Fox News North: Special Report on Garry Breitkreuz. Genius or Just Another Gun Nut?

Janie Taber: "We are leaving our giant lizard story for this late breaking Fox News North exclusive.

"Garry Breitkreuz, Reform Party ... er Alliance Party .... What's that Biff? Oh Yeah, Conservative Party MP has uncovered a secret report from the RCMP revealing that the Mounties have a plan to confiscate all guns in the country.

Biff Buffoon: "Yes folks. Remember you heard it here first. "

"So Janie, what do you make of this? What are they going to do with all those guns?"

Janie Taber: I don't know Biff, but Dimitri Soudas has told Fox News that there is a "leftie" plot to melt the guns down to make beds for the homeless.

Biff Buffoon: "That's shocking Janie. That's going to take an awful lot of metal."

Janie Taber: "We will have Mr. Breitkreuz in the studio right after this important message from Hair Club for Men. Snicker. Nothing personal Garry. Snicker.

----- Break for butt scratching ---------

Janie Taber: "So Garry. You obviously have some concerns about this."

Garry Breitkreuz: "Yes Janie, I do. You might want to ask yourself:

Why are the police chiefs so strident in their quest to keep the registry in place? They won’t admit it, but it appears they don’t want Canadians to own guns. (audible gasp) To that end, they need a database that will help them locate and seize those firearms as soon as a licence or registration expires.

It’s about public control. The registry can’t reduce crime because the criminals don’t register their guns or buy licences. Responsible gun owners who have taken firearms safety, handling, and storage courses are the only ones adversely affected by it. But they are the good guys!"

Biff Buffoon: "I know. All of my friends own at least a dozen guns, and they are always responsible. They never leave loaded guns near an open flame, and when their children play with them, they make sure that they only point them at varmints or kids they don't like. It's never too early to learn."

Janie Taber: "Garry, you've had battles with the cops before haven't you?"

Garry Breitkreuz: "Yes Janie. In 1999, I led a large group of ... let's say, gun enthusiasts, on a march up Parliament Hill. I later found out that the RCMP officers had four .308 rifles and seventeen sub-machine guns on the Hill that day."

Janie Taber: "They did? Just because there was a large group of gun nuts running around the Parliament Buildings? Why that's against your civil rights."

Garry Breitkreuz: "My point exactly. My legislative assistant, Logan Day, took notes and when his pappy had the chance he limited the scope of the gun registry and tried to starve the beast. Why even his grand pappy was on our side. When he was with a Western separatist party, Neo-Nazi lawyer Doug Christie let him write a piece in his paper. (Breitkreuz wipes a tear from his eye) Such a wonderful family. Logan has kept the bullet that was removed from his pappy, the day he shot himself in the foot."

Biff Buffoon: "Canadian firearms dealer Bruce Montague, the man who was arrested for several firearms violations, including unregistered guns and unsafe storage practices, makes an excellent point."

The major slaughters of innocents in history could have been prevented if the populace were armed. I’m convinced that thoughtful Canadians will learn from history. Otherwise we’re doomed to repeat it.

Garry Breitkreuz: "He's right Biff. If all Canadians would simply carry a loaded gun, we could avoid senseless slaughters."

Bang!

Janie Taber: "Did you just shoot my cameraman?"

Garry Breitkreuz: "He was looking at me funny. I don't like that"

Janie Taber: "But that's the third time this week."

Biff Buffoon: "Well that's all for now folks. Stay tuned. We will talking to an 89 year woman who is carrying twins, and claims that the father is Jimmy Hoffa. Should the children be made to disappear? Take our poll."

Janie Taber: "Thank you for coming Garry. Always a pleasure. Now give me a hug."

"Whoa! Is that a gun in your pocket are you just happy to see me?"

Garry Breitkreuz: "It's a gun"

Harper's Hit List is Much Longer Than the Media Suggests

I must admit that when I first opened this article and saw Jane Taber's name on the top of a piece criticizing the Harper government, I had a bit of a dizzy spell.

Jane Taber and critical of the Harper government are two things that never go together. I'm sure even seeing her name on top of this had her on the phone with the Big H and Double G assuring them that she was still lead singer in their Hallelujah chorus.

I don't know what her penance will be but expect Janie to be walking behind the men, holding up their celestial robes for awhile.

However, Janie didn't write the article, so we can rest assured that the sky has not fallen. It was written by Jill Mahoney, and is by no means complete.

