Daily Archives: July 16, 2021

It looks like another liberal hero, Michael Avenatti, will be wearing a new suit with large black and white pinstripes for several years to come.

Another loud mouth distorter and criminal that the state-run media (MSNBC, CNN...) praised, gone by the wayside. And why did they love him so much? One reason, he hated Donald Trump. Hey, they even had him at the top of the Democrat Presidential Primary for a period of time! You got to give the left credit though, they never give up. Just like the Russia hoax, Ukraine, the ridiculous tries for impeachment, and so many more falsehoods that were thrown at President Trump and yet not one has stuck because they are just not true.

Funny, they even blame President Trump for the January 6 protest at the Capitol. The man clearly told the crowd during his speech to go to the Capitol and protest peacefully in front of the building. But the Democrats had it all planned to make it look like a riot. I agree that the protesters should have never entered the building, however videos showed that initially the Capitol Police opened the doors inviting protesters in. It is a lie that the protesters had anything to do with killing a policeman, he died of natural causes later. However, we are yet to know who killed a military veteran when she entered through a window. Even at that, how can anyone compare January 6 with riots in Portland, Seattle, and many of the major cities resulting from the tragic death of George Floyd? They have destroyed numerous businesses, many owned by minorities.

Finally, I hope all you liberal Dems are enjoying paying a lot more for gas, groceries, building materials and runaway inflation on about everything. Oh and how do you like the let em go Joe illegal migrants pouring into the country and driving down wages? Are we having fun yet???

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Say goodbye to a liberal hero | Letters to the Editor | tullahomanews.com - Tullahoma News and Guardian

Aftershocks from The Bulwark's recent publication of a 12,000-word hit job on a right-wing think tank "What the Hell Happened to the Claremont Institute?" continue to rock the conservative intellectual world. The latest tremor has been felt at Powerline, where Reagan biographer Steven Hayward provocatively asks, "What the Hell Happened to Bill Kristol?" Kristol, you see, is a founder and leading force behind The Bulwark (where I participate in a weekly podcast). If he was willing to publish an extended polemic against a leading institution of the intellectual right, can Kristol even be considered a conservative anymore?

To which I would reply: What if Bill Kristol has been a liberal all along?

How could it be that the man who served as Dan Quayle's chief of staff, who founded and edited for two decades one of the leading conservative magazines in the country, who was a leading advocate for the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and who was the public face for neoconservative ideology from the mid-1990s on how could this man have always been a liberal? Answering the questionrequires a brief detour into history.

Bill Kristol's father, Irving Kristol, became one of the original neocons during the 1970s. Until that point, he and his ideological compatriots had considered and called themselves Cold War liberals. But by the time of George McGovern's presidential campaign in 1972, they'd become convinced that the Democrats were heading left on foreign policy, crime, and cultural questions. That led them to begin allying with Republicans. By the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, the partisan shift was complete.

This new alliance with conservatives persisted even after the Democrats had tracked back to the center during the mid-1990s. Why? Inertia, mostly. The neocons had grown used to working with and reaching compromises with conservatives in order to advance the things that mattered most to them. And for Irving's son Bill, what mattered most was developing a "neo-Reaganite foreign policy" for the post-Cold War world. This would be a foreign policy in which the U.S. used its unmatched military might and geopolitical preeminence to challenge tyrants and spread liberal democracy around the globe.

During the administration of George W. Bush, that sounded conservative. But since Donald Trump's hostile takeover of the Republican Party? Not so much. With the GOP expressing open hostility to democracy promotion abroad (and even at home), Kristol has now undertaken his father's rightward migration in reverse.

But does that signal a fundamental change? Or merely a pragmatic response to altered circumstances? I'd say the latter. Bill Kristol has always been a hawkish, idealistic liberal. What's changed is which party is best suited to serve as that disposition's natural home.

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Were the neocons liberals all along? - The Week Magazine

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The Liberal government is showing hypocrisy in its approach to supporting some pipelines while rejecting others, writes Herb Pinder.

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After more than a decade of pipeline political ping-pong, TC Energy and the Government of Alberta have given up Keystone XL is dead. The anti-pipeline, anti-energy and anti-market protagonists are celebrating a great victory while also saving the planet.

