WHAT WE'VE GOT HERE IS A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE...

From the Classic 1967 Movie Cool Hand Luke starring Paul Newman.

I am speaking of course about the Freedom Convoy and its likely last days.

Communication ...aka Negotiation has been sorely lacking.

What We've Got Here are thousands of ordinary Canadians leaving house and home and travelling thousands of miles to their Capital City ...in the dead of Winter and one would think they were the Plague. Pathetic.

Our Esteemed Prime Minister - supposed Leader of all Canadians has shown nothing but contempt for them.  Our Premier has imposed Emergency Measures as has our Mayor...none of them nor even the Police have made any attempt to negotiate a settlement which would save face for the Protestors and allow things to get back to some state of normal. The Media by and large has been biased by projecting its Progressive / Woke Commentary.   Makes one embarrassed to be Canadian. 

John Diefenbaker famously said...everyone is against me but the people ...how apropos to today. 

I keep saying in these Blogs that this is not about Covid Mandates though the straw that broke the camel's back was admittedly tied to this issue.  After 2 years of allowing Truckers to pass freely into Canada without proof of being vaccinated our petulant and scheming Prime Minister invoked this requirement.  He knew, like everyone else, that these are the dying days of Covid but His motivation was to one more time place a wedge between His Government and the Conservatives... the Truckers were simply a convenient vehicle to use.

Fortunately, it backfired spectacularly on Him to such an extent that his Prime Ministership is in real jeopardy of being lost.  And He has once again proven how unfit He is for office.

So if not the Mandates ..what are the real reasons for the discontent.  Well 2 years of Covid alone has taken its toll and that admittedly is not the fault of the Politicians or anyone else for that matter.  It is a once in a century occurrence that we are getting through the best we can and quite frankly we have done a fairly good job of dealing with it.  The Irony in this though is that our Truckers, until quite recently, were hailed as Heroes in that they were key in our collective efforts to get through this.  

So the Plague cannot be blamed on the Politicians nor on their Health Advisors but their indecision, miscues and holier than thou attitudes have turned many off and have literally bankrupted the service industry.  All the while they continue to get spectacular salaries - with raises, benefits and pensions...and then have the nerve to profess that We are all in this together...

In fact the underlying reasons go back over 50 years when Trudeau Senior pirouetted through the Halls of Parliament.  His Leadership...like His Son's, can best be summed up as being Divisive.  He too distained the West.  He too became the Sole Centre of Power...even declaring that a Member of Parliament was simply a "no-body 50 feet off Parliament Hill".  In the years since, this can still be applied to all Members of Parliament including Cabinet Ministers but now even while they are on the Hill.

The Prime Minister's Opinion is the only one that matters with the only exception being when the Court and its unelected and unaccountable 9 Justices... in their finite wisdom... make the law rather than interpret it as they are too often inclined to do.

And sadly, this is not peculiar just to Canada, throughout the World Democracy is in decline and its Pillars teetering.  The Rise of Dictatorships has been pronounced and the Freedoms we once so readily enjoyed are being taken from us by an ever growing Progressive Left which is all for Free Speech if the Speaker agrees with their Woke Position.  

Time / space precludes me from dealing with this in more detail but to end with this...

If we collectively as Canadians do not have room in our hearts for our Country's Blue Collar Workers...if we allow our Politicians / the Media / and the Progressives to denigrate them and call them names such as racist, misogynists, uneducated...we do not deserve the country our forefathers fought and spilled their blood for ....   Better to let it go which is what appears is happening.  

The Truckers need to call it quits now ..go back to their homes.  The Conservatives need to take up their Cause and See the Return of Democracy to our once proud country.  Members of Parliament must return to representing their constituents...and not be simply a mouth piece for their Party's Leader.  Parliamentary Committees must be separate from the Prime Minister's Office and exercise real power.  The Courts need to get back to interpreting rather than making the law and every time they attempt to do the latter...invoke the Notwithstanding Clause.

And of course,  we desperately need the Triple  'E' Senate...Equal, Elected, and Effective if we are ever going to get rid of 1 Man or 1 Woman Prime Ministerial Rule. 

Finally, if the Conservatives are not up to the Challenge which is likely, then we need to return to the Reform Days but this time with a Real McCoy Reform Party and not the namby-pamby Reformers under Preston ...Same Old...Manning turned out to be.  

Anyway, I could go on and on but you get the idea ...as the Freedom Convoyers so proudly state ..We Need To Take Back Canada before there is nothing left to take back.

As I See It...

'K.D. Galagher'

 

IF RIP VAN WINKEL HAD WOKEN UP TODAY

After His 20 year Siesta ...He would have been Shocked !!

There was NDP Leader Andrea Horwath being Interviewed and demanding that the Truckers from the Freedom Convoy lose their driving licences which would of course impoverish both them and their families.

The Dear Woman was not through though ...She spoke approvingly of Liberal Leader Del Ducca's suggestion to Seize and Confiscate their Rigs.

You see in defence of Van Winkel, when he went to sleep the NDP Party was the Champion of the Little Guy - the Worker and Truckers were at the Top of Their List in those needing the Party's protection.

What Van Winkel did not know...and how could he since he has been asleep for two (2) decades is that while he slept the NDP morphed into a Party that now caters to Unions for the Rich Bureaucrats...the University Professors and such and we all know why.  

It is because those most fortunate folks can afford to pay much more in Union Dues than the poorer ...much poorer and unpensioned blue collar worker could ever imagine doing.  

Nice to be able to jettison one's Principles so easily. 

So take away their livelihoods and to Hell with the Hindmost. 

It makes one sick...and speaking of that...:

Hidey-Hole Trudeau popped his Head up briefly last eve to unload more invective against the Truckers.

Wimpy Willie Watson our thankfully retiring Mayor eagerly joined the fray...demanding 1,800 more cops to add to the countless hundreds on the ground.  They much be quickly reaching the point where there are more police than protestors.

To date there have been no injuries no deaths but that is not due to either Trudeau or Watson and I fear that to add more police to the mix that just might spark it.

Negotiations with the Protestors is what is needed but sorely lacking. 

In that light - no pun intended.. Joel Lightbound a Liberal MP from Quebec and the Quebec Caucus Chair called a Press Conference this morning.  I received a call from my friend since childhood - Johnny asking me if I was watching CBC.  'Now Johnny' I said, when have I ever watched CBC but he quickly told me about Lightbound's Presser and I went to the TV Guide to find CBC's Channel.  Sure enough there was this most articulate young chap deploring the divisive and tone deaf ways of his leader ...Hidey-Hole Justin.  He acknowledged that this action on his part could cost him his Caucus Chair Role and very likely get him kicked out of Caucus ...but finally a Liberal has stood up for Values that have been missing.  Bravo Mr. Lightbound.

Hopefully this might signal the beginning of a movement to oust one of the worst Prime Ministers this Country has ever endured.  

Before closing one humourous note...during all of this an interview took place with a Reporter on the Street ...next to the Truckers.  There was a constant cacophony of horns blaring.  Was it not just yesterday that the Court Ordered an Injunction to Stop Such?  Did the Judge not realize such a Declaration would have no effect...everyone else seemed to understand that.  

But I guess there is hope that this horn honking will stop if Del Duca plan to Seize and Confiscate all offenders.

A Pox on all their Houses ...the Houses of our Delusional and out of control Politicians.

Tomorrow a Blog on a tragedy that nearly occurred in the midst of all of this.

As I See It...

'K.D. Galagher'

 

THE IRONIES OF IT ALL...

Update Note:  in this Blog I did not mention the role played by Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly and I should have.  He has been a steadying force -- cautious and non-confrontational and deserves my credit for the fact that the Freedom Convoy has remained mostly peaceful.  Well Done Chief Sloly. Before writing this update I checked to see if it was the Ottawa Police or Ottawa Bylaw that has been issuing parking tickets in the hundreds and discovered...as I had thought...it was Bylaw.  This ticketing is plain stupid and it is a wonder that it has not led to violence and this is all on Mayor Watson.  Take a Bow... Jimbo. 

 Ottawa's Leftist Loonie City Core Councillors are beside themselves with the "invasion" of the Freedom Convoy...they want more police on the ground and more action from them.

Question For You.  Are these not the Self-Same Councillors who mere months ago wanted to see these self same Police Defunded...less money...,much less money for Policing and more spent on Social Workers?

I guess the olde expression That Was Then and This Is Now applies. 

If you've noticed - urban city councillors tend to be Left Wing Loons and as you move out from the Centre, Councillors become by magic almost ...more conservative.

But that does not account for their sudden liking for the Cops.

In this vane, Our Mayor 'Wipper Watson' has come out declaring a State of Emergency for our Nation's Capital City...reminds me of Toronto City when then Mayor Mel 'the Swell' Lastman called in the Troops to deal with a few inches of snow.  Did he not know when he ran for this once prestigious office that it often snows in Canada during Winter? Guess not, anyway he obvious didn't think that over staffed City couldn't handle the job. 

