It's scary enough that the wonky nerd Stephen Harper should see himself as a Great Warrior Leader, a strategic genius on a par with Napoleon.
Or that he is both an avid student of Stalin AND an ardent believer in The Rapture.
Who is presently trying to trigger a superpower confrontation in Ukraine, by among other things comparing Putin to Hitler.
And apparently hypnotizing Prince Charles into believing the same thing.
Just to win votes in Canada.
But what makes all of this even more deeply disturbing, is that the Orwellian monster Stephen Harper is actually trying to rewrite this country's history.
As Ottawa prepares to mark the centennial of Canada's participation in the First World War, one of the country's top historians is slamming Stephen Harper's government for its focus on "militarism and monarchism."
Frenette's article is the latest salvo from Canadian academics and artists who have complained the Harper government has rejected the symbols of Canada's story that Liberal governments of the last 50 years celebrated. No more bragging about peacekeeping, the Maple Leaf flag, the CBC, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and multiculturalism.
Because that historian is right. And it really needs to be said: this country may have a proud military record, but it was built by our genius for compromise, not by the slaughter of war.
That's not bad that's good. And so are symbols like the Maple Leaf flag, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and our noble peacekeeping traditions. Which are all much much more Canadian than Harper's chicken hawk fantasies, which only make us look like goons on and off the ice, and shame us in the eyes of the world.
But then as that other professor Tom Flanagan, Great Leader's one-time Dr Strangelove points out, all this chicken hawk behaviour is just a reflection of Stephen Harper's approach to politics.
In the age of the permanent campaign.
“Just as chronic warfare produces a garrison state, permanent campaigning has caused the Conservative party to merge with the campaign team, producing a garrison party. The party today is today, for all intents and purposes, a campaign organization focused on being ready for and winning the next election, whenever it may come,” Flanagan writes.
He really can't help himself, the screaming voices in his head tell him that politics is WAR.
And what all of this tells me is that one, we should be ready for an election that may come sooner rather than later. Because a man who believes politics is war, will strike when the time is right, not when a fixed election date tells him he can.
And two, as I said the other night, all progressives need to understand exactly what's at stake in the next election.
“If the Liberals under Justin Trudeau do not win in 2015, the centre-left parties will have to become more realistic about the Conservative nightmare they face – a well-funded, cohesive party of the centre-right (sic), commanding about 40 per cent of the popular vote. In Canada’s first-past-the –post electoral system, such a party wins every time against three underfunded, bickering opponents, running against each other to determine who will become the official opposition.
There may have to be a merger or an electoral coalition or one or more of these parties may have to go out of business if the centre left can ever hope to win again.”
And make sure we don't defeat ourselves, by putting our parties before our poor suffering country.
For the 60-plus per cent of Canadian voters who are neither Conservative nor conservative, it’s a deeply sobering thought. Flanagan’s frank and incontestable analysis – and warning – should finally propel the three feuding centre-left parties - and Canadian voters – into action before it’s too late.
Let's get our act together, put as much pressure on Great Leader and hope the war ends like this...
With Harper resigning or being carried off in a straitjacket.
But if he doesn't resign let it end like this:
With Great Warrior Leader in a bunker screaming incoherently.
Dr Strangelove on his feet.
And the Con regime going up in smoke...
Yup. Get ready for the Final Battle for Canada, which could come as soon as next Spring or even earlier if the battle over the Northern Gateway pipeline makes for a very hot summer.
And if it is to be a war, let's attack the foul Con regime harder than we ever have before.
Let's show them no mercy. Let's take no prisoners.
Let's send this chicken hawk maniac back to the ghastly hell he came from...
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17 comments:
.. I can't help but think, that out there somewhere in the vast country called Canada.. someone is biding their time and getting ready to topple mr Harper, his party/government, his hidden political apparatus, apparatchiks & enablers & blindside his corporatist partners as well as his fanatical evangelical caucus and base..
It will not be pretty.. there will be a holy hell lot of squealing, scrambling, denial, short pants peeing into the winds of change.. and the dank stink of dirty underwear and putrid partisan sweat.. and a lot of panicked calls to lawyers and law firms..
