Rafe takes on a temp job.

Rafe Mair is not letting the cobwebs gather around him while he seeks out another bully pulpit for his views. Mair, who as reported in a past Podunk posting, found himself off the radio and on the unemployment lines recently, has been filling in his idle hours by contributing articles to the Tyee.ca.

His most recent offering is an interesting look at his presentation to the Gomery Inquiry, during the recent West coast swing of Judge Gomery. Mair was one of a number of prominent BC residents who were recruited to enlighten Justice Gomery about their thoughts on how Canada is governed and what impact scandal has on Canadians. The Vancouver sessions were part of the second half of the Gomery Report mandate, a cross country search for input, to make recommendations to the government to prevent future abuses.

Rafe being Rafe expressed his frustration with the cadre of Gomery servants who sent him briefing books prior to his appearance. They sent him talking points on things that he had no knowledge of and did not show any interest on those matters of which he did.

As Rafe prepared to meet the commision, one has a vision of Judge Gomery taking a deep breath, looking towards an aide with trepidation, but asking Rafe to proceed anyways.

And proceed Rafe did. Putting aside his uneasy feelings about the whole process, Mair put forward his remembrances of scandal both federal and provincial. He suggested that with each successive scandal the Canadian populace just adds another batch of cynicism to its growing pile and carries on, caring less and less each day about the workings of its ruling class.

He had equal condemnation for both politicians and the media, suggesting that a timid media in Canada enables the politicians to become corrupt without fear of recrimination. He said that by not shining a bright light on the dealings of government, the media were allowing that corruption to fester and grow.

He claims that by the end of his presentation he was received as a wild eyed radical, recommending the overthrow of the government. There were no follow up questions to his presentation.

He includes his entire presentation in his Tyee article and it is a well thought out piece and basically reflects those opinions he expressed day after day during his time as one of BC’s top talk show hosts. It may have been all new and perhaps a bit frightening to Justice Gomery, but in BC we've been in the loop for years.

By effectively biting the hand that was feeding him that day, Rafe probably won’t be getting many government appointments in the near future, but somehow you know he probably won’t mind that at all. He doesn’t seem like the type to be comfortable as window dressing, more likely he’s the one throwing the rocks at that window to get some attention.