Alternate Wikipedia Infoboxes III
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Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my bad. I only know the new Green Lantern under Ryan Reynolds.
Whats wrong with having Steve Rogers being Marvel's version of Bernie Sanders?
Please actually resist that urge, then, instead of baiting people into asking questions you won't answer.
I can't agree. Remember that Cage is a good character actor, and he excels when given a good script (and give him credit, Kevin Smith is a good scriptwriter). This is also before Burton goes into 'ooh look at me I'm so dark and original' mode, so he could give the franchise a bit of edge. The studio might get their grubby fingers all over it out of fear of a Batman Returns repeat, though.
It ought to. I based the map off 2012, so that's probably why I forgot.
On the other hand, Oklahoma makes for a nice little island inside Libertarian Land.
Especially if you've ever seen National Treasure, a shit movie, but Cage's acting is the only thing worth watching it for.
In late March 2016, Canadians went to the polls to elect the 398 members of the National Parliament of Canada, but the fact that they went at all was a surprise itself given the general voter malaise of the past five years. When Canadians last went to the polls, in the early summer of 2011, the country was full of hope and optimism, and with the general sense that that years election would prove to be a turning point in the history of the country. Well, sure, looking back five years later one could easily make the argument that it was, indeed, a turning point, but hardly in the way that Canadians would have expected.
The 2011 election significantly shook up the Canadian political establishment. Heading into the vote, traditional wisdom was that it would be another close race between the long-governing, centre-left Patrons of Industry and the right-wing United Farmers. PoI struggled leading up to the vote, though, as the economy began to show signs of weakness, and despite experiencing a bump after choosing long-time Manitoba Premier Pat Martin as their new leader the party quickly fell back down to earth. Martin in particular didn't help matters by seeming to care about his home province more than the country as a whole, particularly after getting into a public spat with Ontario Premier Garydon Carter by invoking the long-standing Parry Sound boundary dispute between Ontario and Manitoba. United Farmers, meanwhile, once again entered the election with leader David Orchard at the helm and Orchard, a former Premier himself (for the Northwest Territories), seemed ready to fight the campaign of his life after learning from his past mistakes, though still alienated many in his party's own base with policies some would say were closer to the Patrons of Industry themselves. It certainly didn't help matters that Orchard and Martin actually liked one another either, with the two having a strong relationship going back to their times as Premiers. Unfortunately for both parties, the campaign only emphasized their own weaknesses, leading many Canadians to consider a third option. In the face of this, the Liberals emerged as the prime benefactors, despite the eccentricities of long-time leader Norman Saunders. In fact, while in other elections Saunders had often weighed the perpetually-third Liberals down, in 2011 his unconventional campaign style helped give him the image of an outsider and a breath of fresh air (despite by that point having served as party leader for over two decades). The debates, in which both Orchard and Martin essentially ignored one another and focused entirely on Saunders, ended up further helping the Liberals, as the image of the PoI and UF leaders teaming up and spouting off the same old talking points (as Liberal critics would accuse them of doing) made many voters feel that, of the main three parties, only the Liberals were truly different. This perception would help lead the Liberals to win a plurality of seats, though the party fell short of an overall majority. With a Saunders-led Liberal government a risky option (at least according to the political elite, conveniently ignoring the will of the voters) and both the PoI and UFs wanting to look out for their own interests, Orchard and Martin agreed to form a coalition government with Orchard at the helm.
Ultimately, though, this would do both parties more harm than good. For starters, the Orchard government immediately got off on the wrong foot by simply existing in the first place; voters viewed it as undemocratic and an afront to the will of the voters, with the elites trying to steal the election from the masses. And, though an extreme and unfair comparison, it didn't help matters when it was pointed out that the last coalition government in Canada was the one that had installed Adrien Arcand as Prime Minister in the 1920s. More worse for the government, though, the "Teen Depression," as it would come to be called, hit the country (and the world in general) in late 2012 and early 2013, causing, most notably, unemployment to skyrocket to levels that hadn't been seen in nearly a century. Things like bread lines and mandatory rationing, once seen as things of the past, soon became the norm to all but a few in the country. In another blow for Orchard, this crisis only served to reignite the long-existing tensions between the United Farmers and the Patrons of Industry. While the two parties had, albeit awkwardly, initially governed somewhat well together, largely thanks to the personal relationship between Orchard and Martin, the two parties' strongly differing views about how to respond to the crisis led to the government itself becoming somewhat of a mess, with Martin often being accused of trying to undermine Orchard's leadership.
