Al the Fish

Unofficial CPC Election Song

2011-03-24T12:48:00.000-07:00

Well it looks like we are going to have an election in Canada, on that note, here's my unofficial election song for the Conservative Party of Canada, thanks to the inspirational Michael Ignatieff and with apologies to Mick and the boys:

Paint It Black

I see a red door and I want it painted black

No Liberals anymore I won’t ever vote them back

I see the Grits walk by dressed in their election clothes

I have to turn my head until my darkness goes

I see a line of buses and they're all painted rouge

With our votes we’ll all get rid of Iggy the stooge

I see people turn their heads and quickly look away

We’re no longer the suckers born each and every day

I look inside myself and see my heart is black

I see my red door and must have it painted black

Maybe then Iggy will fade away and not have to face the facts

It's not easy facin' up when your whole world is black

No more will my green go to the Red machine

Something Iggy could never have foreseen

If I look hard enough into the settin' sun

Conservatives will laugh with me before the countin' comes

I see a red door and I want it painted black

No Liberals anymore I won’t ever vote them back

I see the Grits walk by dressed in their election clothes

I have to turn my head until my darkness goes

Hmm, hmm, hmm,...

I wanna see it tainted, tainted black

Black as night, black as coal

I wanna see Iggy blotted out from the house

I wanna see it tainted, tainted, tainted, tainted black

Yeah!Hmm, hmm, hmm,...

Lyrics 2011 By Al the Fish

Mr. Bombastic vs Mr. Comcastic

2011-01-22T10:42:00.000-08:00

Last night I tuned into the twitter universe and saw tweets about Keith Olbermann leaving MSNBC. I quickly checked my calendar to make sure it wasn't April 1st. Unlike his 2 day suspension over his contributions to Democratic candidates in the mid-term elections, this looks like it is a permanent severing of his ties with MSNBC.

I have to admit, when Keith Olbermann was a talking head on ESPN's Sportscenter, I enjoyed his style, and banter with long term on air partner Dan Patrick. Together they made Sportscenter a highlight of my TV viewing, bouncing jokes off each other and using their signature lines when describing highlights.

After reading many sources, it is still not clear if Olbermann was fired by the new owners of MSNBC, Comcast ("From way downtown, BANG!") or if this was a pre-emptive strike ("They're not going to get him") by Olbermann who saw his days ("We're all day to day") at MSNBC numbered.

Regardless of how he left MSNBC, it was not likely under very friendly circumstances, his past departures from ESPN; FOX Sports; MSNBC; and ESPN again were noted for his bridge burning style. I’ve always wondered if his departure from FOX Sports fuelled his rage against FOX NEWS when he was on MSNBC. Does a bear crap in the woods?

So what next for the Olbermann? Is there a network left willing to take a chance on him? Viacom and CBS under Sumner Redstone perhaps? He could then be moved between CBS; Comedy Central; and Spike like a piece of furniture, that wobbly uncomfortable wooden chair that nobody wants to sit on. He could replace Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes for the closing rant. On Comedy Central, he could probably fake the news as easily as Stewart and Colbert. And Spike could have a new show entitled “When will Keith Olbermann’s Head Explode?”, where contestants guess how long it will take Olbermann to transform from smiling talking head to fire spewing demon when told a good news story about a conservative. Viacom also has MTV as one of its brands, maybe Olbermann could use a vacation and hang with the Jersey Shore gang for a while. I’d pay to see the Keither and Snooki bitch slapping each other after a weekend bender.

But I think the real future for Olbermann will be as a politician. It is time for him to put his big money (his current contract with MSNBC is reported as resulting in a $14 million buyout with his firing/resignation) where his big mouth is. No more piddling donations on the sly to your Democratic Party friends (which resulted in the November 2010 2 day suspension brouhaha,) I want to see you run as a Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives or Senate. If you really think Scott Brown, is “an irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, ex-nude model, tea-bagging supporter of violence against women and against politicians with whom he disagrees” then why don’t you move to Massachusetts and run against him? Simple is a simple does, run Forest run! Forest Chump for Senate!

Never Forgive, Never Forget

2010-09-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

Why I Can Never Forgive and Forget

2010-08-24T11:17:00.000-07:00

To all viewing this blog, I am a firm opponent to the construction of the so called community centre/mosque to be built at ground zero.
Above is an aerial picture of the proposed site, shown as the area outlined by the red rectangle. This photo has been published at various locations through out the web.

