Far left conspiracy of the week

Our far left conspiracy of the week comes to us from the Democratic Underground where over half of respondents to a mini-poll believe that it was W's father who was behind the shooting of Ronald Reagan 25 years ago this week.

Now that's a good one.

(HT: Right Wing News.)

Friday morning digest

- My hat goes off to this lady. I'm totally against capital punishment and I commend her for remaining so even after her husband was killed on 9/11.

- 33 year old professional student Harmeet Singh Sooden says that he thinks that his captors were paid off in exchange for his release. Not only that, he tells us that "I know where that money is going to go. I'd rather it went on to social work or feeding people who need food, not on killing people". The more I learn about Christian Peacemakers and their loony left worldview, the more I shake my head. It couldn't possibly be that the evil West decided that your lives were worth putting its soldiers into harm's way to save your asses, could it, Harmeet? It also couldn't possibly be that perhaps Western armed forces are capable of doing good in the world, either? Not when your captors are just victims, I suppose.

- Where do they find some of these guys? A rookie Tory MP from the BC Interior has suggested jailing journalists for inaccuracy. In a letter to nine newspapers, he wrote, “Maybe it is time that we hauled off in handcuffs reporters that fabricate stories, or twist information and even falsely accuse citizens”. I hate the media as much as the next bitter and cynical right-winger, but gimme a break.

- The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer? Not in Canada. What's happening is that everyone is getting richer. Admittedly, those who are already comfortable are getting more comfortable at a faster rate than those who aren't, but that's to be expected. I also don't see anything wrong with that. I truly believe that a person's lot in life is largely determined by the circumstances they create for themselves. Sure, issues like culture, job loss and health crises certainly contribute but I think there is enough societal support to assist those people in getting back on their feet over the long term.

- On the issue of poverty, here's an interesting look at how we define "poor" from the New Yorker:

Rather than trying to come up with a subsistence-based poverty measure about which everybody can agree, we should accept that there is no definitive way to decide who is impoverished and who isn’t. Every three years, researchers from the federal government conduct surveys about the number of appliances in the homes of American families. In 2001, ninety-one per cent of poor families owned color televisions; seventy-four per cent owned microwave ovens; fifty-five per cent owned VCRs; and forty-seven per cent owned dishwashers. Are these families poverty-stricken?

Not according to W. Michael Cox, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and Richard Alm, a reporter at the Dallas Morning News. In their book “Myths of Rich and Poor: Why We’re Better Off Than We Think” (1999), Cox and Alm argued that the poverty statistics overlook the extent to which falling prices have enabled poor families to buy consumer goods that a generation ago were considered luxury items. “By the standards of 1971, many of today’s poor families might be considered members of the middle class,” they wrote.

Consider a hypothetical single mother with two teen-age sons living in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward, a neighborhood with poor schools, high rates of crime and unemployment, and few opportunities for social advancement. The mother works four days a week in a local supermarket, where she makes eight dollars an hour. Her sons do odd jobs, earning a few hundred dollars a month, which they have used to buy stereo equipment, a DVD player, and a Nintendo. The family lives in public housing, and it qualifies for food stamps and Medicaid. Under the Earned Income Tax Credit program, the mother would receive roughly four thousand dollars from the federal government each year. Compared with the destitute in Africa and Asia, this family is unimaginably rich. Compared with a poor American family of thirty years ago, it may be slightly better off. Compared with a typical two-income family in the suburbs, it is poor.

One of the Ten Commandments is "I shall not covet my neighbour's belongings". I think too much of what defines poverty these days is based on want more than need.

A public service announcement

Don't eat at the Friendly Corner Deli if you're ever in downtown Ottawa.

If you thought it was impossible to screw up roast beef on a kaiser, think again.

I almost walked out of the place but the couple who own it would have been totally insulted.

I swear, the meat on that sandwich did not come from a cow. I don't know what it came from, but it was not a cow.

Absolutely disgusting.

Thursday afternoon digest

- The Canadian government has decided to not recognize Hamas diplomatically because they refuse to renounce violence. This makes total sense. Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization in Canada under the Criminal Code. It's impossible to justify recognizing a political entity that is illegal in Canada because of its support for terror.

- A group affiliated with the president of the PQ has produced a textbook for use in Quebec's classrooms titled Let's Talk About Sovereignty at School. From the Globe, "Kindergarteners are asked to make decorations for Quebec's national holiday on June 24, and the book's illustration is a child's drawing of a Quebec flag on a pole with the Canadian flag beneath it, ripped in half." What's more, also from the Globe, "The publisher, Les Intouchables, says on the book's first pages that the company receives a subsidy from the Canadian Arts Council and support from Ottawa's Book Publishing Industry Development Program." Beyond the obvious tribal overtones and the sickening attempt to bring distasteful ethnic politics into kindergarten classrooms, what I love is how these guys will work to destroy Canada yet they'll take the money to fund their arts projects from a country that they don't even believe in. If they had any integrity they'd obtain private funding for their political propaganda.

- Speaking of Quebec, the feds are coming under fire because they aren't providing a $22 million dollar bailout to a zoo in Quebec City. That's right, a zoo. The less said about this, the better.

- No doubt men's studies courses in high school are also being advocated by these young ladies, all in the name of gender equality.

- I've always been suspicious of sanctions because as Margaret Thatcher would say, governments tend to "go wobbly".

- Ah, the statists of Europe and their follies ... always providing great material.

- This would also be comedic if it weren't so tragic.

- Finally, it looks like the West Wing is getting desperate for ratings. I never liked their preachy, moralizing, high and mighty big-L liberalism.

Wednesday morning digest

- Well, Ariel Sharon's Kadima party has won a plurality in the Israeli election, albeit an underwhelming 28 out of 120 seats in the Knesset. Many commentators are seeing the probability of a centre-left Kadima/Labour coalition as a major step towards a two-state solution in the region. I think they're dreaming. The bottom line for Palestinian leadership, be it Hamas or Fatah, is a Palestinian state without any autonomous Jewish political entity in the region. Some Palestinians will go so far as to say that they support the right of Jews to live in a future Palestinian state but I believe that they do not and will never recognize the right of Israel to exist either as a neighbour or in any other form. Despite Kadima's showing, the experience of Camp David in 2000 will be repeated over and over again because the Palestinians will not settle for anything less than the complete removal of the state of Israel from the map.

- I have a new hero in Nicolas Sarkozy, French Minister of the Interior. In response to the riots in France, he gave a big pat on the back to the riot police. See here:

Later in the day, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy later invited some 200 police officers, some still wearing their protective gear, to the Interior Ministry for wine and snacks.

"I'm proud of you," he said. "Mission accomplished."

Now that's balls.

- Speaking of protests, there is much ado in the US regarding the rights of illegal migrants. I don't get it. There are legal avenues toward immigration. If you want to become an American, you should be expected to follow the law. If you don't, you should be thrown out. What good is the law if it is not applied?

- It should be noted that CAIR last week called for the release of Abdul Rahman. Their clarity is in stark contrast to that of our own Canadian Islamic Congress, which said that if he was to be put to death for converting to Christianity it would be the coalition's fault.

- This blogger makes some good points about how the media often consider themselves to be the guarantors of the proper functioning of society. The arrogance of the press never ceases to amaze. I thought we elected Bill Graham and Lucienne Robillard to lead the Official Opposition, not the likes of Craig Oliver, Julie Van Dusen and Carolyn Dunn.

- Finally, is this what the greatest love of all has come to? What a mess.

CD Review: Massive Attack "Collected" (2006)

This could quite possibly be the most boring CD I've purchased in a very long time.

Ten years ago, this ambient trip-hop stuff would have been considered extremely cutting edge. Now, it's just dull. Sparse beats with minimal instrumentation which at times can be made interesting by a nice vocal track (on this collection, all of those are sung by the ladies), but even at that, most of the time there's no passion or emotion flowing at all.

As an alternative to alternative in the 90s, Massive Attack's brand of early electronic experimentation had merits, but as the years have gone by, it has become obviously tired. The limitations of this outfit are on clear display with this collection.

This will collect dust on my shelf, no doubt, as I'm sure many other Massive Attack discs are doing at this very moment across North America. Too bad - I was hoping to get turned on to something new.

