Sunday, December 07, 2014

Is It Time To Shame Those Who Still Support the Cons?



It was a magnificent and moving sight, fourteen beams of light reaching into the sky from the top of Montreal's Mount Royal.

One for each of the women murdered at the École Polytechnique, in the shadow of the mountain where I want my ashes scattered, twenty-five years ago.

But as beautiful as that sight was, for some reason it also reminded me that I live in the darkness of Harperland.

Where the points of light are few and far between, and all is ugly and CRAZY.

For where else but Harperland could it happen that on a day of action on violence against women, the Con regime's foul prostitution law should come into force, and make the lives of many women even more dangerous? 

And that even though the law is fatally flawed, and almost certainly unconstitutional, it was hailed by the chirping Con MP Joy Smith as a triumph of equality...



Women's equality advocates identify prostitution and human trafficking as two of the most serious forms of violence against women. "It is fitting, therefore, that … Bill C-36 will come into force. This is a historic moment for Canada," she said.

When it's exactly the opposite, yet another Con assault on the rights of women. 

And Smith is the same MP who during the same-sex marriage debate in 2006, was so convinced that straight marriage was doomed, she broke down on the floor of the House of Commons and sobbed uncontrollably.

So you know she's either really really dumb eh? Or out of her mind.

And speaking of dumb... where else but Harperland could a useless climate change denier like Leona Aglukkaq be an Environment Minister?

And be preparing to head to a critical meeting on climate change, without even a shadow of a plan, and never sounding more idiotic.

As Federal Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq prepares to attend international climate talks, she says Canada is still deciding whether to match a recent U.S. pledge for further reductions in carbon emissions.

For once the Cons claimed they couldn't do anything until the Americans did. But now Obama has moved, they're STILL stuck in neutral.

So you can imagine what that summit is going to look like...



And then of course there's the most brutal question of all:

Where else but Harperland could it happen that after nine years of this brutish, mindless insanity, this national dumbing down, this absolute freak show, if an election was held tomorrow, Stephen Harper and his Cons could STILL be re-elected? 



Is THAT crazy or what? And who are the Canadians who can be scared or bought so easily they would switch their support to Harper and his foul Con regime? After all they've done to Canada.

And what I take from all of the above are two things:

One, the Liberals and the NDP better stop fighting each other, because they could soon be called upon to form a coalition to topple the Cons.

And two, we need to focus on these demographic groups:

The Liberals led among voters between the ages of 18 and 54, while the Conservatives were ahead among voters over the age of 55.

The seniors who keep voting for the Cons, and the younger Canadians who support our side, but don't turn out to vote.

By coming up with new and creative ways to get the young to vote. And shaming the older ones into changing their behaviour.

By among other things letting them know exactly how we feel...



Because too many in this country have been shaming us for far too long, and enough is ENOUGH.

If this insanity continues, the world is going to start demanding that we wear flashing clown hats on our heads.


Instead of paper bags...



So they can see us coming and RUN.

You know, sometimes in the darkness of Harperland I feel like I'm just going around and around, and never getting anywhere.

But I never give up. I know there are points of light out there buried under some heap of snow or manure, but sometimes they're just hard to find.

And I do know this...



This is still my Canada.

And I still want it back...

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26 comments:

  1. http://www.cpac.ca/en/programs/public-record/episodes/31901303/

    Public Record - iVote-JeVote - Youth Democratic Engagement Event

    iVote-JeVote - Youth Democratic Engagement Event Federal political leaders discuss how to motivate more youth participation in politics at this University of Ottawa event. Speakers include Conservative MP Michael Chong, Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, and Green Leader Elizabeth May. (March 25, 2014)

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    1. hi David...thanks for the link. That was definitely a worthwhile initiative, and it was good to see people from all parties taking part. However, I can't help feeling that in a university setting they were preaching to the converted. What I would like to see is a campaign that reaches out to young working class people, on social media and YouTube, because judging from some of my friends they are the ones who are truly marginalized from the political process. But as I said all initiatives are worthwhile, because if we can get more younger Canadians to vote we will crush the Cons...

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  2. To dumb it down, I always tell people that those who support this new breed of Conservative in this country are either proto-fascists and/or morons. Happily (haha), the latter make up the larger group.

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    1. hi Omar...I am also tempted to describe the Cons in that manner, as you may have guessed. However what I am talking about is putting pressure on some of the realities and friends we all know. Who may be very nice people, but are allowed to get away with voting for the Cons and never feel any pressure to change that pattern. Also, since you and I were both in Scotland last summer you must have seen how successful the YES side was in getting the young to get involved in the process. And the way they did it by offering them a vision of a better future is something we should emulate....

