Senior Scam Alert

Although now retired as Canada's longest-serving mayor, the redoubtable Hazel McCallion continues her life of public service:



Meanwhile, over at Don Martin's Power Play, watch the first two minutes of his questioning of Monte Solberg defending Harper's hypocrisy of having well-known crack-user Rob Ford and his brother Doug at his rally in Etobicoke while his government keeps telling Canadians how dangerous drugs are. You will notice that Martin can't conceal his contempt for Solberg's response. Then go to the five-minute mark to watch the former Con MP defend the despicable ads being run in ethnic media:



These acts of desperation will not save Harper this time around, I predict.

Something To Gladden The Spirit

During this campaign, while Harper has been appealing to the worst in Canadians, I have to admit that my faith in humanity has been faltering. The following, which I saw on Facebook, is something of a restorative.



"You see, you've misjudged us... You've underestimated us." A former Calgarian writes an open letter to Stephen Harper and explains what it means to be Canadian.

“Dear Mr. Harper,

I live in BC with my husband and two little girls. I grew up in Calgary and have many friends and family members there. I’m white and in my early 40s. One of us is a stay at home parent, so we benefit 100% from the direct deposits in lieu of a national childcare program. We also benefit 100% from income splitting. And we can afford to take advantage of the increased allowance in our TFSAs.

In other words, we're the picture of the family who benefits the most from your economic policies. But we're not voting Conservative on October 19th.

You see, you've misjudged us. We enjoy our standard of living, we work hard for it but it's not the only thing that matters to us.

You assume we don't care about our first nation’s neighbours, or Canadians trying to bring their family members here from war torn countries. That we don't care about less fortunate Canadians, our veterans, or scientists. You think we don't mind that to save a few bucks and balance the books we axed the census, dumped decades of research from our libraries, cut funding to CBC, underspent our budgets in important departments and closed coast guard stations. You figure we no longer want our lakes and rivers protected and that we don't understand that climate change is a far greater risk to our way of life than Barbaric Cultural Practices.

You've underestimated us.

On October 19, we're not voting for our bank balance. We're voting for change because we want the caring Canada of our youth back. The Canada that supported our single mothers that gave us the opportunity to succeed in the first place.

Mary Cleaver”

Guest Post: The Values Edition

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, It seems a propitious time to reflect on the values that have been fostered and avidly promoted (especially during this election season} by the Harper government, values that no doubt will be on the minds of many as they head to the polls on October 19.

The following was sent to me by M Barrett. Please note that because I received this as a PDF document, converting it into text has been done at the cost of a few graphics of our flag in the opening, as well as some of the original formatting.


Government of the Modern Civilized Republic of Canada

Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and the Preservation of Virtue

Statement

Statement on Canadian Values

Ottawa October 08, 2015

Introduction
Canada is an inclusive society and by definition that necessarily includes closed minded, intolerant, divisive people, many of them with very real issues about seeing a woman’s face so as to be able to ascertain whether she is mocking them.
Canada’s inclusive society also includes those who having immigrated here, quite understandably feel the need to lock the door behind them because of possible overcrowding and strains on Canada’s world class social safety net.
This charter is a way to address the fear of this beleaguered segment of Canadian society, that they too are becoming a despised, dwindling minority, and it ensures that Canada’s vaunted democratic electoral system diligently unearths every and all contrived and festering matter no matter how repugnant in order to achieve well deserved political success.
Respects

Stevie J

Charter of Modern Values and Civilized Practices

1 The official name of Canada shall be designated as the Modern Civilized Republic of Canada.
2 Under the authority of Prime Minister Stephen J Harper, Ministers Jason Kenney and Chris Alexander of The Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and the Preservation of Virtue, declare the annulment of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the promulgation of the Charter of Modern Values and Civilized Practices.

Preamble

Whereas Canada is a Modern Civilized Republic, medieval barbaric practices shall be eliminated and Modern Values and Civilized Practices only are permitted.
Deploring the fact that certain probationary Canadians, despite repeated efforts to reasonably accommodate their presence in a Modern Civilized Republic, persist in carrying out barbaric medieval practices, the Charter of Modern Values and Civilized Practices is proclaimed as follows:

Head / Face Coverings
Whereas Canada is a nation of open minded people with nothing to hide and those that want to cover their faces must have something to hide - not just blemishes but terrorism or environmental or leftist views, all face covering and head covering is prohibited. This includes but is not limited to niqabs, burqas, balaclavas, bridal veils, sunglasses, turbans, kippas, beards, mustaches and sideburns of any length (male or female), Halloween masks, and heavy makeup.

