So... Who are You Voting Against?

It strikes me that more than in any election before, voters are faced with choosing the best of a bad lot.
When it comes down to it, most of us will vote against somebody rather than vote for somebody, a rather cynical act in what should be celebrated as the most important element in our democratic process.

Of those of us who will be voting PQ, Libeal or CAQ, exactly how many of us have faith in the leader we are voting for?

Do federalists really want Jean Charest back as leader if they had their druthers?
Do sovereigntists really want it to be Pauline Marois leading them towards the promised land?
And who the heck knows what exactly François Legault really is?

So for many Anglos it's hold your nose and vote Liberal or take a shot with the CAQ.
That being said, simple demographics indicate most Anglo ridings will remain Liberal, with the rest of the province a two or three way fight.

The CAQ remains of course the wild card, its twenty percent support more important than one would expect, with a disproportionate base in Quebec City and up the Gaspe peninsula.
With Quebec Solidaire ripping support from the PQ, it's anyone's game to win or lose.

I wondered how long it would take one of the politicians to tell a whopper and of course it took less than an hour after the call of the election. Here it is;

Perhaps she will next seek an endorsement from the Editor of this blog or perhaps even bring in  Howard Galganov as an adviser, in a good will attempt to prove her inclusiveness!

WOMAN!!!! HAVE YOU NO SHAME!

Now for something I didn't expect.
This from the controversial Dr. Gaétan Barrette, the head of the Quebec Specialists Association. He's decided to run as a member of the CAQ, with an eye to becoming the Health Minister.

Is somebody telling the truth, or is it just another ploy?

And so Anglos for one month every four years seem to be treated as equals.
Mr. Charest is promising a new road in Anglo western Montreal. How generous.
Not even flowers?  Boy are we a cheap date!

Looks and feels remarkably like a booty call.

I expect  Mr Barrette will be just about the only candidate addressing French/Anglo from a sympathetic view of us.
We're certainly not gong to get anything of the sort from the anglo sheep in the Liberal party.

And so it seems Anglos for one month every four years at least, are treated with a modicum of respect.

Readers I'm not going to bore you with predictions, it's anyone's game to win or lose.
The likeliest scenario is that we'll end up with a PQ or Liberal minority, but there's no guarantee the Liberals or the PQ can't pull off a miracle.

Remember one thing, Charest has a big advantage because he is so much the better campaigner than his opponents.
When it comes to blowing smoke...well he is unparalleled! 

I promise not to bore you readers with idle chitchat during this campaign, truthfully I'm already bored and impatient for it to be over.

What will be will be.

Later on, I'm going to publish a list of those candidates whom I wish to see elected, from all political parties, people who actually try to remain as ethical as possible.

One last note.
There are some backroom rumours about Pierre Paradis, the sitting Liberal from  Brome-Missisquoi and whether he'll return under the Liberal banner.

Charest and Paradis hate each other with a passion and he's been kept out of the cabinet for this reason. He'll also remain a back bencher as long as Charest rules.
He might take his seat over to the CAQ or bide his time, waiting to take over the party in the event of a Liberal election debacle.....to be continued.

Don't look at the polls, they mean nothing. The Quebec electorate is volatile and can shift positions over a few days.

If I was an organizer again, I 'd start renting buses and planning to drive every committed voter to the polling station followed by a beer or a pizza party.

Yup, getting out the committed vote is what is going to make the difference in many a riding.
There's an old rule in organizing...
"It's ten times easier to drive a committed voter to the booth, than to convince an uncommitted voter to choose your candidate"

Preach to the converted and drive them to vote. That's all it takes. Anything else is a waste of a candidate's time.

A BRIEF NOTE ABOUT COMMENTS

SO OUR GREAT EXPERIMENT WITH JUST ALLOWING FOLLOWERS TO COMMENT FAILED, AS MANY WERE STILL BLOCKED.

TOO BAD.

I'VE OPENED UP THE COMMENTS BACK THE WAY THEY WERE BEFORE,  EXCEPT:

NOBODY CAN POST USING THE "ANONYMOUS" SCREEN NAME. 

(For the first few days I'll send reminders.)

