Liberal Party – MASTER OF NONE

December 24, 2019

CANADIAN GUN ENTHUSIAST

The literal effect of firing an AR-15 according to the anti-gun Liberals and their supporters. Photo Credit: Tony Chand Formation Imaging Services © Crown Copyright DND/MDN

The Bigotry of the Canadian Anti-Gun Movement

There is an ancient philosophy which states, ‘Live and let live.’ The estimated 7% of Canadian men and women who are legally allowed to own firearms wish that the rabid anti-gun rabble would abide by that statement.

In the interest of declaring why I have a ‘pony in the race’, here is my relationship with firearms. Growing up on a farm, I started hunting by myself with a .22 rifle at about the age of 12. Through school, I obtained my Hunter Safety certification, something I highly recommend to everyone starting out with firearms. Through the military, I have trained with and shot submachine guns, different types of rifles and handguns, .50 cal Heavy Machine Guns, and ran main gun shoots with Royal Canadian Navy ships. Presently, I do not have a Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) or own any firearms. This RCMP website details the steps involved regarding obtaining a PAL and storing/using firearms in Canada.

As for my attraction to firearms, I enjoy hunting and eating wild game, I enjoy the satisfaction of being able to hit what I was aiming at, and while I was with the RCN, I really enjoyed watching the large shells obliterate the targets. I would say that gun enthusiasts would consider possessing and using firearms as mostly a lifestyle choice be it for whatever myriad of reasons. We live in a free and open society where as long as its citizens follow prudent and safe practices consistent with public safety, there should be no issue with one’s choice of pursuits or hobbies.

Getting back to the thesis of my argument regarding the virulent anti-gun crowd: the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines bigotry as the ‘obstinate or intolerant devotion to one’s own opinions and prejudices.’

Just as a thought exercise, replace ‘gun ownership’ with ‘gay marriage’ in the statements below. Looking through that lens, compare the arguments for and against either concept:

Why does a Canadian need to have ‘gay marriage’? The typical argument goes along the lines of ‘I don’t believe in ‘gay marriage’ so why should it be tolerated in Canadian society?’ Ban it!
‘Gay marriage’ is dangerous to Canadian society! Despite mountains of statistics detailing that law-abiding ‘gay marriage’ Canadians are not the issue regarding violent crime and the breakdown of society, the anti-‘gay marriage’ advocates want more and more restrictions. Ban it!
The government needs to enact more regulation and outright bans against ‘gay marriage‘! Despite the government’s position on ‘gay marriage’ and pandering to powerful political voices opposed to the concept, even law enforcement does not endorse legal ‘gay marriage’ bans. Ban it!

Heaven help the hunters who pose with their kills when the SJWs decide to start ‘bashing’ them. The viciousness of the attacks display an unreasoning hatred reminiscent of a lynch mob. If a person is poaching, there are stringent penalties in place to punish them. But if a person is legally hunting with a legal firearm, then where is the justification for the vitriolic bile and hatred?

As with any prejudicial stance, there is no reasoning which will persuade people of the anti-gun movement that firearms should remain in the possession of legal owners. Their arguments are riddled with hyperbolic ‘facts’. If one shooting occurs because of a firearm, that is one too many. If one legal gun is stolen, they should have been banned. (That’s actually called victim shaming along the lines of blaming a provocatively dress woman for being raped.) Guns are just plain scary, especially the black ones that are termed ‘Assault Rifles’ (a made-up designation).

The crux of the argument, is the opposite side does not understand the ethos of using or owning an instrument to which they only equate with the sole purpose of killing. As society moves further and further away from original sourcing of their food, relying more on the state for their protection, and being subjected to horrifying mass shooting media imagery, it is understandable as to where these attitudes originate from. But just because you do not understand someone’s desire for responsibly keeping and using firearms does not justify society’s attempts to ban them. That is when bigotry edges towards facism.

Returning to my original statement, if I am doing my own thing and not bothering you, then I would kindly ask you to return the favour. Once I cross that line, especially while employing a firearm, then there are strict, severe punishments under the law for doing so. But instead of going after the thankfully small amount of ne’er-do-wells here in Canada, the idea is to blanket punish the law abiding majority. At that point, if you can neither justify or explain your position using logic or facts and only using your feelings on the matter, then you are by definition, a bigot.

To paraphrase a saying coined by The Globe and Mail’s Martin O’Malley and made famous by the elder Trudeau, “there’s no place for the state in the gun cabinets of the nation.”

Blair’s LinkedIn Profile

Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.

January 19, 2018

POLITICAL JUNKIE – Deuxième Partie

Source: Maclean’s-The 91 most important economic charts to watch in 2018, Dec 5, 2017

Why Is Justin Trudeau Spending like a Drunken Sailor?

At the end of 2017, Maclean’s published an excellent analysis piece which provides a financial view of where Canada is sitting at the beginning of a new year. For this article, I will focus on Justin Trudeau’s out of control spending habits.

