Not Quite Legal Advice

So, I like to help out on campaigns from time to time.

I was legal counsel to a campaign in one of the by-elections held yesterday in Ontario. The hardest part of that job is dealing with over zealous campaign volunteers who think that everything and anything is a violation of the various acts and regulations that pertain to elections.

The most important part of a lawyer's role is ensuring all eligible voters can exercise their franchise, and that volunteers are granted access to polls to observe the proceedings. I enfranchised all kinds of people. Defending democracy is a grand endeavor.

Often people violate other aspects of the acts and regulations. Significantly less frequently can you do anything about it. If issues are really big, you can make your position known, and most importantly, document the matter so if there is a problem, recount and/or litigation.

You are in fact, preparing the best evidence. 99.9999999% of the time, you just smile, write it down, and let it go.

Case in point:

Volunteers for another candidate were campaigning very close to a polling station. This is not allowed. It is also stupid, as it does nothing to get your voters out to the polls, because very few people are influenced if they are already at the polls. But I digress.

One of our volunteers called me and detailed the situation. She informed me that the returning officer had already spoken to the offending party. She said she was detailing the situation, and wanted help from me.

I listened attentively, and said that if the R.O. had already spoken to them, there wasn't all the much else we could do now. She insisted, and wanted me to take action.

I said that I just didn't feel more was justified, given the R.O. had already acted. I then lamented that "they should stop being assholes."

She quickly replied - "Can I tell them they are being assholes?" To which I replied, there was nothing stopping her from calling them assholes.

I could feel her phone being muffled by her hand, as she screamed a the top of her lungs "My lawyer says you guys are assholes and you should stop being assholes." She then thanked me.

Summer 2013 Update - stay the F$@# away from Seals

My Enemy's enemy is my friend

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/07/sharks_return_to_cape_cod_gray_seals_are_the_bait.html

There is nothing insightful coming, but I am going to start blogging again. Jokes mostly.

But, also as a reminder to myself to write down a story about clarence thomas.

Forget Big Bird...

I would be way more worried about Bert and Ernie.

Liberal Leadership Debates

My proposal would be to have 50 debates on 50 successive days that are 20 minutes long. Each debate would be about ONE subject - picked randomly out of a hat.

Let's see Le Dauphin prepare for that.

Reclycling Jokes, 2012

Remember when I made this joke?

One of these parties no longer exists...

Doesn't seem so outlandish in 2012, does it?

I am not even sure this still works

But, my last couple of months has been quite raucous.

Thank-fully, there is a full scale war being fought between two Premiers about how product should be shipped across their borders, so if that doesn't slow economic development, nothing will.