Dear PM...

trapped by love

2009-07-03T09:55:00.001-04:00

no cars go on kawara

2009-06-30T07:43:00.001-04:00

twitter, finally

2009-06-26T10:45:00.002-04:00

Not sure exactly why (bored at work perhaps?) but I've gone and joined Twitter, for what it is worth.

twitter.com/dearpm

Réponse de Michael aux attaques personnelles des conservateurs

2009-06-02T23:52:00.001-04:00

gardien de but

2009-03-27T00:54:00.001-04:00

Un Premier ministre dont nous pouvons être fiers...

2009-03-02T18:33:00.001-05:00

March 2, 2009

Dear Mr. Lloyd,

I'd like to share with you an article I read in this past Saturday's Wall Street Journal about our Prime Minister. In particular, I'd like to draw your attention to the following observation made by the respected paper:

"Since establishing a minority government in January 2006, this Prime Minister and his Conservative Party have restored Canada's international prestige by increasing military funding and tenaciously supporting Canada's dangerous NATO mission in the Afghan province of Kandahar. No NATO ally has put more on the line against the Taliban, and Mr. Harper seems to sense not just the opportunity but the need for Canada to capitalize on it. There is a vacuum in conservative leadership in North America and on the world stage, and Mr. Harper is stepping into it."

Please take a moment and read the article in it's entirety.

We clearly have a Prime Minister we can be proud of. And a Government that is restoring Canada's reputation on the world stage. But it's up to us to ensure that the Prime Minister and the Conservative Party have the resources they need to take on an opposition that has shown it will do anything to take power.

The press we've gotten internationally is also a prescient reminder that after so many years of Liberal rule we finally have a Prime Minister and a Party who deserve our support.

I'd like to ask you to do as I have done, and support Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada right now, by making as large a donation as possible by following this link. A gift of $200 or $100 right now will go a long way to ensure that our Prime Minister has the backing of a strong party.

Please, take a moment right now to follow this link and make a donation on-line.

Sincerely,

Irving Gerstein, C.M., O.Ont
Chair, Conservative Fund Canada

2009-01-11T14:13:00.004-05:00

All letters to the PM are now available through Lulu.com in yearly anthologies. Check out Lulu.com:Dear PM to order hard copies or downloads.

More Conservative Party Member wisdom

2008-09-29T00:10:00.002-04:00

Dear Stephen,

The weekend started on a light note but lately Blair has been back on the Conservative party Facebook page, and he and others have been offering up some political wisdom that I thought I would share with you:

Courtney Morrison (Vancouver, BC) wrote
at 11:59pm

Okay well Desperate Housewives on now...thanks for the lively discussions...:)

Gustav Nelson (Winnipeg, MB) wrote
at 11:49pm

I guess we'll find out how big the arts are of an issue on election day. If the Conservatives don't get a majority Chris, i'll buy you a Coke, or a paintbrush.. your choice!!!

Glynn Plantz (Sudbury, ON) wrote
at 10:26pm

John and Chris, Listening to you talk is like watching a Monkey fuck a football!

Blair Skulmoski wrote
at 10:19pm

Chirs give up no one cares what you have to say about the arts spare us all please.

Chris is just trying to keep people from discussing real political issues on here. His goal is to detract from issues like the economy, military, tax-cuts, etc. Chris is like having blood in your stool. You just try to ignore it and hopefully it will go away on it's own. There's no point answering any of his asinine questions. He is a mental midget politically.

Glynn Plantz (Sudbury, ON) wrote
at 10:13pm

Chirs give up no one cares what you have to say about the arts spare us all please.

Darin Biyak (Edmonton, AB) wrote
at 9:18pm

what is a joke it dion attacking laton about a tax hike on corperations that could see people lose their jobs when he judges the conservative government about kyoto after liberal years of neglect and pushes for action that would see how many canadians lose their jobs

Glynn Plantz (Sudbury, ON) wrote
at 7:03pm

Blair! You finaly made the morons like john and chirs queit. I agree with everything that you said they our not the majority of Canadians just a few ignorant ones. Who only see the world through their misunderstood minds.

