Harper Will Sell Out Canada - And He's Promising To Do So

"Steve" - Dubya's best buddy has long wanted to dismantle Canada. Our Sub-Prime Minister followed Bush-style NeoConservative policy when he loosened restrictions on "0-down" mortgages, and 40/50 year terms... leading to the weaking of the Canadian financial sector.

There is an election "promise" made by Harper, which may even be MORE INSIDIOUS than what he's already done: Harper has promised to loosen up foreign ownership restrictions so he may - in his words - "stimulate the economy". Hmmm... I guess when your family is in financial hardship you start selling your sofas, beds, TV, kitchen, etc... No talk of stimulating the economy with more green jobs, more infrastructure building (something we badly need in our urban centers). No talk of fixing the safety net for middle and low income Canadians in trying times to come.

Harper will stop at nothing to dismantle Canada as we know it. He's started doing so in an minority situation. He can continue in a minority situation - however, he would really unleash armageddon in a majority.

Here is a guy (and government) who mimed the Bush line of "the fundamentals of our economy are sound" right up to this last week of the campaign. His plan? No plan. Do nothing. Let the storm hit. Support your rich friends and the Oil Patch. Feed the rest of Canada a lot of crap about "having a plan all along" (even though he denied there was a problem).

We can only pray/hope that Harper doesn't even get close to his coveted majority...

PM Allegedly Lied About Courting Cadman With "Financial Considerations"

I don't get it.

Using Harper's own favorite phrase from his limited vocabulary, "let me be very clear": We have a sitting PM, who has obfuscated and lied repeatedly - even gone to court with a frivolous law suit against the Liberal Party - just to try to kill the very real and dangerous (for him) story about the alleged attempted Cadman Bribe by the Conservative Party. From what we are learning today - the tape proves it - Harper was well aware of the bribe attempt.

Are we that morally confused as Canadians, that we would not create uproar over such a heinous scandal (and broken law, to boot) involving the Prime Minister of the Land? After all, it was this very same PM who in the early 2000s spent his life hammering on about a low-level scandal involving (when finally through courts) no-one from the Liberal party? This is the PM who - "let me very clear" again - sat there, cold, while the Cadman Bribe was allegedly going on, and was asking Canadians to support his "accountability"?

There is a real reason to rebuke a sitting Prime Minister, who used such shady tactics to take control (and Mr. Control-freak is all about control):
1) Alleged attempted bribe of an elected official (at least the evidence points that way pretty clearly - it'll have to go to court)
2) Election spending beyond the legal limit (In and Out Scandal) - verified by Elections Canada.
3) Falsely accusing an entire political party of things not nearly as serious as what he and his underlings did to seize control of the country...

Shame. It's a crying shame no-one is asking the serious questions this election. Where is our world-renowned media? Busy making up nothing stories about a born-Quebecer's mastery of the English language? We have a PM who was aware of an alleged (and there is some pretty damning evidence) bribe of another elected official.

Where are the questions?

Conservative Riding Vice President Brings Hundreds of New Supporters To Liberal Campaign

The arrival of former Conservative Fleetwood-Port Kells Riding VP Gurtej Gill brought several thousand supporters to the Brenda Locke Liberal campaign from the South Asian community in Surrey. Liberal campaign volunteers will be spending the weekend updating voter lists, and consolidating new relationships, as the campaign runs into the last few days...

Desperate Nina Grewal officials indicated in the press that "he takes no-one". Mr. Gill - a prominent member of the South Asian community has been a key contact in the community for Harper Conservatives, and was critical in bringing names and numbers to the national Conservative Party over the past several years. They obviously don't understand how politics tends to work in the South Asian communities. The community network if very important. Key spokespersons tend to draw large groups with them. Having said that, the community, for the most part, does see politics like anyone else: watching the news, reading the papers, worrying about the economy our Sub-Prime Minister has wrought, and hearing about "Cadscam".

Looking forward to an exciting weekend of canvassing and vote consolidation...

Harper Continues To Lie About Cad-Scam Affair

This morning, when asked about the confirmation that the Harper/Zytarrick (sp?) tape unaltered/unedited, Stephen did what was expected - he denied it, and literally changed the question! My ears couldn't believe what they were hearing!

Harper actually made a comment like this: "Like we've been saying all along, there are several versions out there, and they've been altered. The Liberals are in trouble in court..." What??? Did he even HEAR the news??? He probably did, but decided to answer it as if the tapes were proven to be altered (which, of course, they were not)...

Liar, liar, pants on fire!

The sad thing is that no-one in the media actually questioned Harper's answer... Not ONE reporter asked Harper what the hell he was talking about. So "Il Duce" got to completely gloss over this MAJOR SCANDAL, on the 3rd last day of the campaign...

Sad.

(Photo above shows Jason Kenney preaching the "slightly inaccurate" Conservative "gospel". Bunch of liars).

Great Friday Night For Liberals In North America

First we get this news: The Cadman tapes were NOT altered, meaning it is likely our Sub-Prime Minister was not exactly telling the truth about the attempted bribe of an honest man (whose name the Conservatives tried to drag through the mud...). Cadscam forges ahead...

Secondly, Sarah Palin - like other Conservatives we hear about - gets caught breaking the law in Alaska, by abusing power in firing a state official (who happened to have a relationship with her sister).

It is highly likely that the Republican Party, ahem, "helped" with the investigation - hoping as they have that Palin would step aside to let Mitt Romney take on the VP wanna-be role. We know that any change will generate a little excitement right now, and perhaps give the dead campaign of the Republicans a bit of a boost. The immediate impact of the Palin news, however, will be a big dip in the polls. No-one wants to vote for a would-be felon.

Quite a two-fer tonight. I know I'll sleep well - after watching tape of the rally in Brampton.

Go Team!!!

Nina Grewal & Conservatives Suffer Major Setback In Greater Vancouver Riding

Nina Grewal (MP and wife of disgraced Conservative MP, Gurmant Grewal) has suffered a serious setback in her re-election bid as one of her top riding officials (VP - Gurtej Gill) has defected to Brenda Locke's Liberal Team in the suburban Surrey riding of Fleetwood-Port Kells.

While working "on the ground" in the riding, we had come across several such stories, and have also seen a dearth of Grewal lawnsigns... really signifying a ground-swell change in support. Ms. Grewal was recently booed off the stage at a major South Asian function because of her refusal to work with the community to ask Mr. Harper and the Conservatives for an apology in Parliament for the Komagata Maru incident (a major issue with South Asian voters). Harper's "Multi-culturalism" Minister (Jason Kenney) actually indicated that there would be no apology in the house...

Here's the full story from "Surrey Now" - a Canada.com paper:

DEFECTION: Tory Grewal loses member to Locke's Liberals

Gurtej Gill says he is disillusioned by Surrey candidate and her party's unfulfilled promises

Ted Colley

Surrey Now

Friday, October 10, 2008

CREDIT: Brian Howell/The Now Gurtej Gill tells reporters Friday that he is disillusioned by Nina Grewal and Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper.

A member of Conservative Nina Grewal's Fleetwood-Port Kells riding association executive has defected to the Liberals.

Gurtej Gill showed up at Liberal Brenda Locke's campaign headquarters Friday morning to tell reporters he is disillusioned by Grewal and Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper.

"People are saying she is doing nothing in Ottawa. She should have been very active and be the voice of Fleetwood-Port Kells and she has failed," Gill said.

"Brenda Locke is the right choice, the right voice."

When the story of Gill's defection hit the air on South Asian radio stations Friday, calls started coming in alleging the move was a scam. Callers claimed Gill was a Liberal Party member during the last federal election in 2006, but a check with the party's B.C. headquarters turned up no record of him being a member then.

Gill, who holds several university degrees, said he joined the Conservative Party three years ago and became a member of a multicultural committee that passed along concerns of the local ethnic community to the party leadership.

"They promised things to the community and that never happened. I and my friends sent an email expressing some concerns. Instead of addressing those concerns, we got email asking for funds."

Gill also said the day after this election was called, he was briefly hospitalized with heart trouble. After he got home, he said, no one from the Grewal campaign called to consult him on the election or to ask how he was.

"Even before that I felt isolated. I thought this party would be inclusive. It is not. There is not a link between the party and the people."

Gill said "a lot" of people will follow him to Locke's camp, something Grewal's campaign manager laughed off.

"Much ado about nothing," said Dane Minor.

"I think this was a set-up. I think he joined us to leave us. We got word this was happening and we checked with every member of our executive and they're all solidly behind Nina."

Minor said he only learned last week that Gill had been ill.

"He talked to me after he got out. Until then, I didn't know he'd been in the hospital. That's when I found out why he hadn't been helping with the campaign for four weeks."