The government reserves the right to mandate the uncovering of other body parts as deemed necessary to conform to the charter. This does not preclude a requirement for body cavity searches to ensure complete compliance with openness.
Nomenclature

Canadians are a people who value brevity, simplicity and taxonomy that does not require fancy mnemonics.

First names and surnames are to comprise no more than 10 letters, and in the roman alphabet, and must contain an even distribution of vowels and consonants. No more than 2 consecutive consonants may precede or follow a vowel. Unpronounced Hs and redundant superfluous duplicate letters are to be discarded. Pronunciation which involves convoluted articulation of the tongue, lips, other mouth parts or gesticulation of the hands, bizarre inflections, intonations or unreasonably nasal or guttural utterances are prohibited.
Surnames which are shared by more than say, 100 non family members shall be preceded by a unique 8 digit surname prefix.

Examples:
• Singh > correct modern surname “75234594Sing”
• Wong > correct modern surname “5734659784Wrong”
• Mohammed > correct modern surname “Christian”

Music
Canadian subjects place a high value on harmonious relationships in their communities. Accordionly, discordant, cacophonous "music" consisting of non english or accented high pitched female voices, or with a frenetic or wild beat, and or accompanied by so called “musical” instruments with one or fewer strings or made of or containing dried gourds, goat skins, cat gut, oil containers, or other detritus is prohibited.
Pluralism
The Niqab Party of Canada is banned.

Aboriginal and Inuit people of Canada shall be permitted to stay in their designated favelas and carry out their poverty based practices in order to serve as a stark reminder to the rest of Canada how far we have come as a nation.

Linguistics
The language of Canada is English. Period. Although for historo-cultural reasons and to affirm Canada’s respect for and encouragement of diversity, and to secure crucial political support, francais may be parlez vous. The Chinese language may be tolerated at certain bank branches where esteemed new Investo-Canadians conduct their lucrative, taxable businesses. It is not however, an acceptable language in grocery establishments or on food labels, except as an exotic embellishment.

English is the lingua franca spoken throughout the world with varying degrees of intelligibility. Arrivals to Canada should have learned it back home before they came. Those who are unfortunately fluent in several languages other than English are required to attain perfect English fluency before availing themselves of social services, speaking on the phone or venturing out in public. When disbursing cash or making substantial purchases, potential Canadians are not required to speak English or any other language for that matter.

Human Rights
Canadians are a people who value diversity but in indiscernible, reasonable measure. To avoid offense, those who wish to exhibit an acceptable level of difference from standard old stock Modern Civilized Canadians may choose to display no more than 3 of the following sanctioned diversities:

• Different but not gaily painted front door of dwelling
• Sad, happy or indifferent facial expression
• With fries
• Burt Bacarach or Boston Pops Orchestra
Uh ... That’s it.

Nutrition
Whereas Canada is a nation of people with civilized tastes, refined olfactory organs, and an aversion to salts, sugars and fats, whether trans or straight, all strong smelling, strangely spiced ethnic foods and unrecognizable and unpronounceable fruits and vegetables shall be prohibited along with their accompanying peculiar and poorly crafted cooking paraphernalia. Nourriture prepared over an open flame, a barbaric cultural practice predating the medieval era, is likewise prohibited unless the flame is sustained by modern Canadian natural gas - geologic, political or otherwise.

Acceptable modern civilized substitutes for the above noted silage are processed foods in microwavable packaging in a Canadian language, displaying photos of readily identifiable Canadian meals which may or may not be contained within, nutritional supplements and energy drinks.

Security
Because terrorism.

Religion
Canadians are a tolerant people, exhibiting a surprising level of patience with those of different beliefs, customs or colors. But patience has its limits and although Canadians are all for an extra holiday every Friday, the explosion of bewildering theocratic practices and the profusion of sanctified foods on supermarket shelves must be brought to an end.