In the face of all these problems, it would've been reasonable to assume the Liberals would be the prime benefactors; indeed, they were, though their lead would not last long. As the political elite had long insisted would happen, Saunders soon found himself embroiled in a scandal that even he could not shake off. While returning to Ottawa after a recess visit in his home riding, Saunders was caught with cocaine in his suitcase. Despite Saunders vehemently denying the accusation, and despite him having an image as the "Teflon Norm," this scandal immediately bogged down the Liberals, even though the Canadian public were more willing to believe his side of the story than the political establishment. For many, this was just another attempt by the elites to knock Saunders down. Much like they had "stolen" the 2011 election, many believed that the political PoI/UF establishment (and the public service apparently loyal to both parties) were pre-emptively trying to steal 2016. Arguably, this perception, combined with inconsistencies and errors on the part of the prosecution, led to the charges being thrown out of court in mid-2014, a win for Saunders despite both him and his party having been badly hurt nonetheless by the scandal. While Saunders could have improved things for the Liberals had he chosen to resign, he instead opted to fight on again in 2016, arguing that his innocence and "win" in 2011 entitled him to another election at the helm.
Suffice to say, though, Canadians had a lot of reasons to not want to vote for any of the three main parties. The United Farmers and Patrons of Industry were fighting amongst each other and failing to lead a united government, all while the country was headed to economic ruin, while the Liberals, already anathema to a large section of voters, had found their leader embroiled in a drug scandal. In the face of this, Canadians turned to a fourth party. The Mountie Party, initially founded in 1992, had spent the years since its formation on the outside of the main political dialogue in the country. Of course, this was somewhat expected; the party, initially founded as a joke protest party of sorts, lacked both national coherence and a centralized leader for its first decade of existence, and, aside from being vaguely left-wing, didn't even discuss policy much in general. By the early 2000s, though, this had begun to change. Surprise elections to the National Parliament in two 2001 by-elections, combined with several wins in 2003, resulted in the party's newly-elected MPs dropping the joke and moving the party in a more serious direction, with both a national leader and party-wide policy. While the party would fail to make much of an impact, they would improve their seat and vote counts in both 2007 and 2011 and, despite their relatively small amount of MPs, would now find themselves as a major voice on Canada's political stage.
While the party had slowly been winning over voters, both as a result of the Teen Depression and the Saunders scandal, the real turning point was the surprise September 2013 announcement that famed comedian Fred A. Moranis would be taking over the leadership of the party. Despite some worrying that Moranis' background would remind too many people about the party's satirical past, this ultimately did not end up being the case. Instead, Moranis' fame proved to be an advantage, as, with him as leader, more and more Canadians were willing to listen to what the Mounties had to say; and, indeed, more and more Canadians were liking what they heard. In just a few short months, Moranis had brought the Mounties up from the high-teens in the polls to the high-thirties, where the party would remain for the most part of the next two years. While the party would drop a fair bit during the election campaign, primarily as a result of a strong campaign effort from both Saunders and Orchard, they still managed to come out on top, albeit with a plurality of seats. With the Liberals briefly attempted to form a coalition government with the United Farmers, voter outrage to the idea (particularly given the fact that Saunders himself would essentially be stealing the election from Moranis) led to it being abandoned fairly quickly, and all main opposition parties agreeing to, at least temporarily, keep the Moranis minority government afloat.
The 2011 election significantly shook up the Canadian political establishment. Heading into the vote, traditional wisdom was that it would be another close race between the long-governing, centre-left Patrons of Industry and the right-wing United Farmers. PoI struggled leading up to the vote, though, as the economy began to show signs of weakness, and despite experiencing a bump after choosing long-time Manitoba Premier Pat Martin as their new leader the party quickly fell back down to earth. Martin in particular didn't help matters by seeming to care about his home province more than the country as a whole, particularly after getting into a public spat with Ontario Premier Garydon Carter by invoking the long-standing Parry Sound boundary dispute between Ontario and Manitoba. United Farmers, meanwhile, once again entered the election with leader David Orchard at the helm and Orchard, a former Premier himself (for the Northwest Territories), seemed ready to fight the campaign of his life after learning from his past mistakes, though still alienated many in his party's own base with policies some would say were closer to the Patrons of Industry themselves. It certainly didn't help matters that Orchard and Martin actually liked one another either, with the two having a strong relationship going back to their times as Premiers. Unfortunately for both parties, the campaign only emphasized their own weaknesses, leading many Canadians to consider a third option. In the face of this, the Liberals emerged as the prime benefactors, despite the eccentricities of long-time leader Norman Saunders. In fact, while in other elections Saunders had often weighed the perpetually-third Liberals down, in 2011 his unconventional campaign style helped give him the image of an outsider and a breath of fresh air (despite by that point having served as party leader for over two decades). The debates, in which both Orchard and Martin essentially ignored one another and focused entirely on Saunders, ended up further helping the Liberals, as the image of the PoI and UF leaders teaming up and spouting off the same old talking points (as Liberal critics would accuse them of doing) made many voters feel that, of the main three parties, only the Liberals were truly different. This perception would help lead the Liberals to win a plurality of seats, though the party fell short of an overall majority. With a Saunders-led Liberal government a risky option (at least according to the political elite, conveniently ignoring the will of the voters) and both the PoI and UFs wanting to look out for their own interests, Orchard and Martin agreed to form a coalition government with Orchard at the helm.