Grewal beat Locke in the 2006 federal election by a scant 828 votes. Locke said Gill's move could swing the balance in her favour this time.

"The public is just beginning to become engaged in the election in the last week or so. This is very important," Locke said.

Minor disagreed.

"Will he take a lot of people over with him? No. As a matter of fact, we think nobody."

tcolley@thenownewspaper.com

Le Devoir Notes How Harper Has Distorted Afghan Mission Costs

The huge cost overrun by the Conservatives in the Afghan mission - more accurately, the deception employed to cover up the costs - is the focus of the main story on the Le Devoir website.

Yes, Canadians are concerned when a "government" tells you something will cost $8.1 Billion, tries to cover up the release of the report indicating what the expenses actually would be ($18 Billion), says the report details aren't clear, then tries to change the channel with cheap shots at another leader...

Oh yeah... and Harper doesn't think this is a "peace-making", or "peace-keeping" mission, rather he calls it an "invasion". Tsk, tsk...

Liberal Plan For Current Slowdown

We've heard lots about the Liberal plan for the current economic crisis. Mr. Dion and Team Liberal have some very solid ideas on IMMEDIATELY managing the crisis. It is true that lots of it depends on seeing the Flaherty books - and we ALL know what Flaherty books can look like (just ask Dalton McGuinty).

The 30 day and 50 day plans will certainly help display economic stewardship LED BY A STRONG GOVERNMENT. This is not any different from what is being done in Europe.

I have also heard we will be resuming the Team Canada Trade Missions. This is a brilliant idea. Flaherty and Harper irresponsibly talked up the Canadian dollar so much that it stopped direct foreign investment in Canada. It hurt Canadian manufacturing and industry. It hurt our exports. When Harper and Flaherty talked up the dollar, they also created a situation in which Canadians - a lot of them the Oil Barons of Alberta - were able to invest further in a troubled US economy. Canadian money went offshore. This was sheer folly. By resuming the trade missions to Asia, Europe, and South America, we will send a clear message that Canada is still strong economically, still burgeoning with highly skilled workers, and still the "king" of resources.

I applaud our leaders for thinking of resuming the Trade Missions. We have a very sellable country - under a moderate Liberal government, which paints Canada with the brush of balance and moderation. We certainly have a less sellable country in a land seen as "Bush-light" (isn't that a beer?) led by the Bush stooly Conservative government... which can't even write a speech without Bush's help...

BC Conservative Campaign Tells Voter To Vote GREEN If She Cares About Environment

Breaking story: This morning - as reported on Rogers AM1130 in Vancouver...

A concerned business-person called a local Vancouver Conservative candidate's office (Debra Meredith's office) asking about the Conservative's environmental plan. The campaign told the voter that she should VOTE GREEN if she was concerned about the environment!

We knew the Conservatives have NO PLAN for the environment, but this just highlights it further!

Wow! A campaign actually telling a voter to vote for someone else. That just show's how much negativity there is in the Conservative camp on anything to do with environmental issues.

The kicker? This voter was actually considering voting for Meredith.

Harper Gaffe: Calls "Afghanis-nam" Mission an "Invasion"

Speaking in Richmond BC this morning, Stephen Harper put his foot in his mouth...  He called the Afghan mission/policing action an "invasion".  

An invasion is the last think the Arab world, the Middle East, and the new South Asian reality needs to hear right now.  The terrorists are jumping up and down with glee.  One of their enemies just admitted - to a large audience - that the military action there is an invasion.  Wow!

How does the world view military adventurism?  How do families of soldiers feel, when they learn their child's life was put at risk to "invade" another country?  This statement is purely disrespectful of soldiers and their families...

Meanwhile, while Harper's shock troops try to smear Mr. Dion with the type of attack the Mr. Cretien faced in 1993, the economy tanks...

Harper Continues To Lie To Canadians About Liberal Intentions

Stephen Harper continues to ramble his bs about a "spend happy" Liberal government. This from a man who has led the highest spending government in Canadian history. A man who has flushed our hard-earned dollars down the toilet, in an attempt to shore up support for Big Oil and his rich friends.

Mr. Dion needs to run a tag-line over these last few days of the election telling Canadians:
1) The Harper government is the biggest spending (wasting) in Canadian history
2) Liberals have always bailed out Canada financially, ethically, and socially
3) Harper and Flaherty are the reasons behind the sub-prime challenges in Canada; we HAD strong laws, until these two opened the doors to US-style "0-down" mortgages with super long terms...

According to the CTF (Canadian Taxpayer's Federation - Quoted from an Edmonton Journal article): "As the CTF's Williamson points out, the Tories' record is actually worse than that of the Martin Liberals. "Mr. Martin's fiscal recklessness grew the size of government by 14 per cent over two years," he says. After the Tories' first two years in office, "Ottawa had grown another 14.8 per cent. This is higher than Mr. Martin's appalling record, making Mr. Harper a bigger- spending Conservative." "The Calgary Stampede received nearly half a million so it could throw Quebec City -- its twin city -- a big party on the occasion of its 400th anniversary".


We've chipped away at Harper's credibility, and his leadership. Mr. Dion has repeated the "telling the truth better in both languages" line a lot. It's a good line - let's move it to later in the speeches.

We've created the small "toe-hold in the door" by casting doubt on the Conservative economic skillset... Now we need to shove our foot through, by repeating the above points at the start of every speech. It needs to be the regular soundbyte that Canadians hear. It also needs to be what they see on TV... Like during hockey on NHL opening weekend. Viewership is going to be high this weekend, with the first games of the season, baseball playoffs, and Thanksgiving.

Oh yeah... one other thing: It IS okay to campaign on Sunday and Monday. I intend to do it. It will be prime time to get people at home and talking to family... People will be sitting with their families, and they will talk. Let's hope there is a good discussion about the future of Canada.

Harper Minority As Dangerous As Majority

A Stephen Harper minority government would be as dangerous for Canada as a majority. Experts believe the election is now "up in the air" - and I agree with them, BUT any result with a Harper government will be extremely bad for Canada...

Why?

We have all seen how Harper ruled with his current minority. For two years he bullied and lied and rammed through enough rightist ideas. In another minority situation, Harper would ram his agenda down everyone's throats. He KNOWS that Canadians would be extremely unhappy with yet another election. In tough times, who wants to spend another $300,000,000 on an election? The issue that would force an election would have to be HUGE (capital punishment, abortion, anything constitutional). Many smaller issues - of equal importance to millions of Canadians - would be left by the wayside.

Trends are showing a "statistical tie" in the polls. The trends continue to advance the Liberals at the expense of the Conservatives and NDP. We know that by "E day" - barring any rabbits popping out of hats - there may even be a slight Liberal lead.

Liberals need to ensure we are ALL working hard to ID and pull the vote - and to speak passionately with NDP and Green voters, asking them if they really want another 4 years like the past 2.

Let's all get out there and ensure we have at least a minority Liberal government on Oct. 14th. I think over 2/3s of Canadians want to see Harper sneer his concession speech...

Harper And The "October Elitist Uprising"

Stephen Harper - our "Sub-Prime" Minister - was able to spend his years in Parliament (and well before) calling various groups elitist. As a matter of fact all neoCons when trying to be "populist" and appealing to the beer-drinking, "average Joe" crowd, try to label anyone else as an "elitist". If you're creative, if you're intellectual, if you've been to University, or College, you may be an "elitist", in the eyes of a Conservative.

To attract the "MidWest", "Middle-America" "lunch box" types, Conservatives have used the "elitist" label. Stolen it right out of the Karl Marx lexicon, and turned it on the very socialists who used to use it on them. You see, those "hard-working" "lunch-box" types were typically card-carrying union members - who should rightly have voted for the party of the left (typically NDP). They would typically have referred to the "old money", business owning, corporate Conservative types as the elitists... You know, the Conrad Blacks and Rupert Murdochs of the world - who hobnobbed with the rich and famous, and cross the world in private jets. These elitists (true to the definition) were the "better than us" bunch who were always at odds with the unions who operated their shops, newspapers, factories, etc.

Conservatives knew they had to do something about this left-wing block of votes. They began to erode it with a macho image of "hard decisions", "tough thinking", and using the military as the "common bond" between the poor (who are the cannon-fodder) and rich (who sell the weapons to both sides). They dubbed the leading thinkers of the Western Liberal Democracies as "elitists". They claimed that these teachers, professors, lawyers/adjudicators, and artists were "elite". Never mind the true definition of elite, these guys used it like a dirty word.

You see, Conservatives know that if anyone questions them and their neoCon principles, it won't be the 12-14 hr/day laborer, or the equally hard-working business owner (corporate denizens won't either - they're part of the philosophy - the real elitists). No, it will be the teachers, professors, scientists, and artists who will question conservatives and Conservative ideology. It will be these groups who have done the research to know the differing realities. It will be these groups who study the repurcussions of different policies and ideologies.

