THIS IS FUCKING AWESOME!

[the_siobhan]

Stolen from divine

I just wrote an email to the Governor General. I tried not to use too many exclamation marks.

Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome!

Comments

[panic-girl.livejournal.com]

One more awesome from me.

P.S. The Facebook statuses from my Alberta people are very amusing, as you can well imagine.

[inulro.livejournal.com]

Heh. I'm guessing fewer exclamation points.

[ravensee.livejournal.com]

One more from me.

Change, it's what's for breakfast.

[canticle.livejournal.com]

I put up with it every day at work. You'd think there was a military putsch taking place. There are actaully people advocating violent overthrow of any coalition should it occur to 'protect democracy'. Anyone in this Province advocating it is pretty much asking to be beaten up.

I tend to just ask people how 37% became a majority in a democracy to shut them up.

[panic-girl.livejournal.com]

There's no rally planned in Calgary. 'Nuff said.

[griffen.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'm a dunce... what does this mean?

[erik]

I'm not Canadian, but I think it means a new election.

[panic-girl.livejournal.com]

Nope.
There's a good rundown here (http://spacing.ca/wire/2008/12/02/tuesdays-headlines-72/) under the "Federal Coalition" heading. :)

[panic-girl.livejournal.com]

Or Sio will be able to explain it. Heh. :)

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

The exact opposite - the parties that came in second, third and forth in the election in October will form a clear majority under the coalition so it will eliminate the need for another election.

[erik]

Ah! That is awesome!

[redbird]

Awesome, and with little precedent. Harper keeps trying to play chicken, and has just discovered what happens when the other players don't blink.

[tide-and-time.livejournal.com]

Unless of course the Vice Regent refuses to dissolve the Government and allow this in which case Stephen Harper can then have her dissolve the Government and declare an Election.

Considering that the last time this occured in 1926 the Vice-Regent aka Governor General of that era refused the opposition parties request it is very likely the current one will do so as well.

[(Anonymous)]

I think it will depend on how much popular support the coalition can muster. I think she's unlikely to veto if the public can convince her that we want it.

[hirez.livejournal.com]

Your quiet neighbours from the far north are going to load up on Tim Horton's and Molson, then drive south and torch the Whitehouse. Again.

Run while you still can.



(Probably)

[channonyarrow.livejournal.com]

Better do it quick - I don't think you want to cross Rahm Emanuel. *g*

Seriously, though, as I understand this, that's awesome!

Now if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go get lost in fantasies of what it might mean if Canada and the US aren't being led by complete cocktards. It's...it's an amazing thing. I think there are butterflies and puppies.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Our election in October resulted in a reinstatement of a minority government led by the Conservatives. They got less than half the votes, but more than anybody else.

This time round the other three major parties are offering to put aside their differences and form a majority government under the Liberal leader (whose party came in second) The Governor General of Canada, who is basically the Queen's rep, gets to say nay or yea. I just wrote to her to say OMGYES CAN HAZ GOVERNMENT THAT ISN'T THE DEVIL NOW PLZ!

I'm particularly thrilled by this because the Prime Minister of the coalition government is a major environmentalist and the Conservative leader is pro-global warming.

[inulro.livejournal.com]

and the Green Party are backing the coalition!

(I have gone away and done my reading and OMG HOLY CRAP!!!! I remember the Joe Clark minority gov't falling, but that's nowhere near as cool as the hostile takeover method.)

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Good for them!

[(Anonymous)]

I'm thrilled at this, however there are a lot of people who are taking this as an attack against democracy. They feel they voted for the conservatives who got elected, and they feel it's being taken away from them I can sympathize to a degree. Still, I feel all the power in government shouldn't belong exclusively to one party anyway. Besides, how can this current gov. represent all it's citizens who didn't vote for them. It's nice to see people actually DOING something!

Jenn

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Then they are stupid.

60% of people voted against the Conservatives. This coalition represents 60% of voters who chose another party. It's a more democratic arrangement than having the country ruled by a party who received the biggest minority of votes.

[sloot.livejournal.com]

On Tuesday Oct 14, before going to bed, a lot of people felt that democracy had not done it's part in installing Harper as PM.

The people who were sad on Oct 14 are happy now, and the people who were happy on Oct 14 are sad now.

There's slightly more of us than them though ...

[inulro.livejournal.com]

I had no idea that was coming. That's what neglecting my Canadian news media gets me.

[50-ft-queenie.livejournal.com]

Excellent! I would grin if I wasn't all numbed up by Novocaine.

