Thursday, July 22, 2010

Stats Can and Thought Crime...

So, Harper has now decided to dismantle Canada's most accurate purveyors of truth... Statistics Canada.

Seems that anyone guilty of speaking the truth (or researching it) in the face of this governments continuous lies is guilty of "thought crime"...

The government that hates government, hates Canada's institutions, and despises scientific fact, is slowly doing an "end-around" to circumvent any misgivings about "deboning" and "neutering" StatsCan.

Ignorance is bliss. Conservatives seem very "blissful" right now.

We'll choose the "light" of education; of progress. The illumination of science and research... Of rational thought. It appears the battle lines are being drawn: between the "government of stupid/the Party of Ignorance", and true liberal democracy. Time to bring the light back into Canadian politics.

post signatureVICTORY FUND

7 comments:

KURSK said...

You forgot the words fascists and Bush-lite.

How tyrannical of the govt to give citizens the option of whether they want to make their private information public.

However, I agree with you on one point; let your leader know how much you want an election over this.

Let's see if they have the balls to force one ..

I have a feeling, however, that they feel much the same neutered rage as you do and won't do a damn thing about it.

Anonymous said...

I thought the only difference is that you won't be charged and possibly sent to jail if you get the long census form and don't want to fill it out.

Are they cancelling the long form all together?

Are there any other surveys done by them in Canada where you MUST answer or you could go to jail?

WesternGrit said...

Yeah... tyrannical to get info. Just like the info required to get a passport, or the info taken when you enroll in school, or the info you provide when getting your license, etc., etc., etc. The info crap is just THAT. Crap. A load of it. The government collects a lot of info. Revenue Canada has as much, (more, actually) info on you than Stats Can.

A government that provides us innumerable services requires our demographic info to continue providing these services, much the same way your private insurance company needs 20 pages and a pint of blood when they cover you against "acts of God/god/goddess".

Sorry, but most reasonable and logical Canadians trust the government a lot more than money-grubbing, profit-motive driven corporations. Heck, we all know what happened when we gave our personal info to Facebook. Guess where the info you provided to sign up for Blogger went? Your guess is as good as mine. Most likely in an "info-bunker" in Bangalore (ask me about those sometime - I run one).

Simple Conservative fear-mongering to get movement on an ideological point they couldn't win before. Don't worry Cons... your days are numbered. Everyone in the media is talking about a Fall/Winter election. There won't be any "Canadians don't want an election" talk this time - except from Harpo.

Anonymous said...

What is the scientific fact that doesn't believe a fetus is human life? Cheap shot? Yes; it is easy to do.

You sound ridiculous.

These issues stats vs privacy,life vs choice are complex. Just because some people disagree with you doesn't make them wrong.

You know squat about science.You know less about your country. Ignorance is bliss.

Do you really believe that changing the census form from mandatory to voluntary is evil?

"..the illuminatioin of science.."

Good Lord...you accuse others of fear mongering.

bubba said...

Many progressive european countries are ending their census. Norway, Sweden and Britain is taking their last census in 2011. The opposition and the media have went so over the top on this in the end it was voluntary anyway, ask Warren Kinsella.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, and as I commented (as Con-sistent) on this on another LiBlog, the mandatory Labour Force survey has lots of personal q's & the mandatory short form census still has an intrusive sexual orientation q. Total Harpercrites.

http://scottdiatribe.canflag.com/2010/07/21/dan-gardner-nails-it-i-think-on-why-the-cons-want-to-ditch-the-mandatory-longform-census/

WesternGrit said...

Anon, it's quite obvious that YOU don't believe in science (or some key scientific facts). As for me, I have post-grad training in scientific fields... In both life sciences and IT.

The problem here is the continued refusal to observe facts by NeoCons. Your response to this post is proof. Rather than have the facts presented by Stats Canada stand for themselves, you guys are all to happy to sully them and water them down so you can hope to have your way.

The federal Conservative principle has been to argue well established facts with "alternative opinions" that may be backed by hacks and flacks, or the odd scientist who may be a pariah in their community (see Global warming/climate change for that example). The established scientific community - which is all about research and change - may believe (with proof) one thing, but the Cons would love to manipulate that. Conservatives attribute their own mannerisms to the scientific community - trying to show the community as "conservative" - ie, resistant to change. They don't understand that the very nature of science is change - brought with new proofs, backed up with facts.

It's very easy to dim the public perception (dumb things down, if you will), by seeding just a tiny bit of doubt in peoples' minds. Conservatives are working hard to dumb things down... They LOVE it when anyone says, "well, there are TWO sides to that..." (when there may be one side with 99% support, and one with heretics and religious zealots). They get an equal pulpit for the science-denying nut-cases... which makes little sense (accept to add "science-fiction" to the mix)...

Of course people like Stock Day will continue to play with the dinosaurs in their back yards...