Mulcair doesn't know

On Friday Thomas Mulcair responded to a question about yet another bozo eruption by saying "I don't know." He said his years as a politician have taught him when to say "I don't know."

There is a lot more he doesn't know.  Mulcair's NDP has promised never to run a deficit.  Never ever.  How will he do that?  He doesn't know.  Nobody knows.  

Would he cut services?  He would hike taxes.  That's a fact whatever happens in the global economy.  But that doesn't ensure he'll break even, not while he promises to gut the oil patch in favor of these mythical "good jobs."  

What exactly is a "good job" anyway?  He doesn't know.

How will he create these "good jobs".  He doesn't know.

The NDP is promising $15 per day child care.  How exactly?  He doesn't know.

Mulcair touched on funding his day care plan by abolishing the Senate in the last debate:

"I believe sincerely that the only way to deal with the Senate is to get rid of it. One billion dollars has been spent on the Senate... Can you imagine how many child care spaces we could have created with $1 billion, Mr. Wells?"

How will Mulcair abolish the Senate?  He doesn't know!

Does that sound like someone who knows where they will get the money for his day care plan?

Thomas Mulcair doesn't know any of that.  He does know that what we need is "1 million day care spaces."  Why one million?  Where?  He doesn't know.

These day care spaces will likely only be in big cities.  Rural families will be forced to subsidize urban ones.  Ask your NDP candidate how many of the magical million spaces will be in your riding?  They don't know.

How much will these lebensborn government nannies be paid?  How long before that isn't enough? How will you handle government nanny strikes?  What hours of the day will $15 get me?  Would a Syrian refugee take precedence over my child getting a space?  Will you distribute these spaces based on household income?

They don't know.  They don't know.  They don't know.


The media doesn't want to know.  They don't ask.  They don't want us to know.  They just want to see the back of Prime Minister Harper no matter how good he is.  It doesn't matter how good the economy is or how many refugees we take.  They are in the business of interesting times.  The middle east is very interesting.  It dominates the news every day.  The media wants an idiot in the PMO so they can say "oh how did this happen!"

Well I don't care what the media wants.  I want Stephen Harper and so does Canada.  Thomas Mulcair can say "I don't know" to his media all day.   We deserve to make an informed decision on election day.  We deserve to know Thomas Mulcair and the NDP even if they don't know themselves.  I suspect that the NDP is nothing more than a collection of words some people want to hear.

Thomas J. Mulcair tickles the Ivories

What would the NDP of Thomas J. Mulcair sound like?  Listen.

Rumor has it the election will be called very soon.  If so, this is the last chance to donate to the CPC without the Writ.  Pony up!

There. Are. Four. Lights.

"There! Are! Four! Lights!" Captain Picard shouted this at his captors in the episode Chain of Command Part II.  The ubiquitous press about the Jenner and Dolezal transformations has those 4 words ringing in my mind lately.

In that series of STNG Picard was captured and tortured by the Cardasians (no relation) who tried to break his spirit by insisting that there were 5 bright lights pointing at him when there were only 4.  If Picard told the truth he would be tortured.  They relentlessly bully him.  Agree with his tormentors that there are 5 lights and they promised to stop the torture.  The final scene below shows Picard defiantly telling the truth just as he seemed about to break.


That particular episode stayed with me.  Its relevant to our current challenges with the progressive mindset.

It's a mindset that refuses to accept that people don't like their ideas.  Progs believe that words have power over facts.  If they simply just change the words to something pleasant or even untrue they believe they will have achieved consent to their various unpalatable and unworkable plans.  The very name for their movement, Progressive, is an example of this very tactic since Socialist or Liberal are widely understood terms.  Who doesn't like progress right?

I'm not the only one moved by that episode of Star Trek.  Comparisons online have been made to Orwell's 1984 where Big Brother demanded that 2 + 2 = 5.  Orwell explains it beautifully:

“The heresy of heresies was common sense. And what was terrifying was not that they would kill you for thinking otherwise, but that they might be right. For, after all, how do we know that two and two make four? Or that the force of gravity works? Or that the past is unchangeable? If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable-what then?”

