One in the same. Whether you like the NDP or not.
NDP Affiliation – What Does It Mean?
At the March 12th Provincial Council meeting, a motion was passed to affiliate COPE Local 397 with the NDP.
This issue was also discussed with members at the two membership meetings in February and March [in fact we advertised that this was going to be discussed on the meeting notice], and at the Steward’s meeting, which also took place in March. I have also discussed the implications of NDP affiliation at a number of meetings over the last couple of months and in the ‘President’s Message’ portion of the website posted on March 24th, 2010.
Background as to why this decision was taken can be read here » President's Message
I had asked that members call me if there were any questions and there have been a few enquiries from members recently which lead me to believe that there are some misconceptions as to what affiliation means.
So let’s clear them up.
Here are some questions that we have been getting.
Question: Is my name on a list that is being sent to the NDP?
Answer: No, absolutely not, we have a privacy policy and member’s names, addresses and other information are not shared outside this organization other than to do our annual survey. Never have been, never will be.
Question: Is there going to be a deduction from my paycheque for this initiative?
Answer: No. The affiliation fee is $.25 per member per month and this comes out of the dues that we already receive.
Question: I don’t want my dues supporting a political party.
Answer: No problem, while we will remain affiliated to the NDP as per the motion that was passed, we will remove the $.25 that represents 'your' portion of the monthly affiliation submission at your request. Just send us an email.
Question: Ok, this was discussed on the COPE website and at the monthly meetings but why wasn’t a notice sent to every member at SGI?
Answer: We aren’t allowed to distribute ‘political’ information through SGI’s mail distribution system, for obvious reasons. Aside from this though we have publicized this issue at meetings, membership meetings and our website, to make sure members are aware.
As always, if members have concerns over this, or any other issue, please don’t hesitate to call me at 535-4580.
Thanks.
Garry Hamblin
President
What pressure might people feel, who have no choice but to be represented by the union but don't support the NDP, to pay the affiliation fee in order to "not to rock the boat"?
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
I'll Tell You Who Works From 8AM until Midnight
Business people, when they have to...
"I cannot do it. I cannot do it. It's just not possible. I cannot do it. I cannot do it."
If you cannot do it Trew, then resign...
UPDATE; As a result of a private email, we understand that the employees of the NDP caucus are represented by COPE397. We wonder if the NDP attempt to stretch out the number of days instead of the number of hours is a direct result of the overtime they will have to pay.
If it's OK for health region employees, then it should be OK with NDP employees.
"I cannot do it. I cannot do it. It's just not possible. I cannot do it. I cannot do it."
If you cannot do it Trew, then resign...
UPDATE; As a result of a private email, we understand that the employees of the NDP caucus are represented by COPE397. We wonder if the NDP attempt to stretch out the number of days instead of the number of hours is a direct result of the overtime they will have to pay.
If it's OK for health region employees, then it should be OK with NDP employees.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
The Tale of Two Saskatchewans
If you believe the NDP version of the new Saskatchewan, we're in an economic tailspin.
But this article in the Globe and Mail has given everyone, except NDP supporters and union bosses, something to be proud of.
"Saskatchewan is in the early stages of a boom the likes of which it has never seen. It's an economic tide that will only rise as the world feasts on the prairie's rich bounty."
Of course, Dwain Lingenfelter would never let the facts get in the way of his unadulterated quest for power.
While the Globe and Mail portray Saskatchewan in a truthful, positive light, the NDP run down the province for only one reason; their naked desire to govern.
Will this negative NDP spin encourage outside investment? Will it encourage people to move here? Of course not. But that is exactly the point.
The NDP need things to be bad for our province because that's when the NDP are the most attractive.
So what happens when things are actually good? Then the tactic is to try to change the perception. It doesn't matter if it hurts people or businesses, as long as the NDP get back in power.
Rather than formulate or debate new ideas, the NDP try to change perception. In essence, it's trying to create a lie to the detriment of all Saskatchewan people.
Because it's never been about the facts, or the people. It's all about Dwain Lingenfelter and the NDP.
But this article in the Globe and Mail has given everyone, except NDP supporters and union bosses, something to be proud of.
