Is the world losing its collective mind? American women had better be alert to all the backlash against women that has been rampant since the Republicans began their leadership race. All American women I know would be speechless, I’m sure of that. Stephen Harper would love this man! Read more here

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Yesterday, Peterborough Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro actually made this comment, with a straight face: “I’m proud that my party, the Conservative party, has maintained a high ethical standard…” Did the whole room break out in laughter, I wonder.

Considering the Conservatives litany of corrupt, seedy and questionable behaviour since taking office in 2006, Del Mastro made this patently laughable comment during a Commons ethics committee hearing into the so-called “vikileaks” controversy that involved Liberal researcher Adam Carroll tweeting large portions of Tory MP Vic Toews’ messy divorce proceedings. Carroll had reacted in response to Toews’ proposed online-surveillance bill, known as C-30, and its blatant threats to personal privacy. His rationale had been that if Toews wanted the power to know the private details of the lives of Canadians, they in turn should have the option of knowing all about Toews. Though a bit tacky and over-the-top in terms of content, Carroll’s reasoning made a lot of sense.

That House Leader Andrew Scheer had declared the case closed did not stop the Conservatives from hauling Carroll before a committee. Interestingly, the Cons totally disrupt every committee they deem unfriendly (the how-tos are written in the Conservative Party manual) but do their own thing when it appears they might make gains.

Del Mastro said he remains convinced that Carroll did not act alone but was aided and abetted by other Liberals. Carroll had declared from the get-go that he alone had felt compelled to act against Toew’s proposed bill and his unforgivable remark when announcing it that, “You are either with us or the child pornographers.” Was that comment what Del Mastro considered to be among the Conservatives high ethical standards?

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In his book Harperland, Lawrence Martin writes: When they finally took power after so long in opposition they were a wary bunch. They knew how to oppose, how to attack, how to pull triggers. But they didn’t know how to govern. (page 19)

Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Just what we want from our government—deadly attack dogs without skills. According to Harper’s mentor, Tom Flanagan, “He (Harper) doesn’t repose trust easily. He’s always got his antennae up. His first reaction to anything new is almost always negative. It’s a personality trait.” (page 21)

Harper looked at bureaucrats, the media, the Senate and the Supreme Court as enemies—all of them.

As introverted as he was, Harper was consumed with the need for ironclad, dictatorial control of communications. It was part of what Flanagan described as Harper’s “drive to dominate.” (page 22)

Harper believed that by putting his party and the government in a straitjacket would provide him with some security from his neophyte caucus. It was supposed to be a temporary move, but it continues to this day. (page 24)

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“People believe Harper is cold,” said old Tory John Crosbie. “And he is cold. He doesn’t have human warmth.”

The thought of this brainy, sunless figure of the hard right becoming prime minister within a few years, barring some unimaginable developments was not taken seriously. Before good fortune struck in 2002, Harper demonstrated character traits that showed him more inclined to receding than leading. Not many politicians make their way by acts of disengagement. But such was the penchant of the young and suspicious man. (from page 8 )

(Tom Flanagan) found it interesting that it was okay for Harper to provide insider information for a book on (Preston) Manning, but when it came to a positive book on himself written by a close colleague (Flanagan), he would react with such hostility. Still, Flanagan might have known beforehand from his experiences with Harper that he could react this way. Harper, Flanagan had noticed, was very unusual in respect to secrecy and information control. He was practically manic. (from page 10)

So we have cold, sunless, controlling, secretive and manic in just the first few pages. This is the Stephen Harper Canadian progressives have come to absolutely loathe — and I admittedly lead the pack. I will share more insights into this cold and rigid man forthwith.

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Sun News TV was the only station broadcasting live coverage of the Justin Trudeau/Patrick Brazeau boxing match, which they fought for charity last night. Promoting the occasion as “Fight Night” Sun News ran SEVEN full hours of regular programming under the guise of covering the boxing match. They had all the usual suspects doing their usual commentaries — hideously rude, self-promoting, grotesquely right-wing and over the top. Alleged Co-hosts Brian Lilley (top) and Ezra Levant wore tuxedoes for the occasion but who did they think they were they fooling? The boxing match took about five minutes of the seven-hour broadcast. They must be desperate for an audience to have used such a phony hook to snag viewers.

