Saturday, June 21, 2014

Stephen Harper and the Death of Parliament



It was the most politically depraved horror show this country has ever witnessed. It was nasty, it was brutal, it was bestial.

The way Stephen Harper raped our bleeding democracy over and over again. The way he muzzled and smeared his opponents. The way he lied about everything. The stench of corruption that burned the nostrils, the sound of monkeys howling and pigs squealing. 

It was the death of Parliament and the lowest form of political pornography...



But at least as Parliament adjourns for the summer, Harper and his Con regime have also staggered out of the rubble, or off the field, battered and bruised. 

Through bad luck, bad timing, bad management and bad manners, a lot of key items on the Conservative to-do list have not got done, and the government heads off the pitch with more own goals and red cards than points.

Harper’s team often looked clumsy or out-of-touch on issues that matter to the voters the Tories need, and all the while Liberal leader Justin Trudeau stayed ahead in the polls, seemingly impervious to gaffes or attack ads.


His reputation is in tatters, his polls are going nowhere, and all his hopes are now pinned on whether or not he can bribe voters...



Harper seems off his game, but he still has one big card to play: a surplus in the next budget, just in time for pre-election tax cuts. It looks he is going to have to put a big bet on that card.

So despite the horror of having witnessed the slow strangling of our democracy, I couldn't be more satisfied.

Because after that grotesque spectacle no sane Canadian can claim that the man is not a monster, without being accused of living in denial, or of being a Con collaborator.

And I'm betting that Stephen Harper will not be able to bribe voters with his government-killing tax cuts. Not when so many are so tired of that depraved leader, and want his filthy Con regime removed from office as soon as is humanly possible.

Because if they can be bought, if they are that old and fat and greedy, then this country is lost and has the government it deserves.

And I could never believe that eh?

Not when cynicism is the death of hope, and in Canada these days to resist is to exist.

So although, as I've said before, there are a million things I'd rather to with my spare time, than blog about Canadian politics in the moral swamp called Harperland.

Like recording the magic moment when this little duckling discovers that the green stuff on the pier wall is yummy delicious...



Or spreading my sails and feeling the cool clean wind in my face...



This summer will be a busy political season. One that will take me from the battle to dethrone Rob Ford, to the Scottish highlands to join the rebels fighting to separate from Con Britain. And back again to prepare for what could be an early election. 

The Conservatives have already quietly nominated roughly a third of the party's slate of candidates for the next federal election, a sign that Stephen Harper could be readying to call an election before the fixed date in October, 2015.

"If they see, for example, that if somehow the brand of Justin Trudeau becomes tarnished, or there's a significant misstep, you might see the Conservatives try to pursue a smash and grab victory," Nanos said.


Because everything the Cons are doing tells me that they are aiming for a smash and grab victory. So we must be ready. 

But as said, it is almost summer. In Canada it's always too short.

So I will be taking it a little easier. But even if I'm not here as often as I usually am, you can be sure of one thing.

I will never give up hope. I will still be out there following my buddy Sébastien. 


Still believing that we are heading in the right direction.

And that victory is in sight...



You know, I'm lucky to have so many readers who understand my insatiable need for freedom. And my passionate love for floating objects.

Because if not I'd be in trouble eh?

Thank you for your patience, and your encouragement.

Have a great weekend everybody !!!

Please click here to recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers. 

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is that Stockwell Day on the jet ski? Simon, are you secretly trying to turn Canadians into ... Harperites? Have a great summer ;)

Anonymous said...

"One that will take me from the battle to dethrone Rob Ford, to the Scottish highlands to join the rebels fighting to separate from Con Britain."
All the best to you and Scotland in their effort for true sovereignty. We Irish get imprisoned, tortured and murdered for voicing those opinions and have for a couple of centuries now. UP THE REBELS!!! FUCK THE BRITISH SONS-OF-BITCHES!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for everything you do, Simon! The battle is far from won and we must keep pushing, that's for sure. With people like you to inspire us, somehow it makes it easier to stay in the game. Take care!

deb said...

have a great summer, keep up the excellent work. This con regime will be planning all summer on how they will come back for more of the same come sept. Great timing for harper to leave, after the northern gateway announcement.

Anonymous said...

I'd come with you to Scotland, Simon, if I had the papers.
Does my Robbie Burns book count?

Some of us knew in our gut, mind, and our spirit, (due to Past Practices/History-
that's how Corrections Canada and police do it, see- PMACK?) that Conservatives
would be nothing but a boat-load of bull-shit and corruption. I did.
It's been a well-known fact- dissected and written about by John Stuart Mill and others.
The stupid and/or greedy eat the con-policies up. Especially the greedy.

e.a.f. said...

yes the evil sob green lighted the Northern Gate Way project and then went off to "gather his reward" from whomever.......
Lets hope he doesn't come back in the fall. It would be so nice to not have him around come Sept. He can now leave Ottawa and go back to his ilk in Alberta and tell them the tax cuts for the well to do are coming, if one parent stays home. What a fucking waste of money. The tax dollars ought to be spend on children living in poverty in this country, not on a bunch of well to do corporate freaks living in Alberta, pretending to be stepford wives.

David said...

Harper is crazy.... crazy like a fox!

Is Enbridge setting up Harper for re-election?
http://www.bclocalnews.com/opinion/263901771.html

zeke said...

