So long to the Way of the Metal Fist

Sandra Buckler resigns.

Buckler : (French bouclier 'shield', from old French bocle, boucle 'boss') is a small shield gripped in the fist -- it was generally used as a companion weapon in hand-to-hand combat, useful in deflecting the blow of an opponent's sword or mace.
The primary use of the buckler is to protect the sword hand. The buckler's lightness and curved center made it excellent for deflecting attacking blades. Such a deflection would leave the attacker open for a rapid counter-attack.
"Metal fist": A buckler can be used to directly attack an opponent by punching with either its flat face or its rim.

Way of the Metal Fist

Steve and Sandra and Grover and Tom

And here's the article : Harper's 'nation of shopping centres'
"Tom Flanagan, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's longtime confidant and former chief of staff, is delighted at the Conservatives' success in "tightening the screws on the federal government" to dramatically reduce its significance in the daily lives of Canadians.

The Conservatives' three budgets have left Ottawa financially incapable of offering any new national social program like affordable housing, higher education or day care. Although overall spending went up, mostly on the military, measures were taken to deplete revenues to the point future governments' hands will be tied unless they raise taxes or run deficits, both prescriptions for political suicide."

Steve and Sandra send in the drones

Dear Con aficionados of talk radio and Steno mini-Steves:
It's bad enough that the Cons think you are too stupid to articulate in your own words why you are a Con; it's rather worse that you apparently go along with this assessment.

Callers to radio phone-in shows scripted by Conservative headquarters
as well as dittohead letters to the editor.

Steve and Sandra and the $1M question

Almost a third of Canadians think Harper is lying over Cadman affair : Poll
"Almost one-third of respondents said they favoured a public investigation led by a third party, such as the Commons Speaker or ethics commissioner, while 31 per cent said an investigation by the RCMP would be the most appropriate course of action."

H/t Dana at TGB

Steve and Sandra's political football

What's with all this "war is above political football" crap?

Thomas Walkom : Why shouldn't voters discuss war?

"Those who praise the Liberals for supporting the Conservative government on Afghanistan argue that it is crucial to avoid politicizing the war, lest it become an election issue. The argument here is that the war is too important to be left to the voters......When else are we supposed to get a crack at it?"

Answer : Apparently when it's safe enough even for Liberals

Steve and Sandra's new two-tier torture awareness program

Oooops - NYTimes says it is, Steve. And then Max forgot to give Afghanistan special torture dispensation in his presser yesterday :

Ottawa Citizen : "Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier yesterday disavowed the inclusion of Israel and the United States on an official list of countries where prisoners can be tortured, and said the document would be revised.

"I regret the embarrassment caused by the public disclosure of the manual used in the department's torture awareness training," Mr. Bernier said in a statement.

"It contains a list that wrongly includes some of our closest allies. I have directed that the manual be reviewed and rewritten."

Silly civil servants. Why can't they keep up with who our allies are?

Luckily, Max is gonna fix it with his new two-tier torture awareness program.