Curious About Harper's History Lesson

I'm curious to know when and how Stephen Harper arrived at this curious epiphany about not being able to win the war in Afghanistan.

Was it last Thursday at 3:14 AM? Was it in 1984?

I think it is an important question. When did he know this? Which books did he read? If he knew this before the Conservative Party came to power and escalated the Afghanistan mission then he traded ethics for politic posturing and death.

If he knew before the insufferable General Hillier went all jingoistic then he was negligent in not forwarding those history books to the General to read before he spoke.

I remember listening to General Hillier and thinking what it must have been like to have been a Soldier in 1914 listening to some General blather on about what a great adventure it will be and how you'll all be home by Christmas. It didn't turn out that way then our now.

Hopefully Harper's next historical epiphany will be about R.B.Bennett and the Great Depression. Can't wait. Please recommend this post

More Liberal Bashing of "Albertans"

The Calgary Herald reported today that the Alberta Government was giving about 1.5 Billion dollars in concessions to Oil & Gas Companies to stimulate drilling in these dark times.

In response to this story a liberal blogger wrote the following:

How stupid can Albertan’s[sic] get?

The government in perpetuity has now decided since they couldn’t afford the slogan change on vehicle license plates they would instead keep the oil drilling industry “STRONG” by making the oil and gas, FREE.

This is how common sense works in hillbilly, all conservative, Alberta.

I can't really defend Stelmach's plan's to roll out cash to the Oil Patch. But I do know that the decision wasn't made by Stupid Albertans. It was made like all decisions here are made, by the Premier behind closed doors. I don't know what's meant by hillbilly, obviously an insult to all of us Albertans, regardless of how hard we work to get Stelmach and Harper out of office. We're not all Conservatives here. A lot of us don't support the Tories and their dumb ideas.

When liberal bloggers write smears like this they sound just like Rush Limbaugh or Ann Coulter.

I tried to leave a comment on the blog but it was never published. Please recommend this post

Religious Literature In Public Libraries

I laughed a bit when I read this this Daily Mail article twisting a simple story about a Muslim society in the UK requesting that the Koran be placed on a higher shelf. Apparently Muslim scholars believe the Koran should always be on the higher shelf to show respect.

The Library responded by putting all religious texts on the uppers shelves. This caused a predictable counter-reaction from some Christian groups who now claim to be persecuted victims. Bet you didn't see that one coming.

I think the Library made an acceptable compromise, although it wouldn't bother me either if the Library just ignored the request. The Dewey decimal system works fine and there is a strong argument to be made for pragmatism.

If you made me the Librarian I just might slap warning labels on those books that they are not suitable for children. Some of the stories in ancient religious literature are violent and sexist. And its fairly obvious that religious texts nurture severe bigotry in some people

The story does show how a simple request from one group gets turned into a whole Christian vs Muslim war of Civilizations controversy. Mark Steyn would be proud. The rest of us find it tiresome.

I'm in favor of Libraries stocking primary religious texts and I'm in favor of people reading the Bible and the Koran at least once to complete their general education. My own Library has a fairly diverse collection of primary religious texts. I also know there is a subtle pressure to stock some fairly ugly religious literature.

I wouldn't want to be a librarian these days having to use public money to purchase materials, and probably getting angry letters and phone calls from unbalanced people who aren't seeing their kind of books. Or mad because they see something they don't like. Please recommend this post

Harper Less Classy Than Nixon

Is it just me, or do you agree that Stephen Harper is completely afraid of Canadians engaging in any kind of Barack Obama adulation. I'm not really into hero worship but it was hard not to notice that in the lead up to the Presidential Election Barack Obama was eliciting a certain kind of enthusiastic response that has been noticeably lacking in our politics for some time.

I can't remember an American President who was so widely popularized in foreign countries, except perhaps John F. Kennedy. Reagan did get cheered at that SS cemetery in Germany but I think those were mostly neo-Nazis. (Obligatory Reagan joke.)

