YOU GOTTA FIRE HIM.

THE "YOU" IS PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP;

THE "HIM" IS FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY;

AND THE 'SPEAKER' IS THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES.

So as you now know, the 'You' did indeed fire the 'Him' and the Democratic Party is apoplectic.

How so?  It was that Party that until yesterday had insisted Trump do just that ...fire Comey.

So what gives?

Petty Politics of course !!  The Dems outrage is of course the pretend variety... there is no other way to describe it.

In asking for Comey's head, the Dems rightfully concluded that He played a significant and needlessly insensitive role in seeing Hillary Clinton defeated in last November's Election.

And they were correct. Indeed, as a Conservative, I too was appalled by Comey's actions and which may surprise some of you, I truly felt sorry for Hillary.  Moreover, I called for his dismissal back then but also naively believed that Comey would inevitably do the proper thing and resign.

The fact that he failed to do 'the right thing' left Trump with no choice but to cashier Him.  

But now it gets rich.  These self-same Democrats are feigning outrage pretending that President Trump's real motive was to deep six Comey since his FBI investigation was getting uncomfortably close to Trump.  This is nonsense since, as I have also said from the beginning, there is really zip to the suggestion that the Russians helped to influence last year's Election to Trump's benefit.

 I have read everything I could from the beginning of this farce and there is nothing so far in support of this nonsensical claim.  And more the point, there is zip, nada to suggest Trump personally had any role in any of this whatsoever.  Full Stop.

I see a hand at the back ...Yes,

"How is it that former President Obama directly intervened in the recent French Election yet the Left has had boo to say?"

Good point - thanks for paying attention.

'Hypocritical', is the word to use here.

Certainly Obama's interference in the Election in France is a fact unlike the spurious innuendo against President Trump which will never go anywhere.  

That is not to say that this matter could not have been handled better.  Trump should have fired Comey at the outset of his term and having failed to do that, should have awaited the conclusion of the Russian Witch-hunt. 

This error in judgment may compel Trump to bring in an independent prosecutor and if so, bring it on.  It will be an expensive process that in the end will end up with zilch but at least it will put an end to America's preoccupation with this non-subject.

And for that, it will be a blessing.

One more thing.  I find it peculiar that many in the United States are concerned about Russian interference in their elections since back a long as I can recall ...America has done that over and over again in countries throughout the world.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher'

AND THE WINNER IS.....

MAXIME ...'MAD MAX'...BERNIER.

I can hear many of you now ...'Mad Max' ...Who Dat?

And I cannot blame you for not knowing since 'Mad Max' ...along with a dozen others... are vying for the low key Conservative Leadership in Canada's Federal Parliament.

Some of you will remember that at year's beginning, I swore off blogging on Canada for no other good reason than nothing much worthwhile comes out from here especially given that the Progressive Liberals are in charge Federally and in our major Provinces.

But I am getting desperate looking for something of interest to write about... foot in the mouth Trump, the N. Korea Wing-nut  'Yung-un' , Russian Hacking etc etc are wearing a little thin.

So dear reader, back briefly to Canada and to 'Mad Max'.

The end of this Leadership Race has already begun in that Ballots have been mailed to the over 250,000 voters with many already completed and returned. The results though will not be announced until Saturday May 27th.  Sadly, the Election itself has as much interest and suspense as a Saturday Night laundromat. 

Indeed, the balloting / voting is such a convoluted ordeal that future Pol'y Sci courses will hold it out as a classic example of how not to pick a Party Leader. But that is another story that will have to wait ...perhaps indefinitely.

But before I move on though there is one very bizarre occurrence in this race that needs to be highlighted; just last week the Candidate with a substantial lead in the Polls withdrew and in doing so, pledged his support to Mad Max guaranteeing MM the Leadership. It would be like Hillary throwing her delegates to the Leftist Professor Bernie Sanders in the week before last November's US Election. 

So it will be Mad Max Bernier in a walk and since he is a self-professed Libertarian he is my man all the way. 

His focus on less government and less taxes will make the Progressives go apoplectic. It will also re-energize our economy and allow our citizenry to keep more of their hard-earned money. How Novel.

