So, uh, here’s a bit of concerning news for those of you who happen to be of the Canadian persuasion and for those of you considering Canada as a backup plan come the (albeit incredibly slight because I believe in God and His boundless mercy) possibility of a Palin presidency.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, pictured here moments before strangling the kitten to death, has decided to prorogue parliament until early March amidst the highly controversial investigation regarding the Canadian government’s involvement in the torture of Afghan detainees as well as the upcoming Vancouver winter Olympics.
This is the second dismissal of parliament, under Harper, in less than a year.
Undoubtedly it seems as though Harper is seeking to derail international attention from the investigation as the countdown to the Olympics becomes shorter. But is this really the case? Is the Conservative minority government seeking dismissal of parliament for sole reasons of deflecting attention from the hot mess it has found itself in, or are there other factors playing in?
John Ivison of the National Post weighs in:
There’s no doubt the government could do without the detainee issue blowing up again during the Olympics but this did not drive the decision to prorogue. For one, the government was already boycotting special committee hearings into the treatment of detainees; for another, polls suggest that half of Canadians have never heard of the controversy and those that have heard about it, don’t care (a new Nanos poll yesterday had the Conservatives nine points ahead of the Liberals).
There appear to have been two more serious considerations that persuaded the Prime Minister it was worth killing 32 of the 63 bills his government introduced in the last session (the other 31 have passed into law already).
Firstly, fury at the unelected Liberal Senate was not faux outrage. Mr. Harper was particularly upset when the Senate amended the government’s consumer protection legislation, which had received unanimous consent in the House of
Commons. The Conservatives are set to become the largest party in the Senate with the appointment of five new senators early in the new year, yet the Liberals would still have dominated the committee structure. This would have allowed Grit senators to continue to bog down government legislation for months on end. Instead, prorogation will mean that those committees are reconstituted to more closely reflect the make-up of the Senate. For the first time since he came to power, Mr. Harper will have a plurality in both chambers of Parliament and in the committee rooms.
Secondly, the Conservatives know that they need to change gears and prepare for a time when their popularity is not bolstered by their MPs running around the country handing over giant cheques. A hard rain is going to fall for the government when their economic action plan runs out of funding in March 2011. Mr. Goodale is on firmer ground in his assessment that the Tories’ legislative agenda is running on fumes. By all accounts, the folder containing all the good ideas about how to return to a balanced budget is thinner than a hermit’s address book.
Government sources say a report the Conservatives may chop public sector pension plans to save money is merely ‘bureaucratic blue sky thinking that has not reached a political level yet’. But the fact that the bureaucracy is preparing those kinds of documents suggests that restraint measures are on the agenda for the medium term.
Officials say the Prime Minister will use the extended break to create a “policy and ideas focused environment”, with ministers being issued new mandate letters and cabinet committees meeting regularly to discuss ideas that could be included in the Speech from the Throne when Parliament returns on March 3.
Whatever the case may be, this is about as exciting as things get in the country outside Hockey Night in Canada.
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Every time you masturbate…
Stephen Harper kills a kitten.
Please, think of the kittens.
Posted by Sean2009 | December 31, 2009, 5:26 amWith a cat in hand, he looks like a classic James Bond villain. The only difference is most of Bond's antagonists dressed in the finest Italian threads, and he is sporting a J Crew-style sweater.
Posted by KABOBfestWill | December 31, 2009, 4:13 pmI like how Canada is being threatened by a beatles singing despot and all you Americans can talk about is the kitten.
Posted by SanaKF | December 31, 2009, 9:17 pmDon't you realize that Happiness is a Warm Gun? All You Need is Love.
Posted by Sean2009 | January 1, 2010, 8:10 pmAt least he's not wearing a Nehru jacket. But why do villains insist on posing with cats?
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j182/swiftian/0…
Posted by Sean2009 | January 1, 2010, 8:03 pmI hardly think anyone so far to the left that they'd go into voluntary exile if Palin was elected would be satisfied with Canada as an alternative. Cuba or Venezuela, maybe. Not that I'd mind where they end up, long as they get themselves gone! If only we sane Americans could be sure the lunatic fringe would leave and not come back, I'm sure we could work something out in 2012…
Posted by programmer craig | December 31, 2009, 8:40 pmSana –
Palin would make a GREAT President! She has all the right values and principles to lead this country in the right direction (many of which Obama is pitifully lacking). The horrible mess that the leftists have created, from unsustainable debt to weakness in security, is causing a shift to the right.
The liberal media are rabid in their attacks against Palin, just like they circle the wagons around Obama to protect him…. they don't examine and scrutinize him like a free press should, they attack anyone who disagrees with him, just like the millions of tea protesters they try so hard to smear!
Thank goodness for the internet, and for media that is not liberal controlled!
Posted by eagle007blogger | January 7, 2010, 6:35 pmI live in Alaska. The vast majority of corruption charges against Sarah Palin and lies she's been caught speaking have not made the national news. They have been reported here. Sarah Palin spent her short governorship milking Alaska for as much money as she could. She's also closely linked to the Alaskan Independence Party (Todd is a registered member and she's the puppet for their leaders) whose goal is to secede from the US, by violence if necessary.
Also, all the media outlets in the US are owned by about 6 corporations. NONE of them are liberal. You can call the media liberal as often as you like. It won't make it true.
Posted by zara | January 24, 2010, 9:37 amThe vast majority of corruption charges against Sarah Palin
That's because all of the "corruption" charges have turned out to be baseless.
Sarah Palin has never advocated a violent or any other succession from the U.S. And she's already addressed all those bogus claims – you'd have known that if you'd been paying attention to the media as you claim.
In Alaska the Governor has to use personal funds to defend against allegations, and the liberal machine was just bringing just one bogus claim after another. That's part of the reason she resigned early.
Sarah Palin represents American conservatism, which is a good thing. The liberals are so threatened by her because she represents a strong women with a professional career and conservative family values, that even has a special-needs baby (she didn't kill it as the liberals advocate, so not only does she talk the talk but she walks the walk). She has been the target of very unfair treatment, and Americans can see that for themselves.
The mainstream media in the U.S. is liberal-controlled, even THEY admit it. That fact that you try to deny that shows you don't know / understand.
Posted by eagle007blogger | January 24, 2010, 11:49 amMrs. Brady also had the right values and principles, that doesn't mean she should be president.
you need more than values and principles to run a country. I think American history has shown us that rather well..
Posted by SanaKF | January 7, 2010, 8:10 pmPalin would make a GREAT President! She's a milf!
Posted by SatansFriend | January 14, 2010, 10:36 amAnd Mrs. Brady was never a member of City Council, a Mayor, chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, elected Governor of Alaska, nominee for Vice President of the United States, best-selling author, political commentator, and possible Presidential Candidate. Was she?
What's your point?
Posted by eagle007blogger | January 19, 2010, 4:03 amhttp://www.quickmeme.com/meme/1rn7/
Posted by KABOBfestWill | April 13, 2011, 4:43 pm