Amateur Hour at the White House

Jennifer Rubin reports.

The Government: Wayyyyyyyyyy Out of Control

When you read this story from Montreal, please be aware that it is not satire. Big Brother has arrived and he speaks French. Badly.

Mark Steyn has a few thoughts too.

I hope that this case gets similar media exposure as the Robert Dziekanski one did. Sure, no one died here but it is yet another example of the police (and the State) deeply out of control. If Ms. Kosoian decides to sue then I will support her legal defence fund.

Endless Taxes Facing Canadians

This new article from Lorrie Goldstein is more than a little disturbing. It shows a growing class system evolving in Canada, separating highly protected public sector employees from private sector employees who face a very different reality.

Based on the figures outlined in the article, I've produced two pie-charts illustrating how much tax has to be paid by Canadians:

Different Forms of Government

If you'd like to watch a short but informative video on various forms of government, click on the image below.

An Aussie Saying It As It Is

If you've ever been frustrated by a government agency then you'll appreciate this, which I just received via e-mail (foul language warning) :

This is an actual letter sent to the then DFAT Minister, The Hon. Alexander Downer and the then Immigration Minister, The Hon Minister Amanda Vanstone. The Government tried in desperation to censure the author, but got nowhere because every legal person who read it nearly wet themselves laughing!

Please excuse the language contained within, but I suspect the author was somewhat upset? Yet another "happy" customer of a bureaucratic, inefficient, and ineffectual Federal Government. A fabulous characteristic of Australians is that they are far more direct and outspoken than others when dealing with the sort of elected wanker who wouldn't otherwise get the full drift of what they were trying to communicate.


Dear Mr. Minister,

I'm in the process of renewing my passport, and still cannot believe this.

How is it that K-Mart has my address and telephone number and knows that I bought a Television Set and Golf Clubs from them back in 1997, and yet, the Federal Government is still asking me where I was born and on what date???

For Christ sakes, do you guys do this by hand?

My birth date you have in my Medicare information, and it is on all the income tax forms I've filed for the past 40 years. It is on my driver's license, on the last eight passports I've ever had, on all those stupid customs declaration forms I've had to fill out before being allowed
off the planes over the last 30 years, and all those insufferable census forms that I've filled out every 5 years since 1966.

Also, would somebody please take note, once and for all, that my mother's name is Audrey, my Father's name is Jack, and I'd be absolutely fucking astounded if that ever changed between now and when I drop dead!!!...

SHIT!

I apologize, Mr. Minister. But I'm really pissed off this morning. Between you and me, I've had enough of all this bullshit! You send the application to my house, then you ask me for my fucking address!! What the hell is going on with your mob? Have you got a gang of mindless Neanderthal arseholes workin' there?!

And another thing, look at my damn picture. Do I look like Bin Laden? I can't even grow a beard for God's sakes. I just want to go to New Zealand and see my new granddaughter. (Yes, my son interbred with a Kiwi girl). And would someone please tell me, why would you give a shit whether I plan on visiting a farm in the next 15 days? If I ever got the urge to do something weird to a sheep or a horse, believe you me, I'd sure as hell not want to tell anyone!

Well, I have to go now, 'cause I have to go to the other end of the city, and get another fucking copy of my birth certificate and part with another $80 for the privilege of accessing MY OWN
INFORMATION!

Would it be so complicated to have all the services in the same spot, to assist in the issuance of a new passport on the same day?? Nooooo... that'd be too fucking easy and makes far too much sense. You would much prefer to have us running all over the place like chickens with our fucking heads cut off, and then having to find some high society wanker to confirm that it's really me in the goddamn photo! You know the photo ... the one where we're not allowed to smile?! ... you fucking morons.

Signed - An Irate Australian Citizen.