Blair Skulmoski wrote
at 6:35pm

Chris' Logic

Popular = Right

In a time economic crisis why wouldn't you cut funding to non-essential programs i.e. The Arts, Sports funding, Spending on, "National Unity", or bloated politicians salaries? With the U.S. headed into an economic recession being spend-thrift is a good thing that benefits all Canadians in the long run. Phony, "Carbon Taxes" and Kyoto Accords will not help Canadians one bit economically. In fact they will hurt the average Canadian at the Grocery Store, Gas Pumps, etc... The environment must take a back burner to securing our economy. What good will fresh air do you if you can't afford to eat or drive to work?

Blair Skulmoski wrote
at 5:39pm

There are 21,000,000 people in Canada who use the Internet on a regular basis. If 100,000 people are against Stephen Harper that means that less than 1% of people are against him. How could less than 1% be a, "Majority of Canadians" Chris?

Yvon Sanscartier wrote
at 3:39pm

Hey Sum Ling look in the mirror. Nobody cares about you or what you think.
Where are all moderators? The special interest groups are taking over this group.

Courtney Morrison (Vancouver, BC) wrote
at 12:56pm

You cannot base s fact off a facebook group Chris, even if you get 100000 people to join that arts group that is not the majority of Canadians.

Well, Stephen, you are probably aware by now what a snowball your arts and ordinary Canadians and galas comments have become. It is an issue that is not going away, and I for one, as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada, hope that you at least come up with an arts policy before the election.

-chris

Conservative Party of Canada Facebook Comments

2008-09-28T01:56:00.002-04:00

A couple weeks ago I joined and have been posting to the Conservative Party of Canada Facebook page. This activity was a response in part to cuts made to various arts program by the governing Conservative Party in the weeks leading up to the election call. This follows a pattern of various other cuts made over the past two and-a-half year Conservative minority government. As the Conservative Party has yet to release an arts and culture policy, nor have they responded to a Canadian Conference of the Arts questionnaire, nor have I received any response from Prime Minister Stephen Harper, I set about trying to find out what Conservatives really think about the arts. Here are some of my favourite statements:

Gustav Nelson (Winnipeg, MB) wrote
at 1:06am

The most prized possession of "Canadian Culture" which is the hockey night in Canada theme song is now in the hands of private enterprise, so please tell me now how government is needed to support the arts...

Gustav Nelson (Winnipeg, MB) wrote
at 12:52am

Well, on a personal level, then yes, food, water, and shelter, but all of those are easily accessible depending on your level of want... However we don't NEED government spending money on the arts...

Gustav Nelson (Winnipeg, MB) wrote
at 12:22am

I would be very content just supporting a military with the taxes i pay. Everything else that's left in between should be supported and choosen by individuals in the private sector.
I very much understand that the arts is all around me, but unless i, or anyone, choose to pay into those services out of our own pockets in terms of trading money for services, then government should not be giving out other people's money to support what those artists can't do for themselves... I can take care of myself and do not expect anything less from anyone else...

John Langridge (Calgary, AB) wrote
at 11:30pm

If the beefsteak dress and the "Voice of Fire" are considered ART,then it's time to make some cuts. Don't you think?

Ryan Steidel (Kazakhstan) wrote
at 8:47pm

liberals are bums lol if u dont like the conservative party leave this group

Courtney Morrison (Vancouver, BC) wrote
at 5:19pm

People who have no children or who can financially support their children on their own should not. Have their taxes go to people who cannot financially support their children

Yvon Sanscartier wrote
at 2:13pm

Hey Peter, if you can't raise your own kids then you don't deserve to have a family.

Blair Skulmoski wrote
at 11:51pm yesterday

The Greener/Liberal/NDP split pretty much assures a Conservative Minority at a min..And, there is no way those monkeys could EVER form a government!

