Well, right now it seems as though just about everyone is smarter than Stephen Harper. It’s a good reminder that being “smart” depends not just on raw IQ but also on other factors such as sensitivity to others. Mr. Harper may have a decent IQ, but he still made a boneheaded decision because, as usual, he didn’t really care what anyone else thought. Unfortunately it’s not just him who has to pay the price for his arrogance — we all do.

Congrats on choosing “Brouhaha” to describe the current situation. It is unprecedented but it is *not* a crisis. Let’s everybody stay cool. Brouhaha provides the necessary ironic distance a responsible citizen should maintain in their thought and discussion.

There’s a (probably NDP sponsored since that’s whereI got the link from) petition to support the proposed coaltion at http://www.62percentmajority.ca/

I got the bit about corporate donations wrong. I also decided to make explicit what was in kmjy head as I was writing the article: that the Conservatives have been doing the necessary legwork in their fundraising activities, while other parties, notably the Liberals, haven’t been so hot at it. I’m reminded of the difference between the Republicans’ and Democrats’ online grassroots efforts during the 2004 American elections, which are noted in a blog entry of mine from the Internet+Society conference at Harvard in 2004.

Thanks for the heads-up!

In any case, Harper has lost the confidence of the House and is screwed unless he can prorogue Parliament — just weeks after the Throne Speech and without actually accomplishing anything as a government.

• Corporate donations are banned by C-24; the CPC does not live off even in part on “corporate donations”
• Other political parties – which we’re often reminded comprise 60% of the vote in total – can and have lived of private donations as C-24 is only legislation that is 6 years old; it’s just a matter of their supporters getting of their collective asses and tossing in 10 or 20 bucks (or a 100 or 200). Given that their supporters tend to be urban and above the median income line, this is hardly asking for a lot.

That all said, you used the same word I was using yesterday: Harper was being a dick and is now going to pay the price with his head.

Nice job.