Holy Howl

Howl!

It's Full Moon time!

And as if a Full moon isn't exciting enough, here are a few other tidbits about tonight's moon shine:

It's the last full moon of the year; and it's the 13th full moon of the year!.
So, it's been tagged the Extra Full Moon.

And since it's the full moon closest to the Winter Solistice (when the nights are longest),it's also called the Long-Night moon and the Full Cold Moon.

Further, because it's the Full Moon of December it's also known as the Oak Moon or the Cold Full Moon. 

No matter what it is termed, Full Moons are intriguing, mysterious and imparts the night sky (when you can see it) with an amazing and spitritual aura.

For those so attuned, Full Moon nights have an energy unlike any other night of the month.

As it effects our tidal pull here on earth, human behaviours and emotions are also heightened.  (Thank goodness the Filibuster  in the House of Assembly ended last week!)

One other interesting thing about the moon - it is said that the Earth's natural satellite smells like an exploded fire cracker.

Which brings me to Government.

As we come to the close of 2012, there is a sulphuric stench of an exploded firecracker all over the province with the current Government's antics, hi-jinks and goings-ons.  Everything related to

•  the Muskrat  Falls push-through;
•  the whole Secrecy Bill fiasco;
•  the cosy relationship Harper at all cost to our province;
•  the cosy relationship with Corporate NL - namely OCI
•  the inexplicable loss of the search and rescue;
•  the shameful Burton Winters Tragedy;
•  the stench of overlooking the  Penashue scandal/s
•  the lack of a true fishery strategy
• etc..

Some crazy full-time full moon energy has struck this government,
all the while it points its finger at everyone else for daring to challenge their arrogant and undemocractic ways.


Someone once said we've got a great planet and a great moon.

Here in NL, we just have to work on a great Government


Anyways, back to the beautiful full moon - which the Buddhist believed that all days of full moon were holy.

Here's to this last Holy Day of 2012. 

So, if you're going to howl - make it a Holy Howl!

One Week - Double Calamanity

It's not the number of years you are here on Planet Earth.

It's the Lessons you have learned.

Witness the unfolding of this week's two significant policy decisions in this province;
and clearly, the provincial government hasn't learnt a damn t'ing.

First off there is the lesson about

"No more Giveaways!"

Take Muskrat Falls First

There's a strong possibility that this deal will give it away to
just about anyone -  except the taxpayers

The Feds
The Bluenosers
NALCOR - (The Newfoundland & Labrador Centralizing Official Renegade!)
Anyone who wants to buy Emera down the Road
Mining Companies
Big ol Bad Quebec! (bit they are already scheming how to get back at us)

Because you know, 50 years is not just a long time in the future;
it's way out there in space!

Who in their right mind would tie us to a 50-year deal??? 
When technology and energy sourcing is the "Current Currency";  and any savvy person out there is already working on a new energy source that will make the Muskrat Falls look like it fell off the turnip truck, perhaps even 10 years from now.

Not to mention the boogie man in out recent past - the demonic Upper Churchill deal - which tied us to a long-term deal without an escalator clause;  and so, we have lost and lost and lost for years and years and years...

Yes, we gave it away when we should have been smart enough to keep it for our own benefit.


Talking about Giveaways

Let's talk about the OCI Deal  ...

It's unfathomable ...

A 15-year deal that quiets one small town & sells out an entire province  ...

This is a province that has stood proud and strong on the principle for generations.

"You shall not export fish unless it is processed here in NL -  providing of course, you have an exceptional exemption."

As if selling us out weren't bad enough, Government waits until Christmas Day practically-  and slips in a deal that ranks up there with the most anti-NL deal there ever was. Talk about cowardly ...

Didn't the province just noticed that OCI just callously closed out Marystown & Port Union (and paid no penalties!), called in scab labour earlier this year, conducted a seedy PR campaign to win over the public because it just needed to win;  has a Quota holding company that when it expires in less than 4 years will allow them to ship OUR resources  anywhere in the world and they don't have to come to us for permission to ship out! They are Corporate Cuties in Government's eyes, but they only have an eye for profit ...

