Sobering Thoughts |
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Comments on politics, the culture, economics, and sports by Paul Tuns.
I am editor-in-chief of "The Interim," Canada's life and family newspaper, and author of "Jean Chretien: A Legacy of Scandal" (2004) and "The Dauphin: The Truth about Justin Trudeau" (2015).
I am some combination of conservative/libertarian, standing athwart history yelling "bullshit!"
You can follow me on Twitter (@ptuns).
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Monday, May 31, 2004
P.J. O'Rourke on the US abandoning the world The Left and nutty Right call it disengagement, not abandonment, but that's fine. The picture O'Rourke paints is an ironic one and thus fails; it's intended audience has no sense of humour, no sense of irony and thus will miss his point. Kinsella prediction for Mills v. Layton Dennis Mills is the outspoken MP for Toronto Danforth in east of downtown Toronto. Jack Layton is the NDP leader and loudmouth socialist trying to unseat him. Mills has indicated he is pro-life and pro-traditional marriage, two positions anathema to erstwhile Liberal strategist Warren Kinsella who nonetheless is campaigning for/with him. Kinsella says Mills is awesome at street-level politics but more importantly that Layton is a "nutbar" and thus makes a prediction: "On that basis alone, I'd say Dennis is going to kick Jack's ass." My comments on the Canadian election campaign thus far Over at The Shotgun. Lots of other campaign commentary, too. My explanation of why the Conservatives will win a minority government (at least) will have to wait another day or so. But stay tuned. I'll be back with regular blogging all this week (except Wednesday). Sunday, May 30, 2004
Martin promises to resign if he doesn't keep his campaign promises CBC (and others, I'm sure) have the story. But having broken the initial promise, what will keep him from breaking his pledge to resign. Saturday, May 29, 2004
Old Tories are new Tories I was among those who doubted that many of the old Progressive Conservatives would vote for the Conservative Party this time around; I thought most would vote Liberal and a sizeable chunk would stay at home. It appears that I am wrong. The Toronto Star reports that according to an EKOS poll, more than 70% of old PCs will vote for the CPC. However, one in five people who voted for the Tories in 2000 plan to vote Liberal this time. That's still a lot -- especially considering Adscam and all -- but much less than the 50% some people (such as myself) were predicting. Thursday, May 27, 2004
The "w" word On the weekend I was going through all the information I had, riding by riding, including, in some cases, local polling results. Then my computer began misbehaving Sunday night and since then I have been cut off from the e-world. My gut still says the Liberals just miss a majority but the careful and thoughtful analysis shows something quite different. I don't have the exact numbers but here is a prediction that looks less bold today than it would have Sunday: Conservatives win a minority government. I don't have my exact calculations but something in the vicinity of the high 130s, Liberals about a dozen behind, the Bloc 58, the NDP around 20 and one or two independents (both in Saskatchewan -- Jim Pankiw, who is polling what his opposition is combined, and perhaps Grant Devine or Larry Spencer). Why: the Liberals are reduced to 17 seats in Quebec, just six west of Ontario and four of them are in Winnipeg, and beating the Conservatives by about 15 in Ontario. Dossanjh, Goodale and McLellan lose. I am ready and eagerly await your comments and realize that many will suggest that, in Anthony Powell's words, the wish is being father to the thought. But I will return on the weekend to explain in greater detail why we can begin to think about a Conservative win. Monday, May 24, 2004
Say it ain't so Wolfy Robert Novak suggests that Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz may have ticked off pro-lifers but offers a likely reason for Wolfowitz's otherwise silly comments: "Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz stunned social conservatives Tuesday when he told Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California he would 'consider' allowing the U.S. military to pay for abortions of female military personnel who are raped. Boxer, an ardent advocate of abortion rights, at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing asked Wolfowitz if 'you would consider supporting' her bill funding abortions in military rape cases. 'I would certainly consider that, senator,' replied Wolfowitz. When asked by this column whether this represented a change in policy, the Defense Department had no response. However, Wolfowitz may have just been trying to put off Boxer's persistence." Sunday, May 23, 2004
How progressive The Washington Times reports that New Zealand is considering letting minors have sex with one another, or more accurately having the law turn a blind eye to a 14-year-old boy shagging a 12-year-old girl. The limits of victimhood Detroit News editorial page editor Nolan Finley decries how the family members of some of the victims of the World Trade Center attacks have become mouthpieces for political causes and concludes: "Family members are entitled to our sympathy, as is anyone who loses a loved one. But they aren’t entitled to an elevated political platform or to interfere in the work of the experts examining the attacks, and certainly not to inexcusable rudeness like that displayed toward Giuliani last week." Wouldn't having Americans turn against one another after September 11 be one of the goals of the terrorists? By politicizing themselves, the victims' families have ensured that to some limited extent, the terrorists have won. Prediction time It's early but there's more glory for those who have more guts. Blogs Canada: EGroup Election Blog has a contest. Two entries allowed per person, one in the first two weeks of the campaign and a revision prediction after the leaders' debate. I'll make mine soon. James Bow is even offering a prize. Steyn plan for operational democracy in Iraq Mark Steyn suggests a baby-steps approach to inaugurating democracy in Iraq, providing it to those regions of the country that show itself of self-government. Great idea. Can the bishops change the Catholic Church's platform? The Detroit News "reports" that moral issues will play an important role in this November's presidential election, noting that, "The debate even includes whether Catholic leaders like Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, a presidential candidate, should be refused Communion because they disagree with church policy against abortion." But it's not Church policy; it's Church teaching. Not that I would expect a reporter to understand the difference. Comments Send them to paul[UNDERSCORE]tuns@yahoo.com. You know what the bracketed item means; I've been getting a bunch of unwelcome emails that do not boost my self-confidence at that account since I've began regularly posting that address. So now we know why Teddy Kennedy wants the UN to run Iraq But why would any sentient human being want the international organization/sex ring to have any significant role in Iraq? Are Baghdad girsl that hot? Mark Steyn wrote in the Jerusalem Post this week about the suitability of the UN playing a larger role in Iraq: "Is the UN perfect? No. Is the UN good? Well, I'm not sure I'd even say that. But if you object to what's going on in those Abu Ghraib pictures - the sexual humiliation of prisoners and their conscription as a vast army of extras in their guards' porno fantasies - then you might want to think twice about handing over Iraq to the UN. In Eritrea, the government recently accused the UN mission of, among other offences, pedophilia. In Cambodia, UN troops fueled an explosion of child prostitutes and AIDS. Amnesty International reports that the UN mission in Kosovo has presided over a massive expansion of the sex trade, with girls as young as 11 being lured from Moldova and Bulgaria to service international peacekeepers. In Bosnia, where the sex-slave trade barely existed before the UN showed up in 1995, there are now hundreds of brothels with underage girls living as captives. The 2002 Save the Children report on the UN's cover-up of the sex-for-food scandal in West Africa provides grim details of peacekeepers' demanding sexual favors from children as young as four in exchange for biscuits and cake powder. 