What then?  Jenner is a woman.  Dolezal is black.  Harper is a dictator.  Khadr is a hero.
Israelis are Nazis.  Carbon is pollution.  The grass is blue.  The Sky is green.  -and so on and so forth...

There are four lights!

Caitlyn Jenner is a man.  He has a Y chromosome in every cell of his body.  This is an accepted scientific definition of a male.  Jenner competed in the men's Olympics when he had he appearance of a man.  His surgical transformation, which was heralded by the left as bravery,  his choice of clothes, his feelings, his make up and whatever pronouns are used to describe him have no bearing on the fact that his gender is male.

There are multiples of entire academic departments dedicated to insisting, not proving, but insisting that men and women are whatever they think they are.  Science be damned.  Facts are oppression.

There are four lights!

My first encounter with progressives was in first grade.  My teacher was presumably educated in one of these places.  Higher learning they call it.  Mrs. Progressive showed me the true face of social progress early on.  She insisted that Killer Whales were actually Orcas.  Indeed they are, but she also insisted that there was no such thing as a Killer Whale.  I was really into things that kill mind you.  I loved sharks, tigers, fighter jets and Killer Whales of course.  I knew all about them.

So when I presented Mrs. Progressive with a children's book right from the school library with "Killer Whales" printed on the cover and the glorious monster depicted there she simply refused to see it.  The book is wrong she said meaning the entire world was wrong too.  I said that she was wrong and she even smiled at this chance to brainwash another hapless student.  I resist these sort of narrative building lies to this day.

These days the truth is whatever you think it is.  Well at least if it annoys conservatives.  The God delusion isn't tolerated for example unless of course your God is named Allah.

How about race?  Most people are surprised to find there is no such thing as race in science.  We can determine lineages far back into prehistory with genetics but no one can determine the pigmentation of those long lost people.  But race is a social construct say the sociologists.  It exists in the mind and therefore it exists.  That's how we end up with Rachel Dolezal becoming black because that is what she thinks she is.  She went pretty far with it in fact much farther than most real black people. She became a president of an NAACP chapter.  There is no reason a white person can't be.  But she also railed against white actors portraying black people.  Would it be ok if they identified as black?   She might have made that helpful suggestion as she was busy tearing people down.  What if one of these actors actually did identify as black?  Is Dolezal the racist then?  Not if she doesn't' identify as one I guess.

Perhaps criminals can start identifying as innocents as Omar Khadr seems to?  ISIS seems to take in rich kids who identify as Mujaheddin readily enough but Pakistani ISIS recruits complain that all they do is clean latrines.  Obviously they don't identify properly.

I could go on but this post has to end somewhere.  If you've read this far and still don't get it then you should probably go back to your food cubes like a good drone.  Progressive/Liberal/Socialist doublespeak knows no bounds.  The truth is quite a large advantage however.  They will not break us.

There are four lights!

Edit: I clarified with a few changed words here and there.  Internet custom is to declare edits.

Unite The Alberta Right: What that should actually look like

The final chapter of the Progressive downfall in Alberta was precipitated by this very idea of uniting the right.  Prentice, Smith and Preston Manning himself helped engineer the scheme to destroy the opposition Wildrose Party so that responsible voters had no where else to turn.

They even appeared to have succeeded at one point.  I myself had left Wildrose for dead, at least mentally for a month or so.  I never took Prentice up on his limited time free membership for Wildrose members.  

But then Progressives were progressive, raising taxes and lording their perceived invulnerability over us.  I couldn't stand it.  I tried the Progressive brand on for size and it sucked.  There was no way I'd vote for taxes.  Strategic vote splitting and all that be damned.  I will never make that mistake again.

So here we are and Ken Boessenkool is trying to unit the right again.  I agree that vote splitting is a real challenge.  And while Progressives were keen to underhandedly wipe out the Wildrose outright for the purpose of unity, I don't see why they won't accept the same logic now and retire the PC franchise.

I don't mean a merger with the Wildrose.  I mean pack it in.  Close it down.  Spare us the needless years of NDP "darkness" that we saw when Reform and PC fought federally.  Are the Ken Boessenkools of the world willing to accept that?  Surrender or nothing.  Those are the terms.

If nothing else the last 6 months have proved that is Wildrose is incredibly resilient.  If losing the party leader and 8 more MLA's, then facing a snap election and increasing their seat count doesn't show fortitude then what will?  I doubt they'll face an existential threat like that again. Wildrose is a hardened player now.

I don't even care about the vote split all that much.  If the NDP lasts for 8 or 12 years, it just means that many more people are going to learn the hard way.  I wonder how many people would have voted for the Progs if they knew what kind of a blowout it would be?  Perhaps they were holding out hope for a coalition?  In fact, there is reason to believe that the Wildrose turnout was suppressed quite a bit with everything that went on in the last year.

Wildrose doesn't need to take the 9 remaining PC's either.  Derek Fildebrant said that the party is open to conservatives but not opportunists.  PC cronies, elected or otherwise need not apply.

Bitterness and resentment however don't belong in a good party.  I would recommend accepting refugee MLAs with some tight conditions.  They must publicly denounce the PC Party for starters.  They should sit as an independent MLA for a year perhaps.  And finally their recognition and acceptance into Wildrose be approved by a vote at the AGM.  They would not technically be "floor crossing" in this scenario.

In any case it's looking like it's going to be war.

Implications of the Alberta Election on Federal Politics

I've read most of the pundits opining on the Alberta election and the NDP.  Many of them are spot on. More than a few of them are the sort of fantasy wish that projects phoney conclusions onto real events.  They get away with it because nobody can test their opinions before the Federal Election and after the election it will all be forgotten.

It's disappointing however that none of the professional talkers and opinion makers actually considered the real implications federally.  Conservatives were not punished Tuesday night.  They, the Wildrose, were rewarded.  Progressives took a thrashing for their progressive governing.

The first myth is that the election has no implication on the federal scene.  This is a bipartisan belief but stems from different viewpoints.

On the left they don't want to get their hopes up at least not too high.  Many on the left are already emotionally invested in Trudeau and the idea that "Angry Tom" could beat their Dartanion is anathema because Harper is also a big meanie in their sad little heads.  The script is set.  It will be personality and charisma vs experience and success.  They may not put it that way but that's what it will be.  Mulcair being experienced and lacking charm interferes with this scheme.  Mulcair's place is to lose badly and pave the way for boy Trudeau.

On the right the fears aren't so nuanced.  They fear an orange wave exactly like the one in Alberta.  Nothing is impossible.  There are scenarios where this could happen but they belong in the realm of Black Swan events.  Everyone recognizes this and immediately dismisses any relevance of the Alberta election to Federal politics.

They are both wrong though.  This does have implications for Federal Politics.

The Federal NDP have been written off almost from the moment Jack Layton departed.  Everyone saw the last Federal Election where NDP surged in Quebec.  It was both a rejection of the Bloc and a sympathetic gesture to smiling Jack Layton.  Mulcair has none of that going for him.  All things equal the Orange Wave of 2011 should experience a neep tide.  Those seats would presumably going to the Liberals in 2016.

But hang on.  Is that really going to happen?  The biggest single factor will be the NDP themselves.  Alberta's NDP win was a needed shot in the arm.  A confidence boost that will propel them to at least try to keep all those seats.  I'm sure a few more votes will flow their way as a result of this weeks events.  As long as they are kept from Justin Trudeau it's a very good thing.  We have the makings of an excellent brawl on the left.  All the NDP has to do is show up.

Now look at Alberta next October.  Don't discount the confusion between the federal Conservative Party and the defunct Alberta Progressive Conservative Party.  Its a confusion enemy pundits are all too willing to exploit especially while Prentice was around.  It's "Tory" this and "Tory" that and the sad retort "they aren't Tory's" is all but vanished now.  It's a shame.

I have an uncle in Ontario who has a nice TTC pension now.  You can imagine the debates we have.  He would bring up all kinds of nasty things Mulroney and the rest did and I could join in with him and say "this is a totally different Conservative Party, we turfed all those assholes and good riddance."  Wildrose gets to do that now.  Everyone should trash Progs at every level whenever possible.

I still meet people who drift from federal to provincial politics in the same conversation without quite grasping the real separation.  Progressives have been giving Conservatives a bad name for far too long.  It's nice to have another fragment of the old PC franchise out of the picture.

