Yes, I’m scared of Stephen Harper!

more Liberal spin.

Lib's last budget anticipated a $1.9 billion dollar surplus...it came in at $9.1 bill. lol. And this was after they found (and spent) an extra $10 billion in Q4. So I think Ralph and Paul have zero credibility on this one. It may have worked last time, but the spin has spun...Elvis has left the building.

btw: Coyne's point about the rounding error aside...just because we don't run deficits, it doesn't mean a budget is "balanced". When you have overtaxed everyone to the tune of several billion dollars that is also out of balance and should be equally distasteful. It means the gov't has confiscated more income than necessary/committed.

<<Some insights into Who is helping "The Conservative Cause"
Yep, it’s positively inspirational that so many corporate lobbyists would selflessly rally to the Conservative cause for absolutely no other reason whatsoever than to banish corruption and the insidious “culture of entitlement”...>>

lol. Well, laws of unintended consequences do apply. They are helping to change the "culture of entitlement" whether they like it or not. Harper's secret agenda revealed. Seriously though, should we fear CPC volunteers because they have affiliation with "corporations". Evil big ones like: Royal Lepage, Coca-Cola, CN, Rogers Wireless, Bell Globemedia, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority and the Canadian Automobile Association. You will find volunteers in the Liberal cause also have these companies for clients. At any rate, they may help counter the extremists competing to spend our tax dollars.

Make no mistake. Maude, Buzz, Phil Fontaine, the eco-doom mongers are well-funded. They lobby full time on behalf of unions, the homeless-advocates/industry, feminists, association of status quo Aboriginal chiefs, environmental causes, "family farms", and other NGO's that operate, largely on the gov't tab, to advance the parochial cause of their own membership. That is their entire raison d'etre. At least corporations find the time to produce a product and employ people. Without them we would have no economy and no employees or corporations to tax. And many seniors and middle class workers hold shares in these companies either directly or thru mutual funds.

The full time activists working to pry loose taxpayer funds are very effective. When they can't make convincing arguments, they turn to hyperbole and fear, claiming moral high ground as if their interests represent a national interest. They say that if we don't agree with the groupthink, then aboriginals, the poor, women, animals, the country, and indeed the world entire, will surely end. This collection of champagne socialists fly around to protest, or to meet with like-minded groups (all funded by capitalism). They live a life far in excess of what most Canadians could afford. Yet, they claim to represent the common person.

And now this same group are late converts to the Liberal Party. They have abandoned the NDP and other parties to form the "think-twice coalition" in a last effort to salvage Liberal hegemony in Ottawa. How "Red Tory" thinks another Liberal mandate will help anyone but the leaders of these causes (to secure more NGO subsidies, or gov't apts perhaps) is not clear?

We are too far apart, DSR. I can't hear you and you can't hear me! See, when I visit <a href="http://www.zmag.org/CrisesCurEvts/enronpage.htm">this site</a>, I just can't follow you. And just so you know, there are <a href="http://www.polarisinstitute.org/pubs/pubs_uscsi.htm">more of them</a>.

<<We are too far apart, DSR. I can't hear you and you can't hear me! See, when I visit this site, I just can't follow you. And just so you know, there are more of them.>>

I have to agree with you there. My point was that the Liberals are also lobbied and have lobbyists on staff from people like the Earnscliffe group who write a lot of Martin's talking points. Sure they are joined now at the 11th hour by Buzz, Maude, Phil and co (who stabbed Layton in the back) but the Libs are just as dialed in to Bay st as Harper is. In fact I would say much more so, Harper is policy wonk from Alberta, and certainly not one of their own.

I'm guessing right about now, a lot of Bay street corps are hoping on the Harper bandwagon. I can just see them tripping over each other to get access.

Ah! I'll make a progressive out of you yet! Just kidding! My point was that the Liberals are also lobbied and have lobbyists on staff ... Quite! Corporate lobbying of government is most offensive, mainly because it is done behind closed doors and at the expense of the people, taxpayers and all. The regulations that are in place are simply not working. That said, Bay Street is still in Canada last time I look. Obviously there are foreign interests involved but I mean those corporations must still operate under Canadian jurisdiction. If people decide that they still want Paul Martin to be the leader of their government, that's one problem that he surely must tackle. I hope that all those liberal bloggers out there will take him to task on this issue. Harper, on the other hand, is quite ready to throw overboard the fairly small leeway that we still have in our dealings with the US by having entered into an unholy alliance with the US Neocons whose sole purpose is grounded in the pursuit of raw power and indecent wealth under the guise of providing <a href="http://www.zompist.com/libertos.html">smaller government</a>. In so doing, he is planning to bring Canada closer to integration with a neocon-ized US and to adopt the same measures that Bush has been implementing that transfer wealth from the nation to just a few individuals. Now, that’s a whole new ball game! And I, for one, shall certainly not cut my nose to spite my face by voting for Harper and his Neocon ideology! --------------- Getting to know <a href="http://pertinent.mentabolism.org/Corporatocracy/The_Free-Market_Al-Qaeda.html">The Free Market Al-Qaeda</a> - Do circulate!