"Saskatchewan is in the early stages of a boom the likes of which it has never seen. It's an economic tide that will only rise as the world feasts on the prairie's rich bounty."
Of course, Dwain Lingenfelter would never let the facts get in the way of his unadulterated quest for power.
While the Globe and Mail portray Saskatchewan in a truthful, positive light, the NDP run down the province for only one reason; their naked desire to govern.
Will this negative NDP spin encourage outside investment? Will it encourage people to move here? Of course not. But that is exactly the point.
The NDP need things to be bad for our province because that's when the NDP are the most attractive.
So what happens when things are actually good? Then the tactic is to try to change the perception. It doesn't matter if it hurts people or businesses, as long as the NDP get back in power.
Rather than formulate or debate new ideas, the NDP try to change perception. In essence, it's trying to create a lie to the detriment of all Saskatchewan people.
Because it's never been about the facts, or the people. It's all about Dwain Lingenfelter and the NDP.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
We Say "Go For It!"
Now we're seeing a brand new kind of harassment from the NDP.
We don't know much about Orgie other than his Blogger profile and his previous posts that seem to verfiy his profile information. We don't know the nature of the falling out between Orgie and the NDP.
But we do suspect that he may be a lot like other disaffected former New Democrats in the NDP that see the Dwain Lingenfelter leadership as all about Dwain and nothing about the left-wing values and history of the party. Many NDP insiders see the leadership of Lingenfelter as a collosal mistake that may completely destroy the party the longer it continues.
Evidently, so much so that Orgie has asked them to stop calling and asking for donations. On more than a few ocassions...
"So after 6 or 7 requests to have my phone numbers removed from the Sask NDP call center lists, and after 4 telephone conversations with the Provincial Office where they promised that my number had being removed, Dwain and his host of flunkies continue to call my house asking for money and support.
You would think that for a party that is in opposition and needs as much support as they can get, they would at least clue into the fact that constantly harassing someone for money etc would not be prudent to gaining support.
They have now ensured that the LAST PARTY I would vote for or support would be the NDP. The LAST MLA I would vote for or support would be Andy Iwanchuk.
Rest assured if the Sask NDP call me one more time, I will not only lodge a formal complaint with the Police but I will aggressively work to ensure that another Party or Candidate gets as many votes as possible to ensure the NDP do not get back into power.
I also encourage each and everyone of you to consider doing the same thing. If they can't even manage their own call lists, it makes you wonder how they could run the province if given another opportunity."
Good luck to you, Orgie!
We don't know much about Orgie other than his Blogger profile and his previous posts that seem to verfiy his profile information. We don't know the nature of the falling out between Orgie and the NDP.
But we do suspect that he may be a lot like other disaffected former New Democrats in the NDP that see the Dwain Lingenfelter leadership as all about Dwain and nothing about the left-wing values and history of the party. Many NDP insiders see the leadership of Lingenfelter as a collosal mistake that may completely destroy the party the longer it continues.
Evidently, so much so that Orgie has asked them to stop calling and asking for donations. On more than a few ocassions...
"So after 6 or 7 requests to have my phone numbers removed from the Sask NDP call center lists, and after 4 telephone conversations with the Provincial Office where they promised that my number had being removed, Dwain and his host of flunkies continue to call my house asking for money and support.
You would think that for a party that is in opposition and needs as much support as they can get, they would at least clue into the fact that constantly harassing someone for money etc would not be prudent to gaining support.
They have now ensured that the LAST PARTY I would vote for or support would be the NDP. The LAST MLA I would vote for or support would be Andy Iwanchuk.
Rest assured if the Sask NDP call me one more time, I will not only lodge a formal complaint with the Police but I will aggressively work to ensure that another Party or Candidate gets as many votes as possible to ensure the NDP do not get back into power.
I also encourage each and everyone of you to consider doing the same thing. If they can't even manage their own call lists, it makes you wonder how they could run the province if given another opportunity."
Good luck to you, Orgie!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
The NDP Harassment Policy
For the party that pretends to care about women's rights, it sure has an awful record of violating them.
Unfortunately, it seems that under the leadership of Dwain Lingenfelter, the harassment of women continues.
The latest example is that of Stephen Moore, Chief of Staff for the NDP Caucus.