Think Rob Ford and the collapse of his fallacy, fiefdom, mythology & reputation.. then multiply by 1,000,000,000 and add massive amounts of venom, malice, aforethought, narcism, entitlement, fraud, ignorance, ego, incompetence, secrecy, obstruction deceit.. sellout, rhetoric, manipulation and ripoff.. and we begin to approach the level of what mr Harper et al are doing, not to a city, but to an entire country, cultures, environments, ecosystems and society.
Browse the book 'The Upside of Down' .. especially the part about forest fires.. After the fire rips through the rotting tinder & deadwood of the Harper Fallacy.. and scorches down into all the underlying layers below the preening prissy pompous surface.. a healing will begin..
Somebody is waiting to ignite the fire.. and they will do it when mr Harper has trapped himself & sundry & has zero retreat.. The vast farting thundering herd will plunge into infamy.. like diseased lemmings .. or a dim buffalo jump into the wide open space of infamy & sick legacy (and my apologies to the buffalo & lemmings)
And just like mr Ford.. the country called Canada, and the rest of the world.. will see who mr Harper really is
Someone should have reminded the Liberals of that fact when they gleefully joined in to try and humiliate Mulcair during those 'committee' meetings on the so-called secret taxgrab to fund political party offices..how can anyone respect anything about the Liberals when they refuse to face reality..they are no longer the Official opposition, and if they want that position back, they will have to fight for it honourably, during elections, and not by barebacking onto every Con strategy that comes along...
The more Junior Trudeau opens his yap, the less respect I have for him... sorry, Simon, I know that Harpo will probably be able to come up the middle, but vote for the Liberals? No set of fingers is strong enough to hold my nose for that one
Mizdarlin, there are some of us who don't want to vote for Justin Trudeau but we need to vote strategically if we are to defeat Herr Harper! I do hope that you and everybody who feel the same way about Justin Trudeau will be able to put aside your differences and vote strategically. Vote Liberal where the Liberals are stronger and for the NDP where they are stronger and for the Green Party where it is stronger. This is the only way that Harper will lose in his ridings! There is no other way to accomplish this. Harper must be defeated at all cost! How else can we defeat him? We can't afford to let our anger get in the way of common sense. I also was immensely angry at the Liberals for siding with those Cons against Tom Mulcair. I could just cry when I see how Tom struggle each day during Question Period. That man just works so darn hard! I just wish people would appreciate him more! If only we had a different voting system! To those of you who are too angry to vote, please remember that a vote for Justin Trudeau or Tom Mulcair or Elizabeth May is a vote against Harper!
I am going along with many others too. What ever party is closest to taking Harper out, is the party that we will vote for.
Mulcair is the best leader of the opposition, this country has ever had. I read sometime back? Mulcair is the most intelligent of the lot. Mulcair does care about the country and the people in it. Harper does not. Harper cares about Harper and that is all he cares about.
Elizabeth May is also highly intelligent. She warned us of, Harper's FIPA deal with Communist China. She also warned of Harper's Omnibus Bill, that permits China to sue Canada if, anyone tries to block China's huge inroads into our country.
Trudeau has to learn, not to shoot himself in the foot. His vulgar language has turned many people off. Seniors and citizens that go to church, are very offended. They can't imagine how Trudeau could set such a terrible example, for his own children and for Canadian kids. Trudeau also has to lose his ah's and um's, when he is speaking. That makes Trudeau sound, not sure about himself.
I will take any of the opposition leaders before, Attila the Hun Harper any day..
If you are in favor of harpie's crime cabal ruining Canada for another 4 or 8 or 12 years, keep thinking that way. I detest the libero-cons but not as much as I detest harpie so, if the libro-cons are in the lead, I will force myself to vote trudeau just to get rid of the harpie crime family. It is down to the survival of Canada and, although I agree with you wholeheartedly in your opinion, strategy will have to enter my ultimate decision as I believe it should yours. Think about it.
hi salamander...you're right, the Cons have built up a pile of poop the size of Mount Everest, but the good news is that it's now impossible for even the dumbest or the blindest to miss. Compare where we are today to where we were even a year ago, and we are clearly in a better position. Ford has been revealed to be a low thug, and Harper a crass bully, and struggling to break through the thirty percent mark. The situation is still dire, the opposition parties have to be much more aggressive, and communicate better, but we are making progress. What we all need to do know is multiply our efforts, because as I said in my post, the threat of a much earlier election is looming, the Cons are almost ready, and we are not...
hi mizdarlin....I'm not asking anyone to vote for the Liberals or the NDP. I'm asking them to vote for the candidate most likely to beat the Cons in any riding. Because for me at this time in Canadian history all that counts is defeating the Harper regime. Also, since I don't believe the Liberals or the NDP can form a majority government, they will have to count on each other to stay in power. So let's at least agree on some broad principles, like the restoration of democracy, the defence of pensions and medicare etc etc.
