So you want to talk..

From the Star

NDP Leader Jack Layton has made several requests for a meeting with the Afghan leader ( President Hamid Karzai, who arrived in Canada Thursday) and has had no reply.

So I ask the question. Why should he meet with you Jack?

Being the leader of the perennial third party of Canadian politics does not grant you the right to get 1 on 1 time with any foreign leaders for chats and tea; it might get you some pull in getting a seat at a Karzai event or speech, but that is about it. We also cannot forget the little fact that with your recent rants on Afghanistan you are not only trying to tell our PM how to do things, you are also telling the Afghan President how to conduct matters and policy in his own country; which also might be having some effect on Karzai not wanting to give you the time of day.

I have a better idea. If you do indeed want to speak to the Afghan President may I suggest you set up a meeting in Afghanistan. There you can see for yourself what is really going on with the current UN mission, meet President Karzai and other government officials, see first hand some of the rebuilding efforts, and of course meet the troops. A smart man does his research before reaching a conclusion on any issue, and this would make not only make for great research, but it could all be done with cameras rolling.

And lets face it, you have never met a camera you didn't like.

Oh, and please bring Olivia along as well, so she might get a better understanding of the situation that Afghan woman face. I am sure they would all be glad to hear how the NDP policies would be beneficial to all women of Afghanistan.

Today's Faux News

Jack Layton today called for Canadian astronaut Steve MacLean to immediately be pulled from his mission on the space shuttle Atlantis.

Layton stated, "Canadians do not want to be a part of George Bush's space program." "The shuttle program was a direct off shoot from the US military research, and Canadians do not want to be apart of the militarization of space." "Canadians are not war mongers on earth, and are not war mongers in space."

When reminded that MacLean could not be pulled from the shuttle at this point as it would mean his immediate death if he left the shuttle, Layton ignored the question and replied "I support our astronaut 100%, but not this Bush neocon mission that was not debated in Parliament and is without UN approval." "Bring him home now!!"

He added that "Our Canada arm should also be pulled from the shuttle and sent to the Sudan to hold the warring factions apart." (see comments)

When asked about the comments of one of his MP's that Martians should be taken of the list of official aliens, Layton stated that "I think he was misquoted, but the only way for lasting peace is to talk with the Martians and exchange ideas" adding that "Canadians have a long history of peace making in space."

William Shatner could not be reached for comment.

From the Anthill Sept 15th

I am sure the good folks at Disney and their shareholders are extra happy today after Rosie O'Donnell made this comment on the View. Nothing screams good business practices like comparing the beliefs of a majority of your customers/audience with those of repressive murderous thugs.

-------

Some Muslims are upset at the Pope for quoting a conversation 600 years old. Which begs the question; If someone now quotes the Pope quoting someone else, will they be subject to the same rage from members of the religion of peace?


Some things require no comment: A quote from Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam who said "Anyone who describes Islam as a religion as intolerant encourages violence". h/t SDA
-------

Carolyn Bennett has dropped out the race for 'leader of the opposition'. Won't someone please think of the children? She is now throwing her support and her hopes of future cabinet work behind the NDP, err I mean Bob Rae.

At least she is consistant and like all Liberals always stand by their words.

-----------

Opinion vs news Sept 18th Link

Going back to work in Ottawa

Today, Mike Lake our MP for Edmonton-Millwoods-Beaumont heads back to Ottawa to represent the good people of the riding who elected him by more than 17,000 votes over the nearest challenger in the January 23, 2006 election.

Meanwhile back in Edmonton; Tim Uppal appears to be working in the shadows on his bid to challenge Mike for the CPC nomination in the riding.


The optics on this do not look too good from where I am sitting.

Call Guinness, it might be a record.

From what I have seen of the NDP convention this weekend I think it is safe to say that the name Bush was spoken more times by the NDP delegates than it was at the Republican National Convention.


Before we call Guinness to claim a new record, I suggest we wait for the Liberal leadership convention to come to an end first. They just might beat the recent mark set by the NDP.

NDP convention thoughts

The NDP are having their national convention this weekend in Quebec City, and while this would not normally interest me, some of the recent news surrounding the NDP might just make this thing entertaining.

Must see, moonbat TV!!

The usual socialist speeches and much blogged about draft policies will make the convention worthy of attention by themselves, but there is something else that will be worth paying attention to.


Keynote speaker, Malalai Joya From the NDP website "Malalai Joya is the youngest member of the Afghan National Assembly. First elected in 2005, she won the second highest number of votes to represent the Farah province. She is a leading activist for women’s rights in her home country and heads the nongovernmental group, “Organization of Promoting Afghan Women’s Capabilities.” will be speaking at the convention.

I am not too sure how this will play out considering Jack Laytons latest yelps about pulling out our troops from Afghanistan and negotiating with the Taliban, but I cannot see Joya being of the same opinion as Jack on this one. The fact that this brave woman, who is living with threats of death from the Taliban, knows more about the situation in her homeland than Jack and the entire NDP caucus combined is not in question, the question is.....

Will the delegates listen?

Stay tuned, same moonbat time, same moonbat channel.

Back to the drawing board, moonbats!

Al Jazeera aired a video of the preparations for the Sept. 11 attacks in which Osama bin Laden can be seen meeting with some of the planners and hijackers in Afghanistan. The video included the statements of two of the hijackers, Wail al-Shehri and Hamza al-Ghamdi.

Video here CBS NEWS

Another bad day in moonbat land as it is now time to update the conspiracy theories yet again.

This new video does not mesh well with the explosives theory or the many that suggest that somehow the Bush administration orchestrated the entire thing.





Hmmm, maybe Bush was in cahoots with Osama?*

Yea, that's the ticket. How else can you explain how he has yet to be captured?


*Conspiracy theory copyright to Alberta Ardvark, all rights reserved.

Update: Now it looks like Al Jazeera might be in on it as well if you can believe Eric Margolis.

Not that you can or would want to believe Margolis about anything as he has always maintained that there is no evidence of Bin Ladens part in 9/11, but trying to blame Bush for the timing of this video goes beyond looney. Spin moonbat, spin.
H/T to Greg at Political Staples

Jack is at it again

As most of you already are aware, Jack Layton has called for the withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan.

In my opinion this is not just stupid policy it is flat out pandering to the FAR left for votes.

Jack I know you are a bit worried about the Greens and their new leader sniping some voters from you, but you really don't have to pander to those on the far left as they live and breath the socialist crap you spew and are going nowhere. However, you should worry about losing those with some common sense in your camp who see this statement for what it really is.

Good luck with this and some of the other proposed polices at the convention.

Sept13/06 UD Why JL might call for us to pull out of the UN. courtesy of Daimnation.

Another NDP MP goes against the grain.

Nomination update - Edmonton Millwoods Beaumont

Still nothing official as of yet, as no dates have been set by the party brass with regards to the potential nomination race in Edmonton-Millwoods-Beaumont (EMB), but that doesn't mean that all is quiet.

EMB MP Mike Lake was on Dave Rutherford yesterday and was speaking about the nomination race. You can catch it in the audio vault here (August 30th, 10am) If your local Corus station carries Rutherford, the segment should be in their audio vault; just adjust the time accordingly to time zone changes. FYI: The audio vault only holds programs for 30 days.

An article in the Hill Times dealing with races can be found here, with the second half of the article dealing with EMB.

-------------------------------------------------------

My initial thoughts on the situation are here in a post I made on the 17th, and as of today my opinion really hasn't changed as I still believe that you should not be challenging an incumbent MP without just cause or reason.

