NYCOLE TURMEL....

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING !!!!

First let me say that we are all saddened by Jack Layton's recent diagnosis and wish him well.

That said, anyone expecting his return to Parliament is simply kidding himself.

The issue I want to deal with though - is why in the world did Layton pick Turmel as his stand-in.

Turmel was the fire-brand PSAC Unionist that Shepparded the Pay Equity Settlement that cost the Feds $3.6 Billion - despite the fact that public servants are the best paid workers in the land.

More to the point, she is a Separatist Supporter even during her term as PSAC Leader - you know, PSAC - Canada's major Public Service Union. Conflict of Interest anyone?

With a bunch of rabble in their Caucus - many of whom are blatant Separatists like Turmel herself - Why, would Layton put her in Charge?

Agreed, he is thin on the ground for a replacement - but does have a couple - e.g. Paul Dewar and Libby Davies - who he could count on to provide a more balanced - ie Quebec / Rest of Canada Approach.

I predict Ms. Turmel will pander to the Quebec Caucus and in so doing will turn off the NDP base outside of that Province. Don't forget, it is that base which has stuck with the NDP through thick and thin. The others are simply new-comers who came on board through the unexpected collapse of the BLOC. It remains to be seen how long this new contingent will last but the smart money is that it will not survive the next Election.

In addition when we are speaking about Pandering - Turmel will naturally promote the welfare (?) of the Federal Public Service. Now there is a subject that will warm the hearts of the average Canadian.

So there you have it - some choice.

The odds from the beginning of Layton holding his motley crew together were long - his appointment of Turmel will simply make those odds impossible.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher'

At The Risk Of Losing ...

My Honourable Membership In The Libertarian Party -



I find myself supporting Barrack Obama, in his show-down with Republicans, over the Issue of Raising their Debt Ceiling.



This despite the fact that I have written several Blogs on the out of control US Spending and their Deficit and Debt Levels.



Indeed, I have made several comments to the effect that America is "Dead Broke".



So why my support for their President now?

It certainly has nothing to do with his sound fiscal management. Indeed, the current occupant of the W.H. has increased the debt / deficit levels more than any other in American History. And this is saying something due to the fact that his predecessor - Geo. W. Bush - was no slouch in the spending department either.

Rather, I support Obama's new approach because it has come a long way toward the Republican (read Tea Party) position that Government Spending must be drastically reduced. In fact, Obama's plan calls for 85% in such reductions and 15% tax increases. The Republicans are asking for 100% spending cuts and no tax increases.

So what gives - you thought I oppose tax increases in principle.


Usually I do, but there are two important differences here.


First and most important, America is in desperate financial shape. In my humble opinion, a combination of spending cuts and tax increases are required to address this problem. Neither alone will suffice.

Simply stated, the USA needs to attack the problem on a war footing - all hands on deck so to speak.


Second - Americans are less taxed than Canadians. This is especially true in the case of a national sales tax - the US does not have one, while we in Canada continue to pay GST at a rate of 5%. In addition, Americans are able to deduct their mortgage interest costs from their income. So it cannot be said that they are currently over taxed, at least in comparison with us.

But that said, I am still opposed in general to tax increases. Government has gotten too large - too bureaucratic - too invasive and too wasteful. It is the reason why this crisis has arisen in the first place. But under the current dire circumstances, a rise in taxes are a must.

There is another reason I support Obama's plan and this is a more self-serving one.

If the Republicans continue to refuse his offer and should Obama stand firm, all hell will break out in American Society and the Republicans will be at the receiving end of its Wrath. If welfare/social/ employment cheques stop flowing - look out.

And this will jeopardize the roll that the Republicans have been on since the rise of the Tea Partyers. This roll culminated in their retaking of the House of Representatives this past November and if allowed to continue, will regain them the Presidency next November.

So Galagher - what is going to happen - who will blink first?

I have to agree with most pundits that a last minute deal will be brokered because the effect of default is just too horrendous to contemplate. And since the Republicans have the most to lose, should a deal not be struck - I suspect they will in the end accept the President's offer.

If, on the other hand, the US goes into default - the landscape for the next Presidential will be forever changed along with the likelihood of another major world recession.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher"

Cry Me A River...

Our esteemed Provincial Treasurer, Dwight Duncan, is quoted in today's newspapers as saying 'Ontario Voters are tiring of anti-waste crusades'.

He wishes.