In this respect, Bernier is the only Conservative..indeed the only fiscal conservative in the Race since, for the most part, the remaining 12 are little more than Liberals in Sheep's Clothing.  To prove this let's take a look at the Three who are nearest him according to the polls:

Erin O'Toole - he supports, as do the Progressive Liberals, Marketing Boards which have the effect of raising prices while diminishing quality.  He also prides himself on being the 'voice of the social conservatives' and yet he has no time whatsoever for the two issues of most importance to us Social Cons ...namely unrestricted abortion ...up to and including the time of birth, and eliminating legalized death heretofore known rightly as murder.  Some spokesperson. The two candidates who really do speak for the Social Conservatives are Brad Trost and Pierre Lemieux sadly neither of them have a chance precisely because of their social conservative leanings.  Pity!

Andrew Scheer - Like O'Toole, he has made it clear that he will not deal with the Social Conservative issues of Unrestriced Abortion and Legalized Death despite the fact that he prides himself as being a devout Catholic.  He too is all in favour of Progressive Marketing Boards. and finally, 

Michael Chong - This is perhaps the saddest case amongst the Baker's Dozen.  Chong is one of the only Cabinet Ministers I can every recall who resigned his top spot on a matter of conscience.  Not only that but he then went on to champion measures to enhance the power of the lowly Member of Parliament...in other words to help restore democracy at a time when it is ever more in short supply.  But then he blew it; during this Leadership Campaign he came out in favour of imposing Carbon Tax.  Our Progressive Liberal Prime Minister likes such a tax as did former President Obama but ...True Tories (Conservatives) are dead against it.  He could have been first but will be lucky to finish in the top half.

The remainder have though put forward some worthwhile suggestions as follows:

1. Dismantle Native Reserves (Blaney)
2. Ban the Niqab in Public Service (Blaney)
3. Dismantle the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (Leitch)*
4. Legalize Pepper Spray for personal protection (Leitch)
5. Test Immigrants for Canadian Values (Leitch)
6. Make Sex Selection illegal in the case of Abortion (Lemieux)
7. Institute Term Limits for the Supreme Court (Lemieux)
8. Eliminate Corporate Income Tax  (Peterson)
9. Undertake Massive Grassroots to develop Party Policy (Raitt)
10. Balance the Budget  (Saxton)
11. Allow off duty police to carry concealed weapons (Trost)
12. Don't use taxpayers money to fund gay pride parades (Trost)
13. Retain the Traditional meaning of Marriage (Trost)
14. Add Property Rights to the Constitution (Scheer)

           *Kellie Leitch is not only a pediatric surgeon she is also the most rounded conservative in the mix ...i.e. both a fiscal and a social conservative.  

I personally support all of these proposals.  Too bad there wasn't one candidate who supported them all too.  He or she would have my vote.

In the meantime, I'll vote for 'Mad Max' ...the winner on May 27/17.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher'

WE NEED A WALL AND TRUMP ....

WILL BUILD AND PAY FOR IT !!

With the Donald's 'War on America's Illegals' masses of them are now fleeing North ....to Canada.

And we want it stopped!

Hence, the desperate need for a Wall on par with the one President Trump is going to build on his southern border and according to him, Mexico is going to pay for it.

We, here in Canada expect the same treatment.

US illegals are surreptitiously crossing over the 5,000 plus mile border between our two countries but as of now there are two Provinces bearing the brunt of this migration...Quebec and Manitoba.

Since Trump's Inauguration in January, crossings in just those 2 provinces have increased over 500 % as of the end of March and those numbers continue to climb even higher this month of April.

Something has to be done and Prez Trump is just the guy to do it.

Why he'd even understand the need for a Wall and accept the sole responsibility for this need coming about since everything he has said to Mexico about why the Wall is needed, applies in spades from Canada to him. 

Now the cost of the Wall between Canada and the US will be much greater than the one in the S.W. Part of America because, of course, our boundary is so much longer but I am sure that Mr. Trump will suck this up in the spirit cooperation and good faith.

So bring it on.

One more thing though, we fully expect Canadian Steel will be used in the Wall's construction...after all, what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher'

MOAB...WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?

As in why waste this type of Bomb on such a backwater, unimportant part of the World?

But first, what exactly does MOAB stand for?

All one reads about is its vernacular title namely, 'Mother Of All Bombs' but its actual name is Massive Ordnance Air Blast.

At 21,000 lbs, it is the largest conventional bomb developed to date.

The MOAB's cost is difficult to pin down but those apparently in the know put a price tag on it of about $16 Million Dollars.

So back to my initial question why use it in a remote gawd-forsaken part of Afghanistan close to the Pakistan border? 