The chart above is part of an extremely informative snapshot of how the Federal government has been hemorrhaging money with no end in sight. Here’s a list of all Canadian Parliaments to cross reference against the Federal debt numbers.

Let’s do some analysis: The Liberals starting with Lester B. Pearson (1963) and ending with Turner (1984) (minus of course Joe Clark’s six month blip in 1979) successively started to dramatically raise the Federal debt. Brian Mulroney (1984–93) continued this upward, steady climb of federal debt. Jean Chrétien took over from 1993–2003 and with some soul searching and Paul Martin’s help, finally slayed the deficit and turned the beast around in 1997. Former Finance Minister Martin accomplished this by cutting transfer payments to the provinces and the larger than forecast federal revenue. (Personally, I liked Paul Martin and I thought he was good for the country. But my beef and point of these writings is really with Justin Trudeau and where he’s taking Canada.) Steven Harper was elected in 2006 and of course was replaced in 2015. He was continuing the path of successive government surpluses when a little thing called the Great Global Recession came along in 2008. Harper is widely credited with having positioned Canada to a point of a somewhat soft economic landing but plenty of credit is due to Chretien/Martin for turning the head of the ship around in the first place. It is normal and sound economic policy to go into deficit spending mode during times of great economic downturn or in time of war.

As illustrated in the chart above, there was a sharp Federal deficit starting in 2008–09 to deal with the immediate effects of the recession in Canada. This was followed by a swift return to a surplus balance in his last year in office. Despite having weathered the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, Harper leveled out the debt in 2013 holding steady to 2015.

Now focus on Trudeau’s tenure in office and his spending. We’re not at war and not in a global recession but his deficit numbers are increasing dramatically and the projections from his finance minister don’t show any decrease any time soon especially with an election looming in a couple of years.

The Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bill Morneau are spending like we are in a Golden Age when we are not. Canadians seriously need to ask if we can afford another term in office from Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.

January 18, 2018

POLITICAL JUNKIE

Trudeau before becoming PM looking and acting as the perfect metrosexual PC man

Canada’s Beta Prime Minister

Trudeau is having a rough time of it lately with lapses of judgement in the race to shore up his Muslim ideology.

Many of the country’s populace and politicians jumped on the alleged assault of an 11 year old girl by a man who was trying to cut her hijab off. Instead of waiting for a complete investigation, which ended up taking only a day or two extra, Justin Trudeau and the Premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne rushed to decry this latest example of Islamophobia. The entire story ended up being a farce.

On Dec 19, the PM hosted Joshua Boyle and his family in his office. The family had just returned to Canada after years of being held by the Taliban. There were always questions as to why the man was backpacking in Afghanistan in the first place with his pregnant wife who ended up giving birth to three children in captivity. It seems that almost immediately upon their return to Canada, he started beating his wife (this is by inference) and now faces 15 separate serious charges.

This past November, the Liberals started to be brought to task over Canadian nationals returning from fighting with ISIS. The Liberals have been somewhat less than convincing wrt properly bringing these enemy combatants to justice compared to other nations.

This past March, the Liberals felt the need to pass Bill M-103, the so called Islamophobia bill even though Canada has long had strict laws against religious discrimination in all its forms.

Lastly, there was a bitter debate over the 10.5 million CAD payout to Omar Khadr this past year. The move was bitterly opposed by the majority of Canadians but Trudeau stated that the man’s Charter rights needed defending. Meanwhile, returning Canadian Armed Forces troops are seen as not receiving the help and support they deserve. As a kicker, Vice Admiral Mark Norman who was 2nd in command of the CAF until his police investigation started over a year ago, still sits in limbo. To this day, he has ‘still never officially been provided the reasoning for his unprecedented removal as vice-chief of the defence staff. He has never received a military hearing on the matter, and there has been no independent examination of the facts of his case.’ His supposed crime: he attempted to kick-start the process to equip the Royal Canadian Navy with a sorely needed supply ship of which the RCN has been without for years. His efforts put egg on the face of the newly elected Trudeau government and he’s been made to pay the price for the actions of a patriot.

Trudeau on his Canadian Charm offensive regarding NAFTA talks

Trudeau and his ‘Sunny Ways’ gang have a particular ideology and political correctness agenda. He plays well with the selfie types, jet-setters, and elites of the world with his smooth patter, PC ways, love for feminism, devotion to the environment and fancy socks. He also has the ability to cry on cue when he’s apologizing for the latest indignity Canadians have inflicted on this group or another. I don’t want to be mean-spirited but if you look at his body language when he meets with Trump, he looks like the little boy who has been invited to the adult table. It even appears as if he’s crossing his ankles with his knees firmly together in the picture above. Isn’t that how women wearing skirts usually sit?

Justin did shorten his hair after being elected PM as it was a political point the Conservatives were trying to make fun of. It’s more difficult for the adults to tousle now.

Blair’s LinkedIn Profile

Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.