Stand Tall

Now that we have had the pitches for Mr. Harper & Mr. Dion, the PM should go ahead with the vote in the House, as scheduled.

Politics is a contact sport, and you need to be able to take the hits as well as dish them out. The rules still need to be followed and are the same for everyone.

There is a big difference between being in opposition and being in power. In opposition you can talk all you want, but in power, you actually have to walk the walk. Deliver things. Its not as easy as most would believe. Mr. Layton and Mr. Duceppe have never had that responsibility. They both have campaigned in campaigns where they knew they would not be PM when it was done.

Thus far, when called upon to deliver in an election, Mr Dion has offered up one of the worst electoral results in Liberal Party history. He was called upon to deliver three of the "four wise men", two of whom didn't join on. He has been called upon to deliver a 10 minute videotape, and came in an hour late and a few pixels short. What has he actually delivered on? Not much.

Next Stéphane Dion will be called upon to deliver his MP's in a confidence vote. I don't think he will be able to deliver them either. I predict that enough Liberal MP's (and maybe one or two Dippers) will find ways to make themselves absent, that Harper will carry the day. I believe Ignatieff and some of his prominent supporters will find a way to not follow through and defeat the government at this time. They owe nothing to Dion and have already declared they don't want him as party leader anyway.

As overwhelming as the Liberal lust for power is, there is a strong streak of self-preservation instinct as well. Mr. Ignatieff knows the party will be his soon enough, and if the coalition is sussessful in gaining power it will only be for a short period. There will be further job losses in the automotive and other sectors in the next year and the party in power, most likely thouugh no fault of their own, will take some heat for it. If that party is the Cerberus Coalition, who will be portrayed as coming to power without electoral legitimacy, the Liberals will be crucified in the next election (which will happen in at best a year and a half) and he will wear it.

Prorogueing parliament, while legal, isn't the best solution here.
Call the bluff. Put the cards on the table.

Rear Admiral (Ret'd) William Moss Landymore

Canada has lost a man of honour.

Rear Admiral (Ret'd) William Moss Landymore died last week in Halifax.

RAdm. Landymore fought Paul Hellyer on unification of the Canadian Forces and it ultimately cost him his job. His sailors were clearly on Landymore's side.

In the summer of 1966, Admiral Landymore was not the only senior officer deeply upset by the Minister's unification juggernaut, and the impact it was having on both the traditions they cherished and the operational effectiveness of the forces themselves. When a committee of senior officers, struck to report on the viability of unification reported in the early of summer of 1966 that it would not work, Hellyer remained steadfast in his commitment. On 4 July 1966 , it was announced that the Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshall Miller, the Vice-Chief, Lieutenant-General R.W. Moncel, the Chief of Personnel, Vice-Admiral Dyer, and the Comptroller-General, Lieutenant-General F. Fleury, would all retire early.

Hellyer then summoned Landymore to a meeting in Ottawa on 12 July 1966 . Landymore raised the matter of naval identity, but Hellyer offered no concessions. Landymore asked that anyone who could not serve under the new arrangements be allowed to resign without penalty. Hellyer asked Landymore for his resignation. When Landymore refused, Hellyer informed him that he would be retired. As Landymore left the Minister's office, he met Rear-Admiral Mickey Sterling, who had come from Esquimalt . He had come to tender his resignation as Flag Officer of Pacific Coast. Landymore went directly to his old navy colleague, David Groos, Chairman of the Parliamentary Defence Committee, and together they visited the Prime Minister's office. When they explained to Pearson that the armed forces were losing their most senior and experienced people to Hellyer's intransigence, Pearson phoned the Minister himself. According to Landymore, after the Prime Minister had finished talking to Hellyer, Pearson said, “I give you my personal assurance that the traditions of the Royal Canadian Navy will not be altered”. Landymore later regretted that he did not get that promise in writing.

In 1966, as Chairman of the Canadian Defence Committee, when David Groos decided to go with Admiral Landymore to see the Prime Minister, there can be no doubt where his sympathies lay. To what extent he may have agreed with Admiral Landymore's assessment of the Prime Minster's honesty and sincerity, I do not know. I have no doubt of his own integrity, nor that of Admiral Landymore. Perhaps because of Landymore's direct appeal to the Prime Minister, Hellyer moved to remove Landymore promptly. He was relieved of command on 16 July 1966 . On the 19 th , he was given a hero's send-off by Maritime Command: the streets of the dockyard were lined with personnel from all three services and civilian dockyard employees, and every ship in the harbour flew “Bravo-Zulu (well done) Landymore” from its signal halyard.

source

The Two Wise Men..........

The Cerberus Coalition announced its appointment of a 4 person economic advisory panel - the Four Wise Men" (Martin, Manley, McKenna & Romanow) to reassure markets that it would be that much of a harm to the economy.

Thus far, two with the most financial credibility (McKenna & Manley) have said that they never agreed to the role and it wasn't defined anyway.

No word yet from Martin & Romanow as to whether they actually accepted either.

Does that reassure you?

If they can't get something as simple as that together wait till they try on the big chair.

I'm back

After a major DIY home reno, I back blogging.