Roundup: Ranking the Star Wars Day tweets

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For the daily media rounds, it was Conservative leader Andrew Scheer who was out first yesterday morning, once again giving voice to the sudden doubters about the CERB, saying that there were concerns in provinces now re-opening their economies that the federal benefit could be a disincentive for people going back to work. Completely lost in this is the notion that childcare is not among the first things to reopen in most of those provinces, that there remain concerns about health and safety as we are in the middle of a global pandemic, or the fact that perhaps these employers should be offering higher wages if they’re concerned that this programme is too lucrative for people (and it’s really not). Scheer also made the salient point that Parliament should actually be studying any future bills in a proper process rather than passing them in one fell swoop (which is what I’ve been saying for weeks now).

https://twitter.com/moebius_strip/status/1257320446040502277

For his daily presser, prime minister Justin Trudeau spoke about the international meeting he participated in around fighting the pandemic, and that Canada was contributing some $850 million in both domestic and international contributions to fighting COVID-19, which included vaccine development and antibody treatments. He also mentioned that he spoke with the prime minister of the Netherlands, as it was the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands by Canadian troops at the end of the Second World War. During the Q&A, Trudeau said that the Bloc and NDP were generally aligned with the government on their gun control measures, and that there was still no timeline on a federal budget given how uncertain the situation remains.

May the Fourth be With You

For “Star Wars Day,” we had a number of politicians and bureaucrats tweeting Star Wars references – some good, some not so good. Let’s take a look.

Justin Trudeau gets points for effort here, but it just barely misses the mark.

Andrew Scheer didn’t have one this year, but Jagmeet Singh tried. It’s a hot mess, and they couldn’t even half-ass whatever this is. “Let’s put a scout trooper on a mountain bike instead of a speeder bike” is not the genius move that someone thought it was.

Health Canada and PHAC nearly scored, but their Yoda vocabulary wasn’t consistent, so I’m going to have to dock points for that.

Patty Hajdu used the “two lightsabers” line that has been floating around, which is pretty good. My only comment is that they should be full-sized lightsabers and not a shoto.

Transport Canada also nearly scored on theirs, but their GIF choice didn’t match the scene as described. (In fact, in the GIF they used, Threepio is about to utter the phrase “What a desolate place this is.” Probably not the sentiment they’re going for).

Broadening out, the Yukon Party got perfect marks for this masterpiece. The footnote was the cherry on top.

PoliLEGO tried, but seemed to have a curious omission.

And then there are complete failures, like this shite from Erin O’Toole. It’s tone deaf, doesn’t make sense, and the animation of the Child is not only an abomination, it doesn’t actually work properly. The controls for the car stereo are on the edge of the seat? Huh? None of this works, and it screams of “How do you do, fellow kids?” Whoever thought this was a good idea – and most especially whoever animated that monster version of the Child that will haunt my nightmares – needs to have their ass removed.

And here’s a preview for today’s column:

Good reads:

  • Jean-Yves Duclos is looking into how new technology investments can help clear the federal backlog on Access to Information requests.
  • Maclean’s looks behind-the-scenes at the creation of the CERB.
  • Spartan Bioscience says they can get the swab problem for their portable test kits solved by the summer.
  • Irving Oil got approval to get Alberta oil by way of the Panama Canal, which is a politically convenient hedge against possible future import tariffs.
  • Industry groups want the government to cut its requirements for projects that help Women and Indigenous groups – even though they will are hardest hit by COVID-19.
  • Senators who used to be police commissioners discuss the problem of smuggled guns and the need to combat that at the border.

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2 thoughts on “Roundup: Ranking the Star Wars Day tweets”

  1. I know Poli LEGO tries to be nonpartisan and not make anyone a bad guy, but Scheer and co. should have been “Steev Harpertine’s” stormtroopers instead of friendly droids. (Dark Helmet is surrounded by… well, you know.) With the likes of Derek Sloan in the mix, you’ll not find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. (And they’ve really warped the definition of “Rebel Alliance”!)

    “Elizabeth Rey” is clever, although what with being the environmental party leader I would think she’d be an Ewok or something. Jagmeet isn’t really an elder Jedi, but to have him be Lando instead… yeah, that might be awkward… Where’s JWR? lol, is she George Lucas the temperamental micromanager who retconned “her truth”? Or is she Vader the traitor? Wait — no, that’s Peter MacKay…

    Chewie is obviously Blanchet, not because he’s fuzzy but because he’s Han Tru-do’s (de facto) co-pilot. Although Justin seems to be rocking older Luke’s “Rise of Skywalker” whiskers now (“when forty-eight years old you become, look this good, you will”), but… he can’t be a Skywalker, because then you’ve got the irreconcilable logic of the trick-or-treat outing, and how that would make for a really uneasy casting of Sophie as Princess Leia…

    Speaking of “oh, that hair,” there used to be a fun joke going around Liberal Twitter and Reddit circles (particularly around December, and… Trudeau’s birthday), although it would surprise me if he gave anything but a thumbs-down to the infamous holiday special: “what do you get a prime minister for Life Day when he already owns a comb?”

  2. No one in Canada gives a fig about what Scheer says or doesn’t say. Good riddance to one prepare for the next AAAARGH!

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