"According to the Saskatchewan Party's Terri Harris the person was asking questions about the Last Stand Adventure Company that Brad Wall ran eleven years ago. Harris maintains the person did not identify themselves at the beginning of the call and Mrs Wall had to dig to find out exactly who was calling. Harris says when pressed the person said, "Stephen from the Legislature". Harris goes on to say when she asked further he said he was from the NDP"
This was not a mistake.
The fact that Moore did not immediately identify himself means that he completely aware of what he was doing. Identifying oneself as "from the Legislature" is not a typical introduction for ordinary citizens. This is a greeting you would expect only from someone who knew you knew a bit about politics. Such as Tami Wall.
No moral human being would call anyone's spouse at home and grill them about their husband's previous business activities. If Moore had a question about Premier Wall's previous business, he should have asked him directly.
But then again, this wasn't about the business. This was about something much more nefarious.
If a Sask Party staffer had called Rubiela Lingenfelter and inquired about Lingenfelter's land acquisitions, the NDP would immediately launch a complaint and demand that individual be fired.
And where exactly is the outrage from the female members of the NDP caucus? Where are the condemnations from Atkinson, Junor, Chartier or Morin? If the privacy of a conservative female is violated, that is acceptable to these standard bearers of women's rights? Such is the NDP double standard.
The fact that Lingenfelter has not fired or even reprimanded Moore speaks to the fact that he condones this conduct.
For Lingenfelter and the NDP, when it comes to trying to make political gains, it seems that nothing is sacred.
Unfortunately, it seems that under the leadership of Dwain Lingenfelter, the harassment of women continues.
The latest example is that of Stephen Moore, Chief of Staff for the NDP Caucus.
"According to the Saskatchewan Party's Terri Harris the person was asking questions about the Last Stand Adventure Company that Brad Wall ran eleven years ago. Harris maintains the person did not identify themselves at the beginning of the call and Mrs Wall had to dig to find out exactly who was calling. Harris says when pressed the person said, "Stephen from the Legislature". Harris goes on to say when she asked further he said he was from the NDP"
This was not a mistake.
The fact that Moore did not immediately identify himself means that he completely aware of what he was doing. Identifying oneself as "from the Legislature" is not a typical introduction for ordinary citizens. This is a greeting you would expect only from someone who knew you knew a bit about politics. Such as Tami Wall.
No moral human being would call anyone's spouse at home and grill them about their husband's previous business activities. If Moore had a question about Premier Wall's previous business, he should have asked him directly.
But then again, this wasn't about the business. This was about something much more nefarious.
If a Sask Party staffer had called Rubiela Lingenfelter and inquired about Lingenfelter's land acquisitions, the NDP would immediately launch a complaint and demand that individual be fired.
And where exactly is the outrage from the female members of the NDP caucus? Where are the condemnations from Atkinson, Junor, Chartier or Morin? If the privacy of a conservative female is violated, that is acceptable to these standard bearers of women's rights? Such is the NDP double standard.
The fact that Lingenfelter has not fired or even reprimanded Moore speaks to the fact that he condones this conduct.
For Lingenfelter and the NDP, when it comes to trying to make political gains, it seems that nothing is sacred.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Other Than The Fact
The ad is factually incorrect on most points and the Sask NDP did exactly the things under the Calvert government on the others, it has a nice background ambience.
Now why didn't the NDP showcase Dwain in this ad? We forgot... Only 5.4% of Saskatchewan residents strongly support Dwain Lingenfelter.
The good news for Dwain is he has a target to aim for. 8% of Americans think Elvis is still alive. That's only 2.6% away!
Go for it, Dwain! Try to cross the Elvis Threshold!
Now why didn't the NDP showcase Dwain in this ad? We forgot... Only 5.4% of Saskatchewan residents strongly support Dwain Lingenfelter.
The good news for Dwain is he has a target to aim for. 8% of Americans think Elvis is still alive. That's only 2.6% away!
Go for it, Dwain! Try to cross the Elvis Threshold!
Personal Note - Congratulations Allison!
On the birth of your new 8lb-6oz. bundle of joy. We look forward to seeing you and the little guy at the cafeteria in the next couple of weeks for your "favourite" special. :)
Have a wonderful weekend and all the best.
