She Ain't no Yvonne Jones!!

JOKE OF THE DAY!
Siobhan Coady Given Shadow Cabinet Position
This is about the funniest thing I have heard in weeks!! Now there are several possibilities...

1.Siobhan is an empty vessel with no opinions of her own.
2. Ms. Coady is an automaton, who has yet to make a statement showing her to be anything but a LIberal Koolaid drinker and devout follower of all things red.
3. The position is hilarious because it means nothing.
4. Ms. Coady will do nothing with the position except read what questions Iggy's staffers ask her to.
5. Ms. Coady is the best NL has to offer and capable of doing a better job of taunting the Tories than Todd Russell...or Scott Simms.
6. All the above!
7. None of the above!

You can decide for yourselves!! But I'll tell you one thing: Ms. Coady is no Yvonne Jones or Todd Russell. And I'll tell you something else. I've been really impressed with Yvonne Jones the past 6 months.

There's at least one Honorable man in prison...

Of course you know the news, our friend Wally Andersen has been sentenced to 15 months in prison on one charge, and 9 on the other (he plead guilty to) and both sentences will be served concurrently.

This means a maximum incarceration of 15 months, with parole eligibility usually occurring when 1/3rd the sentence has been served. This will likely mean Mr. Andersen's release will take place on 1st of March 2010.

As Mr. Andersen poses no risk to the public safety and as it would be a savings to the taxpayer, I believe house arrest or a suspended sentence would have better served the common good. The shame Mr. Andersen will carry with him is sentence enough. And if you knew Wally Andersen, you would certainly agree.

These are my thoughts, and I know opinions vary... but I think it is SICK beyond belief that violent offenders get a slap on the wrist and released back into the general population every day in Newfoundland and Labrador by the same judiciary who feels the need to incarcerate a man like Wally Andersen.

Wally Andersen is not the only one who should be feeling some shame.

Where are they now?

Ever feel let down when you find out that not only are our former politicians living abroad but that they receive HUGE pensions from our tax dollars and spend them in other provinces? I do. I don't think NL Gov't cheques should ever be let go or spent outside NL.

So where are they now?

Brian Tobin Living in Rosedale, an affluent Toronto neighborhood where that $10,000 every month really helps pay for the natural gas.

Brian Peckford Vancouver Island. Was this island too big for him? Have not will be no more, perhaps, but we're sending a couple hundred grand a year to help Vancouver Island have not no more.

Bill Rompkey Ottawa. Year-round I believe. Care to guess how big the 5 figure pension is that we're sending up to Hottawar? Like Canada needed even MORE of our money.

JIm Walsh Yes, that same Jim Walsh on trial for fraud and theft. ALBERTA! Sure by, because why get a job earning $150K a year or more when the NL government will send you a cheque for the same!!

anyone have any more?

I knew Wally Andersen

There's been an awful lot of attention paid to the former MHA for the North Coast, the Honorable Wally Andersen. Many bloggers and editors may postulate and pontificate and opine about how he got his hand caught in the cookie jar and how he defrauded you and me of our tax dollars. Wally himself, has pleaded guilty of taking money he should not have in a system that had all checks and balances removed under the supervision of then Premier Brian Tobin (Anyone notice how Mr. Tobin's been kept out of this?).

The cries of "get out your onion, Wally" and "Shame on you" ring very hollow and shallow to me when I recall in those days it was quite common to buy a button or two hundred off Wally knowing that the money would be in a bankroll that would be peeled off as soon as the honorable gentleman got to Hopedale or Davis or Nain. Anyone else remember seeing that? Surely I wasn't the only one!! I flew on aircraft with Mr. Andersen and watched as we'd get off the airplane in Hopedale and three or four needy mothers could walk up to him and tell how they didn't have their cheque or money to buy groceries and he would peel off $200 a piece to tide them through a difficult time. Or how he would slip some poor chap, down on his luck, $50 and state categorically "Now don't let me hear from one person here that you spent this on booze."

In the world of aboriginal peoples' the concept of community property is as natural to grasp as the concept of sharing the air we all breath. Why is that so hard to understand? Those in ivory towers point their fingers at Mr. Andersen and state "He bought a $10,000 skidoo for himself off the proceeds of crime. Who'd he share that with?"

Knowing the Wally Andersen I did? Every single person who needed it.