Jackass Brian Abrams Helps Conservatives Talk Out of Their Butts

Look at the anatomy of a jackass to your right, and you'll see Brian Abrams' campaign poster. He's now a full blown Conservative. Steals our money and his lips don't move when he talks.

As you can probably guess, I got another ten percenter from him today.

What is wrong with that guy? Did he not learn his lesson that Kingston does not like getting this crap outside of an election, and we sure as hell don't want him using our depleting tax dollars to have a CALGARY MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT CAMPAIGN FOR HIM!!!!!!!

Is he a slow learner or just really doesn't give a damn?

The flyer I received in the mail today, is not an attack ad on Michael Ignatieff this time, but rather an 'Are the Conservatives really this stupid ad'? What an insult to our intelligence.

They are blathering on about airport security and all the jobs it has created or will create. What the hell????

Obviously the ability to read is not a criteria to run for this party or they'd know that our jobless rate is spiralling out of control, so the pittance they are offering nation wide will do absolutely nothing. You'd think just once they might put their partisan nonsense aside and figure out what to do about that.

But the ad gets even better. They also promise that they will make our trips more comfortable. How in the heck are they going to do that? Hand out cushions and battery operated fans?

Of course it still has the ridiculous 'Who is on the right track to help Canada's economy' poll. Are they kidding me? Surely they don't think people are stupid enough to check off the party that's abusing our tax dollars to send us junkmail.

Vote for Brian Abrams ... yeah right! Maybe he should fire the Republican pollster he's hired who has obviously advised him to pull this crap, and find out what is really important to Kingstonians. It sure as hell isn't airport security.

Nice that he had Rob Anders do his dirty work for him this time. You might remember that he was the bonehead who called Nelson Mandela a terrorist. Boy you can sure pick 'em Brian.

Back to: The Brian Abrams Story: I Want to be a Potted Plant

The Name Game: Talk About the Pot Calling the Kettle Black

I just read an article by former Reform Party, Alliance Party, Conservative Reform Alliance Party and later Conservative Party MP, Monte Solberg.

In it he is discussing the 'new' being removed from the New Democratic Party's name and states that "Name change won't help group that's not new" and leaves the "impression that the NDP desperately want to be a branch plant of the Democratic Party of the United States of America".

Hello???!!! How many name changes did your party adopt before successfully concealing the fact that they were a 'branch plant of the Republican Party of the United States of America'? What's that they say about people in glass houses?

I'm not thrilled with Jack Layton myself these days, but c'mon.

Dippers dippy idea
Name change won't help group that's not new, democratic or a party
By MONTE SOLBERG
Sun Media
August 13, 2009

So, the New Democratic Party is considering a name change. Good.
Organizations that have hung around for decades don't usually get away with calling themselves "new," except in a relative way.

For instance New England will always be much newer than England, so it still works.

When I think of the New Democratic Party really the only new that fits is the "pneu" you find in the word pneumonia, as in gravely ill and barely breathing.

All of this is far more complicated than it sounds. Just dropping the "new" leaves us with the Democratic Party of Canada.

This could leave the unfortunate impression that the NDP desperately want to be a branch plant of the Democratic Party of the United States of America.

In fact it might be seen as the NDP being so excited about the Obama presidency that they've even signed onto his Buy America policy.

Either way it could cramp their style when they inevitably, and I'm sure reluctantly, attack everyone else for being too pro-American.

If they dropped "democratic" from their name I doubt it would change any one's perception of who they are because they've never been particularly democratic. Actually if the NDP ever did tap the wisdom of a large and diverse group of Canadians to help them chart the way forward they would have long ago ceased to be the very strange, stunted and socialistic NDP of today, with their tiny sliver of seats.

Most importantly, if the concept of truth in advertising has any meaning at all for our brothers and sisters in the NDP, the one word they must discard from their name is "party."

If there was ever an organization whose entire demeanour was at odds with the fun and merriment of a party it is the NDP. (And the Conservatives are a barrel of laughs)

To be certain there a few among their number who have figured out that they should, as G.K. Chesterton would say, take their issues seriously while taking themselves lightly.

