Minister of Labour Rob Norris

Wow! This is harsh even by Mr. Mandryk's standards:

---

If it truly was the New Democrats' goal to portray Norris as pompous and idiotic in this committee, their greatest ally in this effort has been Norris himself.

Deliberately adopting a speaking style reminiscent of William Shatner on the bridge of the USS Enterprise, Norris has blithered on about Plato, Aristotle and dead trees casting a shadow on the province. No metaphor has gone untortured.

But while Norris's petulance in committee has served no purpose other than to annoy, insult and demean, it may be unfair to single him out

---

So to summarize, Norris is pompous, idiotic, blithering, annoying, insulting and demeaning.

Sounds about right

Saskatchewan Green-Liberal Merger?

You know you are not doing so well as a political party when the greens try to buy you out.

The Greens!

---

What was far most interesting was that the Greens used the occasion to officially serve notice they'd like to see a formal merger with the Liberal Party of Saskatchewan.

[snip]

Interim Liberal president Frank Proto was quick to note in an interview Tuesday that this isn't the first time he's heard such overtures since the November election.

---

Needless to say, this isn't getting a super warm reception from John Murney. I would link to other Saskatchewan Liberal Blog reactions, but I don't know any.

On Blogs and Lawsuits

---

"The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism."

---

Wole SOYINKA

Nigerian playwright, poet, novelist, and political activist (1934-)

So my blogging associate Lance has shut down the SaskBlogs aggregator, a service that benefited all of the Saskatchewan bloggers. I understand his reasons and I accept that he felt he had to do what he did but it really too bad.

This all stems from a lawsuit that has been launched against Small Dead Animals. Now my readers will know that I have gone of the way, on many, many occasions on this blog to try to discredit and attack Kate and her blog (and Lance has come in for his fair share of criticism as well)

But this is an attack on free speech. It is easy to defend free speech when it is something that you like, it takes some guts to defend the speech that you hate.

So let it be said, at least here, (even if that is meaningless), Kate, Lance and all others should have the right to say whatever they want on their blogs without threat of lawsuit or any other legal interference from the state or the public.

Kate, Lance, I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend your right to say it. For what it is worth (and I know it is not worth much) you have my support in this matter.

gpm

Saskatchewan Fillibuster

Leader Post

---

By early evening Monday, NDP MLA Kevin Yates had spoken for three hours on the motion and was still going strong

---

What the hell is going on in Saskatchewan these days! First the tape and now the legislature is being ground to a halt with a fillibuster.

The first session for the Saskatchewan Party is looking a bit disastrous.

Does 17-year old dirt matter?

I find it interesting that the only defense for the Brad Wall/Tom Lukiwski thing is "but, but but...it was 17-years ago, who cares? Move on."

Except the Sask Party are the masters of dredging up 17-year-old dirt:

---

In 1992, then NDP caucus employee Ann Lord (Ann Davey) wrote a letter to NDP caucus chair MLA Glenn Hagel and NDP Caucus Chief of Staff Jim Fodey detailing how she had defrauded the caucus office by inflating cheques payable to her.

---

Where were all the people who are defending Tom and Brad today with the 17-years-ago defense back then?

Oh that's right, they were screaming for blood.

Unless you can point to comments you made last year about the NDP 16-years-ago-scandal condemning the Sask Party for dredging up the past: then shut the hell up about 17-years-ago today.

Full 24-Minute Saskatchewan Scandal Video

The Highlights (With Video time in front)

2:56 Tom Lukiwski's Homophobic Comments

[Tom Lukiwksi is the Member of Parliament for Regina Lumsden Lake Center]

TOM LUKIWSKI: Well, as we say in tour, I may be old, but I’m fucking A, eh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And who is this A person?

TOM LUKIWSKI: Well, let me put it to you this way. There’s A’s and there’s B’s. The A’s are guys like me, the B’s are homosexual faggots with dirt on their fingernails that transmit diseases.

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, quit talking about Jeff like that.

TOM LUKIWSKI: Well, John Bergen and I had a little discussion and I’d like to tell you that it’s going to be out in our campaign literature real soon, watch for it (INAUDIBLE).


5:20 Letter Bomb (With a Sexual Innuendo Interlude)

[Kathy Young is the Director of Communications for the Saskatchewan Party Government
She is also involved important messages involving labour legislation and other labour issues being debated in the Saskatchewan Legislature right now]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you writing, Kim?

KIM: I’m writing –

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: F-words.

KIM: Oops, I said, Tom, I tried to think of something witty, but what the fuck, happy birthday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very blurry handwriting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our friends and union leaders.

KATHY YOUNG: George Rosseneau, Barb Byers are big friends of mine personally.

[snip]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let’s see here. What have we got going on on this screen?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You’re talking about –

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, it’s top secret.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That’s right. We’re talking about friends.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We’d show you, but then we’d have to kill you.

