He Must Be So Proud

Since he didn't say "Go shoot some fucking Indians", Mike Harris is "exonerated". We'll just add this to his other "exoneration" and move on.

Update:Harris lovers need to give their heads a shake. While Harris didn't order the police to go into the park, that does not mean he has been "exonerated". It is clear from the report that Harris did everything within his power to box the police in so they didn't have many alternative options. It is very similar to say cutting funds to a department of environment so that there are no inspectors around to stop two incompetent local yahoos from poisoning a town. Sure, the premier didn't poison the town either, but to say he was totally blameless doesn't pass the laugh test. Setting policy at a distance does have concrete and sometimes fatal consequences on the ground.

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Alert The Media

I actually agree with Ian Urquhart. The only laugh out loud moment in the piece came at the end, when Ian suddenly realizes the federal Liberals might just screw Ontario, too. By the way, I will have to look into how Jack and friends will vote on this issue.

Update: I don't know how I missed this but Coyne wrote a spot on piece about this, the other day.

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When Conservatives Attack?

Is it just me, or are the Conservatives latest attack ads a tad bizarre? I guess if you have nothing to offer in the way of solutions to Afghanistan, health care and drug costs, education, and global warming, you might as well start a pissing contest with Dion over Senate reform. This "government" is its own best advertisement -- for electoral reform.

Today's Update: Don Martin says it all:

But blasting Stephane Dion's "puppet-on-a-string" leadership as the culprit smacks of cheapshot desperation. To condemn Mr. Dion for failing to operate Liberal senators by remote control does more to question the Senate's usefulness and bolster arguments about its uselessness than any Conservative argument for reform. It's not Mr. Dion's job to whip his senators into line and pass Conservative legislation on the government's timetable. It's not a sign of lousy leadership that he can't get supposedly independent- minded Liberals to follow his marching orders.

If the Conservative view of a perfect Senate is to serve as an echo chamber for the government's agenda, let's just abolish the damn thing now and save a pile of money and time.

Amen, brother Don. Amen.

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Shorter Psycho Steve Climate Change Edition

Canada will do something about climate change -- just as soon as we can get every last person on earth to agree on one plan of action.

Harper is getting more Liberal every day.

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The Star Endorses PR (Sort Of)

At least the Star endorses enlarging the House of Commons according to the proportion of the population for each province. While I am happy the Star has come out in favor of a bigger House, I will be watching them very carefully in the coming months as we run up to the referendum on electoral reform, in Ontario. The proposed Ontario reform would see an expansion of Ontario MMP's to a level almost identical to the one the Star proposes for Ontario's share of the House of Commons. I will be very quick to point this out to the good people at the Star, should they trot out the "too many politicians" argument, in the future.

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Sing With Me Now

Aside from a couple of typos (you will know them when you see them), this is a nifty aid to all us shower rock gods. Thanks whoever posted this on Youtube. I needed this today. :)

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Afghanistan

I have to say up front that I am ambivalent about Afghanistan. I think I represent the huge middle ground of opinion on this issue in Canada. Let me explain to both the hawks and doves why I (and I would contend the majority of the rest of Canadians) feel the way I do.

I agree that Afghanistan is an entirely different situation than Iraq. The intervention in Afghanistan was entirely justifiable, given the events of 9/11. I also agree that our troops and other officials are trying mightily to help the people of Afghanistan recover from 30 years of war, and for that they deserve our thanks. Frankly, I don't think you could find many Canadians who would disagree with either of the above statements. But, there are things about the "mission" in Afghanistan that bother me and keep me from embracing it unreservedly.

The biggest reason for my ambivalence stems from the quality of leadership we are getting, on Afghanistan. The elephant in the room is the Bush Administration. I trust neither Bush's judgement nor his honesty and as long as he is president of our largest ally, it is highly unlikely that I will trust the decisions being made about Afghanistan in NATO. And, seeing our Prime Minister hugging the Bush Administration so closely, even to the point of using their catch phrases (cut and run, etc.), only serves to reinforce the uneasy feeling I get that our government will not question a president who needs to be questioned, closely.

