What a Relief. C.R.U.S.H. is Alive and Well. C.R.U.S.H.E.T Deranged Copycat

I mentioned in a blog posting yesterday, my experience with a Facebook group I had received a notification from.

Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper and Expose Trudeau (CRUSHET)

I thought that my old group of friends, Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper (CRUSH) had been hijacked by a bunch of crazy people.

What had they done with, or to my friends?

Fortunately, after posting that, I discovered that this was just a group bounced off the original, and the real CRUSH can be found here.  Whew!

This new group of NDP supporters are not doing the party any favours.  They frighten me.  Like zombie people.  Mention the name Justin and their eyes roll back, spittle forms at the corner of their mouths and their heads start to spin around.

"Entitlement .... pretty boy .... Bill C-51.... "

Fortunately, most NDP supporters are not like that.  They are sensible and passionate about steering our country in the right direction.  Sadly, with the party moving closer to the political right, it has attracted a band of kooks.

I've decided to just ignore them.  I suggest you do too.

Meet Some of the People Who Want Harper Gone

There were perhaps a hundred protesters greeting Harper in Kingston on Friday. We were loud and animated.

There were songs and little skits. Some university students had written a rap that they shared. There were drums and music. It was wonderful.

Kathleen O'Hara from Catch 22 Harper Conservatives had a mike and listed off one by one, Harper's crimes. Not even covering a fraction of them.

In the above photo you'll see students with guess what "we're voting", standing with seniors. All with the same goal. Ousting Stephen Harper.



And he was given a similar welcome in Montreal, though a bit more militant.

The Toronto Star is endorsing strategic voting:

In some parts of the country there is a real risk that a surge toward the NDP could sap the Liberal vote and have the perverse effect of tipping more seats to the Conservatives. Voters worried about that should consider voting strategically — giving their support to the progressive candidate best placed to win.

In much of the GTA, that means Liberals. Indeed, there are a number of seats that Liberals won by a narrow margin over Conservatives in 2008. The Liberal candidates in those ridings deserve support. They include Ruby Dhalla in Brampton-Springdale; Andrew Kania in Brampton West; Rob Oliphant in Don Valley West; Joe Volpe in Eglinton-Lawrence; Paul Szabo in Mississauga South; and Ken Dryden in York Centre.

Going for the NDP in those ridings risks handing more seats to the Conservatives. That would be the worst outcome for the province — and the country.

And another "vote mob" from Ryerson voiced their discontent.

I'll bet right now Stephen Harper wishes he'd been nice to the rest of us, and not just played to his base.

A Tale of Two Elections

It was the best of times,
it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom,
it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief,
it was the epoch of incredulity,
it was the season of Light,
it was the season of Darkness,
it was the spring of hope,
it was the winter of despair,

This election campaign has been one of the most bizarre on record, with incredible displays of democracy, and just as incredible displays of attacks on democracy.

We've witnessed hopefulness with unprecedented engagement, especially of youth, and if the polls are correct (which I severely doubt) an unprecedented display of apathy toward serious charges of Contempt of Parliament.

We've seen campaign signs having cross hairs drawn on a candidate's face and a nation rallying with support to replace the vandalized signs.

In another community where tires were slashed on cars parked at houses with Liberal signs, the candidate told those with signs to remove them for their own safety. Yet despite that many have instead opted to simply bring them in at night.

In London, Ontario, NDP candidate Ryan Dolby pulled out of the race to help his Liberal opponent, saying that the area needed a progressive MP and he didn't want to split the vote. It doesn't get anymore selfless than that.

Yet at the same time, Stephen Harper is telling the media that he will not cooperate if fails to win a majority. It will be the same contempt that has defined his career.

So divided is the spin from reality, that it appears as though there are two separate elections, held in two different countries.

The Conservative Party has been running one of the most undemocratic campaigns in history. Stephen Harper limits questions to five and even then only answers the ones he's comfortable with. His rallies are invitation only and his stump speeches delivered against a backdrop of human props. Some in costume.

His candidates are told to avoid debates and escape the media whenever possible.

They are breaking rules, breaking the peace and even breaking the law.

We have a group of self proclaimed gun nuts plotting the demise of an MP who has devoted much of his time and energy to criminal justice. A Tea Party style attack on Planned Parenthood and an aide discussed on tape, who may have taken kickbacks for government favours.

Yet we are graced day in and day out, with the same phony smile on the same arrogant face, of a man who has been the most unCanadian prime minister in our history, standing behind a sign that reads 'Here for Canada'.



Yet with all of the disparaging headlines and misleading polls, there is a large progressive grassroots movement to replace this government. And it is a movement that did not spring up overnight, but has been working behind the scenes to inform and encourage for over a year. From strategic voting to simply getting out the vote, these people get no money for what they do, and yet they still do it.

Stop the split
Leadnow.ca
Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper
Catch 22 Harper Conservatives
To name just a few.

With daily headlines that appear aimed to discourage, why have they not given up? Because they still believe they can win.