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  3. Anonymous7:09 AM

    With these Harperite buffoons, the scripts just write themselves....

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7v_v7xbagY

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    1. hi anon...thanks for the link to that video. Although I must admit that when I heard the line "Roy I want to make you my joy boy," all I could think of was Mr Joyboy, the creepy embalmer played by Rod Steiger in the hilarious movie The Loved One. And then the image of Stephen Harper as a creepy embalmer flashed into my mind, and it was all downhill from then on... ;)

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  4. Yes Simon but the robo-calls were targeted squarely @ the 55+ crowd the Harper draconian machine knew were not going to vote for con artists. Elderly folks they purposely misguided on election day to keep their votes suppressed. It did two things 1) it gave the impression baby boomers all support con but no they do not only the right wingers do. 2) It did manage to suppress anti Harper votes among that baby boomer crowd. But we will never know how much as Herr Dictator has managed to quash the investigation.

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    1. hi mogs...I work with a lot of seniors, and I enjoy their company a lot. So it bothers me that so many vote for the Cons, and I have come to believe that a lot of them do that because they think they are voting for the old Progressive Conservative party, when as we know the Harper Cons are a very different beast. My other theory is that they think the Cons will help conserve the kind of Canada they once knew, when in fact the Cons would change this country more than any of the other parties and not in a good way. So it's quite a challenge, but because I love them it's one I welcome...

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    2. Simon I hear you when I moved away from Baynes Lake BC I had an elderly neighbor couple whom I dearly loved yet the man was a dyed in the wool Harper supporter. I could not figure that out he was from Ottawa and used to work for the Liberal party as an attorney [he was Liberal] they were in their eighties do they just get senile or what? When I openly criticized the so-called "Harper Government" he attacked me verbally and defended Harper as a saint? They do not see what we see...

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  5. It is well past the time to shame them. Time should be spent identifying them, so they cannot hide when we defeat this fascist regime. Branding a C on their forehead might be too extreme, but certainly some form of public humiliation will be necessary.

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    1. hi ffibs...as you know I'm a huge admirer of yours, and I think the work you do is brilliant. And although I am a little bit gentler with the Cons than you are, I totally agree that those who support this criminal regime should not expect to get away with it. People and companies who have collaborated with them should wear that shame for what they have done. Perhaps we can shave their heads like the French resistance did to Nazi collaborators after the war ended. And as further punishment should not be allowed to wear tuques even on the coldest days. If they want to be blue, let them turn blue, for goodness knows they deserve it... ;)

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  6. Anonymous8:35 AM

    Imagine another Conservative majority government. It might happen!

    Mulcair has abandoned everything west of Quebec; his only real goal is to survive Justin Trudeau.

    Trudeau has been campaigning more on his last name than anything else. His dithering over the middle-east and stupid remarks appear to be catching up with him.

    Add in the prospect of a potentially resurgent Bloc Quebecois, and Quebec's seat projections become very difficult to predict.

    In Ontario the Trudeau brand is beginning to tarnish, for aforementioned reasons. And this is despite a media-love affair with le poney brillant which is showing no sign of abetting.

    I said years ago that Trudeau was the wrong choice for the Liberals, because the Liberals had utterly and completely ceded the ground-game of Canadian politics to the Conservatives, who, from a party, and not government perspective, have been disciplined, relentlessly organized, and done a masterful job at exploiting wedge-issues to keep their war-chest extremely well-stocked. You're going to see the mother of all media-blitzes starting in a few months which the Liberals, who might still be paying off their electoral debts cannot possibly hope to match.

    Trudeau's idiotic statements are perfect attack-add fodder, and the Conservatives will assail him with everything they've got, especially since Mulcair is basically a non-issue, and only looking to retain seats in Quebec, rather than build into Ontario. In fact, given his latest fixation on extinct flying lizards, he stands to lose seats in the rest of Canada.

    As much as Canadians say that they don't like attack adds, the fact is, they work. That's why parties use them time and time again.

    Imagine a Conservative majority government in 2015. There's a strong possibility that it will happen.

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    1. Anonymous3:51 PM

      "Trudeau's idiotic statements are perfect attack-add fodder"

      You know what is really good 'attack-add [sic]' fodder? Brave Stephen Harper hiding in a closet.

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    2. hi anon 8:35.... No I don't think Harper will ever get another majority again. The Cons are very well funded and organized, but the desire for change is too great for history to repeat itself. And Justin Trudeau may have his flaws, but nobody embodies change more than he does without even opening his mouth. Also remember the Harper government has given progressives more ammunition for attack ads than they can possibly use. And when those attack ads start to run I think you will see Harper's popularity melt faster than a snowman on a very hot day...

