I hope Margaret Atwood is taking notes, because I think we’re about to enter The Handmaid’s Tale, part Two—The Empire Strikes Back. Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline , is seeking access to the medical records of late-term abortion patients, with the apparent motive of prosecuting child rapists. Okay, so he’s a pro-life Republican and, sure, […] More »

No, not Motley Crue (though they are coming to Montreal in a few weeks). Warren Kinsella. (Yah, I know, he said he liked the book I half-wrote so it’s sucksucksuck from Potter.) Here’s Warren explaining Stephen Harper’s job to him Here’s my schedule from my days in the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, […] More »

So the National Post reports today that Boston’s FleetCentre arena, home of the Celtics and the Bruins, has auctioned off 13 days of naming rights — each for a single day. Golden Palace.com, a Toronto-based internet gaming site, paid US$35,000 for the first day, and subsequent days have fetched US$2,500 to US$5,000. Owners of the […] More »

Jason Sherman’s night of political theatre is returning to Toronto’s Factory Theatre on Feb. 28 at 8 p.m. The fall show (see story in This Magazine) sold out in 10 minutes. www.thewreckingball.ca More »

What do we need to know about the federal budget on a snowy midweek morning? A) It was delivered; #2) the Conservatives are still (astutely) afraid of an election, so they’ll support it and the government will survive. Enough said. Time to turn the dial away from CBC radio’s endless yammering and enjoy some classic […] More »

All kinds of fun stuff in the papers today, though the Post is more fun than the Globe. The Post even has a budget ditty, set to the tune of The Gambler. Of course, if you want actual analysis, the Globe has an excellent insert that has helpful graphs tracking revenues and spending, debt and […] More »

I can’t believe you guys are spending your time talking about trivial things like Iraq and missile defence when America is in the throws of a huge crisis/scandal. Yes, someone hacked into attention-seeking “socialite” Paris Hilton’s TMobile Sidekick and posted her private messages, photos and famous pals’ phone numbers on the internet. Ashlee Simpson, Eminem, […] More »

When the US was putting together its Coalition of the Willing to invade Iraq, many countries declined to send their military, but offered their full political support. Unique among nations, Canada sent the military, but declined to offer political support. The main reason for this upside-down policy was, of course, Quebec. Jean Charest was in […] More »

She is proposing a Canada/USA women’s hockey tournament to decide the winner of the 2005 Stanley Cup. Gary Bettman does an income analysis on such a scheme, sees the potential for a huge good-will dividend and broadcasting profits for the NHL, so decides against it. More »

We don’t need commissions of inquiry: they don’t change anything. The best tool for democratic change is a good, old-fashioned general election. Always has been, always will be. That’s from WK’s blog today. I completely agree. Which is why the top of today’s Globe and Mail freaks me out: PM gets pre-budget poll boost 47% […] More »

“I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone, but they’ve always worked for me.” New York Times obit (requires registration) Read Thompson’s final column for ESPN.com’s Page 2. More »