One Thousand Times the Acceptable Risk

Linda Keen's testimony strikes me as far more credible than Gary Lunn's posturing about how he was saving lives by ignoring the warnings of the nuclear safety commission. My impression is that it is utterly shameful that this woman has been fired. Once again it's apparent that this is the Conservatives' moment of weakness.

M. Dion, Mr. Layton, bring down this government!

Stephen Harper, he's one thousand times the acceptable risk.

The Prophet of Chalk River

I'd say it would be Harper's brain, Tom Flanagan who last year tipped his hand with these words:

"In times of perceived crisis, a conservative party can win by positioning itself further to the right, as shown by the victories of Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Ralph Klein, Mike Harris and Gordon Campbell. But Canadians don't perceive themselves in crisis right now." [emphasis mine]

Here's the crisis they need to sell off the AECL to GE or someone else. Convert decades of Canadian taxpayer investment into private profits - that's what Lunn aims to do. It's probably what also drove Lunn into a fit of economic nationalism when he insisted that Ontario buy AECL reactors. Create value for GE, great, that's what will cause the Conservative to worry about the Ontario economy.

There was no medical crisis (?)

There was an interesting interview on As It Happens last night in which Dr. Tom Perry, a physician and UBC prof, pointed out that, contrary to what Gary Lunn is saying, no lives were in danger as a result of the isotope shortage. Dr. Perry indicated that a shortage of this sort might hinder some medical diagnoses, but that doctors had other means to reach those diagnoses.

In this light, Lunn's firing of Linda Keen seems that much more political, much more about skirting government embarrassment.

What Keen's Firing Says About Harper's Tories

I think the most straightforward lesson to take away from the tarring of Linda Keen as a Liberal hack and her subsequent firing is that we have yet another example of how the Conservatives view everything as a partisan opportunity. This is the Karl Rove strategy perfected in the US.

What I'm going to suggest to the Liberals and the NDP and the Greens is that, by Harper's rules, everything is fair game. Every time you can score partisan points, recognize that, if Harper was in your position, he would not hesitate. I don't know that this is the most tasteful way that politics is done, but you've got give as good as you get, right?

Shoot the Messenger

I heard this on the radio in the early morning hours, but Harper has canned Linda Keen, the head of the Nuclear Safety Commission for, um, doing her job? Embarrassing Gary Lunn? I don't know, but imagine what would have happened if Paul Martin had fired the auditor general, Sheila Fraser for embarrassing his government. Of course that would be unthinkable - an outrage in the opposition's eyes, Fraser was exposing a slush fund in Quebec! This is just about, you know, nuclear fucking safety!!! No big deal, eh Steve?