Unfortunately these happy few are vastly outnumbered by the sad and sour many. If it is a party, it is a pity party. Either way, it is false advertising.

No matter what it is called, the bleak outlook that permeates the horrible grinding gears of the present day NDP is so entirely spirit crushing that it deflates me to even write about it.

What I mean is the NDP often seem to be quite literally hopeless about the future of humankind. They have the odd habit of arguing for a more socially just future on the one hand while on the other hand convincing us the future is so grim that we will be lucky to not have to see it.

My advice to all parties is that the winning and winsome strategy is the strategy of gratitude. It is also the only strategy that is really grounded in reality.

It is the attitude of being so completely grateful for the world, its many flawed inhabitants, and our own good fortune in being able to experience it that we never cease in our striving to make it better.

Conservative MP Mike Wallace Caught Cheating with Lisa Raitt

I hadn't heard of Mike Wallace until yesterday. I don't mean the American broadcaster, but the Conservative MP for Burlington; so you can imagine my surprise when I received an attack ad in the mail from him. I live in Kingston.

I initially assumed that it came from our local Conservative 'also ran', Brian Abrams, but then of course that would mean he'd have to pay for it himself. By using an elected Member of Parliament, it didn't cost him a dime.

It's the Canadian taxpayer who gets stuck with the bill.

I guess I shouldn't have been that shocked. After learning that Brian Abrams had hired a American Republican pollster to run his next campaign, I actually expected a visit from Karl Rove. I just didn't expect it so soon.

Angry as hell I looked into Mr. Wallace's past and found that this wasn't the first time he'd cheated taxpayers to get free advertising for Conservative candidates. When Lisa Raitt was challenging Garth Turner for his seat, this Burlington MP mailed 29,000 flyers to Turner's constituents. 29,000 campaign style flyers that WE PAID FOR. She won and look how that turned out.

I'm getting so tired of this.

Canada is now running the largest deficit in our history, and we are in last place for climate change initiatives. But what is our government doing? Telling us why we shouldn't vote for the other guy.

Maybe it's time for the people of Burlington to find out what their MP has been up to, because clearly he's got too much time on his hands.

Conservative Rod Bruinooge Heads Secret Anti-Abortion Group

While Parliament was prorogued in December, there was a group working behind the scenes to draft legislation that would make abortion a crime.

This group, headed by Winnipeg MP Rod Bruinooge, was attempting to fulfill this Conservative priority that came out during their last convention.

The abortion issue is a contentious one at best, but is not as black and white as those on both sides of the issue believe. It is also not confined to Conservative MPs though they clearly have the most members who are anti-choice.

First off the arguments from the so-called pro-life groups, are supposedly based on the Bible, but that's not true. The Bible clearly states that life begins at birth, and prior to that only a woman can decide the fate of her unborn. People like Cheryl Gallant will pull out "Thou shalt not kill', and yet she is very pro-war, so again that it not a legitimate argument.

What they don't understand is that pro-choice does not mean pro-abortion. It just means that only the woman can decide whether to carry the fetus to full term or terminate her pregnancy, within reason (not late term unless a threat to the mother). If pro-lifers want to work to offer her more choices, that's fine; but it can't be arbitrary.

Canada had decided two decades ago that this was the way it should be, yet the Conservatives are determined that they will reverse those decisions come hell or high water. By mandating that life begins at conception, abortion would then have the legal definition of murder.

Prudently, Stephen Harper put an end to the abortion debate, because while he tells his followers that abortion is wrong, it's all about keeping his job, and he knew that opening this up now, would be political suicide. If he ever got a majority though, it would be a different matter.

Abortion debate must wait
The Winnipeg Sun
By PAUL RUTHERFORD
December 31, 2008

The year 2009 is already shaping up as hot one in Ottawa.

Nobody can deny we all feel more engaged in federal politics thanks to December's turn of events. Now, on the eve of the new year, comments by Winnipeg Conservative MP Rod Bruinooge threaten to resurrect the divisive and explosive abortion issue. He and others are vowing to rekindle the issue and bring "more value" to the lives of unborn children.