I will be blogging much more on the EMB situation and some other nomination related issues as time permits in the near future. Until then I again offer up some questions to any potential challengers to Mike Lake:

Why are you running for a position to represent your party and the people of EMB against the very person the party nominated earlier and already has been elected by the good people of EMB as their MP in Ottawa?

Who really benefits from your running as the CPC candidate for EMB?

And what would these benefits be?

----------------------------------------------------

If anyone in Edmonton-Millwoods-Beaumont is interested in purchasing a party membership to help keep our current MP Mike Lake as the candidate for the CPC please call 465-6415.

Duped

It would seem that Jason Kenney was duped into speaking at a rally organized by Iranian supporters of a banned terrorist group. The rally on Parliament Hill on April 6th appears to have been organized by the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the political wing of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI). The PMOI is one of the names used by the MEK, or Mujahedin-e-Khalq, an Iranian rebel group formally designated as a terrorist organization by the governments of Canada in May 2005, the United States and the European Union.

By reading the above linked article from the Star, it is clear that Mr.Kenney had no idea that he was speaking with a group listed as a terrorist organization, and states "I guess I was stung."


The criticism has already begun and although I think the comparison between this and the recent comments by Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj are not really valid, it does cause me some concern.

Before anyone starts in on me for being an apologist, give it a rest as these 2 events are not the same, nor are the motives.

The MPs on the Hezbo-tour were fully aware of what they were saying and about which group/s they were speaking about. The supposed apology from BW was to and for the Liberal party for the damage he had caused, but he never repudiated his comments about Hezbollah or the one about Israel practicing 'state terrorism', showing that he still does not get it. Kenney on the other hand did something without knowing all of the facts.

Does this excuse Kenney? In my opinion it does not.

He has a responsibility to make damn sure that he knows who he is speaking to. A google search won't cut it, and asking a group representative if his buddies are bad people or good people is not the most accurate ways to get at the truth about the matter. In my opinion this is a case of poor judgement and not doing the work required to make sure something will not come back to bite you in the ass in the future. I hope he enjoys the teeth marks, and uses them to remember to exercise much better judgement in the future.


A bit off topic, but how was it that this group managed to set up on Parliament Hill anyway? Is some kind of permit not required for these types of things or is it a free for all? I am wondering because if the RCMP or who ever looks at security/permits etc allowed this 'banned' group to set up, how was Kenney to know?

Updates;

From where I sit the Star took some liberties with the truth on this one, as the links to any banned group were very thin indeed. This helps explain why the RCMP had no issues with the rally because the group was not on the list.

This didn't stop the Liberals from trying to make a story out of it and dropping Stockwell Day into the mix as well, but all would not be so clean cut as it turns out there are a few Liberals also knee deep in this mess. Here is a nice example of not standing behind what you say.

In the end this was a non story. I have received comment that I was too hard on Jason Kenney as he really did do nothing wrong, and I do agree he did nothing wrong. However I still stand by what I wrote above. When even non stories like this can be used by those who will do almost anything to see the CPC damaged, extra caution must be used to avoid placing yourself into these type of situations where doubt can be cast. It was poor judgement and I hope lessons were learned.

I also learned a few things as well, including not treating a Star article as real news.

The Liberal Party of Canada will self destruct in...

5, 4, 3, .... Ok, this may not be entirely the truth but the LPC certainly are taking plenty of self inflicted hits as of late over their position on Israel.

From the moment Bill Graham opened his mouth in an attempt to re-write history and policy, the LPC have continued to show why they are not fit to govern this country anytime soon. We have MPs and others resigning, in-fighting among liberal party members / bloggers, differing views from the leadership candidates, and just a general lack of any type of discipline, policy or leadership on the subject. It has been a total disaster for the Libs, and I doubt that it is even close to being over.

Very entertaining from my side of the fence, and I hope the wife cashed the childcare cheque this month as good entertainment requires refrehments.

A quick note as I watch Bill Graham's live news conference from the Liberal caucus. Mr Graham just stated that wars and military force have "never" resolved any conflict world wide. I am starting to wonder if this guy is for real, as he seems to have forgotten about a couple of world wars and the sacrifice made by our armed forces in resolving those conflicts. It just keeps getting better and better.

More on the Liberal leadership from the Globe and Mail and a couple of funny links dealing with the Liberals on the middle east.


the clock continues to count down

Trouble in Edmonton-Millwoods-Beaumont?

I was having a few quiet moments in my 'basement bunker' earlier today, and as usual the TV was on in the background tuned to CTV Newsnet for the latest. David Akin came on and talked about some of the upcoming CPC nomination contests and my attention shifted to what he was saying. He started out talking about Garth Turner and the challenge he is facing in his riding as well as a few others that may be challenged for their opinion on the ssm issue. Nothing really unexpected as this has been discussed before and I was aware of the situations, but then he dropped something of a bombshell that I was not aware of.

Mike Lake the sitting MP from my riding, Edmonton-Millwoods-Beaumont, would likely face a challenge for the riding. My initial thought was a nice simple WTF? I did a little checking and while the date of the nomination meeting has yet to be set and therefore the potential challengers have yet to declare their intentions, David Akin might be correct in his story that Mike could be facing a challenger. He also might be correct in his categorization of these challengers being "sore losers".

I am having a hard time with the concept of ousting a sitting MP without a damn good reason. With this in mind, why Mike Lake? Has he done something out right wrong, unethical, or so damaging politically that he might not be re-elected in the riding? Does he have ideas that run contrary to party policy, or spoken out against these same ideals? Has he not done his job as MP for the people of Edmonton-Millwoods-Beaumont, or represent their views and concerns in Parliament?

From where I sit I can find no fault with the rookie MP that would justify his removal as the CPC candidate in this riding. There was that Oiler playoff game that he attended with the PM that caused a little rustle in the trees of a few in the political blogging community, but I highly doubt that this non story would be held against him by the voters or within the party.

So if it isn't his performance so far as both an CPC member or MP, what could it be? I honestly have no idea and would greatly encourage those considering running against Mike to let me know why they are taking this course, and answer the following questions:

First off, why are you running for a position to represent your party and the people of EMB against the very person the party nominated earlier and already has been elected by the good people of EMB as their representative?

Who really benefits from your running for the CPC candidate for EMB? The party, the riding, or yourself?

And how or what are these benefits?



I await your answers.




------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update: Aug 19.

Still waiting.

Lots going on with other MP nominations as well and if you are looking for for a great resource please visit Blue Blogging Soapbox . Lots more drama to come no doubt.

All's Quiet on the Mid-Eastern Front....

and a few other thoughts.

It looks like the cease fire has taken hold, and now plenty of people are doing a post game analysis of rating the war and or trying to go all Nostradamus by predicting the future in the region. Who won? Who lost? What about Iran and Syria? Who has this hurt politically, but maybe more important, who has gained? How long will ......... (insert subject here) take? Will it last?


I will have more on this subject at another time, but this resolution and ceasefire looks a bit too much like Pirates of the Caribbean 2 for me. The only reason it exists is just to provide some context for the next, and perhaps final movie.


**For all of you who had Fidel in one of the many DeathWatch type internet pools are out of luck for this year, better luck next year. I have always had a soft spot for Fidel. He always looks so happy in his little green outfits, smoking some big fat stogie, smiling and waving to all his cheering fans; Trudeau seemed to like him and it would seem some DNA was passed on from dear old dad as Alexandre Trudeau made some favorable comments on Castro earlier this week.