I have only ever watched minutes of Sun News in the past; it’s all my stomach can take in one sitting. But I flipped back and forth Saturday night more out of curiosity than anything else. I was truly appalled by the amateurish antics of the various hosts. In addition to Lilly and Levant, Michael Coren did his regular show and he was downright nasty as always. His guest, Mark Stein, called Justin a series of insulting names — for no apparent reason, causing Coren to roar with laughter. Oh yes, the nickname for Justin Trudeau for the night was Shiny Pony. Why? Who knows. Charles Adler finished off the commentary sessions with more of the same. They adore themselves, these people, yet they seem to have no idea how ridiculous they sound — how ridiculous they are.

Additionally, Sun News took the opportunity to blast Earth Hour, which happened to fall on the same night. Guest commentator David Menzies (whither goes Michael Coren, so goes Menzies) made a special fool of himself reporting from Calgary, where he bragged about the lights in Calgary shining at full blast. Viewers everywhere were urged to turn on their lights during the course of the evening. Menzies stood there, arms stuck to his side, eyes wild and his demeanor uncomfortable. I have never figured out why he is a guest on any radio or tv broadcast. Perhaps for comic relief.

If this is the best Sun News can do as the right-wing voice of Canada, good luck to them. The CBC and CTV don’t even come close to this kind of polarizing behaviour — Sun News can take total credit for such nonsense. I am truly embarrassed on their behalf. I just hope not too many people from other countries happen to tune in and think: “Is this the best Canada can do?” Honestly, NO, it’s the absolute worst.

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Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has the unmitigated nerve to lecture Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan about mismanaging the province’s economic affairs: “Ontario’s spending mismanagement is a problem for the entire country,” said Flaherty. “I would hope that they’re able to manage their spending better than they have been able to do over the past eight or nine years of government,” he added.

This is really rich coming from a Conservative government that has been on a drunken sailor type of spending spree since taking office six years ago. Let’s study some figures here:

Paul Martin’s Liberals left a $13 billion surplus for the Harper government to fritter away with giant cheques and opportunistic photo opps. They only stopped when the 2008/9 recession hit. By contrast, the Harris/Eves Ontario Conservative Government bequeathed a HIDDEN $5 billion deficit to Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals. And they did this after slashing and burning every social service imaginable in addition to waging all-out war with, among others, the province’s teachers and nurses — the majority of which were likely women. A coincidence? I think not.

This latest verbal tongue lashing against the Ontario Liberals by Flaherty is beyond outrageous. What a hypocrite. Wasn’t Flaherty himself Ontario’s finance minister when they were finally chased from office? And wasn’t it Flaherty who left the $5 billion deficit surprise behind — unmentioned and unacknowledged. What a ——- nerve!

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Some days I could swear I’m in a time warp and I am being dragged back in time to the 1950s or early 1960s. That was then and this is now, so why do I feel that way?

Let’s see. Well the GOP race to the presidency certainly hasn’t helped. Listen to Rick Santorum for two full minutes and that’s all you need to swear you are in a 1950s time warp. Newt Gringrich isn’t isn’t much better when he babbles on. They have dragged Americans, and anybody else who is listening, back to discussions on legalized abortion and whether using contraceptives should be permitted. Surely they should understand that if contraceptives were more readily available there would be less need for abortions. The same goes with the morning-after pill. Why is it always OLD WHITE GUYS who are the ones to tell women what they can’t and can do. It’s totally outrageous and I hoped we were beyond such nonsense. Wrong again.

The Conservative government in Canada would do likewise if they could get away with it. Even though PM Harper says the abortion conversation will not be re-opened, it is sneakily brought up by those so-called God-Fearing backbenchers who cannot contain themselves. The Conservative consensus on both sides of the border seems to be that if you are a Liberal/Democrat you are immoral and without a a soul. Frankly, I think liberals in general are far nicer, kinder, caring about others and more compassionate than their “it’s mine, all mine” counterparts.

To add to my 1950s fear, this weekend there were two demonstrations by white supremacist groups: one in Edmonton, Alberta and the other in London, Ontario. I thought hate-mongering was against the law in Canada and groups like that would not be allowed to meet in public. It wasn’t law enforcement who chased them away but spontaneous groups of anti-racist people who would have none of it. Good for them. However, the white supremacists have vowed to return. I truly thought this kind of racism occurred mostly in the deep, dark southern states where people gum their food without teeth. It’s shocking to find out I’m so wrong. Of course, these group are also appearing in places all over Europe. Why?