"Very few Canadians appreciate the fact that essentially until a child takes its first breath, it has less value than a kidney," Bruinooge told The Canadian Press this week. (how ridiculous)

Bruinooge chairs a secretive pro-life all-party Parliamentary caucus determined to get abortion on to the political agenda.

This after Conservatives voted at their Winnipeg convention to bring in proposals which would see criminal charges against suspects who kill or injure a fetus during a crime -- that bill died when October's election was called.

Bruinooge says Canadians need to be better educated about Canada's position on abortion which he says puts Canada in a "class of its own." Pro-choice advocates say they are ready to fight if the Conservatives do take the risky step of opening the abortion can of worms.

So both sides seem to be taking their respective corners, prepping for a major bout. But it's likely a lot of talk resulting in little action.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper wants no part of this debate -- and this time Harper is doing exactly what we need. With a minority government in place and the economy the major issue everyone should care about, we need to forget about a debate on abortion.

"It's working well," says Joyce Arthur of the Abortion Rights Coaltion of Canada, referring to the now 20-year-old Supreme Court decision.

Maybe. But there are millions of Canadians re-energized by Bruinooge's call to arms.

This issue can't lay dormant forever, but in 2009 there's way too much on our plates. Nice try but it's a bad idea.

Ironically, Conservative oppose social programs, and have a very poor record on helping the poor. They want these fetuses brought to full term but then just wash their hands of them. Get killed in war, starve to death. They don't care. Just don't raise their taxes.

Butt-Head Baird Butting Heads With Civil Servants

There have been a few minor stories recently that were overshadowed by 'tempest in a teapot' tales of nanny abuse, election threats and inappropriate language.

However, these stories have the potential to be of the utmost importance, as the Conservatives may be putting us on a collision course with economic disaster.

I'm not talking about the 13 billion dollar surplus they blew, or the high-risk mortgages they allowed into the country; but the way that they have determined stimulus spending to be directed.

Two words apply here: Unaccountable and Patronage.

Unfortunately, journalism has become about sensationalism, and most reporters simply look for a way to spin a story rather than tell it openly and honestly, and allow the public to determine it's merit.

But they may be missing an opportunity to unravel what could very well be evidence of the worst corruption of this government yet.

This is not about 'gotcha' politics or partisanship, but the potential mishandling of our money to the tune of 50 billion dollars!!! That is a lot of money to trust to a government that has proven time and again that they simply can't be trusted.

This begins with the 'retirement' of Kevin Lynch, Clerk of the Privy Council. It was sudden and the announcement made quietly while Harper was off on another photo-op in Afghanistan.

John Ivison: The PMO strikes again as Kevin Lynch gets Giornoed
National Post
May 07, 2009

The announcement that Kevin Lynch is retiring caused scarcely a ripple in a country that is largely oblivious to the fact that Kevin Lynch was ever in the workforce.

That’s a shame because Mr. Lynch has been this country’s senior public servant for the past three years and has arguably had more impact on the day-to-day lives of Canadians over the course of a distinguished 33-year career than anyone currently working in government. His imminent departure certainly deserves more attention than the domestic care travails of a junior opposition MP.

Mr. Lynch is to step down as Clerk of the Privy Council next month, to be replaced by another senior bureaucrat, Wayne Wouters, currently the top public servant at the Treasury Board.

Anyone who has followed Canadian politics at arms’ length might be surprised at the news. In the weeks before he became Prime Minister in 2006, Stephen Harper expressed his concerns that the judiciary and the public service were full of Liberals who would block his every move. He seemed to think that, like the fictional Sir Humphrey Appleby in the TV series Yes, Minister, they would only proceed with initiatives they supported -- pet projects that would be promoted to politicians as quick, simple, popular and cheap; while those frowned upon would be deemed complicated, lengthy, expensive, controversial, or worst of all, courageous.

Yet in Mr. Lynch, a now 58-year-old Nova Scotian, Mr. Harper seemed to find a kindred spirit -- a fellow economist with a sparkling resume as a senior bureaucrat at Finance, Industry and the International Monetary Fund, who threw himself into implementing the government’s agenda.

