BULLSHIT

© MMX V.1.0.5
by Morley Evans

"Truth has nothing to do with it. Politics is bullshit. The issues are lies."

That paraphrases Tom Turnipseed's words in "Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story". [1] [2] The attorney, social activist and former South Carolina State Senator had been an early victim of Lee Atwater when Atwater spread a story during a campaign that Turnipseed had been "hooked up to jumper cables" to treat a psychiatric problem.

Is that true? Is politics bullshit? Is this only true in South Carolina?

No, it is universally true, now, everywhere and always.

Here in Regina, the Premier has successfully defended Saskatchewan from the "hostile" bid by BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, to take over the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (PCS). [3]

What is this all about?

Potash in Saskatchewan has always been political hay. Politicians in Saskatchewan have promised to make potash as important as oil is in Alberta and Saudi Arabia. We'll all be rich, they say. We'll be just like Jed Clampett when Jed found bubblin' crude when he was shootin' at some food. [4] Politicians will bring home the bacon for the people. They want your vote.

In the 1960s, Liberal Premier, Ross Thatcher, introduced a marketing scheme that would keep prices and profits up by eliminating "cutthroat" competition. It was called pro-rationing and was requested by the potash companies. Revenue to the province would be maximized. In the 1970s, NDP Premier, Allan Blakeney, PC, OC, SOM, QC, FRSC [5] created the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan so "the people" could reap the profits. Potash was paying for all of Saskatchewan's generous social programs, Blakeney asserted. This was false as my own study done by Arthur Anderson in Calgary proved. [6] Did Blakeney not know what he was talking about? We can assume Blakeney knows how to read an annual report since he was a Director of many large corporations. Blakeney either is a bumble brain or he is a liar. You decide.

The fact is that the Potash Corporation never put one dime into the Saskatchewan treasury. Instead, it cost the Saskatchewan taxpayers over a billion dollars. PCS did provide jobs for the NDP and its friends, of course. So "we" were not enriched even though "we" owned PCS. Not incidentally, "we" don't own the provincial treasury either. It is owned by the government and by the people who decide how it will be spent and who will get it. The basic premise of every duhmockricy, that "we" own the government, is a lie. The government owns us as it always has.

BHP Billiton is an Australian company. Foreigners. That's bad. BHP Billiton is "the world's largest mining company." That's bad. BHP Billiton is making a "hostile" bid. Horrors! Clearly, "we" and our vital interests need to be defended. Politicians to the rescue. The federal government plans to sell Saskatchewan down the river. Despicable. The Premier stands up for the people, and wins! [7]

What is this all about?

Let's get this straight: "we " do not own the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan. When the government owned it, "we" got nothing anyway; PCS cost the taxpayers over a billion dollars. The Potash Corporation is largely owned by people who do not live in Saskatchewan. It makes no difference to us if different people own it. The royalties are not affected by who owns it and the government gets all the royalties anyway, not "us". [8]

The BHP Billiton bid is "hostile" to PCS management. They might lose their jobs. The bid is not hostile to shareholders who would love to get a big price for their stock. Unlike the Premiers of Newfoundland and Alberta who fight with Ottawa over who gets the money from oil, who gets the money from potash, Saskatchewan or Ottawa, is not an issue.

What is this about?

It is all Kabuki theatre: Mr Wall, the Premier of Saskatchewan, can use this to distance himself from Mr. Harper, the Prime Minister, who is not very popular in Saskatchewan. I hate Harper myself. By "standing up for Saskatchewan" and for "our" potash, Mr. Wall may be able to take an issue away from the NDP who proved they could not run a popcorn stand when they owned PCS and ran the province into the ground. Good luck to Wall.

The issue is bullshit.

Tommy Douglas CCF Medicare is far more serious. Medicare has taken over the entire country from sea to sea. The Canadian medical system is the worst in the world as well as the most expensive in the world. Canadians believe it is the best and that it is free too. Bullshit is found not only in South Carolina.


[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Atwater
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Turnipseed
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BHP_Billiton
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beverly_Hillbillies
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Blakeney
[6] http://www.morleyevans.com/Contents/Potash/Potash01.html
[7] http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20101031/brad-wall-potash-101031/
[8] http://www.timescolonist.com/doesn+matter+owns+Potash+Corp/3732677/story.html