Saturday, December 28, 2013

Deflect, Spin, Misdirect: Preston Manning and the PMO

Apparently, Preston Manning must have received new orders from the PMO.  In yesterday's Globe and Mail, we found Mr. Manning opining on the supposed issue of ethics in the Parliamentary Press Gallery.

The upshot of Manning's arguments is that the whole Duffy affair wouldn't have happened if the Parliamentary Press Gallery had a rule in place that prohibited members from taking a government appointment for five years after they leave the Press Gallery.

In short, "Hey look!  The problem is over there!".

No Mr. Manning, your transparent and ridiculous attempt to direct attention away from the centre of the maelstrom is not going to work.

At this point, Canadians have known that Harper has lied to them about every aspect of the Senate scandal repeatedly.  We have considerable evidence that the boys in the PMO were cooking up a cover-up of Mike Duffy's expenses right under Harper's nose, and even more evidence still points to his direct involvement.

Trying to lay the blame for this at the doorstep of the Press Gallery is ridiculous.

Did the Press Gallery lobby openly for a Senate appointment for Mr. Duffy?  No, Mr. Duffy did that himself.

Did the Press Gallery appoint Mr. Duffy to the Senate?  No, Mr. Harper did that.

Did the Press Gallery lie about Mr. Duffy's residency?  No.  Mr. Harper and Mr. Duffy came up with that little crock, as did Ms. Wallin and Mr. Harper.

Did the Press Gallery lie to Canadians about its involvement in this mess?  No, Mr. Harper has done that repeatedly, in the House of Commons no less.

Did the Press Gallery push Mike Duffy to campaign on behalf of the CPC in 2011 and expense it back to the Senate?  No.  Mr. Harper's party certainly encouraged it.

Right smack in the middle of the whole Senate affair are three Senators - Duffy, Wallin and Brazeau who abused their privileges as Senators for the benefit of their party.  In common with them?  The man who appointed them to the Senate in the first place - Stephen Harper.

There is not one shred of evidence that has placed so much as a hint of this mess at the door of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, and reams of evidence that has been published that has placed Stephen Harper and his inner circle of advisors squarely in the midst of it.

In short, the problem here is that a corrupt government, led by a power-hungry, lying Prime Minister has appointed people to the Senate and given them license to act dishonestly.  The man who should be held responsible is the Prime Minister - Stephen Harper.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Speaking of deflectors...

Stephen Harper: He's just a Deflektor

In early April 2011, bassist Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire began a post ["Hey Canadians!"] at arcadefire.com: "It is about to be voting time. Our current leader has championed some pretty destructive initiatives on everyone's behalf... it’s really important to get out and vote on May 2nd."

Flash forward to Oct. 26/13, when Parry told CBC arts reporter Pierre Landry: "This album [Reflektor] is about the flip-side or alternate dimension or reverse reality idea. It's not a concept of the album but it is an idea that re-occurs."

In an alternate dimension, perhaps Arcade Fire wrote and recorded "Deflektor" after watching Stephen Harper's Nov. 1/13 speech at the Conservative party's biennial convention in Calgary:

DEFLEKTOR

At the convention, in a prism of light
Around us the darkness, darkness of white
We gathered there, and looked on a stage
In the deflective age

Entre la nuit, la nuit et l'aurore
Entre le royaume de la droite et l'extrême droite
If this is heaven
I don't know what it's for
He don't care what they say
He don't care

[Chorus]
I thought I found a way to enter
He's just a Deflektor (Deflektor)
I thought I found the connector
He's just a Deflektor (Deflektor)

Now the questions we ask, are deflected again
He's disconnected, but is he even there?
He came to power when I was nineteen
And now we're staring at a screen

Entre la nuit, la nuit et l'aurore
Entre le royaume de la droite et l'extrême droite
If this is heaven
I need something more
Just a place where children play
To call my home

[Chorus]

I thought I found a way to enter
He's just a Deflektor (Deflektor)
I thought I found the connector
He's just a Deflektor (Deflektor)
Just a Deflektor (Deflektor)
He's just a Deflektor (Deflektor)

He's just a Deflektor...
Just a Deflektor...

Just a deflection of a deflection
Of a deflection of a deflection of a deflection
But wonder will he swallow his pride?
He's got some things to hide
Just a deflection of a deflection
Of a deflection of a deflection of a deflection
But wonder will he swallow his pride?
He's got some things to hide
Alright, let's find out

The songs he sings, are muzac to my ears
At Cowboys nightclub, the sum of all fears
I have to break free, he will not break me
That horrible sound
Don't mess around

[Chorus]

Just a Deflektor...

Thought we were looking at the big connector
Turns out he is just a Deflektor (just a Deflektor)
Thought we were looking at the big connector
Turns out he is just a Deflektor (just a Deflektor)
Thought you were talking to the big connector
Turns out he is just a Deflektor (just a Deflektor)

He's a Deflektor
Just a Deflektor
Just a Deflektor
But I see you on the other side
Just a Deflektor
But I see you on the other side
He's got some things to hide
Just a Deflektor
But I see you on the other side

Links:

Arcade Fire - Reflektor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E0fVfectDo

http://web.archive.org/web/20110410120603/http://www.arcadefire.com/blog/hey-canadians

"He came to power when I was nineteen/And now we're staring at a screen"
http://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/insight/2013/11/08/ottawa_suffering_under_its_top_politician_too/harper_keynote_speech.jpg.size.xxlarge.letterbox.jpg

Collective Punishment

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