Angel >> Doris Day campaign In an election campaign rife with ham-fisted mudslinging, it took This Hour Has 22 Minutes' Rick Mercer to outwit Stockwell Day's Canadian Alliance with true finesse. Mercer has called upon Canadians to support a referendum asking the government to force Stockwell Day to change his first name to Doris. Word of the Web-based petition circulated like wildfire over the Internet, resulting in well over 900,000 electronic signatures after just one week--more than double the three per cent quota tabled by the Alliance as the number of citizens needed to force a referendum. Thanks for giving the people a voice, Doris.

Insect >> Bourque's budget Word on the street has it that the dearth of low-cost housing is reaching epic proportions. Perfect timing then, for Mayor Bourque's latest municipal budget plan to hike up property taxes on the Plateau Mont-Royal by as much as 30 per cent over three years. While the mayor boasts of a modest surplus, pensioners and other lowly Plateau tenants can boast of diminishing coffers, especially with the reduced heating costs we're expecting this year.