Liberal Senator to Iggy: "Go fly an F-35"

Liberal Senator Colin Kenny says that the Harper Government is making the correct decision regarding the procurement methods for the F-35... and that Iffy's position on trying to secure a lower price by opening up the bid to competition "doesn’t make sense". (and that's a DIRECT quote, for my Liberal readers)

And just in case anyone's wondering about his credentials, he's the former chair of the Senate’s National Security and Defence Committee... for eight years.

Ind. Senator Pitfield resigns TONIGHT

Another Ontario seat will be open for Mr. Harper to fill as of midnight TONIGHT, as Independent (though appointed by Trudeau) Senator Michael Pitfield has announced his immediate retirement, though his term was not up for another two years.

He has cited declining health as the reason for his sudden departure. I certainly wish him a speedy recovery, as I would not wish ill towards anyone, regardless of their political stripe.

His retirement will now put us at 52, but giving us 51 votes as the Speaker does not vote. With one of the 49 Liberals in near permanent exile, the magic number for control comes down to 52... which means if ALL the other Senators vote against us, we're only down by TWO VOTES.

But it also means that come November 29 (Happy B-Day sis!), we'll be tied at 52 vs. 52. BUT, then just a week later on December 6, it swings to 53 vs. 51... SENATE MAJORITY.

So, who's it going to be folks? Any names come to mind?

Pulling the rug out from under the Liberals

So much for the Liberals getting the Monday morning news cycle out of their conference this weekend... the Tories are about to reintroduce their Senate reform bill in the Senate tomorrow.

Conservatives poised to reintroduce Senate reform
By Tobi Cohen, Canwest News Service
March 28, 2010 6:00 PM

OTTAWA — The Conservatives are set to reintroduce a Senate-reform bill Monday that would limit the number of years a Senator can serve in the upper chamber.

A senior government official confirmed the plan Sunday but wouldn’t say whether the single eight-year term proposed last May — the last time the bill was tabled in the Senate — remains the magic number.

“As you know, Canadians have consistently and overwhelmingly stated they want Senate reform,” the source said.

“We will be introducing legislation to modernize the Senate by limiting the terms of Senators.”

What does one do after helping to bankrupt a radio station?

Why not help to bankrupt an entire nation? Air America, the radio station that now US Senator Al Franken helped to found, has filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy... which means immediate liquidation of all assets.

Rumour is that he's taken the lessons learned from his stint there to the US Senate, seeking to apply them to Obama's Healthcare reform package...

Liberal Senators AGAIN protect drug producers

What is with these guys? Every time we manage to get tougher punishments for criminals through the House of Commons, the Liberals in the Senate defy the will of the people an water them down.

This time, Liberal Senators have watered down the provisions of Bill C-15 which would introduce mandatory minimum sentences for criminals growing fewer than 200 marijuana plants.

H-E-L-L-O?!?! Okay, I could see them wanting reduced sentences for MAYBE up to five or ten plants... that could be argued as being for "personal use". BUT 199?!?!? Pardon the expression, but just what are these guys smoking?

Canadians have been saying loud and clear for some time now that they want action taken on crime. Drugs in our neighbourhoods, in schools, enough it enough! When will the Liberal Senators get the message and stop softening the landing for criminals convicted of these crimes?

Liberal Senator retires early, 2 seats now open

Not something you see everyday... a Liberal Senator John Bryden has decided to retire almost three years before the mandatory retirement age of 75 in order to spend more time with his family.

There are currently two Atlantic Canada Senate seats to be filled.

We'll all be able to say "Happy New Year" with a little more gusto this year... as of January 2, 2010, we'll officially be up on the Liberals, at 51 vs 50 in the Senate. (of course, we can still be outgunned if the two remaining PC's vote with the Liberals... we won't have an absolute majority until late 2010)

Liberal Senator lies in her complaints about CTV

When you're an "Honourable Senator" who's accusing CTV reporter Robert Fife of getting his facts wrong and showing bias, you'd think it would be important not to lie.

Apparently, Liberal Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette disagrees... because she's repeated several bold faced lies on her blog regarding her complaint to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters and the Radio Television News Directors Association of Canada.

Read her own words from her blog for yourself...

"We are dealing with a Conservative government that manipulates the Canadian public by putting its party's logo on government cheques, models the symbols used by our Olympic athletes on its own logo, sweeps reports on torture in Afghanistan under the carpet and conducts misleading advertising campaigns... and CTV is paid to broadcast these schemes"

Really, Senator Hervieux-Payette? Let's go over the facts...

Blatant Lie #1 - Ms. Hervieux-Payette should know full well that it was TWO CPC MP's who put Party logos on "government cheques", not the Conservative government.