Ultimately, though, this would do both parties more harm than good. For starters, the Orchard government immediately got off on the wrong foot by simply existing in the first place; voters viewed it as undemocratic and an afront to the will of the voters, with the elites trying to steal the election from the masses. And, though an extreme and unfair comparison, it didn't help matters when it was pointed out that the last coalition government in Canada was the one that had installed Adrien Arcand as Prime Minister in the 1920s. More worse for the government, though, the "Teen Depression," as it would come to be called, hit the country (and the world in general) in late 2012 and early 2013, causing, most notably, unemployment to skyrocket to levels that hadn't been seen in nearly a century. Things like bread lines and mandatory rationing, once seen as things of the past, soon became the norm to all but a few in the country. In another blow for Orchard, this crisis only served to reignite the long-existing tensions between the United Farmers and the Patrons of Industry. While the two parties had, albeit awkwardly, initially governed somewhat well together, largely thanks to the personal relationship between Orchard and Martin, the two parties' strongly differing views about how to respond to the crisis led to the government itself becoming somewhat of a mess, with Martin often being accused of trying to undermine Orchard's leadership.
In the face of all these problems, it would've been reasonable to assume the Liberals would be the prime benefactors; indeed, they were, though their lead would not last long. As the political elite had long insisted would happen, Saunders soon found himself embroiled in a scandal that even he could not shake off. While returning to Ottawa after a recess visit in his home riding, Saunders was caught with cocaine in his suitcase. Despite Saunders vehemently denying the accusation, and despite him having an image as the "Teflon Norm," this scandal immediately bogged down the Liberals, even though the Canadian public were more willing to believe his side of the story than the political establishment. For many, this was just another attempt by the elites to knock Saunders down. Much like they had "stolen" the 2011 election, many believed that the political PoI/UF establishment (and the public service apparently loyal to both parties) were pre-emptively trying to steal 2016. Arguably, this perception, combined with inconsistencies and errors on the part of the prosecution, led to the charges being thrown out of court in mid-2014, a win for Saunders despite both him and his party having been badly hurt nonetheless by the scandal. While Saunders could have improved things for the Liberals had he chosen to resign, he instead opted to fight on again in 2016, arguing that his innocence and "win" in 2011 entitled him to another election at the helm.
Suffice to say, though, Canadians had a lot of reasons to not want to vote for any of the three main parties. The United Farmers and Patrons of Industry were fighting amongst each other and failing to lead a united government, all while the country was headed to economic ruin, while the Liberals, already anathema to a large section of voters, had found their leader embroiled in a drug scandal. In the face of this, Canadians turned to a fourth party. The Mountie Party, initially founded in 1992, had spent the years since its formation on the outside of the main political dialogue in the country. Of course, this was somewhat expected; the party, initially founded as a joke protest party of sorts, lacked both national coherence and a centralized leader for its first decade of existence, and, aside from being vaguely left-wing, didn't even discuss policy much in general. By the early 2000s, though, this had begun to change. Surprise elections to the National Parliament in two 2001 by-elections, combined with several wins in 2003, resulted in the party's newly-elected MPs dropping the joke and moving the party in a more serious direction, with both a national leader and party-wide policy. While the party would fail to make much of an impact, they would improve their seat and vote counts in both 2007 and 2011 and, despite their relatively small amount of MPs, would now find themselves as a major voice on Canada's political stage.
While the party had slowly been winning over voters, both as a result of the Teen Depression and the Saunders scandal, the real turning point was the surprise September 2013 announcement that famed comedian Fred A. Moranis would be taking over the leadership of the party. Despite some worrying that Moranis' background would remind too many people about the party's satirical past, this ultimately did not end up being the case. Instead, Moranis' fame proved to be an advantage, as, with him as leader, more and more Canadians were willing to listen to what the Mounties had to say; and, indeed, more and more Canadians were liking what they heard. In just a few short months, Moranis had brought the Mounties up from the high-teens in the polls to the high-thirties, where the party would remain for the most part of the next two years. While the party would drop a fair bit during the election campaign, primarily as a result of a strong campaign effort from both Saunders and Orchard, they still managed to come out on top, albeit with a plurality of seats. With the Liberals briefly attempted to form a coalition government with the United Farmers, voter outrage to the idea (particularly given the fact that Saunders himself would essentially be stealing the election from Moranis) led to it being abandoned fairly quickly, and all main opposition parties agreeing to, at least temporarily, keep the Moranis minority government afloat.
True Grit, that is absolutely incredible. Lots, lots of stuff to chew on here... I love the "1890s forever" idea (Patrons of Industry is such a wonderfully quaint name), the offhand mention of a fascist government, the Mounties as a Canadian version of the Pirates, and goddamn Rick Moranis as Prime Minister. Fantastic stuff
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