On Board of Regents election and university presidents

I've been running a pretty low key campaign to run for Memorial University of Newfoundland's Board of Regents. There was a grand plan of myself and Dups launching a campaign complete with websites and a presence on Facebook. But Dups got busy and didn't get his application in before deadline. And between being on vacation and just getting a bit distracted since I came up here, I haven't put the effort into it that I would like.

I've had a few people ask me why I'm running. Realisitcally, the odds are against me. There are some well-known and well-connected people in the race. The best I think that can be said about my popularity is that I'm a moderately well-known northern and Newfoundland blogger (for what that's worth), plus I'm the former associate editor of the Express. And a columnist. That gives me a degree of name recognition, I suppose. Although I still find it amusing that either Geoff Meeker or Peter Whittle called me a "popular" blogger.

A lot people, when they run for the Board of Regents, I think use the notion that they're running because they want to give something back to the university. And don't get me wrong, I value my time at MUN. But for me, MUN has also been a series of frustrations and challenges. I've had my share of run ins with the university over the years. I did it when I was with the muse in the early 90s. I ran stories the administration really didn't like. Not that I cared because MUN at that time frequently made decisions that infuriated me. Like, for example, cutting back on people dropping out for medical reasons. Yes, there was abuse in the system, but when I had a student come in the muse office waving doctor's notes at me that apparently weren't enough to get her tuition refunded, when the registrar told me that if a student died during the semister, they might refund the money, that pissed me off.

And even after I was long gone, I could still get into the odd racket with them. Myself and several other bloggers sparred heavily with the university over their ill-advised decision to change their logo and drop Newfoundland from most of the publicity material surrounding MUN. I still think it was a mistake. And judging by the traffic I was getting from MUN's university relations division, they were at the very least paying attention to what I was saying.

I'm trying not to slag anybody else running for the Board of Regents. They tossed their name in and good for them. I also happen to think these elections are fantastic. Considering most of the Board of Regent positions are by appointment, it's nice to see a bit of a chance for an "average" person to get elected.

Why do I think I would make a good choice? Because I'm opinionated and not afraid to tell people at the university, loudly, when they're wrong. Because I do love the place. I criticize because I think the place should be so much better than what it is. Because I think it would be nice to have someone on the Board of Regents who is not a lawyer, businessperson or former politician. And boy, are there are ever a lot of them, either currently there or running.

And hey, wouldn't it be nice if a few members from the Board of Regents stood up right now and told the education minister and the premier to stop interfering with the university? Because this isn't the government doing what's best for the university and the province by interfering in the hiring process. This is the premier doing what's best for the premier.

The Telegram has a spectacular editorial outlining just some of the potential pitfalls of the government interfering with the university. And, of course, Ed has been all over this as well. But here's the one question I have that I haven't seen answered: who at the university thought it was a good idea to let the education minister interview two prospective presidential candidates?

Yes, I understand it's probably a courtesy to give the government the head's up that these are the two we're looking at. But as soon as Bruke (and, let's face it, the premier) said we want to interview them for ourselves (and what questions did Burke ask to give her the wisdom to decide these two weren't fit beyond "How do you feel about Grenfell being autonomous?") the university should have told her, very politely, to shag off. And to wave around the section of the Memorial University Act that everyone is talking about telling them they have no right to determine who they're going to hire. And if the government still pushed, well, walk right over to the muse and have a little chat with them.

But senior officials didn't. It let the government interview the two candidates. It let the government veto it's two best candidates. And to date, it still hasn't said much about the whole racket, choosing to keep quiet. The people upset and speaking out are the opposition, professors and students. And I'm not sure that's the smart move.

Look, I know the relationship between MUN and the government has always been complex and required some diplomacy and subtlity. The government can, if it chooses, make things very difficult for a university. But this is one of the things you have to fight for. The Telegram outlined very clearly the perils of having a president feeling beholden to the government of the day. Among the qualities a good university president ought to have is one not afraid to fight for the university's best interests when talking to government. There have been those in the past who have appeared more willing to fight for the government's perspective on campus. They have rarely been good presidents, nor have they been good times at the university.

The government deserves all the garbage it's getting heaped on it right now. Every scrap of it because it's a stupid play and typical of the Williams government's mania to try and control everything it surveys. But I'm not 100 per cent sure that university officials handled the situation well, either. That's something to think about and question as well...

Last Five
1. Inside and out - Feist
2. I'm only sleeping - The Beatles
3. The best at doing nothing - Drive
4. Erie Canal (live) - Bruce Springsteen*
5. Help me, Mary - Liz Phair

I don't think so

I smell bullshit, kids.

So let me see if I get this straight. Tom Rideout wanted $3.5 million for his district, instead of the $2.5 million he got, even though he feels his district really needs 10 times that amount of road work. So $25 million, but he’ll settle for $3.5 million. He browbeats the Transportation Minister for the money, the premier says, “nope, that’s not going to happen” so Rideout quits in a snit.

Cough….bullshit!

No way. I mean it, no fucking way is that the whole story. Yes, Rideout's been an embarassment for the government for awhile. He's been almost useless as a minister and the whole racket with rentals and allowances a few months back was enough to get him fired. But quitting over $1 million in roadwork? After everything that's happened? There's shenanigans afoot here somewhere.

I imagine the stream of stories and rumours about how unhappy the caucus is with Danny will start building up some steam now. It’s been coming out in dribs and drabs for awhile. But really, it’s hard to pick a fight with a man when he has an 80% approval rating. Politics might be a knife fight, but it’s normally a “stab your buddy in the back” kind of thing, as opposed to a “slit your own throat to spite yourself” type of event.

But Danny is taking a hit with the Eastern Health debacle. If the hit sticks, if the public starts to not just turn for the moment, but for the long haul, you’re going to see a lot more grumbling about the way Danny runs things in the future. And, one assumes, a lot more knife sharpening

So I’m sure Rideout is upset that he didn’t get his extra million. But come on. It’s an insult to the intelligence to believe that’s the reason he left. I just wish one of them, just one of them, had the balls to stand up and say the real reason why they left. Loyola Sullivan has been pretty quiet since he left. I bet he has some good horror stories.