YOU MAY USE JUST ONE SCREEN NAME, SO PLEASE DON'T FOOL AROUND BY PROVIDING VARIATIONS. (For the first few days I'll send reminders)

(This is of particular importance to OQLF/S.R./Anon who must choose one screen name alone. And yes I know your style.. ONE NAME! that's it)

YOUR SCREEN NAME CANNOT BE THAT OF ANOTHER PERSON'S NAME, DEAD OR ALIVE, OR SOMETHING CLOSE, IT CANNOT BE AT ALL CONFUSING, OR ATTEMPT TO CONVEY A FALSE FLAG.

BE CREATIVE.

ONE LINERS AND CRACKS BETTER BE FUNNY OR INTERESTING, OR THEY WON'T BE PUBLISHED.

CALLING SOMEONE STUPID, RACIST OR OTHERWISE INSULTING WITHOUT MORE TO THE STORY, WON'T BE PUBLISHED.

PLEASE, NO TEDIOUS QUOTES FROM SEPARTIST PERSONALITIES, TAKE IT TO VIGILE.NET.

READERS ARE ALLOWED TO POST IN FRENCH AS A COURTESY, BUT REMEMBER, THIS BLOG IS ABOUT THE ENGLISH EXPERIENCE IN QUEBEC. 
IF YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEBATE, EVEN IF IT GOES AGAINST GENERAL OPINIONS, YOU ARE WELCOME.

IF YOU ARE COMING TO DISRUPT OUR BLOG BY TROLLING, CONSIDER OTHER AVENUES TO VENT YOUR FRUSTRATIONS.

SERIAL ABUSERS WILL HAVE THEIR COMMENTS REMOVED WITHOUT EVIDENCE THAT THEY WERE EVER SENT.

PLEASE REREAD THE POSTS BEFORE SENDING THEM IN. 

REMEMBER.... THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE READ YOUR COMMENTS EACH DAY!


Remember readers, the theme of this piece is whether you are voting for a party or a leader, or are you voting against a party or a leader?

I'd like to hear your opinions on that question or a general critique of the three leaders, their strengths, weaknesses and suitability for premiership.

And by the way, tell the truth, if you are planning not to vote!

Olympic Team a Tribute to Bilingualism and Respect

I cannot explain how much I loathe the thoroughly detestable bee-atch, that is Pauline Marois.

Over the years I've learned to despise her and her opportunistic husband, a two-bit promoter who made millions on the back of Quebec taxpayers whilst Pauline was sitting as a cabinet minister in a PQ government.
Alas I'm sure there's no connection to her position and him scoring a dream job running a government agency....ahem...

After running up almost 750 million dollars in deficits at the Société générale de financement (SGF) the government investment agency he was running, he was finally dumped asked to resign, but not before negotiating a sweetheart deal.

Incidentally, during his disastrous tenure at the SGF, it was typical for the Board of Directors to vote themselves up to a 50% bonus on their base salaries, all the while the corporation was posting losses amounting to hundreds of millions!

When he was finally pushed out the door, the loathsome Claude Blanchet cashed in a golden parachute that would make a Concordia rector blush in shame. It included close to $300,000 in severance and wait for it..... an $80,000 pension for life!
This after just a few short years of disastrous leadership.

"Blanchet settlement is way out of line ---  JOSEE LEGAULT
The Montréal Gazette Friday, May 30, 2003

..." The fact is that after days of discussions with the new government regarding the conditions of his departure that he had negotiated with the previous Parti Québécois government, the 56-year-old Blanchet left a very, very happy man. The night before Landry spoke out, Blanchet gave an interview to TQS. He was wearing a huge smile and said that he had no worries whatsoever about his future. And here's why.

Blanchet will be receiving one full year of salary: $257,500, plus an $18,000 bonus and an annual lifelong pension of $80,000 - that's $33,000 more a year than the previous government had agreed to. In exchange for this increase, he forewent $234,000 that combined his three-month notice and another generous bonus that went with the cancellation of his contract." 

Read the sordid details here (in French) or a previous post of mine, but prepared to be ill.
 
So when the sanctimonious Marois complains about government overpaying public servants or that Jean Charest was dishonest in accepting a supplemental salary from the Quebec Liberal Party, it's a bit hard to swallow the hypocrisy. She reminds me of that disgraced City of Montreal politician Benoit Labonté, who ran on a policy of sweeping corruption out of City Hall, only to be outed as a liar who accepted over $100,000 in under the table contributions from the infamous Tony Accurso. Link{Fr}

Marois is a your typical rich bitch, a cynical manipulator, who has not an ounce of respect for the hoi-polloi.
I remember her offering a televised guided tour of the rather modest country shack she bought in Charlevoix (from where she is elected) to support the fiction that she and her hubby are just common folk.