If, as many a pundit state, it was done to 'send a message' to American belligerents, the cruise missile attack on Syria had already accomplished that in a more effective yet subtle way.

In other words...it was overkill...so to speak.

But to answer this question more fully, I would like to rehash an interview I saw on t.v. where Geraldo Rivera provided his thoughts about this event. (Many of you will no doubt be familiar with Mr. Rivera).

First Rivera noted that any time America kills 'bad guys' as in the 36 ISIS fighters killed by the MOAB 'it is a good day for the USA and for freedom loving peoples around the world'. 

But then he correctly went on to say why this attack did not accomplish much if anything:

First he questioned whether the expense of $16 million to kill only 36 ISIS fighters was worth the cost and,

Second he questioned the value in attacking ISIS in this remote, outlaw part of the world when in the scheme of things it accomplishes nothing ...'A hundred years ago the British fought the rebels here, later the Russians did and now the Americans and for the next 100 the fight will continue'.

So I take from Geraldo Rivera that it all comes down to a feel good moment that has little or no practical value either militarily or politically.

To this I will add a couple of further concerns of my own:

To win any war against the Islamic Terrorists, it has to include the populace of the countries affected, joining in the fight.  It cannot be won by outsiders like America and other NATO countries even though their involvement is fundamentally needed.

So if you are going to use such a cutting edge weapon, use it in an area where the chances of success exist such as in the Middle East.

If the enemy did not know about the ...Massive Ordnance Air Blast or Mother of All Bombs, they do now and if and when it is dropped again, it will have less of a psychological impact and could further fuel the drive by bad-guys to acquire nuclear weapons.

My final concern, which I will deal with in a future Blog, is my growing worry that President Donald Trump is letting himself become a Puppet of the Military Establishment. It is far too early to make such an assessment but this week's senseless dropping of the MOAB starts to make me wonder who is calling the shots.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher'

  

AMERICA'S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS STATED TO BE 4.5 %....IT IS HALF RIGHT...

Half right in that the actual rate is twice that number...more like 9%.

This past week the US Labor Board announced that the country's unemployment rate continues to drop ...and currently stands at 4.5%.

As with Obama, when these numbers come out I always doubled them to account for those who, for whatever reason, have given up trying to get work. 

The numbers of such are growing and are reflected in the declining workforce participation rate.

Bear with me as I run some more numbers by you:

In Obama's two terms the participation rate declined each and every year ...beginning at 66% and ending at 62%.

This may not sound dramatic to you but converting the 4% difference from beginning to end ... this number represents some 8 million people who have entirely ceased looking for work in that relatively short period. 

Add that to the 7.5 million who are still actively seeking employment, you have 15.5 million workers missing from today's eligible workforce...a number that slightly exceeds 9%.

But let's go back to the 62% number being the per-centage of those Americans, eligible to work, who are actually working.  This number is not so bad when you take into the fact that the average of all of the world's countries mirror that exact number.  That is to say, the average of all of the world's workforce participation rate is 62%.  

So at least the US is performing average.

China, the world's second largest economy has a participation rate of 71%.

But Zimbabwe proves that a high participation rate does not necessary mean a country is doing well economically since its rate is a booming 87%.

What I am trying to get at here is that a country's workforce participation rate is a far better gauge on the health of its workforce and despite Zimbabwe's anomaly, the higher the participation rate the better since you have more workers involved in growing their country's economic pie. 

There is one other important issue to take into account when dealing with Unemployment numbers and that concerns the Involuntary Part-timers.  Experts refer to them as the hidden unemployed and their numbers too have been rising since the Great Recession of 2007/08.  Studies show that up to 25% of this Involuntary group live below the poverty line. 

Neither the raw unemployment numbers nor the more accurate participation rate numbers take the Involuntary Unemployed into proper consideration.  Maybe more on this another day?

So just remember, next time you see unemployment rates bandied about.... double them for a clearer picture of where things stand in regard to employment.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher' 

AMERICA IS BACK....Plus 1 other thing.

As of yesterday's bombing of a Syrian Airfield the World has regained its Cop on the Block.

The strategic hit on the Syrian airfield that is alleged to have delivered the devastating chemical attack on their own peoples is an even better outcome than the one I proposed in my most recent Blog.  I had called for the complete elimination of Syria's ability to do this in the future but yesterday's strike will quite effectively do the trick as well.