I don’t know if this is one more step towards the end for Danny. I’ve had a few private conversations with people who certainly seem to think it is. He always said he was only going to be premier for two terms. He hemmed and hawed after the scope of his victory in the last election and the high approval numbers in polls. But now?

The reporters will get to the bottom of this. The leaks are going to start coming. I wonder if David Cochrane is still cut off, in lieu of this occasion. Yes, Danny answered questions in the scrum, but it would have looked bad if he refused to answer questions from him while the cameras were rolling. Whether or not he answers Dave’s emails and phone calls is something else.

But you get the feeling that me might need some friends in the media in the months to come. What Rideout is saying is bullshit, never doubt it for a second. But I don’t think he’s the last one to bail on the government. Not by a longshot.

Last Five
1. Galician Overture - The Chieftains*
2. Something's wrong - Sloan
3. I melt for you - Bowling For Soup
4. Sunny came home - Shawn Colvin
5. In my time of dying - The Be Good Tanyas

New lows

Honest to God, is the Liberal party run by idiots?

I'm not even referring to the federal Liberals, to which a case can easily be made. But if you need more proof that the people running the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador are morons, then this story ought to do the trick.

Aside from not vetting the guy to make sure he didn't have a shady past, they manage to provoke him into quitting days before the byelection so they have no candidate in the district. Granted, they probably had no chance of winning the seat. Given the massive discrepancy in the size of the governing party vs. the opposition parties, odds are the people of Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans were going to vote Conservative anyway.

But still. Come on. I mean, I know it was hard work to look more inept and idiotic than the party did in the recent provincial election, but there's no need to actively go out and try.

And yet, there you go. They managed just that.

I think the size of the opposition parties will ultimately be a bad thing for Newfoundland and Labrador. Governments that have that much power tend to abuse it, no matter how good their intentions. But really, given how bad the Liberals are right now, I can't blame anyone for not wanting to waste their vote on them.

Say what you want about Danny Williams, at least he's competent. I don't think the current batch of Liberals could find the word in a dictionary.

Marshall plan

If you're looking for a definition of contempt, then take a look at the provincial cabinet announced by Danny Williams. Oh, it's not the extra people suddenly, magically needed to run the province. The people of Newfoundland and Labrador managed to get by with fewer cabinet ministers for many years, but now when we have the smallest population in decades it takes a near record high number of ministers to run the place.

On second thought, that is a pretty good definition of contempt. But no, I was going for another one.

How the hell is Elizabeth Marshall still not in cabinet?

If they did IQ testing on the Tory caucus (and boy, wouldn't that be a fun Access to Information request to make) I have no doubt Marshall would be among the highest in this bunch. I know there was some bashing of her during the election, but hell, it's an election that's what you do during elections. She's the kind of candidate you pray you get when you run a political party - an intelligent, competent, ethical, thoughtful person. As an added bonus she's a woman.

She was good enough to be a Health Minister right out of the gates. Nearly four years later, she's still in the wilderness after standing up to Williams when, oh yeah, she was right to do so.

I know Williams can hold a grudge like no one's business. But honestly, he's really going to keep someone that talented wasting in the backbenches for at least another year or more until there is another shuffle? That's a little beyond vendetta. That rolls right into contempt.

Dave Denine, who has been described by some in Mount Pearl as "a nice enough fella, but has done shit all the past four years" gets to be a minister ahead of Marshall. Ross Wiseman, who is so devoid of personality that my former boss tries not to quote him in her paper for fear that it might put people to sleep and that would be bad for business. He gets to continue as Health Minister.

And so on and so forth. I suspect I could through most of the cabinet and ask how they got in ahead of Marshall. By any standard other than skills at kissing ass, she's more qualified than most of them.

There's something strange going on there. Maybe Marshall doesn't want back in cabinet, although I find that hard to believe. I really have to believe that Williams has that much contempt for her. It would be almost impressive if not quite so sad.

Hard campaign

All elections can be rough going. And certainly the Newfoundland Liberal party were under no illusions about how hard this one was going to be. They were facing a premier with approval ratings at 70 per cent and higher. There was talk about the PCs sweeping the province. And just to add to their woes, Gerry Reid is really nobody's idea of premier material. I'm sure he's a nice enough guy, but remember, he didn't want to be leader of the party in the first place. When Roger Grimes stepped down, he didn't step forward. A disaster by the name of Jim Bennett did, who the Liberals promptly ousted when he gave the appearance of being too crazy to run the party.

So I'm just saying, it was rough going into election. The Liberals knew it was going to be a rough election. But I don't think the party was anticipating death and hospitalizations.

I didn't say anything when Gerry Tobin died out of respect to his family. But hell, I can't have been the only one to have thought, "Damn, you know it's a rough election when..." Then late on Friday Clayton Hobbs withdrew from the race in Bonavista South for health reasons, meaning Roger Fitzgerald was declared the winner. To be honest, this was just saving time as Hobbs had no chance of winning. Bonavista South was likely going to be the first seat declared for the Tories on Election Night.

But Jesus, now Simon Lono goes down with a blood clot? How brutal is it our there?

I've had Simon in my apartment for supper a couple of times when he was in Iqaluit. He's a hell of a nice guy and I was rooting for him in St. John's North. Now I'm just hoping the campaign doesn't kill him. It sounds like he's going to be fine, but both myself and Cathy are wishing him a speedy recovery. And hey, maybe even a surprise victory in St. John's North as a get better soon gift.

Small battles

There was some conversation in my previous post about what seats, if any, the Liberals will hold. A couple were mentioned and by all means, if you have your picks, feel free to mention them.

However, here’s my take on why even traditional, rock solid Liberal seats are in play this time. WJM mentioned Cartwright. I would have said Bellevue. There may well be a few others. But I think all of those are at risk. And it’s not just because Williams is insanely popular province-wide. Provincial popularity doesn’t translate directly into provincial districts. If the local MHA is a good constituency person, is personally well liked in the area and the people there are happy at how quickly he or she returns their calls and gets things done for them, then that cuts down some of the premier’s personal popularity.