Mahoney mentions:

Marty Cheliak: The RCMP Chief Superintendent who was head of the Canadian Firearms Program, because he is a strong proponent of the long-gun registry.

Pat Stogran: Because he supports veterans and is exposing the Harper government's mistreatment of these men and women in uniform.

Munir Sheikh: StatsCan chief who revealed that Tony Clement lied about his endorsement re: the census. Thud. (Don't worry about that thud. It was just little Janie. She passed out when I said that Tony Clement had lied. Expect an in depth article by Taber on Clement and his taste in glasses.)

Peter Tinsley: For investigating the alleged torture of detainees in Afghanistan

Linda Keen: The former head of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for refusing to reopen the nuclear reactor in Chalk River, Ont. until safety upgrades were made.

Mahoney also mentions Helena Guergis, but that girl should never have been given a cabinet position in the first place. Leave her with the manual How to Dress Yourself in the Morning. It'll keep her busy for years. ("Is this the left sock, or the right sock?" )

These are some of the people the article missed:

Louis Ranger: Was pushed out of the job and told, “We don’t want your advice” regarding the spending projects [infrastructure]. Indeed, the woman who is the ADM in charge of the file has been specifically told by the Minster’s [John Baird] office, “We don’t want your advice; we want you to do as you’re told.”) Ranger said of Baird:

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.

Kevin Lynch: For locking horns with lobbyist and Harper chief of staff Guy Giorno.

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 ground has shifted from under the big-brained economist, who is said to have a particularly difficult relationship with Mr. Giorno.

Dan Veniez: For wanting to save taxpayers millions of dollars by ensuring that multi-national corporations would pay appropriate prices for use of Ridley terminals, by removing them from the public sector. But Rob Merrifield and Jay Hill stepped in:

Veniez's sin is that he and his board did exactly what the then-minister of transport, Lawrence Cannon, asked them to when he gave them the reins of the Crown's faltering coal terminal. They turned it around. They put the $250-million chronic money-loser on a solid business footing for the first time since it was built in the 1980s ...Merrifield, who, like Hill, represents a coal-mining region, has met several times with lobbyists from the big coal companies, and it has been obvious for months that an orchestrated assault on Veniez and his board has been underway.

Kevin Page: Not fired but had his budget slashed because he reported the truth about government spending and rewrote their fairy tales.

Stinging from Page's report last October that put an $18 billion price tag on the Afghanistan war, among other embarrassing revelations, the government slashed his budget for this fiscal year from $2.8 million to $1.8 million. "Our budget is cut and I am in an almost impossible situation. ... I cannot carry out my mandate," Page said, adding that while funding is crucial, transparency is equally important.

Richard Colvin: Attacked on every front by the Reformers for telling the truth about the abuse of Afghan Detainees.

The Canadian government's attack on the credibility of a man whom several colleagues described as a consummate professional, and ministerial suggestions he is spouting Taliban "lies" about the treatment of detainees, have shocked those who worked alongside Colvin in Afghanistan.

Luc Pomerleau: Who blew the whistle on the fact that the government was now going to allow meat packers to do their own inspections. He tried to warn the public that this could result in deaths. It did. 20 to be exact. And he was fired for his efforts.

"Confidential documents insecurely posted on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's computer network laid out sensitive plans to turn over food inspections and labelling to industry and also led to the firing of the scientist who stumbled upon them." The confidential papers "appear to involve a re-organizing of food inspection that will shift more of the onus for food safety to the suppliers that manufacture and distribute food and other products.

Jeff Monaghan: The temp at Environment Canada who first revealed that John Baird was abandoning Kyoto. According to Greg Weston:

In the latest chapter of Stevie in Wonderland, the Conservative promise of open and accountable government is fulfilled by RCMP goons slapping handcuffs on a young federal temp and hauling him off in front of his co-workers, all over a leaked piece of Tory propaganda.

If nothing else, the incident befitting any friendly police state should certainly help Stephen Harper convince voters that the Conservatives have no hidden agenda... But an RCMP raid, handcuffs, and the threat of prison time are, as Monghan said, "without precedent in their disproportionality; they are vengeful; and they are an extension of a government-wide communications strategy pinned on secrecy, intimidation and centralization."

Mark Tushingham: Had his book launch for a sci-fi Hotter Than Hell cancelled by Rona Ambrose because there was an element of truth to it. Heaven forbid a civil servant should try to tell the truth.