Let's review some of these "Crusades" causing Liberal Initiatives:

• First, was the Health Premium his Boss put in place immediately after his initial Election having promised he "would not raise taxes" during his first term. As memory serves, he even signed an agreement to that effect with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.


• Then there was the $1 Billion Dollar Health Care Boondoggle, followed by the Hydro One Boondoggle whereby hydro user rates doubled and tripled. Of note - hydro users are still paying for "debt reduction" that has been retired some time ago


• And the Green Energy fiasco whereby rates of over 82 cents per kwh were and are paid for wind and solar energy despite the fact that neither source is an effective generator of electricity and despite the fact that Ontario has a major glut of Electricity Production. Indeed, the glut is so large, Ontario has to pay other jurisdictions to take the surplus off our hands. I know - trivial under the circumstances.


• And the PST / GST scandal whereby items not previous taxed by both are now all included in McGuinty's new HST. A real windfall for an alleged revenue neutral exercise.


• There is a long list of items (e.g. paints / tires) where the public is charged eco or green fees and just last year the McGuinty Gov't tried to secretly extend this list but retreated when word got out.

So there is lots of fodder for 'crusades' but as Dwight Duncan so aptly states - it just gets so tiring.

And of course, Ontario is doing so well under the Grits - $16 Billion annual Deficit and $263 Billion in overall Debt and of course Have Not Status.

Ontario for the first time in Confederation History is now 'transfer recipient Province' - what an accomplishment. And, a great source of funding too - now we can cash in on Alberta's largess with the Rest of Canada.

I know, all minor considerations in the scheme of things.

But you cannot fault Duncan for his priorities. In the same article, he is quoted as saying how proud he is that Ontario's Public Service is so "well-paid".

So increasing taxes, out of control debts and well-paid bureaucracies - it is no wonder that taxpayers are tiring of their crusades.

If I were the Treasurer though I might start to consider another line of work after the October Election.

As I see it ...

'K.D. Galagher'

A League of Their Own

AKA - The Alliance For Democratic Nations.





This past October, I wrote a Blog about the need for Democratic Nations to Unite to form a Parallel Association to the United Nations. The Reasons I gave for this are, I think, adequately setout in that Blog.





This past weekend an Editorial appeared on the same subject in the Ottawa Citizen newspaper. The Columnist was Michael Taube.





Mr. Taube enumerated many of the same reasons I set forth in October, and just this morning, a local radio station dealt with this topic with many of its listeners calling in - in support of the need for Democratic Nations to Unite.





Hopefully this will be the start of such an initiative.





As an aside - since my October Blog a new incredible UN initiative has occurred with North Korea being appointed to lead the UN's Convention on Disarmament. Imagine? Talk about the fox among the pigeons.





So I am in sinc with Michael Taube with respect to his calling for a League of Democratic Countries. The word League of course comes from the Failed League of Nations after World War II and in that regard I like my suggested name of Alliance of Democratic Nations.





I do though differ with him when he suggests that the Democracies leave the UN and take with them their funding since I believe the United Nations still provides a few useful services.





For instance, the UN has spearheaded a number of Conventions which have bettered the lives of the citizens of the world in the areas of Law and Commerce. It has also made progress in providing food relief, medicine and better health care generally.





But I see the most important value of a continued United Nations is with respect to the Forum itself. It allows all of the world's nations to come together and talk. And contrary to some thought, talk is not always cheap. There is indeed a value in it, in that it creates a forum where diverse opinions get expressed often resulting in their moderation.

Better to "Jaw Jaw than to War War" as Winston Churchill so ably stated it.

This is especially true in the areas of Human Rights and Anti-Semitism. The UN is rife with petty dictators and religious zealots who spend the bulk of their time denying rights to their citizens and castigating Israel. Keeping Democracies involved in the UN Process helps to ensure that such activities on the part of the unenlightened is kept under a semblance of control.

Indeed three (3) of the five (5)UN Vetoes belong to Democratic Countries.

So don't leave and don't cease funding but do start a more effective Democratic Association. You can probably use much of the same UN Mission in its establishment which gets more often ignored at the United Nations.

A League or Alliance of Democratic Countries would stand as a beacon to the Rest of the World when it comes to the Enhancement of Human Rights and the Eradication of Discrimination of all kinds.

The West's Policies of Freer Trade, Economic Freedom and Agricultural Self-Sufficiency would continue to be areas envy by non-democratic nations.

Such a Democratic Association would then stand as a Beacon throughout the World. It would be able to focus on further improving our Way of Life.

As such, I can foresee the day when the non-democracies will come begging for admission as their continued conflicts, military rule, starvation and general hopelessness begins to wear.

At that point the West must stand firm by prescribing onerous conditions of admission to ensure that applicant nations are ultimately successful in their quest for Open Government and Open Societies.

As I see it....

'K.D. Galagher'

The Canadian Cancer Society ...

Is Sick.

A Report out this week indicates that the CCS spends but little more than 20% of its donation receipts on Research. A Prominent Research Doctor is quoted as saying he spends more time trying to raise money for his Research than he actually spends on Research itself.

Just as shocking, CCS spends nearly 50% of its donor receipts on Administration and Funding Drives !!

I have always used, as a rule of thumb, that well organized charities spend no more than 10% on such budgetary items. Fifty % is simply beyond the pale.

I have also assumed - perhaps naively - that when donating to medical charities - the bulk of my donation will go to funding Research since it is only through Research that the scourge of the particular disease - in this case Cancer - can be beaten.

That said, I am not particularly shocked by this week's revelation.

I have thought for some time that the Canadian Cancer Society has become a business within itself and have feared that its main concern is for itself and not the defeat of the dreaded disease after which it is named. These recent statistics seem to bear out my concern.

Simply stated, the Society, in my opinion, has also become Elitist.

A few years ago, my daughter tried to sign up for one of their ubiquitous Cancer Walks but was told that she did not qualify since she did not have sponsors totaling donations in the thousands of dollars. She took it in stride - I though was livid at their arrogance.

In the meantime, I will not be donating any money to the Canadian Cancer Society until I have received assurances that it has returned to its roots.

And I suggest that we both - you and I, check out more closely those organizations which vie for our charitable dollars to make sure the bulk of those dollars go to their intended purposes.

As I see it....

'K.D. Galagher'

The Beckster...

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Thursday was Glenn Beck's last show on Fox News.

Quite awhile back I did a Blog on Glenn Beck saying that if you had not heard of this chap - you soon would.

I suspect that by now you have.

From my perspective, this one fellow, has brought about the most profound change in US Political History. The Leftists will howl at this but that only serves to confirm the statement.

Beck was and continues to be the spark plug for the Tea Party Movement.

A former drunk and high school educated, he deserves much of the credit for the Republican re-take of the House Representatives this past November. And surprisingly - he is neither Republican nor Democrat.

He does not trust Politicians.

The guy marches to his own drum.

Like me, he wants to see Smaller more responsive and representative Government. And he also wants Government to reflect the values that many of us were raised on - Honour, Integrity and Truthfulness.

This past August, Beck led a Pilgrimage to the Lincoln Memorial where nearly 1 million Middle Americans joined with him to reflect on their country's current sad state of affairs. There were no placards, no violence, and no litter. It was an entirely peaceful but determined assemblage designed to show Politicians of all stripes that the Silent Majority was beginning at last to speak out.

Beck is also very much a Visionary.

Over the several years that he held his 5 p.m. time slot on Fox he has made numerous predictions - most were ridiculed at the time of making, yet most have come to pass.

In Churchillian fashion, he saw and continues to see a dark future for America and indeed the world. Flash-backs to the 1930s with Churchill warning of impending doom at the hands of the Nazis ("Narzis" as WSC would say) readily come to mind.

Unlike Churchill, Glenn Beck, sees 'Two' Major Threats to Our Way of Life.

The First is Economic - the US is broke as indeed is the entire Western World. Simply stated, the last 50 years of Entitlement has Busted the Bank. Western Democracies continue each year to rack up Deficits and extend their overall Debt. (40% of US Federal Spending is borrowed $). Future generations will be saddled with repayment, assuming bankruptcy does not intervene first, which is most likely.


He points out that along with out of control government spending, our money is becoming evermore worthless as more and more of it is printed without backing. He is not surprised therefore with the rapid rise in the value of Precious Metals - most notably Gold.

One need look no further than Europe to see the negative effects of this. Greece, Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Italy are on the financial ropes. The contagion seems to be spreading. Each day new riots are flaring up and if anyone thinks the US or even Canada is immune to this - they are sadly mistaken. If we do not get our spending under control we too will share in the upset.

Greek citizens pride themselves on finding ways to avoid the payment of income taxes. Until now - they have been able to retire with full pensions at age 50. Civil Servants earn 5x as much as their private sector counterparts and they are fighting like hell to keep their benefits even if it means others - e.g. Germany must step in to pay their freight.

