Biden for Prez….

 

Last eve was the one and only Vice Presidential Debate and I scored it 3:1 for Joe Biden.

That is even higher than the 2:1 I gave Romney over Obama – 2:1.

Biden’s style may not have been the best, but he played with Ryan throughout like a cat plays with a doomed mouse.

It did not have to be so.

Throughout, Ryan let Biden have his way with him.  For instance, Biden continually smiled and smirked when Ryan was speaking – all Ryan had to do was to publicly notice Biden’s disrespectful antics and say something along the following lines:

Mr. Vice President, you seem to find all this very funny – the fact is it is not funny at all – more American’s than ever before are out of work, the deficit is running at over a $Trillion Dollars a year,  the Middle East is burning …and you have the nerve to sit there and laugh – shame on you.

That is all it would have taken.

But sadly, Ryan did not do that.

I predict that his failure will cost the Republicans’ 1 to 2% points in popular support. These numbers would have been even greater had it been the Presidential Candidates slugging it out.

Now the spotlight returns to the 2 main Presidential events left – the Town Hall Session next week and the Debate on Foreign Affairs the week after that. The pressure will be on Romney to win both making it a 3-pete.

But as for last night – Obama owes Biden …Big Time.

As I see it…

‘K. D. Galagher’

It takes a 14 year old girl…

 

The Taliban put a bullet into the brain of a 14 year old child because the young girl was defying them by wanting to keep going to school.

Her name is Malala Yousufzai.

This young lady has more courage than the the rest of us put together.  She knew this ugly sect was out to get her, but that did not deter her from the goal of getting an education.

The Taliban has vowed to kill her yet and has placed the young girl’s family on their death list as well. 

As I have mentioned in recent Blogs, the Middle East and Northern Africa have been lost to the Radical Islamists and once the Americans pull out of Afghanistan, it too will quickly revert to Taliban Rule.

This will be viewed as a failure but no so.  The West showed these groups of violent men that it would no longer tolerate their acts of violence and once out of these Regions – the West will be able to continue to wreck vengeance on them from the air with impunity. 

What the West also did by confronting this evil was give the Muslim People an opportunity to stand up against the Islamists.  The fact that Muslims were not able to do so, is probably understandable given the situation they confront i.e. a society that for all intents and purposes is still mired in the middle ages. 

But there was a Arab Spring and for the first time came hope and I predict that the Spring will eventually come to stay despite the best efforts of the Extremist to see it otherwise.  Time is against these fanatics but it won’t happen over night.

The real and only solution then is for the Ordinary People of the Middle East and North Africa to stand up against Islamic Tyranny.  

They will, since a Young Girl by the name of Malala has shown them the way.

As I see it …

‘K.D. Galagher’

Is It Just Me, Or Do You Too Believe …

 

That Canada has a Big ‘P’ on its forehead for ‘Patsy’.

In Today’s Liberal Organ, a.k.a. The Ottawa Citizen, Hugh Adami writes a column entitled ‘Canada Shrugs As Immigration Rulings Fracture A Family’.

Sounds awful … doesn’t it, but let’s dig a little deeper into the facts:

Mrs. age 69, was born and raised in the Soviet Union; Mr. age 70, in Cuba.  They subsequently married and lived together in Cuba.

Last year, they made application to Canada’s Refugee Board both claiming Refugee Status and both were rightfully turned down.

Before I go further, you need to understand what is entailed in a Refugee Claim.  Most immigrants coming to Canada come via the standard immigration application, that is to say, they apply in their home country to move and live in Canada for numerous reasons – to be with family, to better themselves economically etc. 

But there is a tiny exception to the rule; a person who has a genuine fear of Persecution in their Home Country can apply within other Countries for Protection under the United Nations Convention for Refugees – that is to say, they can prove they will be Persecuted for Reasons of Race, Religion, Political Opinion and so on. Surprisingly, about 40,000 people per year make such a claim within Canada’s borders.

I worked for the Refugee Board and I suspect less than only 5% of claimants have a genuine claim – it is probably closer to 1 or 2%.  The remainder are ‘cue jumpers’ – rather than apply the normal way to become an immigrant to Canada, they use the short-circuited route of making up false claims for Refugee Status. 

This is what Mrs. and Mr. did in the case at hand.  The Refugee Board correctly dismissed their claims and ordered them both deported – Mrs. to Russia since that is the citizenship she holds and Mr. back to Cuba – he being a citizen of that country.

Now the bleeding hearts.

Cuba arbitrarily refused to take Mr. back so we in Canada are stuck with him.  If I were Harper, I would say to the Brothers Castro – you take back your life long citizen or we in Canada cease playing tourist on your beaches.  I suspect that they would have him back on the next plane out.

