I suppose if I robbed a bank while married to a Conservative government minister I'd get to settle the issue by paying an overdraft charge?
Rahim Jaffer pleads guilty to careless driving charge
FactCheck.org on recent IPCC issues
FactCheck once again turns its non-partisan eye on the Global Warming debate, and address the recent 'gate' issues related to the IPCC. It finds little to complain about.
Climate Science Slipping?
Climate Science Slipping?
Rally 'Facts' runs on a false premise
If you haven't heard, Rally 'Facts' is the blog setup by some unknown conservative types -- I leave it to others to figure out whom -- to 'debunk' the understanding that the No Prorogue rallies were non-partisan. Apparently, as many organizers have current or past political affiliations, the rallies can't be considered non-partisan.
That's right. Dippers, Liberals, Greens, marxists, communists, unionists, human rights advocates, some closet Conservatives and independents like myself marching side by side can't be called non-partisan because the rallies were in part organized by persons who are or were involved in various political parties.
Maybe it's a question of definition? Let's see. What does 'non-partisan' mean?
So, if various partisans and non-partisans come together under a common cause which does not support a particular party or group, that's a non-partisan gathering, right?
So we see there an entire web site based upon a false premise. Surprise.
Actually, the whole idea that this matters is an insult to Canadians. For all of us who attended, we attended because we had something important to say, not because of the various political affiliations of many of the organizers.
If discovery of partisans is supposed to diminish a cause, well, where does that place the Rally 'Facts' site? The anonymous and hypocritical cowards behind it are most certainly conservatives.
Anyway, tired of fighting with all the CAPPers, the Rally 'Facts' people shut down the comments. What's there is a fun read.
That's right. Dippers, Liberals, Greens, marxists, communists, unionists, human rights advocates, some closet Conservatives and independents like myself marching side by side can't be called non-partisan because the rallies were in part organized by persons who are or were involved in various political parties.
Maybe it's a question of definition? Let's see. What does 'non-partisan' mean?
A person or group that is non-partisan does not support or help a particular political party or group.
So, if various partisans and non-partisans come together under a common cause which does not support a particular party or group, that's a non-partisan gathering, right?
So we see there an entire web site based upon a false premise. Surprise.
Actually, the whole idea that this matters is an insult to Canadians. For all of us who attended, we attended because we had something important to say, not because of the various political affiliations of many of the organizers.
If discovery of partisans is supposed to diminish a cause, well, where does that place the Rally 'Facts' site? The anonymous and hypocritical cowards behind it are most certainly conservatives.
Anyway, tired of fighting with all the CAPPers, the Rally 'Facts' people shut down the comments. What's there is a fun read.
Harper's Buy American deal is a betrayal!
In exchange for less than two weeks access to America's stimulus money, Harper has surrendered the ability of Canadian provinces and municipalities to prefer Canadian suppliers... FOREVER.
There is such reciprocity here. American states do not have to drop their current level of preferential buying.
Why did Harper do this? There is only one explanation: to get positive headlines, and ongoing bragging rights. Harper hopes he will brag louder than those who rightly criticize him.
You only have to think about what the headlines would say had he not reached a deal. "HARPER FAILS TO BREAK BUY AMERICA BLOCKADE" and the like. With the "Harper Government" way down in the polls, battered by Harper's partisan prorogation and his utter contempt of Parliament and the rule of law, more negative news is something this government is not prepared to have.
Harper sees that it is far better to sellout his country than to see his grip on power further erode.
Harper's partisan prorogation has made this deal even more possible. With Parliament closed, Harper doesn't have to ratify the agreement before it. There's no debate, no questions, and no criticisms on the Hansard record. We only get a few canon shots via the media.
I can imagine the mess Harper would have if Parliament were open. Instead, we get a PR roll out claiming this is a great deal, followed with some contrary reporting, quotes and comments print showing us that this is a lousy deal. I wonder which headlines win?
Well, Harper's tactical moves certainly have failed before; however, with this being framed as simply a "bad deal" and not as a sellout engineered to get good press, the resulting dialogue is not beyond what the public expects, and I doubt will get much negative traction. The typical headline OPPOSITION CRITICIZES GOVERNMENT AGREEMENT is not going to capture people's attention.
Advantage: Harper.
-----
Links:
Jane Taber Ottawa hails Buy American deal
Thomas Walkom Sold a bill of goods on `Buy American'
The Galloping Beaver Bye bye "Buy Local' - Hello "Buy North American"
There is such reciprocity here. American states do not have to drop their current level of preferential buying.
