April Reign

Speak your mind even if your voice shakes

Dion

Dion Steps Down

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As was expected Dion stepped down as Liberal leader today.
Dion endured smears from the beginning. About his ability to converse in English, his light frame, his backpack and even his ability to answer incredibly poorly worded questions. Conservative ads consistently showed Dion as weak and ineffectual, it was the modern day equivalent of the big dumb bully kicking sand in the face of the nerd.

Though not a Liberal supporter I do think Dion is a man of honour and integrity. And while I don’t necessarily support his policies I do believe he has a great respect for both the country and the environment. In that he showed himself head and shoulders above Harper.

What may be the unkindest cut of all is that so much of the campaign to oust him came from within his own party. He was lured into the shadowy corners of the Big Tent and shived in the back.

John Manley, seen as a possible successor was quoted as saying, “If I were to be critical of Stephane, I think he took the party in a direction where it was fighting in a very crowded field for too few votes on the left side of the spectrum and that’s not where you win elections” The Star

This would seem indicative that the Libs have decided to follow the Conservatives on the track to the right wing fringes. With the majority of Canadians who did vote voting in support of ‘progressive’ parties, and so many choosing to abstain from voting, one wonders what makes them believe this move to conservatism is something the Canadian public wants. After all previous liberal governments have shown that campaigning from the left has served them well.

A move to a right wing agenda would of course be a move away from Dion’s plans for environmental protections and the Greens already represent right wing market based environmentalists. It will be interesting to see where on the political spectrum the Liberal power brokers place the party.

Shortly before the election, in response to Harper’s taunts to the other leaders about quitting if they were not elected as PM, Dion said, “I am not a quitter”. I don’t believe he is. It is too bad though that his party quit him.

I wish Mr Dion well in his future endeavours.

“We’ll find a way to not defeat the government”

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Inspiring words from the opposition. I hope that Liberal partisans who moaned and bitched about the NDP propping up the government are suitably embarrassed by this stunning failure to represent the people of Canada.

I don’t have any particular quibble with Dion but if this is how he shows decisiveness and leadership…well let’s just say things don’t bode well.

Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion said on Wednesday that his party won’t defeat the government on the federal budget, but also won’t vote in favour of it.

“We’ll find a way to not defeat the government and to express our disagreement with this budget,” Dion said while leaving a caucus meeting in Ottawa on Wednesday.

He said the Liberals will still have an amendment, but the party has decided not to take the government down in the vote of confidence over the budget.

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Perhaps Dion emersing himself in CanCon has watched Jim Carey one too many times;

Fletcher Dion: You scratched my car!
Motorpool Guy Harper: Where?
Fletcher Dion: [indicating with his hands] Right there!
Motorpool Guy Harper: OH… That was already there.
Fletcher Dion: You – -LIAR! You know what I am going to do about this?
Motorpool Guy Harper: what?
Fletcher Dion: Nothing! Because if I take it to small claims court, it will just drain 8 hours out of my life and you probably won’t show up and even if I got the judgment you’d just stiff me anyway; so what I am going to do is piss and moan like an impotent jerk, and then bend over and take it up the tailpipe!

Reject Bill C-484

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Many others have already shown that this bill has less to do with crime prevention than it has to do with creating criminals out of women who exercise their choice.

There are those who would like to see these kinds of stories become commonplace in Canada:

Mother-of-two Alicja Tysiac was refused an abortion in Poland’s public health system in 2000 despite three doctors’ opinions that she risked loss of her eyesight as a result of the pregnancy.

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Bojorge was awaiting her second child when she and her 5-month-old fetus died this month in a public hospital in Managua. Bojorge’s family says they took her to a hospital when she complained of limb pains and weakness. When her condition worsened, doctors say they determined her fetus was dead, but Bojorge went into shock before they could save her.

and

Ana Isela Vega, who was three months pregnant when she suffered a miscarriage this month, was refused the necessary procedure to evacuate her uterus in a public hospital in the city of León, said Marta María Blandón, Central America director of Ipas. According to Blandón, the doctors worried they could not operate for legal reasons. Under pressure from women’s groups who explained that the law did not forbid removing an already-deceased fetus, the doctors finally operated.

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There are few dystopias more frightening than one in which a woman is held captive to the product of her uterus. Women continue to die in countries where doctors are afraid to even provide life saving surgery for such things as ectopic pregnancy because of the threat of prison.

Don’t let this happen here. Phone, fax, write or email your MP and send this letter to Liberal leader Dion.

[email_link]

Message to Dion

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Don’t follow the lights!

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OTTAWA–Prime Minister Stephen Harper says Canada will extend its mission in Afghanistan beyond 2009 only if NATO is able to find an additional 1,000 soldiers to fight with the Canadians in Kandahar – and he reached out to Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion for his support.

Reacting to the report by former Liberal foreign affairs minister John Manley on the future of the Afghan mission, Harper also said he would work to secure transport helicopters and unmanned surveillance craft, or he would end the combat mission when the current commitment wraps up in February 2009.

Harper said he spoke to Dion on Sunday and will talk to him again in a few days.

Scattered Scribblings

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A May/Dion romance:

An interesting way to do politics. Deprive people of the right to vote for all parties. Work out backroom deals in the front room thereby pretending it is something other than what it is. Pretend it is visionary and slur all detractors with the indefensible partisan label. While the thing itself smacks of all that is wrong with politics, the spin is genius. [Read more…] about Scattered Scribblings

Enquiring minds sorta want to know

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There has been alot of talk about the NDP being dead, no longer with us, nailed to the perch….

So why then the constant flapping of silly gums about various ads, who said what to whom about dirty dancing…er merging with what party et bloody boring cetra.

If the NPD is dead and no threat why bother with the Minister Ministry of Silly Walk Talk about them?

Seems to me time would be better spent finding a way to get Harper de-elected.