Torn between two Flag Poles!

On the 33rd anniversary of our official provincial flag
- it seems we are asked to make a choice.
The fairly new one by Pratt or the ol 'Pink, White or Green (PWG)?

To quote a song

There are times when a woman has to say what's on her mind
even though she knows how much it's gonna hurt.

I love both our flags - the official and the unofficial one!

Sorry ol Tricoloured PWG,
it doesn't mean I love you any less - but
I do have a thing for the more stylistic and deeper lover.
There's just something about him with his broad symbolism encompassing sea, snow, ice, our collective struggles as a people and the spirit and optimism ingrained in all of us.
I resonate with his deeper respect for our Native and British heritage, our military patriotism and our connection to our fishery.

But you do have your  inclusive qualities - trying to represent the Green of Ireland, the Pink of England and the White of the Scottish thistle. 

Seriously, I love the revolutionary wild side of you
You are the maverick!
(and the bad guys will always get the bad girls, so I know you will not do without your admirers!)

Torn between two lovers
Feeling like a fool
Loving both of you is breaking all the rules

Ya, I could love and  fly you both high - pridefully!

So, don't make me chose between you because there are other pursuers on the dance card.

I mean, how can you ignore the Union Jack and the Labrador Flag with their come-hither look in their eyes?

In the end, whatever I choose is a choice between all that is "good" about our province.

Gee guys, stand back I could handle you all - this shouldn't be a competition - you are all valuable and loved!

Just the same,  only one of you is having a birthday today -
so Happy Flag day to good ol the Sweet Pratt  Love Flag! (for want of a better phrase).

You do stand out -so fly with pride!

The Transparent Head of the Penashue Fish

A fish with a transparent head?

Apparently so!

Filmed at the Monterey Aquarium Research Institute in California- it's called the
large Pacific Barreleye Fish. 

http://www.minds.com/blog/view/55177/fish-with-transparent-head-filmed

Not to be outdone,
here in our province,
we also have our own political transparent head
- the large Penashue (Unbelievable!) Fish.

The beauty about such a creature is
that you can see everything that goes on between its ears and in its head.

It's a wonder to be seen and to listen to
Especially when it utters with its fish-like voice
"Vote for me
I am in cabinet
I am powerful
I can get you money
I can be your sugar daddy ..."

Talk about transparency
and double speak for

"Vote for me so
I won't speak to you (or for you!)
I can ignore you
I might even abuse you
I can serve my Master
(and it isn't you).
I only get you things
(not because I like you' only because I like the role of a sugar daddy -
 especially since it isn't my money)
I like breaking laws
'cause I (like my Master) see myself as above the law.
YES! Vote for me
because I expect you to be as shallow as I am."

Ah, fish with a transparent head are a wonderment-
a freakish, but exquisitely beautiful part of nature.
A wonder to behold.

A transparent politician?
Not so.
And so not worth your vote.

A Sign of the "Unjust" Times

It was a day where foam appeared at the mouth of many. 

MHA Gerry Rogers was found in contempt of the House of Assembly today.

She was charged,found guilty and hung.

Except that she was not guilty.

Even the Speaker of the House said it himself - that a member should be given the benefit of the doubt of the offence for which The Witch Hunt says she was guilty.

It appears to boil  down to the fact that the mild-manner MHA
happened to be walking by a murder scene for which
she was neither aware nor an accomplice.

But, alas the Speaker had to appease the Witch Hunters.

He tried to extract an apology from Ms. Rogers.

And she three times rightly denied owning the offence.

Three times she  railed against the injustice.

The injustice of a wild Witch Hunt looking for a way
to cloak the mess they have entangled themselves in recent times by trying to cast themselves as the victim.

In the end, the MHA was escorted from the Legislature for her so-called offence.

What was outstanding in the whole sordid affair
was how low Government will stoop to impinge any "Honourable" member.

Each day in the Legislature each of our  MHAs who represents us in this province
get to be called  "honourable" members.

It is all about the protocol, respect and decency ingrained in our democratic system.


Rather than speaking privately to the Honourable member to inquire - or give her the heads up about the other fanatical members who threatened the premier - the Witch Hunt instead look the low road to justice.

Instead of treating her on a professional basis,
the Witch Hunt tried to expose her publicly,
created mass hysteria
and brought her to the edge of the burning fire. 

It is a sign of the times -
where there is an over abundance of
Injustice against the Just here in our province.

Imagine that!