Whereas all religions practiced today predate the medieval era and which, furthermore, are also all misogynistic and propagate pagan barbaric rituals, and considering that Scientology, although contemporary has many bizarre and incomprehensible though famous adherents, and that Canadians being modern and scientific now know that those shadows cast upon the cave wall are not real but are a representation of activities which are simply out of view, all religions and religious practices and symbols are not only passe, but prohibited, with the notable exception of certain Quebeco - Canadian culturally historic religious artifacts which have been stripped of their religious significance by simple affirmation in order to conform with the spirit, holy or otherwise, of this charter.

Military
Whereas Canadians are a peace loving people with a Nobel prize winning former prime minister to prove it, and considering that they are prohibited from owning handguns and only permitted to own the longer, semi automatic more peaceful ones, the barbaric cultural practice of attacking, killing, massacring, bombing and torturing those who don’t agree with, or are a threat to, or are simply a different color or odor or hold a different opinion than old stock Canadians predates the medieval era, the armed forces in their entirety are hereby abolished.

Family planning
Canada is a mosaic, not a melting pot, but all of those pieces of glass have their proper place and color otherwise we wouldn’t get the picture we want. This is just a metaphor but I think you can see what we are getting at.

Canada is a nation of people with a disdain for tribal like extended family organizations with large numbers of unruly wide eyed children whose parents disproportionately benefit from Canada’s overly generous system of social services and who engage in self help rather than spreading the wealth / financially contributing to the wider established community.

Accordingly it is prohibited for families to have more than 2.1 children.

ENFORCEMENT Reprogramming / Civilizing
All new arrivals - whether of color or ostentatiously garbed or mannered, as well as non old stock Canadians, to the Modern Civilized Republic of Canada shall be detained and subjected to compulsory programming / psychic driving / civilizing / integration in Canadian Modern Values and Civilized Practices.

Additional programming will be undertaken as necessary to eliminate offensive personal odors, irritating accents, and dangerous driving practices and to impart a monotonal quality of speech, free of labial, head, and hand movements.

New arrivals shall be stripped of their garish multi layered apparel and freakish accoutrements and issued at cost, standard, close fitting, modern Canadian dress in shades of gray.

Surveillance
Old stock Canadians have a genuine interest in how well their potential Canadian neighbors, restaurant employees, taxi drivers and call center workers are getting along in this great welcoming country.

Old stock Canadians shall be furnished with telescopes, wiretap, camera, odor sniffing and other surveillance equipment in order to gauge the well being of these irrationally suspicious and cautious people in an unobtrusive, non threatening way.

Penalties
Non compliance with the Charter shall be reported to the Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and the Preservation of Virtue via a dedicated snitch line and shall result in the immediate revocation of coveted Civilized Canadian status and teleportation of the offender to a medieval era country.

Some Things To Give Thanks For

H/t Toronto Star

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this weekend, moving beyond the usual things we express gratitude for (family, health, etc.), here are a few other things I give thanks for:

A high turnout in advance polls:

Elections Canada says it estimates some 850,000 people voted on Friday, the first day of advance polls.

The agency says that is a 26 per cent increase over the first day of advance polls in the 2011 election and a 90 per cent increase over the first day of advance polls in 2008.

Is it possible that our appetite for change is at least as strong as our relish for a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings?

An indefatigable Danny Williams, who refuses to adopt any subtlety or nuance in his assessment of Stephen Harper:

His position on ethnic issues during this campaign amounts to nothing less than fear-mongering and divisive politics at its worst. His proposed hotline to report “barbaric cultural practices” is a glaring example of his politics of fear and division.

The Star's Haroon Siddiqui, who has come out of recent retirement to write some blistering assessments of our domestic dictator/demagogue. His latest offers this:

The first duty of a prime minister is to not damage the country. One sure way to damage it, history tells us, is to do nothing when extremists spread hate against a group of fellow citizens. We have a far more frightening situation today.

The prime minister himself is orchestrating a campaign of bigotry, covertly and not so covertly, against Muslims, who are arguably as vulnerable a group as were Catholics, Jews, Japanese or Chinese Canadians at various times in our history. In trying to win votes by dividing Canadians, Harper is violating the most sacred of Canadian values, unity.

The Star editorial board, that has consistently held the government to account. It's latest effort reminds us once more of the mean-spirited and mendacious truth of Harper and his operatives:

Last spring, as Syrians were fleeing the broken country in record numbers, the Prime Minister’s Office instructed Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander’s department to “review” a “first tranche” of United Nations-approved, government-assisted refugees from Syria this year. They were mostly Muslim at the time. But going forward, the Conservatives were determined that priority should be given to the “most vulnerable” (read: Christians and other non-Muslim minorities).

