Out Of The Way In Ottawa

There is a divergence between private and social accounting that the market fails to register. One essential task of law and government is to institute the necessary corrections.
John Rawls, A Theory Of Justice, p. 268

The Oracle of Ottawa was doing what he does every Wednesday morning, deep in his secure bunker, reading, and around 10:00 a.m., checking the BNN for the quality of the open of the Toronto Stock Exchange. The market was in a rally again, just like fish swimming upstream to spawn. And then the Oracle flipped to the news ticker on the CTV News Network for a silent tape stream of the morning headlines when he saw the BREAKING NEWS banner.

Darth Vader - Resistance is futile?

Something downtown on the Hill and the environs. Flipping to CBC News World the Oracle was not impressed that they were also in end of the world coverage also. But it all hit home as to the magnitude of the event when on channel 33, CNN was joining the rapture hoedown. The first thing that went through the Oracle of Ottawa's gifted brain was that the 'Harper Government' finally got its war.

The morning coverage was classic fog of war. From skipping through the channels the Oracle of Ottawa was utterly amazed at the conclusions of each source. It was the most surreal unfolding of events that the Oracle can remember in a very long time. There were at least four hit teams, there were $1.98 jihadists on every roof top in the downtown Ottawa area. The body count was surely going to be into the double digits before lunch time. It was the most embarrassing amateur hour hosted by Canadian media in a very long time. The Oracle of Ottawa can only hope that a very detailed review of practices and procedures will be undertaken for the coverage of future events.

Contrary to the mouth breathing musings of the Conservative Party talking heads, Canada has been through much worse in it's short history as a nation. Those of us that are somewhat seasoned can easily remember the October Crisis of 1970. The Oracle of Ottawa can still very clearly remember looking out of his grade seven class room window at Saint Joseph Catholic School onto the residence of Senator Joe Greene  who was Energy Minister in the Trudeau government at the time, living in a very grand house in Arnprior, to see a soldier, in full battle dress, armed with a sub machine gun, parading in front of the future Senators house! That is the kind of Canadian history that stays with you forever. 

Compared to the past that the Oracle of Ottawa has lived through, the past weeks events are essentially vandalism. Rag assed one offs. Hardly the attempted overturning of a Nation State. And as to blame? The Oracle of Ottawa blames the insane right wing wrecking crew ideology of the 'Harper Government'.  And there is a lesson to be learned from the events of the past week here in Canada. If a government fails to take care of all of it's people, a certain subset of people will soon take care of the government...there is no other rational and sane conclusion that one of sound mind and body can come to.