What a lie!
At the time, her real home was a Jed Clampett type mansion in Laval, acquired on government land through dubious shenanigans.
Check out the pictures of where she really lived.
What a two-faced manipulator!

So pardon me for my cynicism, when it comes to giving lessons to Jean Charest about honesty or anyone else for that matter, Marois has the moral authority of a televangelist à la Jim Baker.

At any rate, all this comes around to the fact that I never thought I could think less of this nasty hypocritical political opportunist until last week when she went out of her way to wish Quebec Olympic athletes good luck, while pointedly ignoring Canadians and even francophones from outside Quebec.

An ugly display of narrow-minded exclusionism and small-mindedness, which I expect, represents the basis of her personal political philosophy.

Perhaps it is easier to understand her enmity towards the Canadian Olympic team, when one puts into context the machinations of the separatist mind.

A right thinking analyst might imagine that separatists like Marois would maintain an elevated level of hate towards what they perceive as Anglophone rednecks, Quebec bashers and the Conservatives and Harper supporters that treat Quebec and the French language with what they characterize as disdain and disrespect.
But you'd be wrong.

Truth be told, these foils serve her purpose rather neatly, they are enemies that she and other separatists can rail against, giving rise to public dis-satisfaction with Canada and fomenting support for the sovereigntist cause.

It's been the hallmark of the sovereigntist movement to build whatever momentum they have, based on the 'unfair' and 'disrespectful' treatment of Quebec and francophones at the hands of the evil federalists in the ROC.
Pissing, moaning and wallowing in eternal collective self-pity of the put-upon victim is the most essential element in the sovereigntist tool kit. They've refined the drama for over forty years and anything that offers proof to the contrary, represents a dangerous threat to the narrative.

And so, it is perhaps easy to understand that Canada's Olympic team is everything that Pauline Marois and her political clan fear about Canada.

Canada's Olympic team is without a doubt, a paragon of righteousness, a team dedicated to the proposition of bilingualism and inclusion.

If bilingualism and biculturalism has largely failed across Canada, it hasn't failed on the Canadian Olympic team, which not only talks the talk, but walks the walk.

The Canadian Olympic Association has done an admirable job in making sure that all Canadian elements, especially Quebecers and francophones feel at home, respected and valued. The leadership of the organization is carefully crafted to include francophones and respect for the French language is a cornerstone of its credo.
Although athletes are chosen to the team based on merit alone, administrative and leadership roles are carefully balanced to reflect the Canadian realty.

It is this very scenario that scares the crap out of separatists like Marois.

For them, watching Quebec francophones proudly compete under the auspices of the red maple leaf, is as the old Ayatollah Khomeini said, "like drinking a cup of poison"

In fact, francophone Olympic athletes are the antithesis of separatists, they embrace excellence, personal responsibility, hard work, have a world view and understand the importance of learning and expressing themselves in English.
For Olympic athletes, who may be just about the most motivated people in the world, learning another language isn't a challenge, just another small hurdle to overcome.

Even Anglophone athletes, many who train in Montreal, make it their business to learn French, people like Clara Hughes and Jenifer Heil, even made Quebc their homes, unafraid of embracing a new culture and language.

Canada's first medalists, the beautifully bilingual Jenifer Abel and Émilie Heymans are typical of those francophones on the Olympic team who understood the importance of learning English.
Gushing in both English and French interviews, they instantly became heroes to all Canadians.

DING DING DING! Do I hear the endorsement caravan beating a path to their door? 

For winners like these, learning English or French isn't a bother, impediment or barrier, it is a necessity and more to the point a mark of pride.

No, I don't imagine there are many separatists on Canada's Olympic team, the athletes are too busy being successful, travelling the world representing our country, to worry about the pettiness of metro ticket takers refusing to service clients in English.

When our athletes marched into the Olympic stadium in those instantly recognizable Canadian uniforms, it didn't matter to us if they were francophone, anglophone, black, white, native or ethnic, nor was their respective religion of any consequence.
It was the scarlet uniform, emblazoned with the word CANADA across the chest that bound the athletes together, and bound them to us, no matter where we live and where they come from in this country.

But for some, like Pauline Marois, the Olympics is a sad reminder of reality.
For her and her frustrated militants, watching Quebecers march proudly as equal and valued teammates in the Canadian family mosaic, is a difficult pill to swallow.

When Quebecers win medals they proudly stand before the world under the Canadian flag and when on occasion, the Canadian anthem plays, the whole vigile.net community bite their lips and cower in rage.

Oh what sweet fun!

French versus English Volume 59

Separatist Fever (LA FIÈVRE SOUVERAINISTE...)

by Daniel Castonguay
Translated by The Cat

Attention readers, this article was first published in French.

If you read French, the original webpage is here; AgoraQuebec 

This disease has been spreading around Quebec for 50 years. Although it is less active now, it still affects a considerable number of Quebecers.

Transmission mechanism
Nowadays, its transmission mechanisms are better understood. One of the mechanisms that is still quite prevalent is the contact made between teenagers and their highly-unionized teachers. It is believed that contamination occurs by spoken means, however written means have also been identified (Manual for sovereignty in school). Close contact with people who have been strongly affected may also result in transmission.

Symptoms
The first symptom is usually historical hallucination. The patient comes to feel victimized by constantly revisiting 250-year-old facts while neglecting more contemporary historical reality. Distortion gradually creeps in between historical reality and the beliefs of the patient. Here are some case histories: ''The Night of Long Knives'', ''Pierre Curzi vs. McCartney'' , ''Bourgeois/Falardeau vs. the Plains of Abraham''.
The second symptom that is most readily apparent is ethnic hostility, which results in a disproportionate distrust that is principally directed towards anglophones. It is believed that this second symptom results from the first one. The patient generally believes that English Canadians are hostile to us and that he is their victim. From time to time, the patient comes to think that anglophones need only to leave Quebec, as if their having been here for several generations did not grant them equal citizenship.
The third symptom is the obsession with language. The patient is possessed by an inordinate fear of seeing his language disappear even if objective indications indicate no danger whatsoever. It must be understood that the first symptom prevents the patient from having access to this reality. The combination of these first three symptoms may occasionally result in episodes of francobsession .
The last symptom is the quest for sovereignty, which he sees as the only solution to his symptoms. His other symptoms prevent him from seeing the adverse effects of this quest and its negative consequences.
This clinical portrait results in a patient who is unable to see the global rapprochement of countries and the gradual abolition of borders. He cannot conceive of close collaboration with English-Canadians, who, apart from language, share their concerns. His attachment to French occasionally deprives him of the openness needed to understand the world (see the following case history: Marois/English).

Prognosis
Most patients affected by the disease will eventually heal without requiring any treatment. Some patients may retain one or two symptoms but, unless encouraged by some external stress, may be regarded as cured. Some will unfortunately be affected their entire lifetimes. Certain well-known people unfortunately suffer from the chronic form of this condition. One can think of Bernard Landry, Gilles Vigneault, Gérald Larose, amongst others...

Treatment
Certain clinical approaches are worthwhile. For the first symptom, readings that confront the hallucinations may be useful. For the second symptom, travel in English Canada may bring about a reduction in hostility, as long as the patient's symptoms are not too intense. A patient who is overly affected by the disease should not use this approach since his own hostility could inconvenience English Canadians and help to inflame his own symptoms. As for the third symptom, a good knowledge of the English language lowers the level of anxiety in the patient and makes him realize that he will not disappear but rather will evolve. As for the fourth symptom, it quickly disappears once the other three diminish.

Epidemiology
Separatist Fever made a slow incursion into Quebec beginning in the early sixties and finally attained 40% of citizens by 1980. A large outbreak hit Quebec in 1995, where 49% of citizens were affected. Since then, the disease has consistently regressed. Experts agree that only 30% of those affected continue to suffer from the chronic form of the disease now.
Posted by Agora_Quebec at 18:14 - Daniel Castonguay -

A flag flap in a small Quebec village

Tim, a valued participant of this blog, sent me this email;

"Luc Lamond, the mayor of of Lac-des-Seize-Iles, Qc the small Laurentian community between Morin Heights and Weir, has taken it upon himself to fly the Quebec flag above the Canadian flag despite many complaints from the lake`s cottage dwelling residents. Even though a
solution has been suggested to him, he refuses to even listen to the voters. Members of the council have tried to sway him, but because they are in the minority, nothing gets done. The community has a
single flag pole which flew the Canadian flag above the provincial for many years until recently. The solution of purchasing another flag pole, so that each flag would have one of its own, has been continuously voted down. It seems as if the mayor has no respect for its residents, and continues to show his separatist agenda.

