HAVE A BLAST WITH DEAD-EYE TED MORTON, YOUR LOCAL MINISTER OF SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

If any of you folks out there are going to be around Carstairs, Alberta on June 19, well, by cracky, just bring 125 bucks with you and you can shoot some buckshot and eat some red meat with the Alberta Minister of Sustainable Resource Development, the Honorable Ted Morton. And, by the way, it's best to stay out of the Honourable Ted's way when he's aiming at you like that. Oh yes, our Ted is not high on gun control.

JASON KENNEY'S NEW IMMIGRATION POLICY: A SIGNAL THAT HARPER'S PACKING HIS BAGS

No doubt daunted by his near-death experience at the hands of the coalition as well as the impressive emergence of Michael Ignatieff as his chief opponent, Steve Harper is getting ready to leave office. The signs are unmistakable.

In a democracy such as ours, when a government believes it has not long to go before the people kick its ass out of office, there is a certain protocol it follows. It makes patronage appointments of its people to boards, commissions, the bench, etc. with unseemly haste and efficiency. An example was the orgy of eighteen Senate appointments made by the Prime Minister just before Christmas after having been nearly done in by the coalition. Near its end, a government also promotes some of its stalwarts into sinecures of the public service or international institutions, with cushy jobs, generous pensions and so forth. An example of this is the attempt to foist the callow and inexperienced Peter McKay onto NATO as its Secretary General.

When it believes that it is about to be gassed, a government also embarks on enacting policy on the fly in order to implement some of its cherished beliefs before being confined to the trash-heap of history. This is what Harper seems to be doing at the moment through his motor mouth surrogate Jason Kenney, Canada’s Immigration minister.

Kenney has called for a new policy requiring that new immigrants to Canada be competent in speaking one of Canada’s two official languages. The view is that immigrants are happier if they can communicate in the language of their adopted homeland. Furthermore, the theory goes that if they don’t speak the language of their new home, they are at an economic and social disadvantage.

That may be true, but so what? I grew up in a community of not more than 800 souls where almost everybody was just off the boat or first generation born Canadians. If they spoke English at all, it was usually with an accent. It was a community comprised primarily of unskilled immigrants from the four corners of Eastern and Western Europe. They came over to make a better life for themselves and their families and to provide new and better opportunities for their children. They were not doctors, engineers, or professionals. They were hardscrabble labourers who worked with their hands and their backs. Most knew not a word of English or French when they arrived in town, unless they happened to be from the U.K., France or Belgium. There were some who never learned how to speak any of our official languages. This was particularly so of women who were not in traditional workplaces. They were mothers and homemakers who were pretty good at what they did. With the husband bringing home the pay cheque and the homemaker taking good care of the kids, these families produced significant numbers of engineers, geologists, school teachers, doctors, lawyers, professors, and people with great technical skills. This process for new Canadians continues to this very day. The vast majority of immigrants to Canada are the salt of the earth. They come here to work and to make a better life for their families. They have succeeded magnificently, and continue to do so.

What Kenney is really doing, no doubt with the support of his leader is trying to enact some Reform/Alliance driven pipedream about getting the “right” immigrants into this country. As though we have not got the “right immigrants” coming into this country as we speak. As though indeed, we have been getting the “wrong immigrants” over lo these many years that we have been taking in immigrants.

There is nothing wrong with our immigration policy. It ain’t broke! Canada is bringing in people who are taking the biggest risks of their lives to seek a better life for their children, and they are prepared to work like hell to attain it. No labour is too menial or too difficult for them so long as they are confident that they are getting ahead and that their families will have a better life than had they continued to reside in their homeland.

The lunatic fringe of the Conservative party is comprised of the Reform/Alliance crowd inflicted on this country by Preston Manning, Stockwell Day and now Stephen Harper. Jason Kenney is their poster-boy. This element of the Conservative party has never been comfortable with immigration of the unskilled who spoke a foreign tongue, and who had nothing to offer except blood, toil and sweat to get ahead. Those Conservatives have not learned that it is precisely those immigrants who have made this country as great as it is today by instilling the values of hard work, sacrifice and respect for education into their children and grandchildren. It is not by accident that Canada stands at the forefront of the family of nations in terms of its standard of living and strong institutions. And for that we should always thank a generous and understanding immigration policy that has made that possible.

HOT OFF THE PRESS: PETER PUCK IS IN THE SLAMMER

Assets? Assets? I have no assets.

Well, well, well. Just when I was running out of ideas. Just as I was suffering from writer’s block. Just when this bloody depression was really starting to get me down, along comes a truly inspiring news item to get the juices flowing.

Yesterday the ex-Canadian and rip-off connoisseur Peter Pocklington was taken from his luxurious digs in Palm Desert by ten armed FBI agents. His destination? The slammer located in the gritty mean streets of Riverside California. He is under arrest and facing charges for bankruptcy fraud. See:
http://ca.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idCATRE52A73N20090312?sp=true

The whole episode scared the hell out of his long-suffering, loyal and faithful 87 year-old mother Eileen who was visiting with Pocklington and his wife at the time. The old girl said “We were still in bed, they broke the lock and came in. . . . There was 10 of them . . . . I heard all this banging, I think, ‘What on earth are the neighbours doing?’ Bang, bang, bang. . . . Little did I know.” She added that she had no idea her boy was in trouble. She said, “I just couldn’t believe, never in my life would I ever believe. . . . He has always been fine.” Yes, yes. Dear me. Ahem.

It must have been all of that bad company that led her misunderstood boy astray. Guys like Gretzky, I suppose, or Marc Messier. Poor kid. And she had such high hopes for him. She said young Peter – age 67 - told her when she got off the plane for her visit that he was all excited about “another big deal, I forget what country.” Indeed.
See: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Oilers+owner+Pocklington+charged+with+fraud/1378333/story.html
With Pocklington obviously believing, much like fellow ex-Canadian in a U.S. jail Conrad Black, that ordinary laws applied to ordinary people and that he was anything but ordinary, prosecutors say Pocklington recently made an assignment in bankruptcy attesting to 20 million in debts and – get this – 3000 measly bucks in assets. The gendarmes now accuse Pocklington of hiding bank accounts, assets in offshore companies, and spinning off art and fine furniture to his buddies, all of which he failed to mention in his sworn declarations. Last year a bankruptcy trustee was chasing him for about 300 grand that he allegedly received from auctioning some of his sports memorabilia from his glory days as Edmonton Oilers’ Peter Puck.

With any luck the outcome of his current tribulations could be the last we hear from this lamentable weasel and welcher on commitments to our government, his creditors, and even children. See: http://darrylraymaker.blogspot.com/2008/10/peter-puck-welches-on-commitment-to.html

For further information on this sterling character see: http://business.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081219.rmpuck1218/BNStory/Business

The former candidate for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party and – as the much missed tiny perfect scandal sheet Frank Magazine used to say – 'shameless self promoter', will be behind bars in his orange jump suit until his trial if the prosecutors have their way.

As to the self-promotion and philosophy of this paragon of rectitude his website makes for interesting reading. See: http://www.peterpocklington.com/

The burning question now is will the welching, narcissist Pocklington join Conrad Black and David Radler among the ex-directors of the Fraser Institute who are also convicted felons? The Institute also boasts among its current ranks senior policy analyst, disgraced Harper speech-writer and admitted plagiarist, Dr. Owen Lippert.

