Who does he think he is?!

Mark Carney was in Edmonton yesterday and insulted our duly-elected premier, Danielle Smith, by making a joke about how he thought Doug Ford would be fine negotiating with Donald Trump, but "....certainly not Danielle Smith."  Then he laughed uproariously. 

Well hahaha.  How could a prime minister running for re-election have the gall to make fun of a democratically-elected premier of the very province upon whose back the wealth of every other depends!  It's appalling.  Does Carney not know who saved our oil and gas from ruinous tariffs?  It was Danielle Smith!  He should be getting on his knees thanking her -- not making fun of her.

Now, there's a male chauvinist pig if ever there was one.

Smith countered by saying that it's sad that a prime minister had such a problem with a strong Conservative women.  You go girl!  It's not only sad, it's unacceptable.  Carney is a fraud and he should never be handed the keys to the Kingdom of Canada.  Never.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith

Who the hell is advising this moron?  Shouldn't he know better than to insult a sitting premier?!  As I keep saying, please inform yourselves about who this guy really is.  He's a fop for China, he has stashed all his billions in tax havens in Bermuda, thus avoiding millions in Canadian taxes owed and he doesn't even identify as a "Canadian".

Speaking of elections, B and I went to cast our ballots at an advance poll and boy, was it difficult!  We found the general area, but then wound our way though mini-plazas, car dealerships and country roads to no avail.  Despairing of ever finding the poll, we luckily happened upon a postal worker who was filling up rural boxes.  "Excuse me, but do you know where the advance poll is?" we asked.  "It's hard to find, but you turn here, then go straight, then turn left, then a quick right......and it's in a daycare centre just beyond," she told us.

Whaaat?  A daycare centre?  Sure enough, it was.  So, up we trudged two flights and finally found the poll!  I approached the scrutineer and presented my passport to prove I was a Canadian citizen.  "Oh, we only need an official document with your address.  We don't need a passport," she offered.  "So, anyone could claim they were a citizen and you wouldn't bother to ask for proof," I said.  At that she was speechless.

So, as usual, any non-citizen can actually just wander in, show an address and cast a ballot.  That's appalling, but it happens in every election.  I plan to write to the chief electoral officer and point this out because it means elections are not just skewed by foreign interference, but also by non-citizens voting.    

Trouble was, they didn't have any ballots.  Whaaat?  That's right.  They open polls, but don't have proper ballots.  Ludicrous.  "You have to write the name of the candidate on the blank ballot correctly because we haven't received our official ballots yet," said the scrutineer.  So, we did.  Then we had to put our ballots in two envelopes, seal them, tick a box that said we understood what we were doing and put our ballots into the box.

Man, what a way to run a railroad! 

  

How about zero?

That's what Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy suggests, that Canada remove tariffs for all US products imported into Canada.  Zero tariffs.  

The wise and wily Senator Kennedy.  Catch him on YouTube.

Revolutionary?  Crazy?  Of course.  The main sticking point for Trump are the ridiculous dairy and egg marketing boards -- mainly in vote-rich Quebec -- that prevent US product into the Canadian market by imposing 200 and 300 percent tariffs on foreign imports of those commodities.  Will the next PM get rid of those trade barriers?  Don't make me laugh.

But Kennedy argues that Trump would have to drop those levied against Canada in response.  A great fan of Canada, Kennedy thinks it might work.  You know, it just might.  "I called Prime Minister Carney and suggested it to him personally," he said.  Wouldn't it have been great to have been on a party line for that conversation!

Naturally, Carney will never do it, because he thinks he is the smartest-guy-in-any-room-on-any-call-anytime-anywhere, but I think it would be worth a try.  Hey, but what do I know?  However, I do know human nature, am a very good judge of personality and character and my gut tells me it would be worth a try.  It would certainly shock and disarm Trump and throw a wrench into his plans.  So far, the only Canadian leader who has had any effect on Trump is our premier, Danielle Smith.  Thank G-d for her!

A word about Carney's campaign.  I cannot fathom why he included Freeland, Sean Fraser, Stephen Guilbeault and Anita Anand in his cabinet.  Those moves tell me he is not nearly ruthless enough for street politics.  He still thinks he is in the velvet boardrooms of polite bankers.  Here's a bulletin, Mark:  You're in the street fight of your life and so far, you're dropping. 

Freeland's problem is she is a know-it-all; Guilbeault's is he's a green fanatic, a felon who destroyed our economy.  And as for Anand and Fraser?  They had declared they weren't running again because they saw the doomed writing on the wall.  But the minute they saw Carney's fortunes start to ascend, they jumped back in, eager to stick their noses back into the public trough.