Blatant Lie #2 - The Hon. Senator should know full well that the Conservative government had nothing to do with the Olympic logo. From the Ottawa Citizen: Canadian Olympic Committee spokeswoman Isabelle Hodge said no government officials were involved with the logo's design. "None whatsoever," she said. "There's absolutely no connection whatsoever, with the logo we unveiled and any political logo." Unless, of course, the Hon. Senator is calling the members of the Canadian Olympic Committee liars.

Blatant Lie #3 - That the government has "swept" anything under the rug on the Afghan file. The issues were dealt with when they came to light... full stop. The Senator should talk to General Rick Hillier on this one. (and don't bother with the talking points on this one Liberals... I won't post comments on this non-issue. That being said, legit and substantive contributions on this issue will be considered for posting)

Blatant Lie #4 - That the government is conducting a "misleading advertising campaign". It's the government's JOB to make sure Canadians are informed about government programs... I seem to recall various Liberal launched ads about various programs during their tenure at the helm, ads which grated on me because they were directly linked to clearly partisan "programs". Besides... when Liberal MP's aren't doing their jobs, deliberately not telling their constituents about various government programs, the government has to find a way to make up the slack. (oh yes, Liberal MP's, we noticed this one... and yes, it WILL come back to haunt you)

Based on the blatantly partisan contents of her own letter, her complaint should be thrown right out the window. I guess it shows how desperate the Liberals are... they're having to make it up as they go along.

Here's the question though... did she write her complaint on the taxpayer's dime? Considering the fact that it's on her official Senatorial letterhead, I'd say that's a yes.

Anyone remember what happens tomorrow?

Another seat in the Senate becomes vacant, which will bring the standings to 47 vs. 52.

Any suggestions on names of who the next Senator from Newfoundland and Labrador will be?

Senate Reform continues, despite Liberals attempts to thwart democracy

The man who hears everything, Stephen Taylor, is reporting rumours of Senate appointments to occur tomorrow, Thursday August 27th. Checked the Senate website, and there are presently NINE vacant seats.

So, despite all the Liberals attempt to thwart Senate reform, progress is being made. Here's hoping that balance can soon be achieved, and that we'll actually be able to discuss reforming the "Red Chamber", changing it from a retirement home for the Liberal elite, and make it more balanced and relevant to average Canadians.

Liberal Senate spending scandal?

Oops... I guess the Liberal Party forgot to tell their Senators that they're not allowed to use their taxpayer funded Senate Budgets to pay for partisan software.

It turns out that Liberal Senate Caucus has been consipring to buy some American political software, software which is designed strictly for partisan purposes, with funds allocated to them from the Canadian taxpayer... with our money. From what I understand this software package is basicly the "Obama Suite" they used during last years election down in the States.

Of course, it's also one of those hypocrisy things... when we consult with American political types, they accuse us of treason. When they do it, it's all peachy-keen.

h/t to Fildebrant.ca

Dinner with Senator Mike Duffy in Cambridge!

Talk about ironic timing... no sooner do I rip some "liberal" from London for his "disgusting" personal attack on Senator Mike Duffy, what arrives in my mailbox? An invitation to have dinner with Senator Mike Duffy!

Price is a bit steep for me, but don't forget that you'll get a partial tax receipt for it.

Spread the word!

Garth Turner attacks Senator Mike Duffy

Not so fast there Garthy-boy... he put up a post at this afternoon, entitled "For services rendered", with a pic of newly minted Senator Mike Duffy... just what were you trying to imply there Mr. Turner?

Of course, he's quickly pulled the post down before I could get the screenshot... but I managed to get this screenshot of the header from Liblogs.ca.


UPDATE: I now have the cache... he didn't add any of his own commentary, just reposted one of the news releases about the appointments. Still, the title he chose certainly implies a whole lot.

Senate Reform suddenly back on the agenda

Well, what do you know? Afraid that the Liberals will continue to stack the unelected Senate with their cronies if they manage to wrest power early next year, Prime Minister Harper is looking to try and keep some form of balance in the Senate by appointing up to 18 Conservatives. (the Liberals will retain their majority in the Senate if this occurs, 58 vs. 38, but will prevent them from getting a super majority)

I'm sure some Liberals will be willing to talk about Senate Reform now. It will be interesting to see if they do what I predicted they might do, and have these new Senators resign as new ones are elected.

"Senator Elizabeth May" and Separatist Senators?

I have only one thing to say about that... STACK THE SENATE... STACK IT NOW.

Are we serious about Senate reform? Here's how we make it happen... we stack the Senate with young qualified Conservatives. But before doing so, have each of them sign a legally binding contract stating basically the following:

I, (insert name here), in accepting the call to serve in the Senate of Canada, do hereby agree to resign my seat upon the election of my successor from the Province of (insert Province name here).

I'm thinking 24 newly minted Conservative Senators may spark a desire among some folks to talk about finally reforming the Red Chamber.

