It’s A Crisis –

– quick, abandon your ideology !!

Conservatives must put ideology aside as they prepare to weather looming economic challenges facing Canada, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday.

[ h/t throbbin ]

This entry was posted by stageleft on Friday, November 14th, 2008 and is filed under Canada, Canadian Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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26 Responses to “It’s A Crisis –”

  1. Peter on November 14th, 2008 at 8:56 am

    Finally, Harper reveals his secret agenda.

    Ace prank!

  2. balbulican on November 14th, 2008 at 9:08 am

    Good for them. Now let’s hope some of dimmer lights in the quadrant learn the appropriate lesson.

    An ideology, whether Christianity, Marxism or Neoconservatism, is a useful conceptual sketch of the universe – but JUST a sketch. The trouble starts when folks mistake these partial, incomplete human constructs for comprehensive, invariant, universal schemata.

  3. Peter on November 14th, 2008 at 9:15 am

    Hear, hear. balb, you’re going to be a very smart man when you grow up.

  4. balbulican on November 14th, 2008 at 9:23 am

    I’m supposed to take advice about “growing up” from a guy called “Peter”?

    Actually, when I turned fifty some years ago, I realized with resigned chagrin that I was probably never going to grow up, so I shouldn’t tease you, Mr. Pan.

  5. stageleft on November 14th, 2008 at 9:30 am

    It’s somewhat like the atheist epiphany we all hear about ‘eh?

    The atheist in a car accident and finds themselves pined behind the wheel, alone, in the ditch, at night, next to a rushing river — and all of a sudden realizing that while their way of thinking makes for good rhetoric, they just might die, and there are in fact gods.

    Except in this case it’s the Conservatives finding themselves in charge of the country, pined behind looming national financial concerns — and all of a sudden realizing that while their way of thinking about things might make for good rhetoric, it might also cause them to fail, and that there are in fact other ways of doing things….. like maybe buying $5 billion in bad debt.

  6. balbulican on November 14th, 2008 at 9:42 am

    I used to own an atheist epiphany – it was a 12 string, great tone. Unfortunately the neck bowed after a few years. No, wait, it was an epiphone. Silly me.

  7. JimBobby on November 14th, 2008 at 10:04 am

    Whooee! Funny stuff. Harpoon’s just realizing that ideology doesn’t trump pragmatism. All it took was a global economic meltdown to get him to let go of his failed economics. Maybe when the effects of climate change have had enough of an impact, he’ll finally let go of his environmental ideology.

    Too little, too late.

    JB

  8. Peter D on November 14th, 2008 at 10:34 am

    The only ideology I know of that works is “do what works.” All the rest are shiite.

  9. Nastyboy on November 14th, 2008 at 10:51 am

    Harpoon’s just realizing that ideology doesn’t trump pragmatism.

    He hasn’t just realized it. He has governed that way since day one.

  10. Peter on November 14th, 2008 at 11:20 am

    My name may be Peter, balb, but nonetheless I was born forty years old in a blazer and grey flannels.

    Have you ever noticed how fervent ideologues on both sides start with such hope and inspiration and then gradually convince themselves they live in a crappy, unjust, dangerous country? Thanks to the wonders of the blogosphere we can see that process unfolding before our eyes every day.

  11. Pretty Shaved Ape on November 14th, 2008 at 11:25 am

    “My name may be Peter, balb, but nonetheless I was born forty years old in a blazer and grey flannels.”

    What a very, very sad statement. My condolences to you.

  12. Saskboy on November 14th, 2008 at 11:58 am

    If only we had a government with an ideology based in reality, instead of one based on making the rich richer in a fantasy that doing so is okay for everyone who matters.

  13. balbulican on November 14th, 2008 at 12:00 pm

    “Have you ever noticed how fervent ideologues on both sides start with such hope and inspiration and then gradually convince themselves they live in a crappy, unjust, dangerous country?”

