A man walks into a bar and sits down. The guy beside him is drunk as a skunk and crying. "Hey fella, what's wrong?" he asks.

"I got my girlfriend pregnant," he says "and her Dad brought out his shotgun and said either I marry her, or I go to jail for 15 years."

"Oh, that's bad" says the man.

"You don't know the half of it. Today is my fifteenth wedding anniversary... I would have been free!"

Happy Anniversary honey, I don't know how you managed to get us here. I've said it before and I'll say it again: If I had to do it all over again, I would still choose you!


We'll be in New York for the weekend. With luck I will be posting a special This Week on my MP3 on Sunday, otherwise I'm shutting it down until Tuesday or Wednesday!

Condolences to the family and friends of Pat Marsden, who passed away this morning due to lung cancer. He was 69 years old, and leaves a wife T.A. and 2 young kids, as well as three adult children from a previous marriage.

I try and stay away from issues military, mostly because I have a remarkable ignorance about things military. In fact, the main reason I brought Ron aboard was to have someone around that has some knowledge in that area. So I have spent the past few days listening to the arguments pro and contra raising/lowering the flag and letting reporters on to CFB Borden for the Repatriation Ceremony. I have thought it through, try to separate the chaff from the wheat, and managed to form an opinion.The flag flap was the easier of the two. Quite clearly the military brass, members of the military and former members seem to concur that Remembrance Day is the appropriate time to lower the flags to half-staff in commemoration of members of our services who have been lost while in our service.

The question of reporters at the Repatriation Ceremony has been a bit trickier. My initial reaction was to disagree with the Prime Minister on this one. The media belong, journaling the event for us all. That was yesterday. I read in all the papers about how the media is always respectful at these events, how they wouldn't dare turn it into some sort of circus.

While I was reading, the media were busy turning into a circus. Dear MSM: standing on ladders at the fence taking pictures with super-telescopic lenses is not respectful. It isn't whenever Madonna gets married; it isn't at a Repatriation Ceremony. After seeing the pictures of the media standing in a line on their ladders, on top of the news vans, is there any doubt they would have hired helicopters to flyover and shoot their pictures if it wasn't restricted air space?

However, I was still unsure until I read this quote from Garth Turner: "It would appear to me that a lot of people want to participate in the grieving vicariously…”

Vicarious grieving has become a de-rigueur thing in the past fifteen or twenty years. Many say it started with Princess Diana, but it started long before that: it just climaxed into inglorious spectacle with the death of the Princess. Whether it's the walls of teddy bears when a tragedy occurs involving a child, or the online signing of condolences whenever a tragically newsworthy event occurs, people all too often " participate in the grieving vicariously."

Frankly, if that's what this is about, if all this newsprint is being expended because people can't have a symbolic teddy bear mountain outside CFB Borden, then I say ban the media, arrest them when they show up with step-ladders, and execute them when they whine about lack of access.

Leave the families, and the forces with a little dignity, even if you won't do so for the rest of us.

Update: I made the right call on this one.

Once again, the military, and the deaths of soldiers are being exploited for the sake of political posturing. The (simulated) outrage from the Opposition parties regarding the government's decision to return to the long-standing tradition of only lowering the Peace Tower flag on Nov.11 just makes me ill.

I find myself becoming increasingly irritated by the people who have been quoted on this subject who are simply using this as an opportunity to take a shot at the government or at our deployment in Afghanistan. I have had a couple of people at work try this with me and it becomes quickly obvious. They know nothing about Canada's flag, military, or military history. A few basic questions soon shuts them up.

The parliament flag should only be lowered on Nov. 11 or to mark the passing of a prime minister or a senior member of the Royal family (head of state). Now, this is just my opinion and it really doesn't carry that much weight.

You want an opinion that matters? Forget asking someone at Starbucks over a latte. Forget asking a politician, journalist or radio host. Go down to the Legion, or the retirement home, or the veteran's wing in a hospital and ask around there. Go to your local armoury and ask there. These are the opinions that count!

Just because that particular flag is not lowered does not mean that the practice is not being observed. Flags at the relevant bases will be lowered. The soldiers' hometowns will be marking their passing. This is how it should be, and how it has been until a couple of years ago.

If you are still not satisfied, why not make the strongest statement of all. All of you with front yards go out and get a flag and flagpole. Raise the flag, and if you wish lower it for the proper mourning period. Then raise it again. You don't need someone else to make the statement for you.