Another cause for concern is knowing that a black teenage boy was shot to death in Florida by a Neighbourhood Watch volunteer who happened to have a gun in his possession. The 15-year old boy was armed only with a bottle of iced tea and a packet of skittles. No charges against the shooter as yet. He was in legal possession of the gun, apparently. Why? I was a Block Parent back in the day and I was only armed with a sign for my window!

Things could get much worse if we continue on the current economic path we are staggering along. Since the gap between the rich and poor continues to widen exponentially, I fear that eventually we’ll regress back into medieval times when there were surfs and the rich — nothing in the middle. It may sound amusing right now, but it really isn’t.

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Today, Ford lost his vote in his quest for a subway. He could not guarantee the proper funding terms yet he still fought against the more affordable LRT alternative. To avoid being beaten in a council vote last night, he fled out of a meeting through a back door and scurried away into an elevator to escape the press. Is this mayoral behaviour, Toronto Mayoral behaviour? The man is such an embarrassment in every way, but he embraces all things conservative, in a bragging, know-it-all kind of way.

PM Stephen Harper just recently gave him an approving nod over his subway plans as did Ontario Conservative leader Tim Hudak. It must be mentioned here that back in the mid-1990s, Hudak’s former boss, that awful Mike Harris, the former Premier of Ontario, filled in a subway tunnel that was being built by the former NDP government. Now the Conservative unit says it’s essential. It shows what absolute frauds these people really are. What they say and what they actually do don’t match at all. But who cares? They don’t. Bullying is their preferential method of getting what they want. Or, don’t look now — you are fired.

I hope Ford’s term as mayor passes quickly. Even though I don’t live in Toronto, I still feel ashamed that he is mayor of that city. Tourists must think with incredulity, “this man is a mayor?” A one term wonder, I expect.

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Those who strenuously oppose Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party often say they will stop at nothing to win/maintain a majority. There are no tricks too dirty for them to play. From robocalls to what I consider municipal interference—that’s what they are up to now—luring municipal politicians into the Tory fold with promises of who knows what for their municipalities in the future. First, though, they must join the Tory Riding Executive. These are the Tory tactics currently playing out in the Montreal riding of Lac-Saint-Louis—a long-time Liberal fortress that the Cons are determined to steal by hook or by CROOK.

This is obscene. One Beaconsfield Councillor explained her reasons for joining the executive, says the Globe and Mail: “For me, I wanted to be closer to the head of the horse,” said Ms. Rhonda Massad.

“[The Conservatives] are the ones that will issue grants or issue help in the region. … The ridings that aren’t voting Conservative are not the favourite child right now.”

Does this not sound like bribery and corruption? It’s straight from the horse’s mouth, if you want to use Ms Massad’s simile. I wish I had actually made a list of all the corrupt or at least very questionable deeds the Harperites have undertaken since taking office in 2006. My God, it would be a long one. Read the full story on Montreal here.

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(l. to right) Rob Anders, John Baird, Tony Clement, Dean Des Mastro, Julian Fantino, Diane Finley,
Stephen Harper, Vic Toews, Peter Van Loan and Gordon O’Connor (I through him in for good measure as he’s pretty useless these days.

Here they are: the ugly faces of the Conservative Party of Canada. I don’t necessarily mean ugly in the sense of how they appear, but rather their character traits. They are ugly in the way they lie, bark, gnash their teeth, growl and attack. Is it just coincidental that mad dogs can be described similarly?

The main attack dogs, other than PM Harper, are John Baird, Peter Van Loan and Dean Del Mastro. They are simply awful when caught in a trap and return fire by simply going for the opposition’s jugular or ignoring them. There isn’t a decent MP among this lot and one has to wonder if Stephen Harper is responsible for the kind of MPs he is attracting.

Take Calgary West MP Rob Anders, for example. He was the only MP in all of Parliament who tried to block Nelson Mandela from becoming an honorary member. He referred to his terrorist background, I believe. Lately, he has been reaping scorn by sleeping on the job—frequently. The worst case was in a meeting with veterans. Furious that he was caught nodding off, he called two of the Vets “NDP hacks and Putin supporters.” Odd, since they were Conservatives.

The tone of parliament has sunk to the value of pond scum. All members are to blame in some ways, but since Harper rules the roost—and makes certain everyone knows that—he must shoulder most of the blame.

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