I TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY…

 

The other day, while channel surfing, I came across a leader making the above statement.

I was gobsmacked.

This was totally uncharacteristic.

Can you guess the name of the leader whom I am referring to?

If you guessed Ford, McGuinty, Harper, or Wynne, you’d get part marks, since I can readily see where you are coming from.

But no..

The correct answer is .. the little guy who currently occupies the White House – he who has made avoiding responsibility a dark art.

So what was the little guy referring to – I asked myself at the time – numerous possibilities raced through my mind … but for want of space I will spare you.

The issue the little guy was generally referring to was the screw up currently going on with regard to the roll out of Obama Care.

But he wasn’t apologizing for the screw up … as well he should have, rather he was apologizing for a future possible screw up which I will get to in a minute.

But first in regard to Obama Care itself – the problem with it is not the failure in its launch – indeed this may turn out to be a blessing.

No the problem with it is that it is going to cost America trillions of dollars to implement at a time when the Good olde US of A is broke.

I am not opposed to assisting those misfortunates who need care – however the focus of Obama Care should have been on them – rather than on revamping their entire health care system as was done.

Added to that great expense, businesses are now in the process of jettisoning employees in an attempt to mitigate their increased health care levies.

Less taxes, more unemployment payouts …greater debt.

But is the little guy embarrassed or worried by this?

Not at all.

So what dear reader did the little guy apologize for?

He apologized for a future occurrence and in this I think the guy has actually invented something.

He said he ‘would fix the current roll out problems and if he failed …he would take full responsibility’.

How does one apologize for a hypothetical screw up?

Why does he not apologize for the real one currently underway?  Does the buck not stop with him?  Is he not the President?

And I fully expect, if difficulties arise in correcting the current problems, the little guy will return to form and find someone else to blame despite his kind and disingenuous offer to do otherwise.

He has to be the worst president of the United States in modern time. ( I was going to say since Jimmy Carter but even Carter would not await his first apology on something that has yet to happen).

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’

 

While the Senate Fiddles …

 

The Prime Minister Burns*

Credit David Aiken for the title’s wording.

But I would like to add a clause of my own:

And All The While, Ontario Continues To Hollow Out

You will all likely know that it was announced today – after 113 years of operation, Stelco of Hamilton will no longer manufacture steel, as of the end of this December.

At its peak in the 1970s, Stelco had over 25,000 employees – with the coming shutdown, there will remain less than 900 and none of those will produce steel.

The cause for the shutdown can be placed at the feet of our Liberal Provincial Government and its stupid, dumb, foolish, ludicrous, brainless, inane (you get the idea) … Green Energy Program.

The very program that pays landowners to produce unneeded power via solar and wind – at a cost of upwards of 82.5 cents per kwh when the wholesale rate is but 2 cents per.

Stelco is the not the first and will not be the last manufacturer to be struck down by these unbearable rates.

And how can we expect our manufacturers to compete against other non-ontario jurisdictions where retail power costs are 5 to 6 cents per kwh when their costs are approaching 20 cents per.

They can’t and moreover they won’t – either they will move or they will shutdown.

Simple as that.

It makes the Senate shenanigans look like small potatoes.

Let’s quickly look at the numbers…

In the early 1980s there were over 1 million Ontarians employed in manufacturing – the ratio to the then population (1982 / 8 million) – 1:8

Now flash ahead to 2013 – Ontario’s population is  13.5 million and yet the number now employed in its manufacturing sector is 770k – for a ratio of 1:17 – a reduction of over 50% in a little over 30 years.

Is it any wonder then that Ontario is now a have-not province?

Nor is it any wonder that our provincial debt is nearing $300 billion – far worse than California which has triple Ontario’s population and considers itself bankrupt.

But with the antics in Ottawa and the Fords in Toronto – the Ontario Grits get more or less a free ride.

Ever heard the term – going to hell in a hand basket?

Things could be done to mitigate the situation – especially in the case of Stelco – ever heard of pipelines?

Had the green light been given – they would have been produced in Hamilton – and Stelco would have survived at least for another day.

You would think under these circumstances that the NDP would be fighting tooth and nail to see these pipelines produced …but no they are totally against them.

I guess unless you are a fat cat government worker the New Democratic Party is not interested in you.

And the Ontario Liberals are most certainly not interested in protecting its fragile manufacturing sector.

I guess we had all better brush up on flipping burgers – at least until the Chinese develop a robot that can do it for us.

As I see it …

‘K.D. Galagher’

 

 

REQUIEM FOR THE PRIME MINISTER

 

When the Mike Duffy kerfuffle first broke, I said in a Blog at that time that it was not plausible that the Prime Minister had not known in advance of Nigel Wright’s $90 k gift … but as no one other than Wright and the PM appeared to know otherwise – the benefit of a doubt should be extended to him.