Have a wonderful weekend and all the best.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
We Made Question Period Today!
Not bad for being online for a week.
"Mr. Speaker. This morning we learned that the Sask Party has a habit of misusing taxpayer dollars with one Blaise Boehmer, a Sask Party office staffer whose salary is paid by the taxpayers, who is also operating the NDP Watch blog." NDP Regina Dewdney - Kevin Yates
Let us respond with a one word answer to this assertion.
Nope!
For those fans of this blog, and evidently the number is growing, we will continue to follow our mandate and continue to expose the hypocrisy, mistruths, propaganda and deceit of the Saskatchewan NDP and their leader, Dwain Lingenfelter.
And until it becomes illegal to speak our minds, and to run blogs in this province, we will continue to do so for a very long time.
"Mr. Speaker. This morning we learned that the Sask Party has a habit of misusing taxpayer dollars with one Blaise Boehmer, a Sask Party office staffer whose salary is paid by the taxpayers, who is also operating the NDP Watch blog." NDP Regina Dewdney - Kevin Yates
Let us respond with a one word answer to this assertion.
Nope!
For those fans of this blog, and evidently the number is growing, we will continue to follow our mandate and continue to expose the hypocrisy, mistruths, propaganda and deceit of the Saskatchewan NDP and their leader, Dwain Lingenfelter.
And until it becomes illegal to speak our minds, and to run blogs in this province, we will continue to do so for a very long time.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Your Union Dues At Work
Rather than educated debate, the SFL's President Larry Hubich stoops to lowest common denominator, name calling, in order to try to ridicule his perceived opponents.
Given that both the federal and provincial governments are conservative now, is this wise behaviour?
Hubich is the public representative of most, if not all, Saskatchewan unionized workers. Whether he posted this on his own time or under the banner of the SFL is irrelevent.
This kind of behaviour may play well in front of the union boss crowd, but this shows incredible weakness and terrible judgement on Hubich's part.
All union workers should take notice.
Smearing Through Questions and Innuendo
One of the tactics of SFL President Larry Hubich is to smear through questions and innuendo. One example is seen above.
The latest attempted smear on his blog is found here. There is no example given as to why he questions that. Just a photo.
If Larry Hubich has the courage of his convictions, he should say aloud what he questions. He should say that the SK Attorney General, a member of the Law Society of Saskatchewan, doesn't respect the rule of law and let it play out in the courts.
But Larry Hubich is interested in the smear, not the truth. And that's why Hubich has not represented working men and women well during his tenure.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
If You Think What Serge LeClerc Allegedly Did Was Bad...
"Stobbe was a top adviser to former premier Roy Romanow before accepting a job in the Manitoba government. Rowbotham worked for several years in the Saskatchewan Public Service Commission before coming to Manitoba, where friends say she (Rowbotham) intended to be a stay-at-home mom.
Stobbe was also an assistant in then-NDP MLA Pat Atkinson's constituency office during the late-1980s. Atkinson, now NDP deputy leader, refused comment on Tuesday."
Just to put the whole LeClerc thing in perspective.
NDP Concerned Citizen's Brigade #3
Ken Winton-Grey LTTE today in the Star Phoenix.
Another regular guy? Nope. Not only is this individual the SEIU Local 333 President, he also ran for the NDP before being beat by, you guessed it, Serge LeClerc!
Given the obvious NDP hit performed on Serge recently, how embarassing for Mr. Winton-Grey to have actually lost to him. Evidently he still has an axe to grind.
UPDATE - Welcome SDA readers and thanks for the spell check.
Monday, April 19, 2010
rightwingbob = Robert Hamm?
Just mentioned on JGL.
rightwingbob writes an email to Gormley and identifies himself as Robert Hamm.
Pseudonym or real person? Average citizen or another NDP hack?
Gormley has invited you on the program, Hamm. We'd be very interested in your thoughts about the Leclerc issue since you seem to have some inside knowledge on the issue.
rightwingbob writes an email to Gormley and identifies himself as Robert Hamm.
Pseudonym or real person? Average citizen or another NDP hack?
Gormley has invited you on the program, Hamm. We'd be very interested in your thoughts about the Leclerc issue since you seem to have some inside knowledge on the issue.
