Jason Markusoff

The must-listen-to companion podcast to the Alberta Budget is CBC's West of Centre [https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/407-west-of-centre] with @kathleenpetty.bsky.social @jlisayoung.bsky.social @markusoff.bsky.social @trevortombe.bsky.social They dig, delve, and divine the deficit dollars.

Still up on the official White House website:

www.whitehouse.gov/articles/202...

Multiple CBS News staffers who were not authorized to speak to the media resorted to curse words after reading the news. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," said one producer at the network. "Well, fuck," said another CBS News staffer.

mood

This Hamilton kid would often take the GO bus downtown and the alpha and omega of my teenage Saturday afternoons in the big city was Queen between University and Bathurst.

It’s where I bought my first (and only) guitar too. Queen West has changed so much since my youth; this was one of last few vestiges.

A major shift, via Gallup. More from @joshuakeating.bsky.social www.vox.com/politics/480...

Lack of propaganda was the excuse, lack of investigation is the solution

ChatGPT and the Tumbler Ridge shooter Podcast Episode · Front Burner · February 26 · 34m

An incredibly interesting conversation with @mharrisondupre.bsky.social on AI chatbots and news the Tumbler Ridge shooter’s ChatGPT use almost prompted OpenAI to warn police last summer (but they didn’t)
On CBC’s Front Burner, and lucky me got to guest host: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/c...

First, Barnes picks Fox clean but holy crap this block from Wemby is INSANE!

And the audio version: www.cbc.ca/player/play/...

It was a really fun time and yes I did fanboy a bit before and after.

ANALYSIS | Danielle Smith says court 'skewed' to Liberal donors, but UCP picks have political ties just as often | CBC News CBC analysis suggests about one-fifth of federally named judges match with Liberal donor lists. About as many judges picked by the province likely gave to UCP.

When Danielle Smith claimed 80% of federally picked judges had donated to Liberals, that was way higher than any figure I'd researched.
I dug into it. Could confidently write here:
"It is not true. The single media source Smith got that fact from has since corrected it."
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Skynet gonna Skynet

Où est la ministre fédérale de l’Immigration? Le manque de visibilité de la ministre fédérale de l'Immigration, Lena Metlege Diab, suscite de vives préoccupations chez plusieurs intervenants.

Radio-Canada a parlé à plusieurs organismes qui déplorent l'inaccessibilité de la ministre fédérale de l'Immigration. Lena Diab suscite aussi des critiques au sein de son caucus : des collègues libéraux la jugent « dépassée » par ses dossiers. Excellent reportage de Laurence Martin et Yasmine Mehdi!

The story explains where it came from.

ANALYSIS | Danielle Smith says court 'skewed' to Liberal donors, but UCP picks have political ties just as often | CBC News CBC analysis suggests about one-fifth of federally named judges match with Liberal donor lists. About as many judges picked by the province likely gave to UCP.

When Danielle Smith claimed 80% of federally picked judges had donated to Liberals, that was way higher than any figure I'd researched.
I dug into it. Could confidently write here:
"It is not true. The single media source Smith got that fact from has since corrected it."
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

ANALYSIS | Danielle Smith says court 'skewed' to Liberal donors, but UCP picks have political ties just as often | CBC News CBC analysis suggests about one-fifth of federally named judges match with Liberal donor lists. About as many judges picked by the province likely gave to UCP.

Danielle Smith shared a wildly inaccurate claim on federally appointed judges’ Liberal ties. But that also raised the question: what about the judges UCP gov’t picks for Alberta.
My deep dive:
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

not really, either in the increase or decrease

Alberta is Calling was a domestic campaign in other provinces, not an international program.

Back when I was working in the DC buro of the NYT, it was a real treat to overhear one side of a call when a certain reporter there found out a source had lied to him.

The latest data is from the 3rd quarter of 2025... we'll get Stats Can figures for net migration of right now in the back end of this year. It could tip into negatives, as it has in other provinces.

Alberta immigration trends and Danielle Smith's rhetoric: a visual timeline.

I’m shocked, shocked to find gambling at this atrocity-revisionism casino.

Wow. And when National Observer declares this filmmaker antisemitic, they link to a video where dude literally blames Jews for societal decay and begins listing wealth Canadian Jewish men.

I hosted West of Centre this week. While my pitch to title episode “The Hunt for Referendum October” was soundly rejected, I’m still happy with what we landed on. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/w...

Well done, intertubes

Suprematism, by Nikolai Suetin, 1920-21, 📸 by @tiltoncreative

News item: "new SpongeBob movie streaming now." Photo of a live action blond lady in winter clothes with a sniper rifle in a snowy tundra looking bleak.

Wow that franchise took a dark turn

ANALYSIS | The big questions Danielle Smith poses to Albertans as referendums | CBC News Alberta's premier used to want rapid growth in newcomers and enjoyed surplus budgets. Now in deficit, she's pointing a finger at immigration levels.

Wild stat I found:
9 referendums (plus 10 for separation) means that on one October day, Alberta will have more ballot measures than in all 121 Alberta years before that. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

In this particular case, the government.

ANALYSIS | The big questions Danielle Smith poses to Albertans as referendums | CBC News Alberta's premier used to want rapid growth in newcomers and enjoyed surplus budgets. Now in deficit, she's pointing a finger at immigration levels.

On the big, loaded questions that referendums will pose to Albertans. By me.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...