Yes Virginia, There Is A Satan Claus

 

Yesterday, I received an e-mail from one of my younger readers inquiring as to whether or not there was a Satan Claus.  She had just seen on television the horrible aftermath of two muslim radicals beheading a young 25 year old soldier, husband, father and wondered how and why this could happen.

Following is my reply to this young girl:

Yes, Virginia, there is a Satan Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and he appears side by side as the evil that is unfortunately in us all. 

He relishes the fact that Western Democracies spend themselves into massive deficits plaguing innocent generations with this debt for years to come;

He rejoices in the fact that millions of babies never see the light of day and will soon to be joined by legions of euthanized seniors and the infirm;

He chuckles as he watches our youth waste away their lives playing vacuous and often violent video games;

He beams as our mass media successfully spreads pornography widely throughout an unsuspecting and very naive society;  

He is proud that the top leader of the Western World loathes calling terrorism for what it is and finds all kinds of excuses for their terrible deeds;

He is mute but smugly complacent in the face of vicious and oft times deadly discrimination perpetrated against Christians and Jews throughout the world;

He cannot believe his good fortune when the Province of Ontario pays green energy providers over 80 cents per kwh in order to produce enough power to pay other jurisdictions to take it off our hands; all the while the poor among us are forced to choose between warmth and food;  

He loves the scandals of governments everywhere where dollars are pocketed by their friends and cronies;

He is puzzled, yet delighted, when Canadian oil is spurned by the West for being ‘dirty’ while those same western governments gladly accept oil from  countries which are on record as wishing their destruction;

He is tickled when otherwise most privileged citizens, such as our Senators, claim money for which they are not entitled, from the pockets of the much less fortunate;

He is most proud of those of us who, like David Dingwall, covet their entitlements;

He is encouraged by those amongst us who supposedly serve the taxpayer, do so for twice the pay, twice the benefits and twice the job security;

He is cheered on when our politicians think there is nothing wrong with cavorting with drug dealers and smoking crack cocaine;

He cannot stop laughing when we in Canada actually pay separatists to work toward the destruction of our country;

He is a fan of Justin Trudeau who, if push came to shove, would choose his native province over his native land;

He is beside himself with good fortune knowing that natives will continue to blackmail the rest of us and by so doing bankrupt themselves morally and us economically;

He is overcome with joy in the knowledge that the family and marriage, for centuries the backbone of our society, has in recent years gone out of style;

And, He is at peace when he looks upon our society where, more and more, there is no place nor room for God.

No Satan Claus?  Nonsense, he will live forever; A thousand years from now, maybe 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to corrode the hearts of our children and adults alike.

But take heart my little one, a wise-man named Edmund Burke once said nearly 300 years ago, that evil can only triumph if good people do nothing.

Thankfully, Virginia, there are lots of good people living amongst us today who will not sit idly by and let that happen.

As I see it …

‘K.D. Galagher’ 

Postscript:  I am indebted to a number of people who, unknowingly, helped me in the writing of the above.  To them I say a most sincere thank you.  K

 

Who You Go’na Trust…

 

Well it certainly is not Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.

Ford gave a press conference earlier today where he was to come clean on whether or not clandestine photos of him smoking crack existed.

All well and good save for the fact that he did not address that issue.

Rather he talked on and on about the good folks of Toronto etc and spent mere seconds on the issue of the day – his alleged smoking of crack in the presence of druggies.

And then he took off like a shot refusing to take questions.

In the case of Harper and whether or not he knew of the payment to Mike Duffy in advance – one is left having to give him the benefit of the doubt since he unequivocally said at his conference that he did not.

In the case of Ford, and the little time he gave the issue, one would have to believe that he likely in fact did partake of the drug.

So having waited so long and produced so little – Ford might just as well have gone fishing.

He has guilt written all over him and it will be most interesting now if the photo of him purportedly smoking cocaine ever surfaces or has it been forever lost.

Ford spoke today like he was saying goodbye.  Hopefully for his own good and the good of Toronto – he does just that.

As I see it …

‘K.D. Galagher’

 

 

Harper is Toast …. Part 2

 

In yesterday’s Blog, I predicted that Harper would be toast if it turns out he knew about the $90k payment to Mike Duffy in advance.

I stand by that – even more now, given that today he came out and said unequivocally that he had not known.

We are now left with having to give Stephen Harper the benefit of the doubt i.e. that all along he played no part in the Wright / Duffy fiasco.

That said, if it yet comes out that he did have advance notice, he will most definitely be finished - – his credibility totally shot.

And dear reader, there will be lots out there trying to make the connection, starting with CTV’s Robert Fife, so let’s hope Harper has at last come clean.

And in that respect, it leaves me most puzzled why it took the Prime Minister some 8 days, and now while in a foreign country, to make the statement everyone had been expecting.

The other strange fact is the wording of Nigel Wright’s resignation where he says something along the lines of the Prime Minister not knowing the method of how the payment was made.  Don’t you think a simple ‘the Prime Minister had no knowledge whatsoever of the payment’ would have sufficed?”