Overall rating: 3/10

Brad Hamilton

Sunday night I was returning from a weekend away and the Cars' "Livin' In Stereo" came over the airwaves. For those of you who don't know, this is the song that plays during the scene in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" when Brad Hamilton (pictured above) gets caught rubbin' one out by Phoebe Cates' character. (As the boys on the Team 1200 would say, "Very strong.")

Download a copy of the tune for yourself and relive that classic moment in film history here.

Tuesday morning digest

- The Houston Chronicle says Russia is not to be trusted. I wholeheartedly agree. If the right-wing Frenchman Nicolas Sarkozy acedes to power next year in France, watch for Russia to take France's place as the new burr under the American saddle.

- What a jerk:

It also claims that, in March 1993, while Hillary Clinton was away from the White House looking after her dying father in Arkansas, Miss Streisand spent the night at the White House. The following morning the President hosted a press conference with scratch marks on his neck and face.

White House insiders say the couple were overheard having a furious argument and she could be heard screaming: "For Christ's sake, Bill. I'm down there with my dying father and you're up here with Barbra...I mean, did she have to stay overnight?"

- For those who are interested in inside Ottawa baseball, this shows that the relationship between the PMO and the press gallery is going to get a hell of a lot worse before it gets better.

A few thoughts on James Loney

It has come to light that one of the Canadian hostages recently rescued from Baghdad, James Loney, is gay. This was kept a secret until he returned home for his safety. However, in reading the comments from the Christian Peacemakers, the organization which he is affiliated with, you'd think that he was at just as much risk here at home as he was at the hands of his radical Islamist captors. From the Globe and Mail:

"They [hostages] are already in a vulnerable condition and anything that would make them more vulnerable would be a real concern," said Doug Pritchard, a co-director of Christian Peacemaker Teams, the Toronto-based group for which Mr. Loney and three others were working when they were grabbed on a Baghdad street in November.

"Unfortunately in the world today, being gay or lesbian makes you more vulnerable," Mr. Pritchard said yesterday.

And from the Ottawa Citizen (print edition):

"There was concern for his safety in this violent world of gay-bashing," said administrative co-ordinator Rebecca Johnson.

Mr. Loney, who was rescued last week after 118 days in captivity, appeared at a Toronto press conference Sunday with his partner, Dan Hunt. It was the first time his sexual orientation was publicly mentioned since Mr. Loney was abducted Nov. 26.

It was in Mr. Loney's "best interest" to keep that part of his life under wraps because gay people are still targets of "antagonistic" attacks, Ms. Johnson said.

It looks like the Peacemakers are reluctant to make the distinction between the treatment of gays at the hands of radical Islamists vis-a-vis Western society. No wonder. From the Globe piece, detailing the history of Loney and his partner, Dan Hunt:

Since the early 1990s, the two men have been instrumental in building the Toronto chapter of the Catholic Worker movement, an organization that tilts toward socialism, and is gay-positive. Mr. Loney's family attends a Roman Catholic church in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

Catholic Worker was founded in the 1930s by Dorothy Day, a journalist-turned-activist, who espoused pacifism and opened hospitality houses for the indigent in New York City.

"Unfortunately, most Catholics have never heard of Dorothy Day and that's a real shame because she is a real inspiration," a 27-year-old Mr. Hunt told the Toronto Star 14 years ago. At the time, he and his co-founders were described as young Christians in their 20s who had "seriously considered studying for the priesthood."

Mr. Loney was one of those co-founders and working at the time as a youth minister in Toronto. The Catholic Workers invited poor people to live in their own hospitality house, named after Zacchaeus, the hated tax collector in Jericho whom Jesus befriended.

Today the Catholic Workers run a network of six houses in Toronto's Parkdale neighbourhood, offering free dinners and up to 10 beds in each house. They make a particular point of being gay-friendly and offering sanctuary to military deserters from the United States.

The group has been involved in protests with far-left groups such as the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty and the Homes not Bombs campaign, and Mr. Loney's pacifist leanings have also firmly ensconced him in the Christian Peacemaker Teams. The CPT is also gay-friendly, aligning itself with other left-leaning Christian groups.

I have a newsflash to all one-worlders, peaceniks, and cultural relativists: RADICAL ISLAMISTS HATE YOU. They hate you even more if you are gay, Jewish, or a woman. It's time to stop pretending that they're just misunderstood, misguided or as noble as the West. They're not. This is why Jews, women and homosexuals in particular who enjoy the protections of Western society should be at the front of the line when it comes to condemning the actions of al-Qaeda and their allies. Terrorists want to kill all infidels, but you're at the top of the list.

It's time for the Christian Peacemakers teams and all of their Lennonite friends like "Homes Not Bombs" to call a spade a spade. It's clear that Loney's homosexuality was kept secret because it would certainly have led to his death at the hands of his radical Islamist captors, and it should be acknowledged as such. This would be much preferable to making empty statements about "this violent world of gay-bashing" because perhaps then do-gooders would think twice about going to Iraq and placing themselves in harm's way. More importantly, they would begin to realize the true nature of radical Islam and how little it has in common with the cherished freedoms we enjoy here in the West.

Monday evening drops

- With harebrained social experiments like this going on - and no one willing to speak out against them for fear of looking old fashioned, intolerant, judgmental or politically incorrect - is it any wonder that some kids are being raised to think that this kind of belief system one is a good one?

- Sociologist Charles Murray, author of probably the best single study of the corrosive effects of overly generous on welfare on society (1984's "Losing Ground"), has been pushing a version of the guaranteed annual income as an antidote to an ineffective welfare state. In yesterday's Wall St. Journal, he argues for a 10K payment to every American every year. He writes:

Instead of sending taxes to Washington, straining them through bureaucracies and converting what remains into a muddle of services, subsidies, in-kind support and cash hedged with restrictions and exceptions, just collect the taxes, divide them up, and send the money back in cash grants to all American adults. Make the grant large enough so that the poor won't be poor, everyone will have enough for a comfortable retirement, and everyone will be able to afford health care. We're rich enough to do it.

I applaud Murray for looking at new ways to help the poor, but his statement that everyone will have enough for a comfortable retirement AND health care under his plan is complete BS. I would also say that he probably knows it. Why? First, without price controls on health care, no 10G payment is going to help anyone in the long run. Surely, he wouldn't want that, because it would provide a disincentive for health entrepreneurs to expand and improve service if they can't make a dollar somewhere. That illustrates how profits are good. Second, and more importantly, some people will fritter their 10K away. That's just how it is. The sooner society accepts that most of the time, people struggle largely because of their own poor choices in life, the better off everyone will be instead of pretending that it's not their own fault. I don't think that means we should punish people, but tough love is the right way to go. For Murray to advocate his plan without recognizing these two fundamental truths is intellectually dishonest. We should expect more from him.

- Even if you believe that human economic activity is the main cause of global warming and needs to be curtailed, as our so-called conservative government does, you have to ask why the flawed Kyoto treaty should apply to countries like Canada when others like China and India are exempt. At a time when we are competing with these countries (although I think they're much less of a threat than most), it's suicide to not insist that they be subject to at least some kind of limitation (although our manufacturing sector seems to be doing quite a fine job of imploding on its own, thank you very much).

Monday afternoon update

- Well, if this is any indication, we should continue to expect more preaching from the CBC, with plenty of help from their international colleagues. Here's another example of possible media bias and an accompanying explanation for why here.

- Do you know why I hate socialism almost more than I hate anything else in the world? It's because it is as addictive as it is destructive. Look at what's going on in France right now. You, dear reader, should also hate socialism. Here's why. Where is the rationality, sensibility or reason there?

- If we need any more reasons to disarm Iran, two more here and here.

- An absolute must-read on Saudi society, here.

Butts

Although it will soon be nine years since I last had a cigarette, this time of year always presents somewhat of a temptation to me. The mild air, the sunshine, and the many smells of spring combine to make me want to sit down somewhere, light up, and just watch the world go by.

I've never done it, but damn, this is smoking weather.

Review: "The Lord of the Rings", Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto, ON, Sunday March 26, 2006

Yesterday my fiancé and I checked out the Lord of the Rings "musical" in Toronto, which just had its official opening last Thursday night.

First of all, this is not a musical. It's a play with musical interludes. I'd say that the ratio of spoken word to sung phrases is at 4:1 at the very least. I thought that was a good thing, too, because not knowing the Lord of the Rings saga as well as some others, I needed to be able to follow what was going on to understand this complex-at-times tale.

Clocking in at over 3 and a half hours, I expected the show to be a bum number, but it wasn't. The time flew by and I wasn't ever bored, which says a lot for me when viewing a theatre production. The stage was technically amazing, the sound quality second to none, and the effects, especially at the end of the first act, were really above and beyond anything I expected.

In terms of the performances, they are good, if not great, but really, the star of this show is the stage itself. I am not a huge fantasy guy nor am I a major fan of musicals but by the end of this show you find yourself applauding not just for the actors but for all of the hard work and imagination that went in to making this show a reality.

If you are looking for something out of the ordinary, check it out.

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Monday morning digest

- The strike by Ontario's college teachers is finally over. In Ottawa, those returning to work at Algonquin College were meeting at a neighbouring Tim Horton's beforehand and were going to be piped in with bagpipes as they marched back to work at the campus. Who do they think they are, William Wallace and the boys returning from battle? Please. I highly doubt there will be many students joining that caravan. As always, it's more about lining one's pockets than any higher cause (the students, quality of education, etc.).

- Speaking of unions, it looks like GM's workers are going to be the next fat cats to be forced into dealing with reality. Meanwhile, non-union companies like Toyota are doing great.

- Last week, the provinces of Ontario and Quebec issued their 2006 budgets. Ontario focused on infrastructure renewal while the big story out of Quebec was paying down the province's debt. I believe that the 1976 Olympics, one of the biggest white elephants in history, will finally be paid off this year. I've never known a public works project to come in under budget. Here's a look at why and here's a look at some questions that governments should be asking themselves before they embark on such grandiose spending plans.

- A lot of folks seem to be writing off Tony Blair. I will be sorry to see him go. Here's why.

- What about this kind of thinking will these guys refuse to recognize?

No blogging for the next little while

This is going to be my last post till at least Sunday night because I'm heading out of town, among other things, to see the Lord of the Rings musical in Toronto this weekend. I'll be back with a full review early next week.

Cheers.

25 years of post-seasons in the Midwest

Tonight, I'd like to pay tribute to the St. Louis Blues. This team will soon officially miss the NHL playoffs for the first time since 78-79, a total of 25 years. That's an impressive record, to say the least. Many notable Blues have worn the crest into the post season over the years, including Bernie Federko, Brian Sutter, Mike Liut, Rob Ramage, Tony McKegney, Jeff Brown and later heroes such as Adam Oates and Brett Hull.

Congrats to the Blues franchise on a bittersweet milestone.

True to form

Clearly, playing a key role in preventing their boss from getting elected with a majority government - twice - hasn't humbled these two ex-Paul Martinites.

Look at their tagline: "Great speeches for CEOs and senior executives. Finally."

As if there wasn't any half decent public speaking going on before these two egomaniacs arrived on the scene.

Thursday afternoon update II

- From the Canadian Islamic Congress, via David Frum concerning the potential execution of a man for converting to Christianity in Afghanistan:

"Afghanistan is not a free country. Maintaining law and order is the responsibility of the occupation forces, who must not turn a blind eye to this kind of injustice. To allow this man to be tried and possibly executed for a non-criminal, non-blasphemous act, and then blame Islam and Muslims worldwide, is totally unacceptable."

In other words, in order to save this man's life, the coalition, which the CIC doesn't even want there in the first place, is morally obligated to interfere with the Afghani legal system. Furthermore, if he is put to death, it will be because the coalition "allowed" it.

Huh?

- Here's a case where a school created uniforms specifically for observant Muslims, yet apparently that wasn't enough for one plaintiff. Good thing the House of Lords didn't back down on this one.

- It's encouraging to see someone from the UN speak up and tell corrupt African dictators that they need to look in the mirror. Corruption is the #1 predictor of poverty. Sorry, Bono, but all of the debt relief in the world won't solve that problem.

Thursday afternoon update

- Christian Peacemakers offers no thanks to coalition forces who rescued the hostages. Instead, this:

Harmeet, Jim and Norman and Tom were in Iraq to learn of the struggles facing the people in that country. They went, motivated by a passion for justice and peace to live out a nonviolent alternative in a nation wracked by armed conflict. They knew that their only protection was in the power of the love of God and of their Iraqi and international co-workers. We believe that the illegal occupation of Iraq by Multinational Forces is the root cause of the insecurity which led to this kidnapping and so much pain and suffering in Iraq. The occupation must end.

Today, in the face of this joyful news, our faith compels us to love our enemies even when they have committed acts which caused great hardship to our friends and sorrow to their families. In the spirit of the prophetic nonviolence that motivated Jim, Norman, Harmeet and Tom to go to Iraq, we refuse to yield to a spirit of vengeance. We give thanks for the compassionate God who granted our friends courage and who sustained their spirits over the past months. We pray for strength and courage for ourselves so that, together, we can continue the nonviolent struggle for justice and peace.

Throughout these difficult months, we have been heartened by messages of concern for our four colleagues from all over the world. We have been especially moved by the gracious outpouring of support from Muslim brothers and sisters in the Middle East, Europe, and North America. That support continues to come to us day after day. We pray that Christians throughout the world will, in the same spirit, call for justice and for respect for the human rights of the thousands of Iraqis who are being detained illegally by the U.S. and British forces occupying Iraq.

Obviously it doesn't occur to them that those forces are also the ones that saved their buddies' heads from getting chopped off!

- It's so true that role models are key.

- France demonstrates an age-old truth: subsidize something, and you'll get more of it; tax it, and you'll get less of it. Subsidize (or support) arcane and rigid labour regulatory regimes, and you'll get more unemployment. Tax (or make more difficult) the ability of employers to fire people, and you'll get less employment.

Thursday morning update

- The boys have been freed. Great stuff.

- How long till some far-left nutter (cough, Chomsky, cough) declares this to be proof of the racist, neo-imperialist, neo-colonialist agenda?

- Don't believe the doom and gloom about the US economy.

- Speaking of fear-mongering, I've heard bird flu described as the Y2K of the health world. I'm no scientist but I'm skeptical of just how big a threat this really is.

- If this article is accurate, some people are treating kids as another accessory, like a Burberry handbag or pair of Praada shoes. Sad.

The ownership society in action

Minority entrepreneurs in the US seem to be doing quite well these days, especially Latinos. From today's Washington Post:

Nationally, there were nearly 1.6 million Hispanic-owned firms, still a small percentage of the 23 million individually owned businesses in the country. But Ying Lowrey, senior economist at the Small Business Administration's advocacy office, said minority-owned firms represent the fastest-growing segment of the nation's economy.

Asians are the largest sector of minority business owners in terms of number of businesses and employees, but Hispanics and African Americans are starting businesses at a faster rate. "The contribution of minorities to the economy is tremendous," Lowrey said.

Hispanic immigrants "want to go into their own business as soon as they can leave their day jobs after saving enough money," said Michael Veve, a Washington lawyer who consults with small-business owners who want to do business with the federal government. "They seem to have a very clear perception that they can do better financially in their own businesses."

Fifteen hundred bucks?

Perhaps I'm just not cultured enough, but who the hell would pay $1500 to see Barbara Streisand (much less $2500 six years ago)?

In fact, who would pay $1500 to see anybody?!?

From Pollstar:

"The promoter is Michael Cohl, who does the Rolling Stones," the source said. "The industry is freaked out about her ticket prices as the greediest ever. Her manager, Marty Erlichman, has screwed (booking agency) CAA out of their involvement, so there's a lotta bad blood out there about this one."

Representatives for Erlichman and CAA did not return calls to Pollstar at press time, and Cohl was in Japan with the Stones.

It is uncertain why the industry would consider the alleged high-end ticket price of $1,500 greedy. Babs had a higher top-end ticket of $2,500 on many stops of her last tour in 2000, where she grossed an average of $14 million a night. She sold out two nights each at Los Angeles' Staples Center and NYC's Madison Square Garden.

Wednesday afternoon update

- At left, a picture from this past weekend's anti-war protests in San Fran. How come no one ever asks about anti-Semitism on the far left in America?

- From the "Man Bites Dog" files, we have the incredible farting chair, here.

