Friday, April 26, 2013

Is this A New Crime In Harperland?

While the word commit has several meanings, when it is used without the preposition 'to' (as in, He is committed to her cause), it is invariably associated with something heinous (John committed arson; Shelley committed fraud; Lorne committed murder). It is therefore not likely a slip of the tongue when the man who heads our government (sorry, I can't bear to refer to him as our Prime Minister) says, at about 1:20 on the following video, that this is not the time to "commit sociology" when asked about the arrests of two men this week who are accused of conspiring to carry out a terrorist attack on a Via train:

Never one to miss an opportunity to denigrate a political rival, in this case, of course, Justin Trudeau, who last week talked about the need to find the 'root causes' of terrorism, something very much a priority for the United States, Harper apparently sees such concern as only fodder for scorn, ridicule, and political opportunism.

And then there is Harrper's faithful pet parrot Pierre Poilievre, never one to add an original thought to political discourse, content to simply repeat what he has been told to promulgate by his master. Take a look at the following video where he is in full plumage; especially noteworthy is what he says at about 2:20, which seems to leave interviewer Evan Solomon almost speechless:

Stephen Harper and his minions have always been quite adept at offering simple solutions to the simple-minded and those who prefer their thinking and world-views to be uncluttered by nuance.

For those sufficiently reflective to understand that complexity is a part of the very nature of existence, the man and his machine have nothing to offer, and can expect nothing from us except our continuing contempt.

6 comments:

  1. Dark shades of Dr.Goebbels, Lorne.

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    1. I shudder to contemplate what may be next, Owen.

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  2. I have often wondered how Harper could have taken 6 years to complete his B.A. and then another 6-7 yrs to complete his M.A. in Econs. when the average student would have completed both degrees in 6 yrs. Guess I need not wonder any more.

    He may think he is cool by quoting/plagiarizing the idiotic phrase "commit sociology": http://legallysociable.com/2012/07/24/goerge-will-dont-let-people-use-the-aurora-tragedy-to-commit-sociology/

    However, to me it says more about his intellect, or rather a lack of it. This comes after plagiarizing John Howard's speech, oh, I forgot, it was his speech writer who did it, not him. LOL

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  3. Thanks for the information, Anon. I suppose, though, that Harper's plagiarism should not be all that surprising, given that the right-wing is not known for original or innovative thinking. The rhetoric of disdain, derision and demagoguery, which has a long and sordid history, is more their style.

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  4. I believe the Harperites are committing scholasticism.

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