Thursday, May 12, 2011

And, I Read It In The Globe And Mail No Less

I know, I know, an editorial board does not a journalist story make, but pardon my "sour grapes", "partisan" blinders, for noticing the sheer hilarity. Are you sitting down, because this may come as shock? The Conservatives are backing off their election pledge to slay the deficit early, only DAYS after the election:
With the election results barely a week old, Conservatives are muddying the waters around a central – and surprising – campaign pledge.

The revised 2011 budget that the government will present next month will not show a surplus by 2014-15 as promised in black and white in the Conservative campaign platform, even though the government insists it still intends to deliver on the election promise.

I recall the rage when The Globe And Mail endorsed the Conservatives. I also recall a central criticism was how could the paper endorse a party that changed it's budget forecasts in such short order, as well as FAILING ENTIRELY to explain where the sudden savings were coming from. No accountability, no way to tell truth from fantasy, and yet the Conservatives pulled it off didn't they? In SPECTACULAR fashion I might add. I recall lots of commentary, and I also recall the defence dismissing valid concerns under the guise of "oh partisans are never happy". What a terrific reality, you can deflect everything with this convenient crutch, and ignore the legitimacy behind.

I, like thousands of others, pointed to just this deficit BULLSHIT, as a core reason why endorsing the Conservatives was tantamount to shilling, rubber stamping sheer dishonesty. For my money, one of the rare columnists or editorial boards that has an ounce of credibility left is Andrew Coyne, who didn't endorse the Liberals, but because of reasons above couldn't SANCTION such deceit. And, that is what it is, PURE DISHONESTY, the likes of which Canadian politics hasn't seen. Oh sure, all parties "fudge" here and there, but all these goodies offered years out, it's all predicated on this massive budget shell game.

That Flaherty will now re-introduce the budget that was tossed aside during the election, is just astounding betrayal. That the ruse produced a majority, tough to swallow, not JUST because I'm a Liberal, but because it does such a disservice to the whole process. Last election, the Conservatives ran out the clock, denied the recession and FAILED to deliver their OWN environmental plan, despite central focus. This election the Conservatives have truly outdone themselves, with an even more masterful deception.

When everyone is done brushing off criticism and putting it in the convenient "oh sour grapes partisans" file, maybe they can look at the objective substance of the criticisms, because guess what MSM, you bloody well blew this election big time! Liberals will be immersed in introspection, it would be nice to hear a little from the conduit as well, because it was b movie performance and this story turns those sour grapes into fine wine indeed. It really is INCREDIBLE when you think about it.

17 comments:

Jerry Prager said...

Get used to it, I think this is the third lie so far.

CuJoYYC said...

We've been used to it for years. The bigger question is, why are so many people so willing to believe the blatant crap they spew?

Tof KW said...

Chalk this up to your "Right Wing Media" post from the other day, and prepare for 4 more years worth of this.

It's no mystery why the mass media supports the Harper government, and I will say that they did the same to support Chretien back in the day ...because the media companies are protecting their own interests. The last thing you do is piss off the sitting government (that looks to sit for the next decade) lest you lose advertising, political access, and corporate welfare goodies.

Getting back to Chretien, back in the day I was incensed on how his government was coddled by the MSM as well. But that was nothing compared to how the Harper government is being propped up and protected by them now.

We really are into banana republic territory here, and I don't think even Hugo Chavez has as much positive press in Venezuela. Seriously!

bubba said...

Their will be a surplus in 2014 2015 they just aren't booking it until they do the review of expenses. Their is only a 300 million deficit forecast that year.Savings from gun registry,Wheat board ,Party subsidies alone will clean that up. I would bet you again if you like. My record against you in these conversations is currently batting 1000 percent- Election timing and election results.
Their will no doubt be a surplus in 2014-2015 under promise over deliver classic government for the past 30 years.

Steve V said...

Ummm, bubba don't you remember they cited these "review of expense" in the election to rationalize the SUDDEN savings. To funny.

Gene Rayburn said...

Bubba was too busy eating the lunch that bought his vote. Still cant believe you said that was why you voted for the cons in 2008 Bub.

Jerry Prager said...

Great analysis here of NDP win and their belief that Liberals are nothing but kinder gentler corporatists.
http://rabble.ca/news/2011/05/canadas-real-electoral-map-surge-left

Jerry Prager said...

Steve,when in the Eve's government Flaherty lied to the Ontario legislature about 5.6 billion.
Flaherty probably just lied about, because come victory or defeat, only the moment of the lie mattered in the election.

Liberal policy: before the writ can be dropped there must be a month of House cleaning in which all reports from all Watchdogs will be tabled in the House. And only then can a election commence.

