[Curtman]

Regina Regina:

The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree in this case. Old Mr. Fuddle Duddle flipped the bird out west too.

Blogger

$1:

So what Alberta Diary wants to know is when is Harper going to apologize for his 2001 dismissal of every part of Canada except Alberta as "a second-tier country run by a third-world leader with fourth-class values"? (He has, presumably, since revised his assessment of the leader.)

In the same statement, Harper suggested that Canada is better off when Alberta politicians are running the show, at any rate, he boasted in those pre-Alison-Redford-Red-Tory days, "we are the only province in Canada keeping pace with the top tier countries in the world."

In 2003, Harper dismissed non-Conservative voters in urban western ridings west of Winnipeg as "recent Asian immigrants or recent migrants from eastern Canada: people who live in ghettoes and who are not integrated into western Canadian society." You know, in electoral districts like Calgary Centre.

I don't recall hearing an apology for that one either, but, hey, it was more than two years ago. He also famously said in 2002 that he despised Bill Phipps, the moderator of the United Church of Canada, although it wasn't clear if that applied to other members of the church or was merely because Rev. Phipps was running for the NDP in the PM's Calgary riding. Rev. Phipps still preaches at a church in Calgary Centre.
...
Among the Harper quotes compiled by his own party as potential problems, and kindly posted on the Internet last year by Payton, were the following:

On the French language in Quebec: "That special status is needed to protect the French language in Quebec is simply false." (2002)

On what Alberta conservatives think of Quebec politicians: "I don't think anybody, frankly, in this party is very scared about pissing off the Bloc." (1996)

On his future in politics: "It has never been my intention to seek a second term or to become a career politician." (1996)

On Alberta’s role in Confederation: "Canada does not love us ... let's make the province strong enough that the rest of the country is afraid to threaten us." (2000)

Actually, there's a pretty rich vein of this stuff emanating from Harper's lips. Oddly enough, Sun News Network seldom writes about it.

My guess is that we'll be waiting a long time for the prime minister, or any of his minions on the ground in Calgary Centre, to apologize for this stuff.

Speaking as an Albertan here -- certainly as Albertan an Albertan as Harper, coming from away a very long time ago just as he did -- I have to wonder what Canadians make of the paranoid view of Confederation expressed by this prime minister in his many past independentiste musings about the need for Alberta firewalls, Alberta economic exceptionalism and putting the fear of Alberta into Canadians elsewhere.

I don't think you'll find any quotes from Justin as condescending and offensive to the RoC as those from Steve. I don't think his pandering to Quebec voters will hurt him very much, or that he should have apologized for saying what most people believe already.

[EyeBrock]

Trudeau won't get any heat from people in the media or those who are going to vote for him.

Let's be obvious here. Some of you guys will vote for a stuffed artichoke if it professes to be a Liberal or Tory vegetable. Partisan voices tend to drown out sensible debate.

The media's default stance is either anti-Tory or pro anybody but a Tory. Much of that is down to the belligerent attitude the Harper government has taken with the media since day one. The other factor is that media types naturally lean left of centre in the same way regular forces guys lean right of centre.

I'd be willing to vote Lib if they had a decent set of policies and articulated a mainstream, centrist POV. I still see too many closet socialists in the Libs for them to get my vote.

I like a right of centre government that is kept socially honest with a strong left of centre opposition. That's what we have right now.

[Lemmy]

EyeBrock EyeBrock:

I like a right of centre government that is kept socially honest with a strong left of centre opposition. That's what we have right now.

That's pretty much my position, at the federal level. Provincially, I like it the other way around, having a slightly left-of-centre government in charge of education and healthcare.

[EyeBrock]

Lemmy Lemmy:

EyeBrock EyeBrock:

I like a right of centre government that is kept socially honest with a strong left of centre opposition. That's what we have right now.

That's pretty much my position, at the federal level. Provincially, I like it the other way around, having a slightly left-of-centre government in charge of education and healthcare.

I agree. I don't know who would fuck it up the least in Ontario. Hudak isn't doing it for me.

[FieryVulpine]

I find it amusing how Curtman and his ilk resort to, "Look at what Harper did!" whenever Justin Trudeau or Thomas Mulcair make a gaffe rather than find a legitimate way to defend or explain their remarks. Too bad it is an obvious non sequitur.

[Zipperfish]

dino_bobba_renno dino_bobba_renno:

Really? I think it demonstrates how similar the provincial governments are. Where do think premier Christy Crunch would sit on the issue if Alberta were to cave in and accept her demand for royalties from the pipeline? I bet her deep seeded concerns about the environment would fade pretty fast. Besides, the pipelines are pretty much a done deal, it's just a matter of who gets paid what now.

I don't think the Gateway pipeline is a done deal at all.

[dino_bobba_renno]

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

dino_bobba_renno dino_bobba_renno:

Really? I think it demonstrates how similar the provincial governments are. Where do think premier Christy Crunch would sit on the issue if Alberta were to cave in and accept her demand for royalties from the pipeline? I bet her deep seeded concerns about the environment would fade pretty fast. Besides, the pipelines are pretty much a done deal, it's just a matter of who gets paid what now.

