Robert Fife...Projecting His Inner Eeyore?

CTV's Robert Fife has been dutifully trudging back and forth across The Hundred Acre Wood in search of election stories, sadly, all is not well.

During the Friday edition of Power Play Mr. Fife described PMSH as "grumpy" with a "dark cloud" hanging over the campaign. Host Don Martin then asked, "What's the Eeyore complex all about"? During Roberts response he made mention of Mrs. Harper seeming to be happier serving beer to the reporters on the campaign plane.

This inspired me to search YouTube for behind the scenes campaign footage. I found the following examples, courtesy of one R. Fife.




Whatsamatter Bobby...teatotler? And then there's this:



In conclusion, I offer this quote from the original Eeyore:

"People who don't think probably don't have brains;
rather, they have grey fluff that's blown into "their heads by mistake."

CTV; Liberal Fortress Toronto Safe...UofT Experts Assure...

I came across this piece on the CTV News website today. An excerpt:

One of Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's first stops on the campaign trail is a speech Sunday at the Pearson Convention Centre in Brampton, in what will be the first of many attempts to woo GTA voters.

But experts say Toronto's Liberal-leaning voters aren't likely to switch allegiance to the Tories in large numbers before the May 2 election.

Stephen Clarkson, a professor of political economy at the University of Toronto, says even if Tories campaign hard in the GTA, they likely won't break the Liberal stronghold in many ridings.

Interesting observation but I wonder what Professor Clarkson bases it on. Further down he offers this:

Clarkson said the Conservatives likely won't make a big breakthrough in Toronto also because the NDP is likely to put in a strong campaign. He also pointed out that the Liberals can send out Ignatieff on the campaign without worrying about making silly mistakes like previous leaders.

"He speaks well, he has experience in campaigning and he's learned from his mistakes," said Clarkson.

Now this leads me to wonder if Professor Clarkson happened to catch Michael Ignatieff"s non-denial denial vis a vis coalition government. The one in which MI emphatically declares his devotion to democratic principles ..."from the bottom of my feet to the top of my toes..."

From my perspective what Count Ingatieff offered on day one of this campaign was both a mistake and poorly spoken. Then again I'm no polysci expert.

Of course CTV went a step further and consulted another political expert for this piece, one Nelson Wiseman, an associate professor of political science at the University of Toronto.

Professor Wiseman offered the following analysis:

Some ridings are vulnerable to a Conservative takeover on election day, says Nelson Wiseman, an associate professor of political science at the University of Toronto. He says some of these include Eglinton-Lawrence, York Centre, Brampton-Springdale, Mississauga-Brampton South.

Wiseman said that Liberals will campaign hard to hang on to the ridings they have.

"I think they'll also target some of the ridings they lost in the last few elections like Trinity-Spadina," which was lost in 2006 to NDP member Olivia Chow.

And this somewhat out of place observation:

Wiseman said that part of the Conservative's strategy has been, particularly in north-western ridings, to heavily target new Canadians.

"Chinese-Canadians, Filipinos, South-Asian Canadians have been a target," he said, citing the example of Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who made frequent appearances at events involving Asian-Canadian communities.

"Earlier this month, he was at a Filipino-sponsored affair where they put a cape on him and called him the ‘King of Multiculturalism,'" said Wiseman.

He says that at most, the GTA ridings may switch by maybe six or seven seats. "It's too early to tell, but according to the polls, Conservatives do have an early lead."

The piece concludes with the following:

A recent poll conducted by Nanos Research for CTV and the Globe and Mail shows the Conservatives at 43 per cent support in Ontario, up from 39 per cent last month. The Liberals are at 30.9 per cent, down from 32.8.

"The only thing that strikes me that could work for the Conservatives is this ‘coalition is undemocratic' shtick. It might convince voters to elect more Conservatives." Clarkson said.

So to recap, two UofT polysci Profs offer a "nothing to see here" analysis regarding CPC prospects in the GTA despite polling trends in the Conservatives favor.

This caused me to pause and wonder about the credentials of the two professors CTV consulted for this story. A quick google search produced the following on Professor Clarkson:

Stephen Clarkson, CM, FRSC (born 1937) is one of Canada’s preeminent political scientists and a professor of political economy at the University of Toronto.