But to allow a Harperite to win because we are too interested in fighting each other should be out of the question, and we would regret it forever....
I did a quick Google search of the phrase "Montreal Simon scary" and found that you have no fewer 12 post headlines in the last few years contain that word "Scary." I can only imagine how taxing it must be to so frightened all the time. So fearful of government, just like the American Tea Party.
hi anon...well I must say that nobody has ever called me a tea bagger before, but I suppose there is a first time for everything. However I must make it clear that I don't fear government, only what the filthy degenerate Con regime is doing to our country. And if I've only used the word scary twelve times in 3,513 posts, I clearly haven't used it enough...
Hi Simon, on your main post I would find myself largely in agreement, and it would not surprise me to see Harper yet again break his own election law to suit himself if he thinks it will increase his chances at holding power. Nothing you have ever said/written about Harper and his methods are new for me, I was after all warning of all of this back when doing so got me branded a hysteric because no one could act in such a manner in Canada (I used to remind people that the most dangerous blind spot politically is the one that starts with "but it can't happen here...") before he first ascended to the PMO. I also agree with you that under our current system the only way to defeat Harper is to support the most likely candidate to win in each riding against the CPC candidate regardless of one's usual affiliation, but then I was saying this back when it would have made the real difference and got nothing but the same crap I see from Dipper supporters in this very thread to this idea.
BTW, I have to say I find the raising up of Mulcair as "the best LOO EVAH" more than a little offensive, I mean really, Mulcair is better than any LOO since 1867, where exactly is the detailed evidence to back that up as opposed to just faith based thinking? I do agree he is one of the better ones in our history, and he is clearly quite intelligent, but best ever? Really? That smacks of more than a little partisan blinders in play. A lot of what does make Mulcair look so good is the foulness of what he is fighting against in the government, not his own inherent excellence that causes so many Dippers I believe to think he is the best evah. In the darkest night even the smallest of candles looks bright (and no, this is not meant as a direct comparison, just a general illustration of my point about how Harper's darkness improves how Mulcair looks beyond his own innate brightness)
As to your and other Dippers claim that Mulcair was being so poorly treated, the problem is the NDP while under his watch were doing something that was against Parliamentary practice, and clearly mislead Parliamentary officials about it. Now granted, compared to many other abuse scandals by the Harper CPC and prior Lib governments it is not as ugly, but that is not the same thing as saying his and the party hands were clean either, and when you lead a party that tries to act like it alone holds the high moral ground you cannot afford to have even the appearance of such malfeasance let alone the reality, no matter how small the tarnish, nor should any supporter of said party expect the opposition to that party to fail to highlight that contradiction when it is exposed, nor act like it is unfair for them to do so, those who live by the sword die by the sword applies after all.
I would also suggest that for me and many other non-aligned voters who follow politics that it is this kind of inability to deal with reality as it is instead of how you want it to be which was always been the main reason the NDP federally have never been able to seriously contend for government against the Libs even when the Libs have been at their weakest. The reason I was consistently saying the support should go to the Libs first to stop Harper was always based on the demographics of Canadian voters based on how they actually voted as shown by the actual election results, not any personal preference on partisan or ideological lines, and I still do not see enough likelihood of the NDP being able to win government by itself. Nor do I think this is the best time for the NDP to be trying to gain it, but then that was true for the past three elections and that didn't stop them, to the detriment of Canada overall.
To be concluded...
Conclusion:
I have always been a defeat Harper first partisan, and I always look to what I see as the most probable path for that since over a decade ago, and I still believe it is not the fate of the NDP to defeat Harper but that of the Liberals, based on the actual demographics our voting records show exist in this country. To that end I think Trudeau may have what it takes despite his faults, and more I think he would bring back the notion of a governing team as Parliamentary government is supposed to be, as opposed to King/Emperor/God Harper. I also think he would do a lot to start the detoxification process of the current approach to politics, because he does inspire a lot of people to hope again, something Mulcair for all of his Parliamentary skills as a Opposition Leader has not managed to do outside of his core faithful I am seeing Trudeau inspiring people who normally stay detached from politics and have no party affiliation even as a reliable voter for.
