Flora MacDonald Speaks Up

This is just the kind of thing I have been waiting for; one of the older , more respected members of the Progressive Conservatives to come forward and give their 2 cents.

In an interview with CTV last night, Flora was really good. Oh so carefully, she separated herself from the Harper Conservatives by reminding us that she was in the Progressive Conservative party. Go Flora!

Very politely, she mentioned that Harper’s government told her recently, that they are simply not interested in the plight of women and children in the world. Hmmm, that’s odd. I’m sure that I heard Stephen Harper say that women and children are his main focus at the G8 in Davos, Switzerland. Am I missing something?

What does she think about the prorogation? Well, she’s dead set against it. Go figure.

It was bound to happen. The hostile takeover of the Progressive Conservative party by the Reform Alliance a few years ago, caused many prominent PCs to just walk away. They did it so quietly; but you know what they say, revenge is a dish best served cold.

The most recent prorogation of parliament, is viewed by many to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. The public outcry sure seems to have made him desperate to get back in the good books. For the last 2 weeks, he has tried to keep the earthquake in Haiti on the front pages and paint himself as a champion of the weak.

Harper has managed to keep the Canadian press (among others) on a tight leash until now, but the backlash is in full swing. Too bad for him that the internet doesn’t have an eraser.

With Harper out of the country, it’s the perfect time for victims of his to join forces and give him a dose of his own medicine.

Tune in next week for the exciting conclusion to the Harper government.

Same bat-time, same bat-channel.

“King” Stephen and The Alberta Runaround

Once upon a time, there was an ordinary boy. His name was Stephen. He did not like to be ordinary. He thought that it would be much more fun to be a king. As he grew older, Stephen began to realize, as many children do, that his dream of becoming king may not ever come true.

You see, the country that he lived in already had a Queen. Even though the Queen was very old and might die at any time, Stephen was not a prince and therefore, he was not in line for the throne. Not being in line for the throne meant that he could never be king.

“That’s not fair!”, he cried.

Even though he was very upset, Stephen knew that it was the way his world worked.

Just like all children in his country, Stephen went to school and read many books about the world. All of the books told him the same thing; he could never be king. But Stephen didn’t care, he wanted to be king anyway.

When he got a little older, Stephen studied at The Calgary School. The Calgary School, developed something called “The Alberta Runaround”. Now, The Alberta Runaround is a very specialized and effective style of manipulation. When used properly, it can be almost guaranteed that you will get what you want and look good at the same time. It is based on bullying and uses 3 main principles; triangulation, scapegoating and stalling.

Triangulation is a mind game that works just like a triangle. Simply explained, you befriend 2 people and pit them against each other. This drives a wedge between them and in the end, you are seen as the hero by both just before you screw them over. They never see it coming. You can find very good examples of this used in TV reality shows, such as Survivor and Rock of Love.

Scapegoating is a good thing to try if you want to influence a whole group. In case of trouble, there must always be some poor sucker to blame. Preferably someone kinda powerless who can’t easily resist.

Causing a lengthy delay for no good reason, is often referred to as stalling. Stalling is a terrific way of jamming up your enemies or your friends, depending on the situation.

Should you get desperate, then you can rely on a little something called JFDI. That stands for Just F*#*ing Do It. This almost always works, because we all know that it’s easier to seek forgiveness than to ask for permission.

Oh, how Stephen loved The Calgary School because a lot of other children there wanted to be kings too. They were just like him! How nice!

There was a magical being at The Calgary School, sort of like a fairy godmother, but not, called Tom Flanagan.

Mr. Flanagan taught Stephen that besides having a Queen, the government in their country also had a Prime Minister. Prime Minister certainly seemed like a wonderful thing to be and a lot like being a king. Best of all, anyone could become Prime Minister, even if they were just ordinary.

Stephen said “Please Mr. Flanagan, tell me how to become Prime Minister.”

