Recently, he's been "taken over" by the CPoC to the point that his headlines have become more or less a farce. I haven't used Bourque much for a long time mostly because I find his site cumbersome and annoying to navigate (not to mention riddled with dead links ... oh wait - that's annoying!).
According to some, Bourque's "headline twisting service" is a legitimate promotional tool, and perhaps from a marketing standpoint it is. However, it crosses the line for me when I see entire party agendas being played out on screen in a manner that only Ted Byfield could love:
Let's take a look through and map today's snapshot against CPoC agenda and "classical positions":
Headline: CMHC Going to Pot
Agenda: As usual, this would fall under the neo-Rethuglican "smaller government" heading. Anything that would give the government an excuse to meddle in an agency that is otherwise working. (and without which, a lot fewer Canadians would be able to own their own homes - especially in areas like Toronto, Vancouver and now Calgary)
Headline: Flaherty Tax Cuts Coming
Agenda: More from the smaller government file. In this case, because the Conservatives have such a woody for having our troops strut their stuff in a war zone, they will pay for the army first, and starve everything else. (Remember a certain billion or so in "spending cuts" that just mysteriously came out of programs that benefit women and minorities?)
Headline: Tories Shake Up Justice Department
Agenda: Get tough on crime. Sounds good, doesn't it? Sadly, the CPoC's notion of "getting tough" tends to mean breaking fundamental tenets of our legal system to start with (such as the presumption of innocence) - not something I particularly think makes for good law.
Headline: Why Top Libs Are Hitting The French Books
Agenda: Slime the opposition at every turn - implying that the Liberals aren't literate in French while the CPoC is (personally I find Harper's french accent godawful to listen to). This is one of the Rob Anders school of stupidity tactics. Imported from the United States, this is a semi-classic marketing play that is really quite annoying - like the "attack ads" just recently released, it's a blatant smear attempt and really not even worth the public's time.
Headline: McGuinty Goes Green
Agenda: Try to discredit anyone who is "fool enough" to believe those uppity climate scientists who have spent their careers studying this stuff, and declare that humans have something to do with the changes we've been witnessing (and measuring) since the mid-20th century)
Headline: Ont. Libs To Run More Females
Agenda: More Anders-style taunting. This particular headline is button pushing at its finest. First, it implies that the Liberal party is gender biased (and the CPoC isn't?), second it is subtly demeaning to women as well.
Headline: FEDS EYE TANKS FROM GERMANY
Agenda: More "look how great our army is" from the party who thinks that foreign policy involves a six shooter and a swagger out of a bad Clint Eastwood western.
However, if that's how Bourque wants to run his site - that's his business. As far as I'm concerned, he's just relegated himself to the dumpster of Canadian news gathering - the same place that ultimately "The Alberta Report" (and later "Report") magazine landed up.
The nature and tone of the headlines demonstrates to me once again why the CPoC really is an immature bunch of clods. (and probably explains why Harper keeps protecting Anders)
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