In a further email Tim wrote that after checking, apparently there is no protocol at all for the flying of flags on the same pole. Hmmm.

I certainly don't like what I see, it is disrespectful to both flags, really how cheap can a town be?
I don't think I'd be happy if the Canadian flag was placed above the Quebec flag, on the same pole.

Students lose court fight

"Court rejects bid to throw out parts of anti-protest law, Bill 78

MONTREAL – An attempt to quash certain articles of the provincial Liberal government’s anti-protest legislation was quickly rejected Monday by the Quebec Court of Appeal – even before the case can be heard in Quebec Superior Court – meaning Bill 78 will be in effect as university and CEGEP students head back to school next month. "

Read the rest of the story

Amir Khadir's sister is a plagiarist

"The sister of Amir Khadir has put L'actualité and  L'actualité médicale magazines in trouble by signing a column that was largely copied from a blog which had already appeared on the website of the Metro newspaper.

Contributor to the magazine L'actualité médicale, Dr. Saideh Khadir  published a text, a few weeks ago, which drew a parallel between the claims of those medical specialists and students. However, half of the 10 paragraphs of her column were actually plagiarized from a text written by Akos Verboczy, blogger for Metro since January 2011.

 Hilariously, when the kind doctor phoned the blogger to apologize, she told him that she didn't understand the journalistic rules about copying and would have 're-formulated' his work had she known it was wrong! Ha!Ha!
Read the rest of the story in french

Language Tests coming?

Many of you are way too young to remember the farcical situation back in 1976, when toddlers were given language tests to see if they were really English speaking and thus qualified for English schooling, back in the days of Bill-22. Read an old article about it
I wrote about this story last week, but here is expanded coverage;

"Quebecers will face a French comprehension test before being served in English at the provincial health insurance board, which recently switched its communication policy from bilingual to “en français” at its customer service centre.

The move by the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) to revise its communications to comply with Bill 101, the province’s French-first language policy, worries minority-rights advocates." Read the rest of the story

Student activist leader running for the PQ

"Leo Bureau-Blouin’s debut news conference as a Parti Quebecois candidate on Wednesday was dominated by what he wasn’t wearing: the red square that has come to define student defiance in the province.

The former student leader — who was omnipresent on TV during the tuition protests earlier this year — had to fend off questions about the absence of the red square, which symbolizes opposition to the government’s commitment to hiking the cost of education. " Read the rest of the story

For your information, he is running in a Liberal held riding and his candidacy is meant to send a message to students, to get out and vote.
Over two-thirds of Quebecers oppose the 'red square' and so there's not much hope of him winning.
There's a disparaging political word in French that describes his candidacy--"POTEAU" or pole, somebody who is nothing more than a campaign poster on a hydro pole, meant to show the flag in a hopeless riding.

Are you going to watch the Olympics?

57 out of the 250 or 23% athletes representing Canada in London at the Olympics were born, reside or train in Montreal. That's quite an accomplishment! Link{Fr}

That being said, I don't seem to have much enthusiasm for the Olympic games in London.

Perhaps it's the summer heat or the fact that the Vancouver games are never going to be topped for Canadian pride, accomplishment and chauvinism.

Perhaps it's also the fact that this Aussie lass didn't make the cut to represent her country.
Too bad.....

Ah, c'mom, you watched the whole thing!!!

I'm off on a very small vacation and may or may not post Monday, but will definitely be back by Wednesday.

Have a great weekend!

Bonne fin de semaine a vous tous!!!

Does Premier Charest have a Horseshoe up his Keester

Every time one assumes that Jean Charest is on the ropes, he re-invents himself like Madonna and proves that his career can be salvaged and as Celine Dion would sing, go on and on and on, forever!

I'm not going to duck responsibility, I said a fall election was unlikely unless facts on the ground moved significantly and facts have moved significantly, but whether enough to trigger an election remains to be seen.

As things stand now, there will not be an election because things are too close to call, but clearly, momentum is shifting ever so slightly towards the Liberals and all that is required is a two three percentage jump to trigger an election call.

