It Turned Me Into A Duck!

Wind power protesters come to Queen's Park.

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Bizarro World

In this story what do we have? We have the Harper government touting the value of government ownership and a tycoon using cheap nationalist rhetoric as a means to undermine them.

Update: If you ever needed a reason to believe strategic infrastructure should never be in private hands, read on.

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Stephen Harper's Birthday

Happy (withheld for national security reasons), Mr. ( withheld to protect confidential source).

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The Wrong Question

The MSM seems seized with the question "What is the opposition's proposal to get the Afghan documents?" That is the wrong question. It is the question the Harperites want the press to be obsessed with. The real question is and should be, when will the government obey the ruling of the Speaker and give the documents to the House?

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Christ On A Crutch

Read Norm Spector and his comments section. Do you still believe the government is cooperating? If you answered yes, I have swamp land in Arizona you might be interested in.

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Question Of The Day

Is Scott Feschuk dumber than a hamster? Anyone who would write the following sentence, must be considered a candidate for the stationary wheel:

Beyond that, most of us instinctively grasp the fact that if NDPers really wanted to see genuine progress on the causes they support, they’d disband and join the Liberals en masse.

When will the minions of the Liberal Party, in the MSM, get it through their heads that the last red Liberal with power, died in 2000? The modern Liberal Party is as blue as John Manley's tie collection. That Liberals are not bat shit crazy, should be a source of some comfort, I suppose, but they are no friends of "genuine progress". They are properly medicated Conservatives. Nothing more. God knows the NDP has its problems, but most days they are not Liberals.

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Shorter Mary Dawson

Using novelty cheques with partisan logos for government announcements is sleazy and wrong, but it isn't illegal according to the Act.

Do I hear the phrase "Open season!" emanating from the government benches?

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Of Lights And Roaches

Stephen Harper, always the bully, is trying to cow the opposition by holding an election over their heads. Jack Layton, for once, was having none of it:

So when NDP Leader Jack Layton pursued a similar line of questioning to Mr. Ignatieff, Mr. Harper seemed to dare the opposition parties to force an election on the issue.

“We are seeking to respect the decision as well as our legal obligations,” he replied. “... It is still the case that the government depends on the confidence of the House” – a phrase he repeated for emphasis when Mr. Layton asked a follow-up question on the same topic.

The NDP Leader demanded a clarification. “Is the Prime Minister telling us today that he is going to defy the ruling of the Speaker and the will of the House in order to go to an election? Is that what he is saying he is going to do? Is he going to defy the will of the House and go to the people on a vote? Is that what he is putting forward today?”
Only then did Mr. Harper appear to soften.

“I do not think I said any of those things,” he said. “In fact, I think I said quite the contrary. The government seeks at all times to respect all of its obligations. To the extent that some of those obligations may be in conflict, there are reasonable ways to accommodate that and we are open to reasonable suggestions in that regard.”

Layton's "Hold on a minute" moment needs to be the approach taken by the opposition as a whole. They all need to bluntly ask the PM if he is going to continue his games playing rather than seriously attempt to follow the will of the House. Harper knows that if he is seen as the one who refused to cooperate and instead forced an election, the people of this country will crucify him. The opposition must consistently shine a bright spotlight on Harper's intentions so as to limit them to cooperation. Otherwise, like any good cockroach, Harper will make his play, in the dark.

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Question Of The Day

The Conservatives say they are not going to raise taxes. They have a massive deficit and now want to spend 10 billion on prisons. Where are they going to get the money?

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Dear Jack And Michael

This is what those close to the PM think of you:

At the end of the day, Iggy & Layton are a couple spineless wets. Want to go to the polls on Taliban prisoners? Not likely. --Kory Tenyeke from Twitter

Oh, and Michael, he really thinks you are a pussy. The question for both of you is this, is he right?

H/t to Buckdog

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Non-Privilege Thought Of The Day

Did anyone but me find it odd that the CBC invited three men to argue over the politics of abortion?

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Well, Tomorrow May Suck And The PM May Call Out The Army

But it is a beautiful day here in Canada today.