So Conservatives have spent lifetimes bashing innocent, hard-working, intelligent citizens, who want nothing better than to advance society - to see progression in our institutions, and in our nation.

In a nation controlled by a corporate media - flooding the average citizen with "anti-liberal" sentiment, this strategy would work. In the US, the word "liberal" has become a dirty word. Anyone more liberal than that is labeled a "communist". The military/industrial/media complex controls US "group-think" completely. Only outside - world - influences will change America. The collapse of their economy, and their reliance on foreign capital will cause internal change. In Canada, we are still lucky to have an active social consciousness, active unions, and some free media (meaning not corporate controlled). Journalists in Canada seem to still have some scrupples left.

What we've seen in the past two years has been Harper and the Canadian Reform movement's attempts to weaken our nation, make way for North American Union, and basically become a "branch office" for Washington, and US "Big Oil/Big Industry".

In the past couple of weeks we have seen the wheels fall off Harper's plan. He has called people "liberal elitists" once too often. When you call people something they aren't, they might just get angry. When you call struggling artists "elitists who go to tax-payer funded galas" you really start to piss people off. When you call Canada's top scientists and economists "ivory tower elitists", you HAVE to know it is going to come back and bite you in the ass.

The fact is Harper has been hoodwinking Canadians by scapegoating an entire section of Canadian society as "ivory tower elitists" - when they are the farthest thing from elitists. Sure, some of us like a glass of wine over beer. Sure some of us have university degrees or better. Sure some of us attend fund-raising dinners. And certainly, some of us prefer Cafe Artegianno over "Tim's"... But we're all still "regular" people. Not the "ivory tower elitists" that people like Harper take their marching orders from. You know THOSE elitists. They control the media: people like Conrad Black. They control Big Oil. They run companies like Enron (into the ground), or Halliburton, or NBC/GE, or ABC/Disney, etc.

This week the "elitists" came home to roost. Artists held concerts across Canada to combat the Conservative attack on their livelihoods. Scientists spoke out about the Harper government's failures in the Lysteriosis outbreak. Scientists spoke out about the benefits of a carbon tax. Lastly, but not least, ECONOMISTS - 230 of Canada's TOP economists - spoke in FAVOR OF a carbon tax in combatting climate change, and how it is better for the economy.

Harper has woken a hornet's nest, and now he will pay. Let's just hope there is a change in government, or we'll be back to the bullying tactics of the past two years - and another $300000000 to change it!

The Conservative scapegoating mentality is dangerous for democracy, and Harper's abuse of it has proven that... Allowing Canada to go down the US path (something the Harper Reformers tried to do here) will mean control of our country handed to MNCs, mega-media, and Big Oil (primarily), with other bit-player ideologues taking their piece - until nothing is left but the 51st state.

The October "Elitist Uprising" may just have staved off the first serious effort to destroy Canada since the 1812 War.

Nina Grewal & "Sub-Prime Minister" Continue To Say "No" To South Asians...

Harper's non-apology to the South Asian community and Jason Kenney's comments about "hot-headed Sikhs", as well as his blunt "no" to South Asians (regarding an apology for the Komagata Maru issue in Parliament), is continuing to trouble the South Asian community across Canada.

Here is an excerpt from the South Asian Link (large circulation South Asian paper). A description of the Maru incident is also included:

Indo-Canadian Organization Makes Komagata Maru Apology An Election Issue

Liberal leader Stephane Dion promised to apologize for the racist Komagata Maru incident in parliament during a campaign stop in Surrey last weekend. By R. Paul Dhillon SURREY – The Professor Manmohan Singh Memorial Foundation (Canada) has brought the Komagata Maru apology front and centre by taking out full page ads in Indo-Canadian newspapers, including the LINK with this message: “South Asian Community Is Asking - Hon. Prime Minister Stephen Harper – WHY NOT KOMAGATA MARU APOLOGY IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS?” The advertisement is signed Sahib Thind and Jasbir Sandhu – the heads of the Professor Manmohan Singh Memorial Foundation (Canada), which has long been championing the apology and recognition of this wrong. Thind and Sandhu made national headlines in July when Prime Minister came to their annual Gadhri Babeyan Da Mela to presumably announce when the apology will be given in the House of Commons instead the Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered the apology to the gathered community members at Bear Creek park prompting criticism from the community which once again felt like being treated as second class citizen. Thind and Sandhu also lashed out at the PM and his minion Jason Kenney saying the two had used the organization for their own purposes despite promises that Harper and Kenney were going to only announce the date of the apology. In a brief interview with the LINK, Thind said it is important that we keep this message of the apology front and centre at election time because it is very important to the community that we get recognition for this historical wrong at the right place which is in parliament. “We’ve decided to do this to make sure our voices are heard by all parties and that the Komagata Maru apology is the single most important thing for our community’s long and shining history in Canada,” Thind said. Liberal leader Stephane Dion, who has previously supported the apology in the House, confirmed that his government will apologize for the racist Komagata Maru incident in parliament during a campaign stop in Surrey last weekend. "I committed to an apology for the Komogata Maru tragedy in the House of Commons more than a year and a half ago," said Dion. "Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to address this in a political stump speech to avoid recognizing this injustice in Parliament is disrespectful." Dion was speaking to an enthusiastic crowd of more than a thousand supporters in Surrey, British Columbia when he renewed his commitment to apologize on behalf of all Canadians in the House of Commons. "The South Asian community deserves more. They deserve an official and respectful apology delivered in the House of Commons to provide closure on this issue," he said. In 1914, the Komagata Maru steamliner arrived in Vancouver, British Columbia carrying 376 passengers from Punjab, India. The ship was kept in Vancouver Harbour for two months while the Conservative government of the day evoked the Continuous Passage rule to prevent its passengers from landing in Canada. With the passengers on the ship on the brink of starvation, the Komagata Maru returned home under the guns of a Canadian naval vessel. Dion went on to pay tribute to the community organizations who have worked for acknowledgment of this important issue and of Liberal caucus members who have been so supportive. "South Asian community organizations have been fighting for recognition of this injustice for years and feel betrayed by Mr. Harper's indifference," he said. "And I also want to recognize MP Sukh Dhaliwal for working so closely with these organizations for so many years and MP Ruby Dhalla for successfully passing her Private Member's Bill requiring an apology in the House of Commons." Dion closed by noting that comments from the Conservative's Multicultural Minister Jason Kenney about this issue and the community in general underscore that the Conservatives are insensitive. "Mr. Kenney's response that, 'the apology has been given and it won't be repeated' is nothing short of insulting," he said.

22 Sep 2008 by editor

In Last Ditch Effort To Shore Up Core Supporters, Harper Talks Senate Reform

** When he thought a slim majority was in reach Slick Steve our "Sub-Prime Minister" was very careful not to rock the boat on sensitive issues that required the Constitution to be "re-opened". Now, with a week to go in the election campaign, and Conservative hopes fading all over (yes, even in Alberta they are taking a hit), Harper has reintroduced his talk of Senate reform.

Why now? Harper needs to ensure his "base" of right-wing reformers show up at the polls. He needs them to have a reason to come out. This is what he says:

"Speaking on Monday in Ottawa, Harper said his plans to reform the Senate are full of "common sense" and that he will proceed with the proposals if his Conservatives are re-elected next week."

More details can be found here (including Quebec's immediate response)...

But... there is probably more to this than simply a desperate attempt to "shore up the core". Harper has always been bent on the break-up of the nation, and delivering more power to Alberta and his right wing cohorts who seem to "rule" rural Canada. Seeing his chances to govern (let alone a majority) disappear, Harper is now playing what he thinks is a "hail Mary" in an attempt to muddy the waters, get his core out to vote, and put Quebec into play.

What should any true Canadian think of all this? Well, it's simply Harper reverting back to "Firewall Steve" when desperate times arrive. He wants to change the Canadian discussion to one of constitution, rather than one of economy.

Beware Canada. Mr. Hidden Agenda - our "Sub-Prime Minister" is out of the bag... Remember too, that this is all coming from a "PM" whose very first "Prime Ministerial" task was to appoint an unelected Senator - a Conservative hack - into the Senate.

How's THAT for lacking any shame?

**Credit for the image goes to the artist - MacKay Editorial Cartoons***

Trudeau Visits Fleetwood Port Kells in Surrey

Justin Trudeau campaigned in Fleetwood Port Kells in Greater Vancouver Tuesday night. After a couple of hours knocking doors Mr. Trudeau attended a standing room only reception at the campaign office of Liberal candidate Brenda Locke. Apparently some NDP campaign workers crossed the street from their office to catch a glimpse of the young dynamo.

