Conservatives and the Politics of Fear

I guess if minister hound dog of love, Peter MacKay, is to be believed, we're all supposed to be terrified of the Russians again. That's good because I never really came to terms with this whole post-cold-war world. Its spy movies lack style.

I like how MacKay reassures us that Russian planes skirting the edge of our airspace is not an uncommon thing. A great piece of doublespeak that. He's saying, "Don't worry, they do this all the time," and, "Quake in your boots, the Ruskie air force is swarming our northern border! Quick, we need more money for the military!"

A couple questions... First, if this is not an uncommon thing... why are we hearing about it just now, I wonder? And second, if our northern border is so vulnerable to a Russian menace (I'm not saying it is, mind), then how exactly will all those extra billions the Conservatives spent on air conditioned tanks and camouflage in desert hues defend us?