Harperstan

My first foray into animation. Please enjoy responsibly.

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Fighter jets good - health care, not so much

Are Canadians beginning to get the message? Today it was announced that "Ottawa", ie Harper and his government of thugs and scoundrels, will spend $16 billion on an untendered contract with Lockheed Martin for 65 new fighter jets, after recently spending $2.6 billion upgrading existing jets. Does anyone still think we're going to be getting out of Afghanistan, as promised, in 2011?

At the same time, mini-minister of finance, Flim-Flam Jim scolded the provinces for their "rampant" spending on health care. "This is an issue that needs to be grappled with," he told New Brunswick's Telegraph Journal. You know what really needs to be grappled with? His boss's bullshit priorities.

All the relief I felt when the Repuglicans were defeated south of the border has been replaced by dismay over the continued presence of Harper and his goon squad of recycled Mike Harris incompetents, used car dealers, ambulance chasers, xenophobes and religious wing-nuts.

Harper's "hidden agenda" is becoming less hidden by the day. When are Canadians going to awaken from their collective stupor and bring this government down?

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Harper's G20 spending spree - he's trying too hard

Like the unpopular girl who shows up in a fancy dress to the party where everyone else is wearing jeans, Harper's summit is as embarrassingly overdressed as a trout in a top hat, a turkey in a tuxedo, a toad in a tiara.

Consider this: Canada is spending close to $1 billion in security this year and bringing in 4,500 police. Just last year, Pittsburg's security bill was $12.2 million and used 1,000 police. London spent $30 million the same year.

Meanwhile, the head of CSIS has said that terrorism is unlikely, so there goes the "in this post 9/11 world" canard. You have to wonder, how much property damage are the protesters likely to do? Could it be a billion bucks worth? But wait, there will be no compensation for property damage. Oh well.

So, while Harper overcompensates with a massive show of force to impress his G20 "friends" the city has been transformed into what looks like giant prison camp, with helicopters blackening the sky, groups of police at every street corner, and Zodiacs patrolling the harbour. (I hope no one has any ideas of starting a freedom flotilla to bring food to the residents of Toronto Island.)

And will world leaders be impressed? Or will they see it for what it is - an ugly little man trying too hard to look big.

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Friday Photo Follies

Ezra goes to smarm school

Professional nut case Ezra Levant trying to make a mockery of someone other than himself, and not succeeding.
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Harper gets his Bonaparte on

That whole Tim Hortons fuzzy blue sweater is sooooo passe.
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John Baird snorts at accusations of pork-barrelling

Mr. Speaker these comments are pure hogwash.
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And the spending spree continues - $16 Billion for fighter jets

It started as $9 billion. Now it's up to $16 billion for 65 F-35 fighter jets. There will be no competition for the contract either. Whoooeeee! Airbus rides again (and these guys have the nerve to bitch about the costs of the long gun registry).

This article in the Globe shows the government is well aware that opening the contract to competitive bids would likely result in lower costs, (ya think?) and create jobs in Canada. Obviously neither is a priority at Versailles on the Rideau.

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Harper's fake lake a (belly) flop

Well, I snuck into the fake lake site today, and who did I see but our Glorious and All-Powerful Leader diving into the water! I'm a bit surprised he chose to do a giant belly flop instead of simply walking over it, but then it occurred to me that maybe the Church of the Holy Nutbars hasn't conferred those powers on him yet. I'm pretty sure the Armageddon calendar lists the dates when the various super-powers are bestowed on the idiots who believe that crap believers, but I don't have my copy yet.

Anyway, I wonder who left that unauthorized ducky in the water? Don't tell me they let Flaherty into the pool first!
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Some advice for Harper at his $2 Billion Photo-op

Try not to lock yourself in the toilet this time, okay?

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Lake Wattawaistawampum

Who can place a value on the Canadian wilderness experience? Sitting around the shores of an indoor lake, gathered around a painted fire pretending to roast sushi on a stick, while singing "Eat the Poor"? It's who we are. And if you don't get that, then I guess you're not a Real Canadian.

This magical experience will send the world's press corps home with hearts aglow, and the wonderful words they'll write about their Canadian experience will generate millions in tourist dollars, especially from Japan, where they are sure to marvel at the blackfly nano-robots.