Obviously, they have no principles.

A word about Elon Musk.  When NASA couldn't rescue those two astronauts who were stranded in space, who brought them back?  Elon Musk.  NASA, with all its money and might, couldn't do it, they were left floating in peril for almost a year.  That was appalling and inexcusable.  So, to everyone who thinks Musk is a lunatic, think about that for a minute before you dump all over him.    

 

Please heed this warning!

Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie has a dire warning for Canadians as we go to the polls:  Don't fall for Mark Carney's economic blarney.  My husband has a post-graduate degree from 'The London School of Economics'.  He was awarded a fellowship to gain entry to that venerable institution -- quite the feat because even money can't get you in.  

Asking B what a central banker does, he told me a central banker has one job:  To maintain price stability.  That's it.  That means adjusting interest rates accordingly.  That's all you have to do.  And he even has seven deputy governors to help him figure it out.  Seven!  Yet Carney is painted as some kind of genius who saved two economies with his mysterious monetary super powers and mumbo jumbo.  

Please have a read of Balsillie's take and cast an informed vote.  As I've said, his policies are all tucked secretly into a Trojan Horse which he will open with dire consequences if elected:

Don't be fooled.

Balsillie's take.

   

He always looks as if.....

.....he is delivering a eulogy.  I'm talking about Mark Carney.  There he is, shoulders stooped, mouth drooping and speech dull and monotonous.  He has absolutely no enthusiasm whatsoever in the positions he iterates.

That guy needs a course in dealing with the public and the media.  Mr. McL, are you listening?  Watching his many gaffes shows I was absolutely correct when I said he will not be able to cast off his 'Sun King' cloak and don that of a dirty, scrappy politician.  How off-side can you be when you actually defend Paul Chiang as a candidate?!  The guy suggested that his opponent be kidnapped and taken to Beijing for prosecution and maybe death. 

That was insane, but there was the hapless Carney, calling it a "teachable moment"!  I mean seriously!  His team must have finally convinced him to drop the candidate, which he finally did today -- not admitting he was wrong to defend him, however, just saying Chiang had tendered his resignation and Carney had accepted it.

Carney demonstrated a complete lack of leadership and that does not cut it.  The problem is, Canadians are so desperate for a change from Trudeau that they are overlooking all Carney's faults, weaknesses and missteps.  They see him as some kind of savior.  So, for the moment, he remains a Harvard/Oxford, platinum member of the Davos Supper Club masquerading as a prime minister. 

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Had an interesting encounter yesterday with B's doctor.  Asking him about his background and speciality, I learned he was a child psychiatrist filling in for B's regular physician.  "How can children need a psychiatrist?" I inquired.  "It's really the parents who need one," he replied.  Then we got onto children's atrocious diets.  He told me that many of his little patients are served only chocolate milk and noodles.  "What?!!" I exclaimed.  "The parents tell me that's all they will eat," he replied.

Insane, I replied.  I agree, he said.  "When I was a kid, I ate what was put in front of me.  I remember once sitting in front of a plate of liver 'til 11 o'clock at night.  I finally ate it and it only had to happen once.  If it got too late, it came out cold for breakfast," I explained.

His eyes widened and he replied -- quite seriously, "I am going to encorporate that into my practice."  So there you have it.  I may have saved many children from mental illness by changing their parents' feeding habits.  Made me quite proud, actually.

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Trump's flauting and ignoring of the American Constitution has gone too far.  But no one will impeach him because they are scared sh-tless of him.  Bill Clinton, on the other hand, was impeached for having consensual sort-of sex with a White House intern.  How does that make any sense!?

If you think Clinton was the only powerful politician to have had sex with an underling you are sadly mistaken.  Frankly, it's one of the reasons men run for office:  So they can get away from their wives and live the Life of Riley in Ottawa.  I worked for one of Trudeau senior's ministers and I was regularly propositioned and pressured to have sex with him.  I didn't, but the pressure was routine and no one batted an eye.  He finally gave up and moved on to some other victim.

If you don't want that kind of life, don't work for a minister.  But it wasn't all bad.  There were many delicious perks -- like flying to exotic places in a government challenger and dining with other rich and powerful people.  No one raped anyone and frankly, I loved it!

Happily, I landed a job in the department so didn't have to deal with fending off that minister again.

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A word about immigration.  Why do we even need immigration lawyers?  There are clear rules and laws governing immigration, so if illegals get into Canada, they should be rounded up and deported.  They should also be housed in less luxurious settings than five-star hotels while they await their ride home; they should never need lawyers.  Countries have borders for a reason. 

Illegals being welcomed into Canada.

