…or at least extreme nastiness…

No. It was evil.

And I don’t even believe in the absolutes of good and evil. My complete lack of belief in things spiritual prevents such thoughts.

But I cannot explain the following without thinking that evil may really and truly exist.

And it resides in Ottawa.

Out for a drive on the Rockcliffe Parkway yesterday with C and 2 of the subunits. We get to the roundabout outside Rideau Hall (if you’re from O-Town, you’ll know where I mean). And I was going a little quickly as I pulled up to a stop to allow a black Chevy Tahoe to go through. The SUV came to an almost complete stop and the two guys in the front gave us a really good look over… like our little Malibu was gonna ram them or something.

The back windows were blacked out and the two big guys in the front wore ear pieces and dark sunglasses. They carried on, and then I felt it.

A tingle up the spine. A feeling of foreboding… like I was in the presence of real evil… kind of how I would imagine Harry Potter feeling when running up against he-who-shall-not-be named. The truly weird thing is that at this moment, C turns to me and ask “did you just get a tingle up your spine? I bet that was Harper.”

I’m not making this up.

Sure enough, the Chev turns into 24 Sussex.

Spooky.

I think I’ll tell this tale next Hallowe’en…

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… a few Grit and Dipper lips smacking at the prospect of running against Harper on the issue of raising the retirement age to 67.

While some of Harper’s holy pronouncements in Davos are basically no-brainers (e.g., reforming the immigration system), bringing up the spectre of changing retirement rules mid-game is NOT going to be a winner for the Cons… nor do I think it  is a necessary can of worms to unscrew.

Generations – mine included – of currently living and working Canadians have made life decisions with the assumption that, at the age of 65, there would be a government allotment waiting for them that would make it possible to leave work and enjoy what was left of their years.

And Harper wants to change this.

I’m not going to super-overanalyze the whys or why-nots in this post…need to research the issue some more. But I will confidently say that opening up the retirement age question may be The Robot’s ONE BIG MISTAKE. Has he not looked at a current population pyramid.

Not let’s see what the Opposition does with this…

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

     Mr. Speaker, ’twas the week before Christmas and all over the Hill
The self-absorbed Tories were imposing their will
The stockings in Muskoka were stuffed to the brim
But life on first nations remained woefully grim.
And at the North Pole, Santa’s problems abound
There was much work to do, but no workers around.
How can we do Christmas with no reindeer or elves?
The sleigh is a wreck, there are no toys on the shelves.
Costs have just spiralled, the elves threaten strike
They won’t work this Christmas without a pay hike.
Federal money for deer feed and vets
Has just been reprofiled for big jails and jets.
Heartbroken children would spring from their beds
The first Christmas ever shut down by the feds.
No presents for Christmas, Tories felt the frustration
So they saddled the elves with back-to-work legislation.
No reindeer or sleigh can stop our roof-topper
Call Coast Guard and send in a Cormorant chopper.
The moral I share: Tories lack rhyme and reason
Nonetheless, all the best for a great Christmas season.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… That the Harperites have created is humming right along… Just read the comments posted by some readers whenever a story about the ongoing and looking cuts to the Public Service. Most are laughable, inaccurate and downright mean… especially those found in stories published by the Sun chain. Which speaks volumes about Sun readers, methinks.

Workers in the PS are easy targets, after all. An anti PS government is ever so eager to portray them as overpaid and underworked layabouts who are counting the days till their gold plate pensioned retirements!

And of course the right wing media and SM pundits grab on to this like a Staffordshire Terrier on a ham hock. No one outside the NCR gives a shit anyhow! Win-win for the Harperites and their friends.

Yet, the reality is that we are talking about human beings here. Fellow Canadians with kids in hockey, mortgages, car payments, etc. People who pay bills, shop in restaurants and support local economies across the country. But to the CPC and many of their supporters, they are but needless drains on the Treasury.

Sure, you say, but aren’t reviews and cuts like these healthy for the PS? “Deadwood” is culled. Younger employees get new opportunities. Programs are looked at in detail to assess needs and relevance. Renewal good. And yes, I agree with this.

But what most Canadians outside the Ottawa Valley do not realise is that these reviews are not new. Nor are cuts to program’s and people. Indeed, there have been 2 major cuts over the past 5 years or so PLUS an “in effect” cut that mandated that individual departments absorb the added costs of salary costs arising from collective agreement salary increases. The central agencies (Finance) used to foot that bill.