Yes, if you put a 333 Liberals, 333 N.D.P.er's and 333 Green Party members on typewriters they could still not write the greatest novel ever written. Monkeys have been scientifically proven to be more intellgient than Liberals so let's not go insulting monkey's here!

Michael Bennett (Ottawa, ON) wrote
at 9:33pm yesterday

And by the way John Gary Bovay the Oceans are not rising ,and if yousay they are show us the PROOF-Arcemitis theroy has stood the test of time.

Simple science pal -Take 10 ice cubes put them in a tall glass fill the space in the glass with water-let the ice melt as it will-willthe water overflow after all all the ice cubes are melted??? I think not-try it 5 times -10 times that's science buddy- same resuts everytime-

Michael Bennett (Ottawa, ON) wrote
at 9:27pm yesterday

Majority should also mean the end of the CBC sucking on the taxpayers tite-it has been a redundent industry for years now.at one time it did serve a purpose espesialy in rural areas.
But here is no longer a need to be served or us service a partisan industry like this-LET THE MARKET DECIDE

Yvon Sanscartier wrote
at 5:02pm yesterday

I am proud of the way Stephen Harper handled himself during today's press conference. Under no circumstances is he going to pander to the forces of political correctness. He was blunt: Omar Kadr will face the music. And Stephen will not give into media pressure and throw out members of his party for making the odd off the cuff remark. I hope when Stephen gets the majority he seriously looks into our immigration policy. There is nothing more detrimental to the fabric and security of our founding country than our insane open door immigration policy. We are not building a country we are building ghettos.

Andy Logan (Windsor) wrote
at 12:14pm yesterday

How can the Liberal party expect to have their leader become Prime Minister when 70% of Canadians speak English?! Stephane Dion cannot speak English.

Jennifer McPhee (Wilfrid Laurier) wrote
at 12:00am yesterday

honestly i support the decision for the arts funding cuts..its one of the few places it could be done - 45million going to the homeless or fat cats going to some gala which does little to enrich canadian 'culture' - take your pick. our culture is our socialism, the fact that we look out for the little guy, that is what strongly separates us from the states.

Blair Skulmoski wrote
at 9:11pm on September 25th, 2008

Sorry, Chris and Cory I guess it was in bad taste letting everyone on here know that you are flaming homosexuals would guzzle each others jizz

Blair Skulmoski wrote
at 8:34pm on September 25th, 2008

Now the arts funding is going towards making porn

Your gay lover Chris just named a smut film made with tax payers dollars and there are no standards set by the Liberals as to what is pornography and what is not. So, yes the government as it stands will give out grants to fund pornographic movies as long as they have a script!

Gustav Nelson (Winnipeg, MB) wrote
at 7:02pm on September 25th, 2008

I think alot of people here are mistaking that they think Conservatives don't like the arts. That is entirely un-true, although i have to say that there are probably a few Conservatives that don't support the arts, we typically believe that arts should not be funded from government. Arts should be funded by individuals that choose to support the art that they are purchasing, much like how everything else works in the free world. If your art sucks and you can't make it as an artist, then you shouldn't be an artist. No need to leech off everyone else...

Courtney Morrison (Vancouver, BC) wrote
at 4:15pm on September 25th, 2008

Art does not save lives. Art does not promote freedom. Therefore I can see no justifiable reason to support it.

Matt Gers (Edmonton, AB) wrote
at 2:56pm on September 25th, 2008

ugh, this garbage is really starting to irritate me. If any other part except conservatives get in, I'll probably be out of a career. This so that some hippie that stays at home smoking pot and drawing can get paid by the gov't? You kiddin' me?

Blair Skulmoski wrote
at 8:12pm on September 24th, 2008

I can see why Cory would be angry if funding to the arts is cut. He is an artist of sorts and if gay porn is not funded by our government then Cory will be out of work.

accepting bids?