NEW LINK(S) Just when I start telling myself that I may be indulging in hyperbole when writing about Harper and his neocon cabal, along come other dire predictions about Harper being a danger for Canada (BTW, someone just asked me: "Where the hell did they get the money for all those long long glitzy commercials on TV?" Indeed!): <blockquote>Stephen Harper's recent lament over the political leanings of the federal civil service and the Supreme Court of Canada is a disingenuous attempt to allay the very real fears held by Canadians of a prospective Conservative government running amok and an electorate powerless to stop them. One has to ask why he would even say it unless he was fully aware of the fact that he is widely viewed as a dangerous man with dangerous ideas.</blockquote> “So, while Harper sends out reassuring messages of 'checks and balances' which have no basis in reality, <a href="http://thegallopingbeaver.blogspot.com/2006/01/harpers-little-pout-bovine-scatology.html">we should be looking for the hatchet behind his back</a>"! And from someone who should know, the former chief of staff to Brian Mulroney: <blockquote>Make no mistake. Beneath that newly genial demeanour beats the heart of a deep-blue conservative, whose dream is to shrink the central government, dramatically reduce its role in public life, privatize as much as [Stephen Harper] can get away with, and hack away at the incomprehensible system of income transfers that sucks money from the haves to the have-nots. As for regional development programs such as ACOA -- to the guillotine! Mr. Harper is posing as an incrementalist, which, in many ways, he is. But if he has his way, his incrementalism will eventually reshape Canada as profoundly as did the creation of the welfare state.</blockquote> <a href="http://bondpapers.blogspot.com/2006/01/good-look-at-harper.html">"Some people are in for a rude shock after January 23rd"</a>!. --------------- Getting to know <a href="http://pertinent.mentabolism.org/Corporatocracy/The_Free-Market_Al-Qaeda.html">The Free Market Al-Qaeda</a> - Do circulate!

VOTING EYES WIDE OPEN Update of reading material to this blog entry. It is for anyone out there who comes across this blog and who is still undecided or uneasy or who is wondering whether it is still worth participating in elections. My unequivocal response to that last bit - even you are "disgusted with government": ABSOLUTELY YES! VOTE! Warning: I absolutely and totally reject Harper's brand of conservatism. Thus most of the material being posted in this blog entry relate to this rejection. Mr. Harper and his followers have their own web/blogsites where a different point of view can be obtained. --------------- PREVIOUS LINKS <a href="http://www.pogge.ca/archives/000943.shtml">A new friend for George Bush</a> <a href="http://www.la-mancha.net/?p=1181">The Conservative Platform</a> And <a href="http://www.pogge.ca/archives/000947.shtml">a follow-up</a>. <a href="http://www.canadians.org/display_document.htm?COC_token=23@@a4b42bd56c343de3fce29b95fa268ea3&id=1353&isdoc=1&catid=121">Think Twice on January 23</a> <a href="http://crawlacrosstheocean.blogspot.com/2006/01/good-bye-budget-surplus-we-hardly-knew.html">"Good Bye Budget Surplus, We Hardly Knew Ya"</a> <a href="http://redtory.blogspot.com/2006/01/im-shocked-shocked-i-tell-you.html ">Who is helping "The Conservative Cause"</a> <a href="http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1137193812451&call_pageid=971358637177">Conservative platform would reshape nation</a> <a href="http://www.canadawebpages.com/pc-editorial.asp?Key=2123&editorType=news&editorPrimeKeyword=mcgowan&editorLink=">Some policies unacceptable</a>. <a href="http://east-end-underground.tripod.com/index.blog?entry_id=1389299">Choice in Child Care Allowance seriously flawed</a> <a href="http://www.thinktwicecanada.ca/">Think Twice Canada</a>! <a href="http://thegallopingbeaver.blogspot.com/2006/01/harpers-little-pout-bovine-scatology.html">Checks and balances</a>! <a href="http://bondpapers.blogspot.com/2006/01/good-look-at-harper.html">"Some people are in for a rude shock after January 23rd"</a>!. NEW LINKS A sober summary on this <a href="http://canadiancerberus.blogspot.com/2006/01/final-weekend-final-thoughts_20.html">final weekend</a>. There are lots of particular issues that still require more debates, for example, the <a href="http://bondpapers.blogspot.com/2006/01/promise-of-coming-equalization-war.html">Equalization issue</a>. Then there is the fact that those <a href="http://www.pogge.ca/archives/000963.shtml">doubts just won’t go away</a>. In the end, each will vote according to his or her conscience but we will all have to live with the consequences, not just tomorrow but the day after and the year after, most probably for years to come. Not just us but the next generation as well. Indeed, the whole World will be affected by the way that we will cast our vote on Monday. Insofar as I may have convinced some that it is worthwhile to explore the links between the Canadian neoconservatives and the American neoconservatives, then perhaps the following may prove helpful. For having failed to identify the threat of the conservative movement in time, the Americans are paying a terrible price today. A contribution by Jerome illustrates most poignantly <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/1/19/93952/7263">the despair</a>. The campaign strategist David Sirota will soon publish his book about the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/what-they-wont-tell-you-_b_14156.html">the hostile takeover of America </a>, this is almost six years after George Monbiot's <a href="http://www.monbiot.com/index.php?p=882">Captive State – The Corporate Takeover of Britain</a>! Once the Neocons have become entrenched, the fight to reclaim one's government is long and hard! To this day not one country has succeeded in turning the tide around, not Britain, not Australia, certainly not the US. But we do not have to go there! We can still fight this! We can still say no! --------------- Getting to know <a href="http://pertinent.mentabolism.org/Corporatocracy/The_Free-Market_Al-Qaeda.html">The Free Market Al-Qaeda</a> - Do circulate!