Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Allan Gregg Speech Slams Tories' Orwellian 'Assault On Reason'

Well-known Canadian pundit and former Progressive Conservative pollster Allan Gregg delivered a scathing critique of the the Conservative government under Stephen Harper in a speech at Carleton University last week in Ottawa.

Titled "1984 in 2012 – The Assault on Reason," the speech was given at an event to celebrate the move of Carleton's Faculty of Public Affairs into a new building.

In the address, Gregg draws parallels between the "nightmarish future" envisioned by George Orwell in his famous novel "1984" and the attitude displayed by the Conservatives in the present toward scientists, environmentalists and public servants.

The speech quickly went viral on social networks, accumulating thousands of shares.

Gregg is perhaps best known as a former regular on CBC's political At Issue panel on "The National." His resume, however, goes on and on.

He is chairman of the polling firm Harris Decima and served as a pollster and advisor to the PCs under Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell. He was also a founding shareholder of the TV network YTV and has served as Chairman of the Toronto International Film Festival. He even founded a record label, The Song Corp., and has worked with the Tragically Hip, The Watchmen and Big Wreck.

Original Article
Source: huffington post
Author: The Huffington Post Canada

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