But that's ok with this Government because they only have an eye for companies, not citizens.


What's the Second Lesson this Government should be learning?

It's a lesser understood esoteric term called KARMA.

Basically, it says whatever you dish out, it eventually either comes back to bite you in the ass or rewards you for your good deed.

The Tories have scoffed and criticised so much at Upper Churchill over the years, the Lord of Karma is already gleeing at a payback

It's called Muskrat Falls.

There is no doubt that this Fall Deal will be a Fall-ure!

They say there are only 29 behaviours to govern human behaviour, so it doesn't take a genius to figure out where the payback will be for the governing-but-corporate-giddy Tories.

One Week - Double Calamity.

And they want us to have a Merry Christmas?

How shallow do they think we are ...?

Oxygen Thieves Dwell Amongst Us

As my favorite astrologer so wisely noted,  “We’re not (suppose to be) just oxygen thieves” here on earth.

She’s right, we’re here to clean up our earthly mess,  whether within ourselves or out there in the bigger world.

The House of Assembly this week is a good example where a few (The Opposition) are charged with the hard task of trying to right the wrongs of an elected, but clearly democratically-disengaged  Government that is shamefully wasteful and wasted.  

While the details of two Muskrat Falls-related Bills (60 & 61) are being “filibustered” by our Legislative warriors, there are bigger issues at play and bigger principles to defend.

This Government has created a huge mess in a democratic system- primarily through manipulation, spin, power plays, secrecy, one-sided information,  rushed legislation,  blind idealism and money grabs from the taxpayers  of the  Muskrat Falls debacle.  

And there are other trespasses against us – concocting Bill 29 to hide secrets, selling off the pieces FPI for short-term political gain,  stupidly expropriating a   mill and now we have to pay, ongoing Open Line Show-boating - and even allowing our fishplants and communities to close without a wimper…

Something has shifted in this province in recent years – seems there is no turning back to the goodness of democracy, decency, or fair play or respect  with this lot …

They are no longer Government of the People, but Government AGAINST People.

And the Muskrat Falls file exposes the deplorable depth they are willing to sink to gain what they want – not what is Right for NL.  

Because if they did what was right, they would not have needed to do it so wrong!

And this is exemplified this week with the rushed jobbie of Bill 60 & 61 – critical pieces of legislation that needs time and thought to investigate and debate so we don't recreate historical blunders.

In hindsight there has been a slow manipulation towards the finish line starting with creation of Nalcor; and now we know they are leaving us (the taxpayers) with the full cost and risks of all that is Muskrat related for the next half century.

Yes, there are still greedy oxygen thieves amongst us  – ALL TAKE (for themselves & Nalcor) and NO GIVE (to the citizens of NL or its democracy). 

How long will it take before the full life is sucked out of us by this Government?

"Blue" me!

"I'll have a Blue Christmas without you ..."

If Elvis is in the building
The Confederation Building that is,
he would feel even bluer.

Take the windows ...
Out
And replace them with BLUE ones.

Yup, there's nothing shameless about the current government.
They tinted replacement windows in our democratic centre
a Tory BLUE. (Project is now pegged at $50 Million - with a 150 % overrun no less)

All buildings need renos after time and all renos have a price; 
but how much does the BLUE BRANDING add to the cost overrun factor? 

Likely enough to pay for a whole lot of services for the people of our province,
whether for a needy individual or for a cash-strapped community.

For years this government`s BLUE ego has blown out of control.
Everything from 
Government documents
License Plates
Provincial Symbols like the Picture Plant,
etc...
have all been BLUE BRANDED 

It gets more sinister ...

The Christmas tree in the lobby of the East Block of the Confederation Building
has for years been adorned with  BLUE Bulbs

Until late this week.

Someone must have reminded them of the symbolic wrath that 
Tory (Blue) Times are Hard Times
- which doesn't quite fit in with the Christmas Spirit.

So what did government do?
They called in a professional decorator to "rework the tree"  to less neutral colours.

When questioned about what happened to the Blue Tree - a security guard sarcastically quipped, `It BLUE away!`

Funny.

