The Opposition.....Becoming A Comic Opera

Thank You Joe, Thank You Toronto......

I am sure our troops, serving everywhere not just in Afganistan, are bolstered by the support shown at the rally.......

A dream come true

By JOE WARMINGTON

Sometimes you just have to fight for what you believe in.

Our troops believe in this country. And they fight for it.

Sometimes they die.

They die so we don't have to die.

They die so schools can be built for young Afghan children who only dream of the kind of life we have here in Canada.

The brave men and women who are serving in Afghanistan are Canadian heroes.

And yesterday, they were honoured by other Canadians in a special Remembrance Day right here in Toronto.

At some point between the solemn roll call for the 37 Canadian soldiers who have fallen in Afghanistan and the proud testimony of a father whose son was among them, it occurred to me how one week earlier the rally had been but a dream.

The idea of filling that square with red -- red for our troops -- came over me while I was having a coffee at Yonge-Dundas Square.

Yesterday, my dream came true -- boy, did it ever.

When I penned last Saturday's column urging yesterday's rally, I was thinking maybe 35 people would show up.

Yonge-Dundas Square officials estimate that around 3,500 people made up yesteday's vast sea of red.

Terrific.

The number, however, is not as important as the message. The message is one of support to our valiant Canadian troops in Afghanistan.

I believe the troops heard that loud and clear.

"I know how much it means to them," said Sean McTeague, whose wounded son Michael, who is recovering in Sunnybrook Hospital, listened to the event on a radio.

Radio stations AM 640 and CFRB 1010 made sure our troops heard every word of support.

Program directors Gord Harris of AM 640 and Steve Kowch of CFRB 1010 put aside competitiveness and just pumped the heck out of the event for the best of reasons.

Same goes for Q-107's John Derringer, who along with other hosts Bill Carroll, Ted Woloshyn, John Oakley, Craig Bromell and Mark Elliot, ensured everybody knew it was happening.

Thanks also to Paul and Carol Mott ("The Motts").

These people, and so many others, quickly jumped in to help. We could never thank them all.

I do want to send out a special thank-you to Justin Van Dette of Toronto Councillor Bill Saundercook's office and Louise Gray of the Toronto Police Association.

These special people worked 72 hours straight to help turn this dream into something so special.

My gratitude also goes out to Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair and Toronto Police Association president Dave Wilson.

Special thanks to Greyhound for letting us essentially hijack their pre-arranged permit for the Yonge-Dundas Square.

I also can't forget musicians Tim Amick, Pam and Doug Champagne, Hurricane Mike Thompson, Derek Pilgrim and Eddie Coffey for their patriotic tunes.

It was all for the men and women in Afghanistan and for Canadian soldiers stationed in 15 other countries too.

It never hurts to give our troops a pat on the back.

A lot of them have died for us.

Pouring our feelings out for our troops was difficult enough at yesterday's rally, without hearing the news in the middle of the rally that another Canadian soldier had been killed.

But that's war.

And make no mistake, our boys and girls are fighting in one.

Lt. Col. Cliff Trollope, the highest ranking Canadian in Toronto, brought it home when he talked of how brave and selfless our troops are. They just do it. And there are no guarantees they are going to come home alive.

At this moment in time, our troops know that Toronto cares.

A video of the event was sent over on a military supply flight last night.

Our men and women in the field will see their fellow Canadians gathered in downtown Toronto, dressed in red and waving their flags.

They will hear Mayor David Miller talking about his relatives who fought in World War II.

They will hear the songs.

But most importantly, they will hear a wildly patriotic crowd cheering loudly.

And the cheers were for them -- the soldiers!

"It is very emotional when I think of our young men and women over there," Canadian music legend Gordon Lightfoot told the crowd. "I think about them every day, read about them dying in the newspaper and I am very concerned about them."

We all are. Stay safe troops. We know what you are fighting for is worth it.

Sue Ann Gives Us Portrait Of LeDrew

I think the campaign is going to get more media coverage because of LeDrew and hopefully he will keep his promise of withdrawing if polls indicate he cannot win and his supporters would get behind Pitfield.

So, who is this LeDrew?

By SUE-ANN LEVY

He declared bankruptcy two years ago and was openly scolded last year by an Ontario Superior Court Justice for neglecting to pay more than $300,000 in back taxes.

It was also clear to most who met up with 53-year-old Stephen LeDrew -- as he declared his candidacy for mayor yesterday afternoon -- that he has little more than a cursory command of the many issues plaguing this city.

In fact, when asked what he'd do about the city's high business taxes or how he'd end homelessness, he told us he wasn't going "to talk about all those details right now" and that the city's "social services" department should better deal with those living on the street.

He says he has lots of "prominent supporters" already but won't name them until next week.

As for his monetary problems, LeDrew told us he had a "proposal" to pay off all his outstanding taxes over time but Revenue Canada "forced" him into bankruptcy.

"I handled it honourably ... it was not through anything improper and I'm not running for budget chief," he said, blaming his fiscal woes on the fact that his law firm and marriage broke up all at the same time.

Whether he intended to pay his taxes in a timely manner or not -- and frankly, as mayor he'd have a far greater responsibility than the budget chief to keep the city fiscally sound -- these are not exactly the kind of qualifications I'd like to see in a municipal leader in charge of a $7.6-billion corporation that is larger than most of Canada's provinces.

But having said all of that, I think the bombastic and colourful former president of the Liberal Party of Canada -- the man known for his trademark bushy eyebrows -- might just lend a much-needed spark to Toronto's mayoralty race.

As the lawyer and father of six put it yesterday, he decided to throw his hat into the ring because he doesn't think Mayor David Miller has been an "effective leader" of this city.

"I was moved to act because this city is deteriorating and we can't have David Miller for another four years," he said.

Someone or something has to light a fire under His Blondness, who has been behaving as if he's already won the keys to the mayor's office for another four-year term.

So far all Miller has delivered are platitudes about how he intends to continue the wonderful job he's done to date to build a city that is "creative and clean, safe and strong."

In fact, for the first time -- in a speech to the Toronto Board of Trade yesterday -- the mayor outlined his so-called economic vision. For a Harvard economics grad, it was very thin indeed.

In a press statement, his campaign actually had the audacity to claim that under Mayor Miller's leadership, "Toronto has become a model of fiscal management." What a laugh.

Methinks there's a "mis" missing before the word management.

The mayor's only other serious opponent, Coun. Jane Pitfield, has done her level best to articulate a platform which appeals to the centre-right contingent -- those who feel they're paying more taxes and getting fewer city services. I also happen to think she has a heckuva lot of integrity.

But she's been fighting an uphill battle -- hampered by a series of missed opportunities and the fact that the political movers and shakers who could greatly help her campaign are busy with the Liberal leadership race or seem to prefer to take a rest from the mayoral race this time around.

I worried yesterday whether LeDrew and Pitfield would end up splitting the vote, leaving Miller to race up the middle.

But after listening to LeDrew deliver his schtick, I feel more hopeful that at least there will be a decent race and Miller will be forced to defend his less-than-stellar record.As LeDrew himself put it: "It's going to be an exciting campaign ... we're going to have a lot of fun and we're going to engage the citizens of Toronto in a public debate."

Get Out And Vote

This is going to develope into an anyone but Miller campaign. And this is true of many of the riding campaigns as well but unforetuneately most of the left wingers on council, like Miller, have not really accomplished much. Take polls for what they are.......

New poll shows Miller is beatable

David Miller's collar is tighter, Jane Pitfield has the wind at her back -- with one caveat -- and media pundits (although not our own Sue-Ann Levy) are wiping the egg off their faces.

Let's be fair....Royson James, The Star, has also been on Miller's case.....

All three things happened at once yesterday with the release of a shocking (to some) Ipsos-Reid poll showing that the fight for the Toronto mayor's job is now a real horserace.

Miller leads Pitfield 55%-40% among decided voters polled and by a much tighter 51%-46% if you include only those who say they are certain to vote Nov. 13. (This is significant because voter turnout in municipal elections is notoriously low.)

In addition, a huge number of voters, 43%, are undecided.

Make no mistake. The news here is that the mayor's job is up for grabs. Pitfield, given up for dead by the city's elites, has just roared back to life. Miller, who thought he was going to have a cakewalk to victory, now has a fight on his hands.

That said, there's a caveat. Former federal Liberal party president Stephen LeDrew threw a wildcard into the race yesterday by announcing at the last moment that he's running for mayor. Conventional wisdom says LeDrew's entry hurts Pitfield and helps Miller because it will split the anti-Miller vote.

But conventional wisdom a day ago said the mayor's race was already over so who knows? Miller's still out front, but his road to victory is now much tougher. Media coverage of the race, given yesterday's poll results and the entry of the witty and media-savvy LeDrew, will now be far more intense.

That's bad for Miller because at the moment, he's losing momentum. Last fall, 69% of those polled thought he deserved a second term. That's now down to 57% and among those who say they are sure to vote, only 51% think he deserves re-election.

Out-of-touch media pundits have spent months prematurely declaring Pitfield's campaign dead. They missed the real story this poll suggests -- that after three years in power, Miller hasn't inspired people. Voters aren't angry at him, which is why he still leads, but there's no great enthusiasm for him, either.

Why?Ask yourself two questions: Other than stopping the Island Airport bridge, as he promised in 2003, what's he done? Does the city look better or operate more efficiently than it did back then, considering that spending has gone up by $1.3 billion and property taxes have steadily risen by 3% a year?

Hang on, folks. The mayor's race just got a lot more interesting

This Is What Leadership Is All About

You don't lead be kissing ass but by standing up for what you believe is fair. Can you imagine Martin or Chrietien or Layton or Bouchard making it quite clear what Canada's position is on the Lebanese/Israeli issue. Normally the use of the words force & Canada in the same sentence would be an oxymoron.

Harper forces debate on Mideast declaration

Updated Fri. Sep. 29 2006 11:02 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Members of the Francophonie summit have agreed to a compromise on a contentious resolution after Prime Minister Stephen Harper blocked the original proposal.

The original wording of the resolution recognized Lebanon's suffering in this summer's 34-day conflict, but not Israel's.

Harper took a strong stance against the Egyptian-proposed resolution which most of the 72 members supported. He urged the organization to recognize the suffering of both nations.

After returning to the conference table to hammer out the wording of the resolution, the French-speaking states eventually agreed unanimously to support a compromise that called for the end of hostilities and a return to calm.

"They spent much of the afternoon at the conference table re-drafting a resolution with the wording Harper wanted," said CTV's Rosemary Thompson reporting from the summit.

French President Jacques Chirac urged members to consider Harper's proposal.

Lebanon had reservations, however. Culture Minister Tarek Mitri said he wanted a resolution that favoured his country and condemned the war as deplorable.

He also said Canada was the only country that opposed the original resolution.

Harper said Canada deplored the war but couldn't accept a resolution that didn't acknowledge that Israelis had also suffered.

"I hope we can all recognize the suffering of humans -- men and women -- and not just suffering based on people's nationality,'' Harper said.

"Yes, we can deplore the war and we can recognize the victims, but la Francophonie can't recognize victims according to their nationality."

The 34-day conflict which began on July 12 killed 855 Lebanese and 159 Israelis. Israel bombarded Lebanon with air and artillery attacks, while Hezbollah launched nearly 4,000 rockets into northern Israel, forcing about 300,000 residents to evacuate and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to buildings and the economy.

Earlier in the summit, Harper touted Canada's work promoting human rights, democracy and freedom in countries such as Afghanistan, Sudan and Haiti, and called on French-speaking nations to do more to help Sudan.

Harper said discussions at this week's summit were productive in a number of areas, such as education, information and technology.

The next summit, scheduled for October 2008, will be held in Quebec City.

A Primer In Fiscal Reality For NDP & Liberals

HONEY, I SHRUNK THE DEBT

-John Lawrence

September 28, 2006—As I tuned in to the Parliamentary Channel, it came as no surprise to see and hear Jack Layton (sigh) once again act as though he had been given some sort of power that Stephen Harper is supposed to recognize.

To be fair to the NDP and Liberals, I will concede that it is their job to watch and pounce on the government should it not do what is in the best interests of us, the people. That said, there should also be room for cross-party agreement when something good is done, such as our nation's debt being retired piece by piece.

As I watched the declaration that our surplus had gone to paying down the debt, something occurred to me. That is a lot of money to simply write off as unusable. What would the other parties have done with that cash, were they able to use it?

The NDP feigned outrage in the Commons yesterday, chastising the prime minister for not allowing any kind of debate over what to do with this large surplus. I say that this is feigned because either Jack knows that the government is mandated by law to apply any unaccounted surplus at the end of each fiscal year to the national debt and is simply playing a cheap game of politics, or worse, he is again showing just how clueless him and his party truly are. Apparently, Jack Layton thinks that Mr. Harper ought to consult him on just about every issue. The only thing standing in the way of that is the leader we have being just that; a leader.

Jack, you must realize by now that you lost. You are the head of a losing party and a defunct, non-important entity.

May God help us should there ever be enough Canadians dumb enough to give this man or his extreme leftist party control of our country.

The Liberals, currently being led around by Mr. Graham, were quite somber and reflective as they silently considered how many votes they could have extracted from the populace with that kind of bread. $13 billion is nothing to sneeze at. Do you realize how big the sponsorship program could have been with that wallet?

Had the Liberals somehow eked out a win in the last election, we could have universal hair care by now. Perhaps we could have rolled piercings into the health act, or made it mandatory for provinces to fund tattoo artists. We could have developed an even bigger useless gun registry and perhaps included hunting knives as well. Later, we could add bread and butter knives. (You must be aware of the sharp increase in stabbings as of late.)

With $13 billion, the Liberals could have funded anti-American mercenaries to help defeat George Bush and those evil cousins of ours or perhaps we could have simply continued to berate them on the world stage while our men and women oversees still depend on American air support to stay alive. We could have funded a national gay church and built bigger and better reception areas for the masses arriving on our borders each day.

We could have equipped our border agents with bullet proof undergarments so they would not have to be issued those nasty firearms. And of course, let's not forget the massive, mammoth spending spree that could have been handled by Liberal friendly Quebec firms in the run up to the next election.

Instead, what we got was a prime minister who has paid down more debt that our children, your children, will not have to struggle with. At one time, our debt to GDP ratio was greater than 60%, meaning roughly two-thirds of all incoming monies was used to service the debt. At present, it is just above 41% and heading downward. To give credit where it is due, the Liberals also reduced the country's debt over the last decade, but were keen to change the law coming into our last election.