The average person may want to point out that there's a REAL lake a stone's throw from the fake one, a little pool we call Lake Ontario. What? Where's the money in that? This is why you people need the guiding hand of someone who understands economics. Someone like Stephen Harper who, in the midst of a recession, has the boldness, the vision, to pour over a billion dollars into the ultimate photo-op. He understands that true fiscal restraint can never be achieved until there is no money left in the kitty.

That's why million dollar bogus lakes, gazebos in the middle of nowhere and a security deployment that surpasses our military presence in Afghanistan is good for the country. Try to get with the program, eh?
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On avatars and party leaders

An avatar, or icon, is one of those essentials of online communications. It's a simple little graphic that packs a lot of info into a 60 x 60 pixel space. It's an instant visual clue to the personality of the person behind the screen name. Cute kitties, Darth Vader, Bart Simpson - each one says "this is who I identify with".

So what does that have to do with politics?

Simply this: the leader of a country is its avatar. When people vote in a federal election they rarely vote based on the merits of the individual candidates in their ridings, but vote based on the party and its leader. That leader is a sort of meta-avatar for the country itself - the face we present to the rest of the world.

That avatar must reflect something of ourselves - an idealized, more perfect version of ourselves. He or she must be like us, but better. Not too much better, though. We want our leaders smart, but not so smart that they make us feel stupid or uneducated every time they speak. That's why intellectual types, despite their good intentions, sound logic and grasp of psychology, history, economics, etc. do not tend to do well running for the highest post in the land. Adelai Stevenson. Stephane Dion. Michael Ignatieff - all were or are seen as overly intellectual. Therefore, says the logic, they are cold and disdainful of we mere mortals, yet also weak - no match for other, tougher world leaders.

Canada, with its small population has a particular need for toughness in a leader. You can't walk softly and carry a big stick when you don't have a big stick. This is why Chretien, despite his poor command of English and various other faults was so popular for so long. He was a tough guy from a tough pulp and paper industry town. It's also why Stephen Harper's tough talk about Canada's arctic strikes a responsive chord in so many Canadians. Remember, this is the country that ranked Don Cherry ahead of its founder John A. McDonald in the CBC's Greatest Canadian contest (although to be fair, we did rank Tommy Douglas right after Cherry). On the whole though, Canadians want a PM who is tough, who will make a space for Canada at the big table.

This is why despite all his broken promises, assault on democracy and re-shaping of Canada in ways that most people would deplore if they were paying attention, Stephen Harper has been as successful as he has. Although not strictly speaking an intellectual, he is certainly a braniac, something he has hidden reasonably well. He talks tough and Canadians eat it up. He likes hockey. He's a dad (albeit a creepy handshaking dad). But Stephen Harper has one major weakness: that's not his real personality we're seeing. The public Stephen Harper is a carefully crafted cardboard cut-out; a man who speaks with an eerie calm, shows no discernible human emotions; a tactician with a deeply hidden agenda, a cypher, an android.

Jack Layton is currently polling ahead of both Harper and Ignatieff as party leader. The NDP itself is still under 20% for the party, yet Layton's numbers are way up. He's articulate but not preachy or condescedning. He's willing and able to call out the other leaders. He doesn't seem to be hiding his true personality, and comes across as a pretty straightforward guy.

Ignatieff has very few of the qualities that move the voting public. As an avatar he's a bust. Too patrician, too intellectual, lacking visible toughness and the willingness to fight. He seems more suited to head the diplomatic corps. If he intends to hang on to the party's leadership, he is going to have to address those shortcomings ASAP. And if the Liberals ever hope to get past 30% support, they need a leader who can be a proud symbol of Canada for Canadians.

An avatar.
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Accountable? Did someone say accountable?

HARPER, RAITT, BREITKREUZ: THE "I DIDN'T DO IT" GANG

The Conservatives have now said they will ban staffers from testifying before parliamentary committees, such as the one investigating allegations of Afghan detainee torture. First of all, I don't think that's their choice. Can't the committee call whoever they want? Of course they can, so this is really just another delaying tactic. The HarperCons sure are determined to block this hearing any way they can.

