Subliminal Warfare Or Just Plain Stupidity?

From CTV: Tory 'mini budget' passes with Liberal abstention It's a story that any Canadian would want to hear. Lower taxes. Unfortunately, the writer has subliminally slipped in a message of tax INCREASE that shouldn't be there. Is it more of the mainstream media attack that we've grown accustomed to seeing against this current government, or is it just grammatical masturbation? Here's what caught my eye: "(Dion) on Monday drew a line in his sandbox," said Harper. "The line was he would never tolerate an increase in the GST, and today he is going to let one pass." Nice screw up CTV. In case you thought that we wouldn't notice, the GST wasn't increased, it was decreased, by 16.67%. You'll have to be more subliminal to pull the wool over my eyes.

Dr Who And The War On Terror

Remember the predictions of flying cars that we were all supposed to be using at the start of this century? Meal in a pill? How about personal robotic maids that every family would have? Sure, these are all things that may someday come to pass. To date, the predictions made in such eminent magazines and newspapers such as Popular Science and The New York Times haven't been very accurate. Sure, maybe there has been a flourishing civilization on the Moon since 1990, but neither you or I have been shown any such evidence of it. So what's the point of this particular blog entry? From a link in National Newswatch: Tories accused of lying about time needed to stabilize Afghanistan OTTAWA - The Conservative government was accused Thursday of painting a misleadingly rosy portrait of the situation in Afghanistan that contradicts the view of its own military experts. The Tories say Afghanistan should be stable enough to handle its own security by 2011 - a view reiterated late Thursday by a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper. But opposition parties pounced on far less cheerful assessments of the situation from two leading authorities: Canada's top soldier and the head of NATO. Gen. Rick Hillier declared it will probably take "10 years or so" for the Afghan army to meet its security demands - and NATO's secretary-general suggested it could take far longer than that. The opposition accused Harper of ignoring his own military experts and allies because the truth makes him politically uncomfortable. Liberal defence critic Denis Coderre said: "Mr. Hillier is the expert and he knows better. Someone lied there." On Afghanistan, the throne speech said Canadian troops should remain deployed for four more years - and then, by 2011, Afghan forces should be able to defend their own sovereignty. But the NDP wanted to know whether Hillier or Harper was telling the truth. "This is a very serious matter and I think the Prime Minister needs to respond," NDP Leader Jack Layton said afterwards. "We got glib responses . . . This is an enormous discrepancy and it does come down to who's telling the truth about this war." Now for my point. For years we have been treated to various experts, psychics and seers telling us the future. We don't need politicians doing it. If politicians could successfully see the future results of war then Adolph Hitler probably wouldn't have invaded Poland. Saddam Hussein probably wouldn't have violated 17 U.N. Resolutions. To hear Jack Layton paint a point of view or an opinion on something that may or may not happen as a lie is ludicrous. To take him seriously is even moreso. It was Winston Churchill who once said "We will never surrender". I don't recall him ever saying in 1941 that "We'll win by May 8th of 1945; news at 11." It's time we stopped making ridiculous demands of our leaders as to when the wars in Aghanistan or Iraq will be over. Just because we live in a microwave world doesn't mean the rest of the world does. UPDATE: CTV gazes into their crystal ball, determined that either the Prime Minister or the Chief of Defence is a liar. "Now we've got a situation where the chief of defence staff is saying one thing. The prime minister and his spinmeisters are saying another. It raises serious questions about whether we have adequate civilian control of this mission, Deputy Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said Friday after question period. "The soldiers deserve better. They deserve effective leadership by the civilian elected government of this country and they are not getting it." The only lie being told in this story is that either the military or the government aren't telling the truth. I don't see anything conclusive offered by the media to suggest that both couldn't be right. Perhaps both are wrong. Perhaps it'll take seven years, instead of four or ten. Only time will tell.

Mike Duffy Live: The Progressives get Regressive

If you're not watching Mike Duffy Live on CTV this Throne Speech night, you should at least take a peek when it's rerun later tonight. The show's only been on for minutes, and I was already treated to the perfect example of why one should be cautious about voting Liberal or NDP should an election arise. Here's the link here.

The Six Million Dollar Man

Thank you fellow Islanders for voting in a Liberal government here on Prince Edward Island. It's been so long since we've last had a deficit in the area of the $42-million just announced in today's provincial budget. I know, it's not like the last liberal budget deficit of $71.4-million that we had back in 1993, but at least they're making the effort. Of special interest is the $4.4 cents per litre I save every time I put gas in the car, and all you fellow Islanders that have never even driven a car get to pay for it, to the tune of $6 million this year. Plus interest. Here's the details on CBC's website. The deficit tops any brought in during the Progressive Conservatives' 10 years in power — with a peak of $39.5 million in 2004 — but it is not the largest budget deficit ever on P.E.I. In 1993, Liberal Premier Catherine Callbeck brought down a deficit of $71.4 million.

