Too much of a centrist

After all the pleasantries and violent
agreement that has thus far marked the NDP leadership, Brian Topp has duly criticized Thomas Mulcair for being too much of a centrist, which he says will
alienate Quebec. Meanwhile, there is more praise for Nathan Cullen’s “joint
nomination” proposal despite the fact that it’s been thoroughly debunked.

Despite handing over healthcare funding to
the provinces without conditions, Leona Aglukkaq says that the federal
government still has a role to play with measurement, accountability and

sharing best practices. Which would be totally believable if they’d actually
done anything about any of those things in the past six years. What did they
spend their time and energy on? Things like even stricter car-seat regulations for infants, because it really is all about getting the votes of suburban
mothers.

Building new vehicle barricades
on Parliament Hill will cost millions. Let’s everyone get hysterical about the
dollar figure without any context to compare it to!

Some pollsters are calling for stricter
regulations for their industry in Canada in the wake of some of the
reprehensible practices of political dirt-baggery engaged in by some “polling”
companies.

The Canadian Forces needs new specially designed underwear for chemical warfare training. Seriously.

Portia Simpson-Miller was elected prime minister in Jamaica, and she’s actually challenging her country’s homophobia to
some degree.

And the governor general takes us through
his Christmas with the troops in Italy and Afghanistan.