Heather Malice: "Harperites Don't Like People With Breasts"

Normally I make it a point not to read the filth written by Heather Mallick, and rather I choose to digest her insane ramblings through the mouth of Charles Adler. In one of her most recent rants she makes the claim "face it, Harperites don’t like people with breasts". As a Harper supporter, I have been lumped into this group. The Toronto Star should be ashamed of themselves for printing this garbage. I am a "Harperite" with 3 sisters, one of whom is currently fighting advanced stage breast cancer. My sister is about to lose a breast, and I'm reading that a "Harperite" like me hates people with breasts? So then by Heather's logic I won't "hate" my sister anymore, or at least by half. This statement is ridiculous and offensive. Many "Harperites" have wives, sisters, mothers, and daughters. Do we hate them? Is that what you are trying to tell me Heather?

At least now Mallick is getting paid by the Star and not the taxpayers. This bile was worse when my tax dollars were paying for it. I will never again visit the Toronto Star website for any reason nor send any exit links to their site. The Star should be ashamed for employing her. I'm endorsing a full boycott of the Star by any Stephen Harper supporter who does not hate breasts, especially those close to women who are fighting this awful disease. I strongly support donations to breast cancer research and treatment. Let's do as much as we can to help save our mothers, sisters, daughters, nieces, and even the random male who suddenly gets diagnosed . We are Harperites and we love the women in our families. We don't hate them because they have boobs. F**k you Heather Mallik.

Is There Room For CTV News Channel?

The Sun News Network is changing the landscape of Canadian media, and I can think of a few people that have to be really pissed off about this new reality. Don Newman and Jane Taber were probably the two most vocal opponents who tried to stomp out the idea while in its infancy. Despite losing its bid for the must carry status that CBC Newsworld and CTV enjoy and being available on millions fewer television sets, Sun News is overtaking the competition after just 4 months on the air. One thing is clear, CTV News Channel is getting its ass kicked and is a distant 3rd place. If you ask me Jane Taber drove that network into the ground, to the point where we need to ask if there is even room for Taber's network in the new Canadian media. Back when the CRTC was deliberating whether or not to give the Sun must carry license Jane was vilifying Kory Teneycke on an almost daily basis. Ironically, now that the Sun Network has been born, you don't see the same mud slinging anymore.

Ezra Levant Vs Evan Soloman

Every afternoon at the same time Sun TV's Ezra Levant's television show goes up against that of the CBC's Evan Soloman. The Soloman Show is available on nearly twice as many television sets, but to be fair Sun News is only 4 months old and not mandated by the CRTC to be included in cable packages. So what is the ratings difference between the two competing politics shows? Well according to the latest ratings, there is very little difference in their audience size. Soloman is on 10.6 million TV sets and had 59,000 viewers while Levant is on 5.5 million TV sets and had 57,000 viewers. CTV News Channel finished in a distant 3rd place, though their keynote politics show Power Play is currently on a summer vacation.

Evan Soloman had a head start when he took over the afternoon slot, inheriting Don Newman's audience. I'm not sure what size of audience Newman had prior to his departure, but it had to be better than Soloman's haul. It would be very interesting to see the historical ratings for the Soloman Show since its inception in 2009, data that the CBC is mandated to track but doesn't share publicly, among other things.

Which Political/Media Person Has The Worst Hairdo?

Without much excitement or stories of interest in the Canadian political sphere this summer, one valued BT contributor would like to ask; "which news person, political person etc has the worst hairdo?" With the first nomination being Rebekah Brooks from News of the World. The CBC's Kady O'Malley and Rosemary Barton are also worthy candidates. This will eventually become a poll question after first opening the subject up to rigorous debate. Nominees do not need to be Canadian, as we will accept international nominations.

MaryT, this one's for you.

Linda Duncan

 

Rebekah Brooks







 

Julie Van Dusen





Elizabeth May

  

Susan Delacourt










Kady O'Malley and Rosemary Barton

  


 

Donald Trump



Michael Moore

"Creative" Civil Disobedience

If the first week of our new Conservative majority Parliament has taught us anything, it is that we might be entering a new era of creative civil disobedience. More and more people are willing to make asses of themselves for a chance to get on television, and as the CBC audience becomes desensitized to these extreme measures the more extreme the stunts will have to be to produce that coveted 15 minutes of fame. By virtue of the law of diminishing marginal returns, activists need to turn up the volume with each new protest to have the same effect of the one previous. What tool will the "civil disobedience" crowd use in the next 4 years? Flash mobs seem to be all the rage these days. Expect more of those.

Frankly now that we have a majority government, these little PR stunts don't bother me like they would have a few months ago when we were treading lightly in minority waters. Now I find them more amusing than anything. Watching interviews with "Stop Harper Girl", I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. She really believes she is some kind of new age Princess Leia who is leading a rebellion against the evil Emperor Harper. She is really upset that Canadians elected a Tory majority, and in that sense I find her anxiety entertaining. It gave us something more interesting to talk about than a standard boring throne speech, so in a strange way I suppose we pundits owe her a thank you.

