Category: Media

Ah, fer the love of… Some days, I just wonder if I understand anything at all.

I know that I promised yesterday that I’d have some footage of PM Harper’s appearance in London last night. Things went south from the get-go. Cam battery was deader than Elvis so I had to resort to using my phone (lovely quality, that). Then, when I tried to upload the damned thing to YouTube, it croaked because the vid was too long.

Not to worry, though, I’m not done yet. I’ll try to post the raw files later today and see if that works. (I apologize ahead of time for the crappy quality but, like I said, it was done with a phone…)

11:00 – Turner Trounced

Dang. The problem with staging a stunt is, when you don’t let the crew in on the joke, you might just get caught…

And to think that some folks still have it in their heads that the PM made a mistake by losing that loose cannon… Go figure.

19:05 – Update: AITGWN has more. this poor bastard just keeps digging himself deeper and deeper…

12:20 – Okay, let’s try this

Alright, I got the files uploaded to the server so let’s see how this works. It’s in two parts and, due to a bunch of technical mumbo jumbo that I’m not going to get into right now, it might or might not play properly in your browser. Sorry about that.

If they won’t play in your browser, the direct links are here, for the first part and here, for the second part. They’re in the .3GP format, so you’ll need something like QuickTime to play them. Again, sorry for the quality but it’s what I had to work with… 🙁

12:30 – Update to this: Okay, that didn’t work worth crap. Trying to embed the vids here made a mess of things and slowed down the loading of this post to a crawl. Sorry folks, but it looks like the links are as good as it gets…

13:05 – They’re still out there

Lest we forget about the malevolent HRCs in our midst, the National Post has an article yesterday by Joseph Brean to remind us:

The foremost legal precedent for deciding these cases is the 1990 Supreme Court of Canada decision about the neo-Nazi activist John Ross Taylor, in which Section 13 was held to be a justifiable violation of the Charter right to free expression.

It defined hate messages as those expressing “unusually strong and deep-felt emotions of detestation, calumny and vilification.”

Simon Fothergill, a lawyer for the Attorney-General of Canada, said Mr. Lemire’s challenge of Section 13 is “relitigation” of settled law, and amounts to “harassment” of the government, which won the Taylor case by a 4-3 decision. A decade later, in 2001, it amended Section 13 to include the Internet.

[…]

Mr. Fothergill answered that if Section 13 puts a chill on public discourse, it is only to be around the fringes of hate speech, and that this is not “a terribly bad outcome.”

“A little bit of chilling … is tolerable,” he said.

“TOLERABLE?” Is this asshole utterly out of his God damned mind??? And why the hell haven’t we heard so much as a peep out of ANY party on this subject so far in the campaign? Too uncomfortable an an issue, perhaps? Tough shit, bud; you wanna be in charge, you have to have the balls to do what needs to be done! And God knows, these things need to be reeled in.

Nest time some vote-hunting blowhard (from whatever party) bangs on your door, be sure to find out where they stand on this issue, because it’s just going to get worse if we don’t tackle it NOW.

13:22 – Another update: How’s this for a coincidence? I just got me a call from Steven at the CPC’s fundraising dept. What are the odds?Once again, the Tories were hoping for a buck or two to help out with the campaign. He was a nice enough guy (not as knowledgeable as Fred was on the issue, but still nice) but I had to tell him the same thing I’ve told the last four people that called me: No action on HRCs, no money from me.

17:49 – Holy crap!

I agree with Warren Kinsella. 😯 No, really, I actually DO. Yes, you heard me right. And don’t look at me like that.

I don’t know how it happened, either, but there it is. And it’s not just on one thing, strangely enough; I agree with him on a whole bunch of stuff. Like:

• Things are going badly for the Lieberal campaign
• Free advice is worth what you pay for it
• Warren is a has-been

I guess it just goes to show you, even a blind squirrel finds a nut some days.

18:10 – Practicing what he preaches

Say what you want about Steffy Dion, he sure does practice what he preaches. He’s always going on and on about how we should do this and that for the environment and, lo and behold, Steffy turns out to be one dead serious recycler. Trusty Tory has the goodies:

That’s right, folks, the old 1993 election campaign promise. This goes hand in hand with Dion’s continued election campaign against Brian Mulroney!

But, hang on a second. Didn’t Paul Martin promise this in the 2004 campaign? See for yourself.

Recycle, recycle, recycle! Because it’ll actually happen this time. They really, really mean it. Besides, it’s not as if the Green Shaftâ„¢ is earning them any love…

23:23 – Ker-SPLAT

Coincidence?  Poetic justice?  Prophecy?  You tell me…

MONTREAL – Stephane Dion’s aging plane was forced to make an emergency landing on its way to London tonight in what Liberals hope doesn’t become a symbol of the party’s faltering campaign.

The leased 29-year-old Boeing 737 was en route to London from Sherbrooke, Que., when it made an unexpected stop shortly after 8 p.m. at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport.