Indeed it was the least possible action the United States could have taken and yet still have had the desired outcome.  

Good on President Trump and his advisers. 

Al-Assad now has the message and he will not make this mistake again....he realizes that he is no longer dealing the pacifist Barack Obama.  And this message has also gone out to the rest of the bad actors including: Russia, Iran, China and to the numerous other thugs and dictators.

The world can take a collective deep-breath.

That said, the Middle East will continue to be a fiery cauldron...Russia will remain inserted in the region and Iran will continue to foment unrest but the use of chemical weapons in this volatile area has come to an abrupt halt.

This is the first time in a long time that America has returned to the vision of John F. Kennedy as he expressed at his inauguration some 57 years ago:

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty." 

None of the above will take military action against America as a result of yesterday's attack nor will any of them take America for granted again as long as Donald Trump is President.  And when I say 'none of them'  I am of course speaking here of Totalitarian Countries like Iran and not about maniacal terrorist groups such as ISIS which appear to have a death wish.  

Plus One Other Thing:

The 'one other thing' is today's terrorist attack in Sweden. It is most reminiscent of the recent such attack in London England in proximity to their Parliament Buildings.

Today's attack is interesting for a few reasons.  When Donald Trump suggested in February 20/17 that all was not well with Muslim Immigration in Sweden, all hell broke out with the Swedish leadership uniformly condemning Trump's assertion and claiming that everything was A-OK.

And this in turn was followed by ordinary Swedes coming out in great numbers to counter what their leadership had try to portray.

Barely two days later the populace was vindicated when we saw riots occur in the immigrant precincts of Stockholm. 

And now today's attack.

Two things to learn from Sweden's experience, first, it really is not helpful to deny the obvious and second, these types of terrorist attacks though cowardly are virtually impossible to prevent.  

We'd better all just get used to them and in the best traditions of the Brits just 'carry on'.   

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher'

WHERE HAS DONALD TRUMP BEEN LIVING....

UNDER A ROCK?

Even I at times have trouble defending President Trump ...take his comments yesterday about Syria's wicked President Bashar al-Assad following the gas attack on innocent civilians living in a rebel held city in Eastern Syria:

“My attitude toward Syria and Assad has changed very much.” said Trump.

Where dear reader has he been for this better part of the last decade?

It reminds me again of the famous line by Captain Renault in the classic movie Casablanca..."I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here"  ... as a croupier is about to hand Renault his winnings]

How is it possible for anyone other than say Rip Van Winkle not to have known about the atrocities being committed by the infamous Assad?

Anyway, that's what Trump said and it is consistent with my reading of Trump from the beginning ...when confronted by evil...he will respond even though he professes to be an isolationist.

He is no isolationist rather it was Obama who followed that false ideology.  Indeed, had Obama lived up to his Red Line threat to Assad in 2012 the civil war in Syria would likely be well over now and certainly, Russia would not be on the scene as they currently are.

So what to do?

Had Trump left it at the above, he / USA would not need to do a thing...other than voice outrage.

But Trump...as is his want...went on:

“It crossed a lot of lines for me. When you kill innocent children, innocent babies, babies, little babies, with a chemical gas that is so lethal – people were shocked to hear what gas it was. That crosses many, many lines, beyond a red line, many, many lines.”

So there you have it...the chemical attack crossed many lines ...'beyond a red line' ergo it is now too late to impose other red lines but the time has long gone to declare war on Syria.


Trump though has to do something of significance or America will continue to lose face throughout the world and countries like Russia, China will continue to fill the vacuum by sheltering countries that no longer count on the States' for their protection.

And his options really come down to but one and I thank Ret'd Col. Ralph Peters for his suggestion ... 

'The USA must bomb the heck out of Syria's ability to launch further gas attacks by air'.

The US has the capacity to do this but the danger here of course is that it could bring Russia into fray and that would be disastrous. Col. Peters does not believe Russia would do this ...nor do I, and it will also send a long needed signal to Putin and his thugs that future aggression on their part will not go unpunished. 

One Caveat.  Before any action is taken, it must be conclusively determined that Syria did indeed carry out yesterday's gas attack.  Peters is sure that they did saying why would the Rebels have stocked piled chemical weapons when they have no way of delivering them to the enemy?

Good point, but with the memory of George W. and his hollow claim the Saddam Hussein had amassed weapons of mass destruction it would be wise to double and triple check responsibility for yesterday's tragedy.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher'