Category: John Q Public

Get really ready, because it’s starting to look like a political version of the perfect storm is brewing. And this particular front seems to be forming directly above the red chamber of Parliament.

Many interesting things, they have been a-happenin’ in far away Ottawa lately. The Smirkin’ gherkin showed that even a blind squirrel can find a nut at times by actually hopping on the bandwagon and taking a few swings at a drum that conservatives, both “big C” and “little C” have been banging away at for as long as I can remember: the time has come for the undemocratic Canadian Senate to face either reform or abolition:

OTTAWA – The Harper government will re-introduce legislation Tuesday aimed at reforming the Senate.

At the same time, the NDP plans to introduce a motion in the Commons calling for a referendum to abolish the upper chamber. The New Democrat motion would see the plebicite held at the same time as next federal election. Opposition motions – especially from the New Democrats – rarely hold any political strength in Ottawa.

But Prime Minister Stephen Harper has indicated he supports the referendum proposal – if only as a pathway to reforming the red chamber.

The Conservative measures being introduced Tuesday, which failed to pass in the last session of Parliament, would introduce provincial elections for Senate nominees, and shorten the terms of senators.

Harper has made it clear recently he wants the Senate changed one way or another.

He was recently quoted saying “if it can’t be reformed . . . it will have to be abolished.”

HMPM Harper has — as anyone with two brain cells to rub together knows — long been an advocate for reform for the upper chamber, which the Librano$ have used for years as their own personal failsafe against un-HypoGritical legislation becoming law in the event that John Q. Canuck should turf their sorry arses from government.

Basically, they get to sit back and say, “We lost the election? So what? We control the Senate, so anything we don’t like doesn’t get passed, and there’s not a damned thing the unwashed masses can do about it.” This is why the Librano$ always howl so loudly whenever someone brings up the subject of Senate reform: it threatens their stranglehold on political power. And if there’s one thing that Liberals actually do believe in, it’s “get power at all costs, keep power at all costs.” And to hell with the will of ignorant clods (AKA voters) like you and me. After all, it’s not like there’s any way to get rid of a shiftless Senator who’s loyalties are to the party and not to the people he or she is supposedly representing.

But the time for all that to change just might, finally, have arrived. I know that we’ve all been down this particular road before (one time too many, it seems sometimes) but this time things just might be different. And we might be in for an election sooner than we thought. Most folks assume that it’s no secret that HMPM Harper wants a majority government and this could be the perfect time to get one.

Now, before somebody accuses me of going off half-cocked about speculating on an election — or “premature electulation,” as it’s been called (you know who you are) — bear in mind that there are several reasons why I think this:

1. Harper has made no secret that he doesn’t like the crony-infested Senate and the way the Liebrals have used it to confound the will of the people for years. Opponents have accused him of wanting to fight an election on the backs of the Senate. That might not be such a bad idea…
   

   But, given the option of improving the existing Senate, a majority of Canadians (52 per cent) said they would favour reforms that would “make it, for instance, an elected body,” while 24 per cent said they would still prefer it be done away with completely. Only 16 per cent said they would want to keep the red chamber “as it is” today.

   The fact of the matter is that ordinary Canadians are getting sick and God damned tired of these high-falootin’ trufflesnufflers and are just about ready to say “our way or the highway.”

2. The fact that even the damned NDP are agreeing with the Tories on the need for the upper chamber to unf*ck itself should belie any claims of this being a “far-right agenda”-driven cause. There’s a lot of things you can call the NDP (trust me, I know; I’ve used most of ’em) but “right-of-centre” ain’t one of them.
3. Stephane Dion. ’nuff said.
4. The PM’s principled stands on so many issues are finally starting to make a serious impression on the Canadian public, with his personal popularity (which we were always told was the Tories’ biggest liability) on a rise that few other sitting PMs have experienced.

So where the hell do I think all this is going to lead? Here’s my prediction: It’s gonna hit the fan.

I have to admit that I’m a bit, erm… befuddled by this. Not a sensation that I’m used to, by any means. I know that I’m a little behind on shooting my mouth off about this, but the utter silence that seems to be going on in the conservative (both big and little “C”) blogosphere on this one has me scratching my head a bit…

Okay, I lied. It’s more than a bit; I’m in full “WTF???” mode.

Maybe it’s because we’ve been ground down by having too many carrots dangled in the past, not a God damned one of which we got a bite out of. Maybe we’ve just given up even though, in our hearts of hearts, we know that this really is the good fight. Whatever the reason, It just doesn’t seem to be creating much of a stir at all:

OTTAWA — NDP Leader Jack Layton has won the backing of the prime minister to hold a nation-wide referendum on the abolition of the unelected Senate, CTV News has learned.

Insiders say Stephen Harper is prepared to support an NDP motion that would call for a national referendum on Senate abolition at the time of the next general election that is set for October 2009.

Sources also say Layton and Harper have held private discussions about Layton’s proposal in recent days.

Tory insiders say the prime minister will have the Conservatives vote for the NDP motion that could be tabled in the Commons as early as next Tuesday.

The NDP referendum plan is similar to an idea floated by Conservative Senator Hugh Segal.

Yeah, that’s right; the Tories and the Dippers are actually agreeing on something! Gonna have to mark my calendar now. Here we have two political parties that are the ideological equivalent of a snake and a mongoose (make up your own minds who’s who) and they’re both singing from the same song sheet. You’d think this would be a no-brainer, that it would sail through the Commons (Dion wouldn’t dare oppose it; even he’s smart enough to know that such a thing would be the political equivalent of putting a loaded shotgun in his mouth) and be on its way to the ballot right quick.

Wrong.

There’s a fly in the ointment. It’s called the Senate:

A constitutional expert says Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s support of the NDP plan to hold a nationwide referendum on abolition of the unelected Senate is likely little more than political posturing.

Errol Mendes, a constitutional law professor at the University of Ottawa, told CTV News that Layton and Harper “know this will not get through the Senate.”

And really, why should that surprise anybody? The Senate is dominated by the Librano$. They see it as their personal little failsafe in case they get turfed from office by the unwashed masses. No matter what the people have to say about anything, if the HypoGrits don’t like it, it doesn’t pass the Senate and to hell with the wishes of John Q. Canuck and his democratically elected representatives in the Lower House.

The Grit senators will fight this tooth and nail. Sure, they’ll puke up all kinds of bullshit about how they’re protecting Canadian interests but the fact of the matter is that the only thing they’re protecting is their own self interest!

Perhaps somebody should give these bastards a history lesson.

The Magna Carta is the forefather document of every western democracy. The tyrant King John — the arrogant sonofabitch who had the gall to declare that “the law is in my mouth” — was forced to sign that document. At spearpoint. He was basically told, “Sign it, asshole. If you don’t, we put that whole ‘divine right of kings’ thing to the test right here. You’ll be the guinea pig.”

He signed it, under threat of death. Does that somehow invalidate the Magna Carta? I don’t think so. There’s some seriously scary shit down that road.

Which brings us back to the Canadian Senate. Like the tyrant John, they will have an opportunity to give up the power that they have and put it where it belongs: in the hands of the people. Like that tyrant, they have an alternative. The questions is: what is that alternative?

A thousand years ago, the alternative was a spear. What do we need to point at these bastards’ heads?

Get your MSM bits on this here, here, here and here.

Alright, everybody, pay attention.  This is important.

It seems like all the quibbling of “is there one or isn’t there one,” is over when it comes to the question of whether or not southwest Ontario has itself a resident cougar.  And I’m talking about the kind that doesn’t wear lipstick.

The Freeps carrried the story today, telling how the big cat — that all the “experts” told us couldn’t possibly be here — made such a mess out of some poor fella’s standardbred trotter out on Elliott Drive near Parkhill that the horse had to be put down…

Parkhill residents have been warned to be on the lookout for a cougar after a horse was viciously mauled by an animal with sharp claws and had to be put down.

Since the attack, which left the horse torn up and bleeding on an Elliott Drive farm last week, there has been at least one cougar sighting, Middlesex OPP Const. Doug Graham said.

In response to the attack and the sighting, police and North Middlesex council issued a public safety notice yesterday, warning residents to avoid walking alone at night in the bush and to secure barns.

“The risk is low, but we know (the animal) is not as fearful of humans as it normally would be,” Graham said. “Normally we see losses of pets, dogs and cats, but this is the first attack of a horse.”

The attack on the horse has not been confirmed as a cougar attack, but the injuries are consistent with that of a cougar hunting prey, police said.

[…]

“It was traumatic,” Graham said. “The wounds (were made by) one animal as opposed to a pack. It wouldn’t be consistent with a coyote or wolf — they hunt in packs.”

He said the wounds were made by “sharp claws. This (horse) was attacked by a large predator that knew how to attack a large animal.”

Cougar sightings have become almost legendary in the region.

Last summer, a wildlife specialist with the Natural Resources Ministry investigated 32 sightings in London, but found no hard evidence of a cougar in London.

The expert did find proof of deer, coyotes, raccoons, wild turkeys and possibly a bobcat.  [gee, he was thorough, wasn’t he? 🙄 -D]

Cougars, also known as pumas, mountain lions and panthers, roam remote areas across the country, mostly Western Canada. Their presence has been confirmed in New Brunswick and Quebec and provinces west of Ontario. Wildlife experts concede they likely roam remote regions of northwestern Ontario. Most of the past Ontario sightings have been at night and in the early fall.

For the most part, the community is not overly concerned, Graham said.

“People realize there has never been an attack on a human. The cats are normally out at dusk and dawn (and) young children tend not to be out at that time of day.”

Apparently Graham doesn’t know too many small town and country kids.  When I was growing up, depending on the time of the year, we could be damned near anyplace around dusk, so make sure that you know where your kids are and when.  And make sure they know what to watch for and not to mess with it.  I’ve seen what one of these things can do to a grown man and don’t even want to imagine what could happen to a kid.

And, as cool as that guy was to hear about, I don’t exactly feel like writing any posts about a local Marc Patterson anytime soon.

CKNX is also reporting that the OPP are warning folks that the critter is still around:

Middlesex OPP are advising area residents that there has been a cougar sighting along a creek in the Parkhill area.

This sighting follows a mauling of a horse last week.

The mauling of the horse has not been confirmed as a cougar attack, however, the injuries are consist with that of a cougar hunting prey.

A cougar expert says they prefer forested or bush areas, usually follow a water course and try to avoid human contact.

Most of the Ontario sightings are in the early Fall.

So for the time being, keep the kids close and your eyes open because this thing’s getting a little too ballsy for my liking.  And while it might not be a bad idea to keep the ammo near the old 12 gague for a few days, don’t go hunting the thing just yet, because a) deer season’s just around the corner so this critter might come to an unlucky end anyway and b) you likely don’t need the hassle of explaining why it is that you shot something that there isn’t even a season for in this province.

But if you see it going after your livestock — or even worse, somebody’s kids — that’s another matter.  Just be observant, keep your head, and for God’s sake, make sure what you aim at.

You know the drill.

UPDATE

The Freeps has a follow-up today from Cheryl Penny’s farm:

When Penny and partner Bob Rundle went across the pasture to collect Rainbow, they were shocked.

“Her head was all smashed in, she was bleeding from a nostril and there was this long gash, right to the bone,” Penny said.

A veterinarian examined Rainbow’s injuries and recommended the horse be put down.

“I agreed because I hate to see an animal in distress,” Penny said.

Rundle said he’s convinced Rainbow was spooked.

“There’s no way she’d jump three fences and that cut from shoulder to knee,” he said.

“I didn’t see a cougar and I can’t prove it, but one was spotted not far from here and it was either that or some other wild animal that spooked her.”

“Dennis,” people have been asking me a lot lately, “what the hell’s up with you, man? There’s been an election campaign going on all summer in Ontario and, aside from a couple of posts about how lousy an idea MMP is, we haven’t heard a damn thing from you. You’re not packing it in, are ya?”

No, I’m not packing it in. It’s just that getting laid off back at the beginning of summer, job-hunting and then getting settled in to the new job have taken up one hell of a lot of my time lately. Anybody out there that’s ever had to switch jobs knows exactly what I’m talking about. And as far as the provincial election goes, well, I think I can sum it up pretty well…

Faith based schools. Faith based schools. Faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools faith based schools.

Just about sums it up, doesn’t it? Way back at the beginning of the race, John “Guess What Party I’m With” Tory said that if he got elected, faith-based schools in Ontario would be able to get some funding, therby bringing them into the public fold and holding them to the same academic standards as the rest of the schools in the province. He made the announcement and then moved on to other things. Dolt McGuilty, however, seized on it like a tarrier with a rat and has maniacally banged away on that same drum over and over, drowning out all other discourse in the campaign. The stupidity of the whole transparent ruse, along with the baffling herd-of-sheep response of Ontariens to it, got to such an extreme that even Howard Hampton J. Pig blew a gasket at the media for having gone so gleefully along with the whole sham. And that’s probably what pissed me off the most…

An irate Howard Hampton swept through Southwestern Ontario yesterday, dragging a campaign’s worth of baggage.

That burden — his party falling in the polls, the faith-based school funding issue dominating debate — blew open in Hamilton, as the NDP leader strafed his Tory rival and the media, accusing journalists of hijacking the campaign and ignoring real issues.

[…]Hampton’s frustration boiled over into a blistering attack on Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory, whom he called a “disaster” whose mistakes have given the ruling Liberals a free ride. “Mr. Tory’s campaign has been chaos,” Hampton said, noting the faith-based school funding vow has hijacked the campaign debate.

… because, as all of you know, there’s just about nothing in the world that I hate more than being forced to agree with a socialist. And, as Lorrie Goldstein saw when he talked to Hampton, Hampton might be getting the same nauseaous feeling, even going so far as to say something sounding vaguely … conservative…

Asked what he’d say to voters poised to give Premier Dalton McGuinty a second majority government, while ignoring his record of fibs and broken promises in favour of the minor issue of stopping public funding for non-Catholic religious schools, Hampton deadpanned: “What do I say? I say, well, then people get the government they deserve (laughter) that’s what I say.”

Hampton, meeting with the Sun’s editorial board, knows, as we do, that if McGuinty wins big Oct. 10, it won’t be long before voters who abandoned the Tories and NDP to back the Liberals will be asking themselves what they’ve done.

No shit, Sherlock. For the record: I’m against public funding for faith-based schools, but not for any of the reasons that McSquinty and the Liebrals barf up. He who pays the piper calls the tune and I don’t think it’s a good idea to let a rabidly secular government ministry be in the position of holding a financial gun to the head of a school that might be teaching something that goes against whatever the trendy Leftbotâ„¢ dogma du jour might be. Keep government the hell out of it; it’s better for the schools. That’s my take.

But, to listen to McGuilty, you’d think that white kids would be going to all the good schools and black kids would be lucky to end up in a one-room schoolhouse if Tory’s plan went ahead. You don’t think he’s hammering away on the word “segregation” by accident, do you? And the media, from top to bottom, have been all too happy to help him out.

But it’s the smart thing for McGuilty to do, isn’t it? The sad fact is that Ontario is likely the most intolerant province in Canada (yes, even worse than Quebeckers or those nasty Albertans), especially when it comes to religion. This is because Ontario has become infested with the disease of the Leftbotâ„¢ mindset and religion is the ultimate enemy of the modern neoliberal ideology…

The neolib socialist philosophy (there really isn’t much “neo” about it) requires, above all else, that the masses give their first and foremost loyalty over to the authority of the secular state (of course, you and I know how well that has worked out in the past, but they don’t, for some reason…). Religion gives people a higher authority than the state, therfore it has to go. They won’t come out and say this out loud, but that’s still the meat of it. This is the mindset that has infected Ontario; especially urban Ontario.

John Tory should have known this. He made a rank-amateur mistake and now he’s given McGuilty four more years in Queens Park and the people of Ontario four more years of weak leadership.

This week, I’ll still be voting Conservative, but I’m afraid J.T. already sold the farm.

…is that there might be someone around willing to stick up for him.

This guy is getting excoriated in the media lately. Naturally. Nothing pisses the media off more than getting called on the carpet for their bullying misdeeds. Yeah, that’s right: I’m talking about Oklahoma State University’s head football coach, Mike “screw with my kids and I’ll rip ya a new one” Gundy.

What did he do? Well, it’s simple: he had the gall to take the media to task for the cheap shots that they were taking at one of his players. The media, naturally, are calling it a “meltdown.” Of biblical proportions, no less.

But what should we expect? The media have always been bullies, eager to dish out the most vicious criticism of anyone and anything and then squealing like stuck pigs whenever someone so much as looks sideways at them.

So… did Gundy, nave a “meltdown?” Pete Schrager doesn’t think so, and neither do I. All I see is a coach sticking up for one of his players who’s been kicked when he’s down. But hey, why take my word for it? See for yourself and make up your own mind…

I don’t blame some of you for wondering. It’s been (what, a month now?) quite a while since I had the time to sit down and shoot my yap off about anything. Kind of lousy that such a thing had to happen right in the middle of a provincial election campaign, especially with Dolt McGuilty in such dire need of getting what’s coming to him.

But living takes priority, right? The new job has been eating up what time and energy I have, so that’s where my efforts have been going. Don’t worry, though; I’m back and ready to spew about my favourite peeve of late: MMP.

The bullshit brigade that’s been peddling this prattle as if it were holy scripture will tell you that that stands for “Mixed-Member Proportional,” as in “better democracy than we have now.” Bullshit. I know what it really stands for: More Machiavellian Politicians.

Here’s the way it’s supposed alleged to go: some proportional representation means that people who wouldn’t get a voice in Queen’s Park under the current first-past-the-post (FPTP) system will now get a voice equal to the amount of the vote that they get. Get 10% of the popular vote, get 10% of the seats set aside for MMP. Real democracy in action. More Power To The Peopleâ„¢.

Yeah, right. I’ve ranted about what a bad idea this is before, originally back on the 19th of April. For those of you that might have missed, here’s the way that it’ll really work:

Instead of electing 107 MPPs to go to the Arsehole of the Universe® to represent the interests of their local constituents, we’ll only get to elect 90. Another 39 widget-herders (making a total of 129; 22 more political leeches than we already support) would be picked not by such unwashed types as you and I; they would be picked by their parties. That’s right; they’d be accountable to the party, not to you!

Besides the erosion of regional representation that is so vital to a province as vast as Ontario (see my previous rant for details), this whole damned thing stinks of the kind of cronyism that makes Adscam® look like a minor boo-boo.

Think about it: those 39 bozos looking to clamp onto our collective taxpayer teat would be picked from lists drawn up by the parties. No party can be trusted with that. No, not even the Conservatives (and I’m a card-carrying Tory!).

“AHA!!” the moonbats shriek. “Even a conservative doesn’t trust the Conservatives!” Please do piss off.

This has nothing to do with whether or not any one party can or can’t be trusted. It has to do with understanding human nature. Whereas leftbots tend to see the human species through rose-coloured coke bottle bottoms, we conservative types take a more realistic view. We also actually pay attention to the lessons of history. These lists that the MMP MPPs will be pulled from will be filled with nothing but failed candidates and party hacks. Can you say “cronies,” boys and girls? Try practicing it in front of the mirror if you have trouble.

But that’s not the end of it. Experience in other countries has shown that a system like that makes small fringe parties breed like rabbits on viagra in a vaselene factory. Under the scheme being proposed, a party would need to get 3% of the vote to get one of the MMP freebies.

Think about that; that’s fewer than one in twenty. While you’re at it, think about 20 people that you know. No, it doesn’t matter who, just think about any twenty people that you know. Guess what? At least one of ’em’s a kook. And if you’re thinking about 20 people and can’t figure out who the kook is… it’s you. Do you really think you want to give the clowns a say in how the circus is run?

Hey! Come to think of it, I’ve been underrepresented… While there isn’t a politician in Ontario that has the guts to come out and say it, I know damned well that I’m not alone in thinking that it’s high time that Ontario got a conceal & carry law! You know what I’m talking about: the kind of law that allows law-abiding folks with no criminal record to arm themselves. Everybody knows that the scumbags aren’t worried about cops or courts, but they’re damned well scared shitless about bumping into somebody like me with a .44 (or better yet, .50 cal) Desert Eagleâ„¢ tucked into a shoulder holster that won’t think twice about saving the public some money if given an excuse. That’s saving money as in not having to pay out a shitload of my tax dollars to pay for your lawyer and then house and feed your worthless ass for the next 20 years or so. All that stuff’s expensive; ammo is cheap. Sort of.

No politician will admit it but when decent folks are alone in that voting booth, you’d be surprised how many of us are itching for the chance to see the shitbags of society shaking in their boots for a change. Damn… the Blow A Gangbanger’s Brains Out Party® could end up with 39 seats in Queen’s Park!!

Hm. Come to think about it, this MMP thing might not be so bad after all. Please disregard this post. Except for the last three paragraphs, of course… 😉