Harponomics

This is seriously on the conservative.ca website still. Still - and after all we've been through together! There are nuggets of proverbial dog doo all over that site. But what else would you expect other than a self-gratifying self-assessed pat-on-the-Tory back?

So maybe we should take the liberty to update it, so here, I'll give it a go.

The Conservative Record:

+ Highest unemployment rate in over 25 years.

+ Up to 600,000 jobs will be lost around the end of 2009.

+ National Debt has not been racked up this fast since the last time they were at the helm.

+ Secretly planning "surprise deficits" since the despised "surprise surpluses" Liberals had year after year were strategically wiped out.

+ Harper works harder each and every day to keep the conservative alliance together long enough in an attempt to fulfill his life long dream of destroying all opposition parties, especially those Liberals with no moral compass (This item is currently on hiatus.)

I'd love to continue, but I need to go recharge my Garmin MoralityMate 6000GT GPS.

Why Answer Questions

Bloggies Tories are getting giddy defending Mr. Harper for not answering questions from Canadian reporters. Blogging Tories seems to have a hate-on for the Canadian Main Stream Media, or as they refer to them, the MSM. The use of the acronym, MSM, helps to lower their stature a notch. BT must be blue in the face from all their hatred towards, what they believe, is a ridiculously biased bunch of Liberal lovers.

This BT seem to think not answering lame questions is better than not answering anything to anyone. Somehow, the BT bunch thinks the media are incredibly stupid and should not even consider asking their intellectual leader Harper any questions, since they themselves are not nearly as cognisant as the outlandishly brillant guy who almost lost power a few months ago by virtue of his own political games.

Some of the comments on BT blogs seem to be coming from a room full of ardent Tory supporters who have worked themselves into a frenzy. It's a mad house and I've been thoroughly entertained this afternoon by reading some of it.

Unfortunately, it's now an afternoon that I will never get back.

What Do Canadians Matter?

Of course, Mr. Harper, leader of accountability and all things righteous, does not want to be interviewed by Canadians. He would much rather speak with Americans. His true brethren?

From the Toronto Star:

Canadian journalists, who are paying $4,200 each to travel with the prime minister to the G20 and NATO summits in Europe next week, were told Friday they would be limited to two media availabilities with Harper over five days – each one comprised of two questions in French and two in English.

The limitation on the number of questions is a marked departure from Harper's recent past practice, when all Canadian media travelling with the prime minister were invited to ask questions.

Harper does not care about Canada as much as he adores America. This is painfully obvious in his attitude towards Canadian media. It's too bad we have a Prime Minister who has more interest in speaking with American journalists than he has with his own electorate.

Maybe he's too scared to hear the latest poll numbers about Ignatieff or how well his party is doing in Quebec. Maybe he's trying to avoid talking about the Canadian economy or what his own Parliamentary Budget Officer really thinks.

Smarmy Harper

Mansbridge interviewed Harper on the National about his "hot off the press" meeting with Obama. Harper would not stop smiling and looked horrifically smarmy. Like a school girl who just met her childhood idol. Eyes still spinning, heart still pounding. Harper said that only two leaders in an intimate setting can get to really sharing ideas. However, their meeting was as brief as one can get. Probably less time than he's spent with Ignatieff and I'd think he's lying if he said him and Iggy shared any ideas or got to know each other any better. It was a symbolic meeting, not of any substance, as Mansbridge summarized.

I'm sure Tories will rave what a great leader Harper is. How proud they are. Well done, Tory nation blue. But it was meeting that really didn't do or resolve anything. It was a meeting where Harper agrees to unify their environmental movement, but we all know the environment is not something Harper is concerned about.

He also said they need more time to discuss items. Harper needs more time? Harper needed a life line, not too long ago. Of course he will say he needs more time, he never wants to leave, he wants all the time in the world. We have seen Harper will do anything to keep his grip on to power.

And we learn Harper and Obama are now on a first name basis! Great work, Steve. Don't forget to toss in one more smarmy smile before the camera cuts out. Ah, well done!

The Conservative Record?