2008-06-04T18:30:00.002-04:00

Here's a message I received recently:

"Dear owner of dearpm.blogspot.com,

I noticed that your blog "dearpm.blogspot.com" hasn't been updated for a while. I'd like to buy this blog.

I assume that you are not interested in running it anymore.

I can buy this blog for $150.

What do you think?"

I had no idea a free blog account could be worth money…anyone else out there in Internet-land interested in an outdated blog about email to the Prime Minister of Canada?

DEAR PM: new site

2007-11-05T16:37:00.000-05:00

new site, check it out!

lovelamour

2007-03-22T09:11:00.001-04:00

2006-08-28T22:28:00.000-04:00

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Aug 28, 2006 11:21 PM
Subject: Greens come of age; Le député bloquiste de Repentigny, Benoît Sauvageau, meurt dans un accident

Dear Stephen,

I can hardly believe that I haven't written to you since last week, since before Jasper's opening and farewell party. So much has happened since then! The opening went well, the beer arrived—there was a last-minute snafu with the beer, but it was sorted out—and a bunch of folks came back to the gallery for a farewell to jasper, and he showed some of the footage he shot of the harbour tour, which was both mesmerizing and dizzying, especially when projected large. Then there was the rock show at Elwoods, Les Païens, whom I finally was able to see, as Jess was working the bar for me. A fun show made even funner with some of Michael Buckland's beach balls added to the mix.

Saturday morning we had a farewell brunch with Peter and Judy, who is still mad at me, and Mary, and Rich and Katie. Rich was spinning records the night before and it went really well. Then we all packed up and headed to Moncton. We booked Jasper's flight back to Montréal through Moncton, as it was half the price of a flight from SJ. Plus Claudine and I were planning to travel to NS to visit some of my family and see Tim at his cottage for his birthday party but we did neither. Instead, after bidding adieu to Jasper, we became lost and confused at Chrystal Palace trying to find a book, then ate at a mediocre restaurant, then found a motel to stay the night. Watched Kung Fu Hustle, by Steven Chang, which was a totally, totally awesome and fun movie.

Sunday was major, major cleanup day. Since Claudine had to work Monday we decided to come home. We skipped tim's B-day party because we were just plain partied out. And our apartment needed major TLC. Kuan's pissing problem has not subsided, so we are now trying a tinfoil trick. Apparently cats don't like to walk on tinfoil nor hear the sound of it, so I've plastered tinfoil on all her favourite pissing places. We even found that she had hit the vacuum cleaner and the clothes dryer.

We decided to rearrange the apartment so now our bedroom is in the former living room, the living room back in the front room and my studio/sewing room in our old bedroom. Downstairs is still storage but now everything is a lot cleaner and better organized. Well, the studio, almost. Claudine made an impeccable Mexican Zuchinni soup and we watched Les Invasions Barbares in our new bedroom.

I realized today that the selection committee meeting for the gallery is tomorrow, not Thursday, so spent the afternoon getting packages to people. Luckily I'd photocopied everything on the weekend but Staples is on to me: they've finally installed counters on their self-serve copiers. Darn them! And darn Telus again, too, for being so downright confusing. I'm finally getting my cell phone reactivated but when I show up at the kiosk in Hell's Creation today the pleasant teenager behind the counter (why is it that the malls seem to be run by teenagers?) could only point me to the self-serve computer (the whole signup process happens online, on the Telus website), which, can you guess where this is heading? Didn't work. A dozen times I tried. "Username already selected" and "Internal server error" where the most frequent replies. Do you think the girl could fix it? No, she said this sort of thing always happens when the computers get updated. Real effing convenient. Like I've got all the time in the world to set up my own darn phone. Heck no! There were still supplies to get for the screening of Amélie. We had a good attendance, over a dozen folks.

I have to read through the rest of the submissions before tackling Telus again. And as far as we can tell there is no fresh piss for one whole day.

-chris

the return of rooftops: Harbour Bridge #1, 2006

2006-07-16T23:02:00.001-04:00

the return of rooftops: Harbour Bridge #1, 2006
Originally uploaded by Chris Lloyd.

