Mandatory Poilievre - the virtues of block letters.

Pirate Fish says: Good idea. Let Pierre be the front guy during the election.

Hon. Marlene Jennings: (Gerstein and Finley, facing jail time for election fraud) - ...How can Canadians trust a Prime Minister who holds our democratic elections in such contempt?

Poilievre: the Liberal Party is holding democratic elections in contempt. It ignored the results of the last election when voters spoke and gave this party increased seats and increased votes. It formed a coalition with the Bloc Québécois and the NDP.

Sort of like the older, dumber kid in the schoolyard, who having been held back several grades comes out with such brilliance as: “oh yeah? You’re the dummy!”

Hon. Marlene Jennings: ...Why do the Conservatives think that they are better than every other Canadian? Why do the Conservatives think they are above the law?

Poilievre: ...I do not know why that member thinks that her party is above the democratic process. After the last election, which the Liberals lost, they then tried to overturn the result by forming a coalition with the Bloc Québécois and the NDP, a coalition that would dramatically raise job-killing taxes and destabilize our economy.

Wow. Coalition. Democratic process. Job-killing taxes. Economy. Destabilize.

Toss those words in a hat, add a few random pronouns and verbs, grab a few and form a sentence. Be sure that you have extra “coalition” and “economy” tokens, though.

Then even Pierre can pretend to be a politician.  Maybe we can design picture blocks so he can do away with words altogether.

Friday nite ode to fallen tyrants

It's a very good Friday

Harper government falls in historic Commons showdown

Early Friday afternoon, 156 opposition MPs – all of the Liberals, New Democrats and Bloquistes present in the House of Commons – rose to support a motion of no-confidence.It was also a motion that declared the government to be in contempt of Parliament for its refusal to share information that opposition members said they needed to properly assess legislation put before them.

 double whammy.

Nice.

about that scary coalition election talking note, steve:

But Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe reminded the House that it was Mr. Harper who, in 2004, called him and NDP Leader Jack Layton to a meeting at the Delta Hotel in Montreal to discuss a coalition to replace the Liberal minority government of Paul Martin. 

I liked the way the opposition seemed united today, not biting at all when the CONs tried to set them against each other.  They may have finally had enough of the sociopath to work together for this election.  Good luck, opposition.  As for the rest of us who are fed up, unite to get rid of the prick once and for all.

where is steve?

he's not in the House.  Think he would be to defend his role as leader whose government faces a fall due to charges of contempt.

All the other leaders are saying nicey-nice goodbyes to Milliken, but Baird has to step in for harper.

according to the PMO site, the master strategist is to give a statement at 2 pm.

just going through the motions in the House, CONs?

correction: Layton wasn't there for the Milliken tributes either h/t BCL

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ADSCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, well that didn't take long.  After Abbott and Baird mentioning "coalition" several dozen times, O'Connor screams "ADSCAM!!!!"

Harper CONs talking ethics while trying to save their corrupt asses from defeat.  Very Monty Python.

Not many relaxed, confident faces in the CPC seats today.  Frozen smiles, mostly. 

No defense on their part as to the charges of contempt so far other than to mention the useless doc dump that had no new or asked for info.

oh...O'Connor just mentioned "coalition." 

I think we pretty much heard the CPC election talking points:  look at all the itsy bitsy things we did; scary coalition; and the all time favourite - ADSCAM!!!!!

About that budget, steve

h/t to Far and Wide and Dammit Janet!

Enough Harper

  enough said.

Like a gutted, rabid hyena that still thinks it can lead the pack

Damn, steve!  Face reality.  You are only a leader in your own mind.

Looks like the man who would be king will be voted down this week.  Watching Duceppe, Layton, and Ignatieff yesterday and today, I think harper will face a very different election this time around.  The disgust from the opposition is real and whether intentional or not, the three parties seemed united on their lines of attack.  Layton came across a little softer still adding that things can change if harper is open to modify the budget, but even he adds that there isn't much hope.  That he didn't sit on his decision to oppose the budget is very telling.

That harper has presented a budget that is more of an election platform most likely drove away any doubts the opposition may have had.  steve knows he would have faced a non-confidence vote on contempt of Parliament and wanted to shift the focus of an election to the economy and some bull-shit tid-bit for nearly all budget.

The handful of items to the  elderly, to children, to green projects were, as Layton pointed out, so feeble that it is clear there's no real commitment there.  Pleasing business groups and corporations keeps their support and the chance of donations rolling in.

harper made no effort to meet the other parties to seriously discuss a budget that would fly - like minority governments should, and that's a pretty clear sign that steve wants the government to fall on his terms.

Then he can say things like this:

“Let’s be clear about what the Opposition is opposing and what they would toss away. All things – by the way – that they claimed to support: An increase in the income of Canada’s most vulnerable senior citizens; the reintroduction of the Home Energy Retrofit program to reduce home heating costs; an innovative transition-to-work program for our Canadian Armed Forces Veterans; extensions to work-sharing and the targeted initiative for older workers; an incentive to retain the volunteer firefighting services that are so critical to rural communities; and powerful encouragement for doctors and nurses to locate in rural areas.

