Pot Pourri

Jesse:
I haven't done anything in a while, and I'm not feeling it today. But, I'll point you in some directions.

1) I'm beginning to lean towards pushing for IRV (instant run-off voting) as an improvement to our system. IRV would involve numbering candidates, rather than just selecting one, then eliminating the bottom choice until there's a winner. I recognize there's still the possibility for mathematically unlikely boondoggles, but I think they're far less than those in first-past-the-post. Read about how San Franciscan "elites" hate it here.

2) This (confusing to the eye) bit by Andrew Potter summed up perfectly by feelings on the Lisa Raitt apology; how long does it take to tell the truth? If you're super weepy and upset about what you said on tape on Tuesday, how is it possible that on Monday you stood up in the Commons and told everyone to go to hell?

3) I think Iggy stumbled a bit last week, but I think the overall effect (which I'm more and more convinced is all that matters, since it's all (if anything) that voters will take away) was good. He got PM Harper to offer some more accountability, he got the power to try to force an election early on in the fall session, and he got a commission which will hopefully help reform EI. Sure, for those of us who follow these things way too closely, he didn't get much more accountability, he has to rely on the Bloc and the NDP (the latter of which has been hinting at footsie with the Conservativies), and the Liberals have basically reversed themselves (360 hours and we need it right now! has become "let's chat about this until fall"), but I don't think that will resonate. Go talk to, say, your grandmother; did she know the Liberals were demanding a 360 hour standard (don't talk to mine, who probably does)? Does she care?