Politics-Federal

The Pen Truly Is Mightier Than The Sword AND The Torch

Mulder

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.

Liberal Party Deception Before Election Now Revealed In Dingwall's Scandalous Buyout

Mulder

Something for the elephants to file away for next election.

OTTAWA—David Dingwall, former head of the Royal Canadian Mint, has received $417,780 in his now-famous “entitlements,” as one of the last acts of Prime Minister Paul Martin’s departing Liberal government.

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’.

Stephen Harper, who takes the prime minister’s oath tomorrow morning, said yesterday the Liberals had misled the public where Dingwall was concerned.

“After months of evasive answers in the House of Commons, we have now learned that David Dingwall’s departure from the Royal Canadian Mint was involuntary,” Harper said in a statement. “This is contrary to the information given by the Liberal government. I am very disappointed that Parliament was misled on this matter.”

William Stairs, Harper’s director of communications, said he did not think the new government would contest the arbitrator’s decision.

“I don’t think we can. It was a legal arbitration between two parties.”

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.

Was The Privy Council Trying To Hide Dingwall's Severance Payment?

Mulder

I am just flabbergasted. I know the Dingwall severance issue is being watched by many, but for the Privy Council Office to release the statement on a Saturday is just astounding, let alone on a Saturday amid such huge distractions. Let me explain…

1) it was released two days before the new Privy Council is sworn in
2) it was released when the Muslim caricature violence is the highlight of every news agency. (nice distraction huh?)
3) it was released one day before the Superbowl (even nicer distraction huh?)
4) it was released on a Saturday. When was the last time you saw government work done on a Saturday?
5) it was released when political buzzers are focusing their antennae on Harper’s Cabinet.

But worst of all,

6) it was for a whopping $417,780! (subject to Revenue Canada, or course)

This is officially screwed up.

Settlement between the Government of Canada and the Former Master of the Royal Canadian Mint

OTTAWA, February 4, 2006 – The Government of Canada today announced that, following binding arbitration, it has paid a compensation package to Mr. David Dingwall, former Master of the Royal Canadian Mint.

The Government stated in October that it would pay Mr. Dingwall only that which is legally owed him. Since that amount could not be agreed to during negotiations, the Government agreed to submit the question of its legal obligations to an independent third party, in the interests of saving the time and money that legal proceedings could have entailed.

The issue was placed before a highly respected independent arbitrator for determination. The Honourable George Adams was asked by both parties to rule on the following questions:

1. Was Mr. Dingwall’s resignation voluntary or involuntary, having regard to all of the circumstances?
2. If the resignation was involuntary, what is the compensation, damages or terms of departure owing to Mr. Dingwall by Canada, having regard to all of the circumstances?

Mr. Adams has concluded that Mr. Dingwall’s departure was involuntary and the Government has a legal obligation to pay him $417,780, as well as associated pension benefits. The binding award of the arbitrator has the force of a court order, and the Government has respected the decision. This amount is subject to the provisions of the Income Tax Act.

For information:
Privy Council Office
957-5168

It Took Harper Exactly One Second To Start Saving Taxpayers Money

Mulder

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.

Prediction Time – Cabinet and Superbowl

Mulder

Just for the fun of it, here are my predictions for Cabinet. I took all of Martin’s positions and eliminated or merged those I think Harper may do to trim down the size.

(click to enlarge)

Total Ministers (not including Prime Minister): 29
Male/Female Ratio: 22/7
By Province:
Ontario: 10
Alberta: 6
Quebec: 3
British Columbia: 5
Manitoba: 2
Saskatchewan: 1
Newfoundland: 1
Nova Scotia: 1
New Brunswick: 0
PEI: 0
Territories: 0

Believe me, I tried to be more fair, but with so many new MPs and some provinces electing so few Conservatives, it was tough.

Points to note: I chose Gordon O’Connor for Defence/Vet Affairs because of his experience. People who feel his background as a lobbyist prohibit him, should remember that the Accountability Act is there to prevent senior public servants from going into lobbying, not the other way around.

I gave Peter McKay both the ACOA portfolio and HRDC for a couple of reasons. A big part of what Alberta wants is to let Eastern Canada know that there is lots of money and jobs in Alberta. HRDC ties in well with ACOA to help get Canada on track as far as unemployment goes. A good east coast boy like McKay should be able to really help pull the east out of the funk and help tie Alberta oil knowledge to that of the East Coast drilling programs. It would also be really cool to see McKay get ex-sweetheart Belinda’s job.

I have the Ministers of Internal and International Trade as Rona Ambrose and Russ Hiebert for a reason. They may be interchangeable as Russ has international trade experience and Rona speaks three languages and has a prominent role. I wouldn’t even be surprised to see the two positions/two Ministers merged in a way to better promote our regional specialties at a global level.

Helena Guergis’ background with women’s issues and assistance programs would make her ideal for Social Development. She lives close enough to Toronto to be familiar with the big city environment where much of this program operates but she is far enough away to understand the rural/aboriginal concerns with this portfolio. (I am not sure but by her name I am guessing Miss Guergis is of Greek descent which is a plus on the minority side. As some of you know, I have a soft spot for Greeks, being one myself).

Agriculture was a toughie. But to get another Manitoban in, I chose Inky Mark who has agri-experience. The common choice out there for other predictions is Diane Finley, but Diane has such experience that she would be great at tying various departments together. Being close to Harper she would be instrumental in making issues get resolved across Ministries to Harper’s desire.

I was going to drop the Democratic Renewal portfolio, but with so many issues coming up with regard to this subject, I think Harper is going to leave it as a standalone for now under the watchful eye of Scott Reid.