Anyway, Ottawa Sun Columnist Brian Lilley summed this up better than I could in his column today:

   This Action will do little to remove the protestors, their trucks, their bouncy castles or their saunas.

And this reminds me of your comment Patrick (our wonderful straight 'A' grandson) when I showed him pictures of students in Ottawa huddled under their desks in case of Atomic Attack during the Cold War..."why grandpa that would protect them for 2 minutes or so".  His Grandma Anne - a student in Ottawa those days, was one of the under 'deskers'.  

All weekend long our Papers have published oodles of pictures of the goings on downtown and not one ...not one... showed any one committing damage or injury to others. Indeed, they show what Anne and I experienced yesterday when we walked those precincts...people determined but having fun...more Carnival than Ruthless Occupation.

You would not know that however if you got your News from our totally Woke T.V and Radio Media - they see danger at every corner and breathlessly report their distortions far and wide.  

Here is another take from the Weekend Sun:

    It is kind of fun to watch the progressive politicians and lib-left media light their hair on fire over the  trucker rally. But claims of widespread lawlessness were quite simply untrue.  Indeed, preliminary data from the Ottawa Police show there was less crime in the neighbourhood around Parliament Hill than in a typical week.   The Columnist goes on to highlight other accounts of the Woke that were equally untrue. 

One Turban Wearing Sikh was quoted ...with a smile on his lips, as saying that given his involvement that he must now be a White Racists too. 

Other accounts noted the friendliness between the Protestors and the Police.

Admittedly one thing lacking in the Ottawa Rally is the no one is trying to negotiate a settlement.  Officials in other Cities, including Winnipeg, Toronto, Quebec and Halifax report that things have gone much more smoothly in their cities because they were able to negotiate and find common ground with one another. No such attempt in our Capital City.

If the Rot starts at the Head then I blame our 'Hidey Hol' Prime Minister for this - the only time he pops up his head is to spew vitriol against the masses.

Second in line is our Mayor who too is missing in action when it comes to seeking a truce.  His answer, as noted above, is to call in the troops and in the meantime ticket every and all Convoy Vehicles they can.  If he is seeking a peaceful conclusion that... Dear Sir ... is not the way to do it.  This puts in even better light his recent decision not to run for re-election in the Fall. 

Last but not least are our wingy Inner City Councillors - no mention from them either om the need to negotiate...quite the reverse. And looking forward to October's Municipal Election so far only candidates from this radical cadre have thrown their hats.  We here in Ottawa stand to have an even more Woke Mayor in Office post October.

As I have said before, these protests are not about the anti-vaxxers though this issue set things off.  Rather, it is about Politicians, Health Officials telling us - the common folk - how you and I should live our lives and we have the added pleasure of paying higher taxes and greater costs of living for the privilege. 

Sadly, despite the best efforts of the Freedom Convoy things will not likely change.  Most Canadians hail from the Progressive Left and our Politicians for their selfish political interests cater to them.  The United States is now heading in the same direction.  

We need better Leaders ...much better Leaders and a return to Democratic Values but despite the best efforts of these Ordinary Canadians ...we are not likely to attain that.

As I See It...

'K.D. Bell' 

  

ONE DOWN TWO TO GO...

 Although I have been blogging for Erin O'Toole to step down ...virtually from the time he won the Conservative Leadership I do not take any joy in his loss today in fact I am sad for both he and his family.  Politics is a dirty business as we all witnessed earlier today.

What I am though is relieved but only wish he did as his predecessor Andrew Shear did and resign on his own rather than to have been humiliatingly defeated by his own caucus. 

For me the olde Adage paraphrased applies here...Why Vote for the Imitation when you can vote for the Real McCoy as in Justin Trudeau the Left Wing Progressive Woke to his very Core.

Trudeau called an unnecessary Election during the height of a once in a century pandemic in his lust for Majority Government.  His focus is on anything but Canada's flailing Economy and for the sake of us all he needs to go. 

Right after that Election I predicted all Three (3) of the Major Party Leaders would be gone before the Next Election comes round.  So Mr. O'Toole is but the first.

Trudeau should be next to go for the reasons I have stated above but Liberal Members of Parliament are not known for their Courage.  So we'll have to cross our fingers and hope for the best.