So I really don’t know how much deadwood is still out there. Not much, I reckon. The last few years have burned it out. Maybe bit on the edges – but not much.

And if it’s not deadwood, then it will be the healthy meat of the tree that is hacked away at next.

And then maybe other Canadians will notice.

But I doubt it.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

Prepared for PM Harper and immediate staff attending APEC meeting in Hawaii

Re: November 13 meeting with President Obama.

1. Drawing on experience gained at first bilateral, the PM is reminded that the President does not appreciate being called “gangsta”.

2. Related to 1. above, the symbolic colours of the main political parties are the opposite to those in Canada. It is therefore advised that the PM wear a blue tie. But do not refer to it as “my gangsta colours” like the last time.

3. If Vic Toews is travelling with the PM, tell him that referring to The First Lady as “that hottie” when speaking to Ms. Clinton is not acceptable.

4. Please do not allow Mr. Polievre to speak to Ms. Clinton. At all. Our bilateral relations are still recovering from the last time.

5. Plead with the PM to not go on about the missed call by Kerry Fraser during the 1993 Leafs / Kings series. He won’t understand.

6. Pretend to understand basketball. It’s that sport played by very tall people who bounce an orange ball.

7. Don’t bring up Keystone. Really. He has heard enough.

8. Stay inside the beltway. Your security detail has been informed.

9. The President is not Martin Sheen. Never has been. Don’t listen to Baird.

10. You are not in charge here. Remember that.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… by putting “Royal” back in the names of the Navy and the Air Force.

Loving anachronisms – it’s the CPC way…

This move is just plain bone-headed on so many levels! Even some Cons that I know are scratching their heads a bit over this one! Some traditionalists are saying: “Hooray! We’re going back to the days before that mean PM Trudeau combined the Forces together!”. To them I say – welcome to the 21st century! Here is a calendar!

Look, I don’t pretend to know what those in the Forces think about this. But I don’t “get” why adding “Royal” in front of the “Canadian Air Force” and the “Navy” would matter one way or the other to them. Aren’t they more concerned about having up-to-date equipment in the field and fair pensions and health care in their post-military years?

Just sayin’…

Hey! Maybe under King Harper we can be the once again the sacrificial lambs that we once were for the British Empire. Doesn’t anyone remember World War I? Or Dieppe?

What’s next? Here are some ideas.

• Regressive Cons rename Ontario Upper Canada

• Ottawa is removed as the National Capital. Instead, an on-line contest is held – sponsored by Tim Horton’s. Canmore, Alberta wins.

• God Save the Queen replaces O Canada.

• The Red Ensign returns

• Dollar is replaced by pounds, shillings and pence

• Public servants have to take an Oath of Loyalty to the Queen… oh wait – we already do that….

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

…environmental compliance-wise… comes news that the Cons are looking at turning another vital public sector function over to the private sector: search and rescue.

I really don’t get this one. Where’s the upside? They will piss off DND and the Coast Guard – which are two constituencies that the Harperites like to cow-tow to. They would be dismantling a Canadian institution – we are known globally to be one of the best at search and rescue. And they would be putting the safety of the public at risk, which would be odd given their focus on public safety through getting tough on unreported and imaginary crimes.

Oh wait! I.D.E.O.L.O.G.Y.

Why should the government pay to rescue some family whose boat broke down off the coast of The Rock? It’s their own damned fault! And they’re probably Liberals anyhow!

Thank you for calling Sam’s Search and Rescue – a Division of Walmart. I’m sorry that your boat is taking on water and that you and your family will surely die, but rescuing you at this time doesn’t represent a good ROI. If you would like to reach an operator, please push #.

This is dumb. Don’t even go there, Stevo!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

Industry can police itself, right?

More bold-faced lies from the Cons during the May election campaign…

Sigh… environmental laggards indeed…

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

…this one showing the results.

And while Canada is way down on the list, it’s still sad to see that 6% of men think that it’s A-OK to beat his wife…

Sad. And tragic.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

And, at face value, it shows quite vividly what fine company Canada keeps on this file.

But, do use a bit of caution when interpreting this map literally. I haven’t been able to track down the report from whence this came so am unable to assess the robustness of the methodology used to reach these conclusions.

But they do seem to be in line with my thinking on the subject.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario