ARE WE IN FOR ANOTHER BIG ONE ?

As in Recession ....or even  Great Recession?  Or how about a Depression or even another Great Depression?

Can't happen you might say.  But maybe, just maybe...

Yesterday, the DOW was down over a thousand points and today it again came too close to that significant number - so nearly 2,000 points down in but 2 days.  What will tomorrow or the day after bring?

It has been but 10 years since the world experienced the Great Recession - 2007/08 and some 90 years since the Great Depression and folks I can tell you things on the ground today - as we head into a new decade - look similarly bleak.

The immediate cause for this week's down-draft is the spreading of the Coronavirus.  Whole countries are shutting down and with them - economic activity is coming to a halt.  It just shows how vulnerable commerce is to outside influences in this modern, mobile age.

But there are other perhaps less serious causes for the economic retraction but all still substantial - take Donald Trump's irresponsible policies of trade war and devastating tariffs.  They hurt the USA as much as they hurt other countries.  Even the 'White House' came out recently to say that its President had been mistaken in these regards.

And then you have the Climate disasters that abound through-out the world - forest fires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes and twisters.  They do not just damage infrastructure - they destroy it for years on end.  Revelations makes good suggested reading.

Add to this - war and strife that too inundates world affairs.  The economy takes second-fiddle to trying to protect life and limb.

Finally, to insult to injury is the progressives' move to everything Green.  It is expensive, inefficient and takes away from serious economic activity.  Our Prime Minister - Justin Trudeau is a prophet when it comes to this nonsense and if you do not have the misfortune of living under his delusional leadership - you are indeed most fortunate.   But many other countries have also drunk the kool-aid.

And thanks to our flakey Prime Minister, we in Canada have the unique problem of our natives deliberately trying to bring our commerce to a halt - via rail, road and bridge stoppages.  All that our natives want is for the 'white man' to turn over the lands they stole... back to the Indian.  Simple as that and - dear reader - the natives have an ally in Justin.

So the question becomes not Why Are The World Economies Faltering - but, Why Did It Take So Long? ... When the World is going to Hell in a Hand-basket.

As I See It...

K.D. Bell

THE WEEK THAT WASN'T...

This week was supposed to be the week when our Federal Government ruled on whether or not Teck Resources' Frontier Project would be allowed to proceed in the Province of Alberta.

Earlier today though, the CEO of Teck came out to say his company was cancelling the project - a project that would have created 7,000 good paying jobs and would have injected over $40 Billion into Alberta's stalled economy.

Now if I was the cynical type - I would say from the above that we the taxpayer had been had.  After 10 years of fighting tooth and nail for this project - its owners come out at the 12th hour to announce that it has lost interest in it.  Pshaw !!

And I later learned that my suspicions were validated.

Some intrepid reporter found out that or Progressive overly Green Government had recently approached Teck to say that although it would approve the project later this week - it would do so with a number of conditions that would keep the project on ice for a further 10 years or more.

To understand what happened here - is to understand that had the Government imposed more restrictive conditions at this late stage - Albertans would have gone ballistic.  Fuel would have been added to the ever-growing separatist feelings.

By having Teck do its dirty work - it at least dulled the impact and at the same time - keeps its stranglehold on their progressive, tree-hugging followers.

But now we know the rest of the story - my apologizes to the late Paul Harvey.  Teck was tipped off and knew full well their project - after 10 years was dead on arrival.

Or do we know the rest of the story...Perhaps only part.

Again call me a cynic - but what would you do if you were the head of Teck and Young Trudeau's thugs came to you to tell you a decision would be forthcoming but with a number of conditions that could not be possibly met?

If you are anything like me - you would not issue a last minute statement to say your company was pulling up stakes.   Why - you's let the Federal Government render its divisive statement and then you would announce your pull-out.

Teck says that it has lost over a billion dollars on this futile project ....I wonder how much of that the Feds will cover-off?  Nothing else makes sense.

Our Government makes Trump and an company look like amateurs.

As I See It...

K.D. Bell

IMPEACHMENT, MAYBE THE TIME HAS COME FOR DONALD TRUMP. !!

As you know, I was not a fan of the endless Impeachment Debate that, until recently, had plagued Trump's Presidency virtually from the get-go.  Like many of you, I saw it for what it  was - the Democrats seeking revenge against The Donald for having the temerity to win the 2016 Election over their fair-haired - Hillary Clinton. 

I will not rehash this embarrassing period- embarrassing for all participants, other than to say its most recent alliteration - of  saying Trump tried to bribe the Ukrainian President regarding matters relating to V.P. Joe Biden and his son.  When the President of the United States - the strongest politician in the world, cannot say what he wishes to his counterparts throughout the world without it landing on page 1 of the New York Times ... we're all in trouble.  Folks that is simply how politics works - or if you like...doesn't work in the big leagues.

However, that does not entitle a President or any other leader of one of our few democracies to personally interfere in the workings of the administration of justice.  And that is just what he did - when he directly involved himself in the sentencing of his good friend -  Roger Stone earlier this week.

This has been verified by none other than the Justice herself and by his own Attorney General - William Barr.

It is called interfering with the Rule of Law and not even the President of the United Statesd has the right to do this.

If I was Barr, I would resign immediately - it would be nice to see someone of principle leave on their free will than be dropped kicked out as has happened to so many of his contemporaries. 

Strangely, and you will know from my recent blogs, we have the similar problem here in Canada but from the reverse angle.  Our Prime Minister - Justin Trudeau, will not invoke the Rule of Law to prevent some Natives from tying up our Commerce via rail and road blockages. 

So in our case, Trudeau ensures special legal treatment for some - just like he has shown in the past for special legal treatment for some of his influential friends in our Province of Quebec.

So while Trudeau ignores the Rule of Law like the plague - Trump stomps all over it for a friend.

In both cases it is gravely damaged.   Can one Impeach our Prime Minister too?

As I See It ...

K.D. Bell

I AM QUICKLY BECOMING A BLOCKADE PROPONENT....

BET  THAT  SURPRISES  YOU  A  LITTLE !!

Permit me though to quickly put your minds at ease.

We here in Canada are currently undergoing 3 weeks of Indian Blockades of our rail systems which has greatly adversely affected our economy.   These environmental thugs are blocking our rails attempting to shut down various large mineral and oil extractions.  What they do not seem to realize is they can stand-down easy since our Prime Minister - the one and only Gadfly Justin Trudeau has always been willing to do their bidding for them - and there is no indication he will do differently in the future.

So why I am becoming a Proponent for these Shenanigans?

Well to tell the truth the idea is not mine - but belongs to my friend Johnny who grew up with me in our village of Brighton Ontario on the same street.  I have mentioned this street in past blogs - as you may recall - it has two names - at the one end it is called Sandford and at the others - the d is dropped. I lived at one end - Johnny's home was more toward the other end so I guess we really did live on separate streets...

I spoke with John last eve by phone - by way of our land phones if you can believe it.  Johnny currently lives nearby the Tyendinaga Reserve which has reveled in this self-destructing tactics for many years now.  In keeping with Peter MacKay's vocal support for Albertan vigilantism, I asked John if he and his wife would be renting a pick-up truck and routing out these marauders just like the fellows did a couple of days ago out west.  Sadly Johnny said "No" - I was naturally disappointed but now hold MacKay in somewhat greater regard.

Okay here is his idea.  Many reserves in Canada are simply places for illegal business - cigarettes,  marijuana, booze, gambling and the like.  In recent years, routes into these reserves have been lined with state of the art prefab illegal sales outlets and all while the police turn a blind eye to the general public coming there on mass to seek out spectacular but illicit deals.

So what would happen - Johnny opinions - if the cops were to block off the general public from their Merchandising Bonanza?  I could see his point immediately - their lucrative misadventures would immediately be ruined.  Bet you would see their rail blockades come down pretty darn fast.  And no one would get hurt.

But the chances of this happening are most unlikely despite the fact that it is so common-sensical.  Common sense appears to have less and less relevance in the affairs of man as time goes on.

As I See It...

K.D. Bell

Western Society Continues It's Relentless Descent Into Oblivion

Take our Country - Canada - for example.

