Friday, May 26, 2006

Why Do I Carry Two Passports?

Canada. Real beer. Decriminalized pot. Same sex marriage. Universal health care. And a real press corps.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has declared he won't talk to the national media because they are biased against him, his latest move in a spat with the Parliament's press corps.

....Since Harper's minority government took office after the Jan. 23 elections, his relations with the national media have become more and more strained. Determined to impose order on the traditionally chaotic press scrum in which reporters shout out questions, Harper said he would choose questioners from a pre-screened list....After journalists refused to sign on to the list, Harper refused to take any questions.

On Tuesday, when Harper's press secretary announced there would be no questions after his announcement of aid to the Darfur region of Sudan, nearly two dozen reporters walked out, leaving the prime minister to make his statement in front of a single camera in a nearly empty room.

Ahhh, reporters who remember that they don't work for the government. I wonder what's that like? (h/t to Kevin Drum)

Oh, and the two passports are so I can make a run for the border when the Gonsalez ReEducation Camps open. While the rest of you are still processing the news, we're northward bound in the Prius for a tiny border crossing in the BC woods.

Don't think of it as running away -- I'm going for kind of a Scarlet Pimpernel feel. Not out of bravery, but I think I may have finally found an outlet for my more foppish tendencies. Sink me!

74 comments:

  1. that's it! i'm fucking moving to Canada!

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  2. While things over in good old blighty aren't as bad as in the US when it comes to the whole New World Order thing going on.... Can space be made for a few of us to escape to Canada? The wife and I had been thinking about this anyway, but while we are currently stuck here thanks to the wonderful (but slow) NHS, we are mighty tempted.

    If it's any help you can tell them I speak a little french since I learnt it at school. Merci

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  3. I am taking the fam and heading south to the Carribean and then over to my godfather's family in the Philipines.

    Sorry, I have been to Canada and the hypothermia from the coldfront in July just brings back to many memories. I will come visit though.

    And yes, I am just waiting for those camps to open up as well.

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  4. Anonymous2:32 PM

    Maybe you Californians need to go to Canada for the beer, but on your way you might stop by here in Portland, we have the beer part covered (Seattle does too for that matter)

    As for the rest, yeah I''' grant you those:-)

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  5. Anonymous2:37 PM

    We have great deals at Bestdeals4everhere....Cool Blog you have.

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  6. As a Canadian, I'm sure it looks swell that we have a half-decent press corps. But I think you're underestimating how terrifying it is to have a PM who is following in the footsteps of the Republican Party. Sure, reporters left and now Harper says he won't deal with the non-local media at all - who won that one, exactly? And what can we do to stop him?

    It's kind of depressing up here right now.

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  7. Anonymous3:49 PM

    "Ahhh, reporters who remember that they don't work for the government. I wonder what's that like?"

    Have you forgotten the Clinton administration already? Or the War On Gore?

    I suspect the quote should substitute "Republican Party" for "government."

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  8. I also carry two passports, but for an entirely different reason. If anyone ever accuses me of some horrendous crime...I will just pull out my other passport and blame it on my twin brother from a parallel universe. Great Blog!




    www.bionicbuddha.com

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  9. Anonymous5:14 PM

    How did you get two passports?

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  10. Anonymous5:15 PM

    How did you get two passports?

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  11. Anonymous5:21 PM

    I'M MICHAEL JACKSON! I KNOW WHERE U ALL LIVE!!
    mwahahaha

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  12. Anonymous5:26 PM

    If I weren't certain you'd already seen it, I'd be running down the list of blogs and entries tied into this story-in-progress, John.

    At least this sort of thing gets everyone who gives a damn in all the POV-camps of this argument over Harper up off their duffs and the sidelines.

    If anyone wants another good place to keep an eye on Canadian media issues, I'd recommend publicbroadcasting.ca. If the CBC ever finally gets sunk by federal funding starvation tactics, pb.ca will serve as a starting point for rebuildiing.

