Canadians seem to care more about sports than Canada

If Only Canadians Can Have as Much Passion Over What’s Happening to Them as They do About Hockey
Excerpt:
How come Canadians can’t be this passionate and channel all that energy
into politics? I mean, it’s about their futures, for the love of gawd.
To me, it seems that they care more about what happens to their
favourite team and/or least favourite player than they do about
themselves, regarding the most important things; will I be able to
continue earning a living? Will I be able to access health care for my
family and myself? Will we become a nation of Evangelicals waiting
while they engineer the end times (wouldn’t it put it past those
wingnuts to do just that)? Will be able to retire? If we had at least
half that passion, we wouldn’t be living under such scary and uncertain
times, or at least, we wouldn’t allow our governments to ‘boil the
frog’, in turning Canada into a place we are starting to no longer
recognize.

Harper's anti-woman rampage

An anti-woman rampage | rabble.ca < read me.

Harper apparently hates anything to do with equal rights for women. As
a result, women don’t vote for him. Maybe that’s why instead of wooing
us, he takes extreme measures to further punish us.
Just look what
he’s done in the past: he smacked down a national child care plan,
killed off the Court Challenges program, attacked women’s reproductive
freedom by supporting Bill C-484, axed jobs at Status of Women Canada
(SWC) and eliminated the word “equality” from its mandate, silenced
advocacy groups, shut down community-based women’s organizations and
stripped money from women’s agencies and programs.

And the list goes on.

"Math is hard. I let Steve do all the thinking for me."

Canadian Idiots. 2008 the year of the stoopid. | A Creative Revolution < read me, see me.

"Harper has fast become the kind of governing politician he once professed to abhor"

Same old patronage games in Harper's 'new' Senate < read me.

Like the prospect of devouring the leftover Christmas turkey, many Canadians might find it hard to digest Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to stack the Senate with party loyalists.

Conservative supporters point out that every prime minister before Harper has done exactly the same thing, and that the PM has encountered nothing but roadblocks in his attempts at genuine Senate reform.

But Harper sold himself to Canadians as a different kind of politician, one who'd refrain from using patronage appointments to the Senate. A man who could be trusted to keep that and other promises.

Instead, Harper has fast become the kind of governing politician he once professed to abhor -- one who routinely breaks his word.

Naming 18 Tory senators Monday -- the most ever in a single day -- is just the latest example of a promise made, a promise broken.

Canadian's need to become truly informed or we are doomed

Canadian Spades: A chilling reality < read me

This holiday season has been rife with political controversy. As a
result, Canadians are now more engaged in politics than they have been
in recent memory. But there is a key problem; the newly engaged
Canadians lack the fundamental political knowledge to make an informed
decision regarding current events.

19 Disappointments

Senator Elaine McCoy Hullabaloos

All in all, regardless of the merits of some of the
individuals (Nancy Green, for instance), I think December 22, 2008
might well go down in history as the day of 19 Disappointments.

Bullshitting the Canadian public

The Galloping Beaver: Steve's CTV Christmas Special < read me!

Dear Steve :
Allow me to quote from the Coalition's Accord, signed by the three opposition party leaders including Gilles Duceppe on Dec 1:

"The [Coalition] Government will not request a dissolution of Parliament during the term of this agreement, except following defeat on an explicitly-framed motion of nonconfidence presented by the Opposition ...[that would be you, Steve]... or any vote pertaining to the speech from the throne; or on a budget vote at on any stage in the House; or on any bill to implement a budget at any stage in the House; or on any motion in the House to concur in, restore or reinstate any Estimates; or on any supply bill at any stage in the House.

The Bloc Québécois will neither move nor will it support any motions of nonconfidence in the Government during the term of its support for this agreement, and will vote in favour of the Government’s position with respect to all matters referred to in the immediately preceding paragraph."


