tory senator larry smith wants us to sympathize with him for taking a cut in his pay

Awwwe... isn't that nice? The newly appointed Conservative Senator wants us to thank him and sympathize with him for taking a pay cut (using our tax-dollars) to sit in an un-elected chamber to "serve the public". Even if and when he loses his race to sit as a Montreal MP, he'll still have a comfy padded seat in the Senate to cushion his fall. Very sneaky, Mr. Harper.

repeal of "don't ask, don't tell", a big feat in US politics

I would like to commend the United States Senate for voting to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Despite the pain the Democrats went through in losing these stronghold Senate seats, it is great to see Republican Senators like Scott Brown of Massachusetts and the newly minted Mark Kirk of Illinois, vote with socially progressive minds, despite the taboo nature of the topic amongst the conservative voter base. This is definitely a big feat and victory for Barack Obama and the LGBT community.

The lame duck Congress, isn't so lame after all.