Brief thoughts on the first Question Period of the 39th paliament

Impressions from about 50 minutes of watching CPAC:

• There was a lot of talk when the Speaker was elected earlier this week about making Question Period seem less like a circus. The much heralded return to civility lasted about 5 minutes by my count. There's just something about jeering while others are speaking that is simply irresistable to MPs of all stripes.
• Stephen Harper is pretty funny sometimes.
• Paul Martin is nowhere near the camera ...or a microphone. That's the way it should be.
• Two Conservative MPs got seats on the opposite end of the floor. That must suck.
• Independent MP Andre Arthur hasn't ripped into the CRTC yet. Or maybe I didn't watch long enough.
  
• I didn't know that Jim Prentice is bilingual. Impressive.
  
• Liberal defector David Emerson got hammered hard by Liberal MP Hedy Fry. On the second volley, the Prime Minister had to stand up to defend him. Emerson is probably going to be taking a beating on a daily basis...
• It is not good that the Minister of Public Works is not able to answer questions in the House.
• I really like the CPAC commercials with Tom Green.