Shadows of Glass
Interesting documentary. Could be better written.
Mediocrity is the Mantra or Fuck You, Tom Freda
Canadians are mediocre people with mediocre ambitions who put mediocre efforts into mediocre causes. Take, for example, Tom Freda’s supposed fight against merely an oath to the Queen … for newcomers to Canada.
Today, the Ontario Superior Court ruled that forcing immigrants to Canada to swear an oath to the Queen is constitutional, even if it violated their free speech rights.
Nevermind, you know, actually severing ties with Britain and establishing a republican form of government that works. Nevermind pummelling royalists at every corner of every street and every building. Nevermind radicalizing Canadians against such an evil institution. Nevermind trying to propagate why monarchy is evil and should be destroyed as swiftly as possible. Nevermind trying to explain why a republic (specifically of a constitutional democratic secular form) is the greatest form of government human beings has ever conceived. And as lame as it is, nevermind changing the oath for ALL Canadians who enter into any public office. No. Tom Freda and Roach decided to dedicate years and money to engage in a selfish, mediocre endeavour designed solely to appease only new Canadians who don’t like the monarchy.
I’m sorry, but I’m a natural-born citizen of this country who himself is non-white, who grew up in two provinces, and I absolutely hate the monarchy, because it is an absolutely evil institution that must be destroyed. Yet my ambitions are far higher than Freda’s, or his CCR organization. The ambitions of them are so utterly weak that it would’ve been defeated by a fly between the two in a boxing match. So much time and money wasted on a useless endeavour that was doomed to fail to begin with. We should be better than this. Your ambitions should be far higher, and should be inclusive of all Canadians. But it wasn’t. Instead, the CCR, which has an official position of what kind of republic Canada they want, has colluded with royalists, and has a history of outing or purging “radicals”, decided to pretend to represent only republicans from other countries who come here. Not challenge the status quo. Not try to challenge Canadian’s who fear the concept of an executive that has real power and is able to counter the abuses of the legislature and the judiciary, and vice versa. Not to wage total war against the monarchy and the monarchists, to try and drive some away and others to convert to republicanism. Not to continuously insult and piss off the monarchy and monarchists, both of whom are evil and stupid and irrational.
We’ve got to do better than this, people! Enough! Our country cannot remain as a weak, divided, poor country that stands on fake pride and a dead, diseased system that has been nothing but problems. The idea that a constitutional monarchy is best is wrong. We don’t control nor own the head of state. We’re not a colony and we shouldn’t be colony. Instead, we the Canadians must, as quickly as possible, sever all political ties to Great Britain and the British crown, absolve ourselves of our allegiances to the Crown, and establish for a time a provisional constituent assembly composed of the brightest minds of the country that are not affiliated with any political party to draft a new constitution that would establish Canada as a democratic secular republic with the intent of government being to act in the name and interests of the people, to protect their rights and to provide for their security and welfare. We can’t rely on Parliament to do that. The elected elites in this country now, federally and provincially, in every political party, are not interested in representing the people, in exerting their will and catering to their interests, but in self-preservation. They would also want to keep a system of government where the executive doesn’t wield any power that would counter an abusive legislature. Nor should we use parliament as a legislature in our future republic, because it is unstable, undemocratic and unreliable in a republican system.
In the last fifteen years, we’ve witnessed a great example of the errors of having both a presidential system, where the president is both head of state and of government, and a parliamentary system, where the president is neither, in one of the most powerful and culturally significant nations on earth since Rome: the United States. The former was helmed by the manifestly incompetent George Bush, who ravaged the Bill of Rights, ruined the economy, committed various war crimes, and other heinous acts that have, since 9-11, utterly ruined the country and the world, acting like an elected monarchy. The latter is helmed by the manifestly weak and incompetent Obama, who lied his way into office, only to continue the actions of his predecessor, on top of constantly capitulating to the right-wing who hate him because he’s black, and allowed the restoration of neo-Jim Crow Laws in the states and of the replacement of a republican form of government with a puppet show run by the corporations at the expense of the worker. Obama has, to quote the documentary Class War by Class War Films, “singlehandedly destroyed belief in our political system than any previous combination of the hustlers and phoneys who were his immediate predecessors.” He acts like a rubber-stamping puppet, with the occasional veto but on minor issues. These are the dangers of having a presidential system of republic or a parliamentary system of republic.
For Canada, it should be something balanced. A congressional legislature and a divided executive of moderate power. Strong enough to be able to counter the abuses of the legislature and to act quickly, efficiently and effectively in times of emergency, but weak enough to ensure the legislature is able to counter its abuses.
There will be, without doubt, times when we’ve elected the wrong guy, who is either an aspiring monarch or an unprincipled non-entity. The point of a democracy, and of term limits, is not only to be able to choose our governments but also to change them, so that in the face of blunders, errors or catastrophes by one face, the ability of people to elect a new face gives us the opportunity, the chance to do things better, to change things, to undo and reverse the damage done by their predecessor, to change our leaders for the better. Even after Obama, who is serving his second and final term, there is that opportunity.