'What is particularly shocking and appalling is that those people who ought to be there protecting the local population have actually become perpetrators,' said Steve Crawshaw, the director of Human Rights Watch. By now you're maybe thinking, 'Hmm. I must have been on holiday the week the papers ran all those stories about "The Shaming of the UN".'" Good news from Iraq There is some -- actually, there is lots -- and this time the New York Times reports it: "According to the commanders, there were several strong signs that the armed supporters of Moktada al-Sadr, the maverick Shiite cleric, have abandoned the area [Karbala] and ceded authority to the Americans and their allies after nearly three weeks of urban combat." Multiculturalism is wonderful unless you are a Muslim woman Little Green Footballs says this about Ontario's experiment with sharia law: "Homa Arjomand fled Iran in 1989 to escape the brutal misogynistic barbarism of shari’a law. The problem, though, was that she fled to Canada." According to the Toronto Star, Arjomand said "The last thing I expected in Canada, the last thing I want, is sharia law. Women are not equal under it, therefore it is opposed to Canada's laws and values. The government can't let this happen." The Star reports, "The government has no intention of stopping it." Los Angeles Times to get new opinion/editorial editor At the end of this review of David Brooks' new book On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (and Always Have) in the Future Tense, Michael Kinsley is identified as "the founding editor of Slate, [who] will become the editorial and opinion editor of The Los Angeles Times next month." I'm liking Letwin even more We'll have to wait and see if voters do, too, after Oliver Letwin is caught on tape saying he wants to cut 23 billion pounds from the British budget. It's too bad that the Conservatives will probably be punished for Letwin's honesty and small government principles. Saturday, May 22, 2004
Also blogging at The Shotgun I have quite a few posts at The Shotgun if you go back to Saturday and Thursday. Important Canadian rights case to be decided soon George Zeliotis waited in pain for a year before hip replacement surgery. He and his doctor, Jacques Chaoulli, finally had their day in court and in June the Supreme Court is expected to rule on whether or not, as Trudeaupia explains, "the public health care monopoly infringes our Charter Rights of life and security when they don’t deliver timely care." Trudeaupia's Kevin Jaeger concludes: "Which shall have precedence, the government’s imposition of socialism in health care, or an individual’s right to treatment? No prizes for how this court will rule. A court that doesn’t think an individual has a right to advertise his views to fellow citizens during an election certainly will not undermine the sacred health care monopoly in the interest of an individual’s well being. So lie back and suffer. If your kid is on a waiting for cancer treatment grin and bear it. It’s your patriotic duty." If we are a civilized country, we will put an end to the inhumane and often lethal public health monopoly. What did Churchill say about how to judge a society? Andrew Stuttaford in The Corner, on California prison guards not taking seriously the victims of prison rape: "Prisoners, understandably, are often not individuals for whom the rest of America feels much sympathy, but, in a civilized society, humanity must not stop at the prison gate. And if a simple sense of decency is not enough to convince people of this, self-interest ought to do the trick. Brutalizing those who will one day be released back to live among the rest of us makes absolutely no sense at all." I don't believe this Chris Cobb's new book Ego and Ink: The Inside Story of Canada's National Newspaper War apparently says that Conrad Black began to feel sorry for Jean Chretien during the Shawinigate Scandal. Cobb, who interviewed Lord Black for the book, reports the press baron saying: "I thought it was hammered a little hard, and beyond a certain point I had some sympathy for Chrétien ... He was hypocritical ... , of course, but he had a right not to be harassed on the point every single day with all the Shawinigan stuff." If this is true, I am more offended by Black's softness towards the man who attempted to deny him his peerage than anything he may have done at Hollinger. Bad idea for improving Bush cabinet Alan W. Dowd suggests that Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman should replace Secretary of State Colin Powell if President George W. Bush wins re-election in November and if Powell leaves in January as expected. Three quick comments about this idea. 1) Lieberman looks better than he really is on foreign policy because he's a Democrat. He is good, maybe even great, but there are many more excellent Republicans that could fill the slot (Paul Wolfowitz). 2) Lieberman is more valuable to Republicans fighting the good fight as a Democrat in the Senate than he would be as Secretary of State. The Republican Party cannot afford to have the Democratics destroy themselves in an interrupted orgy of Kennedyesque nuttiness; in other words, Republicans cannot be responsible for depriving the Democrats of their little bit of sanity, especially with Zell Miller retiring. 3) Do we want to give the anti-Semitic Left and Paleocon Right another reason to criticize the Bush Doctrine as American Likudism? Thursday, May 20, 2004
What's homosexual? El Camino Real explains why "in the context of day-to-day living, it is a mistake to self-identify as someone with same-sex attractions." His post is only a few paragraphs long and worth reading. He musings about this issue because of a very personal post by Eve Tushnet on what makes someone a homosexual. Tushnet reflects on her own same-sex attractions and wonders: are people homosexual because they are attracted to members of the same sex or because they act on that attraction? I am inclined to think that it is the action, resisting current trends in thinking about homosexuality, as Tushnet describes it: "Homosexuality has gone from an adjective applied to acts to an adjective applied to people -- from a tendency to an identity." University tuition is a bargain Hymie Rubenstein says in the current Fraser Forum that post-secondary education costs are a bargain and not simply because as the silly old t-shirt had it "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance," or something like that. Rubenstein says pay for school now (or, after incurring debt, later) and make more when you leave. He concludes