Our photo archives are full of Trudeau and Nixon meeting and talking in front of the media. The two loathed one another but they did meet out in the open. My point is I think what Harper is doing is unprecedented and without class.

Can you think of any other democracy where the Head of State is not allowed to greet a foreign leader in the open presence of a free media?

Does Stephen Harper fear Obamamania will infect Canada? Please recommend this post

Ignatieff's US Connections and More Fake Patriotism

Joan Bryden via the Canadian Press gave us a Valentines Day present, another article about Michael Ignatieff. Ignatieff went to Harvard and met some people. Some of those people are now in the Obama administration and the relationships might prove useful in the future. What strikes me about the name dropping is the fact that Obama's team appears to have some brain power, unlike the previous team.

Of course you can't talk about Ignatieff without quoting some flack who reminds us that he worked outside Canada:

As for Ignatieff's connections to Obama's inner circle, Teneycke scoffed: "It is not surprising, given that he spent most of his professional life in the United States, that he would know more Americans than Stephen Harper, who's spent his professional life - in fact, his entire life - living in Canada."

Teneycke went on to ask the author if she liked his clown shoes.

It doesn't bother me much that Ignatieff taught at Harvard and worked in the UK. I think it is far more important where your mentality lives. Mr. Harper has spent his whole career living in an intellectual slum.

Peter Lougheed went to Harvard to get an MBA. After that he worked in the United States for some time for Gulf Oil. Yet most Albertan's considered this as part of what made Lougheed an historical leader for Alberta. Strange how that works.

Expect to hear a lot about Ignatieff's career path in the next election. Conservatives don't campaign on real issues. When you can use fake patriotism to divide people mission accomplished.

I also look forward to the day when political spokesmen can answer a question, any question with out obnoxious self-loathing snark. Please recommend this post

Bush Coming to Calgary

Media outlets are reporting that former US President George W. Bush will visit Calgary on March 17, 2009 to speak at a private function. All I really know about it is that it is co-sponsored by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and seems to have an aura of secrecy.

The secrecy part is in keeping with Bush's history of living in a bubble and only talking to friendly hand-picked, carefully screened audiences. If I remember correctly his campaign events were by invitation only and people had to sign loyalty oaths to get in.

I wouldn't pay to hear Bush speak. He is one of the dullest and least comprehensible speakers in an entire generation. What a waste of an evening.

Calgary has hosted many conservative icons in the past including Margaret Thatcher, George H.W. Bush, Dick Cheney, among others. Not to mention a whole bunch of other B-Circuit speakers. The City of Calgary with its subjective and arbitrary VIP protocol may or may not give Bush a White Stetson.

History has a way of judging its actors and I could care less is some people in Calgary want to have one last toke of Bush worship.

Cliff at Rusty Idols is suggesting that on March 17 we all take our old shoes down to the Telus Convention Centre and pile them up at the front of the building. That would be a cool thing to see. While I'm undecided about this type of action, it is a passive non-violent expression of protest against the Bush legacy. It would be a good if the world knows that not all Calgarians are ditto heads.

Aside: Spell check suggests replacing Calgarians with Vulgarians. Bush's communication style speaks to the original meaning of the word vulgar. Please recommend this post

Some Serious Pathology With Those Folks

via Pam's House Blend:

Take a look at who John McCain and Sarah Palin were palin around with:

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=9375

Schadenfreude is an overrated emotion. These stories make me sick. May we not forgot that there are real victims behind these creeps and it's not just politics.

But still, does the Party of God check references? Please recommend this post

On Getting Blown Off Course

This just in:

The federal government must "stick to the course" outlined in its massive economic stimulus plan despite the "bad news" of Canada shedding 129,000 jobs in January, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday.

The prime minister made the comment in New Brunswick when asked about Statistics Canada's report on Friday, which said the country's unemployment rate shot up by 0.6 percentage points in January to 7.2 per cent. Almost all of the job losses were in full-time work.