The latest polls indicate that while Charest isn't burning any popularity records, his Liberal party is running neck and neck with  his arch rival the Parti Quebecois, an astonishing feat considering the bashing he's taken over the last couple of years. It may speak more to the public's natural uncomfortableness with Marois herself and her divisive policies and talk of unattainable sovereignty that scare the bejesus out of mainstream Quebecers.

More interesting is the fact that Francois Legault's new party, the CAQ, perceived as the one-time savoir of the province, appears to be laying quite an egg after a fireball start last year, where all indications pointed that he'd become the next premier of Quebec.
But six months is a lifetime in politics and Mr. Legault's lack of charisma, his disjointed political platform and his inability to attract star candidates, has his party polling down in the twenty percent level, something that has come to aid Mr Charest's quest for another term. It seems that the CAQ has taken more support from the PQ than the Liberals.

And so this election is decidedly a case of choosing between the lesser of two evils.

While the PQ and the Liberals are running neck and neck, something that always worked to the PQ's favour because of the way the votes fell, where they won the lion's share of the seats, that situation has actually reversed itself.
The Liberals, pretty much in a statistical tie with the Parti Quebecois, are now projected to win more seats!

That is an amazing turn around!

For more detailed polling information, go to threehundredeight.com

Most of this support is courtesy of the Quebec Solidaire party which is stealing enough votes in certain ridings to allow the Liberal candidate to nose out the PQ candidate because of separatist vote splitting.
The 8% in popular support for the QS, is more significant than it seems, as their votes are bunched in key ridings. Unlike ridings in western Montreal where their support is insignificant, elsewhere, they poll up to 15% or 20%, all of which comes out of the PQ total.
By my calculations, this QS support will allow Liberal candidates to 'steal' up to nine ridings.

Remember when I told you that the Premier wouldn't call an election any time soon because he was in danger of losing his own riding of Sherbrooke?
Well, that too has turned around, again courtesy to a powerful showing by QS, which is polling at about 14% in that riding, all the votes coming directly out of the pocket of the PQ.
Mr. Charest now has a 5-8% lead in the riding.
It's like the Red Sea parting for Moses and the Israelites and who knows, perhaps Mr. Charest is benefiting from some sort of devine intervention.

The two QS candidates projected to win their seats are of course, none other than Amir Khadir and his co-president Francoise David, both will win their Montreal ridings comfortably.

Don't feel too bad, these ridings traditionally belonged to the PQ and the voting block that represents the QS will assure that the Liberals are in position to form a government, either majority, minority or leading a coalition government (my favorite choice.)

As for the talk of uniting separatist forces, there's nothing really in it for the Quebec Solidaire, the PQ is unlikely to give up any seats to accommodate them and there's nothing in it for the QS to withdraw candidates so that the PQ can win a majority, a case where the QS would become redundant.
Better for Khadir to face off with Charest and company than with Marois, which would be a disastrous situation as QS would have to stake out a position farther to the left of the PQ, or as they say in baseball, way out in left field.
Madame Marois could never offer any QS politico a place in her cabinet, in return for not running candidates, so for the QS there's really nothing to gain from cooperation, much to the hand-wringing of die-hard separatists who know that a uniting of all separatists forces is the only way to power.

And so it seems that the stars are aligning for the Liberals.

A big part of the decision to call an election depends on the students, who are promising to start up protests again this fall.

The public has soured on the whole student thing and the 'red square' has become a symbol of entitlement and radicalism. The number of wearers has dropped dramatically as abuse, some physical, is being directed at wearers. There are stories of 'red squares being denied access to bars and restaurants for 'political reasons' and recently Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, the most famous of the student leaders was told in no uncertain terms by the mayor of Trois Pistoles that he wasn't welcome to attend a city sponsored event. Link{Fr}

For the students, whether they realize it or not, the tide has turned, even the PQ know it. Thus the party has unceremoniously dumped the red square from its web site and Pauline removed the telltale sign from her attire weeks ago.
The controversial video that the Liberals put out of her banging pots was devastating, despite the brave face she put up. She looked the right fool, not someone you'd want for Premier.

I've added subtitles for your enjoyment.

They say a brave man can endure torture for many hours, but if the torturer stops and gives the victim a break, the anticipation of the next round of pain is enough to break even the strongest of characters.

