LOL

Two items in the news lately caused me to LOL; one literally and the other figuratively.

Let's deal with the literal one first.

Ontario's New Budget and our Finance Minister Charles Souza:

Souza was quoted in this weekend's newspapers as saying that the United States is playing catch-up with Ontario's Economy.

I nearly choked, I certainly convulsed in laughter as my wife can well attest.

"Playing Catch-up" ??  Indeed.

Fifteen Years ago when Souza's Liberals first came on the scene, Ontario was the Economic Engine for our Country.  Today, it is broke...has been lowered to 'have-not status' and is dependent on our fellow provinces for handouts.  Rating agencies are continually downgrading our credit, the most recent occurring right after this week's Budget was released.

So what Planet has our Finance Minister been living on for the past decade and a half?

Can't wait for the June 7th General Election.

Okay now for the second laugh and a half which you will see is more sad than funny:

Our country went through a useless inquiry into the sorry state of  our Indian Reserves.  Its report came out in late 2015 and contained 94 Recommendations few if any will ever be acted upon in our time ...many deservedly.

Inexplicably, Prime Minister accepted all 94.

One in particular stands out for me a Roman Catholic.  The Report Recommended that Pope Francis apologize for its part in Canada's Native Residential School System.  This system provided housing / education for native children who were in many cases forcefully taken off the reserves and it ran from the 1870's well into the 1960s.

Some students claim today that this School System enabled them to escape poverty and led to them having productive lives off the reserve.  Many others though claim that the system stole from them their Indian Heritage* and allege many types of abuses including sexual abuse. I have no doubt as to the veracity of these claims but am suspicious that in a number of cases it is motivated more by their interest in obtaining monetary compensation.

But all that aside, the Catholic Church was not the only Church engaged in the operation of these residential schools.  Nor do I doubt for a minute that they believed they were doing God's work in helping these young kids escape total hopelessness.

*Don't forget that by the time these Schools were established, the Indian Heritage existed no more.

The other thing lost in this effort to embarrass the Catholic Church is the fact that these Residential Schools were the Policy of the Governments in power during those times. 

Whether you believe they were rightfully established or not, the blame or the credit goes to those Governments.

That is the background ...sorry for its length.

So now flash ahead to today.  Canada's Prime Minister in his naivete accepted all 94 Recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 

But the one that got me was his acceptance of its request that the Pope apologize for his Church's role in those Residential Schools.

To me it was totally inconceivable that this arrogant pup thought himself sufficiently powerful that he could make such a demand of the Leader of well over 1 Billion Catholics.

This past week the Pope answered Trudeau's pompous request with a well placed N'yet.

Let me play the Pope for a minute:

"Please bring the Young Prime Minister in.  Have a seat Mr. Trudeau.  I understand that you have a request of me".

"Yes I do your Grace, I would like you to apologize to Canada's Aboriginals for the damage done to them by the Residential Schools some of which were operated by the Catholic Church"

"I would indeed be happy to do that Mr. Trudeau on condition that you apologize for the millions of babies who have been prematurely killed in the womb as a result of Canada having no law whatsoever that prevents such deaths."

Trudeau, goes red, tugs at his collar, nervously coughs and then ...

"I simply cannot do that your Grace.  I have told my whole caucus that they cannot even voice their concerns for the unborn so how can I now say otherwise?"

"And Mr. Trudeau in that case I simply cannot apologize for being involved in a System promoted and endorsed by Canada's Governments of the Day".

Trudeau with his tail between his legs heads for the door.

The Pope speaks up one more time.

"Oh, Mr. Trudeau on the way out would you please pick up the letter awaiting you just outside."

Trudeau - "What is it."

"It is your Notice of Excommunication"

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher'

PRESIDENT TRUMP IS BEGINNING TO RUN OUT OF LIVES...

AS IN A CAT'S STANDARD NINE (9).

INDEED, LOOKING BACK AT THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, I THINK DONALD TRUMP HAS FAR AND EXCEEDED THAT STANDARD...BUT...

