Quick random thoughts

After leaving Seattle I’ve traveled up the coast to the lovely Comox Valley on Vancouver Island for a quick vacation with the family. So the BCer is back in BC, if only for a week. Still, the birds are chirping, and it’s nice to see the mountains and the ocean again.

And it’s tough to think about politics at all, but here’s a few random thoughts on some of the pieces of news that have come my way in the last few days.

Harper and the media: As a journalist I’m generally inclined to side with the media in these disputes, and Harper is behaving like a dumbass here. But with their walkout last week, so are the media. No one looks good here, the public dislikes them both. Now neither has much claim to the high ground. But rather than go on at length, I’d like to this week’s Touchdowns and Fumbles (scroll to PM to Shun Journalists), which I thought put it well.

PM backs down on policy for the fallen: Harper says that he has changed his mind and now the families if fallen soldiers will decide whether the media can be present for the repatriation ceremonies at CFB Trenton. Given the grief he has gotten from some of the families, it makes sense for him to revisit this. But, when this policy was first announced, didn’t he say then that it was up to the families? Tough thing to be caught fibbing on.

Fixed election dates: I’ve already blogged on why I’m opposed to fixed election dates, and they’re meaningless in a minority anyway. I find the Harperspeak on this issue amusing though: this will stop leaders from manipulating the election calendar for political purposes, but he’ll call an election anyway if the opposition don’t follow his political agenda, if and when it suits his purposes. Alrighty then.

The power of Christ compels him: When God isn’t sending hurricanes to New Orleans to punish the sinners for gay marriage and abortion, He/She is giving Pat Robertson the strength to leg-press 900 kilos. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

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