Ignorant Parrots
The current political "crisis" in Canada has emphasized for me just how ignorant the average Canadian is about our political system. I have read blog posts, Facebook posts, and comments here and there that describe coalition action as being undemocratic, illegal, and unethical. One uneducated person referred to it as a coup d’état! It is none of the above, though I will admit that the situation is bizarre and unusual. To these people, I want to say: "go enroll in a first year overview course on Canadian Politics at your local University!" And, I would bet that a good deal of the people urging Harper to prorogue parliament had never even heard the word prorogue until this week.
But, the whole episode points to a problem in the blogosphere where unsubstantiated statements are repeated with no critical investigation. So, Harper's incorrect comments about the legality of the situation are passed around as gospel. One person uses the word illegal, and suddenly, it is repeated on tons of neocon blogs. I am sure the same happens in reverse on left wing blogs. The web is so polarized that it makes the traditional news outlets appear balanced.
I am not 100% comfortable with this coalition. It is odd in so many ways. Here we have a bizarre array of disparate groups coalescing to form a government. The person to be installed as PM lost the last election quite badly, and was forced to resign. The Bloc has aspirations of changing the constitutional landscape of this nation. Yes, it is odd and strange. But folks, it is not illegal. There is nothing illegal about this coalition seeking the Confidence of the House should the current government lose a vote of Confidence, as is likely to happen should Harper resist the option to prorogue Parliament.
At times like these, when any yahoo can post misinformed rants on the web, I really wish that political education was compulsory. Having to explain what confidence means in the context of a Westminster Parliamentary system is tiresome. Having to explain the concept of Responsible Government is also tiresome. It is irritating too, because one feels like one is bashing one's head against a brick wall. These people are so recalcitrant, so blinded by political allegiances, that they fail to listen to fact. They fail to recall that Harper himself once sought an alliance with the BQ.
This rant comes out of bizarre online exchange I had with supporters of Harper who kept arguing that this alliance is illegal. And then, they argued quite vehemently that Harper should prorogue Parliament when such a course of action would be seen as an affront to our parliamentary traditions.
Sadly, the web is full of uniformed amateur journalists who think they know the answers without having done their homework. Go back to school, people and learn something about our system of government before you spread more disinformation and Tory propaganda.
Showing posts with label stephen harper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stephen harper. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Stephen Harper is no Ordinary Canadian
Now the truth is out. We have proof that Stephen Harper is an imbecile or maybe an idiot and possibly a moron. He is so out-of-touch with average Canadians, he thinks we don't care about the arts! Imagine a Prime Minister who believes that artists are 'rich'. It's mind-boggling. Only a truly stupid person would say such a thing. Clearly, he moves in social circles that keep him well away from the toiling artists in this country.
But, it's all part of a Regressive Conservative Party platform of cultural destruction that includes censoring our movies and cutting $45 million from arts funding. I have to agree with Jack Layton that Harper's yahoos are Culture Killers, or les Conserva-tueur de la culture.
Please, Canada, do not vote for Harper's weird anti-Canadian, pro-McBush party.
Please, vote ABC: Anyone But Conservative.
Now the truth is out. We have proof that Stephen Harper is an imbecile or maybe an idiot and possibly a moron. He is so out-of-touch with average Canadians, he thinks we don't care about the arts! Imagine a Prime Minister who believes that artists are 'rich'. It's mind-boggling. Only a truly stupid person would say such a thing. Clearly, he moves in social circles that keep him well away from the toiling artists in this country.
But, it's all part of a Regressive Conservative Party platform of cultural destruction that includes censoring our movies and cutting $45 million from arts funding. I have to agree with Jack Layton that Harper's yahoos are Culture Killers, or les Conserva-tueur de la culture.
Please, Canada, do not vote for Harper's weird anti-Canadian, pro-McBush party.
Please, vote ABC: Anyone But Conservative.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Random Thoughts
1) Why does everyone say Farve when his name is Favre? Of course, this is simply metathesis, or the alteration of the order of phonemes, but it irritates me.
2) I think Stephen Harper has a crush on John McCain. Not long after McCain wore his "gay sweater", Stephen Harper popped up on TV wearing a powder blue knit garment. Sure, the sweater might be a way to sell one's wight wing agendas (rich old white men look all nice and warm and cozy and harmless), but I think there is a deeper meaning - much deeper.