**Disclaimer** I am conveniently avoiding the Communist dictator and human rights stuff from this post to appease the left side of my brain. Some say that the left side of the brain is more analytical, while the right side is what is used to function at tasks. I guess it is kind of like politics where the left have plenty of lofty ideas that never seem to come to fruition, while the right actually get things done. My apologies, but for good health and brain maintenance, it is good to air out some of the stuff the left side of the brain comes up with o couple times a year or more.


You would think the PM committed murder for all the ranting going on about him not attending the conference this week in Toronto. Peter Worthington sums it up nicely here and it reflects my thoughts on the matter quite nicely thank you. I guess Richard Gere carries more weight with the press than I gave him credit for; it is too bad he didn't follow through on his commitments and actually move to Canada after GWB was re-elected. OOPS, that was Alec Baldwin, I get my washed up actors confused at times. Again I offer my apologies.

Quote of the week

"The truth is that if tomorrow all the Arab states put down their weapons, there would be no more war. If tomorrow Israel put down all its weapons, there would be no more Israel." Steve Samuel.

Source

Doctored Photos and other BS

LGF has a must see of doctored pictures from Reuters showing Beirut, or rather someone's photo shopped version of Beirut.

I think that this will get some play in the MSM tomorrow, but Reuters will claim they were duped, apologize and expect it to go away after a day or so. I suspect though that it will be around a bit longer than they want it to.



More from the wacky media today: Slick editing picked up nicely by Stephen Taylor.

CBC doing what they do best



the CBC regrets the above story ----added Aug22

____________________________________________

Updates: Aug 7-8

Perhaps more doctored photos from the same photographer, before he was first suspended and then fired by Reuters.

This is the Reuters statement on the Beirut picture that started it all. Note that at this point the photographer responsible, who how had received a bonus for the his work with the Qana pictures, here and here, was only suspended and not yet fired.

Not much from the MSM at this point besides the Reuters story reprinted by other MSM.
(at the time of this post only 34 matches on Googlenews search for Reuters dealing with this story, of which only 5 of these would I define as MSM sites.)


Update Aug 9th: This could become a full time job updating this post if the blog world continues to expose suspect photos.

And so the story continues.

The MSM can not be enjoying this at all.

Aug10th update:

Video of the now famous 'Green helmet' as director from German TV

Building destroyed July 18th, or perhaps July 24th, or maybe it was August 5th?

Aug23-24: Adding yet more as the blogosphere continues to show up the MSM for again not doing their jobs.

Fake Ambulance Attack

All your fakes are.... ht Stephen Taylor

The Liberal position on Israel

So what is or even was the position of the LPC on Israel? Listening to Bill Graham and some of the leadership candidates it would seem that not taking sides or being neutral is the Liberal way, but how accurate is this?

Lets take a short look back:

"If anyone was concerned about Paul Martin's position on Israel, they needn't have worried. Speaking at a dinner in Ottawa recently, the prime minister gave an absolute endorsement of Israel's right to exist and to defend itself."I want to let you know that in Canada we will not, nor will we ever, waiver in our support of Israel," said the prime minister to a standing ovation. "We believe strongly and incontrovertibly in Israel's right to protect itself from people bent on destroying it."

Link here :well worth the effort to read.

Here is a little gem from the same story:

" A dinner highlight was the Premier's Tribute, honoring four former premiers for "their steadfast support for Israel and enduring friendship to the Jewish community." Lucien Bouchard was recognized for "publicly expressing his admiration for the determination, values and accomplishments of the state of Israel" and "for fostering a strong friendship between Quebecers and Israelis."

So how is that friendship thing working out?


This from another Martin speech

"For this reason, we are please to note that increasingly the global community is coming to recognize, each in its own way, what we have understood in Canada for some time now that Israels values are Canadas values, shared values of democracy, the rule of law and the protection of human rights."


The Liberal position on Israel? I haven't quite figured it out yet, but once they get it figured out I am sure we will be the first to know. That is, of course public opinion polls say otherwise and it again becomes time for a re-write. It is no wonder that long time supporters are now leaving the LPC.

It has been awhile...

It has been awhile since I last blogged or have followed the news, did I miss anything?

While I was away I did learn that Oprah isn't gay, but also found out that Lance Bass is. Wow, who would have thunk it? I don't normally keep up with the celebrity news but with blockbuster stories like these it would have been impossible not to have heard the oh so important news.

I have also been hearing a little about the tragedy that is now occurring in the mideast. From what I have gathered from the MSM; Israel is committing all sorts of war crimes against humanity and the poor peaceful freedom loving civilians of Lebanon, all under the direct orders of George Bush and his neo-con buddy Stephen Harper. I have also gathered that Beirut now resembles Berlin in May of '45 and that the only hope to end this massive spectacular and of course majorly disproportionate response from Israel would be another successfully intervention from the savior of the world, the UN.

While I was initially hoping that Canada would have maintained its longstanding and historical position of being neutral, but Alexa has informed me that horse has left the barn because Stephen Harper has chosen sides between the State of Israel, and the social club known to us as Hezbollah. Tsk, tsk, tsk Mr. Harper; if you do not remember your roots in the Alliance party at least please look on page 3 of the secret agenda and remember that your supporters are junior nazis and can never support the Jews.

What indeed has become of the PM I thought I knew? At least the Liberals have a clear and concise position on the subject, while you continue to keep making decisions based on opinion polls rather than what is right.

I am just thankful that I got to listen to CBC radio while I was away on vacation, or else I might not be as well versed on the facts of the current situation as I am, and can only hope that more of my tax dollars can be directed to help out with Canada's national broadcaster so others can be so enlightened.

4 Canadians Killed in Afghanistan

This is not the first blog entry I had in mind when I returned from vacation


CTV story here

From the Anthill June, 29th

It has been awhile since I last made a blog entry due to the fact that I am trying to stay as far away from my computer as possible while the weather is nice and our short Canadian summer season starts. It is also the time of year where I enter into urban warfare or perhaps better described as the great undeclared battle with my neighbors over who has the nicest lawn. A sad state of affairs indeed, but it does keep me out of trouble and despite the fact that my wife has astutely pointed out that I seem to have morphed into my own yard obsessed father, I do enjoy spending as much time outside as possible putzing around the yard. Now if only I could find away to get rid of that fairy ring I could die a happy man.

This upcoming Canada Day marks the first day of the lowering of the much hated GST to 6% from the current 7%. Any day that my taxes are lower automatically makes it a great day, but add in some fireworks, a BBQ, some nice weather, and of course some fine icy cold Canadian made beer (now cheaper with the tax cut) it just might be the best Canada Day ever.


I was going to comment on a few other issues today, but screw it. I am in too good of a mood to bring myself down discussing all the crap out there, so instead I wish you all a good day and have a great long weekend!

So now it is off to the fridge for one of my last over taxed beers, and then outside to set up the sprinkler so the kids can run around and cool off a bit while I do some recon of my urban battlefield.

June 23rd Bits

Todd Bertuzzi was traded to the Florida Panthers

I think this was a wise move for both the Canucks and Bertuzzi as the Steve Moore incident will always be hanging over his head no matter how long he plays or where his career in the NHL takes him. Florida is not Canada, and he has a much better shot at making a fresh start down there then in Vancouver or anywhere else in Canada. I wish him all the best in Florida.

---------

Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay does the right thing.

His response to the Iranian Justice Ministers claim of libel is classic.

"Take me to court. Come to Canada and face it in the justice system, if that's what he believes. I don't put a lot of faith in what the Iranian justice minister has to say, frankly."