Trudeau also shows a warmth and charisma we do not see from either Harper or Mulcair, and the Obama campaign of 2008 forever cured me of dismissing the power of such, especially for an electorate that has suffered under very harsh incompetent and negative government as the Americans had under GWB and now we have under Harper. He also appears to have had more effect at bringing people back into the political process than either of the other leaders as well, and the fact that the inexperienced young leader of the third party generates so much more attention, focus, attacks. and yes support than the LOO is also an indication of which leader is truly seen as the next potential PM. Trudeau has also been doing a lot to help re-image the Liberal party as one with core values and principles as opposed to being about nothing but power, the frame so successfully used by both the CPC and NDP in the past few elections to keep defeating the Liberals, next time out though it will be a much harder sell.
In any event the most important thing should be what I (and you at least) see as the most important, stopping Harper and removing him from power. You and I may differ on how we see the way to do so, and you and I clearly do not share political affiliation (well, since I have none it is kind of hard for me to share such with anyone) nor do we agree on aspects of the current political realities and leadership issues, but we at least agree that defeating Harper needs to be the most important goal at this time because if he returns to power once more there will not be a Canada supporters of either the NDP or the Liberals or indeed any non hard core Harperite CPCer would recognize as Canada.
hi Scotian...look I agree, after what Harper and this Cons have done to this country, defeating them has to be the order of the day, for another loss is too awful to contemplate. And for me putting partisanship before country at this dark trim is practically criminal. But then that is easy for me to say because I've never really been a partisan, never having found a party that has the kind of bold vision I believe the future demands. I drive my partisan friends crazy by saying that I wish we combine Tom Mulcair and Justin Trudeau into one person. Justin would provide the hope and the charm, and Mulcair could provide the gravitas and the killer instinct. But can anyone deny that would be an ideal combination? Finally, as you probably know, I have always believed that progressives will have to unite one day, and I'm saving up my arrows so I can play Cupid... ;)
In Saturday's news, Canadian Press, reports Putin has taken notice of Harper's ravings. He's suggested there is compromise on the Artic, but to butt out of Ukraine. Harper might want to pay attention. Putin isn't kidding. There is nothing to prevent Putin from coming across the Artic to personally have a chat with Harper and if that happens, you can bet Harper will be shitting himself. Putin maybe "crazy" but he is not "stupid". Whereas, Harper, I'd say he was "crazy and stupid". Not a good combo.
Simon:
Yes, the fusion of the two would make an almost perfect leader for the current reality as you characterize them, and I can see why saying such would drive your partisan party friends of either Lib or Dipper persuasion crazy. I've never been able to relate to the partisan mindset, even when I was at my most vulnerable and being conditioned to be a Liberal (I was being groomed by a relative who was a major wheel in the part locally, she got to me when I was 8 and I spent much of my youth/teens involved with politics because of her) I drove my mentor crazy because I could not adopt the "my party/leader right or wrong" attitude she saw as necessary to be a true party worker, and we parted ways politically as I came of voting age.
I am too much the free thinker in my nature, and I am also anti-absolutist thinking where anything to do with human behaviour/conduct is concerned, because everything I ever learned from history tells me that such thinking invariably ends up in a bad result for so many. I used to swing between the PCPC, Libs, and NDP on an election by election basis because I always thought all three at different times had good points to them in those contexts. This horror show called the CPC though was truly birthed in treachery and contempt and it is to my mind something that permanently taints that party from the outset, because if that is how the leadership creates it then how will they act with true power? And of course we have seen exactly where that got us under the Harper regime.
Next election I will likely hold my nose to vote NDP because I live in Megan Leslie's riding, unless there is clear evidence of a major Lib upset coming here, and I have to tell you I've grown to truly despise her over the years since she replaced a true NDP MP I had/have real respect for, Alexa McDonough. Her, I trusted, believed in, and voted for with a clear conscience, Leslie will only get my vote to keep this riding out of any possible chance of a CPC run up the middle, and nothing more. Personally at this point I feel politically isolated with the Liberals being the closest thing to a party that speaks for me on the national stage, and it is not so much because they have so much that I agree with that the other two major national parties have shown to me to act in a manner I find extremely reprehensible.
