The first snow settled in to Easlakia just when a rotten creaky achy cold arrived as well. Days and days of not June. But, still, the holiday feeling is starting already. Just four work weeks to go, after all. But everything is not as jolly as it should be.

• The spirit of the season appears to be alive and well in Detroit where they are handing money away to Canadians - though you don't really have to travel to get the benefit. Some complain. Did we complain at others shopping here when there was a 62 cent dollar?
• If you ever wondered if there really was a Grinch with a heart too sizes too small, consider the policy of the goverment of PEI that you pay them tax on things residents buy anywhere in the world. When I first moved there ten years ago they ran TV ads about "smuggling" that gave no clue about what they were really talking about. Santa knows.
• Our rural overlords have missed out on the holiday spirit so far. In fact they have been acting more like the naughty pre-schooler than leaders of the nation. On Ontario's Premier pointing out that the new scheme for Parliament leaves Ontario uniquely under-represented:

  His criticisms have sparked a new round of bickering with Ottawa, which took a nasty turn yesterday with federal Conservative House Leader Peter Van Loan accusing the Premier of not living up to the province's traditional role as nation builder. "He seems to prefer to become the small man of Confederation, focusing only on taking partisan shots while not concerned about the strength of Canada as a whole," Mr. Van Loan told The Canadian Press.

  The small man? For looking out for one's own interests? Hardly the sort of language used when Alberta looks out for its interests. Then an actual small man, Finance Minister Flaherty says this:

  Municipal leaders upset at the lack of federal funding for towns and cities should stop "whining" and "do their job," federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says. Faced with a new study that shows urban infrastructure is "near collapse," Flaherty sidestepped responsibility yesterday, noting "we're not in the pothole business in the government of Canada."

  Then one more insult, perhaps the worst of all:

  Defence Minister Peter MacKay called his Liberal critics "un-Canadian" yesterday for accusing the government of allowing the transfer of juveniles taken prisoner in Afghanistan into the hands of "torturers." Mr. MacKay insisted that Liberal defence critic Denis Coderre was making "scurrilous allegations" against soldiers, while Mr. Coderre bristled that the Defence Minister had attacked his patriotism for raising questions about the government's conduct.

  By interjecting the soldiers into a policy debate where MacKay is the decision maker, he is the one doing the sullying. And he fails to note the general rule that trotting out "unCanadian" in any discussion deserves only one response: "you're a dolt". These sorts of accusations are, as far as I can tell, indicative of a bunch who do not know what leadership is. It's kinda sad that the Reform legacy has been lowered to become this.
• If this goes through, it's also time for a small small claims court, then.
• And has someone forgot the spirit of the holidays in Halifax or are they just hoping to avoid a lump of coal? Read about Celine v. The People of the Harbour.