As Canadians, we must stand firm in our resolve to balance our books. It is far too easy to succumb to the urge to spend, but luckily, Stephen Harper is a true fiscal conservative as well as a political one, unlike the leader south of the border who continues to accumulate massive debt loads. The end result? More money down the road. A brighter future for our children and their children, and even better social programs to come, thanks to more money to spend on programs as the debt becomes smaller and smaller.

Does that make enough sense to you, Jack, or do you still not get it?

Don't Schools Teach Children To Read

I thought that is what they are supposed to do and if that is true then why do we need Adult Literacy programs. I can see ESL funding and would make it mandatory for all immigrants.

Harper, wife on different pages

Laureen joins literacy crusade
On Monday, Tories cut reading program

Sep. 29, 2006. 05:26 AM

SUSAN DELACOURT

OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF

OTTAWA—Literacy — it's all about reading, writing and getting your story straight. Or so it seemed this week in Ottawa. On Monday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government axed $17.7 million from the human resources department's Adult Learning and Literacy Skills Program as part of a wave of spending cuts.Yesterday, Harper's wife Laureen was on the streets of Ottawa, promoting literacy. Clad in a yellow T-shirt and handing out newspapers in the drizzle as part of a CanWest media company promotion of child literacy, it seemed that perhaps Laureen Harper hadn't seen the memo about the literacy cuts earlier in the week.Ditto for Harper's chief of staff, Ian Brodie, who coughed up a $20 literacy donation when he came across his boss's wife on the street in front of the Parliament buildings.Treasury Board President John Baird, who announced the cuts on Monday, was also part of the CanWest street campaign. "It appears that the Prime Minister and his wife are reading from different pages these days," Bonnie Brown, the Liberal MP from Oakville, said yesterday in the Commons."Now that the Prime Minister's wife has publicly demonstrated the error of her husband's government's ways, will the Prime Minister immediately restore funding to literacy programs?" The CanWest promotion is called "Raise a Reader" and is aimed at improving literacy in children.

The Conservative cuts are directed at adult-literacy efforts.

So the difference, it seems, revolves around when the government should pay for people to learn to read and write.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1159480211302&call_pageid=968332188492

Where Your Money Is Not Going To Go

Thanks to Stephen Harper and the conservatives........

Waste not, want not

By RACHEL MARSDEN

This week, the federal Conservatives trimmed $1 billion from their annual spending, proving that even though Prime Minister Steve may have indulged a little too much on the summer barbeque circuit, at least he knows when to push away from the table when it really counts.

But there's nothing quite like the squealing of pork-barreling NDP and Liberal MPs as their chairs get pried away from the tax dollar buffet. Liberal leader Bill Graham said the belt-tightening was vindictive and "mean spirited." Right, about as mean-spirited as telling a kid to take his head out from under the Slurpee tap at the 7-Eleven.

Let's have a closer look at some details of this Conservative "exercise in ideology," as NDP MP Charles Angus calls it:

* Stephen Harper has saved us $47 million per year simply by shrinking the size of his cabinet compared to Paul Martin's. That was a lot of wasted money just to make Liberal MPs feel important. Then again, when your party's sleaze factor is off the charts, as it was during AdScam, maybe it helps to have the word "Honourable" in front of as many names as possible.

* The Liberals were blowing $10 million a year to encourage people to work for free as volunteers. How about a booze-soaked bash for the purpose of encouraging sobriety?

* What will aboriginals do now without the feds' $11-million stop-smoking campaign? I have a cheaper, more effective idea: Ditch all the cigarette carton pictures of blackened lungs, rotten teeth, and limp cigarettes. Use only a picture of the male organ that the limp cigarette represents. Blow it up to cover the entire carton. Who would put anything in their mouth that comes out of that?

* Harper shaved $5 million from the Status of Women budget. Our military budget already has this covered. Canadian soldiers who are killing the misogynist Taliban in Afghanistan have done more to improve the status of women than any interest group. Too bad the NDP won't support their mission.

* Nearly $18 million has been cut from adult literacy programs. We could easily save that amount if we made it a mandatory requirement for immigrants to be fully literate in English as a condition of admission.

* $5.6 million was saved by axing the Court Challenges Program. This funding enabled special interest groups to challenge laws made by parliamentarians democratically elected by the rest of us. There's a name for this: Tyranny.

* The Museum Assistance Program has been cut by $4.6 million. I could understand if that cash went toward restoring precious ancient artifacts, but looking over the program's 2004-2005 funding, I see projects like The Edmonton Art Gallery's Maxwell Bates expressionism exhibit, which burned through roughly $100k of our cash. We already have a program for artistic endeavours that require government handouts. It's called "welfare."

There's one opportunity that Harper missed, though. He could have automatically recouped another $1 billion annually by cancelling the liberal propaganda project known as the CBC. Before pulling the plug, he could give them a year's notice -- meaning five more Trudeau miniseries and three more conspiracy movies about how the Americans should blame themselves for 9/11 -- just to prove that he's a truly "compassionate conservative."

RED Friday

Get out to Yonge Dundas Square....

Tories Assess Liberal Hopefuls

Tory memo assesses Liberal leadership candidates

Updated Thu. Sep. 28 2006 6:39 PM ET

Canadian Press

OTTAWA -- The ruling Tories indulged in some mischief Thursday in an apparent bid to influence the outcome of the Liberal leadership race.

On the eve of the Liberals' super weekend, when some 4,300 delegates will be chosen to attend the party's Dec. 2 leadership convention, a confidential memo from Conservative national campaign chief Doug Finley was conveniently leaked to two newspapers, one French, one English.

Offering his assessment of the top four contenders in the Liberal contest, Finley confides that rookie Toronto MP and acclaimed scholar Michael Ignatieff would be the most formidable foe for the Conservatives.

Bob Rae, on the other hand, would have trouble overcoming his turbulent, recession-ravaged record as Ontario NDP premier during the early 1990s.

Finley also says that focus groups have dismissed former Ontario education minister Gerard Kennedy as "minor league,'' and sole Quebec contender Stephane Dion as "ral to the core........the most boring'' of the lot.

IMHO those two traits are liberal to the core.......

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060928/liberals_conservatives_060928/20060928?hub=Politics

Third Entry In Mayorality Race In Toronto

CTV might see LeDrew as a "high profile" candidate but the majority of voters probably have never heard of him and being the president of the Liberal Party of Canada isn't, IMHO, a plus. We will have to wait and see.........

Mayor's race could see third high-profile rival

CTV.ca News Staff

The former president of the Liberal Party of Canada, Stephen LeDrew, will make a last-minute decision on whether he will run for mayor of Toronto.

LeDrew says he will make up his mind Friday afternoon. Nominations close at 5 p.m.

The 53-year-old lawyer, known for his signature bow ties, said he searched for a rival to unseat first-term incumbent David Miller, but couldn't find one.

LeDrew said he wasn't considering running until last weekend, when others, including former Liberal Dennis Mills, chose not to join the contest.

He told The Globe and Mail he likes Miller, but thinks he "has been a poor mayor and has served the city poorly."

LeDrew criticized Miller on issues including the homeless and the cleanliness of the city.

In regards to the other main mayoral candidate, Councillor Jane Pitfield, LeDrew said "she doesn't have it to be the mayor."

LeDrew said if he runs and finds himself trailing Pitfield with about a week to go, he would withdraw from the race.