If it weren't such a pathetic waste of good money AGAIN.

Does anyone know the colour of government`s fav pet project - Muskrat Falls?

Well, don't waste a moment thinking about it ...

This government is so hell-bent on a TORY BLUE legacy,
no doubt somewhere in the bowels of Confederation Building,
there is a hired BLUE-ooper  tasked  with how
to tint the Falls a Tory Blue.

Sounds ludicrous, but so are TORY BLUE windows.

It's fine to have Blue Blood taste,
but not on the backs of struggling taxpayers looking for a break.
What we don't need is something egotistical and frivolous to break the bank.



 

Muskrat Falls - Wing-n-it!

There's a new restaurant in town - Wing-n-it!

Not the one on Kenmount Road that is popular with the people.

The unpopular one down the street -the Muskrat Falls Wing-n-it one.

A greasy diner featuring a free and even greasier buffet compliments of the taxpayers.

Hard on the digestive system.

Hard on the pocketbook.

Hard on the NL conscienceness


Speaking of wings, according to one source
if you are a food company (in the States at least),
that wants to sell chicken in the shape of wings, it must have the real deal on it.

Otherwise, the law says you have to call your product "WYNGZ".

A.k.a  The Fake Wing

Which brings me back to the Muskrat Falls debate on December 5th.

In House of Assembly jargon, it's called A "Private Member's Resolution" - sponsored by no one less than the Premier who envisions  a masterful and comprehensive debate on the most momentous project in our province's history -on one SINGLE afternoon.

But there are other terms for this "debate"

Like WYNGZ ...
Fake
Bogus
Pretense
Charade
Sham
Scam
Definitedly, not fine dining ...

The end result?
Indigestion
Uneasiness
Embarrassing
Shocking
Unscrupulous
Unimaginable in a democracy

A guaranteed $10 Billion project - UNPOPULARLY and IMPROPERLY  debated on ONE unremarkable afternoon in the people's House of Democracy.

What did we expect from a Premier who stated in a 2010 Telegram interview "Getting to Know the Premier" ...

She says she’s not the kind of person who envisions things 10 years down the road, but prefers to live in the now." “If you live your life more in the moment, the rest of it will work its way out,” she said.

Yes, there's a new restaurant in town, but it's been upgraded to

Wing-n-it PLUS!

Humongous Debt? "Don't Worry. Be Happy!"

Reading the paper sometimes inspires one to spell secrets.

In response to Pam Frampton's "Muskrat Falls Reports you have not Read" tongue-in-cheek article in the Weekend's Tely, I too am compelled to release yet another report  (and press release)  on Muskrat Falls obtained through Access to Information before the Dark Ages i.e. Bill 29.

Muskrat Falls will Bring Us to the Fiscal Cliff" - BUT WHO CARES?"

"Today Government is proud to release yet another report into how we will incur humongous amount of debt, collectively and individually, if Muskrat Falls is dammed and our green energy reaches no one but our Blue Schooner neighbours."

"It's a new world out there folks and we are just going with the flow.

"Furthermore, there's lots of catchy phrases to back up our position.

"Debt is a natural phenomenon"
"Debt is everyone's friend"
"Make peace with debt or it will kill you"
"Ah, let the youngsters pay for it"
"What matters is government's assets, not it's debt"

"And you know how we like to quote when it suits us. 
Now, we had to reach far back a few years for this one, but I think it is solid foundation for our $10 Billion investment once the bills are all added up.

Our national debt may be a national blessing : the debt is public wealth, political union, protection of industry, secure basis for national currency, the orphans' and widows' savings fund (1865)

Yes, we believe in the power of debt and  we have the power of a majority government to say "It's our debt-way or the highway folks".

"Just relax... trust us ... don't worry, be happy; after all, we have no history of debt or a really bad deal for our province."
-30-

I don't know much about provincial debt; but I know enough that my daughter and son would be pretty pissed if my credit card is maxed out when I leave planet earth and they have to pay for it.  

Especially when so many people were warning me I was recklessly playing so close to the fiscal cliff when there were other options.