The detainee issue is a perfect illustration of the mistrust I have in our government's ability to lead us in an intelligent way. We are signatories to the Geneva Conventions and our government, through its action and inaction, seems indifferent to the consequences for our troops should we ignore our responsibilities under them. Given the lessons of Abu Ghraib (another huge elephant in the room), it is unsettling that our government would dismiss the issue so summarily (even to the point of trotting out the beleaguered President of Afghanistan to use as a shield for our PM).

So, the bottom line for me is trust. Until I can trust our leaders, both domestically and internationally to make competent and legal decisions in the conduct of the mission, I will not feel comfortable with our involvement in Afghanistan, despite my desire to help the people there.

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Waterloo Blogstravaganza

A reminder to all blogging junkies in the Waterloo Region that James Bow will be launching his latest novel this Saturday. The event will happen at the Waterloo Public Library on Albert Street at 2 pm. The launch will be followed by liquid refreshments at the Heuther Hotel around 4 pm. Be there, or kindly be square. You might even find out what Greg Staples is up to these days. :)

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Doer's Legacy Project

Congratulations to Gary Doer and the Manitoba NDP for winning the election yesterday. There were several reporters speculating on the CBC, that Mr. Doer is looking to create a lasting legacy to mark his time in office. I would suggest that if Mr. Doer wants to do something worthwhile, he should make sure that last night's election was the last ever to be run using the first past the post electoral system. If Mr. Doer reforms the way governments are elected in Manitoba, he would leave Manitobans with the gift of democracy and Canadians with a shining example to follow.

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An Emerging Pattern

I am noticing a pattern among the Star's attacks on MMP. They have given up entirely defending the merits of FPTP. They must realize how indefensible such a position is. I mean how can one defend a system that is an undemocratic anachronism unsuited to multiparty democracy? It isn't easy and so they have stopped trying.

Look out for today's highlight. Richard Gwyn calls women an "identity group". Behold the Star, Canada's "progressive" newspaper.

Update: One last thing. Gwyn does bring up some other systemic problems now extant in Canadian politics. They are worthy issues, but completely irrelevant to the debate over the electoral system. They are red herrings designed to confuse the issue. People who bring them up need to explain how maintaining the status quo in our electoral system will promote reform in other areas of our political system.

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I've Got A Rock That Keeps Tigers Away

I was watching Jay Hill on Question Period yesterday, and I was struck by the Tory's take on the chaos in Parliament. He tried to justify Tory tactics as a way to "push back" at a defacto coalition government created by the opposition. It struck me because, the underlying logic to that argument is pretty warped. It seems the Tories believe that although they have a minority of the seats in the House, they are entitled to have total control of the agenda, as some sort of divine right. There is no need to cooperate with other parties, because they are "the government". That is the "logic" of a "majority" government.

It is easy to understand why the Tories feel this way. In a FPTP system they know they are roughly 4 percentage points away from having absolute power. They know that with that amount of minority support from the country they can pretend they have a majority mandate, so why not pretend they have a majority with 36 percent? It is magical thinking, but it is promoted by the Alice In Wonderland electoral system we now have. However, if the Tories knew they were 14 percent away from having a majority, rather than 4, they would behave in a different way. They would be seeking partners rather than living in a dream world of their own creation.

We need to remove this enabler of fantasy from the playing field. We need to change the voting system so that the parties will need majority voter support in order to be a majority in the House. Otherwise, this kind of magical thinking will carry on and on into our future. Our politicians need a cure from "majority mania" and we need better politics.

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MSM Pundits Need A Vacation Too

Greg Weston spouts this pearl of conventional wisdom today:

Jack Layton and the New Democrats seem to be drifting aimlessly, opposed to everything and champions of nothing, gaining votes nowhere they roam.

Do the pundits in Ottawa even pay attention to party positions on issues anymore? It doesn't seem like it. The NDP has spent the last several months trying to champion the environment, for example (there are other issues they are pushing too, but the environment is the most high profile) and yet the pundits in Ottawa still cling to the "official" stories they tell each other, all day long. It isn't just the politicians who need to re-evaluate their attitudes during the summer. The pundits need to think more carefully about their orthodoxies at the cottage this summer, too.

