Remember when Ronnie kept using that expression over and over as he debated Walter Mondale? Well folks, it applies in spades to yours truly.
I should have been a Mayor - as they say in the ring, I could have been a c-o-n-t-e-n-d-e-r. Being mayor is a nice job and just when you find yourself in need of a change of scenery...pow, you might be eligible for a possible Targeted Employment Adjustment Program!
Now wouldn't that have been grand -- coasting from the mayor's chair right smack into the middle of the federal arena as a party candidate.
Would have brought new meaning to the term make work. Oh well, at least I can dream...
Monday, September 28, 2009
Merci Denis!
C'est avec tristesse que j'apprends les nouvelles aujourd'hui de la démission de Denis Coderre comme lieutenant politique pour le Québec.
Il faut le dire. Des erreurs, de part et d'autre, ont été commises quant à la sélection du candidat dans la circonscription d'Outremont. Mais je veux surtout féliciter Coderre pour son niveau d'implication dans la province. Il s'est fendu le derrière pour le parti. On ne doit jamais oublier ça.
Il faut le dire. Des erreurs, de part et d'autre, ont été commises quant à la sélection du candidat dans la circonscription d'Outremont. Mais je veux surtout féliciter Coderre pour son niveau d'implication dans la province. Il s'est fendu le derrière pour le parti. On ne doit jamais oublier ça.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Filled With Glee And It Isn't Even Christmas!
Remember how many of us have trouble sleeping as Christmas Day approaches. The excitement mounts as we look forward to the festivities, the food and of course, the presents!
I imagine one man is feeling pretty much like that tonight -- just think, tomorrow he'll hop into the Challenger and head to Saint John -- all the while rejoicing in the fact that he has played Jack and the Pension Democrats for dolts.
Incredible as it may sound, that caucus is still intent on being rolled like suckers by this Prime Minister.
Witness the latest gem by Brad Lavigne as reported in Sun Media:
The NDP’s national director, Brad Lavigne, told CTV’s Question Period the NDP will support the Conservatives to keep alive the prospect of an additional $1 billion in employment insurance benefits, which the Conservatives have proposed.
“The number one priority for New Democrats is to get $1 billion into the hands of 190,000 unemployed workers and their families,” said Lavigne. “We are not going to do anything to interrupt that process.”
------
Correct me if I'm wrong but weren't you the guys who said that the Conservative proposal wasn't enough? Perhaps that had something to do with your party previously voting against the Harper government seventy-nine times!
I imagine one man is feeling pretty much like that tonight -- just think, tomorrow he'll hop into the Challenger and head to Saint John -- all the while rejoicing in the fact that he has played Jack and the Pension Democrats for dolts.
Incredible as it may sound, that caucus is still intent on being rolled like suckers by this Prime Minister.
Witness the latest gem by Brad Lavigne as reported in Sun Media:
The NDP’s national director, Brad Lavigne, told CTV’s Question Period the NDP will support the Conservatives to keep alive the prospect of an additional $1 billion in employment insurance benefits, which the Conservatives have proposed.
“The number one priority for New Democrats is to get $1 billion into the hands of 190,000 unemployed workers and their families,” said Lavigne. “We are not going to do anything to interrupt that process.”
------
Correct me if I'm wrong but weren't you the guys who said that the Conservative proposal wasn't enough? Perhaps that had something to do with your party previously voting against the Harper government seventy-nine times!
Is Anyone Surprised That It's Off To Saint John?
Call me stupid, but I thought you got your report card at school, not at the ice cream factory!
Quite obviously, this Prime Minister does not take the report card seriously -- otherwise he would be before the House of Commons on Monday and presenting it to the Liberals! You remember them, Mr. Prime Minister, those are the guys who made the deal with you in exchange for supporting your stimulus package...
Pay attention Jack, but I digress.
Anywho, the PM is off to Saint John to deliver the "good" news. God, you don't know how I hope Elsie will be there but again, I digress.
Might not be a bad idea for Paul Zed to put in an appearance as well but again, rather tiredly, I digress. (I'd call that equal time considering that the local MP is bound to be but a few paces behind our sunny Prime Minister.)
Quite obviously, this Prime Minister does not take the report card seriously -- otherwise he would be before the House of Commons on Monday and presenting it to the Liberals! You remember them, Mr. Prime Minister, those are the guys who made the deal with you in exchange for supporting your stimulus package...
Pay attention Jack, but I digress.
Anywho, the PM is off to Saint John to deliver the "good" news. God, you don't know how I hope Elsie will be there but again, I digress.
Might not be a bad idea for Paul Zed to put in an appearance as well but again, rather tiredly, I digress. (I'd call that equal time considering that the local MP is bound to be but a few paces behind our sunny Prime Minister.)
Like Hell, It's Not About You!
Nice try, Jack. For the benefit of those who missed it, here is part of his piece in The Star:
Jack Layton
Leader of the New Democratic Party
It's not about us. That's my mantra when I have to make a tough political decision because it can be so easy to succumb to decision paralysis if the focus is inward: What will the other parties do? Will our supporters agree? Will a decision cause rifts? Can it be communicated clearly? Will we be pummelled by the pundits?
But it isn't about us. It's about the people who elected us. So, when discussing our recent decision to support Stephen Harper's offer to improve employment insurance benefits in response to our call for action, I kept turning my mind to the Canadians I met during my recent travels across the country.