Anyone with a brain knows that these things - and more - can still be put in a budget after the CONs lose power.  Another party could add such measures while freeing up money by canceling ridiculous projects related to prisons and by canceling the F-35 deal in favour of a better researched alternative.

And another party can put real accountability legislation in place.

steve wants an election on his terms.  Everything always on his terms.  Time for the opposition to work together and get rid of the rabid hyena so that we can address some of the issues Canadians are concerned about.  Five years of governing for harper's personal goals is enough.  The Canadian government needs to be returned to the Canadian people.

Elizabeth Taylor

Feels like the end of an era.

Elizabeth Taylor

February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011

Taylor devoted much time and energy to AIDS-related charities and fundraising. She helped start the American Foundation for AIDS Research and created her own AIDS foundation, the Elizabeth Taylor Aids Foundation .   By 1999, she had helped to raise an estimated US$50 million to fight the disease. In 2006, Taylor commissioned a 37-foot (11 m) "Care Van" equipped with examination tables and X Ray equipment and also donated US$40,000 to the New Orleans Aids task force, a charity designed for the New Orleans population with AIDS and HIV.

In March 2003 Taylor declined to attend the 75th Annual Academy Awards, due to her opposition to the Iraq war.
 From Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - 

Gutsy Lady

Very refreshing to see this after Christiane Ouimet's betrayals and abuses: the head of an oversight agency doing her job while undoubtedly realizing that her findings and recommendations may not  make her popular with the harper regime. 

(emphasis mine)
The Public Service Commission has identified gaps in processes involving political appointments, the political activities of public servants and relations between the public service and the political sphere.

In a report tabled Tuesday in Parliament, the PSC recommended further steps be taken to ensure that external appointments of senior public servants and members of agencies and board are based on merit, non-partisanship and subject to independent oversight.

This could be done by the PSC or by an organization such as the Public Appointments Commission provided for in the Accountability Act.

The PSC report also identifies a need for increased awareness of the importance of non-partisanship. “Work needs to continue on providing greater clarity to public servants through policy or regulation.”

The PSC recommends a change in the law that would allow the agency to investigate any complaint of improper political activity on the part of a deputy department head.

There’s also a need to improved guidance to political staffers on their relationship with the public service, PSC president Maria Barrados told a House of Commons committee. She called for a code of conduct for ministerial staff to provide “clear guidance” on that relationship.

Ms. Barrados' term as president of the PSC is up in May but since no one has been named to replace her, it is likely her term will be extended - if she agrees - should the government fall soon.  Anyone who has seen her in Committees will remember a small, unobtrusive woman who surprises her audience by being unshakable in her commitment to the mandate of the PSC no matter how aggressively she is questioned.  It does not surprise me that her final report emphasizes the need to enforce and protect non-partisanship in the public service.

The sections highlighted do not currently fall under the PSC mandate so it is impressive that in the current climate where watchdogs are under relentless attack, Ms. Barrados identifies areas where partisanship can creep into the public service or expose public servants to political pressure.  While Barrados did not mention the interference of political staffers at Public Works, the last highlighted paragraph relates to such situations.

An independent agency - whether it be the PSC or one created specifically to handle issues Barrados addresses is needed to prevent political interference with departments and agencies that are there to serve the public, not political masters.

Busty Hookers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that I have your attention (apologies to readers who are not into such titillating headlines), on to something far more serious than the ick factor of a 66 year old criminal running a scam to pay his favourite 22 year old hooker and keep her all to himself.

Via the Hill Times, March 21, 2011, Michael McBane, national coordinator of the Canadian Health Coalition in Ottawa informs and warns us of yet another attack by harper on our democracy:

The Harper government has given the unelected Senate the mandate to conduct a second mandatory review of the 2004 Health Accord. The previous review was conducted by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health in 2008. The move bypasses the House of Commons, where the Harper government is in a minority, to a Senate committee where the Conservatives are now in a majority. This is one more in a growing list of anti-democratic actions by the Harper government.

Hearings started on March 10 in the Senate Committee on Science, Technology and Social Affairs. Already, organizations that support a strong leadership role of the federal government in health care, including the Canadian Health Coalition, have been told they will not be allowed to appear and give testimony.

The message for Canadians is clear: The Harper government not only holds Parliament in contempt, it also seems to view Canadians who strongly support public health care with contempt as well. This does not bode well for the future of medicare.

On the eve of negotiations for renewal of the Health Accord in 2014, members of the Harper government and the Conservative Party have floated trial balloons hinting at cuts to health care transfers. One prominent caucus member has even called for a termination of all federal health care transfers.

Even as Canadians consistently list health care as one of their top concerns, harper gives them the finger and not only ignores previous reviews, but bars those in favour of a strong, national health care program from giving testimony.

Reminds me of a disc jockey who hated Metallica, wanted it banned from his program, and held a vote allowing only women over 50 to vote  (Happy to say even that limited audience voted to keep Metallica).

Denying testimony from those who don’t kow-tow to his ideology is bad in itself, but by-passing the House of Commons violates our democratic system in which citizens can give voice through their elected representatives.

Steve is doing what he always accused the Liberals of doing even though that party never abused their majority in the Senate in such fashion - he is using the Senate to make changes to our legislation that he knows would not fly through our democratic system.