[girfan.livejournal.com]

Looking at the photo with my glasses on meant that I read the first person was Celine Dion. Doh!

Good news? I'm afraid my Canadian government knowledge isn't up to par.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Very good news.

The latest stunt pulled by the Conservative party - taping private meetings being held by the NDP and releasing the tapes to the media.

Only it backfired on them because most of the content of the tapes was the NDP party members discussing what options would be best for Canada. And surprisingly the public takes a dim view of wire-tapping your opponents, who knew?

[sloot.livejournal.com]

I know, that was hillarious.
SH: Look what we secretly recorded them saying!
public: you secretly recorded them?
SH: yeah, yeah, whatever, look what they said!
public: you fucking secretly recorded them!
SH: no, you don't understand, they're bad
public: you're evil!

[elixxir.livejournal.com]

It isn't dated. I know it's really anal of me but how can you say you respectfully request anything 'today' without dating it?

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Good thing I have done my civic duty by posting the image where it is effectively time-stamped.

[panic-girl.livejournal.com]

Ha! I love your brain.

[http://users.livejournal.com/cincinnatus_c_/]

I thought that too. I also thought that this looks like it might be the last page of a longer letter. It is, after all, a bit abrupt--such as to make its "respectfully" look disingenuous, if there isn't any more to it.

[elixxir.livejournal.com]

Yeah, not to rain on anyone's parade but I find it difficult to imagine official government correspondence being that sloppy. My first thought way to question whether it was real. I'm a real ray of sunshine like that.

[panic-girl.livejournal.com]

I thought that too. I did see it up on the CBC site, so I know someone on LJ didn't just slap it together in Photoshop. But as to how legitimate it is, I have no idea. Still, it looks NEAT. :P

[50-ft-queenie.livejournal.com]

I've seen it on other major news outlets too, including the Globe and Mail, so I think it's fairly legit. I do keep thinking it looks like the final page of a longer document and I've been trying without success to find out.

[http://users.livejournal.com/cincinnatus_c_/]

Personally, I'd rather have an election, and keep having elections if need be. I understand how unpopular elections are these days, though, so I guess having elections is undemocratic. ;P

I'm uneasy about what changing governments like this will do to the country. I don't mean what the coalition itself will do; sure, I'd rather have a Liberal-NDP(-Bloc) coalition than a Conservative government, all other things being equal (although obviously there is a good chance that the coalition would be a farce, which would heighten the probability of a Conservative majority in the next election, though there would be a good chance it would not be led by Harper. It might also be the push that the NDP needs to finally overtake the Liberals, which I think might be a mixed blessing at best.) I mean that the West wanted in, the West got in, and now the East is conspiring to kick the West out again. I suspect the Western Block Party is going to become a lot more popular. I can't imagine it ever leading to (some part of) the West actually separating, but living indefinitely with Western resentment can't be good for the country.

I wonder if (and hope that) one result of all this might be to make some left-leaning Quebecois nationalists, including Duceppe, think that maybe it might be time for the Bloc to get the hell out of the way. Duceppe has obviously come around to the view that the Conservatives have outlived their de-centralizing usefulness, and since sovereignty is really no longer on the table, the best way to serve Quebec's interests (not to mention the generally leftish politics of most sovereigntists) would be the old-fashioned way, through the Liberal party--or, even better, through a new Liberal-NDP formation....

[kudzu.livejournal.com]

Hahaha!

[kylmak.livejournal.com]

Definitely the best news of the year. The General Governor is on her way back to Canada as we speak.

All in all, if this comes to pass (which I'm very hopeful it will, as no one wants another election so close after the one we just had), North America will again become a beacon of democracy and freedom, with the coalition here in Canada and Obama soon to take office in the US.

[panic-girl.livejournal.com]

There's a rally.
http://makeparliamentwork.ca/

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

I AM EXCITED ABOUT POLITICS!

RAWK ME AMADEUS!

[panic-girl.livejournal.com]

HA HA! Yeah! This is a bizarre feeling. ;)

[ravensee.livejournal.com]

I am always proud to be Canadian. Today, extra so.:)

It's time for the Log Driver's Waltz

[kambriel.livejournal.com]

Wow, what a year this has been so far, politically! It's about time :)

[excess-and-oohs.livejournal.com]

the graphic designer in me says that is terribly photoshopped. i have no idea what it's about, but it looks fake to me.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

What makes you say that? The original image is from the CBC, they aren't in the habit of using photoshopped images.

only took 4 minutes to do

[excess-and-oohs.livejournal.com]