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Maybe. While there are many consequences of this rejection, none will enhance Mother Earth.

This pipeline was conceived primarily to move heavy oil from Canadas oilsands to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast configured to process such feedstock. Now denied the least costly and safest sourcing, the first consequence is more U.S. oil imports from countries with lower environmental standards and higher GHG emissions, hardly supportive of the articulated objectives of the activists, the Democratic Party and the White House.

A second long-term consequence is that Canada now fully understands that the U.S. is an unreliable trade partner, many times dishonouring both the spirit and the word of longstanding energy agreements and integrated pipeline system. From the early stages of this full contact ping-pong, the Canadian industry and many political leaders have increasingly come to understand the need for Canadian access to the growing oil-and-gas-hungry nations ofPacificAsia. The construction progress of the TransMountain pipeline is tangible recognition of this need by the owner and developer, the Government of Canada.

Another consequence is economic loss for the U.S., now the worlds largest producer of both oil and natural gas and the largest refiner. In a few decades it has evolved from an importer of both commodities to an exporter. Yet the significant geopolitical advantage of being an energy superpower is diminished by its green policy shift and the violation of energy trade agreements with its major supplier. Further, inconsistencies abound including cancelling Keystone XL while giving the green light to the completion of Nord Stream 2, a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. The U.S. loses stature and Russia gains influence.

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There is further policy confusion as President Joe Biden stands on the sidelines as his friend, theMichigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, attempts to abrogate a recent agreement approving the replacement of Line 5 serving Michigan and Canadian refineries, even after approval by her legislative colleagues.

In Canada, however, there should be no misunderstanding in the West about the real agenda of the federal Liberals. After withdrawing the approval of Northern Gateway, obstructing Energy East, lamely acquiescing to the XL rejection and passing anti-pipeline legislation, the Trudeau government is vehemently supporting Line 5. Tankers off the Atlantic coast and up the St. Lawrence River are fine; but are restricted off the Pacific coast. By way of Bill C-48, Northern Gateway approval was withdrawn. Energy East was obstructed by changing the regulatory rules midstream, and likewise then legitimized by Bill C-69.

Hypocrisy, incompetence and inconsistency you say? Hypocrisy without any doubt. Incompetence yes, as Energy East would strategically assure energy security for all Canadians including especially those from Ontario and Quebec. Inconsistency no, only on the surface.

The deeper political imperative requires Line 5 to protect the Liberals electoral base. More than half of all gasoline in Ontario and Quebec is dependent on Line 5 as well as jet fuel for Torontos Pearson Airport. The Liberals also want to reduce much of the Conservative funding, that since the Stephen Harper days, has originated in Calgary.

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The template was succinctly laid out by Keith Davey, close adviser to the first Trudeau: Screw the west, well take the rest. All about politics and the lust for power consistent as it repugnant.

Herb Pinder is a non-practising lawyer in Saskatoon and a graduate of Harvard Business School. His background includes governance with a particular focus on energy through multiple energy boards and his oil and gas private equity firm.

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Opinion: Liberal policy, inaction on pipelines hurting the West - Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a press conference in Montreal on July 15, 2021.

ANDREJ IVANOV/AFP/Getty Images

Under the Liberal governments new child-care program, nine of the 10 communities in which eligible parents would save the most money are in or near Greater Toronto or Greater Vancouver, the two urban hubs where federal elections are won and lost which may be why Conservative Leader Erin OToole is so very quiet on the subject.

The Centre for Policy Alternatives, a progressive think tank, released a study Thursday that shows parents in Mississauga could save $9,635 in child-care fees next year if the Ontario government joined the program. The savings in Richmond, B.C., would be $7,800. British Columbia and Nova Scotia have already signed agreements.

There are potentially enormous financial benefits for parents with children in cities with high child-care costs cities that just happen to contain swing ridings with an election imminent. Politically, its genius.

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The Liberals are gambling that attitudes toward child care have changed. In 2005, Paul Martins Liberal government, having pledged $5-billion over five years, negotiated accords with all ten provinces for child-care spaces.