Mr. Trudeau was very well-received, and his immense popularity was quite evident. Justin had a good discussion with residents, and spoke eloquently on what it means to be Canadian.

The Trudeau name lives on in Canadian politics

Sub-Prime Minister Harper Moves Against Youth Downloading Music & Movies

The Sub-Prime Minister intends to re-introduce Bill c-61. This is the controversial bill to make MP3 downloads illegal. Combine that with Harper's desire to jail 14 year olds, and it's a recipe for disaster. Imagine a prison system packed full of 14 year old "MP3 felons"... Wow. Talk about punitive!

What Mr. Harper fails to understand is that there WAS a deal established by the previous Liberal government and the Recording Industry Association, which levied a small amount on every single blank CDR/RW, DVDR/RW, and all other blank media. This "deal" put the collected tax/levy directly into the hands of the recording industry. End of story.

Now, with lobbying and pressure from the big industry - as well as the Conservative's "monkey-see-monkey-do" attitude towards policy in the US, Harper has attempted (once already in the last session) to give the recording industry even more.

Nowhere has Harper indicated he would cut the initial levy. So, we will suffer twice (once when we buy the blank media, and once when we pay for the policing required to charge anyone who downloads movies and music). As far as any Canadian should be concerned, any music or video download is completely legal.

Time for young people all over Canada to wake up to this new reality...

Remember: Harper intends to put 14 year-olds in adult prison, and NOW, he's going to make your MP3 downloads "illegal". Put those two together, and you can see what most sane people see: Harper is unleashing an unprecedented attack on Canada's youth.

Economic Experts: Carbon Tax Is Correct Way To Go

That's right, "economic" experts - not just environmental experts - are completely supporting the carbon tax as the best thing for the economy. Today 220 of Canada's top economists (note: Stephen Harper our "Sub-Prime Minster" is NOT one of them) stood together in firm support of the carbon tax.

It appears that Canada's top economists are very concerned about continued neoConservative government! Here is the complete story from the Ottawa Citizen (and obviously in other CanWest Papers today). These are economists who "wrote the book" on economics in Canada. Quite literally: the head of the group is responsible for "Economics" a text book used throughout Canadian universities...

Oh yeah... and these experts aren't even considering the income tax cuts the Liberals are proposing to offset the carbon tax... Wow! an economists approved plan that ALSO gives us all a tax break? It's what we've been saying for months - while all Harper had was Puffin poop.

Meanwhile, all our Sub-Prime Minister can do is suggests Canadians are in a "good time to buy stock". Yeah right Steve, with what money? Should we sell our homes for less than we bought them?

Nina Grewal FAILS To Answer Questions From South Asian Community

In Surrey BC, the Komagata Maru Heritage Foundation is still awaiting an answer from Nina Grewal regarding Stephen Harper's lack of an apology on the floor of Canada's Parliament.

The KMHF explains the history behind this issue the best:

In May 1914, a group of 376 passengers - 340 Sikhs, 12 Hindus, and 24 Muslims, organized specifically to test Canada's “colour bar” of exclusionary immigration policies, sailed from the Orient for Vancouver on the freighter Komagata Maru.

The ship, chartered for the voyage, had been specially fitted out to accommodate passengers instead of her usual coal cargoes. Arriving in English Bay on May 23, 1914, Komagata Maru and her passengers were caught in a tug-of-war between the vessel's organizers and the Canadian government, who refused to let them land.

When the ship was finally sent back to India, several members of the party were arrested and/or killed. This incident is one of the stark reminders of racism in Canadian society in that day and age. Representatives of the foundation had asked for a formal apology in Parliament - to be recorded in Hansard, in the public record. Mr. Harper and his office refused to do so, and there is email evidence to prove this claim by the foundation. The foundation's supporters actually suggested that Mr. Harper not show up at the "Baba Mela" (the festival) where several thousand members of BC's South Asian community commemorate the Maru incident. Harper showed up anyway - along with Nina Grewal. Organizers of the event were not impressed, as this was quite blatantly a political stunt, for Harper to garner votes in a very ethnic suburban riding.

When Harper finished speaking, he was booed as he quickly left the stage. Organizers asked why Harper refused to apologize in Parliament. No answer was given. When Nina Grewal was asked, she refused to answer, and ran off the stage behind Harper.

To this day Ms. Grewal has NOT answered this question - hiding from media and voters, and obviously supporting the "Sub-Prime Minsiter's" refusal to offer an apology in Parliament.

Why Release Platform AFTER Advanced Polls Closed, Mr. Harper???

There was one question that I felt really "popped" in Harper's lifeless interview this morning: A reported asked our "Sub-Prime Minister" why he would insult Canadians by unveiling his (non) platform AFTER advanced polls closed.

Harper had no answer... He actually brushed it off, showing his contempt for ordinary Canadians...

This is NOT a leader. He is a follower. A follower of a failed economic plan espoused by his "heroes" to the South: G. W. Bush and the Republicans.

"Sub-Prime Minister" Harper Unveils Non-Plan: Claims Knowing Of Econ Woes in 07

So our "Sub-Prime" Minister knew about the economic woes last year?

...And yet he continued to let ordinary Canadians see massive losses in their retirement funds?

...He continued to allow the "sub-prime" loans offered by shady Canadian mortgage dealers to continue (Harper's Conservatives paved the way for American-style "0 down" and 40/50 year mortgages)?

Either Harper knew what was going on (he DOES after all, have an Econ degree - not a PhD, mind you, but still, he should understand some of the concepts) and was lying to Canadians, OR he was unable to do anything because his NeoConservative (a'la Republican) ideology does not allow for anything that can prevent the type of market collapses only such a NeoConservative strategy can bring...

What we are seeing, is the global repudiation of the neo-Conservative ideology. The world is saying "NO" to seat-of-the-pants, unchecked, unregulated, don't interfere with the MegaCorps, Laissez-faire, privatization regimes of Bush and Harper.

What we saw this morning was a touchy, angry, pathetic man trying to save face in the face of his complete lack of direction. You see, it's not that Harper doesn't HAVE a plan... It's just that his political philosophy is the POLAR OPPOSITE of what needs to be done to save our economy now. Harper's ideals are what ALLOWED for this global economic collapse (I don't mean his policies directly, but his shared ideology with Bush and others cut from the same cloth).

NeoConservative ideology expressedly believes in NO INTERFERENCE with "free enterprise". This is a policy that is completely contrarian to the needs of a population faced with shrinking retirement savings, a crashing market, limited - and shrinking - job opportunities, and doors closing at every turn.

In the past 2 years Harper and his henchmen have squandered a huge surplus, destroyed the Liberal-created "rainy day fund", and done NOTHING to plan for times of financial hardship. They have chosen instead to let big business run unfettered over the Canadian public. They have let Big Oil gouge Canadians at the pumps. They have given handouts to manufacturers - who then swiftly turned around and shut down their facilities AFTER receiving the Conservative handouts.

It's time for Canadians to realize these are not your father's Progressive Conservatives (that's why they dropped the "progressive" from their name). It's time for everyone to wake up to the fact that Harper's "Bush Doctrine" is NOT made of Canada, and DOES NOT STAND UP FOR CANADA. It is a simple-minded approach to economics which benefits mega-corps and the rich, at the expense of the middle and lower classes.

It's time to stop this "Sub-Prime Minister" who bought lock-stock-and-barrel into the US subprime scandal - and brought the very same guidelines up here... right up to a week before the election, when he stealthily changed the rules lest they come back and bite him on his rotund backside...

"Sub-Prime" Minister Harper Lies To Canadians?

So "Steve's" been telling Canadians - for months - that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong", and basically glossing over the ills being caused by the US economic (wildly speculative completely free-wheeling enterprise) system worldwide.

Today, Harper admits that there "might" be a problem, and that Canada wouldn't necessarily weather the storm easily. Still more suspiciously, Harper and Flaherty indicate they had a plan going back to last year regarding this situation.

What?

So they've both been standing there flat out lying to everyone?

How many billions of dollars of OUR cash got flushed down the financial toilet because Harper and Flaherty were misguiding Canadians on the seriousness of the situation? I probably would have pulled all my Mutual Funds into something more stable weeks ago, if anyone had indicated to me that such a financial storm was coming.

Will anyone be holding Harper and Flaherty responsible for this very deceptive mis-direction?

What are the results of sitting and doing nothing?

Where's the economic stimulus?

How can a last-minute platform scraped together from the platforms of the "serious about Canada" parties do anything serious to help with this situation?

"Sub-Prime" Minister: Harper's THIRD Episode With Calls of Plagiarism...

First it was the cribbed John Howard speech.