"If the polls are showing she is way ahead and I wasn't, I would say 'vote with Jane' and I would hope she would say the same for me," he told the Globe.

"I am not a vote splitter."

Asked if she would quit before election day to avoid vote splitting, assuming LeDrew was way ahead of her, Pitfield said: "I don't expect that's going to happen."

Longtime Liberal Senator Jerry Grafstein on Monday joined Pitfield's campaign after considering a run for the city's top spot.

LeDrew was president of the Liberal Party of Canada from March 1998 to November 2003.

Bill's A Good Ol' Boy But.....

.....a lot of good ol' boys that you might sit around and have a beer with you know that some of the conversation might be just plain old bullshit but hell that's wait have a drink with the boys is all about. To be honest with you I think Ann Coulter would fit right in with the boys......

I DID NOT HAVE SEX WITH THAT NOMAD, OSAMA BIN LADEN
September 27, 2006


It's just like old times. Bill Clinton delivers an impassioned speech, and within 24 hours the Web is bristling with documentation, establishing that nearly every sentence was a lie.

The glassy-eyed Clinton cultists are insisting their idol's on-air breakdown during a "Fox News Sunday" interview with Chris Wallace was a calculated performance, which is a bit like describing Hurricane Katrina as a "planned demolition." Like an Osama tape, they claim he was sending a signal to Democrats to show them how to treat Republicans. Listen up, Democrats: Let's energize the undecideds by throwing a hissy fit on national television!

The Clintonian plan for action apparently entails inventing lunatic conspiracy theories, telling lots of lies, shouting, sneering, interrupting, and telling your interlocutor, "(Y)ou've got that little smirk on your face and you think you're so clever" — all for asking a simple question. To wit: "Why didn't you do more to put bin Laden and al-Qaida out of business when you were president?" The only thing Clinton forgot to say to Wallace was, "You'd better put some ice on that."

Let me be the first to welcome Chris Wallace to the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy! If the son of Mike Wallace is a member, can Chelsea be far behind?

According to Wallace, Clinton's aide, Jay Carson, demanded that the interview be stopped a few minutes into Clinton's tantrum — just before the part where he threw the lamp at Wallace. The last time Clinton got that red in the face, the encounter ended with a stained dress. Even Muslims thought Clinton overreacted. But the Clinton Kool-Aid drinkers tell us this was a masterfully planned set-piece by their leader.

http://www.anncoulter.com/cgi-local/welcome.cgi

I Missed The Story That Generated The Following

But I thought it would be interesting to show one of those "different strokes for different folks' video.

BIZARRE CATHOLIC RITUALS!!!!

Oh, wait. They aren’t Catholics, are they?!

Show More >

Let's See What Beth Is Up To On Her Blog,,,

I abhor political correctness not because it is wrong but because inevitably the "rights" of one group will supersede the rights of anyone who crosses the line. How many times have you heard of a broadcaster, journalist, public figure, etc. castigated for making a comment about a member of one of the designated groups; ie: blacks, feminists, disabled, indians, gays/lesbians, et al, but I don't recall any member of one of the designated groups be held to account for comments for similar remarks about a member of the white "race." Personally it doesn't bother me one iota as I have my self esteerm locked in place.

But on a regular basis you hear bleatings about; "They picked on me because I'm _ ________."

Tags: George Allen, Virginia, Jim Webb, race, racial politics, Senate, 2006 elections

There’s a reason why I’ve put up the “explicit content” thing. If you’re going to be offended by words that even I don’t use, pass by this post because I’m using them–but to make a point.
Now that that’s out of the way… (Beth's Comment)

STOP IT. STOP the race card-playing in politics. I am sick of it. All it does is keep racism part of the natural order of things. This ridiculous business about George Allen using “the N word” in college is a pointless, brainless, cynical act of desperation. Now Jim Webb has come out and said he doesn’t say it as part of general discourse and “never as a racial slur.” Well, give the man a medal. (How is that not a “racial slur?”) And this idiotic crack about “nobody in the South” hasn’t said it?! WRONG! I know plenty of people who I know there’s no way they’ve said “the N word,” just like they’ve never said plenty of other taboo words.

Show More >

Blogs Holding Miller's Feet To The Fire

And while many participants have taken their dislike of the left and Miller in particular down to street level even the mainstream media has become disenchanted with him. Tor Pol has posted a couple of items that are worthy of discussion at the local legion hall......

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

David Miller Should Run for Mayor - of Thunder Bay

From Here:

Peterson says thousands of letters were sent to Toronto's Mayor David Miller over the past few months to support Bombardier's bid for the TTC subway car contract. And she says now that the Bombardier plant has been given the work, it's a great opportunity to say thank you.

Frankly, with the Bombardier Non-Competitive Bid Award, he has accomplished FAR more for THAT city than for Toronto in the last three years. He arranged for Toronto taxpayers to shell out about $300,000 per employee in TB (total of $100 million) so that he could reward his union friends.
Meanwhile, he drives a Primus - a Japanese Car built over there....
Stinkin socialist hypocrite.

Miller and the Gardiner

Blonde Davey desperately wants to announce that he's tearing down the Gardiner.
I mean he wakes up early to think about how to do it.
Why, because his constituencies demand it - the union workers who will get the work and the Birkie wearers who hate cars.
So why did he come out with a reason to not recommend moving ahead with ABTG (anything but the . . .)?
Because he wants to win the election, silly.
Lash got to him, "David are you effin nuts. You won't get a single vote west of Roncie if you say you wanna tear it down. Jeezus. Get a brain..."

If I were as creative as, say Kinsella, I'd spin this by saying that David is so bereft of vision that he can't even figure out to achieve his biggest priorities.
But I'm way more pedestrian, plus I can't play geetar.

posted by Tor Poli @ 6:45 PM 0 comments links to this post

I Don't Think Even His Blondness Would Be That Stupid

Toronto mayor victim of attempted online smear

Anonymous posts claim newspaper about to report affair with campaign worker

John Kennedy

canada.com

Monday, September 25, 2006

Toronto mayor David Miller is the target of an attempted smear campaign on the Internet, canada.com has learned.

Someone anonymously posted a message in an online forum Monday claiming that a student newspaper at the University of Toronto was about to publish allegations that Miller had an extramarital affair with a campaign volunteer.

The posting was flagged by a site administrator and removed.

According to the gossip, a 23-year-old U of T student bragged about the affair to friends, who leaked the story to The Varsity.

Miller campaign spokesman Rob Sinclair says he has heard nothing about the Internet chatter, which he calls "absurd."

“This sounds like someone’s idea of a very sick joke,” he says. “It’s a sick prank and not worthy of comment.”

Sinclair would not confirm if the student identified in the bogus posting is a Miller campaign volunteer.

The student, who attends U of T’s Trinity College, could not be reached for comment.

At Miller’s profile on Wikipedia, billed as “the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit,” an entry also referred to the impending scandal.

“On Tuesday September 26th 2006, allegations of an affair David Miller had with a recent University of Toronto undergraduate emerged in the University's Varsity newspaper,” read the posting, which was removed shortly after it first appeared.

The Varsity’s news editor, Mike Ghenu, says there is no such story running in the newspaper, which doesn’t even publish an issue on Sept. 26.

“That would move a lot of papers, wouldn’t it?,” said Ghenu. “I’m flattered that someone chose our paper.”

