It Has Come To This…

 

This coming Thursday is the second of two days set aside to decide who will lead the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario into the next and far off Election.

There are but two (2) candidates and although both are likely decent folk, in their own right, neither is qualified to lead the Province’s Tories.

I heard them both on radio today and the woman – Christine Elliott sounded much the same to me as our current Premier – Liberal Kathleen Wynne.

The second candidate – Patrick Brown sounded as if he were being interviewed for a low level position in a high-school government.

I have a vote which I have yet to cast but have sadly come to the conclusion that neither is worth the effort.

This at a time when the Governing Liberals have run amuck and are in desperate need of some well deserved comeuppance.

Ontario has lost its way as has its major parties.  None on the scene seem to be able to do / say anything to get us back on track.

A New Party?

I think not. 

We have become a society of ‘me firsters’ – we have fallen in love with Big Government which wastes our money, over-taxes and over-spends leaving it to future generations to pick up the tab.

I did tell you, did I not, how worried Kathleen Wynne is about the future and her grand-daughter? 

She of course is worried about the effects of Global Warming but too bad it is not in regard to something important such as as our withering economy.

Wynne need not worry – she can take comfort in the fact that neither Tory Candidate is likely to cause her much - if any - grief.

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’

GOD …

 

AND HIS FOLLOWERS CAN TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES.

As in the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling last week that prayers have no place at municipal council tables across Canada.

The logical extension of this Ruling means that God no longer has a place in any of our Governments:

• No prayers
• No National Prayer Breakfast
• Not in our Constitution
• Not in our Anthem
• Not at Remembrance Services

And so on.

But as per my title – it will not be God nor any of his true followers who will suffer from the Court’s edict; it will be society in general.

Canada, like America below us, was founded on Christian / Jewish principles.

In short, those principles have made our countries great and to me it stands to reason that without those principles to guide us, we, as a secular society, are doomed to decline.

Principles such as the worth of the individual, human rights, love and forgiveness will wither in an ever increasing ‘me first’ environment.

I am not saying the Court was wrong in its decision since I can see that for non-believers and even for many left wing believers – God in the affairs of government could be seen as discriminatory.

I am merely pointing our what society is losing in its quest for universal inclusivity.

As I see it…

’K.D. Galagher’

 

It’s All About … Olivia.

 

As in Premier Wynne’s granddaughter.

So said our distinguished leader when she announced the Province’s latest folly  …the 2 billion dollar annual cap and trade tax.

She brought this stupidity in since she wanted “to tell her granddaughter Olivia that she did something positive about climate change”.

Too bad she is not equally concerned about leaving her granddaughter the massive Ontario debt – currently some $300 Billion Dollars – to pay off.

This from a Premier who, with her predecessor, lost 350,000 well paying manufacturing jobs to their totally misguided green energy program.

No less an authority than Warren Buffet is stated as saying that his decision to take Kraft out of Ontario was greatly motivated by Ontario’s inflated energy costs.

So now we have a new tax – Cap and Trade, which will further decimate Ontario businesses at a time when senior GM Union Officials are predicting the end of its manufacture in this province thereby creating further loss of jobs to the tune of 30,000 plus.

And I have yet to even refer to another of its major job loss initiatives – Ontario’s Retirement Pension Plan.

Having gone from the Engine of Canada to its Basket Case in 10 short years, Wynne and Company are making sure that our new have-not status will stay with us for many years to come. Indeed the very real danger exists that this status is now irreversible.

Some legacy to leave young Olivia.

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’

 

And Now There Are Two…

 

As in two candidates for next month’s PC Leadership vote in Ontario.

There were initially 5 seeking the mantle but as of this past week with Monty McNaughton’s withdrawal – there are but two left – Christine Elliott and Patrick Brown.

Makes one wonder if there is just too little interest in grabbing the leadership ring and maybe that is not all that surprising considering the Liberal’s 4 consecutive election victories.

Regardless – for the few of us who are actually interested in next month’s vote I wanted to share with you why I believe the Tory Campaign Rules forced McNaughton’s hand to withdraw.