STEPHEN HARPER AND THE IMPORTANCE OF READING HISTORY

Finally, he’s got the message. As he bravely told the people of the United States on CNN on Sunday, our Prime Minister does not believe the war in Afghanistan is winnable. See: http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1458586&auth=

The coup de grace of the statement was:



“Quite frankly, we are not going to ever defeat the insurgency. Afghanistan has probably had – my reading of Afghanistan history (is) it’s probably had an insurgency forever of some kind.”


Indeed it has. And it is a great tragedy that Harper and a few other movers and shakers in the lofty reaches of the Canadian government hadn’t read any Afghanistan history much earlier - like say, before marching our troops off to Kandahar to the mindless jingoism of General Hillier. If these turkeys had done so most of the 111 of our troops who have lost their lives in the conflict would still have their futures ahead of them. Just this morning came the news of the roadside bomb killings of another three of our brave troops in the region.


In case anybody is interested – and we all should be - here is what happened to the 111 brave young Canadians who have perished in Afghanistan. 92 were killed in hostile circumstances – 59 as a result of improvised explosive devices or landmines, 22 from rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire, and 11 from suicide bomb attacks. 19 died from friendly fire, motor vehicle accidents, falls, accidental gunshots, suicide and other causes.
See: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/03/04/canada-afghanistan.html


See also an expanded list of casualties: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/afghanistan/casualties/list.html

In addition, more than 300 Canadian soldiers have been wounded in Afghanistan, half of whom had to be transported back to Canada for treatment. Many of those wounded have serious and disabling injuries. There are amputees and seriously brain injured among them.

Our government says that by 2011 the direct cost of this folly to the Canadian taxpayer is estimated to be $11.3 billion. Parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page says that when you add in disability and health care for the troops, the price tag rises to $18.1 billion. See: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/593858


Yes, if Harper had read even the rudiments of the history of the region, he would have realized that the NATO commitment of even less than 100,000 troops at any one time would have been woefully deficient even to make a dent in changing that godforsaken country for the better.

If he had read the history of the region, he would have realized that the people of Afghanistan had given the boot twice to the British Empire at the height of its power.

If he had read the history of the region Harper would have realized that not yet twenty years ago the Russians, even with a far stronger military presence in the country than NATO now has, had to leave licking their wounds.

And had he had read some history of the region, he would have picked up on why our NATO partners were so loathe to send their troops into tough spots of Afghanistan such as Kandahar. Why indeed? Because our partners had read the history of the region and realized the futility of it all! Unlike Prime Minister Harper, who was too busy apple polishing President Bush and the neocons, in between reading learned treatises from the likes of the Fraser Institute, William Kristol and the National Citizens Coalition.

Yes, had Harper only read some history of the region before it was too late. He didn’t.
This is a very sad story. In his haste to please his American idols and embrace the geo-political views of the now discredited extreme right, history never entered the Prime Minister’s mind. It has only now, and it is too late for at least 111 brave Canadians.

GEORGE W. BUSH IS COMING TO TOWN: AS PHINEAS BARNUM USED TO SAY - "THERE'S A SUCKER BORN EVERY MINUTE"

BUSH

BARNUM


I received the following chummy invitation to a forthcoming event to be held on St. Patrick's Day. Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend due to previous commitments at the bar at the Shamrock Hotel. However, some of my loyal and faithful readers may wish to attend. Ticket Details are below:

Here’s the invite as per my call..
j.

Subject: March 17th

Good afternoon - please find attached and below, information regarding the private, invite only, George W. Bush luncheon. Table of 10 is $4000 with an opportunity to also purchase up to 2 VIP passes to a 100 person private reception hosted by the former President. Individual tickets are $400 each.

A Conversation with President George W. Bush
Calgary - Tuesday March 17th 2009 – TELUS Convention Centre
Lunch 12:00pm to 12:45pm
Speech – 12:45pm to 1:15pm
Q&A Session – 1:15pm to 2:00pm

Please let me know if you have any questions,

Jozefina Grabic
Senior Events Coordinator ? Calgary Chamber of Commerce

P: 403-750-0422 ? F: 403-266-3413
100 6th Avenue S.W. ? Calgary, AB ? T2P 0P5
www.calgarychamber.com
www.calgarychamber.wordpress.com

BULLETIN: IZZY'S EMPIRE ON LIFE SUPPORT

ROUGH TIMES: THE HERALD'S NEOCON EDITORIAL WRITERS (above) SEEN RECENTLY IN A DOWNTOWN SOUP KITCHEN

HOT OFF THE PRESS: CANWEST EDGES CLOSER TO THE BRINK

See: http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSTRE51B65A20090212

What will they call a Calgary Herald editorial writer after CanWest bites the dust?

"Waiter!"

What do you call a Calgary Herald editorial writer who has been thrown out of his girlfriend's apartment?

"Homeless."

RON WOOD AND HIS BELOVED 'MANYBERRIES'

In Alberta there was a time when people of a different political stripe were pleasant and civilized to one another. They could work together and enjoy each other’s company. Whether it was the workplace or mutual charitable pursuits or interests, politics was only the slightest impediment to normal discourse and communication.

This civilized and democratic behaviour began to disintegrate in Alberta and elsewhere some time ago. I don’t exactly know when, but it seems to me to have originated with the era of conflict infotainment in the media, hard-edged talk shows, and the rise of the neocons. The neocons of course can be traced right back to the Reagan era, and I suppose that’s probably where it all began. In Alberta, this disturbing trend was magnified by the highly partisan Klein era, the rise of the ideological right in the Reform/Alliance rebellion against the old federal Tories, and the very divisive editorial policies of the major print outlets first under Hollinger and now CanWest.

But there are still oases of civilization in the body politic out here. There are still people in Alberta, who although having very divergent views as to what is best for Canadians, can speak to one another with wit, intelligence and respect.

One of those is Ron Wood. I met Ron the first time many years ago when he was a prominent radio newsman and had the misfortune of moderating a political forum that I participated in during one of the federal elections 1979, 1980 or 1984. I’m not sure which one it was exactly. I did run as a Liberal candidate in Calgary North in all three. And no, I didn’t win any of them. I had no idea of Ron’s politics back in those days as he handled his duties with such an even hand he was the epitome of fairness.

Ron had gone to school in Calgary and began his career in the news business there. By the time I met him he had already worked in Ottawa for some time in the Press Gallery, had been news director at a couple of radio stations, and was on his way to becoming an award winning journalist.

In 1990 he went into politics, first working as press secretary to Reform Party leader Preston Manning. He later worked as an executive assistant and communications advisor to opposition leaders John Reynolds and Stephen Harper. Now if that isn’t a conservative pedigree I don’t know what is. When Harper won the big show in 2006, Wood decided he’d had enough. He returned to Calgary and began his career as a damn good writer.

I have just finished reading his first venture into the literary world ‘And God Created Manyberries’ published by Frontenac House in 2007. For those of you unfamiliar with ‘Manyberries,’ it is a very small Hamlet of no more than 100 souls in Forty Mile County very close to the U.S. border about 50 miles south of Medicine Hat at the eastern end of Highway 61.

Wood’s book is a tribute to small town virtues and values. It is a gentle, funny, and at times sentimental work about small town characters, their adventures, and their spouses and secrets. The reader will learn about their town celebrations and listen to their conversations and political and world views. We get to know their pets and, in their dotage, even accompany them on their sad final visit to the vets. We join them on their hunting trips and learn something of the town’s colorful history. We get to meet Three-Eyed Tom and even Four-Eyed Tom, two prominent residents of Manyberries, only one of which is a human being. And we learn much about their civilized drinking habits in their beloved Ranchmen’s Saloon.