Notley's honeymoon should be over by summer.  I predict that nothing will be fixed.  Special interests are publicly lining up for their due already.  The Government will grow larger at an even faster rate while taxes and economic uncertainty will take their toll.  The palpable anxiety of the producer class can only grow in this environment.  How will those voters perceive the liability of a Trudeau or Mulcair government?  I think you know the answer, but note how many of these wise pundits are willing to lead you to it.

This should coincide nicely with Ontario's Liberal fatigue.  If Conservatives are still worried then that is good too.  It's great in fact.  My observation of the CPC is that it seems to perform better when the Party is scared.    Confidence and forthrightness should not be allowed to drift into deadly arrogance.  Honesty and humility as well should be the watchwords of every minister.  Nobody thinks you are perfect, so don't pretend.  Don't try to pull a fast one on voters.  Conservative voters are the savviest out there and they see and understand everything.   Next fall its going to be: here's our record; here's our plan; here's an axe and here's our necks; is there anything else we can do for you Sir/Madam?

Prentice: Gone. Wildrose: Ascendant. NDP Stomps Alberta PCs paralleling Mulroney's '93 Blowout!

Wildrose is looking up today.  The dark cloud left by Prentice and Smith has been cast away.  Neither of them will henceforth sit in Legislature.  The original 17 Wildrosers elected in 2012 was superseded yesterday by 20 happy scrappy MLAs.

Brian Jean, a humble seeming fellow of decent character, had the appearance of a "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington," about him.  You wouldn't know from his speeches that he spent several years in politics.  Go figure.  He's had a fine career.   There's a slight hesitance in his speaking that, while endearing, could seem like a lack of confidence.  With a month on the job and an outstanding campaign nobody can blame him but I must still recommend improvement in giving speeches.  As leader of The Opposition there will be plenty of ice time to work on it.

There are other problems too.  Wildrose was shut out of cities.  Voters went elsewhere in almost all notable cities in Alberta less Fort McMurray.    That has got to change.  Except for Edmonton, where the orange wave crested highest, vote splitting on the right allowed the NDP to exploit that fact to their advantage.

This leads to the other problem for Wildrose, the scattered remnants of the Progressive Party.  The NDP positively curb stomped the long ruling PC Party. None will mistake the fact that only the PCs stand in the way of a Wildrose majority government.  A slow and kindly adoption of PC MLAs by Wildrose would be best for everyone.  One can barely recognize a few of the PCs elected and that's good, because the ones that are recognized have still the taint of Redford on them.

It's amazing that Prentice quit his job immediately after the voters kept him.  Losing the Premiership and resigning from PC leader is one thing.  Quitting your seat on election night is a slap in the face to each PC voter in his former riding.

Get back here you!  At least Ignatieff was kicked out.

Sure it was embarrassing to lose so badly but if he can't just be an MLA he wasn't meant for the top job either.  Prentice left a very good job to be Premier and he'd probably like to go back to a good job now.  "Just visiting" as they say.  Not many people can put 'Premier of Alberta' on their CV.  He'll be alright.  Let's hope he takes the notes back to Joe Clark and Preston Manning.

It marks 22 years ago now that Preston Manning himself trounced the Mulroney PCs (yep, Kim Cambell, but not really).  And it was the same Joe Clark that blocked Conservative unity and allowed the Liberals to dominate as the NDP have done yesterday.  Will those characters work to block Wildrose now?  Pity Alberta if they do.

We've seen this scenario before.  Progressives fumbled badly in 1993 and now in 2015.  Will this be a "Decade of Darkness" for Alberta?  It doesn't have to be.  Wildrose has proven that it has what it takes to last.  It has defied crippling defections and a snap election to came out stronger than before.  Even your author gave up hope, but in end chose Wildrose.

As for Racheal Notley I must pay my respect for a well run campaign and a good performance at the debate.  Experience shows that left leaning politicians govern from the left and issue left wing policies.  We can hope that Alberta NDP are different than the rest of them but that hasn't been the reality in most places.  Whatever compensation the NDP grants to placate nervous conservatives be assured that it is only an attempt to ease them into more socialism later.  Cynical? Yes, it's what happens when ideals hit reality.  It would be nice to be wrong about the NDP but that reality is a pest.  You heard the boos for Harper at Notley's acceptance speech?  They will not make a good government, try as they might.