university tuition and post-secondary debt loads are a "bargain-basement ticket to a long, healthy, and prosperous future." That is, when calculating the costs of university, one must add the future benefits (a better job, higher pay) that will result of a better-than-high school education. Michael Moore, hypocrite MooreWatch notes: "Moore is using footage of the parents of dead soldiers, as well as footage of soldiers in Iraq, among other things, in Fahrenheit 9/11. Doesn't that make him a war profiteer?" Remember, Liberal means never having to live up to the standards you demand of others. No mo' Mo, please Like so many sentient human beings, Catholic Light wonders why New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd is popular: "Is Maureen Dowd the dumbest prominent columnist in America, or the most prominent dumb columnist in America? Many people read her because for some reason they read the New York Times, a habit I've never cultivated or even understood. Every time I read Dowd's columns I feel like I'm reading a 19-year-old undergrad who thinks she's clever because she writes alliterations and gives lame nicknames to public figures she doesn't like ('Rummy,' et al.) So it's not just that I disagree with her -- a forgivable offense -- she's a crappy writer, and furthermore, one of the many pseudo-Catholics who gets agitated when the Holy Father disagrees with the NYT magisterium. She is someone whose views I can safely ignore." He then fisks her latest Bushworld column, proving that Dowd is nothing if not bush league. You have the right to remain silent The National Post editorial on the Supreme Court's decision on the gag law noted that it is not just the limits on election advertising that are restricting what we can say in the political arena: "Making matters worse is that the Supreme Court's decision is just one of a series of recent setbacks for free speech. Earlier this month, the federal government passed Bill C-250, a law that could cause religious opponents of gay rights to be targeted for criminal prosecution. There have also been suggestions that the Canadian Human Rights Commission will use its investigative apparatus to monitor what MPs say in the House of Commons. (And you don't have to be a genius to figure out which party's MPs they'll be watching most.) It seems Parliament, the Supreme Court and Canada's human-rights bureaucracy are all giving up on free speech simultaneously." On different pages According to the platform of the United Kingdom's Green Party, British environmentalists want "To achieve a birth-rate consistent with the goal of long-term sustainability." I think Mark Steyn might have a different definition of a sustainable birth rate. (Crossposted at The Shotgun) Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Here's an idea Over at The Shotgun, I comment on a Windsor Star editorial on the CBC and the need for it to fully disclose its ties to the government when reporting on politics. Whenever there is an idea to fix a problem at the CBC, most of the crew at The Shotgun jumps in with the predictable (and valid) comment that we should close the broadcaster down or sell the darn thing. But short of that, there should be debate on how to address specific concerns that the existence of the CBC raises. Scott M. comments not with a specific solution but an idea for a new lobby group: "I wonder if we should form a group called 'The Enemies of the CBC'." Anyone? Enemies should be checking out CBC Watch. Can we apply the gag law to this New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd's collected writing about President George W. Bush -- Bushworld: Enter at Your Own Risk -- will be published in August. Here's the interesting thing about if this had happened in Canada. Let's say a publisher released a collection of David Frum or Lorne Gunter columns during the federal election campaign -- would they have a disproportionate influence on the election? But that would be permissible under the Canada Elections Act restrictions on third-party campaign activities it should not be permissiblem because the privileged (those articulate, bright and lukcy enough to write about current events) have an opportunity that many do not to influence the political process. Relatedly, my book Jean Chretien: A Legacy of Scandal will be released in June. Seriously. More details coming soon. (Crossposted at The Shotgun) Sin ain't what it used to be? Ask God about that Reviewing the first four volumes of Oxford's series on the Seven Deadly Sins (thus far: Gluttony, Lust, Greed, Envy), Julian Baggini writes in The Guardian: "The doom-mongers who claim we are living in an age of declining moral standards may be wrong, but it is none the less true that sins ain't what they used to be." It is not that sin has changed but that we have, embracing sin as liberation and folly as wisdom. Double standards AFP reports: "Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, condemned Israel's military operation in Rafah as 'reckless disregard for human life'." I'm not holding my breath to ever see a European leader call the murder of Israelis a reckless disregard for human life. This raises two possibilities: Europeans don't care about the lives of Israelis or that they do not consider Jews humans. So which is it? Globe & Mail on gag law An excellent editorial on the Canada Elections Act limitations on freedom of speech in today's Globe and Mail. Money 'graph: "But what Parliament has imposed is not a ceiling; it is a negation, an unjustified repudiation of a fundamental right, a level so low that it blocks effective mass communication at the very time Canadians need to communicate and need to share, and hear, as many different views as possible. In deferring to Parliament on this, the court has fumbled a fundamental freedom." Thomas Wright Waller The New York Sun has a nice tribute to the jazz artist ("Ain't Misbehavin'") who was born 100 years ago this week. (Hat tip to Irish Elk who has a sampling of his work and other links about TWW) Quebec politics A long post on federal politics in Quebec by Le blog de Polyscopique that is well worth reading. Most provocative line: "If the Liberals had took the time to listen to what is said in Québec, they would have seen that most Quebecers do not have the ambition of seeing their province an eternal recipient of 'welfare' from the federal government." Laurent Moss says that the usual Liberal tactics shouldn't work. That's true, but the more important question is will they work. I think that the tactics do work -- or at least have in the past, up to a point. But it would be nice if Quebeckers said no to the idea of impressing them with Albertans and Ontarians money. Carol Goar and the gag law In February Toronto Star columnist Carol Goar came out slightly in favour of restricting third-party election advertising but strongly against the current set of restrictions. In her column today she comes out strongly in favour restricting third-party election advertising but slightly against the current set of restrictions, going so far as to say that yesterday's Harper decision meant, "on balance" that it "was a good day for democracy." Let It Bleed has some thoughts on today's Goar column. (Crossposted at The Shotgun) Tuesday, May 18, 2004