This government continues to do the right thing and I think everyday more and more people are seeing the differences between how it is now vs how it was for 13 years of Liberal rule. Standing up for Canada was not just an election slogan.

-----------

Opposition funk or finally facing reality?

I do not care what standards you are using, I doubt anyone could honestly grade the Liberals as being an effective opposition so far. They are in disarray and I do believe that it is going to get much worse before it gets better for the LPC.

--------------

Martin's office gets an additional $140,000 to run his office

I understand that there might be some added costs with this rare type of situation, but I have just one question.

Just how many times did Mr.Martin show up in Parliament this past session?

More pay for less work. Buzz would be proud

Rona comes out swinging.

Today in question period Environment Minister Rona Ambrose was firing back at the opposition, who had tried to pass a motion calling for her to resign, by daring them to force an election over climate change.

Article here HT to the good Doctor

“I say, ‘Bring it on,’” Ambrose said Thursday in the House of Commons, responding to a question from the Bloc Quebecois. “Our government, in four months, is miles better than the 13-year Liberal record and the non-record of the Bloc.”

“This government has never rejected Kyoto. We have never pulled out of Kyoto. We are working within the Kyoto protocol,” she said before the House rose for its summer break. “What we are doing is putting a reasonable, achievable, affordable domestic plan in place that will ensure that the mess that the Liberals made out of Kyoto over the last 13 years will be addressed and we will make a success out of our made-in-Canada plan.”

I sure am going to miss this stuff as Parliament takes a break for the summer. While I may not be happy about the forced political detox, I think there will be more than a few Liberals who are very much looking forward to having some time off away the daily grind in Ottawa and their poor performance so far.

I hope they enjoy the summer because when they get back in the fall, I think things are only going to get worse for the LPC.

Interesting politics

I am not sure what the NDP were trying to do with their motion, in the Commons environment committee, which called for the resignation of Environment Minister Rona Ambrose. While the real reasons remain a mystery, it sure made for some interesting politics.

The NDP do not like Rona, we all get it, but a committee is not the place to decide who should be in cabinet, nor is it the place to play 'rate the minister'. No matter who is in government, some or dare I say most of the opposition are not going to be happy with the choice of cabinet ministers or agree with all of the governments policy. This is a given fact, so this motion was a joke and I am happy that Prime Minister Harper put a stop to the games by making the issue a confidence motion and that the Liberals came on side.

I am having a hard time believing that the NDP thought that this motion would succeed, which begs the question: Were the NDP really after Rona or were they trying to smoke out the Liberals into publicly supporting the government?

After the shots that the Liberals have taken at the NDP this week in question period it wouldn't surprise me that this might have been the intention all along. It would however surprise me if Stephen Harper and Jack Layton cooked this one up in a hotel room somewhere to screw the Liberals; but i figured I will just throw that one out there for the foil hat folks to ponder.

The spin on this has been entertaining to watch so far with the Liberals claiming that it was not because they are leaderless and do not want an election that they supported the
government, as well as the old tired accusations of it is the other guy who is in bed with the government. I get so confused with who is "in bed" with the CPC thing. The Libs say the NDP are in bed because they helped send the Martin government to the history books, the NDP say the Liberals are as they supporting Rona Ambrose, and both of them say the Bloc are because they were going to support the budget, but yet neither the Libs or the NDP voted against it.

Maybe it is time for a bigger bed.

Official notice

Edmonton will be closed today from the hours of 6:00 pm until approx 10:00 pm for game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Thank you for your co-operation, and go Oilers!!!

Update: The city has now returned to normal operations, thank you.


Although I cannot say I am happy with the results from game 7, I can say that I am proud of what the Oilers have done in this years playoff run. About the only thing that was missing from this incredible story was a fairytale ending as the Hurricanes stepped up and wrote a different ending by being the better team.

The Oilers barely made the playoffs and were not given much of a chance of advancing far by anyone but their own, loyal unto the end supporters, yet they showed talent and true character by keeping the dream alive up until the final minutes of game 7.

Good job, and on behalf of hockey fans everywhere I thank you for making this years playoffs very entertaining.

June 15th thoughts

No reply yet from Elections Canada to my question, so it looks like I have to wait until Tuesday when I get a few hours to play phone tag with the bureaucracy known as the federal government before I can get what I need.

The Oilers have forced a game 6 and Carolina are strating to look a bit worse for wear. I do not think they look forward to seeing Torres again this Saturday night at Rexall., muhahahahaha (evil laugh)

One game at a time guys, it can be done.

Can someone explain to me why the GG couldn't attend the birthday celebrations for her boss? This is not cool on so many levels.

A few links HERE and HERE on our future if we keep going as we are. We have one advantage on our side on this subject; we can watch what is happening in Europe now and see what we are in store for if we don't wake up.

Edmonton city council are looking at giving themselves a wage and benefit increase, and of course they have an independant report that states they should have the increase, a report that supports their position is always convenient isn't it. From where I sit my taxes have gone up every year that I can remember, and I have my doubts that this raise is deserved when looking at some of the stuff my money has been spent on, but they have a study so it can be justified to the masses.

It is always entertaining watching how anyone justifies giving themselves a raise, and Ward 1 Councillor Linda Sloan made me laugh tonight with something she said on the local news. She pointed out that she could make more money working as a Registered Nurse than she does on council based on the number of hours she puts in. Holy crap!! You didn't know what kind of salary you would be making on council before you left the critically short staffed nursing profession for a career in politics? Oh hang on, you were a Liberal MLA before running for council, so why the comparison to what an RN makes when you could compare yourself to a MLA. Apples and oranges Linda, and if it is that important that your hourly wage be higher perhaps you can go back to hands on nursing care where that high wage is not only justified, but earned with hard work by nurses 24 hours a day, 365 days a year all over this province. With you being a former leader of a nurses union, I am surprised you would do this unless somehow you think councillors work harder than your average RN?

Go Oilers

I am awaiting a response to a question from elections Canada to a little question I had. When I get that back I might have something very interesting to post, but until then.....


GO OILERS!!!!!!!!

When did it happen?

I know that not many people are even paying attention to the leadership race other than, a hungry media, political junkies like myself, and a hand full of children enthralled with a certain candidate, but from what I have seen so far, this is not the same Liberal party that I once voted for. (A big confession that I hope will not cause myself to lose my key to the BT bathroom)

My question is this:

When did the LPC get taken over by their 'more left leaning' members?

The enemy within

On CBC earlier tonight The National had a segment entitled "The Enemy Within". It dealt with what Britain and Holland are doing about the 'Islamic threat' and how multiculturalism has failed as a policy; all from the perspective of a Canadian and our 'views' on the subject. I figured it was going to be a fluff piece or a slam so I figured I would raise my blood pressure and watch it.

Was I surprised. Yes Mark Kelley went in with all the 'liberal/Canadian' values you could expect from a CBC correspondent and he was upfront about it, even throwing out all the cliche's about how Canadians think multiculturalism is above reproach, and to be against it would be racist. From what I just wrote you might figure how the report would have progressed, but much to my surprise it was a very well done piece about how the situation in Europe is forcing changes in opinion on multicuturalism, integration and immigration policy.

The part that I found interesting was that our Canadian values, many of which were borrowed from Europe, were the same values that many of those interviewed once held, but the reality of what we see in all of our daily papers has made some of the most tolerant people on earth change their views on multiculturalism. Dutch MP Geert Wilders did a good job of summing it up nicely after being told that they have racist policies and that he has lost his tolerance; 'if we want to keep our tolerance...after decades of ignorant policy....we should learn to be intolerant to the intolerant, and if we do that we can keep our tolerance.'

