Realizing that prorogation was the worst political mistake since Pierre Trudeau handed John Turner a list of his friends to find jobs for, the PMO is starting to throw furniture out the windows, in a vain attempt to get the Langevin Block to levitate. You can almost hear them screaming "Hey Canadians, you don't like prorogation? What if we never take a break again? Would you like us better? Huh? Huh?" And still, the long, sad, decline in their fortunes continues.Emphasis mine.
“I’m Back!” the 43-year-old announced in a news release distributed to media outlets Wednesday . . .And Saskatoon bloggers cheered -- its always more fun when Jim Pankiw is willing to be kicked around again, not to mention being an inexhaustible source of bloggage.
“After a brief (but very direct and explicit) statement, Dr. Pankiw will answer any questions provided that they are not of a personal or disingenuous nature,” the release states
..."He said to me once, he goes, ‘Austin . . . sometimes reporters report the news in a different way because they’re always looking for a great headline.’ I mean, who isn’t, right? He said, ‘Here’s an example. . . . Let’s say that I went and rescued my dog and he was drowning or something. It wouldn’t be, Jim Pankiw Saves His Dog, it would be, Jim Pankiw’s Dog Can’t Swim.’ "Oh, no, no, the great headline would be, "This dog don't hunt" -- a phrase which The Urban Dictionary defines as "An obviously faulty endeavor; ... predictive of failure."
It actually makes you angry on one level, the way this Prime Minister is clearly manipulating genuine human plight for NAKED partisan advantage. That said, I do find it somewhat refreshing that Harper's new projection, the great international humanitarian, is basically going over like a lead balloon, the disconnect so striking to border on embarrassing.. . .
Here's my cynical take on the chronology, which I'd wager is BANG ON.
Serious political problems at home, plummeting support that has sent shock waves through the PMO, completely derailing their ENTIRE winter and spring strategy, which was supposed to set the stage for electoral bliss. In the midst of the hammering the Conservatives were taking, a natural disaster occurred. The government responded with opportunistic zeal (I'm sure there was a genuine component, but only a fool doesn't consider "the wheels turning" in the PMO), high profile photo ops, swamping the media, seeing this event as the channel changer they desperately wanted.
The PMO saw the positive press for their Haiti response, which SUDDENLY produced this epiphany- we can re brand this Prime Minister as a humanitarian, taking a lead on the world stage, an advocate for the disadvantaged. Never mind, that all policies to date either contradicted the new messaging and/or demonstrated COMPLETE AND UTTER INDIFFERENCE, the PMO plowed ahead with the notion, cobbling together new initiatives. It was all political calculus, but this PMO believe if you say it, they will come, any level of true historical inspection a temporary obstacle.
The U.S. Marshal's Service apprehended all four men shortly thereafter.Now they're saying they were actually just trying to investigate whether her phones were busy or not.
One Stan Dai was listed as the Assistant Director of the The Intelligence Community Center of Academic Excellence (ICCAE) at Trinity (Washington) University. . . . Stan Dai spoke about torture and terrorism last June at a "CIA day" organized by the Junior Statesmen Summer School at Georgetown. The program included a field trip to the CIA and lectures at Georgetown the next day, according this event program I found online. As we know, Dai served as the assistant director of a program dedicated to steering young people into careers in intelligence. Get this: according to the flier, Adam Brandon, the press secretary of FreedomWorks (Dick Armey's town hall mob outfit) was on the same program.
. . . Prior to that, he served as the Operations Officer of a Department of Defense irregular warfare fellowship program.
Dai’s co-conspirator Flanagan was on a similar track.In a later post, Beyerstein digs into Flanagan's resume a little more -- turns out he has interned for two Republican politicians and claimed that he "briefed legislative staff on areas of national security and international relations."
Flanagan’s resume indicates he is enrolled at the Missouri State University’s Department of Defense and Strategic Studies. This curious institution is in Fairfax, VA (not in Missouri). It is headed by William Van Cleave, another neocon figure (a member of Wolfowitz’ Team B!). It graduates 15 people a year. And it is next door to NIPP (National Institute of Public Policy).
I still think this is unfair, hypocritical and just plain mean-spirited. . . .Admittedly Fonyo has not led an exemplary life since he was awarded the Order at age 18, but he was not given the award for the life he was going to lead or for his ongoing contributions to Canada - he was given the award for finishing what Terry Fox started, running across the country on an artificial leg to raise awareness of and money for cancer research.And if getting into legal trouble or behaving disreputably is grounds for rescinding this award, the Rev. asks, what about Conrad Black and Garth Drabinsky, not to mention the former Prime Minister who accepted envelopes of cash in hotel rooms?
I've lived in Washington for twenty years. I saw in Obama the real hope that something constructive could emerge from the corruption and decline of the recent past. I saw last night the civil tone that marks a responsible politics, rather than the glib cynicism and mock heroism that has marked us in much of the new millennium . . .Emphasis mine.
Last night, I saw one of the few men left able to see the depth of the crisis and not lose faith in this country's ability to overcome it.