It is all connected Writing at The American Spectator, John Tabin notes that finding of a serin-filled bomb and mustard gas in Iraq proves President George W. Bush was right about Iraq but more importantly he wonders where the rest of Iraq's stash might be. Also at TAS, George Neumayr links the supposedly non-existent weapons of mass destruction, terrorists that had no connections with Iraq and some of the current problems in that country: "In discrediting the war, the Democrats have pushed the idea that neither dangerous weapons nor terrorist networks existed in Saddam Hussein's Iraq. How do they explain that terrorists Hussein harbored are beheading American civilians and trying to kill American soldiers with poisons he spread?" More on Zerb v. Canadian bloggers Enter State Right's Steven Martinovich has some thoughts on Antonia Zerbisias' Toronto Star disinformation column on the supposed silence of the Canadian warbloggers and concludes: "In essence, however, what seems to bug Zerbisias the most is that she and her heroes, people like Paul Krugman, Robert Fisk, Maureen Dowd and Heather Mallick are being taken to the mat by people who realize them for what they are: wrong. They are wrong so often that it simply becomes tiresome to correct them. Maybe that's why the 'guns have fallen silent' Antonia." Very nice. Monday, May 17, 2004
'She has the face of a virgin and the body of a whore' That's Claude Chabrol's description of French actress Emmanuelle Béart. The Daily Telegraph's Cassandra Jardine gets a lot of distance out of that quote and illustrates why British journalists are so much better at personality profiles than their North American counterparts. Sunday, May 16, 2004
Why blogs are a great medium for debate As a preface to his comments on Shostakovich, Brian Micklethwait makes an excellent observation on debates within the blogosphere: "One of the things that the blogosphere is particularly good at is telling you about big arguments. This is partly because you seldom have to take the word of the actual writer you are reading. You can, if you doubt him, follow his links and see if the views he is denouncing or endorsing make sense to you." The observations on Shostakovich are worth reading although I would be less forgiving than Micklethwait. (However, I whole-heartedly agree that "Mozart all sounds alike" -- although that was quoted form Classical Music's 10 Dirtiest Secrets -- but would add that it all sounds horrible.) The Yankees are back Yes, they lost yesterday (13-7 in extra innings, which is not easy to do, and yes A-Rod was safe in the 12th but the umps are against the Yanks and ...) but as Bronx Banter notes: "Still, even when they were trailing, it felt like they were ahead. The Yankees have some of their old swagger back. No matter how far they are down, you get the feeling that they think they’ll come back." They are 13-4 in the last couple of weeks and, I must note, since I emailed a Red Sox fan/acquaintance of mine to allow him to gloat about the Yankees' woes. Kerry/McCain could never happen Despite public musings about nominally GOP Senator John McCain (AZ) running as the veep for the Democrats, it will never happen because the Arizona senator does not think chopping up unborn babies is God's gift to women. Remember, the Democrats are the Abortion Party and if anyone, including Kerry forgets that, the feminists pull out their abortion veto. Ditto for Senator Evan Bayh (D, IN) who opposes partial-birth abortion. One good turncoat deserves another Former federal Tory leader Joe Clark campaigned/toured the neighbourhood with former Tory leadership candidate Scott Brison. Craftsman at work New York Yankees pitcher Kevin Brown pitched into the eighth inning, with his team ahead 2-1. He allowed just one run in 7.2 innings, struck out five, walked just one and threw 113 pitches, 76 of them for strikes. For his effort, which gave him his 5-0 start (with a 3.13 ERA) since 1990, the home crowd gave him a standing ovation. Brown was not pleased. He left with a man on base and he said "I don't know if they [the fans] can understand ... I feel like I've given them [the Seattle Mariners] a chance to get back into the game. I'm pretty irritated at myself. At that point in time, I'm not so sure I'm worthy of that kind of appreciation." Critics of millionaire players -- Brown earns about $17 million a year if memory serves me correctly -- say athletes should not be paid extravagently for playing what is essentially a game. But I think anyone who strives for perfection and demands the best of himself day in and day out, is worth every cent he gets. Baseball could use more millionaires like Brown. Witmer backs John Tory Former Ontario health minister and failed 2002 Tory leadership candidate Elizabeth Witmer, one of the few Red Tories who were able to keep their seats in the McGuinty trouncing of the Progressive Conservatives last October, has backed the only Red Tory in the party's provincial leadership campaign, former Toronto mayoral candidate, John Tory. Witmer said she did so because -- and here I am paraphrasing -- it's time to close the book on the Common Sense Revolution. John Tory would take the party in the direction begun by Ernie Eves before provincial voters decided that in a contest between two liberals, they would take the genuine article. Witmer also said that John Tory had a "social conscience" which is progressive Conservative-speak for killing unborn babies and embracing buggery. Geography and world leaders Paul Martin may not know the difference between Norway and Normandy, but newly elected, Italian-born, Indian prime minister Sophia Gandhi is reported to have said (before her marriage to Rajiv Gandhi in 1968) that she had only "a vague idea India existed somewhere in the world." No doubt, however, now that she is the leader of India, she has some knowledge of her (adopted) country's history. Will fact follow fiction? Just seconds ago, the whole Simpson family was arrested for violating the Government Knows Best Act. Things we'd like Muslim protestor/leaders say Clayton Cramer wonders when we'll see bumper stickers that read "Al Qaeda -- Not In My Name." (Hint: it rhymes with clever. Second hint for Antonia Zerbisias, the word starts with 'n'.) Globe and Mail gets is wrong -- again Adam Daifallah notes that by taking out one word, the Globe and Mail's new Washington correspondent Alan Freeman significantly changes what Richard Perle had said. Was it an honest mistake? Who knows, says Daifallah. Too charitable of Adam, I say. The one 'R' of education Over at the Adam Smith Institute blog, Dr. Madsen Pirie has a good post on why education is not a right. Antonia Zerbisias is wrong -- again Hardly surprising. Toronto Star columnist Antonia Zerbisias says the Canadian warbloggers are all hiding now that the war isn't going their (our) way. Never mind that 1)the War on Terror is proceeding nicely, thank you, and 2) some of the bloggers are taking real or blogging holidays. Damian Penny, Kathy Shaidle, and David Mader have responses to Zerbisias, Canada's Noam Chomskyette. Saturday, May 15, 2004
