Con Confidential and the Downfall of Dimitri Soudas

OMG. When I heard the news at first I was stunned. And then I was shocked.

And then I was FURIOUS.

This wasn't how my new Harlequin HarleCon romance "Con Confidential" was supposed to end.

It was supposed to be a torrid Con love story not a tacky Con SCANDAL !#@!!!!

And then all I could think of was Dimitri, Dimitri, we hardly knew you. 

How To Motivate Young Canadians to Vote (Part Two)

Last week I wrote a post looking at how important it is to get more young Canadians to vote in the next election.

Because if more of them do vote, we will almost surely defeat Stephen Harper. 

I said that if you want them to cast a ballot, first you must move them with a vision of a better future. And I promised to look at how people in other countries are doing that.

Now I think I found a pretty good example.

Stephen Harper and the Stealthy War on Medicare

On Monday the Health Accord between the provinces and the federal government will expire.

There will be no longer be a signed agreement to enforce the five principles of the Canada Health Act.

The Health Council of Canada, the independent agency charged with monitoring our healthcare system, will cease to exist.

And although roughly the same amount  of money will continue to be transferred to provinces until 2017, it will mark the beginning of a new stage in Stephen Harper's stealthy war on medicare. 

Britain, Gay Marriage, and the Tragic Legacy of Homophobia

I almost wish Margaret Thatcher was still alive so she could have seen the rainbow flag flying over government buildings in London today.

Because her infamous Section 28 anti-gay law, which was similar to the one in Russia today, crushed a generation of young LGBT people.

So the sight of those flags and all those happy couples probably would have killed her.

Stephen Harper and the Monstrous Government Like No Other

Well his Con clown tour of Europe has finally ended. After a week of posing as a champion of democracy in Ukraine, his golden coach ride is over.

Now it's back to reality.

Wheels down. Good to be home. #cdnpoli #cdntrademission
— Stephen Harper (@pmharper) March 28, 2014

Back to suppressing democracy in Canada.

Or as Don Martin calls it, back to the state of conscious uncoupling.  

The Wonderful and Neverending Pounding of Pierre Poilievre

The one good thing about the foul Fair Elections Act is the way it has transformed Pierre Poilievre into a parliamentary punching bag.

Because it seems that every day somebody is taking a shot at him and his bill.

And today it was the election expert Harry Neufeld's turn to tell Poilievre to amend the bill or KILL IT. 

Rob Anders and the Shootout at the Con Corral

When I see two guys getting ready to fight each other, my usual instinct is to try to separate them before somebody gets hurt.

In the best peacekeeping tradition of this country.

Or whatever...



But I have to admit that when I see Cons getting ready to fight each other, especially in redneck Alberta, my message to them is more like this:

Hey guys, wait until I get out of the way eh? And then feel free to beat yourselves BLOODY !!!! 

Stephen Harper and the Insane Clown Circus

I have to admit that sometimes I can't decide whether Stephen Harper and his Cons are an insane clown posse, or just circus clowns who are so dumb they're dangerous.

But today at least that choice was a little easier.

Because the leader of the Con posse was in Germany, scaring the bejesus out of the Germans.

Stephen Harper's Scandalous Challenger Problem

Once upon a time Stephen Harper used to take a perverse pleasure in going after the Liberals for using taxpayer's money to fly around in Challenger jets.

But once he came to power he changed his mind.

And now he uses them all the time to ferry him and his friends around.

And doesn't seem to give a damn about sticking taxpayers with the tab. 

Jean-Pierre Kingsley and the Education of Pierre Poilievre

I've always had a lot of respect for Jean-Pierre Kingsley, the former Chief Electoral Officer. So when I saw that he had given the Fair Elections Act an A- I practically collapsed.

Shocked by the thought that a man like him could give such a generous grade to such a foul bill. 

And disgusted by the sight of Pierre Poilievre,  using Kingsley's remarks to put lipstick on his pig of a bill.

And celebrating like only he could...

Harperland and the Great Canadian Resistance

For years Stephen Harper and his PMO thugs have had their way with this country. 

Defiling our values and traditions, muzzling our democracy, and dragging us into their filthy darkness.

But now at last they have gone too far.

And as the author of Harperland points out, even in this frigid land, the resistance is finally rising. 

The Bates Motel and the House of Cons

One of the few television programs I watch is the Bates Motel. The series shot in Aldergrove BC, that sets out to explain how Norman Bates became the homicidal maniac in Psycho. 

The one with the mummified mother in the basement.