That leaves Jagmeet Singh and the New Democrats.  Despite thinking he is the best Leader of the Three, the NDP gained but one per cent more in the recent Contest ...from 16 to 17% and but 1 more seat ...from 24 to 25.  Should an Election be held today the results would be similar.  Hardly anything to write home about.  The main fault against Singh is that he is Trudeau's Water Bearer...Yes Man and again the above Adage comes into play.  Why vote NDP when you can vote Liberal and get better results.  Singh needs to go and with Members in the Wings like Charlie Angus that Party could do so so much better.

So let's clear the decks ...these 3 have been distinct failures in their own right.  

Let's bring on Pierre Poilievre and get the next Election underway.

As I Continue To See It...

'K.D. Galagher' 

THE POOR LITTLE DEARS...

 I AM SPEAKING OF COURSE ABOUT THE FAINT OF HEART MEDIA AND THE TRUCKER PROTEST.

Just before coming up to my computer I turned on the news which I have been studiously avoiding due to its flagrant distortion of what is happening right now on Parliament Hill.

They ...are left wing looney progressive media has labelled the Truckers as a bunch of Right Wing Fascists.

All I can say is thank Gawd for the Truckers - at least they were in the front lines during these Covid 2 years while these media bozos pontificated about stuff and nonsense.  I used to think Democracy was dependent on a free and independent press ...and I still do..but it is no thanks to most of the current batch.

Anyway the Reporter on the Ground was complaining about members of the Trucker Crowd coming up and yelling at him and are you ready for this...blocking his camera.

With all the negatives the Media has spewed forth I think the guy got off lucky ...and I am not suggesting for a minute that violence would be in order but certainly a bit of calling these condescending know-it-alls out seems fair and proper.

There are idiots in any significant demonstrations ..on the Right and on the Left but for the most part these folks are decent and represent the heart and soul of what it is to be a Canadian far more than most of the guys and gals behind the microphones.

I'd say to the Chap on TV ...buck up - you and yours stirred the pot with your over-the-top rhetoric now you are reaping the consequences...take it like a man or in this time of Progressives is that too much to ask and to expect.

As I See It...

'K.D. Galagher'

 

HERE COME THE TRUCKERS

 AND FROM THE REACTION OF THE LEFT...THE PROGRESSIVES... YOU'D THINK IT WAS THE END OF THE WORLD.

They have called them every low-life name imaginable...even some well known Tories have joined this Chorus.

If the Truckers were Native, or Racialized, or Antifa...left wing anarchists...there would be not a word said in criticism from the Justin Trudeau's of this world.

Last Summer Antifa Terrorists took over whole American Cities and even their Mayors came out in support of them.  Barf.

The problem here is that the Truckers are viewed as coming from Right of Centre so they have to be bad and therefor condemned. Ottawa's Chief of Police is warning of violence which I would be very surprised to see happen.

Our Left Wing Media has been interviewing shop owners who express fear that their windows will be smashed and their contents stolen.  Horsefeathers. 

If I was a shop owner downtown I would welcome the Trucker Crowd since it will be the only crowd to seen downtown in over 2 years.  Ottawa is a Government Town and Government Employees are working at Home...downtown has become a ghost town. 

And this is not about Vaccines.  Even longtime Grit Backroomer  Warren Kinsella admits this in today's Ottawa Sun ...he correctly chalks it up to Anger on the part of Truckers and indeed more and more of our citizens who are fed up with needless lockdowns and scare tactics on the part of our Politicians and their backstop Doctors. 

The issue did though start off with vaccines and that fact that 10% or so of our International Drivers were and are unvaccinated.  They sit alone in their cabs and during Covid have struggled with an Impaired Supply Chain ... with their loss this will only get worse...much worse.

Lefties laugh at that and pretend it is all stuff and nonsense but of course they are wrong...dead wrong.

My wife Anne sent me to a nearby Loblaws Superstore the other day for Celery and Romaine Lettuce.  There was but one beaten up stalk of celery left which I grab before anyone else could do so.  The Romaine Lettuce was missing entirely. These items as we all know are mainstay staples. 

When I check out the cashier told me that in all her years working there the back storage rooms were always chalk-a-block full ...that morning she said there was not a stick of anything there to be had.

You have to pick your fights and for this one it was not the time to do it.  The Only Reason for it ...I Say again the Only Reason for it - was because it gave our Esteemed Prime Minister another opportunity to bad mouth Conservatives.  He has shown Himself over the course of His 6 years in Power that He never passes up and opportunity to Diss the Right.  And to Hell with the consequences. 