This sounds like great advice that I am sure will be called racist by the left, you know the ones that would be the first to lose rights under Islamic law but yet support the terror from within, but if the Islamists can do this to the very tolerant Dutch peoples opinions, it deserves a re-think while we still have the chance.





Here is a link that I think will disappear tomorrow. I anyone can find a more permanent link it would be appreciated.

Link

Hello, this is reality calling........wake up!

I was away from all things electric for a few days and have yet to comment on the foiled terror attacks this past weekend.

My first thoughts were of the good job that the various law enforcement agencies did on this matter. It is hard to quantify the possible effects of what could have been had these clowns managed to succeed in their plans; property damage can be costed but not the effects of the unknown number of lives saved. Thank you.

So much has been blogged on the subject that it will take me some time before I can view what others are saying on all sides of the political spectrum, and I can comment more, but I will leave you with another of my initial thoughts.

Is this the wake up call or do we have to wait for one of these groups to succeed before we end all the political correct bullshit and confront the problem

NDP MP voting against the gun registry.

This is the kind of thing an MP should be doing, that is to KEEP his promise to those who elected him.

Something you do not see everyday from the opposition benches, and I just hope that that JL sees it the same way and doesn't boot him out one way or another.

Think of the Children

A few examples of how liberals "think of the children'.

The Liberal Daycare (non) plan. The nanny state truly becomes the nanny state as the Liberals think that somehow unionized daycare workers can do a better job than parents. Thinking of the children and how they can get their hands on them early.

The age of consent: The Liberals voted against raising the age of consent in the past on more than one time which is in opposition to general public opinion and numerous childrens advocacy groups. Thinking of the children takes on an entire different meaning.

Money: It looks like the Liberal party condones children as young as 11 years old donating money to leadership contenders. Think not only of the children but also of their money.

Child Porn: Remember the John Robin Sharpe case, and how the court rewrote the law and applied a loophole for artistic reasons. Then Federal Justice Minister Anne McLellan said she was 'delighted' the top justices upheld the law – calling the exceptions "extremely narrow" and the ruling "a clear victory for the children of our country." I am sure many who often think of children were very happy with this and your decision NOT to change the law to plug the loopholes.


Sentence too harsh: In a 2-1 ruling on Tuesday, the court ruled the man's crimes were not among the worst sexual assaults ever committed, and agreed to reduce his sentence from 15 years to nine. This from a Liberal appointed Judge who is thinking that child rape is not violent "There was no violence, such as gagging, threatening or hitting the child," Judge Lise Côté wrote.


So when you think of the Liberal Party of Canada, think of the children or how THEY think of the children.

The future with the Liberal daycare plan

And you thought this was a disruption

This would be the future for childcare in Canada if the Liberal childcare (non) plan was introduced. Unionized childcare workers could pull the plug at anytime and disrupt the lives of countless parents and children with strikes like the TTC fiasco earlier this week. Of course they would be "doing it for the children'' and never for their own benefit, but that would be the future if the LPC plan ever beacme reality.

Remember when...

Remember when you were a teenager and had $5400 or any other amount of money. I know the first thing I wanted to do was to contribute to a leadership candidate, how about you?

Update: it would seem the children were not teenagers but only 11 years old when they decided that out of the 11 Liberal leadership candidates JV was the man they would be supporting. I hope that now clears everything up.

Liberal kids show

"Good morning boys, girls and those genderly challenged.''

"We have a busy day on Liberal Street today; Dr. Bennett will be coming for a little visit to discuss why most of you will be going to prison because your mommies keep you at home, and later she will be talking with Farmer Ron about his rash. Sounds like Farmer Ron didn't take his medicine doesn't it kids.''

"Oh look, here comes Postal Person Pat with an envelope. You know what that means... thats right, it's the the word of the day. Thank you Pat, have a liberal day.''

"Gather around children and lets see what todays word is". (opens up envelope) "Oh my, todays word is a big one, but one very important to the message so lets try to use it often.''

"Todays word is PETULANT. Can anyone use this in a sentence? Ok little Scotty, you can go ahead.''

"The Prime Minister is being petulant" (approx 04:00 mark)


''Thank you, Scotty that is a very good sentence and one we should use as often as we can and we should encourage others to use it as well, and Scotty thank your Mom for bringing in the popcorn for all of us today as well as a few adult beverages for the crew.''

(Loud roar from the Union Crew)

''Now children it is important to stay on message, and keep reminding everyone of how the PM is petulant. Don't worry if you do not know what it means just keep using it and eventually everyone will start to agree with us and then we can return a Liberal government to its rightful place and we here on Liberal Street can get more funding to help shape the future minds of our youth, promote Canadian values, and I can finally get that condo on Spadina."

"Before we go to a commercial break, I should tell you about the winner of last months creative writing contest. Little Timmy Naumetz won with his entry about the PM and his RCMP motorcade. Timmy managed to mention Bush and Harper together in a story that really had nothing to do anything other than a vehicle purchase. Now thats creative writing at its best, and he deserves to win this months "brown paper bag of entitlements", which was just picked up by Postal Person Pat and is now on its way to his house. Thats a tip to all of you out there; if you can use the word petulant and somehow tie in George W. Bush as well, it would make your entry even more likely to be next months winner. Good luck, and we will be right back with an Uncle Iggy cartoon after this...."

Cut to commercial.

Irony at the ACLU

It would seem the ACLU wants to limit the free speech of its board members.

File this under the "You know when you jumped the shark when..."

Media admits to biased reporters

Well almost.

In a story about the press gallery walking out of the PM's press conference on Darfur, the Toronto Star runs this quote "We can't accept that the Prime Minister's Office would decide who gets to ask questions," said Yves Malo, a TVA reporter and president of the press gallery. "Does that mean that when there's a crisis they'll only call upon journalists they expect softball questions from?"

Yves, are you telling Canadians that some of your upstanding press colleagues may be biased by not asking the tough questions? That they may have an agenda of their own while they are working as professional members of the fourth estate?

Say it ain't so Yves, say it ain't so.

For the (American style) President of the PPG to think so little of those he represents does not speak well of Mr. Malo and I wonder if he is willing to answer a tough question himself and name names of who he thinks will ask the quoted 'softball questions'.


Update: I have yet to get a reply to my email I sent Mr. Malo asking the above question.

Cry me a river

The parliamentary press gallery walked out of a news conference today on Darfur.

Good for them, and I think all Canadians will support the press on this so very important issue. I mean who gives a damn about Darfur or what our government does, it is more important that the press is happy and under no rules than it is for them to get news out to Canadians.

In case anyone is wondering the previous statement does not reflect reality in anyway what so ever, but was expressed more as a wish of the press in their dream world. Canadians do not give a rats A@@ about the press other than for them to do their damn jobs and quit the freaking whining. Suck it up and do your job.

Layton full of it

It would seem that Jack Layton has scooped the MSM, and they cannot be happy about it as they are not reporting his findings. He states in a CTV Question Period interview that India and China are going to come on board with targets set after 2012 for Kyoto. I have an idea why they are not reporting this and it is because it is BS!

He also states that "Rona Ambrose is not telling the truth" that the majority of those countries that took on targets for Kyoto will not meet them. My question to anyone who happens to read this is, can anyone support Laytons above statements with facts? From what I have read I think it is clear who is not telling the truth.