I for one am suspicious but again Harper deserves the benefit of the doubt and I will give it to him … for now.

postscript:  one I forgot … if Harper was so incensed at upon learning of the actions of his former chief of staff, as he verbalized yesterday in Peru, why was his first reaction, upon hearing the news 8 days ago, to express “full confidence” in his then chief of staff?

And one other unrelated item that niggles at me… why was his new chief of staff allowed to live over the garage at 24 Sussex?  Small point I admit but wouldn’t we all love to be able to call 24 Sussex home for even a short time.  Twenty four Sussex is the Home of the Prime Minister and his or her family and is not for his or her staff.  ‘as I see it’

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’

 

 

A Day Late and a Dollar Short …

 

As in the Prime Minister’s speech to his Caucus which just moments ago concluded.

A recap:

He said it was his Party which has come out first for the need of Senate Reform;

He reminded everyone that it is the two Opposition Parties that have been frustrating this effort;

He told his Caucus that he was going to redouble his determination to see this reform through and that if any of their Tory Senators were not fully supportive in this, ‘they’d best leave the room’.

All hard, tough stuff and yet …

He did not mention the resignation of this Chief of Staff Nigel Wright nor did he mention the $90k paid to Mike Duffy.

More importantly, he did not address the elephant in the room – i.e. ‘whether or not he knew anything of the payment prior to its being made’.

And now he heads off to Peru.

To me his omission tells me that he did in fact know about the payment in advance; if not, there is no reason I can think of as to why he would not say otherwise.

If that is true, Harper, dear reader, is toast.

Indeed, he may be gone even before dear Duffy.

As I see it …

‘K.D. Galagher’

 

Dalton McGuinty …Dalton McGuinty

 

I know I promised never again to use his real name but …

Just this one time more … I promise.. for real.

Earlier this month, McGuinty took ‘full responsibility’ for the cancellation of the two power plants in Toronto which in turn saddled the taxpayers of Ontario with costs in the billions of dollars. ( In a previous Blog I explain how this large number was arrived at).

Anyway, what a great Ontarian …the buck stopped with him.

It got me thinking though – as a former political advisor myself …what would I have advised McGuinty to do in this circumstance.

Why I would have advised him to do exactly what he did.  

“I did it for the kids”, he said.  Especially for the asthmatics having to walk daily passed these belching monstrosities.

I’d have told him to do just that too.

Why you ask?

Because no one – other the Dolster himself, could prove otherwise. 

Never mind that his conversion came at the very last minute – just days before Voting Day and never mind that a dozen or more other gas plants were completed without even an afterthought about children’s welfare.

Indeed, we can all be most suspicious of his real intent – very, very, very suspicious that is – but in the final analysis, it comes down to what is rolling around in the former Premier’s head.

So as a political advisor caught up in an albeit sleazy business, I would have given McGuinty or any other politician who asked, the ammunition to come out and take ‘full responsibility’ while at the same time not take any ‘responsibility’ whatsoever.

But dear reader, I would hope the person I worked for was made of better stuff and rather than seek a contrived way out, he or she would take responsibility by stating the real reason for their decision and if applicable, apologize unreservedly.

In McGuinty’s case here is how I see it would play out:

My Fellow Ontarians, I have come here today to accept full responsibility for alone making the decision to shut down construction of the two gas power plants just days before Election Day.

We were fighting for our political lives and polling showed that the ridings in which these plants were situated were in danger of falling to the opposition.

Politics is a dirty business; it is not for the faint of heart.  As the Leader of my Party, it was my job to see us re-elected and that is why I made the decision I did.

I am sorry that the costs for the cancellation have  proved to be so high but in all honesty, had I to do it over again…I would.

We in the Liberal Party believe we are best placed to do what is in Ontario’s interest going forward and we cannot do the job from the opposition benches.

The initial reaction would no doubt be horror but once it sunk in, I believe the listener would grudgingly come to the conclusion that not only was the former Premier telling the truth like it is  … but he was describing accurately the way politics in Canada is conducted.

Indeed, there is not all that much difference in bribing voters with expensive election promises during an election compared with shutting down the two gas plants during that same vote.

They both end up costing you know who far to much.

For a concrete example let’s look back at the federal election between Kim Campbell and Jean Chretien.

Campbell came out for the need to purchase helicopters for our military.  If I remember correctly, the cost was some $50 million.

These copters were to replace the aging and very dangerous Sea Kings.

Chretien ridiculed Campbell saying they were too expensive and were not needed.

Chretien won and the cancellation of the contract cost millions.

Moreover, those dangerous and out of date Sea Kings continue to be in service to this very day.

Again I ask, what is the difference between an opposition leader like Chretien promising to scuttle a helicopter contract during the heat of an election and upon winning, doing just that and McGuinity’s promise to scuttle gas plants during the last election?

As I had McGuinty say, ‘politics is a dirty business … it is not for the feint of heart’.

As I see it …

‘K.D. Galagher’

 

 

The Duffy et al.

 

Long time readers will know the low level esteem I have for our Senate and its contents.

Many times I have said that it is full of ‘hacks, flacks, and ne’er do wells’.

I was so discouraged with this bunch of rascals that I thought…quite innocently…that it could not slip further down my esteem scale.

