By Michael J.W. StickingsI’m not saying he’s entirely right, but he’s certainly got a point:Former Rep. Ron Paul said the police response to the Boston Marathon bombings was scarier than the bombing itself, which killed three and wounded more than 25…

By Richard K. BarryI went into my digital New York Times account this morning and found this interesting video on page one. It was produced by a group called The Gregory Brothers. The Wiki on this says that “The Gregory Brothers digitally manipul…

The Commons: The hideousness of taxation

Preston Manning and his self-titled hothouse for conservative scheming March 7-9 in Ottawa didn’t really help the credibility of Canadian conservatism by scheduling speakers from the fringiest fringes of their movement.
But then, why worry? Afte…

When they weren’t imaging the end of the world in a fiscal holocaust brought on by Keynesianism or worrying about the political end of the world caused by Liberal Dauphin Justin Trudeau’s political talents or banished neoconservative hero Tom Fl…

Last weekend, the priests and priestesses of the Canadian branch of the international market fundamentalist religion gathered in Ottawa and called, as they always do, for more human sacrifice.
I speak, of course, of the annual networking confere…

Ron Paul and Preston Manning. Photo: Mark Blevis/Flickr

Whoever decided to invite retired U.S. congressman and perpetual presidential candidate Ron Paul to the annual Manning Centre networking event must be perplexed. The Manning Centre has as its official goal: Building the Conservative Movement. Paul admitted others call him a conservative, but he did not want to wear the label.

Paul told the conference attendees: Like you I believe in liberty. As reported by Aaron Wherry, Paul opposes “interventionism,” his own word.

read more

OTTAWA — You can’t take an organization too seriously that hires Ron Paul to deliver the keynote address at its annual Big Conservative Ideas blowout, features speeches on “U.K. independence” and presenters who compare medicare to barbed wire a…

Former Texas Congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul, the crazy uncle of American politics, with some of his young acolytes at this weekend’s Manning Centre “Big Ideas” conference. Below: anti-medicare crusader Dr. Brian Day, a sign directing conferees to advice on how to sell their kidneys, and Mr. Manning himself.

OTTAWA

You can’t take an organization too seriously that hires Ron Paul to deliver the keynote address at its annual Big Conservative Ideas blowout, features speeches on “U.K. independence” and presenters who compare medicare to barbed wire and machine guns, and has breakout rooms where they’ll teach you how sell a kidney.

All these things and more happened at the Manning Centre for (sic) Building Democracy conference last weekend in the nation’s capital.

Still, it doesn’t pay just to ignore what went on there either – although the really interesting stuff, it goes without saying, doesn’t happen in . . . → Read More: Alberta Diary: Is the right-wing Manning Centre plotting ‘Manchurian Municipal Candidates’?

Sights and sounds from a weekend at the Manning conference

read more

Your blogger offers Preston Manning a couple of big ideas for conservatives to think about. Below: Liberal Justin Trudeau, pollster Andre Turcotte.

OTTAWA

While the Forum Research polling company was proclaiming that if an election were held today, Justin Trudeau would be prime minister, conservatives of an assortment of exotic and garden varieties huddled under their “big tent” in the Ottawa convention centre to worry about … the Liberals.

Never mind Mr. Trudeau’s numbers right now, it’s the Liberals’ consistent popularity all the time that apparently troubled some of the conservatives at Preston Manning’s mutual admiration society for would-be young and aged adherents of various loony right economic cults. (A few actual Tory operatives were at the two-day meeting too, identifiable by their lean and hungry looks.)

After listening Friday to sometime American presidential candidate Ron Paul scare them about what happens when you don’t back your currency . . . → Read More: Alberta Diary: With Liberals in rear-view mirror, conservative deep thinkers ponder greener look

Assorted content to end your week.

- Public Interest Alberta takes a closer look at that province’s rhetoric about taxes, and finds that in fact most Albertans pay more income tax than they would under the more fair and progressive systems applied in other province:

“Albertans who believe the myth that we pay the lowest taxes in Canada will be surprised to see that they are paying more income tax than if they lived in BC or Ontario. At the same time, people in Alberta with very high incomes are paying tens of thousands less in income tax than in other parts of Canada,” said Bill Moore-Kilgannon, Executive Director of Public Interest Alberta.

An Albertan with a taxable income of $1 million will pay $41,095 less than if they lived in BC and $75,157 less than if they lived in Ontario. However, an Albertan with a taxable income of $70,000 will pay $1434 more than if they lived in BC and $919 more than if they lived in Ontario.

- Andrew Jackson rebuts a few of the zombie arguments against higher minimum wages. And Scott Clark and Peter DeVries highlight not only why there’s ample reason for concern about the federal budget, but also why Jim Flaherty’s obsession with austerity and naive faith in the confidence fairy may cause yet more economic problems in the years to come.

- Meanwhile, Chantal Hebert wonders whether the Cons’ move to claw back billions of dollars for EI training will lead to a backlash from the provinces involved. And that’s doubly so given the question of whether the Cons’ purpose has anything at all to do with achieving results, or whether it’s simply a matter of wanting to be able to engage in another round of gratuitous self-promotion.

- Geoffrey Stevens and the Macleans editorial board both make the case that it’s time to take a serious look at abolishing the Senate.

- Finally, Frances Russell contrasts Preston Manning’s one-time concern with building a party and a movement which would be broadly acceptable to the Canadian public against his current embrace of Ron Paul and other dubious figures.

Assorted content to end your week.

- Public Interest Alberta takes a closer look at that province’s rhetoric about taxes, and finds that in fact most Albertans pay more income tax than they would under the more fair and progressive systems applied in other province: “Albertans who believe the myth that we pay the lowest taxes in Canada will be surprised to see that they are paying more income tax than if they lived in BC or Ontario. At the same time, people in Alberta with very high incomes are paying tens of thousands less in income tax than in parts of Canada,” said Bill Moore-Kilgannon, Executive Director of Public Interest Alberta.

An Albertan with a taxable income of $1 million will pay $41,095 less than if they lived in BC and $75,157 less than if they lived in Ontario. However, an Albertan with a taxable income of $70,000 will . . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links

read more

Why is it that on Wikipedia, Facebook and various other websites, the pushiest proselytizers are almost always the libertarian capitalists? They are like cult members. The glassy-eyed worshippers of the fortunate rich (who are rarely rich themselves)…

By Carl It may be a bit premature to talk about what comes next, but since Mitt’s candidacy effectively ended yesterday with his response to the Islamist uprisings against American embassies in the Middle East and North Africa, I thought it…

By Michael J.W. StickingsRemember, back during the GOP primaries, when Romney, coming under assault by Gingrich and Santorum, cozied up to Ron Paul (and vice versa)?It was almost like they were BFFs, and it sort of made sense, Paul’s anti-government ri…

By Richard K. Barry CNN is reporting that GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul will no longer actively campaign for his party’s nomination.An announcement from Rep. Paul said the following:”Moving forward, we will no longer spend resources campaigning in …

By Michael J.W. StickingsCNN:Sen. Rand Paul on Friday brushed off Barack Obama’s recent reversal on same-sex marriage by saying he didn’t think the president’s views “could get any gayer.”The remarks from the Republican senator from Kentucky scored l…