Could that be any clearer? The agreement actually binds the Bloc to vote with the coalition on all matters of confidence and to support all budgets, throne speeches and money bills.

Steve knows this of course, but he went on Corporate Television Vehicle™ and bullshitted the Canadian public about it four distinct times in five minutes anyway. Fucking appalling. And neither of the two hosts, Lloyd Robertson nor Robert Fife, called him on it.

How is BQ veto fo a LIb-NDP coalition possible?

The Rational Number: How is BQ veto of a Lib-NDP coalition possible? < read me.

Only the partisan assumption that the Conservatives would vote against the Lib-NDP coalition consistently without regard to the matter of the vote holds up the argument of a BQ veto. Of course everything depends on the subject matter of the vote, but that nevers appears in those Conservative-minded talking points.

Canada DOES have a subprime crisis

Just Another Willy Loman: Now we know what the 75 billion was for

The Harper conservatives deregulated our mortgage insurance, and created a Canadian subprime mortgage crisis that should start to hit our economy in about six months and they are lying about.

The economy is going to get worse than both Harper and Flaherty have forecasted and it would appear our government's finances could be in worse shape than they have reported hinted (since they have to date avoided and discussion or disclosure in parliament).

Regardless of the plan presented in January the Coalition needs to replace this government, we can no longer afford their ideological incompetence or believe a word they are saying.

Who's afraid of the big bad Bloc?

Bill Longstaff: Who's afraid of the big bad Bloc?

There is little for progressives to fear from the Bloc Quebecois as supporters of the coalition on confidence votes. The Conservatives got their support in the last Parliament, and if there's no coalition, they may very well be seeking it in this one. Nothing new here.

Click the link, read the post.

Just the Facts Please

Peace, order and good government, eh?: Facts are stupid things

Let's support a government who covers up the facts so we won't find out how badly they are mishandling things until it is too late - not. This has been done before - remember the Mike Harris government saying they were running a surplus, when, meanwhile they were running a very large deficit?

Let's hope the coalition continues

Accidental Deliberations: On best-case scenarios

After all, the coalition also reflects the best chance in the near future to demonstrate the viability of cooperative politics.

Maude Barlow: Harper has to go

Canadian Dimension Blog / Maude Barlow: Harper has to go

“For the good of the people of Canada, for the dignity and good and
workings of the House of Commons, he must step down and allow the
coalition to come into power”

Coalition - grassroots organization

Creekside: Dear leaders of the coalition : Obama-size now

It's time you guys put together an official coalition website and Impolitical has your front page image right here.

What we need from you now is an official source for quotes, breaking news and coalition events to counteract the Corporate Television Vehicle™ which will reliably continue to pump out every rumour and screw-up in the coalition because that's what they do.

Yes,
you have your own party websites but Canadians need to be convinced
this is more than party politics as usual. Yes, there's lots of grassroots groups doing this already but we need to see you to stand behind it.

Build
it and the press will come. There's economists and constitutional
experts writing interesting articles about the coalition every day.
Publish them. We need pledge drives for when Steve goes for another
election do-over. We need dates for the coalition townhalls you better
be planning to have in your districts.

Conservatives Exposed

A BCer in Toronto: (Video) Don Newman schools John Baird

John Baird has been a member of parilament for years, provincially and federally, and he exposes the fact that he does not know how parliament or our democratic system works. He also contradicts himself in statements about the Bloc (if the Bloc supports the opposition, then the opposition stance is evil and anti-Canadian, but if the Bloc supports the Conservatives, they are Canadian).

Peterborough Politics on the Editorial from the Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal

Peterborough Politics: I Couldn't Agree More

The fact is that Canadians are suffering, and the Conservatives are looking out for their own cushy cabinet posts. I'm not surprised by the Chronicle-Journal stating that they have received more letters of support for the coalition than against it because Canadians are the kind of people that usually look to work together. And that's precisely what this coalition is about, putting aside differences and working together. But instead of lauding that, the Conservatives tried to turn the good characteristics of cooperating and working together into some kind of deep seeded, anti-Canadian character flaw.

