MURDER MOST FOWL …

 

As in …

I will fill in the blank a bit later.

But Murder it was – of that I have no doubt.

Another innocent victim needlessly cut down and what have or what will the police do about it?

Absolutely nothing.

And yet, legions of cops appear on the annual Sunshine list.

So are we getting our monies worth?  I think not.

Now let me fill in the blank:

As in Most Crustaceans.

And to be more precise, I am speaking here of the premature demise of Mickey the Lobster.

Mickey was found in a box – alive – yesterday morning, in a parking lot in St. Catharines, Ontario.  Given that lobsters sell for between 10 and 11 dollars per pound, I suspect his loss was inadvertent.  But whether it was or not – really does not touch upon the crime to come.

From there he (or she) was trucked to the city’s Humane Society where some Wisenheimer, undertook to return Mickey to the sea … the Atlantic Ocean … some 1000 miles away.

But poor Mickey never got to make the trip home.  Indeed he died under mysterious circumstances sometime last night.

Quelle Surprise.

I know what happened and I suspect you do as well.

Once the Wisenheimer made his reckless promise; long time donors to the shelter began calling:

‘If you have enough money to send a lobster 1,000 miles to the sea, obviously you are no longer in need of mine”.

And then what about the cats and dogs that overpopulate our centres – would the money not be better spent on them and so on and so on.

I can see an emergency meeting going late into last night to come up with a plan to undo the damage.

The meeting would eventually come to an end with the Chair directing Wisenheimer to ‘do the right thing and get it done before the sun rises tomorrow’.

And he did.  No witnesses – no one to care about poor Mickey’

How went about doing his dastardly deed, does not even bear thinking about.

Unconfirmed reports state that several witnesses saw the body earlier today one reporting that it “was scarlet all over as if it had been badly burned”.

Another opined that it looked to them that the poor crustacean had succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Of interest to us, none reported death by natural causes. 

I have another theory though, I suspect Wisenheimer will be having lobster dinner tonight.

As I see it …

‘K.D. Galagher’

Is it Big Joe or Grand Joe…

 

Who cares, you may say but the owners of the newest team in the Canadian Football League apparently do.

With their first game is scheduled for this coming July 18th, they have just this week announced the name of the team’s mascot … Big Joe Mufferaw.

Joe Mufferaw a.k.a. Joe Montferrand is Canada’s answer to America’s Paul Bunyan.  Both lumberjacks had super human reputations.

Montferrand was born in 1802 near Montreal but worked in the woods beside the Ottawa River, north of Ottawa.

Stompin Tom Connors brought the legend of Big Joe to millions of Canadians with his song called Big Joe Mufferaw.  It has become a classic.

‘Mufferaw’ was the anglicized pronunciation of Big Joe’s name and in that regard, the football team has taken flack for naming its mascot as such.

They quickly backpedalled and just announced that their new mascot will now be named Big Joe / Grand Joe.

Makes ones blood stir, n’est pas?

With all the problems around the world and here in  Canada, the controversy surrounding this name change is of course minor but nevertheless it does say something about us as a society.  We have become sooo politically correct.

When I hear Stompin Tom’s song, I always think of a very impressive Francophone – legend or not – and despite how his name is pronounced.

Can’t you just imagine being in the crowd and signing at the top of your lungs Stompin Tom’s ditty – the team could be losing – and as a new team probably will  – but what fun.

Sadly, this same cannot be said for a crowd calling out ‘Big Joe’ or ‘Grand Joe’.

We are all the poorer for this – French and English and all the rest.

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’

 

THE WE KNOW-NOTH THINKS & WYNNE…

 

HAS FINALLY BLOWN IT.

The We Know-Noth Thinks are of course our current Premier Kathleen Wynne and her esteemed predecessor, the Honourable Dolton McGunity.

Both came out last week to announce … once again … just that .. we know noth-think.  This was in response to the OPP investigation that alleges emails in the Premiers’ Office were improperly destroyed between the period of February 6, and March 20, 2013. The report also alleges that the instigators, were none other than McGuinty’s chief of staff David Livingston and a hired techy … Peter Faist.

But McGuinty said last week that he knew absolutely nothing of this, as did Wynne, despite the fact that she became Leader of the Liberal Party on January 26, 2013 and was then sworn in as Premier on February 13, 2013.

And just today we learn that the above mentioned Peter Faist, was on the Liberal Government pay rolls and more recently on the Liberal Party rolls until --- are you ready, just this past weekend, when his services were unceremoniously terminated.

It begs one’s credulity to believe that either or both principals knew noth-think as Sgt. Schultz would have appropriately said. 