THINGS NOW APPEAR TO BE CLOSING IN ON HIS INCREDIBLE RUN:

The First is the tragedy of the Parkland School Shooting. It has exposed Trump and the Republicans on their irrational support of the National Rifle Association. As I said in a recent Blog, he had an opportunity to establish himself as a proponent of real gun control which polling shows the majority of Americans favour.  

Unfortunately, Mr. Trump let this opportunity go and by so doing, lost the chance to see his popularity bump up.

The Second major hit to his popularity was caused by his pig-headed move to isolate the United States economically, via the imposition of tariffs, to the point where they are on the brink of a world tariff war.  It is a war the United States cannot win.

The Third and last major hit that I will deal with today is in regard to the Debt & Deficit.  The current Debt has gone well beyond $21 Trillion Dollars ...larger than the annual GDP.  The Budget the President signed into law this past week will in and of itself add an additional $1.5 Trillion to the annual Deficit.  These levels surpass even those frivolously racked up by Barack Obama. 

A pundit the other day opinioned that these were still early days for Trump and that there was lots of time for him to set things straight.

He is wrong of course; the clock is ticking down toward the November Congressional Elections and from my perspective the outlook is not looking very good...see above.  At this point, the Republicans will not be able to hold the Senate and even the House of Representatives is in danger.  

And once the Democrats regain even one those Chambers, it will be over for Trump and Republican legislative agenda. 

And I would be remiss to not comment on the chaos that the President is causing through his revolving door dismissal and replacement of his top Administration Personnel.  I said before if I worked for The Donald and thought my job at risk, I`d be out of there quicker than you could say...

As I see it...

`K.D. Galagher`

Ontario's Premier Is Acting Like She Is Insane...

In the Liberal Government's Speech from the Throne yesterday, Premier Kathleen Wynne promised the people of Ontario Billions of new spending if they unwisely (the italics are mine) re-elect her Government in the coming June 2018 Election.

You will notice that I did not quantified the Billions to be spent since I could not find any estimates by financial experts at the time of this writing.  But they will come and they will be in the multi-billions.

What I can tell you though is that under the 15 years of Liberal Government Rule, the Province's Debt has risen from $132.6 Billion in financial year 2002-03 to an astounding $301.00 Billion Dollars for f.y. 2017-18.  In fact, during that time our Province has gone from Have Status...the engine of the Country ...to Have-Not Status and forced to beg from our neighbours.

And of course those dreadful numbers do not even include yesterday's announced spending spree. 

Wynne will often talk about her grandchildren and how she does not want them to suffer from Global Cooling, Global Warming, Climate Change (you can pick one or all 3) as tears come to her glassy eyes.

So you might well ask the dear Premier if she is so concerned about their welfare when it comes to climate, why is she so insensitive when it comes to accumulated debt since it will be those self same grandchildren who in the end will have to pitch in and pay off debt they did not contribute to?

And with the Debt and endless Deficits have come loss of millions of good paying jobs, hydro electric rates once the envy of North America have tripled and more to the point where poorer folks can no longer properly heat their homes and both the health and education systems are grossly underfunded.

And all this in the face of scandal after scandal and wasted billions on pet self-serving projects.

The title of this blog again is Ontario's Premier Is Acting Like She Is Insane. 

For you progressives out there note that I did not say she is Insane, rather that she is acting like she is insane.

How else can you account for her determined drive to bankrupt our Province.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher' 

"THERE YOU GO AGAIN...."

In my most recent Blog, I rightfully trashed President Trump for many of his recent antics, but now find that I must come to his aid.

In a recent tweet, Trump had this to say about his firing of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe:

Andrew McCabe Fired, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI - a great day for Democracy.  Sanctimonious James Comey was is boss and made McCabe look like a choirboy. He knew all about the lies and corruption going on at the highest levels of the FBI!


As per my last Blog, I view McCabe's firing as wrong and it brought to mind today's Heading.

