Old Defence Ministers Never Die...

My Google-Alert service has just informed me that former Defence Minister Paul Hellyer is calling on Parliament to hold hearings into the existence of extra-terrestrials.

It's a good thing I signed up for these things. Otherwise, I would have surely missed such a pressing piece of breaking news. Below is the opener to the news release.

OTTAWA, CANADA (PRWEB) November 24, 2005 -- A former Canadian Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister under Pierre Trudeau has joined forces with three Non-governmental organizations to ask the Parliament of Canada to hold public hearings on Exopolitics -- relations with “ETs.”

By “ETs,” Mr. Hellyer and these organizations mean ethical, advanced extraterrestrial civilizations that may now be visiting Earth.

On September 25, 2005, in a startling speech at the University of Toronto that caught the attention of mainstream newspapers and magazines, Paul Hellyer, Canada’s Defence Minister from 1963-67 under Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prime Minister Lester Pearson, publicly stated: "UFOs, are as real as the airplanes that fly over your head." Mr. Hellyer went on to say, "I'm so concerned about what the consequences might be of starting an intergalactic war, that I just think I had to say something."

Duly noted. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We'll make sure to validate your parking on the way out.

(Just wait 'til Norad tracks Santa again this year. It'll blow his mind.)

Brison's Braggadoccio

The taint of Liberal arrogance is more than seeping through the pores of Public Works Minister Scott Brison these days. He's wallowing in it.

Twice in one day, last week, he took aim at the Conservatives with rhetorical spit following a Rotary Club Luncheon in Toronto. First, he fired the expected political salvos at Stephen Harper, accusing him of being anti-gay and other typical partisan positioners. He then compared Deputy Leader Peter Mackay to a "squirrel".

Having the embarrassing misfortune of being forced to eat his own words, Brison apologized to Harper and the National Citizens Coalition yesterday for making earlier unjust allegations of illegal lobbying. Since he was already in reverse gear, he hastily retracted a short-lived Public Works hiring ban on white males.

Now, all of this makes for interesting reading but it's nothing compared to this morning's story about Brison insulting a longtime Liberal supporter.

Sandra McGrath, who has given three decades as a Grit campaign volunteer, has written to Prime Minister Paul Martin urging him to rein in the rude language and inappropriate behaviour.

After serving two terms on the Human Resources Development Canada Board of Referees, she was upset that Brison had led her to believe she was a shoo-in for the reappointment she ultimately did not get.

During a chance encounter at Acton's Restaurant in Wolfville, N.S., McGrath aired her frustration and advised Brison she would not support him in the next campaign.

"He got very upset. He looked at me and said, 'Well I've got something to tell you. I'm going to be the MP for a very, very long time, and you can kiss my ass,' " she recalled. "We were shocked and dumbfounded. This is a cabinet minister and there's supposed to be ethics in government. If he can't take some heat from the people of Canada, he shouldn't be in cabinet."

This is all too much fun seeing "Fancy Pants from Kings-Hants" dance. Self-aggrandizing looks so unflattering on just about anyone. There's just something about this man's smug little aura that makes him all the uglier.

In case you were wondering just what critter Mr. Brison might be compared to, participate in the online poll at Conservative-own.ca.

Gee, Dubya. Lucky It Wudden Wunathem Revolvin Doors!

Say what you will about George Dubya, grace has never been his strong suit. While he's done his best to clean up his diction since the "subliminable" days of the GOP leadership promises to support "them thar military" all the way up to his plan to put "food on every family", the cliches about leopards changing spots and old dogs with new tricks stand as true as ever with Bush.

Tired of a reporter's questioning about him being "off his game", bush tersely ended the session and proceeded to the wrong exit. As they say in showbiz, hilarity ensued.

Making it an unflattering moment for Dubya wasn't the error in direction, it was the gooberish mugging that followed. It's the stuff that legacies are made of, I tell ya.

Check out the video here.