This election is going to be interesting in that it’s going to not so much be a province-wide campaign, but several local ones. Put it this way, it’s not war. The war is won. This is all about little local skirmishes. The Tories don’t need to worry about 75 per cent of the seats in the province. They are a lock. I would be surprised if Williams spends more than three days in St. John’s. The Tories will win them all (sorry Simon. I hope I’m wrong) with the possible exception of Lorraine Michaels.

Instead the Tories are going to be concentrating their firepower on the remaining Liberal seats in rural Newfoundland. Williams is going to visit Gerry Reid’s district more than he’s going to visit St. John’s. Because in case you haven’t noticed, our premier holds a grudge. Williams could win 47 seats and lose Reid’s riding and he would consider it a disappointing election. He wants to beat Reid.

Every Liberal incumbent still standing is going to be under tremendous pressure. Visit from the premier and cabinet. Intensive advertising campaigns in the local papers. The whole nine yards. The Liberals will fairly quickly have to give up the notion of a provincial campaign or even taking seats from the Tories and just keep heaping sandbags to hold off the flood in the districts they hold. We’re talking guerilla warfare in about six ridings. For the rest of the province, I suspect this is going to be a very quiet, fairly dull election.

Elections are normally windfalls for media with advertising. But I’ll be curious to see how much money is spent and where. For example, I think the Telegram is going to do poorly with advertising dollars. We’ll see, but I think the Tories, and especially the Liberals, are going to want to very specifically target where the money goes. Unless things have changed in recent years, very few people outside the Northeast Avalon read the Telegram. They read the local community papers for their news. Papers with major battles happening in them are going to make good money.

I think this election, when it’s all said and done, is going to remind me of the last few American election. Where most of the country is ignored because it’s a foregone conclusion which candidate is going to win there. The real battles are in a half dozen or so “swing states.” Whichever way they swing determines who wins the election. Except this time the half dozen or so “swing” districts are all Liberal, and which way they swing decides if Williams has to face an opposition on the other side of the house, or just more friendly faces he couldn’t squeeze in on his side.

Asking the questions

In lieu of recent comments from certain media about the nature of bloggers critical of Danny Williams (ie. They all must be Liberals and work for communications firms therefore are biased and wrong) I’ve been waiting for someone to try that bullshit on me.

They haven’t, and there are any number of reasons for that. I don’t live in the province anymore. Nor is this a straight political blog. I would likely go mad if I only wrote about politics all the time.

But the most important thing is that I am no Liberal flunky. I have a long history of criticizing Liberal governments in Newfoundland. I raked poor Roger Grimes over the coals. I thought Brian Tobin was a slick tool. I danced the Dance of Malicious Glee when Beaton Tulk had his fall from grace.

Hell, I cut my journalistic teeth criticizing Clyde Wells. Which I highly recommend. Nothing quite sharpens you up so much as trying to question someone who is clearly not only more intelligent than you are, not only more intelligent than 98% of the population he is leading, but who also clearly knows he is.

This is the thing that drives me nuts in Newfoundland right now. And it’s not just the Hebron MOU (and MOUs are like pixie dust. You can scatter them everywhere and people think they’re cute and meaningful. But they can blow away awfully fast if the wind changes), but anything to do with Williams government. This howling reaction of outrage whenever you ask basic questions to the premier.

Are Ed and Simon, to give but two examples, diehard Liberals? Of course. To say otherwise is foolish. But to dismiss the points they make because they have a Liberal background is even more foolish. They are smart men with enough communications and policy wonk experience on them to choke a horse. They’re going to notice things that the average person, and the average journalist, might miss. To ignore what they have to say is silly. To question their desire to see Newfoundland thrive is idiotic. Their desire to see Newfoundland prosper is greater than their desire to see a Liberal government in power. Never doubt that.

People who dismiss Ed and Simon are missing a very basic, very simple point. It is your duty as a citizen of Newfoundland and Labrador to question everything any government tells you. Not just the Williams government. It was our duty with Tobin and not nearly enough did it and the result was him scurrying away before people caught onto the mess he made. We treated the word of Smallwood as Holy Script and look where that got us. It’s also our duty with any future premiers.

There’s nothing wrong with asking hard questions and demanding answers. If your leader can answer a question to your satisfaction, great. But there are always other questions and you should never stop asking them.

That why I like Ed and Simon. They never stop asking questions. They never stop doubting. And when the answers aren’t forthcoming, they dig and try to find them. This is good because amidst all the glee over the Hebron MOU, there are a lot of questions to be answered. And hell, I might even be willing to give Williams the benefit of the doubt on confidentiality agreements and needing to get things locked up first so we can’t get into specific details if he had done this a year ago. But he didn’t. He made this announcement mere weeks before an election for which this is clearly going to be a main plank in his campaign.

Look, I don’t care what your political loyalties are. There is simply no way any leader can stand up and announce they have a deal that will fundamentally alter the province for a generation or more and give only the most vague details. And when people ask for more information go, “Nope, sorry I can’t tell you until well after you reelect me. But trust me, it’s great.”

Nope. No way. No chance in hell. There’s no human way you can let a politician get away with that. I don’t care if the guy has the recombinant genetic structure of Gandhi, Lincoln and Nelson Mandela. There is no way you can let him get away with that. It’s like putting a sign around your neck that says “I am a sucker. Abuse me.”

To reiterate a few points for those slow on the uptake: I sincerely hope the deal is as good as Williams is singing. And of the three party leaders in the province right now, Williams is by a large margin the most qualified to run the place. But that doesn’t mean people shouldn’t be asking lots of questions and getting of answers in return.

And if Williams doesn’t answer them, then just keep asking again and again and again. If he doesn’t answer them, then you might ask why that is and keep it in mind when going to the polls. Because this is too important to not have answers. If you wait until after the election and then discover you don’t like the answers, well, too bad, eh? And you get what you deserve.

Newfoundland in August

August is a hard month to visit Newfoundland if you want to leave without feeling sad. I was home last Christmas and couldn’t wait to leave. The weather was terrible and I was exhausted with trying to catch up with so many people in such a short period of time. I was actually glad when we touched down at Iqaluit airport. Finally, myself and Cathy could get back to our apartment, our bed and our stuff.

