1 ROBOTS TARGET TORY NON-VOTERS There’s evidence that some robocalls were made to voters who had identified as non-Conservative. This suggests a link between Conservative party voter databases and calls that may have been part of a campaign to suppress voting. There needs to be a a full public investigation into this, even (tossing a bone to Brian Mouland here) if it exonerates the Conservatives. This is too important to not clear up.
2 JETS, WAR, MEDIA AND CLOONEY The Canadian Forces multi-billion dollar F-35 purchase remains in doubt, the U.S. soldier who murdered 16 villagers in Afghanistan apparently saw his friend’s leg blown off the day before, oh look, there has been a three-billion dollar media purchase, and George Clooney has been arrested — and NOT for being “too damn handsome, either.
3 WAIT AND SEE Regina police aren’t looking for an adult services bylaw like the one Saskatoon is bringing in. Yet.
4 SHADOWY CONSERVATIVE OVERLORDS SCHEMING FOR SANTORUM? Politico has an interesting-looking zillion-word feature on the U.S. Council for National Policy, which might be looking at backing Rick Santorum. I think Romney’s a guaranteed loser in next year’s presidential election so the U.S. rich, white right might as well back the psycho religious fanatic who at least has a shred of (crazystyle) integrity, I suppose.
5 A HELPING HAND Over in Manitober, the University of Winnipeg is launching a provincially-funded program to pay the tuition of some students who grew up in foster homes. The move’s getting blasted as a publicity stunt and maybe there’s an element of that, but still, it’s great to read a headline about an institution attempting something constructive in our dull era of “we must cut everything back”.
6 WIN AT ALL COSTS Rick “pray for rain”, “oops” Perry’s jihad against Planned Parenthood results in Texas losing $35 million in federal cash for breast examinations, contraceptives and other women’s health procedures. In other War On Women news, I missed this earlier this week — I yam teh sick! — but Ariziona is looking at an unlikely-to-get-passed bill that would let employers fire women for taking birth control pills. Because, seriously, that’s a threat to liberty:
Yesterday, a Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed Republican Debbie Lesko’s HB2625 by a vote of 6-2, which would allow an employer to request proof that a woman using insurance to buy birth control was being prescribed the birth control for reasons other than not wanting to get pregnant. It’s all about freedom, she said, echoing everyone who thinks there’s nothing ironic about claiming that a country that’s “free” allows people’s bosses to dictate what medical care is available to them through insurance. First amendment. The constitution. Rights of religious people to practice the treasured tenets of their faiths, the tenets that dictate that religious people get to tell everyone who is not of faith how they’re supposed to live, and the freedom to have that faith enforced by law. Freedom®.
Further, Lesko states, with a straight face, that this bill is necessary because “we live in America; we don’t live in the Soviet Union.”
Yikes!
BLAST OFF! The U.S. space agency NASA released this amazing video of a shuttle launch. The best part is the sound. Check it out and/or read more here.