'Harper Government' - The Other Vagrants

A just system must generate its own support.
John Rawls, A Theory Of Justice, p. 261

When the House of Commons broke (early) for the Christmas break last year, the young punks in shorts at the Prime Ministers Office wiped their sweaty brows in utter relief, in the fact that they had managed, just, to prevent the whole mess from caving in and falling from a non confidence vote. At the onset of the New Year, they were sure that the Vagrants Tour, which started just last week, to all the accursed sand spit micro states of the Middle East would be a sure lift for the bosses numbers. Surely in the middle of January nothing could possibly happen to upstage the 'Harper Government's Divine message. Surely the Vagrants Tour - 2014 would steal all the first slots of every news cycle for its total duration. Well not exactly...
 

Canada - Time for a new crew?

  Right from the get go of leaving Ottawa on Conservative Air, full to the brim with pilgrims, the blessed event started to not have the desired effect. But surely when the chrome domed eminence addressed the klutzedupsenate surely that would steal all the first slots in every news media cycle right through to the start of the next session of the House of Commons, starting on January  25 coming... Well not exactly....

The monumentus speech to the vagrant micro states klutzedupsenate barely caused a ripple here in Canada's news cycle. It seems that the 'Harper Government's other vagrants back home, completely rose up all together and stole all the top spots of the national news cycle for the last 72 hours at the time of this writing. As the Oracle of Ottawa pounds out this humble missive, the 'Harper Government' is sitting at level eight of the CBC News internet page! But they had serious competition from other Conservatives all over the country all at the same time! What are the chances of that? Not even the Oracle of Ottawa could make this up.

Level one of the news cycle at the time of this writing has been stolen by  the vagrant provincial Conservatives of Alberta, as the Health Minister Fred Horne glibbly announces that only 625,000 Albertans have had all there confidential information lost on a laptop, probably by a minimum wage contractor, the Minister is seeming to have a very hard time to explain to the press all the money that was saved by firing the civil servant that used to do it right....

Level two spot was stolen by the insane antics of one of the closet and dearest friends of the 'Harper Government', Mayor Rob Ford, the conservative mayor of Toronto has had the nation transfixed as the CBC plays the video over and over again, as the Mayor of Toronto made his most successful dinner theatre debut last night, some where in Toronto. The only thing that was missing was the black face make-up! Oh Mammy indeed...

Level three of the news cycle was stolen by yet another conservative provincial Premier, in Newfoundland this time, when one Cathy Dunderdale resigned as Minister of Darkness, it seems that the lights always go out when there is a conservative running things, is there truly a pattern? Well the Oracle of Ottawa has seen that he has gone on far to long. But for the sake of completeness that Oracle of Ottawa has checked out the level of the 'Harper Government's vagrant tour level in the news as I close and at the time of this writing, it is now at level 8, way at the bottom of the page, just above Health, Community and the fine print....        

Does Theo Caldwell Add Up?

Exitus acta probat. (The ends justify the means.)
Publius Ovidius Naso, Heroides, (The Heroines), II, 85.

Who is Theo Caldwell? The Great Man has a near flagship gig on Sun News TV. Each day the ranting is more animated, the subject being discussed more obscure, the hands and arms flapping about in darn near as elegant a fashion as that of the Great Canadian Margie Gillis! Could all that "Swan Hands" flap have been caused about Mr. Caldwell having discovered his inner Margie? Sometimes discoveries of ourselves are not always welcomed. Examples abound in history.

Donkey...

The Oracle of Ottawa has provided a link to the Wikipedia article of Mr. Caldwell. "He is president of Caldwell Asset Management, and serves on the board of directors of Caldwell Financial, a diversified investment firm with operations throughout North America and around the globe. Caldwell Financial and its subsidiaries provide investment management, brokerage and insurance services to private clients, municipalities, charities and foundations, as well as private and public corporations." My goodness, that is pretty impressive! Why in heavens name does he bother to show up on a third-rate news network, that has ratings of a channel test pattern? The article gets better! (Did you ever hear of, say, a cabinet minister slinging beer in Hull after cabinet meetings?..me neither...)

  

                                        What in heavens name are these guys going on about??

It seems that Mr. Caldwell is a dual American-Canadian citizen? But the article does not state his place of birth or his parentage. And for good measure he also holds an Irish passport. Mr.Caldwell was educated at Upper Canada College, he also has a B.A. in English from Trinity College, University of Toronto. And for icing on the cake, he also claims a Masters of Science degree in Public Policy and Management from the University of London, United Kingdom. Excuse me dear reader but all this sounds pretty elite to me! And isn't one of the main Sun News TV tag-lines - The elites have always set the agenda? - To the best of my knowledge, even Pierre Elliot Trudeau, didn't have a shopping bag full of passports! 

One wonders with all the listed duties and doings of the many boards and all, how Mr. Caldwell can justify the wasted time at the Desk of "The Caldwell Account" ? I am sorry to be so cynical and all, but does this add up to you? The real shaky part of the article is the claim that Mr. Caldwell " Has been a member of ", The New York Stock Exchange (!),  The American Stock Exchange, (!) The Kansas City Board of Trade, (!)and for good measure The Chicago Board Options Exchange! To the best of my knowledge, to be a "member of an American Exchange you must own a seat on that Exchange! A seat on the New York Stock Exchange is worth at present tens of millions of dollars at least! Costs of seats on the other exchanges mentioned are roughly valued in the seven to eight figure range... Yet he decides to come to preach to us peasants? Does this add up to you?

Maybe he is a "Great Man" and has decided to give of his wealth and genius to show us mere mortal peasants the true way... But yet, at the closing this missive, one more thing does not add up...isn't it for the elites that the performing arts exist? And if Mr. Caldwell is an elite...why is it that he goes ballistic over the far fringe of Canadian Performing Arts? 

                                                I mean, really, who would you rather watch?