KATHY YOUNG: We’re writing this union speech to the red union leaders, George Rosseneau. We have threatened his life two times, and what else?

KATHY YOUNG: Oh, we sent a bomb to Barb Byers --

[Barb Byers is the Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress, having been (at the time of the video) at the helm of the SGEU through the turbulent years of the scandal-ridden Conservative government of Grant Devine]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We --

KATHY YOUNG: Byers, a letter bomb to Barb.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To Byers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To Byers.


7:20 Some Astute Political Analysis

[The results of the 1991 Saskatchewan election? The tories lost almost three-quarters of the seats they had held in the legislature and a significant share of the popular vote. Final Seat Count? 10]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We’re going to win 42 seats.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don’t think we’re going to win – how many did you say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forty-two.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don’t think we’re going to win 42 at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you think? (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many do you think we will win?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don’t know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, take your best shot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don’t know very much about politics. How much –

(LAUGHER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How’d you get your job? Who do you know?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I’m going right now to visit him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah. I know a lot, but not a lot of – not a lot of about that.


8:00 First Lynda Comment

[Lynda Haverstock was is the former leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party and was the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan from 2000 until 2006.]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I predict that Grant Devine will smash the living dog shit out of that spineless political playboy and kick the balls right off of that hard-headed slut Lynda.


8:40 Second Lynda Comment

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about Lynda’s balls?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It’s going to be tight. I don’t think Lynda has balls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, big ones, big chubby suckers like this.


11:00 Tom Again

TOM LUKIWSKI: We want to tell you exactly what we think from the tour
standpoint. We think the tour is going fucking A.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fucking A.

TOM LUKIWSKI: And we think the debate’s going to go fucking A.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fucking A.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And predictions for the outcome of the election?

TOM LUKIWSKI: Well, we think the Tories are going to do fucking A.

OTHERS: Fucking A.

TOM LUKIWSKI: We’re kind of stuck on that, you know.

[You are sure "stuck" now Tom.]


11:50 John Scraba makes an Appearance

[John Scraba is the architect of the tory fraud scandal in Saskatchewan. In what is easily the biggest political scandal in Saskatchewan's history, no fewer than 12 members of Devine's government were charged in relation to a scheme that defrauded taxpayers of more than $837,000.]

JOHN SCRABA: You’re tipped sideways there, that’s okay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, well, I’ll just get it that way then.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, you’re in a proper frame here. I got it right. Here we go.
All right. Now, do you have comments on the debate, sir?

JOHN SCRABA: Certainly. We haven’t seen it yet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, well, what do you predict?

JOHN SCRABA: Oh, predict an overwhelming victory and defeat for the other
socialist hordes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what do you predict on the outcome of the election?

JOHN SCRABA: And urinate on their remains while we’re at it.


13:20 Third Lynda Comment

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, you know, all you got to do is let Lynda talk long enough
and she makes a fucking idiot out of herself, that’s all I have to say.


13:36 Joan Berston Making very odd comments

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say something profound.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It’s either black or white. It’s either – just a minute. Excuse me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, did he win this bitch?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Big time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Black or white. You have to do your eyes like this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, oh, oh,

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you have to have big lips and (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And, Ms. --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Black or white.


15:10 Former Senator Berston makes an appearance

[Eric Brentson was the Tory Leader of the Opposition from 1979 to 1982 and was Deputy Premier in the Devine government. In 1999, Bernston was convicted of illegally diverting government allowances for polling purposes between 1987 and 1991 when he was Saskatchewan's deputy premier. He was sentenced to one year in prison.]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Berntson, do you have a reaction tonight?

ERIC BERNSTON: Well, number one, I’m not Senator Berntson. I’m an anonymous guy that –

(LAUGHER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He’s with the government and he’s here to help.

ERIC BERNSTON: that doesn’t know anything about any of this stuff, so all I’ll say is fucking A.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So don’t quote me on it.

ERIC BERNSTON: No, don’t quote me, yeah.

(INAUDIBLE)


16:00 Regan Rap

[Good Stuff]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I have.

BRAD WALL: “Well, I’m the big gipper, don’t mess with me. I’m the baddest rapper this side of DC with my best girl Nancy as my spouse,rappin’ to you from that big white house. B-b-b-b Bonzo, b-b-b-b Bonzo.” That’s the white house rap.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cool.


16:40 Brad Becomes the Camera Man

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The zoom should be right on there.

BRAD WALL: It should be on the trigger somewhere. Push.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, here it is, right here. Your zoom is right here, Brad --

BRAD WALL: Oh, yeah.