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    3. Anonymous9:32 AM

      And Justin Trudeau may have his flaws, but nobody embodies change more than he does without even opening his mouth.

      Simon, this supposes that Canadians will vote for change "just because." I've described this as a wave of anti-incumbency. You could translate that as, "Dump the Conservatives, it's time for change." And you might be absolutely correct in predicting a wave of anti-incumbency sweeping over Canada in 2015.

      I point out however, that this appears to fly in the face of your typical pronouncements, that the enlightened left will unite under the brilliance of a progressive leader. I suppose I think that you're over-estimating the level of anti-incumbency existant in Canada in 2014-2015. You yourself have pointed out that Justin Trudeau's popularity is beginning to fade. And can you picture him trying to campaign in the 905's on a platform of reversing Harper's family-friendly tax cuts?

      I know that you tend to operate in an echo-chamber, so it's especially hard for you to grasp reality, but it still looks to me like Justin Trudeau's real target isn't Stephen Harper, but Thomas Mulcair. And when he, Justin Trudeau campaigns, he's got no choice to open his mouth, which has proven to be his biggest liability. You really think he's going to get middle-class votes by promising to reverse Harper's bribery? As boilerplate has Harper's tactics may be, it's still more money in the pockets of people like me.

      Anyway. The truly interesting question is, will you keep this delightful slice of entertainment and delusion going in a possible Conservative majority government in 2015?

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    4. Anon,

      Your guy hid in a cupboard and left women to be killed. I don't think that's leadership.

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    5. Anonymous4:21 PM

      I thought leadership was supposed to be evidence based?

      I'll just put this evidence over here: http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2014/2014onsc5140/2014onsc5140.html

      Oh yeah, this too: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ottawa-shooting-kevin-vickers-hailed-as-hero-who-helped-stop-attacker-1.2809146

      Also, I missed the part where it was the Prime Minsiter's job to wear CADPAT and carry an assault rifle.

      And unlike the misogynist sexist patronizing WILLY, I happen to think that the strong women of the Canadian parliament are just as capable as putting rounds down range as a man. Or they would be, if it wasn't for Liberal "leadership."

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  7. Anonymous1:38 PM

    good luck shaming a conservative
    when opposing and valid facts, logic, science, legal rulings and history only drive them further into their ideology
    and solidify their current view
    then short of pictures of them naked with a goat
    shaming will be seen as proof positive of their righteousness
    their small version of being beset upon by demons as in
    the temptation of christ

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    1. hi anon...I agree that trying to convert a Con fanatic would be a waste of time. Like religious fanatics they are blinded by their faith. But I am talking about reaching those who are not ideologues, but still support the Cons for all the wrong reasons. Or without really thinking too much about it. What I am talking about is making them think about the consequences of their actions, and letting them know, especially if they are relatives or friends, that you will hold it against them, and so will history...

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  8. Anonymous7:03 PM

    The more I read, the more I lose hope and cry that Canada will ever be free for the traitorous proto-fascist regime called the Conservative Party. I fear that Canada will be ruined by them and their poison has tainted us for too to recover. I am so scared that this will never get better.

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    1. hi anon...I understand how you feel. As I said in my post, I too have my gloomy moments. But don't despair, we have come a long way. The Cons have a really bad record strung around their necks like an anvil at a shipwreck, and sooner or later it will take them down. Think of it this way: the harder the fight, the sweeter the victory...

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    2. Anonymous1:47 PM

      Thanks Simon, It's Hard staying optimistic in the face of this nearly ten year nightmare. I just glad it might be over soon.
      - Anon 7:03

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  9. One issue is CETA and other trade agreements. Over 1 million Europeans have now signed a petition opposing CETA and TTIP:

    "Under EU regulations, an initiative that garners the support of 1 million people pushes the European Commission (EC) to review the policy and to hold a hearing in the European Parliament."

    http://www.dw.de/anti-ttip-petition-draws-one-million-signatures/a-18110717

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  10. Anonymous3:02 AM

    Terrorism has a right wing religious bias. Those are facts. They are his friends

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  11. Anonymous9:40 AM

    Shaming sometimes works... if the shamed stand relatively alone. If the shamed stand together in large numbers, they become even more stubborn and nothing will move them. Most of my relatives and the people I grew up with are members of an immigrant-based Reformed religious group and have been well indoctrinated from the cradle on. They do what their pastors tell them to do; thinking for yourself is not encouraged or even taught for that matter. A more effective objective would be to show their pastors how most of the actions of Harper & Co. fail to reflect true Christian principles. They would then tell their flocks to vote differently and it would be a done deal.

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