The bottom line here is that a financially weakened America / West, seriously limits their ability to compete with the growing Tigers of Asia and with Sinister Outside Forces.

That leads to the Second Threat - Radical Islamists.

They are in the process of establishing a "New Caliphate" - a world government headed by Muslim Extremists.

But Beck sees the greater danger here to be Ourselves - more precisely, our Western Apathy combined with our loss of those self same values mentioned above.


He notes that the Middle East is burning and not surprisingly predicts it will be the Islamists that put these fires out and not democracy.

He senses that Israel is today's 'canary in the coal mine'. The US at one time was the only country Israel could count on as a friend, but that was then and this is now and no longer can Israel be sure of American support.

Obama's recent speech pledging the return to the 1967 borders, without consulting Israel, is the latest example of this distancing between the two countries. Canada is now one of the only friends Israel has left and that is entirely due Prime Minister Harper.

I think it is safe to say that Iran is now capable of launching nuclear war-heads. A tiny nation like Israel would last but minutes under such a nuclear attack.

In realization of this, Beck is headed later this year to head a Pilgrimage to Israel and I suspect that many from the Tea Party will join him. I would also like to be there with him.

The UN is continually critical of Israel; likewise the Left in the West who purport to love peace. Nonsense.

As has been said many times, if Israel was to dispose of its armaments it would be invaded immediately however, should the Arabs disarm, there would be immediate peace.

The Left never has a response to that observation.


So Beck is all Gloom and Doom?

I cannot blame you for thinking just that. But he also holds out hope. He, like Churchill before him, sees a day when the West finally wakes up to what is happening and will do what is necessary to address the above Threats.

Make no mistake though, it will take a re-awakening on our part - great sacrifice and sadly loss of life but in the end we will do what it takes to restore our values and preserve our Way of Life which has been won by countless sacrifices in the years gone by.

As Churchill so wisely noted, the longer we put off this re-awakening, the more costly will be the price we pay for our delay.

In Western History, we have been fortunate to have great Leaders come forward in time of Our Need - and as for me, Glenn Beck is the man for our Times.

As I see it...

Blagojevich, Guilty As Charged...

Seventeen Charges to be exact.

This is the number of convictions former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was dealt earlier this week.

Primarily it had to do with trying to "sell" Obama's former Senate Seat and with so many convictions, he is likely serve some serious Federal Prison Time.

The question arises as to Why? Why would someone of Blogojevich's stature and position risk all by stooping to such slimy activity? One gets the sense that when some individuals reach such heights they begin to think of themselves as invulnerable - e.g. Gerry Weiner, Bill Clinton, and Robert Edwards.

For whatever reason, Blagojevich has now lost much - most important his reputation is in shatters and is not likely to be restored.

But now enters the US System of Punishment...let's call it its Conrad Black moment.

The Prosecution will most certainly be asking for a prison sentence of at least 5 years but what will that accomplish?

• Will he be rehabilitated? Not Likely

• Will he be punished? Yes, but he has already suffered a great deal more than your ordinary offender due to his loss of status.

• Will it set an example for others who may think now or in the future of conducting themselves in a similar fashion? Probably.

So on balance the serving of hard time seems to make some sense.

But it is not going to address the chronic problem of overcrowding in Prisons. (i.e. California is in the process of letting thousands of inmates out since the State is broke and cannot afford to expand their existing facilities).

Nor is it going to help the inmate himself. He or she is likely to come out of the experience much more hardened.

It will certainly not help his family who will now be without his support both financial and emotional.

Nor will the imprisonment be taxpayer friendly. Using Canadian Figures - it costs $259 per day on average to incarcerate a prisoner - males cost $87,665 per year while female inmates cost over $150 k per year. Alternative methods of punishment cost but $5 to $25 per day.

So Alternative methods are much cheaper - are they as effective?

If I was the Judge punishing Rod Blagojevich I would rely upon those alternative methods and here is what I would do.

First, I would bar him from Public Office for life.

Second, I would confiscate current and future sale revenues from his story to be deposited to the general revenues of the State of Illinois.

Next I would fine him - $100,000 in total.

Then I would sentence him to 500 hours of community service, And,

Finally, I would place him under Home Arrest for 1 year, followed by 4 more years of probation.

In my opinion, this would address the objectives and much more of serving hard time.

Alas, it is not to be. The Prosecution will ask for time and the Judge will grant the request.

As I see it....

'K.D. Galagher'