Layton doing what he does best

Have a watch and see BS in action.

THe Black SUV and the Moron

It would seem that this story is somehow news, or maybe it is just another moron trying to link the PM to Bush at each and every turn. I hope they are happy with this tactic but the Harper is scary angle is wearing very thin with Canadians who are seeing something much different from our PM.

Take a look at this little sentence at the end of the article.

"Officials at the Defence Department and Emergency Preparedness Canada could not say whether security levels have changed because of Canada's decision to engage an army battle group against the Taliban in Afghanistan."

What the hell is this trying to say? Of course they 'could not say', as there is no real question here if this deals with the PM's security; which everyone (including Tim Naumetz) could find out in seconds is the RCMP's job. Security levels for who, what, where? and I will also put 'when' in here as we have been engaging the Taliban for a long time so the time frame is also very vague. The RCMP buy a new truck and Tim Naumetz jumps off the deep end finding comparisons to GW Bush.


How does this pass for journalism outside of a school newspaper?

My apologies to student newspapers everywhere who have higher standards.

Toronto police raids

From the CBC

"About 600 police officers from several forces carried out dozens of raids with "military precision" in northwest Toronto early Thursday in the largest operation of its kind in the city, the police chief says. The pre-dawn raids on up to 60 places resulted in 78 people being charged with offences ranging from attempted murder to drug and firearms trafficking to membership in a criminal gang. "

Good job, I just hope the courts do the right thing as well and hand out more than a slap on the wrist.

The police seized 20 guns during the raids including a couple of full auto weapons (mac 10's).

A couple of questions have to be asked; how many of these guns were registered and would a handgun ban as proposed by former PMPM have worked?


Questions I don't think you will see being asked by the CBC or the Star.


Go Oilers!!

The NDP, standing up for nothing.

Screw the NDP. I have lost what little respect I had for that party after watching the Afghanistan debate and the spin leading up to it earlier today.

There is so much wrong with these guys that I do not know where to start.


Jack Layton wants a vote and when he gets what he asked for he still is not happy.

There was no free vote for NDP as 'Mr. Rights' again didn't allow his own members to vote their own conscience or represent their constituants. The irony of this leftist party denying its own members free thought and action (you know the stuff they preach everyday) should shout out to everyone that the NDP stand for NOTHING. Its so basic that even the average Che t-shirt wearing college student should see it, but alas leftist sheep have no free thought and just go along.

The would have us walk out on our commitments and long standing treaties in this NATO and UN sanctioned mission, yet they scream that Canada will lose face if we step away from the impossible to achieve Kyoto agreement.

Protecting the rights and creating a future for ALL of the Afghan people is not important for the party of womens and everyone elses rights, but somehow Darfur is worthy of sending in our troops. I really want someone to explain this one to me, as I can not see the logic in this line of reasoning.

I am begining to think the only way the NDP would appreciate and respect the military is if they unionize it, pin a few stars on Buzz, and make him Chief of Defense Staff.

------------------------

I have one special comment for Paul Dewer, but I don't think using the F word would be appropriate for this blog. Here are some of his comments (with added emphasis from myself, and my comments below) from the debate tonight via Hansard.


"It cannot be emphasized enough that the NDP fully supports the brave men and women of the Canadian Forces and the important work they are doing around the world. Let us not sink into a debate, a jingoistic ballyhoo, when it comes to the issues of war"

(lets see how long this tone lasts)

" It should be noted that the American Operation Enduring Freedom tactics have been to conduct aggressive search and destroy missions, aerial bombings and all-out offensives against alleged terrorist insurgents for the last four years with absolutely dismal results."

(non jingoist words to inspire our troops no doubt)

"It has to be said that the reason for the delay of the Dutch and the British to join in the south stems from their concerns about the mission. Why? Because of the lack of clarity in the south, which has brought not more security but less"

(Our troops have made things worse? Maybe for the Taliban, but who else?)

"The government has stated many intentions, such as bringing democracy, fighting a war on terror, making Canada safer or allowing girls to attend school. These are laudable goals and they could and at some point should be arrived at, but for now it is not a military objective"

(Do you know what the hell you are talking about? How can any of these goals be arrived at without the military, including the 'war' on terror you just cited?)

"...and as I said before, to not be involved in what has been a failure in the south of Afghanistan."

("Failure" and "Dismal" is how this clown describes what our troops are doing on our behalf and those of the Afghan people. With respect like that who needs enemies?)

Mr Happy

Preston Manning is not going to persue the leadership of the Alberta PC party, and although I would have prefered him to go for it, I wish him well and respect his decision. On this news I think Jim Dinning might have been the happiest guy in Alberta today, or perhaps not as there are also more than a few very happy Oiler fans tonight, but you understand my point.

Double standard ?

If anyone has been paying attention to the MSM this last week they would have seen numerous mentions and criticisms of MP Maurice Vellacott's comment about Justice Beverley McLachlin. The story appeared everywhere as it lead the 3 national tv late news broadcasts and was featured prominently in most newspapers across the country, in other words it could not be missed. I will not fault the media for reporting the story as it is fair game, but please report what the judge did say and let Canadians make up their own mind on the subject.

Now consider this story. An NDP MP says that that he fears police retribution and his leader Jack Layton says Les ( B.C.'s Solicitor General John Les) should spend more time pressing an investigation into the incident than looking for an apology from Cullen. A Canadian MP comes out and says that he fears that the police (RCMP) will illegally retaliate against him and I find the small story on page 25 of the Edmonton Sun today as I eat my breakfast, and so far I have seen nothing on this story on either of the big national tv news networks.

Double standard or not?

They are still at it.

LPC news release

I like this line " In fact, much of the Conservative government’s policy is guided by the right-wing “Calgary School” of thought, which is highly critical of Canada’s judiciary and Charter jurisprudence. "

Booga booga Stephen Harper and all conservatives are out to get you. Vote Liberal.

Judges know best?

I posted about this issue awhile back and now it would seem my fears have become reality. Absolutely unbelievable, but when something goes before a judge you never know what will happen.



Speaking of out of touch judges, this is just plain nuts. He was let off with no jail time after he plead guilty to invitation to sexual touching, four counts of drug trafficking, obstructing justice and two counts of violating a conditional release. Hey judge, great idea you have there; let this criminal off on a conditional release when he so obviously learned his lesson the last time when he was on a conditional release. Its a good thing judges do not have to face voters in this country or you would be out on your ass, and looking for work with the NDP.


And last but not least this little bit of news that is not really news when some important things like facts are left out of the story. Lets see how far the media goes with bringing the New Zealand speech to light in this case so the truth can be known, but do not hold your breath as the CBC is not known to eat much crow itself.

Mail from Bill Graham

Yesterday (Friday) I got a nice bit of Liberal propaganda in the mail from Bill Graham titled "Standing up for Canadian families". I will update more when I get some time, but did anyone else get this bulk mailing as well?

--------------

Sorry about the delay, but the reality of raising children takes precedence over commenting on raising children.

Back to the Liberal propaganda. It basically re-hashes the tired old Liberal lines we have heard before and continues to mislead even on the basics. I will take just one section as an example of what I mean.

"That is why we worked hard with all provinces and territories to create a nation wide early learning and child care system that embraces the shared principles of quality care, universal inclusiveness, accessibility and an emphasis on development and learning."

