Rant #1: The Senate Scandal

Here we go again!  Another scandal in politics.  This one courtesy of the Senate, and just when you thought they were all pretty much sleeping or dead.  In a nutshell, the scandal involves four Senators,(three Conservatives and one Liberal), the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff, a hefty cheque, and a coat of whitewash that would make Tom Sawyer proud.

To further expand;  several Senators have been 'caught' double-dipping into the delicious punch bowl of expense accounting.  Namely, Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin, Marc Brazeau and Liberal Mac Harb.  I find it interesting that both Duffy and Wallin were at one time journalists, who used to go after the previous lying/cheating politicians for the same acts that they are now both accused of.  Both Duffy and Wallin have had questions arise about whether or not they even reside in the provinces that they represent (PEI and Saskatchewan respectively).  The examination into that question perhaps dug up more information than was originally suspected.  Duffy's accounts are seemingly the most creative, because he has frequently been claiming living expenses for Ottawa and PEI, on the same days.  So either he has managed to invent a transporter a la Star Trek, or it would appear that he has been jilting the Canadian people.  He was effectively caught and asked to pay back the $90,000.  He subsequently handed in said cheque.  It has however, recently come to light that he did not actually pay back the money, but rather had Nigel Wright  (Stephen Harper's Chief of Staff) write him up a cheque for said amount, which he then handed over. This money was clearly stated to have been a gift, not a loan. (How do I get on this guy's Christmas list?) Once this fact became known, Wright very quickly tendered his resignation.  The PM is outraged and had no idea this type of thing was going on (behind his back apparently).  Wallin's accounts are still being investigated, and Brazeau and the other guy are seemingly small potatoes.  The BIG story is Duffy.

Result: All 3 Conservative Senators have stepped down from the Conservative Caucus, and are now sitting as independent Senators.  WTF?!!  The RCMP have finally been asked to investigate.  A big report on the whole fiasco has been written by...guess who....other Conservative Senators.  Again...WTF?!!

Let me first point out that this is totally my opinion:  I can't believe that Nigel Wright would write up a $90,000 personal cheque just to help out a poor senator. Especially, without being told to or without the PM's knowledge.  And now he is forced out of the big desk, just because he was trying to be a nice guy.  Either he is the paragon of generosity or else he is a 'patsy.'  Either way, if he can just give away 90K in cash, he may be getting paid waaaayyy too much!  We will have to keep our eyes on Mr. Wright's future, and see if he shows up in some lucrative position down the road.

All of this SNAFU, leads me to ponder a bigger and more complicated topic: Senate Reform or Abolishment?  Which is the answer!  And who is going to have big enough balls to do it!  Stay tuned.