Miracles From The One

"The president went to the state of Illinois to brag about the economy. Illinois has 300,000 fewer jobs than it had in 2008. For the last four years in the state of Illinois, the number of new food stamp recipients has increased twice as fast as the number of new job recipients. He was speaking in Illinois on a college campus. He did not mention that 40 percent of recent college graduates are either unemployed or underemployed -- that is, in jobs that don't require college degrees -- and one in three recent college graduates is living at home with their parents.

Now, the president, we just heard, disparage trickle-down economics while bragging about doubling the stock market value. He is practicing trickle-down economics by doubling the stock market. He, and, for six years now, and most recently under his choice to be head of the Fed, Janet Yellen, have had zero interest rates, the intended effect of which is to drive people out of bonds and into assets like farm land, but particularly into stocks. That is why this has been a boon to the 10 percent of Americans who own 80 percent of all the directly owned stocks. And this is why 95 percent of the wealth created in the last six years have gone to the dreaded top one percent."

My Sentiments, Exactly

Inneresting...

...The G8 Summit came and went and I didn't hear a thing about protestors. Maybe that's 'cause I don't have TV any more. Since the journalists are, for the most part, locked out of the summit during regular sessions, all they can do is provide free advertizing for the rabble that collects outside. I'm far more interested in what's happening in the inner sanctum and the rabble can just go get a life, as far as I'm concerned. Or maybe they have. Or, maybe it's because we had real things to be worried about.

I Suppose I Should Weigh In

This is an important thing for Roman Catholics, I suppose. As for me? Meh!

I'm Okay With This...

What Shawn Atleo wants from Stephen Harper: real change, real commitment

...as long as the results are put to a vote in a national referendum. And where else but Canada would this happen? You have to wonder whether Atleo's tough talk is aimed at the prairie chiefs as much as at Harper and Canadians in general.

I can't imagine the FSIN or the AMC agreeing with a BC chief on anything, and to get them all together around a table to negotiate a new vision --- Hah!! Snowball - Hell and all that.

And this:

"When I look in the eyes of the kids in the villages, I want them to be able to take a decision [to do whatever job calls to them] and know that they don’t need to feel compelled to enter politics because of deep injustices and the inability to have the freedom to say, “I want to be a chef and go to school and open a restaurant and be an entrepreneur because that’s what I really want to do.”"

...is ridiculous.  There's nothing stopping "the kids in the villages' from doing that right now.  I my lifetime I've eaten in many restaurants owned and operated by First Nations people. Me thinks this forked-tongue speak has to stop - NOW.

Looking Considerably Refreshed...

...Shawn Atleo returns to the table. I wouldn't want to be him right now. He may have to preside over the dismantling of the AFN, if the Prairie Goons have anything to do with it. The Prairie Goons are too stupid to realize they will be handing the Feds a big prize if they willfully assist in the demise of the AFN.   B R I N G   I T   O N,  I  S A Y ! !

And this is sweet, isn't it:

"Although Mr. Nepinak said Manitoba chiefs “take exception” with being characterized as a “dissident group of chiefs,” several Manitoba leaders raised the spectre of ousting Mr. Atleo when they caucused at the First Nations meeting in Ottawa this month, Grand Chief Harper said.

Specifically, he said Grand Chief Murray Clearsky, who speaks for the province’s southern chiefs, said there should be a non-confidence vote. Mr. Clearsky did not personally respond to several requests for comment, but his political assistant, Gerald McIvor, said “all conversations between the Grand Chief and any southern chiefs are confidential and are kept privileged.”"

That sound you hear is the toilet flushing. At least they're not so stupid that they don't recognize they've painted themselves into a corner and there has been, pardon the pun, a circling of the wagons.

What Did I Tell Ya?

Okay. I've been ignoring my blog again. That's because I've been following this whole Idle No More/Attawapiskat nonsense over at Sun News Network. In fact, that may be where I told ya this before, but when news that Shawn Atleo had booked some time off, on doctor's orders, my first reaction was that the Prairie Chiefs (the FSIN, especially) had got to him and we may see the end of the Assembly of First Nations. This article seems to confirm my hunches:

Norovirus, exhaustion leave Atleo sidelined as schisms deepen within AFN

The prairie chiefs, especially Saskatchewan's FSIN, have been a$$holes for decades now. The FSIN is corrupt and filled with thugs.

Yup...

...Just your garden variety Indian Industry hotheads.

I gather they don't like the choice of Shawn Alteo as chief of the AFN, most likely because he has chosen a path of cooperation and conciliation. That'll never do.