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A Favourable Electoral Refom Article

And in my local paper, no less. Yay!

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Not Enough MP's Says Dalton

I am glad the McGuinty government is on record saying that Ontario needs roughly 123 MP's in the House of Commons (which is still low, I reckon). That is pretty darn close to the 129 recommended for the Ontario legislature, by the Citizen's Assembly. Let us not hear the phrase "too many politicians" passing from the lips of Liberals in the coming months, neh?

Update: While we are at it, let's all file this away for later too. If the Star thinks all votes should be treated equally, why do they stand so squarely against electoral reform in Ontario?

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Tom Walkom Is A Worried Man

He thinks this electoral reform thingee might just catch on. That's why he is wagging his finger at "the left" and suggesting all kinds of nightmare scenarios for them, should the referendum pass. Walkom tries to pull off an interesting trick. First, he suggests that electoral reform will destroy the NDP (while leaving the Liberals and Conservatives completely intact) and then suggests that nothing much will change, so why bother? Walkom even uses New Zealand as an example of how electoral reform is bad for the left (conveniently playing down the fact that Labour has run New Zealand for the whole of this century).

Walkom never does bother to defend the status quo (which is the only other choice on offer), because he knows how weak that case is. It is pretty hard to defend a system that gives absolute power to minority parties (which through the vagaries of FPTP, are "magically transformed" into fake "majorities"). It is nigh on impossible to defend a system that is, at its heart, an undemocratic anachronism from the 19th century. No, it's best just to throw a scare into the "left" so they will stop all this fussing and bow down at the alter of inertia. Yup, Liberal headquarters is worried. And it should be. Change is coming.

Update: The more I think about Walkom's piece, the more insulted I get. Does he think "the left" is naive enough to think that democracy will always break its way and it will retain power forever? Electoral reform has nothing whatever to do with "the left" maintaining power (especially if you are like me and don't consider Liberals to be of "the left"). Electoral reform is about bringing fairness to a system that is now structurally unfair. The fortunes of this or that party is completely irrelevant. What advocates for electoral reform want is democracy. We are willing to accept the verdict of the electorate (or as Layton put it in another context, willing to work with the house that the people build). Liberals like Walkom are only interested maintaining power as an end in itself. And that's why the system must be changed.

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Interesting

Anyone care to speculate who is behind this site?

Update: It looks like these folks run it. It is an interesting project, worth keeping an eye on.

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A Government of Liars

A note to those who would believe the government spin on the chaos now devouring parliament. Read Don Martin's column.

Update:Don Newman pointed out that the fact this leak probably came from a Tory committee chairman and was leaked to the National Post, is probably making the boys in the PMO pretty damn nervous. The backbench is getting sick of Psycho Steve and the Bully Boys. Good on 'em, I say. It shows that even Steve can't totally beat the humanity out of people.

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Ontario Screwed Again

I should have know it was too good to be true. I actually thought for a moment that this government was actually doing something for Ontario. Of course that was naive. This government's only concern is to contain Ontario and minimize its influence in confederation. This so-called representation by population reform is a sham, like everything else this government does.

The legislation is written in such a way that Quebec's ratio of voters to MPs becomes the benchmark. But any provinces larger than Quebec – Ontario is the only one – would not enjoy the full benefits. According to his government's numbers, in 2021 Ontario's share of the national population will hit 40.4 per cent while its share of seats will be 35.6 per cent, an under-representation of 4.8 per cent. The Ontario under-representation in 2011 is projected at 4.3 per cent. By contrast, the under-representation of B.C. and Alberta will disappear between those years.

The legislation is specifically designed to screw Ontario. It isn't about making the system fairer for Ontario, but to give other parts of the country their share of seats in the House due to them. That's fine and good, but to do that while still screwing Ontario is not going to win any points from the voters of Ontario. For the government to give all parts of this country representation by population except Ontario, is just one more insult to democracy and the people of this province, by a party that doesn't understand us and has no interest in giving us our fair say in the workings of the nation.

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Exclusive Footage Of Steve In Parliament!