19:00 Ken Azzopardi And the 4th Linda Comment

[Ken Assopardi is the Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Taxpayer's Federation]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, they’re busy in here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ken Azzopardi and his – and his future of Saskatchewan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is what Ken’s – what does he think about Lynda? This is Ken. He (INAUDIBLE) big time stuff, big time stuff.

[Holds up Lingerie catalog with women's read ends]


20:50 Ken doing up his pants and Reds rant

KEN AZZOPARDI: I’m doing up my –

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He’s doing up –

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it is –

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now the light’s on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The light is on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It’s my first opportunity to look into this campaign. Fuck you all. We won tonight.

KEN AZZOPARDI: Well, you know, I was just talking to a guy and there’s four reds there at his house. He’s ours. He has four reds at his house and the reds think the reds – the City of Regina reds who said Lynda won --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, give me –

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- on --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On abortion, abortion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, they say that because they want them to say it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait a minute, no, no, no.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Abortion.

KEN AZZOPARDI: Lynda won and Romanow was the big loser. For a red that’s a major fucking victory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A major fucking victory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lynda made –

JOAN BERNTSON: She made one statement on abortion, you know. She made one statement on abortion earlier, but I can’t remember what it was, but it was everyone in Saskatchewan cares about the lives --


21:90 Brad Stops being Camera Man, just in time to give us: Brad's Ukranian impression

KATHY YOUNG: The Premier versus Haverstick (sic) and –

BRAD WALL: Let me tell you something. I watched that in – I watched that in Preeceville. I watched that debate and I’ll tell you this, I never – I never seen Grant Devine – I – I will never – I never voted for Grant Devine.

KATHY YOUNG: Why not?

BRAD WALL: I never voted for him, but I –

KATHY YOUNG: Why not?

BRAD WALL: Before. I see him on TV tonight after Helen fixed me dinner and I tell you I like Grant Devine. Roy Romanow got his head up his ass . I don’t even know how he walks upright with his head so far up his ass and I’ll you --

KATHY YOUNG: Mr. (INAUDIBLE), how do you think he walks --

BRAD WALL: I’m not – I’m not kidding. So the bottom line is this –

UNIDENTIFIED MAILE: Why you talking like that?

BRAD WALL: I’m voting – I’m going to vote. I’m voting and the guy that I will vote for – who I’m voting for – marking my ballot to vote is Grant Devine.

KATHY YOUNG: And you –

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) I thought it was good. Oh, Curtis

Saskatchewan MP makes Homophobic Comments

Tom Lukiwski:

"Well, let me put it to you this way. There’s A’s and there’s B’s. The A’s are guys like me, the B’s are homosexual faggots with dirt on their fingernails that transmit diseases."


hat tip blogging a dead horse

Small Dead Animals Denouced by Sask Premier

Take a look at this link Where KKKate talks about the Station 20 issue in Saskatoon:

---

Dear Saskatoon Inner City;

If those of you in the "left behind during an economic boom community" want a grocery store in your neighborhood, the following economic stimuli are guaranteed to produce one a lot more quickly than a government funded "free" dental clinic and housing project:

1. Put the cap back on your used needle and take it to a safe disposal site. Failing that, share it with your friends. It's a quicker solution to your problem, anyway.

2. Cross your legs.

3. Put down the spray can.

4. BINGO!

And no, I don't have any change. There's a McDonalds over on 22nd where the average kid working behind the counter is a 55 year old women. I doubt they're pushing you out of the job market.

On second thought, maybe they are.

---

This has been found to be offensive by none other than Brad Wall, the Premier of Saskatchewan:

---

Reporter: What do you say today about the small dead animal blog...?

Brad Wall: Those are intolerant and unacceptable remarks and I had known for some time in Opposition we had an endorsement on our website referencing myself and I think that's been removed, and if it hasn't it will be shortly.

Reporter: Why?

Brad Wall: Because those comments are just simply unacceptable, and I'm not sure what direct relationship there is between an endorsement and those comments except that that individual and the website, if those words are reflective of their view, I would like not to be on our caucus website.

Reporter: In the past, members of your caucus in Opposition have cited that website, have mentioned her, spoken approvingly I would say generally of her judging by the tone of it, will you ask them not to do things like that?

Brad Wall: Well, on certain issues, on that website and others, there's, you know, when it comes to economic cases to be made, issues, those have been agreed with by members of our caucus, by myself. This is beyond the pale in terms of what is acceptable, and so, the website's been changed as of right now, and I don't expect to hear anytime soon Saskatchewan Party members in the House referencing the site.

Reporter: Is this person involved in your party at all, does she help you and would she be welcome to do so?

Brad Wall: She's been pretty clear, although, well, I think she's been clear, I guess I'm not sure of this, but I don't think she's been or has any intention of being a member of the party. We would want to have members of the Saskatchewan Party who don't take such a view with respect to people who live in core neighborhoods in the province.

---

hat tip Sean