Afghanistan or Rubber Chicken?

Stephen Harper Has Had Enough Rubbery Chicken
or so our good friends at CBS tell us.

Looks like Stephen Harper has been polishing his crystal ball, and his rearview mirror. According to the CBS report Stephen Harper will not be attending the Parliamentary Press Gallery dinner this fall, which is in line with his current "duck the press" strategy. One wonders if he looked at the pummeling President Bush suffered at the hands of Stephen Colbert and has found his worst fears confirmed. When making a public appearance one runs the risk of not being in total control of all the details and one could either make an ass of oneself, or be made an ass of by others. Scary stuff for the captain of the HMS Tightlip.

Now with respect to the members of the Conservative caucus and the tight control they are under, one can only assume the fear is they will make asses of themselves. We need look no further than Maurice Vellacott to see a Tory eager to paint large his ignorance with technicolour brush strokes. Whether he is claiming that the Supreme Court plays god with the law, or bitterly stating:

They (the Liberals) seem to think that they have some divine right to govern and it is greatly upsetting to them when the public judges otherwise

Notice anything? Vellacott seems to be able to link the behaviour of those he does not agree with as being godlike or divine. Perhaps Maurice went a little too heavy on the christian and a little light on the education? From his website his education consists of:

Bachelor'’s degree at Briercrest College, a master's degree at Canadian Theological Seminary (University of Regina affiliated) and an earned doctoral degree from Trinity International University in Chicago.

I guess we can't blame him for being a little out of touch with goings on in this world when he has spent so much time contemplating divinity, and I guess who should know more than Maurice when others are acting like gods?

Just a quick comment on the recent debate on extending the mission of our troops in Afghanistan ... sham. Harper will pay lip service to democracy, but will do what ever he wants, or in this case what ever he can get away with given his status as leader of a minority government. We need to examine our role in Afghanistan. Are we there as peace keepers and nation builders or are we giving the United States a break by not having to police both Iraq and Afghanistan, and so making them freer to impose their will upon the people of Iraq.

Something to consider before making any long term commitment to more time in Afghanistan, is this list of Canadian casualties in that country. This list is also a list of reasons Mr. Harper and his MP's should be allowed to speak freely in front of the Canadian press corps, and as such be held accountable for their actions and decisions.