3) Megan Fox, who starred in Transformers (no, I haven't seen it), revealed that she once fell in love with a female stripper. Big deal. Who hasn't? I love her quote:
1) Why does everyone say Farve when his name is Favre? Of course, this is simply metathesis, or the alteration of the order of phonemes, but it irritates me.
2) I think Stephen Harper has a crush on John McCain. Not long after McCain wore his "gay sweater", Stephen Harper popped up on TV wearing a powder blue knit garment. Sure, the sweater might be a way to sell one's wight wing agendas (rich old white men look all nice and warm and cozy and harmless), but I think there is a deeper meaning - much deeper.
3) Megan Fox, who starred in Transformers (no, I haven't seen it), revealed that she once fell in love with a female stripper. Big deal. Who hasn't? I love her quote:
I could see myself in a relationship with a girl -- Olivia Wilde is so sexy she makes me want to strangle a mountain ox with my bare hands. She's mesmerizing. And lately I've been obsessed with Jenna Jameson, but ... oh boy.4) Mohammed Bello Masaba, age 84, has been arrested in Nigeria for having 86 wives. Apparently, Muslim law limits the number a wives a man can have to 4. What a selfish bastard. He ought to leave a few ladies for his fellow countrymen.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
A Political Detour
"Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" - John McCain
The American presidential primaries are a fascinating spectacle. There is a part of me that sympathizes with a couple of Russian journalists who once said that the entire world should be permitted to vote for the president of the United States because the actions of the US government affect almost everyone in one way or other. That is very apparent in Canada, considering our deep personal, cultural, economic, and political ties. After all, the USA is our largest trading partner. Unfortunately, we also have Stephen Harper, who seems bent on becoming a puppet of the American President.
I am absolutely dumbfounded by John McCain. In case you missed it, he started to sing the line "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" to the tune of the Beach Boys' Barbara Ann. Of course, that was last year. What I also recently learned is that he was singing a parody that had been written and performed by Vince Vance and the Valiants, who wrote the song in the midst of the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1979. Here are the lyrics:
This is one of the videos of John McCain breaking into song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAzBxFaio1I
Of course, I immediately recalled Ronald Reagan's live microphone accident (August 11, 1984) where he announced that bombing of Russia would commence in five minutes. This summed up Reagan's sheer intolerance, misunderstanding, and total hatred of a political system that differed from the American system. No, I am not a fan of authoritarian governments and clearly the Soviet Union was not a model to be emulated. As we all know, Reagan presided over the largest peacetime military buildup in American history, a buildup directed at the former Soviet Union and its allies, rather than address the possibility of arms control. MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) was mad.
Reagan also signed a drug enforcement act as part if his War on Drugs. I think we can conclude that the war on drugs has failed and has resulted in glaring racial disparities in prison populations, mostly because of the different sentences handed down for crack cocaine, a lower class drug used by mainly African Americans and other impoverished ethnic groups, and powdered cocaine, an upper class drug used mainly by white folks including George W. Bush. Yes, he refuses to deny that he has used it. But, I am getting sidetracked.
I was fully in support of the American action in Afghanistan, but the USA virtually quit Afghanistan to hunt Saddam Hussein and walked away from Osama bin Laden. The effect has been very clear in Canada, the nation that is currently in charge of military operations in the Kandahar region. With the US military more interested in Iraq, many Canadians understandably have a hard time distinguishing between Canada's NATO role in Afghanistan and the US war on terror. Our troops effectively freed-up American forces to move to Iraq, and so we have become part of the problem.
John McCain is on record as suggesting that he would not be opposed to American troops staying in Iraq for 100 years! His argument is that Americans would not object to such a deployment either. What they will object to, he argues, are casualties of war. It's clear that McCain, the Viet Nam veteran, is a war hawk. What I find even scarier are those who argue that McCain isn't "conservative enough." I can only hope that the American public will not endorse a man who wants to take their nation into another pointless war that cannot be won. My choice, given the American political landscape, would be anybody but McCain...well, maybe that's going too far.
Addendum
As we all know, blogging about politics is no-win situation. You either attract comments from those who revile your political views and simply tell you that you have no idea what you are talking about (usually offering only dogma and unsupported opinions to counter what you have said) , or you receive congratulatory comments from those who accept everything you say with the hopes that a few of the undecided will be convinced to join your side of the ring.
