Hit the Rhodes boys and doncha come back no more...

There is more wisdom and common sense in our two local road scholars, George Murphy and Mike Kehoe, than has managed to materialize from our Rhodes Scholars; Bill Rowe, Doug House, and Danny Williams. The well-heeled sons of the socially advantaged, (Upper Crust) Ed Roberts and John Crosbie have not fared much better either . This is logical since the boys driving the cars are contributing by living and communicating with all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. They are the soil of the earth not the takers of the sweet nutrients.
One of the biggest problems facing Newfoundland and Labrador is the social clique of our society - that feel they have a right to be part of the decision making and opinion forming strata at the highest levels. Yet for all their academic brilliance we are wallowing in debt, leaving in despair, and primarily going around in circles.
They are also the people who promote the natural change of things, a new world order if you will - a disguised and polite attempt to deal with their collective failure to deliver a thriving and successful economy. They will say anything to take your attention away from the miserable deals and policies they helped to create and draw it to some rhetorical litany of unsubstanitated claims of natural declines. They are, you see, without fault.
For all the education and for some, the silver teats they've been sucking since birth, they had a need or were pushed to seek public office - this noble unselfish act of serving the people. To them, make no mistake, it's not about serving anybody - their DNA is above that. How can we say that? Well almost all of them, including our current Premier is "giving up" a life of leisure and success to toil in the trenches at their cost, not ours. When someone tells you they are doing you a favour by choosing to work on behalf of the people, they mean, "I'm here now and I know best". Questioning their competence and/or human failings will not be tolerated and the arrogance they possess shows itself in short order.
Take the Premier as an example - ask him a question he does not approve of and what happens? You will be scolded like the minion he believes you are. Catch Bill on a bad day on open-line or back talk and question his reasoning on a subject and his tongue becomes a scalpel in the hands of a not-so skilled surgeon. And John, do we need say more - like a rich child in knickers grabbing back his lollipop while slicing your family heritage, he's a person of "patrician tastes" a nobleman - he does not take lightly the sassy mouth of a fisherman whose guts he's just removed. Dr. Dougie, is slightly different - he stabs you from the back, you don't hear or see him coming for he fears confrontation and certainly debate. You will feel him, however, if you fail to catch his shadow lurking, a member of the Rhodes club, yes, but not the front man. He will gut rural Newfoundland and Labrador by selling his wares in private, we pay for it, but he will never answer for it - he does not have the stomach for that. Now Ed has reached his goal - he is nobility of sorts now - by heading up the Queen's starting line-up in the colony of Newfoundland. He has tea parties with his own type and is known for opening the grounds to the peasants and occasionally allowing his elbow to touch yours - so ye may speak of it back in the outports.
For all that crap, the boys have not delivered!
Now the choir boys are singing the tune "the times they are a changin", nothing they can do - for there is no fish. They are telling you that rural Newfoundland and Labrador must be "rationalized". We should be rationalizing something all right - we should rationalize that despite the merchant mentality that drove us into Canada - WE NOW HAVE THE POWER OF THE VOTE. That is what they fear most. The loss of their right to live above us. Don't get me wrong they will do and say whatever is necessary to keep what they have enjoyed. Yes they meet in backrooms or Doug's basement when Rideout was unceremoniously dumped and the Libs returned to glory. They were careful not to expose their agenda to Tory bureaucrats who might rat to the party slaves.
They are, however, one and the same with politics financed by "new money" and some of the old - the brandy sniffing bluebloods who determine for us who the next savior is. Yes they meet in the clubhouse after a friendly competitive round of golf and determine where they will take us next. One afternoon while dining with a friend at a sparsely lit local Chinese restaurant - I noticed the only other patrons for lunch. A table full of so-called Tory's from the Queen's bench to the fish merchants to the politico's of old scheming, yup scheming about the day they will return to favour under Danny. As I raised my hand and subtly waved in their direction the wine went sour and the noodles in the chow-mien almost became serpents - ready to strike in an instant. Then almost as if remembering what they were taught, the sneers became smiles and politeness did not fail them.
It is time for them to go - if Alberta's economy needs an extra boost I would like to be their head-hunter. We can provide one stimulating talk host who loves to talk about "glory days" and the cowboys like that guff. We have an expert lawyer who loves the smell of success and takes pleasure being with people who can produce a scent of money and breeding - right at home with the cattle boys, John will be. We have a Premier who has already expressed a desire to be just like Ralph - perhaps the good ole party could use a mentor like Dan and he can party with the best of em, plus his love of hockey and the testosterone sweat a stadium locker room can produce is the perfect place to speak in an uncultured environment. Certainly the Albertan University community could use a professor whose expertise is reducing population and downsizing industry - apparently they have a problem managing their heightened level of growth and prosperity and House is the man to slow all that down - one custom made "Economic Recovery Plan" will put the western boots to "expansion at an alarming pace". And for our soon-to-retire Lieutenant Governor - a new frontier awaits; a place where people need some help with social graces - he can teach them to put down the bottle of Hag and raise with pinky properly pointed at an angle to the ceiling, a cup of tea - while nibbling finger sandwiches of cucumber with the slightest hint of vinaigrette oil.
Then we can say as people we are ready to move forward with a new voracity, a Newfound self confidence, and a renewal of pride.
We are the richest per-capita jurisdiction in North America, we just need to get rid of the "establishment" the "upper crust" that has kept us penned into a stewing pie.

HIT THE RHODES BOYS AND DONCHA COME BACK NO MORE....we have a country to build.

Ed Roberts and John Crosbie were not Rhodes Scholars.