When you go looking for the missing Lettuce and missing Celery at your nearest grocery store ...be sure to keep this in mind.

As I See It...

'K.D. Bell'

 

IT FEELS LIKE THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS ALL OVER AGAIN...

I am speaking of course of the massive Russian buildup on the eastern border of the Ukraine.

But though there are indeed some similarities between these two crises, they are by and large not the same.

So back to the Missile Crisis...Over the course of the middle parts of October and November 1962, when I was a mere pup of 14, the World literally held its collective breath expecting nuclear war to break out at any moment.  School Children throughout North America held drills consisting of hiding under their desks.  My lovely grandson Patrick and I saw a picture of this in Canada's War Memorial and in his owns words summed up what it was "that would protect them for up to two (2) minutes Grandpa".  I am not sure it would even protect them that long but he was bang on about the ineffectiveness of it all. 

I believe this had a lot to do with the fact that World War Two had not long ended plus the horror of Nagasaki and Hiroshima were still fresh visions in everyone's'  minds. 

A brief background...America discovered that Russia had placed nuclear weapons on nearby Cuba only some 250 nautical miles off the coast of Florida...well within range of the entire US Coast and even Canada.  President John Kennedy was in the second of his first 4 year term...a term that he tragically would not finish.  His Top Generals urged him to invade Cuba asap and blast the heck out of these Russian Soldiers and Their Deadly Weaponry.

To Kennedy's credit he did not follow their advice and in his thinking had the help of Brother Bobby who he had made Attourney General.  I say thankfully, since after the fact it was confirmed that the Russian Soldiers embedded in Cuba had strict orders that if they were fired upon they were expected to return fire with their nuclear arsenal.

Instead, Kennedy had a blockade established that surrounded Cuba and stayed the course while Russian Ships with reinforcement and more weaponry ploughed through the waters of the Atlantic toward them.

Who would blink first was the thought and worry of the day.

Fortunately Russia did under the Leadership of Nikita Khrushchev.  The Russian Fleet turned back, their Nuclear Weapons were returned to Russia and the rest, as they say, is History. 

So what is different this time?  First off it does not appear to have caught the attention of the man in street.  Most certainly reports from the United States suggests most view this as a European matter so why should we get involved.  

But this feeling is not just an American phenomenon... it is prevalent in Europe as well.  Germany is more concerned with offending the Russian since it could very easily jeopardize their gas supplies.  France has expressed similar concerns.   And British Boris Johnson is up to his neck in alligators and those gators have nothing to do with either Russia or the Ukraine.

NATO's response has been simply anemic and as I have said since before the time that Russia seized Ukraine's Crimea in 2014, they should have flooded the Ukraine with both troops and weaponry.  They have done neither and that remains the case right up to now when no better authority than America's own President Joe 'the Schmoe' Biden says that he expects Russia to soon invade.  (I know...I just couldn't resist).

Last week, I listened to Biden's first Press Conference held in eons - I can hear your surprise given that I am known to consistently turn the channel when I first see a Politician's Lips begin to move...I know they are lying and moreover know it too. So why did I endure over 2 hours of bafflegab?  Chalk it up to Ghoulish Curiosity...I had heard so many comments about Biden being in the early stages of Dementia I wanted to see for myself.  But in the end,  no real signs of Dementia but it was the most bizarre Q & A , I have ever witnessed.

For instance, He allowed that Russia was likely to invade the Ukraine and even posited that it would likely come down to "which side of the bed Putin woke up on" on any given morning.  He did not leave it there saying that it might be quite okay if Russia was to undertake "a minor incursion" whatever that would amount to.  And this with the knowledge of what Russia did with regard to the Crimea.

How did this Guy ever get to be in the highest most powerful office of the World?  

And sadly,  Leadership is also lacking in all other Democracies as well.

Okay, so much for the differences, I began by saying there are some comparisons to the Cuban Missile Crisis ...so what are they?

Not many but the main ones the two major antagonists are once again Russia and the United States.

The other similarity is the fact that Nuclear War is at risk but this time around it would be far worse than it would have been some 60 years ago.  Indeed, an all out conflagration could very well spell the end of mankind.  

I said at the beginning that there are lots of differences between these two crises...the current one is by far and away the most dangerous and it is not all due to the Nuclear Danger.  For a better understanding of what I mean, I refer you to my recent Blog ...dated January 9th and entitled 'NATO'.

As I continue to See It...

'K.D. Bell'