‘And God Created Manyberries,’ is written in the down home tradition of Garrison Keillor’s “A Prarie Home Companion’ and Stuart McLean's 'Vinyl Cafe.' The chapters are short and crystal clear snippets of experience and shrewd observation from a great admirer of rural western Canadiana. It is a great read.

Recently, I have had occasion to spend some quality time with Ron. Over good vintages of Oaky Merlot, we trade stories of our experiences, talk politics and talk about writing. Ron is from the old school. He’s candid, honest, civilized and great company – he’s a throwback to the good old days when most everyone was civilized.

THE CALGARY HERALD: IS IT A PURGE, OR IS IT TIME FOR LAST RITES?

Purge? Or Time for Last Rites?

I hear that the once proud Calgary Herald continues its long, tragic, and inevitable nosedive into journalistic history. I was informed today by an impeccable and pristine source that Les Brost’s intelligent and stimulating column will be no more. It is terminated. Finito. Kaput. The editorial page editor, the Contessa Corbella delivered the bad news to Brost within the last day or so.

According to my unimpeachable source, the Contessa advised Brost that the gazillions of debt load heaped on the Herald’s parent company Canwest in the lead up to Izzy’s final curtain has put the rag into “perilous financial shape.” The result, according to the Contessa, is that “most freelancers are being terminated.” Poor Les finds himself among the expendables.

I look forward to testing Corbella’s explanation in the days and weeks ahead to see if Brost is likely being purged for his moderate views. If neocon Bushite trash from the likes of Susan Martinuk, Mark Milke, and G.W. Bush’s former chief speechwriter Michael Gerson continues to soil the editorial page, we can assume that poor Brost has been done in, silenced and muzzled because of his moderate and civilized views.

It will be interesting as well to know what remaining freelancers are being paid. Are they writing courtesy of organizations that can provide free hackers to the rag – such as neocon think tanks whose names you can guess. Is anybody buying access to the opinion pages of a once mighty and honourable newspaper of record now sinking quickly into a sea of ego driven debt?

As for Brost, he’s a classy guy and has accepted his fate with good humor and a positive outlook for the future. He also reads the business news and stock market quotes. This leads him to believe that there is truth to Corbella’s explanation. Canwest and the Herald are on their knees. Alas, Corbella and Herald staffers should probably be dusting off their own resumes.

Anybody want to administer the Last Rites?

SENATOR DUFFY'S SENATE QUALIFICATIONS: A CONSERVATIVE SHILL WITH NO CLASS

Senator Duffy: A Conservative Shill

With No Class

At Christmas time Mike Duffy, the famously corpulent and cherubic, but aging, former television newsman was rewarded for his many years as a Conservative shill. He was one of eighteen Conservative faithful to receive courtesy of their pal the Prime Minister, the crown jewel of Canadian political patronage – an appointment to the Senate of Canada. Among the party hacks, flaks and hangers-on like Duffy, a Senate appointment is a dream come true - the big enchilada of politics - the mother of all cushy political appointments.

And no wonder. Senators make a base salary of $130,400 a year and get extra for serving as committee chairs. The pension is 75% of the Senator’s five best years of salary and is payable after the tender age of 55 and only six years in the Senate. And of course, it is indexed to the cost of living.

And there is more. A Senator gets 64 free return trips a year anywhere in Canada by plane or train and can give away his ticket to someone else to use. If he lives 100 km or more from Ottawa, he can pick up an extra twenty grand a year in expenses. He also has a hundred fifty thou to fix up his new offices, and can hire staff, etc., all courtesy of you and I the loyal and faithful Canadian taxpayer.

Ah, but was Duffy qualified to receive such munificence? Of course he was, and in two very important respects. First of all, his reporting on CTV in recent years so clearly supported his patrons, that alone would have made him a natural selection.

But he is qualified to be a Conservative Senator in another very important way, as evidenced by his rich oratory in his maiden speech delivered in the Red Chamber on Tuesday. After buttering up his patron and offering an assortment of banalities, his blackberry buzzed - a big no, no in the Chamber.

After that gaucherie, Senator Duffy had this to say to his distinguished colleagues of the gravy train: “Honourable Senators, I was disappointed to see that our dynamic young premier in Prince Edward Island, Robert Ghiz, has climbed into bed with the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, and honourable Senators know what a grotesque scene that is. Do honourable Senators know what happens when two politicians climb into bed together? One of them comes out on top and I am afraid that when one is in bed with Danny Williams he will come out on top and I would hate to see where that will leave P.E.I in the end.”

His comments in the Senate were a little tamer than what he said at the P.E.I. Progressive Conservative annual meeting a few days before. At that meeting Duffy, in referring to Ghiz and Williams said, "when two men get into bed together one is going to get the shaft, and I assure you it won't be Danny Williams."

When pressed for an apology the classy Senator only had this to say: "Honourable senators, if the metaphor I used in my speech on Feb. 3 was offensive to some members of this chamber, I withdraw the metaphor."

All of this reminded me of another instance that Duffy revealed something of himself. More than ten years ago he launched a defamation lawsuit against the now-defunct but wonderful publication known as Frank Magazine. During the proceedings he gave testimony that he had been deprived of an Order of Canada appointment because of the things that Frank had written about him. Duffy alleged that his source was Prime Minister Chretien no less. Of course, he was unable to prove his allegation.

And so if shilling for the Conservatives was Duffy’s first qualification to be a Conservative Senator, what was the second qualification? It is the same characteristic possessed by present day Conservatives too numerous too mention. It is what has set people like Gerry Ritz, Myron Thompson, Art Hangar, Stephen Harper, Stockwell Day, John Baird, a host of other Conservatives and now Duffy, apart from distinguished and respectable parliamentarians.

They all – Duffy among them - have no class.

And so, being a Conservative shill and having no class, of course Senator Duffy is qualified to be a Conservative Senator.

THE COALITION THREAT: THE GREAT EQUALIZER

Think about it. Not two months have passed since the opposition unsheathed the threat of a coalition to stop Stephen Harper's Canadian neocon revolution. When it happened it was like the ninety-seven pound weakling giving the muscle-bound bullyboy on the beach a swift kick in the gonads. It was as if the opposition said, "Take that!" for all of the many insults and slights he made it suffer during the three years he had been kicking sand in its face.

Although Harper's first reaction against his unlikely tormentors was invective and divisive rage,

just like a bully he quickly and gingerly inched his way in retreat to behind the comely skirts of the Governor General. She gave him a reprieve from what was sure to be his government's fate - an ignominious departure from power.

Since his near death experience a lot of good things have happened.

1. Instead of continuing to bamboozle Canadians that there was no cause for alarm about the world wide economic catastrophe, the government finally admitted that yes, we were all in trouble.

2. Instead of trying to implement some hare-brained neocon solution to our economic woes in the tradition of say, Herbert Hoover or R. B. Bennett, the government's budget yesterday adopted a more sensible Keynesian stimulus approach in the wise tradition of FDR.

3. The former bully boy abandoned his plans to create an extreme right one party state.

4. The Liberals fast-tracked their leadership contest with the crowning of Michael Ignatieff in a bloodless process which achieved party unity for the first time in almost a decade.