NDP Concerned Citizens Brigade - #2
Further to our previous post, the Star Phoenix recieves a LTTE from Lori Jobh commenting about how the Wall government hasn't created a province workers can be proud of.
Just a regular concerned citizen, right?
Not so fast...
Johb just happens to be an SEIU union member that chairs an OH&S committee for the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL).
People who live in Saskatchewan know that the SFL and it's President Larry Hubich are not non-partisan. They are supporters of the NDP. Hubich recently nominated Dwain Lingenfelter for leader at the recent NDP AGM.
Johb is just the latest member of the SFL to speak against the Wall government.
These aren't just average citizens and if they won't identify themslves as anything more, we will.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Serge Leclerc - And Some Interesting Coincidences
By now, most Saskatchewan politicos and residents are aware of the Serge Leclerc story that broke late Thursday evening.
We are looking forward to the results of his drug testing and wish him the best, especially full vindication of all alleged illegal activites, but there is another story to be told that might in some small way be connected to this issue.
On Thursday, April 15th a caller to the John Gormley Live show mentioned this blog. Almost immediately, an NDP supporter (rightwingbob) started spamming our comments. The first two comments were made with links to stories trying to make his point. It was too fast and too convenient just to be a run of the mill NDP supporter. This person had some political knowledge.
We put on comment moderation because we believed he was trying to bring the site down down. Our instincts may have been correct for another 28 spam comments came in within the hour. He also began a counter-site called saskpartywatch.blogspot.com with even the same template. We chose not to publish the spam comments and deleted them, something we wish we hadn't done
One of the comments we deleted was directed towards Serge Leclerc. The comment was,
"what's that white powder under Serge's nose?".
Rightwingbob was obviously implying cocaine use on Serge's part. This was around 11AM Thursday morning.
At 5:30PM that day, the CBC broke the story of Serge Leclerc's alleged drug use, 6 1/2 hours after the comment from rightwingbob on this site. Coincidence?
Furthermore, as of the time of this post, there has been no mention of the Serge Leclerc story on Sask Party Watch. As a matter of fact there have been no other postings of any kind on Sask Party Watch at all, after the Leclerc story hit the MSM. You would think that for someone who spammed this site and set up a counter site, this would be big news. But nothing.
Therefore we're left with some questions;
The lack of further postings may have been his own decision to downplay the web site, or a missive from somewhere higher.
We are interested in finding out who this rightwingbob character is and when we do, we will forward his identity to the proper authorities. They may have some questions for him.
UPDATE - A reader points out that the Leclerc story actually broke on Friday. This means that rightwingbob was aware of the story a full 30 hours ahead of the CBC news story. Our timeline error makes for a much more intriguing story.
We are looking forward to the results of his drug testing and wish him the best, especially full vindication of all alleged illegal activites, but there is another story to be told that might in some small way be connected to this issue.
On Thursday, April 15th a caller to the John Gormley Live show mentioned this blog. Almost immediately, an NDP supporter (rightwingbob) started spamming our comments. The first two comments were made with links to stories trying to make his point. It was too fast and too convenient just to be a run of the mill NDP supporter. This person had some political knowledge.
We put on comment moderation because we believed he was trying to bring the site down down. Our instincts may have been correct for another 28 spam comments came in within the hour. He also began a counter-site called saskpartywatch.blogspot.com with even the same template. We chose not to publish the spam comments and deleted them, something we wish we hadn't done
One of the comments we deleted was directed towards Serge Leclerc. The comment was,
"what's that white powder under Serge's nose?".
Rightwingbob was obviously implying cocaine use on Serge's part. This was around 11AM Thursday morning.
At 5:30PM that day, the CBC broke the story of Serge Leclerc's alleged drug use, 6 1/2 hours after the comment from rightwingbob on this site. Coincidence?
Furthermore, as of the time of this post, there has been no mention of the Serge Leclerc story on Sask Party Watch. As a matter of fact there have been no other postings of any kind on Sask Party Watch at all, after the Leclerc story hit the MSM. You would think that for someone who spammed this site and set up a counter site, this would be big news. But nothing.
Therefore we're left with some questions;
- Did righwingbob just make a lucky guess about allegations that were about to break that day?