UPDATE: The separatists and the Liberals have both denied this as a rumour. I'll admit, I got taken in on it, but I had checked several news sources before I posted it, so I assumed that it might just be legit. I notice, however, the Liberals haven't denied the rumours about May.

Anyway, the original premise of my argument stands... if Dion takes over, the Liberals will fill the Senate with more Liberals. That will put the numbers somewhere around 75+ Liberals vs. 22 Conservatives in the Red Chamber. If Harper stacks it now, it will be more even, around 60ish Liberals vs. 46 Conservatives.

Something tells me...

...that the Chamber of "Sober Second Thought" oughta take some time to give this one yet a further rethink. (a Sober Third Thought, if you will)

h/t to Warren.

Senate Reform comes in small steps

Saskatchewan has just announced that they will be moving to elect their Senators.

They stalled for too long

The Liberals have done everything they could to kill our reforms of the Upper House... and now it's beginning to look like they stalled things once too often, and may have, in their efforts to protect their patronage system, have sealed their own fate.

The Star: "One legislative chamber in Parliament is enough"
CTV: "PM to back NDP call for Senate referendum"
Globe & Mail: "Harper would back referendum on abolishing Senate"

(Ironicly, it's the three more Toronto centric and left leaning news organizations that are leading the charge on this one...)

Second Peek at Speech from the Throne

I'm sure that Senate Reform is going to be mentioned... why else would he ensure that Canada's second elected Senator would be in the Red Chamber to hear the Speech tonight?

PRIME MINISTER HAILS ARRIVAL OF ELECTED SENATOR BERT BROWN AS A VICTORY FOR DEMOCRACY IN THE RED CHAMBER

October 16, 2007
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today congratulated long-time Senate reform advocate Bert Brown after he was sworn in as Canada’s second elected Senator. Senator Brown follows in the steps of the Honourable Stan Waters who was elected by the people of Alberta in 1989, and appointed by the former Conservative government of the Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney.

“Bert has been a passionate advocate for democratization of the Senate for more than 20 years,” Prime Minister Harper said. “I can think of no one more deserving of a seat in our Upper House. As the only sitting Senator endorsed by voters, he will be a powerful voice for reform from the inside.”

Senator Brown, a Calgary zoning and property development consultant, has been waiting for this day for nearly a decade. First elected in Alberta’s Senate Nominee election in 1998, he was re-elected by more than 300,000 voters in the province’s next Senate election of 2004. “By appointing me, Prime Minister Harper has demonstrated his genuine commitment to democratic reform of the Senate,” said Senator Brown.

The Prime Minister noted that two Senate reform bills introduced last session, one to allow Canadians to vote for Senators and another to limit their terms to eight years, were stalled in the House or blocked by the Liberal majority in the Senate. Prime Minister Harper emphasized however, that the Government is committed to Senate reform and will not abandon these important reforms in the upcoming session.

“The mandate to govern, when it is given to you directly by the people, is a great honour and a great responsibility. It’s the very essence of responsible government, and it is the minimum condition of 21st century democracy,” said Prime Minister Harper. “The swearing-in of Senator Brown today reflects our government’s conviction that Canadians must have a direct say in who will represent them in the Red Chamber. If the Liberal majority in the Senate persist in obstructing reform, they will fade ever further into irrelevance and, eventually, oblivion.”

Harper may have a winning policy

Just finished talking to my mother-in-law... a totally committed Green/leftist supporter, who typically hates all things Conservative. I like throwing a barb or two at her from time to time, we always have fun with it.

Anyway, she just shocked the life out of me today. We're talking about the Ontario Election, and MMP, and how she's disappointed with the non-candidate who's running for the Greens in her riding... he hasn't even returned her phone calls. She said she may not even bother voting for anyone this time. (that's shock number one) Then she asks me about MMP, and where I stand on it... she then tells me she's all torn up on the MMP vote, and is presently leaning against it because she doesn't like some of the details on how it will work. (that's shock number two, as I figured she's be all for it) Then, she drops this third bombshell of a shock on me and said something that I NEVER thought I'd hear come out of her mouth...

"You know what we really need for electoral reform in this country? AN ELECTED SENATE."

?!?!?! I think I must of stood there for a second with my mouth open in disbelief. Then I reminded her, "You do know that the only party that supports an elected Senate is Mr. Harper and the Conservatives, right? And that to get an elected Senate, you'd have to vote for them in the next election, right?"

Her reply was a simple nod of the head and an, "Uh huh".

If Mr. Harper can get my totally leftist mother-in-law onside... majority, here we come.

Liberals want Constitutional Crisis

Unelected Liberal Senator George Baker has publicly stated that the Liberals are willing to cause a Constitutional crisis over the Federal Budget.

Tradition mandates that the Senate does not normally oppose a Government's Budget. However, by holding up the duly elected Government's Budget, they are indicating that they have no confidence in the Government... causing a Constitutional crisis that may result in the fall of Parliament, or force the GG to intervene.