This overt meddling by Harper and his office, done on the down-low until media reports blew the lid off this past week, is just the latest manifestation of an anti-Muslim bias by this government. Harper never loses a chance to invoke the spectre of Islamist terrorism. And his campaign against niqab-wearing women has been a low point of the election.

Michael Harris, the iPolitics journalist and author of Party of One. He is a constant reminder not only of the egregious offences of the Harper government, but also of how many members of traditional media fail to ask the hard questions:

Death by dumbing-down is an ugly sight. No one has yet conducted an interview with Harper that directly deals with his dishonesty, his dictatorial ways, his contempt for democracy. He is still wrapped in the aura of office, smelling like a dead flounder. Everyone is pretending it’s perfume.

Where are the feature newspaper articles or long-form television interviews on that subject? They simply aren’t there.

Finally, I want to give thanks to all the members of the progressive blogosphere whose passion, commitment and commentary sustain me through some very dark times. Owen, Mound, Rural and Montreal Simon and many others have been tireless in reminding us of the things that should matter to our country.

A week from tomorrow, I sincerely hope that I can add my fellow citizens to this gratitude list. May they all act in Canada's best interests when they vote, guided by the better sides of their nature, not the worst that Mr. Harper and his crew have been so assiduously cultivating.

Parental Warning

The following contains coarse language.

While I know it is perhaps beneath the standards I try to maintain on my blog, I rather liked this:

About That Pavlovian Response

It is enough to make a recovering cynic suffer a very bad relapse. As I noted earlier this week, to see what lurks just beneath the surface of Canadian sensibilities, something dark and ugly, is extremely disheartening. Amply revealed by the Machiavellian incitement of prejudice engineered by Lynton Crosby to maximize the Harper regimes re-election, we are bearing witness to far too many of our fellow citizens responding far too enthusiastically to the ringing of the Pavlovian bell. I feel ashamed and disgusted.

Consider this blatant pandering for the Quebec vote, the latest salvo in the Con attack ad war against Trudeau:



Or how about this?

According to the latest Forum poll,

73 per cent said the issue won’t influence their vote, 20 per cent of respondents said it will. About half of the latter category (11 per cent) said the issue will influence them a “great deal.

I take little comfort that the majority say they will not be influenced by this latest demagoguery from Harper. The fact that 20 per cent are is disquieting, in that they represent a sizable number of Canadians who seem to lack any insight into the fact that they are being grossly manipulated here. As I said in my earlier post, one may not especially like the niqab, but to make it determining factor in your federal vote is something I find very hard to understand.

And then there is this Angus Reid poll,

where 46 per cent held an unfavourable view of Islam in 2009, [but] that figure has risen sharply to 54 per cent this year.... In Quebec, 48 per cent said they would find it unacceptable for one of their children to marry a Muslim, up slightly from 45 per cent in 2009. In the rest of Canada, those who found the thought of a son or daughter marrying a Muslim unacceptable shot up to 32 per cent from 24 per cent.

Matters are getting worse, with Harper now considering a wider ban on the niqab:

A proposed ban on niqabs in the federal civil service would affect an infinitesimally small number of bureaucrats — if any at all. Statistics from 2011 show only 1.8 per cent of 257,000 federal employees are Muslim women and only a small subset of them is likely to wear face coverings. The Conservatives have already tried to require Muslim women to show their faces at citizenship ceremonies, but those rules are being challenged in the courts. Harper's comments on Wednesday make clear he is eyeing additional legislation to require women to unveil every time they want services from the federal government.

The words of Thomas Mulcair and Justin Trudeau resonate:

"Stephen Harper is reminding us every time he does this why he doesn't deserve to be prime minister," Mulcair said in Enoch, Alta., as he highlighted his party's $4.8 billion plan to improve aboriginal education Trudeau, in London, Ont., said Harper's divide-and-conquer approach "is unworthy of the office he holds and he needs to stop." "No election win is worth pitting Canadians against Canadians."

