Cue the whining about the left-wing media

Not a good week for the Harper Machine, so, in keeping with the Rove playbook, watch for the complaints about media bias. I can practically hear the clutch grinding as they switch gears from swaggering bullies to whining victims.

This hot-oil massage from The Star should figure prominently.

Come on, now. Harper's no chicken

Stephen Harper is campaigning in a bubble.

He can't face audiences that haven't been pre-screened.

Are stories unflattering to Harper being pulled from corporate-media websites?

The Sixth Estate, Dawg's Blog, Lorne at PAID and Dammit Janet (twice) have flagged this. If it's true, it just underlines what many of us have been saying about the Harper Regime's aggressively totalitarian character.

Really, doesn't the prospect of large media organizations engaging in self-censorship raise a few red flags? Isn't anyone just a little disturbed at the prospect of instant rewriting of history?

#Elxn41, first week in review: Harper's character flaws exposed

First lap.

So what's the dominant storyline to emerge from Week One? In my respectful submission, it's got to be the limits of the Harper machine's message control, and his petulant reaction to its failure.

Keeping up with the Joneses

It just never lets up, does it.

By now we've all read about the massacre at the UN offices in Mazar-i-Sharif. And when you're looking for an arsonist, you can usually start with the guy holding the matches and the gasoline can.

Shamelessly stolen from Far and Wide

Steve V joins Stageleft in the exclusive-but-growing club of people from whom I have shamelessly lifted content.

(Ah, who am I kidding. Said club is anything but exclusive.)

This does not imply endorsement or partisan leanings, mind. It just made me laugh so hard the tea came out my nose.

Sorry, folks, I'd really hoped to have something a little more cerebral, but it's late and I'm suffering a brain cramp. More tomorrow. In the meantime, let's stay on message ...

Let's stay on message: Harper's legacy of shame

A heartening first week, yes, but too early to say whether the wheels have come off the Harper Machine.

We can't be distracted by sideline drama over debate formats and whether or not Elizabeth May gets included. Or astroturfers trolling for trolls on Craigslist. Or Conservative senators calling reporters rude names.