20110516

After the Old Rush

So here we are - the numbers are in, the dance is done, and Mr. Nanos can retire back to obscurity for another five years, relegated to the same obscurity as delegated to Jacques Rogge. (If you don’t know who Roggge is, I’ve made my point - if you don’t know who Nanos is, fuck you - seriously).

We find ourselves more divided as a nation than ever before. “Le Bon Jack” has convinced Canadians that support of the unions in Canada and anti-conservatism is one and the same ,which could be considered his greatest triumph, even more so than pissing on the carpet of the Bloc. So now we can look forward to an orange clown car parking in front of the Parliament building, accompanied with midgets and soda bottles, unloading all 103 MPs in a bunch, with all the discipline, focus and message that would accompany such a show.

It’ll be easier to get a gaggle of 6 year olds on a caffeine drip to focus on Carl Sagan reciting the Encyclopedia Britanica than it will be to get these untested freshmen to avoid embarrassing themselves. But at least there are 103 of them.

For yours truly it is a much greater tragedy to see the demise of the last Great Canadian Party and the return of Iggy to academia where, let’s be honest, he belonged the whole time. He did a heroic job of pointing out all of the abuses of power, the shifty deals, the arrogance of the ruling party and the general disregard for tradition and democracy exhibited by his pale-eyed opponent, and was punished squarely for assuming that The Nation actually gave a shit, or even a squirt.

When Jason Kenney is shoving the nose cone of an F-35 up Shiela Fraser’s ass, I’ll personally slap the first son of a bitch who complains silly. I would slap them stupid, but I wouldn’t want to waste my energy with redundancies.

And then there is the Consevative Party - the Victors Victorious. All credit should be given to the machine which wrangled enough votes through precise mircromanagement of demographics, splitting the votes of potential conservative voters away from the undecided votes of NDP and Liberal scrums. It was the key to their success.

Dead is the notion of providing a unified, national message, replaced with market segmented messages, all the way down to individual funding for parks and fire stations. Who needs a coherent and rejuvenating vision for the future when the Prime Minister personally installs a new stop sign at the end of your street?

But really, two groups must be singled out for their contribution to the new Canadian political landscape: New Canadians and the Boomers.

It is not possible to look at the role of New Canadians without appearing to be racist, so here we go: New Canadians vote on the basis of Crime and Punishment and Low Taxes. Is that racist enough for you?

Once cannot equate Chinese Canadians in Vancouver with Punjaibis is Brampton. That is the point. It is the strength of incumbency that can provide the low taxes that new business owners in the GTA need at the same time as they provide the promises of increased policing and prison capacity that can register with New Chinese immigrants in gang-heavy areas of British Columbia.

And here’s the rub: The Liberal Party of Canada has been unable to strategically identify specific issues that can apply equally to groups that lay between the NDP and Liberal Party, thereby preventing the split in the vote that was their downfall.

You can’t, in good faith, blame New Canadians for voting their values. Many of them have grown up in environments whereby the notion of initiating an election - a very new concept for many of them - based on the failure of a government to adequately publicize the expenses of a fighter jet or prison purchase seems a little bit silly.

It is difficult to criticize South Asians who have fought hard for the preservation of their democratic rights for a half a century (as opposed to the rest of us who have been fighting for a century and a half).

It is much easier to blame East Asians to whom the notion democracy is very difficult to distinguish from the type of anarchy to which they ascribe the Tien an Men protests. The Law and Order principles of the Conservative Party Line up perfectly with their natural desire for law, order, peace and harmony. It may be easier to blame them, but I won’t.

The fact is, the New Canadians voted to their values and you can’t take that away from them. It was a failure of the Liberal Party to provide an alternative narrative to them that was the source of their loss. The true betrayal belongs to The Boomers.

I don’t mean to say that you should kill your grandparents, but if you want to change the political landscape of this country - seriously - kill your grandparents. I’m just saying.

While the Chinese Canadians were starving under their latest 5 year plan and the South Asians were shooting each other for the sake of the familial ambitions of individual elite families, Baby Boomers in Canada were busy drinking, smoking and dosing themselves into oblivion. They made great progress in providing an alternative to the Protestant work ethic.

While India and Pakistan fought each other to the death, while China struggled through a cultural revolution in which all vestiges of anything that meant a damn to East Asian culture was destroyed piece by piece, the boomers in North American disassembled anything that mattered a damn into tiny pieces - personal responsibility, sexual responsibility, humility, any source of adult respectability was discarded in a vague attempt to capture a childlike sense of freedom relegating the notion of liberty to the equivalent of vigorously playing in a sandbox.

