Sorry this is late, a shiny new design computer arrived in the office and I was distracted by the excitement. Which was MASSIVE. Wheeee!

1 ONE LAST PARTY BEFORE THE ELECTION The Saskatchewan Party held its annual convention this weekend and Brad Wall, Canada’s most popular premier,  trash-talked the NDP as is demanded by tradition. Fair enough, though I didn’t care for his revisionist Gormleyesque Left Out-style comments (played on CBC radio this morning) blaming the NDP for Saskatchewan’s past woes like outmigration and recession. Wall ought to thank the NDP for building Saskatchewan into the booming ATM machine he enjoys being the premier of, and I have little doubt he knows this. Also, calling rent control — which the NDP has proposed — “crazy” is crazy when Regina rents increased 6.3 last year and 10.2 per cent between October 2008 and October 2009. When the average monthly price of a two-bedroom rental is $881.00 while minimum wages are frozen, we’ve got a problem. I recognize that rent control is not the catch-all public policy solution to the housing crisis but it’s an important part of managing the crisis. And it is a crisis out there. I rant.

2 OH AND ALSO The politicians are back in the Legislature today for the final session before the fall election.

3 SO, UH, I THINK WINNIPEG MIGHT BE GETTING AN NHL TEAM AGAIN Seriously. No, really. For truly serious. Although a sale won’t happen overnight. Good thing Regina has the world’s funnest alt paper to work at or I might have to plan an escape.

4 THE POLITICS OF FUNDING ARENAS ARE A NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE, APPARENTLY Speaking of sports stuff, the Conservatives censor the hell out of a document that details discussions over a Quebec arena.

5 CANADIAN TROOPS BRAIN’S HURT Our forces in Afghanistan have three times the rate of traumatic brain injury (TBI) of American soldiers.

6 THE YMCA SAYS THE ECONOMY WILL BE HURT UNLESS WE GET A NATIONAL CHILDCARE PLAN What a bunch of socialists, those  YMCA people. Also — tangent warning — is anyone else tired of the way we worship the economy like it’s God? We worry about what it will do, we try to appease it, our leaders invoke its wrath to frighten us. I’m sick of this, and I’m an atheist.

PICKING UP WHERE I LEFT OFF FRIDAY These Star Wars re-edits are great! I can’t stop posting them!