This of course being the famous quote of the late Ronald Reagan which was one of the few quips in a Presidential Debate that really had an affect on an Election's ultimate outcome:

"There you go again" was a phrase spoken by Ronald Reagan during the 1980 Presidential Election Debate to his Democratic opponent, Jimmy Carter. The context for Reagan's statement does not matter at this late date, what is important was its outcome which in Carter's case sealed his fate in that Election.


So with that, back to Trump's Tweet.

Initially, I thought 'oh no, Donald you are simply pouring more fuel on the fire'.

Then I had second thoughts.

From the time of the Election Trump has ...in his own words...been the subject of a "Witch Hunt'.

As I have said countless times, I do not know of any other person who could have survived the sustained vicious attacks on him over the course of his first year in Office.  

And when he says the top echelon of the FBI has gone rogue he again has much reason for his opinion.  One that I share.

And when it comes to the Mueller Inquiry, the only proof of collusion with the Russians is on the part of both Clinton and Obama. And yet the Mueller Inquiry plods along on trying to find any dirt on Trump when it now knows full well there never was never any collusion involved on his part.

And dear reader, bear in mind that the only reason the Mueller Investigation got off the ground is because the top folks of the FBI colluded to see that it did.

Why Mueller does not do the honourable thing and pack up his Witch Hunt is beyond me?  At the very least, why does he not start to follow-up on the real proof that has been uncovered especially against Hillary and her Campaign?

It stinks to high heaven and in that regard, I fully understand Trump's frustration via his above-noted Tweet.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher'

PRESIDENT TRUMP TRIPS....

UP

After some astute moves such as dramatically curbing illegal immigration and substantially reducing corporate and individual taxes, Donald Trump now appears to go out of his way to do dumb things.

For instance, the specific tariffs he has placed on steel and aluminum, and the tariffs he is contemplating to levy on a host of other products against U.S. major trading partners such as China which also happens to be their Banker.

The cashiering of a number of his closest advisors all the while speaking publicly about dumping more. Thus, I had to laugh when a Trump spokesperson said they were assured by his Chief of Staff, John Kelly, saying there were no more firings planned for the time-being.  Yuk, Yuk, Yuk...since there has been much speculation that even Kelly is on the chopping block.

Me thinks The Donald still believes he is hosting The Apprentice rather than being the President of the United States. 

If I suspected I was on such a firing squad list, I'd be out of there faster than you could say "you're fired".

And then to add insult to injury, Trump via his Attourney General Jeff Sessions, fired Ex-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe yesterday and by so doing denied him his pension.

How mean spirited.  And Sessions too is one of the top candidates to be dumped next by Trump.  Had I been Sessions I would have told Mr. Trump, 'I will not fire McCabe' while handing him my own resignation'.

There appears to be a consensus that McCabe may well have been engaged in illegality and if that turns out to be the case, criminally charge him and let the courts decide.  But to take away his pension is simply much too much.

And we won't even get into his planned face to face with the lying, murderous Young-un of North Korea. 

The Republicans of late have lost two election races in Congress they should have easily won. 

If Donald Trump keeps up with his erratic behaviour between now and November, both Houses of Congress could well end up back in Democratic hands.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher'

ONTARIO'S TRUMP LITE

The Ontario Conservative Party elected a new leader this past weekend and his name is.................

DOUG FORD.

I can just hear some of my American readers saying ...that name rings a bell....wasn't he the out-of-control cocaine using former Mayor of Toronto?

And for that you'd be close... but no cigar.  Rather it is the out-of-control cocaine using former Mayor Bob Ford's older brother ...Doug, who won this past Saturday.

Both men were on Toronto City Council and both kept the local media occupied with their antics of the day.  Many of those antics, especially on the part of brother Rob, made the headlines south of our border in the United States.

Rob Ford died of cancer in early 2016 or he might very well have run and won last week's Conservative Leadership.  Another historical what-if?

Anyway, back to Doug.

Like his deceased brother, Doug is a populist...he speaks for the common people much the same way Donald Trump does.  Indeed, his campaign was styled in the Trump mode.