Next it was the speech stolen from former Ontario Conservative Premier, Mike Harris.

Today we hear of another Harper speech that was a virtual copy of writings by a right-wing ideologue arguing against the concept of the Canadian Wheat Board! Shame.

Harper brushed this off yesterday, and is now running away from the allegations. His "war room" is apparently "too busy" coming up with a platform (more likely waiting for it to be mailed in from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave). Harper's minions are probably spending THEIR day searching for any one teeny-tiniest example of any Liberal cribbing a speech from someone. If they ever do find one (we tend to do our own writing - hence, perhaps, the "elitist" label), it certainly shouldn't detract from the fact that Harper has "borrowed" 3 very visible examples almost VERBATIM.

Shame. I'm embarrassed to call this man "Prime Minister". He's not the "Prime" anything. You usually use that word to imply "the topper", "the best", "the first and foremost". Harper is more like the "Sub-Prime" Minister... And judging by the housing situation he created with his insistence on allowing US-style "0-Down" 50 year mortgages in Canada, the name may be even more fitting...

Stephen Harper - "Sub-Prime" Minister... Lol...

Is The Attempted Murder/"Election Vandalism" Organized Bullying?

How does one explain Liberal homes and families targeted in separate incidents in separate ridings across Canada?  From Halton, to Southwestern Ontario, to Downtown and suburban Toronto, just what is going on?

These identical "incidents" are a little too "exactly the same" to be "random acts of vandalism".  The NDP and Greens are probably a little too "nice" and "non-aggressive" to be participating in such organized non-sense.  Yes, I've had dippers kick over lawn signs in tight campaigns, but nothing so openly aggressive.

Who is organizing these events?  Is it a part of someone's door-knocking blitz?  Media outlets need to be looking into this.  This is just too coincidental - and too obviously directed in one direction.  This violence is sickening.  Would a party that is in the open about it's policies do this?  I doubt it.  This is the low-down dirty, fearful, hateful, action of a "hidden campaign".  

One can only hope the police come across some surveillance video or witnesses to help determine who is responsible for these heinous acts.  There is no place for such acts in the friendly democracy of Canada.

Having said that, I am pretty concerned about anyone who would use such "bullying" tactics in an election.  I think we all have some pretty good idea as to who is involved.  Frankly, we're tired of the bullying.  

Time to do what Grandma used to tell us and sock that bully in the nose (figuratively, of course)!  Time to win this election for the good guys!

Conservatives Will B!@tch About Gun Registration - But Not The "Do Not Call" List...

Interesting how the universe imploded (some would have you think) when the federal long-gun registry came to fruition... From day one the attacks (from Reform-a-Tory Republi-Cons, of course) came in regarding the lack of ability to call into the registry. Conservative gun-apologists used this as an excuse to criticize the registry - as well as a reason they wouldn't register their arms.

Now, the government runs a new "registry" of sorts - the "do not call" list - and where's the uproar. Judging by the news reports, the "do not call" list call center cannot handle the call volumes. No-one wants to speak to telemarketers. No-one. I'm sure I spend hundreds of dollars of my precious time each month, just answering ridiculous calls from solicitors who just don't know the word "no"....

Anyone venture a guess why the gun-whackos aren't belly-aching about this one?

Mr. Dion - You Have A Great Smile!

Kudos. A job well done. The debates were magnificent, and judging by the latest Nanos numbers, very effective. You are nipping at Harper's heels for forming the next government. You are also statistically tied with him as Canada's choice for best leader (Harper plummeted roughly 20% points, while you jumped an astonishing 40%!). There go two years of Conservative attack ads down the drain...

Time to beam that wonderful smile Mr. Dion. You've earned it. You have silenced the nay-sayers. Even the media-types who were against you couldn't find anything bad to say. That's a shot in the arm! Time to smile. Wear it proudly.

When you were speaking to the Montreal Chamber of Commerce today, you received a tremendous round of applause... The only thing that would have made the TV highlights more decisive would have been that dashing smile!

A few other notes:

Yes, the Cons will come up with a "platform" - just as soon as Bush and the boys down South have enough time to mail it up to him. As you may well know, they're busy taking apart the American economy right now... A bit of a crisis to say the least.

Harper's platform will have some words in it. The words may talk about a "plan" to solve a crisis. A crisis that Harper doesn't agree exists ("The fundamentals of our economy are strong" - Stephen Harper).

There may be some more words in the "Republi-Con" attempt at a platform. They will, of course, have to try to match the Liberals in promises. From a government that has put us on the verge of debt again - after decades of sound Liberal fiscal management (record surpluses AND an emergency contingency) - there will be something... something that will try to buy votes. This will most likely be a "neoCon" something - meaning it will imperil our economy further. Will it be more tax cuts? That will result in a deficit for sure! Can't cut the GST any further, realistically.

What will Steve do? Privatize half the government - to pay off his debt, then drop the GST another point? Income tax breaks? There's NO WAY he can make that happen without going into a deficit (with his plan).

Will Bush or Howard toss Harper a "life line"? You KNOW Harper has to "phone a friend"...

Whatchya gonna do Steve?

New Ad

We've done the "compare the plagiarized speeches" ad... Now it's time for one more "one of these things is JUST like the other" ad:

"The fundamentals of the Economy Are Strong" - and have both Harper and Bush saying the words...

As a matter of fact, why not have a montage of clips of Harper and Bush saying the exact same words in speeches? We know they share an agenda, and a philosophy of NeoConservatism.

Continue to link Harper and Bush, and Canadians will see exactly what will result from a Harper government...

All He Needs To Do Now is Try To Duck Out Of The Debates

Harper sounds just like McCain today (and Bush, of course). He wants to spend more time in the debates discussing the economy - which he has spent the past month saying has "strong fundamentals" - a line cherry-picked from every Bush-McCain speech since the American stock market "correction"...

All Harper needs to do now is lift the line about not wanting a debate right now...

But wait... I guess that would mean he would need to believe the "fundamentals of the economy" ARE NOT strong?

Liar, liar, pants-on-fire... A "Republi-Con" if I've ever seen one...

Leadership Means Knowing How To PlagiarizeYour Speeches

Interesting that Mr. Harper talks about "leadership" all the time. Does he even know what that entails? Does he know that real leaders write their own speeches. Real leaders speak "Straight From The Heart" (if you have a heart, that is).

Harper's view:

Take the Bush policy - lock stock and barrel - and take an (obviously) Bush-directed speech, and use it to goad the public into a war that no-one wanted.

Now Harper would like to duck his convictions... to see if the wolf can remain in sheep's clothing just a little longer...

That's leadership. Oh yeah. Stong leadership.

And, like he didn't listen to Howard's speech before his...

What a joke.

From the Conservative "Western Standard"

Here's an excerpt from an editorial in the Conservative Western rag, "The Western Standard".  Long known as the mouthpiece for Harper's Reform movement, this chilling article is just one frightening example of the threat of a Harper majority:

"A Conservative majority government, especially under a strong leader like Prime Minister Harper, offers a chance to transform this country beyond all recognition.  The Liberals have been so successful in this country over the last four decades because they remade it in their own image, right down to the flag.  They put their stamp on every institution in this country – a Maple Leaf-shaped boot stamping down across the Canadian face forever. 

With a strong majority government – one not vulnerable to a confidence vote – the Prime Minister has the power to weather minor storms of public outrage and to use his five years to change this country in ways which will prove both popular and nearly impossible to undo. 

In particular, I recommend that a Conservative government focus on the following:

1) Institutional demolition: The left-wing in this country relies upon government to keep itself running.  The Prime Minister has taken some vital first steps in this area by junking the Court challenges program and cutting funding to radical feminist groups but, with a majority, the best option would be to go much further.

Sell the CBC.  Junk most of the cultural subsides.  Get rid of the human rights Gestapo.  These, in the end, are “stroke of the pen, law of the land” sort of things.  If a Prime Minister with a majority government wishes them, they could be so.

Gut the CRTC.  Indeed, as I recommended before, the Prime Minister should forget his own copyright bill and instead pass the most liberal, progressive, and loose copyright bill in the Western world.  Yeah, that’ll hurt some people – but screw them, they’re not going to vote Tory anyways.

Do too much, rather than too little.  Don’t shift these things around. Burn them down and salt the Earth.  A future Liberal government won’t have the guts, the time, the wherewithal, or the money to recreate them all at once.  Sell the land and the buildings.  Shred the records. Disperse the staff.  It’s easier to destroy than it is to create.  A Tory government on a rampage could destroy in a couple of months what it took four decades to create – and what it would take another forty to recreate."

The Debates: Liberal vs. NDP vs. Green, and Who Stands To Gain From That...

We need to do well in the debates - to make this "recovery" in the polls mean something.