Media-approved conservatives & the War for Iraq Two notes from The Corner. First, Tim Graham says that the early signs are not encouraging when it comes to Tucker Carlson's PBS program. He also asks if "Are Kate O'Beirne and Jonah Goldberg the only pro-war conservative regulars left on CNN?" (Yup.) Later, Ramesh Ponnuru notes that Charles Krauthammer is the only pro-Iraq War conservative left at the Washington Post. Are the Patrick Buchanans and Robert Novaks winning the War for conservatism? I hope not. Senator Flippy's SSM position in a nutshell David Blankenhorn describes Senator John Kerry's position on same-sex marriage: "In the WaPo, John Kerry tries to walk that thin line on SSM -- against it, but basically sympathetic and against those who are against it." Thanking God I'm not Episcopalian Check out this picture posted by Mark Cameron of an Episcopalian bishop marrying his homosexual partner. As an Anglican acquaintance of mine who is converting to Catholicism this year told me this week, the picture is the case for conversion. The March for Life There was some media coverage of the March for Life in Ottawa this week (May 13), including some broadcast news coverage, but, of course, it wasn't entirely accurate. On Global, for example, Kevin Newman left the impression that there were few pro-life demonstrators and no politician interested in the abortion issue. He said: "Well there is one issue that no political party is talking about, or will during this campaign. Abortion rights. Around 800 opponents marched on Parliament Hill today looking for a politician willing to address the issue that in Canada, at least, has been largely non-political for almost a decade. And every party wants to leave it that way." Then there were three clips: Marlene Jennings, the Quebec Liberal, James Rajotte, an ostensibly conservative Albertan and Alexa McDonough, the former NDP leader, all of whom said it won't be an issue in the campaign. End of coverage. A couple of observations. First, Global and CTV were on Parliament Hill taping at 12 pm when the crowd was assembling. At that time there were 800 pro-life demontrators. By 12:30 the number was closer to 2,000 and by 1pm when the speeches were well under way, it was close to the 3,500 number organizers say attended this year's March for Life. Several people I talked to said the crowd seemed bigger than last year's (and last year's official count was 3,500). So Global's number is both right and wrong, but ultimately misleading. It was right at the time they covered the event but they were gone before the event really started. (Note: 3,500 is a large crowd for Parliament Hill; the anti-war protests that got massive front-page coverage claimed 5,000.) As for the idea that politicans don't want to touch the issue, about 20 MPs from the Liberal and Conservative parties prove that the statement is untrue. With MPs from both coasts and all points in between, clearly there are politicians who care about this issue. I have no doubt that the leader's of the major parties would rather not address the issue (unless Paul Martin uses abortion in the way Jean Chretien did in 2000 as a wedge issue), but party leaders do not a party make. Some of them even urged voters to vote for the pro-life candidate in their riding regardless of party. The participants were unusually upbeat. Many pointed to American developments (federal laws on partial-birth abortion, born-alive infant protection and unborn victim's of violence) and most thought that the tide will change in Canada working on the assumption that what happens south of the border will eventually affect what happens here. I share their optimism but think it will be decade before Canada is ready for a real debate on any aspect of abortion -- taxpayer funding, conscience protection for healthcare workers, banning "abortion" after birth. Many participants reported being extremely pleased with the religious leadership that they heard from the podium during the rally. Ottawa Archbishop Marcel Gervais, Rabbi Reuven Bulka and Bruce Clemenger, president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, all spoke. For the second year in a row, the Knights of Columbus led the March through the streets of Ottawa followed by pro-life supporters aged a couple months to 91-years. I heard many good things about the homilies at the Masses the night before and morning of the march. After the march, about a dozen women and men took part in the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, in which they gave powerful testimony to the physical and emotion damage abortion had done to them. I would have liked to see this story get some print coverage or broadcast time; if any journalists need contact information for the women who participated in these testimonials, contact me at paul_tuns@yahoo.com. These are incredible human interest stories and there are some women who want to share their stories who are still uncomfortable about banning abortion but believe that women seeking abortions should hear more information than abortion providers are giving them. Lastly, the annual Rose Dinner held that evening heard former Concerned Women for America president Sandy Rios; she gave an inspiring talk that included a description of how she came to the pro-life movement -- the severely disabled daughter born one year after Roe who requires 24-hour care. She connected the unwantedness of the aborted unborn to the increasingly eugenic uses of abortion and euthanasia and unwantedness of inconvenient people in general. From reports I'm getting from numerous people, there was more media coverage this year, but most of it, like the Global report, belittled what happened on the Hill. I'm not one for marches or demonstrations. I was there to cover it as a journalist and to attend the dinner. But it was news. Perhaps the severe normalcy of the individuals -- more than half were high school and university students and the adults were teachers, businessmen, accountants, priests, stay-at-home mothers, retirees -- doesn't fit into the media's stereotype of the scary anti-abortion advocate who advocates violence to end the lives of abortionists if not abortion. I didn't talk to one person who would have thought such violence justified. They were people who believe abortion is wrong and that they ought to let our politicians, judges, media and public know they consider abortion a terrible injustice. But that doesn't fit either of the narratives (that there is social peace on abortion or that abortionists are violent nutbars) the media likes to employ. (Crossposted at The Shotgun) Tuesday, May 11, 2004
See y'all on the weekend I'm away for three days in Ottawa to cover the March for Life. In the meantime, check these excellent blogs: Adam Daifallah's musings, Maderblog by the brothers Dan and David (mostly David), Mark Cameron, The Shotgun and Trudeaupia, to name just a few Canadian blogs. Great campaign Check out Small Dead Animals to find out why you should mail dirt to the Council of Canadians. Especially after yesterday's news that Monsanto is wussing out on introducing the first genetically engineered wheat. CoC claimed victory: "For once we saw how consumer rejection can have an impact," said Nadege Adam, a spokesperson for the Council of Canadians. But consumers never had a choice to buy genetically engineered wheat, did they? The threat of boycotts and regulation and lawsuits prevented it from hitting the market. Monsanto says maybe in 4-8 years. I hope so. In the meantime, send the Council of Canadians some dirt. Bush by a mini-landslide in November Adam Daifallah explains why President George W. Bush will win and trots out a number of reasons that James Taranto suggests: solid conservative base of support, John Kerry is a weak candidate and Abu Ghraib is not translating into a political issue. (No Left Turns quotes ABC's The Note for a more comprehensive, eight-point explanation of Bush's enduring popularity and why, despite the 'bad' news in Iraq, he'll win.) But Daifallah says whatever other reasons Bush attracts votes, there is one central issue: "But when it comes right down to it, the ballot question is going to be who can best prosecute the war on terrorism. The answer to that question is clear, Kerry's Vietnam