    Indeed. And there are three responses possible to that shattering and inevitable insight.

    a) “Gosh. I guess my inflexible, all-inclusive ideology was mistaken. Must find OTHER inflexible, all inclusive ideology – the RIGHT one, this time.” This accounts for the raving midlife neocons-who-were-former-hippies, anarchists-who-were-former-stockbrokers, and followers of Reverend Moon.

    b) “Gosh. I guess my inflexible, all-inclusive ideology was mistaken. Must be more careful committing to those in the future, and let actual observation and analysis over-write dogma when necessary.”

    c) Dalwhinnie.

  14. Peter on November 14th, 2008 at 12:13 pm

    What a very, very sad statement.

    On the contrary, psa. You’d be amazed how little it takes to show our kind a good time.

  15. Dr. Frink on November 14th, 2008 at 12:13 pm

    Originally Posted By balbulicanI’m supposed to take advice about “growing up” from a guy called “Peter”?

    Actually, when I turned fifty some years ago, I realized with resigned chagrin that I was probably never going to grow up, so I shouldn’t tease you, Mr. Pan.

    Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

  16. balbulican on November 14th, 2008 at 12:19 pm

    And growing sea monkeys is heartbreaking. They never actually look like those little people in the ad, with the crown and the trident and all. Tsk.

  17. Dr. Frink on November 14th, 2008 at 12:22 pm

    Conservatives must put ideology aside as they prepare to weather looming economic challenges facing Canada, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday.

    Which actually means, according to the secret decoder ring I found in my last Cracker Jack purchase, “How can we win Quebec, and to a lesser extent a bit more In Ontari-ari-ari-o, while dealing with the complex economic challenges that confront us”.

    As ever, it’s all about winning the precioussssssssss… errrr… majority government status.

  18. Dr. Frink on November 14th, 2008 at 12:24 pm

    Originally Posted By balbulicanAnd growing sea monkeys is heartbreaking. They never actually look like those little people in the ad, with the crown and the trident and all. Tsk.

    You have to buy the crown and trident, and all other accessories, separately. Damn marketing ploys. But yeah, just try teaching a brine shrimp to hold a trident. Oy.

  19. Nastyboy on November 14th, 2008 at 12:34 pm

    Sea Monkeys are delicious.

  20. balbulican on November 14th, 2008 at 12:44 pm

    They are, but if you prefer the dark meat, it takes FOREVER to tear off a meal’s worth.

  21. Throbbin on November 14th, 2008 at 12:53 pm

    This thread started off just great. Then you guys got weird. Now I gotta go paint my socks.

  22. Rumor on November 14th, 2008 at 2:02 pm

    Main question: is there an RSS feed for the site and, if so, where can I find it?

    Peripheral thought: if a particular ideology has to be abandoned in a crisis, what does that say about following that ideology in more forgiving times?

  23. balbulican on November 14th, 2008 at 2:08 pm

    It says that the ideology, like EVERY ideology, is the menu, not the meal – an incomplete model that maps symbolically, point to point, with some aspects of reality, but not even an infinitesimal fraction of it.

  24. Canuckguy on November 14th, 2008 at 2:41 pm

    So this is how grown ups discuss things.
    I hope to grow up some day.

  25. Abandoned Stuff by Saskboy :: Conservative Ideology = Canada’s Ideology? on November 14th, 2008 at 3:15 pm

    [...] Hide your ideology from Canadians in case they see it! There’s plenty of hiding going on in Winnipeg, enforced by police no less. What is [...]

  26. JimBobby on November 16th, 2008 at 5:06 pm

    Originally Posted By RumorMain question: is there an RSS feed for the site and, if so, where can I find it?

    http://www.stageleft.info/feed/ (RSS 2.0)
    http://www.stageleft.info/feed/rss/ (RSS .92)
    http://www.stageleft.info/feed/atom/ (Atom 0.3)

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