But Conservative leader Stephen Harper opposed the program, promising cash payments to parents instead. The Conservatives won the 2006 election; their cheques replaced the Liberals subsidies.

Under the new and more ambitious Liberal plan, child-care costs would gradually fall to $10 a day, with most spaces in the non-profit sector, and with well-trained and well-paid caregivers. Why is the public ready for such a plan now, when it seemed unwilling 15 years ago?

For one thing, provinces have been experimenting with child-care support programs. (Quebecs program has been in place since 1996.) As well, the pandemic highlighted that child care and schools are incredibly important to allow people to work, said David Macdonald, senior economist with the Centre for Policy Alternatives and author of the report. Women are particularly vulnerable. At the beginning of the recession, they accounted for 63 per cent of all lost jobs.

As well, Mr. Macdonald believes, there is a lot less reticence and concern about federal deficits. Ottawa went more than $350-billion into the red last fiscal year to fight the pandemic. Compared to that, whats $30-billion over five years to lower child-care fees?

That expense is just one reason why Conservatives might be expected to oppose the plan as they did in 2005. They could again be expected to argue parents should have the flexibility to make the arrangements they prefer.

Publicly funded child care extends the reach of the state: Child-care workers delivering government-funded care are more likely to be in the non-profit sector, to be unionized, to command higher wages, and to vote Liberal or NDP.

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In June, Mr. OToole said his party was committed to a flexible, federally funded child-care program, calling it critical infrastructure.

But he has kept a very low profile on the issue, perhaps because he knows the Liberal program will be popular in ridings his party needs to win.

Child care is an area of provincial responsibility. Premiers should be wary of buying into a program that a future federal government could retreat from, warns Janice MacKinnon, a professor of fiscal policy at University of Saskatchewan. In the 1990s, Prof. MacKinnon held various cabinet posts, including finance minister, in the governments of former NDP Premier Roy Romanow.

She pointed out that low-cost child care leads to wait lists, and the better-off always find a way to get to the front of those lists. You really are creating two tiers of parents, she said. One tier is middle-class parents who will be able to access $10-a-day daycare because they live in the big cities where its available. And then you have another class of people who are shift workers, or they live in smaller communities, and theyre scrambling to find daycare and theyre paying more. This program offers less for them.

Nonetheless, I think its important for there to be a child care-program, Prof. MacKinnon added. All parties, including the Conservatives, will have to come up with something. She prefers child-care credits for parents, grants for licensed providers, and incentives for employer-provided care.

The Liberals child-care program is expensive and intrusive and inflexible. But they believe the public wants it, and they are probably right which is why Mr. OToole is keeping mum.

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Federal Liberals bank on urban votes with affordable child-care program - The Globe and Mail

Two-term Ottawa Liberal MP Karen McCrimmon is not expected to run again in Kanata-Carleton and political insiders say Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, could run in the Ottawa area riding.

Karen McCrimmon has dedicated her life and career to serving Canadians, and she has always worked tirelessly to build a better future for her community, saidBraeden Caley, senior director of communications for the Liberal Party of Canada, in an emailed response to The Hill Times, who also declined to confirm or deny if Ms. McCrimmon is running in the next election. Mr. Caley also did not confirm or deny the speculation that Mr. Carney will likely run in Kanata-Carleton in Ms. McCrimmons place.

Were looking forward to re-electing our Liberal team in Parliament whenever the next election eventually arrives, and adding even more talented and dedicated community leaders as new Liberal MPs in currently unheld ridings, said Mr. Caley.

Mark Carney, former governor of Bank of Canada and Bank of England, is expected to run for the Liberals in the next election. The Hill Times file photograph

Ms. McCrimmon, 62, who is the nominated candidate for the Liberal Party for the next election, did not respond to interview requests sent to her personal email address and phone number. In response to calls and emails made to her office, a staffer said she was unavailable until the week of July 26.

If Ms. McCrimmon decides not to run, she will be the second Ottawa-area nominated MP to do so.Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna (Ottawa Centre, Ont.) announced late last month that she wont seek re-election for family reasons.

Ms. McCrimmon, a former lieutenant colonel in the Canadian Air Forces, was first elected to the House in the 2015 election with a margin of 12.2 per cent of the votes. The margin, however, went down to 6.6 per cent in the last federal election.