Why did Harper do this? There is only one explanation: to get positive headlines, and ongoing bragging rights. Harper hopes he will brag louder than those who rightly criticize him.
You only have to think about what the headlines would say had he not reached a deal. "HARPER FAILS TO BREAK BUY AMERICA BLOCKADE" and the like. With the "Harper Government" way down in the polls, battered by Harper's partisan prorogation and his utter contempt of Parliament and the rule of law, more negative news is something this government is not prepared to have.
Harper sees that it is far better to sellout his country than to see his grip on power further erode.
Harper's partisan prorogation has made this deal even more possible. With Parliament closed, Harper doesn't have to ratify the agreement before it. There's no debate, no questions, and no criticisms on the Hansard record. We only get a few canon shots via the media.
I can imagine the mess Harper would have if Parliament were open. Instead, we get a PR roll out claiming this is a great deal, followed with some contrary reporting, quotes and comments print showing us that this is a lousy deal. I wonder which headlines win?
Well, Harper's tactical moves certainly have failed before; however, with this being framed as simply a "bad deal" and not as a sellout engineered to get good press, the resulting dialogue is not beyond what the public expects, and I doubt will get much negative traction. The typical headline OPPOSITION CRITICIZES GOVERNMENT AGREEMENT is not going to capture people's attention.
Advantage: Harper.
-----
Links:
Jane Taber Ottawa hails Buy American deal
Thomas Walkom Sold a bill of goods on `Buy American'
The Galloping Beaver Bye bye "Buy Local' - Hello "Buy North American"
The CAPP Toronto News Feed
I've started volunteering with the Toronto chapter of Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament sourcing and posting news concerning prorogation and, for that matter, any news item which illustrates the erosion of our demockery er... democracy.
To that end, I started a WordPress blog to chronicle and catalog the articles: CAPP Toronto News Feed. If you have a WordPress account, you can sign on to receive emails of the posts I do using the Email Subscription option on that blog's sidebar.
RSS is, of course, also available.
I am cross-posting it all to Facebook, so you won't have to.
I will be working to fill in significant details since December 30, such as links to the Economist articles, and that front page Globe and Mail editorial.
I'm making great use of WordPress' nested category ability, linking politicians to article when there's merit.
This is working hand-in-hand with my other project, the Prorogation Review-A-Con. I haven't forgotten about it, and took on this work in part because I'm already doing it.
If you see anything missing, let me know by dropping a comment here or on my FB page.
To that end, I started a WordPress blog to chronicle and catalog the articles: CAPP Toronto News Feed. If you have a WordPress account, you can sign on to receive emails of the posts I do using the Email Subscription option on that blog's sidebar.
RSS is, of course, also available.
I am cross-posting it all to Facebook, so you won't have to.
I will be working to fill in significant details since December 30, such as links to the Economist articles, and that front page Globe and Mail editorial.
I'm making great use of WordPress' nested category ability, linking politicians to article when there's merit.
This is working hand-in-hand with my other project, the Prorogation Review-A-Con. I haven't forgotten about it, and took on this work in part because I'm already doing it.
If you see anything missing, let me know by dropping a comment here or on my FB page.
The Prorogation Review-A-Con Project
This is the first of hopefully 145 posts I intend to write concerning what each of our 145 Conservative members of Parliament have to say about this last prorogation. If they have nothing to say concerning this controversy, I'm going to at least try to write about what they have been up to during this self-serving extended break away from democratic accountability.
This is part of my contribution to the 31 Days of Action event Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament is sponsoring.
To this end, I ask you all to supply me any links to information (yes, even to the CBC) which will help me with this endeavor. If anyone has a local news report not available on the Internet, I'm quite willing to accept cited excerpts. Personal observations of MPs in action are welcome as well. I am, however, staying away from rumour.
I will be running alphabetically though the list of Conservative MPs, using this page as a guide.
I intend to get this done before Parliament re-opens this March 3. Wish me luck.
This is part of my contribution to the 31 Days of Action event Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament is sponsoring.
To this end, I ask you all to supply me any links to information (yes, even to the CBC) which will help me with this endeavor. If anyone has a local news report not available on the Internet, I'm quite willing to accept cited excerpts. Personal observations of MPs in action are welcome as well. I am, however, staying away from rumour.
I will be running alphabetically though the list of Conservative MPs, using this page as a guide.
I intend to get this done before Parliament re-opens this March 3. Wish me luck.