We have different laws for our 9 provinces and 3 territories than we do for one of our provinces - Quebec.  Well in fact, we have no federal laws applying to that province.  Similarly, we have different laws for the average citizen than we do for our natives - indeed, like Quebec, neither federal nor even provincial laws appear to apply to them.

We now have a significant portion of our economy seriously being damaged due to Indian rail blockades.  Our provincial police were shown recently approaching one such blockage with a peace offering - maple syrup.  Only in Canada you say.

In addition to lack of law enforcement, Religion too is in steep decline.  The Christian / Judaic Principles that built our land are long gone despite the fact that these very values were the reason millions of the world's poor, weary and huddled masses came to our shores seeking and finding a much better life.

Given this, it comes as no surprise that the culture of death is extending its tentacles into our society's most vulnerable.  Death once had meaning...today it is becoming just an inconvenience.

A former Prime Minister famously said 'our Members of Parliament became nobodies when they traveled but 50 feet from our Parliament'.  Today, our Members are nobodies even when they attend that self-same Parliament...Government is run by the Prime Minister, The Head of the Civil Service and their personal coterie of advisors in 'short pants'.

But dear reader, there is even a greater threat to our democracies and that is the Courts.  When I went to Law School I was taught that our Laws were made by politicians and administered by the Courts.  Today, the Court has assumed responsibility for actually making the laws despite the fact that its membership is neither elected nor accountable to the public.

Capitalism is also under attack.  Polling shows that societies' young vastly favour Socialism over Capitalism and all of our Parties are simply various shades of Progressivism.  No wonder then, a septuagenarian leads the race for the Democratic Candidate for President - socialist Bernie Sanders.

The Environment has become our new religion -  our new economic underpinning.  Significant construction projects take years to navigate the cumbersome reviews and then, most likely,  are turned down.  Indeed the McKenzie River Project took over 40 years to study and finally, ended in failure.  At the other extreme we see dictatorships, like China build an entire 1,000 bed hospital in but 10 days.  Better start taking Chinese language lessons folks

And last but not least is the issue of Debt and Deficits.  Progressives' love them.  Everything they could possibly want - their little hands are thrust out to receive.  Forget about the American tradition of earning your own way and Margaret Thatcher's apt warning - Socialism works only until progressives run out of other peoples' money to spend.  Just like your chargex bills at home -  the day will come when the balance is due...and what then.

It doesn't work for you at home and it won't work for your government.  Here in Canada we have a master spender of hard-earned taxpayer dollars... our one and only Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  When he ran for office in 2015 he promised a modest deficit of $10 billion - modest to him - large to you and I.   But that soon proved to be chump change for him. The debt then at the national level was $628 Billion.  Today it has morphed to $699 Billion while the deficit has increased to $20 billion annually and is predicted to rise even more.  These numbers do not even include the dismal figures at our provincial level.  In the USA it is even worse.  When Trump came into power the national debt stood at $20 Trillion...today it is $3 Trillion more...some businessman he.  This number exceeds that country's annual GDP.  He is adding to the debt at a rate of $1 Trillion per year - the same high number experienced by his predecessor Barrack Obama.

 When does it end ...as it surely will.  And do not forget, America's Banker is now China. 

You might have noticed that I have not mentioned Europe in my above analysis.  I did not do so - since those countries are in worse shape than us.

So what is the solution.  That's easy ...citizens of western democracies need to take back power from the elites and the small but vocal interest groups.  I can be done but time is running out ...for us all.

As I See It...

K.D. Bell

SOME NON-PREDICTIONS FOR 2020

Sorry for my tardiness in supplying my (non) predictions for the year we are now well into.

As you will see, I thought I would approach this topic a little differently this year...rather make predictions, as in other years, I thought I would approach the coming new year / new decade with non-predictions such as:

But before I begin....this past year saw my son save my life with his aggressive cpr so he can no longer complain about anything I say,do, or write about...It Is All His Fault.  So please bear that in mind if you find things you may disagree with below...it is not my fault ...rather Scott's. 😌

1. There will not be a federal election this coming year despite the fact that the Liberal Government finds itself in minority territory the main reason being none of the opposition parties want one and will not want an election for some time yet.  The other reason is that the Libs will find themselves in the popularity doldrums and thus in no position to call a snap election;

