Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff is mad about the $50 billion deficit.  Finance Minister Jim Flaherty must resign, or so says Ignatieff. 

Like his patriotism, Michael Ignatieff's anger seems fake.  Former Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge said that the level of the deficit is appropriate under the circumstances.  And David Dodge had a secret meeting with Michael Ignatieff just last week, lending his wisdom to Michael Ignatieff on questions about the economy.

The Liberals (presumably) leaked the details of this meeting, but it wasn't reported that Michael Ignatieff gave David Dodge a hard time about what Dodge would have told Ignatieff was an appropriate level of deficit. 

Posted by: Steve Janke at 05:56 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff.  Tough guy.

Don't mess with him or he'll mess with you.

And how does the Hound of Harvard mess with you?  He'll send his lawyers out to snitch on you, hoping that someone will do his messing for him.

Yeah.  So there.  Consider yourself messed.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 05:55 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla has succeeded in signing up sufficient Liberal Party donors to secure her candidacy for the riding of Brampton-Springdale.

I bet the Liberal Party leadership is looking at all that money the will be coming in, and cursing their bad luck.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 06:14 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla seems to have dug her hole even deeper.  Facing allegations of mistreating illegally hired in-home caregivers, Ruby Dhalla is now alleged to have tricked an elderly woman seen as a leader of the Filipino community into signing a letter of support.

That woman is now forcefully withdrawing that support.

There is an important question that I haven't heard asked yet.  Who knew what Ruby Dhalla was doing?

Posted by: Steve Janke at 01:27 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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In the case of allegations of mistreatment by Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla of two live-in caregivers and one housekeeper, the two sides have been taking turns going after the credibility of the other.

The latest salvo comes from the lawyer for the two caregivers, Magdalene Gordo and Richelyn Tongson.  The focus seems to be on the paperwork that allowed them to be hired. 

Posted by: Steve Janke at 11:51 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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There, I said it.  I'm swimming against the tide here, I know, but after the steady drumbeat of criticism aimed at the attack ads rolled out by the Conservatives targeting Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff, I figured someone had to point out that the ads are not insulting or demeaning or bad.

They're brilliant, and they perfectly frame everything that is wrong about Michael Ignatieff, everything that the media seems all too happy to ignore.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 09:01 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Rabbi Mendel Kaplan takes issue with Garth Turner in particular, and the media in general, in depicting Prime Minister Stephen Harper as cold and arrogant.

For the sake of balance, I think it would be useful to consider Rabbi Kaplan's view, if just for a moment.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 07:39 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Can a politician just waltz into a community and expect people to ignore that this person is essentially a stranger when casting votes?

It's a complex question.  The key factor seem to be whether the person attempting to answer the question is a Liberal, and who the politician is. 

Hypocrisy abounds.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 09:03 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It seems so obvious.  With the allegations and counter-allegations swirling around Ruby Dhalla and the question of how three live-in caregivers were treated, the simplest way to cut through the confusion is to ask the current live-in caregiver how she is being treated.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 10:52 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff has flip-flopped...again...

I know, it's gone past predictable.  It's reached the point of inevitability.

What is this this time?  Well, apparently we misinterpreted his threat to have a June election as a threat to have a June election.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 08:53 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla is fighting allegations of mistreatment of three former live-in caregivers.  One of the questions is whether they were underpaid.

Both the testimony of the caregivers and the paperwork published in the media indicate that the correct wages were paid for a 40-hour work week.

The real issue is not the money, but the hours worked.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 03:44 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It was either a slip of a tongue or an inadvertently revealing statement based on knowledge that he has but we don't, but either way, Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff needs to answer a very simple question.

Why did he say Ruby Dhalla employed the live-in caregivers that have alleged mistreatment, and that Ruby Dhalla denies ever hiring?

Posted by: Steve Janke at 11:01 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff is asked a simple question.  Does he support his fellow MP, Liberal Ruby Dhalla, who is facing allegations of mistreating nannies employed by her family?

Michael Ignatieff gives a firm yes.  And then says no.   And then a maybe.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 08:40 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The bizarre Single Transferable Vote system has been rejected decisively by voters in British Columbia.  That's great news.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 06:12 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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To accuse someone of being a liar is not a step lightly taken.  But Michael Ignatieff's irreconcilable statements concerning what he said of the coalition and what he thought of the coalition leave little wriggle room.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 10:36 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla is the victim of a shadowy conspiracy to sully her good name and ultimately destroy her political career.

The obvious question: Who is behind the conspiracy?

The real question: Who is behind the conspiracy theory?

Posted by: Steve Janke at 08:51 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The Toronto Star published several original documents related to the Ruby Dhalla nanny affair.  I decided to walk thorugh the handwritten samples.  Nothing too surprising, but I figured I would published what I found out in case someone else sees something I don't.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 10:16 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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CityTV News is reporting that Ruby Dhalla is going to give a news conference today.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 01:13 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla is having a lousy day.  Two former live-in caregivers have accused Ruby Dhalla of mistreatment.  They both maintain that Ruby Dhalla was involved in how they were treated, while part of Ruby Dhalla's defence has been that she spent much of her time in Ottawa, and that her bother Neil Dhalla managed the help.

A third foreign worker has come forward, and again, the finger is pointed directly at Ruby Dhalla, alleging that Ruby personally was involved in this sordid affair.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 03:28 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla is in big trouble.  Allegations of mistreatment of illegally hired live-in caregivers in her home have forced her to resign her post as Youth and Multiculturalism Critic, and has two Ontario cabinet ministers under fire.

In an attempt to get ahead of this, Ruby Dhalla wants the ethics commissioner to investigate the matter.  She hopes the ethics commissioner, Mary Dawson, will clear her name.

There's a fair chance that would happen, because the ethics commissioner's job is to deal with conflicts of interest.  There was no conflict of interest here.  So don't be fooled.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 11:02 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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