And we cannot even say that this was an isolated event – indeed the number of scams, missteps and out right wastages of money committed by Ontario’s Liberal Government goes back over its 10 years in office and for every one of them – Wynne was front and centre in the Legislature.  There are simply too many such boondoggles to list, but even if I did, the fact that anyone would not be up to speed on most of them defies the imagination.

So that’s the We Know Noth-Thinks part of this Blog.

The other Aspect is, I believe, even more important.

Premier Wynne has given Tory Leader, Tim Hudak, a gift.

She has threatened to sue him for libel and guess why, because Hudak had the temerity to say that she was likely aware of the email shenanigans going on in her and in her predecessor’s office.

Just Imagine.

What she has inadvertently done though is to ensure that this issue remains front and centre in the media and before the public until the next election.

Politicians are taught early on how to deal with the Media and one of the first lessons is to never repeat a negative thrown at them.

Permit me to give you an example.

If your opponent calls you a ‘dolt’ you do not reply be saying you are ‘not a dolt’ since that merely reinforces the negative word in the mind of the listener.

So in Wynne’s case, she issued a public letter threatening a law suit which restated, word for word - the words she found to be so libellous. 

Thank you again Ms. Wynne.

The classic example of this mistake of course was made by the late President Richard Nixon.  He was being accused of being a ‘crook’ so what did he do?  He announced to millions that “I am not a crook” and from there on, anytime his name was mentioned – his own words came negatively to mind.

And even more damaging, with her law suit antics, Wynne has inadvertently propped up a heretofore lacklustre Tory Leader; Hudak now looks like a hero.  Only Wynne could do that.  From now on the guy will be known as the man who stood up to her mean-spirited threat.  And there is strength in that.

From all of this, I believe, Wynne has just inserted the final nail into her election coffin.

It will take the Dipper Leader – Andrea Horwath to decide when that is likely to occur. And she continues to be on record as saying she will not vote against the Grits until she is satisfied there is enough evidence against them to do so.

I bet there are alot of guys currently serving time who would loved to have had ‘impossible to convince Andrea Horwath’ on their Jury.

Or maybe, dear Kathleen will take a walk in the snow like so many before her?

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’

 

PARSLEY.

We have company coming for dinner later today and Anne sent me out to buy some Parsley from the local Independent.

She encouraged me to make sure it was fresh. 

“No problem”, I replied.

So off I went.

I am a person who knows his limitations, so the first thing I did upon entering the store was to seek out the Green Grocer Guy… hereinafter referred to as the GG Guy.

I ask the nice man where I might find Parsley and he kindly walked me over to a bin.  He needlessly pointed out to me the sign directly above announcing naturally enough ‘Parsley’.  How convenient I thought.

I hurried home with my $1.29 purchase.

I gave the bunch of greenery to Anne whereupon she smelt it and pronounced it not to be Parsley. “This”, she said, “is Cilantro”.  “Cilantro has an odour whereas Parsley is odour free”  Who’d have thought.

But I was not to be awed by such a theory since of course I had the utmost faith in the GG Guy – “are you sure Anne”?  - she then produced a tag from the base of the greenery confirming the plant to be ‘Cilantro’.

“Galagher, don’t you know the difference between Parsley and Cilantro”?  And then she quickly corrected herself …”oh, I forgot, of course you don’t”.  (Having been married for over 40 years there obviously were a few things Anne had come to know about me). 

She went on, “but that does not excuse the GG Guy, one would have thought that he would have known the difference between the two”.

I told Anne that I would return to the store and confront the GG Guy on his ignorance and make sure this time he gave me the correct product – i.e. I would check the tag to ensure it was labelled Parsley.

Off I went.

When I got to the store, I was relieved to see the GG Guy still stocking produce.  I went up to him and smugly said, “do you recall me being here 20 minutes ago when you handed my a bunch of Parsley”?

“Yes I do” he said.

“Well dear sir what do you call this” – as I held out my now known to be bunch of Cilantro.

“Cilantro” he shot back.

“Well why did you give me Cilantro when I had asked for Parsley”?

“It was Parsley that I handed you”.

Oh Oh, I thought to myself.

“Was there both Cilantro and Parsley in that same bin”? I asked.

“Yes there was” he replied.

It then dawned on me, after the GG Guy handed me the bunch of greenery and had turned away, I had replaced it with what I thought to be a fresher bunch … as per Anne’s instructions.

In doing so, I had obviously picked up Cilantro instead of the sought after Parsley.

GG Guy had a good laugh at this whereupon he offered to go out back and fetch a really fresh batch… of Parsley that is.

When I got back home I handed Anne the new bunch which she proclaimed to be “Parsley and a most fresh bunch at that”.