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." Charles Dickens, Tale of Two Cities

The Conservative Platform Mentions 'Coalition' 42 Times But is Silent on Healthcare

I'm beginning to seriously worry about the state of Stephen Harper's mental health. Fortunately for him, the opposition members are not venomous enough to sound the alarm.

Because while Harper with the help of Sun Media and others, are launching horrendous personal attacks on Michael Ignatieff and his wife, and are dropping hints about Jack Layton not being unable to lead because he's recovering from cancer (shame on you Mike Duffy), no one has gone after Harper's family.

We don't do that in Canada because it's vile. But Harper is Republican trained, so doesn't understand the meaning of common decency.

But when we look at this man's actions, from his personal photo gallery and constant reference to 'his' steady hand, 'his' leadership, 'his' handling of the economy, it's hard not to think that this man may suffer from clinical narcissism.

The entire platform pays homage to 'him. And the fear of a 'coalition' is not that it would be 'reckless' but that it could mean 'his' job.

Lying is now so natural that he doesn't even break a sweat. Spending millions of our tax dollars ($247 million to date) on self-promotion ads, are not seen by 'him' as a waste of our money, because they are about 'him'.

A government of one. And a very 'reckless' government of one that puts unsafe and over priced fighter jets, prison expansion and corporate tax cuts ahead of Canadians.

Who believes that tax credits (in the future when the books are balanced) for families who can afford $1000.00 in sports programs for their children and gym memberships for themselves, are more valuable than families struggling just to put food on the table.

One in ten children live in poverty in this country. One in four aboriginal children live in poverty. For children under six the rate is higher, with 40% of aboriginal children in that age group living in poverty.

And though neoconservatives believe that we are only poor because we choose to be poor, 40% of children living in poverty have at least one parent working full time.

We have one of the highest rates of infant deaths, and hunger is on the rise. And this is his plan? Sports credits? Gym memberships?

We do have to rebuild our middle class, as they are increasingly becoming the working poor, but you do that by protecting good jobs. Not building pipelines that send all the good jobs south. Or signing deals like the one with the EU that will cost us approx. 150,000 good paying full time positions.

More and more, the Conservatives are scrambling for the support of the cream rising to the top, while the rest of us are swimming in the milk of broken promises and privatization schemes that continue to suck the financial life out of a once thriving nation.

And as the incomes of Canadians continue to fall or stagnate, and more are now not only unemployed, underemployed and precariously employed, we will soon be facing the end of public healthcare as we know it. It will be a two-tiered system that provides the best to the wealthy and crumbs to the rest of us.

If you have a chronic illness, good luck with that. You'll be dropped by these 'new' carriers faster than a Charlie Sheen 'girlfriend'.

Stephen Harper calls it a 'private' alternative. 'Choice' in healthcare he says. But let's cut to the chase. What he's promoting is 'corporate healthcare'. And what will a corporation's priority be? Profit.

So it will be what Liberal health critic, Dr. Carolyn Bennett, calls 'sickcare'. The health of a nation is not a priority and we will be reduced to a pay scale in a corporate office.



This is one election issue that is getting very little notice and I'm afraid that it won't until it's too late.

Harper is leaving a healthcare study up to an unelected senate, stacked with his own fundraisers and glad handlers. Many are corporate lobbyists. None are healthcare professionals.

And while promising to match the Liberal Party's commitment to healthcare, we know that Harper is lying. His actions speak louder than words. Multinational corporations will always come first in Stephen's world.

The Health Accord with the provinces comes due in 2014, when it will have to be renegotiated. The Conservatives have set aside no new money for this. So where will the funds come from when he is breaking the bank on things we don't need and few Canadians want?

You could ask Stephen Harper, but he's not talking. Or at least he's limiting his talk to 4 questions a day, but will ignore any he has no interest in answering.

So yes, I'm worried about the state of Harper's mental health, because of the impact it could have on ours.

Want Some Cool Stuff For Your Campaigns and Rallies?

UnseatHarper has some really great items for your local campaigns and rallies. T-shirts, lawn signs, bumber stickers. You name it, they've got it. Be sure to check them out.

And you can download free flyers here.

How Do We Turn Down the Volume on the Right-Wing Noise Machine?

Last night my husband and I went out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary. At a nearby table a customer was discussing the upcoming election, clearly upset that the Opposition had "rejected the budget", seeing it as a "power grab".

My initial knee-jerk reaction was dismay that they had missed the enormity of what had taken place yesterday. The Contempt of Parliament charge is the first in the history of the British Parliamentary system.

It had nothing to do with the budget or grabbing power, and everything to do with stopping a man who believes that he is above the law, and not only has contempt of, but contempt for, our time-honoured traditions, and the people we elect to represent us.

In his brief statement, made after the historic vote, Stephen Harper claimed that the opposition should be focusing on the economy, not an election, but how can they focus on the economy, when he refused to provide the cost of bills he's trying to get passed?

His appearance was only to provide talking points for the right-wing noise machine. And our waitress didn't disappoint. Her parting shot to the misguided couple - "I know. And what's he going to do if he doesn't win .... go back to Harvard?"