Big words sound nice, but it is too bad the facts do not back up the statement. This so called system is nothing but a bunch of very different deals, some signed and some just agreements in principle, where what happens in one province may not be the same that happens in another to the point that the money does not have to be even used for childcare. How can anyone claim with a straight face that this is 'universal' is beyond imagination. To be universal it would have to fund the child, each and every child and not just a select few in big urban cities, and definately not the daycare lobby which is pushing for the Liberal plan/s. (they of course use the flawed and very biased YMCA study to support their claims)

The mailing goes on with the usual Liberal falsehoods but I will not bother going into it in detail as it has all been debunked before by bloggers much more versed on the subject than myself, but I will continue to be on the watch for more of this crap as this seems to be the only tune that the Liberals have in their songbook.

Thoughts of the last few days.

When I am on my stretch of night shifts for work, blogging takes a back seat to sleep and I have not been up to date with my posting for the week. Here are some late thoughts.

The torrid pace of the first hundred days continues with the budget on Tuesday and the crime bills tabled Thursday and now Hedy enters the race.

I will comment on the budget tonight, as I have to read the crime bill first and the Hedy stuff can write itself.


In my opinion the budget was not perfect. I have my doubts if a perfect budget could exist in the real world at all, but I do think this budget was pretty good based on real world standards. I also think the average Canadian feels that way as well and will remember come election time.


Most of the positives of the budget have been discussed to death so I will just hit a couple of my favorite bits from the budget to comment on.

GST Cut. Another promise made.

Choice for Childcare: I have always been in favor of this plan and am glad to see it implemented. I also was watching live when Carolyn Bennett made her now famous comments on the Duffy show. My big chance to scoop the blogging world occurred as I was about to leave for work and could post, arggggg.


Relating to prisons and children, there was a little nugget that did not get much press or blog time.

The $ 500 tax deduction for parents to put their children into sports / fitness programs.

I love this program as it will not only promote health in children by getting more of them active with the obvious health benefits which will not only be felt now but well into the future with healthcare costs; it may also keep those prisons a little more empty in the future as well. I am not going to get into all sorts of psycho babble here, but kids active in sports are generally not the ones that go around painting grafitti on buildings nor are they the ones commiting most of the numerous other crimes out there. There are exceptions of course, but my theory is a lot closer to reality than Dr. Bennett's is.

Oh and did I mention that this program will also gives parents a break on their taxes? Always a good thing in my books and those of us trying to raise children.

If you want a real innovative program this is the one, and we should be shouting from the rooftops about it as it shows real, dare I say progressive thinking. While some are banning soft drinks in schools in a misguided attempt to improve kids health, others are coming up with real workable solutions to the problem.

Bravo Mr. Harper!!

The Oil Move On

The Oilers have won their first round series against the leagues best team, the Detroit Redwings.

Now if only Calgary can get their act together we can have an old fashioned battle of Alberta.

John McCallum and a few other thoughts

Yesterday John McCallum got it right. Approx 02:40 in this link

"If we don't make progress in Quebec, we won't be in government until the 22nd century."

Sometimes out of the mouths of Liberals comes wisdom.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I Googled Ken Dryden and was surprised to see this site was on the top above his own website.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Overheard in the PMO the other day: "Jack Layton called and he was not happy that he might have to change the NDP's campaign slogan "Getting results for people" as the CPC has been doing that since coming to power and now it doesn't fit the NDP. He wishes you would be more like the Liberals and not do anything so he can continue to pull the wool over Canadians eyes and look good.

Ok, I must fess up and say the above comment is not true, if anyone did believe it to begin with, but hey I thought it was funny and its my blog.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It is very quiet on the Lib blogs on the softwood lumber settlement. I guess reality has affected other Liberals beside John McCallum.

Have a good weekend everyone

Dryden against democracy?

Another Liberal wants to be leader of the opposition for at least the next 5 years and he has already gotten off to a great Liberal start.

Today he said:

"I'm running because the day after election day I was mad. For 18 months we had worked on something that mattered -- a national system of early learning and child care. And then it was gone."

He than goes on to talk about the CPC policy and adds this gem: "Calling it 'universal' is a debasement of the language."... "It is a fundamental misuse of language," he said, referring to the Prime Minister Stephen Harper's election pledge to give parents $1,200 a year per child under age six.

Ok let me get this straight, your 'national system', which is not a system of anything besides giving money away to the provinces in a hodgepodge of seperate unequal and un-uniform deals where to my knowledge no additional child care spaces have yet to be created, was an honest use of language?

Maybe to a Liberal it does make sense, but to Canadians who voted your party and its so called national system out of office it was clear. Go ahead and be mad at democracy and the Canadian voter, but I do not think that it is the best strategy for a politician to insult the system and the voters that he will need to get elected.

Oh by the way, the CPC plan is called choice in childcare and it is universal in that the money promised will go to the parent/s of ALL children under the age of six. That is 100% of the children under 6, not just for the 25% of the 54% of parents that use public daycare. The money will not go into general revenue of a province, to unions, to lobby groups, or anywhere else that the money from your 'national system' would end up at the whim of the provinces.

edit: can anyone give me a link or quote where anyone in the CPC used "universal" to describe the choice in childcare program? I think Mr. Dryden is playing loose with the facts on this.
-----------------
Update: ht to William in the comments section.

I stand corrected on the usage of the word universal as I questioned in the above edit.

I still disagree with Mr. Dryden's opinion about the word usage, as the term 'universal' would apply better to the CPC plan than the Liberal ideas, but we each have our own opinions.

Are you sure you want the job?

Because who ever gets it is going to be on the opposition benches for some time.









Today Canadians were rubbing their eyes in disbelief as they again saw a federal government that actually gets things done. Lulled into a semi concious state for the last 13 years by the undelivered promises of the former Liberal government, ordinary Canadians are beginning to take notice of the new guys, who not only work but are not nearly as scary as they have been portrayed in the past. And I am enjoying every minute of it!!!!


Did anyone see Belinda today sitting behind Bill Graham as he was trying to figure out how to oppose the softwood lumber deal. Here is a tip Bill; you can't, so don't lose what ever credibility you do have left with Canadians by opposing a better deal than the Liberals could manage to negotiate over their long years in power. But I digress and Bill will continue to rant against the deal even though he knows nothing about it and David Emerson will rip him a new one as he knows the entire story from both sides. Again I love it!! But back to Belinda. She looked terrible and very disinterested in the goings on. I hope she is not having second thoughts.


Even the beacon of the left has seen the light.

Just ban it and the problem will go away

HT to Attila Vass for this.

" London politicians moved a step closer last night to making the city the first in Canada to fight graffiti by banning the sale of markers and spray paint to minors. "


It has worked so well with cigarettes and youth, why not.


What goes on in the heads of the people who believe propose this stuff. Try enforcing existing laws before going about creating new ones that will not be enforced either.

More Flag flap

I wonder what all those people who are suddenly so concerned about flag protocol and our military, did on November 11th, 2005?

My guess is that many of the 'concerned' just treated it like another stat day off and went shopping.

MSM bias

No, this is not going to be about the "liberal bias" or the perceived bias of the MSM. My thinking tonight is on how can the MSM approach stories about MSM with any type of objectivness.

Tonights lead story on Global National was about the MSM not being allowed to be at Trenton when some Canadian Heroes make their final trip back to Canada.

It was a story about themselves and the rest of the MSM.

We look to the media to keep an eye on things for us for the most part. They are where the action is while the rest of us are at work, school, home parenting, or what ever it is those I didn't slap into a category fit. The MSM are effectively watchdogs for us and do an effective job, but can the MSM be watchdogs upon themselves when reporting stories about issues dealing directly with the MSM.