- Did righwingbob have some inside knowledge about the Leclerc controversy?If he did, he is either in the media or tied to the NDP in some meaningful manner? It's doubtful that he is employed by the media. One look at his blog will give you some insight as to his writing ability.
The lack of further postings may have been his own decision to downplay the web site, or a missive from somewhere higher.
We are interested in finding out who this rightwingbob character is and when we do, we will forward his identity to the proper authorities. They may have some questions for him.
UPDATE - A reader points out that the Leclerc story actually broke on Friday. This means that rightwingbob was aware of the story a full 30 hours ahead of the CBC news story. Our timeline error makes for a much more intriguing story.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Just How Unpopular Is Dwain?
Sixty percent more Americans support George W. Bush than Saskatchewanians support Dwain Lingenfelter.
"Would you rather have Barack Obama or George W. Bush as President right now?" The answer was Obama 48 percent, Bush 46 percent, within the 3.9% margin of error." - Public Policy Polling (D) - April 15th/2010
"Approval ratings for NDP leader Dwain Lingenfelter are presently at 28.3% (5.4% strongly support and 22.9% somewhat support). This is down slightly from approval ratings noted in the December poll (31.7%)." - Insightrix - April 15th/2010
In related news, Wall more popular than Obama!
A new independent online poll conducted by Insightrix Research with Saskatchewan residents shows that approval of Premier Brad Wall remains relatively steady. Presently 68.5% approve of his performance as Premier of Saskatchewan (30.6% strongly approve and 37.9% somewhat approve). - Insightrix - April 15th/2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
The Only Question Is...
Who from the NDP caucus took the picture?
According to RightWingBob, it is a "Screen capture from Saskatchewan Legislative Channel". We know that is not the case.
This is a phone camera capture. We know the picture was taken directly behind NDP MLA Sandra Morin. We know this picture was then sent to an NDP friendly blogger.
Maybe this office should be looking into it. I'm sure they would be very interested in reviewing Legislature seating arrangements, and the protocol of releasing images from inside the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly.
UPDATE - Someone may be falling on their sword tomorrow, taking responsibility for this picture. We will keep you updated.
UPDATE - National Newswatch has picked up this story
According to RightWingBob, it is a "Screen capture from Saskatchewan Legislative Channel". We know that is not the case.
This is a phone camera capture. We know the picture was taken directly behind NDP MLA Sandra Morin. We know this picture was then sent to an NDP friendly blogger.
Maybe this office should be looking into it. I'm sure they would be very interested in reviewing Legislature seating arrangements, and the protocol of releasing images from inside the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly.
UPDATE - Someone may be falling on their sword tomorrow, taking responsibility for this picture. We will keep you updated.
UPDATE - National Newswatch has picked up this story
Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
Looks like we're getting under their skin.
This blog has been inundated by spam comments from a crazed individual called "RightWingBob" the moment the blog was mentioned on John Gormley Live.
He may refer to himself RightWingBob (among other names), but we prefer to call him by his proper name, Jim F.
This blog has been inundated by spam comments from a crazed individual called "RightWingBob" the moment the blog was mentioned on John Gormley Live.
He may refer to himself RightWingBob (among other names), but we prefer to call him by his proper name, Jim F.
Who Raised This Rebellious Child!?!
Oh, ya... We forgot
"When the leader of a party owns property in Columbia, it is difficult to attack Wall for owning property in Arizona" - Travis James Lingenfelter
Vie Geht's, Yates!
Personally, we think you're good for the NDP.
The NDP Concerned Citizen Brigade
Since these party hacks won't voluntarily identify themselves, we'll do that for them. Gieni's LTTE can be seen here.
The first featured NDP Concerned Citizen is Patti Gieni, SFL VP and former federal NDP candidate in Saskatoon Blackstrap.
"A subsequent investigation initiated by the City of Saskatoon found that Gieni had breached 11 policies related to bullying, she was re-assigned to be a bus driver afterwards."
Perhaps Gieni's focus should be on bullying in the workplace, something she seems to be intimately familiar with.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Is This Leadership Material?
This is the level of political discourse that comes from the NDP's own leader. Saskatchewan deserves better than Dwain Lingenfelter.
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