After a summer of relative calm, if the students start their destructive tactics once again, whatever support they have will crumble. They are old news.

Another blocked bridge or classroom, a riot or two, and Charest can think about rearranging the furniture in his office, we'll have an election for sure.

Even if things remain the same, as described in the poll above with the seat count giving the Liberals a minority government, things can also work out well.

Instead of ruling from a minority, Charest can form a coalition government with the CAQ, with he as Premier and Legault as vice-Premier.
Let's face it the two parties aren't far apart politically and the stability will offer both parties something they desperately want....power.

Five years of a Charest/Legault coalition sounds like a better deal to me than a PQ government.

Ah, perchance to dream.....

Changes Coming to the Comment Section

I will be enforcing a new policy for the comments section which will eliminate anonymous posting and require a signup process for those who would like to  make a serious contribution to our discussions.

For most of you, this will come as no surprise, sadly the trolling has gotten out of hand.

I'm sorry that it has come to this, but much as I love writing my posts, moderating up to 200 comments a day, some of them nothing more than drive-by, one-line insults requires me to check in much too often.
I have a life as well, and weeding out a bunch of crappy and hurtful comments all day long, is not what I signed up for.

You will not be required to give up you anonymity, but will be required to become a member of this blog by becoming a FOLLOWER, which you can do by following instructions in the FOLLOWERS box in the right margin. It takes but a few minutes.

Starting next week, those who haven't signed up won't be allowed to comment.

I looked at different options, but in the end decide this is the simplest answer for now, it allows me to ban followers that don't stick to the rules.

I doubt if a troll would seriously go through the signup process over and over again, after being banned, just to say "Bang!" or "Pfff!"

The comments section remains an integral part of this blog and I am told over and over again, that much of the appeal of NoDogsOrAnglophones lies in the reader forum.

Last month we enjoyed over 55,000 pageviews with visitors from over 100 countries. 

People on both sides of the argument read what you and I write.

Those in the separatist movement keep a close eye on us and consider us a nasty thorn in the side. 

Notwithstanding what they say, they are extremely sensitive to what they conceive as negative publicity.

Twenty years after the Mordechai Richler interview on 60 Minutes, it still stings separatists like a bastard.

His casual mocking and insulting tone was  the ultimate humiliation. I still remember Louise Beadouin looking like the right fool.

Let's be inspired and concentrate on exposing the sad reality of the evil ethnocentrism of the French language militants/separatist movement.

If I, as well as you readers hammer at the truth, it will make a difference.

I ask you politely to make your comments count. Use your opportunity to be heard by so many readers, judiciously.

Many of you are doing so already and I'm very proud of the well-thought out missives offering up a wide body of opinion. Keep it up!

Here are the rules for commenting, most of them you are already familiar with.

• You must be a registered FOLLOWER to comment

• You may comment in English or French as in the past.

• You may only maintain one profile and so, commenting to your own post under an another identity is not allowed.

• You may not choose a screen name of any personality alive or dead. Be creative.

•  You may express varying degrees of rage and anger, but gratuitous personal insults and ad hominem attacks are not allowed.

• While rage and anger is allowed, racism, xenophobia, anglophobia, francophobia are not, but Quebec-basing and Canadian-bashing is part of the discussion.

• Try to avoid one-liners at all costs. Most are just tedious.

• Readers with  opposing views are encouraged to contribute to the discussion and should be offered respect if they make their arguments respectfully and cogently.  

• This is a blog about the Anglo and Ethnic condition in Quebec. For those against us, please don't bother with tiresome quotes from Pierre Falardeau  or Pierre Bourgault or other assorted separatist luminaries. Save the  "VIVE LE QUEBEC LIBRE!" quotes for vigile.net. We aren't interested and it won't be published.

• Spelling, syntax and grammar monitors are not permitted. If you see an error, grin and bear it. This is a blog of ideas and anyways it's hard to be perfect at 4AM or typing on those nasty little keyboards on smartphones. RESIST THE URGE!  The only exception is errors that fall in the main blog piece. If you come across an error, I WOULD appreciate a polite email so that I can make a correction.

Please help make this blog stronger by using this forum to make your point respectfully and articulately. 

In the end, the insult is forgotten or dismissed, but a good idea, comment, observation or opinion is something of value.

I look forward to your cooperation.

If you have any questions about signing up, or comments on this new policy please use the comment section.

THE EDITOR