These are people for whom the recession is not over. There was the young woman at Queen's University who told me her dad had lost his job in the forestry industry. The family had scraped and borrowed to get her back into school for the fall semester.
Or the mid-level manager I met in Quebec City who had been laid off after 16 years. She pleaded with me to support the EI changes that would give her an additional 20 weeks of employment insurance. At her age, she said, finding a new job is going to be a long, hard struggle.
Or the hundreds of proud miners in Sudbury I met after they had been laid off. What do you tell a 60-year-old man who has lost his job in an industry with an uncertain future?
I have also heard many similar stories from my neighbours and friends here in Toronto, as plants have closed and businesses small and large have downsized. Multiply these stories with those my caucus colleagues are telling me. More than 1.6 million Canadians are now unemployed. Another 200,000 are expected to lose their jobs before this coming winter is over. And the epicentre of the job losses is right here in Ontario.
------
Do I think that all of the above was factored into the NDP's decision? Yes I do. But none of Jack's points were the overriding concern. They aren't stupid -- they saw that they would take a drubbing in the next election and that perhaps fifteen to twenty caucus members would not be returning to Ottawa. It's an open secret in Ottawa that many of those same MPs need to get at least another year under their belt to qualify for a full parliamentary pension. For them to pretend that we are living in the Land Of Oz and that this political reality had absolutely no weight in their internal deliberations is beyond ludicrous.
As I've said before, Jack is going to lose seats. He had a choice to support the Liberals and trim his losses or take another route. By propping up the Harper government, he all but guarantees that the NDP will be all but decimated when we finally go to the polls. Not exactly smart thinking Jack.
Jack Layton
Leader of the New Democratic Party
It's not about us. That's my mantra when I have to make a tough political decision because it can be so easy to succumb to decision paralysis if the focus is inward: What will the other parties do? Will our supporters agree? Will a decision cause rifts? Can it be communicated clearly? Will we be pummelled by the pundits?
But it isn't about us. It's about the people who elected us. So, when discussing our recent decision to support Stephen Harper's offer to improve employment insurance benefits in response to our call for action, I kept turning my mind to the Canadians I met during my recent travels across the country.
These are people for whom the recession is not over. There was the young woman at Queen's University who told me her dad had lost his job in the forestry industry. The family had scraped and borrowed to get her back into school for the fall semester.
Or the mid-level manager I met in Quebec City who had been laid off after 16 years. She pleaded with me to support the EI changes that would give her an additional 20 weeks of employment insurance. At her age, she said, finding a new job is going to be a long, hard struggle.
Or the hundreds of proud miners in Sudbury I met after they had been laid off. What do you tell a 60-year-old man who has lost his job in an industry with an uncertain future?
I have also heard many similar stories from my neighbours and friends here in Toronto, as plants have closed and businesses small and large have downsized. Multiply these stories with those my caucus colleagues are telling me. More than 1.6 million Canadians are now unemployed. Another 200,000 are expected to lose their jobs before this coming winter is over. And the epicentre of the job losses is right here in Ontario.
------
Do I think that all of the above was factored into the NDP's decision? Yes I do. But none of Jack's points were the overriding concern. They aren't stupid -- they saw that they would take a drubbing in the next election and that perhaps fifteen to twenty caucus members would not be returning to Ottawa. It's an open secret in Ottawa that many of those same MPs need to get at least another year under their belt to qualify for a full parliamentary pension. For them to pretend that we are living in the Land Of Oz and that this political reality had absolutely no weight in their internal deliberations is beyond ludicrous.
As I've said before, Jack is going to lose seats. He had a choice to support the Liberals and trim his losses or take another route. By propping up the Harper government, he all but guarantees that the NDP will be all but decimated when we finally go to the polls. Not exactly smart thinking Jack.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Malaise.
A vague feeling of [political] discomfort. I don't like it one damned bit. I'm starting to get excited -- I'm already well beyond irritated. Hell, I'm getting more mad with each passing day.
Time for a reality check. Something major better be done and fast. I'm not smart enough to know exactly what the problem is but even an idiot can see that this isn't working.
Time to reassess, reconsider and recalibrate.
Now over to those of you who can actually do something about it.
Time for a reality check. Something major better be done and fast. I'm not smart enough to know exactly what the problem is but even an idiot can see that this isn't working.
Time to reassess, reconsider and recalibrate.
Now over to those of you who can actually do something about it.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
The Field Of Conservative Dreams.
I had no idea that Infrastructure funding was the political equivalent of fuzzy Math. Programs are underway at a staggering rate -- 12% have shovels in the ground. What this government needs to remember is that an impressive approval rate (far faster than any previous government) requires a necessary secondary component: it's called follow through...
The Conservative project flow lives up to its name on the ground -- it sure is Conservative, with plenty of something being shoveled but it ain't dirt!
Yes, the steel is being ordered but tell that to the people in Burlington, Markham or any other community.
And oh by the way, try not to keep your candidates too well briefed. That has proven to be hazardous to the Harper government's health.
The Conservative project flow lives up to its name on the ground -- it sure is Conservative, with plenty of something being shoveled but it ain't dirt!
Yes, the steel is being ordered but tell that to the people in Burlington, Markham or any other community.
And oh by the way, try not to keep your candidates too well briefed. That has proven to be hazardous to the Harper government's health.
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