His literature stated that he was the only conservative running in a field of 4 candidates and in that he was right.  We in Canada have lost Real Conservationism... all our parties have become different shades of Liberal.  And we are paying a dear price for it. 

Under Liberal-type leadership our Debt and Deficits have swollen, government has grown to unimaginable size, millions of manufacturing jobs have been lost, politicians have drunk of the green coolaide, interest groups - such as the public service unions are controlling the politicians and our health and education systems are on life-lines.   

We desperately need a Conservative at the helm and hopefully Doug Ford will be the man for that job.  Time will tell.

But for the Opposition Parties that think their prayers have been answered with Ford's election permit me to put the record straight.

The next General Election in Ontario must be called by June 7th of this year, when the dust settles, it will be Premier Doug Ford at the helm of Ontario.

Ford hails from the City of Toronto which historically has been a core constituency for the Liberals. But given his popularity there, he will take a good portion of that away from them.  Rural parts of Ontario historically go conservative and these two factors combined will ensure his electoral success come June. 

As a reminder to all, it is no coincidence that I call my Blog ...Real Conservatives.

As I see it...

K.D.  Galagher

BIKER BAR.

On a recent trip to Florida my friend Pat and I went shopping for prescription glasses.

We arrived at the optometrist's office shortly after 12 noon only to find out that it was closed over the noon-hour.

So to kill some time as well as to fuel up, we headed out to find a nearby restaurant that served sandwiches.  Being a commercial district, it did not lend itself to much (anything) in the line of restaurants but we did stumble upon a Bar....a genuine for real Biker Bar and in we went.

There was absolutely no one there save for the barmaid who introduced herself as Genie and said that she had been tending bar since 'before the war.' We were both polite enough not to inquire as to which one.

We asked Genie what type of sandwiches they had.

"We do not have Food of any kind" she pronounced, "it's Booze or Nothing".  

So Booze it was, we both ordered a Beer.

To keep the conversation going I asked her what she thought of The Donald?

"We don't talk politics in here...only Sex" she impishly replied.

And by the decorations that adorned every square inch of the Bar, one could readily see the truth of her statement.

At that point 2 Biker Patrons roared into the Bar's Parking Lot on 3 wheeler's, albeit Harley-Davidson's.

They dismounted with obvious discomfort, with one even pulling out a cane from underneath his seat.

They had to be in their 80s if they were a day.

They then cozied up to two bar stools and ordered their drafts.

They turned out to be the nicest guys imaginable.  Whatever happened to the fearful Hell's Angels or even the lawless Satan's Choice?

Then in came 3 more, one of whom rode a real bike.  Again, all three were most gentlemanly and were most interested in the fact that Pat and I came from Canada.  

"We road with some Canadians in our day" they allowed, "wonder if any of them are still alive." 

I then asked Genie what was her most busiest time?

"Commemorative Days by far" she opinioned.

You mean like the 4th of July?

"No, I mean when one of our boys gets needlessly killed on the road by those irresponsible, inattentive blankedy blank drivers."

She went on.

"We had one just yesterday, the Bar was packed"

I looked around, the place was quite small so by "packed" I guess she was talking at the most 20 patrons.

I also wondered whether these 'Commemorative Days' had more to do with the Bar's bottom-line than it did for commemoration of the recently deceased Biker... but kept those thoughts to myself.

Pat then piped up and asked Genie how long did her shift last?

"I'm here till closing each and every day" she offered.

What time is closing then?

"7 p.m."

A Biker Bar that closes at 7 p.m. !!

"These guys are not as young as they once were" she quickly responded.

Those assembled merely nodded their heads in agreement.

Well after-all this is Florida.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher'

P.S.  When we finished our beers we returned to the Optometrist's office which had now reopened.  The Optometrist turned out to be a veteran of the Vietnam War and for the next hour or so regaled us about his War Experiences. At one point I asked him if he had ever come across a Barmaid over there by the name of Genie?  He said he had not but that there was a cute young thing by that name who tends bar just down the street...