Canada's Story as Viewed by La La Land Could be a Science Fiction

I watched the season opener of Bill Maher last night and it was almost surreal, especially when the talks became about Canada.

But early on he quoted from American economist Robert Reich, who broke down the neoconservative philosophy quite succinctly. "The public is being sold a big lie, that our problems are due to unions and the size of government and not to deregulation and the vast concentration of wealth."

This is especially compelling, given that the Harper government has been driving a deregulation agenda, even going so far as making it legal for corporations to commit fraud.

Reich also said that Obama must frame the narrative. It's tough because he's facing the same corporate sponsored AstroTurfing, as Canada's opposition. Every argument they make gets twisted into "not supporting the troops", being "tax and spend liberals", "careless". And before long some "grassroots" group starts up, which more often than not gets traced back to a Corporate Party of Canada staffer. This creates the same toxic political climate as the Republicans have in the U.S.

But Americans may actually be waking up. Sarah Palin is at her lowest point in popularity and the Tea Party is being debunked. I think the tide may be turning.

James Travers had a very good column this week discussing how Stephen Harper and his right-wing echo chamber, has been able to control the conversation, taking us away from important issues like healthcare, an aging population and a record debt. Instead we debate war, crime, guns, and now Harper is even tossing around the idea of bringing back the death penalty. (a defelection from his support for corporate greed?)

When I first read this as part of his Reform Party policy back in the day, I thought that Canadians would never ever bring it back. Now I have no idea how much Canadians will bear of this man's regressive agenda. It's seems like pretty much anything.

But as many in the media, including Travers, like to lay the blame at the Opposition's doorstep, they need to also look at themselves. I like Travers and he is certainly one of the more progressive thinkers, but he has constantly belittled the opposition and then wondered why they are not stronger. And he has resorted to that this time around, despite the fact that both Layton and Ignatieff are trying to frame a different message.

Layton is discussing our role in Afghanistan and Ignatieff the preservation of healthcare and relief for families caring for an aging family member. He even went so far as to tell the business community that we can't afford more corporate tax cuts. Not just using rhetoric for headlines, but going to the source of the problem.

Because as Maher stated last night, these are not "tax cuts". They are an enormous transfer of funds from those who need it to those who don't. And it has been going on for far too long.

Martin Short: Long on Memory, Short on Awareness

One of the guests last night, was Canadian actor Martin Short. Maher asked him how Canada got it so right. We had public healthcare, gun control and a stable economy. Short and others on the panel said that it was because we were more cautious, which is why our banks didn't need to be bailed out.

Flaherty and Harper have taken the approach that if they said it enough times, people would start to believe it. But we very much did bail out our banks, to the tune of 125 billion dollars. And Canadian economist Ellen Russel believes that since it was done so swiftly and apparently secretly, this will make our banks more careless in the future.

So I would ask our media, why they are blaming the Opposition, when they are the ones who allowed this to go unreported. Because it is now not only part of the Canadian psyche, but apparently the American one as well.

And not only did our banks get 125 billion dollars of OUR money, but they also got another 111 billion from the American taxpayers, through their U.S. branches. Quite a haul for our "good banks".

Short also stated that he was a conservative, to which most on the panel and Maher himself, stated that yes, but a Canadian conservative was much different from an American conservative. In Canada they were more like a social democrat. Short has clearly been away from Canada too long, because our current right-wing party is more toxic Republican than traditional Tory.

There was one man on the panel who could have corrected them, however. A little blast from the past. Republican strategist Mike Murphy, who engineered Mike Harris's Common Sense Revolution. But he stayed quiet, not getting involved in that part of the argument. A good neocon knows that you never challenge a lie that is working in your favour.

But with so much misinformation out there, and a media unable or unwilling to get to the root of it all, maybe the only ones who can really change the narrative is us.

A Short Film to Remind us Why we Must Fight Against Neoconservatism

Still a few bugs to iron out but I'm getting there. (Republican spelled wrong)

I plan to, by election time, create several one minute ads that we can use.

Right now I'm just trying to get as much information out as possible, anyway I can.

Maybe next week I'll march with a sandwich board. Whatever it takes.

I Think I Might Finally Have the Hang of This YouTube Thing

This one came out much better. I have been drafting some ads that I will also put to video. Shorter and hopefully snappier. I'm going to fix the first one I did and then get to work. This is so much fun.