Miller is married to lawyer Jill Arthur and has two children. His main opponent in the upcoming election is city councilor Jane Pitfield.

© canada.com 2006

Our Farcical Parole Laws

And let's not forget the farce even before they start serving time......concurrent sentencing and time allowed for the period before going to trial.

Our farcical parole laws

By TOM BRODBECK

You've got to wonder what the point is of handing out stiff sentences for serious crimes, given our lax parole laws.

We demand that courts take violent crimes like armed robbery seriously by meting out harsh penalties to send a clear message to the public that we don't tolerate such behaviour.

When a harsh sentence is handed out by a judge -- say eight years in prison for multiple counts of armed robbery -- most of us nod our heads in agreement, satisfied that justice has been served.

But has it, when you hear the guy who got eight years is eligible to go home, sleep in his own bed and go back to work or school after serving just a little more than 21/2 years in prison?

Not really.

That's the story of serial bank robber Klaus Burlakow, who repeatedly terrorized bank tellers at gunpoint and once pointed a gun in the face of a teller in front of her teenage son.

He was given a stiff, eight-year prison term by provincial court Judge Judith Webster (which earned her a Hard-Ball Award in this column).

What we often forget, though, is if the criminal plays his cards right, he won't serve anywhere near the sentence handed down by the court.

For most crimes, offenders are eligible for full parole after serving only one-third of their sentence or seven years -- whichever comes first.

And, make no mistake, full parole is virtually full freedom.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/News/Columnists/Brodbeck_Tom/2006/09/27/pf-1904878.htm

l

Lobby Registry - Another Failure Of The Leftists

You want to know why there is no formal lobby registry in place? It can be laid right on the doorstep of Miller and his leftist cronies who manipulated the process in such a way that clauses, like the exemption of unions, et al, would raise objections.

Lobbyists are lobbyists whether they are Bombardier or unions or enivronuts, social in-activists
or even you and I as private citizens.

Editorial: Lobbyist registry delayed needlessly

Sep. 28, 2006. 01:00 AM

Madam Justice Denise Bellamy could not have been more clear when she concluded more than a year ago that the city of Toronto "should establish and maintain a lobbyist registry." That was a main recommendation of her landmark inquiry into the city's computer leasing scandal. Her commendable goal was to prevent fresh episodes of corruption from further tainting politics at City Hall."No one should be permitted to engage in any lobbying activity at the city without first registering in the lobbyist registry," Bellamy wrote in the final report she delivered last September. There is no ambiguity there.What needs to be done is clear. Yet, more than 12 months after Bellamy's report, a mandatory lobbyist registry still has not been set up in Toronto. Just this week, a majority of city councillors rejected proposed rules for a registry and punted the issue back to city staff for review. It won't return for council's consideration until long after the Nov. 13 municipal election and likely won't surface again until well into next year.This needless delay is outrageous. It amounts to a breach of duty by city councillors, who should have acted decisively to ensure the bad old days of rampant cronyism and lobbyist pressure are truly over at City Hall.Meanwhile, a voluntary and hopelessly ineffective lobbyist registry remains in place. Most councillors have not bothered to participate in any consistent way. Ironically, even those on a steering committee to implement Bellamy's recommendations have been remiss. Four out of five councillors serving on the committee, whose job is to create a more accountable registry, failed to join fully in the voluntary system.Given that this is an election year, politics are partly responsible for the delay. Mayor David Miller had hoped to cite creation of a mandatory lobbyist registry as one of his accomplishments while in office. By voting for delay, Miller's opponents managed to derail that plan. They challenged the rules proposed for the mandatory registry, arguing that civic unions and non-profit groups were unfairly exempt. These organizations would have been free to lobby without any supervision or accountability. Miller should have closed that loophole before pressing ahead. Then his opponents would have found it far harder to speak against this measure.Unfortunately, by granting unions and non-profit groups an unnecessary and undesirable exemption from the rules, Miller's side laid the groundwork for defeat and for new delays in getting a lobbyist registry.The ultimate loser in all this is any Toronto resident interested in obtaining greater accountability from local elected officials.It's too late to bring about change before the election, now less than seven weeks away. But Toronto's next city council should make every effort to rapidly deliver a mandatory lobbyist registry. At the same time, Toronto's politicians should strive to get it right by axing the proposed exemption for paid lobbying done by unions and non-profit groups.

Miller Outraged About Island Airport

But it looks like he and his waterfront condo owners and island squatters are in the minority as attested to by letters to the editor. I just hope the people in favour of the airport will get out and vote for Jane Pittfield.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&pubid=968163964505&cid=1159351402788&col=968705899037&call_page=TS_News&call_pageid=968332188492&call_pagepath=News/News

Go Get Him Jane

Let's Not Let The Gardner Expressway Become An Issue

That blinds us to the incompotence of city council when it comes to fiscal responsibility, nepotism, secret deals, etc.

What are they burying?

By SUE-ANN LEVY

There's no doubt in my mind that Mayor David Miller's great waterfront wet dream includes tearing down the Gardiner Expressway.

True, His Blondness bobbed and weaved yesterday about the need for a proper business and funding plan and a finessed report before any decisions could be made on whether to replace, improve or refurbish the Gardiner -- or keep it the way it is.

"If we could remove the part of Gardiner that is in the vicinity of where the waterfront is going to be revitalized, that would be a nice idea," Miller said. "But you can't do it unless there's a business plan or money."

Whoa, stop the presses. When has money or a sound plan ever stood in this mayor's way?

Fact is, city officials were not the least bit helpful about parting with the contentious report -- which was prepared by the Toronto Waterfront Revitilizaton Corporation (TWRC) in July of 2004 for the tidy sum of $1 million.

At least three Freedom of Information requests were made to try to get it. It took pressure from Coun. Denzil Minnan-Wong earlier this week at council to get it released, first just to councillors, then to the public.

Yet Miller had the chutzpah to contend it "hasn't been secret at all" -- that it was simply a "complex report that needed city staff review."

Complex, my foot. If this had idea had no legs,as some contend -- and didn't pose a risk of becoming an election issue -- why would Mr. Openness and Transparency be so concerned about releasing it?

The TWRC report -- which speaks of a Gardiner that is an "eyesore," and a "barrier between the city and the waterfront" -- seems pretty far along in its thinking and development to me. Yesterday, senior TWRC officials said they intend to take their ideas out for public consultation over the winter and report back to council next spring.

While they referred to four options for dealing with the so-called eyesore, their preference is creating what they call a "Great Street" -- which would retain the Gardiner west of Spadina but dismantle it from Spadina east to the DVP. The new "Waterfront Boulevard" would have 10 lanes of traffic (with a boulevard in the middle) from Simcoe to Jarvis and eight lanes from Jarvis to the Don River.

According to TWRC president and CEO John Campbell, the whole effort would take nine years from start to completion. But traffic on the Gardiner would be disrupted a mere 20% from the west throughout the construction and not one bit from the east, he said.

The report also suggests this refurbishing will push more people onto transit. (I'll believe all of this when I see it.)

Consultant Bruce Bodden conceded the estimated $490-million cost for this option (calculated in 2004) would need to be reevaluated, as does the cost of the Front Street extension, estimated at $255 million in 2003.

Never mind, though, there's talk the mayor and his minions will simply collect the needed cash through new road tolls.