TofKW Hugo Chavez is actually liked and respected by the majority of Venezuelans, unlike Harper in Canada.

Jerry Prager said...

Steve: Speaking about Policy, how you, as one of the winners of new liberalism coverage hubs in the last election, become the medium and the message of policy development.

Altering Corporations and Freeing the Fifth Estate

1. Corporations can't sign affidavits in court because "they have no conscience to bind them."

2. Corporations are mandated to pursue maximum profit within the law.

3.The unethical pursuit of profit and power result.

4. Corporate culture needs to be re-conceived.

5.Corporations are not persons.

6.Collecting taxes from corporations gives them existence as persons.

7.We need to stop collecting taxes from corporations; take away their toehold claim to hold rights as persons.

Implement a Carbon tax as the only tax of any kind ?
Or

8. Tax all individuals.

9. Heavily tax executive bonuses.

10. Study and eliminate tax shelters except where most needed.

11. The existence of non-voting shares breeds indifference to best practises, and must be eliminated.

12. Shareholders must become financially liable to a greater degree than now for the behaviour of boards of directors, their exectives, for all crimes and misdemeanors, within a graduated system of fines, implemented over time, to evolve new ownership standards.

13. Corporatism was a system of government concived by Conservative Catholics based on 4 equal estates: church, state, business, labour.

14. Neo-corporatism: Mussolini modified the four estates into a merger of business and the
state, reduced the church to population control, and yoked labour to business.

15. Liberal Democracy defeated neo-corporatism in WW2 and through the evolution of the Fifth Estate independent journalism sustained post-war liberal democracy.

16. Post neo-corporatism: business became the state religion, taking the estate power of the church.

17. Corporate conglormerates now own the fifth estate.

18. Liberal democracy is in decline.

19. We must re-democratize journalism.

20. We must separate the state, the fifth estate and worship from business.

http://canadaelects.blogspot.com/2011/05/altering-corporations.html

Tof KW said...

Jerry Prager said...
Steve,when in the Eve's TofKW Hugo Chavez is actually liked and respected by the majority of Venezuelans, unlike Harper in Canada.

Oh you are 100% correct, I have no doubt Chavez would win future elections there, even without the need to strong-arm the media or stifle opposition parties - though he does so anyhow (likewise Putin is in a similar boat, highly popular but dictatorial regardless).

My earlier point is even though Chavez plays nasty with the media and has his own state-run propaganda wing (his version of our SUNNews & National Post), there are in fact some newspapers quite open in their criticism of, and opposition to his leadership.

We do not have this in Canada, at best we have a few neutral media sources.

Therefore in terms of media, Hugo Chavez's Venezuela is less of a banana republic than we are ...even though they actually grow bananas.

Omar said...

Altering Corporations and Freeing the Fifth Estate...

Condensed version:

Mulroney laid the tablecloth. The 90s Liberals placed the serving-ware. Todays Conservatives will dine at this conveniently set corporate table for the next 4-5 years.

Is it any wonder the NDP experienced the surge they did in last weeks election? I don't think so.

Jerry Prager said...

The other thing the NDP has going for them is that they actually have alternate media, they know what is going on with the Wisconsin Movement, they don't rely on corporatist media for their narratives on the global democracy uprisings. Most Canadians (and Americans) are oblivious to alternative narratives.

Steve V said...

Jerry

I've mentioned before the Libs need to find ways around traditional media to get our message out.

KW

I think you are spot on, I've thought the same, there is a co-relation between power and coverage no doubt.

Tof KW said...

Well Steve, delving further I guess we are one up on Venezuela; in that no reporters or government critics here actually get beaten up like they do by pro-Chavez henchmen.

But then again, we have agents of the PMO targeting critics of the government to smear their names among their professional circles (and hit them in their livelihoods) ...which has the same fear-affect really.

Yet they still have some independent press blatantly printing anti-Chavez newspapers.

Where is our blatantly anti-Harper media?

We have our own version of FOXNews, so this country now needs an MSNBC to balance.

Omar said...

This is interesting. I particularly like the 187 seat count from a merged Liberal/NDP. Oh what could have been.

Steve V said...

KW

No, we don't beat them up here, we just put them behind fences and shout them down when they ask questions. It's a process, give it time. I bet Milewski had death threats too.


Omar

That is interesting, all the graphs. I don't like adding together as though everyone would still vote for the united party, because they clearly won't, it's not transferrable, but it does suggest some merit for a merge. One other point, many Lib voters ran to the Cons because of the NDP, so that speaks to a counter effect.

Omar said...

No you're right, they clearly won't. But I bet a merged party would have easily won 19 more seats to capture 155 of them.