Rosie LaRose’s Top Six in the A.M.

PRETTY VACANT Carrie Prejan became an internet sensation after a) competing as Miss California in the Miss America beauty pageant b) denouncing gay marriage on the Q&A part c) stripped of the Miss California title (no, not THAT stripped) and d) with acting like a Church Lady, becoming a darling of the American right wing movement. Until now. It turns out that she made at least eight sex tapes (radar.com) before discovering the pageant circuit. Apparently, gay marriage isn't acceptable: getting breast implants in Jesus' name is (HuffPo). Don't recall learning that in Sunday School ...

THE FIRE SALE STARTS IN FOUR, THREE, TWO … The result of the Sask. Party spending spree over the past two years makes me think of disaster capitalism – and if there isn’t a disaster, make one. Bill Hutchinson is denying that the Saskatchewan government is in Stage Two by saying Casinos Regina and Moose Jaw aren’t for sale. (L-P) My advice to SIGA: wait.

SEE WHAT A LITTLE BOOKLEARNING WILL GET YA A ten-year-old kid in Arkansas says he won't recite the Pledge of Allegiance with the rest of his class at school because the government won't grant equal rights to gays and lesbians, and the notion of 'equal justice for all,' therefore, is a lie. And he won't tell a lie. (Progressive Puppy) Smart kid. The odds that the school district, the Christopunks in the playground, and the Faux News Network will conspire to make his life a living hell are, what, even? Just kidding. (hat tip to Red Tory)

SO WHAT IF ATLAS SHRUGGED? Ayn Rand is one of those so-called thinkers who have influenced everybody from Allan Greenspan to Neal Peart, usually for the worse. Johann Hari reviews two new biographies of the woman whose amphetamine-fuelled humanity-basking exercises made her the darling of the neo-conservative movement, and how her political system is more like Marxist-Leninism than her boosters let on. (Slate)

FEAR FACTOR The American government is planning to bring the alleged chief conspirator behind 9/11 to New York for trail, which has set off the American conservative moment, who are saying he shouldn’t be brought into the country for a court date. Well, if the rule of law can’t be brought against someone who breaks the law, then the terrorists have won – by the government conducting itself like terrorists. (Attackerman)

INSERT DIRK DIGGLER SMART-ASS REFERENCE HERE What the …. Well, I don’t know anybody that would be wearing these, unless it was someone trying to hide their colostomy bag in their pants. (Revolving Clothing)

Waste Plan Open Houses

Tomorrow evening, the city will begin it's next round of consultations for it's Waste Plan Regina. You'll be getting a chance to review the three options for improving our waste management system. If you're one of those folk who think the way the city handles garbage could be improved (like, say, by incorporating curbside recycling) it's pretty important to attend one of these meetings and make your feelings heard.

From what I've heard, councillors, consultants and city staff are pretty confident that at the end of this process, we will be getting curbside recycling. I hope they're right but I have to say I'm dubious. I'm worried the cheapskates who're always chanting "hold the line on property taxes" will rule the day and we'll wind up, once again, with no recycling program to speak of.

If you can't make it out to one of the Waste Plan open houses, you can at least fill out the questionnaire on the city's website. If you do want to make it to an open house here's the list of dates, times and locations.

Wednesday, November 18: 
South Leisure Centre
, Gymnasium, 
170 Sunset Drive
, 5:30-8 pm

Tuesday, November 24: 
City Hall, 
3 to 6pm

Thursday, November 26: 
Glencairn Neighbourhood 
Recreation Centre
, Large Meeting Room
, 2626 Dewdney Avenue E, 
5:30-8pm

Wednesday, December 2
: Cathedral Neighbourhood
 Centre, Multipurpose Room
, 2900 - 13th Avenue
, 5:30-8pm

Wednesday, December 9
: North West Leisure Centrem 
1127 Arnason Street
, 5:30-8pm

If you want more detail on what's being considered waste-plan-wise, you can read a summary on the city's website.

This Week at City Hall

Wednesday, November 18
Executive Committee (11:45 am): Considering at the Servicing Agreement Fee rate for 2010. SAFs are the fees charged to developers to cover the cost of providing and maintaining municipal infrastructure (sewer, roads and the like) into new subdivisions. For 2010, developers can expect to pay $227,289 per hectare if the new rate is approved.

The committee is also considering the Recreation Infrastructure Canada Fund Contribution Agreement -- by passing this (assuming I'm reading this right) the city will officially be committing $1,000,000 to Douglas Park improvements... the provincial and federal governments have already committed $750,000 each to this project.

The committee is also looking at some proposed changes in language to the Appointment and Authorization of City Officials Bylaw so that it will accurately reflect the administration's new organizational structure.

And finally, the committee is considering the Harbour Landing Borrowing Bylaw -- this will codify the infrastructure "debt" the city owes to Dundee Development. As it was explained to me, Dundee has already begun construction of infrastructure in the Harbour Landing subdivision. Normally, they'd pay servicing feed to the city to have those installed but now, instead of paying servicing fees, the value of the infrastructure they've built will be deducted from the servicing fees they should have been paying.

Pick of the Day: Vader

Former Prime Minister Paul Martin is in town today to speak at a Regina Chamber of Commerce luncheon on the subject of Aboriginal Education. That's definitely a worthwhile topic. and I know that a ton of RCC members are faithful bordering on fanatical readers of this blog, but I'm in the mood to do a bit of head bangin' tonight. So I'm gonna go with the Polish death metal band Vader who are at the Exchange tonight along with Decrepit Birth and Warbringer.

Vader have been shredding metalheads world-wide since 1983. If memory serves, Poland was kind of going through an upheaval around that time as Lech Walesa and other activists in the country were throwing off the shackles of Soviet tyranny. And no, the accompanying photo isn't intended as dig against Vader. According to Wikipedia, they actually do take their name from Darth Vader. You know Josh Homme's band Eagles of Death Metal? Well, apparently Homme first came up with the phrase after a friend played Vader for him as part of a campaign to turn him on to death metal. He described them as "the Eagles of Death metal". Later, he decided that would make a neat band name.

To help loosen up your neck muscles for tonight's gig, here's the video for Vader's song "Sword of the Witcher" which is apparently inspired by the books of Polish fantasy author Andrzej Sapkowski.