When you are a dull thinker, mean spirited, value ideology over facts, of course you would not change your plans in the face of changing evidence.

I'm starting to believe that Stephen Harper's personality and lack of intellectual agility will do us some long term harm. Please recommend this post

Terry Gilliam awarded Bafta Fellowship

Finally. The British Academy of Film and Television has awarded former Python and Director Terry Gilliam with a fellowship. This is the highest recognition the UK film industry can bestow.

The word genius has been devalued in our society, especially when it comes to popular culture. Yet Gilliam is a genius. I clearly remember sitting in my mother's basement watching PBS and stumbling on Monty Python's Flying Circus. It was Edmonton, I was always bored and we couldn't afford drugs. I remember the between skit animations like these ones and was hooked forever.

Even though I grew up on Mad Magazine, National Lampoon, Robert Crumb and the Golden Age of Hanna-Barbera cartoons there was nothing like Gilliam. His animations were slick, fascinating and made me pee.

Gilliam's list of movies that he either Directed or helped write is fairly long so I'll only mention my favourites:

Monty Python & The Holy Grail
Meaning of Life
Brazil
Fisher King
Twelve Monkeys
Jabberwocky

The rest on the list I either haven't seen yet, or didn't connect with.

Gilliam has had a fairly rocky relationship with main stream studios because he prefers big budgets and has an artistic vision that doesn't always translate into big revenue. Apparently J.K. Rowling wanted Gilliam to direct the Potter films but the studio vetoed. I would give several body parts to have seen Harry Potter directed by Terry Gilliam. Considering that the movies they made were utterly boring and unimaginative. Like Disney's disastrous production of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, a pedestrian director can ruin a perfectly good story.

I understood Gilliam a lot better after I watched the documentary Lost in La Mancha which chronicles the disaster of Gilliam's failed attempt to make a movie about Don Quixote. Its worth watching and perfectly captures the difficulties in translating a vivid imagination into a work of art. Please recommend this post

US Army Reporting Record High Suicides

CNN and other news outlets are reporting that 2008 and 2007 saw record highs for Military Personal killing themselves. The 2008 rate was 20.2 per 100,000 which is much higher than the civilian rate. This translates 128 suicides last year with a number of deaths still being investigated.

The deaths appear to be fairly evenly distributed among soldiers in the various stages of deployment and post tour.

It surprised me to learn that the US Military only started tracking this information around 1980. I imagine the rate during the Vietnam era was high as well.

In keeping with military tradition, the officials don't understand why their prevention programs are not working and promise to study the problem.

Some informal suggestions why soldiers give in to despair:

• Mental illness is ignored and regarded as a stigma, unamerican and unmanly.
  
• Their Command-in-Chief lied about the mission and created a deep social schism.
• Unable to get needed therapy because of neo-conservative attitudes to funding.
• Financial. Not enough pay. Not helping sick soldiers with their debt.
• Facing an enemy in Iraq who hated them and played dirty.

I'm afraid that most of these soldiers will end up being nameless victims. The military tends to not honor or talk about these types of deaths. In many ways society failed these men and it is an added injury that they are not honored. I think these same problems are emerging in the Canadian Military. Please recommend this post

Much Shorter Budget Analysis

One day later...

Harper is sneering and calling people names.
Ignatieff looks like an idiot.
Layton is back to fighting the Liberal Party.
Duceppe is missing. Please recommend this post

Bart Simpson: Scientologist

Via the Daily Beast

Keep in mind that the story is anecdotal, and the images in the video are from the video creator not Nancy Cartwright. Even so, Bart makes the perfect Scientologist.

Update: Since posting Fox had the video removed due to copyright reasons. I'm guessing some substance hit a fan somewhere.

The gist of it was Nancy Cartwright allegedly robo-phoning people leaving a message using Bart Simpson's voice and persona. It was an invitation to her speaking at a Scientology event.

