Patronage King (By Daviolis)

Lots of mileage with Harper's latest broken promise and abandonment of yet another FFP (Former Fundamental Principle). Here's the latest take:


{Video by Daviolis}

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Mark Holland MP Update 24 August 2009

Mark Holland on what he has been up to this summer and on what has been going on in Ottawa.



{Video by Mark Holland, MP}

Also, congrats to Mark on his recent wedding. Check out photos here.

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Stephen Harper: The New King of Patronage (GritGirl)

There is the obvious hypocrisy of the senate appointments and the humourous parallels and the telling parallels, but I didn't quite realize the immense audicity of the record breaking pace of Harper's patronage appointments.

Now I do. Thanks to GritGirl.


{Video by GritGirl}

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Beholden to "The One that binds them all"

Nine new senate appoints, you say? All beholden to the one that binds them all, perhaps?

They were once men. Great kings of men. Then Sauron the Deceiver gave to them nine rings of power. Blinded by their greed, they took them without question. One by one, falling into darkness. Now they are slaves to his will. They are the Nazgul. Ring Wraiths. Neither living nor dead. At all times they feel the presence of the ring, drawn to the power of The One. They will never stop hunting you.

{Video posted by Voozio}

In case you are wondering, the music is "Just Like You Imagined" by Nine Inch Nails.

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Harper: "We are here to fight Brian Mulroney"

Ah, memories.

{Video by CBCTV Archives}

But that, of course, was then. And this is now.

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The Senate: a "dumping ground for the favoured cronies of the Prime Minister"

“Despite the fine work of many individual Senators, the Upper House remains a dumping ground for the favoured cronies of the Prime Minister.”
--- Stephen Harper, January 15, 2004

Welcome to the public world, you favoured cronies of the Prime Minister.



Apropos of nothing at all, a short stroll down memory lane. Remember way back when, when it came to appointments, the Prime Minister "had an option. [He] could have said "I'm not going to do it. This is wrong for Canada"?



More strolling:

"In the 21st century, those who want to sit in the parliament of a democratic state should have a mandate from the people."
--- Stephen Harper, February 7, 2006)

"A conservative government will not appoint to the senate anyone who does not have a mandate from the people."
--- Conservative Party website during 2006 election

“As everyone in this room knows, it has become a right of passage for aspiring leaders and prime ministers to promise Senate reform – on their way to the top. .But once they are elected, Senate reform quickly falls to the bottom of the Government’s agenda. Nothing ever gets done.”
--- Stephen Harper, Speech on Senate Reform before Senate Committee, September 7, 2006

“I don’t plan to appoint senators; that’s not my intention.”
--- Stephen Harper, Standard-Freeholder, January 14, 2006

“Stephen Harper will cease patronage appointments to the Senate. Only candidates elected by the people will be named to the Upper House.”
--- Stephen Harper Leadership Website, www.oneconservativevoice.ca, January 15, 2004

“I challenge Mr. Martin, once he becomes Prime Minister, to turn a page on the past, and appoint only elected Senators to the Upper House.”
--- Stephen Harper, Canadian Alliance Press Release, July 4, 2003

“Canadians from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia remain ashamed of Canada`s senior legislative body. They are ashamed the Prime Minister continues the disgraceful, undemocratic appointment of undemocratic Liberals to the undemocratic Senate to pass all too often undemocratic legislation.”
--- Stephen Harper, Hansard, March 7, 1996

“We don’t support any Senate appointments.”
(--- Stephen Harper, Winnipeg Free Press, January 29, 1996

UPDATE: Gerry Nichols' job application:

Despite what I have written or said in the past, I firmly believe Stephen Harper is the greatest, most magnificent, most brilliant Prime Minister in the history of the universe.

And I look forward to one day serving the Great Leader with unthinking, blind obedience and with complete loyalty.

(There, if that doesn't get me a Senate appointment, I don't know what will.)

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Ignatieff on Pharmacare

Thank you to Bob Speller for uploading all of these great clips from the summer BBQ tour with grassroots Liberals that the media and the Conservatives would like to believe has not been happening.

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Canadians seeking EI at 11 year high under Harper's Conservatives (Daviolis)

The number of Canadians seeking EI benefits is the highest its been in 11 years. That's a six percent increase from last month. Since the Harper Conservatives were re-elected, the number of Canadian families depending on EI has shot up by more than 300,000. That's an increase of more than 63 per cent.

They want you to believe that everything is A-OK, just like they wanted you to believe that Canadians weren't worried about their jobs, that there was never going to be a recession, that there was never going to be a deficit, that the recession and their deficit (once they had to admit they put us into a deficit before the recession began) was going to be small and manageable, that the deficit (once their first and second and third predictions were way off) was unpredictable and not their fault.

I think we all know better.

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Nothing says "I'm a Man" like using soldiers for props

Ok, folks, from the top again, into positions, let's get it right this time, can we get the submarine to move over about 5 metres, pretend you are talking, start looking up, alriiiight... "Mission Accomplished", Take IV ...



It's a cool campaign photo election propaganda photo that they set up for, I have to admit. But I thought about calling this post "The Million Dollar Shot" but that wouldn't be accurate as $1 million wouldn't even cover the cost of the Prime Minister's security detail for this giant-ego-sized photo opportunity for his election campaign ads. Especially when you can't get right the first time. Or the second time. Or even the third time.

Mission accomplished

Alison Crawford reflects on the exquisite precision of a Stephen Harper photo op :

The Coast Guard’s Pierre Radisson ship and the submarine HMCS Cornerbrook lined up one one side of the frigate HMCS Toronto. On the deck of Toronto, was a gaggle of reporters, cameras at the ready.

Then, Defence Minister Peter MacKay sauntered onto the deck with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. They stopped to make idle chit chat until urged by handlers to move forward a few metres in order to have them perfectly positioned with the other two vessels in the background.

But wait! There’s more! Three CF-18 jets flew past in formation. But the fly-by was a little to fast for some camera operators and photographers to catch the entire montage of sub, jets and coast guard, so the CF-18s passed over four more times.

Which reminded me of this gem from Jim Flaherty, November 27, 2008: "We cannot ask Canadians to tighten their belts in tougher times without looking in the mirror."

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Because it's hard to get a good photo op with an isotope

Not, strictly speaking, a video, but funny and accurate nonetheless.

Ignatieff on Medical Isotope Crisis

Thank you to Bob Speller for uploading all of these great clips from the summer BBQ tour with grassroots Liberals that the media and the Conservatives would like to believe has not been happening.

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Ignatieff on Afghanistan

Thank you to Bob Speller for uploading all of these great clips from the summer BBQ tour with grassroots Liberals that the media and the Conservatives would like to believe has not been happening.

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Tornados Hit Toronto Area - Video

This is a video taken of the tornado that touched down in Vaughn, the city just to the north of Toronto.

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Ignatieff on Conservative Attack Ads

A classy and politically astute take on the Conservatives' attack on Ignatieff's patriotism and Canadians who work abroad.



Thank you to Bob Speller for uploading all of these great clips from the summer BBQ tour with grassroots Liberals that the media and the Conservatives would like to believe has not been happening.

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Ignatieff on Agriculture

Thank you to Bob Speller for uploading all of these great clips from the summer BBQ tour with grassroots Liberals that the media and the Conservatives would like to believe has not been happening.

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Barney Frank Responds to Conservative Anti-Healthcare Nut

The vile crap that is being spewed by the anti-Obama/anti-healthcare crowd is getting viler with each day. Comparing the desire to ensure every American has adequate healthcare to Nazism and Obama to Hitler, calling health advisory boards that assist the elderly with living wills (a policy virtually identical to one introduced by Bush, by the way) as "death panels", actively trying to prevent debate at townhalls, brandishing banned military-type automatic and semi-automatic guns at anti-Obama rallies... shows how despicable and out of touch these protesters are. Even if you oppose helping Americans get healthcare - and there are lots of genuine reasons to oppose this particular plan - any decent person would have to agree these people are despicable and destructive and quite definitely dangerous.

When does Godwin's law kick in for these yahoos?

Sometimes, you just have to cut through the BS that all opinions are of equal value. Watch Barney Frank calmly and appropriately respond to one of these angry nutbars:



You almost see why our Prime Minister has made such a great effort not to defend Canadian healthcare or to duck questions about our healthcare, or even saying anything positive about it and claim he's "not qualified" to get involved in the healthcare debate... just to avoid getting anywhere near this "debate".

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Ignatieff on Arctic Sovereignty

Some politicians get it. And some don't even know how to spell it.

Here is Michael Ignatieff speaking on Canadian Arctic sovereignty this summer.



Thank you to Bob Speller for uploading all of these great clips from the summer BBQ tour with grassroots Liberals that the media and the Conservatives would like to believe has not been happening.

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NDP Convention 2009: Banned delegate Dana Larsen speaks out!

A video of former NDP candidate, Dana Larsen, who was banned from attending the NDP convention in Halifax.

Maybe "New" is not the part of the party name they should be changing.

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Conservative Policy 2009 (by The Mercer Report)

They say in Newfoundland, if you don't like the weather then wait a minute.

They say in Ottawa, if you don't like Conservative policy then wait a minute. Or at least until the next internal poll or focus group results come out.

Or, as Rick Mercer puts it, wait twenty minutes because Conservative policy is always "20 minutes fresh".

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Stephen Harper.. still bankrupt (by Glistando)

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The Harper Conspiracy

If for no other reason than 'cause this is quite well done and fun.

"Stephen Harper knows about a conspiracy but no one will believe him. Will he be able to save the Christian faith in time?"

The Harper Conspiracy from Harper Conspiracy on Vimeo.

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Unsolved Canadian Political Mysteries: Harper's Deficit (by AudreyIIETP)

"If you have any information on what the Harper Government's deficit will actually end up being, please contact your local MP."

A clever take on the show Unsolved Mysteries.

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Harper Blamed Canada? (by AProudCanadian1)

Surprise surprise, Harper passes the buck and won't take responsibility for the clampdown on Mexican tourists and the visa requirements. Used to be that he just blamed staffers though. Now he's gone big, real big, and blamed the problem on... Canada:



Come to think of it, he's blamed and attacked and slagged Canada on the international stage before, hasn't he.

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The Job Losses Continue to Climb (by GritGirl)

Unemployment numbers are down! Unfortunately, that is only happening in the US. Here in Canada, we continue to have horrible and even worsening job numbers... as GritGirl highlights in her return (not sure why the video takes 1:22 before starting, but it is worth it).

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Why are they all leaving? (by TheGritsRule)

Playing a little catch-up, now that I'm back from vacation. This one asks a pretty simple question about what the proverbial rats might know about the shape of the Conservative ship. Seems to me we all noticed a lot of staffers pro-actively looking for work in 2003 (Ontario PC) and fall 2005 (federal Liberal). Like I keep saying, 2009 has the feel of late 2005.

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