Right here in Newfoundland and Labrador
 - the land of the most hospitable people in the world.

It's downright sacrilegious ...


"Each day we should wake up foaming at the mouth because of the injustice of things.”
― Hugo Claus

Cod - Caboto Style?

Codfish So thick
They stayed the progress of our ship
Your fleet will have no further
need for Iceland
This is enuff to feed this kingdom
Oh sire until the end of time ..."
John Cabot

Caboto had a grand wonderful story of Cod mania all those centuries ago.

And for those attending Government's announcement today at the Marine Institute expecting a similar Cod tale - well, there was a bit of a stark difference.

For one thing the prime Cod Warrior (George Rose) was off in Ireland about to set sail from the Irish coast in the Irish vessel -  the MV Celtic Explorer. He's heading across the Atlantic for a third survey of Northern Cod. (Being the real scientist he is, he was not interested in photo ops)

The Anti-Cod Princess herself (the Premier)  wasn't in sight (a sure sign of a lowly affair).

Furthermore, the Cod news itself was really a re-announcement of what was already proclaimed in the budget in late March.

And then there were the Cod Survey results that were suppose to be released - but somehow seemed to have been eclipsed by giddy men looking for the media glare.

"The media got that part wrong," says the Institute's main man when asked about the elusive survey results.

Well, it seems the Fisheries Minister himself may also have been hoodwinked into thinking there would be Cod research details as he issued a press statement promising the same.

The best we got was that "there are positive signs" of Cod being the comeback kid of the year.

No real results, and no plan nor strategy on how we are going to prepare for Cod Comeback.

A bit of a cod indeed!

But hey,even the hint of a Cod return to our waters warms our hearts;
and news of a Cod bonanza off north Norway and  Russia all point to a less bleak Cod future.

Caboto's Cod tale may just have a second re-run if we play our Cod Cards right.

No Snow Job

Budget Budget 2013 on the Fall
Who's the fairest one of them all?
Well, of course you are my dearest Dunder-Fall

Budget Budget 2015 on the Rise
Who's the Fairest of them all?
Why, it's the Voters, my dearest Dunder-Demise


Queen D is shocked to learn that The Voter is still alive!

"Hadn't my huntsman taken care of my nemesis as I instructed him!!?
she wailed across the Kingdom for all to hear.

"I was certain that my strategy to kill The Voter was foolproof -

 

No debate or vote on Muskrat Falls;

Destructive Bill 29;

Short Legislative Sessions;

Appearing only at Fluff events;

Harsh Budget Cuts;

Hiding$90 M (which could have been used to resuscitate The Voter)

Pretending to be a Have province in one venue

and then switching to Have-not when I needed a few dollars;

Gross Fiscal mismanagement;

Completely ignoring the Fishery;

Padding the Polls;

Colouring all the windows in the Kindom Blue."

 

 

" Oh dear, I guess I will have to get more ruthless to kill off The Voter!"

 

And so, the story goes that Queen D disguises herself as an old peddler

and goes after The Voter (alas, another job cut in the "Huntsman" department)

And so after many failed attempts, she comes up with a brilliant idea.

She concocts a poisoned apple and The Voter looks at the apple, starts to bite it ...

 

and then suddenly gives  Queen D the stink eye and says

"You gotta be kiddin me missus!  You think I am going to fall for that lame ol trick!"

 

"Seriously how stun do you think I am?!!"

 "You better get your PR people to come up with something
more brilliant than an apple laced with bull-shit."

"But hey, Queen D, I'll humour you for a while yet

I'll  pretend to be asleep and lay in a glass coffin for a few more years yet.

 

But come 2015, you just know a Prince will come along and you will be booted from OUR Kingdom."

 

Queen D knew she was in trouble.

 

But she kept dancing in her hot shoes until she fell dead in her tracks on October 13, 2015.

 

True story.

Not a tall tale.

 

Definitedly, not a  snow job.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The White Fleet & The Disenchanted Fleet

It was the tale of two worlds.

I came to listen to a engaging lecture on the Portuguese White Fleet.

This neutral country that plied the North Atlantic waters for over 500 years was commanded during World War II to paint their sailing vessels white to distinguish them from the enemy.

They came and fished our rich fishing banks with enthusiastic spirits, small wooden dories and ecological long lines.

They worked hard, were happy-go-lucky, caught plenty of fat Cod from one-man dories cast adrift from mother ship. They left their home and family in May and returned in September with a bounty of salted cod and a kinship with our people. 

