I've Been Away....So...

Time for a little update:

First, Alberta's Election today - when the ballots are counted this evening we will see Jason Kenney's Conservative Party cruise to majority status.  News-casters, Pundits and the like are trying their best to say it will be a toss up - but they are only seeking ratings.  The Dye is Cast.

Second, Donald Trump has made two more critical faux pas:  He came out saying he was going to resurrect his attack on Obama Care using the Courts. Not only that, but he plans to await until after the election to introduce his own plan.  So he is not only helping the Dems to make health care a bigger election issue than it already is but at the same time is offering zip for Americans to consider in its stead.  Dumb, Dumb, Dumb.  He also continues to disrupt trade patterns via his totally illogical tariff implementations.  How better to destroy the world's commerce ... eventually this will engulf the U.S. along with everyone else.  The guy has a death wish.

Third, Young Trudeau continues to shoot himself in the foot.  I need not repeat all of his recent blunders but only remind you that His Party is dead in the Water and the only question remaining is whether it will allow him even to run for the Prime Ministership come October.   My guess right now is that the odds stand at even but Trudeau is doing his utmost to turn those odds against him.  I encourage him to keep up the good work.

Fourth and last - the Tory Opposition Leader until just a few weeks ago had little chance of beating Trudeau - he was bland and really nothing more than a smile in a nice suit.  All that changed with YT's recent shenanigans...overnight the electorate is actively looking for bland and Sheer of course has all the relevant qualifications.

As I See It...

K.D. Bell

Ford and Hillier...Peas of a Pod ?

Ford as in our relatively new Premier here in the Province of Ontario and as in Hillier, until recently one of Ford Members' of Parliament.

Ford kicked him out ostensibly because he heckled parents of autistic children who were in attendance at a recent assembly of the Legislature.

Hillier denies this saying he was heckling but only members of the New Democratic Party who sit opposite him.  Those sitting near Hillier back up his assertion and with regard to the heckling charge, that has been and will continue to be an honoured tradition since Legislative Bodies were first invented.

The President of the Conservative Party added in writing that Hillier was cashiered from the Party...not only because Ford accused him of heckling the parents but also because the guy is a rogue MP who cannot be counted upon to always support their Leader ...a.k..a  Doug;as Robert Ford...yes you read that correctly ...Robert. 

And as for the assertion that Hillier is A Rogue Tory Member?  Was it not just a couple of years back when Premier Doug - then City of Toronto Councillor and his hard Drug using brother - Rob Ford, were the laughing stock of the world.  I know...anytime a Canadian says the world is watching Canada, you just know it ain't so...they have their own problems and could not care less about us.  But that said, the Ford Boys and their antics were so bad they did in fact make the front pages both within and without Canada.

Ladies and Gentlemen, they were Toronto City Hall's Rogue Legislators at that time and took great pleasure in so being.

And now Ford et al are calling Hillier out for being a Rogue Member.  It takes some nerve.

It also triggers on of my pet peeves that being that Democracy is missing in action here in Canada and throughout the World.  And here is a classic example, the Constituents of Randy Hillier's Riding - love the guy.  He wraps up big majorities in elections he has run since first elected in 2009.  He is also the former head of the Ontario Landowners Association ...the guy - like Ford himself is a Populist.  Both march to the drum of the people rather than the elites.

I guess the problem comes down to Ford not liking competition.

The other day I was reading an editorial by a columnist I usually agree with ...Brian Lilley.  Lilley was waxing eloquent about what a great guy Doug Ford is and how as Premier he has accomplished so much in the little time he has been Premier.

I had to shake my head ...is this the same Doug Ford I have seen bumble from issue to issue?

Lilley even had the temerity to cite Ford's success in repealing the Province's sex-ed curriculum which though true ...is the cause of the problem we face today.  In repealing sex-ed, they - the Tories, did not replace it with anything.. ergo the School Boards and the Teachers continue to use the olde Liberal curriculum.

And not just that, the woman who ran against him for Leader - one Tanya Granic Allen ran almost solely to get this curriculum changed since it was teaching kiddies as young a grade three about the birds and bees of all 3 plus sexes.  That dear reader - as Granic Allen would attest, belongs with these children's parents.

Granic Allen threw her support behind Ford and to reward her he fired her from the party and would not let her run as a Conservative.  Despite Lilley's depiction of this great success - I can tell you that Tanya is sick at heart for what Ford has done.

I could go on but from the above you get the idea that of the two populists, I much prefer Randy Hillier.

As I see It...

K.D. Bell

TRUDEAU....................STRIKES..........

OUT.

In my most recent Blog, I indicated that Trudeau had two options in front of him...either to stay the course or start afresh.

