Goat Pictures

I want to see those pictures that Mark Chipman has of Greg Selinger kissing of a goat. Or, on second thought, maybe I don’t.

In any event, I was horrified to read in this morning’s edition of the Liberal Party of Canada’s tabloid more commonly known as the Winnipeg Free Press that Chipman is running back to his favorite candy store on Broadway seeking even more of your money and my money to fund what is still being laughably called a “private sector deal”.

After the government has so generously funded his personal arena and a practice facility for his worthless hockey team for reasons only the government can explain, Chipman now wants the government to give him a loan to cover the costs of funding the purchase of an NHL team for himself. Preferably interest-free, if you please.

I seem to recall that David Thompson, one of the richest Canadians, is backing Chipman in his quest for the Holy Grail. If it’s true, why is Chipman running to the government?

If Thompson is unable or unwilling to finance the purchase of the team, what’s going to happen not if, but when the team starts losing money hand over fist? If he has little appetite for the financing at this stage, you’ve got to wonder about his appetite to keep writing eight-figure checks to cover the losses Chipman’s team is almost assured to incur every year, particularly when you consider that Thompson won’t have any more control of the team than I will.

Which leads us back to the government, as it seemingly always does in the Socialist People’s Republic of Manitoba.

I keep hoping that the well is going to run dry on Broadway. There’s a limit to which any government can continue to justify an endless succession of bailouts unless Chipman is prepared to call his team the Blue Bombers, in which case he’d get all he wanted for eternity.

For the time being, however, knowing what spendthrifts the NDP are, they’ll probably give Chipman what he wants. Evidently, the NDP feels that we’re not drowning in enough public debt, so they have to sell us down the river even farther in order to finance the personal fiefdom of Mark Chipman.

So, while the small, but vocal “Return of the Jets” crowd salivates over the possibility of acquiring a team that has missed the playoffs 10 of the last 11 years that will be run by an owner with a sharp contempt and disdain for his customers, the rest of us can only sit back and hope that Chipman’s short-term venture, in the unlikely event he is successful, doesn’t cost us too much during the brief time he has a team.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.

Ode to an Election

The Three Musketeers forced an election
In Parliament they wanted a coalition

Ignatieff, Layton, and Duceppe all joined hands
And sent the politicians canvassing across the lands

While Manitobans battle flood waters rising high
'Up yours' each of them said while putting on their tie

Ignatieff expected control of the nation
While Layton dreamed of increased taxation

It all blew up in their faces
The people spoke loudly in each of the races

Ignatieff and Duceppe are each out of a job
Layton has more seats but no power, leaving him to sob

The Conservative majority government the leftists feared
Was something that they ultimately engineered

In the end, it proved worthwhile and calmed our fears
The socialist nuisance has been thrown out of power for at least four years

Contempt of Manitoba

Like many Manitobans, I’ve been keeping an eye on the news, not to see if Mark Chipman has managed to temporarily grab control of an NHL franchise and move it to Winnipeg, but to see how badly the province is being hit by the flood waters that have affected so many people.

We knew that there were going to be problems with flooding this year and though there has been a lot of preparation done, there’s still a battle raging across the province.

Armed with the knowledge that a natural disaster was going to be hitting the province, the CCCP decided that forcing another federal election was more important.

In case you forgot, the CCCP isn’t Russian for USSR, but it’s close. It stands for Central Canadian Coalition Party, comprised of the Fiberal Party of Toronto, led by Michael Ignatieff, the Non Democratic Party, led by Jack Layton, along with the Bloc Quebecois, whose sole purpose is to extort money from Canada and keep Canada under Quebec colonial rule.

Putting their own aspirations first, as always, this eclectic collection of socialists, determined to seize power with or without the consent of the Canadian people, are forcing us to open up our wallets once again and have us running around for another election that we need like another overflowing waterway.

The Fiberals, who feel a divine right to rule Canada, seemingly just can’t accept the fact that Canadians didn’t vote them into power and are determined to keep forcing as many elections as they can until they resume what they feel to be their rightful place. Seeing his only path to power, Layton is naturally on board with the Fiberals so he can grab some headlines and a piece of the pie for his otherwise irrelevant Marxist party.

The motion that passed the House of Commons that brought us this unnecessary election was called Contempt of Parliament. The CCCP has shown a strong contempt of Manitoba. Anyone living in flood-ravaged areas of the province who votes for the Fiberals or for the Non Democratic Party shows contempt for themselves, their neighbors, and their community.

Saddest Day of the Year

Two days from today is Easter Monday, otherwise known as G.E.M., short for Government Employees Monday, when all the government and public sector workers have an extra day off after Easter Sunday. I always regard it as the saddest day of the year on the calendar.

I bear no grudge for anyone who does get the day off and I hope all the public sector workers enjoy their day, but the fact is that there are far too many public sector workers in Winnipeg. Take a bus on Monday morning or go out in what is supposed to be rush-hour traffic. As I’ve said to others, you could fire off a few rounds with an AK-47 and not hit anyone.

