THE TIMES COLONIST has a couple of pages you must read. They sum up the egregious behavior of the Stevie government so far. The first, "Political honesty a fading value" asks common-sense questions:
Has lying become acceptable behaviour for politicians? It's a serious question. Society is, at its core, a network of relationships. Relationships rely on honest communication for survival. If dishonesty and amorality become the norm in politics, than democracy and society are threatened.
And recent behaviour by federal Conservatives raises questions about whether the governing party considers dishonesty normal and nothing to apologize for.
And recent behaviour by federal Conservatives raises questions about whether the governing party considers dishonesty normal and nothing to apologize for.
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Finally, there is Conservative house leader Peter Van Loan, who defends a party operation that has flooded the riding of Liberal MP Irwin Cotler with calls telling people he is resigning and there will be a byelection and asking for their support. Cotler has not resigned. The calls are sleazy and dishonest. Yet Van Loan maintains his party's right to free speech includes spreading misinformation.
Yet Van Loan maintains his party's right to free speech includes spreading misinformation — YIKES! My simple mind equates misinformation with lying. You know, like ol' Joseph Goebbels, the original "Big Lie" Spinmeister.
The second Times Colonist page, a cooment by Robert Radford, "Politicians are wasting money" is a nice summation of grief to date.
What is most disheartening is that the spokespeople for Canada's, I mean, Stephen Harper's government, don't seem to be concerned about the reputation or credibility of the government in the eyes of Canada's "99 per cent," whose hard-earned wages they are squandering.
Except, of course where Stevie decides to abolish or neuter by budget obliteration. Well, this may be a good thing because at this rate, just about every sentient voter will be fed-up in time for the next election. Disturbingly, the Stevie mind-set has a bloody-mindedness in his government's sleaze that is different from the Liberals' trough-raiding, but maybe it's just all those Stevie portraits.