There is also something called 'The Immigration and Refugee Board', but we shouldn't even need that.  Giving them asylum means there is now a four-year waiting list to hear a case.  Wrong.  If you come to Canada illegally, you are by definition, a criminal.  They need to go before they can have children and plead their case.

Call me a right-wing radical, but I believe in a rules-based system with laws and borders that are actually obeyed.  Guess these days that makes me one.

 

Why?

Why is Manitoba spending millions trying to find the remains of Indigenous women who went missing from downtown Winnipeg in a local landfill?  I know, I know, this sounds callous, but why?   

The precious, immortal souls of these women are now with God.  That's the important thing; the bodies in which they were housed are not.

A number of years ago, a loved one was travelling alone in Europe.  When I could not reach her for a number of days, I assumed she had been killed somehow.  This is due to my natural anxiety, which is always high.  I decided then and there I would not scour Europe to find her remains.  I decided to focus on knowing she was in Heaven with The Lord because that's what I believe.  (Note:  She was fine; just a temporary phone glitch.)    

The four Manitoba women, however, led very dangerous lifestyles on the streets, so knew the lives they were living carried huge risks.  Take Ashlee Shingoose.  She was the 30-year-old Indigenous mother of three, whose kids had been removed because of the neglect and harm her lifestyle was causing them.

Shingoose's parents on the front page of 'The Globe and Mail' today.

The guy who murdered her has been caught, tried and incarcerated, so continuing with the torture to her family by dragging it out is pointless, in my opinion.  Naturally, no one will ever say this, but, as usual, I do.  

Note:  That's why I have a blog -- so I can express taboo opinions.  As I said to a woman I met at a cocktail party a few years, who haughtily looked down her nose and told me she didn't agree with a lot of my blogs, "If you don't like them, don't read them."  By the way, I didn't even know this woman, so her disdain made me burst out laughing!

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Speaking of taboo, why is Donald Trump continuing his assault on Canada?  Worse, how can he get away with ignoring legal contracts and treaties with impunity and gay abandon!?  It seems no one -- and I mean no one -- can stop him.  There's something very wrong when the president of the United States can turn into a dictator while laws, governments and courts are powerless to stop him.

As for our "saviour" Mark Carney, I predict Trump will take an instant dislike to his elite, buttoned-down persona.  That's just the way Trump is:  He either likes you or he doesn't.  And God help you if he doesn't.  What began as a bit of a giggle, is now getting very scary.

I also predict that Bob Fife's words of a few years ago will come true.  "The NDP are toast," he said on 'Power Play'.  It's taken a while, but Singh should have stopped supporting the Liberals a year ago and triggered an election.  At least then he might have at least held onto his seat.  He won't now and the NDP will go the way of the Conservatives in 1993, when the latter's huge majority crumbled to just two seats and they lost official party status.  That's what's in store for Singh, thanks to his determination to hang on until he was eligible for a multi-million-dollar pension.

That was dumb.

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A word about the verbose and turgid Andrew Coyne.  Slogging through his tortuous column today, I alit (or is it "alighted"?) on one word:  "Arguably".  Why use this word?  Either you stand behind your point, or you don't.  Saying something is "Arguably a cause for.....", as he wrote today, weakens your point and turns it into a puzzle.

Ah well, that's the sonorous, bombastic and pompous Coyne for you.  All his columns appear to be defending some sort of PhD thesis.  Please, Andrew, pare your thoughts down to one or two clear sentences, have a point and push yourself away from the keyboard.  With his work, I read nothing but the last paragraph to get his point -- if he has one.  

Oh how I wish I were his editor!

    

Showing his colours already

As I have been saying, Mark Carney is a dyed-in-the-wool globalist and WEFer who worships at the altar of wokery.  What did he decide would be the best move right after being anointed prime minister of Canada?  Why, fly off to Paris and London of course.

There's no doubt the Tariff Terrorist to our south is wreaking havoc, but Carney should have shown he at least has some awareness that he is King of Canada by taking a couple days to visit the good burghers of a few token cities and towns this side of the border before running off to Europe where he is apparently most at home.  He has evidently completely forgotten the little hamlet in which he was born, Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories.  No, now he is a self-declared European.

Saw a clip of him in France claiming that, "Canada is the most European non-European country in the world".  He also claimed that he is really a European because he holds both Irish and British passports, along with Canadian.

What is he playing at?!  But it wasn't bad enough that he flew off across the Atlantic in our time of dread, he also dragged along his wife.  Talk about bad optics.  Apparently the financial crisis is so dire he has to down tools and run to Paris and London, but then he destroys that altogether by making it look like a pleasure trip by carting the wife along for sightseeing and souvenir shopping.