2006-06-17T17:54:00.000-04:00

From: chris lloyd Mailed-By: gmail.com
To: pm@pm.gc.ca
Date: Jun 17, 2006 6:49 PM
Subject: Avian flu detected on P.E.I.; Les 11 candidats au leadership libéral s'affrontent en débat à Moncton

Dear Stephen,

Sorry I didn't write last night. It was a late one.

First of all, the sun came out, finally, so we borrowed my Dad's car
and drove to the nursery and bought seeds and sheep manure and soil
and peat moss. We have taken a plot at the SJ Community Garden, even
though we also want to use out backyard for planting and barbecuing
this summer.

The bar was real quiet for the first few hours and when Jess arrived I
met up with the gang at Asian Palace as Em, their new chef, was
offering a special sushi menu. They had him set up at the bar5,
rolling and slicing up a storm. Tasty.

Afterwards we went up, up, up to Jay's studio and then went up some
more; up a ladder through the attic to the roof, and hung out there
for a bit. Went back to work and it finally picked up and we had a
good 2-hour rush. Had some late tables but I still finished in time to
catch a few songs from Mr. Something-something, at Elwood's. They had
the whole place dancing and grooving tho their rhythmic sounds.

We debated going to an after party but it was already quite late so we
decided against it. Still past 3 AM before getting to bed.

Today we grabbed a quick breakfast at Reggie's and then cycled to
Frenchy's to find outfits for tonight's Horsefield St. Annual
Summertime Courtyard Party. It's a '70s them tonight, so appropriate
outfits are a must. Claudine's currently adding bell bottoms to a pair
of tight-fitting Lee-brand jeans, that combined with a tiny zipper-up
top gives her a bit of a Daisy Duke look. I found yellow pants with an
elastic and a bizarre top, as well as terrible shoes. I've shaved,
leaving a small baby mustache. I've parted my hair. It all looks
terrible.

After Frenchy's we tackled our dirty plot at the community garden. We
picked the most ghetto spot, but only because it was right beside Dave
and Erin. Our site was partially covered with an orange tarp and weeds
and strange grasses grew everywhere. We weeded and tilled and added
the good stuff. Did it all by hand because we couldn't get the
roto-tiller going. Water in the gastank, perhaps. We worked away,
quiote content to be outdoors in the sun, until I was quite late for
work. We had completely lost track of time.

Managed to bike home, have a shower and change before heading the bar,
opening just on time.

Now it's just a countdown until Jess arrived and I'm off to the
Courtyard party. About two more hours.

Been to any themed parties lately? Been to any parties lately? Do you
barbecue at Sussex Drive? We found a big round charcoal-fired barbecue
yesterday at a secondhand shop. Twenty bucks. Practically a steal.

-chris

2006-04-10T16:49:00.000-04:00

Dear Stephen,

Today you can join me in making sure our government keeps its promise that torture will not be tolerated.
Human Rights First is working hard to ensure that the administration makes it clear to our men and women in uniform which interrogation techniques are allowed - and which are not allowed.

Last year, Sen. John Warner, as chairman of the Armed Services Committee, vowed to hold a hearing on the role of the higher ranks in prisoner abuse. He also vowed in January to make sure the new ban on torture and abuse is properly enforced. This has not happened.

Please click below to urge Senator Warner to follow through on his promises:

Human Rights Watch

-chris

Dear PM in Nice

2006-03-29T10:24:00.000-05:00

Dear PM in Nice
Originally uploaded by Chris Lloyd.

2 Tims on ledge

2006-02-28T08:52:00.000-05:00

2 Tims on ledge
Originally uploaded by Chris Lloyd.

response from the white house

2006-02-28T07:44:00.000-05:00

From: comments@whitehouse.gov Mailed-By: whitehouse.gov
To: dearpm@gmail.com
Date: Feb 28, 2006 6:21 AM

On behalf of President Bush, thank you for your correspondence.
We appreciate hearing your views and welcome your suggestions.
Due to the large volume of e-mail received, the White House is
unable to respond to every message, and therefore this response
is an autoreply.