And after searching everwhere I have found a copy of David Lewis's Corporate Welfare Bums on Ebay. I can't wait until I get it. It was written decades ago but we are facing the same challenges today. Corporate welfare has escalated and Stephen Harper is trading away our sovereignty.

It's time for action.

Thank You Kathleen O'Hara and Rabble. You Are in my Army of US's

I'm getting everything together for my Army of US's, inspired by the late and wonderful Harvey Milk. And Kathleen O'Hara and Catch 22 Conservatives are being made officers.

In fact I will probably only have officers in my army, because we are all the same, with the same goal.

Getting rid of this neoconservative government before they completely destroy us.

The following is designed not to insult or ridicule the Harper Conservatives -- it is to show accurately and honestly why the Tories shouldn't run or represent Canada. Stephen Harper promised to "change the face of Canada" so drastically we wouldn't recognize it. He has succeeded and Canadians must decide if that is really what they want.

She provides ten very compelling reasons. Go Kathleen. And don't forget these guys.

I'm mad and when I get mad I get busy. Enough is enough. Harper's Revolt of the Rich is over. He's now just revolting and it's time he made his exit.

Onward US's. It's time for our information revolution. Educate every Canadian citizen who believes that Stephen Harper is a moderate. Lets make political discussion the latest thing.

Coffee parties, beer parties, milk and cookie parties. Whatever it takes.

We need to talk.

Is it Time For an Us's Revolution? I Don't Think There Could be a Better Time

I watched the movie Milk last night, starring Sean Penn, and I was so inspired. It was based on the life of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to office in California. Milk took on the establishment and anti-gay activists Anita Bryant and John Briggs, and won.

The video at the bottom, was used in an attempt to stop Prop 8, denying gay marriage in California, but the message is a good one, not only for the rights of homosexuals, but for everyone losing their voice.

Milk was successful because he not only championed gay rights, but the rights of everyone, including blacks, the disabled, seniors, etc. And when he brought everyone together, bigotries within the group disappeared. The marchers were from all ages, races, genders and sexual orientations, with several signs reading simply 'God loves you'.

The success of the neoconservative movement has been achieved by marginalising and polarizing.

The Harper government goes after the gay community, knowing that they are not large enough in numbers to make a difference. They go after the Muslims for the same reason. Women's groups, veterans, seniors, the disabled - anyone they can pin a label to.

Harvey Milk referred to these groups as the US's, saying that "without hope the US's give up." So maybe it's time all the US's got together to become one big US.

We could form a coalition of labour, seniors, disabled, gays, women, veterans, professionals, academics, the religious left, or those following the social gospel of people like Tommy Douglas. All progressives, with one big voice. We certainly have enough to stand up against and for.

We represent 2/3 of the voting public and it's time to make those votes count. Thomas Walkom wrote in his column, about Harper once again resurrecting the coalition bogey man.

...as they prepare for a possible spring election, the Conservatives are using their considerable communications skills to resurrect the idea. From Harper to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to the most obscure Conservative senator, “coalition” is a must word when referring to the opposition. Conservatives now rarely speak of Liberals. In their parlance, Ignatieff is not Liberal leader. He is coalition leader — the man whose secret agenda is to form a government with socialists and traitors. (Like Harper in 2004)

Walkom believes that the opposition parties should just come out and tell Canadians that they plan to work together ahead of time. Present the terms of their coalition, whether we end up with a Conservative or a Liberal minority.

I think that's a good idea, but I would like to take that further.

I've written before about David Lewis, a brilliant man and former leader of the NDP. He was the one who engineered the campaign against Corporate Welfare Bums. But his campaign had some help from a grassroots group called The Committee for an Independent Canada.

This group worked within the political establishment to fight against the Americanization of Canada and move us further toward a Just Society. They reduced Trudeau to a minority with the NDP holding the balance of power, and things got done. Amazing things.

And that's what we need to do. Become an army of US's to fight against income disparity, corporate greed and the destruction of the Canadian identity. All represented by the Them's.

Milk often started a speech by introducing himself with this: "Hi. I'm Harvey Milk and I want to recruit you."

So: "Hi. I'm Emily Dee and I want to recruit you into my army of US's"