The dynamic between Mr. Lynch and Mr. Harper was said to be good and that between the Clerk and the Prime Minister’s former chief of staff, Ian Brodie, even better.

Talk to anyone in official Ottawa and the plaudits flow -- “insatiable work ethic”, “level-headed pragmatist” and “totally inspirational”, are just some of the accolades.

So how come such a respected figure, who clearly has plenty of good years left in him, is leaving the public service?

Well it may be that he is not. There have been rumours for the past six months that he may re-surface in Washington as Canada’s ambassador. But it would seem very odd to first announce his retirement and then his appointment to Washington.

A more convincing explanation is that Mr. Lynch has fallen foul of the toxic partisanship emanating from the Prime Minister’s Office that inflicts damage on everyone with whom it comes into contact.

The thinking appears to be that the Conservatives are stalled in the opinion polls and their best hope is the stimulus package that was unveiled in the January budget. All the funding streams for infrastructure projects have been lined up and pushed through Treasury Board by Mr. Wouters but very little money has started flowing.

The blame for this has been laid squarely at the door of Louis Ranger, the deputy minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities -- even, it is said, by the Prime Minister himself.

One senior Conservative said this is unfair and that Mr. Ranger is simply the quintessential public servant trying to ensure that projects applying for stimulus funding are given due diligence.... Louis is just trying to mitigate all possible risk to the government for the day when the Auditor-General starts looking at infrastructure spending,” he said.

Regardless, the Prime Minister’s Office under chief of staff Guy Giorno is said to have little patience for Mr. Ranger or Mr. Lynch’s apparent inability to force the money out of the door.

“That’s the main focus for the next few months as we head toward a possible fall election,” said one Conservative. “Results, results, results.”

Mr. Wouters, who was previously deputy minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, is viewed as someone with the knowledge of job-creation and labour markets who can help the Conservatives to an unlikely victory.

If, as many suspect, this is the real back story, then the ground has shifted from under the big-brained economist, who is said to have a particularly difficult relationship with Mr. Giorno.

But it is ironic that the Conservatives are now relying on the bureaucracy to throw them a political lifeline.

They will have to hope that the inglorious way they announced Mr. Lynch’s departure - in a cursory press release while the Prime Minister was out of the country - does not turn their worst fears about the public service into a reality.

Now we could certainly argue that the Conservatives are under enormous pressure to get the money out the door, and yet they are going out of their way to make sure that only Conservative friendly individuals and companies will benefit. Doesn't sound like urgency is the issue, but patronage, though Mr. Wouters may be able to give them both.

He is certainly qualified for the job, but along with his reputation for getting things done, is the fact they he will often ignore the proper channels and simply do what he wants, claiming that if you don't want a negative answer to a question, just don't ask the question at all.

I mean we're talking 50 billion dollars here. I want lots of questions.

Further to the story, is an email that was sent by Louis Ranger, the other 'retiree'.

I wondered how long it would take for the media to discover that the infrastructure stimulus spending has everything to with patronage, and nothing to do with what is good for the nation.

(Deputy Minister Louis Ranger whose retirement was announced yesterday was pushed out of the job and told, “We don’t want your advice” regarding the spending projects. Indeed, the woman who is the ADM in charge of the file has been specifically told by the Minster’s office, “We don’t want your advice; we want you to do as you’re told.”)

Projects are selected based on the needs of the Conservative Member of Parliament in that riding as the first criteria. As a long time bureaucrat, I am used to dealing with politicians who revel in self-interest. Baird however, is the nastiest, most partisan creature to have ever run a large department. What is best for Canada isn’t even remotely of interest to him - what is best for his party and his own political ambitions drives his agenda entirely.

The Conservative party does not understand the nature of a professional public service. Indeed, they seem to believe we are all minions for Iggy or Jack and none of us are to be trusted. As you can imagine, the morale of senior executives government-wide is depressingly low as we find our political masters to be blindly-partisan, self-interested and ignorant to what is in the best interest of Canada.

