Here's an interesting item from The Washington Times, notable not only because we have a Canadian politician trying to lend a hand to the world's most popular politician but also, I think, because the Times' correspondent here seems to be working under the impression that the U.S. Democrats are close cousins of Canada's "New Democrats." Canadian readers, of course, will know that the U.S. Democratic Party is probably somewhere between the Canadian Conservative and Liberal parties . . .

You could buy a card and let Hallmark say it for you or if you're a political junkie, you could let a politician voice your affection for mom. As I'm a political junkie, here's NDP Leader Jack Layton:

"We knew this in advance and this is a short-term phenomenon," Lavigne told me. "We are on pace to pay off our debt -- a small debt fro the election and we are healthy enough to run an election campaign at any given moment."

The numbers looked soft, Lavigne said, because the federal party stayed on the sidelines for most of the quarter in some of its most important regions of the country.