Tushingham was just about to give a presentation on the science behind his novel Hotter Than Hell at the National Press Club. Released last November with little fanfare, it's about the Earth becoming so hot from climate change that America and Canada are at war over water. "I was entering the elevator 15 minutes before the event when I got a call on my cellphone," says Tushingham's publisher, Elizabeth Margaris at DreamCatcher Publishing. "[Tushingham] said, 'I've got bad news. I can't go.' He was told [by the Environment Minister's office] not to appear." While Tushingham himself was not available for comment, Margaris told Hour, "This is just outrageous. Mark can't talk but I can. They can't fire me. They can't gag me."

I'm sure there are a great deal more, and had Mahoney done her homework, she might have had a real story, that speaks of a government that does not allow dissent of any kind. And this is very alarming, especially when we add those in the private sector, who have been attacked and ruined by this government. Another growing list.

"May we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion. History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid." Dwight D. Eisenhower

So Conservatives Find Canadians Annoying. Good to Know

So according to Jane Taber and one of her "sources", we are a big yawn.

“They don’t bother us. It’s just that they are annoying,”a "senior Conservative official" told Taber about the public uproar in reaction to the scrapping of the compulsory long-form census.

“On that long census ... when we put that through cabinet ages ago that to me was a good news story,” one senior Conservative official told The Globe and Mail. The vociferous reaction that resulted is now considered an “irritant” in the senior Tory ranks.

Just an irritant. Really people. We should try not to be so annoying to this government. Remember they have riot police just waiting to smash civilians. You could be next.

I thought they just hated Canadians. I didn't realize that we actually bored them.

And speaking of boring, the Globe really has to do something about Jane Taber. Poor girl is so bored she's quoting invisible people to prop up her "scoops".

Late breaking news: "The PM is going on a photo-op says a high-ranking Conservative official". Or according to Scott Feschuk:

It was, for the Prime Minister, “a good summer.” This isn’t a quote from a senior Conservative source or a veteran caucus member or a super-senior double-secret invisible party uber-insider. These are the words of Jane Taber herself. I’m as confused as you as to why she didn’t demand anonymity from herself.

Poor Janie. She's clearly spending too much time with Harper's caucus and is dumming down to the point where she has trouble remembering her own name.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the Canadian Media

“We are so cleverly manipulated and influenced by the media and establishments on both the right and left, that the truth has become hopelessly lost in semantics.” Jules Carlysle

Canada has one of the highest concentrations of media ownership in the world.

As corporate mergers and takeovers, that began in the early '90s, increasingly swallowed up smaller news outlets, independent sources have become almost obsolete.

For example, in 1990; 17.3% of daily newspapers were independently owned. By 2005, just 1% were.

In his book Traitors among Us: The Betrayal of Canada, Raymond Samuels states that this began with Brian Mulroney.

Prime Minister Brian Mulroney had dysfunctionally inspired a new generation of greed-driven mercenaries who operate in the mass-media, in the likes of CanWest Global owners (who help fund the Conservative Party), TorStar, Quebecor Sun Media, and other such neo-conservative public relations outlets. Only BellGlobe Media, inclusive of the Globe and Mail, CTV, and CHUM, (as well as in particular, a handful of community and campus media outlets) have maintained any semblance of journalistic integrity, in the present sea of elite-managed propaganda.

However, even this is no longer true, because in 2007, "CTVglobemedia, Astral Media, Quebecor, Canwest Global and Rogers all expanded significantly, through the acquisitions of CHUM Limited, Standard Broadcasting, Osprey Media, Alliance Atlantis and Citytv, respectively." (Wikipedia)

And CTV has joined the Harper family, with the acquisition of Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and Steve Murphy. And the fact that Peter MacKay is now engaged to an executive of CTV, our chances of any of that 'journalistic integrity' are all but gone.

This is very problematic for a country that has never been right-wing, because we are no longer being informed but indoctrinated.

Frances Russel wrote a piece in the Winnipeg Free Press, entitled Right-wing media covering up political scandal. In it she discusses the rightward migration of Canada's news sources.

Lawrence Martin has written several articles about the Canadian media's rightward migration. In a January 2003 column headlined It's not Canadians who've gone to the right, just their media, he quoted an unnamed European diplomat saying "You have a bit of a problem here. Your media are not representative of your people, your values." Too many political commentators are right of centre while the public is in the middle, the diplomat continued. There is a disconnect.

