Of Bluff And Bluster?

Hasn't that film been running for almost five years now? Actors have changed along the way but much of the cast remains intact since 2006. Hmm. And what have we got to show for it?

We have a government advancing its political agenda (such as it regrettably is) one torturous molehill at a time. We have an official opposition seemingly on the cusp of moving in for the kill. We have a second opposition party so tied up in knots on the issue of the long-gun registry that it's not even funny. And then there's the Bloc -- the big winners of Canadian federalism. The only guys in Ottawa who have more job security than the Bishop of Rome...

You've just got to hand it to Canadians. When it comes time to seriously muck it up, we're in a class by ourselves. Stagnation central.

Seriously, makes yours truly want to head for the closest ATV and race off for parts unknown.

But then one thinks of the miners and what they have to endure in Chile. Millions are praying for their safe rescue. Ditto.

I suppose our fate as well rests solely on waiting it out. Late September will soon be upon us. May it finally bring deliverance: in one form or another.

Stephen Harper Is Ruining My Summer!!!

Call me peculiar but I'm used to having Stephen Harper up close and personal across my television screen. I like it best when this Prime Minister is right in the thick of it -- so much better for the opposition when the PM plays a prominent role in wearing the mistakes of his government!

But things just aren't the same now that the man has gone AWOL. We're told he's up for a little R & R with his family. Damn! Again, I want that guy right in the face of Canadians. Doesn't Harper care that he's ruining MY summer???

But alas, things at least aren't exactly a disaster either without his presence: I've still got the census bonehead play to kick around -- not to mention the new shiny phallic toys headed DND's way. Could be worse.

Hell, with the PMO denying that Guy Giorno is on the way out, I certainly can't complain. But I will.

Come on Prime Minister. Be a pal. Cut short that damned vacation and get right back into the swing of things. After all, you know how much that would please me! Shouldn't that count for something?

Liberal Donations.

Fellow Liberals,

Please set me straight -- I thought the purpose of our donations was to build up as quickly as possible a political war chest with which to fight a reasonably imminent election. That's why I've anted up these past two years.

Did I miss a memo? Are we really sending our money to Ottawa for some other purpose other than election preparedness? Is the party content to sit on the sidelines for another three years before making the slightest move to oust the Harper government? If that's really the plan, count me out. My cash will stay right there, nice and warm in my pocket.

As Trudeau likely would have said, "What gives?"...

Poor Don Martin...

It's safe to say that this Canada Day will more than likely not be one of the most memorable -- or pleasant for Don Martin!

Writing in The National Post, he had this to say yesterday:

"If Mr. Harper does call on Her Majesty to announce the vice-regal replacement on this tour, here’s hoping he steers clear of unworthy patronage payoffs or former politicians.

Support for this monarch is rooted partly in her dignified personality more than the position itself. For monarchist Harper, the best way to keep that sentiment alive is to choose a royal representative with charisma and class over political credentials."

All I can say is that loud sound you hear is not a vuvuzela (or even a Carnaval de Québec) horn! Rather, it's the noise of all that air coming out of Don's cherished balloon...

Peter Milliken: Job Well Done!

I, for one, will miss the familiar sight of Speaker Milliken presiding over -- some would say tending -- to the scrappy children. They say patience is a virtue, and Peter Milliken would seem to be the living embodiment of that!

We owe him our thanks for the excellent job done over these many years.

But you know me, I can't conclude without hoping that we will eventually be hearing from Mr. Speaker about the so-called Afghan Document "Agreement". Something tells me Milliken will have more to say than the mere fact that he happens to agree with the three-party agreement.

Of course, I could be wrong, right!?

Why The G20 and G8 Costs Aren't Sticking.

What should be a spending outrage is nothing more than a passing blurb. Some may wonder why. Not yours truly. Most Canadians consistently vote against this government and yet it remains in office. Perhaps that has something to do with the limp-along strategy favoured in the OLO. You remember that one: yeah, yeah, just you watch, Harper will explode any day now -- then the fruit will be ripe for an election and back to power we go. Or so the delusion goes.

Our last chance to defeat this government (and I mean that quite literally) comes this fall. Our platform will be in place and it will be time for the rubber to hit the road. The present crowd has some serious reassessing to do. If it doesn't look really good poll-wise, they will do what they do best and more than likely retreat, once again.

Canadians, by and large, can barely stomach this Prime Minister but they will continue to vote for him unless the OLO finally gets its act together. That means a couple of things: firstly, Michael has to come to terms with the concept that he won't drop dead if somehow he doesn't become prime minister. It won't be the end of the world either, should it happen.

Secondly, I don't know about you but I want him to realize that fact and then to find the intestinal fortitude to risk it anyway. The best interests of Canada must come before those of any particular leader or politician. Can any of you honestly say that this country is being slowly transformed for the better under the stewardship of this Prime Minister? One need only look at the conduct of the PM to confirm my argument -- why did he reportedly almost bust a gut when Flanagan spilled the beans about the continued success of "incremental" Conservatism. Stephen Harper does best when the Canadian people are as close to comatose as possible. Failing that, as long as they are mostly distracted or uninterested, that default strategy continues to work for him thereby returning another Conservative minority government.

Fake outrage from Liberals hasn't done it, so far. Neither has the scandal-of-the-week. Time to move on to something else that most Canadians can relate to -- a principled belief that this government is no damned good for the kind of Canada most of us happen to believe in. Canadians have to come to the realization that the road we're painfully travelling on now only leads to a dead-end where Canada will ultimately no longer be recognizable as a true liberal-democracy.

Afghan documents, individual accountability of ministerial exempt staff, Freedom of Information requests, the fuck parliamentary committees manual, you name it -- the well established pattern continues as long as this government stays in office.

We can't wish Conservatives away. Our fate quite literally as a nation will rest on whether the three opposition parties respond in tune to the doorbell of political destiny. Time to suck it up -- put away each of our own petty political considerations and vote this government out of office at the earliest opportunity.

Some of us may go down in that election, but Canadians will thank us for doing what had to be done. Some will have died a heroic death on the political battlefield -- but even those will be fondly remembered, for fighting the good fight and paying the ultimate personal cost in pursuit of a just and noble political end. Canada awaits. It needs a reason to bestow its full confidence in us. Are we up to that challenge? For this country's sake, I hope to hell that we really are.

Nothing Quite Like "Guest" Posting!

Letting Conservatives Speak...

Posted at Threehundredeight.com:

Shadow said...

Don't let Quebec separate, it would give Harper a comfortable majority !!

Hmm ...

Could this be why a lot of western Canadians want Quebec kicked out of Canada, where as Liberals are fighting for it to stay ?

Interesting to think about.

12 June, 2010 17:26

And I was worried about those guys being Canada's worst nightmare. What was I thinking?