What does that mean exactly? The fact that Michael Ignatieff has an opportunity to return to teaching at Harvard, is a bad thing? And why not Oxford or Cambridge, where he also taught?

And what will Stephen Harper do if he loses, or fails to get a majority? Go back to the corporate sponsored Astro-Turf National Citizens Coalition? If your best argument is that the leader of the official opposition may return to teaching at Ivy League universities, then it's time to rethink your arguments.

The sad thing is, however, that the media will also use the same banal talking points. During the Coalition Crisis, few thought to investigate whether or not the accusations of a coalition being "illegal" or "dangerous" were accurate. And fewer still reminded Canadians that Stephen Harper himself had engineered a Coalition in 2004, to take down Paul Martin at the Throne Speech. I'm glad some are now producing the letter of intent, to neutralize another Conservative talking point: "The Michael Ignatieff led coalition".

That was a very sad time in our history, because it exposed our ignorance of how our country is supposed to be governed. Instead Jack Layton, Stéphane Dion and Gilles Duceppe, were dubbed the "Three Stooges" by the mainstream press, and reduced to "bumbling" status.

Jack Layton has a PhD in political science and an amazing team. Libby Davies, Pat Martin, Charlie Angus and Paul Dewar, to name just a few. None "hapless" or "ignorant" or "dangerous".

Stéphane Dion is a brilliant academic who wrote the 'Clarity Act' and proved his leadership skills when he stood his ground at an International summit to pass the Kyoto Accord. The Conservatives were able to paint him as ignorant, by capitalizing on his difficulty with the English language. But he is not "hapless" or "ignorant" or "dangerous", either. In fact many Quebecers claim that Dion's English was no worse than Harper's French.

And Gilles Duceppe, was never part of the Coalition in 2008 (though a full partner in Harper's in 2004). He only agreed to support it for 18 months on confidence issues. I have so much respect for Mr. Duceppe. A true progressive with a poet's soul. And yes, he's a separatist, but so was Stephen Harper, when he wanted Alberta to go it alone. And *Stockwell Days' father was actually a candidate for the Western Canada Concept Party, who were also separatists.

But once your name gets fed into the right-wing noise machine, it gets spit out as garbly-goop.

The author of the book shown above, David Cameron, knows a thing or two about the right-wing media and noise machines.

He was once editor of the American Spectator magazine, and responsible for fabricating one scandal after another, to support the Right's attempt to have former President Bill Clinton impeached. Financed by the Federalist Society and the Council for National Policy, Cameron would later come clean about his own involvement in the ungrounded assault.

For a bit of trivia, it was at the CNP annual conference in 1997, where they passed the motion to throw all of their resources behind having Clinton impeached. And it was at this same conference, where Stephen Harper gave his 'I really hate Canadians' speech, saying that their "conservative movement, is a light and an inspiration to people in this country and across the world."

And in another bit of trivia, not that either of these things would ever find their way onto a Canadian trivia show; one of the people responsible for the Clinton fiasco, was the late Paul Weyrich.

Weyrich was once the Godfather of the American Religious Right, but he was also instrumental in helping to get Stephen Harper elected in 2006, when he advised his "flock" not to talk to the Canadian media, who were curious about our fallen PM's involvement in their movement .

So how do we turn off, or turn down, the right-wing noise machine, that is clearly deafening society to the erosion of their democracy?

Cameron started an organization called Media Matters in America, where he exposes the lies and half-truths, of many headline grabbing news stories.

In Canada, we have many concerned citizen movements including UnseatHarper/Defend Democracy, that I am proud to write for. Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper, Catch 22 Harper Conservatives, leadnow.ca, CoffeeParty.ca ....

And collectively our voices will be used to drown out the noise.

Can you hear it?

The grinding and clunk of the right-wing noise machine as its motor burns out, replaced with the melody of millions of small voices speaking up for democracy.

Music to my ears.

Footnotes:

* Stockwell Day, Sr., was long associated with the Social Credit Party of Canada. In the 1972 federal election he was the Social Credit candidate running against New Democratic Party leader Tommy Douglas in the riding of Nanaimo—Cowichan—The Islands. Day, Sr., supported Doug Christie and was a member of the Western Canada Concept.

The Conservatives Don't Have to Worry About Michael Ignatieff in the Next Election. They Have to Worry About Us

Polls are indicating that Stephen Harper will at least win another minority in the upcoming, hopefully soon, election. But history has proven time and again that polls taken outside of an election campaign mean less than nothing.

As James Travers said recently:

Some conclusions roll too easily off political tongues. One echoing around the capital this winter is that an election now won’t change much. Possibly true, the assumption is almost certainly false. Campaigns matter and the next will matter more than most.