Simon tell your people to go to the- RED PEPPER-web page and read the article on-- Sweden's great welfare heist ; it starts from the early 90's and they are now fighting back to go back to a socialist democracy -- this is the same corporate rip off Harper and his lunatic govern. is pushing on us now 20 years later-- let's not make the same mistake-- defeat him in the next election and hold Trudeau accountable to reverse Harper's destruction

David said...

Harper: "I hope you enjoyed my little SHOW!!! And can't wait for MORE!"

Harper's Anti Demo Cratic Band

It was ten years ago today
Stevie Harper asked the Cons to play
They've never never had any style
But they're guaranteed to raise a smile
So may I introduce to you
The act you've known for all these years
Harper's Anti Demo Cratic Band

We're Harper's Anti Demo Cratic Band
We hope you still enjoy the show
We're Harper's Anti Demo Cratic Band
Sit back and let your freedom go
Stevie Harper's Anti, Stevie Harper's Anti
Harper's Anti Demo Cratic Band
It's wonderful to be here
We like to see oil spill
You're such a clueless audience
We like to close vets' offices
We'd love to crush your vote

I don't really want to stop the show
But I thought that you might like to know
That Stevie's going to sing a song
And he wants you all to sing along
So let me introduce to you
The one and only Duffy Shears
And Harper's Anti Demo Cratic Band



Simon said...

hi anon...no that isn't Doris Day, and it's a different kind of jet ski. The one he used had a spout of water shooting up into the air, which as he rode off ridiculously into the sunset, made it look like it was coming out of his ass. Which in my opinion sealed his fate. ;) But not that I'm an expert eh? I want everybody to know that although those noisy fossil fuel monsters can be fun, I much prefer wind power. And you have a good summer too... :)

Simon said...

hi anon...thank you for your good wishes. But I do want to point out that I am not anti-English in any way. I can't be because my Mum is English and I'm half of a Sassenach myself. The shame, the shame... ;)
The reason I support it because it's a campaign to try to build a progressive state, which is not under the thumb of the Cameron Cons who are waging war on the poor, and young people, and medicare, in a manner worse in some ways than even Margaret Thatcher's reactionary rule. Of course, the weight of Scottish history does also play a part in how I feel. My family's home is not far from Culloden, the disastrous battlefield where the Scots, including some of my ancestors, were slaughtered by the English.
But it's only the pride that motivates me, not the old hatreds. I'll be writing about it before I leave, and when I'm there because it's an interesting story, and whatever happens Scotland will never be the same again...

Simon said...

hi anon...thank you for your kind words. Although as you can probably guess, summer has me in its grip, I know the battle is far from over, an election could come much much sooner than most people imagine, and we must use the next few months to step up our attacks on the Harperite gang. The thing to remember is that we are making progress, Great Leader is greatly diminished, and the longer he remains in office the more people will get tired of him. If we keep that in mind, and we help spread the message, we will eventually defeat him or force to resign, and we will have a great summer... :)

Simon said...

hi deb...thank you and you have a great summer too. They are so short, and after last winter's Polar Vortex I intend to treasure every warm day. However, the Cons are in full campaign mode so I hope the progressive parties and the rest of us do our best to make sure that their summer sucks...;)

Simon said...

hi liberalandlovingit...I'm glad to hear that you are prepared to follow the sound of the bag pipes. But I'm afraid the Robbie Burns book probably can't be swapped for a ticket, since about two-thirds of the Scottish people can't understand what he's saying. ;)
But yes, greed is the enemy, especially in a country as rich as this one. I try to live as simply as I can. I don't own a car, or a SeaDoo. But then some new computer gadget comes along and I find myself lusting after it like so many others. We are going to face a choice and sooner rather than later. A simpler life now, or no life later...

Simon said...

hi e.a.f....I am hoping that as the first leaves come down in the fall, Harper will also come down with a bang. My guess is that he won't quit because he needs to stay until 2015 if he is to move up the ranks of longest serving Prime Ministers, and that is the sort of thing that would appeal to a guy like him. Still, if his polls don't improve he will come under more pressure to step down, so anything could happen. I'm going to have to save up, buy some champagne, and keep it on ice, so I can be ready to celebrate at a moment's notice.... ;)

Simon said...

hi David...thanks for that story. It's just the latest in a series of articles suggesting that Harper could use Northern Gateway as a wedge issue to pit the rest of the country against BC. It's quite possible he may be thinking along those lines, but I don't think it will work...

Simon said...

hi Zeke...thanks for the tip. I looked up the story and it really is quite depressing and frightening, But of course that's also what's happening in Britain where the Cons are privatizing everything, including a large part of the National Health Service, and thee results are equally disastrous. I will never be shaken from my belief that institutions based on the common good are always going to be better for those they help, than those based on profit...

Simon said...

hi David...very good, I had no idea you were such a good song writer, it's definitely better than Gilbert and Sullivan. I must confess it did cross my mind to compare the Harperite Parliament to the sleazy nightclub in Cabaret, with Harper as the character played by Joel Grey. But then I remembered that Harper can't sing, and I didn't have enough rouge to smear on his cheeks... ;)

Anonymous said...

I'd follow those pipes to the gates of Hell and back, Simon...

that's how much I believe in the freedom of the individual.

I'm not your typical wishy-washy, fence-sittin' liberal Christian.

We be street warriors and table-turners too!! Never say die, brother!

Anonymous said...

I meant to say 'mistakenly stereotyped', not 'typical' liberal...