On the bright side, at least I don’t have to put up with that waffling weasel in London now. 😉

What the hell is THIS??? (Huge hat tip to Hunter over at Climbing Out Of The Dark for this one)

Where the hell is Fife talking about? Harbour Grace or Harare?? I know that a) I have a tendency to go off half-cocked sometimes and b) these are unproven allegations but let’s be serious here, folks; if these accusations have any merit to them, we have some serious problems with our democratic rights in Newfoundland! It’s one thing for a Premier of a province to bitch and moan about a Prime Minister and put his political capital into opposing the PM’s campaign, but this kind of bullshit is beyond the pale…

It seems that voters in Newfoundland are being intimidated and threatened with retaliation against their persons and businesses if they vote Conservative, donate to the Tories, or otherwise display any support for the CPC! NO, I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP!!

From Hunter’s post:

High praise goes out to CTV’s Robert Fife for this report [for the record, I agree -D]. He listened to the people of Newfoundland, and understood the seriousness of what they were saying.

Joanne over at Blue Like You broke this story on blogs, and she has the links to the CTV site that will give you the full story. She has the video link to Jim Morgan backing up what Robert Fife said. It is worth the listen!

What I’m waiting for now, is to see what the MSM does with this story. Are they going to howl this from the rooftops, or are they going to show themselves as being the Lieberal lapdogs that they are so often accused of being, and sweep some more Leftist dirt under the rug?

I don’t know about you, but I’ll be watching for this.

PS-
Dear Scumbags:
I understand that you’re awfully busy and otherwise occupied with trying to bugger about with the God-given right of Newfoundlanders to choose whoever they damned well please to represent them in our nation’s parliament but, if you could spare the time, could you please stop by and try to intimidate me?

Please? I’m feeling all left out and neglected here. Thank you for your consideration.

-Dennis

UPDATE

Looks like I’m behind the herd on this one, but I’m not going to complain. The more noise gets made, the better. Here’s what others have been saying:

1. Williams threatening Conservative supporters in Newfoundland? – Darryl Wolk
   “It is time for Danny Williams to check his ego and desire for the spotlight at the door. This man is putting a personal feud ahead of the interests of his province.”
2. “If You Run We’ll Ruin Your Father’s Business”: Danny Williams – A Step To The Right
   “CTV Bob Fife is naming senior Conservative sources that are on the record saying that Danny Williams and his minions are launching an extensive campaign of fear and intimidation against anybody thinking about running for the Tories, or attending their rallies in Newfoundland.”
3. Tell Danny the Dictator what you really think of his ABC campaign – Right As Rain
   “Just before I head off to bed, I would like to encourage everyone to email Danny Williams to let him know in uncertain terms what you think of these allegations of bullying and intimidation.”
4. Campaign Of Intimidation Part 2 – Climbing Out Of The Dark
   “If Robert Fife from CTV wasn’t persuasive enough, here is a former Fisheries Minister from Newfoundland, who pretty much agrees that intimidation is happening in Newfoundland. Big story here in Canada!!! NOT! Didn’t I say what that would indicate in my last post?”
   
5. *Official* Danny Williams has been put on notice – The Hypocritical Oath
   “OPEN LETTER TO DANNY WILLIAMS: It is my belief that you and your government have not met the needs of Newfoundlanders in terms of developing new and sustainable industries to succeed the fisheries. Oil is not going to float your paper thin economy like that of Alberta; you simply do not possess the amount of reserves that they do. Invest in education and the development of your business community which, by the way, should consist of more than just three fish boat captains in St. John’s harbour and the local pub owner.”
6. Danny Mugabe Williams – SDA
   “Well, perhaps that’s unfair. We haven’t yet seen rampaging gangs of PC’ers raping and pillaging political opponents.”
7. Ugly? – Halls of macadamia
   “You mainlanders don’t know nuthin’ about ugly.”
8. All Hail Danny – Back Off Government!
   “Ok maybe he hasn’t reached Robert Mugage proportions – but with these news reports coming out of Newfoundland I would say the words “Friendly Dictator” definitely apply.”
9. Some things never change (including Newfoundland politics) – Daimnation!
   “Robert Fife reports that federal Conservatives in Newfoundland are being intimidated by supporters of Danny Williams.”
10. Danny the Dictator? – Right As Rain
    “The allegations talked about by Bob Fife and Jim Morgan about Danny the Dictator’s actions in N.L should cause a great deal of concern amongst every party in this election.”

Ten and counting.  It’s always nice to know that I’m not the only one who’s pissed.

Oh, yes it is (this post certified 100% Election Bullshit® Free)…

Now THIS is what I call an attack ad…

In a bit of a hurry here, so I’ll be quick. Just got this forwarded to my email (thanks, Larry) and it’s too damned good not to share.

Enjoy.

Things were quieter on the American campaign today. No pot shots, no partisan sniping, no “I endorse this message” commercials on the radio or TV… anywhere. They have more important things on their minds.

Both McCain and Obama have declared today to be off-limits for their respective campaigns. I don’t know about you, but I consider that to be an act of class… on both their parts. Some things are more important than taking swings at each other for a day. Things like the memory of the thousands who were murdered and the brave souls who dashed into the inferno while others ran. Things like the hearts of those who continue to grieve to this day, and the sacrifices of those who have been called to their country’s service in the aftermath.

This is no day for the crass minutiae of politics.

On this day, may the Lord offer his comfort to you all.

Though you may walk through the valley of the shadow of death, be not afraid, for He is with you.
And they are with Him now.