I don't think the Gateway pipeline is a done deal at all.

From what I know it's more a matter of when it will be built than if it will be built. Clark hasn't said no outright to the project, she said no unless BC gets a bigger share of the revenues. As it stand BC would get over 6 billion over 30 years, she's trying to argue for more since BC will have the most of risk exposure to an event such as a rupture or spill which is a fair argument. As for native groups, they'll probably cave once they're offered more money, they all ways do. And lastly for private land owners, Enbridge can either route around them or apply for right of entry. Really the only thing holding it up right now is the matter of who gets how much.

[Gunnair]

dino_bobba_renno dino_bobba_renno:

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

dino_bobba_renno dino_bobba_renno:

Really? I think it demonstrates how similar the provincial governments are. Where do think premier Christy Crunch would sit on the issue if Alberta were to cave in and accept her demand for royalties from the pipeline? I bet her deep seeded concerns about the environment would fade pretty fast. Besides, the pipelines are pretty much a done deal, it's just a matter of who gets paid what now.

I don't think the Gateway pipeline is a done deal at all.

From what I know it's more a matter of when it will be built than if it will be built. Clark hasn't said no outright to the project, she said no unless BC gets a bigger share of the revenues. As it stand BC would get over 6 billion over 30 years, she's trying to argue for more since BC will have the most of risk exposure in the event of a rupture or spill which is fair argument. As for native groups, they'll probably cave once they're offered more money, they all ways do. And lastly for private land owners, Enbridge can either route around them or apply for right of entry. Really the only thing holding it up right now is the matter of who gets how much.

Clarke might be waffling but Dix is not. He has said no...period.

There's an election next May and the Liberals are not doing well... at all.

In the end, the presumption is easy if you ignore both history of protests in BC and political reality.

No, it is hardly a done deal and I lean heavily towards it being more dead than not.

[dino_bobba_renno]

Gunnair Gunnair:

Clarke might be waffling but Dix is not. He has said no...period.

There's an election next May and the Liberals are not doing well... at all.

In the end, the presumption is easy if you ignore both history of protests in BC and political reality.

No, it is hardly a done deal and I lean heavily towards it being more dead than not.

And do really think Dix is going to turn his nose up at 6 billion dollars or potentially more? Besides, governments come and go, this thing has been in the works for well over 20 years, 4 or 8 more years won't matter much. You also have the fact that Governments at all levels are loosing money due to the fact that we have to sell oil to the US for 15 to 20 bucks a barrel less than what market prices are right now so there's a vested intrest on their end as well even if they don't openly talk about it. But you don't have to believe me, just sit tight and wait and see.

[Zipperfish]

dino_bobba_renno dino_bobba_renno:

From what I know it's more a matter of when it will be built than if it will be built. Clark hasn't said no outright to the project, she said no unless BC gets a bigger share of the revenues. As it stand BC would get over 6 billion over 30 years, she's trying to argue for more since BC will have the most of risk exposure to an event such as a rupture or spill which is a fair argument. As for native groups, they'll probably cave once they're offered more money, they all ways do. And lastly for private land owners, Enbridge can either route around them or apply for right of entry. Really the only thing holding it up right now is the matter of who gets how much.

The problem for Harper is that he did quite well in BC in the last election. Originally, the federal government was publicly backing the pipeline, but polls indicate most BCers don't want it--and not just the city folks neither. That put his BC MPs in a tough spot. They want to get re-elected. So they've dropped the pubic backing if the pipeline, referring instead to the results of their "science-based environmental assessment." That's not going to fool anyone either though, gievn this government;s record on the environment.

The only way to get the pipeline through is to ram it down BC's throat and then his party will be done in BC.

[Gunnair]

dino_bobba_renno dino_bobba_renno:

Gunnair Gunnair:

Clarke might be waffling but Dix is not. He has said no...period.

There's an election next May and the Liberals are not doing well... at all.

In the end, the presumption is easy if you ignore both history of protests in BC and political reality.

No, it is hardly a done deal and I lean heavily towards it being more dead than not.

And do really think Dix is going to turn his nose up at 6 billion dollars or potentially more? Besides, governments come and go, this thing has been in the works for well over 20 years, 4 or 8 more years won't matter much. You also have the fact that Governments at all levels are loosing money due to the fact that we have to sell oil to the US for 15 to 20 bucks a barrel less than what market prices are right now so there's a vested intrest on their end as well even if they don't openly talk about it. But you don't have to believe me, just sit tight and wait and see.

Nor do you have to believe me, but sit tight and wait and see (and plan to go east)

[Curtman]

Saw this today.. I thought some here might get a kick out of it.

[Saipan]

<img scr="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v314/sampan/Peoplewhocare.jpg">

[Brenda]

Wrong code, sweetheart
Let me help you:

Saipan Saipan:

Oh my, how rude!

[Saipan]

Many thanks, Brenda! I don't know private codes. I was using std. HTML.