Sept. 27 2003
To: G&M, Guardian PEI, macleans's, NatPost, Ottawa Citizen, toronto star, Vancouver Province, Victoria Times-Colonist

Subject: united what? I promised what?? HAHAHA

Dear Editors,
I am wondering about two things that I am not receiving much information on from your papers.

1. Why does everyone persist in calling the ongoing talks between the PCs and Alliance as some move to "unite the right"? The "right" has been firmly occupied by the Liberal Party (federally at least) for quite some time now - since Jean Chretien got elected, actually, and signed into law the BCNI-Bay St. corporate NAFTA he had spoken so strongly against in the preceding election campaign. What the PCs and Alliance are trying to do, in reality, is some union of the fringe Far Right in Canada - you might be a bit more accurate if you relabelled them all Wannabe Republicans North or something.

2. I am a bit surprised that not a single newspaper has brought up the fact that only a few short months ago Peter McKay made a deal with David Orchard, promising, among other things, that there would be no talk about any union with the Alliance in return for David's support, which he duly received and captured the leadership of the party. I would REALLY like to hear someone explain why this seems to be forgotten, why such a brazen breaking of the word of the leader of a national party in Canada seems to bother noone in the media. Then again, I would like to know altogether why blatant lying of Canadian politicians in general does not seem to be of concern to anyone at all in the media (see #1; there are many, many other euqlly egregious examples) - I assure you, a lot of Canadians are not very impressed by it - witness the rapidly falling voter turnout figures the last few years, and the rating of politicians somewhere barely above sewer rats and lawyers when Canadians are asked how they feel about certain professions - odd the media seems so unconcerned - but perhaps that unconcern is related to the fact that only about 30% of the public trusts the media, as reported in a MacLeans article last week).

(PS - a good site for alternative viewpoints on what is happening in Canada, that is to say, does comment on things like the above, is www.rudemacedon.ca)