But the Adami Article article really focuses on the Mrs. – the Russian Citizen.  Russia will take her back but according to the family she no longer has any ties in that country.  I wonder if that statement could withstand scrutiny but say it is true – so what?  He is Cuban and she is Russian and neither are entitled Refugee Status.  To compound the issue is the fact that Mrs. is in poor health and I need not point out to you that our Health System is now collapsing under its own weight.

The Bottom-line here is why is it Canada’s responsibility to step forward and be the boy scout in this sad but all too frequent a situation?

We always seem to be cast as such.

In the Mahar case, the United States sent him to Syria where he was allegedly tortured but Canada coughed up a cool $10 million dollars for his pain and suffering.

In the current Kahdr case, he cowardly killed a US Medic who left behind a widow and 2 orphans.  And yet, it is Canada he sues and if history repeats itself, he too will likely hit the $million dollar Canadian Jackpot.

So dear reader, I leave it to you to decide what is the right thing to do in regard to Mrs. Russia and Mr. Cuba.

As for me, I would probably reluctantly give in and let them both stay here. But it does make you, as a Canadian, feel used.

I would also like to think that some of our left wing papers would at least be a little more balanced when reporting on such cases – they treat each case like it was the only one – i.e. no big deal – but it is a big deal since, as I said in the beginning, 10s of thousands are making similar requests yearly without the facts to support their claims. The columnists should drop their inflammatory words and admit that the issue is not so cut and dry.

In the end, if we say let them all stay regardless of the facts – then at least shut down the Refugee Board to save a few quid. We’ll need the money.

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’

The Great Presidential Debates …

 

Have Begun.

I have been saying that the upcoming US Election is one of the most important in the history of the United States and indeed in the history of the West and permit me to briefly recap why:

• America’s Debt now exceeds its entire annual GDP – $16 Trillion and counting;
• It’s true Unemployment Rate is above 40% (that is to say, the percentage of those of working age who do not have a job);
• 50 Million – 1 in 6, are on food stamps;
• 100 Million – 1 in 3, are on government assistance;
• The Fed is printing money like its confetti;
• Europe is floundering, riots are occurring daily and the EU may well disintegrate;
• The Middle East in on fire and is ready to explode;
• Iran has the Bomb and is now perfecting its delivery capability;
• Israel is its nearby target whom the Islamists have declared to drive out into the sea;
• China has begun to flex its military might against Japan.

So unless things turn around dramatically, the United States will collapse in on its own weight at a time when the world is in great need of its leadership.

Obama has contributed mightily to this sad state of affairs.  His domestic policies have not staunched the red ink – they have greatly added to the flow.  His foreign policies have not brought about greater stability – just opposite.  And yet…

With an Election but a month away – he should be down in the single digits of support.  He is not –most polls (all?) up to last night’s debate, show him holding a lead over his Republican Rival.

(Even here in Ontario, at least the electorate has finally awoken and now places McGuinty and Company in the low 20s in support – but not so the electorate south of the border).

And there is a lot more at stake there, than here.

So back to last evening. Romney out shone Obama 2:1.  Thank Heavens.

And this being the first of three debates, I believe it to have been the most important one.  Within a few days I predict the polls will reflect better for the Republicans.  Not dramatically, because America is split right down the centre as Romney so aptly put it: ‘47%, the takers, are going to support Obama regardless of his disastrous policies’.  But my friends, the needle is about to move in Romney’s favour.

I have said from the very beginning that Romney will win on November 6th and I am standing by that.  Not just because I am conservative in my philosophy but because we collectively are not strong enough to endure another 4 years of a President who does not have a sweet clue as to the damage he is doing to us all.

 As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’

 

 

Part 3 … A Retraction.

 

Post Script Note:  I am going to keep track, under this note, of the other costs that come to light in view of Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal cancellation of the 2 Power Plants days before the recent Provincial Election – included will be costs related to their misguided Green Energy Program:

• While this is heating up, our esteemed leader is heading out on a trade mission to China;  i.e. leaving his Energy Minister Chris Bentley to Twist in the Wind.  Some Leader.  Would you do that knowing Bentley was covering up on your order to do so?
• first, I should have mentioned below that the Province of Ontario – although paying up to 82 cents per kwh – to Solar producers – it must sell “surplus” power each year to other jurisdictions such as New York ‘for a penny or two per kwh or often for free’  In 2011 this cost Ontario $420 Million Dollars.
• $200 Million for constructing power lines from Napanee back to Mississauga where the genuine need for power existed before the Election and exists to this very day.
• $210 Million being the cost of the Province’s purchase of one of the Contractors gas turbines.  Likely the result of the Province buying off a law suit for wrongful cancellation of the pre election contract.
• $167 Million is what TransCanada Power will be paid annually – for 20 years - for operating the new Power Plant at Napanee even if it produces not one kwh of power over those 2 decades.  It is becoming more apparent that a host of other Power Plants – up to 19 throughout the Province – are in receipt of the same deal.