The "Double-Double Standard " - A Government Special

Everyone knows you can go to Tim's and order a "double-double".

Now you can rely on Government to get a "Double-Double Standard" .

First, take the mumbo-jumbo out of MHA Keith Russell and what do you get? - a suspension.

Yes, but only a suspension from Hockey NL - not from his government duties - not on your life.

What does government policy recommend they do with bullies in school? - yup, suspend them.

Get the double-double standard?

Today a school bus driver in NS was suspended from his job for cursing in front of children. 

The day mumbo-dumbo one got suspended from his cursing duties, he was still warming a seat on government's side of the House.

Mother Hen was protecting her own while clucking how inappropriate her bad chick was.  Cluck Cluck... meanwhile a young soul was sent home "suspended" from Leary's Brook because she engaged in "inappropriate school behaviour".

How can Mother Hen go back into any school  for her photo opps and face those that she tells  "Act like I say, not what I do!"

Double-Double Standard is increasingly becoming the hallmark of this government.

"Yes, you lot on low, you need to take a pay cut, so I can plump up the cheques for my own chick-a-dees."

"And of course, government entities throughout the kingdom have to slash budgets - King Nalcor needs a shhhh...-slush fund."


Watch out Tim's - there's a "double-double" re-branding coming soon
from the renegades on the hill.  

A new drive-through that serves only the self-serving.

A Legacy of Misery for our Daughters and our Sons

I did it for my children's children.

Years from now when the second worst deal in our
province's history is loading them and their generation
down with unimaginable debt, perhaps they can take some consolation that
a family member was at that great protest.

The People's Assembly
on that cold day on November 18th, 2012, in front of the Colonial Building.

I envision one day it will be a much-talked about historical event;
and I will tell my grandchildren why I was there...

I was there to say
No way!

I was there to say
You cannot ignore my say!

I was there to say
Who do you think you are?

I was there to say
Where is the truth and the respect?

I was there to say
Your need for a political legacy project cannot supersede our collective good

I was there to say
It is my grandchildren's investment - they want me to look at the contract.

I was there to say
If nothing else- where is your conscience as a Newfoundlander and Labradorian?


I was there to say
There is another way ...

The Careful way
The Collaborative way
The Truthful way
The Transparent way
The Democratic way
The People's Way!


Not the Millionaire's way
The Misinformation way
Nor the Screened way
Or a Single Party's way
But the People's Way.
The Proper Way.


And I will tell them as much as I was there to protect their future,
Con O'Brien captured it best when he sang

"we'll all be on the hook ...
A legacy of misery for our daughters and our sons"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7iew_L4uWU
yes, all in the name of an "ungodly mess" called Muskrat Falls.

But not if the People's Assembly and all of us
can halt the current government
from taking out a credit card in each of our grandchildren's names,
crushing their future before they even figure out how to be born ...

Back then, I will tell them, Government only had one thing right
The POWER is in OUR hands.
And that, great-ones, is another good reason I came to be there on that historic day.

Never Forget and Ever Protect ...

Early this morning I dropped my son off at The Reserves.

A bright red poppy stood out against his green military uniform.

His unit is participating in the Remembrance Day ceremony.
 
On the return in the car, Terry Penney sang "Normandy in Newfoundland Tonight",
a powerful and vivid song inspired by a Newfoundland solider (Mr. Les Ginn) reliving the nightmare of his time in the Second World War.

"In some ruined Catholic Church- just beyond the walls of God was hell and blood and hate ... and as the moon lit up the foreign sky, he heard himself say to a comrade, ... I wish Normandy was Newfoundland tonight."

http://www.myspace.com/terrypenney/videos/normandy-in-newfoundland/46739007

"I see his face reflected by the light ... and sixty years haven't killed what is in his eyes, it's Normandy in Newfoundland tonight..."


The specialness of the day finally settled deep down inside me.

Mixed with the poignancy was a deep realization 
-  no, we are not suppose to ever ever forget,ever ...


To those who have served and those now serving,
no amount of gratitude and acknowledgement can repay the debt,
but each year on November 11th, it doesn't stop us from trying ...