P.S Remember what I said above about the picture, and getting someone in high-society to confirm that it's me? Well, my family has been in this country since before 1850! In 1856, one of my forefathers took up arms with Peter Lalor. (You do remember the Eureka Stockade!!) I have also served in both the CMF and regular Army something over 30 years (I went to Vietnam in 1967), and still have high security clearances. I'm also a personal friend of the president of the RSL. and Lt General Peter Cosgrove sends me a Christmas card each year.

However, your rules require that I have to get someone 'important' to verify who I am; You know ... someone like my doctor; WHO WAS BORN AND RAISED IN PAKISTAN!!! ... a country where they either assassinate or hang their ex-Prime Ministers, and are suspended from the Commonwealth for not having the 'right sort of government.'

You are all Fucking idiots.

Corruption at Vancouver City Hall

Gregor Robertson promised Vancouverites a new era of good government, transparency, and accountability. So far he has done exactly the opposite. Is this the "Hope & Change" many were counting on.

There's a website devoted to following the hijinks at the city hall, which I'm going to add onto the sidebar.

Postscript on Joe the Plumber

Do you all remember the news stories about the illegal retrieval of Joe the Plumber's confidential info? Some people are finally paying the price.

The top person in the affair, Helen Jones-Kelley wrote this self-serving diatribe in her resignation letter: "My professional career, and the legacy of service I have established, has been, and continues to be, far too important for me to allow my reputation and my commitment as a servant leader to be disparaged. I also remain concerned for the safety of my family and myself."

She should count herself lucky that she isn't in jail right now. Ain't it the case that liberals always play the victim card when they're called out on their bad behaviour!

Prediction: I will not be at all surprised if she earns a plumb job somewhere within the Obama administration or the Democrat Party. For she did her job real well ... for them that is!

Flaherty's Council of Economic Advisors

Very interesting developments in Ottawa with the formation of an economic advisory council, comprised of some very successful and smart Canadians.

British Columbians should be proud to learn that both Carole Taylor and Jimmy Pattison are on it!

The Recession Proof Public Sector

Anyone working in the private sector, about to walk into a very scary 2009, will not enjoy reading this editorial about Canada's public sector. But it's an important read nevertheless.

What is the Average IQ of the Economic Stimulus Proponents?

For months I've been hearing from countless talking heads that "a massive economic stimulus package is needed in order to save the economy". The fear generated amongst average folk by such talk has necessarily been huge. So I think that most people thought it a good idea for assorted governments to inject (read "spend") endless billions of dollars.

Not me.

It simply has never made any sense to the grey matter between my two ears why one would give money to companies that have clearly made bad mistakes and/or were badly managed from the get go. But spend they did, especially in the United States. And what has it done? Pretty much nothing!

I learned today that of the $50 Billion given to Citibank, already $10 Billion of that has been given to shareholders and executives. Now some of the talking heads are saying, "We should have had more oversight." Huh?!? You give $50,000,000,000.00 to someone and don't place any real controls on how it'll be spent?!?

This is beyond nuts. And yet another reason, my friends, as to why I'm mostly a Libertarian. After all, what will it take for the majority of people to understand that the people in the government will never care nearly as much about spending your money as you will?!

Hawaii Ends Universal Child Health Care ... Just 7 Months After It Began!

Here's a news story from Hawaii that is important for all Canadians to read. The state decided to launch a health care program intended to help less fortunate children. But being universal, there was no means test, so anyone was eligible. Sure enough, more well-off families followed the rules and started registering their children too:

"People who were already able to afford health care began to stop paying for it so they could get it for free," said Dr. Kenny Fink, the administrator for Med-QUEST at the Department of Human Services. "I don't believe that was the intent of the program."

Duhhhh! I've never understood why government bureaucrats construct the rules of every program with the assumption that everyone will be noble. Instead they should always assume that some people will try to scam the system and design the rules accordingly.

