The Coalition Out of Touch

While the media and the coalition keep harping on the Bev Oda non issue, Canadians are paying more attention to the 10 yr.old girl who sings Lady Gaga's new song.

At the same time they're not helping the government address the bread and butter issues that most Canadians are concerned about like jobs, the economy, and security etc. For instance  the coalition are missing  the boat when it comes to addressing the human smuggling issue that PM Harper government is trying to do something about.

If the opposition parties think that Canadians are going to run out and vote against the Conservatives over technical issues or specific clauses in C-49, then they have seriously misjudged what is a true hot-button issue for both native-born Canadians and new Canadians. This in turn hands the Conservatives an important club to batter the opposition with during an election, or perhaps a vote that could trigger one if the Conservatives designated it a confidence motion. Stay tuned for more anti-human smuggling rhetoric from the Conservatives as they take full advantage of the oppositions blindness on this issue.

If the coalition wants to keep hammering on the Oda case thinking they can win they should think again.  It's  like one Liberal blogger puts it, "Also, if this is the stuff the Liberals are counting on to win an election, we’re toast." 
The coalition is out of step with Canadians on prisons too as most support the government's plan.

Media Has Failed on the Oda "NOT" Story

Over the last week the lame stream media has bombarded  print and the airwaves with the so called Minister Bev Oda forgery and how she lied stories about a document refusing funding for KAIROS which is actually an activist group that lobbies for social and ecological justice.. 

The media failed IMHO as usual to get to the facts and the truth. Photos of Ms. Oda  wearing sunglasses and smoking was plastered all over the papers to make her look in as bad light as possible. The photos have nothing whatsoever to do with the issue at hand.  They've hung her before all the facts are known. Instead they keep repeating the coalition talking points. Did they not pay attention to what was testified to in committee?  Did they not listen to what Margaret Biggs, CIDA's president and accounting officer had said?

Mr. Jean Dorion:

    Ms. Biggs, was the word “not” handwritten on the form that you signed on September 28, two months before the minister signed it?

Ms. Margaret Biggs (President, Canadian International Development Agency):

    No, it wasn't, sir.

Mr. Jean Dorion:

    So then, when you signed the form, you were in fact giving your approval. You were recommending approval, since the form states:

   “Recommendation: That you sign below to indicate you approve a contribution of $7,098,756 over four years for the above program.”
So then, on September 28, you were recommending that the minister approve the project.

Ms. Margaret Biggs:

    Yes, I think as the minister said, the agency did recommend the project to the minister. She has indicated that. But it was her decision, after due consideration, to not accept the department's advice.

     This is quite normal, and I certainly was aware of her decision. The inclusion of the word “not” is just a simple reflection of what her decision was, and she has been clear. So that's quite normal.

    I think we have changed the format for these memos so the minister has a much clearer place to put where she doesn't want to accept the advice, which is her prerogative.

I don't know if it's just plain laziness, the strong dislike they have for PM Harper and his government, especially the women in this government, or is it incompetence?  There has not been any common sense fairness  in this story whatsoever.  For that you have to go to the blogs for that including this one from a Liberal blogger no less.  It is thorough, well though out, fair and clear. Others to check out are Climbing out of the Dark, CruxoftheMatter, Bluelikeyou, and The Iceman.  It has taken citizen journalists to do the job of the so called profession journalists.  No wonder the lame stream media is losing credibility.

Greg Weston from CBC stated something rather disturbing on Power and Politics the other day that really should be investigated. He hinted at maybe some collusion going between civil servants and media.  You can hear it here at the 18:45 mark. 

“Good for us potentially, because, I think, I’m hearing more and more from the senior public service saying ‘enough’. And if they turn against the Harper Government there is no more ferocious enemy because they have all the brown envelopes.”

What did Greg mean by "us anyway?"  If this is true, it's not good and I believe needs to be looked into.  This is a good example of why PM Harper and the Conservatives need a majority.  House needs to be cleaned in the service.

The media and the opposition coalition have taken it upon themselves to be prosecutor, judge,jury and executioner before all the evidence is in.  They are seeing what they want to see. They are hearing what they want to hear never mind the truth.  They are looking for out their own self interests only and are trying everything in the book to bring this government down even if it means ruining reputations in the process.  They don't' care. They don't care about you. They don't care about me. They don't care about the country.
Shame on the media!!!   Thank God for the internet and blogs! 

The Coalition, Media Vipers Brood

I have refrained from commenting on this but I can't hold back anymore. This whole week the coalition and the media have been attacking CIDA Minister Bev Oda.  The yelling and screaming from the coalition and the over the top personal smears from the media at Ms. Oda has become almost unbearable. 

