andouillette f ‎(plural andouillettes) 

A piece of andouille; a small spiced pork sausage.

Will preserved meats become the next tobacco?

Now that the science is in, how many are going to stop eating meat?  In particular preserved and smoked meats....Many people are talking about that report that was recently released. The meat industry is already gearing up for an offensive, and I have been kind of half chuckling about how that could look. 

Will the Fraser Institute release a report that second hand lunchables are NOT carcinogenic? How many "doctors" will be popping up to say that they prefer maple leaf hot dogs? Oh yes I had to go there. 

There are lots of pundits telling us that the difference between Harper and Trudeau will be listening skills, delegation, and respect. 

I like all of that as well. (These last ten years the chain of command has been the PMO making decisions,  and then some memos telling every ministry how to behave. )

But. And there is always a huge BUT. 

Remember when Obama was elected in the US, and he was gonna listen to all ideas and come to a consensus with all sides represented?

"If the tone I set is that we bring [enough] intellectual firepower to a problem, that people act respectfully towards each other, that disagreements are fully aired, and that we make decisions based upon facts and evidence as opposed to ideology, … people will adapt to that culture and we'll be able to move together effectively as a team."

How did that work out?  Nothing happened for a very long time in the US, the fight for something like Obamacare was a circus of lies and misinformation. They eat up precious time trying to kill it over and over again.  Obama had great ideas, but so much time was wasted with the trash talk that there was no way to actually build a consensus.

As if begging for a Groundhog Day joke, House Republicans will vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act again on Tuesday. It'll be the 56th shot they've taken at the law, and just like every other time they've tried to erase President Obama's signature achievement, this attempt is doomed to fail. Republicans have nowhere near the veto-proof majority they'd need to kill Obamacare.

The Tea party controlled senate shut down the government. 

Recall the rogue Prorogues? Cause Harper didn't like coalitions or questions, so he just cut off the Government. 

Harper listened to the voices in his head, and the least scientific ones out there in the wild. He killed data and facts. He has spent millions of OUR money challenging court decisions. The level of absurdity has always boggled my mind.  People have been dying when there are better ways to deal with addiction, scientifically vetted with hard data, and the Harper Government has spent years and many dollars fighting against those truths. 

So. This is 2015, and there is a sane, reasonable sounding person in charge of the Governing party.  Will he listen to some of the more leftward people along with the science and the data, or will he capitulate to the whackadoo Conservative types? Will he be distracted by the nonsensical and amazingly stoopid things that Harper supporters have thrown at us over the years? 

We shall see. But I think that unless the person talking has the actual data, and the facts and evidence to back them up? We need to wipe them off our shoes. Climate change denial is a great example of the Harper misinformation machine at work. John Oliver explained that the best:

Canada's version of the tea party, has been running the show, now it is time for Harper's "pee party" to shut up and sit down.  Unless they magically can provide actual proof of the crap they spew, they should be shunned. 

But tell that to the corporate media eh? They have spent a lot of the last 10 years telling us it is raining prosperity, when all we have felt is.......ya. You get it. It was NOT tea.  

I am going to work today, but will be watching the news on my breaks. When I get home, I want to see this long nightmare over. 

You know? Where less than 40% of those that actually voted pretend they have a mandate to destroy our country?

Good luck to us all. We need it right about now. 

We can almost envision it as a slasher film. Campy, bad production values. Cheap jump scares.....With bad actors in the lead roles. 

To me it would look pretty much like this.......

The Harpercons are releasing a cookbook today, as a compliment to the latest budget numbers. 

It includes favourite recipes used by Conservative Finance Ministers throughout Canadian history!

The sample recipe provided by the PMO, is amazing. It shows how you can truly create something out of absolutely nothing! Is your pantry empty of actual food stocks? Let Joe Oliver's amazing recipe illustrate that there really is a way to make a meal out of smoke, and mirrors!