2.  Trump will not lose America's General Election this coming November thanks mostly to the Democrats antics surrounding Impeachment and the plethora of moderate dem leadership candidates;

3.  New Oil and Gas Pipelines in Canada will not get built this coming year despite Prime Minister Trudeau's promise to lend a more sympathetic ear to the economic needs of Western Canada;

4.  Brexit will no longer be an issue for the Brits;

5.  China will not release the two Canadian hostages taken in revenge for the house arrest of Huawei's Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver but she will no longer find herself in Canada - rather the USA;

6.  The economy of the United States will falter.  It has simply gone up for too long;

7.  The World will not become a safer place: violence, resurrection will not end save for in Hong Kong where the Chinese Leadership's patience will not continue;

8.  Venezuela's Dictator - Nicholas Maduro, one way or the other, will not remain;

9.  Peter MacKay - slated to be coronated Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada - will not be so;

10.  The world economy will not be robust no thanks to President Trump's Tariff Antics;

11.  Alberta will not separate from Canada although over the year separatist sentiment will not improve...it will worsen;

12.  Ottawa's Light Rail will finally not breakdown continually;

13.  The Coronavirus will not get lessen, it will get worse despite efforts by Health Experts to down-play the danger;

14.  If John Baird enters the Leadership Race for the Conservative Party of Canada ...he will not lose;

15.  In this same Leadership Race, the Social Conservative Vote will not embarrass itself.

                                                                  --------------------

THE 'VALUE' OF SOCIAL CONSERVATISM

I have not been all that prolific in my writings of late but when I do write it is often about the Conservative Party Leadership Race currently underway here in Canada.

You know as well as I that if I wrote about the Trump  debacle my readership would swell but the one area I agree with the Trumper is that Impeachment is a contrived witch hunt.  It will not bring him down and may well launch him back into the Presidency this coming November and I say that with sadness.  America and indeed the world needs better.  But continued talk and writing about it is a monumental waste of time.

So I keep coming back to my home country since the divisive issues facing us have the potential of breaking up our 150+ year old democracy.

One of those serious divisive issues concerns Social Conservatives and whether or not they should be allowed to remain in our supposed Right of Centre Party.

As a Social Conservative myself I have felt, for some time, unwanted even though I have voted Conservative since age of majority.  The bulk of the pundits though have concluded that our Party would be best off if it simply jettisoned our ilk and moved closer to the left... liberal lite so to speak.

And that Dear Reader is the last thing our country needs.  Canada is full of Progressives now and look where that has gotten us.

I read an interesting article the other day in which a conservative commentator actually allowed that us social conservatives had "value" to our party.  But not in the way one would expect the word 'value' to mean ....at least in how I define the word.

He spoke of the word from the perspective of a back-room apperratjeck  ...as in we need social conservatives solely for their votes..since we are just too numerous in the Party if not throughout the land in general.  He is of course partially right - the Party does indeed need our votes but our real value is to keep the Party true to its traditions while defending and supporting social issues essential to the well-being of Canada.

This includes things like trying to put the brakes on our Society's determined descent into The Culture of Death; Support for the Traditional Family which has been and will continue to be an essential building block to ensure a robust democracy; Pro Parental Rights - why the heck are we teaching serious sex ed to very young children in our schools. Let kids be kids; Promoting Basic Freedoms such as the Freedom of Religion and the Freedom of Speech...our human rights tribunals are nothing more than kangaroo courts that stomp on those freedoms at will; and finally, to Defend Traditional Marriage - we view marriage as a union between a man and a woman...if gays wish to marry, more power to them but do so in a  civil ceremonies we'll get married in our Church.

And, one more thing...Gay Pride Parades...I would find Heterosexual Pride Parades equally offensive.  In a word, they are nothing but a spectacle.  I do not feel superior to Gays..indeed we are all human beings, bleed the same way and we all want to enjoy good health and enjoyment in life.  I know gays in my life who also do not attend these events and I know that they certainly are not the least bit critical of my not attending either.

Okay to sum up:  Social Conservatism is the Conscience and Soul of the Nation.  We will most certainly not go away and if the Conservative Party continues to denigrate our beliefs, we will have no choice but to walk away from it and start afresh.

As I See It...

K.D. Bell