there are some python films that i saw over and over again through my teenage years, and there are some that i saw once or twice in elementary school, and there are some that i haven't seen at all.

i do know that i saw the life of bryan when i was very very small, but i don't remember seeing it twice, and i remember thinking it was kind of slow-moving and not very funny. granted, i may have missed some context, given that i was about ten years old or something. but, it hasn't really come up much, since.

i don't really feel that missing a reference, however disingenuously cited, is particularly damaging to my credibility, and i apologize if you disagree and feel that it's absolutely pertinent, but i have to think you've somehow lost the plot if that's your takeaway from the process.

my father would have no doubt been quickly on it, but it's because he actually lived through it. my own knowledge of the troupe is mostly second-hand, given that i was born in 1981, which was after their most well known work had already been completed.

so, i'm ignorant of monty python, apparently.

that's the most substantive criticism i've received, yet; it's the best they can do, apparently.

it's almost as bad as the time i didn't catch a dr. seuss reference.

every legal scholar in the country knew this was going to happen, immediately after the bill was paassed.

and, i've actually cited it as evidence of wilson-raybould's less than stellar performance as justice minister. the drunk driving law is going to get struck down, too.

so, what does trudeau do?

well, first off, i guess it's now an election issue, isn't it? so, i would, first of all, recommend upholding the ruling.

then, if the liberals win, he needs to admit that his first ag was a dud, and let the one he's got now work it out. and, he may even be advised to recall some of her other bills prematurely, to prevent the court from wasting it's time with it.

https://www.thestar.com/politics/political-opinion/2019/09/13/trudeau-facing-tough-choices-as-quebec-judge-strikes-down-federal-limits-on-assisted-dying.html

so, i did watch the debate, and i essentially think i wasted time doing it.

- biden looked older, yet again. but, the base is old....
- i already know that warren is a neo-liberal pretending to be something she isn't
- harris was a clown
- sanders was disappointing
- booker seemed too smart for his audience.
- everybody else wasted some time

meh.

and, booker.

same analysis as previous: cory booker is actually smart. he's not just pretending to be that way, not just projecting it, not just playing a smart guy on tv.

and, it's interesting to hear him talk. i'd like to drag him out to a few more of these things, because he's making positive contributions to the discussion.

but, his policies are questionable.

and, his appeal is perhaps marginal.

in the end, he may do better with white voters than black voters.

overall, beto seems to be essentially the same thing as warren, just a bit younger and with better hair.

and, i'm going to push back for the same reasons.

and, yes - i drink a lot of soy.

in canada, soy production is mandated by law to be local.

beto's answer there to the sunrise/cowspiracy question was sneaky.

the idea that the tariffs are behind this is pretty specious. this is a decades old debate in brazil that broke open with the recent election of the far right, which was perhaps helped along by us interests, but was largely an internal process.

he's at least right to tie it to soy beans, though.

listen: there's no question that deforestation in brazil is a problem, and that it's tied to unsustainable land use decisions. but, what are the actual facts, here?

1) Five percent of all beef — chilled, frozen and cooked — imported to the USA is from Brazil, according to Cassandra Fish, a cattle and beef market expert.

2) This year’s import contribution is projected to fall below 9% - just slightly under the overall average of 9.3% dating back to 2000.

let's be generous - let's say a full 10% of beef is imported.

5% of 10% is 0.5%.

3) The top exports of Brazil are Soybeans ($25.9B), Iron Ore ($20.1B), Crude Petroleum ($17.4B), Raw Sugar ($11.4B) and Cars ($6.78B).

we're on to beto, now.

 ....and, that's two questions from this "sunrise movement" about the cows.

where are they get their funding from, anyways?

and, again: livestock consumption is not a significant driver of climate change in the united states. it is only about 3-5% of total emissions, and only about 33% of agricultural emissions. that means that two thirds of emissions from agriculture come from plants.

buttigieg was right on this point: that's a republican talking point. more importantly, it's an industry talking point.

it's a distraction.

and, it lets us know who is paying for the event.

so, i've noticed this with buttigieg before, and i'm not going to go into details because i can't be bothered.

