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.