A disconnect indeed.

So as part of my mission to help restore democracy in Canada, I've started calling out some of this country's so-called journalists, while recommending some of the better ones.

They are a huge part of the problem, and not just because they allow Stephen Harper to control them, but because they write crap. And I mean absolute crap. Many of them don't even try anymore. They get the copy from the PMO, they add a bit of a personal touch, publish the photos taken by the PMO, and call it news.

Well that is simply not good enough. We deserve better than this, but we won't get better than this, until we start demanding it.

Lawrence Martin, Don Newman, Murray Dobbin, James Travers, Frances Russell, Antonia Zerbisias, to name a few, are credits to their profession.

Don Martin, most of the time. Anyone else from the National Post, are absolutely ridiculous.

Jane Taber, is usually only interested in the gossip. Angelo Persichilli, Norman Spector and Rex Murphy, don't get me started.

If we are going to get our country back, we have to start being diligent. If you read a story that is pure crap, tell them so. Better yet, tell their editor that you deserve better.

We deserve better, and we will get it dammit.

********************

Giving Credit Where's It's Due

Another Winner James Travers. But ... but ... but ...

Thank You Ralph Surettes For Proving There Are a Few Good Journalists Left

James Travers Hits the Nail on the Head: Harper's Speech Was Rhetorical Hokum

Calling Out the Culprits

Dear Mr. Spector. It Was Childish Manouvers That Got Him Into This Mess

Update on Norman Spector's Admiration for Childish Manouvers

Canadian Soldiers Should Not be Dragged Into This Jane Taber. You Should be Ashamed.

Angelo Persichilli Really is the Quintessential Lazy Columnist

To All Media Out There Trying to Spin the Tax Issue: A Pox on Your Houses!

Stephen Harper Lives Like a King While Peter Zimonjic Becomes Another Court Jester

Sorry David Akin But Again You are Dead Wrong

Canadian Soldiers Should Not be Dragged Into This Jane Taber. You Should be Ashamed.

“Slander is the revenge of a coward, and dissimulation his defense”

The above quote has been attributed to Samuel Johnson, but since many argue that it is not his, I will leave it as 'unknown'.

To me it doesn't matter who said it, but that it so aptly describes Stephen Harper's handling of the Afghan Detainee issue, as he has consistently used the coward's calling card in an attempt to conceal the truth.

Jane Taber has already revealed her dislike of Mr. Ignatieff, so she no doubt salivated over the opportunity to stick it to him again.

But this isn't about Michael Ignatieff, or the Liberal Party, or even the Conservatives' continuous poisonous assaults.

It is about our troops in the field, who are trying to do a job in a hell hole of a place, and don't have the luxury of proroguing, or slinging mud from behind a desk in a safe and comfortable office.

And it is about our men and women in uniform who often return home broken; physically and mentally. Tim Naumetz reported this week for the Hill Times:

More than 6,000 Canadian Forces members and discharged veterans who are receiving physical or psychiatric disability benefits from Veterans Affairs Canada have either served in Afghanistan or have a disability that has been related to their service in Afghanistan, the department says.

The majority of the soldiers receiving benefits are likely suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or war-related psychiatric conditions, according to global figures the department and the Canadian Forces provided The Hill Times.

They also do not appear to be included in Afghanistan combat or non-combat casualty figures the Canadian Forces compiled, even though the veterans and serving members who have psychiatric conditions likely have them as a result of serving in the Afghan war.

So you can imagine how they would feel reading a headline that includes the phrase "disdain for the Canadian forces.' This is inexcusable for a newspaper that has been part of the Canadian landscape for more than a century and a half, and possibly a new low in journalism.

Since Stephen Harper changed the channel on this issue, making it about the opposition parties accusing our soldiers of war crimes, in an attempt to deflect blame; it may have done irreparable damage to the good name of our country and our military.

He suggested to Peter Mainsbridge, in one of the rare interviews he grants our media, that the detainee issue was just something that the opposition parties have been flapping their gums about for the past four years, and that the Canadian people really don't care at all. Boy, was he wrong.

But to set the record straight, it was not the opposition who raised the alarm on this issue, but our own military police, the International Red Cross, Amnesty International, Oxfam, NATO, The U.S. State Department, our diplomats ... the list goes on.