Raise your heads high Wildrose.  The worst is behind you but there is a lot more ahead.  Keep that plucky and happy attitude you all had through the campaign.  The NDP now heads the bloated and entitled public service the PCs built and they believe they have a mandate too.  Show them we won't tolerate the same government largess the last bunch was thrown out for.

Prentice is too clever to trust

We all appreciate smart people.

Jim Prentice is one of those people, but it doesn't mean you should vote for him.

The reasons are pretty straight forward.  Prentice raised taxes.  It's a Boolean decision.  Forget electronic voting.  If I could rig a machine to vote for me it would need one single line of code.  If government raises taxes for any reason, vote for another party.  Done.  My robotic voter would pick Wildrose.

Prentice is sure smart though.  That coup he pulled against the Wildrose will go down in history.  It's like something out of House of Cards.  Nine MLAs including the Leader of the Opposition taken down with smiles and empty promises.  Many of them aren't even running this time.  We all know the story but it bears retelling as brilliant maneuvers deserve.

The trouble is that Prentice is also a progressive.  One can be both smart and progressive.  This is in contrast to smart and Liberal which are attributes seldom found in one mind.   Progressives tend to see themselves as above the herd.  They are the wise shepherds who's job is to lead the flock.  Keeping with the analogy they also see it appropriate to harvest and consume the flock at will.

This is exactly what has happened.  The PC Budget takes more money directly out of our pockets to pay for their mistakes.  Their mistakes are my penalty.  Progressives, being the adults, understand why they made all those mistakes.  They fully understand why they had to lie to us about past budgets.  It had to be done in their view.  Else the sheep would ignorantly pick new shepherds and that cannot be allowed.

Redford's budget lies show that the party will go along with anything no matter how unscrupulous.
Prentice can't take the blame for the Redford years but he has to take the responsibility.  He wanted the job.  The government, the party and all of its baggage are now his.  That's fair.  If I'm the one paying the freight for it so I think its fair.

Knowing Prentice's craftiness and the unethical party he leads, what can be said about this surprise election?  We know the PC's seem destined to rule for 1000 years or more.  Alberta is broke and unsustainable (hence the taxes) so obviously we need to blow millions to immediately decide a sure thing.  The government could have just waited for 2016.

The "House of Cards" reason for the election is to kick the opposition while they are down.  Wildrose is still hurting from "the Betrayal" as Wildrosers are calling it.  Call an election and exploit the damage Prentice himself inflicted.  Ruthless political mastery of Machiavellian inspiration.    

There seems to be something else going on here.  Prentice's tax hikes were absolutely necessary because of the oil price (or PC mismanagement).  This is basically the line you've heard.  So why didn't they reveal any cuts?  Things are so dire that taxes need raising, but every part of this bloated government is essential?  Not True.

Prentice is playing House of Cards again.  There will be cuts but only after the election.  Prentice and his fat juicy government needs the votes of all those government employees.  Once Prentice gets his "Mandate" he will give a speech something like this:

"While I thank Alberta voters for the confidence in the direction of this government we have heard message from so many who voted for the Wildrose opposition.  We have heard the message that Albertans want a government that spends within its means and that is why we will look for savings for the taxpayer"

And with that Prentice will begin government cutbacks after the election.  He will betray the people who want a fat government by cutting those same people loose and then credit the cuts to the demands of Wildrose.

Astoundingly brilliant again.

Do you doubt this is the plan?  Its so obvious its almost the path of least resistance for the PCs.  It's completely in character and matches their style exactly.

We all appreciate smart people.  Smart people should be our friends.  Smart adversaries not so much.  Smart ranchers not at all if you are the cow.

We can marvel at the guile shown by the PCs and their ancient hold on power but we are subject to the rule of those same people.  This is not a TV show.  I pity Alberta.  I pity the government workers blowing kisses to PCs all while they silently sharpen their blades and set the table.

I've made up my mind.  If you are still deciding think twice about the sharks in the PC party.  They can take care of themselves.  I don't trust them to take care of anyone else.  They will cash you in like a two dollar coupon if it suits them.