Democracy in Canada?

The View from Elsewhere: Canadians don't care for democracy

The idea that Canada is a democracy has finally been exposed as an illusion. This was done when Stephen Harper was granted a seven week holiday from accountability, which should give him enough time to grow a square mustache. That may seem harsh, but then again, the guy did shut down this country's government for no other reason than to cling to power, and so kindness is the last thing he deserves.

What amazes me is how many people, be they political experts or just ordinary citizens, are fully relieved that this assault has been committed against our supposed democracy. Their rationale ranges from a moronic idea that the government, like some horny teenager, needs time to cool off, to the blatantly wrong assertion that we must at all costs be delivered from the clutches of a coalition that is beholden to the evil separatists. In between is the equally wrong notion that Stephen Harper was elected Prime Minister, and so shall he remain, despite his lethal combination of arrogance and incompetence, not to mention the fact that we do not elect a Prime Minister; we elect Members of Parliament who then in turn choose a leader.

Canada's Coalition - The Guardian Gets It

Rolling Back the Tide of Extremism, One Post at a Time: Canada's Coalition - The Guardian Gets It

Canada is not turning into Italy, which tends to change governments as frequently as some people change underwear. And it is not a coup, as some of its critics are suggesting. Rather, it is a strategic parliamentary move, made by three parties who hold a majority of the seats in the lower house of parliament to unite for a common purpose in a time of crisis. Canada will survive it. And, it may be, however rare in our history, the best thing for the country.

The Conservatives may have won more seats this year, but
they still only won a minority. That's not much of a mandate, and
certainly not enough of a mandate to push through a radical agenda by
Canadian standards, which is what Harper was evidently looking to do.
Indeed, the Conservative's reality-denying economic plan does
not include a stimulus plan but does include such right-wing proposals
as revoking public sector workers' right to strike for one year and
banning pay equity complaints from going to the Canadian Human Rights
Commission.

Rhetoric, mean-spirited words and jingoism a la Stephen Harper

Peterborough Politics: Parties Working Together Democratically A Threat To Democracy???

Parties Working Together Democratically A Threat To Democracy???

Yep, haven't we heard these talking points for the past week? Haven't we heard this same tripe being spewed from Stephen Harper's gab for all that time? Mr. Harper's speech tonight brought forth no new information, no offers to work with others and not even an admission of his own guilt in this situation. Nope, it's everyone else's fault, so say he. And abou

Harpo can't stop lying to Canadians

Impolitical: Everything you need to know about Stephen Harper...

In fact, every constitutional experts has said the coalition is legal and legitimate.
Yes, it is. There are the things he says and then there are the things
that experts say. He's flat out wrong. The coalition has the legitimacy
of every vote given on October 14th to the majority of members that
outnumber Conservative members.

In
a pre-taped rebuttal broadcast shortly after Harper's address, Dion
defended the notion of a proposed coalition government "as normal and
current practice in many parts of the world."

Moreover, the
Conservatives have lost the confidence of the majority of members of
the House of Commons, meaning "they have lost the right to govern,"
Dion said.

In our parliamentary democracy, that's the
way it works. Canadians need to suck it up and get used to coalitions
working together. We have had minority government since 2004 and what
we're seeing now is a progression out of the results Canadians have
consistently given in successive elections. Whining about the
government being defeated on a confidence vote is offensive to our
traditions. We haven't seen it in a while, but it certainly doesn't
mean it's "undemocratic."

Mr. Harper has sown the imminent
defeat of his government. He should act in the tradition of great
parliamentarians before him who have similarly faced the prospect of
defeat. Be a democrat and allow a vote. Be a leader and take your
result. Anything less and he's consigned to go down in history fighting
for his job by inflaming the nation and corrupting our democratic
traditions.