Straight outta Conservative Central, this is an edition of The Conservative Record? where we compare what they claim on conservative.ca, versus actual facts! Let's hold Tory smoke-and-mirrors up to the light to see what's really inside them eggs.

Note to self: I selectively cut-and-paste from the linked page because I don't have enough time in the day to argue every point that they selectively chose to make.

The Conservative Record?
> Lowest unemployment rate in 33 years.

The Truth!
> Yesterday, the Conference Board of Canada forecast that Canada's unemployment rate will boost to more than 8 per cent from 6.6 per cent last month.

The Conservative Record?
> Canadian job growth is overwhelmingly in high-quality, high-paying jobs like printing manufacturing, heavy and civil engineering construction, electrical equipment appliance manufacturing and mining.

The Truth!
> Yesterday, the Conference Board of Canada forecast that Canada will lose a net total of 175,000 jobs this year. 90,000 job losses in manufacturing is not job growth.

The Conservative Record?
> More than $37 billion of the National Debt paid off.

The Truth!
> Mr. Harper suggested the deficit could be up to $40-billion this month. With one budget, Harper more than erases years of "fiscal management".

The Conservative Record?
> Canada has the most resilient economy in the G7. And we alone in the G7 have kept our budget in surplus”.

The Truth!
> $40 billion deficit.

Thank you for listening to this edition of The Conservative Record?

Tune in next time when conservative.ca makes fiction fun again!

Taber vs Baird

Taber vs Baird, not the title fight of today's Question Period, but sort of an inverted diamond-in-the-rough of what turned out to be the Obama edition of CTV's QP.

The tenacious and fiscally-responsible? Minister of Transport, Mr. John Baird said on QP earlier today, we're spending "...literally billions and billions of dollars in each province and we're going to be doubling that." Billions in EACH province? Minimum $6 billion in Quebec (more or less?) plus at least $1 billion in each other province is $15 billion (this could easily be a lot higher, but I'm just going off Baird's words). Baird promises twice as much spending, so let's double down on that 15! Now his one department is spending another $15 billion (minimum) plus augmented spending in close ridings, I'm sure. I wonder how did Harper ever get away with pretending he would never run a deficit?

John Baird's mandate comes directly from the Prime Minister, which, as he said, is to make things happen. Which must be a variety of things, taking from how many times he used the word "variety" to describe what they are actually doing. Spending on a variety of things here and a various things there. He also wants support for the Tory agenda - yet Mr. Harper is taking a conciliatory approach for the next parliament. Maybe, Mr. Baird is no longer reading the Tory interoffice memos.

Mr. Baird, who usually never lets other people control the topic of conversation, appeared extremely nervous and was rushing through his answers. He seemed to be scared that Jane might ask him an "out of the park home-run" question, but, in her usual Jane-trademarked scripted line of questioning, she tries to stick him with some tough ones, but her rebuttals and follow-ups are weak and Lunesta-inspired.

Baird wins by split decision.

Hockey Crazy

It's been awhile since I've been writing on the chalkboard here. Working and studying too much, keeps me glued to the desk for far too long. My freedom arrived when I managed to watch a lot of the World Junior Hockey Championship! Oh glory days. I am amazed how great our Canadian boys are - they are a true inspiration. Congratulations to each of them for a well deserved victory.

Now, my return here was basically spurred on by Mr. Harper and his dismal enthusiasm while attending a fantastic game. I saw his image literally burn into my TV set and I thought wow, Mr. Funbags, the self professed "hockey nut", is taking time out of drafting the next budget to attend a photo op. That photo of him (not at the tournament) screams "proud to be Canadian" - look his son is a Leafs fan. What fun! High five.

I even found a quote on the PM's website “This event is great for the future of hockey in Canada and is a real treat for hockey fans around the world." Sure, it's great for hockey IN Canada, we're beating the crap out of other countries in our national sport. I love that the PM released this shortly *after* Canada beat Kazakhstan 15-nil; what a treat it is, to be out scored in the tournament 46-2!

Oh well - I suppose he would have actually worn Team Canada colours if they weren't so Liberal.