Mr. Flanagan liked Stephen, so he told him to join a political party and try using The Alberta Runaround. Stephen did as he was told and got on to the business of convincing a lot of people to vote for him in the election. Many, many others agreed with Stephen’s ideas so he became the leader of his political party. Once he became the leader, Stephen still had to win another election and then, only then, could he become Prime Minister.

Stephen knew that this would be a very difficult task indeed, because his political party was only popular in one part of the country.

Again, Stephen asked Tom Flanagan what he should do. Mr. Flanagan told Stephen that The Alberta Runaround works everywhere, not just in Alberta. This made Stephen very happy indeed, because he had been practicing, and he was getting quite good at it.

Stephen was able to use The Alberta Runaround to take over another, much more respected political party and steal their name. Once he had done that, he became Prime Minister quite handily.

Now, being the Prime Minister was lots of fun, but Stephen had not forgotten that he really wanted to be king.

So, he told Mr. Flanagan that he still wanted to be king. Well, as you can imagine that would be a near impossible achievement in a country that already had a Queen.

Mr. Flanagan thought about this question for some time. Finally, he knew that the only way for Stephen to become king was to change the philosophy of the citizens using The Alberta Runaround on the whole country for a very long time.

With that, Stephen prorogued parliament and used JFDI to take power.

That’s how Stephen Harper used The Alberta Runaround to become King of Canada and nobody was allowed to live happily ever after.

Joe Clark; Where Are You?

As Stephen Pants-On-Fire Harper uses the Conservative Party name to tear Canada apart at the seams, I am waiting for Joe Clark to step into the ring. When the Reform Alliance stole the Conservative name in 2004, Joe Clark gained new respect from many of us by walking away.

You have to admit, it was pretty shocking.

When asked about the coming election at that time, Joe had said better “the devil we know”. Meaning, he’d rather vote for Paul Martin and the Liberals, than risk the future of Canada on an untrustworthy man with questionable ties.

Yeesh….

Couldn’t have been more right about that. The last year alone, which Harper has labeled a “success” (too funny), Canadians have seen unprecedented abuses of power by him and his officials. If you even know just a little bit about Canadian politics, that’s fairly incredible. I mean we did suffer under a decade of Mulroney government. Hell, the Trudeau years were no picnic here in the west!

Clark later refused to back off and suck it up, unlike one Mr. Brian Sissy-Boy Mulroney, who did just that when he smiled for the camera at a dinner with Mr. Harper some time later.

Gutsy. Very Canadian of you Sir.

So, the Right Honorable Joe Clark has not bowed down to Mr. Harper. Impressive, yes. Is that perhaps the explanation for this perfectly timed piece of news that talks about secret deals between Joe Clark and President Carter?

Isn’t this just another instance of the pot calling the kettle black?

Seriously, it has become common knowledge that tantrumy “King” Stephen insists on controlling the press in Canada. These days, all statements and questions are filtered through the Office of the Prime Minister.

Smooth move Steve, but we still don’t like you and we don’t have to listen to you or your bullshit. By the way, we aren’t going to let the prorogation issue die, so forget it.

To come forward against Harper now, Joe Clark will have to risk being discredited over some 30 year old CIA conspiracy. Nerves of steel will definitely be required.

That being said, where are you Sir? Your country needs you. Canada needs you to come forward and speak out against the Conservative Reform Alliance (Party), one more time.

Send The Bailiffs To 24 Sussex Dr.

Time to move Steve and Laureen. Pack up the kids and the cats and get yourselves a bus ticket back to Calgary Southwest. The people of Canada want you to move. You are not the sort of tenants we want living in our Prime Minister’s residence. Thank you and goodbye.

Canada Rises Up Against A Would Be “King”

This morning on CBC, Harper said that he was far too busy dealing with “life and death” issues to pay any attention to the rallies going on across the country today. Uh huh.

63 cities held rallies almost simultaneously and all of them were to protest HIM!

Ha! Looks like Canadians are none too pleased with Harper proroguing parliament and crowning himself a one man government.