This is not a clever master strategist.  This is not a great chess player.  This is a man who doesn’t give a damn about the very people he is supposed to serve -  a man so convinced that the only opinions and will that matter are his own -  that he has continuously stomped on and undermined the very democratic process set in place to protect a government of the people for the people.

This latest attack on democracy should be all over the front pages on nationals.  CPC support comes largely from older, retired people.  People who tend to rely on national health care more than younger Canadians.  It should be on the front pages for all of us.

Maybe if some busty hooker were to get up and wage a public information campaign, we might get people to pay attention to how their own government is giving them the finger while hacking away at their rights.

Why is this man smiling?

He’s had a nightmarish couple of weeks in Parliament and in the press with scandal after scandal competing for space on the front page of every national paper.  The talk two days ago leaned heavily toward an almost certain spring election, one in which harper would be placed on the defensive, his very character and judgment under attack.

Never one to pass up an opportunity to use a massive tragedy for his domestic political gain, steve used the Japan disaster to push his own agenda.  That pretty much blew up in his face, showing him to be the heartless, opportunistic bastard that he is.

So why is he smiling?  He gets to use words such as “act of war”; “military operation”; “casualties”; “military action”; “campaigns”...

He gets to hang out with military defense staff, pose for photo ops in from of really fucking cool military equipment, gets to wear military gear.  He gets to has his picture taken next to real world leaders.

Best of all, he gets to play on voter’s emotions by using terms he has no real respect for:

"One either believes in freedom or one just says one believes in freedom," he declared.  "The Libyan people have shown by their sacrifice that they believe in it. Assisting them is a moral obligation upon those of us who profess to believe in this great ideal."


The reality:

...Harper never tried to persuade Canadians to keep combat troops in Afghanistan because of a "moral obligation" to fight for the great ideal of freedom.  It's not too hot, not too cold: the Goldilocks foreign policy. A hawk in opposition, Harper rarely gets too far in front of public opinion, now that he's in government.

The new, militant tone on Libya is a case in point. Did we hear Harper or his ministers baying for the downfall of Gadhafi before the UN decided, after much delay, to use force against him? No. But, now, we hear the ever-cautious Lawrence Cannon, Canada's foreign minister, insisting that "Gadhafi must leave."

So we are expected to forget, for the time being at least, that our own freedoms were brutally and ruthlessly stomped on during the G20, at the Montebello summit, in the perimeter agreement with Obama...

We are supposed to forget, for the time being, at least, that he has such contempt for our rights that his bunch faces contempt charges, is under investigation by Elections Canada, and hired a felon as one of his closest advisors.

We are supposed to forget, for the time being at least, that he suspended Parliament twice to save his own ass, denying Canadians their right to an active government.

We are supposed to forget, for the time being at least, that he gave us the biggest deficit in our country’s history, has spent more of our tax dollars on self-promotion than any other PM, has relentlessly attacked the very independent watchdogs put in place to defend our rights and freedoms.

We are supposed to forget, for the time being at least, that he runs the most secretive government in our history when access to information is essential for citizens to maintain their rights and freedoms.

We are supposed to forget all of this because this self-serving, opportunistic sociopath will play on our mindless, emotional response to war and kicking ass - someone else’s ass.

It’ll most likely work.  At least short term, and that’s all harper cares about - getting through his current crisis.

If Gadhafi is quickly taken out with minimal bloodshed - preferably with most of the blood pouring from Libyans - stevo will come out looking good in the eyes of many Canadians, and all will be forgiven, for the time being at least.  It won’t matter that he didn’t back the invasion until after the Liberals brought it up, and it won’t matter that he waited to see what other countries were doing or that they will likely be the ones determining the outcome.  Harper will do what he always does - take credit for what works out well, and place blame for abysmal failures.

If the Libya mission drags on and kills off more Libyans than ground fighting would have, well, it won’t matter to harper because he’ll have pulled through the next couple of weeks by making many Canadians forget what an incompetent, self-serving, lying, small-minded, anti-democratic politician he is.

Signs of poor jugment?

No, signs of a person completely devoid of any sense of ethics or social responsibility.

Most employers do background checks to weed out applicants who have committed serious crimes such as fraud.  They also do them to weed out people who fail miserably at managing their own affairs and finances.  Employers tend to view people who spend recklessly then default on loans as not particularly trustworthy.

Most employers want honest, trustworthy employees, preferably with no criminal record.  You know, people with integrity.

Mob bosses prefer people who are greedy because they can be bought and made to do things that ethical people would refuse to do.  They seek out seasoned criminals because they know that morals and ethics won’t get in the way of getting a dirty job done.  They prefer people who have no respect for the law and no care for who they hurt.

Let’s see who the current Prime Minister of Canada had as one of his top advisors for many years.  Surely a law-and-order type like steve would insist on someone who has absolute respect for the law, someone trustworthy, honest, with a clean record.  Someone who can manage his own affairs ethically and successfully.

Meet Bruce Carson:

- disbarred for forging cheques and stealing $23,900 from a corporation and two individual clients he represented.

- sentenced to 18 months in jail in 1983 for his criminal conviction of two counts of theft for misappropriating almost $20,000 of his clients’ funds by forging their signatures and stashing the money in his own bank account.

- had a habit of “living too high and overspending,” as the judge put it, so that it caught up to him between 1978 and 1980.