And it is not our troops who could possibly be charged with war crimes, but members of our own government. Because you see, there's a little clause in International law called 'Command Responsibility'. According to University of Ottawa law professor, Errol Mendes: "While the front line soldiers may have done the actual transfer, the culpability actually lies at the civilian command level: The ones who set the framework in place."

Stephen Harper knows this, which is why he is so desperately using dissimulation as a defense, for actions that are clearly indefensible.

In Taber's piece she refers to two quotes: "Canadians have been involved with ... " and : "Canadians have committed war crimes ... ". Not Canadian soldiers, as most of us know.

In fact, on at least one occasion, they took a prisoner back after witnessing abuse, and from there on in started taking photographs before handing them over. Because you see they know about the Geneva Convention, and they know about honour and dignity. Sometimes their very lives depend on it.

I read an online article recently from the Jamaica Gleaner, entitled Tsk, tsk, tsk Mr. Harper. The author John Rapley informs his readers of the abuse of power that has upset a nation, and the fact that it was found in the " Westminster [Parliamentary] systems ... only three times when prorogation was used to avoid political inquiries: all three were in Canada; two were by Harper."

But it was another statement he made that was more profound: "Over the Christmas holidays, faced with a parliamentary enquiry into abuses of Afghan prisoners by Canadian soldiers, Harper asked the Canadian governor general to prorogue parliament."

See this is what happens when you transfer blame. It sticks.

I immediately fired off an email correcting Rapley, by telling him that it was not the Canadian soldiers who abused the prisoners, but the people they transferred them to.

But it begs the question: Why am I having to defend the honour of our troops on the International stage? Shouldn't that be the job of the prime minister?

Jane Taber Proves That the Canadian Media Has Finally Hit Bottom (We Hope)

With Stephen Harper's communication team now taking all of his photos, writing his copy and providing footage for television; it would appear that many in the media are left with far too much time on their hands.

Jane Taber is obviously one of them.

I just read her list of the ten most irritating politicians for 2009, and while the topic does nothing to improve democracy in Canada, because it helps to turn people away from the polls; the photo used in the story was inexcusable.

What did Michael Ignatieff's wife ever do to Jane that she warranted such disrespect? Has our media really sunk to this level?

Glen Pearson wrote in October that the press was becoming Canada's natural governing body, because they have the power to make or break a politician. How true.

But while they may take credit as king makers, they must also shoulder some of the blame for what is happening today. They have handed Stephen Harper a dictatorship and so long as they have people like Jane Taber in their midst, that dictatorship will remain in place for the rest of his natural life.

Of course Janie named Michael Ignatieff as the most irritating because his TV ads did not personally attack his opponents. What a horrible man, right?

That Stephen Harper doesn't let the media anywhere near him or his caucus, apparently doesn't ruffle her feathers a bit. Maybe she's never actually tried to get near him, and hasn't yet been roughed up by the RCMP for her efforts.

Her next two choices are Pierre Poilievre and John Baird. That was too easy. That pair annoy the hell out of everyone. If she'd added the name of Dimitri Soudas, we would have our own homegrown Three Stooges.

She adds Rick Hillier next and I have to agree. Not because he's annoying, but due to the fact that he fell from grace so quickly. I actually gave him one of my Joe Canadian awards, but he has really let me down.

Another interesting choice was Liberals on Twitter. She singles out a 'fat joke' made by a Liberal MP against Dean Del Mastro. I linked to the article and was surprised to find this: "His staff uses Google to alert them to any mention of their boss."

While I'm thrilled that we are paying their salaries to perform such an important mission, it's peaked my interest. I have posted on Del Maestro before, and now believe I may have to run a little series. I'll call it "Google this trolls for Dean Del Mastro". Kinda' catchy don't you think? Eeeeek!

But perhaps Ms Taber should spend a bit more time on Twitter tracking down comments. Reformer Blake Richards tweeted a horrible remark about Pierre Trudeau. I don't remember his son singling out Richards, wasting valuable time in the House. Jason Kenney Tweeted that Liberal senator Romeo Dallaire was a fag.

Maybe twits twittering twas a twoubling twitch so lets twop twits tweetering twoubles by twitching their tweeters off! (say that fast three times)

Taber continues with her 'single' annoying politicians by including all environmental protesters and the entire NDP caucus. Way to go Jane. That education's really paying for ya', huh?

I think I'm going to compile my own list of the top ten most annoying media personalities. Don't worry Jane. I've got a special spot for you.