Thank you again for taking the time to write.

Human Rights Watch

2006-02-28T05:21:00.000-05:00

Dear Stephen and George,

I continue to be alarmed by revelations regarding torture and abuse in U.S. facilities. The recently released photos from Abu Ghraib reinforce the image of America as a nation that condones torture - but it has come to my attention that the problem is far greater in scope than these particular abuses.

In Human Rights First's new report on deaths in U.S. custody, "Command's Responsibility," the organization found that only 12 detainee deaths have resulted in punishment - out of 34 cases ruled to be homicide. And the organization finds that there may be 11 additional cases of unjustified homicide.

Why have no higher-level officials been charged with a crime? Commanders must be held liable for any unlawful acts of their subordinates about which they knew or should have known.

I ask you, as Commander in Chief, to develop and implement a zero-tolerance policy for commanders who fail to provide clear guidance to their subordinates, and who allow unlawful conduct to persist on their watch. The key elements of such a policy include the following:

- Move immediately to fully implement the ban on cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment passed overwhelmingly by the U.S. Congress and signed into law on December 30, 2005. Full implementation requires first and foremost that you clarify your commitment to abide by the ban.

- Instruct all relevant military and intelligence agencies involved in detention and interrogation operations to review and revise internal rules and legal guidance to make sure they are in line with the McCain statutory mandate and existing constitutional and treaty obligations. Issue regular reminders to commanders that abuse will not be tolerated, and ask that commanders regularly give troops the same, serious message.

- The Defense Department, CIA and other relevant agencies should evaluate and update training for all U.S. officials engaged in human intelligence and detention operations to ensure they have a full practical understanding of the implications of the bans on torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment - and the consequences of violating them.

- The Departments of Defense and Justice should move forward promptly with long-pending actions against those involved in cases of wrongful detainee death or abuse, and state the basis of decisions not to prosecute.

- The U.S. military should make good on the obligation of command responsibility by developing, in consultation with congressional, military justice, human rights, and other advisors, a public plan for holding all those who engage in wrongdoing accountable.

The United States will not be successful at ending torture and abuse until it has an established system designed to prevent abuse before it happens, punish it when it does, and deter any who might think it is possible to get away with abuse.

-chris

Tim in sunbeam

2006-02-27T14:57:00.000-05:00

Tim in sunbeam
Originally uploaded by Chris Lloyd.

TH at market

2006-02-26T02:16:00.000-05:00

TH at market
Originally uploaded by Chris Lloyd.

Finally!

2006-02-18T18:52:00.000-05:00

TH near trash
Originally uploaded by Chris Lloyd.

Lloydly finally masters the cell phone camera technology. What crappy resolution! Thanks Telus!

2006-02-18T18:48:00.000-05:00

more phone giant fun!

Dear Stephen,

So I finally got the Telus phone image working: voila, one of my TH
cup documentary photos. Expect more. Many, many more.

So I lost it completely with Rogers; they called again yesterday, can
you believe it? So I called back, and after suffering through yet
another infinitely long menu:

"to maintain excellence in customer service this call may be monitored"

ha-ha! I've discovered the key! just start swearing! they cancel the
call right away and hang up! It gets marked in your account and then
when you call back you can speak with a very apologetic manager.

I've decided instead of cancelling outright my plan I will use it to
full artistic advantage.

How?

Why, by conducting my very own cross-Canada Stephen Harper poll, of
course. I'm going to make so many long-distance calls Rogers will wish
they never bought Sprint in the first place. I am so going to get my
$32.50/months worth.

Nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

-chris

2006-01-24T12:05:00.000-05:00

Plane prepares to leave Germany, Les conservateurs de Stephen Harper gagnent, Martin annonce son dépar
chris lloyd
to pm
More options 1:04 pm (0 minutes ago)

Dear Paul / Stephen?