The press is all atwitter over Steve's introduction of vital legislation against Venus yesterday, while fighting rearguard actions against Terra Mater on two fronts. Nonsense, says I. The real story is Steve's triumphant entrance into the House yesterday, to announce that he had destroyed one of his greatest enemies.

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Extraordinary

For the second time in a couple of weeks, Wells calls Psycho Steve a liar.

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How Many Tim Horton's Dad's

Can blow off a subpoena? The answer is none, because Steve is not a Tim Horton's dad. Hat tip to the Jurist.

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The Citizen's Assembly On Electoral Reform

The final report is now online. I will post about it in the coming days. Until then, give it a read.

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You Are In Trouble When...

Republicans start badmouthing your climate change plan.

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Heroes Moment Of Greatness

The look of pride on Mr. Nakamura's face when Hiro expresses in words, the realization of his destiny, gave me chills. What a show!

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Least Surprising Headline Today

Cover-up Culture Rife in RCMP, Committee Told. Of course the RCMP takes its cue from its political masters. No wonder Steve made RCMP headquarters one of his first visits after becoming PM. Great minds, you know.

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MMP More Choice

Democratic Space has a great post about the benefits of MMP (with added visual aids!!). I agree with the poster that the feature of the system I find most appealing, is the ability to split the vote between party and local candidate. MMP allows voters to vote for a popular local MPP regardless of party and still vote for their preferred party too. It is a much more positive system than FPTP which too often forces voters to vote against either their own preferred party for "strategic" reasons or against a good local MPP because he or she belongs to the "wrong party".

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And Speaking Of Opportunities

That's how the Conservatives should look at this poll. There is no election in the offing. There is still time to turn the numbers around, but as I see it, the Tories are going to have to take one for the team and pass C-30. Otherwise, and this is especially true if we have a hot, dry summer, they are going to look back on these numbers with fondness.

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Ok, I Will Throw The Dog A Bone

I am happy this lousy government is doing one decent thing. It is following through on its pledge to bring the House of Commons more into line with the principle of representation by population. As the Jurist notes, the increase in the number of seats for Ontario makes the anti-electoral reform argument of "not needing more politicians" a little less potent. And even though helping the forces of electoral reform in Ontario is probably at the very bottom of this government's priority list, I thank them none-the-less.

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Harper's Human Shields

I find it disgusting that our beloved leader is using our troops as human shields. He repeatedly and intentionally uses them to deflect criticism from his lousy government. Today, he was at it again. He went to an army base and said:

"Last month, nine soldiers from Petawawa were honoured for their work in Afghanistan, but sadly the attention has not been on them,'' he told the military community at CFB Petawawa.

"Those soldiers did not receive the attention they deserved because their story has been eclipsed by quarrels in the House of Commons with respect to allegations about detainees.

Excuse me, Mr. Harper. Have you looked in a mirror lately? If questions are being asked about detainees, it is because you are not doing your job, sir. This has nothing to do with the troops and to use them as a shield against your critics is the worst sort of moral cowardice. You sir, are a disgrace and unfit to be in the company of such heroes. Take your slime and crawl back under the nearest rock, sir. There you will be once again in an environment more suitable to a creature such as yourself.

Update: It seems other folks are seeing Stephen Harper in the same light as me, today. His loathesomeness is just so damn obvious, I guess.

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CBC Advocates The Death Of The NDP

I watched the National's piece (there is no time signature on it. The story is about three quarters of the way through) on the so-called "unite the left" movement last night, with a mixture of horror and amusement. The CBC has swallowed the premise that the Liberals are a centre left party. It completely ignored the record of the Liberals in power. It ignored the broken promises on the GST, NAFTA, daycare and Kyoto.

The CBC, in effect became a mouthpiece for the usual Liberal propaganda spouted on the Liblogs. The NDP is too partisan (as Don Newman has said on his show I thought that's what politicians do). The NDP only is looking out for itself. The NDP doesn't care if the Tories win. If only the NDP would get out of the Liberals way, we would have a "progressive" government. Not once did the reporter stop to question that ludicrous idea. Not once.

