OfficiallyScrewed.com

Here it is with links to the gc.ca profiles.

David Emerson’s defection to the Tories isn’t all the news starved MSM makes it out to be. Think on this.

1) Emerson has a background in the forestry sector and is now our International Trade Minister. What better combination to head straight into the softwood lumber issue and resolve it quickly.

2) Liberals should be pleased. One of their own, with his own mind and his own free vote, is now sitting in Cabinet. He might not be a Liberal by party anymore, but I don’t think Emerson’s views on other issues have changed.

3) The man has experience in a Federal Cabinet, which a new government can learn a lot from.

4) In situations which the Tories/NDP gang up in Parliament, this eliminates the value of the Independent seat, which eliminates the bargaining needed to pass these motions.

5) In its’ own subtle way, along with the Michael Fortier appointment, tells the other parties to play ball on accountability, because this kind of shhhaving cream is what the accountability act will prevent.

Well here is how I did in Cabinet Making.

Paul Martin had 37 spots which I had to work with. I added one correctly and subtracted many correctly and nailed 11 positions right so I got a total score of 17/37 by my math, which was convoluted by the merged/added/dropped posts.

Ones I got correct.

-Leader of Senate – LeBreton
-ACOA – McKay
-Heritage – Oda
-Fisheries – Hearn
-Health – Clement
-Indian Affairs – Prentice
-Industry – Bernier
-Justice – Toews
-La Francophonie – Verner
-Official Languages – Verner
-Defence – O’Connor
-Democratic Reform was added (but I got the Minister wrong)
-I also predicted correctly that State(public health), State(multiculturalism), State(familes/caregivers), Canadian Wheat Board, State (Human Resources), and State(norther development) would be canned.

They threw a curveball at us with Emerson but, despite what the MSM may say in the next few days, this was a good move. It brings in an experienced person from the Vancouver area which needs to be represented and will take little from the Liberals as the Conservative free vote philosophy will let Emerson vote his own way in the house.

The second curveball was the appointment of Michael Fortier to the Public Works portfolio. Not an elected official, Harper will get flack for putting a non elected Senator in the Cabinet against his feelings on unelected officials. It might be the accountability he presents when Fortier is elected and his Senatorship is put on the election block to usher in a new era of elected Senators. Yes, my prediction is this is a well orchestrated chess move thinking two years down the road.

The long and short of it is that Harper has a good, solid, intelligent Cabinet with experience and youth reaching every part of Canada except PEI, which will be covered by Peter McKay.

I think he is off on the right foot.

The Hill Times is reporting that PM PM wants to eliminate the $4 to $5 Million dollar debt by the time the Liberals choose their next leader.

But I distinctly remember this article by Sheila Copps, which gleaned the following info from the Elections Canada website not two months ago.

That gives us a $30 Million dollar discrepancy. Knowing what the Liberals are like with numbers one has to wonder where all the money is coming from?

I have an idea that we might find out.

Here we go again. This is one of the reactions that just doesn’t help the situation.

But it will probably make the growing Wikipedia listing on the subject.

Actually, I give a hat tip to Jack’s Newswatch for the Wiki link. It is very thorough and indicates this has been brewing for over three months and is hitting a head now in early February.

The call to action by Muslims is turning peaceful Muslims into terrorists. Yes, I said it. When people start burning down embassies and calling for death and violence in order to make governments go against the freedoms instilled in their constitutions, they are, in effect, using terror to accomplish their task. This makes them terrorists.

The truth in this matter is that free speech will reign strong when all is said and done. It might be one hell of a battle in the streets and over the web and news channels before it’s over. But, once again, the pen will triumph over the sword.

Something for the elephants to file away for next election.

So one of Paul Martin’s last acts of parliament was to pay off a friend almost half a million dollars so that Pauly boy could look good before an election by showing some ‘accountability’.

We all kind of knew we were going to get stuck with this one. All the preliminary indications were that Dingwall was being forced out. The question still remains… How many more seats would the Liberals have lost if they had come clean and told everyone that they were firing Dingwall?

Once again, we get officially screwed.

Stephen Harper started saving Canadians money the second he was sworn in today. It’s actually pretty simple math.

Paul Martin had 37 Cabinet Ministers. The bonus to salary for being a Minister is ~$70,000. Harper’s trimmed down cabinet saves us roughly 3/4 of a Million dollars each and every year. You might think this is mice nuts in the grand scheme of things. And maybe it is. But when you have a government buildings infested with them, it doesn’t take long before the nuts add up to a nice little nest egg that hatches into an MRI machine, or money for Fabrayze patients, or a tax cut.

Give the man a single second in the PM chair and he’s already thinking of us, the taxpayers.