The Ugly Canadian

Part Duh!

Playing Chicken, eh?

I must confess, I certainly am enjoying watching the man who thinks Parliament is a place to play chicken - squirm, now that the rooster spurs are on the other roosters' claws. And to see that pit bull dressed as a human , John Baird, trying to make nice - well, like the credit card commercial goes, that's PRICELESS! Stick a fork in Stevie, he's done!

Do They Teach Government Here?

It is disconcerting listening to many of the men/women on the street, especially here in BC, when they are asked their opinion of the last week's events in Ottawa. I would have an excuse, having been educated in the United States, but even there I learned about the parliamentary style of government, if only in contrast to the American form. Tell me it isn't true that, instead of Civics classes or some equivalent, students in Canada merely watch Judge Judy and other American fare on TeeVee while the teacher grades papers on other subjects. I have fairly recently attended post-secondary schools here and found them more than adequate, though was surprised at the lack of literacy skills in many of my peers - but I attributed that to the influence of TeeVee, video games and copying and pasting rather than any differences due to nationality or educational systems.

Pudgy Steve Won?

Many seem to think that the Opposition parties are trying to effect some kind of coup and steal power from the man who actually won the meaningless election (which was just another excuse to prorogue Parliament - rather than actually show up and face Question Period). So what did St. Stephen actually win, other than a riding in Calgary where anyone not labelled either Liberal, NDP or Bloc Quebecois is automatically given a ticket to Ottawa? Almost two thirds of Canadians said EMPHATICALLY that they preferred anybody but Steve to be Prime Minister of Canada. If Canada is a democracy, it only seems appropriate that their votes count as well as those of thirty thousand or so people in Calgary. Maybe Steve doesn't understand the traditions of Parliament either, maybe he has been too busy studying the methodology of his mentors to the south and Karl Rove. Perhaps Steve wasn't paying attention to the recent US election and the failure of Karl Rove's style, even there people seem to have tired of the ongoing 24/7 politics of division.

Merry Olde England

Our government model is patterned after that of the country whose monarch is still the nominal head of our government, the United Kingdom. These folks who think the current situation is unheard of and somehow WRONG, should ask themselves how John Major became Prime Minister, or how Gordon Brown became the current Prime Minister - in both cases they took power without another election - though there wasn't a change in parties, that is also irrelevant since their respective parties held a MAJORITY at the time. Steve, and his MINORITY, only had a tenuous grasp on power, and then only with the confidence or trust of the House itself. This means the opposition parties as well, since he has FAILED twice to get a majority for his theocratic separatists disguised as Conservatives.

Dem Scary Separatists

It is rich that Steven, spawn of the Western Separatist Reform, Canadian Reform Alliance Party of Canada (or CRAP) trying to pass as a Tory wrapped in the carcass of the real Tories, who were almost killed by his semi-Canadian mentor Brian Mulroney, would try to claim that somehow the support of Gilles and the Bloc invalidates the co-alition's right to govern. As I said THAT'S RICH - does he really think Canadians are that dumb? Bloc members are elected to Parliament and take an oath to serve Canada and the Queen (not to serve St. Stephen). Is Steve implying that a Bloc MP is a second class MP? Most likely he would have been one of the sitting MPs who refused to allow Louis Riel to take up his seat when he was elected to Parliament from Red River - I like to think that kind of divisive, racist thinking is at least out of style, if not illegal!

You Can Run
....but You Can't Hide

There's lots of talk that Stevie may try to prorogue Parliament, yet again, to avoid a vote of non-confidence. Well, at least he lives in Alberta, instead of a normal part of Canada. Anywhere else his house might be surrounded by a mob, possibly bearing pitchforks, encouraging him to get his butt back to Ottawa and let Parliament get down to the real business of dealing with the issues facing Canada, issues other than assuaging the EGO of St. Stephen Harper.

Stephen Harper and Gordon Campbell, why is it that both of them prefer to avoid the legislative buildings as much as possible? Could it have something to do with being afraid to face questions that could expose hidden agenda, that aren't really in the interests of most Canadians?