Unfortunately, I think the debates may be watered down like the last time, and with 5 leaders, the exchanges may be ridiculously ambiguous. I hope I'm wrong, but I fear a debate where there isn't a lot of time to ask the important questions. I just hope the opposition leaders are smart enough to ensure all the shots at Harper are taken - and they don't waste unnecessary energy on each other. May, Layton, and Dion - if they know what's good for them, and more importantly, for Canada - need to ensure that they don't waste time on each other.

A little "compromise" may be necessary, to ensure that the Conservatives lose votes. If Harper is under a sustained and organized attack by 4 leaders - who appear genuine and trustworthy - he's in trouble. This strategy will ensure that "Joe Public" doesn't just close eyes and vote for the status quo. Only ONE person stands to gain from the other parties attacking each other: Harper. NDP shots at Liberals - or vice versa - will only help Harper nation-wide, even if the comments are targeted to a certain region... So in "battleground" BC, or Ontario, Layton, May, and Dion need to be careful not to attack one another. On debate night this is particularly important.

Harper MUST be made to look like the "bad guy" that he is on debate night. He cannot sail through untouched, with the usual media comments about it being "typical" that the incumbent is attacked. The attacks need to be sustained and repetitive, and when an answer is not provided, THAT point has to be driven home as well. Harper must wear his decision to make the economy "USA-light"...

Latest CPAC-Nanos Numbers

No analysis... Just the numbers:

CCRAP - 39%
Lib - 25%
NDP - 19%
Green - 9%
Bloc - 8%

Regions:
Atlantic:
CCRAP - 35%
Lib - 39%
NDP - 17%
Green - 8%
The Liberal lead is within the margin of error

Quebec:
CCRAP - 25%
Lib - 19%
NDP - 11%
Green - 7%
Bloc - 37%

Ontario:
CCRAP - 39%
Lib - 34%
NDP - 20%
Green - 7%
The Conservative lead is within the margin of error

Western:
CCRAP - 49%
Lib - 17%
NDP - 24%
Green - 11%
*Note: BC is not separated from the mix here, and Alberta numbers are heavily skewed (whether the Cons get 50% of the vote in that province, or 100% doesn't matter because they already own all the ridings)

The real juicy tidbit: Harper's leadership numbers are in TAILSPIN, while Dions are climbing steadily. The "payback's a bitch" ads are starting to pay off. Let's see what another couple of weeks of this will do for us! Harper's "Leadership Index" score has plummeted from 110 to 85 (a drop of 25 points!). Dion's score has climbed to 42. Vision for Canada is Harper's major weakness...

Party Is Harper's Palin...

A note to the Canadian Media: Even your rabidly conservative American cousins have bought into the "Palin factor"... You know, the whole idea that your running mate is dim-witted, decidedly un-worldly, and, yes - quite likely, simply stupid...

So what gives? You've been hammering at one non-story all election - the supposed lack of Liberal leadership. Isn't it time you did your American cousins proud and actually ran with a real story? A real story like the complete lack of talent in the Conservative Party.

The Conservative Party is something Harper is hiding. He knows what lurks beneath: racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, and just about every other type of phobia and "ism" there is. When the "dummies" speak, they say "thoughtful" things like how much they dislike people of different cultures (Lee Richardson), or how much they despise great world heroes (Rob Anders). Harper is afraid "the real Conservative "Reform-a-tories will raise their ugly heads.

It is taking everything the Conservative war room can do just to keep Harper from making his own gaffes and expressing his own phobias (xeno or otherwise). They have spent 2 years keeping him away from the media - away from questions. It takes an entire war room to keep him quiet, and inaccessible. Carefully stage-managed appearances aren't just for the election, they've done this since they were first elected - remember their war with the Parliamentary Press Corps? Remember - even recently - how they stage-managed the questioning when the RCMP and Elections Canada raided their HQ??? No fire-wall comments, or comments about "Northern European welfare states", or immigrants "living in ghettos" in Western Canada, or the "culture of defeat" in Atlantic Canada. Not a chance for the media to even ask Harper about his feelings on any of those convictions of his... Heck, the media can't even scrape together the cajones to ask about the potential crime that took place when Harper was preportedly aware of "financial considerations" for Chuck Cadman's vote (which was CONFIRMED BY CADMAN'S WIDOW), lest they lose the chance to cover the "great leader's" campaign...

Still, with an entire party working to cover his blemishes, Harper remains "clean-looking"... He only has to hide the rest of his party... his "Palin", if you will. If he manages to dupe the "dup-able" media for a few more weeks, he could very well win. Let's just hope our media is a little more mature than this. It will have to start with the most objective, more "neutral" media - CBC. Sure they're worried that offending Harper may result in his carrying out his promise to privatize them (remember THAT promise?), but they need to start acting like the objective news-source they used to be. That is what built the CBC into the respectable corporation they are. They need to become more BBC-like, and less NBC-like...

Let's hope the "awakening" occurs, and the media don't continue to stumble through this election like a bunch of zombie Conbots, while Canada's Sarah Palin escapes this election unscathed...

Is This The Best Election Money Will Buy???

Prime Minister Cretien did a LOT of working re-working election financing laws to try to make it fairer for all parties... to get to a better discourse on pure issues, and not just money... Unfortunately, we haven't evolved the system enough to focus on "just the issues" - just yet.

I posted these comments on James Curran's blog previously, but thought they bear repeating...

Unfortunately, when you have tons of money, you can "buy" a lot of votes with a slick media campaign... And you don't have to be honest about it, if you're a Harper Conservative.

This election is quickly becoming a matter of economics... Unfortunately it's not the Canadian economy that is being properly discussed and debated, but the political party economics vis-a-vis WHO has the money to run ads for 2 years straight (I still want to know if that is even legal - thought political ads were only allowed during the writ - that's the way it SHOULD be, if it isn't). We did a horrible job of fundraising, and while efforts have picked up since Spring, it's too little, and Harpo probably knew that when he called the snap election...

Going forward, we need to get everyone more involved in the fundraising part of politics. Unfortunately the Reform system of $5 in a tin cup from every western farmer and oil baron at every rally and stump speech - like a church collection plate - has been able to handle the new campaign financing laws the best...

We have to update our own fund-raising system - to ensure this doesn't happen again. We are on the path - probably only needed a few more months.

Sad reality, but these days parties need a lot of money to run a winning campaign. If Canada TRULY wants a fair system, we need to:

1) set limits that are attainable by ALL parties - during a finite "election period". Would love to bring the Greens and Dippers more into the debate - and have an equal playing field on which to voice their opinions.

2) eliminate 3rd party ads. Period.

3) eliminate government ads thinly veiled as "psa's".

Making these changes will allow parties to stop worrying too much about fancy fund-raising dinners. It will lower the cost of admission to party functions - ensuring a broader swath of the population joins or simply attends... The changes will ensure that parties can display their talents for using the same amount of resources to achieve an end result. Like a real-world test, parties would have to show how "good" they are with money - how well they budget and plan - rather than just who has the most motivated or angry supporters.

Some MPs and candidates already have the fund-raising right: they run "spaggheti dinners", or "hot-dog and a burger" fund-raisers. Fun stuff that allows a LOT of people to participate. Lose the ridiculous $500/plate dinners and other "champaigne fund-raisers". We don't need to "schmooze" those people anymore - because corporate donations have been minimized. What we need to do is reach out to the ordinary voter. A huge barbeque with 1000 guests at $10/pop will raise $10000, with very low levels of organizing, or you can do something that you have to plan and organize for months - with very little more profit... (fancy dinners at fancy venues cost a lot more to run).

A cheaper fund-raiser has the added benefit of attracting youth, and the types of people who will actually work in your future campaigns. Try getting your typical $500/hr Bay St. "executive-type" to work a campaign without a "position-name" attached to it... and do it on a daily basis through-out a campaign. Better yet - try to get them to plant lawn signs... lol... In campaigns I have managed, we would actually MAKE UP POSITIONS to satisfy the bigger egos out there. Of course you will also rarely get volunteers from your corporate donors - unless they have something to gain (perhaps running in a future election, etc.). If people are motivated, and driven by an issue, they will work for you.

If a progressive party is elected to government, we NEED to ensure we do this one thing - to change (once again) the rules as they relate to election financing - even if it takes a coalition to do this... If we fail, the future will be bleak - run by conservative corporate America, drubbing a repetetive message into a "dumbed down" population - fed a constant diet of sensationalized tabloid news, reality-TV, sitcoms, sports, and the associated sponsor advertising for everything from drugs to guns to defense contractors...