After all the build up, it felt great to see Canadians put their money where their mouth is, so to speak. All the rallies had good turnouts. Smaller centers had hundreds, but the big cities had thousands of protesters. Toronto had over 12,000 people, 3500 in Ottawa, 1000 in Halifax, another 1500 in Victoria and so on and so on. 200 -300 people picketed outside Stephen Harper’s constituency office in Calgary! Hell, even here in Winnipeg there were close to 500 marching in the wet snow.

Today, January 23, 2010 was the day Canadians rose up together across this great land to speak out against the man who would be “King”.

Wow. I have to say that I have never seen such a thing happen in Canada in my lifetime. I don’t think there has been a public outcry this big since the General Strike, and that was almost 100 years ago. Way to go Canada!

Now the questions remaining; will Mr. Harper get the message? Will it sink in?

More importantly, what is the message? Well, my friends, it is this…

Excuse me Mr. Harper; but get the hell out of our office!

Slight Twist In The Case Of The Sinister Prime Minister

As I weed through all the lame news stories, I can’t help but notice that they almost all insist on downplaying the grassroots anti – prorogation movement in Canada. That’s right folks, it’s all about Haiti.

Either nobody in the big time media wants to talk about the amount of power Stephen Harper has taken for himself, or they just don’t understand that he has very sneakily, done just that.

Taken power.

Let’s just have that soak in for a minute.

Taken power away from the other elected officials. Taken power away from the people.

Keep in mind that 2 weeks ago, this guy was just another yahoo politician; I can’t even bring myself to say the actual word for what he has become now. (Holy shit. When you really think about that, it’s pretty goddam scary.)

Since I found myself desperate for any scrap about it in the news last night, I focused a little bit more than I normally would. Sad, but true.

So, as I was watching this thing on CBC about the big tragedy and whatnot, bodies, aid workers, yada yada…. mass graves and then the CBC guy very briefly mentions the rebuilding strategy. They announce in 1 sentence that Harper, Bush et all have decide that they will not really rebuild, since Haiti was just a bunch of crappie slums anyway.

Instead they plan to start from scratch and give Haiti a “brand new viable economy”. Then they show a close up of a mango and say something about how Haiti grows really good mangoes and wouldn’t it be nice to capitalize on that.

There you have it. The real reason for all this “aid” … you got it, we’re taking over.

That’s why it looks so much like an invasion! It is one!

Now I’m getting it! Let’s see if we can get Chiquita in there to start a Mango Republic. SWEET!

Hey, they are the ones who did such a fantastic job in Central America, are they not? They do have the experience.

Citizen Harper wants a little piece of that action…..

Well the timing couldn’t be better! There he is, all alone in Ottawa; ruling by decree; no pesky opposition to get on his nerves and the only person in the whole country able to shut him down just happens to be from Haiti, and now she owes him an epic favor. He can do whatever he wants!

Ya gotta love it!

The Sinister Prime Minister

This just in from the Canadian Press department of “oh my god I’m going to puke”…

“In the space of a few days, Parliament Hill has morphed from being a symbol of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s high-handed contempt for democracy into an emblem of his compassion and concern for the people of Haiti.”

All stemming from this statement issued Friday by a Harper spokesman:
“To show solidarity with the people of Haiti, in a small yet special way, starting tonight the Parliament buildings will be illuminated in Haitian colours.”

HUH? What a rotting pile of bullshit that is! …and no I am not racist or cold hearted.

Coming out of the woodwork from all over Hell’s half acre, are experts to announce that Harper will be able to use the Haiti Crisis to stifle the social unrest that has been bubbling and brewing across Canada.

Like this one that tries to rip apart the letter sent out by a group of over 170 university professors from across Canada? In his article for The Ottawa Citizen, “The prorogation of Parliament is no threat to democracy”, Paul Benoit , starts out by saying that he disagrees on “at least 8 points” but ends with nothing more than a lame excuse, “The Parliament of Canada has been in gradual decline for decades.”

Naturally, Mr. Benoit qualifies his “expertise” by stating that he is “a former senior policy adviser to Canada’s minister of international trade (2006-’09)”

Of course, its all making more sense now that we know Mr. Paul Benoit is just another Harper spokesperson.