---

Incidentally, precisely the same misuse has occurred with the Quebec Day Care program. As per socialist dogma, it was made universal from Day One. So people from all social strata applied. Mothers driving BMW and Mercedes automobiles began dropping off their young children every morning. But because there was a fixed budget of about $2 Billion per year set aside for the program, not all children could be admitted into the $7 per day program. So there were single moms making $30,000 a year working at multiple blue-collar jobs who couldn't admit their children while wealthy women living in million dollar homes had theirs taken care of.

Just an example of the brilliance of centralized planning in the government. :-(

Mark Twain Quotations

If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.


Suppose you were an idiot.
And suppose you were a member of Congress . . .
But then I repeat myself.


No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.


The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.


There is no distinctly Native American criminal class . . . save Congress.

Government Parable

Young Chuck, moved to Texas and bought a donkey from a farmer for $100.00. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day. The next day he drove up and said, "Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the donkey died."

Chuck replied, "Well, then just give me my money back."

The farmer said, "Can't do that. I went and spent it already."

Chuck said, "Ok, then, just bring me the dead donkey."

The farmer asked, "What ya gonna do with him?"

Chuck said, "I'm going to raffle him off."

The farmer said, "You can't raffle off a dead donkey!"

Chuck said, "Sure I can. Just watch me. I just won't tell anybody he's dead."

A month later, the farmer met up with Chuck and asked, "What happened with that dead donkey?"

Chuck said, "I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars a piece and made a profit of $898.00."

The farmer said, "Didn't anyone complain?"

Chuck said, "Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two dollars back."

Chuck grew up and worked for the government.

Tony Clement Has Some 'Splainin To Do!

I'd like to draw your attention to this letter that my mom sent to Federal Health Minister, Tony Clement, 6 weeks ago. Even an 8-year old would realize that its entire focus is on drug addiction and the negative repercussions on law abiding citizens.

Yet, this is the letter she recently received from Minister Clement:

With all the tax money that we send to Ottawa, is it too much to expect that our government officials or their staff actually read the letters that citizens bother to write?

My only explanation for this is that my mom's letter was scanned by a computer with OCR software and it picked up on the word "drug" and then automatically sent a pre-written letter. I'm willing to be corrected, Mr. Clement. Until then, take me off of your fan club list.

Seniors Being Evicted Blame Gov't

Hat tip to my friend, V, for directing me to this story. It's about 10 sets of seniors on Vancouver Island who have been living in a waterfront trailer park but will be evicted next year.

Some facts:

• None own the land that their mobile homes sit on.
• Each has been paying about $3,400 per year in rent, which works out to $283.33 per month.

Of course I have sympathy for each individual senior. But to try to paint the new land owners or the government as villains is beyond ridiculousness and unfair. I think most anyone in Canada would appreciate being able to live on waterfront property for less than $300 per month. But when did renting property give one the right to live there forever?

Furthermore, saving on rent for so long, what did these people do with all the money they were saving on rent? Was it invested wisely or spent otherwise? Are the tax dollars of those seniors who skimped on luxuries and vacations all of their lives supposed to bail out those who did not?

I realize that in asking these tough questions, I probably come across as an uncaring bastard. Not so. In my work with BCDD I've come across many seniors like this. For various reasons, they've spent most of their savings all their lives and are practically impoverished by the time they reached retirement. Some may have been swindled, some may have had other unfortunate incidents occur but one has to wonder if many just never thought ahead beyond the "fun years". Now that they're in the predicament they're in, to what degree is the government (which means you & me) supposed to bail them out?

Yet Another Story About That "Horrible" Wal-Mart

I seem to have a talent for meeting an endless stream of Socialist Kool-Aid drinkers, who nowadays prefer to call themselves "progressives". Here are some "truths" amongst their high-priests:

• The government is good and the primary protector of you, dear naive citizen.
• Private enterprise is bad.
• The gold medalist for horrible private companies is Exxon.
  
• Wal-Mart earns the silver medal.

A fly-in-the-ointment of such beliefs is an interesting story that has come out of the September 2005 Katrina Hurricane disaster.

Diary of a Government Contractor

Here is a perfect example of why government projects cost sooooooooo much money.