Turning down funding for KAIROS, a left wing faith based organization who are actually activists was the right thing to do.  The process?  Not actually pretty but the personal smears and outrage coming from the coalition and the media are uncalled for and sickening.  I have never seen anything like this before. I thought there was a call for civility but the hate and venom coming from this vipers brood is anything but civil.

What's with the attacks on Conservative women anyway?  I don't understand it. In the States the hate for Sarah Palin, Ann Coulter,etc. Here there was first Lisa Raitt, Rona Ambrose, Helena Guergis, now Bev Oda.  There never were attacks like this on Liberal women.  Why the double standard?  It's nothing but spite and hate. It's amazing that any conservative women would put their names forward for office.

This  controversy seemed to come up as three polls that came out stating the Conservative support was surging and the Liberal support was tanking. What Bev did happened two years ago why does it come up now?  Coincidence or  something sinister and calculated by the coalition, the pollsters and their media friends?   One has to wonder. Something evil is a foot.  It's no secret that coalition and the media hate PM Harper and his government and want them out.  They will do anything at the detriment of reputations and the country. They don't care!  I don't trust any of them anymore.

I grieve for my country at this time.There are so many more important issues that need to be dealt with and this is what is happening right now. It''s sad and pathetic.  It has gotten so out of control in my opinion that the only way I see for things to change is through divine intervention. That's why we must pray for Bev Oda and the PM. Pray that they may find strength and wisdom to deal with this this situation. Pray that the coalition and the media back off the personal smears and start to deal with issues that really matter to Canadians for a change.

 I recommend to you  some excellent commentary  on this is matter from Bluelikeyou, Crux of the Matter, and The Iceman
Update: (h/t to MaryT) A great post today by Steve Janke too.

Who Defends Womens Rights? Certainly Not Liberals

The left always like to  brag how they are the "defenders" of women's  rights.  In the past Liberals when they were in power, protecting women's rights meant funding organizations that engaged in activism instead of funding organizations that go to directly helping women.

Actually the defenders and protectors of women's rights are Conservatives  as Barbara Kay so aptly points  out in her column. Our Conservative government has come out to fund an initiative geared towards preventing honor type violence against girls and women.

Fortunately, strategies to diminish honour-motivated violence against girls and women in Canada are being mobilized by the federal government.One such initiative was launched last week by Minister for the Status of Women Rona Ambrose. The Edmonton Indo-Canadian Women’s Association has received $241,000 for a 24-month project designed to empower immigrant girls and women, “Elimination of Harmful Cultural Practices: A Community-Centred Approach for Education and Action.” The project is a tangible outcome of meetings and conferences sparked by a July, 2010 Frontier Centre report on the troubling persistence of honour-motivated abuse into the second and third generation of South Asian communities.
Part of the money will fund a shelter, WIN House, reserved for refugee and immigrant women fleeing abuse, within which the program, “Changing Together,” will operate. A priority is information outreach — to inform immigrant women before they come to Canada, on their arrival, at settlement offices, banks, doctors’ offices and other frequent points of contact (including Facebook and Twitter) — about women’s rights here, reassuring immigrants that such practices as forced marriages and dowry fraud are not tolerated in Canada.

She then sums up her column by saying that a Liberal government probably would not be intiating such a program. I agree.

Not to be (very) partisan, but I doubt that a Liberal government would have found the will to apply such “active, muscular liberalism” to the problem before a European-style crisis forced its hand.

Clearly something has to be done to stop this kind of violence against innocent women and girls and I'm glad our Conservative government is on the ball on that front.  Liberals seem to be more for advocacy when it comes to womens issues. Conservatives are more for helping women directly. Case in point, they are defending womens rights not only in Canada but also in Afghanistan by help women and girls to go to school  to work etc.  

Liberals just talk, Conservatives do!

Gilles Revives the Coalition Talk

Just a little more than a month before the federal budget is scheduled to come down,  Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe has resurrected the idea of the coalition.

(Ottawa) A few weeks of possible federal election, the Bloc Quebecois revives the idea of supporting "a coalition of political parties" - presumably made up of Liberals and NDP - to dislodge the Conservatives of Stephen Harper.

Now we need to know where Jack and the Iffy Waffle stand.  They need to make it clear before Canadians go to the polls.  It will be the coalition of the losers or a Conservative majority. PM Harper has made that clear. This latest just plays into the Conservative party's narrative they will use the in the next election whether it be this spring or fall 2012. 

With the last couple of polls in the last few days that have come out from Ekos and Ipsos, it certainly doesn't look that positive for the coalition so they need to be careful.  That's if these polls are accurate and indicates a trend.  I would caution though to take these polls with a grain of salt. None the less this latest from the Bloc partner will make it more difficult for the coalition partners and their media cheerleaders play down the coalition of losers.

Now that Gilles has spoken, it's time for Jack and Iffy to put up or shut up.