This, of course, reminds me that Ethan Zuckerman advised us to resist homophily in social networks. I have read lots of right wing blogs and left wing blogs and I think that we are all guilty of promoting our opinions at the expense of impartiality. Such is the polarized landscape of the self-important amateur political blogger. My experience from previous political posts (especially this one) is that I had been surrounded by a few like-minded people (the homophilous, if you like) and our opponents (another homophilous group). In the end, I would describe the bloggers, the commenters, and our statements with such words as intransigent, intractable, recalcitrant, and belligerent.
Blogging has given me a new appreciation of the difficulties in writing without bias. So, the preceding is biased, but what can you expect from a Canadian who routinely votes for the NDP?
"Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" - John McCain
The American presidential primaries are a fascinating spectacle. There is a part of me that sympathizes with a couple of Russian journalists who once said that the entire world should be permitted to vote for the president of the United States because the actions of the US government affect almost everyone in one way or other. That is very apparent in Canada, considering our deep personal, cultural, economic, and political ties. After all, the USA is our largest trading partner. Unfortunately, we also have Stephen Harper, who seems bent on becoming a puppet of the American President.
I am absolutely dumbfounded by John McCain. In case you missed it, he started to sing the line "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" to the tune of the Beach Boys' Barbara Ann. Of course, that was last year. What I also recently learned is that he was singing a parody that had been written and performed by Vince Vance and the Valiants, who wrote the song in the midst of the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1979. Here are the lyrics:
Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran.Now, I can sympathize with this parody in light of the Iran Hostage Crisis. Sometimes, we need to show our anger, rattle some sabers, and show some solidarity.
Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb, bomb Iran!
Let's take a stand, bomb Iran.
Our country's got a feelin'.
Really hit the ceilin', bomb Iran.
Bomb bomb bomb, bomb Iran."
Gone to a mosque,
Gonna throw some rocks.
Tell the ayatollah,
Gonna put you in a box! and
bomb Iran. Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb, bomb Iran!
Our country's got a feelin'.
Really hit the ceilin', bomb Iran.
Bomb bomb bomb, bomb Iran.
This is one of the videos of John McCain breaking into song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAzBxFaio1I
Of course, I immediately recalled Ronald Reagan's live microphone accident (August 11, 1984) where he announced that bombing of Russia would commence in five minutes. This summed up Reagan's sheer intolerance, misunderstanding, and total hatred of a political system that differed from the American system. No, I am not a fan of authoritarian governments and clearly the Soviet Union was not a model to be emulated. As we all know, Reagan presided over the largest peacetime military buildup in American history, a buildup directed at the former Soviet Union and its allies, rather than address the possibility of arms control. MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) was mad.
Reagan also signed a drug enforcement act as part if his War on Drugs. I think we can conclude that the war on drugs has failed and has resulted in glaring racial disparities in prison populations, mostly because of the different sentences handed down for crack cocaine, a lower class drug used by mainly African Americans and other impoverished ethnic groups, and powdered cocaine, an upper class drug used mainly by white folks including George W. Bush. Yes, he refuses to deny that he has used it. But, I am getting sidetracked.
I was fully in support of the American action in Afghanistan, but the USA virtually quit Afghanistan to hunt Saddam Hussein and walked away from Osama bin Laden. The effect has been very clear in Canada, the nation that is currently in charge of military operations in the Kandahar region. With the US military more interested in Iraq, many Canadians understandably have a hard time distinguishing between Canada's NATO role in Afghanistan and the US war on terror. Our troops effectively freed-up American forces to move to Iraq, and so we have become part of the problem.
John McCain is on record as suggesting that he would not be opposed to American troops staying in Iraq for 100 years! His argument is that Americans would not object to such a deployment either. What they will object to, he argues, are casualties of war. It's clear that McCain, the Viet Nam veteran, is a war hawk. What I find even scarier are those who argue that McCain isn't "conservative enough." I can only hope that the American public will not endorse a man who wants to take their nation into another pointless war that cannot be won. My choice, given the American political landscape, would be anybody but McCain...well, maybe that's going too far.
Addendum
As we all know, blogging about politics is no-win situation. You either attract comments from those who revile your political views and simply tell you that you have no idea what you are talking about (usually offering only dogma and unsupported opinions to counter what you have said) , or you receive congratulatory comments from those who accept everything you say with the hopes that a few of the undecided will be convinced to join your side of the ring.