His current work focuses primarily on two areas: the evolution of North America as a continental state, reinstitutionalized by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and two decades of neo-conservatism; and the impact of globalization and trade liberalization on the Canadian state. His recent publications on these themes include Uncle Sam and Us: Globalization, Neoconservatism and the Canadian State, published in 2002; and Global Governance and the Semi-peripheral State: The WTO and NAFTA as Canada's External Constitution in Governing under Stress: Middle Powers and the Challenge of Globalization".

Clarkson has taught and written on Canadian foreign policy and federal party politics. Following an unsuccessful campaign as Liberal candidate for the mayoralty of Toronto in 1969, Clarkson was active in the Liberal Party for six years. After Pierre Trudeau’s retirement from active politics in 1984, Clarkson spent a decade co-authoring the epic, Trudeau and Our Times, with his wife Christina McCall, which won the Governor General's Award for non-fiction.

His knowledge and experience in Canadian politics led to the commissioning of a history of federal election campaigns in Canada from 1974 onward. These essays were the basis of his 2005 book, The Big Red Machine: How the Liberal Party Dominates Canadian Politics.


The good Professor was also once married to somebody named Adrien Clarkson, a name which sounds vaguely familiar for some reason, but I digress.

I also found some interesting mention of the work Professor Wiseman is noted for here:


Nelson Wiseman’s Social Democracy in Manitoba: A History of the CCF/NDP fills a gap present in earlier histories of Manitoba...



...Nelson Wiseman is the first to chart the rise of the NDP as a political force in Manitoba and to provide a detailed account of the activities of the political left over the last ninety years...



...Wiseman began to research and write this book on the NDP as a strongly partisan insider. In the 1960s, he served as president of the University of Manitoba NDP Club and sat on the party’s provincial executive committee. He was active in the left-wing Waffle and quit the NDP in 1972 when the party refused to move closer to the Waffle position. Wiseman’s Waffle perspective is evident in this book, especially in his probing, thoughtful, and often critical account and analysis of the Schreyer years...



...Wiseman, the ex-Waffle member, is very critical of Ed Schreyer’s leadership and the NDP in power. He observes that “little in the NDP government’s performance diverged from what non-NDP government’s did” (p. 139) and that in office the NDP was just like any other government. He charges that little notice was taken of party policy and instead the “cabinet and caucus” (p. 132) were responsible for making policy. Wiseman chides the Schreyer government for failing to promote greater worker control in crown corporations, for failing to bring about major redistribution in income and for failing “to move towards public ownership of natural resource industries and urban land.” (p. 139).



Good to see that CTV found non-partisan experts.

On the Matter of Contempt

It seems the current Canadian government has been found in contempt, not just ordinary contempt but unprecedented contempt.

Many have also noted an unprecedented vitriolic atmosphere in the political air.

Few, if any, mention the unprecedented fact that we are are in our 7th consecutive year of minority government.

My sense of contempt is reserved for those who lack perspective.

Susan Delacourt...Obtuse or Self Satarizing?

Susan's latest effort at the TorStar has me posing the above question. It seems Sue snidely dismisses CPC communications that question Michael Ignatieff's claim of being the child of common immigrants.

She then publishes an entirely convincing case which points out the very privileged position the Ignatieff clan has always maintained regardless of where they resided.

An excerpt:

While the Ignatieffs have made the most of their coming to Canada in their respective fields, they have never ceased to enjoy great privilege, as a function of the financial and educational resources and social status they brought with them, and which are theirs to this day. The Ignatieff immigrant experience is one of significant wealth, first-rate educations and privilege. Very few Canadian families can claim this “immigrant experience.”

Hence my question.

OTOH the whole thing could also have been a poorly constructed vehicle to associate Canadian conservatives with those nasty American birthers. More from Sue...

Somewhere in here, they may well be claiming that he was born in Kenya.