This time it was different. I’m not going to go all melodramatic and say there is no better place on the planet than Newfoundland in August. Clearly there are. However, if you have a choice on when you can visit Newfoundland – meaning no weddings, meetings, funerals or whatever – then I honestly don’t know why you would pick a time other than August.

For the two weeks I was home, it rained twice (although one of those days was the outdoor wedding we went home for). The temperature was consistently around 20C or so, which is perfect for me. It was nice and green. The trees were in their full glory (and lacking the spanworm infestation of previous years.) And while we certainly were kept busy shopping for the resupply and hanging out with friends, it wasn’t the insane pace of Christmas. We took a day and went to Cathy’s favourite beach in Conception Bay. We spent a day lounging around her backyard. We ate at our favourite restaurants. We actually relaxed. It was a pretty good vacation.

Although part of that has to go to Cathy. Let us just say that I’m not the most organized person in the world. Cathy took it upon herself to make sure that key things were scheduled in – meeting with a travel agent, dentist appointment, financial advisor – along with making certain I got to see certain friends who might only have limited time available because of work or travel.

I used the line “Cathy is managing the fun for me” more than once. Really, it’s a wonder I haven’t been killed yet.

All of this did have one unanticipated side-effect. I had made my peace with leaving Newfoundland. I never particularly wanted to go, but now that I was gone, I was gone. Yes, I still had some family there to visit and a few friends (two fewer as of the end of this month), but that was it. I’d made my peace that the next time I’d live in Newfoundland, barring miracles, would likely be never.

However, I genuinely regretted leaving on Sunday. The beautiful weather, Newfoundland looking as pretty as it gets, having tons of friends around. It sucked getting on the plane and coming back here. I had to remind myself constantly that I was falling in love with an illusion. That in a few weeks the weather would turn back to Newfoundland standard. That in a few days, if not hours, most of the friends I saw back home would also be on planes and heading to different cities.

So yeah, I didn’t enjoy leaving, which caught me a bit by surprise. Then again, if we hadn’t had such a horrific summer up here, it might have been easier.

That also represents my last trip home for the foreseeable future. I may get home for a few days next summer on the way back from Italy. But considering Cathy wants to try and squeeze a few days in Cairo and I had friends trying to persuade me to spend a few days in England on the way back to hang out, I’m not sure that will be happening. Australia is in 2009. I only have so much vacation time. So that might be it for back home for awhile.

Of course, we shall see. Best laid of plans and all…

The next premier?

There was a little blurb in last Saturday Globe and Mail talking about the possibility of Chief of Defense Staff, Gen. Rick Hiller succeeding Danny Williams as leader of the Conservative party in Newfoundland and then becoming, de facto, the next premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. Although I found it later, Scott Feschuk of Macleans also mentions Hillier's possible future in politics.

I'm sure this rumor has been kicking around in Newfoundland for quite some time, especially given the very public profile Hillier has nationally these days. Rick Mercer made the quip on his show that Hillier was the most powerful Newfoundlander alive, and like many things Mercer says, it's funny and not exactly wrong.

I can't imagine Hillier wanting to go quietly into retirement once his job with the Canadian armed forces is over. I'm sure Ed probably knows how much longer he has in his current position, which I think has a mandatory length of time, but it can't be more than another couple of years since he's already been at the job more than two years.

Then what? Well, he'll probably take some time off, maybe write a book and then, yeah, I could see him entering politics. The timing would work pretty well for him, I should think. And yeah, if he wanted Danny's job, I don't think too many people are going to be able to beat him.

I have my reservations. Granted, he seems like a nice enough guy. He's had one hell of a tough job, trying to fix the mess the Canadian armed forces have been for the past decade or so. And despite the controversy about whether or not Canada should be in Afghanistan, I haven't heard many people say that Canadian forces are doing a bad job over there. In fact, most of what I've read said they've performed with distinction.

A lot of that has to do with the men and women on the ground, of course. But let's not forget, if things were going horrifically then the first people on the media firing squad would be the generals running the show. People might complain about Hillier's public profile and a few of his mistakes, but by all accounts, people seem to like and respect him and the job he's doing. People can also correct me on this, but when people have publicly called the armed forces on some flaw, they've been generally pretty quick to try and fix the problem. Well, quick for the military.

And really, you have to ask, if the man is making a go at organizing an army to help rebuild Afghanistan, how hard could it be to try to fix Newfoundland?

The thing of it is, Hillier is still a little too high profile, still a little too much willing to speak out in public and criticize when he doesn't get his way. And, well, the military is one thing, politics is quite another. I appreciate that in his position, he needs some political skills. But being premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, especially once Williams is done, isn't like being thrown in the deep end. It's being thrown off the edge of the Grand Banks.

I'd like to see someone a touch quieter and more willing to just go and do the work and not pick fights all the time. I've said already that from what I've seen of her, I think Elizabeth Marshall would make an excellent premier, but we shall see how things shape up.

I guess one good thing, though. If Hillier expresses an interest and a groundswell builds up around him as potentially the next premier, it might inspire the knives to come out for Danny. You get the feeling there is more than one frustrated Conservative out there right now with Williams. But few in the caucus have the clout to stand up to him, let alone bump him off. But someone like Hillier, who is well beyond Williams' ability to control or attack, could certainly do the job.

Wouldn't that make an interesting bit of political theatre...

Where's Plan B?

There's a quip you often hear at the curling club - Plan B. When you're dealing recreational league curlers you can call all the wise strategy shots you want, odds are the players can't make them. However, more often than you might think, the person making the shot does something weird, odd and just plain fluky and the shot works out. You wanted an opponent's stone removed. You thought a straight take-out would do the trick; your second believes it would be more interesting to remove that stone via a double angle raise take-out. But hey, it got the job done. Plan B.

Getting down to Plan C or D is also not unheard of.

So when I read this quote from Premier Williams, I got curious:

"My solution is to get rid of Harper."