5. Ignatieff has shown himself to be a polished performer and wise strategist, with a gift for coining a phrase for the moment. The words "This government is on probation" are likely to be heard frequently in the months ahead, as furrowed-brow Canadians carefully peruse every step the government takes to deal with the economic crisis.

6. In the polls Liberal fortunes have risen exponentially, particularly in Quebec where the people have wisely decided that Harper is not their friend. See: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/posted/archive/2009/01/29/disconnected-from-quebec-reality-harper-sees-support-plunge.aspx

7. The budget itself has been universally characterized as a Liberal budget primarily driven by Liberal policies. And it is the Liberals who will play the major political role in looking over the government's shoulder to determine its commitment to its provisions.

8. Mercifully for all concerned, the coalition government is, at the moment at least, history. But its threat of resurrection hangs over Harper's head like the Sword of Damocles. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damocles. It will forever be in his attention.

The Liberals and the Opposition parties - and here Stephane Dion must be given much credit - have shown Canadians how to respond to a bully. See Darryl Raymaker blog

Tuesday, December 09, 2008
"DOING A DION:" RECOGNIZING THE AUTOCRAT AND STOPPING HIM IN HIS TRACKS

The swift kick was not only the great equalizer. It was the secret weapon that within the year will be responsible for the bully being forced to take up another line of work.

ALBERTA JUSTICE: WHO MONKEYED AROUND WITH THE MEMO?

An interesting piece in this morning’s Herald reminds us of the dark and petty side of the

Alberta Tories. It also tells us about the slow and creaky Alberta wheels of justice – especially when it is the Tories that have their nuts in a wringer.

See, RCMP Probe Searches For Truth Behind Withheld Alberta Tory Flight Logs,
http://www.calgaryherald.com/RCMP+probe+searches+truth+behind+withheld+Alberta+Tory+flight+logs/1217706/story.html
Here’s a quick review of the facts of the story:

1. In April of 2004, an intrepid reporter for the Edmonton Journal, Charles Rusnell, embarked upon a project rarely undertaken these days by the CanWest press. He actually began an investigative reporting project.

2. The subject of his investigation was who it was that were using government of Alberta aircraft at the taxpayer’s expense. Accordingly, he asked the government for the records of who had traveled in government planes.

3. The government promised to supply the information and then reneged on the promise.

4. In June 2004, Rusnell responded to the government inaction and filed a Freedom of Information request to see the records.

5. Although the government normally had 30 days to respond, they did not. In fact they only responded 5 months later, on November 25, 2004 – 3 days after the provincial election.

6. Rusnell then filed a complaint with the office of the Information and Privacy Commission, which thereupon ordered an Oral Public Inquiry.

7. In March 2005 the inquiry was held to find out why the Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation department delayed releasing the flight information until 3 days after the provincial election in 2004.

8. During the inquiry government lawyers representing the department of Infrastructure and Transportation (to which the request for information was made) introduced in evidence an Email memo stating that senior bureaucrats within the department had been told by its freedom of information coordinator that they had to turn over the documents “on or before November 25th 2004.”

9. However, it was revealed that the Email memo entered as evidence appeared to have been altered. This was discovered because of another application filed by the diligent Rusnell under the Freedom of Information Act. As a result of that second application, Rusnell had obtained the records of the response from the Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation to his original application. Among those records was the original Email memo dated November 12, 2004 which used the words “on or after November 25th.”

10. As a result of the inquiry, the Information and Privacy commissioner ruled that the Infrastructure and Transportation department deliberately delayed releasing the records of the flights until after the provincial election and manipulated Rusnell’s access to information for political reasons.

11. The question that remains outstanding is, was the Email memo intentionally altered or tampered with? If it was, it may be a criminal offence on somebody’s part within the government.

On July 18, 2008 after two years of squabbling between the RCMP and the government, the RCMP legally seized documents and computer records from Alberta government departments to look for evidence of who was behind the falsification of the Email memo.

In the warrant documents, the RCMP allege that the Department of Infrastructure and Transportation freedom of information officer who handled Rusnell’s request told police she was instructed not to release the flight log records until after the provincial election. It also alleges that an information technology employee of the department who tried to find out how the Email memo was altered was ordered to stop his investigation by a senior bureaucrat in the department.

It gets worse. Since July 18th 2008 – 6 months ago!! – the seized documents have remained sealed because government lawyers argue that the documents are protected by solicitor-client privilege.

A deal has now been struck between the cops and the government. The government is turning over all the documents they feel are not protected by solicitor-client privilege within “the next couple of weeks.” Any documents not released will be taken before a judge who will rule whether or not those documents are protected by the privilege.

Alberta Justice has hired a Special Prosecutor to handle the RCMP investigation of the government.

And don’t laugh - the government says that it is protecting its employees’ rights.

Expect more litigation, stone-walling and in all probability, some white-washing.

THE PASSING OF JEAN PELLETIER: A MORAL TALE

PELLETIER : VINDICATED

BEDARD: CONVICTED




MARTIN: DEFEATED

Canada lost a great public servant last week with the passing of Jean Pelletier at the age of 73. Pelletier was a highly successful and longtime Quebec City Mayor before becoming Prime Minister Chretien’s chief of staff. Later he served as Chairman of Via Rail. In whatever post he occupied, Pelletier served with honor, dignity and effectiveness. He made a tremendous contribution to both his city and his country.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Pelletier

Sadly, near the end of his career he became embroiled in the Adscam scandal and in the eyes of many fell from grace. The chief instrument of his downfall was former Canadian Olympic medalist Myriam Bedard.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myriam_B%C3%A9dard

Bedard was an Olympic medalist who had worked at Via Rail’s marketing department in the early 2000’s. On February 27, 2004 she made public allegations that she had been forced to leave her marketing job at Via Rail in 2002 after raising concerns about the company’s corrupt dealings with one of the Adscam scandal’s central players, Groupaction.

In response to Bedard’s allegations, Pelletier was quoted by La Presse as saying,

“I don’t want to be mean but this is a poor girl who deserves pity, who doesn’t have a spouse, as far as I know.”

He remarked further,

“She is struggling as a single mother with economic responsibilities. Deep down, I think she is pitiful.”

A public furor arose from Pelletier’s remarks coming from opposition politicians and women’s and sports organizations, all of which branded his words as sexist. On March 1, 2004, only two days after his statement about Bedard, the Martin government fired Pelletier for his remarks.

By late March 2004 it became clear that Pelletier’s remarks were not so much off the mark. Bedard, in testimony before the Public Accounts Committee alleged that Groupaction was involved in drug trafficking, that her companion had been the person who convinced Jean Chretien to keep out of the Iraq War, and that Quebec car racing icon Jacques Villeneuve had been paid 12 million dollars to wear a Canadian flag on his uniform. All of these allegations were hotly denied and widely regarded as ridiculous. Certainly none of them were ever proven. Later on, an Arbitrator concluded that Bedard had left Via Rail voluntarily.

In December 2006, Bedard was charged in Canada with abduction of her daughter. She was arrested in the U.S. and detained while awaiting extradition. During that time her daughter was placed in the care of the U.S. government. In January 2007 the child was returned to the father and Bedard returned to Canada to face her charges. In October 2007 she was found guilty of child abduction and violating a child custody agreement. She was sentenced to two years probation.