Mark and Diana

That's just dumb.  Evidently, he has very poor advisors or doesn't listen to anyone who might have a clue about how to look "prime ministerial" and "in charge".  I suspect, having been a King for years, he just does what he pleases, listening to no one.

He has an M.A and PhD, not in economics, but in philosophy.  Think about that for a minute.  His wife -- who I at first thought was his Mother -- also has degrees in philosophy and is also a rabid greenie, so whatever he says -- or doesn't say -- in public, the pillow talk in that household will be all about net zero and if he gets in, he'll enact it.  These two have a Trojan Horse full of environmental goodies they'll unleash when he gets elected.

The other problem Carney has is arrogance.  Just saw him "answering" questions and he actually said to Rosemary Barton, "Rossie, look inside yourself," as he angrily and condescendingly brushed her question off.  I'm no fan of Rosie, but that was astounding!  If the public gets another whiff of his arrogance, he's in trouble. 

His latest gaff is inviting Zelensky to the upcoming G7 meeting here in Alberta.  Why would he do that?  It makes no sense.  The guy has no clue whatsoever about perception in the public thoroughfare.  Someone needs to get him in hand if they want him to succeed.     

(Note:  I don't know if my old colleague, the shrewd B McL, reads my blogs every now and then, but I would love to know what his expert opinion is on this move.  I bet he would have advised against it.  The other thing he desperately needs is a media relations course.  "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."  Cause he isn't.)  

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A word about the Leafs:  Did you know that the average season ticket price of a seat is.....wait for it....sit down.....hydrate.....$11,900 !#$%!@%^!!!  Who would pay that to watch that dismal team??!!??  Apparently lots of people because there is a years-long waiting list for tickets!  

I am so out-of-it.  

Sweet

I was back at the local elementary school today, helping some of my daughter's grade two students with remedial reading.  Still eight, they are so sweet, keen and try so hard.  When it's time for me to depart, a few girls always run over to give me huge hugs -- something which would never have happened when I was in grade two in the fifties.

One of my pupils also made me a gift:

From Clarissa.

She is one of 10 children (so far) in her family and just a delightful little girl.

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But a word about Carney's swearing in today as our new prime minister.  "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss", was all I could think when he announced his cabinet.  The same, old tired hacks recycled into different portfolios, however he did dump some of the more radical and hysterical ministers.  Steven Guilbeault has been dumped from environment, but I bet Carney will unleash his rabid green agenda if he wins a seat in the election which will be called shortly.  I mean, the guy doesn't have a seat, so where would he sit?  In the public gallery?  Ludicrous.

When it comes to political analysis, Lisa Raitt and Stephanie Levitz, along with Bob Fife, are the people I listen to.  They all agree Carney will announce an election before the House returns.  How would it look if the first thing that happened was getting bounced in a vote of confidence.  So, the ragtag gang of re-hashed ministers will not even need to unpack before they get on the road to nowhere.

Speaking of ragtag, why would he keep Freeland in any portfolio?  That does not denote a Gordie-Howe-elbows-up approach to the blood sport of politics.  Is Carney too nice for the game?  Is he too used to politesse?  He better get over that in a hurry because he is no longer in the civilized board rooms of international trade and bespoke bankers.  He's in a cesspool of kill or be killed, where even a $16 glass of orange juice can spell doom.

As for Singh, don't count on him to defeat this government.  Regardless of what he says, Singh does not want an election because not only will he lose his own seat, but his party will also be reduced to non-official status and the money that accompanies that status will poof.  How could he pay for his $1,500 suits, his BMW and his Rolex without it?

As Bob Fife once said, "The NDP are toast."

I also heed the thoughts of Victor Davis Hanson (he's on YouTube, watch him) who points out that Carney remains a Davos, WEF, globalist just as was Trudeau.  I mean the guy has just been elected prime minister and what are his first moves?  To jet off to London and Paris.  Were I advising him, I would have recommended a trip to Renfrew or Brockville.  If his international jaunts aren't the moves of a globalist, I don't know what are.

I also didn't like the way he handled himself in that media Q & A outside Rideau Hall.  He was sarcastic, condescending and talked down to the press.  Not a good move when that's the bunch that holds all the influential pens in the public thoroughfare.  

Carney is used to being surrounded by "yes men".  That's over.  The other question is, where will he run?  Can't be out here, where the Liberals are viscerally loathed.  As for Trump, who runs his shop on personality and the cut of a jib, I bet he has already taken an instant dislike to our new PM, which does not bode well for the country as we battle the Tariff Terrorist currently occupying the Oval Office.    

As I say, hang onto your hats.