Which is lovely. Great Plan A. However, this is politics and yes, there are some players of local skills in Newfoundland, but you just know that Williams can call that shot all he wants, odds are it's not going to happen.

What am I talking about? Well, last time I checked the prime minister was flirting in majority government territory in opinion polls. Some have him around 39 per cent, which is really, really close to getting a majority. And regardless, it certainly seems to indicate that his government is in no danger of not being in charge should another election be held any time soon. Barring some epic collapse or scandal, Harper is still going to be prime minister at the end of this year, even if it's another minority government.

Yes, things might change. It's the reason why we hold elections. But it's not looking likely. And if Premier Williams believes he can sway the rest of Canada to his opinion and oust the prime minister, well, that's showing a level of delusion I quite frankly find a touch alarming. Because I can call Harper many things - ego-centric, a touch cruel, more than a bit cold. But the one thing I wouldn't call him his stupid. I think he's got Williams figured out pretty well. He watched what he did to Martin and learned from it. It isn't happening to him.

So, Plan B. The Hail Mary shot. I'm assuming there's a Plan B for when Harper is still prime minister. You know, the plan where the province could perhaps move forward on other very important files such as Churchill Falls, the fishery, and financial issues. Where everything works out despite the fact that Harper is still prime minister and Williams is still premier and these things still need to be taken care of despite the giant egos involved.

No? No Plan B? Nothing at all? No angles or bit of flukery possible so we don't end up completely screwed?

Well, damn...

On an unrelated note, the weekly weigh-in came in at 232 pounds, up one from last week. And with the two of us off to Ottawa next week, cracking that magic 230 pound barrier is apparently still a couple of weeks away.

So who should lead?

So I've been joining in the merry little attack wagon on Danny Williams in the last few days. There's nothing wrong with that, by the way. I have a long history of criticizing governments. How else are you supposed to let them know what they're doing wrong? And I believe that Williams is currently badly off the rails as Newfoundland's premier.

So who should be the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador after the October election?

Danny Williams, obviously.

Yeah, I know. Look, let's face facts. Neither of the current opposition leaders - Gerry Reid and Lorraine Michael - are ready to step into the big chair. Reid didn't even really want to be party leader and still acts like he would genuinely prefer to be doing just about anything else right now. And there's no way that anyone, even the most hardcore, fanatic New Democrat, can believe that Michael is ready to be premier and that the NDP could handle governing. Even in the unlikely possibility that the entire voting populace of the province spontaneously got stoned and lost their minds on election day.

So Williams is it. I'm a realist, and realistically of the three party leaders, he's the best one to be premier.

What I want from Williams is to shape the fuck up. Seriously. His mom needs to shake him, his wife slap him or someone in his cabinet grow a pair of balls and say something to him. Or a TV set could drop on his head. Something. Anything.

I have no doubt that he's a smart man. I have no doubt that he has fine political skills. I have no doubt he could make an excellent premier and do real wonders in turning around the province. I thought that when he first got elected back in 2003. But he's not doing it now and it's frustrating as hell. I don't know if it was his success with the Atlantic Accord, that he apparently has no one who he respects that contradicts him, personal problems (the rumour is buzzing enough that I'm hearing it up here, so....) or whatever. But the Williams Express needs to get on the rails and soon.

Ideally what would happen in the election later this year is that the Conservatives lose seats and the populace make it known they want Williams to chart a new direction public policy wise and focus less on picking fights with Ottawa and actually working with the federal government to get things done. That most of the current Liberals don't run and that the party get some people with, you know, actual pulses in the House of Assembly. People who want to be there. And that the NDP get there couple of seats so they can raise the occasional useful point.

That's what I want. Dare to dream, I guess...

Who wants to be a traitor?

When I did my little rant about The Express closing, a friend in St. John's e-mailed me and said not to worry about burning bridges with it, that Craig Westcott had burned more bridges than he had ever walked across and was still getting work.

My response was that Westcott is twice the journalist that I am and has more lives than a shelter full of cats. That was before I read his speech at NOIA today, reprinted on Geoff Meeker's blog.

I'll repeat here what I said there – Jesus, Mary and Joseph. That man really wouldn't take shit from the devil himself.

I sat about 10 feet behind him during a Senate committee meeting on media concentration where he lambasted Transcontinental for their treatment of The Express and his concerns about what owning so many papers in Newfoundland would mean. Craig was the only journalist in the province to appear before the committee and one of the few, if not perhaps the only one, in the country to criticize their employer.

That takes balls.

What he did today, which was basically to call the premier of the province a power mad dictator one generation removed from Joey Smallwood and who should be put down like a rabid political dog was...something else. Balls doesn't really quite cover what it took to stand up and make that speech. It's something else entirely and something rarely seen in the province. The guts to criticize those in power, even though it might hurt your livelihood, the intelligence to make a coherent argument and the creativity to put it into words that everyone can understand, appreciate and be captivated by.

Hell, I tried to do put something together yesterday attacking Williams and it seems incoherent and hackneyed in comparison. And with due respect to Ed and Liam, also critics of the premier, who have tons of information at their fingertips but sometimes get bogged down, it can take a writer of Westcott's skill to get the point across as gracefully as he did today.

Anyway, I tip my hat to my former colleague and good friend. That was a hell of a piece of writing.

Two other interesting asides, watching the comments come in. First, that government suppporters are clearly going to attack Craig for the section on the government not advertising in his paper. First of all, the paper isn't failing nor is Westcott saying it is. He is saying that it's curious that of all the media in the province, the one the government is not advertising with is the one with the editor most critical of the premier. Peckford did it back in the days of the Sunday Express...it was a shitty tactic then that was heavily criticized and it's still shitty now. It's a typical tactic, ignore the meat of the speech of what he's saying and twist and attack a small point.

Secondly, I think there could be real money to be made on a series of t-shirts that says Danny Williams hates you. "Danny Williams thinks I suck." "Danny Williams stalks my blog", "A traitor to Dannyland", "The Newfoundland government thinks I'm a traitor"...stuff along those lines. I imagine we can come up with a few more catchy slogans. We just need some nice graphic images to go along with them. Anyone want to take it from here?