- Damian Penny asks where are the Canadian Islamic Congress and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Canada) on the death sentence handed down to Afghanistan man Abdul Rhaman for converting to Christianity. And no condemnation from the Conservative cabinet.

Shame.

- The guy behind the guy - ex-Howard Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi - has found a new gig advising the Liberal Party how to steal defeat from the jaws of victory.

- Speaking of political operatives, Fred Barnes says it's time to shuffle the deck.

- David Warren makes a strong case for refusing to give aid to Hamas.

- After reading this, I believe that given the knowledge available at the time, anything short of an invasion would have been an abdication of responsibility. Despite his criticisms, Francis Fukuyama says that while the the intentions were proper, the strategy wasn't. One thing is for sure - Fukuyama would certainly agree that there were valid humanitarian reasons to take out the neo-Stalinist Hussein, even if the far Left would have preferred to bury their heads in the sand, just like most of the West did with Rwanda.

And he could even play guitar for the True Grit Band

A letter to the editor in today's National Post:

Bubbles should lead the Liberals

Re: The Reel Thing? Fiddler Hopes To Unite Canada, March 21.

Can't we do better than Ashley MacIsaac as Liberal leader? With Brison being no fun, Belinda too dumb and the brightest Liberal stars on the run, I feel the Grits should encourage Bubbles, below, of Trailer Park fame to run.

After all, he oozes charisma. Once seen, his bespectacled sweet face is never forgotten. Bubs is also a great mediator, constantly being the peacemaker between Ricky and Julian.

Bubbles is a great mentor; each week on his show, he is coaxing his friends to be better reprobates. And he's compassionate and giving. Even though he lives in a shed, he still welcomes and feeds those who lack food or shelter.

Lastly, Bubbles is both moral and outspoken. He hates guns and speaks loudly and clearly about the obvious dangers associated with them.

In review, these qualities makes Bubbles the obvious choice to lead the Liberals and Canada.

J. Hogarty
Hespeler, ON

Wednesday morning digest

- Is Charlie Sheen drinking again?

- Continuing the theme of Hollywood types who moonlight as decorated public policy scholars, here's part IV of Bernard Chapin's series on "Oprah".

I love it when reporters get put in their place. Like Bernard Goldberg said, when it comes to arrogance, laziness and lack of accountability, journos hold a candle to no one.

- You mean maybe he didn't lie? As this column argues, the intel pointed to a more than reasonably certain conclusion. (I will blog about the Foreign Affairs article later.)

- According to the Toronto Star, apparently we all have the right to a bank near our places of residence. And if you're non-white and lower-middle class WITHOUT a bank near you, it's racism.

Seriously.

The unthinkable has happened

I not only find something Rick Mercer produced to be funny, but I actually agree with it! Go here and click on "Hand In My Pocket Spoof Ad" under "Top 5 Videos This Week".

(HT: Susan.)

Book Review: "The West's Last Chance" by Tony Blankley (2005)

This book made a minor splash when it was released in the fall of 2005 but I resisted it because I thought that it would be a thinly-veiled, paleoconservative Buchananist rant. WIth a subtitle of "Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations", I was expecting a "white, American and English-speaking good, everyone else bad" kind of undercurrent. Pleasantly, I was wrong.

After a rather alarming first chapter reminding us of what the next 9/11, 7/7 or 3/3 might look like, author Tony Blankley, editor of the Washington Times editorial page, looks at the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh in November 2004. The outraged and determined reaction of liberal, tolerant Holland to Van Gogh's heinous death at the hands of an Islamist fanatic leads Blankley to look across Europe and see how other countries are reacting to threat. What he finds is not encouraging, particularly in light of demographics, migration patterns, and the misguided priorities of many voters who cannot shake their addiction to overly generous social programs. As Blankley warns, the sustainability of these programs is going to depend on immigration, and given birthrates, it is countries whose commitment to Western ideals of tolerance, equality and freedom are dubious who are going to be providing the workers of the future to help fund the welfare state. Blankley does not suggest that immigration from North Africa or the Middle East needs to be cut off, but what he does argue is that we have to be aware of the possibility that a some of those who will arrive within the West in the next few decades may be coming with evil intentions. His overriding question is this: are we ready to declare war unequivocally on radical Islamist terrorism to ensure that the potential for harm is reduced as much as possible?

In looking at the United States, Blankley sees a stronger commitment to security, but notes that the post 9/11 sense of mission that united the entire country has been replaced by a sense of complacency and skepticism. He doesn't defend President Bush's foray into Iraq, nor does he engage in gratuitous bashing of the left (in fact, Presidential candidate Mark Warner (D-VA) narrates the audio version of this book). Instead, he looks back to World War II and laments the fact that the Churchillian and Rooseveltian purpose which guided the West against Hitler is nowhere to be found. That is what he asks for; not a Judeo-Christian West which will defeat Islam through a war of attrition, but a clear statement of the issue and a readiness to tackle it head on by declaring it what it is, which is a war against those who would hurt us due to their hatred of our culture, traditions and way of life.

Blankley says that the only way that we'll defeat terror in the long run is by standing tall and defending what has made European and North American civilization great rather than wringing our hands as we recite boilerplate multiculturalist platitudes and hope that the terrorists will like us better because, well, we're really, really trying. The recent Denmark cartoon controversy is exactly what he's talking about. I won't get into that here, but it illustrates his point. Should individuals be expected to disagree democratically and peacefully, or should we just say nothing when they resort to violence, intimidation and thuggery? Blankley says if we choose the latter, we're doomed.

Stylistically, Blankley is an excellent writer. Realistic without being paranoid or alarmist, he also has an excellent sense of history, putting it to use by drawing comparisons and pointing to examples without alienating readers who may not know their pre-WW II inside and out. This book would be particularly valuable for the uninitiated reader - those who know that there's trouble in the world but don't know how to place it into context. And, as I said above, he's no nativist.

A very satisfying and eye-opening read, even to a guy like me who has devoured everything he can get his hands on concerning this stuff. I recommend.

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Tuesday afternoon update

- Signs of the coming apocalypse: John McCallum is thinking of running for Liberal leader.

- Following up on a point I made yesterday, shouldn't what's good for the goose be good for the gander?

- Noam Chomsky, fraud. By Peter Schweizer in today's National Post:

One of the most persistent themes in Noam Chomsky's work has been class warfare. The iconic MIT linguist and left-wing activist frequently has lashed out against the "massive use of tax havens to shift the burden to the general population and away from the rich," and criticized the concentration of wealth in "trusts" by the wealthiest 1%. He says the U.S. tax code is rigged with "complicated devices for ensuring that the poor -- like 80% of the population -- pay off the rich."

But trusts can't be all bad. After all, Chomsky, with a net worth north of US$2-million, decided to create one for himself. A few years back he went to Boston's venerable white-shoe law firm, Palmer and Dodge, and, with the help of a tax attorney specializing in "income-tax planning," set up an irrevocable trust to protect his assets from Uncle Sam. He named his tax attorney (every socialist radical needs one!) and a daughter as trustees. To the Diane Chomsky Irrevocable Trust (named for another daughter) he has assigned the copyright of several of his books, including multiple international editions.

Chomsky favours massive income redistribution -- just not the redistribution of his income. No reason to let radical politics get in the way of sound estate planning.

When I challenged Chomsky about his trust, he suddenly started to sound very bourgeois: "I don't apologize for putting aside money for my children and grandchildren," he wrote in one e-mail. Chomsky offered no explanation for why he condemns others who are equally proud of their provision for their children and who try to protect their assets from Uncle Sam. (However, Chomsky did say that his tax shelter is OK because he and his family are "trying to help suffering people.")

Indeed, Chomsky is rich precisely because he has been such an enormously successful capitalist. Despite his anti-profit rhetoric, like any other corporate capitalist Chomsky has turned himself into a brand name. As John Lloyd recently put it in the lefty New Statesman, Chomsky is among those "open to being "commodified" --that is, to being simply one of the many wares of a capitalist media market place, in a way that the badly paid and overworked writers and journalists for the revolutionary parties could rarely be."

Chomsky's business works something like this. He gives speeches on college campuses around the country at US$12,000 a pop, often dozens of times a year.

Can't go and hear him in person? No problem: You can go online and download clips from earlier speeches -- for a fee. You can hear Chomsky talk for one minute about "Property Rights"; it will cost you US79 cents. You can also buy a CD with clips from previous speeches for US$12.99.

