Game on!

Yeah, yeah. I am gonna get to the Canadian federal election coverage eventually.

Or it's gonna get to me. 

Leave me procrastinate for one more day.

Meantime, please read this extremely fine two-parter, The End of News, by Michael Massing in the New York Review of Books here and here. It's about the state of American news media today - and it has relevance here in the Great White North.

That's because the blogosphere will be a force to be reckoned with during this campaign, unlike in last year's vote. Mainstream media journos will be set upon by packs of bloggers, left, right and Liberal, who will dog their every report. The reality checkers will be reality checked. There will be leaks and memes bouncing around the blogoshere. Politicans, some of whom have or will have blogs, will use, misuse and be abused by bloggers.

Already, Progressive Bloggers have spruced up their site. Blogging Tories are renovating.
More powering up is in progress.

It's going to be different, ugly - and fun.

Comments

[Jason Cherniak]

I think you should note that Progressive Bloggers is non-partisan and includes people that support all three of the national parties. If you want a more (yet unofficial) Liberal voice, check out http://liblogs.freethought.ca/. Just be aware that it is completely unedited and open to all bloggers who claim to be Liberals.

[Ivan Prokopchuk]

Wish I could share your enthusiasm for bloggers making a huge difference in this election. Bloggers, on the whole, are very young, though ideologically charged. They just haven't got the street smarts of the walk-on-eggs journo, the taking of angles on stories, the libel-proof prose. Every blogger wants to be a real journalist, as every journalist wants to be a real novelist;culture of wannabees.
There are some thirtyish people, disenherited and disenfranchised, some amazingly close to the Star who may bring out the real issues in this election, say
a moratorium on all immigration for at least ten years and an easing of the invisible Pakistani quota in the medical establishment.
Then we might have something. There's more, much more. but only the descendants of the Fine Old Ontario Families,disinherited and disgruntled, will be able to supply some of the truth.
Clue: A blogger named Enthrall. Molly Bloom's husband?

[Robert McClelland]

The Blogging Dippers are up and running too.
http://dippers.myblahg.com

[Robert McClelland]

And by the way, the activity on the various blogging alliance sites is due to the fact that a major media outlet has said they're planning to pick up these feeds. Sorry, can't tell you which media outlet it is though.

[Adam in Whitby]

Whoo-hoo! Since my workload isn't affected at all by the upcoming race, I'm just looking forward to it -- not for me this Ontarian aversion to elections as "more nonsense." It's nonsense all year round -- this is just the time the pols have to suck up to us for a few weeks. What's not fun about that?

Just pace yourself, Antonia -- eat well, get sleep, try not to blog yourself into a coma. But I think you're right -- this one's going to have blogging as a major component. At least until the Supreme Court decides bloggers are political advertisers that need to be regulated...

May the least bad bunch win by a slim minority!

[Bill-Muskoka]

Ah, its raining this morning...the air seems clearer for some reason? We watched our great nation engaged in a truly democratic process last night..the freedom to change government without agonizing through 4 years of angst. May it ever be. The People remain the masters of the servants here.

We should all be proud as Canadians. We have a system that works, safeguards us, and we do participate at better than twice the level of our southern neighbors when it comes to casting ballots.

We simply are more civilized.

Now we can all focus on the holidays, our families, and when its really cold and nasty outside come January we will turn our attention to the election.

Some will have the choice between the lesser of two to five wannabes in their ridings, and some will not. At least we have more than two parties to choose from, another mark of a healthy and vibrant true democracy.

Some will make their choice to prevent a majority government that is out of touch with our Canadian values. Some will want to get their own little punch in on those who betrayed our trust even though they are not in office and have left the scene.

Some will look back and ask why is this clown running here in our riding when the clown doesn't even live here? Some will remember the clown's previous betrayal of the riding and re-elect the prior MP.

Regardless, we will establish a new goverment for ourselves one riding at a time. No Electoral College, no separate election for a PM, no rotating elections that only change one third of the lawmakers sitting on our behalf. Its the whole enchalada!

No, Canada, we are a strong and free people. We should focus not on what the pollsters and talking heads say, but look into the eyes of our loved ones, our children, our neighbors and friends and decide what our future will be for our lives and the lives of others. We should look in the mirror into our own eyes and seriously ask what we want for a future?

We are Canadians and I can think of no greater safeguard for the future than that.

May our village be in unity and may all prosper. Happy holidays!

[Scott Tribe]

Well Robert.. I'll say it; The major media outlet is CTV News, and I must say if what they've put up is their final effort.. then its rather disappointing (as you already made mention at your blog)

[Scott Tribe]

Update to last posting... apparently that isnt their final effort (technical glitches apparently) so I'll withdraw ny disappointment and maintain a wait-and-see attitude instead ;)

[D.J. Allen]

Thank you for links to the Michael Massing columns. He documents how creeping fascism can gain a hold in a democracy and how big business is actually cutting out the voices that citizens are allowed to hear. And, here I was chalking it up to the poor education system! I hope that the information will be spread far and wide and discussed at length. This is a major concern.

BTW, Anna Marie Tremonte also had an excellent phone interview this morning on the CBC's The Current with Robert Fisk. Everyone should listen to it; it's on their site.

All this follows on the heels of Paul Bigioni's article on Fascism Then, Fascism Now in the past Sunday Star that gives historical perspective on fascism. Media control and power should never be in the hands of a few. Big business will spit out dictatorships if not controlled. The fact is, it's happening. What to do? What to do?

Keep up the great work of cluing us in, Antonia.

BTW, tonight Jon Stewart is covering the democratic fall of our government and contrasting it to the types of crime and political profiteering going on in California. Very interesting.