The ballot was to be a ranked ballot meaning voters would have to state their first, second and third choices – so once the ballots are marked – it is marks the end of the voting.

No dropping off – no wheeling and dealing – no convention speeches to win delegates over – that results will already have been determined with the ranked ballots.

It really takes the fun and interest out of the process does it not?

With two candidates – the ranking of candidates no longer applies since one of the two is guaranteed to get a majority on the first ballot – unless in the unlikely event they both receive 50% of delegates’ votes.

So with Christine Elliott leaning left and both Brown and McNaughton leaning right – the only way for either Brown or McNaughton to influence the outcome was to withdraw before the delegates even voted.

And with Brown leading in memberships sold – it fell to McNaughton to take the plunge.

Will his strategy work?

We’ll soon know – but what had once looked like a coronation for Elliott – looks less so today.  Maybe Hillary Clinton should take notice.

What started out to be a boring campaign has degenerated into one of even greater boredom.

And you can thank the folks at the Ontario PC Executive for bringing this about.

Hopefully this does not signal another decade of Grit Rule for our once proud Province.

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’

Have We Got A Guard For You…

 

The Ceremonial Guard for Canada’s War Memorial here in Ottawa kicked off its season today.

As per last year, there will be two Ceremonial Guards posted at the Memorial and at its Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from 9 am to 5 pm – seven days a week until Remembrance Day, November 11th, 2015.

But this year the set-up is different, the two ceremonial guards themselves will be guarded by two of Ottawa’s finest police at a cost to the taxpayer of nearly half a million dollars for this part year assignment.  It does include a cruiser.

The extra security is due to the tragic shooting death of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo on Wednesday October 22nd. 2014 @ 9:30 am.

Cpl. Cirillo was cowardly gunned down by a lone Islamic Terrorist aficionado.

The guard was initially posted because some male had urinated on the War Memorial in late hours of Canada Day – July 1st 2006.

Do you see something amiss here?

A Guard was posted during the day light hours to protect the War Memorial from a vandalism that took place late at night at a time when most vandalism is apt to occur.

Typical Government.

This stupidity then directly was a factor in Cpl Cirillo’s death since most certainly had he not be on duty that day, protecting the nation’s main monument from unlikely acts of daylight vandalism, he would not be killed.

I am not for a minute suggesting that his special duty caused his death – it did not – the terroist did that all by himself.

Indeed even without the urination incident, I believe the War Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier should be guarded during the spring, summer and fall and I would extend the Guard 7 days a week – 24 hours per day.

What I am pointing out is how inept Government’s can be when they set out to solve a problem.

But now the Guards too are guarded by the Ottawa Police.

Why not really get into it.

Many believe the RCMP is the proper police force responsible for the War Memorial – so let’s add a couple of RCMP constables as well.  Just think what a draw they would be in their Red Serge.

And don’t forget to give them a cruiser too.

And while we are at it – let’s add the Ontario Provincial Police since if the City Cops are there and now the RCMP – should not the OPP be represented too?

And of course their car.

And you can’t leave Guards guarding Guards there on their own – replacement Guards will need to flow through to cover coffee breaks and lunches.

The Minister Responsible for Ottawa – Pierre Poilievre is quoted as saying they have adopted this new system of guarding the guards to send terrorists a message that we in Canada cannot be intimidated.

I find it quite the opposite – guarding the guards sends a message loud and clear that we are indeed intimidated.

So here is what I would do.

I would keep but the two ceremonial guards – one to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the other armed to guard the perimeter of the War Memorial.

Extra cost – none.

Change in the former guard arrangements – none save for the fact that both guards will now be issued real bullets to protect themselves.

They are part of Canada’s distinguished army and are well equipped at protecting themselves.

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’

The Biggest Event In Town …

 

Begins tomorrow morning, in our nation’s fair capital – Ottawa.

I am speaking of course about the Mike Duffy fraud trial.

Many accounts that I have been reading put great importance on his trial, for numerous reasons.

In truth though, it is about one thing and one thing only.

And I will come to that.

But it does once again put the Senate on trial which I see as a needless waste of everyone’s time:

As I have said on countless occasions – the Senate is an undemocratic body populated by unelected ‘hacks, flacks and ne'er-do-wells’.

