Remember when Stockwell Day used to lead the cabal which today passes for the Conservative Party of Canada? Those were the days when Day insisted that the St. Lawrence River flowed into Lake Ontario, not the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Well, the party has returned to the days of yore. The prime minister and his acolytes have returned to their bedrock base and are spouting all kinds of idiocy. Michael Harris writes:
Conservative MP John Willamson offered his insights on the competition between “whities” and “brown people” for jobs. Not to be outdone, his caucus colleague Larry Miller invited people who insist on wearing the niqab to “stay the hell where you came from” (presumably he wasn’t talking about Scarborough).
And Stephen Harper is promoting the idea that those who believe they are too far away from a police station should buy their own guns for their own protection -- except, he says, that's not what he meant:
So, yeah, a campaigning prime minister gave the green light to vigilantes — much the way he did to Islamophobes, anti-First Nations bigots and anyone who hates environmentalists. Former Ontario attorney general Mike Bryant said Harper’s words were a direct invitation to commit illegal acts.
“It’s vigilantism,” said Bryant. “People are going to find themselves facing the criminal justice system and being charged with serious crimes if they decide to follow what the prime minister is suggesting.”
Ah, but this is Harperland, where the words mean what the man says they mean. The PM insisted it was “patently ridiculous” to interpret his words as an incitement to vigilante acts. Why? Because all he was trying to do was show that the Conservative Party of Canada was pro-gun owner, while the other parties are clearly anti-. The words themselves meant nothing; the sentiment was everything. As usual, most of the press corps assumed the supine position.
You have to ask yourself, who would buy this kind of idiocy? If the polls are to be believed, there are lots of idiots to be had for the taking. The strategy is transparent:
Harper has simply made the calculation that if the way to give a chameleon a nervous breakdown is to put him down on plaid, the way to win an election in our disappearing democracy is to offer Canadians only two flavours — vanilla or chocolate.
That means hitting the hot buttons, over and over. Before oil prices tanked, greed was the button of choice. Now it’s fear. It makes things starkly simple — black and white, good and evil.
As simple as War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery … and Ignorance is Strength.
10 comments:
" If the polls are to be believed, there are lots of idiots to be had for the taking." Unfortunately that seems to be true, let us hope those that are not totally under Harper Thrall find a modicum of sanity and help vote this cabal out of power.
Another tale told by an idiot, or is it planned and premeditated fear mongering electioneering?
http://creekside1.blogspot.ca/2015/03/chris-alexander-unplugged.html
These folks have no shame, Ron. They think that no one will call them on their stupidity. And, unfortunately, no one has for quite awhile.
The Harperites assume their base are idiots, Rural. They may be right.
But they also assume that many more people outside their inner circle are stupid.
Let's hope they're wrong.
Steve is off his rocker like Stockwell um how do I explain this bizarre religious fevour to the rest of the world. The middle east calls us terrorists Harper calls them Jihadists. Harper bombs the heck out of them and then turns around and ingnores our vet's and tries his superficial damdness to start a war with Putin?
Steve has lost his marbles long before he hit grade school and therefore has not matured. Steve Steve Steve it is time to leave...
Mogs Moglio
Hi Owen I was on the same wavelenght but I came up with Fiction, Reproduction, and Consequence. Netanyahoo has just give Harper his double zero qualificastion.
As you say, Steve, he did it the old fashioned way -- "scare the hell out of people and frame it in a way you and you alone can keep the evil away."
Of course, Israel is now more isolated and less secure than ever. Some leaders are very good at selling lies.
It's pretty clear that Harper has a deep seated animus against a lot of people and a lot of things, Mogs.
I won't speculate about where it comes from. All I know for sure is that it's unhealthy and dangerous.
Mike Bryant is right. There is a case going on right now in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. A depanneur owner called Leo Boulet, aged 75, was attacked by two assailants in his shop. He shot one in the back with an unregistered pistol. He was charged with six charges, including aggravated assault.
The damn thing is that the judge has no discretion allowed to him or her in sentencing, due to Steve Harper's so called reforms of the criminal justice system back in 2008. Leo would normally be granted some leniency, due to his age, state of health and the fact that this was the eighth time he was robbed. He is not a criminal, just an elderly shopkeeper defending himself. But the "reforms" mean that the justice system is totally rigid and unresponsive to different situations.
So Steve Harper encourages people to take the law into their own hands, just as Leo did. But then they are charged with crimes and find themselves in a harsh and rigid criminal justice system that Steve Harper himself set up.
You really have to be very stupid to take Steve Harper seriously. By the way, the kid Leo shot, aged 23, survived and is even walking.
The case you mention illustrates the absurdity of Harperian policy making, ffd. All of it is designed to buy votes -- even if it is full of internal inconsistencies.
Harper has no wish to see justice done. All he wants is ballots in his box.
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