Parliamentary page sacrifices her job for anti-Harper protest

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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Bull****.

"She's essentially ripped off the rug that government tries to quietly sweep their agenda under."

It doesn't mean the agenda is 'hidden', that means it's downplayed.

Put down the gun for a second and take the red herring out of your mouth.
 

Colpy

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 5, 2005
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It doesn't mean the agenda is 'hidden', that means it's downplayed.

"Swept under the rug" is hidden.......to anyone capable of English language comprehension.

Excuse me, I downplayed the dirt on the floor by sweeping it under the rug

lol lol lol lol lol

You have verified everything I said below about the left......

Too funny.

"downplayed"

lol
 

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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I'm sorry but I have to call bull on that... sweeping something under the rug means hiding it. lol.

Well, okay, that's not what I meant by the metaphor then.

Can you tell captain Uzi to take his seizure medication now?
 

Colpy

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 5, 2005
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Well, okay, that's not what I meant by the metaphor then.

Can you tell captain Uzi to take his seizure medication now?

Now you know one of the big reasons I don't teach anymore: I have VERY limited tolerance for fools.

An unusual number of whom can be found in school administration, encouraging the development of same in the classroom.
 

cranky

Time Out
Apr 17, 2011
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I'll be brutally honest here.

I support DePape inasmuch as I agree with her assessment of the current government and the responding youth movement.

Regarding her civil disobedience, sure it seems cool and it was a brilliant stunt that will allow me to laugh at conservative fervor for a long time to come, but I fully accept the parliamentary response of terminating her employment. Her 15 minutes are pretty much up, but she ended up launching a grassroots campaign that will continue to scrutinize the Harper government for the next four years.

Thank you. That seems clear enough for me. :)

The trick with the existing government is to put its citizens to sleep. With the NDP as the official spokesholes for the media, and these grassroots protests, you will continue to see a critical view of the Harper government to keep them in check. She's essentially ripped off the rug that government tries to quietly sweep their agenda under.

Once the discussion about her protest finally comes to rest, people will actually discuss the finer points of that agenda:

1.) The fiscally irresponsible military endeavours (Jets, foreign military encampments)
2.) Lack of transparency (the budget, media briefings)
3.) Cutting reliable and necessary social programs (negatively affecting healthcare)
4.) A flawed democracy (we should be moving to proportional representation)
5.) Environmental ignorance (not cutting emissions, minister of science doesn't believe in evolution)
6.) Tax reductions everywhere (the money's gotta come from somewhere)

And we haven't even gotten to the social conservatism yet.. drugs, prostitution, etc..

There is a lot of good meat in there that the average joe will open their eyes to, and begin to question parliamentary protocol beyond 'taxes, taxes, taxes'.

Yes, I agree but in a different way than you do. I think we finally have a government that can properly address those issues. :)
 

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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Protesting page a symptom, not a saviour

stuff we already know...

...DePape's motivations notwithstanding, however, it seems there has been a profound dearth in discussion about why the protest was necessary in the first place.

The former page said that three quarters of Canadians didn't vote for Harper. That's true. But then, almost 40 per cent of Canadians — more than half of the 75 per cent of voters DePape speaks about — didn't bother to vote at all. Among Canadians who marked a ballot, 39.6 per cent voted in favour of the Conservative candidate. Under Canada's first past the post (FPP) electoral system, that constitutes a win by popular support.

DePape's argument must be with the electoral system, which has placed a party in a majority government without true majority support. If this is the case, the former page is barking up the wrong tree: referendums on electoral reform at the provincial level were rejected twice in British Columbia in 2005 and 2009, and Ontario voters rejected reform in 2007. It would appear by the numbers that voters are decisively opposed to electoral reform, and the majority of decided voters — by nine per cent — support Stephen Harper.

So why, then, was DePape's protest so captivating to journalists and politicians, and why is she so concerned about the direction Canadian politics has taken?

DePape said in her press release that "Harper's agenda is disastrous for this country and my generation." She argued that Harper's military spending and corporate tax cuts need to be curtailed, and that, "Most people in this country know what we need are green jobs, better medicare... and a healthy environment."

But, by the numbers, most people clearly don't. The majority of Canada's decided voters went Conservative. But a large portion of Canadians didn't even bother to vote.

DePape is not a saviour, and she's not a figure to rally around. She's a symptom of an ailing system of government in a country whose citizens have become far too complacent about political matters. And until Canada finds the means to energize the electorate, Canadians will continue to deal with the same issues that drove DePape to walk to the middle of the Senate chamber and hold up her little paper sign.

Op-Ed: Canada ? Protesting page a symptom, not a saviour
 

The machanic

New Member
Jun 26, 2011
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We need to support this young girl in her move to make this land a better place

A bumper sticker that says Harper In two inch white letters on a red background

Stick them on STOP signs around the country
 

cranky

Time Out
Apr 17, 2011
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We need to support this young girl in her move to make this land a better place

A bumper sticker that says Harper In two inch white letters on a red background

Stick them on STOP signs around the country

She could support herself if she had better work ethic
 

Fingertrouble

Electoral Member
Nov 8, 2006
150
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Calgary
We need to support this young girl in her move to make this land a better place

A bumper sticker that says Harper In two inch white letters on a red background

Stick them on STOP signs around the country
I don't think so! She will get NO support from me. I don't agree with her political leanings, but I would have supported her right to do something like this in her own time out of work in the name of "free speech". But she crossed the line and she was aware of the probable consequences. Firing her was the right decision. We expect all our civil servants to be impartial (or at least leave their preferences at home) and that goes right the way from the top civil servants all the way to a new hire just in the door.
 

Unforgiven

Force majeure
May 28, 2007
6,770
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We need to support this young girl in her move to make this land a better place

A bumper sticker that says Harper In two inch white letters on a red background

Stick them on STOP signs around the country

I think that's a great idea!

She is a wonderful person and a role model for youth engaging in politics while fighting for justice and freedom.
Canada needs more like her and less like Harper.
 

Colpy

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 5, 2005
21,887
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I think that's a great idea!

She is a wonderful person and a role model for youth engaging in politics while fighting for justice and freedom.
Canada needs more like her and less like Harper.

Yep.

That's what we need. More spoiled, stupid, self-obsessed little morons that do not understand that the ritual they are spitting on (the Speech from the Throne) is the very essence of democracy.....the freely-elected representatives of the people putting words into the mouth of the Monarch.......the symbolic triumph of the people over their rulers.

but HEY! Let's throw out the results of the election! Some little trollop and her drug addled followers don't like it! What they need is a Canadian version of the "Arab Spring".....during which, faced with REAL tyranny, they would hide under the nearest bed, peeing in their panties, and praying for mercy........

Complete idiots.....one could understand it from her....she who just completed a completely useless degree majoring in Old White Guy's Sins.......but her followers......OMG! The brain-dead led by the naive........

Isn't it time we got past this???

Her making-a-fool-of-herself moment deserved to be forgotten shortly after she got her walking papers.

This falling to the knees at her feet by the insipid of society reveals how deeply desperate they really are..........
 

Fingertrouble

Electoral Member
Nov 8, 2006
150
1
18
57
Calgary
She is hardly a youth engaging in politics. Any one can hold up a sign, it takes a little more intelligence to express your views articulately and explain why you believe there are things that you are for or against politically. We really have no idea about her and really how "engaged" she is on politics in general. She was and is a "protester" with a bit of courage and that is all we can determine from holding up a sign.