Joe's poor Squirrel stew

5 roadkill squirrels (10 if they are small ones)

1 gallon of the tears of the unemployed, who were denied EI. (Best gathered fresh, especially bitter. )

25 tongues freshly gathered from muzzled government scientists. (they didnt need them anymore anyway)

35 tablespoons of algae bloom, gathered from lake Eerie

a rasher of contaminated bacon.

5 Smoked two headed salmon. (smoked over the forest fires in Sask and BC)

2 buckets of Imported vegetables, that have been blessed by hypocritical baptists. 

Put all the ingredients into a pot. Stir with a cane. Simmer slowly over a low fire. Paper burns at a low temperature. There is an abundance at the moment from uneeded scientific libraries. 

Ready in 6 hours.  pour into molds. The algae blooms provide a lovely thickener.

Refrigerate in the PMO war room fridge. After 10 hours, relase from molds onto plates. 

When presenting this dish, sprinkle liberally with bitumen and a bucket of melted cheese. Serve with Tim Hortons coffee prepared by Jerry Bance. It is the PERFECT compliment. Its a crowd pleaser!

Enjoy!

 Trudeau just stepped into a large mess. The NDP AND the Conservatives have decided to poo pah all over some statements that Trudeau made in an interview...I had to go re-inform myself what the definition for a "small business"  is.....(declaration: I am an unaffiliated voter. But I actually look at some of these statements and things with the help of MR Google. I like the FACTS. )

  What is the definition of a small business in Canada?

  1 to 4 employees: Micro-enterprise 

 5 to 100: Small business 

 101 to 499: Medium-sized business

 500-plus: Large business

 (Source: Industry Canada) <------------( this was;  Inudstry Canada on the CBC. On a 4 yr old article.)  

SO what is the Kerfuffle about exactly?

 It gets convoluted. Lets turn to a math problem to solve this one, OK kids? I hope I am getting this right, I am a member of the lower rungs of the infamous 99% who are considered the "working poor" and my little blonde head does budgeting with completely different numbers.....

Philip Von Foofdah makes $5 Million a year, his salary. He is the CEO of a company that produces astroturf. 

His family cannot possibly pay the astronomical amount of personal taxes he would owe, as that would cause him to lose one of his vacation properties in Whistler. He may even have to pay the foreign nanny he has working in the kitchen less per hour. Heaven to betsy! Philip's tax Guru, tells him it is easy to pay far less taxes, maybe even show a loss once in a while!

 Philip incorporates himself, and falls under the Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPC) rules. He is now a small business! 

He makes his eldest children from his first and second marriages, shareholders. Bunny, Buffy, Kitty and Flopsy become stakeholders in PHILIP INC. His latest wife, is paid as an employee for dictation services. *blink* 

Now, Philip can claim small business expenses on all of his properties, his cars, and all of his vacations. He can claim The foreign nanny now, as a subcontractor-perhaps?  The family gathering in Bermuda this year was claimed as an expense, because as the family sat down to dinner they discussed the business of PHILIP INC.

"Daddy, did you decide what colour you are going to paint the cabin in Whistler?"

How much tax does PHILIP INC pay? (answer: Not a fuck of a lot)

 Is this actually happening as Trudeau says? My little scenario is simplified, tax code is far more complex, and probably a lot more infuriating......

 There are actual studies with the data pointing to similar scenarios.

An article from last year: 

 “You’ve got people who would ordinarily be receiving a big salary and they’re able to flow their income through a company and they get to pay tax at 25 per cent or less rather than 50 per cent in the top marginal tax bracket.” 

 "In 2010, there was a $48 billion increase in retained earnings within CCPCs, the study found. “This income was owned by someone, but is not included in the conventional income distribution statistics.” 

At the end of the day, the average Canadian making 50,000 per year is probably paying a far higher tax rate.

REAL Small business' ARE great for jobs and the economy. They have legitimate expenses and they deserve tax breaks that are designed to help them grow and perhaps hire more people. Win win!

