Notices by M. Grégoire (mpjgregoire@mastodon.club), page 45

@paulfree14 Adultery is legal too.

I have long believed that that is the basic mindset of federal Liberals. "I want to do x, y, z good things. I want to serve Canadians. But above all, we must win, for how we can we accomplish anything if we are out of office?"

This overriding commitment to gaining power explains much of the remarkable success of the Liberal Party of Canada.

#canpol #LPC #grits

"[Lib MPs] knew what kind of party they wanted to be a part of from the moment they accepted their nominations; indeed, were they not the type of person that party attracts they would not have been recruited for it. It is the kind of party, and person, that unquestioningly puts loyalty to party before principle — and mercilessly punishes those who do not."

#AndrewCoyne
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/andrew-coyne-liberals-accomplish-nothing-but-vindictiveness-for-vindictivenesss-sake

#canpol

@Tryphon
A digression:
I've heard that #SteveJobs would drive around in a car without licence plates. What unbelievable egocentricity!

@Tryphon You're right, it's hard to measure, but there's obviously *some* value that can have a major effect on the company overall.

Anyway the most trollish article on *MR* recently was the one claiming Theresa May is doing a good job because the odds of Remain are increasing. Sometimes I think Prof. Cowen just likes to see if anyone will spot his jokes.

But I do find it worthwhile to read #MarginalRevolution.

Sur la une du Journal de Montréal aujourd'hui :

Le nouveau pont Champlain ouvrirait le 3 juin, Ottawa doute de l'échéancier
https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2019/04/04/le-nouveau-pont-ouvrirait-le-3-juin

#NouveauPontChamplain #SSLC
#génie #pont
#bridge #engineering

@Tryphon
The underlying conflict of interest is the degree to which CEOs set their own salaries.

Boards are supposed to act in the best interests of shareholders; they are the ones who should be capturing most of the value of the work of the CEO.

@ink_slinger In fact, a major concern in *NR* was that Mr. Trump would damage the public perception of conservatism overall, while failing to implement conservative policies.

But in fact the Trump Administration, in policy terms, has been much more like a conventional Republican administration than anyone anticipated. (The style has been very different of course.)

#uspol

@ink_slinger The high-point of #NeverTrump sentiment among US conservatives was probably the "Against Trump" issue of *National Review*. https://mastodon.club/media/AS4FPodMVlvYDrlutqo

As you can see from the write-up here https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/01/national-review-against-trump-it-probably-doesnt-matter/ , there were many concerns, not just his vulgarity.

#uspol #NationalReview

@viciousviscosity Emacs *and* Vim would be Evil!

#emacs

@ink_slinger

(And for what it's worth, Never-Trump Republicans are real, but have always been a mostly elite phenomenon. Furthermore, while there are Republicans who hated the idea of Mr. Trump as their nominee, they've mostly accepted the reality that he is currently president, leader of their party, and that his presidency has not been as terrible as his character.)

#uspol

@ink_slinger A quick search indicates that PM Trudeau had a net approval rating of +34% around the time of the election in 2015. So the multi-party system didn't hurt him too badly at the time.

But I think your point is broadly correct: the increasingly polarised two-party system in the US, with its roughly even support levels, sets high floors and low ceilings on support for political leaders.

In Canada, I think party affiliation is a less salient part of voters' identities.

#canpol
#uspol

@hhardy01 Maybe we should start worrying...

#canpol

"Forty-two percent of Americans have a favourable opinion of their president, while just 36% of Canadians approve of Trudeau. And while nearly 53% of Americans disapprove of Trump, a staggering 63% of Canadians have given up on the Liberal leader."

That is, PM Trudeau has a worse net approval rating among Canadians than President Trump has among Americans. Hard to believe.

https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/gunter-will-trudeau-even-make-it-to-the-election

#canpol

@hhardy01 Don't worry, as long as the Queen's in charge, we won't go too far wrong constitutionally.