Tearing down the Gardiner has never made any sense to me. I can't even begin to imagine the gridlock that will be created by this move or how the costs will escalate as the nine years turn into heaven knows how long.

And all for what? To remove a barrier that already exists?

You want to talk eyesore? How about the wall of condos that even Bodden concedes have taken over the area he suggests needs opening up? Or what about the scuzzy-looking panhandlers and squeegeers who ply their trade down on the Lakeshore?

CAA government relations specialist Faye Lyons said the Gardiner is absolutely not a barrier to the waterfront and people will continue to drive their cars no matter how many obstacles are put in front of them.

Mayoral candidate Jane Pitfield feels the Millerites have already decided to take it down. "I reassure you as mayor that the Gardiner will stay up," she told a luncheon crowd yesterday. "The Gardiner is a bigger issue than the bridge to the Island airport."

How Stupid Does Miller Think People Are......

How about Madam Justice Bellamy's ruling on the tendering process? Miller didn't abide by that ruling so why should we believe he will abide by the Lobbyist Registration. He didn't abide by the voluntary lobbyist registration program.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

David Miller the Hypocrite on Lobbyist Registration

From The Globe Today:

Toronto will have a new, mandatory lobbyist registry, billed as one of the strongest in North America, ready by next spring, if council next week adopts measures passed yesterday by a key committee.
After the vote, Mayor David Miller expressed delight at the measures that include conflict-of-interest rules that cover politicians' staff.
"We have adopted the strictest rules about integrity in this country. . . . We have done everything that Madam Justice Bellamy said was necessary and appropriate."
Three years ago, council adopted a voluntary registry, with variable participation by councillors.

Delighted, byjeezus he oughta be ecstatic. With the previous Voluntary Lobbyist Registration he created DAVID MILLER VOLUNTARILY DID NOT REGISTER A SINGLE influencer who met with him. Not a union leader, not a special event official and not Ralph Lean, the lobbyist who is his main fundraiser.

posted by Tor Poli @ 6:48 PM

Thanks To The Editor & Larry Elder

It is about time someone challenged that pompous, hypocritical asshole Michael Moore.

Great video that tears a Michael Moore a new one

Tuesday, September 26. 2006

'Michael & Me'

I have just seen the finest documentary ever made about the right to self-defense with firearms.

It was produced by my friend and colleague Larry Elder, a WorldNetDaily columnist and an outstanding Los Angeles radio talk-show host.

It's called "Michael & Me," and, as you might imagine, it emulates the style of Michael Moore's documentaries and turns the tables on the filmmaker responsible for "Bowling for Columbine."

This time it's Moore who is hunted down for an ambush interview the way he famously stalked Roger Smith, the chief executive officer of General Motors, in "Roger & Me," and an ailing Charlton Heston in "Columbine."

This time it's Elder scoring all the propaganda points - with the truth and facts, rather than distortions and cinematic gimmicks.

Posted by Editor in USA at 18:39

The Cost Of Dealing With Local Terrorists

Caledonia standoff cost $55M, Tory says
Toronto Star

Caledonia, Ont. standoff costing $55M: John Tory

Updated Wed. Sep. 27 2006 7:54 AM ET

Canadian Press

TORONTO -- Conservative Leader John Tory said Tuesday the ongoing aboriginal occupation in Caledonia, Ont. has cost taxpayers at least $55 million.

Tory put the figure to Premier Dalton McGuinty in the Ontario legislature, asking him to give a final tally on the cost of the occupation in the town just outside of Hamilton.

Tory didn't provide itemized proof of how he arrived at the $55-million figure but said it takes into account policing costs, the salary of negotiator Jane Stewart and assistance to local businesses.

"I would expect as the chief trustee of taxpayers' money, you would be able to give us some estimate as to how much has been spent on that matter so far,'' Tory said.

McGuinty didn't respond with a total figure, saying the province is intent on reaching an agreement with Six Nations protesters at the negotiating table.

He said he's proud of how his government has handled the standoff, which started in February and has been marred by violent clashes between town residents and aboriginals.

McGuinty wouldn't repeat previous comments where he said it would be "unacceptable'' for the occupation to drag on through the winter but says the government will remain at the negotiating table for "as long as it takes.''

"This particular issue predates Confederation,'' McGuinty said. "It is complex. It is fraught with challenges.''

Tory said the province should exact an agreement from Six Nations protesters, holding them to a "minimum standard of behaviour'' as long as they remain on the land.

Six Nations protesters say they will stay on the site _ bought by the province and being held in trust _ until it is returned to them.

Royson James Holding Miller's Feet To The Fire

And to some extent the feet of that do nothing fiberal at Queens Park.

Getting down and dirty on the garbage file

Sep. 27, 2006. 03:17 AM

ROYSON JAMES

No one should have been surprised that there was dissent over the secret city council vote last week to buy a landfill site near London, Ont., for an undisclosed sum that some estimate will top $500 million over maybe 20 years.The vote was called on one day's notice. Councillors had not been discussing a purchase plan well ahead of time, as is the norm. And the whole matter was done in private. Mere hours after the vote, some critics argued that the city could have done better. A deal was there for the making back in 2005 that could have saved the city money, but the mayor sat on the offer, they said.Mayor David Miller went ballistic. The mayor had "no offer. No report. No deal. Nothing to report. Nothing to act on," he said, adding that a Toronto Star article was knowingly false.But in politics, it's never quite that simple. Before the day was out the mayor's office had to find a way of explaining that there was a report and a proposal, though not a formal offer, as they maintained. And that the mayor had, indeed, acted on it. There's no dispute that a private firm approached city officials in 2004 about taking the city's trash to Green Lane landfill near London, Ont. and relieving the contentious garbage shipments to Michigan.Depending on who you talk to, a price was definitely offered (though only some officials may have known exactly what it was) to the point of being $1 a tonne more than the Michigan price.No matter, both sides knew on Feb. 1, 2005 the price range it would take to do a deal and all that remained was for the city to officially show a real interest and for the province to grant the needed environmental approvals. The approvals never came — until this summer. And Star sources say the city, through the mayor's office, didn't show the urgency and interest required to push the province and get a deal done — no matter how slim the chance.So, when a new deal to buy the site was done last week, the sources say a better deal to dump, but not buy, was left on the table in 2005.Miller remains steadfast on this: The deal wasn't done because the elements were not present for one. Specifically, the landfill site didn't have the approvals in place to handle Toronto's garbage, so, even if the city wanted to in 2005, it could not have signed on to send its waste to the Green Lane landfill. That's true — to a point. As usual, it is not the entire story.Here's why there's credence to claims by Star sources that Miller "sat on" an offer to take Toronto's trash to London — even as Michigan lawmakers were stirring up opposition to the city's waste entering their state.

The city staffer doing the negotiations to get the Green Lane site was Angelos Bacopoulos, not a favourite of Miller's or of his anti-incineration councillors, because he favoured burning garbage as one of the options the city must consider. The Millerites had been urging Miller to get rid of Bacopoulos — and the mayor was to do so shortly. Although Bacopoulos, as general manager of waste management, was responsible for a most advantageous contract to ship waste to Michigan, he was summarily let go when his contract was up — 23 years with the city, notwithstanding.

