Tuesday Morning Links

This and that for your Tuesday.

- Pogge nicely sums up the proper response to the Libs' declaration that voters should pretend that other, more viable alternatives to the Cons don't exist:

Based on the last several federal elections, the greatest threat to the Conservative incumbent in my riding is the NDP. Based on the last two elections, that's true by a large margin. If Michael Ignatieff comes into my riding right now and tells me that in order to get rid of Harper I have to vote Liberal, I have to conclude that either he's an idiot or he thinks I am. Neither explanation encourages me to vote Liberal.

- The Hill Times proclaims a change in language: while the Cons' completely unfounded claims of delay in the Senate were regularly described as unconscionable obstructionism, the new Con Senate majority's power to overrule Canada's elected representatives will merely give rise to "minor legislative battles".

- John Ivison points out that the Cons' direction on criminal justice policy is officially worse information than that of states like Texas and South Carolina:

The “hanging’s too good for them” brigade should read an eye-opening piece from last Friday’s Washington Post, co-written by Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, and Pat Nolan, former Republican leader of the California State Assembly. They pointed out that the U.S. currently spends US$68-billion on corrections — 300% more than 25 years ago — and the prison population is growing at 13 times faster than the general population.

“Our prisons might be worth the current cost if the recidivism rate were not so high but, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, half of the prisoners released this year are expected to be back in prison within three years. If your prison policies are failing half the time, and we know there are more humane, effective alternatives, it is time to fundamentally rethink how we treat and rehabilitate our prisoners,” they concluded.

Even Mr. Toews wouldn’t accuse Texas of being soft on crime, yet the Lone Star State has instituted reforms that have strengthened its probation system, reduced its prison population and freed up money to be redirected into community treatment for the mentally ill and low-level drug addicts. Since the reforms were launched in 2004, the crime rate has dropped 10% to its lowest level since 1973.
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At a time when every department in government is experiencing budget cuts, Canada should not be embarking on an expensive prison-building program. Rather it should be following U.S. states like South Carolina, which is reserving costly prison spaces for violent criminals and dealing with lower level offenders in more imaginative ways.

- Finally, we can certainly hope that the Cons' "ethical oil" spin will bring the environment back to the forefront as an issue. But is it too much to ask that the response to the Cons' attempts to change the subject not start with "we agree, but..."?