Now that the bill has come due we see the true face of the baby boomers in Canada. As the Boomers come close to retirement we see them become less and less amenable to any kind of taxes which may assure the health care system which allowed them to beat cancer, diabetes and heart disease, regardless of the poor choices they made to supplement themselves with these afflictions. No, in fact, now that they’ve cashed in on the system that protected themselves from their poor choices they are more than willing to prevent the same opportunities from being available to their children and grandchildren.

The government of Canad is in debt. Even the promises of the Conservative Government to reduce or eliminate the deficit by 2014 have proved to be nothing more than bullshit jn the wind. Now that the Boomers have “got theirs” it really doesn’t matter if the Conservative government’s election promises will eliminate the prospect of erasing provincial transfer payments. These are the guarantor of the public health care coverage which was the promise of all Canadians.

There were two main components that were the source of the Conservative Party’s victory. The first - New Canadians - cannot be blamed for voting to their values: peace/ security and low taxes. The Liberals can be faulted for failing to appeal to them. However, the Baby Boomers are absolutely blame for the upcoming disaster which faces our governments, just like acid rain, the reduction of the ozone layer and the ridiculously high price of gas, the failure of centrist Liberalism to find a middle ground between “I got mine” conservatism and “fuck the system” NDP support can be squarely placed in the laps of the Boomers.

“I hope I die before I get old.”

This is a satire blog, and I have been unable to be funny for most of this post, so here is a joke:

Q: “What’s the difference between a Conservative and a Baby Boomer?”

A: “Not a Goddamned thing.”

20110504

The Death of Empathy

Empathy died early this morning at Toronto Western Hospital. Empathy, a long venerated quality, has, in recent years been in gross physical decline. While all have noted this slow passing of a once great hero of ours, the final moments were spent in quiet loneliness. Indeed, there have been no speeches by great political figures, there have been no parades celebrating Empathy’s long career, no eulogies lamenting a life spent in healing the breeches caused by the regular wear and tear of the human condition.

At the age of 7,652 years, some have said that Empathy has had a long enough life, and it has been well lived. Indeed, Empathy first became known to a shepherd in the fertile crescent who came to understand the sufferings of a fellow shepherd who had lost a segment of his flock and was in dire straits. The two hugged, and the shepherd promised to “work something out with the flocks”. The two remained friends to the end of their days.

Empathy was well regarded in the court of Hammurabi the Second. The first Hammurabi laughed at Empathy in the face, but the second one was a much cooler dude. Hammurabi the Second subsidized the building of a large ziggurat as a make work program during a fertile crescent recession in order to stimulate the economy. His successor, Nebuchadnezzar, later on cancelled the ziggurat as “these kinds of projects degrade the value of the individual and erodes personal initiative in the form of small business entrepreneurship.” Empathy was not always loved, but Empathy was always there.

Another notable moment in the history of empathy was among the northern German princes during the Reformation. Phlieg von Hasselpuff, prince of Sax-Coburg-Blemheim-Schnitzel temporarily outlawed the presence of Empathy in his court. In the absence of Empathy Phlieg’s wife Catherine Hottenpiecefass, could no longer stand Phlieg’s physical presence. In order to maintain a family line, and have an enjoyable home life, Phlieg was forced to re-instate the concept. Once again, Empathy had prevailed.

Empathy made a triumphant entry into the public political realm in Canada under the Trudeau government. Partially caused by the decline of the Atlantic fisheries and manufacturing in southern Ontario, the Trudeau government guaranteed an annual income to ensure that every Canadian had a certain amount of support coming to them each and every year guaranteed by the state.

It was Monday evening that the first obvious signs that Empathy was about to die became indisputable. It has been a long decline, and at times there have been rallying points, it is true. However, on Monday evening Empathy was not looking good. In fact, Empathy looked positively like a piece of shit. Pale, anaemic, hunched, with a staring starved jaundiced look to it. The doctors shook their heads, rubbed their chins, and did not know what had caused this severe decline, and were incapable of halting its progress. All the nurses stood around blowing their noses and looking puffy eyed around the examination room.
Empathy is survived by its children, Goodwill, Kindness and Humanity.

They’re aren’t looking so hot either.

20110503

Meet the Harpers

Jean: RCMP security
Michele Munteau - Personal stylist to the PM
Laureen Harper - aged 47
Benjamin Harper - aged 15
Rachel Harper - aged 11
Tim Wassylko - head chef 24 Sussex
Jenni Byrne - Conservative party campaign manager

tump ta tump ta tump tump tump tump... tmp!

Ben: “Good morning Tim! What’s for breakfast?”

Tim: “Good morning, Ben. I’m not sure. Is your father up yet?”

Ben: “He’s with Michele, The refrigerator broke and daddy’s hair thawed. What’s a ‘cat-as-trophy?”