---------

The numbers are beginning to clarify in regard to the McGuinty Liberals’ cancellation of the two Power Plants in Oakville and Mississauga days before the recent Provincial Election.

In my first part, I had indicated that the cost of these cancellations was $1.5 Billion Dollars despite the fact that McGuinty pegged them at only $40 million.  

Now I find out that the $1.5 Billion figure I used was incorrect and now must retract that figure.

You may have already guessed it– the cost is actually much higher…more than $4 Billion Dollars to be more precise.  And I expect before the dust settles on all of this – it will go even higher – much higher.

Let’s recap:

• McGuinty offered the first Contractor – TransCanada Power, in writing, about $750 Million Dollars if it would refrain from suing for breach of Contract;
• In lieu of this payment,TransCanada was given a new Contract, this one in regard to the Construction of a new Power Plant in Napanee Ontario.  The new plant is to be located directly beside an existing Power Plant which has more or less been shuddered for lack of need – i.e. it produces only 1 to 2 % of its generating ability per annum.  (presumably the $750 million payout will be recouped by TransCanada as part of the construction cost;
• Added to that, the Province entered into a 20 year Contract with TransCanada to operate the new unneeded facility guaranteeing TransCanada some $3.3 Billion Dollars over  the 20 years irrespective of whether or not the new Plant generates even 1 kwh of power.
• The Second Contractor, an American Hedge Fund group by the name of EIG Management was in turn offered by McGuinty $82.3 Million Dollars but it turned him down and is now suing the Province for $300 Million for its losses incurred due to the hasty and unexpected cancellation of their contract.
• And added to all this is the fact that in total some 19 new Power Plants have been built by the McGuinty Government – most (all) operating well below capacity and most (all) likely protected by the 20 year sweet heart deal enjoyed by TransCanada. When more details are released with respect to this I will let you know but this is where the numbers can climb much higher.

Our Liberal Paper – the Ottawa Citizen finally deigned to give some coverage to this important issue in today’s paper – it allowed that the Government’s Officially stated cost of $40 million dollars may be somewhat understated and suggested that $240 Million would be more i keeping with reality.  As if.

So we have today the Minister of Energy, Chris Bentley, being censured by the Legislature for Contempt – the first time this has occurred in the history of Ontario.  Bentley – dear reader – could end up in jail while McGuinty is in full backpedal mode.

And speaking of McGuinty – I believe it is now apparent to all and sundry that he will never again lead the Liberal Party of Ontario in another General Election.  As you know, I am saddened by this since this one person has single headedly ruined our once great Province.

In his 9 years in power he has brought Ontario to its knees fiscally speaking – mainly because of his disastrous Green Energy Program.

And with his 20 year contracts noted above and similar ones given to generators of Wind and Solar – the damage will keep on building for two decades to come.

I can’t help but feel that this is so unfair; i.e. that McGuinty will walk away away from the mess and damage he has created, with a very large Public Pension to boot.  

Those who come in behind him, will be stuck with an unmanageable situation as well as stuck with the Lion’s Share of the Blame. 

As I see it…

‘K. D. Galagher’

 

McGinty …Part 2

I would like to begin this second segment by recalling McGuinty’s first major lie prior to his being elected Premier in 2003.

No …not his promise to not raise taxes – that was his Second Major Lie.

The Lie I am writing about is his promise to Parents with Autistic Children to provide funding for IBI – Intensive Behavioural Intervention - for their Children over 6 years of age.

During the Election Campaign of 2003, Dalton McGuinty wrote to their parents and confirmed that one of the first things his Government would do – if Elected – was extend funding to their children over 6 years of age and at that time he noted, most sympathetically, that autism was on the rise and that “it is affecting the lives of an increasing number of Ontario Families.” 

He went on to say that the failure of past governments to grant funding for IBI for those over 6 years – was both “unfair and discriminatory”.

Once Elected, one of the first things his new Government did was to fight these same parents in the Courts to deny them his promised extended IBI coverage.  What a man.

It is in that context then that I would like to review some of his most egregious wastes of money – your tax dollars and mine down the drain:

1. First, let’s start with Dalton’s Green Energy Plan – the plan is approaching a cost to Ontarians of over $8 Billion dollars, according to the independent Auditor General.