Be assured that Stephen Harper's evil mischief is pitting Canadians against Canadians. Consider the situation of Rezan Mosa, a 22-year-old native of Vancouver who decided to wear the niqab:

Mosa, a student at Brescia University College in London, Ont., said that as anti-niqab sentiment has ramped up on the campaign trail in recent weeks, she’s experienced more incidents of discrimination. “There’s definitely a noticeable difference,” said Mosa, who began wearing the veil over 18 months ago. “Just a lot more people staring, making comments, telling me to go back to my country.” She said the incidents have made her “feel very unsafe.”

Mosa is not alone:

The National Council of Canadian Muslims said it has received several reports of Muslim women being verbally or physically assaulted in the last month. It pointed to a disabled Muslim 19-year-old woman who reported to police that she was verbally threatened at an Ottawa shopping centre. The Star could not independently verify the report. The group tracks such incidents and recorded the details on its website, saying the woman was “young, visibly Muslim and disabled” when a middle-aged white man told her “to remove ‘the f---ing rug off (her) head.’ ”

One more incident perhaps best illustrates the terrible consequences of fanning the flames of intolerance:

In the early evening of Sept. 17, before dark, a 17-year-old girl strolled from the Al-Noor Mosque in St. Catharines, Ont., to the plaza across the street. She was planning to buy a drink and snack. Then three other girls, teenagers the girl from the mosque didn’t recognize, walked up behind her. According to Sallah Hamdani, a spokesman for the local Islamic community, the trio of girls began by making bigoted remarks. Isn’t it against your religion, one asked, to be out walking alone? Ugly words escalated into pushing, then punching. “There was blood. She went to the hospital to make sure her nose wasn’t broken,” Hamdani said. “Her hijab was pulled. You can’t keep it on during a fight.”

Stephen Harper and his operatives are very much aware of the fallibilities human nature is subject to. To exploit those weaknesses for electoral gain is yet another indictment of his unfitness to govern. I just wish more Canadians could see what is so obviously staring them in the face.

An Unvarnished Assessment

Over time we've seen that this man cannot be trusted. He had no integrity. He's trying to stifle democracy. There's no end to what he's doing," said Williams.

"He's a lousy prime minister who's divisive." -Danny Williams

Watch as former Newfoundland-Labrador Premier Danny Williams offers an unvarnished assessment of Steven Harper:



A lengthier interview with Williams on Power Play can be seen here.

Embracing The Veil

H/t The Toronto Star





While our prime minister claims, when attacking the niqab, that Canadians hold openness and transparency as societal values, he is happy to keep us in the dark about all of the secret negotiations going on to conclude the highly controversial Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, leaked elements of which suggest we will be ceding a great deal of our sovereignty to multi-nationals.

Meanwhile, Mr. Harper is adopting a 'trust me' strategy, saying that no deal will be entered into unless it is a net benefit to Canadians, an assertion that others find hard to swallow, given that he has never met a multi-national that he doesn't like.



Thinking Canadians will legitimately ask why, if the deal is to be so beneficial, the negotiations have been conducted behind such a thick, almost impenetrable, veil. To those who distrust our government, the answer is likely very clear.

Stealin' All My Dreams

That's the message Blue Rodeo delivers in this music video, which features some timely reminders of the almost decade's worth of depredations that have taken place under the Harper regime.



On a side note, I came across the video last night and immediately prepared this post for publication today; this morning I received a note from David, who sent me links both to the video and the National Observer article. I guess it's true that 'great' minds think alike, eh? Thanks, David.

Truth From A Letter-Writer

This was sent to me by Anon in response to a previous post. Enjoy!



Conservative leader Stephen Harper speaks to supporters during a rally at Swish Group of Companies in Peterborough on Monday (Sept. 21).
Peterborough This Week

20 non-answers from Conservative leader Stephen Harper, according to a letter writer

To the editor:

Are you a member of the media who wonders if the Prime Minister will ever hold a news conference where several questions can be asked, and substantive answers given?

That is never going to happen.

Harper focuses on economy during rally in Peterborough on Monday

So, sit back, relax and read the continuously revised and updated "Stephen Harper Non-Answer Generator". Available now as a download at harperhearnoevil.com

The most recent non-answers include:

1. “In 2010 I decided to rename the Government of Canada as the Harper Government in official communication because he who has seen Me has seen the Party."