Tradgedy Narrowly Averted

QR 77 Radio in Calgary is reporting that a dangerous sex offender that the RCMP warned the public about on October 10,2010 is now sought in the kidnapping of a ten year old girl from a Calgary shopping mall last night. From the QR77 website:

Warrants issued in kidnapping case
Kelly Turner
2/25/2011

Calgary police say several arrest warrants have been issued for a man who has a history of violence and sexual offenses against females between the ages of 10 and 42. The warrant is in connection with the kidnapping of a 10-year-old girl from Deerfoot Mall. It happened Thursday when she became separated from her dad around 6:30 pm. She was approached by a man who said he was a police officer and accused her of shoplifting. The offender picked up the victim and carried her to his vehicle. A short time later, he drove to a nearby Mcdonald's in Airdrie, and the girl managed to call 911. Canada wide warrants have now been issued for 43 year old John Francis Dionne of Linden, Alberta. He is charged with kidnapping, child abduction, assault, robbery and impersonating a police officer.

Here is the October 10, 2010 article from the Calgary Sun that warned the public about John Francis Dionne. An excerpt here:

RCMP Sgt. Patrick Webb said it’s rare for police to issue such warnings when an offender is released but given his past that includes a conviction for sexual assault, felt the need to warn people.

“These are not done lightly and only when there is a risk to re-offend,” he said.

“If we believe there’s the potential for re-offending and we’re worried about the victimization of people, we feel they should be advised.”

Dionne, 43, was charged after his accuser, a drug-addicted former prostitute, said she was picked up in Calgary’s East Village on Oct. 28, 2008 and was driven outside the city where he forced himself on her for 10 hours.

During the trial, however, the victim recanted and said she lied about being raped.

Mounties said Dionne has a history of violence and sexual offences against females between the ages of 10 and 42 and has recently been diagnosed as HIV positive.

Dionne is white, 5-foot-11, 170 lb. with blue eyes and brown hair and drives a 1992 blue Dodge Caravan with Alberta licence plate NAE 434.

Webb said police won’t be able to keep tabs on him at all times and are making the public aware because of the potential risk.

You will notice that a description of this monsters van along with the licence plate number is included in the article.

What is not included in the text of the QR77 piece is some very disturbing details of how this went down last night. This man was pulled over by RCMP while he had the kidnapped child with him in the front seat. In fact he was issued with a moving violation ticket and sent on his way!!

This raises serious questions about either the competence of the officer involved or the effectiveness of the computer system used to track and flag sex offenders.

To be fair, the child was not yet reported missing when the traffic stop was made and apparently the child was too terrified to say anything to the police officer when he issued the moving violation.

On the other hand, it appears this POS was using the same van the public was warned about last October.

Thank God this innocent little girl is back safe with her family and not a tragic statistic, despite our law enforcement system.

Something more substantial needs to be done about these sick bastards.

When the Nuance Hits the Fan

One of the hallmarks of the left is a self professed capacity for nuance. Us lesser beings are judged to possess inferior discernment betwixt reality and bullshit...right and wrong...because we lack nuance.

The narrative downplays common sense and glorifies complexity. The thing is that the left , through the nuance doctrine, seeks to complicate easy solutions and exacerbate small problems.

This will go through the fan.

Syncro

Jane Taber; Did Conservative Attack Ads Contribute to Egyptian Unrest...Yes! Yes! Yes?

I will be the first to admit that my periodic attempts at blogging in no way qualifies as journalism.

That said, one would think that self professed professional journalists would have a rudimentary understanding of paragraph structure.

Case in point:

Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff face off against each other in the Commons Monday for the first time since the Conservatives pulled their nasty attack ads against the Liberals offline and as the situation in Egypt worsens.

The Opposition Leader and his MPs will focus their Question Period efforts on the “Conservatives’ bad spending choices and the billions being spent on corporate tax breaks,” according to a senior Ignatieff official.

Is it just me or is the first paragraph poorly constructed? I suppose it isn't if one believes nasty Canadian attack ads and Egyptian unrest are somehow linked. To Jane's credit she does get back to the Egyptian issue a few paragraphs down.

In addition, the Liberals will demand the government be more clear in its language about the state of play in Egypt. They want the Prime Minister to state that “there needs to be a peaceful transition to free and fair elections,” the Ignatieff official said.

NDP Leader Jack Layton will lead off on the issue as well. “Obviously we’ll also be looking for a stronger Canadian response to the situation in Egypt,” an NDP official said.

I sure hope Harper doesn't say something nasty whilst being clear and stronger.

Syncro