Beyond tossing red meat to diehard Conservatives, depressing opposition support helps explain the party’s current nasty advertising campaign. Framing Michael Ignatieff as a self-serving dilettante who dissed Canada from a distance is the kind of message that might well disillusion the same voters who stayed home rather than vote for the last Liberal leader Conservatives savaged, Stéphane Dion. Potentially decisive, that strategy to maximize the efficiency of the Conservative vote comes with a risk factor. Harper could inadvertently lower expectations to the point where Ignatieff in person proves to be a comparative surprise.

Ignatieff is accountable for foolish things said abroad. Still, there’s more to becoming prime minister than selective quotes. After all, Canadians forgot or forgave Harper’s divisive musings about Alberta firewalls and an Atlantic Canada culture of defeatism.

The other problem is that we have heard it so much that we've built up an immunity. We're more concerned with Harper selling us to the Americans, and allowing Wall Street to infiltrate our once sound banking industry, than Ignatieff teaching at Harvard for five years.

But there is something else that is being largely ignored. The power of the people.

Prior to Stephen Harper's last self-serving prorogation, he was ahead by 10 points in the polls. But the ease with which Canadians could be rallied in protest, showed an underlying distrust and anger. It is still there, because we got no closure, only talking points.

And what we see in Egypt, Wisconsin, and indeed across the globe, is an underlying discontent with corporate run governments, police brutality (like we saw at the G-20 by Harper's hired goons) and corruption. There is a mass "fighting back" movement that will make it's way here. I can feel it.

Sarah Van Gelder says on Rabble:

The uprising that swept Tunisia, Egypt, and parts of Europe is showing signs of blossoming across the United States. In Wisconsin, public employees and their supporters are drawing the line at Governor Scott Walker's plan to eliminate collective bargaining and unilaterally cut benefits. School teachers, university students, firefighters, and others descended on the capital in the tens of thousands, and even the Superbowl champion Green Bay Packers have weighed in against the bill. Protests against similar anti-union measures are ramping up in Ohio.

And Raquel Brown:

American conservatives often profess admiration for foreign workers' bravery in protesting and undermining authoritarian regimes. Letting workers exercise their rights at home, however, threatens to undermine some of our own regimes (the Republican ones particularly) and shouldn't be permitted. Now that Wisconsin's governor has given the Guard its marching orders, we can discern a new pattern of global repressive solidarity emerging -- from the chastened pharaoh of the Middle East to the cheese-head pharaoh of the Middle West.

There are cracks in the armour

And from the Huffington Post a reminder that we are all Wisconsin workers: That's the way solidarity works: an injury to anyone is an injury to all. For all our sakes, the Wisconsin protests must succeed in their goal: workplace negotiation not subjugation.

- If you want a voice on the job, you're a Wisconsin worker.
-If you want your employer to pay you the benefits you earned, you're a Wisconsin worker.
- If you enjoy your weekends, you're a Wisconsin worker.
- If you value workplace safety, health care benefits, and unemployment insurance, you're a Wisconsin worker.
- If you're an elected official counting on your pension, you're a Wisconsin worker.
- If you're a non-union employee in a right to work state, you're a Wisconsin worker.
- If you're unemployed or underemployed, you're a Wisconsin worker.
-If you want a decent day's pay for an honest day's work, you are a Wisconsin worker.
- If you believe in workplace negotiation not subjugation, you're a Wisconsin worker.
- And even if you're an anti-union media pundits with an American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) union card and protections, you're a Wisconsin worker.

From Libya to China. From Wales to Mississippi. The people are fighting back, and Canada will have her day.

Because we the citizens are now the official opposition.

We Are Losing Our Democracy While the Middle East is Earning Theirs

Both in Canada and the U.S., many journalists and talk show hosts are praising the actions of Egypt, while wondering what happened to our own democracies.

Egyptians risked their lives to overthrow a ruthless and corrupt government, and we can't even get off the couch to cast our ballot. We should be ashamed.

But for those not inspired in North America, across the Middle East and Africa, there has been a domino affect. According to the Toronto Star: Citizens, ex-soldiers, labourers protest across Arab world

They list the countries currently uprising, and there's a common theme. Income disparity and police brutality. I kept rereading the names, because they could have been about Canada.

Libya: "Egypt-inspired unrest spread against Libya’s longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi on Wednesday, with riot police clashing with protesters"

Canada: Protesters clash with riot police

Yemen: "... sent 2,000 policemen into the streets of the capital on Wednesday to try to put down days of protests against the president of 32 years"

Canada: Toronto Police Attack Peaceful Protesters and Journalists at G20 Protests

South Africa: "Police fired rubber bullets Wednesday to disperse protesters in a third day of demonstrations in the eastern town of Ermelo"

Canada: G20 TORONTO: POLICE FIRE RUBBER BULLETS AT CIVILIANS, POLICE DENY IT

And all of this started as a result of social media.

Over the last year, many have questioned just how important social media are in helping activists achieve social change. Writer Malcolm Gladwell wrote a famous essay in The New Yorker entitled “Small change: Why the Revolution Won’t be Tweeted.” He argued that social networks only create weak ties between people, but that it’s strong ties and close relationships that bring about real social change.