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Is Ottawa The New Jerusalem?

It is often said that Israel has no foreign policy, only domestic policy. It seems the Conservatives are importing that governing philosophy into Canada. The government, by announcing that it is not going to fund abortions overseas (while doing so at home, but shhh), is using foreign aid policy as yet another means to shore up its base. If it can use abortion and the "non-opening" of the abortion debate as another wedge issue, so much the better. But, you had better not suggest that this is just more cultural warfare on the Conservatives' part. They don't engage in culture war. Don't you know that, you leftard?


Almost Instant Update: I guess no one has to ask what the Conservatives would do about domestic abortion if they ever got a majority.

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Open Letter To Jack Layton

Dear Jack,

Long time, no speak. There is a rumour going around that you are thinking of whipping the vote on the long gun registry. Is this true? Don't get an old guy's hopes up, if you are just teasing. I hope you are serious and are ready to stand up for what you know is right.

I know this isn't easy, what with the Conservatives playing American style pressure ads in rural ridings, but this alone should be enough for you to crack the whip. The idea that this is somehow a free vote is just absurd. The Conservative Party is playing games, as it always does, with the truth. The truth is, this is a government bill in all but name. It has the support of the government and the governing party is spending vast amounts of advertising dollars, bullying opposition members. My rule of thumb is, if the governing party has to spend millions on advertising, to pressure opposition votes, it is not a free vote. Call bullshit on this free vote and make your members stand and say no.

Finally, the NDP stands for gun control. Like it or not, this gun registry is part of the regime of gun control in this country and the police seem to agree it is necessary. That does not mean it can't be improved, but you don't improve a structure by burning it to the ground. Propose amendments to the registry, but support the registry itself. You may lose members over this, but that is the nature of democracy. You can comfort yourself by knowing that the votes you may lose in rural ridings probably were never yours in the first place. You can also comfort yourself, by knowing that people like me, will be more willing to give your party another look, if it stands up for something we care about.

Please think about it and for God's sake do the right thing, both for your party and for the country. Support gun control Support the long gun registry.

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Note To Liberals

When you have the other guy by the balls and he begins to scream, that's the time to squeeze even harder. Sad to say, but that is the only "language" this government understands.

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The Culture War

Tolerance versus racism. Exhibit A. Read the comments of the readers of the Conservative Party's house organ.

H/t to CC.

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What Frank Graves Said

Frank Graves gave this advice to the Liberals:

‘I told them that they should invoke a culture war. Cosmopolitanism versus parochialism, secularism versus moralism, Obama versus Palin, tolerance versus racism and homophobia, democracy versus autocracy. If the cranky old men in Alberta don’t like it, too bad. Go south and vote for Palin.’

Any party that truly stands for these things is half way to getting my vote (attention NDP brain trust). City dwellers have been pushed around for far too long by ignorant, bible thumping, shit kickers. It's time to say "Enough".

Update: Needless to say, Graves is being savaged by Conservative talking heads (He was just smeared by Kory Teneyke on CBC), who obviously want the CBC and other media outlets to blacklist him (though they are strangely silent about Allan Gregg's role on the CBC, I'll note). Bravo to him for telling it like it is.

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Question Of The Day

How much money from urban Canada is squandered in rural Canada ? If the long gun registry is killed, urban Canadians should ask that question every time the government spends money there. Oh, and we should start to question the need for things like the milk marketing board too. I can get my milk from American dairies just as easily. Screw em. That's the new Canadian ethos under the Conservatives. Let's embrace it.

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Does Anyone Understand The NDP Long Gun Policy?

Including the NDP? They are probably going to vote with the government to scrap the long gun registry (on the limp excuse that the bill is not a government bill, so they are powerless to whip it)but then say things like this:

On the committee side of things, Comartin says the NDP has several ideas on how to amend the bill when hearings start in early May. Comartin says New Democrats would also like to streamline and decriminalize some aspects of the registry. Although, unlike the Liberals, the NDP would not allow a blanket pardon on all first-time offenses and Comartin says the fees should stay,

"Much as we pay to register our dog and register our car, we should be paying to register our guns. Not as a profit-making for the government but simply to compensate the government for the cost of the system."