It should have been abolished years ago.

The trial will only serve to harden that view amongst the many who share it with me.

The NDP’s unequivocal stance - that it will deep six the Red Chamber – is guaranteed to be an election favourite.

But that is all just a sideshow. It will not determine the winner of the upcoming Election.

The real issue is whether or not the Prime Minister lied when he told the country he knew nothing of his Chief of Staff’s gift of $90,000 to the Duffster.

I think Stephen Harper lied when he said that and I believe this will come out when said Chief of Staff, Nigel Wright gives his testimony in regard to this sordid chapter.

From all accounts – despite the ill advisedness of the gift, Wright is one of the few honourables in this sorry saga and he can be expected to tell the truth, under oath – whatever that turns out to be.

But should that truth differ from Harper’s recall – the Prime Minister will then be in the unenviable position of having been caught out lying to Parliament and to the public generally.

I do not see how he could then stay on, in such a circumstances.

What is totally sad about all of this is that it did not need to happen.

There was nothing to be gained by either Harper or Wright coming to Duffy’s defence.  Indeed it was the Government’s position that it too wanted the Senate reformed or gone.

So why get involved in the internal doings of such as dysfunctional body?

There was absolutely nothing to be gained by the Tories and everything to lose as Nigel Wright correctly prophesied in one of his last emails as Chief of Staff.

If Harper goes down, as I think he very well may, he will have the rest of his life to dwell on that question.

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’

Canada’s War On Terror…

 

Let me begin by saying that Canada’s War on Terror is just, though in a couple of important matters, it is misguided.

And also, despite the gloom and doom of the Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum Opposition Parties – our contribution to the war is most modest to the point of almost insignificant.

But it nonetheless is an important symbol.

Where I see us going off the rails first relates to Parliament’s (PM Harper) decision to join the USA in the bombing of Syria.

I say that because what is going on in the Middle East has little to do with Religion – rather it is about power.  The two largest Muslim Sects – the Sunnis and the Shiites are fighting it out to see which becomes dominate.

Whichever one wins out – it will result in misery for both their followers and for innocent bystanders such as the Christians and Jews.

So here we find ourselves about to bomb positions in Syria where these two bad guy groups are battling it out.  In such circumstances, who do we bomb?  And given that whichever one wins out – we lose – what in hell do we hope to achieve by supporting one over the other?

My solution for Syria is very simple; let them battle it out among themselves and then we will deal with the victor.

That said, we do need to help the innocents caught up in this senseless Syrian Slaughter by getting them out to safety and if that entails some bombing to help rescue them - so be it.  

The other mistake our Government is making is in regard to its Terror Bill C51.  As I have said in earlier Blogs – this Bill is so broad that if passed into law, could conceivably catch the Raging Grannies in its web.

Simply stated, we who love Freedom do not have need for a Terrorist Laws that applies to the general public.  Full Stop.

But since 9/11 the West – especially the States has become a virtual police state with numerous anti terrorist organizations tripping over themselves in a bid to invade our common privacy.

We have the criminal code to fall back on when the grannies get out of hand.

That is not to say we in Canada do not need Terrorist Legislation – we do, but solely to apply to those who we currently find ourselves at war with – the Extreme Muslim Groups such as ISIS, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, etc.

When at war the niceties of Rule of Law must be modified*:

• those caught in acts of terrorism need to be locked up – without trial, until the hostilities cease;
• the same for those caught planning or about to carry out such acts;
• and the same for those who give comfort to the enemy including those who speak or write in favour of their twisted cause.  

*those claiming innocence can have their cases heard behind closed doors by specially appointed Judges and Prosecutors.

I envisage the Terrorist Law being a blanket law containing the above provisions and applying to those groups and members and sympathizers who have declared was on us.  A schedule to the Act, would be kept updated containing the names of the Extreme Muslim Groups at issue.

Some will say my approach is too harsh – but it pales in comparison to the beheadings, burning, raping and the burying of babies alive.

We are at war and we should act accordingly.

As I see it…

‘K.D. Galagher’