It's Friday. Relax. Dance. Enjoy.

A little Radiohead doing a little Joy Division

Page 9 of the Conservative 2006 Platform

Hello Pot? Meet Kettle! It's good work if you can get it.


Make qualified
government appointments

The Liberals have repeatedly appointed insiders, in some cases completely unqualified,to important public offices. Liberal candidates and MPs have received appointments as heads of Crown corporations, board members, and ambassadors. Liberal staffers, including some of those responsible for the sponsorship program, have worked their way into key positions in the public service.

The plan
A Conservative government will:
• Ensure that all Officers of Parliament are appointed through consultation with all parties in the House of Commons and confirmed through a secret ballot of all Members of Parliament, not just named by the Prime Minister. This appointment process will cover:

- The Ethics Commissioner
- The Auditor General
- The Chief Electoral Officer
- The Information Commissioner
- The Privacy Commissioner
- The Registrar of Lobbyists

• Establish a Public Appointments Commission to set merit-based requirements for appointments to government boards, commissions, and agencies, to ensure that competitions for posts are widely publicized and fairly conducted.

• Prevent ministerial aides and other political appointees receiving favoured treatment when applying for public service positions

Cheryl Gallant Gets the Asshole of the Week Award

And who better to comment on her ridiculous folley than Conservative Commentator Tim Powers. So much for Harper regaining any seats on the Rock. Here's Tim's article:

Ontario Conservative MP Cheryl Gallant's comments on how search and rescue might be managed off the coast of Newfoundland are just plain bizarre – she is lost at sea. Gallant claims her words were misconstrued. That is probably accurate given she clearly has no clue what she is talking about. No life jacket in world can keep her from drowning in her own ignorance about those who make a living from the North Atlantic ocean.

According to the Ottawa Citizen, Ms. Gallant apparently argued that people who earn their livelihood from the sea should take more responsibility for their own lives and not expect to be rescued by the Coast Guard if they run into trouble. Maxime Bernier is vanquished; there is a new caucus advocate for personal responsibility.

If Ms. Gallant is agreeable I'd be delighted to personally fund a trip for her to buoy in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where she can take the time to reflect on her current orthodoxy. I can assure you her views on how search and rescue should work in my part of the world remain exclusively hers alone.

The MP for Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke might want to know that those who do go to sea don't cast off their bow lines hoping to avail of the services of the government during their voyage.

Actually those brave enough to fish or work the oil rigs in nature's toughest workplace, the Grand Banks, just want to get back to their home ports safely, free and clear of the dreaded “SOS” call to the government. Their workplace safety requirements do occasionally require a bit of government intervention. You see, Ms. Gallant, there is no privately run iceberg shuttle to ferry the stranded back to their communities.

Had Ms. Gallant bothered to do any homework she would have found it interesting to know all the things Conservative governments have done to address search-and-rescue challenges on the East Coast. She appears to blissfully unaware that Prime Minister Stephen Harper re-opened the Gander weather station so local mariners would have a home-based resource to make choices about when it was safe to take to the water. If reality was something this MP was in touch with she'd also be intrigued to learn the private sector is already playing a crucial role in this area whether it be in airborne surveillance or all the safety practices and responsibilities assumed by the owners of the offshore petroleum platforms.

I'll let others more learned in current marine policies and practices properly educate Ms. Gallant on how things really work. That undertaking is beyond the skill set of this writer.

Penny (Penlan) Lankshear Was My Friend

The kind of friend you need not chat with every day. The kind that you could rely on to watch your back when you didn't even know it needed watching. That kind of friend.

I keep waiting for someone to tell me that there's been a case of mistaken identity and that she is still with us here online. But it appears that my prayer is not to be answered today. And that sick feeling I have in my stomach just won't go away any time soon.

As many other friends in the online political blog world have written today. Penny was a strong believer in a just society. She always wished for the "best in people" to come to the fore.

She was a woman of very modest means yet last year when I ran for an LPCO position I found myself with a donation to my campaign from Penny Lankshear. That's the kind of person she was. Who knows what she may have had to go without that particular month. I was, as I am now, overcome with emotion. All her note said was Go get 'em James!!! I'm behind you 100%...

When I began LiberalsONLINE.ca I asked people to help out and step up to the plate as Moderators for the fledgling aggregator. Penny didn't even miss a beat. And, moderate she did. She was always on top of things.

I will save her emails in perpetuity - if not just to remind myself of why we fight the good fight. She would want us all to keep on fighting the good fight toward that just world she sought to find.

I am not sure how Penny has come to meet her maker, but I am sure that there is a giant hole left in all of us that share this poliblog world. I, with others, shall miss her dearly.

Rest in Peace Dear Friend.




P.S. If any of you find details of a service or donations Penny may have wished to see, Please pass them on to me and others so that we may pay our respects in any way that we can. I know Penny lived in Stratford, if that helps.

Seen On Facebook Today

It's Friday. Relax. Dance. Enjoy.

I SUPPORT M.P.P. MIKE COLLE- EGLINTON LAWRENCE

The Facebook Group has arrived. Feel free to jump on the bandwagon.

A Little Jewish Humour???

This was posted on Facebook by a Jewish person today. I just wondered if anyone else finds it funny?

Dear Egyptians,
Please don't ruin the pyramids, we will not rebuild.
Sincerely,

The Jews

About this whole "Rocco Rossi Raised Billions for the Liberal Party" Meme

A Conservative Buddy of mine, Searching for Liberty's Rob Harvie, makes a statement in the comment section of my latest Blogpost:

And one notes that while his tenure as director of the federal Liberal Party of Canada was brief, during his time, the party tripled its membership and restored party finances in less than a year.

Well Rob, let me tell how easy it would have been for a one eyed, three legged cat to improve the Liberal Party Fortunes during Rocco's tenure.

Rossi did little to improve Liberal finances. The party did it on its own.

There was a new leader that was foisted on the party. They used the 5000 person Iggy database to say "hey, your guy's in now. Donate!" And, they did donate.

Then, you had scores of nominations across the country driving both membership and party finances up. Simultaneously, the central party decided they were entitled to 33% of all the money raised by membership signups. Money that used to stay in the riding itself (which are all mostly broke now).

Oh. And did I mention the National Convention in 2009 that raised a shit load of money in the 1st and 2nd quarters from the Laurier memberships and registration fees to attend the coronation?

As for membership? In addition to nomination races, the short-lived "leadership race" in '08 resulted in inflated membership numbers that didn't expire until December 31, 2009 since they were purchased after October 1, 2008.

And voila, there's the Rossi "miracle". So, please!

Don't believe me Rob? Okay. All you Liberals that gave money to the party in 2009 because Rocco Rossi was in charge raise your hands. C'mon don't be afraid. Raise your hands.... cue the crickets.

About this Rocco Rossi Wannabe Person

Okay. Okay. Stop it already. I've been bombarded with emails and calls over the whole "geezus Jim, you were right about that guy" meme.

I claimed then, and I maintain now, that Rossi was nothing but a Stalking Horse for Rob Ford's campaign. With the likes of Capobianco in the upper echelons of his campaign for mayor I couldn't help but think that. He was in it to crush Smitherman's Liberal vote. Plain and simple. He was still smarting from losing the John Tory bid for Mayor the time before and always blamed Smitherman for that loss.

I know how Conservatives in Ontario must feel today though because I had the same reaction when Rocco burst onto the Liberal scene back in '09 out of the blue: WTF IS a ROCCO ROSSI and where did he come from.

Whoever is running Mike Colle's riding association can come pick up a cheque from me on Monday afternoon. I'll be in Toronto anyway.

Enough said.