Because it makes even Harperland look almost cheery eh?

But it only lasts an hour, and then I'm back to cruel reality.

There is no horror show quite like Harperland, and the House of Cons...

Pierre Poilievre and the Bill That Must Be Killed

Golly. When Parliament returns today I bet Pierre Poilievre is going to wish he was on the run somewhere in Europe like his ghastly leader, the feathered warrior Chicken Harper.

For it must be said that if his so-called Fair Elections Act was a chicken, they'd be getting ready to serve it, on a plate, with mashed potatoes and gravy.

Because it's so bad, and Poilievre's attempts to defend it have been so pathetic, that now even the Globe and Mail is calling for it to be KILLED.

Is Stephen Harper Preparing to Reappoint Marc Nadon?

I can hardly believe it, so disturbing, so absolutely insane is the idea.

Stephen Harper has just been slapped in the face by the Supreme Court for trying to appoint a judge who wasn't qualified for the job.

He has been humbled and humiliated by a 6-1 decision.

He should be sitting in a corner with a dunce cap on mumbling over and over again: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot."

But instead his foul Con regime won't rule out making another attempt to appoint Marc Nadon. 

Stephen Harper's Absurd And Hypocritical Ukraine Expedition

Well there he was in Ukraine, posing as a champion of democracy, in relentless pursuit of the ethnic vote.

Or a Great Warrior Leader.

Blasting Con propaganda out of every orifice.

Or a dangerous chicken hawk. 

How To Move Young Canadians To Help Defeat Stephen Harper

It should be obvious by now that the key to winning the next election is getting out the vote.

For why else would Stephen Harper and his Con regime be going to such desperate lengths to suppress it?

And there isn't a group that needs to be encouraged more to vote than young Canadians.

Not just because, as a new study by the pollster Nik Nanos suggests, they can make a huge difference. 

Stephen Harper's Supreme Day of Humiliation

It has to be the most humiliating moment of Stephen Harper's political life.

He tried to appoint a judge to the Supreme Court who wasn't properly qualified, for crass political reasons.

He rushed the appointment through Parliament, and then tried to change the law retroactively to make it legal.

He tried to subvert the Constitution, outrageously. And got taught a lesson he'll never forget.

The Day Stephen Harper Was Pounded By the Supreme Court

Well it's lucky he is in Ukraine challenging Vladimir Putin to  come and fight him. 

Or doing whatever he can to inflame the situation and win the ethnic vote.

Because if he was in Canada, he'd be lying on the canvas after being pounded by the Supreme Court.

Stephen Harper and the Con War on the Economy

Well he's off to Ukraine today to try to pose as Great Warrior Leader by inflaming a dangerous crisis for crass political gain. 

Which is scary enough.

But there's another scary story doing the rounds in Ottawa. 

And that's the one about how Stephen Harper wanted to replace Jimbo Flaherty as Finance Minister with nobody less than HIMSELF.

Fred Phelps: Why I'm Celebrating the Death of a Bigot

It seems only right that the day Spring finally arrived, was also the day that Fred Phelps finally departed.

Fred Phelps -- the founding pastor of a Kansas church known for its virulently anti-gay protests at public events, including military funerals -- has died, the church said Thursday.

And I must admit that my first reaction was to put on my party tuque, turn up the music, and prepare to kickoff five days of wild celebrations.

Because I feel about his death like Christopher Hitchens felt about the death of that other anti-gay bigot Jerry Faldwell.

If you gave him an enema you could bury him in a match box.

The Harper Cult and the War on the Media

It looked like a mob meeting, with big black cars and burly bodyguards to keep reporters away.

Or as Tom Mulcair called it, the gathering of some secretive cult. 

But it was only Oily Joe Oliver's hush hush swearing in ceremony. 

Pierre Poilievre's Incredibly Horrible and Embarrassing Week

Oh dear. I can't help feeling that Pierre Poilievre is starting to regret that Big Daddy made him the Minister of Democratic Reform.

And is probably wishing he could have another job PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE !!!!!!

Because first the Chief Electoral Officer shredded his arguments in an appearance before a House committee.

Then the author of a report on the last election made a complete fool out of him for misrepresenting his report. 

The Sad and Dismal Legacy of Little Jimbo Flaherty

Well I see that little Jimbo Flaherty has fallen off his mole hill for the very last time.

Or left Stephen's Harper's murky pond. 

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has resigned. He is the biggest fish to swim out of Prime Minister Harper's pond since then-Environment Minister, and de facto second in command in the Cabinet, Jim Prentice, left to make oodles of money in the banking business.