These Portuguese fisher-folk and their white fleet are distinctly woven into our folk culture and history, particularly in St. John's which was often used as a safe harbour. 

These fishermen were revered - heroic figures.

And sitting next to me at The Rooms theatre tonight was a modern-day young fishermen.

He was there to learn a thing or two about the old ways of fishing he told the presenter.

Before the session began, he offered me a one-on-one engaging tale -like a man that wanted to get something off his chest.

As he spoke about his work, there was earnestness in his voice, a passion for his industry and salt was definitely in his blood. (He could have been in wild rose country he said, but he picked to be on the wild waters.)

But something wasn't adding up.
His million dollar entreprise was tied up at the wharf due to the current crab dispute.

The price of the species he and other fishermen wanted to harvest was too low.

Plus, he pointed out, rising bait and fuel costs, a disengaged government  and a dysfunctional fish price-setting panel were all casting a challenging net on his fishery.

"Something has got to change!" he stated emphatically.

"Our fishery needs to move with the times, but we have no leaders to get us there!"

I listened intently and I heard his cry.

And then the lecture for which I came commenced...

I listened to the glory days of our fishery, all the while remembering the disenchanted tale of the fisherman next to me.

Here he was - not so heroic perhaps (in the eyes of the public), facing uncertain times, a shortage of resource, wondering what the future holds and yet holding on tightly to a dream.

Before the lecture was over, I came to understand he didn't just come to be enlightened.

He came for a bit of hope.

Hope, that perhaps one day the modern-day fishery he was engaged in
would see better days.
like the fishery and the bounty enjoyed by the Portuguese
as their sailed their white fleet upon our same waters so many years ago...

Amen to "Better Days"!

Expiring Shelf Life

A passing soul in my life taught me an important lesson - never make anyone a priority
when they themselves consider you only an option.

Such is the state The Citizen finds themselves here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

They no longer feel like a priority in the eyes of Government. 

More like
Sidelined - rather than bulls-eyed.
Scorned - rather than embraced.

In democratic jargon,
The Citizen is disenfranchise;
And the process called dysfunctional and diluted.

The Citizen understands the need to live within one's means
(they do it day in and day out)

But something is off in the political here-and-now dynamics in this province.

There is an uncomfortableness that those at the helm know not what they are doing.

Decisions are made without
consultation
clarity
compassion
foresight
vision

There is a hyper-reactionary panic
like a ship in a storm without a master Captain. 

Basic public services are compromised
Basic decencies are overlooked
Professionals are uneasy - the courageous are speaking out
Retractions are made at a whim.


In short,
Nothing feels like a Master Plan - just a slam-bam-'thank-you-ma'am indecency

Above all,
arrogance and attitude 
spin and sputter
rather
than partnership and progress
seem to be the order of the day.
 
Life is never straightforward as we know;
but when the one person and your own government
is not making YOU a priority,
you just know the Expiration Date 
is sooner rather than later.

The Flat-Iron Lady

Hi all you unkempt citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador!

My name is Kathy Done-derdale and I am a beauty consultant of sorts.

I have just the magical beauty tool to  achieve the look I THINK looks best on you.
(Unfortunately, it is not the one that you want or envisioned!) 

It's called the Newfoundland Labrador Flat-Iron (Budget 2013)

It works like this. I take a few strands of your collective hair (aka vital public service), say things we don't need like

health care
school boards and teachers
human rights
wildlife officers
justice system
adult basic education
career consultants
public servants
tourism
fisheries
immigration attraction
business attraction
rural development
public washrooms (coming soon!)

and bit by bit (with your back to the mirror) I "flatten" each one of them into nothing.

You won't recognize yourself (this province) when I am through with you!

That's the beauty of my hair-brained scheme - it flat lines everything in one good session (except Nalcor of course). 

And just like any good flat-iron, I can turn it from Warm to Medium to Hot as Hell!

Opps, sorry ... I smell something burning ... did I scorch you?

No?    Well let's ramp up the heat on that damn flat-iron and burn every last hair off your head! (if not now, then in Budget 2014)

There now - you look just wonderful without hair (vital services)!

My pleasure.

KD | Your (unskilled and knowledge-deficit) Beauty Consultant


P.s.  Tom Marshall will rue the day he called me the Iron Lady  that has compassion.

I'm better than that!  I do not have any compassion  -  I flat-ironed that out too!

Customer Service just wasn't my thing. 

Thanks for the vote just the same!




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