound like I am defending the Conservatives, but I do frankly find it tough to get extraordinarily rilled up about the latest dust-up over the so-called "In and Out" scandal. Of course, the RCMP raiding the Conservative Party offices in Ottawa yesterday is certainly another example of karma in action after all their sanctimonious preaching regarding ethics and accountability. And obviously if they did violate the Elections Canada rules regarding election spending limits (to which they legally agreed to uphold) then they should be punished accordingly.

That said, Atlas Hugged has some interesting thoughts on the scandal - and though I don't agree with everything he writes, he certainly has a point when it comes to how arbitrarily spending limits are created in the first place and the rules as to what they include and what they don't include. Of all the changes that have happened to election laws at the federal level, from my practical experiance the only one that has had a meaningful impact on the behavior of political parties is the exclusion of donations from companies and unions and the personal donation limits. You can still drive a dump truck through the loopholes in most of the election spending rules (as the Conservative have demonstrated), and all it has really served to do is increase the army of bean-counters in Elections Canada and at the Party offices to ensure compliance with regulations that don't really force anyone to comply to anything anyway.

Here is a theoretical question to make my point: what would be wrong with limiting the sources/amount of money flowing into campaigns as is done now, but removing regulations on how it is spent? When it comes to political financing, the thing people really worry about is where the money is coming from so that people or organizations can not buy influence. So if that is under control, then why do we care how the money is spent?

I'll take those odds!

2008-04-16T00:58:00.002-04:00

Did some internal family betting tonight on the outcome of the Pennsylvania primary next week:

Family member #1 - Hillary wins by 12%

Family member #2 - Hillary wins by 4%

Family member #3 - Obama wins by <1%

Anyone else want to throw their predictions into the hat?

Yet another reason why I like Barack Obama

2008-04-14T04:19:00.004-04:00

Like many people, when I first saw Obama in action I was impressed with his ability to speak to people's better angels and get them excited about participating in democracy again - something that is all too rare in politics. But the political pragmatist in me did ask the question that many others were asking themselves: given the rabid attack machine of the Republicans, can this guy take a punch?

Not only has Obama proven through this campaign that he can take a punch, but today he showed pretty convincingly that he can punch back as well:

Brother, can you spare a gallon?

2008-04-13T18:35:00.002-04:00

Was having a conversation with some family members the other week about the rising cost of gas (it was 1.24 a litre when I filled up last week in Saskatoon, not sure if it has gone up since then) and I raised the point that as high as the prices are getting here, it is still much cheaper than virtually everywhere in the world with the exception of the United States and oil producing countries in the Middle East (and Venezuela) which highly subsidize their fuel.

I was reminded of this conversation today when a friend sent me a link to an interesting comparative chart tracking the average gas price in seven different countries on a weekly basis stretching back to 1996. The most recent prices are as follows:

Weekly Retail Premium Gasoline Prices (Including Taxes)
(U.S. Dollars per Gallon)
Date - 4/7/2008

Belgium - 8.44
France - 8.15
Germany - 8.22
Italy - 8.11
Netherlands - 9.24
UK - 8.08
US - 3.55

When I was down in the States in March, the quick back of the napkin calculation by my father and I (well okay, mainly by my father!) put Canadian gas at approx $4 US per American gallon. So still pricier than what American consumers get, but less than half the price that most Europeans pay.

Point being that though a buck and a quarter may seem like a lot for a gas (though surprisingly no one seems to bitch about their double-double from Tim Horton's costing more than that), it has nowhere to go but up.

Lies, Damned Lies, and Rupublican Talking Points

2008-04-13T18:18:00.002-04:00

I'm sure many of you have heard about the underground e-mail rumour campaign that has been circulating in the United States for months now trying to implant the idea that Barack Obama is a Muslim because he spent part of his childhood in Indonesia (incidentially, how sad is it that being called a Muslim has become a curse word in the United States), that he could be a terrorist (or as GDubya would put it, an evil-dooer) because his middle name is "Hussein", etc... The jury is still out, btw, on if these e-mails originated from the Republicans, the Clinton campaign, or both.

So in part I wasn't surprised when a friend from down south forwarded me one of these attack pieces on Obama the other day. Most of it is the usual detached-from-reality right-wing crap that those of you who have tuned in to Fox News will be familiar with, namely that Obama is just SOOOO liberal, how on earth could we elect him (again, it fascinates me how in the United States the word "liberal" has become essentially a swear word)? But then the ending of the message really threw me for a loop. So you can appreciate it for yourself, here is the concluding paragraph of the article:

According to The Book of Revelation: The anti-christ will be a man, in his 40s, of MUSLIM descent, who will deceive the nations with persuasive language, and have a MASSIVE Christ-like appeal....the prophecy says that people will flock to him and he will promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in power, will destroy everything. Is it OBAMA??

Really? Don't vote for Obama because he might be the anti-Christ? REALLY?

I am speechless.