You will notice this version of the picture is a little different, as there is a green rectangle in the upper left hand corner. That rectangle outlines an apartment block, the River Rose, 333 Rector Place, NYC.
It is a building I am very familiar with, as I had a relative living there for most of the 1980s into the early 1990s. Whenever I visited that relative, I would take the short walk over to the World Financial Centre, and then take the skywalk over the West Highway to the the South Tower of the WTC. There I would grab a bite to eat in the lower level, then head up to the observation level of the tower and spend hours taking in the views of one of the greatest cities on earth.

On 9/11 2001, I could therefore easily imagine in my mind's eye the horror of those trapped in the tower in the moments leading up to its collapse. And it is something I will never forget, nor will I ever forgive those who perpetrated the heinous act of terror.

Ha Ha Menzoid!!!

2010-07-31T11:25:00.000-07:00

David (the Menzoid) Menzies takes great pride in his shiny red Ford Explorer Sport Trac. He has frequently made mention of it on (Charles) Adler On Line, and the Michael Coren show. It refers to it as a "truck." By referring to it as a
"truck", he seems to fancy himself as being an urban cowboy, or wannabe 18 wheeler driver. When you actually look at his vehicle, you see it is a variation of the Ford Explorer SUV, except without the rear storage area and hatch, it has a diminutive pick-up truck like box. And when I say diminutive, I mean really small, it is a 4 foot long box compared to a full sized pick-up's 8 foot box. The Spot Trac is a vehicle that is neither fish nor fowl, but rather a tasteless combination of the two, it isn't a proper work truck, nor people hauler. Ford refers to the Sport Trac as having a "dual personality", so perhaps it is a great truck for Menzies, who frequently talks a tough game, but actually seems to be a softer girly man.

But getting back to the Sport Trac, it follows along the path lead by such trailblazing vehicles (with apologies to all Chevy Trailblazer owners out there) as the Subaru Brat and the Subaru Baja. Both were marketing failures, and now, without much surprise, I heard the news today, oh boy, that production of the Ford Sport Trac ends after the 2010 model year. With Ford bring out an all new Explorer for 2011, the poor sales of the Sport Trac didn't warrant the spending of any money to develop a new Sport Trac.

So if you were ever thinking of buying a Sport Trac, first of all shame on you, secondly if you still have the disorder to buy one, get yours now before they all get covered in dust and rust in the back of the dealers' lots.

But if you want to buy a real Ford truck, unlike the Menzoid, buy a F-150 or Super Duty.

Affirmative Action Gone Wrong.

2010-07-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

At this point in time I have to admit I used to be a swivel servant employed by the Government of Canada. While serving my time, I had the opportunity to apply for many jobs within the Public Service.

I can attest that as late as 2007, the application process involved either a paper or on-line application form. At the very end of the form, the applicant was afforded the opportunity to voluntarily self-identify if they belonged to an an underrepresented group in the Public Service. At the time the underrepresented groups included women; first nations' persons; visible minorities; and persons with a disability. The explanation for the collection of that data was that the information could be used as a tie-breaker in screening applicants. Should two persons score equally, if one fell into an underrepresented group, they could be chosen ahead of the other person, only if the competition's initial posting specified that criteria could be used.

There is the possibility that use of the self-disclosed information may have benefited me, as I was, and still am a member of one of the underrepresented groups identified by the Public Service of Canada. But my co-workers and I knew that I had to be equal to them in terms of skills and ability, otherwise I could not have gotten the jobs based solely on my membership in one of the underrepresented groups.

What this meant was that affirmative action was applied at the end of the hiring process, and not at the beginning. You could not and would not be screened out at the application filing stage for being a white woman, as was the case for Sara Landriault.

I do not know when the usage of affirmative action became a mandatory, primary screening tool, but it does raise the possibility that lower qualified persons could be hired just because they fit into the particular pigeon hole of underrepresented group the writers of the job posting desired. The current method does not look like affirmative action, it looks like favouritism. The hiring practises monitored by the Public Service Commission of Canada are to insure there is no bias in hiring within Government of Canada Departments and Agencies, but this upfront screening of applicants under the guise of affirmative action is bias gone bad in my opinion.

A breath of fresh air.

2010-07-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

I went fishing for the first time this year. A little rain, a little breeze, little fish, then a little sun, but a lot of relaxation. I really needed it.

This also is the first post of my blog. I know its not much, but I hope its a start of something more.