Please recommend this post

Michigan Utility Lets 93 Year Old Freeze

BAY CITY, Mich. - A 93-year-old man froze to death inside his home just days after the municipal power company restricted his use of electricity because of unpaid bills, officials said.

Officials said, perfunctorily, and with the usual business like detachment. The man who had no family was behind on his payments had his heat and power curtailed in one of the worst winters in several years.

The Utility installed a throttler on his house that prevented only small amounts of Electricity to be used. However, it tripped off and the man froze without heat or power.

The most ugly part of the tragedy was the Utility's Manager piously observing:

"I've said this before and some of my colleagues have said this: Neighbours need to keep an eye on neighbours," Belleman said. "When they think there's something wrong, they should contact the appropriate agency or city department."

And businesses don't need to check on their customers or explain things to them. In any other type of business this would probably be negligent homicide. Please recommend this post

Sabres 10 Oilers 2

Worst losing score in Oilers history.

MacTavish described it as a debacle of monumental proportions. Like him or no, he has a way with words. The SS Schadenfreude sailed into Port Calgary this morning and hasn't stopped blowing its horns.

They sang the anthem, dropped the puck, and Buffalo scored in the first 10 seconds. Not a good sign. I left after the first goal and got to the gym 15 minutes later and it was 5-1.

In the last 5 minutes of the game the Oilers fans were on their feet cheering for the Sabres.

The Oilers play Minnesota on Friday night. Please recommend this post

Post Budget Rutabagas

Thinking about yesterdays vigorous budget presentation by God's Own Finance Minister:

The pay equity issue is huge for me and others. Unfortunately Michael Ignatieff has not mentioned it. Is this important to the Liberal Party? Please tell me it is. Denying pay equity resolution shows Harper is small minded, parochial and petty. Old news. Harper probably doesn't care that this issue is not going away and justice delayed is more expensive later on.

Flaherty kept pronouncing leverage to rhyme with beaverage not beverage. Drove me nuts. How about we leeeeeverage you into the opposition.

Iris Evans, voted the Alberta Legislature's best dressed MLA, doesn't like the budget but admits she has not examined it in detail. Iris has a vague feeling Alberta is being screwed. I wouldn't worry, this feeling is bred into Alberta PC's DNA. They can't get elected without it. It does play well with the yobs doesn't it. After several rounds of personal and corporate tax cuts, after reducing energy royalties, the Alberta Government now demands the Canadian tax payer throw them a bone. Even after repeated and bizarre accusations the rest of Canada just wants to steal Alberta's money. Truly surreal.

The Mayor of Calgary likes the budget because like all of Alberta, Calgary is 10 years behind on infrastructure. Bronconnier needs Federal money because the Alberta Premier plays games with provincial taxation sharing for merely petty reasons.

The Calgary Chamber of Commerce thinks the budget is OK, but wonders how we're going to get people to spend more money. They never ask the question what money? Also, the human side of our economy is that gratuitous spending and over-consumption on credit is one of the reasons we got here.

A news outlet in Calgary is quoting Jack Mintz as cautiously optimistic of the budget. They identify him as an academic at the University of Calgary, which he is. They failed to mention he was on Flaherty's advisory panel. Bizarre non-disclosure, though its possible they don't know about the panel.

The tax breaks are inconclusive in terms of stimulus. Similarly home renovation credit only target a group of people who a) benefit from a tax credit b) have money to do renovations. Flaherty has no business referring to any economic policy as permanent. Here today, hopefully gone tomorrow.

No mention of child care, elder care, or mental health. Do you think the need for mental health care will go up or down in the next couple of years?

This one thing I remember from eight years of Mulroney and 30 years of Alberta Tories. Infrastructure spending is political influence peddling. I would expect every penny of it to go into Conservative Ridings. Conservative MP's will now fan out to their ridings with those large cardboard cheques.

Many Conservative bloggers and columnists are rejecting the budget as too liberal. Straying off the dogma is rather odd for them so I think there is a story there. Could be they realize that Harper wants power with our without conservative principles intact. Please recommend this post

Obama Ends War on Terror?

