The Utter Paranoia (or Slothfulness) of the Gun Nuts

Stockwell Day has decided to quietly do away with a perfectly sensible gun importation regulation. The rule that he has ditched would have required firearms importers to put an imprint on every gun legally imported into this country. The police are in favour of this move as it allows them to better track how guns are falling into the wrong hands.

Now why would the gun lobby oppose such a sensible measure? Either following this rule is somehow too arduous (though I doubt that) or they are completely paranoid. Every attempt to register and track guns is fought tooth and nail by these people. I doubt very much the same people would support the notion of unlicensed motor vehicles or aircraft, but for whatever reason they cannot tolerate the anyone knowing anything about how many guns they have, where they put them, what types they are, or where they came from.

Guns are magical secret toys for this bunch. I don't think any of them take pains to oppose licensing cats, anglers, automobiles or anything else, but the second that someone tries to keep track of guns it's Nazi Germany all over for this bunch (whether or not their claims have any basis in reality is another matter).

Sure. And when the tanks come rolling through, a bunch of rotund hunters used to slathering themselves in deer piss and sitting in a tree will arm themselves with shotguns to stop them. Bullshit. I mean the gun lobby is actually craziest lobby out there in terms of paranoia if they believe in the logical implications of their talking points.

What countries can execute Canadians?

Having seen that a Canadian man on death row in Montana is now suing for the Canadian government for lacking the courage to maintain Canada's policy of opposing the death penalty, it has started me to wondering about which states might kill Canadians, and for what reasons. The government of Hangman Harper said that it would not fight against executions in a place like the US because it is "democratic" and "supports the rule of law."

This is another part of the new Harper look-the-other-way policy about which I'm curious. Canada's back alright, back in the pocket of the US. We are supposed to friends with the Americans, not their subservient lackeys.

Day: Hey you! Don't watch that! Watch this!

This has to be the worst attempt by a government to change the channel on an issue. Stockwell Day has tried to pit the police killing of Robert Dziekanski against the problem of drunk driving. This issue has been done quite a bit, so I won't dwell on it too much - it's just indicative of how inept the Minister of Public Safety (our own Robespierre?) really is.

And now here's the 1980s ska band that gave me the title to this post, ladies and gentlemen, Madness:

Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Guess who won't co-sponsor a UN resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty? That's right, Canada's Shitty Government. Apparently Harper and Day have changed 30 years of Canadian policy without ever making it an election issue and without any credible public support (they asked, no one's buying). When the next election rolls around we need straight anwers from the Conservatives about capital punishment. If they are going to bring it back, they ought to say so. In the meantime it looks like they really do have a hidden agenda. Would a Conservative majority reintroduce the death penalty? Does Stephen Harper personally support the death penalty? We are not getting the straight answers we deserve.

Bring Down Hang'em Harper

Is there a way that the opposition can make the Conservative government fall on this? These guys are apparently fans of the death penalty, and they are no longer interested in shielding Canadians from a practice that this country long ago dismissed as abhorrent and ineffective. This is an excellent issue for an election. Dog Harper with nooses at every campaign stop. I'm only half-kidding when I say this. So Stephane, Jack, and Gilles, what do ya say?

Bad Day

It looks like Stockwell wants to have special security powers again. According to the Star, the Bloc and the NDP are both opposed to this, the Liberals seem to be on the fence. I suppose that there is a well-founded fear within the Liberal party that Harper will roll out the terror-sympathy canard again.

Big Deal.

This is a chance for the Liberals to stand up for human rights, for individual liberties. This is a chance to stand for the Charter and against a police state. Non-partisan progressives are watching.