- defaulted on an $11,310 bank loan, a $70,000 mortgage for one property, a $3,033.01 loan on a 1978 Lincoln Continental, a $1,189.50 account he’d run up at the Hudson’s Bay Company, another $1,900 bill to a leasing firm as well as having a second house repossessed.  His punishment?  Pay a $13,000 penalty.

Despite (or maybe because of?) this history, steve felt he was just the right guy to act as his close advisor for years.

Now what kind of advice would you expect to get from such a man - a fraudster with no concern of who he harms through his greed?


That harper chose to have Carson close to him in an advisory position is not so much a sign of steve having poor judgment as it is of him being devoid of ethics and respect for our laws.

Malicebot says - And now for something completely different

Malicebot says - Son of a Mother Fucker!

"video h/t Pharyngula"

I don't care if she is POEING this. This is wrong, foul, and

encouraging the worshipers of the invisible mass

murderer. Read the responses on Youtube and you can

see there are supporters. If this chick is for real... well

she's a true crack pot fuck tard fanatic whore face slut

mobile of shit, soot and poo....... and if not.... she can still

go suck a fuck for being a fuck! Sorry 900. There is no

language filter when dealing with fucktards like these.

I wish I wish I wish I wish...

Doris won't be running next election.   Good.  What could be better news concerning Day?

Well, this -

With Day's departure, the Harper government can't count on quite as much enthusiasm from this wing of the party during the next election campaign.  Day could probably win the Conservative leadership if he is still interested in becoming prime minister—particularly if the Harper government goes down to defeat in a spring vote.

Day can't keep his mouth shut and he's...how shall I put this?...a moron.  And a fundamentalist religious nutbag moron to boot.  He has less subtlety than a chunk of quartz and can't fool 1/3 of Canadians into believing he is anywhere near moderate.  When he opens his mouth, we see the reformatards in all their dizzying crazy.

Maybe he could make Talks-with-angels-Clement his deputy.  

If he runs, that will cause a fair bit of infighting in a party that is only held together by stevie's threats and promises of what he will allow them to do if he ever gets that fleeting majority, which is looking less and less likely.

I especially like this bit of speculation:

Day has often described himself as a fiscal conservative. This is despite being a cabinet minister in a government that has posted record deficits.  By leaving now, he may be trying to create some distance between himself and his colleagues in advance of the upcoming budget.

 

As Treasury Board Minister, he should have a fair bit of knowledge on what the budget holds, so if he's wanting to distance himself from it, this may be a budget that will not sit well with fiscal conservatives.  Not sure how much difference this will make in an election this time around because the far right has nowhere else to go, but such a budget could cause more problems with the CPC and lead to more than talk about a reform-type group starting up and bleeding off some conservative support. 

Malicebot says - Friday nite ode to the power ballad

Friday nite ode to cotton pickin'

Do I owe Don Meredith an apology?

In which thwap uses the "C" word

This is excellent.  It should be read, passed around, shouted out loud, forwarded to members of the opposition parties.

Just do everything by the book AND HOLD THE HARPERCONS ACCOUNTABLE for their sins. While the sham that is the Democratic Party of the United States blustered about the illegal, undemocratic policies of bush II's terrorist wars, not only did they do nothing about the Repugs criminal behaviour upon re-taking control of the legislature, they actively embraced same inhuman, authoritarian policies.

Hopefully, with the NDP and the Bloc supporting them, the Liberals won't be able to indulge in such stupidity. Here's how it should go: The harpercons will not get a majority. They are too obviously stupid, they've alienated too many regions of the country. They're mired in scandals and all they can do is bark about "AdScam." There will be another minority government. As soon as that happens, form a coalition.

FORM. A. COALITION.

End of fucking story.

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!! There can be only ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does King steve know about this?

He may be acting like he can make his own laws, but there can be only one in The Harper Government™

A Conservative MP tells a truth

Okanagan-Shuswap MP Colin Mayes admits the federal government has an image problem.

Then follows it up with a partial truth:

“The minister is not a rock star but she’s done a great job with that file.”

Then reverts to CPC true colours and tells an outright lie:

“The in-and-out issue is Conservative money being spent on Conservative ads.”

No, the issue is that the in-and-out scam (like the one Vic Toews was found guilty of provincially)  allowed the party to spend more than $1 million beyond its spending limit and permitted Conservative candidates to claim rebates for expenses that were incurred by the federal party.           

In other words, breaking election rules and stealing from taxpayers.

Reverend Meredith is having a little trouble turning the other cheek.

Even when the offense is an imagined one.

Don Meredith...slammed ...Ignatieff and (Jennings) for Ignatieff's use of the phrase "wait a cotton-pickin' minute."

In a statement, Meredith said the use of that phrase was "at the very least, insensitive, and certainly offensive to many people."  Meredith said it's a phrase that "hails back to a time when slavery was acceptable and an entire group of people were held to be lesser than others because of the colour of their skin."

Except it isn’t. 


Have yourself a nice cup of tea, Don.  A few deep breaths, a prayer for serenity...

(Marlene) Jennings, whose ancestors were, in fact, slaves in Alabama, laughed at Meredith's accusations.  "I am not offended when someone uses the phrase cotton-pickin'. It's part of the vernacular," Jennings said. "I think the Conservatives are desperate to change the channel."

