blevkog

No offense, Kev, but are you sure it's wise to bet against Rodney's stupidity?

:)

Kevvy:

Thanks for the heads up. I have been so focussed on the Cabinet shuffle that I missed this one.

Not minimizing the magnitude of Fage's stupidity in these matters, but the loan was approved to a company that leased land from Fage's family. I don't think they were involved in ownership, but I could be wrong.

We should focus on the fact that that he stayed in cabinet for a whole month, and only resigned when the government discovered that the press was running the story?

Should he be punted from the MLA position as well? The Tories do claim to be a party of personal responsibility, and doing a hit-n-run ain't exactly taking responsibility for one's actions.

Devin -> You're welcome. We're all in this together.

Flash -> You're right, the company was leasing land from Fage's family. Fage's family received the money indirectly, but received chunks of it nonetheless. I seem to remember something similar involving Jean Chretien and a golf course some years ago...

Briguy -> Just posted related to this.

I am always amazed by those who are so quick to believe the media's version of reality. What would be so wrong with waiting until the investigation has been completed before coming to final conclusions (you, know the line "we are all innocent until proven guilty").

Hey Anon;

You're absolutely right - the video was a complete fake! Look at the multiple shadows, the visible stars and the flag waving in vacuum - oh wait, that's the Apollo Moon landings. I can never tell you conspiracy nutters apart - you are again?

The next step for Conservative defenders: Blame the media for timing this at a sensitive time. You saw me predict it here first.

Not that I know how early January with no election in sight qualifies as 'sensitive', but I'm sure the Conservative spinners can find some way.

So, now let me get my little conspiracy ridden mind around this, you are saying that so long as someone has a cell phone, we no longer need a judicial system? Wow, there are going to be alot of investigators, lawyers and judges on the unemplyment line once this idea catches on.

By the way, I am neither a Conservative nor a Nova Scotian (so this is not a voting issue for me). I'm just a regular person, tired of watching another regular person accused, tried and executed in the media. Really, are there no more important things to report on than this?

Look! The media is being blamed! And being told to report on more important things, to boot. I'm having a Colbert moment:

I called it!

Let me explain something: When a Cabinet minister drunkenly smashes into another car and then flees the scene, that's news. It might only be worthy of the Provincial section of the paper, but it's still news.

Thank you for the "expanation", but, unless I have missed something in all of the reports, Mr. Fage has not yet been charged with "drunkenly smashing into another car". This charge has only been made in the media. Yes, there was an accident and yes, he was wrong to leave the scene. But having someone on the scene claim that he "smelled of alcohol" does not automatically make him guilty of a DUI.
My point is that it scares me that a juicy media story without all of the ends tied up and accusations proven can ruin a man's reputation. This could happen to any of us.

Anon:

First off, it's 'explanation' not 'expanation'.

Secondly, a Cabinet Minister in a provincial government hardly qualifies as 'a regular guy' - if Ernie Fage didn't want to be in the public eye, he should have stayed out of politics, so unless you could provide me with documentary evidence that he was drafted into politics against his will, you can quit peddling that BS strawman argument.

Lolz. Anon:

Mr. Fage ruined his reputation when he pork-barreled a government loan to people doing business with him. Here in the backwaters, we call that a conflict of interest. The drunken smashy-doo is just the icing on an already stinky cake.

Why do you suppose the paper waited until after Christmas before running this story? Given the media's general inability to accurately fact-check even the most basic of stories, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest three possibilities. Number one: The editor(s) sat on the story because of the political ramifications, insisting that their reporters got reliable witness statements and whatnot before publishing. Certainly a sensible precaution in these litigious times. Number two: The editor(s) actually felt bad for Mr. Fage, and waited until after Christmas before allowing his actions to ruin his career. Number three: Fage is completely innocent, wrong place, wrong time, and this is either a horrible case of mistaken video recording or a well-orchestrated smear campaign designed to strip power from Cabinet Minister.

Definitely number three.

BTW: What is the generally accepted action for a Cabinet Minister to take when under criminal investigation? I'll give you a hint: It isn't standing pat. Assuming the police actually planned to charge Mr. Fage (which isn't a given...the video certainly prompted some action there), he would have resigned anyway.

As much as I hate to disagree with my fellow 'Koggers, Anon. has a point. Granted, Fage has certainly voided most of his leeway when it comes to 'benefit of the doubt', but it is a valid point nevertheless.

Hmm. I posted this yesterday, but it disappeared:

Fage has admitted to being guilty of the hit-and-run. We don't need no steenkin' lawyers to sort that out. There may be a question as to the DUI assertion (especially since HPD did not see fit to actually investigate that assertion in a meaningful way). So, I will grant a need for lies and obfuscation in the presence of a judge on that charge. ;)

Bri:

Just taking a non-lawyer guess - but I'd think proving DUI would be next to impossible without a positive breathalyzer.

I realize that, Dan. This is just me being passive-aggressively critical of the investigation into this crash. To be fair, I imagine that they would've taken it more seriously if anyone had been hurt. Or if Fage were a member of a different party. ;)

This was a weekend night, too. The police probably had their hands full breaking up fights on Argyle Street and at Pizza Corner.

The rest of the MLAs had to go somewhere, after all. Why not for pizza?

I know, Bri - that's why, while normally I'd agree with Flash that the media can be too instrusive sometimes, in this case I'm not overly upset, since it's very likely that the loss of his cabinet position and is the *only* punishment Fage is ever going to get. And even that's not going to sting so much, since he's still going to make a nice little bit from his pension when he announces he's not running for reelection.