"But now it appears the rapidly growing Idle No More movement is experiencing its first real growing pains. On Monday, the founders of Idle No More issued a statement distancing themselves from native chiefs who claim to be acting on behalf of the campaign.

“The Chiefs have called for action and anyone who chooses can join with them, however this is not part of the Idle No More movement as the vision of this grassroots movement does not coincide with the visions of the Leadership,” said the statement, released on Idle No More’s official website."

[---]

"The statement also says the Idle No More founders received word that aboriginal “leadership” had been “calling for action” in the name of the campaign, and that they claimed to have met with the representatives of the group who support this call. “We would like to state that this is FALSE,” the statement reads."

[---]

"But the founders of Idle No More made it clear that while they recognize Spence’s support and sacrifice, the movement is about all of Canada’s aboriginal people, not just its chiefs. Spence’s hunger strike began after rallies, teach-ins and a national day of action organized on Dec. 10."

[---]

"Melissa Mollen Dupuis, who co-founded Idle No More’s Quebec branch, said she has seen aboriginal leaders try to co-opt the movement because of its growing popularity within First Nations communities.

[---]

"Mollen Dupuis said the debate over co-opting is a natural part of the movement’s evolution. But some say it’s a problem that stems from deeply rooted frustrations within the aboriginal community.

“(Idle No More) seems to be a rejection of aboriginal leadership, a rejection of local chiefs and chiefs on the national stage,” said Daniel Salee, a professor at Concordia University’s School of Community and Public Affairs. “People seem to feel as though their leaders aren’t working in their best interest or that they simply aren’t getting the job done."

As if the Idle No More movement will accomplish anything. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Does Anybody Remember...

..the French cult leader who lived in Quebec for a while. The cult became known as Raelism. One very strange dude, that one. His real name was Claude Vorilhon, but he adopted the name Rael and his movement became known as Raelism.

Well, yesterday there was this story on Sun News Network's website:

12 children seized in alleged guru-healer group

Notice the connection to Quebec. The children were all from Quebec.

Rael, the leader of the Quebec cult, was very big on cloning and extraterrestrial travel. The first thing that popped into my head when I looked at the picture on the Sun News Network's story was that that guy, Marcel Pontbriand, sure bears an uncanny resemblance to the cult leader, Rael. I wondered if he was a clone. Perhaps, though, he's a son, created the normal way. If Rael had a son, he would be about that age now.

Take a look at these pictures of Rael and compare them to the one of Marcel Pontbriand, the man at the centre of the guru-leader cult, featured in SNN's story. Does Pontbriand not have an uncanny resemblance to Rael?

Vorilhon, or Rael, use to wear a white robe, as did his followers. Apparently, according to this Wikipedia entry, Pauline Marois met him once, back in the days when she was a mere member of the Quebec National Assembly. She thought he was nuts. That's about the only thing she and I will likely ever agree on.

Drowning In ...

...booze?

22 rescued unharmed as wine tasting boat starts sinking during cruise of San Francisco Bay

San Francisco Bay? Are you sure it wasn't drugs?

Har. Har. I'm so funny. /sarc

Dear Lamestream Media...

....I don't care if Justin Bieber puked while on stage.  I'm not interested in baby starlets, or for that matter, even adult starlets. But Bieber is a human being, and as such, I think he deserves some dignity. Give it a rest, will you?

Heavy sigh!

This is one of the main reason I cancelled my cable subscription several years ago and put my TV in storage. I'm certain I will never go back. You seem intent of keeping us uninformed and feeding us syrupy pap. Sorry. Not interested.

These People Couldn't Organize...

...their way out of a wet paper bag:

Anti-Harper rally hits Regina

About 30 people. And it's not even winter!!

Notice how they live in the past (reference to the On-to-Ottawa trek, an event that took place 77 years ago) and they are so courageous that they won't give their last names, only an initial.

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Keep it up, folks. You have every right to make fools of yourselves. We sort of expect it and appreciate the almost daily chuckle it affords.

I See Our Resident...

... ambulance chaser got himself a new gig or two - or three. He's chasing in Alberta and points south.

I Hearby Pronounce...

...environmentalism, in it's current form, to be well and truly dead. Long live sanity!!

Oh well. The environuts got some nice, publicly funded vacations in some warm places, so it isn't a total write-off. But, on to the next bankrupt cause, lefties. I'm all for the entertainment you provide.

Preeeeeecisely...