By March of 2004, Pelletier believed that not only was he wrongfully dismissed but that his reputation had been severely damaged as a result of his treatment by the Martin government. He sued Via Rail and the government for defamation and wrongful dismissal. The Federal Court ordered him reinstated to his job in November 2005. The government appealed, kept Pelletier off the payroll, and fired him again. In March of 2007 the second firing was ruled improper and once again set aside by the Federal Court.

In November 2007 The Quebec Superior Court ruled that in firing Pelletier the Martin government had acted in a “cavalier and precipitous” fashion and showed “a total lack of consideration” which did not “meet the standard of diligence expected from a contractor when a contractual relationship is ended.” It awarded him $335,000 in damages. And in June of 2008 a federal judge cleared both Pelletier and Chretien of any responsibility for the sponsorship scandal.

A few months ago and knowing that he was about to meet his Maker, Pelletier gave an interview to Quebec City newspaper Le Soleil. It was to be released only upon his death. A report of the interview appeared today in the Toronto Star. See: Chretien Ally fires Last Shot at Martin, http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/570603

The piece is worth reading.

A remarkable speech given by Richard Nixon on August 9, 1974 to his White House Staff upon his resignation and departure from public office is also worth reading in the context of the Pelletier tale.
See: http://www.shabbir.com/nonmatchbox/whithous.html

It is a remarkable speech in many respects. But the words which will undoubtedly withstand all of the ravages of time and be remembered through the ages are:

"Always give your best, never get discouraged, never be petty; always remember others may hate you, but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself.”

GEORGE W. BUSH: NEW RESUME HOT OFF THE PRESS

RESUME

GEORGE W. BUSH

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC 20520

LAW ENFORCEMENT:

* I was arrested in Kennebunkport, Maine, in 1976 for driving under the influence of alcohol. I pleaded guilty, paid a fine, and had my driver's license suspended for 30 days. My Texas driving record has been 'lost' and is not available.

MILITARY:

* I joined the Texas Air National Guard and went AWOL. I refused to take a drug test or answer any questions about my drug use. By joining the Texas Air National Guard, I was able to avoid combat duty in Vietnam .

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

* I graduated from Yale University with a low C average. I was a cheerleader.

PAST WORK EXPERIENCE:

* I ran for U.S. Congress and lost.

* I began my career in the oil business in Midland , Texas , in1975. I bought an oil company, but couldn't find any oil in Texas. The company went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my stock.

* I bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that took land using taxpayer money.

* With the help of my father and our friends in the oil industry (Including Enron CEO Ken Lay), I was elected governor of Texas.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS:

* I changed Texas pollution laws to favor power and oil companies, making Texas the most polluted state in the Union. During my tenure, Houston replaced Los Angeles as the most smog-ridden city in America.

* I cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas treasury to the tune of billions in borrowed money.

* I set the record for the most executions by any governor in American history.

* With the help of my brother, the governor of Florida, and my father's appointments to the Supreme Court, I became President of the United States , after losing by over 500,000 votes.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT:

* I am the first President in U.S. history to enter office with a criminal record.

* I invaded and occupied two countries at a continuing cost of over one billion dollars per week.

* I spent the U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S. Treasury.

* I shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S. history.

* I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any12-month period.

* I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.

* I set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the U.S. stock market.

* In my first year in office, over 2 million Americans lost their jobs and that trend continues.

* I'm proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in U.S. history.

* My 'poorest millionaire, 'Condoleezza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.

* I set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips by a U.S. President.

* I am the all-time U.S. and world record -holder for receiving the most corporate campaign donations.

* My largest lifetime campaign contributor, and one of my best friends, Kenneth Lay, presided over the largest corporate bankruptcy fraud in U.S. history, Enron.

* My political party used Enron private jets and corporate attorneys to assure my success with the U.S. Supreme Court during my election decision.

* I have protected my friends at Enron and Halliburton against investigation or prosecution.

* More time and money was spent investigating the Monica Lewinsky affair than has been spent investigating one of the biggest corporate rip-offs in history.

* I presided over the biggest energy crisis in U.S. history and refused to intervene when corruption involving the oil industry was revealed.

* I presided over the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history.

* I changed the U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.

* I appointed more convicted criminals to my administration than any President in U.S. history.

* I created the Ministry of Homeland Security, the largest bureaucracy in the history of the United States Government.

* I've broken more international treaties than any President in U.S. history.

* I am the first President in U.S. history to have the United Nations remove the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission.

* I withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law.

* I refused to allow inspector's access to U.S. 'prisoners of war' detainees and thereby have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention.

* I am the first President in history to refuse United Nations election inspectors (during the 2002 US election).

* I set the record for fewest numbers of press conferences of any President since the advent of television.

* I set the all-time record for most days on vacation in any one-year period.

* After taking off the entire month of August, I presided over the worst security failure in U.S. history.

* I garnered the most sympathy ever for the U.S. after the World Trade Center attacks and less than a year later made the U.S. the most hated country in the world, the largest failure of diplomacy in world history.

* I have set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously protest me in public venues (15 million people), shattering the record for protests against any person in the history of mankind.

* I am the first President in U.S. history to order an unprovoked, preemptive attack and the military occupation of a sovereign nation. I did so against the will of the United Nations, the majority of U..S. Citizens and the world community.

* I have cut health care benefits for war veterans and support a cut in duty benefits for active duty troops and their families in wartime.

* In my State of the Union Address, I lied about our reasons for attacking Iraq and then blamed the lies on our British friends.

* I am the first President in history to have a majority of Europeans (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and security.

* I am supporting development of a nuclear 'Tactical Bunker Buster,' a WMD.

* I have so far failed to fulfill my pledge to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice.

RECORDS AND REFERENCES:

* All records of my tenure as governor of Texas are now in my father's library, sealed and unavailable for public view.

* All records of SEC investigations into my insider trading and my bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

* All records or minutes from meetings that I, or my Vice-President attended, regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review.

* I specified that my sealed documents will not be available for 50 years.

BRUCE MILLER'S NEW POLITICAL PARTY: OF DUCKS AND HORSES

A Horse (according to Bruce Miller)

According to a piece that appeared today in the Calgary Herald some Alberta Grits along with a few interested others are conducting sub rosa meetings with a view to starting a new Alberta political party. See: Some Liberals Weigh Starting Party, http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/todays-paper/Some+Liberals+weigh+starting+party/1150177/story.html

Bruce Miller is an affable, intelligent, and well-meaning former United Church Minister who represented the riding of Edmonton Glenora for the Liberals through one term until the March 2008 election. He has been one of a discreetly silent and shadowy group of real or wannabe politicos who are conducting private meetings to get the ball rolling for the new party. He believes that no existing party has a chance of beating the provincial Tories. According to Miller, "It's obvious that the Liberal brand doesn't work. How many times do you have to lose in a big way? I think enough is enough. It's time to look at other possibilities."

I have two problems with Miller’s statement.

First of all, it fails to take into account the success of Laurence Decore as provincial Liberal leader in the late eighties and early nineties. In 1992 Decore’s Liberals won 32 seats and 39% of the vote. They also won a by-election in Three Hills, the buckle of Alberta’s bible belt. Surely a party that is that strong in a general election and can win seats in highly unlikely ridings has a chance to go all the way and win.

Perhaps the question that Miller and his band of revolutionaries should ask is, why is it that the Liberals have not done nearly as well since Decore was the leader? The answer is obvious. Laurence Decore was a leader. He worked the length and breadth of the province, came up with attractive policies, and sold them well enough to have given the Tories their greatest scare since they took power in 1971. Had his health remained robust, he could have gone all the way. But tragically, it was not to be. As far as leadership skills were concerned, no Grit leader in the province since Decore - and we have now had four of them – was able to touch him. So when Miller asks the question why the Liberal brand doesn’t work in Alberta, he should think of Decore, and if he thinks of Decore he will come to one conclusion. It is all about leadership, stupid!

The second point I would make to Miller and his insurrectionists is that the Alberta Liberal Party has through the years stood for being “business friendly and environmentally and socially progressive.” This is exactly what Miller wants his new party to be. That being the case, does he really believe he can hoodwink Alberta voters into thinking that Miller’s new party, whatever its name, and with its membership comprised of a bunch of Liberals, is a different party than the Alberta Liberal Party. Does he believe that Albertans will conclude that if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it must be a horse? That, with respect, is contemptuous of the intelligence of the people of Alberta.

Finally, Miller and his band of plotters should heed the advice of new leader David Swann and political scientist David Taras. A new party will only further split the anti-government vote and make life easier for Premier Stelmach and the provincial Tories. Hopefully, that will give Miller and his pals some pause.

REX MURPHY: A GREAT NATIONAL INSTITUTION WHO SHOULD TALK LESS AND LISTEN MORE

CANADIAN ICON AND TALKING HEAD

REX MURPHY

Rex Murphy, one of CBC’s better talking heads, is a very compelling character. He’s a smart Rhodes Scholar and possesses the gift of the gab of his ancestors. He also has a pair of original asymmetrical eyes, a sober and righteously indignant mien, and a broad Newfi accent. When these unique characteristics are combined with his pedantic and scholarly language, his penchant for satire and irony, and his regular use of obscure quotes from the bard and vignettes from Greek and Roman mythology, he comes across as a morally and intellectually superior odd-ball.

Whether it be on The National on CBC television or on CBC Radio’s Cross Country Checkup which he hosts every Sunday afternoon, I among many Canadians usually find him to be an amusing and informative guy. His ubiquitous media presence has become as much of a Canadian institution as Hockey Night in Canada. There is no one quite like Murphy in Canadian radio and television and one hopes that his career as a boob tube pundit and radio host lasts for a very long time.

He also writes a weekly column for the Globe and Mail. In my opinion, Murphy is not as good with the pen as he is in front of a camera or microphone. To me his columns too often are pretentious intellectual snobbery and for that reason so boring it is hard to read the stuff to the end. His writings all too frequently display a self-indulgent pedantry seemingly written for the benefit of himself, his Oxonian pals or the gifted few he accepts as his intellectual equals. Nonetheless, he warrants his place on the Globe’s Op-ed page and we can only wish that his quality graced the pages of the hapless Calgary Herald.

In Saturday’s Globe and Mail, Murphy penned what was by and large a good column on the arrival of Michael Ignatieff as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada entitled Grit miracle: Iggy to fish in Tory water.
See: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081220.COMURPH20/TPStory/TPComment/?query=

In the piece, Murphy describes Ignatieff’s strengths and promise and the bizarre sequence of events that expedited his recent rise to power. He noted that Ignatieff had reignited Grit party morale and that Canadians were giving him attention. He applauded the new leader’s wooing of Quebec and observed that his style could do well there. All of which was music to the ears of Liberals throughout the country, myself included.

Murphy saved what he thought was the best for the last. He enthusiastically approved of Ignatieff’s stated intention of giving the west due recognition in his future plans. In his inimitable ornate prose Murphy pointed out that,

“The Liberal Party has long treated Western Canada as some kind of political ultima Thule or if I may maul a familiar phrase from Hamlet, an “undiscovered country from whose bourn no Liberal MP returns.”

The Hamlet part didn’t faze me, - but “ultima Thule” - what the hell was that supposed to mean? For those of us of the great unwashed who have never been invited to Murphy’s salon to engage in the scholarly and rigorous intellectual discourse practiced among his lofty peers, this is what the on-line dictionary tells us it means:

The northernmost region of the habitable world as thought of by ancient geographers.
A distant territory or destination.
A remote goal or ideal: “the ultima Thule of technology, the ne plus ultra . . . the answer to every earthly problem” (John Gould).

What he is saying I suppose is but another wrinkle on the old saws about Liberals in the west being protected by the game laws, or having their conventions in telephone booths. They are gross exaggerations.

Let’s consider British Columbia. Gordon Campbell leads a Liberal government in British Columbia. His former finance minister is Carole Taylor, a former CBC Chairperson. Taylor is married to a former Liberal MP during the Trudeau years and former Vancouver Mayor, Art Phillips. Campbell was elected leader and then Premier after Gordon Wilson had led the BC Liberals to become a strong Official Opposition, overtaking the now-defunct Social Credit party. Christy Clark, a noted federal and provincial Liberal who is married to famed federal Grit organizer and mover and shaker Mark Merissen, was Campbell’s Deputy Premier. In fact, in the Federal elections between 1980 and 2006 British Columbia Liberal seats jumped from zero to nine.

Even in conservative Alberta, under the leadership of Laurence Decore, the Provincial Liberals won 32 out of 83 seats and received 39% of the vote in the election of 1993. Federal Grits did well enough in Alberta to win 4 seats in 1993 and hold two until the federal election of 2006. Former Edmonton Liberal MP Anne McLellan served with distinction in many portfolios during those years, including a stint as Deputy Prime Minister. And even in its present weakened state, the Provincial Liberal Party boasts five Liberal MLA’s in Calgary, of all places.

Murphy also dragged out the worn and bedraggled National Energy Program for one more tired turn in front of the footlights. According to Murphy, “That policy burned the house of Liberalism in the West to the ground.” Hardly. Save for a few scattered and muffled voices, neither British Columbia, Saskatchewan, nor Manitoba cared a whit about the NEP. The bellyaching came from Alberta.

Murphy also tells us that “Mr. Ignatieff is the first Liberal leader I’ve heard since the dread days of the NEP to make clear acknowledgment of the resentments and mischiefs it inspired.” Perhaps Murphy should listen more and pontificate less. Had he been listening he would have known that every federal Liberal leader since John Turner has been groveling their NEP mea culpas to the people out here at every opportunity. At Alberta federal Liberal fundraising dinners addressed by visiting Liberal MP guest speakers, it is as common as the plates of rubber chicken on the tables. It is as common as Murphy sporting his Oxonian pedigree with his obscure but weighty Shakespeare and Latin quotations. And as to the real impact of the NEP I urge once again that everyone read:
http://darrylraymaker.blogspot.com/2008/07/calgary-heralds-disrespect-of.html

Let me conclude by wishing all of my readers of all political or other persuasions a Happy Holiday Season and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

ANOTHER CONSERVATIVE PARTY MESSAGE FROM A ONCE PROUD NEWSPAPER

Yesterday’s Calgary Herald carried more flatulence from the pen of the editor of the editorial page, Ms. Licia Corbella. Money must be awfully tight at that failing broadsheet these days. There seems to be precious little of it available for talented writers to ply their skills on the editorial page. Why else would Corbella’s turgid Conservative flim-flam appear so frequently?