At his 8 a.m. Press Conference today he chose the latter.

Speculation had been rife in the lead-up to it that he would be contrite, he'd be apologizing all over the place.  One long time and well respected Liberal Pundit went so far as to say he thought the Prime Minister would use this morning's format to call an early Election.

Rather, he continued with the blame game and today, in addition to continuing to blame Jody Wilson - Raybould, he now included his long time trusted friend and advisor Gerald Butts.  It doesn't get much lower than that.

And just to be sure the Press was hearing him correctly, one Wag asked him straight up - are you sir apologizing today?  Yes he replied, but not here, rather I was going to Iqaluit to give one of his standard and totally hollow apologies for something that no one alive today had spit to do with. 

Trudeau has the apology business down to a science, just never expect him to apologize personally for any action or actions on his part.  As Andy always said to Barney ...'You Just Beat Everything'.

And the words he consistently bandies about:  'Reflect', 'Lessons Learned' and 'Moving Forward'.  What do any of these words mean? ...does YT even know ?- Reflect On What, Lessons Learned about What and Move Forward to Where.  Who gives him this dribble speak - or does he pen this nonsense himself?

And of course his vacuous talks are full of his needing to protect jobs in Quebec - a.k.a. Votes.

So dear reader, we now know what Trudeau's strategy 'going forward' is.  It will not save him from the coming election defeat and it may not even save his Leadership in the interim.

As I See It...

K.D. Bell

RAYBOULD...PHILPOTT...GONE...

WHOSE NEXT ??

And believe me...there will be more to follow.

This type of crisis did occur once before in relative recent history.  It was known as the Bomarc Missile Crisis of 1963 and led directly to the defeat of then Conservative Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's Government.  As with today, there were two prominent Ministers involved ...George Hees, Minister of Trade and Commerce and Defence Minister Doug Harkness and as is the case today both resigned on a matter of conscience.

So it is not totally unknown in Canadian Political History for key Ministers to resign on matters of principle.  Sadly, there have not been enough.

So where does Young Trudeau go from here assuming he doesn't just resign...from my perspective he has but 2 options:  either he tears up the rule-book (no pun intended) and starts afresh or he hunkers down and simply keeps on doing what he has been doing.  Both have pros and cons attached to them which I am about to get into.

But first, he will likely await the results of the Butts' and Wernick  testimonies before the House Justice Committee tomorrow.  That said, between you and me, nothing positive for the Government will come out of their testimony...only more trouble.   In addition, Trudeau would be wise to fire Wernick before tomorrow...Wernick is a dead man walking so why not get it over before the Clerk of the PCO can do more damage to his brand.

So now back to the only 2 viable options the P.M. has before him - do nothing or start over.

Realizing whichever he chooses, he and his Party are now toast come the October General Election ...a repeat of the Diefenbaker Electoral Loss in 1963

And realizing that whatever option He picks, his immediate future - i.e. whether he even makes it to the Fall Election depends on two things ...whether or not Caucus will continue to support him and more to the point, whether the polls continue in decline.

Option #1.   Do Nothing ...Stay the Course

Con- he will continue to incur bad press and voter contempt.

Pro - it will likely work since for caucus their political futures depend on Young Trudeau pulling off a miracle at the polls.  So expect more talk about saving SNC Lavelin jobs etc as he attempts to woo the woo-able Quebec.

Option #2.  Start Over

Con - as mentioned above, it is too late to influence the outcome of the General Election ...they are destined to defeat.

Pro - At least He will gain respect - albeit grudgingly, for finally doing what is right - starting with the firing of those left who share responsibility for this fiasco including Wernick, the Finance Minister and his Chief of Staff, All PMO Staff from Katie Telford right on down (isn't it ironic that Telford and Butts came to help destroy Trudeau's administration having done the very same thing for the hapless Ontario Premier McGuinty).  And I am not by any means finished:  make it publicly known that any legal loopholes for SNC are forever closed; get on with the pipelines on an urgent basis; drop the nonsense about the carbon tax; and start to seriously address the Debt / Deficit.

Which option will he choose - you dear reader decide.

Finally, the question arises on how we ever got into this predicament and I blame the assault on democracy.  Simply stated, we do not have much Democracy left.  Over time...since Pierre Elliott, power has been consolidated in the Prime Ministers Office, since the Charter, power has been hijacked by the Courts, Human Rights Tribunals do not protect individual rights and freedom of speech, Vocal Interest Groups have seized the agenda, the Local Member of Parliament no longer speaks for her or his Constituents, Voter Participation understandably is in steep decline.  I could go on and on and most certainly will deal with this topic again in a future blog since I fervently believe this is where Canada has gone off the rails and sadly it may be too late to do much if anything about it.

