as I live a few more questions

Harper admits he wants to stack Canada's courts

This article is an excellent summary of conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper's mission to remake the courts in his more hard-right image (cloaking the entire process in a "law and order" disguise).  It's so good that I've decided to quote it completely, with bold text marking sections which I think are important to note.

And the Conservatives say "Well, the Liberals have been appointing their left-wing judges for years and years, now it's our turn."  HELLO?!?  What kind of kindergarten logic is that??  Have your mother and father never told you that TWO WRONGS DON'T MAKE A RIGHT?  So make the system stronger and MORE independent rather than try to bend it to fit your own particular brand of politics, you idiots. Of course, a more independent judiciary is exactly NOT what these non-progressive conservatives want. 

This issue is making me angrier by the second.  As said at the very end of this article by the retired Supreme Court justice, "judicial activists" = "judges making decisions you don't agree with".  Harper has no right to politicize the judicial appointment committees and tamper with Canada's tradition of the separation of the executive and the judiciary.

PM says he'll pick judges who are tough on crime: Ignatieff warns Harper comments raise concerns over separation of powers

CAMPBELL CLARK

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper said yesterday that he wants judges who will reflect his government's law-and-order agenda, stating matter-of-factly that he will pick judges who will crack down on crime.

The blunt statement in the House of Commons appeared to contradict his own Justice Minister, Rob Nicholson, who one day earlier insisted the government was not trying to change the judiciary.

"We want to make sure we are bringing forward laws to make sure that we crack down on crime, that we make our streets and communities safer. We want to make sure our selection of judges is in correspondence with those objectives," Mr. Harper said in the Commons yesterday.

Liberal deputy leader Michael Ignatieff argued the Prime Minister's response raises concerns about "the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary."

 

How Much Blood? [a Creative Commons remix]

Why I Think Rod Bruinooge Is An Idiot

Yesterday I received a piece of mail from my Member of Parliament, Ron Bruinooge  (for whom, I hasten to add, I did not vote in the most recent election).  What I read, and how it was written, made me very angry.   

Canada's ruling Conservative party has halted a pilot program to provide safe-tattoo supplies to prison inmates, the purpose of which was to reduce the transmission of diseases such as Hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS within the prison system.   

It has been suggested in the newsmedia that the cost of the program would be covered, if it stops the spread of Hep C or HIV to as few as five other inmates per institution (thereby saving the government from paying associated healthcare costs later on when inmates become ill).

So Rod Bruinooge, my Conservative member of parliament, says in his mailing (reproduced above, the item I'm holding in my hand in the foreground): "I was against free tattoos for convicts and am proud our government ended this Liberal program." So he's proud that his government short-sightedly cut this pilot project, even before it could even be properly evaluated by the government's own public health department?   

Dear Rod:

You are a political opportunist, pandering to the lowest common denominator using Fox-News-scare-bites devoid of any meaningful context.  If you were indeed serious about ensuring my tax dollars were spent wisely, you could do a cost-benefit analysis and share the results with us, rather than simplistically  paint the issue as an example of the previous Liberal government's misspending.  And you're NOT getting my vote next time around, for exactly this sort of nonsense.

For God's sake, give the public some credit for being smart enough to figure out issues for themselves, instead of feeding them this pablum, you idiot.

More on this issue:

The Canadian Medical Association Journal article displayed on-screen above (PDF from CMAJ website, Jan. 24, 2007).

Prison tattoo parlours get the axe (from CBC website, Dec. 4, 2006)

Give prison tattoo parlours a chance: activist (from the CBC website, Jan. 11, 2007)

Stephen Harper suspends Garth Turner over blogging

Echhh.  Enough with American politics.  I'm going to give myself an ulcer if I keep following the shenanigans down south.  As it is, I'm already avoiding the U.S. TV stations because I can't stand all the campaign ads.

Back to Canada and not a moment too soon.  The latest big news percolating through the Canadian blogsphere is the Conservatives kicking Garth Turner out of the party caucus for (gasp) daring to have his own opinions. 

The more I see control-freak Stephen Harper dictate "my way or the highway" to his troops, the more I worry about the future if he should ever (God forbid) become leader of a majority government.  What is the message here, given the steady loss of the more socially moderate members of his caucus, such as Belinda Stronach, Scott Brison, and now Garth Turner??    The message is: you must conform or you will pay.  Which is a pretty funny turn of events, considering that the Reform Party (who rebuilt the Conservative Party) made such a big deal about members of parliament thinking for themselves.

Stephen Harper would do well to remember the story of Chuck Cadman.  When Cadman lost the Conservative party nomination in his riding, he ran as an independent and won.  And his vote, plus the vote of the floor-crossing Belinda Stronach, were what kept the Liberals in power after the May 2005 vote of confidence.

You dispose of those who may disagree with you, and they'll come back to haunt you, Mr. Harper.  All you've done is give Garth Turner the freedom to aim more pointed arrows at you and your party.

"President IL"?

Just catching the latest news on CTV NewsNet, Jane Taber is interviewing Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Mackay.  And during the interview, he refers to Kim Jong-Il as President IL. 

Uhhh... Peter, you'd best be studying that briefing book a little more regularly.  Korean names are last-name first, so it's not President IL, it's President KIM.

Not a stellar moment for the (Regressive) Conservatives on the world stage.

Stockwell Day and Emergencies

Oh God, he's making a speech on CBC Newsworld now.  The words "Canada's Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day" -- now doesn't that just make you feel more secure, knowing that this asshat is in charge of Canada's national security??  Here's a listing of some quotes by and about ol' Stockwell.  Like I said: asshat.

Frankly, the only emergency I can imagine Stockwell being prepared for is the Rapture.

P.S.   O.K., I will give Stocky a few points for obviously having spent some time on improving his French.  In fact, his French is better than that of some of the candidates currently running for the Liberal party leadership.