First Liberal – “I think we have them on the run, yes?”
Second Liberal – “That bully broke my glasses.”
* *
Simma Holt
As Ottawa fishbowl media dissect the political implications of Quebec’s indecent exposure to the word “separatist”;
I was a Liberal MP in the Government of Pierre Elliott Trudeau 1974-79. But there is no place in the Liberal Party of Canada for a true Grit. Nor is there a place for western Canadinans in this Insane Hysteria from the eternal losers–the NDP, the Bloc, and their chosen leader Stephen Dion — to succeed in this Contemptible Coup.
This cries out to us on the Pacific Rim:“if any part of Canada should separate it is British Columbia”.
Prorogued
Open for comments.
Also, some links sent along, for your enjoyment;
The Larry, Curly and Moe Accord: see the “No Surprises” clause on page 2. The “within the limits of common sense” passage seems especially ironic.
More on that “A permanent consultation mechanism.” they offered the BQ.
Historical Summary of Canadian Elections
Drop others in the comments if you so wish.
Update – This is a good one.
Much fun in the LIberal.ca forums (h/t Shaken)
While We Wait
Why not just skip the endless minutes of speculation journalism from the national media and pop in a movie.
“It would make more sense for the rest of Canada to secede from Canada and leave Quebec to get on with it.”
Real secessionist movements would rightly recognize this as a lot of bunk. That’s why since the Parti Québécois came along, everywhere on the planet has seceded – Slovenia, Slovakia, even Montenegro – but Quebec remains a province of Canada. Don’t get me wrong, I love Quebec, and all the more so since I became wanted for hate crimes in English Canada. But I could run a better separatist movement in my sleep. That’s because (and if you don’t like the Sunni comparison stand well back), just as the PLO was a terrorist operation masquerading as a nationalist movement, so the PQ/BQ is a shakedown operation masquerading as a nationalist movement.
Related; “Dion should read his own book“.
Maybe They Learn It From Our Columnists
These two passages are part of the same Margaret Wente column;
If Michaëlle Jean agrees to give Stephen Harper a second chance, she’ll put him on a short leash. I like that image. After all, he’s been a naughty puppy. He peed all over Parliament, then bared his teeth.
[…]
This business has become embarrassing. Remember when we used to ridicule the Americans for having a political culture that was moronic, juvenile and destructive?
The Not-Quite-Ready-For-CTV-Primetime Coalition
Reader Tips
Welcome to SDA Late Night Radio.
Tonight we are a nation at a crossroads, facing one of the most troubling and uncertain times in Canada’s history. While many of us have been having sleepless nights over the unjust, almost horrifying scenario being played out, it’s almost impossible to comprehend the weight on Stephen Harper’s broad shoulders tonight as he fights for the nation he loves.
Time for a sing-along, then. One of the real bright spots in these dark times has been the stirring, most unwavering iron support for our prime minister that continues to come from that rare and valued group – conservative women. I invite the SDA army, including Dolly, Marie, soccermom and the inestimable Jema54, to stand up and sing along on the final chorus of tonight’s selection in a way that will be heard by Stephen Harper all the way over there in Ottawa.
He surely needs to hear that you continue to Stand By Your Man no matter what may come, right at the time when he needs it most.
Readers tips are, as always, welcome in the comments.
CRACK
Frank Valeriote does not favour a coalition government and instead hopes Prime Minister Stephen Harper can work toward rescuing the Canadian economy.
“I believe in working toward a solution, not working toward a coalition,” Guelph’s Liberal MP said Wednesday.
Valeriote added he does not believe a Liberal-NDP coalition, with support from the Bloc Quebecois, will unseat the Tories.
Update – Here come the Cossacks to the rescue!
Overheard Outside A Liberal Caucus Meeting
First Liberal: “We didn’t get it done!”
Second Liberal: “Do you tink it’s izzy to make a webcam?”*
Harper’s Address To Canada
Followed by the networks continued waiting… waiting… waiting… for Dion’s taped response…. air time filled with CTV’s Lloyd Robertson, Craig Oliver and “analyst” Peter Donolo spinning on behalf of the missing Liberal leader.
It doesn’t get any better than this.
Update… and still waiting… though there are unconfirmed reports leaking out that a man of the general size and description of Michael Ignatieff was seen running down a street in Ottawa with something clutched in his hand….
7:29 Central… Lloyd Robertson: “Apparently the tape has not shown up yet, may not show up yet…. Goodbye for now”
Update … more unconfirmed reports that Dion is still working at the tape do-overs…
And he’s here! Incoherent (out of focus… wtf?) and …. live?
Webcam?
And it’s over. Marcia McMillan looks stunned…
From the comments – “Check out the book over Dion’s right shoulder. The title is “Hot Air”. No kidding !!”
This will be Youtube gold.
Note – I’m watching on CTV Newsnet, but apparently, the main network didn’t get it on air at all and finally cut back to regular programming. Yowza.
Jack must love that he had to take a back seat and wait as Gille “not mentioned in the coalition” Duceppe was able to respond first.
That whole “Three Stooges” thing is looking less like a metaphor all the time!
Update: The Leader of the Not-Quite-Ready-For-CTV-Primetime-Coalition addresses the nation from his bunker.
Bursting Aneurysm Alert
Date: December 3, 2008
For release: Immediate
Prime Minister Invites Provincial Premiers and Territorial Leaders to a First Ministers Meeting on the Economy
Building on the productive discussions of that meeting, Prime Minister Harper issued an invitation today to Canada’s Provincial Premiers and Territorial Leaders for a follow-up First Ministers’ Meeting, to be held onJanuary 16, 2009. This day-long meeting will be accompanied by a session with Aboriginal Leaders on economic development opportunities for Aboriginal Canadians.