• The AG also notes that for every job created in the green energy field – 2 to 4 jobs are lost in the private sector.  And accordingly, the Province is headed into “Bankruptcy”.
• Solar suppliers paid up to 82 cents per kwh while the cost of producing power from conventional sources averages but 6 cents.

2.  Next, the $1.5 Billion wasted on the cancellation of two power plants to Save Two Ridings for the Grits in the recent Election.

3.  Then there was Orange, another $Billion dollars wasted for the benefit of Grit Cronies – Helicopters purchased that could not hold stretchers, the President’s Ski Instructor hired to become a V.P. etc. 

4.  Plus don’t forget E-Health – another $Billion more or less.

5.  And the Health Premium he snuck in right after his first election where he promised in writing not to raise taxes.  That was nearly 10 years ago and we are still paying it. 

I checked on line before starting this Blog and discovered over 30 such examples of his duplicity but the above are what I believe to be the most outrageous examples.

Now think what could usefully be done with that wasted money?

Certainly a small portion of it could be used to address the very real concerns of parents trying to cope with raising an autistic child.

In the area of Health, we would have MRIs galore and Class Sizes , in our schools, could really become manageable.

And there would still be lots left over to reduce the growing Debt / Deficit which if left unchecked, will be our undoing.

In summing up, I could forgive McGuinty for breaking his initial promise Not To Raise Taxes – he is after all a Politician – but to have turned his back on Autistic Children – goes beyond the Pale.

As I see it …

‘K. D. Galagher’

   

McGuinty …. I lied.

 

The “I” here is me – Galagher.

In an earlier Blog, I promised not to write any more about our Premier – but I just can’t help myself though.  I feel a bit like Ebenezer Scrooge when he realized he had not missed Christmas Day.

What fun watching and writing about dear Dalton.

He, the champion of the Teachers and Ontario’s Civil Service …and now their whipping boy.  Indeed, he owes his job to the Teacher’s Union which spent $millions of dollars in the recent Election ensuring the defeat of Hudak and his fellow Tories.

And now, to see him force contracts on the Former and Wage Freezes on the Latter.  It doesn’t get much better than this.  Word is even starting to spread that some Grits have had enough of their Top Dog and hope soon to dump him, but I truly hope that this does not turn out to be the case; I, as you know, want McGuinty to face the music for what he has done to this once proud Province.

His Green Energy Plan alone has reduced us to Have-Not Status.  If I was Premier, I’d tell the Feds to keep their Transfer Handouts – ‘we’ll get by on our own, as we did for the first 140 years of Confederation’ …but I digress.

But permit me to digress a little bit further: speaking of Teaching, the Esteemed Toronto Board of Education has mandated that its students be taught about twisted sex suggesting that the kids give all forms of sex a try before settling on one or more type(s).  This education includes how to safely shove things up one’s anus.  All without the knowledge nor approval of the parents.  I would like to see something sharp shoved up the collective anus of the Toronto Board.

Okay, enough digressing; let me now get to the reason for today’s Blog. As you know, days prior to the last Election, McGuinty saw fit to cancel ongoing construction of two Power Plants in the Toronto Region.  He cancelled them, not because they were not needed – they most certainly were, but because they were not popular in the two ridings they were being placed in and he desperately wanted to keep those two ridings in the Grit Win Column.

After the Election, McGuinty allowed that the cost to the Taxpayer for shutting down construction totalled a measly $40 million dollars. The Opposition Parties have been fighting ever since for documentary proof of the Premier’s low estimate having to go so far as to charge the Minister of Energy, Chris Bentley with contempt of the Legislature in order to force the release of this information.

This information has finally been disclosed and it shows that the true cost of the cancellations was a whopping $1.5 Billion Dollars – some $750 million for each salvaged Riding.

Why that is more than enough money to have kept the Teachers and Bureaucrats onside for a few more years.  Maybe even until the next election, if one was not worried about the growing Provincial Debt / Deficit and things called Credit Agencies.

But the story gets even better – get your blood pressure pills out.

McGuinty is going to build these two plants elsewhere – one in this area – at Napanee – right beside a current plant that has been shut down for lack of need.  That Plant has been kept operable – all one need do is turn on the switch and there is power galore.  But to save face, McGuinty is building a redundant plant right beside it.  Does the man have no conscience?  Is there not a Taxpayer Dollar that he would refrain from spending!   

So dear Reader – another Day another $Billion Dollar Boondoggle.

Part 2 to follow.

As I see it…

‘K. D. Galagher’