Expect more stunts in the coming years, with ever increasing degrees of ridiculousness.

Kelly McParland's Beautiful Deconstruction Of "Stop Harper" Girl

If you have not yet had the chance to read Kelly McParland's piece today on the now infamous "Stop Harper Girl" who protested the throne speech, it is a must read that will make you laugh and think. This was a ludicrous incident that requires sarcasm and humour to adequately summarize. Kelly nails it. He's on the Roy Green Show right now discussing the article, which I strongly recommend listening (I subscribe to Roy's podcast for free on I-Tunes).

There were plenty of ways she could have registered her protest, but there is a lot of competition in the protest business, and standing on a sidewalk handing out pamphlets doesn’t get you on the front page of the Star. So Ms.De Pape worked up her sign, smuggled it into the Senate chamber and revealed it for the photographers. After being heaved out by the sergeant-at-arms, she was ready with a press release and a pal ready to schedule interviews with the media. Very slick.

Stephen Harper: "George Bush Without The Warmth And Intellect"

Nice to see Heather Mallick is taking the new Conservative majority government gracefully. Of course that is intended as a statement of sarcasm, not unlike how Heather would cite the warmth and intellect of an ex-President she clearly considers to be an evil idiot. Her sentiments were echoed by the scattering of left wingers who called in to Vancouver talk radio on Tuesday. There was a lot of "Canadians are stupid", "blah blah blah George Bush blah blah blah", "you will get what you deserve" etc etc etc.

To be honest, this kind of hatred doesn't bother me in the days after the Tories won a majority. I'm in a very happy place right now. It amuses me to listen to Charles Adler read Heather Mallick's column.

CTV Mathematicians

At about 7:20 pm Pacific time Monday night, CTV mathematicians reported a 10% chance that the Tories would win a majority. This despite the Tory count being at 130ish with about 80 ridings left to report (many of those in the west). About 40 minutes later their network declared a large Tory majority. Great work CTV math guys! How do you see the Tories at 130 with most ballots left to be counted in Western Canada and say they have a 10% chance of a majority? They reported this 10% chance about 5 minutes after I texted my sister that there was a really good chance of majority. Hopefully none of you eggheads quit your day job.

What's funny is that on election eve Lloyd Robertson was on CTV bragging about the team of mathematicians at their disposal, supposedly brilliant people who tell the story the way it is. 10% chance about a half hour before majority declared. Good call.

Do You Get Sun TV?

Today's poll question; do you get Sun TV News in your cable package? It would appear that there are distribution problems in the first week, which should work itself out over time if they produce a quality product. There is no Sun TV in my Telus package, and we have an expanded package beyond basic cable. I get roughly 15 news channels including Fox News, MSNBC, and several international channels; a dozen CBC feeds, but no Sun TV.

Exactly what portion of the Blogging Tory audience gets this on their televisions? Watching on the internet was not included as an option in the poll question because I am trying to get a figure on the proportion of people who get this on their television sets. I'm a little pissed off that I don't.

No Sun TV For Me

Sadly I do not get Sun TV in my Telus cable package, and my computer is too old and fragile to watch video online. As excited as I have been to watch the newest news network, alas I shall be deprived of this essential service. Telus generally displays all the channels available, even if you don't get them in order to encourage you to buy an expanded package. After a diligent search of all channels, there was no Sun TV.

I'll send an angry e-mail to Telus, but I can't afford to buy an expanded package. We already had to buy 25 channels just to get the History channel. It is almost criminal the way they bundle channels together. If you are looking for a cable provider, I do not recommend Telus. I'm locked in for another few months, but if they don't offer Sun TV, I won't be a customer for much longer.

I get 12 different CBC feeds for f**k sakes! This is not fair!

Angry Media

So Thursday a reporter with the national gallery snapped at Prime Minister Stephen Harper for not taking more questions per day from Terry Milewski et all who are following him around. Just a reminder guys, the Prime Minister is travelling all over the country to visit as many people as mathematically possible in the next 30+ days, he's still taking your questions, isn't he? This isn't Trudeau circa 1980. This outburst was borderline ridiculous. Was it Copenhagen where Terry Milewski asked the PM a 5 minute question that was a rant with 20 different questions? We aren't always talking about 10 second clips, these things add up. Should the Prime Minister cancel more events to spend a greater amount of time taking questions at the events he's currently attending?

Terry was standing beside the guy who snapped, so I'd like to know if there is any behind the scene footage of what those national reporters were saying amongst themselves prior to the outburst? It is an issue of being on a fast time schedule, not the Prime Minister trying to be less accountable. It was one of the most loaded questions you'll ever see from a mainstream field reporter in an election campaign.

Heather Mallick Fear Mongering

For all the left wing accusations of Tory "fear mongering" in the past few weeks, where is the outrage when Heather Mallick writing for the Toronto Star does the exact same thing from the left hand side? Her most recent piece about what would become of Canada in a Conservative majority government is borderline insane. But fortunately for me I don't need to respond to it because one of my favourite voices in the media Charles Adler has already done so far better than I ever could. So rather than direct you to her article, I will send you to http://www.charlesadler.com/ where you can scroll down the audio archives on the right hand side and listen to marvelous punditry. Look for the segment March 29th part 1. Adler is on a roll, and you need to listen to his show every day during this election campaign on the Corus Radio Network.