Librano Hold-Em Poker
The Kahnawá:ke Gaming Commission (“KGC”) and its agents, having viewed the CBS News item entitled “The Cheaters”, extends the following clarification and information which, although provided to the show’s producers, had been left out of the storyline.
1. The Ultimate Bet (“UB”) cheating was initiated while UB was owned and operated by Excapsa (a public company whose Board of Directors included several high-profile Canadians). Pursant to a settlement agreement finalized in November, 2008, Excapsa agreed to pay Tokwiro ENRG US $15,000,000. [Author’s Note: Among the 224 Excapsa shareholders, many of whom were identified during the firm’s liquidation proceedings, were David Peterson and Norman Inkster. Peterson is the former Liberal Party Premier of Canada’s Ontario province who at one time served as Excapsa’s non-executive chairman, and Inkster was a former chairman of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Both held public roles with Excapsa and were identified with the company prior to its sale to Tokwiro ENRG in 2006.]
Background: The Absolute Poker cheating scandal
Terrorists’ Weapons Linked To Pakistan
These aren’t AK-47s, the cheap and ubiquitous automatic weapons favored in the third world because, while crude, will shoot under almost any circumstance. No, Heckler & Koch MP5s, the standard submachine gun of security services throughout the world, including our own special forces in all branches of the military.
This isn’t a black market gun. While people living in caves in Afghanistan can and do manufacture Kalashnikovs by hand, the MP5 is a sophisticated weapon requiring high tech metallurgy and other technologies for their production.
Pakistan Ordinance Factories manufactures these weapons under license from HK, and they are under the control of the Pakistani Ministry of Defense.
The Power Of Palin
Continues to run counter to the mainstream “wisdom” of political and media elites alike;
Fresh off his runoff victory Tuesday night, Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss credited Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin with firing up his base.
“I can’t overstate the impact she had down here,” Chambliss said during an interview Wednesday morning on Fox News. “When she walks in a room, folks just explode,” he added. “And they really did pack the house everywhere we went. She’s a dynamic lady, a great administrator, and I think she’s got a great future in the Republican Party.”
Chambliss said that after watching her campaign on his behalf at several events Monday, he does not see her star status diminishing within the party.
The Republican also thanked John McCain and the other big name Republicans that came to Georgia, but said Palin made the biggest impact.
“We had John McCain and Mike Huckabee and Gov. Romney and Rudy Giuliani, but Sarah Palin came in on the last day, did a fly-around and, man, she was dynamite,” he said. “We packed the houses everywhere we went. And it really did allow us to peak and get our base fired up.”
Server Problems
I apologize for the site outages. According to the tech people, another site that shares server space with SDA is blowing up the place. They’re working to remedy that, so hopefully we’ll be closer to normal shortly.
Also remember that each time a reader posts a comment, the server processes a page rebuild. Please don’t resubmit comments over and over while waiting. The site is under heavy demand in recent days, so please be patient.
The Miracle Of The Stimulus Package
Time for a trip to the woodshed
One of my colleagues at The Torch received a passionate and heartfelt expression of opinion about this whole parliamentary mess in his e-mail yesterday. With the author’s permission, we’ve posted it in its entirety:
Regretfully, I am too old now to serve Canada in any political capacity. However, I did serve faithfully for 38 years in the RCN and the Canadian Armed Forces – including in NDHQ, as a Rear Admiral and Vice Admiral, where I had the honour to serve both under Liberal and Conservative Ministers of National Defence. In every instance they received my complete respect and loyalty regardless of Party.
My father also served in Canada’s Navy for 37 years from 1909 to 1946. He commanded several RCN ships and both coasts, and was ultimately the Commanding Officer Pacific Coast during the last three years of World War II.
His father was Speaker of the House of Commons, during the Laurier Government, then was Minister of Inland Revenue, then Minister of Marine and Fisheries (in which capacity he became the founding Minister of the Royal Canadian Navy), then served as Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, and ultimately died in office as Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. He devoted his entire life to Canada.
On behalf of three generations who have devoted their lives to Canada, I unequivocally condemn the power grabbing political charade now taking place in Parliament.
We are witnessing a deplorable and juvenile scene which demeans its participants, and also further erodes the residual prestige of a Canada which in both World Wars achieved greatness and international respect…
The author doesn’t stop there, either.
Personally, the lines from a recent article in Legion Magazine, in which the writer is sitting around a Police Sub-Station in the middle of nowhere in Kandahar province with a bunch of Canadian soldiers, keep running through my mind:
They talk about other things too. They talk about watching Canadian Parliament on television and laugh how the politicians behave, about how they boo each other. “Grow the f—k up, you’re running the country,” laughed one soldier.
Good Canadian men and women put their lives on the line for this country every single day. Is this the political leadership they deserve?
Enough of the partisan games. Enough. We need a government, not a bunch of children wrestling over their favourite toy.
Eggs Thrown At Ralph Goodale’s Regina Office
Luckily, I have an iron-clad alibi.
I was in Vancouver.
Tony Blair’s Britain
Where the foxes caper unmolested, the government packs your school lunch, and Roman Catholics turn towards Mecca to pray;
Muslim prayer rooms should be opened in every Roman Catholic school, Church leaders have said. The Catholic bishops of England and Wales also want special toilet facilities in schools to be adapted for Islamic cleaning rituals.