2. "We do not allow people to cover their faces during citizenship ceremonies. But we do allow Canadian goalies to cover their faces during hockey games."

3. "Under my watch, greenhouse gas emissions actually went down in 2008... until they started going up again in 2009."

4. "When bad actions arise, the role of the leader is to take responsibility and hold people accountable, and that’s exactly what we’re doing....not including, of course, my chief of staff Ray Novak, Stephen Lecce, Chris Woodcock, Joanne McNamara, Andrew MacDougall, Patrick Rogers, Arthur Hamilton, David van Hemmen and very few others."

5. "My favourite Bible verse? Luke 8:17: For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open."

6. "First we bring them [the CBC] to their knees. Then we restructure them."

7. "What I know is this: Mr. Duffy should have repaid his expenses. He did not because Mr. Wright paid them for him...paid them for him...paid them for him...whirr!...bleep!...paid them for him."

8. "Our government has a real tax incentive plan to create 125,000 at-work daycare spaces."

9. "Well look, um, the Prime Minister is always ultimately accountable for the government. Um, we're running on our record, which includes having the worst economic growth of any Prime Minister since the days of R. B. Bennett in the 1930s. It's not my fault we've run six consecutive deficits, increased the federal debt by $158 billion, and Canada is the only G7 country in recession."

10. "The House of Commons passed Mr. Hyer’s bill [Climate Change Accountability Act]. When it went to the Senate, I instructed the Conservative senators to kill it. I am proud to say this was the first time in Canadian history that appointed senators killed a bill without a single day of study in the Senate!"

11. "Let me assure you that our priority will remain to ensure stability and security for Canadians. The government will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society."



12. “The 24/Seven videos summarize the activities of government for interested Canadians. As Mr. Teneycke [Conservative campaign spokesman] said: ‘We’re better than news, because we’re truthful.’”

13. (singing, to the tune of Sweet Caroline): "Hands, shackled hands/Reaching out, shackled feet, touching you/Dean Del Mastro/Bad times never seemed so bad/I'd be inclined/To believe that you are sad...." -- upon learning Dean Del Mastro was sentenced for cheating on his 2008 campaign expenses.

14. "It is perfectly legal to mail my own birthday cards for people to sign and mail back to me. Canada Post needs the business."

15. “The Federal Court has ruled against our government’s cuts to refugee health care, saying the changes amount to ‘cruel and unusual’ treatment, and ‘outrage Canadian standards of decency.’ Really? Are we our brother's keeper? The parable of the Good Samaritan clearly does not support the idea of extended health care for refugees because we are Canadians, not Samaritans.”

16. “I realize how important it is for northerners to have access to healthy food. That’s why our government launched the Nutrition North program in 2011. Since then, a food basket for an average family of four has been reduced by $110 a month. Two litres of orange juice is now only $26, and five kilograms of flour only $25.”

17. "We have achieved a $1.9 billion surplus for the 2014-2015 fiscal year because government departments massively underspent their budgets. Making huge cuts to veterans, aboriginals, seniors, and immigrants really did pay off!"

18. "Let's be clear, friends. The NDP want to create one million quality child care spaces that parents could access for $15 a day, and the Liberals want a more generous child benefit that will lift 315,000 children out of poverty. Friends, we're gathered here tonight to be make sure that does not happen! That is not our Conservative vision for our country!"

19. "Old stock Canadians are the real Canadians of our country."

20. "Wayne Gretzky said I have been 'an unreal prime minister and wonderful to the whole country'. He has been a true gentleman on and off the ice, and doesn't mind I took away his right to vote in our elections. And even though Wayne played centre, now he'll be best remembered as a right winger!"

David Buckna

Kelowna, B.C.

Meat For The Conservative Base

... is, I hope, indigestible for the rest of us.

At Sunday's Calgary-Signal Hill all-candidates debate, Conservative candidate Ron Liepert responded to criticisms of the Conservatives' controversial Bill C-51 by suggesting "civil liberties" and "freedom" are not the most pressing issues facing the country in light of "criminal activities."

"I know there's a whole group of people including a couple of the speakers here tonight who talk about civil liberties and about the freedom of having the right to pretty much choose to do what you like," Liepert told voters.

"Folks, that's not the country we live in."

This was not Liepert's first foray into absurdist pronouncements. Last year, he told CBC Radio that supporters of solar and wind energy are "extremists" who live in a "dream world."