That slight strand of benefit was then stretched even further when it was subsequently determined that a ‘cast of thousands’ knew beforehand of the Wright / Duffy gift. 

But again, I was prepared to give our Prime Minister the benefit of the doubt … much more reluctantly though.

Now that it has been revealed by Duffy that the PC Party even went so far as to pay his not so insignificant legal bill – some $13k plus, it causes me to conclude that our Prime Minister was in on all of this from the very beginning despite his protestations to the contrary.

The strand broke.

And as I have previously said, should this day ever come, Harper would have no other choice but to resign since his credibility would be irreparably impaired.

The Tory Convention taking place this weekend in Calgary would provide a proper forum for him to announce it…after-all, it is the folks in the Party that he has so badly let down.

Will he do so?  I don’t know since he certainly cannot be pushed out, but I do think his resignation is coming soon – within days or weeks…not months.

“Why do you think that Galagher?”

Because despite the fact that he has lied to us, Harper is at heart an honourable man.

If we were speaking of someone like Chretien, my thoughts of course would be otherwise.

And the irony in all of this is that Harper’s lie was to ensure that tax payer’s money was returned to them.

This has got to be a first in politics and most certainly will be studied in the classes of Political Science for years to come.

But I can just hear the lefties now:

‘Harper lied to us; we can no longer trust him (not that they ever did). What will he do next?  Lower taxes? There is no end to what this guy might do’.

Bizarre.

Brought down by pygmies.

And we’ll all be the poorer for it.

Count on it.

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’

 

One Man’s Plan For A Reformed Senate…

 

After reading my recent Blog – The Three Stooges, an acquaintance of mine … Parliament Hill Harry (PHH for short) contacted me for the purpose of sharing his plan for a Reformed Senate.

The Plan itself is amazingly simple – in more ways than one – it allows for Members of Parliament, having been elected in five or more General Elections, to sit in a Reformed Senate – for life, which not too long ago was the accepted standard.

Anyway, PHH’s thinking is that it is non-politicians who come in and continually screw things up – so why not appoint only former politicians – “the guys and gals who have actually had to fight in the trenches” so to speak.

When he initially called me, he asked if I could live with his plan given my general distain for the institution and I had to be honest with him by saying no – ‘any unelected legislative body is doomed to failure’.

But PHH was not to be deterred – he said he had run the plan by a current member of the esteemed chamber (aka A Senator) and received some promising feedback.  He included with his plan a transcript of that feedback.

Here is how it went:

PHH… ‘You were once a successful politician who was elected several times to the House of Commons, would you not agree with me that the Senate would be a much better place if membership was confined to former M.P.s?”

A Senator… ‘You are on to something here Harry – its those darned former media types who come into this place (Senators continually refer to the Senate as this place as if there is really any danger of it being confused with the other place – the elected House of Commons …but I digress) and royally ball things up – they do not know how the game is played.  Simple as that.”

PHH…’So you could live with my plan?’

A Senator …’Maybe, but I do find one aspect of it troubling and that relates to the life term.  Now don’t get me wrong – I like the idea of an appointment for life (why wouldn’t he – he is currently 73 and will be obliged to leave the Senate upon attaining his 75th birthday) but we have to be practical here … what if a few of us come down with serious afflictions before we die – say dementia for instance?”

PHH… ‘That is all covered in the addendum to my Plan – should an Honourable Senator become incapacitated, his or her vote would automatically be considered cast for the Party he or she represents.’

A Senator …’Well that’s certainly thinking ahead there young feller’.  But what if there were instances where we wanted to vote against our own Party – I know if never happens.. but just what if..’.

PHH..’Can you provide me with a for instance?’

A Senator… ‘Well what if your own Party wanted to reduce the term of Senators – or God forbid, actually do away with the Senate – I would want my vote to be cast against it’.

PHH..’If you will read the small print in the same addendum it states that Honourable (sick) Senators can have their votes cast against their own Party if they have made instructions in advance of their affliction, that is to say, while they were fully compos.

So in the cases you suggested, all you would need do is let the Speaker of The Senate know in advance that should your mental health deteriorate on your way to 100, and should such an item come up for vote …your vote would be cast as a Nay – even if it was your own Party sponsoring the vote".’

A Senator..’Well Harry you have thought of everything, and in so doing you have preserved the role of the Senate as the place of sober second thought.  Congratulations.

I am all for it and I can assure you my fellow former House colleagues will be as well.

Now, should we adjourn to the lounge for a libation or two?  The Senate will of course pick-up the tab.

PHH .. ‘Capital idea Senator’.

So Galagher do you think my plan has legs?

Well Harry, if it has any chance for success you will need to win the Media over to your side and there is only one way you can do that.

PHH ..’Appoint Media Types to the Senate for life’.

Fraid so. 

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’