Oh Danny, WTF?

Pop quiz, people. In this picture from last week's Independent (Photo Credit Paul Daly), Premier Danny Williams…



1. Is having some fun with his Irish heritage.
2. Already had a bit too much fun regarding his Irish heritage, if you know what I mean.
3. Has clearly lost his mind.

You know there was a point when I would have went with A, but now I think that it might be C. It happens, of course. I can't speak for pan-Canadian politicians, but Newfoundland politics clearly drives those involved with it mad after awhile. The higher you go in power, the quicker you're likely to go mad.

I can say many things about Clyde Wells, but I always gave him credit for getting out when he did. Seven years and done. About the smartest thing he ever did. He could have stuck around. Possibly could have even won a third term. But he saw the writing on the wall, saw that he was possible already beginning to lose it and got out before the drooling became noticeable.

Smallwood was, of course, barking mad by the time the late 60s came around. Moores probably wasn't far off it either by the time he got out. Peckford was as mad a hatter when he left, riding his mutant, Sprung-grown cucumber off into the sunset.

Hell, Tobin was certifiable before he ever took the job. Going to Ottawa will make the best of them loonies. Spending time in cabinet for three years and having unsubtle aspirations on becoming prime minister and figuring a stint as Newfoundland's premier is just the ticket to make you more palatable, is pretty clearly a sign that you're mental.

Tulk wasn't there long enough to go mad, although arguments could be made regarding his sanity. And Grimes wasn't so much insane as just fucked. Grimes was fucked from the instant he won the leadership by 14 votes under dubious circumstances. If he had been reelected, maybe he would have been fucking nuts, but as it stands, he was just fucked.

Which brings us to Williams. I'm not saying he had a shot at beating the curse, but there were promising signs. He landed the Atlantic Accord, seemed reasonably bright and was pretty much promising two elections and then he was done. All good signs.

Sadly, it seems Danny's mental dissolution is progressing ahead of schedule for the average Newfoundland premier. I can't really say why. Perhaps a large, heavy binder filled with opinion polls fell on his head. But he's showing all the signs. Exhibit #1, that picture. Did he learn nothing from Leo Puddister, who did a similar cover several years ago to much mocking.

The next is all this proud Newfoundlander crap. Even by previous Newfoundland premier standards, which are quite high in abusing patriotism, Danny is setting new levels. "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel" Samuel Johnson is reported to have said. They'll likely do case studies on Williams once this is over. Liam also does a nice job attacking Newfoundland patriotism as a smokescreen for rogues up to no good, so go there and read that wisdom.

Please tell me this isn't all there is, Danny. I've interview you before and chatted with you informally. You struck me then as a smart man with a decent vision for Newfoundland and Labrador. Tell me this isn't it. Tell me it's not 18 months of half decent progress with the rest of your premiership doing nothing but kicking up noise and hoping that no one notices what's (not) happening. That businesses are grumbling about too much government interference. That mainland investment is becoming increasingly skeptical about doing business up here. That you stalled two major oil projects with seemingly no rational reason. That Churchill Falls will likely be just as big a mess when you leave as when you arrived. That you've so alienated the Prime Minister's Office that they've come to the conclusion that the best strategy in dealing with Newfoundland is to just ignore you, even if that means sacrificing three sitting MPs. That rural Newfoundland is devastated with no sign of a game plan. That your cabinet is an empty shell and the smartest person in your caucus sits in exile in the backbenches wondering if she should run for federal politics.

The thing of it is, I still believe somewhere in there, Williams could actually figure this mess out and come up with a decent plan. If he were in opposition he certainly wouldn't tolerate a premier acting this way. But early onset political madness is apparently taking its toll on him. He's going to get reelected, but that says more about the quality of opposition (which is, let's face it, is as weak as anything in the annals of Newfoundland's post-Confederation history) than the quality of his government's recent decisions. I think I'm about ready to close the book on him actually solving anything.

I can't find the exact quote, but someone once said of Bill Clinton that the tragedy of his presidency could be found in the gulf between his potential and the reality. I suspect when they write the books on Williams they might be saying similar things.

Death of an Idol

Last September I wrote this rant against Canadian Idol and Newfoundland. It was a fairly well received rant with comments approving of it and several blogs linking to it. However, I thought then that it was a bit too late. I was complaining about how stupid my fellow Newfoundlanders were being a reality TV show contest after it was over and done with.

But somewhere in the back of my brain I tucked away a little idea I had and kept it nurtured with hate and contempt to use at the appropriate moment.

Now is the appropriate moment.

My friends, in one month Canadian Idol is coming back to Newfoundland for tryouts. This normally leads to a couple of days of craziness in the capitol city followed by a whole summer of the province collectively losing their shit trying to rally around whatever Newfoundlander has made it to the final 10 or so. Because only by winning Canadian Idol can this province earn the respectability of the rest of Canada.

When you read that last sentence your reaction should be "well, that's a batshit crazy notion." If it isn't, then go away and bash your head off something solid until come to your senses.

I want Newfoundland to be respected more by the rest of Canada. We all do. However, Canadian Idol isn't the way to do it. I would argue that the more stories that get out about people lining up at pay phones to vote, telecommunication systems being snarled by the volume of voters and people bitching and whining on the websites and Open Line shows about conspiracies to deny Newfoundland it's God given right to have a Canadian Idol winner, the more fucking ridiculous we sound.

So this is one small way to gain back some respect – ignore Canadian Idol. Completely.

When they arrive in St. John's for auditions, very few people should show up. Ideally, no one should show up, but let's not dream in technicolour here. I am saying a record low number would be a good start. When the shows start to air, don't watch them. When the inevitable one or two Newfoundlanders make it through to the rounds where you can vote for them... don't do it.

I know that last part is hard. It feels like you're screwing over some poor kid and crushing his or her dreams of fame and success. You really aren't. If the person is talented, truly gifted, and has the drive, then they will make it anyway. I really believe that. Just as I really believe that Canadian Idol taints new singers as much as it helps them. Very few have any kind of marginal success, let alone long-term success.