It has though and our Mr. Mike Duffy deserves all the credit … I mean blame.

I will not bore you with the recent uproar with the Duffster claiming expenses for having to live away from his primary residence in PEI when all the while his primary residence has been here in Ottawa.

I will though remind you that barely a year has gone by when it came out that our esteemed senator was traipsing around Canada charging for his speeches.  Free speeches usually go with the honour of being a Senator…but not for the Duff.

But the main reason for my Blog this eve is to comment on his taking a payment from the PM’s Chief of Staff to pay for his ill gotten living expenses here in the nation’s capital…some $90k.

It may be small change for Nigel Wright … it is not though chump change for you or me and apparently it is not for Mike Duffy as well.

So where did Duff go wrong in the recent event?

First he took the money.  Money intended to recompense the taxpayer for being ripped off in the first place.

Second by taking such a payment from the PM’s head staffer, he broke several laws, and,

Third he lied that he did any of the above.

As he lied about his actual residence when all this first came out.

The guy has no credibility left …Zilch.

What to do?

Well Duffy needs to resign – like yesterday.

Given his character on display to date, this is not likely to be voluntary so the Senate needs to convene and boot the poor guy out before he does further damage to this aging, undemocratic and totally useless institution.

Sober second thought you say – maybe it will be with the LCBO strike set to launch.

And as for dear Nigel.

He too needs to go and again, if he does not see the merit in resigning himself …then Harper needs to do the deed by this weekend.

My guess is that they will both be gone soon but the longer either or both hang on … the more damage Harper and the Conservatives will sustain.

As I see it …

‘K.D. Galagher’

1957 seems so long ago…

 

And in many respects it is, but it is even longer ago than one can imagine.

Take Pipelines for instance.

In 1957 the Liberal Government under Louis St. Laurent lost to the up and coming John George Diefenbaker of the Conservatives.  The issue was over a national pipeline to be built to provide gas to Ontario and Quebec from the West.

The issue was not though whether it was needed, indeed everyone agreed that it was and no one opposed its construction.

Rather, the issue was one of cost and American involvement in its construction.

How things have changed in 50 some years.

Now everyone who is anyone seems to be on the side of opposing pipeline construction: environmentalists on both sides of the border, indian bands wherever located, liberals generally and more recently, the two main parties engaged in the current BC Election (the Libs oppose oil pipelines / the NDP opposes all pipelines). 

Like many have said, if CPR applied today to build their railway across Canada – as it did successfully in the 1880s, it would be turned down for environmental reasons.

What nonsense.

Today, the main thing that Canada has going for it is Oil.  It is not coincidental that our only three have provinces can point to oil for their have status.

And it is no coincidence that the other 7 have-not provinces can point to the country’s oil revenues as the major source of their transfer payments from the feds. 

It takes a lot of nerve for these have-nots to, day in and day out, complain about dirty oil… it is like biting the hand that feeds it.  And it begs the question, if the oil is so dirty why don’t they see the money it generates in transfer payments as just as dirty?  Hypocrites the lot of them.

What to do.

Well I am glad you asked.

For an answer, let’s go back to Newfoundland’s development of its Churchill Falls Electric Power Generation in the early 1970s. Since Churchill Falls is located in Labrador, the only land border they have is with Quebec so to get their power out to its customers …it has to use Le Belle Province’s power lines.

Quebec though had other ideas and demanded that Newfoundland enter into a Contract in 1969 which forced Newfoundland to Sell its power to Quebec for below market cost.  Not only that, Newfoundland would be locked in to these below market prices for the term of the contract some 40 plus years.  For instance, in 2009 it was estimated that the cost of 1 M.W.H. was between $40 and $60 dollars; Newfoundland received but $2.50 per from Quebec.

Mindboggling.

Newfoundland appeared to have no other choice because it could not get its power to markets outside of Quebec without Quebec’s cooperation.

But dear reader it did have an option.

Inter Provincial Power Transmission now and then  falls under federal jurisdiction …not provincial.

Back in those days, the ruling Liberals simply did not have the stomach to rock the boat so to speak with Quebec.  In fact, I discussed this several years back with a lawyer who told me he was directly involved in those discussions and said that in a meeting he attended, Pearson himself, said that neither he nor his government would intervene even though he knew they had the authority to do so.

Flash ahead to 2013.  Now we have British Columbia blackmailing Alberta and to a lesser extent Saskatchewan.  Its government and its official opposition have both said ‘no oil pipelines can cross its borders’.

So we find ourselves – Canada that is, producing more oil than we can get to market and the oil we do sell is sold at a discount.

South East Asia is begging for our fuel and we cannot deliver.

Well the law that existed in 1969 remains today – inter provincial pipelines are a federal and not a provincial matter.  The Feds could push it through.

Moreover our Constitution contains the over-riding power in favour of the Feds to act for ‘peace order and good government’.

All of this is in addition to the Tories majority status which could be used, I suggest, to suspend existing environmental laws for the purpose of getting these pipelines completed.

If Harper wants to do the right thing and get re-elected with another majority, the above provides him with a blue print as to how both can be accomplished.

As I see it …

‘K.D. Galagher’