It doesn’t matter what anyone has to say, the bottom line is that the dirty deed of proroguing parliament without the customary vote or etiquette, has Harper in position to rule by decree.

To rule by decree, FYI, is the term used to describe actions of democratic governments that are perceived to unduly bypass parliamentarian or popular scrutiny. Isn’t that just what he is doing?

You bet it is! It’s going largely unnoticed too because of the dire circumstances. Every decision he has made over the last 2 weeks has been without consulting parliament. Since many of us didn’t vote Conservative and its a minority government, who’s representing me and my interests? What about the interests of my neighbors? Many of them voted against the Conservatives too, I know that because we have an NDP MP.

Who will argue that we shouldn’t send aid to Haiti after this terrible disaster has befallen them? Nobody, that’s who! To do so would be political suicide. Who wants to risk that?

I guess I will then.

If anyone can remember as far back as a week ago, Harper had been on and on about the emergent situation of our economy. Some estimates had Canada in an 86 billion dollar deficit. That’s an awful lot of money where I come from.

Here’s a question…

Where exactly did he get all this cash he’s been sending over to Haiti? Maybe it was his own personal funds, although somehow I doubt that.

Here’s another one…

Do all these heartwarming photos with Harper and Michaelle Jean mean that she won’t want to do what her new country of Canada wants most? Or more likely, will she be so indebted to Mr. Harper for helping her Haitian homeland that she won’t have the wherewithal to remove him from office when the time comes?

Moreover…

Will the voters of this country get suckered once again into thinking that Stephen Harper has the best interests of Canadians at heart? Into thinking that he’s a “good guy”?

What about 3 strikes and you’re out?

Sure, at the moment he’s making decisions that are helpful and sweet, but how long before he starts the conservative jerk face jerk machine back up? My guess is not very.

Canada Fights The Power

Oh Canada, *sigh*…

Famous the world over for fair play and common decency, Canadians will put up with a lot from their political leaders. It’s true, we won’t try to deny it.

Generally, regardless of who gets elected, the people of Canada will embrace or at least tolerate, their Prime Minister. All we ask is that you follow the spirit of the rules as best you can.

Sure, it’s been known to raise an eyebrow or two if you show obvious favoritism in securing outrageously big loans for a friend, but as soon as you can explain that the friend in question is your neighbor, all is forgiven. The guy was his neighbor! What choice did he have?

Someone may ask a few questions about a Prime Minister throttling a bystander – but once it becomes clear that the guy startled you in a crowd, Canada is once again, very understanding and right back on your team.

Got elected even though you are a square? No problem, get a few photos with Rick Mercer! Canada LOVES Rick Mercer! Oh, you know Rick, well….then…

Screwed up a couple things in parliament? Not to worry, just get yourself overheard telling the Americans to f@#* O%$, Canadians will stand behind you 100%. Don’t worry, we got your back.

Accidentally caused a 50 billion dollar deficit? Oopsies… That’s OK buddy, could’ve happened to anyone.

Violate the spirit of fairness by sidestepping protocol and proroguing parliament? Nope. Sorry man, that’s a deal breaker.

Stephen Harper thought that after his stunning performance with Yo Yo Ma last October, he was untouchable. He couldn’t have been more wrong.

With mumblings of social unrest throughout the land, a young man named Christopher White from Alberta started a facebook group.

It was the spark that Canada needed. In virtually no time at all, the group’s numbers swelled to nearly 200,000 politely commenting citizens.

Wishing everyone would just pipe down, Harper clings to the hope that Haiti will be enough of a diversion to save his political ass.

Meanwhile, Canadians are still outraged and committees have been formed! (along with sub-committees).

On January 23rd, 2010 in at least 40 cities across Canada, Canadians will to take it to the streets! (with permits in hand),(and without breaking any rules or seeming too offensive.)

We’re mad as hell and demanding action in the most Canadian way.

It’s a beautiful thing.

“If Ottawa Giveth, Then Ottawa Can Taketh Away”

With Harper finally poised to go down in flames, I keep thinking about how stunned I was when this guy got elected. Nobody will admit to having voted for him, except for one lone in-law.