credentials notwithstanding. This November will be a replay of the Bush I/Dukakis race in '88. Kerry will be portrayed as weak and ineffective on the national security question and that bugbear will ultimately cost him the election." I largely agree that it will come down to this one issue (and one other which I'll come back to in a minute). Despite the setbacks because 1) Americans still think Bush is better to handle international affairs and the war on terror than Kerry, 2) Americans understand that the war for Iraq and the War on Terror are connected, 3) Americans know this is W's war and he should be allowed to finish it, 4) Americans, being good people, know that it would be wrong to abandon Iraq now and 5) Democrats haven't offered a credible alternative to Bush's Iraq policy. In fact, Democrats haven't offered any alternative to Bush's Iraq policy; they are reduced to merely disagreeing with it. The other reason Bush will do well is that he is likeable and Kerry is not. W is the kind of guy more Americans would like to have a drink with at the bar. Bush speaks to voters, Kerry speaks at them. They know Bush is genuinely decent guy (which is why they will give him the benefit of the doubt and that charges that he lied to get America into a war with Iraq do not stick). Daifallah said November will be a replay of 1988 and I think in more ways than Kerry being weak and ineffective on national security. The final vote might be close but I think Bush picks up a fair number of electoral votes. In recent state level polls 1) Kerry has huge leads in California, Illinois and New York -- three big states whose numbers inflate the national support for Kerry, 2) almost every state that Bush carried in 2000, except Ohio and New Hampshire, the polling numbers are getting better for Bush, and Ohio is swinging back to a more pro-Bush result, 3) Bush is polling ahead in many states that Gore carried in 2000, and has made Pennsylvania a horse-race and 4) Bush is closing the gap in states such as Oregon and Washington. Also, Democrats will waste resources re-fighting Florida. Earlier today I saw that one pollster said each candidate is now safely ahead in states totalling 205 electoral votes, leaving 125 electoral votes up for grabs. I think Bush is going to take almost every one of them. Especially after voters get to see Kerry a little more and know him a little better. Crossposted at The Shotgun Accentuate the positive David Frum has some "sustaining thoughts in a dark time": 1. "The war on terror was and is and will remain hard." 2. "Abu Ghraib is interpreted by some as evidence that Donald Rumsfeld’s original strategy--go in fast, go in light--was wrong; that it would have been better to go in with closer to 400,000 troops or something like it, as some generals argued beforehand. That strikes me as perverse. Isn’t the truer lesson of Abu Ghraib that Rumsfeld was right--and that we should have stuck to his original plan to let Iraqis keep order in their own country?" That is, as Frum notes, the administration's critics are calling for Rumsfeld's head while complaining that we never followed his initial advice to the president. 3. "The most urgent task ahead for the United States is not the punishment of the offending soldiers of Abu Ghraib, important as that task is, but taking immediate steps to demonstrate to Iraqis that the US does not intend to colonize or occupy the country." He echoes the William Kristol and Robert Kagan plan to bring democracy to Iraq sooner rather than later. 4. "The US should pay generous compensation to those abused in Abu Ghraib." 5. "... the US must resume the offensive against organized resistance in Iraq." Frum elaborates on all the points. I hope the White House is listening to their one-time speech-writer. Martin can't have it both ways David Mader has an excellent post on the Martin Liberals schizophrenia on Iraq/WMD. Read it and ponder his final question and then ask yourself which is better: Martin as hypocrite or appeaser? Sunday, May 09, 2004
Paulitics Veep watch, New York Governor 2006, Connecticut Senate 2004/Connecticut Governor 2006. All at Paulitics. Devoutly pro-abortion I've commented before on the media referring to politicians as devout Catholics, which is usually a term used to describe liberal politicians who support abortion or same-sex marriage who also happen to have been raised Catholic. "Joe" comments at The Shotgun: "'Among those with strong religious beliefs is Martin himself, a devout Catholic who makes a point of attending church every Sunday, even when he is travelling.' [CP reported] And who is pro-abortion, pro-same-sex marriage, and who knows what else. So, please, enough of the "devout Catholic" bit already!" Saturday, May 08, 2004
Until ... CBC headline: "Judicial probe of sponsorship scandal to be 'more thorough'." Until Paul Martin does what Jean Chretien did to the Somalia inquiry. Read Andrew Coyne's column in today's National Post (not available online). Oh no Relapsed Catholic takes a few weeks off. She says that she wants to spend her time doing something more productive than blogging and reading blogs. Those of us who consider her required reading and enjoy her comments at The Shotgun (and elsewhere), will have to find something more productive to do than reading her quips and insights. It won't be easy if we stay on the 'net; she is among the best. What do you expect from a guy who doesn't know the difference between Norway and Normandy? Matthew Fletcher at BlogsCanada Election Blog says this about Martin saying the next federal election will be the most important Canadian election ever: "Apparently the Prime Minster believes that he is about to offer Canadians a debate more important than wartime conscription or peacetime free trade. Paul Martin thinks that the upcoming election (if it ever actually happens) will be the most important election in our nation's history. Ever." If the prime minister does not know his history how seriously can we take his judgement about which election is the most important. It is arguable if the next election will be the most important in the last tens years, let alone ever. (Love that parenthetical "if it ever actually happens" Fletcher threw in there.) Friday, May 07, 2004
We'll know they are Liberals by their timidity James Bow says the Paul Martin Liberals should be defeated. Among the many reasons Bow lists is that Paul Martin has not lived up the expectation that he was a do-something kind of guy: "There are many issues that Martin could have made his own: the reinvestment in Canada's military, bold steps in Canadian healthcare, Senate reform. He and his cabinet have talked about these ideas, but they've been unable to commit to details. They are hemming and hawing and being timid for fear of offending someone." On Saint Nelson Mandela In a mostly atrocious column, Peter Hitchens identifies why modern Western society admires the likes of a thug like Nelson Mandela: "I think it is partly because reformist politics has replaced Christian faith as the main expression of moral feeling in this country." It had to be said. Baseball regains its sanity As I noted on Wednesday, Major League Baseball was going to allow advertisements on its bases and on-deck circle. The people have spoken and they don't like it. Columbia pictures has altered its deal with MLB that would have seen Spider-Man II ads on the bases. There will still be other stadium promotions including putting the Spider-Man logo on the pitcher rubber in the pre-game. I hope that this is not a wedge to get similar base ads in the future. Friends of Friends (fewer than first thought) I have another post on farewell to Friends at The Shotgun. I forgot to note in that post, however, an odd line from the Washington Post coverage. In the second paragraph compared the 52.5 million viewers for the finale to the total votes of Al Gore and George W. Bush in 2000 (1.5 million and 2 million votes lower respectively compared to Friends). Ten paragraphs later, and without any mention of politics in between, there is this sentence: "If you voted for Ralph Nader in the last presidential election, in which case you're probably the kind of contrary person who would not have watched Thursday's "Friends" finale, you missed..." Now, I am all for disparaging both Nader and his supporters, but this was a completely gratuitoius mention of the consumer advocate and presidential candidate that added nothing to our understanding of Friends, its audience or, really, Nader and his supporters. Perhaps it is one of the pitfalls of doing journalism in a political town such as Washington DC. Thursday, May 06, 2004