 "CCPC's" like PHILIP INC? They deserve nothing, and I think that the Liberals better get this info out there fast as Canadians know some funny business is afoot, but not how  prevalent it really is.

Someone tell Mulcair too, he seems confused as to what side the NDP should be on.  

 Harper?  That dude is reportedly worth $5 million. He has never held a real job beyond being a blowhard for corporate Canada so it had to all come from somewhere? It could be because he gets us to pay -or partly pay for a lot of stuff, meals, hairstyles, his campaign ads....... Wonder what Laureen's title would be for a Harper owned CCPC?

 This is where I start giggling. 

 Gimme shelter.  I need it, and it is getting harder for the rest of us to cover  our own shelter because we are paying their share too. 

In the past decade, this Canada, the one that we have slid into- is a lot crueller, and a lot more mean spirited.

What would happen to cause a country that was at least working towards some modicum of equality, fairness and justice to go back towards the dark ages?

Part of it is money. 

You feeling the income gap? The income gap is a great thing for corporations and Governments that want to scare the crap out of working people. Corporations get their labour for much less as there are so many grasping at jobs that have little hours, low pay and no benefits. Survival is an amazing motivator. 

Give those same corporations massive tax breaks and create deficits, while those same corporations take manufacturing jobs away, and stockpile their money elsewhere. 

Cut programs and services to give paltry tax breaks to "regular Canadians". The Harpercons have convinced some people that saving eg:$120.00 on their tax bill is more important than funding medical care, the social safety net and education. They tell those who have lost their jobs to shrinking manufacturing, that it is all their own fault.

They call Employment Insurance an "Entitlement", yet we all pay into it- it is our own money.  Deny claims. And then take the money to pay for the corporate tax breaks. 

Abandon the disabled, make them jump through hoops- like proving every year that a limb has not grown back, or that they have not suddenly been cured of a mental disability-every year. Enough souls will fall through the cracks that the cost savings is probably significant. 

Part of it is hate. 

Hate of those who we do not understand, a hate fostered by a Government that awards large no bid defence contracts to corporations so we can send war to far away countries so they hate us more.

Bills like C-51 that allow that same Government to pry into the private lives of citizens with little oversight, that discriminate against "others". Many will simply tell us that those who have nothing to hide, should not be bothered by this. 

Part of it is misplaced jealousy. 

Someone is getting something I don't have! This applies to the Union and labour busting forces. This also applies to refugees and other immigrants. 

Part of it is that so many are believing lies, and not verifying. 

Now, the Government of Harper would like us to believe that they are the stewards of the economy. Only they can save us from recessions and depressions. But since most of their own policies have brought us to that state, it is laughable. Well, it would be if so many were not so gullible. There are many who buy the manufactured economic record of this bunch of maroons. 

What do all of the above categories have in common? 

Fear. 

Coyne takes on sarcasm to demonstrate how implausible Harper's story really is..... Hell hath frozen over.

And yet, this good man, deceived, humiliated, betrayed on all sides, found it in his heart to forgive them. You or I, had we found ourselves in the same position, might have taken the most foul sort of revenge: fired the lot, paraded them in front of the media, forced them to answer for what they had done. But that is not, we can see now, Harper’s way: this supposedly ruthless autocrat, this cold, vindictive brute of caricature, responded to this monumental breach of trust with comprehensive mercy. No one was fired, though some were allowed to leave. Some are even travelling with him on his campaign. He was even going to forgive Wright, and would have, had it tested better.

Makes this whole deal sound as ludicrous as it is for sure.   

I go with option B. The current government of Canada thinks they are above the law, and they also think that Canadians are going to buy their story.  

Now, some conservative supporters will go to any length to accomodate their cognitive dissonance, but are there any who actually give a shit about this country, or are they all just willing to go along to save face? If they were good honest and smart, they would toss these bums out.

But smart isnt a Conservative trait. In Harper-supporter-land, intelligence is reviled and the earth is flat. 

As for much of the media?

SQUIRREL!

Crank it.