I'm not sure when the exact handover date is, when Stephen will get
the keys to the "pm@pm.gc.ca" account, or when Paul will have cleared
out his Inbox, so for the next few days I'll keep writing to Paul; but
if Steve is already reading this, please let me know. Also, please let
me know if I can address you as Steve. It fits better the
single-syllable salutation.

Claudine and I drove Judy and Peter to the airport yesterday morning,
then had a nice lunch at the Beatty and the Bistro just before voting
right next door. I hadn't heard from you (Paul) so I voted with my
heart and principles and tradition and went back to the NDP. Ran some
errands and visited with Mary. Shelled out $90 for a refurbished phone
from the crooks at Telus. Yeah, that's right, that company is a great
big crook. Here's their strategy:

1. Offer a free phone with a 3-year contract;
2. Phone has a 1-year warranty;
3. Phone is designed to break down completely after 1.5 years;
4. Fees to a) send phone to company and b) have phone looked at by
technicians and c) fixed by said technicians easily outstrips an
average monthly income, and;
5. Simply buying out the remaining year of contract costs double a
refurbished phone, so;
6. Yet another consumer is suckered into another useless technological gadget.

Fucking crooks! They'll rue the day! That day in March 2007 when I
return their phones and chargers, preferable in some violent manner,
hopefully involving the CEO of the company and his dirty anus.

The phone does have a photo function which is cool. Once I figure out
how to use it I'll send you another picture of my own butt. That's
worth the $.25 it costs each time to email a phone-photo. Can you
believe it! Fucking crooks!

We watched the election results live at the Somerset after priming
ourselves with a screening of Wag the Dog. Almost nothing is more
frustrating than having a bunch of political commentators speculating
on what early results mean, when those early results are gleaned from
1 polling station out of 220, and those results involve maybe a dozen
votes in total. I know there is a lot of time to kill while votes are
counted, but surely they can talk about something else until things
get really close. Perhaps they could talk about how nuts people can
get while playing those ridiculous Video Lotto Terminals. That has to
be one of the most gruesome and disgusting methods for a government to
raise revenue. For anyone to say otherwise means they have never sat
in a bar for any length of time with those ridiculous noises while
vacant-eyed people pump money into the machines, with strange 'codes
of honour' based on how long/how much money they've pumped in, waiting
for the big payout. It's fucking sick and any government making money
off these machines should have its collective head examined. Same goes
for people who allow the machines on their premises, all in the aim of
making a greedy buck. It's nothing short of sick and pathological.
What a colossal waste of time and energy.

Now I'm even more depressed. And yesterday was supposed to be the most
depressing day of the year. Maybe my poll results will spread some
cheer. Thanks to everyone who responded over the past couple days. I
apologize for not getting the results out faster but we slept in;
Claudine's sore throat and cold is not getting much better and we
aren't sleeping as well.

Chris Lloyd's Federal Election 2006 Poll 22 January 2006 (32 respondents)

1. Did how the media reported on polls influence your voting decision?

90% reported that the reporting of polls had no influence on their vote

2. Do you plan to vote in this election?

90% planned to vote

3. Are you voting for (a) change 3%
or for (b) a party and its specific platform 80%
or (c) your local candidate? 17%

4. Do you find Stephen Harper 'scary'?

17% said no; 83% said yes. Some said 'yes' a little more emphatically,
which included some 'yikes' and a few definitelys; "less scary" still
counts as 'scary', as does "as scary as Mike Harris", as does
'stupid'. Comparisons to wolves, references to mock turtlenecks and
the late Princess Diana were also counted as 'scary'.

5. wine or beer?

Wine and Beer ended the poll in a dead heat at 32%; close behind was
'both' at 29%; 7% preferred something else.

6. CSI or Six Feet Under?

SFU just edged out CSI, 33% to 27%, which was also the same percentage
of folks who watched neither, often because of no TV whatsoever. 13%
preferred different shows.

-chris