I know you know my issues with the federal NDP by now, I've ranted about them enough over the years including in the odd comment or two here at your place, and the Harper CPC, well given my record of writing clearly shows why that is a no-go for me. At this point what I would be happiest seeing is either a Lib majority but a fairly slim one (so as to keep the leadership wary of being brought down) or a Lib minority with the NDP keeping them in power on confidence votes, but I worry about that given what the NDP proved they were willing to sacrifice for their own lust for power when they brought Martin down, ostensibly over "principle" regarding what they felt they didn't get for medicare, well given what happened since to medicare, national child daycare, and to me the most significant and obvious casualty of that decision, the Kelowna Accord, that leaves me more than a little leery about believing they would act for the best interests of the nation as opposed to their own vested expediency driven interests if they think they could pull it off.
I don't recognize nor understand the "new" NDP Simon, and I trust it only slightly more than Harper's CPC for much the same reasons alas, each comes from an ideological position and each has shown that reaching for power means more than anything else including said principles, fair play, and ethical conduct. Worse with the NDP they act as if they are different from the other parties in placing their principles first instead of power first despite the clear record of proving the opposite over the past decade.
To be concluded...
Conclusion:
Worse, now their supporters who once denounced all other parties for such behaviour now cheer it on and seem to feel that any complaining by others about it is sour grapes because the NDP are finally playing the same game, without once noting the inherent hypocrisy they have embraced, which makes the political "holier than thou" attitude exceptionally rank. The Libs, for all their own issues don't pretend that they are not pragmatists (which indeed was always one of the stones cast against them by the traditional NDP as proof that they placed power before principle), are the party that governed for most of the last half century, and under that governance a lot of truly progressive things came about in Canada, and the rule of law meant something, those two things alone give them a powerful leg up in the current reality to me and I suspect other unaligned voters even with as young and inexperienced a leader as Trudeau at their helm.
I follow the actions of all the parties because I feel it important to be an informed voter, and I bitterly resent the fact that I have had my freedom to swing between three parties with a clear conscience removed and these days I feel trapped into basically being only comfortable with one, the one that has changed the least. You can have no idea how much that bothers me, and I wonder how many other swing voters over the past decade feel the same as me, and now see Trudeau as the first chance in a decade to feel good about voting for the Libs again as opposed to holding their noses or worse abstaining from voting. The next election will be one of the most pivotal in our history.
A lot of my anger Simon comes from my belief that what Harper was and what he would do if ever allowed access to the PMO was entirely foreseeable, and when it was time to stop him the party/leader with the power to do so wasn't the Libs and Martin, it was the NDP and Layton. So long as it was only the Libs calling Harper out for what he was it was possible to mask Harper's true nature and get dismissed by his supporters and the national political media as empty political rhetoric. If the NDP and Layton though had actually joined forces with the Libs at that time and forcefully denounced Harper for what he really was and his record had always proved him to be, well then the odds were very good he would have failed to get that first minority, lost his leadership position, and none of this nightmare would have happened.
I simply cannot accept/believe that I was at the time smarter and more perceptive about all of this than Layton and his strategists, I refuse to be so arrogant, which means they made a choice. Choices have consequences, and they have responsibilities, and the unwillingness of Dippers to acknowledge that their successes in the past few elections came at the cost of the Harper governments is one of the reasons I distrust letting them hold governing power. It is not just that they placed expediency and lust for power ahead of the national good and principle, but that once having done so pretend they are blameless for the reality that came out of it. What scares me is that I think some of them believe it, which is delusionary thinking on the scale of Harper's own in my book, and at best are lying because it suits their partisan interests. Which in turn proves the “new” NDP are not any different than the parties they spent decades denouncing as unprincipled and untrustworthy because they placed power ahead of principle.
That is why I am more comfortable trusting someone like Trudeau who is untested and inexperienced but appears to actually care about this nation, who has access to a vast amount of institutional experience within his party for good governance, than I am Mulcair and his party. I would truly prefer better choices, but reality is what it is, not what I wish it to be.
The Salamander, I just need to say Well Done. The Best Description I have ever read, thanks for the write up..
Simon Wonderful, insightful and hopeful. I just love how well, how clearly you see the Harper Regime. Thanks
Never Stop.
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