But not before rhyming off a short list of his accomplishments, and ignoring all his failures.

Stephen Harper and the Con Day of Infamy

It couldn't have been a more welcome sight. The last Canadian soldiers returning from Afghanistan. 

If I had been watching them coming in to land, I would have been waving my arms in the air, and shouting "Glory Hallelujah, we are free at last." 

And this couldn't have been a happier sight. 



There were tears, smiles and warm embraces as loved ones greeted the final homecoming flight from Kabul – the last soldiers to return from a costly military mission that spanned more than a decade and claimed the lives of 162 Canadians.

But then there was the ghastly sight of our shabby leader Stephen Harper. 

Stephen Harper and the Great Illusion

Well he must be feeling pretty good these days. It must be his happy hour.

Parliament is shutdown so he doesn't have to answer any questions about any of his many scandals.

Or his foul voter suppression bill.

Instead he can pose as a champion of democracy in Ukraine, harvest the ethnic vote, and dream of stealing the next election.

But unfortunately for him it is too good to be true. It is just an illusion.

Stephen Harper's Foul Assault on the Future of our Democracy

One of the most despicable things about Stephen Harper's foul voter suppression bill, is the way it would prevent the Chief Electoral Officer from educating young Canadians about our democracy.

And encouraging them to vote.

So am glad to see that the NDP is defending Elections Canada's youth outreach programs.

Stephen Harper, the Melting Planet, and the Collapse of the Capitalist System

He has tried to deny the reality of climate change as long as any crazed person could.

Even as he torched the planet, and turned Canada into a hellish place.

But the world is warming, the ice is melting faster than anyone once imagined.

The Ukraine Crisis and the Absurd Con Clowns

Someone recently compared the Ukrainian crisis to the beginning of the First World War.

Where new alliances, old hatreds, and excessive nationalism created an explosive mixture until one act of senseless violence set the whole thing off.

And this couldn't be a more a dangerous showdown.

So needless to say I'm not happy to see that Stephen Harper is still planning to visit Ukraine. 

Still threatening to inflame the situation.

The Winter from Hell and the National Unity Hysteria

In his well known song Mon Pays, the Quebec poet and singer Gilles Vigneault famously sings: "My country is not a country, it's the winter."

And in this seemingly never ending one, this Winter from Hell, I think we can all relate to that. 

But since just a few weeks ago during the Olympics we were all happily chirping or tweeting #wearewinter we can't complain too much eh?

Even if it seems to be driving a lot of Canadians crazy.

For what else can explain the hysteria over national unity?

Stephen Harper's Stealthy Attack on Justin Trudeau

OMG. What a disgusting spectacle. He's at it again. He just can't control himself. 

The hate is bubbling out of him like slime out of the glands of a poisonous toad.

He's fired off a bunch of new attack ads at Justin Trudeau.

But this time he doesn't want us to see them. 

Stephen Harper's Insane Ukrainian Expedition

You'd think Stephen Harper would know better than to visit Ukraine a few days after Crimea votes to separate, as it almost certainly will on Sunday.

And the last thing the world needs is some foreign leader inflaming what will almost certainly be a dangerous situation.

But no, he's going.

Stephen Harper and the War on Medicare Continued

As you probably know, there is nothing I fear more than what Stephen Harper is planning to do to our precious medicare system.

Because he has always hated it, it represents everything he loathes about Canada, and its values.

He went into politics with the support of an organization that was created to destroy it.



And now he's starting to put his monstrous plan into action.

Pierre Poilievre and the Invisible Video

Uh oh. I see Pierre Poilievre's war on the Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand has suffered another humiliating setback.

And his career is deflating faster than even I had predicted.

Yesterday, his office dug up a YouTube video to try to show why the Cons must muzzle Mayrand.

Suggesting that the ad he aired to encourage young people to vote, was biased against Big Oil...



Only to have Elections Canada reveal today that the video never aired.

The Real Reason the Cons Want to Muzzle Elections Canada

)

They are only 25 second ads designed to encourage young Canadians to vote in 2008.

But they are the reason the Cons are trying to muzzle the Chief Electoral Officer.

Not because the ads didn't work, as they claim. But because they offended Big Oil. 

Pierre Poilievre and the Voter Suppression Monster

Oh. My. Zombie. I see that Pierre Poilievre is on the run again.

And this time he's not just running from his foul voter suppression monster, which is threatening to swallow engulf him.

He's running from the NDP !!!! 