It is is hard to understand how the Harper base can feel proud of supporting such patent idiots unless, of course ....

Lest We Forget

Memories Are Made Of This

Almost like a blooper reel, these reminders of some of King Stephen's 'finer' moments will, one hopes, serve a useful purpose. Enjoy.

24/Stephen: "Proud Conservative Moments"

Proud Conservative moments

Posted by Press Progress on Tuesday, September 15, 2015

H/t Press Progress

Seeing Harper For What He Is

John Langs carved "Anybody But Harper!!" into his 46-acre field of rye near Brantford, Ont. Each letter is 100 metres tell.

Star readers once more offer their trenchant assessments of Stephen Harper's character (or lack thereof):

It’s hard to reconcile Stephen Harper’s ongoing tough talk on standing up to terrorism when we remember that during the gunman’s attack on Parliament Hill last October, Harper jumped into a storage closet and hid for 15 minutes.

Indeed, it was reported by CBC News, that one week later, he apologized to his caucus telling them he felt remorse for doing so. (At the time, many of his MPs were alarmed by his sudden disappearance.)

It certainly seems that Harper’s actions graphically illustrate his penchant for looking after No. 1. One might wonder if this is a good character trait for someone supposedly looking after a country.

J. Richard Wright, Niagara-on-the-Lake

Stephen Harper relates everything to ISIS. The question to him becomes: How many more Canadian bombs would have prevented that little boy drowning? Canada is facing a crisis beyond Harper’s understanding. It’s difficult to imagine Canada’s international reputation getting any lower, but he is doing his best to realize it.

Raymond Peringer, Toronto

As a member of the PEN committee for Writers In Exile and a supporter of our local refugee shelter, “Romero House,” I have watched the brutal immigration policies of the Harper government over the last 10 years.

In 2011 the Harper government said they wanted any refugees admitted into Canada to be sponsored privately, to keep costs down. Okay, so there were hundreds of church and community groups that said yes, found refugee families and individuals in the camps to sponsor, many of them Syrian. These private groups made their applications for the refugees, found accommodation, bought furniture, donations of food and people to help integrate the people into Canadian society. Then they waited – three months, nine months, 16 months, two years and Canadian immigration simply refused to process them. No response, no explanation, nothing. We couldn’t believe it.

This was under then Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and it’s just as bad now under Chris Alexander.

In scores of these projects the accommodation had to be let go, the furniture sold and the groups disbanded and the refugees continue to live in the camps without hope.

I have no idea why the Conservative government refused to process these applications for years. Private individuals would pay. Whatever is going on in Ottawa, we have to challenge it. Especially now with this heartbreaking Syrian crisis.

Keith Ross Leckie, Toronto

.....Even a cold-hearted economist like Mr. Harper should realize many of the refugees include highly trained individuals, including doctors, scientists, technologists and tradesmen. If Canada had been led by xenophobic leaders in the past, our country would never have survived long enough to achieve its unique ethnic diversity but instead would have disintegrated into an assortment of resource-rich territories belonging to the U.S.

Lloyd Atkins, Vernon, B.C.

"What Happened? You Used To Be The Good Ones!"

Ad Busters has created a powerful anti-Haprer commercial that deserves to be shared far and wide.

For generations, we Canadians were seen as peacekeepers, as mediators and as the inspired environmental stewards of a vast country — for much of the 20th century we were a force for good in this world. We wore the Maple Leaf with immense pride, and were welcomed everywhere with open arms. You may remember American travelers wearing our flag patch on their backpacks to protect themselves from scorn.

Today Canada has lost its purpose, lost its soul. Wearing the Maple Leaf is no longer a badge of honour. After nine years in office, Stephen Harper has decimated Canada's reputation on the world stage. We are no longer the proud nation we used to be.

The Interview

I just can't let it go:

Too Good Not to Share

I admit it; I am taking great delight in the mockery of the Harper regime:

A Record Of Failure

Stephen lacks the requisite skills and temperament to succeed in any position of responsibility; recommend removal at earliest possible date.



Stephen's oil monomania suggests a pathology deeply harmful both to himself and the entire country.