Adler At His Best Monday

If you have not listened to Monday's Charles Adler Show, he delivered a great monologue on the election that will undoubtedly entertain you. Evidently Chuck is starting to get a lot of angry e-mails regarding "Fox North", and his frustration level seems elevated, but he did a great show Monday. Adler, Dave Rutherford, and Roy Green are the top 3 people you should be listening to on the radio to decipher this election. If you can't listen on the radio, you can listen online.

To listen to Charles Monday monologue, click here and go to the audio vault on the right hand side, scroll to March 28th part 1. He also had a good rant on Heather Mallick in a later segment.

Next Week In Canadian Politics

The next week in Canadian politics should be very interesting, and I'm pleased to be off work on Monday and Tuesday to follow the show. The budget will be coming soon, and the opposition seems fully intent on bringing down the government at their nearest opportunity. I feel like HBO should have a camera crew running around Ottawa for the next 14 days. You could turn that into a mini-series. By the large majority of accounts, an election is going to happen. As Albert Einstein said "you cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war."

I really want to see the budget.

Jim Travers R.I.P

I am sad to learn that Toronto Star columnist Jim Travers has passed away. Even as a partisan Tory I read a lot of his work over the years. I may not always have agreed with him, but he was a skilled journalist whom I respected. Jim will be missed, even by his detractors.

One also can't forget the prophetic irony of Liberal leader Mike Ignatieff mocking Jim Travers "declining years". That's bad karma Mike...

Gore Recruits Olbermann

It's funny, for as plugged in as I am to the politics of the day, I did not realize that Al Gore had his own cable channel. Now it would appear that the king of climate change is recruiting Keith Olbermann to be his new voice. Keith you might know was released from his job at the left leaning MSNBC, and is now looking for work. Enter Al Gore.

I would write more on this subject, but Rex Murphy has already composed a beautiful piece on the Gore-Olbermann marriage. It is a must read.

Selling Blogging Tories

With the news that AOL has purchased Huffington Post for a cool $315 million dollars, I wonder how much money the Blogging Tories would be worth if Stephen Taylor and Craig Smith were looking to sell to a company like Bell or Rogers. Obviously the Huffington Post is worth much more because it focuses on the United States which has a substantial larger local and global audience to appeal to. The Blogging Tories site has a persistent and loyal audience which would carry with it a value, but who are largely interested in Canadian issues.

We have 1/10th the population of the United States, so right away you'd have to bump the price down to $35 million. There are far more people outside of the United States who follow American politics than foreigners interested in Canadiam politics, plus the Huffington Post has higher standing in America than the BTs in Canada. Maybe, they could get $5 - $10 million dollars if they tried to sell their venture to a major telecom. Though unlike the Huffington Post, the Blogging Tories is not currently monetized, so there is no framework by which to value an accurate purchase price. My question to Stephen Taylor would be, what would the price have to be for you to sell?

Will any of that "Huffpo" money go to the bloggers who create most of the content which drives the site? It is unclear if Arianna is going to share any of her bounty with her unpaid bloggers.

Mark Holland Most Hated Liberal MP?

Jane Taber has now declared that "Mark Holland has earned the status of most-hated Liberal MP among Stephen Harper’s Conservatives". While he certainly makes my top 10 list, he is up against some stiff competition for most dislikable. She even goes on to use such ghastly inflamatory language as "right at the top of the unofficial list of seats Conservatives have in their sights as they aim for a majority government". How dare she use the words "sights" and "aim"! Such careless language could encourage violence! All this after Barak Obama called for more civility! Shame on you Jane...

So today's poll question, which Liberal MP do you "hate" the most? Also note the use of sarcasm in the above paragraph.

What Happened To Don Martin?

Did Don Martin get fired as host of CTV's Power Play or is he getting a long vacation just a few short weeks into his new gig? Dan Matheson has been standing in for the last several episodes, and before that Liberal activist Jane Taber spent some time setting the agenda. Did Martin's people negotiate a lot of vacation time into his new deal, or is CTV having sober second thoughts about their selection? While I admit that Don Martin sucks at TV, I do prefer him to Taber and Matheson. Its the lesser evil.

I googled "Don Martin fired" and didn't find anything.

News Before A Studio Audience (Live Or Otherwise)

I have to ask the question, should news opinion shows be filmed before a live studio audience? If and when Charles Adler launches his own show on Sun TV News, is it better with or without a live studio audience? Sun TV will share similarities with Fox News, and Glenn Beck does his show in front of a studio audience. I don't watch every politics show so I can't say how many of them do this, I just know that plugging in the audience was about the time that Beck started losing me. When he's working his audience, he gets too emotional and becomes creepy. I liked CNN Beck much better than chalkboard/audience Fox Beck.

Should a news opinion show have a studio audience?