Preeeeeecisely. Ignoring him and his trial is the best thing we can do:



Another good one, about where he might eventually end up - way outta sight and outta mind:

Politics is Soooo Entertaining

Bill C-38: Voting continues in Parliament's omnibus budget marathon

"Bleary-eyed members of Parliament are continuing their round-the-clock voting on proposed amendments to the government's 425-page sweeping budget bill, and are expected to be stuck in the House of Commons until the wee hours.

As many as 159 consecutive votes — which began Thursday around 1 a.m. and are likely to stretch through to early Friday — are expected on more than 800 proposed opposition amendments to the federal government's Bill C-38.

By 10 a.m. Thursday, MPs had completed about 60 votes on proposed amendments and had nearly 100 more to go.

New Democrat MPs were slowly rising for each and every vote in what appeared to be a deliberate attempt to slow the voting process, while government MPs were being handed 30-minute breaks every four or five hours to grab some breakfast, brush their teeth and prepare for a long day in the House.

Indeed, MPs were stocking up on coffee, dark chocolate and a healthy supply of political outrage as they headed into a potentially 24-hour marathon session of voting on the federal government's budget-implementation bill"

On vote after vote, Conservatives quash C-38 amendments

"Federal MPs came armed with snacks, blankets, even iPads for a marathon voting session on the government's omnibus budget implementation bill, which began at around 1 a.m. ET Thursday morning.

The opposition parties have introduced more than 800 amendments or deletions to Bill C-38, which includes major changes on everything from Employment Insurance to environmental approvals for major projects.

Andrew Scheer, speaker of the House of Commons, grouped some of those amendments together and ruled others out earlier this week. The end result is that as many as 159 votes are being undertaken by MPs -- a process expected to take about 24 hours."

[---]

"...most MPs are organized in shifts to ensure each party has enough members in Commons at any given time during the voting marathon. The Conservatives, for example, have split their MPs into 11 groups, with 10 of the groups required in Commons at all times. As a result, all MPs get a short break at regular intervals to use the bathroom, get a coffee or stretch their legs."

As long as they get potty breaks, we're gonna be alright.

Read the comment from Angus99. Weep, lefties. Weep.

And Speaking of ...

...environuts:


Ecosystems dependent on snow and ice 'most threatened' This will not be welcomed news in all quarters:

"“The vulnerability of cool, wet areas to climate change is striking,” said Julia Jones, a lead author of the study. In semi-arid regions like the southwestern United States, mountain snowpacks are the dominant source of water for human consumption and irrigation. Research by Jones and her colleagues showed that as average temperatures increase in these snowy ecosystems, a significant amount of stream water is lost to the atmosphere. The study involves more than thirty years of data from 19 forested watersheds across the country. All of the study sites provide water to major agricultural areas and to medium and large cities. But, like many long-term studies, this one revealed a surprise. Water flow only decreased in the research sites with winter snow and ice. “Streams in dry forested ecosystems seem more resilient to warming. These ecosystems conserve more water as the climate warms, keeping streamflow within expected bounds,” Jones explained. "

[---]

"According to Andrew Fountain, lead author of another LTER study, “The cryosphere, or the part of the earth affected by snow and ice, has been shrinking. The populations of microbes, plants, and animals that depend on the snow and ice will decrease if they are unable to migrate to new areas with ice. But life that previously found the cryosphere too hostile should expand.” In shallower snow, he explained, animals such as white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and caribou expend less energy and can more easily escape predators. “One species’ loss can be another species’ gain,” said Fountain."

However, over at CBC, they are gloating uncontrollably, even if some of the commenters are poking fun. And at the Financial Post (ooooh, big oil, etc., etc., etc.) we are being told that knowledgeable conservatives no longer have much respect for scientists:

"Gauchat in his study strives mightily to disentangle his subsets of data and explain the mysteries of conservative thinking. Yet had he not been obsessively preoccupied with conservatives in what advertises itself as a study of the broad public’s trust in science, he could have stepped back from his data and seen it for what it actually shows. The conservatives aren’t the oddity; the true-believing liberals are."

PS: Gotta love the sole comment at the bottom of this scaremongery. Good to see somebody out there still understands basic science.

Wanna Good Laugh?

Read Ann's comment.

That's it. The Energizer Bunny. I think one should be released at each polling station next time there's a general election. The Bunny could lead those who are too stupid to vote away from the polls. They'd be totally enthralled by this little robotic animal:

.

The Oscars? Meh.

I normally don't give a shit about the Oscars. It's normally nothing more but an opportunity for the glitterati to pat themselves on the back and prove their worth by working some left-wing slur into their speeches. But this is nice. Christopher Plummer is a fine actor.