The topic has been widely debated, and then reality stepped in: If Twitter, Facebook and YouTube didn’t exist, Hosni Mubarak would still be president of Egypt. The social media tools gave Mubarak’s opponents unprecedented ability to share information and organize their activities, including the massive protests which riveted the world’s attention.

Pollsters in Canada didn't think social media had an impact but we proved them wrong during the anti-prorogation rallies. And cell phone images, videos and tweets revealed the police brutality at the G-20 in Toronto. Mainstream media had better get with the program or they are going to lose their voice in the same way that we once lost our voice. No one will be listening.

But they are sure listening now.

According to ABC News: Social Media Fuels Protests in Iran, Bahrain and Yemen

I cancelled my local paper (Sun Media) and rarely watch Canadian news shows (about 2 minutes a month is all I can handle). Too much spin and too little substance.

Pundits, Polls and Protests. How the Media Has it so Wrong

I've posted often about the illegitimacy of polls that attempt to predict the results of a mythical election. Most are spun and contrived and at the end of the day, mean very little until the writ is dropped and the campaigning begins.

I read the book, The Newsmongers: How the Media Distort the Political News, By Mary Anne Comber and Robert S. Mayne, and though written in 1986, before the rightward migration of our press, there are many observations that still apply today.

And the course that was written of twenty-five years ago, may have reached the end, with polling firms becoming obsolete. Because their "results" fail to capture the public mood.

Stephen Harper has many unresolved issues and while he has been able to put them on the back burner, focusing on his re-election by spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on self-promotion ads, the big issues are still with us. He has managed to duck everyone of these, by avoiding the media and thereby avoiding us. But we will raise them during the campaign.

At or near the top of the list are the two prorogations for his personal benefit. One to avoid a coalition takeover and the other to avoid having to answer questions as to what he knew and when, about torture in Afghanistan.

Another is the attacks on peaceful protesters and journalists during the G-20 weekend in Toronto. He was behind the decision to hold it there, and it was he who gave out a massive contract to a foreign company to handle security.

Then of course there are all of the little things, that are far from little. The purchase of fighter jets deemed unfit by every other country but Canada and Israel. The corporate tax cuts despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of Canadians are opposed to them. The waste of tax dollars on signs and TV spots. Billions for prison expansion when our crime rate is the lowest in our history. The hostile takeovers of arms length agencies. Fox News North. Avoiding the media and thereby avoiding us.

The list goes on.

There is an excellent indepth piece in the Winnipeg Free Press: Pollsters advise voters to be wary of polls ahead of possible spring vote

Canada's notoriously competitive pollsters have some surprisingly uniform advice about the parade of confusing and conflicting numbers they're about to toss at voters ahead of a possible spring election: Take political horse race polls with a small boulder of salt.

"Pay attention if you want to but, frankly, they don't really mean anything," sums up Andre Turcotte, a pollster and communications professor at Carleton University. He has even more pointed advice for news organizations that breathlessly report minor fluctuations in polling numbers: "You should really consider what is the basis for your addiction and maybe enter a ten-step program."

Have you been reading Eric Grenier's nonsense? It's like watching an episode of the Keystone Cops. His meanderings tickle the funny bone, just before you roll your eyes in disbelief. Poor boy. He does try, though his bias is overwhelming.

Social media is where it's at now. The right-wing media and the high priced pollsters have spun themselves out. We no longer listen to them, but instead listen to us.

Psssst! You Wanna' Come For Coffee? No I Mean It

There was an excellent piece in the Globe promoting a grassroots movement in Canada: The Coffee Party.

The outcry over last year’s prorogation of Parliament was one indication that Canadians are not complacent about democracy. Another more recent example is the apparent ability of Democracy Watch, an independent group that lobbies for more transparent and representative government, to spark interest in its so-called Coffee Party.

Democracy Watch said Friday that, in the first week since its CoffeeParty.ca website went live, it has received more than 85,000 hits from people across Canada.

I remember the protests over prorogation. They were exhilarating. Pundits and pollsters are ignoring this, but the power of social media will give us our country back.

The Corporate Welfare State has all the money but the Social Welfare State has all the people. We will win. And to remind you of what we are fighting for:

The Power of One and the Power of Facebook

On January 18, a 25-year-old Egyptian woman, Asmaa Mahfouz, posted an impassioned speech on Facebook.

"Don't think you can be safe any more. None of us are. Come down with us and demand your rights, my rights, your family's rights. I am going down on January 25th, and will say 'No to corruption. No to this regime.' "We want to go down to Tahrir Square on January 25th," she said. "If we still have honor, and want to live in dignity on this land, we have to go down on January 25th. We go down and demand our rights, our fundamental human rights. I won't even talk about any political rights. We just want our human rights and nothing else."

And as a result of one woman's speech, millions of protestors joined in the fight, drawing attention to the oppressive regime of Hosni Mubarak.

And wile Israel is feeling vulnerable, knowing that this will give the Muslim Brotherhood more power, it presents an opportunity for Israel to rethink their aggressive policies, and the U.S. and Canada, to rethink their unflinching support of Israeli expansion into Gaza.