The topper of course was the reporter's choice in "witnesses". She used such well known "progressives" as the Liberal candidate for Central Nova, Elizabeth May and Paul Martin hugger, Buzz Hargrove (Jamey Heath was also included, "for balance", but he was never allowed to get the last word. Ever.) to whine about the NDP's "selfishness" and push "strategic voting".

Strategic voting is the biggest fraud ever perpetrated on the Canadian public. It posits that you can elect a Liberal government by voting for the NDP "where they have a chance to win". At least that is the surface message. The real message is "Everyone panic, the Tories may win if you vote NDP, vote Liberal or kittens will die!".

Where was the discussion about electoral reform? Nowhere. Electoral reform is the elephant in the room that the Liberal hierarchy want to ignore (and encourages everyone else to be polite enough not to mention in their presence). What a missed opportunity. The CBC could have had a good discussion about the real way forward for progressives. Instead, it pushed forward the agenda of the Liberal Party. What a diappointment.

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Dumb As A Sack Of Hammers

All I can say is any government that would hire an anarchist to monitor the media for it, deserves everything it gets.

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You Say Whistle-Blower. I Say Enemy Of The State

Our glorious Environment Minister said:

“I don't think there's any suggestion that this was involving a whistle-blower,” the minister said. “Someone on an unauthorized basis leaked something, sensitive information, anonymously.” (emphasis mine)

That used to be the definition of whistle blowing. I guess, under the benevolent leadership of Chairman Steve, it now means the releasing pre-authorized press releases, written by the PMO. After all, we all know that whistle blowing is meant to point out the flaws of evil people, ie Liberals, not Conservatives.

The other interesting bit from this incident is the continuing NKVDing of the RCMP. Anyone who is waiting for serious reform of the RCMP in the face of overwhelming evidence of incompetence, may as well expect the moon to fall from the sky. As long as dangerous criminals like this nameless Environment Canada employee are out there challenging the authority our beloved Conservative regime, and the RCMP is willing to track them down, no questions asked, they will have the backing of the government.

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The Tories Never Ending Election Mode

If Conservatives want to know why people are turning away from them in droves, they need to look no further than this story. Rather than tackle real problems like Afghanistan or the environment, the Tories seem consumed by their need to embarrass the Liberals at every opportunity. I have a message for the Tories. We get it. The Liberals are no good. Please stop using the machinery of state power to slap at them. It makes you look petty and unconcerned with anything but partisan politics. It as subtle as a Mac truck and it turns people off. Get on with governing and stop running for re-election every second of every fricking day.

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Wanna Feel Really Good Today?

Watch Feist and smile my friends. We live in a wonderful world. You can thank me later.

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I Never Had Sexual Relations With That Woman: The Afghan Detainee Edition

Another day, another story. If your just read the headlines, it makes it look like the military brass is claiming that Col. Steve Noonan is either crazy or a liar -- that he doesn't know whether or not he had someone in his custody. But if you look closer, you can pretty quickly see they are doing something else. They are using the "Clinton Defence". Here is the key section of the story:

"Nothing in the circumstances described can lead to the conclusion that the individual was tortured and that CF members were aware of such torture," he said.

"This individual was not processed by the CF as a detainee; he was arrested by the ANP."

Canadian troops questioned the man in the Zangabad region west of Kandahar -- known to be a haven for Taliban insurgents.

But they didn't consider him enough of a threat or intelligence source to treat him as a detainee, Natynczyk said. The man was then arrested by the Afghan National Police, according to his statement. (emphasis mine)

In other words, it all depends on what you mean by "custody". Col. Noonan may have thought he had the guy in his custody, but he was just mistaken. The proper paperwork had not been filed with the proper bureaucrats, so he was just a guy who was in the general vacinity of Canadian troops. None of our business really. Pretty cute, eh? A little too cute, if you ask me. I wonder how the war crimes court in the Hague would react to such a brazen attempt to evade responsibility? All I can say is it is a sad day when your whole defence comes down to semantic games. Our troops deserve better than that.

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National Security

The last bastion of crooks and liars everywhere.