From what I have seen so far, I think the MSM is failing miserably.

There is a way that they can do stories about MSM issues, but I doubt the MSM would like my solution as it may shake things up too much if it was implemented. But in the off chance some someone is reading this blog, may I suggest that in the future the MSM acknowledge that stories about themselves should be considered opinion pieces and the audience informed as such.


You cannot be objective when being a watchdog on issues related to yourself. This is not unique to MSM either. Think about it.

But that's just my opinion.

Meat the Oilers

If anyone was watching game 2 of the Detroit Edmonton they saw an interesting event take place series during the Canadian national anthem. Oiler fans throw beef onto the ice.

A couple of radio DJs from Edmonton traveled to Detroit to watch the Oilers first 2 playoff games, but they also had another evil plan. There is a tradition in Detroit where fans throw octupus onto the ice, so these guys figured why not some throw Alberta beef as well to show some support for the good guys.

The plan was set and during game one an attempt was made but the beef never made it onto the ice as it had bounced off the netting and back into the seats. Game 2 was a different story, and a different plan was hatched.

The 2 Djs went into the seats on opposite sides of the arena near center ice away from the protective nets, and at a pre determined time at the end of the national anthem the beef was to be tossed. As the moment approached, Chris Scheetz stood perpared to make the toss even though an arena security guard was looking directly at him and soon pounced as the meat made its way over the glass and onto the ice. Chris was escorted to the bowels of the arena and was soon questioned by some of Detroits finest about the beef toss and eventually escorted out of the building; much to his relief as all sorts of thoughts were going through his head about the possible consequences of his actions.

Going all the way to Detroit and now not being able to see the game was not part of the plan but thankfully the Oilers themselves came to the rescue and managed to get Chris back into the arena where he watched the Oilers even up the series before heading back home to Rexall place in Edmonton on Tuesday.

Never underestimate the power of Alberta Beef.

Go Oilers!!!

Flag flap

Trying to turn the deaths of Canadian soldiers into political gain is just about as low as you can go.

I do not care what Jack Layton or Bill Graham think on the issue, I prefer to listen to what the men and women who serve or have served in the past think and will trust their judgement as to when the flag should be lowered. 80 years of tradition is hard to argue with, but somehow the Liberals screwed that up as well and are now trying to play themselves as supporters of the military contrary to what they have done while in government over the past 13 years.

As the list gets shorter

While it is still very early on in this governments mandate we have already seen much action on policy and the five priorities that the government has set out for itself.

The accountability act has been tabled, the childcare money will be in the next budget along with the GST cut, and just the other day the PM announced some of the get tough on crime policy which will be tabled THIS spring. Not much yet on the healthcare wait time guarantee, but judging by the current pace of this government I suspect it will not be long before we start hearing more on the subject from both the PM and the provinces.

As these get dealt with and become law/policy the list of 5 gets smaller and smaller.

I have but one question......

What happens then?

Waiting for Preston

I think, and hope it will be official very soon.

Where ever you stand on Alberta politics, you cannot argue that with Manning in the race it sure will be interesting.

And that is a good thing.

Who was the dude in that black car?

It has not been the best week of my life by any stretch of the imagination. After already having suffered for 4 days with the worst case of the stomach flu that I can remember I headed out on Thursday for the AACCA Show in Calgary.

The trip started off on a bad note when I hit the gas station to fill up the truck and saw the price of gas had gone up 5 cents overnight; imagine that, an increase happening just before a long weekend. So after having coughed up the extra cash to fill the truck I started out on the drive south and being that I still was not feeling well, it also made the trip a bit more precarious than routine.

Upon arrival I was informed that there was little mistake with the registration that my friend, who was sharing a table with myself, had sent in. The mistake was that it was never received, the cheque was not cashed and we had no table! Months of planning was down the tubes, a truck loaded with stuff that would not see any buyers, a gut that still was not settled, and a paid for hotel room that was no longer needed.

It was on the drive to drop off my friend that it happened. At first I had not noticed anything out of the ordinary, but that is when my friend caught sight of a couple of somewhat innocent looking black cars in the lane beside us as we merged onto into traffic and he said " I wonder who the dude in the black car is?" I looked over at the cars and didn't think much of it as I just wanted to drop him off and get some rest, and as we turned off in another direction it hit me.

It was this guy


I know it is not much of a story, but it was about the only good thing from my recent trip to Calgary. Well that is not entirely true, the show was great as always and for next year I learned to make sure I look after the paperwork myself.

Accountability Act

The Federal Accountability Act was tabled today in Ottawa, and across the country ordinary citizens, who have been used to Liberal rule for the past 12 years, are stunned by the fact that a government might actually do what it had promised during an election campaign.

Belinda is out

It is official, Belinda Stronach is not going to seek the leadership of the LPC, well at least not yet. Her poor French speaking skills are being mentioned by others as the biggest reason for this decision, and this is probably the case but I also suspect she is thinking that unless the CPC totally screw up they are headed for a majority in the next election and being the Liberal leader at this time may not be the best career move. She is not known as a political mastermind, but waiting until next time may prove to be a brilliant political move.


It is too bad that she is not running as I was looking forward to the entertainment value of her being in the race, but all is still not lost as Bob Rae still has the chance to fill the comedy role.

Update: The latest poll numbers If this keeps up Belinda will have made the correct choice and can gain valuable experience sitting on the opposition backbench before her next shot at the leadership. Also the wait until 'next time' will allow her previous association with the CPC to fade away from memory which would have made her a sitting duck this time for her opponents.

Stabbing your friends in the back for fun and profit.

I am not too impressed with the results from the Alberta PC's leadership review vote earlier this week, as I think Ralph deserved much better. After a long and very successful political career leading this province, he does deserve to go out on his own terms as suggested by Danny Wiliams and not be embarrased by those looking for his job and their supporters.

Say what you want it, but it shows no class and puts the entire party in a bad light to those who do not live politics but just know what the MSM tells them in 60 second clips or in newspaper headlines.

I do not know about how you rate values, but loyalty is very high on my list and also on the lists of many other of my fellow Albertans. If one puts his/her own personal gain over loyalty, I not only have to question their entire character but also wonder if they are right for the job and how they ever figure they can command any type of loyalty themselves in the future.

From Jim Dinnings website: "It's no secret that when Party Leader and Premier Klein decides that it's his time to step down, I will put my name forward. I met with the Premier two years ago and I talked with him about that. Said I would compete for the job, when the job comes available. But in the meantime, I'll be a loyal foot soldier, loyal to the leader."

Hmm, thats not how this played out now is it Jim?


Rant over, except for one last thing. The long good bye comparison used by the MSM and bloggers wishing Ralph to move on.

Comparing Ralph Klein to Jean Chretien has been a favorite for MSM and bloggers alike, but please do not leave out the other half of the comparison. Jim Dinning and Paul Martin. Both of them in charge of the public finances during some critical times, both have shown their lust for power by their actions, and both were the 'chosen' ones for their parties.

Keep this one in mind for the future because Martin had no vision once he obtained power, and I can only hope that Dinning will not be the same, but from what I have seen so far I am not counting on it.

Update: It would seem that a few Dinning supporters are not happy with my comments judging by a few recent emails in my in box. Sorry folks but that is how I see it and NOTHING I have seen yet has convinced me otherwise. Ok the Paul Martin thing may have been a bit harsh, but the more I see Dinning the more I think of PM as well as another guy closer to home, Don Getty.

Think about it.