...but he states a lot of things that aren't true. he often does so with great confidence, as he attempts to project himself as an educated elite, and maybe that works in nowheresville, indiana, but the pretentious presentation of his mistruths don't actually make them more true.

now, i'm not exactly calling him a liar. i actually think the truth is that he's badly misinformed, and probably because he gets his information from poor sources.

there are two types of stupid people on this planet: those that know they're stupid, and those that don't. it's the ones that don't know it that scare me.

i've seen enough of him, and hope he stops wasting his time, soon.

but, for right now, i'm actually feeling a little bit sick, so i'm going to get some fruit and catch up on the debates - meaning the rest of the climate town hall, and the us debate from last night.

i'll get to the legal stuff this afternoon...

so, i'm not feeling like going out anywhere tonight, which means i've cleared my schedule out until next friday. that gives me a full seven days to get these lawsuits in order, and i'm setting a goal for myself to have the crux of it worked out by monday, when i'm going to need to start making a number of calls.

so, that's this week...

there's something afoot in canada right now.

we're collectively fed up. this is a "throw the bums out" election, but we just can't find a better bum.

these scenarios are unpredictable. but, what's going to happen is predictably unpredictable, and that means you can take some rough guesses.

when the smoke clears, expect a lot of dead bodies, and a few unexpected winners.

when i am agreeing with jonathan kay's defense of elizabeth may, we've already descended into the rabbit hole.

it's a legal issue, it's not a political one. abortion rights are under no threat in this country. and, sane people should be pushing back against the demagoguery around the idea that they are.

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/jonathan-kay-why-progressives-desperately-stifle-any-dissent-on-abortion-even-from-elizabeth-may

listen, i want to be clear on the point: i have, in the past, loudly argued for the ouster of elizabeth may, and the reasoning behind it was largely to do with her religious beliefs (i don't think that ordained ministers should even be allowed to run for city council, let alone prime minister, however nominally). the evidence is in this mass of posts.

so, do not mistake me for an elizabeth may fan, and do not mistake my endorsement as genuine. if i thought she had any chance at governing, i would be endorsing a spoiled ballot, at this point.

but, she is the least worst option, by far, in a group of absolutely terrible options.

i could grade them like this:

scheer - F
trudeau - F
singh - F
may - C-

maybe the point is a little clearer, when i put it like that.

my support for the greens is as a protest vote. i'm not voting with my heart, i'm voting with my colon. if it leads to a broken parliament, that's the desire - it's intended to fuck things up, to cause chaos, to generate instability.

the ultimate aim needs to be the resignation of justin trudeau. reducing him to a minority is a step on that path. the greens are in the right place at the right time to use for that purpose.

and, it won't be very far into the future until i'm back to arguing that may needs to resign for the greens to get to the next level.

i have to say this, though.

it's really tiring - annoying, actually - to hear singh consistently relate every question to a baseless anecdote. it's all this "i met with..." or "i talked to...", as though that means anything.

i don't care who you met with, or who you talked to.

i met with the abominable snowman, and he told me about the existential threats to his habitat that come with climate change. he told me about the sorrow he felt, after losing the last yeti. when will it end?

stop this bullshit. give me policies. give me facts. give me data. this is supposed to be an adult conversation. keep your stories for your children.....

i've watched a bunch of the canadian debate tonight, which is linked to below, and i'm convinced that trudeau made a dramatic error in skipping it.

a few things.

1) singh comes off as an empty suit. tepid. flat. uninspiring.
2) scheer is running on an issue - balanced budgets - that canadians don't care about. to an extent, he's speaking solely to his base, as they have almost no room for growth, but, in doing so, he's misunderstanding it. if this is his campaign, it's going to have turnout issues.
3) may exists. therefore, she wins.

canada is a deeply polarized country, politically, but the polarization is not symmetrical. the perpetual truth is that the motive of the vast majority of canadians is to vote against the conservative party, in some way. the empty podium on stage could just as well belong to stephen harper. by ceding the attack against scheer to his opponents, trudeau is diminishing his own relevance.

but, i keep saying this: they're stupid.

may killed it. over and over. she was the only serious candidate on stage. and, we'll see if it moves the numbers or not.

what i saw tonight is just more evidence for the tipping point.

this picture made me laugh in fits for twenty minutes.

he's been prime minister for, what, five minutes? first thing he does is lie to the queen.

i'm just imagining 65 million shocked brits.

did you lie to the queen, boris?

(boris can now be seen lowering his gaze, and fidgeting his foot)

boris. how could you?