But books are Chomsky's mainstay, and on the international market he has become a publishing phenomenon. The Chomsky brand means instant sales. As publicist Dana O'Hare of Pluto Press explains: "All we have to do is put Chomsky's name on a book and it sells out immediately!"

Putting his name on a book should not be confused with writing a book because his most recent volumes are mainly transcriptions of speeches, or interviews that he has conducted over the years, put between covers and sold to the general public. You might call it multi-level marketing for radicals. Chomsky has admitted as much: "If you look at the things I write -- articles for Z Magazine, or books for South End Press, or whatever -- they are mostly based on talks and meetings and that kind of thing. But I'm kind of a parasite. I mean, I'm living off the activism of others. I'm happy to do it."

Chomsky's marketing efforts shortly after Sept. 11 give new meaning to the term "war profiteer." In the days after the tragedy, he raised his speaking fee from US$9,000 to US$12,000 because he was suddenly in greater demand. He also cashed in by producing another instant book. Seven Stories Press, a small publisher, pulled together interviews conducted via e-mail that Chomsky gave in the three weeks following the attack on the Twin Towers and rushed the book to press. His controversial views were hot, particularly overseas. By early December 2001, the publisher had sold the foreign rights in 19 different languages. The book made the best-seller list in the United States, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Japan and New Zealand. It is safe to assume that he netted hundreds of thousands of dollars from this book alone.

Over the years, Chomsky has been particularly critical of private property rights, which he considers simply a tool of the rich, of no benefit to ordinary people. "When property rights are granted to power and privilege, it can be expected to be harmful to most," Chomsky wrote on a discussion board for the Washington Post. Intellectual property rights are equally despicable, apparently. According to Chomsky, for example, drug companies who have spent hundreds of millions of dollars developing drugs shouldn't have ownership rights to patents. Intellectual property rights, he argues, "have to do with protectionism."

Protectionism is a bad thing -- especially when it relates to other people.

But when it comes to Chomsky's own published work, this advocate of open intellectual property suddenly becomes very selfish. It would not be advisable to download the audio from one of his speeches without paying the fee, warns his record company, Alternative Tentacles. (Did Andrei Sakharov have a licensing agreement with a record company?) And when it comes to his articles, you'd better keep your hands off. Go to the official Noam Chomsky Web site (www.chomsky.info) and the warning is clear: "Material on this site is copyrighted by Noam Chomsky and/or Noam Chomsky and his collaborators. No material on this site may be reprinted or posted on other web sites without written permission." (However, the Web site does give you the opportunity to "sublicense" the material if you are interested.)

Radicals used to think of their ideas as weapons; Chomsky sees them as a licensing opportunity.

Chomsky has even gone the extra mile to protect the copyright to some of his material by transferring ownership to his children. Profits from those works will thus be taxed at his children's lower rate. He also thereby extends the length of time that the family is able to hold onto the copyright and protect his intellectual assets.

In October, 2002, radicals gathered in Philadelphia for a benefit entitled "Noam Chomsky: Media and Democracy." Sponsored by the Greater Philadelphia Democratic Left, for a fee of US$15 you could attend the speech and hear the great man ruminate on the evils of capitalism. For another US$35, you could attend a post-talk reception and he would speak directly with you.

During the speech, Chomsky told the assembled crowd, "A democracy requires a free, independent, and inquiring media." After the speech, Deborah Bolling, a writer for the lefty Philadelphia City Paper, tried to get an interview with Chomsky. She was turned away. To talk to Chomsky, she was told, this "free, independent, and inquiring" reporter needed to pay US$35 to get into the private reception.

Corporate America is one of Chomsky's demons. It's hard to find anything positive he might say about American business. He paints an ominous vision of America suffering under the "unaccountable and deadly rule of corporations." He has called corporations "private tyrannies" and declared that they are "just as totalitarian as Bolshevism and fascism." Capitalism, in his words, is a "grotesque catastrophe."

But a funny thing happened on the way to the retirement portfolio.

Chomsky, for all of his moral dudgeon against American corporations, finds that they make a pretty good investment. When he made investment decisions for his retirement plan at MIT, he chose not to go with a money market fund or even a government bond fund. Instead, he threw the money into blue chips and invested in the TIAA-CREF stock fund. A look at the stock fund portfolio quickly reveals that it invests in all sorts of businesses that Chomsky says he finds abhorrent: oil companies, military contractors, pharmaceuticals, you name it.

When I asked Chomsky about his investment portfolio, he reverted to a "what else can I do?" defence: "Should I live in a cabin in Montana?" he asked. It was a clever rhetorical dodge. Chomsky was declaring that there is simply no way to avoid getting involved in the stock market short of complete withdrawal from the capitalist system. He certainly knows better. There are many alternative funds these days that allow you to invest your money in "green" or "socially responsible" enterprises.

They just don't yield the maximum available return.

INFO: Peter Schweizer is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution. This essay is adapted from his new book Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy.

Tuesday morning digest

- According to this author, everything that's wrong with the White House these days can be chalked up to one thing: it's too manly.

No doubt the author prefers the previous administration, which was led by a President who abused his power, trust and honour by shoving a cigar up an intern less than half his age and who was barely out of her teenage years. I suppose this demonstrated a softer, cuddlier, and "in touch with one's feminine side" approach.

- Despite the undeniable fact that socialism makes people worse, I have to hand it to Canada's socialist party, the NDP. They are going to introduce a law banning floor-crossing a la David Emerson, Belinda Stronach and Scott Brison when Parliament resumes. Good idea. Floor crossing only increases cynicism in the political process at a time when Canada cannot afford it.

- An Afghani man faces the death penalty for converting to Christianity from Islam 16 years ago. Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai needs to intervene, pronto, or else the credibility of the entire regime change exercise in in that country will be less than zero. Speaking of Afghanistan, see here for a nice reality check.

- This is a HUGE issue in the US that no one seems to have the political will to really tackle (despite Bush's efforts, which he had to abandon). How much better are we doing in Canada, as the baby boomers move into retirement age and will want to see a return on their Canada Pension Plan contributions, not to mention increased health care costs? This is all the more troubling when you consider that the Liberals and Conservatives alike want to expand the welfare state by involving the government in the provision of pre-school age day care. (To all the Tory kool-aid drinkers, don't forget, the $1200 a year payment was promised alongside more money for the creation of day care spots.)

Question: Just who the hell is going to pay for all of this?

- Speaking of state-run babysitting, see this. I'm telling you, once this genie is out of the bottle, there's no getting it back in.

Monday morning digest

- First up, congratulations to the Carleton Ravens men's basketball team for winning their fourth consecutive national title yesterday.

- Ottawa's panhandlers are trying to form a union. This is downtown socialism at its best (or worst, if you like). Who would actually sit down to collectively bargain with them? (Actually, with Alex Munter being the front runner in the mayoral race so far, that's not hard to answer.) What would a panhandler work-to-rule campaign look like? "We are only going to take up space and harass and intimidate passersby between the hours of 9 and 5"? Ridiculous.

- It was great to see Liberal Foreign Affairs critic Stephane Dion COMPLETELY wipe the floor with NDP critic Alexa McDonough on the issue of Afghanistan on CTV's Question Period this past weekend. He was unapologetic about Canada's troops being there, he was unequivocal about Canada's responsibilities, and finally, he played the gender card on McDonough perfectly (as in, "surely for the sake of Afghani women we should be there, Alexa?") It was also nice to see Dion totally contradict former Dipper and Liberal defence critic Ujjal Dosanjh's wishy-washy position on the troops being there. I have always liked Dion. I don't know what his economics are but he is a staunch federalist and is also obviously a hawk on security, which is good. Perhaps he'd make a strong Liberal leader.

- This writer makes an excellent point: if Saddam Hussein was removed in 1999 immediately after the UN was kicked out of Iraq, it wouldn't be nearly as difficult to actually do something about Iran's rush to acquire nukes. I totally agree. Getting rid of Hussein should have been done long ago and with even more firepower. Now, because of strategic mistakes, the US and its allies have their hands tied when it comes to taking pre-emptove action against any other threat, in effect, leaving the West neutered.

