I must admit that when I flew to Scotland a few weeks ago to attend a friend's wedding, I had no idea that it would lead to my longest break from blogging in almost twelve years.
But then who knew that after a few wild days in Edinburgh, I would find myself in the rugged Orkney islands, listening to old tales about Vikings, giants, and evil dwarfs, rather than reading about the latest exploits of the insane monster Donald Trump.
Or that while racing back to Edinburgh my motorcycle would hit a patch of black ice and I would have to spend two days in hospital, and almost a week recovering at my family's home in the highlands.
Too battered to blog, and unaware that one of the aggregators that has published this blog for years had just died.
Everybody knew that Donald Trump was a climate change denier, a man who believes that global warming is a hoax.
He's made that abundantly clear...
Over and over again.
But still the flaming orange got elected, and now we're all going to burn with him.
I know many progressives wish that the Democrats had a better candidate than Hillary Clinton to confront the dangerous demagogue Donald Trump.
And like me wish that Bernie Sanders had won the nomination, and are bitterly disappointed he didn't.
But the fact is, whether we like it or not, Clinton is now the only one who can stop Trump.
The failure of many of Bernie's supporters to accept that reality is starting to resemble insanity.
It's just been two months and five days since Justin Trudeau was sworn in as Prime Minister.
But already the Cons, the Con media, and even some some progressives are claiming that he is a total failure.
And while that is to be expected from the shellshocked Cons, and the equally desperate Con media.
I must admit it hurts me to see some progressives repeating the same nonsense.
I think it safe to say that with less than three weeks to go before the election, and Darth Harper and his Aussie alien Lynton Crosby preparing to use the foulest wedge issues to try to win another mandate.
As you can see by this latest tweet from Great Ugly Leader.
The last thing I probably needed to know was that the NDP and the Liberals are fighting each other. Again.
Or see the gratingly Con friendly Jen Gerson crow that the left is eating itself.
A few days ago I wrote a post defending Tom Mulcair from a Maclean's story that claimed that he once asked Stephen Harper for a chance to serve him.
And only turned down the job because he wasn't offered enough money.
Having watched Mulcair in the Quebec National Assembly long before he entered federal politics, something about that story didn't seem right.
And sure enough it seems it was just a grotesque smear.
Summer is finally here, and I couldn't be happier. Not just because I live for this season when everything comes alive.
But also because I know that when this one dies, in the land where summers are so short, so will Stephen Harper's deathly Con regime.
But what I also know, and all progressives need to understand, is that the last part of our long journey to freedom will be fraught with danger.
Because we are now entering the perilous waters of vote splitting. And we could still snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
I must admit I'm finding Harperland this week a little strange and rather depressing. Or should I say even stranger and more depressing than usual.
For although we could be just two months away from the start of an election campaign, as I pointed out yesterday. You'd never know, it's eerily quiet out there.
It's like the so-called phony war, when Britain and Nazi Germany declared war on each other, and nothing happened for months.
And in this country, as parliament prepares to take a five-month break, the only thing breaking the silence, or breaking wind, is the horrible sound of the NDP and the Liberals fighting each other.
Ever since Stephen Harper came to power and Canada's long nightmare began, I have tried to remain strictly non-partisan and support all three progressive parties.
I have encouraged them to fight the tyrant as hard as they can, I have focused on the strengths of their leaders rather than their weaknesses.
Because all I seek is the total destruction of the Con regime. At this point in our history, for me, that's all that matters.
And in that regard, I'm afraid I have to say that I believe that Justin Trudeau has just made a bad mistake.
When I see what terrible danger our country is in, caught up in the death-like vortex of the now crazed Stephen Harper.
When I read polls like this one.
Whatever they are worth.
I can't help but think how all of this could be avoided if progressives were united.
So I'm glad to see Gerald Caplan urging them to do just that to prevent the unthinkable.
Well as we all know, Stephen Harper has been going to extraordinary lengths to put a fresh face on his government, and a lot of lipstick on HIMSELF.
But of course, he has no choice. He has to tart himself up.
He's been around for too long. Canadians know him too well.
And as Tim Harper points out, the desire for change is his greatest threat.
In my last two posts I told you why I believe that Stephen Harper and his monstrous Con regime may have to be brought down by a Great Canadian Coalition.
So Justin Trudeau, Tom Mulcair, and Elizabeth May and their most rabid partisan supporters should at the very least be thinking about it.
Because you can be sure that Stephen Harper is thinking a lot about it these days. It must be keeping him awake at night.
For he surely knows that unless he wins a majority in the next election it's game over.
There are few things that depress me more than the sight of progressives fighting each other.
As the NDP and the Liberals are doing these days.
Especially when I remember how close we once came to forming a Great Canadian Coalition, and bringing down Stephen Harper.
And how great it felt to work together, before that dream was shattered.
And my only consolation is that when I look at the way the polls are going, I can see another coalition in the making.
With just two days before the Ontario election, and still not having decided whether to vote for the NDP or the Liberals, I decided to check out the lawn signs on the island, which is part of Trinity-Spadina riding.
And the results were no surprise. The island is still mostly orange, with a touch of green. The only blue signs are the ones from the No Jets at the Toronto Island Airport campaign.
And between that and the hypnotic scent of the giant ORANGE poppies...
For a moment I thought I might be able to vote for the NDP, for sentimental reasons.
And get away with it.
It's a horrible question, and one I'd rather not ask myself in the middle of the Victoria Day weekend.
Lest it encourage me to join half the population, and start drinking heavily.
But with all those reports or rumours that the Cons are preparing for an election sooner rather than later.
Maybe it is time to ask ourselves whether Stephen Harper could still hang on to power?
It's been pretty grey and wet where I live. It gets dark before you know it. Soon it will be winter in Harperland. In all its grim horror.
But on the positive side I have a few days off, so I can take a short break from blogging, recharge my batteries, and try to figure out where the hell we're going eh?
Because on the gloomiest days I can't help feeling that progressives might be drifting towards disaster.
When I woke up today, the sky was blue, the sun was shining, and for a moment I thought that Spring had arrived in Harperland. Finally !!!!!
But then I stepped outside, realized that it was still horribly cold eh? And my day went rapidly down hill.
Before I could even finish my first coffee, it was Sean, my very good and very NDP friend, on the phone and very angry: "Since when did YOU become a LIBERAL?" #@!!!
Well I see that Great Batty Leader will be flying back to Parliament later today.
And I'd like to think the pundits are right when they predict turbulence ahead.
But all I see is more of the same.
A lot of sound and fury in a dead Parliament, where the Cons do what they want, and the opposition can't stop them.
As I write this they have started voting on the Godzilla Budget in the House of Commons, and what a horror show it is.
The ghastly good ol' boys from the Reform Party whooping it up as they bury our democracy. Again.
In the growing darkness of Harperland, it's hard to know what's the truth, what is illusion, and what's just another Big Lie.
But sometimes the truth is so blinding, like a fire in the sky, that it's impossible to ignore it. Or live like so many Canadians in a state of denial.
For if you're a progressive, and you are serious about bringing down the Con regime, this result should serve as a warning.
