Question Period & the Democratic Process

I thought Question Period was an opportunity for the opposition to ask questions and get answers about issues that are of concern to Canadians. But when the "new" government still hasn't realized it's actually "the " government and not the opposition, question period becomes the theatre of the absurd.

Today Mr. H., in answer to a question about the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan, said that the cons wouldn't bring the Taliban prisoners to Canada to ensure their proper treatment because Canadian troops are in Afghanistan to "keep the Taliban out of Canada". Last I checked the Taliban have no interest whatsoever in Canada and I thought our mission was to help the people of Afghanistan not ourselves. Perhaps the PM was confusing the Al Qaeda with the Taliban. All those bad guys are the same to him I guess. Or maybe he just says whatever stupid thing pops into his communications guru's head.

Then Helena G. accused a member of the Bloc of "taking the word of Taliban detainees as gospel truth" as if somehow the Bloc member had a hotline to the devil. Again, last I checked, the Taliban were part of the human race and protected by the rule of law (innocent until proven guilty) and the Geneva Convention.

Then to wrap up the farce, when Layton asked a question on another issue - an agreement between the Americans and the US about detainees in the Gulf - the PM had this to say: "I'm not sure I have anything more to add to this subject at the moment" and went on to quote Buzz Hargrove about the so-called green plan. Did he even listen to the question, does he not know the answer or, like every day in question period, does he just not care to answer as a PM who is supposed to respect his office and the people he serves?

Reid vs Baird

I know this is old news http://www.thestar.com/article/208205 but Scott Reid's comment piece in the Toronto Star made me think how interesting it would be to see him in a debate with Baird! Finally someone would point out the utter claptrap that comes out of Baird's mouth. No one in the media seems able to do it.

I'm still annoyed with Reid because of his divisive role in the party in the "old" days, but I must say I really like the way he tears a strip.

Soft on the Geneva Convention

Another quality Bush and Harper have in common is the way the words "Geneva Convention' stick in their throats.

They just don't get it. Mr. H.'s talking points about the Afghan detainees situation are pathetic: "we take this very seriously, they are only allegations, you guys are Taliban lovers and don't support our troops".

The most important new and constructive information on this topic was Gloria Galloway's quiet comment on Question Period: that soldiers are telling reporters that they are not comfortable handing the prisoners over to people they think will abuse them.

So, given Harper's absurd logic, our soldiers don't support themselves. The reality is that the only people out of sync with the Geneva Convention are Harper and his gang who couldn't possibly take a position of which Bush and his boy Rumsfeld wouldn't approve.

Electoral Reform

Why don't we do like the French and have two elections - the first one and then the run-off, then we wouldn't have to have a complex new formula for proportional representation and we wouldn't end up with the stalemate we have in parliament. If indeed all the NDP'ers are really conservatives, then the cons would win the second round, if not the Liberals would, but at least the majority would rule instead of Mr. H.'s strange gang of cobbled-together and muzzled misfits.

The Next Election

We have been entertained by media speculation, might I say ad nauseum, on the time of the next election and its main theme. Well, speculate no more on the theme. It will be Canada's role in the world, certainly our word on Kyoto, but also and importantly, the role of our troops - peace-keeping not war. Harper has made a military role for Canada the lynchpin of his presidency - oops prime ministry - and Canadians have soundly rejected it. The latest polls indicate the position of Canadians on Afghanistan and I think the NDP bump in the polls is also because of their stand on the war.

What the pundits fail to grasp is the deep importance to Canadians of our identity in the world. It is who we are. Bush may be Harper's idol but Harper does not speak for the majority of Canadians and the next election will make that very clear.

The Word "Family"

The way the conservatives use the word "family" all the time suggests the need for analysis - the latest use in their anti-environment fear paper labelled "Blah Blah Blah for Canadian Families and Businesses". I think the cons owe it to Canadians to define the word "family". What is the minimum number of people required to constitute a family and what is the necessary relationship between those people? If they include singles, then all Canadians are "families" so why use the word? If they don't include singles, then does that mean that people like Jason Kenney, John Baird and Peter Van Loan are not a priority for this government. Or is it just like so much coming out of this government - pure propoganda? And if so, what are they hoping to accomplish?

Our Made in Canada Environment Policy

Remember Ambrose talking to those US government types who visited Canada in April 2006 to discuss the environment. Her one-liner at that time was "we are going to get our own house in order before anything international for climate control". Remember the "made in Canada solution" era. However, after she uttered that Harper mantra, she handed the mike to the US guys who talked about "intensity targets" etc. - so much for "made in Canada". She was always talking about the great plan being released soon. Months later: "intensity targets" and the Clean Air Act!

Now Baird -same MO - goes to a conference, visits the US for guidance, talks about all the consultation the cons are doing, talks about "soon, soon, soon". And like Ambrose, he doesn't have a clue about his file. Just for a laugh, ask him to define "carbon tax".

So we wait for the government that "gets things done," wondering what will be born yet again not with a bang but a whimper.

Mr. Drummond - Who Knew?

Well, when the few humans remaining on planet earth sit around their campfire relating the oral histories of old, they will talk about the great civilizations of the world and the great creations of human kind, and then about the great "bean counter" who said this world could not be saved, and the boy-faced chatterbox who stood by the side of the great denier and convinced the world to go on with their ways.

NOT - because the world knew that the ingenuity of humans could conquer all things, including global warming, and they saw the limits of bean counters and chatterboxes and deniers and found new ways to preserve their civilizations and the planet.

What is a Senior Liberal?

The Globe says some senior Liberals are not happy with May and Dion. The Chatty Kathys are at it again.

So what is a senior Liberal, or a veteran Liberal? It can't mean that they are senior in position because no one is more senior than the leader of the party. Does it mean that they are old and wise? Well, not wise for sure, because stabbing your leader in the back is just stupid. Maybe just old then, and been around a long time. Now, if in all that time they had been really effective, Dion would be involving them at his side, but that's not likely because Dion's too smart and he would know that they are disloyal types. So they must be old, not so effective and disloyal.

Or, they are the right wing of the party and they are freaking out - Manley and McClelland types. My guess is they are both: one or two Manley "amalgamate Canada, Mexico and the US by stealth types"and one or two old deadbeats.

The question then is: "why is their grumbling a media story?" Slow day in the newsroom or . . . ?

New Levels of Hypocrisy

It boggles the mind that Tim Powers and the venerated Mr. Broadbent can sit there (on Duffy Live) and, with intense moral outrage, attack Dion and May for deal-making. Is the image of McKay and Orchard long forgotten, or the mental one of Orchard with a knife in his back. What of the cozy friendship of Layton (to whom many of us stupidly lent our votes) and Harper daily confronting us?

(My apologies to all those whose comments I didn't know were sitting waiting to be moderated. They are there now - for the most part. Just so you don't waste your time, personal insults on fellow posters will not be posted.)