Finance. What do do about Finance? Many believe Monte doesn’t have the background to qualify him for this key post. I have a short list of reasons that I think he is.
a) He is not working alone. The man has a staff who did a darned good job in opposition going through the books to keep the Liberals on their toes. Advisers with lots of letters behind their names will be standing there with him.

b) He has shown he understand the portfolio enough to bounce second questions at Ministers in QP. With his quick thinking, sharp mind, and wit, the Finance Minister better be swift or a smooth opposition can make them look bad on a daily basis. Monte is superior to almost every other MP in this regard. (James Moore and Pierre Poilievre being two other Tories to watch in QP)

c) He looks so smart in those glasses.

Now, the prediction you have all been waiting for.

Seattle 27, Pittsburgh 19

I also predict Shawn Alexander will have 140 yards rushing, 2 TDs.

Feel free to comment on either prediction.

Is Ignatieff The Next To Fall?

Mulder

How do you upstage this…..

or how about this?

Well it appears that Michael Ignatieff has somehow managed to officially screw himself and upstage all the other goofy photos, including that one of Chretien with pie on his face. This photo of Ignatieff was in the Toronto Star is from a few days ago and slipped under the radar but I just caught a glimpse of it and died laughing. It has him shaking the hand of a supporter outside a subway stop while a man is draining his snake not three meters away. Now THAT’s Officially Screwed!!!

I wonder… will this be un-prime ministerial enough to have him bow out with the other big names? Or will this be his way to raise his profile?

I still think, tongue-in-cheek, that this will open the door for David Orchard!!!

To Set The Record Straight

Mulder

I had a couple of questions from friends as to why I was not posting the Mohammad based cartoons. They found my post a bit clunky. To clarify, this is my stand.

1) We DEFINITELY have the right to free speech.

Where the topic becomes fair game is when Terrorists use the name of Islam in defense of their terrorist acts. This to me is the point at which the cartoons are fine showing the terrorists how officially screwed they are. You can’t do that without, somehow, tying Islam in. In this regard, I found the cartoons perfectly fair game.

2) We DO have hate law crimes in Canada, but this does not apply in this case.

Saying something that is not allowed by the Koran is not a hate crime in my mind. It would be the equivalent of Christians in an uproar over people eating meat on Friday or of orthodox Jews getting all upset over someone turning on the stove on the Sabbath. This is the analogy many have overlooked.

But the question remains. Why won’t I post the cartoons? To be honest, I found the “Stop, Stop, We ran out of virgins” one quite funny. But, to be honest, I don’t think I have ever posted a cartoon on this blog. If I regularly posted ones I thought were funny, the virgin one would have made the cut.

This is the type of example I was referring to when I said having a Right (to free speech) does not necessarily make everything that Right defends appropriate.

I hope that explains my view well enough.

Another One Bites The Dust – But Where Is David Orchard?

Mulder

Another prominent Liberal, Allan Rock, has said he will not be running for the Liberal Leadership. Rock joins several other prominent Liberals who don’t seem to want the position.

And why would we expect any different? The winner of this contest will end up being a resident at Stornoway for a good 5 to 8 years. A productive Conservative Minority and probably majority next time around would require someone capable of slamming the Conservatives day after day after day, with no real chance at the leadership.

Manley sited his age. McKenna sited his age. Hell, even Bill Graham, the interim leader said his age precludes him from sticking around.

Who does this leave?

Well there are quite a few rising members of the caucus and a few who have been around for a couple of elections. But my bet is on whoever has the most experience slamming the Tories…

Hmmmmm…….

Why not David Orchard? He has the “text book” slams down. He has a severe hatred for Harper and McKay. He is now a supporter of the Liberal Party.

The other factor, playing on contenders minds, is the massive debt the Liberals apparently have been building up. New fund raising procedures prohibit major donations which were a big part of the Liberal income. This will severely hurt the party. Even deep pockets like Belinda’s would be off limits from my understanding. She couldn’t simply ask Daddy (or her brother Andrew) to pay off the debt.

This means the leader will likely be someone who understands bankruptcy laws. Considering the fat cows the Liberals relied on have the new restrictions to bar them from dumping, I can only see them coming out of debt with a massive money laundering scheme pulling money out of trust after trust and managing to filter it into the coffers $1000 at a time. And we all know the new Accountability Act is probably going to eliminate the risk of that.

Monte Praises Licia Corbella, And Rightfully So

Mulder

Monte Solberg rightfully gives Licia Corbella an A+ in Math when the rest of us are working towards an F in Environmental Studies.

Licia Corbella has written a brilliant article in Reader’s Digest about Canada’s Kyoto commitments.

Basically Licia points out that if we decide to ban all planes, trains and automobiles in Canada and entirely abandon all manufacturing, stop all construction and shut every mine we would still fall short of our Kyoto target.

Combined those reductions would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 252.9 megatonnes, still leaving us 17.1 megatonnes short of our insane Kyoto target. Licia gathers all of her information from the Environment Canada website.

Sometimes you just have to wonder who was calculating our commitment. I took the One Tonne Challenge and my home already has so many efficiencies in it that the biggest improvement I could make would be to get rid of the two cars in our driveway. 70% of my calculated Green House Gas production comes from these cars.

If Licia’s calculations are right, I may as well give up now and be happy I am on the side of pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol. Our new home has high efficiency appliances. I replaced pretty much every light bulb with the new energy efficient fluorescent bulbs that use 1/4 the power of regular incandescent ones.

I guess all there is left to do is trade in my Honda truck for a Hybrid Honda Civic. And that isn’t happening soon.