Rob Ford and the Sad End of the Con Clown Buffoon Show

Oh dear. I don't think Rob Ford had a very good day eh?

For one thing he's been reduced to asking people to call him if they spot a pot hole.



Which, since there is a 311 number specifically set up for that purpose, has been reminding people about his long history of drug abuse.

At least judging by this tweet from Mr Butter Chicken.



Whose name alone must have made the Fordzilla DROOL with rage.

And then there was Olivia. 

Why Stephen Harper is the Real Separatist-in-Chief

I see Pierre-Karl Péladeau's decision to run for the Parti Quebecois in the Quebec election has sent shockwaves rolling across the country.

With some in the media predicting trouble for Stephen Harper and his ghastly Con regime.

Pierre Karl Péladeau’s emergence as a superstar Parti Québécois candidate represents a seismic shock for not only Quebec politics. The millionaire media mogul’s decision to actively promote sovereignty threatens to rock Stephen Harper’s government and possibly the entire country.

But nobody seems to be pointing out that the greatest threat to national unity is Stephen Harper himself.

The Dead Swan and the Maple Tree That Lived Forever

Two days ago in the freezing cold of this never-ending winter, I noticed a swan lying weak from hunger on the frozen lake, while its partner looked anxiously on.

Unable to understand what was happening, why there is almost no open water this year. No place to draw the food from it needs to survive.

I did my best to revive it by hand feeding it baby spinach leaves, but it was only strong enough to eat a couple, before it tucked its head into its feathers and went back to sleep again.

And when I went back to feed it today I found it had died.

Stephen Harper and the Dirty Secrets of the PMO

Well they're not pretty, but they are fanatics, they'll do anything for their deranged leader.

Dark and dirty things that have turned our country into a horror show.

But don't bother asking how much Stephen Harper pays his grubby PMO gang, his little monsters. 

Because that's a state secret. 

Pierre-Karl Péladeau and the Sun News Separatists

Well it wasn't a total surprise, but it was still a stunning sight. 

Pauline Marois and her new star candidate Pierre-Karl Péladeau 

Pierre-Karl Péladeau, controlling shareholder of the Quebecor media empire, on Sunday announced he will run for the Parti Québécois, saying his top motivation is to make Quebec independent. 

 “My joining the Parti Québécois is tied to my most intimate and profound values and that is to say I want Quebec to become a country,” he told supporters in the riding of St-Jérôme, just north of Montreal, where he will be running in the April 7 provincial election.

Will Vic Toews Be Appointed to the Supreme Court?

Oh boy. Talk about a roller coaster of emotions eh?

Yesterday I wrote a post about Vic Toews being appointed as a judge in Manitoba's top trial court. 

And although it's a horrible story, about an appalling choice, I had a little fun with it...



Because I like to mock the Cons as well as criticize them. 

And because politically speaking, Vic Toews does exist somewhere in the dead zone between neanderthal and right-wing zombie.

So you can imagine how stunned I was to see this story. 

Pierre Poilievre and the Slow Destruction of the Fair Elections Act

Uh oh. It looks as if Pierre Poilievre's demagogic defence of the foul Fair Elections Act, also known as the Voter Suppression Bill, is going down in flames.

Because now that sinister Con fanatic is batting ZERO for FOUR.

Vic Toews: The Zombie Becomes a Judge

It's a horrible nightmare. I'm driving down a country road in rural Manitoba on a dark and stormy night, when my car breaks down.

And before I know it I'm forced to run for my life.

But I make it into this small hamlet, report the zombie invasion to the bubbah sheriff.

Only to be arrested and dragged before Judge Toews. 

The Con Regime and the Attempted Muzzling of Marc Mayrand

It couldn't have been a more revolting spectacle. Canada's Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand called to testify before a House of Commons committee.

To talk about the foul voter suppression bill known as the Fair Elections Act, and the Harper regime's attempts to muzzle him.

Only to have the Cons try to muzzle him again, by breaking a deal they had with the opposition, and scheduling a vote in the Commons, just as Mayrand was preparing to address the committee.

Which had even the MSM gasping in disbelief.

The Mother, the Soldier, and the Con Suicide Scandal

I'm glad the mother of Cpl. Justin Stark decided to speak out about the one-cent cheque the government sent her dead son.

And that the Cons were forced to apologize, for the pain that was caused.

The mother of a dead Hamilton, Ont., soldier who received a cheque for one cent from the federal government has accepted an apology from Defence Minister Rob Nicholson but said the incident has reopened wounds.

So hopefully it doesn't happen again, because it has happened before.