If only Anne had sent me for Rutabagas, I could have easily distinguish them from turnips.

As I see it …

‘K. D. Galagher’

 

 

And Speaking of Casablanca…

Note: below I state that Kathleen Wynne’s Chief of Staff allegedly collaborated with Dalton McGuinty’s Chief of Staff in deleting numerous Official Government E-mails.   I received this information via the local radio station here in Ottawa yesterday, but reports today indicate this was a mistake – the lady who allegedly cooperated was McGuinty’ s Deputy Chief of Staff.  I apologize for this error since it debunks a key element of my Blog.  I still believe Wynne knew what was going on and I suspect that eventually the resurrected e-mails will bear this out.  Mea Culpa

We all remember Captain Renault’s line that he was “shocked … shocked to find out that gambling is going on here.”

All the while he was collecting his night’s winnings.

‘Captain Renault’ …a.k.a – Kathleen Wynne, in the Legislature today said former Premier McGuinty’s Chief of Staff never worked for her, nor for her government.

This was in response to news that the cops are moving in on said Chief of Staff for allegedly bringing in an outside techie to delete records from numerous Government Computers.

The Captain Renault moment in this bizarre episode is three-fold: First -  the alleged deletion work occurred at the beginning of Wynne’s Premiership  so in that sense, the Chief of Staff had to have been on her payroll.  McGuinty was long gone.

Second and more importantly, she was involved – deeply involved since the techie brought in to do this dastardly work was no other than the live-in boy friend of Wynne’s Chief of Staff.

And third, when asked whether her own government computer was worked, on she refused to answer.

And yet, Wynne was “clear” today, that she has always disclosed nothing but the “truth” and has worked diligently in ‘support of the police’.

As I continually say, politicians speak the truth up and to the point when they open their mouths and Wynne and her predecessor, Dalton McGuinty are masters at prevarication.

But this could well be the golden straw that breaks the camel’s back.  Assuming that the current Ship of Fools at Queen’s Park have even an iota of a conscience that is.

Sadly, though it still will probably come down to whether NDP Leader Andrea Horwath decides to continue to prop the Grits up.

And although it defies logic, Horwath likely will, but then again, she has already defied logic for some 13 months plus … the time Wynne has been in office.

In all of this, it galls me to no end that an unelected Premier can hang on for so long without seeking a mandate – after-all, the voters in the last election voted for her predecessor and not her. But that does not seem to concern Wynne in the least.

And to some extent even I can take some comfort from all of this – after all, the mess we are in, is a result of democracy in action.  Ontarians knew full well that the Ontario Grits under Dalton McGuinty were a rogue and dishonest bunch of spendthrifts …falling for every stupid and costly initiative that came their way (Green Energy anyone).

Yet in the face of that and through support of their rich and influential union boss friends they were elected fairly not once, not twice, but three times.

Maybe in this light it is understandable why Wynne harbours such distain for Ontarians generally. 

Too bad though that more voters do not hold her in such distain.

We can only hope that these recent disclosures will finally help to turn the tide against this most arrogant and hopelessly inept crew.

But I urge each of you not to hold your breath waiting for that to happen.

As I see it …

‘K.D. Galagher’

 

AS Time Goes By …

 

As in the movie Casablanca … which, I believe, is the best movie of all time.

But before I get into today’s blog, a quick follow-up to my recent Blog regarding our left leaning Supreme Court.

I mentioned in that Blog that most of the important matters affecting society today are dealt with by the Courts and not by our Legislatures.  One area I referred to was with respect to Euthanasia.

This issue came up this morning in a radio show in regard to Stephen Fletcher’ – Tory MP - private bill to legalize assisted suicide.

A Pastor called in and said he feared such a measure would only serve to encourage young people to opt in greater numbers for death.  It is one of the greatest issues now affecting our teens – and the last thing society needs to do is give the signal that it believes such actions are condonable.

I never had thought of this issue in those terms…but he is quite correct.

One of the main reasons put forward by Euthanasists in general is that when pain is unendurable, assisted suicide is the only way out.   I have been on a Hospice Board and my wife Anne has both a Chair and an Executive Director of Hospice and as such we both know that medicine has advanced to the point where nearly all pain can be well and truly controlled.  

The pain issue is a red herring.

But what interested me the most was that the Pastor said he agreed with Fletcher in that a debate was needed on the subject.  He went on to say that if society does not debate it – the Supreme Court will legislate its legality.  My sentiments entirely.

Again why should a majority of the Court – 5 members speak for 35 million Canadians?

So with that back to Casablanca and more to the point, its theme song … As Time Goes By.

So take it away Sam…

You must remember this,

A kiss is still a kiss,

A sigh is still a sigh,

A smirk is still a smirk …  A Smirk Is Still A Smirk?