This, of course, reminds me that Ethan Zuckerman advised us to resist homophily in social networks. I have read lots of right wing blogs and left wing blogs and I think that we are all guilty of promoting our opinions at the expense of impartiality. Such is the polarized landscape of the self-important amateur political blogger. My experience from previous political posts (especially this one) is that I had been surrounded by a few like-minded people (the homophilous, if you like) and our opponents (another homophilous group). In the end, I would describe the bloggers, the commenters, and our statements with such words as intransigent, intractable, recalcitrant, and belligerent.
Blogging has given me a new appreciation of the difficulties in writing without bias. So, the preceding is biased, but what can you expect from a Canadian who routinely votes for the NDP?
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
It Could have Been Worse
It could have been a majority government, and that would have forced me to move to a liberal country somewhere in the world, but I am not sure if there are any left. Cuba looks good right now.
I am amazed that Canadians have such ridiculously short memories. The Conservative Party (once known as the Progressive Conservative Party, and are now better described as the Regressive Conservative Party) brought in the GST. And now we elect them on a promise to reduce the tax? They should not be elected for undoing part of a stupid tax that they created.
The Conservative party is homophobic and wants to trample on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Conservative party supports big business and wants private health care. The Conservative Party likes George Bush and his missile defense plan. Let us not forget that Harper wanted Canada to send our troops to Iraq. The Conservative Party likes pollution and, given any chance, will kill Kyoto.
I am not happy about this, but I hope that Canadians will see the error in our ways by the time the next election rolls around.
Technorati Tags: election, Stephen Harper
It could have been a majority government, and that would have forced me to move to a liberal country somewhere in the world, but I am not sure if there are any left. Cuba looks good right now.
I am amazed that Canadians have such ridiculously short memories. The Conservative Party (once known as the Progressive Conservative Party, and are now better described as the Regressive Conservative Party) brought in the GST. And now we elect them on a promise to reduce the tax? They should not be elected for undoing part of a stupid tax that they created.
The Conservative party is homophobic and wants to trample on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Conservative party supports big business and wants private health care. The Conservative Party likes George Bush and his missile defense plan. Let us not forget that Harper wanted Canada to send our troops to Iraq. The Conservative Party likes pollution and, given any chance, will kill Kyoto.
I am not happy about this, but I hope that Canadians will see the error in our ways by the time the next election rolls around.
Technorati Tags: election, Stephen Harper
Monday, June 28, 2004
Election Day
OK, so just a few comments on today's federal election...
I'd like to say, make sure you vote. But, if you plan to vote Conservative, forget about it. There has been much commentary on Stephen Harper's so-called "hidden agenda". Let's face it, it is not hidden. The Regressive Conservative party is anti-gay, anti-women, anti-middle class, anti-public health care. It the scariest party we have ever seen. How can we, especially people in Ontario, forget about the roots of this party? It is comprised of the remnants of failed regional parties and the tired and hopeless remains of the Progressive Conservative Party. The PC party ruined Ontario. If you are angry with Dalton, don't vote Conservative. Vote for anyone else, but not Conservative, please.
Tags: elections, Canada
OK, so just a few comments on today's federal election...
I'd like to say, make sure you vote. But, if you plan to vote Conservative, forget about it. There has been much commentary on Stephen Harper's so-called "hidden agenda". Let's face it, it is not hidden. The Regressive Conservative party is anti-gay, anti-women, anti-middle class, anti-public health care. It the scariest party we have ever seen. How can we, especially people in Ontario, forget about the roots of this party? It is comprised of the remnants of failed regional parties and the tired and hopeless remains of the Progressive Conservative Party. The PC party ruined Ontario. If you are angry with Dalton, don't vote Conservative. Vote for anyone else, but not Conservative, please.
Tags: elections, Canada
Monday, March 08, 2004
Ten Stupid Things
Off the top of my head, a list of stupid things:
cigarettes
electric can openers
electric pencil sharpeners
the top 40
opinion polls
George W. Bush
milk
awards shows
leaf blowers
Stephen Harper
Tags: stupid things
Off the top of my head, a list of stupid things:
cigarettes
electric can openers
electric pencil sharpeners
the top 40
opinion polls
George W. Bush
milk
awards shows
leaf blowers
Stephen Harper
Tags: stupid things
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