Convoluted. A Yahoo.com fluff piece asserts that Barack Obama has ended America's war on terror. Yahoo cites a feed from AFP which in turn has a non-value added rehash of a Washington Post editorial. Yahoo lazily identifies the Washinton Post as 'the media'.

Since the WP's editorials are behind a firewall its hard to know which one the recyclers are referring to. A search of the phrase 'declares an end to war on terror' reveals a number of editorials and light-hearted obituaries on the war.

It seems that the proposed closing of Guantanamo Bay, the closure of illegal CIA torture dungeons in foreign countries, and the widespread rescinding of President Bush's legal orders and opinions on torture, somehow equates to the ending of the war on terror.

Having listened to many of President Obama's speeches in the Presidential Election, not to mention his inauguration speech, it seems to me he didn't get the talking points memo about ending the war on terror. He always struck me as rather belligerent and hawkish. If you're a terrorist somewhere wanting to test this new leaders resolve you can either believe the Washington Post or the incoming missiles.

Changing some tactics and strategies yes, ending no. President Obama may well end up being too hawkish for many liberals, but there is no amount of gratuitous violence that would satisfy conservatives. See Gaza. I've seen this movie before. No fairy tale ending.

I think i get why the Washington Post is pushing this distortion.

During the election the strategy of McCain-Palin intellectual juggernaut was to try and say Barack Obama would be soft on terror. In its most extreme forms people who should have known better claimed Obama was a secret magic Muslim who was the head of a secret magic advance front of Jihadists. At times it was screamingly hilarious were it not for the fact that it was landing on such fertile ground. You can scar someone for life by threating to take away their Bible and their pork.

The Washington Post is just tapping out some morse code to the half-wits. Danger danger, be afraid. Please recommend this post

Republican VP's: Mostly Creepy

Photo of former Vice President Richard Cheney leaving the Capitol Building with a charming sneer.

It occurred to me in a moment of non-productivity that most of the post-war Republican Vice Presidents have been creepy for one reason or another. Thankfully, the voters didn't add Sarah Palin to that list, however she would have fit right in.

When Eisenhower warned about the Military Industrial Complex he was probably thinking of his Vice President Richard Nixon. Nixon as Vice President from 1953 to 1961 was shrill and obnoxious. Should have been a clue.

Spiro Agnew was forced to resign in 1973 due to serious criminal charges. His gift to history was some cheesy alliterations. Nattering Nabobs...etc.

Agnew's resignation invoked the 25th Amendment for the first time and Gerald Ford became the Vice President. Ford was mostly innocuous, but I have this major issue against him: The elevation of Chevy Chase to the status of a serious comedian. Shame, sir, shame.

When Nixon resigned Ford became President and the 25th Amendment was invoked for the second time making Nelson Rockefeller Vice President. Rockefeller was mostly harmless. But despite coming from one of the world's richest families he failed numerous campaigns to become President. Probably too smart or too liberal for his party.

As Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush (Daddy) faded into the background when Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. He was probably reading My Pet Goat. I also remembering him throwing up near or on the Japanese Prime Minister.

Two words: Dan Quayle. Original idea behind Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?

Richard Cheney. If you're the President you probably won't like it much if the media keeps writing the same story line over and over again, that your Vice President is actually the one in charge. Cheney advocated torturing children, disregarded international law, and deliberately put Valerie Plame's life at risk out of mere pettiness. Not to mention a wife who wrote shitty Lesbian soft core novels while taking homophobia mainstream.

Corrections: Rockefeller became Vice President not President.
Please recommend this post

Post Inauguration Soundtrack

The literacy and emotion of Barack Obama's Inauguration speech was astonishing to me. During the era of George Bush and Stephen Harper I forgot what a good communicator sounds like. The velocity of our dumbing down has at least been impeded somewhat. For better or worse, at least Barack Obama will speak in complete sentences. I think he will go over the head of many Americans, especially the fundamentalists and the National Post. Nuance, metaphor and poetic language are lost on many people. Expect Chuck Norris to be mad a lot.