As Chris Hedges reminds us:

The failure of the United States to halt the slow-motion ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by Israel has consequences. The failure to acknowledge the collective humiliation and anger felt by most Arabs because of the presence of U.S. troops on Muslim soil, not only in Iraq and Afghanistan but in the staging bases set up in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, has consequences. The failure to denounce the repression, including the widespread use of torture, censorship and rigged elections, wielded by our allies against their citizens in the Middle East has consequences. We are soaked with the stench of these regimes. Mubarak, who reportedly is suffering from cancer, is seen as our puppet, a man who betrayed his own people and the Palestinians for money and power.

The Muslim world does not see us as we see ourselves. Muslims are aware, while we are not, that we have murdered tens of thousands of Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. We have terrorized families, villages and nations. We enable and defend the Israeli war crimes carried out against Palestinians and the Lebanese—indeed we give the Israelis the weapons and military aid to carry out the slaughter. We dismiss the thousands of dead as “collateral damage.” And when those who are fighting against occupation kill us or Israelis we condemn them, regardless of context, as terrorists. Our hypocrisy is recognized on the Arab street. Most Arabs see bloody and disturbing images every day from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, images that are censored on our television screens. They have grown sick of us.

Just because we don't see the brutality, doesn't mean that it does not exist. Asmaa Mahfouz is bringing this into our consciousness. And Egypt's dictator is ready to talk with protestors in Tahrir square.

The power of one.

A seventeen-year-old from St. Cloud, Minnesota, Austin Lee, had been trying for three years to get a skate park built in his community, but no one would listen.

So he took his fight to Facebook, and within days his grassroots group swelled to over a 1,000 members. And not content to just network, they took their fight to city council. Strength in numbers resulted in the approval of a $500,000 skate plaza. "John Libert, vice president of the St. Cloud City Council, said he's never gotten more e-mails and other communications about a single issue than the skate plaza in his four years on the council."

The power of one.

In December of 2009, when Stephen Harper prorogued Parliament to avoid answering questions on what he knew about the torture of Afghan Detainees, I was devastated. I don't think I ever remember feeling so helpless.

This meant that one man now had power over all of us, and it was not a good feeling.

Little did I know that a university student was sitting in his living room, eating a bowl of cereal, and experiencing the same sense of loss and helplessness. But this young man decided to do something about it. He started a Facebook page, Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament, and within a short period time he had over 225,000 members.

But it didn't stop there. Those members took this to the streets in rallies for our democracy, that took place across the country, drawing attention to the undemocratic actions of Stephen Harper. Pollsters denounced it as just a bunch of bored students, but a survey was done of our group, and the majority were over 30, educated and married. What you might call "settled". And we all voted.

The young man's name was Christopher White and his actions have sparked other groups all committed to voting out our neoconservative government next election.

The power of one.

On January 25, 2010, I appeared on the current with Anna Maria Tremonti, to discuss the phenomenon of the CAPP movement. And while pollsters were denouncing it, I told her that "Motivated citizens and technology were a powerful force and if politicians ignored it, it would be at their peril."

Hosni Mubarak learned that the hard way, and so did Stephen Harper.

Asmaa Mahfouz did not instill a sense of injustice in Egyptians, but articulated what people were already feeling, and she provided a platform for sharing stories. But more importantly, she gave hope to those who were feeling as though the situation was hopeless. She awakened the citizenry.

Christopher White did the same thing in Canada. While we were all sitting around mourning the death of our democracy, he ... well still sat around, but he did something about it. And he awakened the citizenry.

I think that pollsters will go the way of the typewriter, and become obsolete. They look so cute sitting there with their sleeves rolled up and their laptops open, thinking they can predict the results of an election that has yet to have even been called.

But they forget that we still have many unresolved issues, that we will carry with us into that election. So to pollsters, make your little phone calls, if you still believe they're reliable, but if you really want a sense of what the people are feeling, you might want to visit Facebook, and other social media, because that's where the real action is.

The power of millions.

Canadians Defending Democracy to Launch New Ad Campaign

A group I belong to and promote, Canadians Defending Democracy, is launching another newspaper ad campaign. You can help by contributing at Unseat Harper. The more money collected, the more ads we can place.

The website is currently being revamped but until our new web site is up and a paypal button provided, you can go to PayPal home page, press the SEND MONEY, and use bnobels@sympatico.ca as the recipient. That is the address which is our access to the account.

It doesn't have to be a large donation, but this country has been kidnapped by thugs, so think of this as helping to pay the ransom to get Canada back.

But even if you can't afford to donate, or would rather not, you can still get involved.

We have a facebook group: Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper, where we share information or just chat. There are lots of links to things that should be making the news. Read and share the information with your friends.

Because an informed population may be the best asset a country can have.

What is your democracy worth to you?

Help Us to Win the Three By-Elections

There are three by-elections called for November 29, 2010, in order to fill vacancies in the House of Commons. Two seats in Manitoba and one seat in Ontario. A further three by-elections remain to be called and may also be held in 2010 or 2011.

