Category: Government

Well, isn’t this just God damned jolly?

It’s been more than a decade and a half since the poop hit the windmaker in Oka, Quebec and now, if you believe what some media outlets are coughing up, we’re pretty much smack-dab right back where we started, waiting for it to blow up again. Reading the Freeps and the Winterpeg Sun, you’d think the whole thing was a powder shed, with a chimp playing with matches inside…

The war never ended in Kanesatake, the Mohawk community at the centre of the Oka crisis, and now the government has been put on notice history might repeat itself.

Ottawa’s lead negotiator on the Kanesatake file has received two letters this year from the Kanesatake Women’s Coalition warning the federal government to stop negotiating with the band council. The letters say they could throw up a highway blockade or worse to force the issue.

“I do not have to remind you that this is exactly what happened back in 1990. The chief and council of the day did not have the authority or the mandate to negotiate our land rights in the pines for the expansion of the Oka golf course,” says one of the letters.

“The Mohawk women of Kanesatake warned the federal Conservative government of that day and its negotiator that if they continued to negotiate with the council without the community’s input there will be war and war did break out.”

War, my ass. For those of you that don’t remember all too well: as soon as the army started moving forward, all the “Mohawk warriors” started moving back. Yeah, big surprise. This reserve has been known more for its lawlessness than any other one in the country that I can think of. For example, take a look at what happened a little over three years ago:

An incident on Jan. 12, 2004 triggered it all. When 67 police and auxiliary officers from outside communities descended on Kanesatake armed with three submachine guns, a sniper rifle, two automatic rifles, a semi automatic rifle, two pump-action shotguns and thousands of rounds of ammunition, all hell broke loose. Warriors and community members laid siege to the police station for two days. The force was eventually let out of the community and Gabriel’s [referring to Former Grand Chief James Gabriel] house was burned down.

Nice, huh? As if that weren’t bad enough, this fiasco also has its lips firmly locked on the public teat, to boot:

The official says Ottawa has spent $51 million on the Kanesatake negotiating process since 1994. Of that, $35 million was spent on the acquisition of 178 pieces of property, $4 million was spent on negotiations for the government side and $9 million for the Kanesatake side, according to the official.

This is getting ridiculous. Granted, the Tories haven’t had this file for too long and they’ve had other things on their plate, but there hasn’t been any indication that I’ve seen that they’re going to deal with this properly any more than the Grits did. And with all the talk about a nation-wide “day of action” (read: “shit-disturbing”) this coming Friday, you have to wonder: just when the hell is the government going to put its foot down and say, “the law is the law and you damned well follow it whether like it or not and no, we don’t give a shit what colour you are.”

Granted, the current system for land claim resolution sucks. But Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice recently unveiled a plan to fix that mess. In the meantime, however, the government should be lowering the boom on any lawlessness they see and NO band should get anything until they damned well get it through their heads that yes, the law applies to them, too.

Now this is really, really… really unfair.

Here I am, pushing 40 and it’s starting to push back. One of the few things that a guy like me gets out of turning that age is an unfettered license to grump and grumble about things like “kids these days, [insert cratchety rant here].”

It’s something we look forward to; we finally get to take all those lectures that we had to sit through from our own elders and inflict them on the next generation. The best thing about getting old older is being able to complain about how stupid the kids are these days.

But just how the hell are we supposed to do that when some kid pops up and pulls a stunt like this?

(Editor’s note: The following is an open letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty from 14-year-old Timmins teen Jesse Fontaine.)

I am a home-schooled Christian, living in Timmins. I am currently completing Grade 8, have an interest in politics and last year won the Short Story Category at The Daily Press Literary Awards.

My interest in politics is based on the fact that it is my generation that will have to take care of our world after your generation passes the torch on to us.

I am extremely concerned about the message that your “FLICK OFF” environmental campaign sends to us as young citizens of Ontario.

Rex Murphy was doing a piece on it when I first became aware of the “FLICK OFF” program.

My family and I thought it was a joke set up by “This Hour Has 22 Minutes” or some other similar group.

When we realized it was actually a government of Ontario endorsed program I was shocked and appalled that the government of Ontario would think they needed to relate such a vulgar term to young people in order to have them recognize environmental issues. It truly saddened me and I asked my parents why the government would think that.

They told me I should ask you.

I have seen our Ontario Government’s Environmental website, then we visited the “flickoff.org” website and saw the intentionally modified font, meant to ensure that the people of Ontario and the world for that matter, saw it as vulgarity that would normally be unacceptable.

I observed that the links on the website such as “ARE WE FLICKED,” “WHO NEEDS TO FLICK OFF,” and “GO FLICK YOURSELF” convey a message that I, for one and many others, would not associate with a need to conserve energy.

The “NATIONAL FLICK FEST” left the same impression of our current government with me as did the “FLICK OFF” video – not good.

From my parents, to David Suzuki, Discovery Channel and the other more intelligent sources of information available, I already understand the importance of energy conservation.

I have attended Queen’s Park as a part of my home-school studies and have an elementary understanding of the process in which the provincial government functions. Based on that knowledge I cannot understand why you, as our premier, or one of your other ministers did not stop this stupidity before it was launched. Can you explain that to me please?

There must be a better way to relay the importance of conserving energy to young people without throwing our morals and values out the window to do so.

Regardless of what a person’s religious beliefs or values are, surely the majority of Ontario’s Canadians would not see the actions of your environment minister as wise or even as acceptable.

I am confident that the Canadian flag which currently flies from the flag pole that I set up in our yard, stands for a higher moral standard than those used by your Minister in establishing the method chosen to communicate with us in the “FLICK OFF” program.

I see now that corporations, such as Mac’s convenience stores, M&M Meats and Subway appear to be foolishly following the message of Ontario’s current government, which is that the best way to communicate with young people is through association with vulgarity. Today I saw a large poster in the window of Mac’s convenience store, it was posted under the Subway sign and depicted a Catholic nun on her knees reaching up to a glowing image of a froster cup with “WTF?” on it. There’s a lamb or goat kneeling beside the nun. There’s one at M&M Meats as well.

According to a Mac’s convenience stores representative, the “WTF” is supposed to stand for “WHAT’S THE FLAVOUR” but we all know that the “WTF” on the cup implies the vulgar phrase “WHAT THE FLICK” (I used “Flick” because I don’t use the “F” word that Mac’s, M&M Meats and Subway intentionally, or otherwise, represent with the “F” in the “WTF” so proudly posted at their stores.)

We all realize(at least I hope we all do) that if the message was meant to be “what’s the flavour?” the Nun and the goat/lamb worshipping the froster cup should not be required; the message is clear and I believe meant to be blasphemous.

I am shocked, embarrassed and angered that your cabinet, and now it appears Mac’s, M&M Meats and Subway; believe that the young people of Ontario are so utterly stupid that the only way to communicate with them is to use the “F” word or other vulgar phrases like that. Can you do two things for me please?

First I would like an answer from you explaining how the “FLICK OFF” campaign was permitted under your leadership. Did not even one member of your cabinet have the common sense to see that telling Ontario to “FLICK OFF” was a bad idea?

Secondly, will you please have the “FLICK OFF” program scrapped and removed from the Internet before more ad agencies come to believe that association with vulgarity is the best communication method for conveying messages to the young people of Canada.

Jesse Fontaine,

Timmins

So much for “how stupid the kids have gotten.” Thanks for wreckin’ that for me, Jesse. Couldn’t have waited a few years, could ya? Guess I’ll have to settle for black socks and sandals… 😕 (tip o’ the toque to AITGWN)

Yes, indeed, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Once again it’s that time of year. It’s now officially May first (has been for a few hours now) and just on the off chance that you might have somehow (gee, I dunno, maybe you were abandoned in the wilderness as a child and raised in a cave by wild rednecks or something) forgotten just what that means, here’s both a little reminder and the most honest explanation possible.

Ah, the simple pleasures of spring, eh?

No doubt about it, today is a damn fine day to be from Wild Rose Country. HMPM Harper has announced in the House today that, with the retirement of Sen. Dan Hays in June, he will be appointing Alberta’s Bert Brown to the upper chamber.

Brown — a farmer from Kathyrn, Alta., who once plowed the message “Triple-E Senate or Else” into a barley field — was actually chosen by the people of Alberta in their third senate election in 2004. Brown will become oly the second elected senator in Canadian history, after Stan Waters; who was appointed in 1990 by Brian Mulroney (another conservative… hmm).

You can read more about it here, here, here and here.

Interestingly enough: if your only source of news is the Ceeb, you’d never know about this. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’s just buried under something else. “Canada’s news,” indeed… 🙄

Something’s going on. I can feel it, deep down in the marrow of my bones. The signs and omens are everywhere.

I found an adder in the garden this morning. 😯 Last night at midnight, all my clocks stopped. 😯 Owls have been seen in daylight, dogs bay into the empty night and the Coach de Bauer was seen under a moonless sky, while the mournful wail of the bean sidhe echoes in the willows. 😯

Oh, what? You don’t believe me? Alright then, smartass, try this one on for size:

The Parliament of Canada website, whenever I’ve checked it before, has always contained a full schedule of the upcoming week’s agenda. Not so now. Monday has the usual slate of stuff that could make a meth-head yawn but Tuesday? Well, that’s interesting. Tuesday has one entry and one entry only [A tip o’ the toque to National Newswatch for this one, btw]:

PROJECTION FOR SUBSEQUENT DAYS
TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2007

Private Members’ Business

C-377 — Mr. Layton (Toronto—Danforth) — Climate Change Accountability Act — Second reading (resuming debate)

That’s right, the only thing scheduled is the latest list of commandments from the High Priests of The Church of We’re All Gonna Die bag of climate-change claptrap from the loopy-Left, tinfoil-hat, moonbat, wish-they’d-all-go-splat Prophets of Envirodoomâ„¢. Yup, the “every time you exhale CO2, God kills a kitten” crowd are looking to leech of still more of your and my tax dollars to keep a bunch of otherwise unemployable envirotards in jobs. Never mind all the evidence that CO2 and human activity have less to do with global warming than, well… how about THE SUN?? But hey, we must all be wrong and they must be right because, c’mon… Al Gore made a movie. And we just know he’s smart, because he invented the internet. Dickheads.

Then there’s that little online poll over at canoe. Dr Roy diagnosed this last night but I wanted to wait a little longer, until there was a broader sampling, seeing as how there were fewer than 500 votes the first time I looked at it. Now while I could (and probably will, sometime) giggle and guffaw at considerable length about this, for now I’m just going to let you have a look at it and make up your own mind…

You have to admit, 54% can be one hell of an interesting number in the right circumstances. Put all this happy horseshit together and I don’t know about you, but I can definitely smell something in the wind…

Update already (damn; that didn’t take long): Matt has noticed something, too.

Updated update: Jason at True North has sounded off about how the Tories are leading the polls… in QUEBEC?? How the hell did that one happen? 😕

Totally updated update: Well, the HOC Projected Order of Business has beefed itself up now, killing my best omen dead in its tracks and putting me in the asshat column for a while…

Dang; willya lookit all this? I take a few days off and, lo & behold, a total buttload of interesting stuff all pops up all over the place.

The Poor Little Rich Girl of Canadian politics has decided that, since nobody will let her be in charge, she’s running back home to Daddy’s company to… well, be in charge. Because of her overwhelming qualifications, of course. Don’t let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya on the way out.

The Torys put yet another nail in the now almost all-nail coffin of the billion-buck bugger-up of the long gun registry and the Liebrals, naturally, were miffed that it was done outside of Parliament where they could have huffed and puffed — but actually done sweet bugger all — about it:

“It says the Conservatives are trying to do by stealth what they can’t do out in the open — which is kill the long gun registry,” said Liberal Justice Critic Marlene Jennings.

“But by doing it by stealth, they are attempting to ensure that the vast majority of Canadians won’t know what they’re doing, and so they get away with it.”

No, dipshit; it means that the Tories — along with most other people in this country that have two non-partisan brain cells to rub together — are sick and God damned tired of worthless, self-serving, Grit grandstanding on this issue and have decided to take away one of your favourite horns. Go toot something else. Have some beans.

Our boys in Afghanistan had a bad day over the Easter weekend. Perhaps in something of a telling portent of changing values, the deaths of six of our men came almost right on top of the 90th anniversary of the assault on Vimy Ridge where losing six men would have happened about every seven minutes. 3,598 dead in three days; do the math. And none of them came home. But look to get innundated with a fresh volly of “body of fallen soldier begins/continues/ends long journey home” stories in the MSM for the next while (unless there’s something more Lefty-friendly to blab about for a few minutes).

All charges were finally dropped agains the lacrosse players from Duke University, which must have totally baffled the lib-left because hey, the accuser was black and the accused were white. Which means they’re clearly guilty, right?

Hockey season ended. Early.

And much, much more. Dang. Well, I’m back now and seeing as how I’m laid off for a while, that should mean that I’m going to have a lot more time to dish out all the little nuggets of wisdom that you have all come to know, love and depend on to get through your days.