As of last week, 21 MPs from all parties had announced they would not seek re-election, including eight Liberals, seven Conservatives, two Bloc Qubcois, three New Democrats, and one Independent. If Ms. McCrimmon decides not to run again, she will be the 22nd MP.

Meanwhile, Liberal sources told The Hill Times that Mr. Carneys potential Liberal candidacy for the next election is something in active consideration. The Liberals sources declined to be identified because they are not authorized to talk about party strategy.

In April, Mr. Carney delivered the keynote speech at the Liberal Partys virtual national policy convention and said he would do whatever I can to support the Liberal Party in our efforts to build a better future for Canadians. Even before the speech, there was massive speculation circulating that Mr. Carney would run for the Liberals, but didnt have a riding to run in. Liberal insiders took his speech and the platform the party gave him as the strongest hint that he will run and say that if he was not interested in running, he could have easily said so in numerous media interviews hes done since his book Value(s): Building a Better World for All came out months ago.

In almost every interview, the former central banker has been asked if hes going to run, but hasnt given a clear answer.

Liberal sources said that if Ms. McCrimmon does decide to run, two other ridings might be considered, Ottawa South or Ottawa Centre.

Ottawa South is currently represented by six-term Liberal MP David McGuinty, chair of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians. Mr. McGuinty, the brother of former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty, has represented the riding since 2004. He won the 2019 election with 52.4 per cent of the vote. In early May, Mr. McGuinty provided a statement to The Hill Times that hes running in the next election.

I am delighted to confirm that I am the nominated Team Trudeau Liberal candidate for Ottawa South and that I am running in the next federal election, whenever that might be, Mr. McGuinty toldThe Hill Timesin an emailed statement in May.It is my greatest honour and the highlight of my public-sector career to serve my constituents of Ottawa South. Following in my familys footsteps, I am working hard every day to represent my constituents and I hope to earn their trust once again in the next campaign.

Former attorney general of Ontario Yasir Naqvi is seeking Liberal nomination in Ottawa Centre. Photograph courtesy of Twitter

The riding of Ottawa Centre opened up for the Liberal nomination last month after Ms. McKenna announced abruptly that she wont run again. Yasir Naqvi, former Ontario minister of justice and attorney general, has thrown his hat in the ring, and is the only declared candidate so far.

Mr. Carney, 56, is now the vice chair of Brookfield Asset Management, and the UN special envoy on climate change and finance. He was not available for an interview last week.

Barring a fourth wave of COVID-19, the next election is expected to happen between August and October. Politicos from all parties expect the writ to be dropped in August with the election to happen in September.

What party wouldnt want him to run? Hes an amazing candidate, said Tim Barber, a principal at Bluesky Strategy Group and co-founder of Canada 2020 think tank, who has known the Carney family for years.Hes been an outstanding public servant.

Mr. Barber said he expects Mr. Carney to run in the next election but did not know which riding he would run in.

If Mr. Carney does decide to run, hes seen as one of the potential leading leadership candidates to succeed Mr. Trudeau whenever he decides to leave.

Some political insiders interviewed for this article said that, considering the next election campaign is expected to start in a few weeks, Mr. Carney should have been nominated by now.

Nows the time to get in if youre interested, said the source. I dont think its any secret that Justin Trudeau probably wont run again, after this. So my view is there would be a leadership within two years, assuming he wins government back, which right now, looking at the numbers, seems quite likely.

The source said its critical for the Liberals potentially heading into their third mandate to show that theyve got the momentum and the mojo to attract talented candidates. But the source added that it appears The Centre is not showing seriousness in recruiting star candidates. The source cited the example of Don Iveson who was seen as a potential star candidate for the Liberals in Edmonton Centre but decided not to run last week. They added that sometimes it appears the Centre is repeating the same lack of seriousness in Mr. Carneys case.

I dont understand this but it [Mr. Carneys candidacy] doesnt seem to be moving at a pace that it should be moving, the source said.

But another source said the reason why Mr. Carney has not been officially announced as the candidate is that its not a given that the writ would be dropped on a specific date as things could change with a potential fourth wave of COVID or for some other reason. So, as soon as Mr. Carney becomes a candidate, he will have to step down from his UN responsibilities and at Brookfield management.