To which I have to ask, what is the sense of saying you want to charge for registering firearms when you are helping to scrap the entire system? That's like you are in favor of installing smoke detectors as you are in the process of burning down the building.

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You Need Me On That Wall!

Doesn't Walter Natynczyk's letter sound like the beginning of Nicholson's testimony in A Few Good Men? I expect within a few days the good general (and his Conservative handlers) will be screaming "You can't handle the truth!", over and over again.

PS. I love the lawyer's cheek in asking "whether shooting someone from behind is consistent with the rules of engagement".

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Ten Or Twenty Years From Now

When the horrors of Afghanistan are finally acknowledged, Canadians will say "We just didn't know". Let me be the first to call Bullshit. We know, but it is so bad, we just don't want to know.

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Today In WTF Moments

I had to read this paragraph twice. It concerns the lack of information surrounding the investigation into Helena Guergis. Her lawyer claims he doesn't even know what the allegations are and this is the PMO's repsonse:

The chief spokesman for the Prime Minister, Dimitri Soudas, told reporter David Akin that Guergis' lawyer is incorrect and that Guergis was informed directly of the allegations by the Conservative Party lawyer, Arthur Hamilton.

To which I have to ask WTF? Guergis was informed by the Conservative Party's lawyer? Was there no official from the government available? Do we even have government officials connected with policing and the law anymore? Has the government privatized the administration of justice? WTF?

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Thought For The Day

When the big topic on Power and Politics is Iggy's use of "political class" in a sentence, the show has officially hit rock bottom. Evan Solomon is an arts reporter and covers politics like it is a play. Is this the best the CBC can do?

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John Ibbitson Gets The Vapors

Apparently, we missed a chance to join a free trade deal with Vietnam. Apparently, this means the end of civilization.

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For Helena

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Four Horseman Alert

Lord save us all. I agree with Lorne Gunter.

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A Conservative Explains The New YouTube

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Harper Searches For New Governor General

May I suggest a Tim Horton's donut? It is delicious and it never talks back. It also appeals to the base. This should be a no brainer for the Dear Leader.

Note: The image is being used under the creative commons generic license. The original can be found here.

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Why I Am A Ronin Lefty, Reason 623

Gutless responses to challenges from the Conservatives, on the most basic tenets of what the party used to stand for. For example, in today's Globe, Douglas Bell relates a story about the Conservatives' tough-on-crime mania and how no one is calling bullshit on them:

Even the Dippers (who used to count the Quakers as allies when it came to prison reform) want in on the act. At lunch with a senior Commie some weeks ago I raised an article in The Economist which read in part:

“Fighting crime has been a priority for Mr. Harper's minority government ever since the Conservatives defeated the Liberals in 2006. A third of the 63 bills introduced in the House of Commons in the past year have dealt with some aspect of criminal justice, and more are on their way. Despite complaints that a similar, purely punitive approach has not worked in the United States, and that piecemeal change will clog up the justice system and leave taxpayers with a larger bill, the government has not deviated.”

My man mumbled something about Jane Creba and that if I were to raise that sort of mumbo jumbo in a forum concerned with soliciting votes from real people I’d get laughed out of the room.

Well, sure, I responded, but, ah, crime stats are down across the board and doesn’t supporting tough-on-crime legislation make you guys what the late Paul Tsongas used to call “pander bears?”

At which point my socialist interlocutor changed the channel on the conversation like I was a rerun of The New Beachcombers.

The folks who are running the NDP at the moment, would rather support something popular but stupid, than advocate for doing what is productive, but might cause them to be ridiculed by the braying donkeys on the government benches. Such non-stands are why the NDP used to make fun of the Liberals. The question is, who is laughing now?

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Show Me The Seats

For me there is only one question, is Ontario being treated the same way as Alberta and B.C.? If they all get the number of seats they are due, because of population growth, good. If Ontario is declared "special" (read as "Let's screw Ontario") and gets fewer seats than is its due, I will be pissed, as will the vast majority in this province. Stephen Fletcher take note.

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