http://www.blackoutspeakout.ca

Recommend this Post

Wasn't That A Party?

As I was watching the results of the Alberta election last night, one thing kept going through my head. The Alberta political alignment is a much more honest representation of the national political alignment until 2011. A right wing party and a centre right party fighting it out for power, only instead of Conservative and Liberals it was Wild Rose and Progressive Conservatives. I am relieved in a sense, because Alberta revealed itself as just another part of the country and not some odd foreign entity. The breakdown of the vote also was interesting because it showed that even in Alberta, the ultra right can't yet breach the 40% ceiling. Now, given our totally screwed up electoral system, that may be enough for the rightists to take power there some day, but again, Alberta is no different than the rest of the country.

Recommend this Post

Living the Vida One Percent

The PM dropped $45,000.00 on a trip to New York on Labor Day. The PMO thinks it's cool to justify it by saying he reimbursed the treasury. But is it really? Do you have 45k to drop on a weekend trip to New York? The PM is paid well, but 45k on a weekend to New York well? If he does have that kind of discretionary cash on hand, it is no wonder he is out of touch with the realities facing the rest of us. If he had help from friends to raise the cash necessary for the trip, I think we deserve to know who they were and what they expect in return.

Update:Ok, now I see. Harper reimbursed the treasury only for commercial airfare to New York and you and I get to pick up the rest of the tab. It must be nice being the king.

Update 2: Even dropping 11k plus commercial airfare for one weekend is out of reach of most of us. It gives us more perspective on Harper's 1 billion dollar G8 weekend, doesn't it?
Update 3: Justin Trudeau calls the story "garbage" on Twitter, but he is of course an entitled one percenter himself. Born and raised.

Recommend this Post

Narrowcast History

Basta! Ok, I get it. Vimy was an important event in Canadian history. But, it wasn't the only one. Canada has other events to think about and share, this month. I am not so much concerned by the commemoration of Vimy, but in the way our federal government has turned our history into nothing more than war porn. It is presenting our complex history as nothing more than a series of old battles and wars fought in far off places. It is shortchanging Canadians by narrowing the historical narrative to one note and robbing them of understanding how interesting our history really is.

Recommend this Post

Support The Zzzzzz

What would we do without Rob Anders? Or, as he is referred to in this article, "Old Snoozy". I wonder if on top of being tired, he was emotional too?

Recommend this Post

The Memory Hole

Lest we get swept up in the Conservative narrative that this is a fiction, cooked up in the last week by the opposition. I take you back to election day, May 2, 2011. Note in particular, the first paragraph.

Recommend this Post

In Fairness, This Is Nonsense

I have to say that I find the following paragraph highly offensive:

Also in fairness, the reluctance of the Tories to endorse a wide-ranging inquiry might simply be evidence of a lesson well-learned from watching the results of the Liberals' Gomery inquiry into the sponsorship scandal.

Why is it fair for the Tories to rule out an inquiry because the one the Liberals called, sunk the Liberal government? That is, not to put too fine a point on it, illogical. Think about it for a second. If the Conservatives were the virgins they are claiming to be, they would be grasping onto the idea of an inquiry with both hands. That way, when they were found to be completely blameless, they could use that fact to bludgeon the opposition to death. They have every reason to be afraid of an independent judicial inquiry, but fairness has nothing to do with it.

Recommend this Post

Ok Let's Think Like A Robot

“The Conservative Party had nothing to do with these inappropriate phone calls,” Mr. Harper said. Note, he did not say that it wasn't a subcontractor.

Recommend this Post

Tough Shit

A new justification for possible electoral fraud, from one of the usual suspects.

Recommend this Post

A Third Rate Crank Call

Blaming a young party worker for this, is a) typical of Canada's Nixon and b) like pinning Watergate on Donald Segretti.

Recommend this Post

Question

Conservative Party, political organization or organized crime syndicate? Discuss.

Recommend this Post

We Are A Nation Of Men...

And not laws. If I had to guess how the Harperites will deal with a court ruling against them on the CWB, I would say they are going to ram through their legislation in the Senate, get it royal assent and then argue that they broke no law because the law doesn't exist anymore. Who knows, now that we are ruled like a third world country, they may even get away with it.

Update: I will bow to my conservative friend Ben's contention that no parliament should be able to shackle a future one. That is the basis for our system of government. However, the means by which this government is proceeding is both arrogant and stupid and could have been avoided. If they had passed a bill first which ended the voting power of farmers, the courts would not have had anything to chew on. By doing it this way, the government left itself wide open to court action and by ignoring the court's decision opens itself up to far ranging political fallout. I expect many rural prairie MP's are afraid to open up their emails today.

Recommend this Post

Harper's Deal With The Devil

Seems to be holding firm. Another scandal erupts, at just the right time...to prorogue.

Recommend this Post

The Empire Strikes Back

The oligarchy is worried, as they should be. They are losing the middle class.

Recommend this Post

Toews Definition Of Effective Gun Control

Use both hands.

Recommend this Post

Oil Companies Need Some Patience

The U.S. is still somewhat of a democracy. Obama knows that he has to act like an environmentalist for another year. The oil companies will get their way, I am guessing, a few days after the election, next November.

Recommend this Post

Wedge

The hiring of a uni-lingual English speaker has nothing to do about qualifications. Like everything else with this government, it is about throwing meat to the base and practicing wedge politics. Harper has calculated that he can rule forever if he keeps his rural-Ontario/Alberta axis intact. He knows his voters despise Quebec and hate bilingualism because they are neither Quebecois nor bilingual. "Fuck the French" is the new motto of this government. It is guaranteed to play well in Conservative ridings across the county.

Recommend this Post

At Last

Something the Legion and I agree about. We made a compact with these people and we have to live up to it. It will be interesting to see how the government reacts.

Recommend this Post

The Rape Of Greece

When even Fox News thinks something is unjust, you know it is a fucking catastrophe. This is going to end badly for the everyone, but especially for the Greek people. This is the ultimate example of modern neo-liberalism in action. God save the banks, but to hell with everyone else. It is the guiding principle of the emerging age of oligarchy.

Recommend this Post

An Iron Curtain Has Descended In Ottawa

Who the hell has ever heard of needing Ministerial clearance, to use a public auditorium in a library? No one, until now. Come on libertarians. Make some noise.

Recommend this Post