As might be expected, she takes full advantage of her lofty position in the hierarchy of that soon-to-be relic of a bygone kinder and gentler era – her pieces usually appear smack-dab in the middle of the editorial page. Thus, try as one may, there is just no way to avoid them short of skipping the page or cancelling one’s subscription. Understandably, both of those options are increasingly being taken up by Herald readers.

The title of her piece is “Is Ignatieff the Conservatives’s Grinch?” It can be read here: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/theeditorialpage/story.html?id=ff88108e-2741-4dc4-aeee-8c8c717f6f10&p=2

Her introduction centered around a comment made by her eleven year-old son. According to her, the young lad said to her, “Doesn’t this guy look like the Grinch?” The guy the little fellow was referring to was new Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff. For one of her kids to make that observation speaks volumes about daily conversation around her family dinner table. Corbella's predictable reaction was, “Ha! How perceptive!,” no doubt believing that the kid, like his mother, was just a chip off the old Black. See: Sunday, March 09, 2008
LICIA CORBELLA: ON BEING DEAF, DUMB AND ARROGANT AND A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLACK

Warming to her Yuletide analogy, Corbella continued with the tiresome pejorative blather she always reserves for Liberals. She remarked that with Iggy’s “bushy eyebrows and sly grin [he] looked like he had stolen something . . . ” and that in fact “he had just snatched the leadership” from his rivals and “the Liberal grassroots as well.” She called the move “furtive” and took the opportunity to remark that no “heavy hitters” were interested in the job and that his only rival Bob Rae had been a “disaster” as Premier of Ontario.

Well, to set the record straight – once again in response to one of Corbella's gross columns – Iggy does not look like a Grinch and neither did he steal anything from anybody. The leadership was bestowed upon him by the party and only a handful of Grits across Canada were critical of the move.

The leadership process was sped up as a result of a justifiable lack of trust among all Liberals in Stephen Harper. They were rightly convinced that if Harper tried to kill off the opposition by shutting down its source of funds, he would call an election during their leadership campaign. Thus they had to act fast, and that is exactly what they did. As a result of the party's decision to quickly confer the leadership upon Ignatieff, the Liberals are now more united than at any other time in this decade.

As for there being no heavyweights who pursued the Liberal crown, that too is false. Both Ignatieff and Rae make each and every Conservative party jackal who will feed on Harper’s carcass at his next misstep look like, well, the lightweight jackals that they are. Both Ignatieff and Rae are great Canadians whose positive contributions to this country and society generally make Harper and his likely successors look like freeloaders.

Being the Conservative flak that she is, Corbella then commented extensively on perceived inconsistencies in Ignatieff’s messaging during the 2006 leadership race. She ignores the fact that Harper’s past utterances, apart from being scary, makes Ignatieff look and sound like the model of consistency. See: Wednesday, November 12, 2008
MORE TWADDLE FROM THE CALGARY HERALD: HARPER, OBAMA TWO PEAS IN A POD!!!!????

Altogether another sorry contribution from the editorial pages of a once proud newspaper. CanWest Global common stock closed yesterday at $ 0.507 Cents.

THE MOTHER OF ALL INSULTS: LEFT ON THE CALGARY HERALD'S CUTTING ROOM FLOOR

Yesterday at about 11 AM I received a call at home from Calgary Herald columnist Don Braid. He wished to interview me along with a few other Liberals about Michael Ignatieff becoming the new leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. I have known Don for almost thirty years and have followed his career as a reporter and columnist for all of that time. Don is a professional. He has interviewed me many times, always with accuracy and fairness. He is a credit to his profession.

We spoke for the better part of a half hour on the impact of Ignatieff’s elevation to the party leadership. I voiced my agreement that with the coming of Ignatieff longstanding divisions within the party were healed and that it would quickly revitalize itself from Victoria to St. John’s. I also opined that the coming of Ignatieff meant that Harper’s days as Prime Minister and Conservative leader were now numbered.

Don’s excellent and objective piece on the Ignatieff succession appeared in this morning’s Herald. See: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=deab9564-c24e-4a71-b087-a5dd26faebec&p=1

My astonishment of course is that nowhere in Braid’s piece did my name appear. Was I really bad copy during the interview? Was it conducted too early in the morning? Did my erudite wit fail me? Why was I left on the Herald’s cutting-room floor? What about my crumbling self-esteem! Why was I excluded?

I have been a loyal and faithful subscriber to the paper all of my adult years, following in the footsteps of my family before me. Surely there has been no greater supporter and booster of the Herald’s excellent journalistic product over the years. Why, just look at some of my recent blogs, in which the Herald has played a front and center role:


THE CALGARY HERALD'S DISRESPECT FOR THE HISTORICAL RECORD http://darrylraymaker.blogspot.com/2008/07/calgary-heralds-disrespect-of.html


LICIA CORBELLA: ON BEING DEAF, DUMB AND ARROGANT AND A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLACK http://darrylraymaker.blogspot.com/2008/03/licia-corbella-on-being-deaf-dumb-and.html

MENDACITY OR IGNORANCE ?
http://darrylraymaker.blogspot.com/2008/07/mendacity-or-ignorance.html


SACHA TRUDEAU: CALLING IT AS HE SEES IT http://darrylraymaker.blogspot.com/2008/08/sacha-trudeau-calling-it-as-he-sees-it.html


THE CALGARY HERALD AND THE ART OF THE WHOPPER http://darrylraymaker.blogspot.com/2008/09/calgary-herald-and-art-of-whopper.html


THE VERDICT ON STEPHEN LEDREW
http://darrylraymaker.blogspot.com/2008/09/verdict-on-stephen-ledrew.html


HARPER'S MINORITY GOVERNMENT: REMEMBER JOE CLARK http://darrylraymaker.blogspot.com/2008/10/harpers-minority-government-remember.html


MORE TWADDLE FROM THE CALGARY HERALD: HARPER, OBAMA TWO PEAS IN A POD!!!!???? http://darrylraymaker.blogspot.com/2008/11/more-twaddle-from-calgary-herald-harper.html


"DOING A DION:" RECOGNIZING THE AUTOCRAT AND STOPPING HIM IN HIS TRACKS
http://darrylraymaker.blogspot.com/2008/12/doing-dion-recognizing-autocrat-and.html


Alas, did Braid conclude that I was not up to my usual copy standards? Or do the Herald’s editors believe that “he who lives by the pen, shall die by the pen - or scissors?” Probably I shall never know.

But I do recommend the above blogs to those readers who wish to confirm my continued admiration for that great publication.

"DOING A DION:" RECOGNIZING THE AUTOCRAT AND STOPPING HIM IN HIS TRACKS

In this morning National Post columnist Don Martin shed crocodile tears over the departure of Stephane Dion as leader of the Liberal Party. See: http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=9168b47e-017b-411c-b600-f1a5fa477d62&p=2

He found multiple tragedies of Shakespearean proportions in Dion’s political career and the manner and timing of his leaving the center stage of national politics.

Ah, but as the radio commentator Paul Harvey might say, you haven’t heard ‘the rest of the story.’

Before becoming national leader of the Liberal Party, Dion ate separatists for breakfast. He publicly and rationally beat up on the likes of Lucien Bouchard, Jacques Parizeau and Bernard Landry to the point where much of the Quebec population thought he was too mean to them. In the process Dion gave Canada the ‘Clarity Act,’ which forever demolishes any argument that Quebec can leave Canada as a result of a small victory in a referendum on a confusing question. Canada had been through the wringer in two such referendums precipitated by firebrand separatists in Quebec. The Clarity Act brought a stop to such foolishness. As a result, the separatist threat has subsided and Canadians feel far more confident about the unity of the country. By any standard, this stands as one of the great contributions to Canadian unity in the history of the country.