I have had a bunch of stuff in my mental filing cabinet for a spell now that I want to comment on, but can't quite get out. Here's the readers digest version of each:

Gas Prices - I have had half a report on this written since last week. I'm beginning to think you guys will never see it. Here's a summation:

Stephen Harper's response to this so far has been, simply put, not good enough. It is a serious problem being faced by all us hockey moms and dads who have to drive our own limo's to the games. He has shouted long and loud about tax relief at the pumps in the past and, although he never promised it in the election, it wouldn't be hard to make it look like a broken promise.

In fairness, without a budget there's nothing real to complain about, yet. However, if there is no gas tax relief in the May 2nd budget - look out. This one could be a killer (unless Bob Rae wins the Liberal leadership).

Bob Rae - He is actually doing it, running for the Liberal leadership. I have a hundred jokes and I can't use any of them because the thought of PM Bob Rae scares the hell out of me - I hate to use that over used 'he's scary' claim, but I lived through the Rae years in Ontario. It was THAT bad.

How bad?. Ontario, which is so leery about Stephen Harper voted for Mike Harris, twice. I offer the following commercials free of charge to the Conservative Party of Canada should Rae win the Liberal leadership (OK, a shiny new laptop, and a crackberry would be welcomed): Start with the Liberal Mike Harris ads, that dark scary picture, same-ish voice over."Remember Mike Harris? Remember the strife, the days of action, the illegal teacher's strikes &tc.? Now, remember why you voted for Mike Harris." Picture changes to a similar toned one of Bob Rae. "The welfare rates, the massive taxation, the staggering debt, the jobs fleeing Ontario, Rae days, days of action &tc."

Scott Brison: From the National Post today:

"Scott Brison hasn't got a hope," Mr Wiseman (Nelson Wiseman, political Science Professor at University of Toronto) said in an interview. "He doesn't have a history in the Liberal Party, he's part of the last government... and also of course there's the income trust thing."

More importantly, there's the French thing never forget the French thing! Oh, and the arrogance thing. Never, ever forget the arrogance thing!!"

As a Conservative I am sad to say I agree with Mr. Wiseman, Scott Brison doesn't stand a chance.

The Senate - Does anybody else think this whole Senate is going to block the accountability act too much? Let me get this one straight:

Moreover, The Hill Times reported last week (April 17) that several Liberal Senators are against the idea of a single ethics commissioner under the Federal Accountability Act, promising a political showdown in the Upper Chamber.

So the Liberal's in Senate are going to block the accountability act over questions about an independent ethics commissioner? NO. Not happening. They may not like the tie in, but there is no selling that position. Do you really believe the Libs want to force an election over a question of Cretien/Martin/Trudeau appointees blocking ethics legislation?

Brian Mulroney - I am still trying to figure the motivation behind a who's who of environmentalists awarding Brian Mulroney the "Greenest Prime Minister" award. Is this because he sang "When Irish Eyes are Smiling?"

Excuse the cynic in me, but I can't help but think the feting of Mulroney has more to do with trying to get Stephen Harper on the environmentalists good side. Kind of a "hey, we like Conservatives. See? ... SEE?" Smarter than the CAW running an anybody but the Conservatives campaign, I must admit. But where were all these tuxedoed environmentalists when Jean Cretien was PM?

But, Stephen is smarter than that, check out his remarks when introducing Mr. Mulroney:

"At the time, I don't think there was any environmentalist who had anything good to say about Mr. Mulroney,'' Harper said of the back-to-back Tory majorities in the 1980s.

"Now he's regarded years later as the greenest prime minister. I believe the reason he's regarded that way is that he didn't pursue grandiose schemes and unworkable arrangements and the kind of problem we got into on Kyoto (greenhouse gas protocol). Instead, he decided to make real progress, concrete progress, on particular issues.''

Stick that in your exhaust pipe and smog it!

It looks like I am fixing my computer again this week, and then I am away for the weekend so expect a light blogging load.

It was with great fanfare and no surprise that Conservative/Liberal/Whathaveyou Scott Brison announced his bid to run for the leadership of the Liberal party. "I am a product of a Liberal Canada with Liberal values, blah, blah, blah" said the former contender for the Conservative crown.

Over the next three days Brison is also expected to announce his candicacy for the leadership of the Alberta Conservatives, the Israeli Kadima Party, and to be the coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

I hate Spam. If you are a scumbag spammer, please stop reading. I have nothing to say that could be of interest to a low-life weasel like yourself.

For the rest of you - comments have now been changed to require word verification. I apologize. I am not a fan of this feature, but due those who should be no longer reading this post, it has become a necessity.