The announcement was made by Harper's communications director Dimitri Soudas, who joked “Ministers are the ones who are accountable and answer to Parliament.” Good one Dimitri!

This must be a brand-new policy. It obviously wasn't in force:

In 2008 when Stephen Harper's speech on Iraq was found to have been plagiarized. Result: "over-zealous" staffer Owen Lippert took full responsibility and resigned.

In 2009 when Lisa Raitt left documents marked SECRET at the Ottawa bureau of CTV. Result: under-zealous staffer Jasmine MacDonnell fired.

In 2010 when Garry Breitkreuz issued a press release calling Canadian police chiefs "a cult" and suggesting Liberals beat up on their party leader for supporting the long gun registry. Result: staffer Brant Scott quit or was fired. Nobody really knows where he scored on the Zeal-o-meter.

I really only have one further comment on this story for now, actually a question. Why is the government making this press release on Sunday? Aren't they all supposed to be in church?

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The Armageddon Factor - Holy CRAP!

Thanks to Marci McDonald for blowing the lid off Harper's not so hidden agenda. It has only really been hidden thanks to the unwillingness of the media to look behind the curtain. Odd that a bunch of religious zealots who don't believe in evolution have a strategy of evolution by stealth.

The Armageddon Factor details the creeping influence of a number of far right-wing religious factions within the Harper government, like nutbar Faytene Kryskow. Presumably, having somewhat alienated fiscal conservatives with his $39.4 billion and counting deficit, he is now putting his energy into courting the religious right. You know, if I were Prime Minister, I'd be putting my time and energy into governing the country… but that's just me.

Some of the highlights (or lowlights) of the book can be found in the 2 interviews Marci gave to the CBC, on The Current and coverage on the National.

As soon as the story broke, the CRAP party scrambled into spin cycle. Step 1 was to accuse the CBC of engaging in a "faith war" as part of an "ongoing campaign against the Conservative Party" according to a memo to supporters.

Faith war?? How paranoid ARE these people? And do we get to have book burnings too?

"Perhaps Canada's tax-funded broadcaster needs a lesson in freedom of religion. Under the Charter of Rights, neither religious affiliation or lack of religious affiliation is grounds to deny participation in the democratic life of the country" says the memo.

Oh really?

Perhaps it's Canada's tax-funded Conservative Reform Alliance Party that needs the lesson.
Cuts to women's groups
Cuts to KAIROS
De-funding Toronto's gay pride parade
Cuts to science
Firings nuclear safety head Linda Keen for doing her job

Harper, the so-called "master strategist" doesn't seem to have a single original idea for how to run a country. Having ripped his mode of constantly being on the attack from the Karl Rove playbook, he is now attempting to copy the vitriolic religious divide that has made the US all but ungovernable.

Step 2 was to get the compliant part of the media, you know, the part that's not the "liberal elite", to expound in print and online. A sampling:

Paul Wells of Macleans magazine has trotted out the old "it can't happen here" argument that McDonald describes so well in the book itself. That's right, move along folks, nothing to see here.

Charles Lewis at the National Post accuses McDonald of the very intolerance she derides, creating a "we versus them" situation where "anyone who strays outside the narrow realm of proper Canadian debate is an enemy". This is simply a variation on the CRAP memo that says faith groups are being attacked in the book, when what is really being done is that they are being outed.

And that's bad because we are not supposed to know what they're up to. Remember this is supposed to be evolution by stealth.

Naomi Lakritz of the Calgary Herald calls it "shrill nonsense". Shades of the 1970s, when anything of a feminist nature was "shrill" or "brittle" or even "hysterical". Oh wait, she mentions hysteria in the very first sentence of the article. Good work Naomi - make sure you cover all the bases. Oh yeah, it also "reveal[s] her own biases -- the well-worn ones with which leftists unthinkingly fall into lockstep." Honey, I have news for you - lockstep is for fascists. Kinda like born-again nut-case Faytene Kryskow, who marvels at the ability of the Hitler Youth to mobilize and thinks it's a great model for the religious right. That's right folks, they're taking lessons from the Hitler Youth.

The "Tory" blogoshere is full of the usual BS. Marci McDonald is anti-Israel, a bigot, and oh yeah - did we mention anti-Israel? The reaction rather proves her point I think.

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