Another Harper Conservative Openly Insults Immigrants & Refugees

Had to comment further on this post by "Liberal Arts & Minds" about recent comments (during the election) by Conservative MP, Lee Richardson. This DEFINITELY bears repeating, and I urge all our bloggers to post this until the media grows up and starts reporting on it:


From the FFWD Newspaper in Calgary:
"In light of recent shootings in Calgary, Fast Forward contacted Richardson September 18 to ask how the Conservative approach to crime compares to other parties’ approaches. In reply, Richardson said Canada has been too “soft on crime” by showing too much sympathy towards offenders and their civil rights. “Particularly in big cities, we’ve got people that have grown up in a different culture,” said Richardson, 60. “And they don’t have the same background in terms of the stable communities we had 20, 30 years ago in our cities… and don’t have the same respect for authority or people’s person or property.”

“Canada accepts so many refugees, for example,” he said. “These are people that have had a very difficult life from whence they came. If you’ve been in a refugee camp, then you live day-to-day. And those are troubled people. They come here and, well, it’s easy to take advantage of people that are trying to help.”
Richardson added: “Talk to the police. Look at who’s committing these crimes. They’re not the kid that grew up next door.”

Wow! Tell that to the poor kid who had to sneak over from Somalia, or the recent refugees from Burma, or people trying to get out of the embattled Bosnia, or Serbia, or , or, or...

Not sure what Richardson's "kid next door" looks like, but I have a pretty good idea that it looks something like a younger him.

I grew up "in a different" culture. I guess I don't have the same respect for people or their property. I should be racially profiled, I guess, and watched carefully, as I might cause trouble.

Richardson clearly attacks 2 (two) groups here:

1) First, he attacks people of "a different culture". That takes everything a step beyond some people's complaints about immigrants, because he is actually now challenging those of us WHO WERE BORN here, simply due to our "different culture". I add this emphasis, because there are some opportunist sell-outs - even from my community - who support Conservatives, and will argue that they too are concerned about crime, and they are concerned about crime by refugees from certain lands (yes, I have heard that said - as the single, solitary reason for supporting the Cons). Listen up brothers and sisters: Harper's boy is saying your different culture is reason to make you a "suspect". He means that you look different. No matter how hard you try to pretend you are "mainstream Canada" your "different culture" (as Richardson so aptly puts it) is still written all over your face, and rednecks everywhere have already made up their mind about you before you open your mouth...

2) Secondly, Richardson has attacked a VERY SOLID AND UPSTANDING part of our community: refugee Canadians. This is an insult to everyone, but refugees in particular. I grew up with many Vietnamese refugees in the 70s. I recall hearing horror stories of family members murdered and raped on the high seas as they made their escape from Vietnam - thinking they were safe. All of my Vietnamese friends are successful business people today - all of them. I have friends who escaped the troubles in Lebanon, and they are among the most successful communities in Canada. My own - Punjabi/South Asian - community has seen many refugees as a result of the 1980s "troubles" in Punjab and Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. No matter "which side" these people were on, they came over here as refugees, and are among Canada's most accomplished citizens. Many are successful in business. I have a cousin in Surrey BC who came over as a refugee in the 80s, and is a successful home builder, AND owns a fleet of semi-trailer trucks.

To add further insult to injury Richardson states that these refugee-Canadians are taking advantage of people trying to help them. What proof does this neanderthal have? I've worked with Somali refugees in Calgary, and with South Asian refugees, and my mother worked with the immigrant aid society. These people were SO grateful for any help we offered. They were among the nicest, warmest, most caring people I have met - because they were so used to making do with so little...

Richardson should resign his seat, and stop pretending he is any less socially conservative than the rest of his party. He is NOT Progressive in any way, shape, or form.

Harper Promises To "Check Pumps" - While We All Get Pumped!

So our anti-Canada PM today made an announcement aimed at chipping into the NDP promise of getting a grip on big oil company gouging... Thing is, he promises NOTHING close to Layton's promise.

Who put Harper up to this? Big Oil, more than likely. The Republi-Cons want to distance themselves from being the "Alberta-centric" party of Big Oil which couldn't care less about the environment - while actually doing NOTHING to impede the profits of Alberta Big Oil Inc. So, what do they promise? This is really precious...

HE PROMISES TO HAVE GAS PUMPS CHECKED "SO CANADIANS CAN BE SURE THEY ARE GETTING 1 LITER OF GAS, WHEN THEY PAY FOR A LITER"!!!

Those were his exact words - more or less...

What a crock. Harper has completely distorted the whole idea of gouging - which has always referred to big oil charging too much PER LITER by price-fixing, etc. It has nothing to do with the measurement of the liter.

I can't believe our "cajone-less" media didn't nail him on that one. What exactly does he intend to do? Our law already has provisions to ensure that merchants are selling what they say they are selling, and that fuel pumps are not "rigged" (we've had several cases of this over the years). No oil company - or more likely independent operator - would "gouge" in this manner - not when they can fix prices with other companies and turn an extra gouged profit on EVERY LITER sold at EVERY PUMP in the land...

Does Harper really think Canadians are stupid? More aptly, ARE WE that easily hoodwinked? To actually believe the putrid toilet residue he is shoving down our throats daily... We might all be just a little easy-to-dupe... That remains to be seen, if we choose to give him the majority he craves to allow him to unleash his agenda of Republi-Conservatism...

Harper Says Economy Is Fine. That's His Story & He's Stickin' To It...

Stephen Harper insists the economy is fine.  The "fundamentals" are fine.  Maybe he's not saying "fundamentals"... maybe he means "fundamentalists" - as in his "base" in Alberta?  Harper insists this is the case, even though Jim "now you see the surplus, now you don't" Flaherty is his Finance Minister.  Harper insists this is the case even though the economy that our nation is most painfully tied to (and that his party has tied even closer) has tanked (yeah, that would be our neighbor to the South).  Harper insists this is the case, even when Canadian experts, real estate numbers, comparisons with other G8 countries, and respected institutions (Merril Lynch) say a resounding, collective "no".  

This non-PhD in Economics - from an average university in Calgary, which espouses one particular school of though (a very Republican/US one) - insists all is well.  He may even believe it.  

What's more disturbing:

1) Harper Conservatives allowed lesser restrictions on mortgages, allowing for US-style 0-down, 40-year mortgages, and lower the GST to help even more Canadians assume debt - in the face of a US economic collapse.

2) Even with overwhelming proof of a slowing economy, and burgeoning Canadian debt, Harper and Flaherty decide to actually induce young home buyers on limited (and shrinking) budgets by offering mortgage relief on new home purchases (see election promises from last week)

3) Yesterday Harper Minister Flaherty admits "we overspent"

4) Yesterday Harper continues paddling down a river in Egypt, with his continued cajoling of Canadians from their hard earned dollars - in the face of a real real estate crisis... while still maintaining there is no problem here.

All this happens, as the media smile and play nice guy, with absolutely no tough questions for "Mr. Fiscal Manager"...

God help us!

Control Freak Harper Uses RCMP To Block Access To Donna Cadman

The "Control Freak in Chief" - in continued attempts to hide his "ugly warts" and scandals is using tax-payer funded police officers of the RCMP for his own political gain. Yesterday in Surrey, at a rally of campaign workers, Harper's "party security" and RCMP blocked reporters from asking any questions of Donna Cadman as she was whisked away. They didn't care about press credentials, or anything that made it painfully obvious that these were reporters. Ridiculous.

Now the Conservatives are telling the media and Canadians what the news should be (as they have been carefully scripting since taking over Parliament)... Here is WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED - ACCORDING TO CBC:

"Reporters following the prime minister's national tour asked to interview Dona Cadman after a campaign rally in Surrey — a request that Harper aides initially laughed off in apparent disbelief that the media would even bother asking.

They later told reporters to go ahead and try speaking with her at the end of the rally, but when the media pack got too close, the prime minister's staff ordered the RCMP to block journalists from the exit door.

"Keep them out," one aide shouted at the guards.

Cadman and other local candidates, meanwhile, were whisked out the door.

Harper spokesman Kory Teneycke later said he didn't see the exchange involving the RCMP. But he insisted there was no need for local candidates to be interviewed.

"Local candidates' priority is campaigning in their local ridings, and not talking to the national media," said Teneycke."

To add to this scandalous affair the CBC interviewed a former Mountie and security "expert" who said the RCMP were most likely just "doing their job" on the security side, while the appearance it gave was bad... So much for "experts". How many retired RCMP officers would say anything that would cast their old force in a bad or "questionable" light? None. Why would the CBC even contact this person?

What does Mr. Harper have to hide - besides the sexism, racism, homophobia, and anti-choice nature of his party? Well, it appears that a certain Ms. Cadman - who seems to be pretty honest - has once again repeated that there WAS A DEAL to secure Mr. Cadman's vote (which was rejected by Cadman). Ms. Cadman continues to be a Conservative candidate through all this, which has more to do with her "one-issue" agenda - the so-called "law and order" issue.

