Id like to share with you a rant: The View From Here -Jack MacAndrew Beware the Ides of March......Soothsayer to Julius Caesar Apparently they are short a soothsayer or two in the Prime Ministers Office , for nobody seems to have warned Emperor Stevius Harperus about the week he was about to endure. As things turned out , it was one of those weeks that the man who would be the unfettered Emperor of us all , would just as soon forget , with one political disaster after another piling up , one upon the other. It began with the sudden and unexpected resignation of Finance Minister James Flaherty , and the interpretation of some pundits that this political rodent was deserting the good Conservative ship because he was tired of arguing with the Bossman. Others said Mr. Flaherty was just plain tired , and not in good health to boot. In any case , the best the Boss could come up with as a replacement was a guy named Joe , who had distinguished himself in his current folio by becoming an international embarassment with inane comments about global warming; and alienated every First Nation in Canada with his obtuse stubborness to fully recognize land claims in the governments hell-bent race to exploit our irreplaceable natural resources. Who knows what delicious fiscal absurdities await us during the run-up to the next federal election. Some observed that the sight of the newly minted Minister of the Crown and the Emperor himself in full flight from the slavering jaws of the Ottawa Press Gallery following the swearing-in ceremony , did somewhat take the edge off the dignity and importance of the celebration. The television cameras caught this rare moment in the political history of Canada in full frame , bespeaking as it does of a certain cowardice , if not extreme avoidance of the responsibility of rulers in a democratic state towards them what pays the bills. It was almost as though said rulers were ashamed of themselves - and they should be. Then again , that negative perception on the part of the electorate might be judged preferable to the inanity of whater Joe Oliver might say to mark the occasion of his elevation to what is arguably the most important cabinet post in government. In any case , Emperor Stevius had other engagements to attend , especially the welcoming home of the last of the Canadian Forces personnel to exit Afghanistan after 12 years. Now , theres a photo op that couldnt possibly go awry - shaking those hands and muttering a few words about a nations gratitude for the service of these men and women. Too bad any semblance of sincerity was demolished by a co-incident event - the release of legal briefs prepared for the governments defence against six veterans of the Afghanistan Campaign out in British Columbia. While shaking a veterans hand with one of his own , the same Emperor Stevius was using the other hand to sink a knife in the backs of all veterans. The law suit in question involves what amounts to a class action suit by veterans seeking changes to something called The Veterans Charter , foisted on them by Emperor Stevius to drastically reduce benefits paid to veterans should they become disabled while in service to their country. The lawsuit seeks compensation that is at least comparable to that paid by Workmens Compensation to a carpenter who falls off a scaffolding. The defence filed by lawyers hired by the government headed by Stevius Harperus says this : The defendant pleads that there is no written,defined, or articulated social covenant or social contract between members of the CAF ( Canadian Armed Forces ) and the government of Canada... The defence brief further states : Defendant pleads that at no time in Canadas history has any alleged social contractor social covenanthaving the attibutes pleaded by the plaintiff been given effect in any statute , regulation or as a constitutional principle written or unwritten. In other words, for veterans past , current and future - tough noogies,if you are unfortunate or unlucky enough to have an arm or a leg blown off by an sxplosive device ,or suffer permanent brain damage because you have agreed to allow your government to place you in harms way . You are on your own. Your government maintains and will attempt to prove in court, that it has no legal or constitutional responsibility to look after you , and can treat you in any manner or to any extent it wishes - or not at all. But welcome home , anyway, and thanks a bunch for the memories. As an example of ultimate political hypocrisy , this one will stand forever. But theres more. On Friday last , Minister of Veterans Affairs Julian Fantino released a statement. It reads , in part : Some have called the work done by Veterans Affairs to be a duty,a responsibility, a social contract or a sacred obligation. I believe in all those things. Which would seem to contradict the stand taken by the Boss. However , it seems Minister Fantino is unsure of what those words actually mean Just for the record , a covenant is defined as a binding agreement...a formal agreement of legal validity . A social contract is defined as...an agreement for mutual benefit between an individual or group and the government or community as a whole . Which means , in practice , that a member of the Canadian Armed Forces allows the Government of Canada to place him or herself in harms way with the implicit undertaking that the governent will look after any disability or death arising from that circumstance. Thats the contract. It is precisely this responsibility , that Emperor Stevius Harperus is attempting to avoid. By Friday , the Emperor , wearing an old suit of clothes and and intending a bit of grandsatnding on the international stage,was off to another photo op ( Emperor Stevius just loves photo ops ), this time in Ukraine , intent on being perceived as a symbol of opposition to Mr. Putin , whose tactics and contempt for democracy he shares. He flew away as a letter of condemnation signed by 19 internationally based academics circulated amongst the international press. The letter accuses Emperor Stevius (Un)Fair Elections Act of threatening ...Canadas global reputation as a guardian of democracy and human rights. We believe that this Act would prove deeply damaging for electoral integrity within Canada, as well as providing an example of which , if emulated elsewhere, may potentially harm international standards of human rights, wrote the scholars. They apparently do not understand that is exactly what is intended with this piece of legislation. As if to emphasize the point ,himself departed Canada with a hard kick in the slats delivered by the Supreme Court over his double violation of the Canadian Constitution in his personal appointment of Justice Marc Nadon to the Supreme Court . One of the first moves by any wannabe tinpot dictator is to take over the courts to bring them in line with the ideological bent of the dictator. Justice Nadon is an ideologically correct small c conservative eminently unqualified for the role of Supreme Court Justice, clearly selected by Emperor Stevius over a passel of qualified candidates because of his ideological affinity , rather than judicial experience or demonstrated wisdom in decisions handed down by him as a Justice of the Federal Court of Appeal. So what does it say when the highest court in the land determines that the incumbent of the highest political office of the country has willfully violated the constitutional code of the land ; and as well has been caught at a second attempt to evade those same proscriptions should the first try be unsuccessful. It says that the court , including several members personally appointed by Emperor Stevie , has re-affirmed reason rather than ideology as the basis of law and of governance in Canada ; and for that determination we can be eternally grateful. It also says that the current Prime Minister of Canada is esseentially unfit for office , because he cannot differentiate between the two. Yes...ts been Hell Week for our ideologically driven Prime Minister. His next appointment should be for a new soothsayer in the Prime Ministers Office. Good luck with that , Emperor Stevie. Oh , and by the way , another judge in British Columbia has declared you pot policy to be unconstitutional. Thats the View From Here.....
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 22:51:54 +0000