Update: Once again, this shows the uncommon decency of the common Canadian soldier. If our government showed one billionth the integrity of the front line troops, it wouldn't be in the mess it is in.

Update 2:This quote from Steve shows he doesn't understand anything, aside from the politics of smear:

"Why has the story gone on? I'm not sure we've heard any new information beyond the unsubstantiated allegations from a handful of former Taliban prisoners," he told reporters. "Apparently the opposition has little else to do these days than attack the good work that the Canadian troops are doing."

Apparently the rule of law is only to apply to good people. The troops in the field deserve much better leadership than this turd can provide.

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Time To Break Up The RCMP

I always knew it was going to be bad. Governments of both the Conservatives and Liberals treated Air India like radioactive waste for over twenty years. That only happens when governments know an inquiry is going to make some arm of the government look terrible. But, the evidence coming out at the Air India Inquiry is so shocking in both its scope and detail that it confirms my worst suspicions about the RCMP. It makes all of the other events involving the RCMP over the years (the intervention in the last election, Mayerthorpe, the deaths of people in RCMP custody in BC) completely understandable. The RCMP needs to be broken up. Abolished. Done away with. The cost of keeping the Musical Ride is just too damn high.

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Sad, Sad, Sad

I haven't said much about the Shane Doan affair, because I was stunned into silence by the stupidity of it all. This is, by a long shot, the stupidest "controversy" I have ever seen in my 30 years of watching Canadian politics. Our politicians have much to be sorry for over this. I can't think of a single one of them who deserves anything but contempt over this farce. The really sad thing about it, is our politicians all thought they were being clever. Think about that.

All of the big brains in Ottawa thought it would be a good idea to use Shane Doan as a wedge. The Bloc, since they don't really give a shit about national unity were stirring the pot for the benefit of their ever diminishing base. The NDP, blithely went along, trying to look like it "understands" (read panders to) the concerns of Quebec voters. The Liberals went along, because they are astonishingly still listening to Denis Coderre. Most astonishing of all, the Tories went along, because their leader wants to eat the Bloc's lunch in rural Quebec and thinks he can do it if he acts like a Quebec nationalist with an English name. The irony is of course, that Quebecers, like everyone else in this country, can smell a phony controversy a mile off. I would bet a Tim Horton's coffee that the vast majority of Quebecers are as mystified and ticked off about our stupid politicians as the rest of us are.

In the end, what have our great leaders accomplished? Remarkably little, aside from tarnishing the reputation of a young Canadian who only wanted to play hockey. Oh, they also managed to all look like complete idiots who would sell their own grandmothers to get a few more seats. Are our citizen's reputations thought so cheap in Ottawa that they think seats are more valuable than the good name of one us? For shame.

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Wells On May

It is good to see someone in the MSM finally taking a good hard look at the Liberal candidate for Central Nova.

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Will Wonders Never Cease Department

A pro-electoral reform column in the Toronto Star. Mind you, they had to farm this one out to Fair Vote Canada, but I will take it.

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Quick Hit

Coyne encapsulates the government's explanation of the detainee mess. Try to read it without laughing out loud and cringing. Go on, I dare you.

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Carol Goar Is Confused

If you want to know what Liberals are "thinking" about the NDP these days, read Carol Goar. She has all their talking points down perfectly. Cherniak is so good, I didn't even see his lips move. I would deconstruct this steaming pile, point by point, but I have a busy day ahead. I trust you to see Goars crayon-composed screed for what it is.

Almost immediate update: Ok, I will look at one section:

What is more ominous than these ambiguous readings are the rumblings of a unite-the-left movement.

As the Tories tighten their grip on power, progressive voters are agitating for some kind of coalition or solidarity pact among the opposition parties.

She must have written this around Christmas. The Tories are going nowhere, fast. They are not consolidating anything, rather they seem to be about to tear each other apart in an ideological civil war. As for "progressives" agitating for a unite the left movement, I think the NDP can resist the siren song of those "progressive" giants, Buzz Hargrove, Elizabeth May and assorted Liberal bloggers.

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Jack Layton Is Looking Smarter By The Day

No wonder he won't answer her calls. Would you? Liberals don't need to reply.

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