Canadian Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper plan to run ads in local newspapers against Stephen Harper and his regressive government.

So please help us out.

You can donate here, whatever you can afford.

You can also buy T-shirts, caps, bumper stickers, lawn signs and other things that will help to get the word out.

We need your help.

We have to send this man a message that we are fed up. His MPs are using our tax dollars to campaign. We can't do that.

We are also on Facebook, so drop in and say hello.

Join the Stop Stephen Harper lawn Sign Campaign

One of our CRUSH members, Larry Rochette, had a Harper lawn sign stolen , and is fighting back.

He will now have four lawn signs, including one letting would be thieves know that they are on Candid Camera.

So what is CRUSH?

It stands for Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper. We are a peaceful but proactive group, working to get rid of this destructive government.

You can join our Facebook group here.

Visit our website here.

Get your own lawn signs here. We also have T-shirts, bumper stickers, and other important advertising items.

So join Larry and his Stephen Harper lawn sign campaign. It will make you feel so good, as we all work together to restore democracy to this country.

How Canadian Estates of the Realm Can Make Me Royalty. You Too.

The notion of Estates of the Realm originated in the Middle Ages, as a way of dividing society by their level of importance.

First estate was the clergy, second the nobility and the third everyone else.

This was later modernized, with government leaders and politicians becoming the first estate. Behind them are business leaders, who were to act as Captains of Industry, and though amassing small fortunes, were expected to contribute positively* to the country in some way.

The third are the consumers and working class and the fourth estate, journalists, reporters, and other media representatives.

It was the duty of the fourth estate to keep a watchful eye on what the first and second estates were doing, while providing valuable information to the consumers, workers, and taxpayers of the third estate.

All part of a healthy functioning democracy.

However, what has been happening over the years, is a merger between the first and second estates, which has accelerated since Stephen Harper came to power. He no longer even pretends that corporations don't take precedence over Parliament.

But more troubling is the fact that he has also swallowed up the fourth estate, as independent media in Canada is becoming a thing of the past. The Globe and Mail was the latest to fall.

And they have also pulled in religious leaders, who now have a place at the first estate table. But not really members of the clergy. Most of them still belong to us. But they have brought in the for-profit religious leaders who have traded their souls for power and money. And they are the ones who get to decide our morality and foreign policy.

And in a country with a national police force, they couldn't leave them out. RCMP Shelley Glover, now a Harper MP, is thrilled that hers is the "only party that has elected police officers" And they hope to add one more in a by-election.

The G-20 was evidence that the Canada's police forces are now part of that first estate.

But there is a fifth estate that I haven't mentioned yet. I'm not talking about the TV show, but unofficially the fifth estate is comprised of the social media, including bloggers and all "'networked individuals' enabled by the Internet in ways that can hold the other estates accountable".

That's us.

So the first estate is the government, corporations, the mainstream media, high paid religious leaders and the police. The second estate are ordinary citizens, while the third are those of us, like Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper, who care about the direction this country is headed, and are determined to do something about it.

And our weapon of choice is information.

We have some great allies, like Rabble, the Tyee, Cornwall Free Press, Winnipeg Free Press, Mark News and other independent sources. And we also have several investigative journalists who still remember why they became journalists in the first place, and many great columnists, who continue to get the word out, often at the expense of their careers.

So here are my plans. We merge with the "new" second estate, making Canadians the acclaimed nobility. We then have the numbers to decide the fate of the "new" first estate.

First - we get rid of our current government.

Second - we demand that corporations become responsible and pay their share of taxes. They can no longer pollute and must return to their places as good corporate citizens.

Third - We remind the police that they work for us, the taxpayer. Their job is to serve and protect the public, not run interference for a prime minister who refuses to answer questions, or bash anyone who disagrees with him.

Fourth - We expose the Religious Right leaders as the money grubbing bottom feeders that they are.

Then we redesign the estates of the realm, with the first estate being us, and all those below us will serve our needs.

It can be done. But we have to get involved and get others involved and make sure that every citizen in this country, tired of being ignored, VOTES!

Stephen Harper hates it when we vote. It will make him mad. I love it when he's mad. His eyes water, his head spins and he starts to drool. We could sell tickets.

Footnotes:

*Suggested reading: The Myth of the Good Corporate Citizen: Canada and Democracy in the Age of Globalization, By Murray Dobbin, James Lorimer & Company, 2003, ISBN: 1-55028-785-0

Taking it to the Streets at the G-20. C'mon Harper. It's Time to Explain Yourself.

As expected, most of the charges that came about when peaceful protesters were brutally arrested during the G-20 weekend from hell, were dropped. Proof that they were fabricated. As one protester claimed “I have a problem with the criminalization of dissent." And that's exactly what this was about.

This is a government that does not allow dissent. (One of the reasons why the group Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper was formed)

And there is growing support for a full investigation, and demands that Stephen Harper and Dalton McGuinty explain themselves.