Two Good Reasons To Read Azure

This is the first. This is the second. See if you can find more reasons.

Throne Speech Eve Prediction

Will Stephan Dion be the next Canadian Prime Minister?

Controlling The Message

This story from CTV has to be one of the most ironic I've seen yet. The Prime Minister's Office has no plans to build a government-controlled briefing room, which would supplant the current National Press Theatre. A news report on Monday said a plan, with an estimated cost of $2 million, has been in the works since at least last year. The Privy Council Office and the PMO have been working on the "special project for the PM, otherwise reffered (sic) as the Shoe Store Project," said the documents obtained by the Toronto Star under the Access to Information Act. The Toronto Star's Tonda MacCharles, who first reported the story said she requested the documents about a year ago and received them late Thursday night. "There was nothing in there that indicated that the project was not going to go ahead and ... today the Prime Minister's Office is saying they're not pursuing it," MacCharles told CTV Newsnet's Mike Duffy Live. I urge you to read the comments section that CTV's website has on this article. They're still looking for commenters, but if you put anything of any truth there to set people straight, they're not likely to post it. I've tried. I've given up. Same thing at the Globe & Mail. Could it be that the media has become what the mental midgets commenting on this article claim that Stephen Harper has become? Could it be that the media is taking a fascist position and filling our minds with liberal propaganda? Nah. But as Little Johnny once said, "I like the way you're thinking". Another point of view here, here, here and here.

Once Again, The Critics Are Full Of B.S.

From the Ottawa Citizen: Throne speech timing will cut off critics, opposition says. Opposition MPs are accusing Prime Minister Stephen Harper of manipulating Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean and her speech from the throne next week to maximize government control over news at the expense of opposition parties. But the Proclamation Summoning Parliament to Meet reveals Mr. Harper has broken longstanding convention by scheduling the speech to be delivered at 6:35 p.m., at least three hours later than the tradition. Liberal leader Stéphane Dion may have the most to lose because the late start means his Commons response to the outline of government intentions for the new session will be pushed into the evening. More important, his divided party may have difficulty hammering out a clear and prompt response in time for nightly television broadcasting and newspaper publication cycles, says the NDP. "It's all about spin," said Liberal House leader Ralph Goodale. "It's all about trying to enhance the government's message by focusing on prime time and then minimizing the opportunity for response and reaction. It's bending parliamentary convention and protocol to suit the government's convenience." It's not easy at first glance to see who's more upset at this after-supper delight; the opposition parties or the media. The media tells us what the response from the politicians is. In the case of the Throne speech, it's the media that are going to have to stay up late(r) to present to us the various responses to the speech. This begs the question: If 9/11 had occured at 6:35 PM, would there not have been enough reporters around to give us the story? It still happened, just as this Throne Speech will happen. If it's so important that the critics have a chance to pour their opinions on us, they'll just have to do what most Canadians in other fields of work have had to experience: work overtime. The funny thing about this speech from the Throne is that everything points to it being a positive speech that will be acceptible by the majority of Canadians. If you can't attack the message, and you haven't been able to put a dent in the messenger, what else is left to attack but the delivery of the message? H/T National Newswatch. Update: I'm not the only one with this opinion.

"I think he's just out to get the Jewish vote."

From the "Ya Think?" Department: ( Michelle ) Kofman was one of several Jewish people who have expressed discomfort with the colourful greeting card sent out by the Prime Minister's Office to celebrate the religious new year holiday. She feels the Rosh Hashanah card is an attempt to exploit her religion for political gain. "I think he's just out to get the Jewish vote." Actually, this story is from The Gazette. Read the whole story and then ask yourself this question: Is Michelle really concerned about the fact that the government could obtain her name and address from any number of publicly available resources, or is it just that she's reinforcing a dislike for Stephen Harper and doesn't know quite how to admit it? Let's be realistic, Michelle. ALL politicians want your vote. It's how they survive. If you don't like the card, send it back. H/T National Newswatch

If you have tears, prepare to shed them now …

Christopher Hitchens has an excellent soul-searing story in this months Vanity Fair. The title, A Death In The Family, says it all.

Any Chance We Could Hire Gen David Patreus?

Gen Rick Hillier is being replaced, according to this story from CTV. I thought that he would have been kept on as Chief Of Defence Staff, but somebody high up apparently knows something I don't. Whatever it is, I hope they keep it to themselves. This man has served his country and continues to do so. The only ones who should celebrate the news of his departure I think would be the Taliban.

Mulroney: The Not So Great Debate.

Over at Calgary Grit, there's a bit of a debate over the legacy of Brian Mulroney. CG's certainly willing to expand his horizons, but not everybody in the comments section is. Anybody wanna help? With all the talent at Blogging Tories, surely somebody will take a stab.