- One week from today, Israel goes to the polls. Here's a great piece which discusses the prospects for each of the leaders of the major parties. I myself am rooting for Netanyahu, but I expect that Ehud Olmert's Kadima will win the highest number of seats.

- It has always struck me as unfair that when a man gets a woman pregnant, he has no choice in the future of the pregnancy even if he wants the kid because it is seen as the mother's decision alone. However, if and when the mother decides she wants to deliver the baby, even if he doesn't want to be a father, he'll be on the hook for child support for life.

Here, Cathy Young of the Boston Globe takes a good look at this issue. I've known a few guys who were trapped into continuing relationships that they wanted to end with women because - guess what? - the woman got pregnant. (In one case, the woman kept it a secret from him till after the first trimester.) I don't think it's fair that women hold 100% of the legal cards when it comes to determining the future of a pregnancy.

- Speaking of kids, I've been blogging a lot lately about day care. One thing I've noticed is that a lot of people who are bitching about the high cost of having someone look after your kid are not suffering too much in other areas - two-storey houses, new and bigger cars, and Italian furniture, for example. This article makes some good points about how our generation just doesn't seem to know how to prioritize financially with the end result being that we don't know how to make tough choices and live with 'em.

Sunday morning digest

- Good luck to the Carleton Ravens today as they go for a fourth straight national men's basketball title.

- Hilarity at the Queen of All Media's expense, here and here. Read it with your morning coffee and it will start your day out right, I guarantee.

- What's this?

NEWLY released documents seized in Iraq immediately after the American invasion in 2003 point to the presence of Al-Qaeda members in the country before the war and moves to hide traces of “chemical or biological materials” from United Nations weapons inspectors.

The documents were posted on the internet as part of a rolling programme by the US government to make public the contents of 48,000 boxes of untranslated papers and tapes relating to the workings of Saddam Hussein’s regime. Saddam is said to have routinely taped talks with cabinet members and intelligence chiefs.

John Negroponte, the director of national intelligence, was ordered by President George W Bush to release the material. Hundreds of thousands of previously unseen documents and hundreds of hours of tapes will be placed on the web in the coming weeks.

The first documents to be released offer tantalising clues to possible Iraqi contacts with Al-Qaeda. An Iraqi intelligence report dated September 15, 2001 — four days after the attacks on America — says Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban were in contact with Iraq and Al-Qaeda members had visited the country.

It claims America had proof that the Iraqi government and “Bin Laden’s group” had agreed to co-operate to attack targets in America and that the US might strike Iraq and Afghanistan in retaliation.

Smoking gun or not, as the Wall St. Journal says,

This information may well shed light on whether Saddam planned the insurgency that we and the Iraqis are now fighting, or whether he canoodled with Islamist terrorists, as some of the documents already translated suggest. We are learning from the new book on Iraq by Michael Gordon and Bernard Trainor that many of Saddam's own generals believed he had weapons of mass destruction and was prepared to use them. So much for the allegation that "Bush lied" about WMD; Saddam lied to everyone.

All of these issues are highly relevant to the ongoing debate over how the U.S. is fighting both in Iraq and in the larger war on terror, and where we should go from here. The Iraq War is a long way from being over, and anything we can know about the accuracy of our judgments before and during the fight is well worth trying to uncover and understand.

- I just can't seem to consider the Globe and Mail as an authoritative news source. Here's why. They seem to have a very static definition of who really matters in Canada, and apparently it includes chiefs-of-staff to underwhelming ex-pols.

- This is going to be great.

Book Review: "Women Who Make the World Worse" by Kate O'Beirne (2006)

Lawyer and journalist Kate O'Beirne tears down all of the sacred cows, gender-bending theories, phony statistics, and articles of faith around the issues of equal pay for work of equal value, abortion, day care, education and sports as pushed by activists such as Bella Abzug, Gloria Steinem and Pat Schroeder.

It's a quick read which I think could have functioned quite well as a series of articles rather than a book. O'Beirne's goal here is not to advocate a return to the Ward and June Cleaver days but basically to point out the flaws in logic and tactical excesses of the radical feminist movement. Not intellectually stimulating and more a polemic than a researched academic study (see Christina Hoff Summers' "Who Stole Feminism?" for that), O'Beirne nevertheless provides a few head-shaking moments as she goes through the various attempts made over the years to pussify America's male population. I won't recount them all here, but one point that she does make which is exemplary of her line of argument throughout concerns the number of firefighters on 9/11 who were hired due to gender quotas or had to face a special and lighter standard for physical fitness because of their sex.

Answer: none.

Good thing for those who escaped mass murder on that day thanks to their heroic efforts that the FDNY is one public sector organization that doesn't try to paper over the inherent differences of the sexes, no?

Overall rating: 7/10

Allmaple

I'd like to congratulate Eric Vardon, co-owner of Allmaple Apparel, for getting his unique brand of Canucklehead swag into the goodie bag at this year's Juno Awards. Eric is a good buddy of my brother's who I have gotten to know a little bit over the last couple of years. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of something big. (I still haven't worn my "Tabernac!" shirt around my in-laws, but one day I will.)

Saturday morning digest

- Last night, I received a cheque for some back pay which I was owed by my employer. Much to my chagrin, I was taxed at a rate of 53%. This article makes a clear case against the economic myths that have given rise to punitive taxation schemes and excessive redistributionism.

- In France right now, young adults are rioting against the deregulation of the labour market. It's in the interests of new workers to allow employers more freedoms to hire and fire because it will reduce to risk of being saddled with a costly, unproductive, lackadaisical employee that they can't get rid of. No wonder youth unemployment rates across the EU are so astronomical.

- WFB says it's time for other countries to step up to the plate on Iran, here.

- Satire from Blame Bush!:

Leaked Videos Shatter Bush’s Clever Façade of Bumbling Incompetence

They called me an idiot. They said I was crazy. They filed a restraining order prohibiting me from coming within 500 feet of them. But now my right-wing grandparents are eating some serious geriatric crow, for recently obtained videos prove once and for all that Bush not only knew about the existence of Hurricane Katrina days in advance, but personally steered the storm into New Orleans to kill as many poor, inner-city Blacks as possible.

Up until now, the Shrub has maintained a false façade of bumbling incompetence as an obvious insurance policy against future indictments. In these leaked videos, however, members of Bush’s administration can be seen orchestrating every minute detail of the deadly hurricane; plotting its size, the path it would take, the amount of rain that would fall, and even the speed of the winds.

“The strong winds, the heavy rains, and the tornadoes will spread well inland, along this path that you see here,” Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center, assures the dark, smoke-filled room. "We've got it going about, you know, 10 knots, about 12 miles per hour. Once it makes that turn to the northeast, it's going to start accelerating. But right now, we're talking about the center, you know, the actual center being on the coast tomorrow morning. I mean, the storm force winds are going to be there, you know, later this afternoon and this evening.”

You can almost hear the giddy elation in his voice as he promises the "greatest potential for large loss of life" in the "coastal areas", typically Democratic strongholds. The videos are shockingly candid, and at times it seems as if the participants are completely unaware that their twisted plans are being recorded.

“We expect considerable precipitation with Katrina over the next 48 hours,” adds NHC Consigliere, Jim Hook with a satisfied puff of his cigar. “Fortunately, the storm is expected to move quickly once it makes landfall and move up through the central part of the United States.”

This seems to totally contradict Bush’s steadfast assertion that the hurricane was an uncontrollable force of nature. After the guffaws and high-fives die down, the Don himself appears live via satellite from his Crawford hacienda, lounging in a hammock and sipping on a margarita.

“I want to thank everybody involved in this effort,” Bush says with a wink, speaking calm confidence of a man whose insidious plans are finally coming to fruition. “I appreciate the long hours you're keeping. I expect you to keep more long hours until we've done everything we can in our power to [turn New Orleans into a cannibalistic orgy of blood and violence].”

A President Clinton or a President Gore would be engaged with the members of their disaster response team. President Kerry would still be in that room today. Yet Bush leaves quickly - almost too quickly - allowing his henchmen to continue their diabolical scheming unhindered, never bothering to ask them a single question. Why should he? Everything is going off exactly as he had planned.

