ConCalls: No Robo One #RoboCon

I found a very worthwhile campaign to fight misinformation and apathy with robocalls and art by non-political-partiers, and hope you’ll assist with its crowdfunding. If you can’t make a PayPal payment, they’ll take Interac email money also if you ask.

I’ll be talking more about this in the morning, along with a few quotes that help show the Prime Minister lied last year about Conservative Party involvement in RoboCon.

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I was looking back at my early predictions for what the 2012 Robocalls scandal could wind up doing to Canadian politics. A set of scenarios for an early general election could still potentially play out. Instead of more than 70 by-elections, we’ll only get 6. It will hopefully happen soon, and hopefully be enough to tip the scales.

“Some of his MPs could go rogue/independent,” and we haven’t even got to the point where they are doing that to protest the tarnishing of the Conservative Party brand with being closely associated with election fraud. Penashue is an albatross [around the Party's neck], and the Council of Canadians case is due back any time. Could the ruling be delayed because of the Labrador by-election?

ConCalls: Gone Since December #RoboCon

The verdict for the Robocalls Federal Court challenge is still not in, after the judge started deliberating and writing back in December. No rush, I guess. Why hurry when we’ve coped for 2 years already with a probably illegitimate government? They are willing to run a confessed election criminal in Labrador, and promise him a cabinet seat again should voters be stupid enough to vote for Penashue again. Fool them one, shame on the Cons; Fool them twice, it’s from working closely with Elections Canada and a compliant, docile media.

I’m pretty pissed off that it’s nearing the middle of May, and the Cons haven’t lost their six ill-gotten seats being challenged. The sooner that happens, the sooner that corrupt party can start to tear itself apart as the people with still an ounce of shame and honour try to weasel out from under the crashing brand.

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It’s not easy being a DRO or Poll Clerk, especially when a nefarious party will throw gobs of illegitimate voters your way to clog things up when you’re already having a hard time keeping up. Online voting isn’t the answer, because an abusive and controlling person will use the situation to their advantage by viewing a victim’s vote.

The Audit With a Twist #cdnpoli

$3.1 Billion is missing according to a damning audit of the Harper Government. Let’s see what political pundits recently have said about audit failure:

Federal government audit ‘severely critical’

- The Star headline

“The independent audit [...] speaks for itself, and we accept its conclusions and recommendations,” said Jan O’Driscoll, spokesperson for the Minister.
[The auditor] called the lack of records “inappropriate for any recipient of public funds.”

- The Star

“I cannot in my lifetime recall such a devastating audit. [...] A stunning indictment.”

- Ian Lee of the Sprott School of Business

“It just seems to be difficult to do the basics, and then that raises red flags [...] for the government,”

- Chuck Strahl

John Ibbitson said that the audit will be a smoking gun for people who those who criticize the [government] system.
Rob Silver said that even if the audit was leaked to discredit [a politician] doesn’t mean that it’s not important, and that it reads like any other audit of a government bureaucracy gone wrong.

Embattled Senator Brazman has an opinion:

“Just because [an audit is published], it does not mean money is well spent,” said Sen. Patrick Brazeau, a controversial and outspoken critic [...]. “Where does the money go? Is it being properly spent . . . and more importantly, is it going to [where there are] needs?” “Accountability is a two-way street.”

The perpetually petulant Levant even gets in on the audit pile-on action: “Audit nightmare: The RCMP, [...] should be meeting with [those involved]“

“If the people involved had Italian names and were from the Montreal construction industry, or French-Canadian names from Montreal ad agencies, [...] there would be resignations and criminal charges flying.”

Wait a moment, there’s a twist. The above quotes are all real, but they seem so unlikely, don’t they? Well, that’s because they are not talking about the Conservatives’ most recent audit failure, they are talking about another recent audit of which they were more critical, over much less unaccounted-for public money. They said these things about much less than 3% of the unaccounted-for $3,100,000,000 Harper has frittered away without proper documentation.

Stella

People who attended Occupy Regina in 2011 and early 2012, will remember meeting Stella Rogers. Regrettably, Stella passed away this February in B.C. Stella rose to fame by fearlessly introducing herself to everyone at the Victoria Park camp site, and staying involved in working on “homeless” issues in the months after. She was interviewed on CBC Radio, when a generous donor offered to pay a few months rent to assist people who Occupy Regina had been helping before the City and Police evicted the protesters and the homeless they’d been helping.

I last saw her in the Summer of 2012, assisting her with her tiny Android phone so she could stay in touch with people on Facebook.

Her obituary.

Conservatives Stopped Conserving

It’s frustrating to be a Canadian, with such terrifically stupid and dishonest political representation. Sure, our insecure ‘strong’ leaders don’t send the police to your door (unless you’ve written them a mean letter), but that mildly redeeming trait isn’t enough. They have to stop denying that climate change isn’t killing people, and they must stop pretending that there is more wildlife in less habitat (particularly polar bears).

We don’t have until 2015 to piss away a chance to reduce air pollution. We’ve wasted 30 years already, we’re out of time.

“Hostility to expertise in all of its forms is the closest thing that Canadian conservatives have to a unifying ideology.

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/defence+sociology/8317722/story.html#ixzz2RzLVxko5
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Thinking Out Loud, But Not Online

Life doesn’t get any easier when problems are compounded by big mistakes. I’m taking a few days away from usual blogging and social media to think, so don’t think I’ve gone anywhere. I’ll probably pop in sooner than later.

ConCalls: Con-Friendly RMG and Debts to Canada #RoboCon #cdnpoli

One of the companies involved in defending the Conservative MPs who are having their riding wins challenged by the Council of Canadians and citizens of six ridings affected by fraudulent Elections Canada robocalls, is in financial difficulty.

Cash-strapped Tory fundraising company owes federal government $1 million in unpaid taxes. canada.com/news/Cash%2Bst… @stphnmaher—
Glen McGregor (@glen_mcgregor) April 18, 2013

In documents filed in U.S. bankruptcy court, iMarketing Solutions Group Inc. (IMSGI) lists the Canada Revenue Agency as well as the governments of Quebec, Nova Scotia and Manitoba among its creditors.

The company, through its subsidiary Responsive Marketing Group, continues to work as the Conservative Party’s telemarketing fundraiser. In the last election, RMG made millions of voter contact calls to identify Tory supporters and get them out to vote.

National Revenue Minister Gail Shea’s campaign in Prince Edward Island was among the 90 Conservative campaigns that hired RMG to make voter-contact calls during the election. She paid the company $7,500 for services, her financial return shows.

Officials in Shea’s department will now be responsible for collecting the money RMG owes the federal government after the party emerges from creditor protection.

RMG has been in the news quite a bit more than they’d care to be, I think.