One of the consultants working for the firm offering Toronto the Green Lane dump was Chris Hodgson, municipal affairs minister under Mike Harris. His presence on the team didn't help endear the firm to the McGuinty Liberals at Queen's Park.For the deal to work, the province had to approve an expanded Green Lane landfill and allow it to take Toronto's waste. That's why the staff briefing note to Miller in February 2005 recommending a "senior level meeting with the province of Ontario to discuss the opportunity, next steps and time line."Interestingly, the mayor's office continues to suggest such a meeting took place — an awkward claim after insisting there was nothing to act on and no report recommending action. Neither city staff, Pitfield, nor Queen's Park can recall such a meeting. The environmental assessment languished and was not approved until this year.

During the 2003 campaign, and during most of his tenure as mayor, Miller has steadfastly maintained the city has an airtight contract to send its trash to Michigan and so he had no concerns. So when Michigan lawmakers started fomenting trouble, Miller wasn't about to rush in and acknowledge it.

It was left to Councillor Jane Pitfield, chair of council's works committee, to handle the concerns of the Michigan dissenters. She traveled to Michigan to assuage the concerns there and promise Toronto would be out of Michigan as soon as possible.So, when staff told Pitfield that an option existed to send Toronto's trash to London, Ont., she was naturally motivated to pursue any leads. She says she went to Miller three times, urging him to move on the Green Lane offer.

But Pitfield was not a Miller favourite. Millerites on council objected to her pro-incineration stance, especially as the city was drafting its long-term waste management plan. In fact, Miller and his supporters were just waiting out Pitfield's term as committee chair, which was to end in June, four months away.If there was going to be a solution to Toronto's garbage woes, it would not happen under Pitfield's leadership.

The third element of the politics of garbage, circa February 2005, was the province of Ontario and its environment minister Leona Dombrowsky. The minister refused to acknowledge the province's role in finding a solution for municipal waste. Pitfield kept insisting Ontario had to help. That, plus Dombrowsky's anti-incineration views, meant Pitfield wasn't among her favourite people. Second-guessing is a favourite political sport. Opposition parties exist in a democracy to do just that. Opponents use the strategy to shed light on the way a decision was made, if not the decision itself. And a good government quickly learns how to deal with the questions posed by pundits, citizens and the losers of a vote.On this file, the system broke down, the game got nasty. And one can safely blame the many hidden agendas.

Additional articles by Royson James

Chief Blair Should Get On This Immediately

While I understand the need to supervise activities in community housing projects but I believe those doing the supervision should be under scrutiny to ensure they don't go too far.....it is accepted that wannabee cops sometimes exceed their authority. BTW I am no fan of OCRAP but I will give them credit for what they are doing to help a group whose culture runs counter to the "norm."

Residents allege harassment

Security firm issuing tickets, banning people
Manager cites drug trafficking in Dixon Rd. complex

Sep. 27, 2006. 07:42 AM

SURYA BHATTACHARYA

STAFF REPORTER

Sons cannot visit families. Mothers can't pick up their children from daycare. And the disabled have been banned from their relatives' homes.Some Somali-Canadians who live in three Dixon Rd. high-rises, also known as Little Mogadishu, complain they are being harassed by a security company that is issuing tickets to residents, banning them from some buildings for up to three years — with a warning that showing up again will get them arrested for trespassing.While some claim the trouble results from a misunderstanding of how Somalis mingle socially, others blame outright discrimination.At least 50 residents, joined by members of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, gathered last week to protest their treatment by Intelligarde, the firm that provides security at 320, 330 and 340 Dixon Rd.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1159307413018&call_pageid=968332188492

Congrats To Porter Airlines

The mayor is flummoxed because this business endeavor will piss off the island squatters but he refuses to recognize the positive impacts....

* less traffic on Gardner and Hwy 27
* a subway token will get you to Ottawa, Montreal, etc. instead of a $50 taxi ride to Pearson
* jobs for Torontonians at Downsview....this will make local workers as happy as those in Thunder Bay.

Airport fight takes off

Sep. 27, 2006. 05:06 AM

JIM BYERS AND RICK WESTHEAD

STAFF REPORTERS

Porter Airlines' final government approval for 10 flights a day out of the Toronto Island airport is the thin edge of what may well be a very large wedge that could ruin the city's waterfront, Toronto Mayor David Miller warned yesterday.The company announced it had received final approvals from the Canadian Transportation Agency for its Island Airport plans and that it would start next month with 10 round-trip Toronto-Ottawa flights every weekday, plus undisclosed weekend service. But Miller suggested that could grow by a factor of 15 or more.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1159307413146&call_pageid=968332188492

Time For Changes At City Hall

Except for personnel matters no council sessions should be held in camera. If bidders don't want their bids dealt with in public, because it might give the competition an unfair advantage, then I would suggest they not bid. I wonder how quickly union negotiations would be done if they were done in public.

City's secret spending: $1.7M a minute

By JOHN DOWNING

You should never watch sausage being made. Let me add to that old saying Toronto council voting on issues that will cost us hundreds of millions. Both can turn the stomach.

As I write, a council meeting drones on my TV. Rogers does a lot wrong but at least it telecasts council meetings on Channel 10, which illustrate why your taxes jump every year and news stories out of City Hall sound like reviews of a circus.

Unfortunately, too much urban business is hidden from us, despite the trumpeting of the Miller Lites that we have open, honest and transparent municipal government that's much better than when they were out of power.

The Green Lie -- I mean Lane -- garbage dump purchase was rushed before council and passed in secret, far from the eyes of the media, who are furious about how the mayor and cohorts treat them like mushrooms, kept in the dark under manure.

It became clear during the verbal brawling Monday over the purchase of 234 subway cars that there are still crucial unknowns and too much had been decided in secret -- occasionally in meetings from which some councillors were barred.

The dump purchase is $220 million as a start. We won't know most details for three months (including costs after years of operation), which takes it safely past election day.

That will reduce the searing quesitons that Mayor David Miller won't be able to answer. The subway purchase was $710 million, yet a competitor, frozen out when the TTC didn't call for bids, said its price would be lower. But on just these two purchases, costing far more than $1 billion after all the Ts are crossed and bucks dropped, the final decisions took just two days -- and taxpayers were barred for one of those days. Stampeded through just before this council dies.

This is the stuff of police states. Huge expenditures decided in secret. Not all councillors allowed the same info during the stretch run. Indeed, a councillor having to file freedom-of-information requests, which are usually the preserve of reporters who discover governments routinely refuse basic data on how taxes are spent.

Another galling example of the Miller Lite games has come over a million-dollar report produced by the Waterfront Revitalization Corp. on the Gardiner expressway future. It's to be released to councillors only after a two-year stall. The public will see a censored version.

It's sure to be leaked, but the fact the financial arguments are obscured will complicate examination. We have reasons why Gardiner reports and waterfront corporation activities should be scrutinized. One early report wanting to demolish the workhorse road had the usage figures wrong. Far more motorists used it than was reported.

As for the waterfront group, I haven't trusted them since they wanted to build thousands of condos in Exhibition Park and then pretended that had never been said.

It's common to complain about long-winded council debates. I've never agreed with that. I don't think debates are long or public enough.

It took council about $1.7 million a minute to approve the subway car funding. Something that important should have taken days. Maybe then we might get transit seating that would accommodate people larger than Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

The Fate Of Gardner Expressway

No matter what it is done it is going to be expensive and when is all said and done will it decrease gridlock? I don't think so but it will be interesting to see what Pittfield and Miller recommend. I wonder if we could have saved a few dollars if the report had been released two years ago?

$2B to tear down Gardiner

Report outlines three main options for highway

By ROB GRANATSTEIN, CITY HALL BUREAU

The long-awaited $1-million report on what to do with the Gardiner Expressway will be made public today and detail four options for the highway.

There are three key options.

The most expensive option is to knock down the Gardiner and replace it with a tunnel underneath Lake Shore Blvd. for about $2 billion.

Another option is to take down the highway from Yonge St. or Spadina Ave. to the Don Valley Parkway and widen Lake Shore Blvd. That would leave it up where the bulk of the traffic and condos are, but remove it where the new East Bayfront and West Don Lands neighbourhoods are to be built.

That would cost in the range of $600 million.

Another option is to do nothing but maintenance. That would see the Gardiner Expressway undergo a heavy overhaul of its decks, especially from the Don Valley Parkway west into downtown.

The cost of that, plus maintaining the Gardiner for the next 50 years, would also be in the hundreds of millions of dollars -- similar to the cost of taking down the eastern portion of the highway, the report finds.

The numbers are said to be already out of date as the report sat behind closed doors for two years.

Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong fought to get the report made public and is eager to see it before the election.

"This is a key element of the waterfront," he said. "I'm also interested to see what we spent $1 million on."

Mayor David Miller voted against releasing the report, saying without detailing how to finance the options, it makes no sense to debate the issue.

Councillor Jane Pitfield, a mayoral candidate, hopes to make the future of the Gardiner a key election issue.

In the late 1990s, the city tore down 1.4 km of the Gardiner from the Don River to Leslie St. The cost to tear it down and maintain the roads left behind was $34 million. The cost to do necessary improvements was estimated at $48 million.

:prrie Goldstein Has Become Quite The Satarist

The new deputy in town

By LORRIE GOLDSTEIN

We whisk you now to the daily Question Period at Queen's Park.

There, newly appointed Deputy Premier George Smitherman is filling in for Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, who is on an extensive goodwill tour of the province, attempting to find his lost credibility.

Let's listen in, as the Speaker asks John Tory, Leader of the Official Opposition and of the Conservative Party of Ontario, to ask the day's first question...

Honourable Speaker: "Honourable members of the Legislature, it is now time for Oral Questions. The chair recognizes The Leader of the Official Opposition."

Deputy Premier George Smitherman: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker! My first question is for the Leader of the Conservative Party, John Tory, that poor-little-rich-boy-born-with-a-silver-spoon-in-his-mouth-Mike-Harris-Ernie-Eves-clone. Mr. Tory how dare you ..."

Hon. Speaker: "Order ... order. The Deputy Premier will please come to order.

Mr. Deputy Premier, I asked for a question from the Leader of the Official Opposition. You are the Deputy Premier and Health Minister. As I am sure you are aware, this means you represent the Government now. Please wait for a question to be asked before responding."

George Smitherman: "My apologies, Mr. Speaker. The Premier just named me his Deputy and I guess I'm a little anxious to get started."

Hon. Speaker: "Very well, then. As I said, the Chair recognizes the Leader of the Official Opposition."

John Tory: "Thank you Mr. Speaker, my first question is for the Minister of the Environment ..."

George Smitherman: "Point of Order, Mr. Speaker! How dare Mr. Tory ask a question of the Minister of the Environment? This is just the sort of cheap theatrics we've come to expect from a poor-little-rich-boy-born-with-a-silver-spoon-in-his-mouth Mike-Harris-Ernie-Eves-clone like John Tory! Why I oughtta ..."

Hon. Speaker: "ORDER! Mr. Deputy Premier, SIT DOWN. That is NOT a point of order. Once again, this is Question Period, Mr. Deputy Premier. Please wait for the question to be asked."

George Smitherman: "Sorry, Mr. Speaker."

Hon. Speaker: "All right. For the THIRD time, the Chair recognizes the Leader of the Official Opposition."

John Tory: "Thank you Mr. Speaker. My next question is for the Minister of Health ..."

George Smitherman: "Point of personal privilege, Mr. Speaker! Mr. Speaker, I have never been so insulted in my life by the vicious, personal attack that has just been launched on my character by John Tory, that poor-little-rich-boy-born-with-a-silver-spoon-in-his-mouth-Mike-Harris-Ernie-Eves-clone!

I thought I had seen everything in this Legislature, but for Mr. Tory to stand there and raise my past addiction to illegal party drugs after I publicly acknowledged a full four months ago ..."

Hon. Speaker: "ORDER! Mr. Deputy Premier, SIT! What are you talking about?

The Leader of the Official Opposition said no such thing. All he said was he had a question for the Health Minister. That's you! I'm warning you, wait for the question before you respond."

George Smitherman: "My bad, Mr. Speaker."

Hon. Speaker: "Okay. We'll try this one more time. The Chair recognizes the Leader of the Official Opposition."

John Tory: "Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, my question is for the Minister of Health ..."

George Smitherman: "Mr. Speaker, is this what it has come to in Ontario? Are you going to sit there and allow the Leader of the Conservative Party of Ontario to cast aspersions on my sexual orientation? Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be Ontario's first openly gay cabinet minister, and I will not go back into the closet just to satisfy the likes of John Tory, that poor-little-rich-boy-born-with-a-silver-spoon-in-his-mouth-Mike-Harris-Ernie-Eves-clone ..."

Hon. Speaker: "Aw, the hell with it ... The time for Oral Questions has expired."

Fiscal Conservatism Comes To Canada

And it is about time.....too bad the other levels of government don't have the stomach to try and live within their means. Are you listening Toronto City Council?

EDITORIAL: What fiscal conservatism looks like

Imagine that. The Conservative government we elected in Ottawa eight months ago is starting to get, well, conservative.

We've been waiting for Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his crew to show us they're significantly different from the Liberal gang they booted out of office in January.

They started strong by keeping most of their promises, including cutting the GST by one percentage point. But in their first budget, while they cut spending slightly from the previous year, it was still at near-record (and near-Liberal) levels.

That culture appears to have changed at last.

In one fell swoop Monday, a pair of Tory cabinet ministers announced $2 billion in budget cuts over two years and a $13.2-billion payment against the massive federal debt. The latter is thanks to a higher-than-expected surplus.

The Liberals routinely had those, too. But where the Grits used to hoard the money they overtaxed us in order to blow half of it on new spending (the other half would go to pay down debt), the Conservatives understand this money isn't theirs to use to buy votes.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty used the analogy of a homeowner paying down the mortgage to provide some financial wiggle room. Treasury Board President John Baird said the savings, spread over two years, will come through cuts to unnecessary programs, streamlining of services, and by coming in under budget in a number of areas. Bravo.

Baird's program cuts read like a litany of wasteful make-work schemes and boondoggles lifted from the pages of an auditor general's report (see Technology Partnerships Canada or the Court Challenges program).

The Harper government at least has managed to get it half right. It is being fiscally responsible and reining in spending. Here's hoping they follow through on the other half of the equation: Deep and meaningful reductions in income tax rates.

As CTF director John Williamson says: "The federal government should collect in taxes only what is needed to fund its spending priorities. Annual surpluses represent overtaxation by government and the money should go back to taxpayers in the form of lower income taxes."

We, and he, have been saying that for years. Finally someone's listening.