As I See It...

K.D. Bell

Monkey In The Middle....Stuck Between Two Scumbags

As in The Donald stuck between severely integrity challenged Michael Cohen and the Butcher of North Korea ...The Yung-Un named Kim.

Let's deal first with Cohen .. he who is speaking right now before a Committee of Congress  allegedly to expose dirt on his former boss Donald Trump. Cohen, remember was President Trump's personal lawyer at all relevant times.

If I was a Committee Member, I would ask the dear gentleman but two questions...as follows:

First...was it not you Mr. Cohen who stated publicly that you would "take a bullet for Donald Trump"?

Second and final question...Mr. Cohen are you familiar with the legal concept of Attorney-Client Privilege?    Please answer just Yes or No.

That's it dear reader because he has to answer both my questions in the affirmative and in so doing ...it says it all.

Next the Yung-Un.. Again, as I write this Blog, President Trump is meeting of all places in Hanoi with this murderous wretch.  The guy is a mass murderer and starves his people.  And yet Trump calls Kim a good friend and great leader.   

Enough said.  Scumbags all !!  And this includes The Donald.

As I See It...

K.D. Bell 

Me Thinks Jody ....The Principled Former Justice Minister...Has Sold Out.

UPDATE:  Boy did I blow it.  I sat glued to the t.v. and watched Jody W-R give her testimony before Parliament's Justice Committee for nearly 4 hours yesterday.  She was the most believable politician I have witnessed in the nearly 60 years I have been following politics.  As long time readers know I have a belief, likely shared by many of you, that you can trust what politicians have to say right up to the time their lips start to move.  I will now have to amend that to say ...other than for the Honourable Jody Wilson Raybould, you can trust what all other politicians have to say right up to the time ...

And I am starting to lose count of the number of Canadians wishing out loud that this dear woman be our next Prime Minister.

There is one thing though I do not understand...why did Young Trudeau remove his self-imposed restriction on her ability to speak out?  He had to have known what she was going to say and that it could very well end in his resignation.  Does that indicate that he has a political death wish?  KDB

                                                                    ---------


Why So?

Hardly two weeks ago, the Globe and Mail came out and said that our when Jody Wilson Raybould was Justice Minister, had had been bullied by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Hacks and Flacks to make a legal decision in favour of one of Quebec's chronically troubled corporations.... SNC Lavelin.   Troubled, as in the doer of fraud, graft and payoffs.

In a matter of days, the same Jody W-R quit Cabinet but said zip... claiming erroneously that she was bound by solicitor-client privilege.  I will not waste time getting into this since enough has been said to disprove her assertion.

Nor am I getting into Gerald Butts surprise resignation which I saw coming ...but just not quite as fast as it did.

Rather there are a few other things I would like to rehash with you here.

First, after the Globe story broke, Trudeau clung to the solicitor-client raft as it - in his vast experience, applied to the Justice Minister but not to him.  Indeed, he was quick to say there was absolutely no interference on his or his staff's part and that if Jody W-R believed otherwise she should have come to him to let him know.  He then proceeded in countless venues to say how disappointed he was with her.

The former Justice Minister kept her own counsel throughout all the while looking like a severely wronged person.  I'd say woman but of course can no longer do that due to P.C..

And then something changed.  Jody was going to the Liberal Caucus, to Cabinet and sitting in her olde front bench seat in the House of Commons.  The Dear Woman and Justin were suddenly all smiles and best of buddies.  And Trudeau was up on his feet apologizing for all the negative comment Jody had hereto endured...most of which of course had come from this most distinguished gentleman himself.  And dear reader, surprise, surprise, Jody was now prepared to give her testimony to the Liberal filled Commons Justice Committee.  This meeting is expected to take place as early as tomorrow.

Smell fishy to you?  I have been involved with Politics for many years and it certainly does to me.

Just wait until the dust settles on this and we'll find out what incentives are involved here.

The last issue I want to apply some light to includes the defence of Trudeau et al by the Clerk of the Privy Council...Michael Wernick this past Thursday.  This non-partisan functionary gave the political speech of this whole sorry affair.  Chastising Jody W-R all the while confirming that yes she had been pressured to let Lavinlin off the hook.  Indeed he proudly proclaimed to be one of the lead harassers.

But dear reader ...it was all in a good cause.  He and others applied undue pressure on the Justice Minister in order to protect the 9,000 jobs at Lavelin that were at risk should the noble company go under.  The fact that another company would have picked up the slack and preserved those supposed in jeopardy never came out.  Nor did the fact that due to misguided Liberal Government policies over 100,000 jobs to date have actually been lost in the Western Oil Fields. 

So what gives?

Why would Wernick change from his standard sheep clothing into those of a partisan wolf?

The olde saw...the best defence is an offence.

Wernick believed that his defenseless bullying of Jody W. R. would eventually get out and better he get it out before Jody or someone else did.  That is why he proudly took credit for his disgusting behaviour all the more wicked since he is supposed to be the neutral guy in the corner.   So he thrust out his chest to say ...it was all done in the noble cause of preserving jobs in Quebec.  Barf.

Knowing all along that the electoral success of his current boss is tied to the Liberals doing well in la Belle Province.

As I said, I was not surprised to see Butts go, and equally would not be surprised to see Wernick take the plank as well.

That leaves the other main player ...Young Trudeau himself.  If this continues to unfold toward October's Election, he too may be missing in action.

And don't forget we have the trial of Vice-Admiral Mark Norman waiting in the Wings.

As I See It...

K.D. Bell

The Racists Came Rolling Into Town....and I was Embarrassed.

UPDATE:  One of Canada's most renowned columnists...Rex Murphy is in full agreement with my thoughts as set-out below.  He wrote, this weekend, "He (Trudeau) might ave stepped out of the (House of) Commons and said at least hello to the gathering of truckers who had driven all the way ...from Alberta to Parliament Hill.  Rex goes on ..."Most of them were salt of the earth types....the plastering of the convoy with the tag fringed or filtrated by white supremacists etc was a cheap one by many in the media".  

And on the issue of racism generally is a column in our paper today by best selling black author Larry Elder.  Elder consistently combats the assertion that racism is rampant in the United States and puts the blame on professional agitators such as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.  To the assertion that whites' are racist he had this to say.."If white people spent as much time thinking about how to oppress black people as black people think they do, white people wouldn't have enough time to oppress black people."



Our Town, as in Ottawa.

Only thing is they were not Racists... Despite what the CBC (aka Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) types spew forth.

For those of you out of country I am talking about the Caravan of Oil Workers ...with some others, who rolled into Ottawa this week from the evermore silent Oil Fields of Alberta.  They left kith and kin too taking the expensive 2,075 mile trip from Calgary, Alberta to Ottawa.  And you don't get great mileage in a Mack Truck.

These are hard working ---when jobs are available--- ordinary Canadians...just like you and me. They want the best for their Husbands, their Wives and their Kids and are prepared to fill the oft times tough, dirty jobs to make their living.

So why am I Embarrassed? 

First off, our Debutante Prime Minister did not even have the courtesy to meet with these common ers.  He too believes them to be racists rednecks. Had they come from Prince Edward Island  our tiniest Province or, especially from Quebec, He'd been there with bells on.  However if you came from the West...especially Alberta ...Whoa For You.  No wonder talk of separation is heating up there!

Most of the Media too were in constant lookout for incidents of racism and continually came up dry as they tried to equate the Caravan with the Yellow Vest Movement.

The fact is, some Yellow Vestors did include themselves in the Caravan.  The other fact is, they were not and are not racists.  Anymore than you or I are racist.

That is not to say, racism does not exist in Society...of course it does.  But it exists in all aspects of Society, be it on the left, the centre or the right.   It amounts though to a tiny per centage even with respect to the Yellow Vests.

In fact, I support the Vestors because I believe them to be a voice for me and for you.  For too long our Democracy has been in decline and all major Parties have played a significant role in seeing this decline come about.  The ordinary citizen has been relegated to the sidelines as the PMO, PCO, and the Party Leaders decide in their wisdom what is best for you and for me.

The fact is, there are lots of issues beyond the plight of the Alberta Oil Fields that can stir one to action: more and more restrictions on free speech, and freedom of religion, high taxes, high food costs, poor healthcare, poor education results, carbon taxes, corporate welfare..especially for their friends, rising debt/deficits, high cost of day care and so on and so on.

So yeah - there is lots of room for the Yellow Vestors and for their issues of concern to all of us.

So when you hear that protesters are all a bunch of racists - realize this, it is simply just our Political Masters Spinning.

As I See It....

K.D. Bell

Humour Corner:  I mentioned Prince Edward Island above - our smallest Province with a population that would barely sustain a small to medium size city.  So what is PEI up to of late...they are conducting a Referendum on Proportional Representation.  It is their second kick at this cat.

In reality, they are in a unique position to lead us all thru the introduction of Direct Democracy ...who needs Politicians anymore - simply have their small number of locales vote on-line.  Quick, Slick and Inexpensive.  And look at the money they'd save ....K