In addition to his masterful accomplishment on national unity, Dion was the first leader of a major political party in Canada to focus on the environment as an issue of the greatest importance and deserving of the utmost priority. This was another historic accomplishment in Dion's fine political career and another major part of his legacy.

Martin also attempts to coin a new phrase in Canadian political lexicon – “Doing a Dion.” According to Martin, “Doing a Dion” means “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.”

I submit that “Doing a Dion” will mean something much different in Canadian political lexicon.
“Doing a Dion” will come to mean, “Recognizing the autocrat and stopping him in his tracks." This is what Dion did to Prime Minister Harper. He recognized Harper the autocrat. He banded together with the NDP and the Bloc – the only thing he could do in the circumstances – threatened a coalition, and stopped the autocrat in his tracks. This is another great component to Dion's legacy and is likely to enhance in significance in the years ahead.

It begs the question, what will “Doing a Don Martin” mean historically? It will mean the same thing as “Doing a Joe Clark” and “Doing a Stephen Harper.” It means not being good at math. It means confusing the terms “majority” and “minority.” It means not being able to count, or figure out percentages. It means not being able to identify what is over 50% or under 50%.

If you wish proof of the above proposition, read once again this very prescient piece: http://darrylraymaker.blogspot.com/2008/10/harpers-minority-government-remember.html

HARPER HAS TO GO!

Political events in Ottawa are moving so swiftly that even political junkies can’t keep up. Just in the past few days we have witnessed the rise of a coalition movement, bare-knuckled political acrimony in the House of Commons and on the airwaves, direct emotional appeals to the country by national political leaders, demonstrations across the country for both sides, an unprecedented granting of a prorogation by the Governor – General to avoid a government defeat, and now, what appears to be a sped-up leadership resolution for the Liberals. All in two weeks. And all
because of Stephen Harper, and all because he can’t be trusted.

We need not review the reasons why all of the above is true. All of them have been reported, blogged, discussed in columns, talked about by television's talking heads, and bandied about our daily lives ad nauseum.

There was a time not long ago that Canadian political parties and their leaders, of all stripes in whatever jurisdiction or region, operated on a civilized basis. Politics in Canada had its own Marquis of Queensbury/Geneva Convention rules. Oh, there was partisanship and a competitive spirit to get this edge or that on an issue, or to try for an uptick in the polls with some decision or policy. There were uncomplimentary accusations hurled across the House or the airwaves by the contestants from time to time. Political discourse could get hot and votes of confidence could happen quickly which could end a government, and its leader’s career. But there were rules. There were no surprise attacks during leadership campaigns. There were no television attack ads when there wasn't any election going on. There was no effort to starve opposition parties when money was scarce. There was no kicking an opponent when he was down.

Until recently party behaviour in Canada most always fell short of meanness and bullying and wanting to do your opponents in forever. There was too much respect for our democratic institutions for that, even amongst vigorous partisans. Amid spirited and sometimes disrespectful debate, pre-Harper political contestants fell short of trampling their opponents into oblivion. There was a respect for political parties and a respect for democracy and a respect for fair play. There were some things that were over the line. It was always a matter of judgment as to what they were, but the contestants intuitively knew when they were nearing the line and almost always pulled back.

That changed with Stephen Harper. Harper's infamous attack ads, his accusations that the Liberal Prime Minister supported child pornography, his smearing a Liberal Sikh MP in the House, his relishing the scene of Liberals grovel to refrain from participating in confidence votes to avoid an election which they could ill-afford are just a few of his actions that were directed at changing the rules of the game. The list is extensive and well known.

And when Harper saw his chance to destroy the opposition by cutting off its money, he took it. To stop his abuse - and that is what it was, abuse – of the democratic process, the opposition did the only thing it could to try to bring him into line, they formed a perfectly legitimate and democratic coalition movement. The uproar about the Bloc agreeing to support the coalition is a red-herring promoted by Conservatives who can’t think beyond their expectations of their very own pork out of the barrel.

What will happen to the coalition between now and when the House convenes next month is anyone’s guess. But the reason it formed should be obvious to everybody. Harper cannot be trusted. He is a dangerous force in Canadian politics and his influence must be curtailed.

The Liberals now believe it is necessary to speed up their leadership process. They are confronted with the reality that Harper would likely take advantage of a longer leadership race by calling an election in the middle of it. It would be entirely consistent with his super-partisan, scorched earth philosophy of government - Destroy your enemies at any cost, even if you have to destroy your institutions. In fact, given his recent over-the-top statements about fighting the inclusion of the Bloc in the coalition, one can conclude he is even prepared to risk the survival of the country to attain his personal political goals.

This is a sad and dangerous time. Harper has got to go!

CALGARY BUSINESS COMMUNITY 'GETS IT' ABOUT HARPER: ITS SOLUTION? DUMP HIM, AND SOON!

CALGARY BUSINESS WANT PRENTICE IN

AND HARPER OUT!

Yesterday evening I attended a Calgary Christmas party hosted by a financial consulting firm, a couple of whose partners are friends of mine. Given the present political turmoil in Ottawa and the fact that I am known as an unrepentant contrariarian Grit in a sea of Conservatives, I had some trepidation about the event.

On the Conservative side, passions are running high in these parts. A coalition deal with the Bloc and NDP is about as popular in Calgary as a personal appearance at the Petroleum Club by Pierre Trudeau in the early eighties. For all of his efforts to sell the Greenshift plan and now his dalliances with the Socialists and separatists, Stephane Dion is an object of scorn and derision in the cowtown's downtown business establishment. I thought for sure that some of the guests would try to take it out on me, as has happened many times in the past.

I tried to prepare myself for the onslaught that I thought was sure to come by deciding to talk about Stephen Harper whenever the subject of the Liberals in Ottawa was to arise. And boy, did my strategy work! I am here to tell you today, that the members of the business community that I spoke to last night - oilmen, professionals, financial advisors, planners, small business owners, and big business movers and shakers - to a man (or woman), believe that Stephen Harper should be given the boot by the Conservative Party. No kidding! Bringing up Harper's name generated derision, anger, disgust and vituperation, the like of which I had not heard here since the dying days of the Mulroney government. In fact, the anger in the crowd directed at Harper was more palpable than it was at Dion. The mention of Dion at least generated some chortling at his gaffes. There was no laughter at Harper.

In addition, the men and women that I spoke to had 'got it' about Harper. They went after him for his meanness, his bully-boy tactics and his blatant attempt to choke off the opposition. They spoke of him as the one who was mostly responsible for the parliamentary crisis, and that he had squandered his good will and his strong minority for all time to come.

And remarkably, each had settled upon the same conclusion for the Conservatives, namely, that Harper should be dumped and replaced by Jim Prentice as leader with all due haste, after which they predicted everything would settle down. For further evidence of hostility towards Harper, see: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=54e0cb82-4137-4bf8-8b34-f34228a5c76b

Believe me, that event was as good a snapshot of opinion in Calgary's downtown business community as any as I've attended. Calgary remains a dogmatic conservative city and the voting habits of its people in federal elections are not likely to change soon. But they 'get it' about Harper.