No need to horrify you with the rest of the details. Suffice it to say that the small, soundbite-sized chunks of information the media has been spoon-feeding you are even more insidious than the truth, and Bush's guilt is obvious to anyone who hasn't read the transcripts in their entirety. None of it would have been made public had it not been for the testimony of ex-FEMA chief Micheal Brown, either. Thank Goddess he isn’t defending Bush as strongly as Bush defended him. I’m sure we’ll all be watching his transformation from Satan Incarnate to Heroic Whistleblower of Truth with hushed anticipation.

Friday afternoon update

- No doubt there are some people who think that this is preferable to being considered a staunch ally of the United States.

- After two years of looking for an MD, a Barrie, Ontario woman has been denied service from a new doctor in the area because at 59, she's considered too old. Just another example of the good old centrally planned state-run medicare system at work.

Now, if she was a consumer with the right to choose her own health care provider, she wouldn't have been waiting two years, much less face the indignity of being rejected for care. This is what happens when the supplier and purchaser of medicare are one and the same - the government. And who suffers? The patient who is sometimes left with no care at all, like this poor woman!

And now for some less weighty fare ...

- According to a poll, Angelina Jolie is the biggest fantasy for lesbians.

- For those of you who care, here's a lengthy interview with Van Halen vocalist Michael Anthony, he of the most irritating background vocals in all of rock history.

- Happy St. Patrick's Day. Even though I have Irish blood in me on my mom's side (but 100% unhyphenated Canadian, baby), if there's one thing I hate it's Celtic music. Nevertheless, I'll be using it as an excuse to go down a pint after work. Cheers!

Choice in Childcare

A woman from Kemptville, Ontario by the name of Sara has organized a grassroots campaign to bring the attention of the powers-that-be to the needs of stay at home moms.

See here.

I think parenting is the most important job a person can have, and it's important to recognize that the one-size-fits-all bureaucracy of insitutionalized, unionized, government-run babysitting which operates only from the hours of 8 to 4 or 9 to 5 or whatever does not work for everyone.

I also really admire the efforts of one citizen to take action to raise awareness of an issue that she thinks is important in the face of establishment apathy, or antipathy, as the case may be. This is the political process at its best.

I think Sara deserves our admiration.

Friday morning digest

- Libertarian David Boaz gives the Left some good tips on how to turn Bush's base against him. We all know they're too myopic and short-sighted to actually follow his advice, though, because it would mean acting like something other than a pack of rabies-infected, frothing junkyard dogs at the mere mention of the man's name.

- If we're not discriminating marriage rights based on gender, why should we discriminate based on number?

- It's really easy to pick on the teachers' unions, this author suggests that perhaps it's also the parents' fault. It really does start in the home.

- Anyone who attempts to have a serious discussion on social policy should read Charles Murray's classic 1984 study titled "Losing Ground". Now, Murray is back with another work which discusses the corrosive effect that overly generous entitlement programs have on individuals, families and communities. An excerpt from Tony Snow:

Murray wants to abolish every major federal program concerned with health care, food, housing, education, jobs, job training, energy assistance, social services, retirement, unemployment insurance and income security. In their stead, he would give every American citizen over the age of 21 $10,000 per year from Uncle Sam, to be deposited directly into the person's bank account, with the stipulation that $3,000 of that sum must go directly into a retirement account.

Murray crunches the numbers to ensure his idea wouldn't break the bank. More importantly, he poses questions nobody asks anymore. In the words of the Baltimore Catechism, "What is the end of man?" What ought we to do with this gift of life? How can we best build a society congenial to virtue and conducive to happiness? How can government be a help -- or at least, not a hindrance?

In recent years, Americans have embraced the belief that government can make us happier and more comfortable. Thus, whenever somebody suggests so much as tinkering with the ever-expanding lattice of federal programs and initiatives, critics howl about "cruelty" and "insensitivity."

Murray turns this on its head, noting that our Bureaucracy of Compassion has become a Ministry of Misery. He defines happiness not as comfortable lucre, but as "lasting and justified satisfaction with one's life as a whole." You can't experience happiness, he argues, if you don't have deep and affectionate relations with others, activities that give your life meaning and enough power over your fate to enable you to say at the end of your days, "I did well."

The welfare system actively prevents our pursuit of happiness. It discourages enterprise, innovation, risk, work, marriage, and personal responsibility for procuring medical care, caring for loved ones and saving for the future. It outsources compassion and criminalizes common sense.

Murray's idea would demolish this system. Gone would be the perverse incentives built into the present system. Gone would be the rules and regulations that stand in the way of everything from marriage to charity. Gone would be excuses not to do the things necessary to produce the kind of great and vibrant society that caused de Toqueville and other observers of early America to gape with awe.

Liberated from the dominion of federal help, we could take a more active role in helping ourselves, cooperating with others and feeling good not only about our earnings statements, but the society in which we live.

Bureaucracy is a lumbering, unsubtle thing -- more suited to issuing orders than considering the special concerns of hundreds of millions of individuals. Bureaucracy does not beget compassion. It demands conformity.

Murray is right. The welfare state is both a snare and a delusion -- and an active obstacle to the American dream. A compassionate conservative would suggest what Murray urges: Don't fix the system. Tear it down -- and set free the ember of greatness that smolders in every free heart. Or, as our grandparents used to say, "If you want something done right, do it yourself."

Dithers is as Dithers does

"The fact of the matter is, and I've been clear on this from the very beginning, that I intend to step down as Liberal leader ... ahhh ... umm ... sometime, and that time is, well, as you know, err ... now."

Thursday afternoon update #2

- Read this and tell me if you honestly think that state-run baby farms (day care) is still a good idea.

- Along the same lines, this article provides some food for thought:

It’s said that ideas have consequences. Well, bad ideas have bad consequences. And this is as true when the bad ideas pertain to “personal choices” and “private behavior” as anywhere else.

When America catches a cold, goes the old saw, black America gets pneumonia. That certainly applies to the virus of the Sexual Revolution. As the numbers on page 24 indicate, blacks bought into the casual sex crusade with even fewer reservations than whites. From adultery, to teenage experience, to premarital sexuality, to homosexual relations, to the number of lifetime partners, black Americans are roughly twice as likely as whites to wander from traditional sexual norms. And this has hurt them badly.

Today, only 39 percent of black children are growing up in two-parent families. One hundred years ago, despite economic and political privation, twice as many black families were intact. Those are the wages of sexual liberation. The secondary effects include a welfare explosion, crime, wrecked cities and public schools, violence and abuse, and endless human misery. Most of the victims are innocent third parties who don’t see the fun in a casual approach to sexuality.

Remember this the next time you hear arguments about the privacy of sexual choices.

Thursday afternoon update

- VDH is bang on about the ports controversy, but that being said, this guy, while unpolished, makes some good points about the lack of trust and the suspicion that a lot of folks cast on Muslims in North America.
- Why won't anyone give Clare Hoy a regular column?

- Don't count him out just yet.

- This is amazing. I would love to see a race.

- A minor fuss is being made about this book, but I find this phenomenon a lot more interesting both politically, culturally and intellectually. I wonder what the NYT thinks, now that they have a "conservative" beat (from Fox via Sham The Tory Man):

Conservative Beat Successful

The New York Times has provided readers with new insights and perspectives since launching its conservative beat two years ago, according to the Times' public editor Byron Calame.

Calame says coverage of the conservative movement has spawned a greater awareness across the newsroom and among readers, quoting the paper's national editor, Suzanne Daley, as saying it's created a kind of awakening that's contagious among the staff. So why not create a liberal beat as well? Calame says that decision, "reflected the reality that The Times's coverage of liberals had no gaps similar to those in its reporting on the conservative movement."

- Finally, some excellent career advice from GE's Jack Welch. My favourites are execution and passion. There is nothing better than knowing that you are getting up in the morning to improve your little corner of the world through the work that you do, and then actually getting it done and done well.

Thursday morning digest

- About 12 people staged a "die-in" yesterday to protest Colin Powell's speaking engagement in Toronto. Don't these folks have jobs?!? (H/T: Daifallah.)

- Irshad Manji is a great and courageous woman.

- A few thoughts on the difference, here.

- Here's a very thoughtful article on the damage caused by the soft bigotry of low expectations.

- Finally, if you still don't think that Canada has a role in Afghanistan after reading this ... well ... it's probably best to just leave that one be.