And in other ways, we honour your sacrifice and fight any attempt to dilute the gifts of freedom and democracy left with  us to protect.

That is why we all should

ask questions
engage in debate
demand information
probe into the hidden
protest against injustice
speak without fear
stand on principles
seek a truth beyond just the facts

So there will never be any more Normandies in Newfoundland.

On this day and evermore,
the Power truly is in our Hands
to both never forget and ever protect ...

Forgetfulness - The Personal and The Political

What was it I meant to do when I went downstairs into the basement...?

I forget!

A common malady these days...at my age

Early Alzheimer, dementia, too much on my plate, too much vino...?

Yesterday, I heard that high blood pressure can whittle down the memory.

Another excuse for my forgetfulness. Great! (or not!)

Which reminds me of something
I'd rather forget - the current Government.

They too have forgotten alot -

The longer
they warm their butts in the majority of seats in the House of Assembly,
they forget about

Accountability
Accessibility
Connectivity
Colloboration
Promises
Principles
The almighty Trust Factor ...

There is no doubt that the current government can be diagnosed with
an acute form of political Alzheimer

They have forgotten about
Decency
Democracy
Commitments
Communities
Coolness
The Fishery
Rural Regions
Respect
Small schools
Little souls ...like Kalleigh


Someone needs to remind each of those government's peeps that

When you lose touch
YOU LOSE!
(no matter how many seats you have in the HOA
-the House of Assembly)

Government has forgotten it really means
House of ACCOUNTABILITY

Which proves that when you age,
you run a greater risk of forgetting a lot of meaningful things ...

Personally - its not entirely controllable ...
Politically -  all you have to do is remember what you stood for;
and then you won't forget ....

Dazzling Eclipses & Less Dazzling Political Dances

The Deaf, Dumb and Blind Kid |The Sequel?

Funny thing about life, you don't always pay attention to what other people think is a priority.

Take the Muskrat Falls debate - or lack of a debate, as the government on high decided today.

When questioned by CBC last week, close to 15 people could not tell you what" DG-3" stood for.

Nope, it was not a new oil, nor a new drug, nor a new hair straightener, or even a new robot.

It was a new set of figures that was to spark more fire and details into the debate on this momentous project in our province.

A project that will figure as largely in our future as Upper Churchill Falls project does now- because  both are bad deals that disfigures us as a province and a people.

But do people really care or get it - or likely have time to dwell on it?

NO

Other than the political-phytes, most people have too much on their daily plate to truly care about all the he said/she said on this complex matter.

And that is exactly what government is banking on, taking advantage of, gleeing in...

They know most of us are in zombie land as we are multi-tasking like ol hell to get through life to truly pay attention.

But more likely it's because most people know this government doesn't care about what people think. They are gung-ho with their own agenda and the legend they have to honour.

The public knows in its heart of hearts that this government is one step ahead with the PR war and has already sanctioned this project.

They know enough that enough money has been spent that there is no going back.

This government doesn't want to clear up the fog surrounding this project - they want to keep us firmly enwrapped in it.

When you are losing your argument, there is only way ahead -  
play to the "deaf, dumb and blind kid" syndrome 'cause he an't going to know what is going on right?

Wrong!

In the 1975 musical movie "Tommy" ", that "deaf, dumb and blind" guy became a paintball wizard....and rose to be a superstar of sorts after he was cured of his deaf, dumb and blind psychosomatic affliction.

So, here's the moral of the story

Let's not go "deaf, dumb and blind" on Muskrat Falls.

It's our responsibility to be cured of this affliction so we can defeat the arrogance and warped path of this government; 

And save us from the worst deal in our province's history - part 2.

Sequels are never pretty...

The UNFortunate Proposal

If you don't hold strong to your principles, you will be swept away by some other fella's snake-oil mumbo jumbo- and that's never a good character-building thing!

The word is that the provincial government is about to sanction OCI's UN-Fortunate proposal. The "O- I-Love- China" company wants to leave us a few fish and a few jobs; and the rest they ship off to foreign shores with nary a moral morsel about where all this is leaving us as a province in the long run.