Furthermore, there were certainly signs last summer that the popularity of the show is at an ebb anyway. A quarter of a million fewer people watched the finale in September 2006 than in 2005.

I'm not saying don't support local singers and musicians. Far, far from it. I love the Newfoundland music scene. When I was home at Christmas I dropped easily $100 trying to catch up with some of the music I had missed since I moved up north. I am very much pro supporting of Newfoundland musicians.

But here's what you do instead of watching Canadian Idol...you go out and see a musician play somewhere that night. Here's what you do instead of plunking money in pay phones or texting in a vote...you spend the money and buy a CD from a local artist.

That way local musicians profit and not phone companies and telecommunication businesses. And, just as importantly as far as I'm concerned, we don't look like idiots on the national stage. Win win all the way around.

Now, if this seems reasonable and sane, then here's what I want you to do. Link to me. Yes, it's terrible pandering for traffic, but here's the thing. On a good day I get 150 unique visitors. That is not nearly to actually get the ball rolling. I need my fellow Newfoundland bloggers to spread the word. Link to this article or express your own opinion on this.

Spread the word, my blogger brethren. And with luck we will end Canadian Idol and bring some degree of sanity back to our province.

Pretty well completely useless

I haven't delved too much into Newfoundland politics recently, but this one has been festering for awhile and it's an old wound. So let's reopen it and have a bit of a rant, shall we...

So, we have a series of by-elections coming up, the first three taking place on Feb. 5, the other one taking place on Feb. 12 and presumably the one to replace Randy Collins will happen sometime in March or April. So, we have five by-elections all with about eight months or so until a general election. The average cost of a by-election is $75,000 to $100,000 each. Overall cost will be $375,000 to $500,000. Now, with the province's overall debt standing around $10 billion, I appreciate that's chump change. Still, you figure it might be an idea to try and pinch pennies, or hundreds of thousands of dollars, where you can.

I'm not saying there shouldn't be by-elections when an MHA relinquishes his or her seat. The people need to be represented in government. So clearly if there needs to be a by-election then one should be held. No matter that the general election is in October. If an MHA, God forbid, keels over and dies tomorrow, then obviously it's not fair to leave the people in his or hers riding until the next election.

My gripe is that each and every one of these by-election should never have taken place to begin with. Not one of them. The five people stepping down were more than capable of toughing it out until October. Or hell, if it was too onerous a burden to take all that money and constituency allowance, they could have stepped down in July. They would leave their constituency without representation for a couple of months, but at least they wouldn't be costing them tens of thousands of dollars needlessly on by-elections.

Let's look at those who are stepping down and causing these by-elections, shall we.

1. Ed Byrne. Yes, Ed has had a pretty rough last year or so. At one point he was probably favoured to succeed Danny Williams when he was finished being premier. Now, he's viewed as a crook. If he stepped down last summer when these accusations were first made against him, I could have almost understood and accepted it. "Obviously with this cloud hanging over me, it will be impossible for me to serve the people of my district, so until my name is cleared I'm stepping down as the MHA for Kilbride."

But he didn't. And once he decided to try and tough it out, then he owed it to people to stick around until the next election. If he decided to not run again, fine, no one would have blamed him. But this stepping down and forcing a by-election is foolishness. Suck it up and tough it out the last few months, for the love of God.

If the Auditor General is right, Byrne might have cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now we can apparently add another $75,000 of wastage to the bill.

2. Loyola Sullivan. Perhaps the worst of the bunch. He steps down in December and then lands a cushy, and of dubious use, federal government job a few weeks later. He's widely rumoured to have been at odds with the premier of financial matters.

Again, if Sullivan didn't want to be Finance Minister anymore and had had it up to here with Williams, I understand. But you do what Paul Shelley did. "I'm done. I'm not running again, so I'm going to resign as a Minister, and take my seat in the backbenches." If Sullivan had done that, I would understand. But instead, the man who was famous for histhrift is going to waste $75,000 on a by-election because he couldn't stomach being around the premier anymore.

By the way, to Byrne and Sullivan I add this – no one has been screwed more by Williams than Elizabeth Marshall, who is probably smarter than half the cabinet combined. And yet, there she sits in the backbenches, doing her job. You might learn a thing or two from her.

3. Jim Hodder. Is about the only one of the bunch I'm inclined to cut some slack. He's citing health reasons. And if they're true, then that's an acceptable reason to step down. Nobody expects you to die trying to do this job. From the way he phrased, however, it does sound like he could have held on until October. He stepped down now to take advantage of the Byrne/Sullivan resignations.

4. Kathy Goudie. I enjoyed how several months ago some people in the province, and Avril Baker jumps immediately to mind, saying Goudie was getting an unfair shake over the story on how she left the province to maintain her professional nursing standing. Men had done it for ages and no one said anything to them. It was a double standard. It was a clear sign of sexism.

Good God, no. It's a clear sign that Goudie is a horrifically bad politician. Look, when the reporter was hunting this story, all she had to say was this: "Yes, I did go outside the province and nurse for a couple of weeks. I'm required to do this in order to maintain my professional standing. I've spent a lot of years of my life as nurse, it means a lot to me and I might want to return to the profession at some point in my life. It's also worth noting that many other politicians, especially in the law field, do similar things to maintain their professional standing.

"I opted to go outside the province because I felt it would be a conflict of interest to have a sitting MHA also practice nursing in a hospital. I was offered a temporary position in the North, which I did for three weeks. This allowed me to keep my professional standing, and I am very happy to have had the opportunity to do this."

If there were questions regarding salary, just say that any salary as an MHA would be deferred during that time and that you used your vacation time to go be a nurse.

That's it. She says that and there is no fucking story. The reporter might have even spiked it. She made it so much worse with her response. And then to dig the grave even deeper there was the double billing incident, including submitting bills for things before she was ever elected.

I've heard rumours that Williams might have told her to go before she managed to accidentally burn down Confederation Building. Still, she was in the backbenches. Tough it out for the next few months and then opt to not run again rather than cause this useless by-election. And if Williams forced her out, well, he ought to know better.