Dutch issue tolerance test to would-be citizens

See here. The country of Theo van Gogh has decided that those aspiring to emigrate to the Netherlands have to be exposed to the more liberal elements of its society via videoprior to applying for entry, including photos of topless women and gay men kissing.

(What I would like to see is footage of an Osama-look alike chilling with a big fatty and downing a four-oh as he exits an Amsterdam brothel, but that's just me.)

Upon seeing the headline, I thought this was a pretty silly idea. However, upon further consideration, I think it may be worth something. If Canada was to create a video discussing religious tolerance, equality of men and women, and solving our problems through democratic discourse rather than through violence, that wouldn't be altogether too bad, would it?

When in Rome, baby.

Wednesday afternoon update

- Great column here on George Clooney. He is a little more thoughtful than your average Hollywood do-gooder, that's for sure. And "Three Kings" was great.

- This won't matter because the "Bush Lied, Thousands Died" crowd will remain convinced that the White House will have doctored all the Iraqi documents before releasing them.

- Why does the recent South Dakota ban on abortion remain so controversial? There are many thousands of loving parents that would love to have a child but can't. Just ask the Massachussetts government. (Then again, I'm just a guy, so right do I have to comment on affairs relating to childbirth? None, I suppose, unless it comes to forking over the cash - whether the fella wants the baby or not.)

Album Review: "Super Colossal" by Joe Satriani (2006)

Picked this baby, the latest release from one of rock's most creative guitarists, up at The Turning Point yesterday, which happens to be Ottawa's best used CD store by a longshot.

I've given it a few spins so far, and I just can't get my head around it, and I mean that in a good way. Every song is different, not only from each other but also from Satch's previous works. It's experimental and melodic at the same time while not being overly commercial like "The Extremist" and still retaining that signature Satriani sound. It's a good sign for fans that he has not lost his creative edge as he approaches 50. Of the six Satriani albums I own, I'd put this one right behind "Strange Beautiful Music". I'm sure it will only grow on me with time.

Fans of the man will love this disc, and probably give it a 9/10. Others will probably rate it at about a 7/10. For the unitiated who are looking for something different, you should give this a go. You'll have no doubt that Rolling Stone is a total joke after hearing Joe Satriani's work (there's no way that any of RS' top 20 axemeisters Kurt Cobain, Johnny Ramone and Jack White can hold a candle to the man) and it will expand your musical horizons.

Bonus for a pretty cool album cover.

Wednesday morning digest

- Today is the fourth annual International Eat an Animal for PETA Day. I'm going to celebrate by ripping into a ham sandwich for lunch and following that up with some leftover Hamburger Helper when I get home. Here's to ya, PETA. (H/T: Daimnation.)

- The Tamil Tigers should have been criminalized long ago.

- Two looks at Russ Feingold's attempt to punish President Bush for using the full power of the government he leads to stop another 9/11, here and here. And as the Wall St. Journal points out, it's increasingly clear that "anti-Bush pathology runs so deep among many Democrats that they really do think they're living in some new dictatorship."

- It's time to stop making excuses for all religiously-motivated violence.

- Birds of a feather will shit together.

- This type of thinking leads to this kind of unfortunate behaviour. I feel very sorry for this little girl because the adults in her life are clearly unfit as role models.

- Three looks at Iraq before , during and after the invasion. Dissenting view here.

- Wrestlemania is fast approaching and for the first time in a long time, I could care less. One thing that does interest me, though, is the ongoing debate over why Vince McMahon allegedly hates Macho Man Randy Savage and will never induct him into the WWE Hall of Fame, which happens annually on the Wrestlemania weekend. One school of thought contends it is because Savage reportedly nailed a teenage Stephanie McMahon back in the mid-90s. True or not, to that I say "oooooh yeah, dig it!"

Gold

The best quotes from Larry Elder's "The Ten Things You Can't Say in America", here.

Bonus: "A couple of years back, I began some generalization or other by saying, "The difference between America and Canada is . . ." And the American I was imparting this insight to interrupted me with: "The difference between America and Canada is that Americans don't care what the difference between America and Canada is." -- Mark Steyn

(H/T: Right Wing News)

It's here

Gentlemen, it's finally here. Steak and a BJ Day. For those of you who live in the Mountain and Pacific timezones, it's not too late. Ladies, this will pay itself back in spades. Trust me.

Happy Steak and a BJ Day to Hammerhead Nation.

Interesting news from the rock world

- Alice in Chains are back and are playing a few club dates around the US this spring with a number of guest vocalists. I don't see how they could possibly replicate the unique and tortured sound of Layne Staley, and I think that some things are just better left alone. AiC was one of the few grunge-era bands worth remembering, in my opinion. If they want to carry on, at least change the name of the band. And please, for the love of God, retain your dignity and do NOT sign on to do the second edition of CBS' Rock Star this summer.

- An envious Axl Rose is trying to stir up shit between the members of Velvet Revolver. I don't believe Slash would badmouth anybody, much less Duff and Weiland. Axl should just pack it in and come to grips with the fact that he singlehandedly ruined the next Stones/Aerosmith instead of trying to pit his (successful) former bandmates against each other. (On a side note, I hear VR is going to release a DVD of their last tour, which was one of the most pleasant live surprises I've ever seen. They also played AiC's classic "Dirt" in it's entirety prior to taking the stage. Great stuff.)

- I predict that the New Cars/Blondie tour will be the biggest money loser of the year. How can anybody call themselves the Cars minus Ric Ocasek and Ben Orr? What a farce. And who the hell is Todd Rundgren, anyway? Really.

Tuesday digest

- A nursery school in England has changed "baa, baa black sheep" to "baa, baa rainbow sheep". See here. No doubt these kids will grow up to be more tolerant than the rest of us who were exposed to the narrow-minded version of the rhyme. Still waiting to see if they are planning to change the line "yes, sir, yes, sir, three bags full" to something more inclusive. (H/T: Fred.)

- Dennis Prager continues his interesting discussion of the Jewish faith.

- Does anyone else find it impossible to take seriously the thought of a Bob Rae candidacy for the Liberal leadership?

- Finally, farewell to the host of one of the most underrated game shows of all time, here.

Our disgraceful national public broadcaster

Tonight while channel surfing, I noticed a few things that pretty much sum up everything that's wrong with the CBC.

On the main network was a puff profile of former NDP leader Tommy Douglas, which continued from Sunday night. I didn't watch either evening but apparently it doesn't mention the fact that in Douglas' MA thesis he advocated the jailing of homosexuals as well as his views that Aboriginals and adulterers should be banned from procreating. I'm sure the biography was also light on criticizing the mixing of church and state by Baptist minister Douglas - he's a New Democrat, so it's OK - and the organized campaign, including a call to arms on the NDP website, to stuff of the ballot box by Dipper activists in 2004's "Greatest Canadian" contest.

On Newsworld, we had George Strombolopolous, titan of public policy and "Make Poverty History" bracelet-wearer (and also, a fella who is closer to 40 than 20, but you'd never know it with all of his piercings) interviewing Noam Chomsky, whose associations with and defense of Holocaust deniers and other ne'er do wells is well-documented (see here and here.)

Oh, and did I mention that Georgie was Douglas' advocate during the Greatest Canadian voting?

Now these are just two examples of the CBC's sympathy for left-wing heroes, and what's wrong with that, you may ask? Nothing, in and of itself, but the issue is that people like me have to pay for it. If there's such a market for this type of commentary, shouldn't people be willing to pay for it out of their own pockets to support and promote it? Adding insult to this is how at 9 PM on CBC's "The National", Patrick Brown, the network's correspondent in Afghanistan, downplayed the PM's historic visit to the troops and dismissed the overwhelmingly positive reaction of the soldiers by saying that "oh, they're all just macho and acted as if they would have rather been out fighting than hanging with a civilian". A civilian? This is our PM we're talking about, not the guy in front of you in line at the concession stand as you blow your kids' day care cash on beer and popcorn at the local Junior A rink.

I'm pretty sure that even if Brown doesn't recognize that, our soldiers do.

In any case, I think the overt editorializing that permeates CBC programming is lamentable. How about instead of debating the worthiness of getting rid of the Taliban, we have a House of Commons debate on making the CBC face some competitive pressures to be held more accountable for the politically-charged left-wing propaganda that they peddle as Canadian storytelling while forcing us all to support it through the state apparatus?