Stephen's addiction to rabid and exclusionary ideology and his capacity for gross fabrications are also cause for deep concern:

Harper moves directly into attack mode on GTA stop, Aug. 4

As Stephen Harper and the ruling Conservative Party have amply proven over the past decade, in the Alice in Wonderland fantasy world of neoconservative ideology, nothing is what it seems to be and anything is justifiable to achieve your aims.

Lying to cover your mistakes is effective crisis management and denying responsibility for them is the prime directive. Corruption is acceptable – just don’t get caught. Cronyism, patronage and double standards are legitimate political practices unless exposed, while saying one thing and doing another is ethically acceptable.
Welcome to the modernist neocon politics of cynicism and despair. In the face of undeniable and self-apparent realities of a sinking Titanic we are reassuringly told not to panic – everything’s just fine by our captain — the economy and our democracy are strong. This while the Conservatives continue to siphon off increasing economic wealth to enrich the 1 per cent and we teeter on the brink of a yet another cyclic recession in the boom and bust globalized capitalist economy amidst ongoing and persistent social decline.

To expose the truth, we must look behind Stephen Harper’s perpetual fixed smile and examine the verity of his claims and those of his movement. Amongst the most persistent and egregious oft-repeated myths perpetrated by neocons is the one that they are the best stewards of the economy and that cutting taxes is the way to improve the financial health of Canada. The lion’s share of these tax cuts always go to the private sector and the wealthy while the messaging is tax cuts for the middle class.

Over the past decade Canada has had one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the world and little has changed so clearly this strategy has not worked. There is also little credible economic research that indicates any beneficial effects to the widely employed practice the neocons mindlessly chant. Similarly, cutting interest rates and depressing the Canadian dollar has had marginal positive effects on the economy while significantly raising costs for everyone in Canada in order to benefit a few industries that export goods.

A second mantra of neocons is cutting the wasteful cost of government. This is how tax cuts are paid for and is code for their dedicated bias towards the dismantling of government, social programs and social opposition to Conservative policies. It serves the double function of actually deconstructing the core structure of democracy that these organizations represent such as the changes to the Elections Act, the cuts to Statistics Canada and the muzzling of Government of Canada scientists.

These steps are more sinister than the changes to the economy but both are deeply concerning. Stephen Harper’s government has cut funding to a host of activist and other credible research groups while using the CRA to harass legitimate non-profit organizations that support causes disliked by the right such as the environment or who directly challenge the government on social policy. All this happens while the government covertly allocates billions of taxpayer’s money to corporate welfare, tax cuts for the wealthy and frivolous expenditures like the memorial to the victims of Russian aggression. Our democracy is looking more like an oligarchy every day that Stephen Harper is in office.

Contemporary neoconservative dogma as practiced by the extreme right of Stephen Harper’s Alliance/Conservative Party is a direct threat to real democracy, freedom and human rights that all Canadians should be concerned about that comes in the form of thousands of small and large negative changes to our social and governmental systems intended to weaken the structure of government itself and its democratic protections for citizens while strengthening the powers of the corporate sector and powerful right-wing elites.

When we vote on Oct. 19 we need to understand that the enemy of democracy is not the external threat of ISIS as Stephen Harper would claim but Harper himself and the ideology he stands for. Before we invite the Trojan horse into our Canadian village we need to think carefully about what we are actually getting.

Robert Bahlieda, Newmarket

Sometimes, Few Words Are Needed.

Many thanks to my sister-in-law, Vicki, for alerting me to this.



The saddest thing for Canada is the fact that from the second panel on, everything is true.

The Choice Is Ours

And don't forget that the first leaders' debate is August 6. Hosted by Paul Wells,

it will be recorded in City’s Toronto studio and air live, commercial-free and with closed captioning, on City, OMNI.1, OMNI.2, and CPAC. It will also stream live at Macleans.ca, Citytv.com, CityNews.ca, OMNItv.ca, CPAC.ca, Facebook, YouTube, and on Rogers Radio stations at 680News.com, 570news.com, 660News.com, 1310News.com, News1130.com and News957.com.

Perhaps not as accessible as the consortium debates would have been, this will nonetheless be Canadians' first opportunity to see the federal combatants in the same arena. Whether it will be fairly moderated by Wells is another question entirely. Having read his book, The Longer I'm Prime Minister, I couldn't escape the impression that Wells has a rather deep admiration for Harper.

But I guess things could be worse. At least John Ibbitson won't be hosting it.