(Aside: When Joe Biden swore to uphold the Constitution I could have sworn I heard the Chief Justice quip well that'll certainly be a change...)

After the Inauguration I put on some music.

1. America - Simon & Garfunkel
2. Aspice, Domine - Choir of Magdalen College Oxford
3. This Land is Your Land - Billy Bragg
4. Looking out My Back Door - John Fogerty
5. Le Démon Sort L'Enfer - La Bottine Souriante (A thrown bone to the religious right)
6. In A World Called Catastrophe - Matthew Good
7. Amazing Grace - Unknown female singer with a mournful beautiful voice.
8. Intuition - Feist
9. Let Em In - Paul McCartney and Wings
10. Best Things in Life - Michael Carey

Thank you Mr. Bush, the receptionist will validate your parking on the way out and give you some coupons. Please recommend this post

Insult the Queen Day

An Australian novelist Harry Nicolaides has been sentenced to 3 years in prison for writing a novel in which he apparently insults the Royal Family of Thailand. That would be a Thai prison he's going to not an Australian one. I suspect and hope he will spend a short time there and then be pardoned. Even though Australia produces the worlds shittiest literature there is no excuse for not allowing people to insult Royalty. The Royal Family of Thailand cannot be insulted as it interferes with their important work of creating political stability, which I hear they're very good at.

I only bring up this sad story to make a point that our Monarch is much less thin skinned and can take our incessant jibber jabber about her and her family.

I could sit here and write that Her Majesty is a useless god-forsaken git with a DNA damaged Heir who took 40 years to barely comprehend the rules of Polo. I have no fear that the police will show up at my door. For I am a Canadian, and I can freely say rotten and profane things about my head of state. I may even write a novel.

God Save our Queen, really. Our Monarch is sanguine and gracious, prone to walking through the gas lit streets on Christmas eve, unafraid of being accosted by lonely liquored men. She peers into our dimly lit front windows and views our impoverishment with love and understanding. In this age of coups and usurpations by godless socialists and Felquistes a patriot can't be too vigilant. Her Majesty is the only glue holding our exemplary democracy together. She stares down our perils so we don't have to.

God only knows why someone wouldn't be a loyal monarchist these days.

In my next post I'll make fun of God. Please recommend this post

Mayerthorpe RCMP Murders: Plea Bargains

If you're not familiar with the story, on in March of 2005 four RCMP officers were ambushed and killed north of Edmonton in a small town called Mayerthorpe. The killer, James Roszco, was a life long petty criminal who had a vendetta against the local RCMP and had repeatedly made threats. The killing of the officers raised all kinds of questions about the training and protocols of officers working in rural areas. All four were quite young.

It was really a very black day for Albertans. I remember this cloud of darkness that was over everyone for several weeks. I remembered Ralph Klein making silly comments about gun control.

The investigators always believed that the killer had some type of help and last year layed charges against two local men Shawn Hennessey and Dennis Cheeseman. Charges of first degree murder were laid against the two but in court today they each plea bargained to manslaughter. The Crown is asking for sentences of 10-15 years.

It seems that on the day of the murders the two men drove the killer back to his farm where he hid awaiting the arrival of the officers. I'm sure other details will emerge as to their collaboration with Roszco.

The crime was cited as the single most serious loss of life for the RCMP in over a century, and certainly the most serious crime in Alberta. As the Globe article suggests, getting these charges out of the way may finally permit an inquiry as to how the RCMP management failed these young officers.

However I'm not hopeful as the RCMP have established a pattern of investigating and clearing themselves of blame when things go wrong.

The murdered officers were Constables Brock Myrol, Anthony Gordon, Leo Johnston, and Peter Schiemann. Information about the various memorial projects for the officers is here. Please recommend this post