This winnowing process reflects well on Ontario Court, and its reluctance to criminalize dissent. But it does nothing to ease concerns about Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s unwisdom in holding the G20 in downtown Toronto, turning it into an armed camp of empty streets. Or Premier Dalton McGuinty’s decision to grant the police enhanced powers of arrest without properly informing the public. Or the police strategy that first let vandals run amok, then cracked down on non-violent protesters.

We deserve better than this.

What’s needed is a broad public inquiry by Ottawa or Queen’s Park into this wretched chain of events, from the Prime Minister’s fateful decision to turn Toronto into an armed camp, to police tactics that ranged from laissez-faire to abrupt mass arrests. We deserve a full accounting.

Thomas Walkom had an excellent column yesterday, that is well worth a read: The G20 protests and judicial farce

In some cases, hapless Crown prosecutors tried to cover their embarrassment by striking deals with the accused: Pay $50 or $100 to your favourite charity and we’ll forget the charges. In a standard court case, this tactic — a form of plea bargain — might make sense. But in this very political case, it’s hard not to suspect that the authorities were taking advantage of the fact that many charged without reason simply wanted the nightmare to end.

In effect, what occurred at the G20 was a massive and quite possibly illegal array of pre-emptive arrests. People were picked up and charged not because they were doing anything wrong — not even because they were about to do anything wrong. Rather they were arrested and charged because those in charge of the police found civil liberties inconvenient. Their thinking: If everyone who might conceivably cause trouble is put in jail, there can be no trouble. It is the totalitarian’s recipe for public order. Very China. Very Zimbabwe. Not very Canada.

Not Very Canada. Exactly. Protesting is not only about civil disobedience, but it is also about performing a civic duty. If we are not allowed to stand up for ourselves or others, how can we possibly believe that we are living in a democracy?

James William Fulbright once said "In a democracy dissent is an act of faith. Like medicine, the test of its value is not in its taste, but its effects."

"An act of faith" that we will not be beaten up and arrested for the simple act of disagreeing with our government. Canadians have now lost that faith. Only a full public inquiry will restore it.

Elizabeth May to Speak at Canadians Advocating Political Participation

When Stephen Harper took his 2 1/2 month prorogue vacation, on the advice of his doctor, Guy Giorno, it set off a firestorm of protest, triggered in large part by Christopher White and Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament.

From that core group there were several spin-offs, including: Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper (part of Unseat Harper) and Catch 22 Harper Conservatives.

But another group is becoming very important, since they are working to get people engaged in the political process: Canadians Advocating Political Participation. Apathy favours the incumbent and dirty politics, like constant attack ads, help to create apathy.

So it's great news that Elizabeth May will be speaking at CAPP. She is brilliant and I'm really pushing for her to beat out the hapless Gary Lunn.

She needs to be in Parliament. It's that simple.

So if you live in the Toronto area, be sure to check it out.

Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper is Growing

Not long ago Dimitri Soudas described us as radicals. I love it. But obviously Dimi Witty is paying attention.

Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper now has over 4,000 members and the great ad you see here, was published in the Globe & Mail today. Just in time for the summits from hell.

So come join us "radicals". The funnest bunch you'll ever meet.

We share stories, links, videos, and offer support for all those living through the dark days of Harper.

But not for long. The buzz is that there will be an election this fall and I'm pumped.

Neoconservatism is the god that failed. And what a right mess it made of things.

We Have Videos: Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper

We're still going strong and growing all the time.

We will take our country back one vote at a time.

Join us at www.unseatharper.ca

Or on Facebook

The only way to get rid of the destructive American Religious Right is to get rid of the party that allowed the destructive American Religious Right to take over our country. Let's send them both packing.

I'm a Radical! How Cool is That?

Apparently the Reformers have sent out a fundraising letter after uncovering some nefarious plot by someone who has contributed money to the Liberal Party, and is in cahoots with the CBC. I think she also knows where Jimmy Hoffa is buried and who really killed JFK.

But this is the funny part:

It has now come to our attention that Mrs. Pynenburg is the Vice-President of the National Women's Liberal Commission, and a proud member of Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper (CRUSH), a radical anti-Stephen Harper group.

Not the National Women's Liberal Commission! Oh no, say it ain't so. Lynch her now.

Mary Pynenburg is a Facebook friend and she is wonderful. And like me she is not only "a proud member of Canadians Rallying to Unseat Stephen Harper", but also Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament.

I don't know the story of the poll, but it can't be much different than the ones that have been flooding the media, conducted by the Manning Centre (Manning as in Reform Party/Stephen Harper Manning)

And CRUSH is hardly radical. I write for them on Unseat Harper (we're also on Twitter) and I donate $25.00 a month to the Liberal Party. If that makes me a radical, then so be it.

I've always wanted to be a "radical" and if the Reformers want to put that in a fundraising letter they can go ahead. I might even throw in a few bucks if they're that hard up.

Now where's my Abbie Hoffman T-shirt and go-go boots. There's gonna' be a revolution! But first I need a nap.