So where are the investigative reporters? Probably out rummaging through garbage cans or digging in the dirt for the next 'breaking news'. Sigh.

Stockwell Day's Sense of Humour Lacks Sense and Humour

As Canadians already know the Conservatives ideology limits their scope when it comes to just about everything of importance.

From ill advised tax cuts to limitless spending sprees, they are obviously just doing what wets their appetites, while leaving the rest of us hungering for a government with some grasp of on reality.

Perhaps one of the best examples of this is in relation to climate change, which is mistakenly referred to as global warming, giving us a false image of tropical weather and margaritas, and not the very real threat of the melting ice caps.

I'm not a scientist and neither is Stockwell Day, but I listen to scientists when they tell me that we are in the eleventh hour and need to act sooner rather than later.

Harper gambled that the issue would not be of great concern to us, but unfortunately for him, Canadians are much smarter than he'd like us to be.

His choices for environmental ministers just go from bad to worse, but when key cabinet ministers in his government scoff at the proven scientific knowledge of an environment in peril, what hope to we have?

They keep telling us they've got a handle on it, but in a silly little letter to his constituents, Stockwell Day contradicts his leader, by exposing how little they care, that they treat it as a joke.

Day mocks Gore, climate change in article
December 11, 2006
Canadian Press

OTTAWA -- A November cold snap prompted Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day to dismiss Al Gore's climate change crusade in a website article brimming with mockery.

Day's letter to his constituents in the British Columbia riding of Okanagan-Coquihalla constituents last week opened with a shot at the former U.S. vice-president.

"Hey who knows, maybe Al Gore is right,'' Day wrote in the post dated Dec. 6.

"Maybe all my constituents living high up on the West Bench, or Lakeview Heights, or the hills of Logan Lake will soon be sitting on lakeside property as one of the many benefits of global warming.''

Gore has long campaigned against what he believes is government inaction on climate change. His documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, did record business.

Polls suggest the Conservatives' environmental package has been a dud with voters. Those same surveys suggest the environment could be a ballot-box issue.

When asked about the blog after question period, Day walked away from reporters and refused to comment.

Day wrote that a recent cold snap had him "begging for Big Al's Glacial Melt when the mercury hit -24.''

About 22 towns and cities in British Columbia "had broken all-time records for paralyzing frigid temperatures,'' Day wrote.

But the Minister for Public Safety said that "rather than feeling badly for yourself,'' constituents should consider the upside:

"For every hour it's that cold, millions of those nasty ravenous pine beetles who are destroying our forests are having their pesky little heads and jaws frozen, literally to death.''

John Bennett, senior policy adviser at the Sierra Club of Canada, said Day's comments are symptomatic of the government's position on the environment.

"What the blog demonstrates is what the government of Canada really thinks about climate change, that it is something to joke about, not something to take seriously and the policies of the government reflect that,'' he said.

Bennett added that the Harper government cut almost all climate change programs when it came into power.

The government began disassembling Canada's Climate Change Program last March when programs announced in Action Plan 2000 were not renewed.

Environment Minister Rona Ambrose introduced the government's Clean Air Act in October. The proposed legislation seeks to attack smog as well as some of the pollutants that cause global warming.

Liberal environment critic John Godfrey said Day's punch line was lost on him.

"The problem is that when a senior cabinet minister, even in jest, laughs away and dismisses the greatest challenge facing the planet today . . . and reduces it to, 'Well, it's snowing, therefore, where's the climate change, and even if there was climate change, maybe everyone would be happy because they'd have beach front property,' this is to trivialize, in an inappropriate way, a huge problem for the planet,'' Godfrey said.

Green Party leader Elizabeth May said she wasn't surprised by Day's comments.

"Mr. Stockwell Day sums up what David Suzuki said about parliamentarians, that they're all ignoramuses,'' May said in a telephone interview.

Day's comments reflect his ignorance about his own portfolio as minister of public safety, May said. "The most significant threat to Canadian security is climate change, not terrorism.''

Baird was no better and even tried to make us believe that Al Gore was on board with his 'plan', but ended up with egg on his face.