Then he got re-elected! I was amazed until I found out that particular election had the lowest voter turnout in Canadian history.

Oh my.

Next time we have a election, don’t forget to vote because Harper is what happens when you don’t and Mr. Harper is so silly, isn’t he?

He sure is. In a recent spoonfed interview with Business News Network, I couldn’t help notice that he very carefully separated government from parliament. Hmmm. Unusual. For a politician, he doesn’t seem to have much respect for politics. Wait there’s more…

He went on about the “important work” to be done by his government as opposed to parliament where they “play games”. Right.

I really liked the part when he said that our deficits are high “because opposition demands more spending all the time”. Oh, so none of this is his fault because everyone is picking on him. Poor little guy.

So, Stephen Harper would have us believe that he is not a bully anymore, he’s an innocent victim. Of course!

When asked for his take on the article about proroguing parliament in the Economist, Harper stated that “we are at zero risk for damaging our reputation”.

Well, I guess our reputation is not at very much risk, but his has most certainly suffered some damage. In fact, a recent headline in the Economist accuses Harper of rewriting “the rules of his country’s politics to weaken legislative scrutiny”. Love it. Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Maybe this means that me and the rest of my country will not have to suffer much longer under a whack-job Prime Minister that I voted against in the first place.

Ask Not…etc etc etc

So, earlier this week, when I first got in this tizzy, I thought I should call the Queen to ask her to deal with our parliamentary situation.

No luck. I am either too lowly to get her to come to the phone or, I may have had the wrong number.

Stamps are too pricey and I can’t find her email address, so I guess thats out. The best I can do for my country right now is write another blog and post a bunch of shit on my facebook. It’ll have to do.

There has been a lot of talk this week about the facebook group Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament. The Conservatives must’ve miscalculated somehow in deciding that closing the government would be no big deal, because membership in this group doubles by the day.

Yes, Canada is worried.

Suspending parliament gives Mr. Harper the chance to implement new policies and make decisions without consulting anyone else. For example, he has already announced more new airport security measures and withdrawn funding to the Canadian Council on Learning, an organization established by a previous government. Hmmm, wonder whats next? Me too!

This type of behavior smacks of dictatorship, does it not? Mr. Harper constantly seems to forget that he answers to the people of Canada.

One of the more publicized items that is being ignored as a result this parliamentary suspension is the dissolving of the special committee looking into the Afghan detainee situation.

What upsets me more (even though I would never vote for Joy Smith) is the death of her private member’s bill C-268, An Act to amend the Criminal Code to include a minimum sentence for offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of eighteen years.

Mr. Harper is pretending that he needs this time to “re-calibrate” his government and to “fix” our economy. That, is bologna.

I think that Stephen Harper wants to attend the Olympic Games and this World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland without having to miss out on anything at work.

Normally, one might think that he secretly wanted this time to avoid questions and to save his governmental ass, so to speak. I don’t believe any of that is the case here.

Before Christmas, Mr. Harper was still riding the wave of his wildly popular youtube performance. He obviously had no worries of that sort.

I strongly suspect that the real reason for the prorogation of parliament, is to sow the seeds for the elimination of the Office of The Governor General.

By making sure that the media and all the world is completely aware that it only took a quick phone call to prorogue parliament, Harper has managed to put the role of GG in a very bad light. It paints the GG as nothing more than a weak, rubber stamp official. And don’t think for a second that it wasn’t a calculated move on his part. Let’s keep in mind his his rules about statements to the press (they can only come from him).

Say, you know what? That’s kind of a fascist sort of way of operating too, isn’t it? Don’t we usually look down on leaders who try to control the media? I think we do…yes we definitely do. I saw a movie about it.

Anyway, it wasn’t very long ago that Stephen Harper had a “you’re not the boss of me” type of hissy fit and reminded the GG that we still have a Queen.

Don’t kid yourself, that just might be what he’s after. It’s entirely possible that he’s not as dumb as he looks.