Aww, The Montreal Ballerinas Needs To Sell Some Fudge

Mulder

Many of you recall the trimming of a couple of inefficient government programs that helped pay for artists to tour the world.  Well I have good news for those of us who pay our own way when we travel.  Minister James Moore has stuck to his guns and will not be extending the programs as they are inefficient.

Art groups are upset the government refuses to reinstate two funds — the $7.1-million Trade Routes program and the $4.8-million Arts Promotion program — that helped with international travel and marketing.

The government maintains the programs were inefficient.

Trade Routes spent $5 million paying people to “push paper” and only $2 million went to the artists, said Heritage Minister James Moore’s spokeswoman Deirdra McCracken.

What many people should pay attention to is the addtional fact in this article that the Conservative government is not trimming arts funding.  They are in fact spending over $540 million on arts and culture over two years in the middle of a recession to help these areas.  What they are NOT doing is blowing cash on wasted paper pushing and free world travel.

Alain Dancyger, the executive director of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal, said he had to beg donors in Egypt this spring to make up a $250,000 travel budget shortfall for the company’s historic Middle East tour.

“It was embarrassing,” he said. Donors were asking why they should give if the Canadian government was refusing to help, he said.

Newsflash:  When my daughter’s volleyball club was looking to raise funds for travel or some new equipment, the girls on the team went door to door selling maple fudge.  I wonder if Mr. Dancyger has thought to try this.  I am willing to bet he has not. With countless people not even travelling these days because of the recession, I am ecstatic that this boondoggle has been put to rest.

Minister James Moore gets a gold star in my grading book.

Only In A Government Town

Mulder

Considering:

a) I am located in Ottawa

b) this blog is titled what it is

c) the sixth image below is an accurate depiction of what this blog is all about and

d) it just made me laugh,

I had to post this image I came across while surfing at Failblog.org.  I am thinking the person in the front is a taxpayer.

OfficiallyScrewed in Ottawa
Click to enlarge

Making The Bloc Irrelevant

Mulder

When I blogged about altering the party funding formula a couple of weeks ago, I garnered a bit of interest but not quite the wave I would have liked to see. Well it seems that I am not the only one who feels that regional parties should be marginalized.

U of T Professor Andrew Stark had a piece in the Globe and Mail today that is worth reading which also addressed regional parties like the Bloc Quebecois.

Of note, their is a Bill passing through the system now that would give Ontario and a few Western Provinces more seats while holding Quebec to 75. This would go a long way towards taking away some of the strength that the Bloc have but ultimately party funding is the way I think this issue needs to be addressed.

Liberals Need Comparison Before Grading Conservative Spending Of Stimulus Money

Mulder

So we here at OfficiallyScrewed.com are going to give it to them.

Today, Liberal critic Gerard Kennedy had a few choice words for John Baird regarding stimulus spending.

Liberal infrastructure critic Gerard Kennedy said the minister was ducking from his responsibilities.

“It is politically convenient for him to say he doesn’t know why projects aren’t happening, when, in fact, the government has been responsible for all the delays until now,” Kennedy said.

So far, the federal government says $2.8 billion of the $4-billion infrastructure stimulus fund has been spent and more than 1,700 projects have been approved.

Meanwhile just tonight on Hannity, Karl Rove gave us some details on how the U.S. stimulus spending is going. The Americans have spent a mere $67.4 Billion out of a $787 Billion stimulus package.

So Canada has spent 70% of our stimulus while the Americans have spent 8.6% of theirs.

Gerard Kennedy should hang his head in shame for even suggesting that our Federal government is holding up spending.

Man Charged In Terrorist Bombing Synagogue Hired (And Then Fired) At Canadian University

Mulder

OfficiallyScrewed is an understatement for this one.

Carleton University has searched high and low, near and far, day and night to fill a teaching spot for an introductory sociology course. But alas, the qualifications must have been tough because out of a nation of about 30 million citizens, they chose to hire an alleged terrorist charged with killing 4 people in the 1980 bombing of a synagogue in France.

But that was 29 years ago you say? Maybe, but he was just recently charged and is under house arrest with a condition that he has to wear one of those “anklets” to track his location. He is not even allowed to get in his car and drive to the University without accompaniment.

Hassan Diab, who is charged with murdering four people in the 1980 bombing, will begin teaching a part-time introductory sociology course at Carleton University two days a week until the middle of August.

Diab, whose strict bail conditions prevent him from leaving the house alone, will be required to travel to and from the university with his common-law spouse Rania Tfaily, an Ottawa court heard Monday.

But once at the university, Diab will no longer need an escort.

What? Am I reading that last sentence correctly? Once at the university, he will no longer need an escort? Are you kidding me? The guy is charged with killing 4 people and he is welcome to roam the Carleton University campus without an escort?

Note to self: Do not let my kids attend Carleton University.

H/T: Fred

ADDENDUM: not but a few minutes after I posted, I saw this article posted on the Ottawa Sun sight a few minutes ago. Diab has lost his teaching gig.

George Carlin on Saving The Planet

Mulder

This video clip is a bit dated, but considering more and more stores in Canada are starting to charge 5 cents for plastic shopping bags, I feel it is very appropriate. Al Gore and his environmentalistas could use a bit of good old fashioned George Carlin realism. Here is a perfect dose..

On the subject of charging for grocery bags, I have to say that I am all for minimizing garbage. But realistically, I can buy 100 Kitchen Catcher(tm) bags for about $5.00, or I can bring home plastic grocery bags for a nickel each. In either case I have trash bags for my kitchen for the same price. I just hate the fact that some stores are going to take the 5 cents per bag and donate it to charities that I may not want to support like the World Wildlife Fund.

Ironically, it is these same stores that send you half a pound of flyers in the mail twice a week without a single iota of environmental conscience.

Now THAT’S OfficiallyScrewed.

WARNING: THE VIDEO BELOW CONTAINS COURSE LANGUAGE NOT SUITABLE FOR SOME VIEWERS. IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED BY COURSE LANGUAGE, DO NOT WATCH.

H/T: Nick V.

Oil Dollars Changing American History

Mulder

When you can donate $20M to an American university like Georgetown or Harvard, it gets you some pull.  The only things I have to say after watching this short YouTube clip of a news program are:

a) I thought that there was separation of church and state in schools?  Why are they teaching kids that Muslims discovered America?  Even if this incorrect information was to be taught, should it not at least have been that someone from the middle east discovered America?  Where is the ACLU?   Where are the people forcing schools to not celebrate Christmas?  Where are these hypocrites?

and

b)  I hope this misinformation is the part of an education that these kids don’t remember.

h/t to Nick V.

John Stossel's Healthcare Piece – Postponed…Again

Mulder

If I was a REALLY paranoid right wing extremist I might think that ABC’s decision to postpone John Stossel’s piece on the Canadian healthcare system until July 31st was because they did not want to run it when President Obama was getting pounded on his already failed attempt to push through healthcare reform before the summer break.

But I turned my PVR on this morning towatch the special because I was out last night and noted that Charlie Gibson had taken up the full hour on 20/20 with an oil/gas industry piece.  Considering many Americans have a high interest in the oil/gas industry and the reasons behind the highly fluctiating prices, I will give ABC the benefit of the doubt.   But one more delay and we won’t be so kind to the station that has regular love ins with Barry O.

If you want to read John Stossel’s view on the delay, as well as the views of his fans, you can check out his blog.