But for the Americans, not for us. We, the Canadians, are forced to accept whoever assumes the throne, without our consent, while we indirectly elect our prime minister by giving a political party a majority in the legislature. There are no term limits, even for party leaders. Elections are called whenever Parliament feels like it, and some MPs have unfair influence in the executive branch by becoming Premier or Prime Minister.
Yet the royalists, forever in their drive to destroy the right of the people to govern themselves, will always use the myth of a demagogue with absolute power (completely ignoring the point of democracy … and of a legislature … and a constitution) and the myth of Hitler getting elected (when he in fact wasn’t elected President of Germany but appointed Chancellor … which happens to be … a Prime Minister) to dismiss and discredit democracy and the concept of a republican form of government. There do exists countries that are only republics in name only. Pol Pot wasn’t head of state … but Prime Minister.
Hmmmmmm … Mussolini was Prime Minister. Hitler was Prime Minister. Pol Pot was Prime Minister. Is it just me … or is there a pattern here?
Hitler Suspends Parliament for the 3rd Time
A little belated in the news, yes. But … what is there to write here? For the third time, as promised, the little bastard Harper shuts down parliament for a third time, and will begin a new session next month.
I’m beginning to doubt that we should ever have a parliament as a legislature, especially for the coming republic. In fact, parliamentary legislatures may be partially responsible for the majority of the world’s problems. In fact, parliament is the worst concept of a legislature in the history of humanity. I think I’m going to write about the evils of a parliamentary legislature soon. I’ve had enough. Not only should we abolish ties to the British monarchy, we should also depose of this British style of government that we’re living under, provincially and nationally! As if Harper getting re-elected despite his sins and losing a motion of non-confidence was what proved the concept of a parliament to be a farce.
And no one is rioting in the streets because of how divided we are as a so-called “country”.
Reductio Ad Hitlerum
Royalists in person may be hard to come by, but whenever you cross one, royalist idiocy isn’t. Among the most stupid of arguments they use is the idea that a demagogue would be elected, he would become a dictator, and lead the country down into a dangerous path. While it may be true, it’s because there isn’t strong check enough checks and balances to ensure such a path isn’t reach. One of them being, of course, the legislature. They speak as if people are elected for life with no checks and balances on their power! The damage royalist lies have done to Canadians and their culture is insurmountable, but a worthy task to reverse and undo, and there’s always the next generation.
A true republic has to be democratic, for a republic cannot be a republic without democracy. There are nations that are not democratic, yet call themselves republics. Those are republics in name only. I for one do not simply accept any kind of republican government, but the right kind of republic. Not a parliamentary republic where a symbolic executive is the rubber-stamping puppet of an unstable and abusive legislature, nor a presidential republic where the president is both the head of government and of state and has powers that can even override that of the legislature. Not one where the president has both broad powers and unlimited terms of office like those of Zimbabwe, Egypt under Mubarak, and Syria under Assad, or one where the president is completely powerless and ineffective and serves one term. These are not true republics but a mockery of them. Same with so-called elected monarchies. And yet royalists, forever familiar only with the concept of the ignorant masses voting against their own interests and unable to tell the similarity between a monarchy and a dictatorship, use these as examples of real republican government.
Among the many arguments royalists use to justify hereditary government, they resort to one of the most stale fallacies imaginable.
Contrary to what royalists, Pharaoh’s Teutonic successor was never elected. True, he tried to use democracy, but only to destroy not just the republican form of government that rose in the aftermath of the First World War and the 1919 German Revolution, but democracy itself. Hitler, like all monarchists, hated democracy. He and his fascist party, the National Socialists, were supported by monarchists, who also hated democracy and wanted to extinguish it. Yet over and over again, royalists use this as an example of what would happen if a republican form of government in any of the commonwealth nations, while deliberately hiding historical fact from their readers. That a demagogue would take power through elections and would serve for life with absolute power … like a monarch. Truth is: Hitler assumed power not through elections or a coup or (according to some Canadian leftists) hate speech, but through political backroom dealings, violence and intimidation by his SS and SA thugs, the exploitation of the public’s resentment towards the punishing conditions of the First World War that crippled and humiliated Germany and of contempt towards the Weimar Republic that was standing on a very flawed constitution, and rumours of a military coup. It wasn’t intended to destroy democracy, but an attempt to keep Hitler under control. This is known historical fact. Not votes. Not a coup. Not hate speech. Royalists, however, tend to exploit the ignorance of the public by using only popular myths about the Austrian Pharaoh and reinforce already existing errors in public knowledge about historical events, to tell them what they want to hear rather than what actually is.