Tim: “Well, Ben, a catastrophe is just a challenge in disguise. Don’t you know how much your father hates it when you jump down the stairs?”

tump ta tump ta tump ta tump ta... tump

Rachel: “Good morning, snotrag.”

Tim: “Good morning, Rachel.”

Rachel: “I wasn’t talking to you, Tim.”

Ben:“Ouch! Quit it Rachel! Is dad coming?”

Rachel: “Freezer. Hair. Catastrophe.”

Jean: “Rachel, please don’t hurry so much on the stairs.”

Rachel: “Relax, Jean. I’ve been here for five years. Is the car ready?”

Jean: “Five minutes. Is your father coming?”

Ben: “He’ll be ready as soon as we fuigre out a way to apply liquid nitrogen to hair folicles without discolouration.”

tump ta tump ta tump ta tump ta tump ta tump

Tim: “What’s for breakfast, Mr. Prime MInister?”

Stephen: “Good morning, Tim. I think we’ll just have - “

Jenni: “Don’t answer that question!”

Stephen: “Jenni? How did you get in here? We weren’t scheduled to meet until - “

Jean: “Mr. Prime Minister, I don’t know how she got past the gate, I-”

Stephen: “That’s fine Jean. It’s alright. Is everything ready?”

Jean: “Yes sir, we’re ready to go any time you’re ready.”

Rachel: “Daddy, what is she doing here?”

Jenni: “Oh it’s okay, Ben. My name is Jenni Byrne and I’m here to help your father.”

Stephen: “Jenni, I hardly see how you can be helpful at breakfast. I-”

Jenni: “Here’s my card, Rachel.”

Rachel: “Can I colour on it?”

Jenni: “Sure you can, Rachel. Just don’t let your friends colour on it. Only you can colour on it and never use the colour red.”

Rachel: “Okay, Jenny.”

Stephen: “I still don’t understand why you’re here, Jenni. We aren’t scheduled to meet for another two hours. What is - “

Jenni: “Stephen, I think that we’ve lost the edge on our breakfast image among Canadians.”

Stephen: “Breakfast image?”

Jenni: “Yes, breakfast image. A great deal of Canadians’ political decisions are made between the hours of 1am and 10am, usually with a cup of coffee in their hand.”

Stephen: “And so?”

Jenni: “So, Mr. Prime Minister, we have t meet the electorate half way. We must exhibit strong control not only over the message that Canadians receive over breakfast, we must exert control over breakfast in Canada itself.”

Rachel: “Daddy can I eat yet?”

Stephen: “Just a second, Rachel. What are you getting at, Jenni?”

Jenni: “Sir, we have 14 days left in his campaign. If we let the people of Canada know that you were eating the same things as them we could turn the Nanos by 2.5%”

Ben: “Dad I’m hungry!”

Rachel: “Tim?”

Tim: “Yes Rachel?”

Rachel: “Can I have some orange juice?”

Jenni: “Not a good idea, Tim”

Tim: “Jenni, you can’t be serious.”

Stephen: “What do you mean, Jenni?”

Jenni: “Mr. Prime Minister, the communities in which your candidates have the best chance of
swinging the riding away from either the NDP or Liberals have a concentration of one Tim Horton’s store per every 2,500 residents.”

Jean: “Isn’t that the same ratio of citizens to prisoners that we’re aiming for?”

Jenni: “That’s enough out of you, Jean. When I want to know how to tase a Polak to death, I’ll ask your opinion.”

Stephen: “So you think I should be drinking Timmie’s every morning?”

Jenni: “Not just you, Stephen, but everybody.”

Stephen: “Jenni, you can’t expect me to give coffee to an 11 year old.”

Jenni: “I’m just putting it out there, Mr. Prime Minister. Timmie’s could be the key to winning over the tirekickers in Medicine Hat and the rust collars in Windsor.”

Stephen: “Just a second, Tim. Ben, you remember when we went camping last year, don’t you?.”

Ben: “Yeah, dad, the bats scared me.”

Stephen: “But you remember in the morning I let you have some coffee? You loved it!”

Ben: “I loved being alive. Not much else.”

Jenni: “Let me try, Mr. Harper. Rachel - here try this.”

Rachel: “I don’t want that!”

Stephen: “Try it, just once for your father, Rachel.”

Rachel: “I don’t want to!”

Stephen: “C’mon sugarplumb, just give it a try.”

Jenni: “See, how hard was that?”

Rachel: “Daddy, it tastes like crying!”

Tim: “Sir, we have the facilities of a 3 star restaurant. Are we really going to-”

Jenni: “Are you better than Timmie`s, Tim?”

Tim: “No, Jenni, I just think that the Prime Minister’s family has more choice than-”

Jenni: “Not while I’m here, Tim!”

Jean: “Sir, are we ready to go?”

Stephen: “Just a few minutes, Jean.”