tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23253782.post8634661517011385142..comments2024-03-03T17:01:57.876-05:00Comments on Montreal Simon: The Strange and Scary History of Stephen HarperSimonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15309809679331128837noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23253782.post-57166411321060473532015-09-01T12:22:47.246-04:002015-09-01T12:22:47.246-04:00I met Mr. Harper while working at Imperial Oil. M...I met Mr. Harper while working at Imperial Oil. Mr. Harper applied for a job in a group I was managing at the time. He did not get the job. <br />While it has always puzzled me how he could become the PM of our country I feel certain that he could never have got there on his own merits. One has to look deeper behind to truly understand how he got where he did. Serenityhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13370778766440532989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23253782.post-88126805586310758132013-09-17T05:29:30.415-04:002013-09-17T05:29:30.415-04:00hi Jim...now why would I do that? Does Postmedia p...hi Jim...now why would I do that? Does Postmedia pay people to praise it? ;)<br />I did say the article wasn't perfect. But I was glad that Harper's history was being made available to a wider audience. Because remember Jim you and I are highly politicized. But a lot of Canadians need to know more about Harper's background, and above all about how he is trying to change the country by stealth. If that's the only message they retain the series was worth it...Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15309809679331128837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23253782.post-48212296185053724082013-09-16T19:02:06.160-04:002013-09-16T19:02:06.160-04:00Just saw an interview with the author. Seems like ...Just saw an interview with the author. Seems like he is dead set on presenting Harper in a good light. Even the title of the book is sickening. "Rebel?" "Realist?" Gimme a break. I think Simon it is you who bent over backwards to give this Postmedia ragster a 'fair' deal.<br />Jim Parretthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15331887342292476909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23253782.post-57170720960487905802013-09-16T16:42:11.232-04:002013-09-16T16:42:11.232-04:00hi anonymous...as I mentioned above I don't th...hi anonymous...as I mentioned above I don't think it was a puff piece, but yes he could have dwelt a little more on some of the stuff you mention, and the idea of Harper being a rebel is laughable. However, I should admit that when trying to write a headline I almost included the word rebel which would have been VERY embarrassing.<br />This sums it up well:<br /><br /><i>Thus overall, my impression of Young Steve is that he was brought up in a very privileged home and had little experience or knowledge of the struggles that most Canadians undergo. The latter would explain his lack of empathy and the other characteristics he is now showing.</i><br /><br />And as for his "brilliance" I would just remind people of the hilarious story of when Harper and his school made it to Reach for the Top only to come up against a much poorer school and be totally humiliated. I try to tell that story at least once a year, and I think it may be time to find an excuse to tell it again... ;)<br /><br /><br /> <br />Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15309809679331128837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23253782.post-66231541923890228662013-09-16T16:33:26.023-04:002013-09-16T16:33:26.023-04:00hi anonymous...as I said in my post I thought Kenn...hi anonymous...as I said in my post I thought Kennedy bent a little too far backwards to try to balance his story. But I don't think it's a puff piece. And I think it's great that he wrote it so those who haven't read Lawrence Martin's book or the others, can get an idea of his tortured path to power. I sent a copy of the story to a couple of my slacker friends, and I believe I can count on them to help me with my poster campaign this weekend... ;)Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15309809679331128837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23253782.post-91287801920438319882013-09-16T16:28:56.840-04:002013-09-16T16:28:56.840-04:00hi John... I'm surprised John Howard would des...hi John... I'm surprised John Howard would describe Stephen Harper so accurately in the belly of the beast. He's never been anything but a narrow right-wing ideologue on a rampage. What offends me almost as much as his heartless actions is his absolute mediocrity. A still young and big country like this one should have big dreams, but he hasn't the slightest vision of that kind of future. And as you point out, the people he chooses to have around him, speaks volumes about the kind of man he is... Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15309809679331128837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23253782.post-47787754570267790182013-09-16T12:13:21.394-04:002013-09-16T12:13:21.394-04:00A few comments:
(a) My impression based upon rea...A few comments: <br /><br />(a) My impression based upon reading only the first part about Harper's early days (I could not bear to read any more) was that Kennedy had bent over backwards to write a puff piece about Harper,<br /><br />(b) Rather than being a "rebel" as Kennedy had claimed, Occam's razor would suggest that Harper, like so many young people, simply did not know what he had wanted to do. So he dropped out of university. Nothing wrong with that as Bill Gates and Michael Dell (of Dell computers) had shown. But a rebel? A rebel, I suspect, would not have gone back to university in Calgary as Harper did. Gates and Dell, as far as I know, did not go back to school after they had dropped out,<br /><br />(c) We keep hearing these claims, repeated by Kennedy here, about how bright Young Steve was. And yet the evidence would seem to contradict this. First, Harper had dropped out of U. of T. after two months. Again, Occam's razor would suggest that he was having trouble coping either academically, or otherwise. A 94.7% high school graduating average, while excellent, is not outstanding (just ask any high school teacher). It does not guarantee success at university. Besides, the U. of T. commerce program is very competitive, although to be fair, I do not know if it was as competitive in the late seventies. Second, it had taken Harper about 12-13 years to get both his B.A. and M.A. degrees at Calgary. This is about twice the normal length of time the large majority of "average" students would take (assuming 4 and 2 years for the first and second degrees, respectively). Surely a student who is really bright academically would have no problems breezing through any program in the normal length of time? BTW, I have always wondered how the U. of Calgary could have allowed him to remain so long in his M.A. program as there is usually a limit of 5 years in most N.A. universities for completing an M.A. or M.Sc. degree (even doing it part time). Kennedy mentioned something about Harper doing a Ph.D. If he had, based on how long he had taken do his M.A., he could still be in school now (Lol).<br /><br />Thus overall, my impression of Young Steve is that he was brought up in a very privileged home and had little experience or knowledge of the struggles that most Canadians undergo. The latter would explain his lack of empathy and the other characteristics he is now showing. But a rebel? I am still laughing. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23253782.post-70407621131577357322013-09-16T10:35:21.355-04:002013-09-16T10:35:21.355-04:00So Mark Kennedy wrote a 'puff piece' for S...So Mark Kennedy wrote a 'puff piece' for Steve. So what? Harper remains the sociopath that he is. As Tom Flanagan said, you're never certain who is going to show up on any given day. Will it be a a believable impression of a human being, or will it be a destructive, negative, arrogant prick who wants to destroy everything?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23253782.post-79250150691669908912013-09-16T07:28:25.793-04:002013-09-16T07:28:25.793-04:00Every mail room in the world has its resident rugg...Every mail room in the world has its resident rugged individualists. In most democratic counties, should one of them be motivated to enter politics, the people would have enough sense to ensure that he would be sent back there or at least that he wouldn’t be enabled to create any more chaos than he could in making a career of organized navel-gazing at some knitting-circle like the National Citizens’ Coalition.<br /><br />Harper puts me in mind of John Howard’s comment at this year’s Manning Centre circle-jerk:<br /><br />“Stay away from those fellows who have never held a real job, but just worked as aides to politicians, occupied a desk in a think tank or an AstroTurf group and then ran for office.”<br /><br />Harper is only capable of controlling the young, the weak, the addled and those in the public service who place personal ambition well above that service. Just take a look at the people with whom he surrounds himself or appoints to office – the self-important, the Joe Olivers and Julian Fantinos, and the adult men and women who can be intimidated by the glare of his “icy-blue” and laser-like eyes.<br />John B.noreply@blogger.com