If we had a fourth wave, there would be no election, said the source. So you would have had someone like him stepping away from all of the other work that hes doing, because the minute he becomes a declared candidate, hes got to step away from the United Nations Climate stuff hes doing, hes got to step away from his day job. So, I dont think its necessary that he be way, way out ahead.

Pollster Nik Nanos of Nanos Research told The Hill Times that the Liberals are currently the front-runners and said it will be nice to have star power in their slate of candidates, but also said its not required. Mr. Nanos said that one reason Liberals may be reluctant to announce Mr. Carneys candidacy at this time and to give too much profile pre-election is that it could undermine Mr. Trudeaus political capital as the former central banker is seen as the potential future leader of the Liberal Party.

There are complications for the Liberal Party to elevating Mark Carney to a significant stature in the short term, said Mr. Nanos. And what will happen is that, visually, if they gave him that sort of platform, regardless of the intent, visually, it would look like he is being positioned to be the next leader of the party.

Mr. Nanos said that potentially, Mr. Carney could win if he ran in any of the three ridingsKanata-Carleton, Ottawa South, and Ottawa Centrebut said it depends how easy the Liberal leadership wants to make it for him to win. Based on that criteria, he said, Ottawa South would be the easiest to win and Kanata-Carleton the hardest. In Ottawa South, he said, Mr. Carneys win would depend largely on the support of Mr. McGuinty.

So if this was about helping Mark Carney enter Parliament, Ottawa South would be probably at the top of the list, said Mr. Nanos. But with that, it would require the blessing of the McGuintys who are still a very powerful force within that riding.

The Hill Times

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McCrimmon not expected to run again, Carney could succeed her as next Liberal candidate in Kanata-Carleton, say Liberal sources - The Hill Times

And then there is the thorny issue on the declaration form regarding property development. Ms Simone has declared that for the past seven years she has not been engaged in any business involving property development.

However, corporate records show that as recently as 2018 she was a director and shareholder in her husbands company RL888, which is a major shareholder in property development company, the Manta Group, where her husband is the CEO.

Ms Simone claimed that although she ticked no on the nomination form, she had declared her former interest in her husbands company on a separate form and the party knows all about it.

The email address given on her nomination form is a Manta Group email and Ms Simone posted on her Facebook page in February 2016: We are very busy with Renes (sic) project at MIDDLETON GRANGE.

President of the CaringbahLiberal Party branch Marie Simone with her husband, property developer Rene Licata. Credit:Facebook

This was a reference to her husbands ambitious development for the town centre at Middleton Grange, in the Liverpool area. Despite the best efforts of his planner Matt Daniel, who like Mr Licata is a member of Ms Simones branch of the party, Mr Licatas development plans have been thwarted by the local council.

Middleton Grange residents opposed Mantas proposed development for 900 units to be built in the immediate area.Credit:Simon Bennett

However, the Liberals on Liverpool Council, where Mr Daniel was formerly the deputy general manager, remained supportive. In July 2019 they voted as a bloc to overturn the councils rejection of the Manta Groups plans. They were not successful.

In 2017 Mr Licata and Mr Daniel established the Commercial and Economic Planning Association which claims to represent the interests of smaller developers. According to CEPAs website, in September 2019 they charged $350 per head for members and guests to dine with the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison.

Mr Daniel, also a former bankrupt, has featured in back-to-back corruption inquiries. In April it was revealed that Mr Daniels planning company was lobbying Canada Bay councillors for favourable rezonings on behalf of then Liberal MP John Sidoti.

He also featured in ICACs investigations into questionable planning decisions made by Canterbury Council. Documents tendered at the inquiry show Mr Daniel was on the payroll of controversial property developer Charbel Charlie Demian who was lobbying the council and its planners for major expansions to his development sites.

The ICAC inquiry also showed that Mr Daniel was using the services of the now-disgraced former Liberal MP Daryl Maguire to help lobby planning officials and other ministers on behalf of Mr Daniels clients.

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The fast and the curious: matching Maseratis and a Liberal nomination - Sydney Morning Herald