That is if you drive or ride a bus in Canada’s National Capital … Ottawa.

In Ottawa, City Transit requires to deliver passengers to their door if it is 7 pm or later and if the passenger requests it.

Well recently a woman did just that and all hell broke loose this week at City Hall and with the Capital’s media.

Here is what the lady said to set this fire cracker off:

I approached the woman bus driver and asked her to let me off directly in front of my home since it was past 7 pm.

The woman driver is alleged to have said something along the lines ‘are you afraid and / or do you think this neighbourhood is dangerous?’

The pax allowed that she did whereupon the bus driver … are you ready … Smirked.

It apparently was not a big smirk or even a moderate smirk but according to the complainant, it was a smirk nonetheless.

So she took her complaint to the driver’s bosses and to a receptacle media.

I sympathize with the woman passenger – especially given that Ottawa has been plagued with numerous unsolved rapes over the last 1 or 2 years – so the lady’s fear is understandable to me.

I also believe the driver should have kept her comments to herself is for no other reason than it is company policy to do what the passenger was asking.

I am not so sure though that it warranted raising the matter to the level of her bosses nor to the media.

I hope if it was me, I would simply say sharply to the driver … ‘mind your own business’.

And if this was repeated on another occasion – then I would entertain kicking it upstairs.

I say this because I think too many in society complain to authorities first before trying to resolve a conflict man to man or should I say in the case at hand - woman to woman.

And to bring this back to the Supreme Court, sadly we are beginning to expect and demand others to deal with issues and make decisions on our behalf which we ourselves should be attending to.

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’

 

 

Whose The Dolt …

 

Leftists rub their hands with glee and point out that the Dolt is our Prime Minister the Rt. Hon, Stephen Joseph Harper.

In contrast, some very distinguished Journalists – Christie Blatchford and the eminent Andrew Coyne differ and say the Dolt here is the Supreme Court of Canada.

We are of course talking about Harper’s failed Supreme Court appointment.

Blatchford says in effect that the Court bent over backwards to find against Harper’s nominee Marc Nadon, while Coyne simply dismisses their ruling as ‘flakey’.

I cannot do better than they in my condemnation of the Court so I will not even try, but I do suggest to each of you that you read both articles if you have not yet had an opportunity to do so.

Another author correctly points out that the Court’s decision effectively bars future Quebecers from qualifying for membership on the Court if they are appointed from the Federal Court of Canada as was Nadon.

This despite the fact that that Court has been a launching pad to the SCC on numerous occasions in the past.  Mere collateral damage.

The Court’s real target in all of this is of course P.M. Harper.  The Court seems to leave no stone unturned to embarrass him.

Indeed, it has become a tug of war between them as to who holds the greater power …the Court or  Canada’s Chief Elected Official.

Do I need to point out that all of our major societal issues are being decided by the Courts – such as abortion, the definition of marriage, euthanasia, the legality of prostitution, drug shoot up sites and now, it is encroaching on our Democratic Right to nominate Court Appointees.

And not only that, Harper was advised by the best minds in Justice … as well as by two distinguished retirees from the Supreme Court?  They all assured him that he was on solid ground.

For a moment put yourself in Harper’s position …what more would you have done or could you have done?  Precisely.

And to add to the absurdity, one pundit correctly points out that if Nadon were to resign his Federal Court Judgeship and practice law for but a day in the Belle Province, the Supreme Court’s objection would be overcome. (Note the law requires that a nominee from Quebec must be an advocate in that Province for at least 10 years – Nadon has two times that level of service).

I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that there is something in Canada that does not like democracy and this sadly includes most of the membership of the Supreme Court.

And the leftists are in absolute delight.

But what they fail to understand is that once democratic rights are lost, they are lost to them as well.

Oh and one more thing, do you happen to know how the matter of Nadon got before the SCC in the first place?

A Toronto lawyer brought a motion to that effect and surprise, surprise, the esteemed Court readily accepted it.  This lawyer, by the way, at one point represented one of the notorious Khadr Family members and Justice Marc Nadon rendered an opinion that was less than favourable to his client.

Stinks … does it not?

Anyway, if I was Stephen Harper, I would be tempted to dive into the Quebec advocate ranks and find one that is slightly demented or even moderately … and then appoint him or her to the SCC.

That person would meet the Court’s invented test but would hopefully cause them all to reflect again on the Nadon nomination and how much better that would have been.

Of course, Harper is too classy a guy to do such a thing – but if he did …the Supreme Court of Canada would have it coming in their ongoing war to upstage our duly elected officials.

As I see it …

‘K.D. Galagher’