I'll be away My son's confirmation is tonight and I'm busy Friday. I'll be back blogging on the weekend. I might post an item or two at The Shotgun between now and Saturday. Surprise, surprise Toronto Star community editorial board member Richard Piatti says he won't vote for Stephen Harper because ... guess why ... he's too extreme. His column is a carnival of liberal and Liberal cliches about the Conservative Party and Stephen Harper. Make no mistake, folks, the small-l, Big-L liberal criticism is not that an "extremist" like Harper leads it but that it is not liberal/Liberal. The truth hurts Setting the World to Rights on has "Some Working Definitions For The Twenty-First Century," suggesting "simply check your suspected evildoer against this handy checklist": You are a terrorist leader if: 1) You are prepared to kill more civilians in the cause of your righteous battle than the evil regime you are trying to overthrow is willing to kill to stop you. 2) You live a life of luxury in the centre of your enemies' homeland, preaching your values in the certain knowledge that the evil, corrupt government there will do its best to protect your right to do so. 3) You regularly use the word ‘infidel’. Yours is a rogue state if: 1) Whilst fighting a desperate defensive war against another nation that threatens your very sovereignty, you can still manage to spare enough resources to massacre large numbers of your own civilians. 2) Your ruling party won the last election by a majority of 100% or more. 3) The leader of your main Opposition party is in prison, in hiding, or dead. 4) Your chief torturer appears on the western media and criticises your enemies for human rights violations. 5) Your ambassador to America refused to come back after his last diplomatic mission. 6) Your military is funded largely through food aid from the European Union. Jackson's nudity stunt: was it a religious exercise? Janet Jackson is in Canada promoting herself/latest album and in an interview with CTV said that she wants to get over the controversy of the last few months and always seeks ways to improve herself, to "spiritually, move closer to God." Yes, flashing a nipple in front of an audience of a billion, including countless children, is one way of getting closer to God, I'm sure. Wednesday, May 05, 2004
It's official Kathy Shaidle is the most politically incorrect person in the Canadian blogosphere. Congratulations and I wish I had the courage to challenge her for the title. However, I fear that they (the government, Islamic fundamentalists, who knows) will be out to get her soon and I'd like to stay out of the reach of such fanatics. In the comments section on the immigration post by Jay Currie at The Shotgun, she says: "The majority of Muslims might not be terrorists, but I can't help but notice that the majority of terrorists are Muslims. I wouldn't be anywhere near as concerned about increased Muslim immigration to Canada if I heard a peep from Muslim Canadians _unreservedly_ condemning terrorism and pledging their allegence to Canada. It has been more than 2 years since 9/11 and I am still waiting with baited breath. What I hear is a lot of bleating about how picked on they are, as if being looked at sideways on the subway were the moral equivalent of getting incinerated in the World Trade Centre." She ends by quoting Daniel Pipes: "The Muslim population in this country is not like any other group, for it includes within it a substantial body of people - many times more numerous than the agents of Osama bin Laden - who share with the suicide hijackers a hatred of the United States and the desire, ultimately, to transform it into a nation living under the strictures of militant Islam. Although not responsible for the atrocities in September, they harbor designs for this country that warrant urgent and serious attention." And then asks: "If a few crazies have hijacked Islam, pray tell, why is it so very easily hijacked?" It is political incorrect and terribly rude to ask the obvious. Thank God Shaidle does. The Shotgun Lots of good stuff by me and others at The Shotgun. Most of my posts there are on Canadian or international politics. Read the comments, too; they're fun and sometimes even insightful. Lying liars who edit papers The Independent reports that "senior sources" at the Daily Mirror "privately acknowledged yesterday that the newspaper had serious problems with its publication of photographs purporting to show British soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners." Still, however, editor Piers Morgan will resign. Meanwhile he will be called before the House of Commons Defence Committee to provide evidence to an inquiry into the torture allegations. Natalie Solent is back She's a great libertarian blogger (at her own blog and Samizdata) who is, if I remember correctly, Mark Steyn's favourite blogger. Natalie Solent ends her too long (two week) absence from the blogosphere. Two days ago she said one reason it has taken longer than expected to re-start blogging was "I haven't liked the look of the news lately." If that was reason enough, who would blog? Two of the news items that caught her attention were the alleged torture Iraqi prisoners and the murder of an Israeli family at the hands of Palestinian terrorists: "Deprived of the hour-by-hour trickle of new developments, I perceive the news in a more compressed way than I usually do. It seems only the day before yesterday that a pregnant Israeli woman and her four young daughters were shot in cold blood one by one, and only yesterday that the stories of American (and possibly British, but that story seems more doubtful) abuse of Iraqi prisoners broke. As a result a certain contrast is clearer to me than it usually would be. The Western media is awash with outrage at the mistreatment of Iraqis by Westerners. So it should be, but - Where was the Arab outrage at the murder by Arabs of Tali Hatuel and her children? Why does no one even expect there to be any outrage?" The rest is worth reading and not just because she favourably quotes David Warren. May 5 and bastards 500 years ago today, Vice Admiral Anton of Burgundy, Lord of Wacken died at the age of 82. He was also known as Anton of Burgundy the Great Bastard. Other notable bastards to die on this day: Napoleon Bonaparte (1821) and IRA terrorist Bobby Sands (1981). In 1912, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union began publishing Pravda and in 1969 Norman Mailer won