While it is true that demagogues to mislead the people before (Obama being the best case scenario, Napoleon III being the worst, since he was … a monarchist posing as a republican), history has shown that the most common remedy for such people would, when the person in question is revealed to have lied his way into office, simply vote them out in the next election, or wait til they completed their term of office (Bush II), or they would resign under even the threat of impeachment (Nixon) or out of shame. This is such a simple solution to a great fear royalists would use, to presume we have no other alternative. Royalists in general have a distorted, if not limited understanding, of how the democratic process even works, and would often lie to fill up the gaps in their knowledge. They presume republics are unstable simply because they’re republics, while ignoring certain factors that would undermine the very concept of a democratic republic, such as elections being arbitrarily called by the Executive or the Legislature whenever either feels like it, or that there is a weak executive that cannot counter the abuses of the legislature, or a weak legislature that cannot counter the abuses of the executive, complicated voting systems, illiteracy, etc., that can be changed, even if it would require serious effort. Undemocratic institutions would, at best, be abolished, or worst, be simply accepted. And the fear of violence, civil war, and international intervention? Well, these acts are in fact justifiable. Sometimes these are necessary as a last resort, when all other legal and non-violent courses of action either fail or is are available (elections, impeachment, enumerated powers, etc.), and that surrender and acceptance of the state of things is not an option. A person who abuses his office and its weaknesses is not a republican who respects the rule of law, the rights of the people, but a tyrant that aspires to be a monarch, for monarchy is always synonymous to absolute power.
Parliament Cancellation Cancelled
Well, okay, not really because he feels like it. More of he cancels suspension (or, if you want to be really uppity about it, cancels the prorogue) because of the crisis in Syria. And mind you, because he thinks the crisis in Syria is important. Not because MPs think so, or because Canadians like me think so, but because Herpes thinks so. Pretty soon, the Queen will only summon parliament on matters of warfare and taxes and nothing else, especially in improving the quality of life for all Canadians and in providing for the general welfare. Then afterwards, much to the delight of idiots across the country, and to the annoyance of people who will do nothing but bitch about it, Parliament will only be summoned for ceremonial purposes. And the Queen of England will do nothing. As usual.
Oh Fuck, Not This Shit Again!!!
For the third time, now, the most powerful non-existent political office in this pretend country has decided, on a mere whim, to again suspend Parliament and hold a throne speech in October of this year. The excuses from Herpes has been anything but existent, like his office.
What’s very interesting in the article, however, is a small note (I’m certain no-one will ever take notice) is made when mentioning that this wasn’t the first time Herpes suspended parliament to spare himself political embarassment:
“… prorogation, a standard parliamentary tool that has the effect of cancelling any legislation that’s still before the House.”
Is this true? Really? In order to stop a bill from becoming law in Canada, parliament should be suspended by the executive? As opposed to getting the bill vetoed by the chief executive? All that trouble for terminating a bill? Hell, the President of the United States and France respectively don’t terminate bills, but merely return them to Congress or the National Assembly for reconsideration! Reconsideration, where the legislature looks at the bill again, then by vote decides whether to terminate it or pass it again! Why do Canadians prefer to use rocket science for even the simplest of matters is far beyond me!
That said, this is blatantly abuse of power. Not just suspending parliament for any reason, but also dissolving it, especially for non-confidence motions, budget failures, and whenever elections are called whenever the executive feels like it! We may have health care, but that doesn’t justify conserving a shitty form of government, nor any more ties to the British crown!
And once again, the Queen will allow this to happen. And even if she did meddle against it, it’s still interference by someone that isn’t Canadian and wasn’t elected by Canadians. And Canadians won’t riot over this, either. But they should. Against this, and against the Crown as well.
DOWN GOES SUNTV! DOWN GOES SUNTV!
Today is a glorious day in Canadian history as the CRTC denied the northern bastard son of Fox News, the Sun News Network, mandatory carriage for basic cable.
Decent Canadians celebrated after months of speculation and complaints against the TV trash network that spewed tabloid garbage and royalist propaganda equivalent to, as the former, a TV version of Der Stürmer and, as the latter, North Korean exaltation of its own Dear Leader and Eternal President respectively that is now one short of a trinity.
It certainly didn’t help when that fat-assed raving smear-monkey Ezra Levant, who has ultraviolent sexual fantasies of mass murdering every single ethnic, religious and sexual minority under the sun and shade and possibly has ties to neo-Nazis and royalists, colluded with a member from the Harper Cabinet on air to incite hatred and violence against the Roma folk, then pretended to apologize for his raving lunacy. The vile little shit’s been in trouble before, when he wrote an incendiary and inflammatory smear peace against George Soros, who then threatened to sue Levant and the SUN tabloids, to which they did the Canadian thing of cutting, running away, and apologizing to Soros. Soros should’ve sued anyways so that that nomenclatural rip-off of the British tabloid paper would’ve sunk, and Levant would have to live with a wound.
Now give us a few more months before the Sun News Network goes out of business from all the advertising dollars it’s been losing, and hopefully leaves conservatives and the likes of Tom Freda, an ardent centrist and militant sell-out, pissing tears and on their knees. A special thanks to all the Canadians who wrote to the CRTC to give them a piece of their minds. This is WAY better than the hate speech laws.