So what’s wrong with this?

The lack of activity on G.E.M. only highlights how much of a “have not” province Manitoba really is, completely dependent on welfare, both from within and from the federal government. The NDP government is trying to tax us into prosperity. It's not working.

Do you ever wonder where the real money in Winnipeg is? Take a look at the empty seat next to you on the bus on Monday morning.

Winnipeg will emerge from its permanent recessionary state when and only when you have trouble finding a seat on the bus on G.E.M. Until then, we’ll continue to gain a firmer hold on the title of Armpit of Canada. We used to make fun of Saskatchewan, but now we’re the butt of their jokes, since they’ve long since passed Manitoba by leaps and bounds.

Oh, and for those of you who continue to lay awake at nights dreaming about the potential return of an NHL franchise to Winnipeg, the corporate dollars needed to sustain a franchise on a long-term basis do not come from empty seats on the bus on G.E.M. They come from real private-sector growth, and the lack of it in Winnipeg will be all too painfully obvious on Monday.

Manitoba's New Premier

Yesterday, the Bolsheviks announced their last budget before they’re booted out of office in October. To no one’s surprise, they’re leaving us with a legacy of high taxes and debt that has made us the armpit of North America. Even Saskatchewan, forever the butt of running jokes in Manitoba, has passed us by leaps and bounds.

So what’s coming next?

Welcome future Premier Hugh McFadyen, a man whose single biggest appeal to voters is that he’s not a member of the Bolshevik Party. Otherwise, as a former friend of mine once called him, he’s a twit.

Years ago, after Premier Gary Filmon was defeated, the PC Party of Manitoba selected a new, energetic, young leader whom they presumably hoped would grow into the role and lead them back into power.

He’s going to lead them back into power all right, but two terms too late. More importantly, he hasn’t grown into the role at all. His performance has been so abysmal that the Bolsheviks have won seats in ridings where the PC’s should have been able to win running a rhinoceros as a candidate. If a Bolshevik stands up and says that 2+2=4, you can rest assured he’ll be there to criticize, but he offers no concrete policies as alternatives.

The Bolshevik government has been ripe for the picking over their three terms in office and McFadyen has done little to make headway in opposition. He stands poised as Manitoba’s next premier only because the Bolsheviks have been so bad that he looks better by comparison.

Sadly, among members of the PC Party of Manitoba, it appears as though loyalty to the leader is more important than the best interests of the party. Manitobans are going to pay the price for this misguided loyalty.

Vision. Change. Progress. McFadyen 2011.

There will be change, to be sure, but the other two are left as an exercise for the reader.

If you’re a fan of tax and spend government or a big union boss, you won’t have long to wait before your comrades are back in power.

Maybe by then, the PC’s will figure out that Hugh McFadyen is not the answer. Only when they select a credible leader can Manitoba have a chance to overcome the crippling effects of socialism and get itself off the federal welfare roll.

The Passing of Dr. Gerry Wilson

The Winnipeg Jets lost an integral part of their proud legacy when Dr. Gerry Wilson passed away on Tuesday, March 22, 2011.

For those of you who are not aware of the impact that Dr. Wilson had in the Jets' formative years, it was he who discovered Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson while he was studying in Stockholm. He helped convince the pair of Swedes to turn down more lucrative offers elsewhere and come to Winnipeg, where the Jets were on the verge of being sold and moved until the team was rescued by its citizens during the drive to turn the team over to a community ownership group, a first in the annals of pro sports.

Dr. Wilson was also responsible for many other Swedes coming to the Jets and together, they had an enormous impact on both the Jets and the game.

The Jets were struggling on the ice and at the gate and the prolific and talented Swedes transformed the Jets from also-rans into perennial contenders in the WHA. The "Hot Line" of Hedberg, Nilsson, and Bobby Hull became one of the greatest lines in the history of the game. The Jets would likely not have survived through the WHA years were it not for this infusion of talent from Europe.

Other teams then followed suit in bringing many other talented Europeans over to North America and hockey fans continue to enjoy the benefits of the fast-skating style the Europeans brought with them to this day.

For these reasons, in my capacity as a member of the advisory board of the WHA Hall of Fame, I voted for Dr. Wilson's induction in the Builder category.

Please join me in expressing my condolences to Dr. Wilson's family. It is my hope that Dr. Wilson's contributions to the legacy that we remember so fondly are ultimately recognized properly.

A Stabber from Outer Space

A violent alien boards an Earth-bound ship

It speeds through the galaxy with lots of zip

He makes it our planet with incredible speed

Now he wants to make Earthlings bleed

He hooks up with a street gang right away

From their side he does not stray

With a knife he becomes an expert with the blade

Stabbing innocent victims is his trade

Impressing his partners in crime with his zest

“Take me to your leader”, he says while taking a rest

They all board a plane for a secret destination

Where the stabbers have their congregation

“Prepare for landing”, says the pilot, a friendly sort

“We are beginning our descent at Winnipeg International Airport”