I think Marlene is most likely right.

Malicebot says - Harper FAIL

Harper: In it for himself

Can it be anymore obvious?

If you go to The Government of Canada site today,  you will see this announcement:

Harper Government to further strengthen protection for Canadian consumers of financial products and services       

8 March 2011
The Honourable Ted Menzies, Minister of State (Finance), and the Member of Parliament for Lévis–Bellechasse, Steven Blaney, today announced the Harper Government is taking decisive action to protect the interests of Canadian consumers of financial products and services...

No other Prime Minister has felt so entitled to consider himself The Government, to change what we call our government in order to give the illusion that all good things the entire elected Parliament and the Senate does comes from him personally.

Of course you will never read or hear steve and his serfs refer to the harper government when talking about problems or screw-ups.  Hell no!  That domain belongs to the faceless bureaucrats.

It’s laughable to still see CON ads pompously, self-righteously postulating that Ignatieff is in it for himself.

That steve doesn’t see how obvious his endless campaign on our tax dollar to constantly place himself in front of every good thing Canadian displays a person who considers himself above all others and above all accountability shows him up for what he is: a malignant narcissist.

And those personality types are always and only in it for themselves.  Always.

International Women's Day

About how I feel, today:

OTOOLEFAN

  

RT @BigNickFL: Women's Day, Black History Month...these are morsels thrown to oppressed masses. Their mere existence proves oppression

It's the courageous fight that goes on  for equal rights and freedom every day, all over the planet that  needs support and recognition...every day, all over the planet.

Love the new Conservative accountability ads

Oh wait...those are news headlines.  From today.

Opposition parties: Scandals could topple Conservatives

Kenney faces new accusation of partisanship  

Jason Kenney’s performance shows some ministers aren’t created equal 

  Conservatives’ in-and-out scheme: applying smell test to facts

Stephen Harper finds his Dingwall

A government for all Conservatives

Access-to-information woes grow ever more absurd 

Kenney fends off demands for resignation over fundraising letter

Justin Trudeau takes Jason Kenney to task for alleged abuse of ministerial office    


Looks like the Liberals and NDP agree that  the so-called in-and-out election spending scandal and other missteps (should be) the springboard to Election Day 2011.

Nice to see unity on that from opposition.  The CONs can say all they want that Canadians don't care about those issues, but they would like us to forget that they beat the Martin Liberals pretty much on the accountability issue alone.  And pompously promised they'd be different.

Oh, they're different, all right:
During the Chrétien government years, I reported extensively on malfeasance by the Liberals. To do the math on the Harper government is to conclude that, while it has no sponsorship scandal on its books, it’s already surpassed its predecessor on a range of other abuse-of-power indices. (Lawrence Martin)

And for those people who really don't care that the harper team has beaten even the eternal ADSCAM (!!!!!), the CONs provide headlines today about other things, those things dealing with budgets, finance, and the economy, those things harper says are really what Canadians care about:


Critics slam feds’poverty plan 

Commons committee keeps MPs' legal fees under wraps  

Federal spending rising in areas where Tories vowed to tighten belts: budget watchdog.

The feds are spending billions without looking at the bill

Malicebot says - Monday Harper madness

Time for the opposition to face reality

(A)n opposition in a minority Parliament looking for an election must be united on both the timing and the method in order to bring down a sitting government.

Seriously guys (guys being those elected to opposition), harper has shown us that all oppositions parties can't afford the luxury of individually deciding and waiting for when the best time is to take down this harper government.

harper has shown us all over and over that his word means nothing, that he has contempt- absolute contempt - for parties that actually back off and negotiate with him.  Anyone with an IQ over 60 (and isn't a rabid wingnut-which is pretty much the same thing) knows that fat boy steve will say anything, promise anything to get re-elected.

He will then demand that everyone else play by the rules while he dodges the Courts, lies, stalls so that he can re-shape the rules to suit him.  
You also must realize by now that any deal he agrees to with you is geared to give him an edge to gaining more power.

harper is something we've never seen in Canada:  a politician who believes absolutely in his innate greatness and that belief, linked to a lack of moral consequence and responsibility - allows him to justify to himself and those who blindly follow him that any means, no matter how corrupt, undemocratic, and unethical justify the end.  And the end is his unshakable certainty that he knows better than the collective electorate what is good for Canada.

Add to that the harper truth that what's good for Canada is his own warped vision of a country where profits to a few far outweighs individual rights, equal access to basic needs, free speech, women's rights, children's rights, and the rights of minorities and you have an inflexible, power hungry megalomaniac whipping any elected opposition into submission because they just don't get what they are dealing with.

Elizabeth May has been saying that voting for the lesser evil (voting harper out) is not what Canadians should be reduced to.  Survival changes the rules, Beth.  In a healthy democracy where all parties respect legislation, voters, human rights and the law, then sure, you don't vote for the lesser evil, you campaign for the best rep.

But when that evil threatens not only this generation but others to come by undermining democracy, education, free press, free speech, then wake the fuck up and realize that those words will mean nothing because they encourage the very divisive attitude that harper counts on.  The left is badly divided, and this keeps the malignant narcissist in power.  And all of you in opposition let him play on your quest for more seats while trading off the rights of Canadians in the hopes that a better time for an election will come along and you will gain just a few more ridings.

