Here is a fine example of minority politics.

We have the liberal and NDP opposition cherry picking sentences out of the press releases from Stephen Harper and Gordon O'Connor in an attempt to obfuscate the governments position on the Afghanistan mission.

"First the defence minister said Canada will be there until the progress is irreversible. Then he said we may withdraw by 2010 -- but only if certain conditions are met. Now we learn the Conservative cabinet hasn't even discussed the issue of withdrawal and won't do so until next year," Ignatieff, who was standing in for party leader Stephane Dion, said during question period on Monday.

Allow me to translate from "opposition" to english...

Essentially Ignatieff is demanding to know why the conservative position on when to withdraw troops has not changed, while he tries to insinuate that the position has changed.

Maybe I should explain that so that a liberal can understand.

1. O'Connor said that the troops would not be removed until the process of Afghanistans recovery is irreversible.

2. He later says that by 2010, if the recovery is irreversible, the troops will be removed.

3. Then Mr O'Connor says that there haven't been any discussions of removal of trooops this year. (This is most likely because Canada is signed in by parliamentary vote to remain in Afghanistan until 2009, probably it will be silly to discuss removing troops 2 years ahead of actually removing them especially since you wont know what Afghanistan will be like in two years.)

Nowhere on the three points that Ignatieff brought up is there a contradiction or a shift in government policy. Even though Ignatieff has put a lot of effort into making it SOUND like there is.

This is a fine example of an opposition party playing politics with an important issue and attempting to misdirect the public.

And yet Ol' Crooked Neck, the NDP leader, is showing his usual genius for outright lying to the public. Today on Politics, he persisted in insinuating (outright saying) that the Afghanistan mission is an American mission, ignoring the fact that it is a NATO mission.

Typical lying, scummy politics from Layton but I am a bit surprised that the Liberals would stoop that low to actively work against the public interest by trying to undermine the government with outright lies and insinuations.

Perhaps next election those most pernicious of the liars in the opposition will be gently reminded that they work FOR the people when the voting public does NOT mark an "X" beside their names.

Why yes.. I am back, thanks to the talented fingers of my wife (oh my) :O

I just have to much to say, and finally gotten over my ego and decided to ask for help.

Hopefully you will enjoy what I have to say. (Unless you support Ol Crooked Neck, in which case, you should probably not read my blog because high blood pressure is bad for you.)