5. Randy Collins. Yes, yes. His union won't give him anymore time off and he has to make a choice. And yes, he knows it sounds awfully convenient, but he doesn't care what you think. So away he goes. And you know what, I don't believe him. I think it's a lifeline thrown by his union. And he could have certainly toughed it out until October. But no, he's going to bail...sometime. Just add another $75,000 to the tab, will you? Thanks.

So there you go, out of the five of them, maybe one of them has a good excuse for leaving now. I desperately wish there was a rule in place to at least partially bill either the party or the candidate for the cost of a by-election when it's caused by a non-medical emergency.

And that's my rant.

Just smashing

I spent about 15 minutes yesterday morning chatting with a Newfoundland reporter. He was working on a story and wondered if I could help out. Turns out I couldn’t, not really. He didn’t need to interview me, just wondering if I had spotted someone in town, which I hadn’t. It's harder than you might think. I estimate there could be anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 Newfoundlanders living in Iqaluit. Also, hearing the accent when I’m around town is not a shock.

However, it was good to chat with a local reporter. I probably talk his ear off when he was just looking for some information. Apparently, while I’m not longer a journalist, I miss the journalist circle and like getting dirt. Hopefully I’ll find the time to get together with a few of them over Christmas. There were plans for some ex-Express folk to get together and commiserate over our beloved paper. I’ll have to see if that’s still happening.

Then again, there was also talk of a bunch of Newfoundland bloggers getting together between Christmas and New Year's. I hope that still happens, although my life is starting to get crazy over the holidays. I have a meeting with a financial advisor, a dentist appointment, Christmas shopping, trying to see a few friends, plus go around the bay and see some of my family...

I might need a few days off after New Year's to recover from all of this. Oh yeah, and I don’t know what we’re doing for that evening. In previous years, we’ve gone to Anne’s for her Big Scottish New Year's, which is a hell of a lot of fun. But I don’t know if that’s going on again this year. We might actually have to go downtown. Or, God help us, spend the evening with Dups and whatever madness he gets himself involved in.

One other thing...I knew that people in Transcontinental were reading my blog...I can tell where the traffic is coming form, sort of. So I knew it was Transcon, but it could have been The Telegram, Express, Beacon or a dozen other Newfoundland papers. And hey, it’s nice to be read.

But I’m learning, after speaking to the reporter yesterday, that my little dude to the right also has his fans. There is something about his head smashing glory that appeals to writers, and especially journalists. Find me a journalist who hasn’t wanted to do that at some point, especially at deadline, and I’ll show you a lying son of a bitch.

I wish I knew who created him so I could give the proper credit. I spotted him on a couple of sites and fell deeply in love with his bloody antics. I actually thought about pulling him from the site at one point, figuring that people might be tired of seeing him or that it might slow down the speed at which the blog loads.

But no, he has his fans. Devoted fans. I suspect some people might come here first thing in the morning just so they can see him beating himself to a pulp. Just to get the day going. He is loved by men and women, young and old. So I’ll keep him up, smashing away. The poor bastard, mascot for the Townie Bastard.


Curling update (feel free to skip if you’re bored of me talking about it)

Apparently I’ve remembered how to curl, which is reassuring. We won 12-5 Wednesday night, although Cathy couldn’t play the game because she hurt her leg last weekend (slipped on some ice while walking Boo). It was actually a pretty tight game, 4-4 going into the fifth end, but I got a lucky break. We were lying five, but the opposing skip had a pretty open draw to take one.

It was coming in perfect, when it picked on some debris and slid into a guard. So I ended up stealing five. Fluky. After that, there was little chance she was going to recover. We played a couple of more ends, but when I had an open draw for four in the seventh with last rock, she conceded.

I’m just happy I played well. I missed a few shots, including letting them steal two in the first end when a take-out went wide. But I made most of them. And the ice is apparently getting straightened out, which also helps. We’re 2-1 now, which isn’t bad. At least I'm not longer going around the apartment muttering "Fuck, I suck." I think Cathy was getting a touch tired of it.

Going down

When Danny Williams finally landed the Atlantic Accord I quipped that he was a lock to win the next provincial election until they found kiddie porn on his computer or something. Which is a good line and all, but not entirely true. Granted, it would be very difficult at this point for Williams to lose the next election.

However, I'm pretty certain one of the provincial ferries sinking with all hands aboard might just do it. They're getting lucky so far. This incident could have been much worse. Lives could have been lost. And having your Transportation Minister on record as saying something like this...

"We're going to have to deal with the fact that we only have so many ferries in the fleet. We have a very old fleet...We just can't go out and pick up a ferry down alongside the wharf that's waiting to be leased. That's just not available."

Which is essentially saying "We know people could die because our ferries are decrepit, but we're certainly not going to take an extraordinary measures and spend money."

It's the political equivalent of crossing your fingers and hoping for the best. It's worked so far. It might keep working for quite some time. But if one of those ferries sink and people die, what with a report out there critical of the fleet, the Transportation Minister shrugging his shoulders and the Premier apparently uninterested, well, if it wasn't terminal for the current government then it certainly would be very damaging.

I appreciate that speculating on a disaster that would cost lives and its political impact is a touch cold. But somewhere in the halls of government that calculation has already been made, I'm sure. And yeah, the Liberals are just as guilty as the Conservatives for the state of the ferry fleet. They ignored it for the better part of the 14 years they were in power.

But people aren't going to remember the Liberals, although I'm sure the Conservatives would try awfully hard to spin in that way. They'll remember a report came out saying the fleet was in terrible shape and that the government went basically said there was nothing they could do for a couple more years.

So if a ferry goes down, it might just take a government with it.

Despair Mondays

Welcome to the first of what might be many, or might putter out in a few weeks, of Despair Mondays. Where I take a photo either from my personal catelogue or something I find online and produce something pithy and amusing.

However, not always original. Just to fess up right from the start, I obviously didn't come up with either of the quotes in these two posters. The first is straight from another despair.com poster and the other is from God knows where, but I certainly didn't come up with it.

And don't worry, I'll pick on the Liberals and NDP eventually...





I was hoping to do a test of Switchpod right now, but currently the site is very slow. So perhaps this evening I'll give it another try.