Meanwhile, the malignant narcissist chuckles away as he changes the rules, stacking them in his favour.

harper and the harpercons are a new beast.  They don't follow what's good for the herd.  They don't respect what the herd wants.  With lions, when you get such a pack leader, the pack combines its forces and gets rid of the bastard before anything else.  They understand on whatever level their species is capable of such understanding, that there will be no pack left if they allow an insane alpha to rule them.  Then they go back to the ways of the pack and select a new alpha.

harper is the rogue lion more focused on his fucked-up vision and blind thirst for power than he is on survival of the pack.  Get rid of the rogue, then you can go back to what's good for Canada based on decades of carefully constructed legislation.


So set aside your own differences and ambitions and those of your parties and oust the dysfunctional rogue.

Then we can all work at making the lives of Canadians better through the laws and legislation that exist and the opportunity to freely challenge such legislation.

Coalition, informal agreement, cease-fire among the opposition...I don't care.  But for all our sakes, get rid of the creature who has such contempt for us that he has the audacity to rename our government after himself.

Rally for Democracy in Canada- March 19th

A group of concerned Canadians will be gathering on Parliament Hill and other locations in Canada on March 19th to illustrate to our political leaders that we are paying attention to the actions and behaviour of our elected officials.

We want our government to act in a democratic manner. Our government is supposed to be by the people for the people.

Anyone who would like to join us is invited. The people are here and ready to participate!

Malicebot says - JOIN US!... On Facebook Before it's too late!

We are the Government of Canada We are the Government of Canada and we do care that our name is being changed by one man to reflect his personal and political goals.

In Canada, the Prime Minister is not the government. nor is the government his personal stage on which he is producer, director, scriptwriter, filmatographer and the only actor of importance.

The Government of Canada is the people’s government where the people send those they elect in their ridings to speak and act in their best interests.

That’s how it is supposed to be, but one man does not agree. Harper believes that by naming our government after himself, he will undermine and change our understanding of the Government of Canada and the power that a true democracy gives the people through their elected representatives.

Harper seems to think few Canadians care that he has renamed our government after himself. Show him you do care. Show him it is your government. Join this group and invite others to do the same.

Use your voice. Use your rights. Or risk losing both.

Malicebot says - HARPERanada! The new great northern! Isn't it Da coolest?

Saturday Cartoon "Black Wolf, the rise of Harper"

The Harper Dictatorship's upcoming Blasphemy Law?

Great.  Government trolls
h/t Sister Sage

Does anyone really think that the Harper Dictatroship trolls will “correct misinformation?”

We were here first.  We know allllllllllllll about trolls.



Sister Sage brings up a more serious concern than dealing with the dumb:

I wonder if and when he gets his coveted majority, will he have Rob Nicholson make slamming Stevie and the Harpercons punishable by law? I mean, a crime that would warrant being sent to one of Stevie’s big-assed prisons?

The idea isn’t so far fetched, given how peaceful protesters and even by-standers as well as media people were arrested at the fateful Toronto G20; the largest mass arrest in Canadian history; all charged for daring to criticize the Harpercons.

I’m sure steve will find a way to make criticizing him a crime.  Call it...the Blaspheny Law.

Meet Steve-no-fucking-class-harper

There's a word for people who act this way.

Yes, there will be attack ads

Thomas Walkom suggests that if we have an election this spring, it will not be about the budget.  It will be about Harper.

In Canada, where we do not vote for the leader but for MPs by constituency, this should not be the case.  The Government of Canada should reflect the will of the people, and all elected MPs should be accountable to those they represent.  Everyone of them should be able to craft their own messages, consider their own ridings and the needs of their constituents all the while making sure that they are looking at how all ridings connect to form a whole country.

That doesn’t mean that MPs of the ruling party should ignore what their leader says, but they have a responsibility to speak for themselves and address the wishes of their constituents.

Opposition MPs must also have the opportunity to speak and to have the weight of their voices and votes in the House protected by the legislation that stops our government from undermining democracy.

In Canada, the Prime Minister is not the government. nor is the government his personal stage on which he is producer, director, scriptwriter, filmatographer and the only actor of importance.  The Government of Canada is the people’s government where the people send those they elect in their ridings to speak and act in their best interests.

That’s how it is supposed to be, but one man does not agree.  One megalomaniac who has managed to become and remain Prime Minister by backstabbing and lying to his own party, by bullying and ruling in fear, by silencing any dissent even in his own ranks, doesn’t believe in a government of the people.

Harper believes that the only voice that should have any say is his, and damn anyone who interferes with his self-appointed authority over the entire elected government, federal public service, independent agencies, and private citizens exercising their right to protest.

So Walkom is probably right.  The next election will most likely be about harper because he has shown us all over and over that his words and actions override those of everyone else - elected members, private citizens, journalists, oversight agencies, the Courts, legislation, the GG, the military.

Cappe, president of the Institute for Research in Public Policy in Montreal may think that only 600 people or so in Canada care about harper highjacking the name of the people’s government and claiming it for his own (I think even an informal, hastily thrown together petition online would prove him wrong), but he rightly says that’s not the issue.  He is concerned about the erosion of our understanding of our institutions and how that will affect credibility and respect for those institutions.