Surrey is scandalized by the Conservative record on "openness" and "integrity". These guys are a bunch of schiesters. When you ad the "false" apology that Harper and Nina Grewal tried to gloss over - to try to win ethnic voters over - you have a Conservative party with no scrupples, no integrity, no honesty, and no chance of winning over key urban ridings.

Time to toss the bums out!

What's Going On??? How To Beat the "Republi-Cons"

Well, according to some pundits, it's still early. I'm one to agree with that sentiment. Compare where we are at "day x" with the last couple of elections. Still, there are concerns...

We've been largely ignored by the media, but we are "getting on track".

The media is in "coronation mode" - which doesn't help.

There are people vocally advocating the "loss is good" theory, hoping for a Con majority so we have a good 4 years (or less) to get our house in order...

Sure, there are those "concerns" above... I still think it's way too early to jump off a tall building or anything like that. Here's what to do:

1) Get out there and ID vote. There are going to be a lot of close ridings.

2) How many "detractors" have actually DONATED to the party? You can bet every Reformer worth his stetson and rifle is donating monthly to the Cons... Make a contribution, so we can use it for last minute ads. The reason we're "waiting" to run more ads is because PEOPLE LIKE YOU didn't donate, or donate enough earlier. Go for the maximum tax credit.

We have no-one to blame but ourselves for these challenges... We can still work hard and make an impact.

Beyond that... It's in the hands of the Leader. Remember: we have some debates coming up. Sure these aren't REAL debates - they're just glorified stump speeches... Still, we BETTER shine in the debates. It's the big national media event that's free. We need to make good use of that airtime.

For the rest of the campaign we need to:
1) Point out our solid record of excellent fiscal management
2) Point out the Con's history of being poor custodians of the national economy
3) Stick to our platform, and REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT, until everyone has heard us (that's what the RepubliCons have been doing).
4) REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT...

The RepubliCons have been repeating their message for over a year (since Mr. Dion was elected). They've run national ads. Do we think our 30 days of ads can compete? If messaging is on, and we REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT, we may succeed...

CBC Goes Fox On Us... Oh Suhanna!

It was sensationalism at it's best this morning when the CBC Newsworld anchor (Suhanna Marchand? Not sure if that's spelled right) broke a story about a hostage taking at Luther College High School in Regina. The suspect was apprehended by police, with no incident.

Our wonderful anchor - perhaps bucking for a job with Global after the Conservatives shut down the CBC - kept digging and digging for blood or dirty laundry. She kept talking about how it was not yet confirmed if the gun was real, or if shots were fired, or how many suspects there were... It was disgustingly repetitive - a'la CNN or Fox News.

When a Regina Police Service spokesperson arrived on scene, somehow a CBC microphone found them. Suhanna spent almost 5 minutes drilling the poor officer - basically for info regarding why/who/how, and probably most importantly - if there was any blood. The poor officer kept indicating that she had just arrived, and that her priority was the families and students - and securing the area. Suhanna wouldn't shut up. She kept pestering until the spokesperson finally said, "Like I mentioned, I just got here..." Suhanna finally said, "I'm sure you have lots to do... I'll let you go..." or something like that, and got off the phone.

The whole incident looked a little too "Fox News" for me...

Conservative Elitist Robber-Barons and Their Media Lapdogs

Hope that title caught your attention... lol...

Mound of Sound has a great write-up about the American financial debacle, and the class struggle that has plagued that country for decades...

There was one statement that really stands out - because of the mirror image which is occurring in Canada...

"Another reason is that anyone who talks about this is branded a "liberal" and, to many Americans, liberal = elitist = socialist = revolutionary = traitor. They get fed that nonsense every day."

It is starting to happen here in Canada - the branding of "elitist liberal". What gets me is that this sells well to anyone who has NO KNOWLEDGE of politics or civics. It is economic conservatives - old money Canada - who are the true elitists. Those mega-millionaires who don't think twice about putting on a $100,000 birthday party for their one-year-old. The NeoCon propagandists have completely bastardized the dictionary definition of "conservative" and "elite". How? It's easy:

1) Dumbing down of the population (If you don't know who the true elite are, you can't make them your target). Expanding on #1: A lot of small town Canada and middle America look to their corner store owner, plumber, or local doctor as one of the "elite". Wealth is relative, and we see fairly well-to-do middle classers as the "rich".

2) The real "rich" - the corporate robber-barons - then look for a scapegoat within the population... Who will question us? Who will challenge the means by which we obtain our wealth? Who will expose our system as the farce that it is? It will be the intellectual classes - the lawyers, the teachers, the professors, the educated working classes. The rich go ahead and brand these folks as "liberal, intellectual, elitists".

3) Once the "scapegoat class" is determined, it is easy to unleash the conservative-owned media on them. You can lead with stories on a Fox News, or Global, or in the "National Pest", then watch as other - usually more "balanced" media outlets scramble to pick up on the story, or the editorializing. Big Oil and other mega-advertisers - who make up a bulk of ads in these media sources - then exert their own pressure: "We won't run an ad in a section about being green", "We dislike the take this editorialist took on item x..." Slowly, with pressure from the corporate world, the term "liberal elitist" stands out, and becomes standard nomenclature.

Our politics used to be of a civilized nature. Civilized discourse in an orderly setting run with British Parliamentary protocol. There was respect for the institution, and respect for one another. Conservative theologians preached about the attack on the word "liberal" long ago. The strategy was to constantly use the term in a negative context. Make the very use of the word vulgar, profane, and basically an insult...

We need to turn the tables - make "conservative" a bad word. We have more than enough "ammo", with all the scandals, but more importantly the financial mismanagement of Western economies, and the transfer of wealth away from the middle classes to the "uber-riche". But we need our own media help to do this. The MSM (main stream media) will always imitate the neighbors to the South and protect their owners. We also have a deluge of crap programming (for lack of a better word) that emphasizes this ideology, sneaking up through the airwaves - helped by cable and satellite providers who love the cheap programming, and, more importantly, the advertising that comes with it. A group of us are looking to establish a "cooperative" newspaper in the Lower Mainland as an alternative to the big corporate papers. Even the little community papers are owned by conglomerates... so, for now, the "new media" will be the only path.

In the mean time, we need to hammer back at the Conservatives every time they bark about what they'd like people to think of us... We need to go tit for tat, ensuring that if they call us "elitist" we include elitist in every phrase in which we say "conservative". We can throw in a few quips about "terrible Conservative fiscal record", etc.

It's a marketing staple - the repetition of a phrase to enable "buyer recall". Not sure why we aren't feasting on these great available soundbytes right now?

Time for some action.

Staying On (A Simple) Message

What the general public sees, understands, and digests is very different from the average political junkie (such as those who read this site)...

In the last election(s) Stephen Harper incorporated Republican strategists and strategies to "keep on message" and ensure the simple message got out. He used some very basic and often repeated phrases:

1) "Tired". Harper repeated "tired government" repeatedly - at every whistle stop, in an attempt to characterize the government of the day as ready to be replaced.

2) "Let me be very clear ________". Highlighting his words to come with that phrase helped bring emphasis to his statements. It also became a little "tired" hearing that very same phrase 10 times a speech (the "braintrust" obviously did not have the creativity or writing skills to change it up)

3) "Make no mistake". A variation on number 2. The Conservatives really didn't have the oratory skills that would make Obama blush... lol... But, still, it helped to frame the point to come, to get everyone leaning in and listening..

What to take away from this? The public at large has a pretty short attention span when flipping through the paper or the 300-channel universe. You need to make your points quickly, succinctly, and with enough clarity that everyone hears you and retains it (if you repeat yourself enough, they will remember it).

What the Cons have managed to do with the Green Shift is no fluke. They knew what it entailed, but simply framed it as "too hard for Canadians to understand" and stuck to that messaging until the very non-investigative media parroted it. This forced our campaign to continue to have to repeat an explanation - eating up valuable cycles of programming time and advert time. All this for a very simple plan that gave everyone an income tax break, and forced polluters to pay.

We have LOTS of time left to simplify and "go for the jugular"... We need to make the soundbyte the "summary" for our clear and well-planned programs. We need to remember that we have maybe 10 or 15 seconds to have an impact on a crowd, and need to keep bringing them back into the "discussion" with more quick quips and points. We don't need some media hack parsing together their version of our speeches and plans - they will invariably find what they want to use and dump the rest. We don't have to "dumb down" our campaign as the Cons have done - we have more respect for Canadians than that - just need to adhere to the KISS (keep it simple stupid) philosophy...

Go get 'em team!