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  13. Anonymous5:32 PM

    And here's one way in which the Harperites are hoping to sabotage your Canadian future, John:

    Harper promises law to set election date every four years
    Last Updated Fri, 26 May 2006 17:20:08 EDT-CBC News


    Suffice to say, I am unhappy with this.

    You may want to make your move quickly.

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  14. From another with 2 passports - interesting stuff...very un-Canadian in many ways on both fronts...Harper AND the media...what does it all mean?

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  15. Anonymous6:11 PM

    Harper's been in ideological lockstep with the likes of Bush II for a long time, since his days with the old Reform Party and his stint with the self-proclaimed National Citizens Coalition. Loooong story.

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  16. Anonymous7:12 PM

    They seek him here
    They seek him there...

    I'll volunteer to be one of your aristocratic minions if you can pick me up from Mexico (living in San Diego renders a run to Canada... inconvenient.)

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  17. I'm going to stay and fight the good fight. And, no doubt, lose. Screw Canadian socialized medicine! But, if there's a war, Canada, here I come!

    Chris (My Blog)

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  18. Nice use of the phrase "sink me", by the way.

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  19. I have two as well.

    However, mine are American and British. With Blair in office I am not so sure it is much better over there right now.

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  20. Anonymous11:11 PM

    Right behind you...

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  21. Oh my god, I can't type fo the tears.

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  22. I only have one passport! I'd love to visit Canada though.

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  23. Anonymous8:08 AM

    oh, canada! we stand on gaurd for thee!

    it's nice to know some folks actually believe the words.

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  24. Anonymous6:29 PM

    Thanks but we have enough Americans up here already.

    eh.

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  25. They seek him here, they seek him there.
    Those Bushies seek him everywhere.
    Is he in Windsor or in Mirabel?
    That demned elusive Pimpernel.

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  26. What we really need is for tens of thousands of Canadians to move to Ohio. What kind of incentive can we offer?

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  27. Anonymous6:51 AM

    Sure, they'll stand up to politicians, but not to thugs.

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  28. Anonymous9:04 AM

    We won't let Harper screw Canada in quite the same way as the Bush crowd has done the U.S. If you read "Fire and Ice," by Michael Adams (I think that's his name) the pollster, he demonstrates that the trends in opinion and practise have gone in exactly opposite directions in Canada and the U.S. in the last quarter century. So we'll get rid of the monsters one way or another.

    However, I still don't advise Americans just to assume they can be safe in Canada when your country finishes turning into a police state. How long do you think it will be before the U.S. invades us?

    I don't think it will be long at all, frankly.

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  29. Anonymous10:59 AM

    You can run, but you can't hide...

    John, all this Iran, Iraq, even Mexico stuff are smoke screens for Bush's amassing of troops on the Maine border. Any day now there will be an announcement of suspected beers of mass quantities in the Great White North and we won't be allowed testing inspections, then before you know it, it is The United States of North America. During his stays in Kennebunkport, Bush always looks lovingly, if not lustfully, toward your pure land of the Mounties. Or is that the land of the pure Mounties?
    Your only hope is to hitch a ride to another galaxy.

    I'd say some more, but to quote Warren Zevon, "my ride's here."

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  30. Anonymous3:24 PM

    mj: as for legalized pot: its a narcotic and needs to be illegal.

    If by "narcotic," you mean "opiate," which is what the term commonly means, then sorry, but thanks for playing.

    If by "narcotic" you mean, "illegal drug," which is also what is sometimes meant, h'mm, I think I'll let you do the math on that one.

    If by "narcotic," you mean it can put you to sleep, which is what it means literally, well, in some cases, sure. Why is that reason to outlaw something? And, assuming that it is, shouldn't we outlaw other sleep aids as well? And how about NASCAR, the world's most boring way to waste thousands of gallons of petroleum products? I guess I'd be OK with outlawing NASCAR.

    -F.

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