I see it as far more dangerous.  It undermines our democracy and our individual voices by making us come to accept a change in power structure, a change that was made without our consent or understanding, a take over by subterfuge.

Harper - the only election issue

When the leader of the country rebrands even the government of the people with his own name, when that leader repeatedly highjacks institution after institution by linking his name and image to them (stealing the military salute meant for the GG, creating his own Governor General Awards, acting and posing like Commander-in-chief of the military, then that leader makes any election about himself because we know that he will do as he damn well pleases regardless of what anyone else says.

We call such leaders of other countries dictators.

A person so controlling and hungry for absolute power will lie, induce fear, muzzle all dissent and opposition, destroy the reputation of his opponents, wear cuddly sweaters and trade them in the blink of an eye for military gear to obtain and hold onto power.

Harper has made any upcoming election about himself.  His current ads reflect that.   

Constantly drawing attention to himself as the Big Daddy of...everything reflects that.

Re-naming the government of the people after himself insists on that.

We need to keep examining issues and criticizing them as needed.  But since harper has aggressively tried to convince us that everything is about him, of him, by him, then we need to examine the man, expose what concerns us about him, and attack in him what we believe threatens our democracy and rights.

By re-naming the government of Canada after himself, harper has placed himself in a position where he cannot distance himself for the lies, corruption, legal violations, and blunders of his members of Parliament.  He cannot distance himself from any unfavourable or unpopular fallout that occurs as a result of decision made by the current government.

Harper is the Word, and the Word is harper.

That is what must be attacked in the upcoming election.  Linked to issues, over and over, the man who would be absolute ruler must be aggressively attacked.

Being Steve Harper

I’ve seen a world that no man should see



Harper.  Harper harper harper...harper.

Imagine.

Perfect Strategy

The Department of Harper Heritage releases the greatest poem evah!!!!

The Harper Government is pleased to announce the Harper collection of the Harper form of poetry, henceforth to be known as harperetry.

 (Book cover by Malicebot Steve Harper)

Tithes Donations go to the Harper King for Life fund.
Located in the Harper building at the corner of Harper st. and Harper ave.

Song of Myself

I celebrate myself, and sing myself,

And what I assume you shall assume,

I breathe the fragrance myself and know it and like it,

The distillation would intoxicate me also,

And I know that the hand of God is the promise of my own,

And I know that the spirit of God is the brother of my own,

Do you take it I would astonish?

Does the daylight astonish? does the early redstart twittering

through the woods?

Whimpering and truckling fold with powders for invalids, conformity

goes to the fourth-remov'd,

I wear my hat as I please indoors or out.

Why should I pray? why should I venerate and be ceremonious?

Having pried through the strata, analyzed to a hair, counsel'd with

doctors and calculated close,

I find no sweeter fat than sticks to my own bones.

I know I am august,

I do not trouble my spirit to vindicate itself or be understood,

I exist as I am, that is enough,

Divine am I inside and out, and I make holy whatever I touch or am

touch'd from,

The scent of these arm-pits aroma finer than prayer,

This head more than churches, bibles, and all the creeds.

If I worship one thing more than another it shall be the spread of

my own body, or any part of it,

Writing and talk do not prove me,

I carry the plenum of proof and every thing else in my face,

With the hush of my lips I wholly confound the skeptic.

Disclaimer:  any resemblance this work bears to, say, anything written by anyone other than Steve Harper is a Liberal plot hatched by Justin Trudeau who is really bald under that thick, wavy wig.  ADSCAM!!!

Friday nite ode to some damn good music

Malicebot got the jump on me and decided the ode should involve the invisible sky thing.

So here, the haunting Robert Johnson singing about his own personal devil. Legend has it that Johnson made a deal with the Devil, trading his soul at a crossroads for mastery of the guitar.  He died at the age of 27, reportedly of strychnine poisoning, murdered by a jealous husband.

Friday nite ode to invisible sky monsters healing people

Jim Travers

How many times have we linked to this man's articles?  When he stated something as a fact, you could trust he had done his research.  Whether you agreed with his opinion or not, it was always argued with intelligence and insight.  He was not afraid to give us all hell for our complacency from time to time, reminding us that we are the fire powering the engine, but we must act.

Condolences to friends and family.  Thank you for sharing him with us.

When Ivison of the Nat-Post talks about CON spin...

...you know the reality is as obvious as an industrial washing machine so out of control even brain-fried druggies passed out in the laundromat sit up and take notice.

The Conservatives will spend $10-billion less in the coming year than they did in 2010-11 — the first time in a decade any Canadian government has planned to reduce expenditure, according to Stockwell Day.
 
...What Mr. Day neglected to say is that as much as $7-billion of the planned savings come from the sun setting on stimulus spending. A further $8-billion comes from reduced spending on things like public debt charges ($3.4-billion down because of lower interest rates), Employment Insurance (down $2.6-billion as the economy recovers), and harmonized sales tax compensation.  The real question for the Conservatives, is why aren’t they planning to spend billions of fewer taxpayers’ dollars in the next financial year?

