Compromise 2006

Canada has another federal election on Monday. All the polls indicate the country read to elect a Conservative government in some form or other. I am incredibly wary of the Tories but have come to believe that a minority Conservative government might not be a bad thing. They would be too weak to push through any radical changes but a housecleaning in Ottawa is well overdue. It's not good to have one party in power for 12 years.

A Conservative majority on the other hand scares the pants off of me. My mother sent some articles (Including this one) detailing Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's association with the philosophy of Leo Strauss. From what I understand, it's like the neo-conservative interpretation of Plato's Republic -- People are too stupid to rule themselves so a philsopher elite class need to do it for them. Instead of being upfront about their real motivations, these philosopher kings may need to sell the public a "noble lie" in order to maintain stability and loyalty. Sound familiar? Mmm-hmm.

What else? Martin damaged beyond repair is an excellent examination in today's Toronto Star into how it all went wrong for the Liberals. The best bits:

"What's self-evident now is that the seeds of Martin's failure were sown by success. In dividing Liberals to topple a sitting prime minister, Martin and his clique so weakened the Western world's most successful political party that a Conservative revival became inevitable.

... Voters accept that politicians will say almost anything to get elected. But prime ministers are diminished when they make national interests subservient to partisan advantage."

On the lighter side of things, Bawdy Politic is a site with some awesome icons and T-shirt designs. Don't trash Jack's 'stache indeed!

And, of course, PLEASE VOTE ON MONDAY! It's important, dammit!