Well, because harper has: increased his cabinet by creating positions to reward blind loyalty, resulting in the largest cabinet in Canadian history; has spent more on tax payer funded partisan promo ads than any other government in Canadian history; has spent more on polls, more on personal security, more on bribing ridings...

He also plans on building prisons we don't need, sole-sourcing the F-35s, building a luxurious spy training centre, building a glass dome on the Hill, building a Harper bunker where he can play Morgan Freeman playing Col. Abraham Curtis...

He intends to increase budgets for security and public safety ,  Correctional Services ,Canadian Border Services Agency , the RCMP,  and Canadian Air Transport Security Authority.

There will be some cuts.  Guess where.  Come on!  You can do it!  Here's a hint: he won an award for it in 2010, the Collossal Fossil Award.

That's right!  He will cut Environment and resource based programs with 2/3rds of the cuts coming from programs related to climate change!

harper plans on cutting 1 billion from NR programs including the Clean Energy Agenda, the Pulp and Paper Green Transformational program and the Sustainable Development Technology Canada fund.

Dorky Day did not waste a chance to show his junior-high enthusiasm and maturity by insulting our intelligence and making a joke of a very serious announcement.

The announcement was made in an Ottawa fitness club called Lean and Fit — apparently an attempt to persuade us that this is a government with six-pack abs and no fat left to trim.

riiiiight....

So, brief summary of the Main Estimates:  money goes to agencies whose employees can legally kill human beings now and in the future, and money is cut from those agencies trying to make a safe, sustainable environment for us and for generations to come.

Seriously.  Anyone who still thinks CONs are fiscally conservative need to go find their surgeon and ask for their lobotomized chunk of brain back.

Beowulf Award: Punjab Gov. Salman Taseer and Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti

As Canadians drowse, generally complacent about the increasing attacks by the harper government on free speech in our country, the muzzling of public servants, and the needless censorship of documents,  two Pakistinian politicians who fought against such heavy handed control in their country were brutally murdered because they would not stop their fight for human rights.

Both were killed because they strongly opposed the blasphemy law which remains a capital offence.

Politicians who serve the people who elect them, politicians willing to risk their lives for the rights and freedoms of others...

And here in Canada...we should be deeply ashamed.

So the Beowulf Award goes to  Salman Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti

Punjab Gov. Salman Taseer

"Taseer showed himself to be a rare politician, willing to risk his life in espousing an unambiguous position against discrimination and abuse," said Ali Dayan Hasan, senior South Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch.





 







Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti
 
Shahbaz, recently, had stated publicly, "I was told that if I was to continue the campaign against the blasphemy law, I will be assassinated. I will be beheaded. But forces of violence, forces of extremism cannot harass me, cannot threaten me."

Adventures in Mandatory poilievre

Mandatory Poilievre

Pirate Fish says:  Listen to Dominic!

“They'll have to tear up their talking points because they've just been demolished,” Liberal MP Dominic LeBlanc said Tuesday.

That would be these talking points:

Poilievre: Mr. Speaker, this is a five-year-old accounting dispute.  Fortunately, the Federal Court has ruled in favour of the Conservative Party and against Elections Canada.  (Hansard, Feb. 28, 2011)

and it would be due to this:

A civil court victory the Conservative Party has touted as vindication against charges of election wrongdoing has been unanimously overturned by the Federal Court of Appeal. The ruling confirms Elections Canada's interpretation of electoral spending laws and says it was reasonable for the electoral watchdog to reject the way the Conservative Party reported national advertising expenses for the 2006 election.

I predict the next CON approach to answering charges by not answering will be to shift their attack from Elections Canada and attack those damn, interfering courts Kenney is always going on about.  There they go doing their job again, damn legal eagles.  They are such sticklers for law and order, getting tough on illegal activities.

Another worse-than-useless Harper appointee

Stalling hearings, abusing staff, keeping serious caes on hold...

No, it's not Ouimet, it's not Rights and Democracy, and it's not Elliott. This is yet another person appointed by harper to pretend something is being done, but whose real job is to collect a substantial pay check while doing nothing on a serious case(except abuse staff) for TWO YEARS.

The embattled Canadian Human Rights Tribunal was publicly rebuked Monday for a two-year delay in dealing with a case involving the welfare of First Nations children.

oh...that explains some of it. First Nations case.

"It's not simply about money or financial damages," said lawyer Paul Champ, "it's about vulnerable children who are being denied the equal right to stay in their homes and communities. It's no exaggeration to say that more children are harmed every month that passes without this complaint being resolved." Champ said planned hearings at the tribunal were cancelled for no apparent reason. Langtry agreed with Champ that the delays are harming children.

Wait long enough, those kids will be all grown up, problem solved, right?  If any of them suffer as a result, some future government can issue an apology, maybe erect a nice plaque, do a token native dance at some summit or international event we host, saying how we value the rich heritage of “our” First Nations.

So what’s been keeping the Tribunal so busy?

According to the Public Service Alliance, five employees -roughly a quarter of the staff -have filed harassment-related complaints against tribunal chair Shirish Chotalia, the Calgary lawyer appointed in 2009 by the Harper government.  More than half of the staff have left for other public service jobs or been sidelined by stress since she took over.

Harper sure can pick ‘em.  And Canadians keep voting him back in.