a Pulitzer for Armies of the Night. Goldberg on John Kerry's reaction to Abu Gharib Jonah Goldberg in The Corner: "Why is he acting so surprised about these torture allegations? I mean isn't this pretty trivial compared to the stuff he said he and his colleagues did in Vietnam?" Immigration debate at The Shotgun Noting a recent post by unemployed journalist Kevin Michael Grace, Jay Currie says that Stephen Harper is being smart in his approach to immigration which is largely to slowly back away from the issue. Kathy Shaidle wonders if there might not be some political gain outside Vancouver and Toronto. Then Meaghan Walker-Williams gets all pissy: "I challenge a SINGLE one of you to name an instance where Canada's immigration policy has actually harmed you, infringed upon your rights, or damaged your ability to get by in this world. Did an immigrant ACTUALLY steal your job? Did an immigrant actually stop you from being Canadian? Did an immigrant actually circumcise your daughter? Seriously. I want to know. Just what in the hell have immigrants done to YOU, personally that has you so cheezed off at them?" There are two great replies. The first from Kevin Steel: "Here, hear! Meaghan. And I would issue the same challenge to Canada's aboriginal population. Some seem to inexplicably resent the initial immigration of Europeans to this fine continent." (Walker-Williams has identified herself as an aboriginal.) Shaidle responds: "Meaghan, when possibly violent refugee claimants are wandering around the country while their claims are being investigated; when my taxes are spent on everything from supporting myriad cultural celebrations to language classes to social services for people who have never paid into them and are about a decade away from ever doing so; when so many of the victims and perpetrators of Toronto murders these days are Jamaican immigrants but no one is allowed to ask why... Do you really need to ask? It is simply a fact that while large numbers of people come to Canada to become contributing members of society, many others come here to take advantage of our liberal/lax laws and open mindedness. ... It actually has never been the conservative position that we are only supposed to be concerned about things 'that effect us personally.' That is actually the prevailing liberal view. As someone concerned about the future of our nation, and how policies about individuals effect society as a whole, I don't believe the subject of immigration should be beyond the pale." Of course, every immigration debate becomes emotional. But the emotion is displayed not only to those upset about job loss, criminality etc... The emotional attachment to myth is also at play. Shaidle (again): "We invented immigration policy and we can un-invent it. We allowed immigrants in for our own self interest, not out of the goodness of our hearts, contrary to the prevailing Canadian myth. Just as easily, we can re-evaluate our self interest in light of current realities and adjust our policy accordingly." In other words, Canadians should stop being nice and stop legislating for the good of non-Canadians. Then there is a much less emotional exchange between Shaidle and Joey DeVilla about reforms to immigration policy -- mend it, don't end it kind of stuff. Best line though all the comments is this one from (guess who) Shaidle. Wondering if anyone checked out the link about immigration policies and Islamic terrorists and noting "Orianna Falacci's hair raising books" she remarks: "I for one find it impossible to read this stuff and maintain those It's a Small World After All squishy feelings." The task for those who want to change the immigration regime is to the public past its collective It's a Small World After All squishy feelings. Early happy 40th birthday to American Conservative Union Coles Notes version of ACU history by its current chairman David Keene in the Washington Times. Worth reading. Canadian readers are allowed to cry that there is no similar organization north of the border. Reason #342,865 that Conservatives are not successful in Canada: no trappings of a conservative movement such as broad-scoped conservative think tanks, conservative centres of education, magazine (Western Standard notwithstanding) and political outfits such as the ACU. The world needs more Russell Kirk The Chronicle of Higher Education has a rare fair-minded piece on Russell Kirk of all people. Worth reading. For those who like Kirk's writing but are disappointed by the lack of writing about Kirk, the article notes that ISI Books will release this Fall, The Conservative Mind Today, a collection of papers written to mark the 50th anniversary of Kirk's most famous book. There is no easy distilling from the article but I'll note this quote from Kirk's The Conservative Mind posted at the end of the article: "Even the most intelligent of men cannot hope to understand all the secrets of traditional morals and social arrangements; but we may be sure that Providence, acting through the medium of human trial and error, has developed every hoary habit for some important purpose." This is the essential wisdom of conservatism: the recognition that we can learn from history not to change it but to avoid making the same mistakes. Conservatism is very modest which is one reason why it doesn't capture the imagination of the average university professor or politician with their arrogant conceits of changing the world. And is perhaps one reason why it doesn't appeal to voters who have more ambitious and hopeful motivations for voting. Senseless tragedy requires continued self-censorship The Washington Post reports that the nation's capital recorded its 13th child murder, already surpassing last year's total. In this case an eight-year-old girl, Chelsea Cromartie, was shot in the head as bullets pierced the living room window. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said "There is a culture of violence and attitude that exists among many people that leads to violence we've been witnessing. There really is no explaining this." But Ramsey did explain it: there's a culture of violence. Now, what is going to be done about it. Will society continue distributing welfare payments that destabalize the family, render court decisions that handcuff police and let criminals off easy and radiate signals from political/media/academic elite that there is not objective truth (violence is wrong) and that criminals are responsible for their actions. If you find these all horribly stereotypical, examples of blaming the victim and not getting to root problems, then you are part of the problem. The decline of civilization Spider-Man II will advertize for its movie on the tops of Major League Baseball bases and the on-deck circle for three days in June. And on Mother's Day the bases will have pink ribbons to raise awareness for breast cancer. Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Picture BS OpinionJournal's James Taranto has the goods on the fabricated Daily Mirror pics of British soldiers allegedly abusing prisoners and the disservice it does to the notion of the importance of a free press. Anti-Semitism/anti-Zionism David Mader notes that often the former dresses up as the latter even we it obviously not the case: "Here's a fascinating story out of Vienna. Austrian plans to name a square after Austrian Theodore Herzl, organizer of modern Zionism, are being opposed by the Arab League, who say that the move would 'not serve the cause of good relations between Austria and the Arab-Islamic world.' (Is that a threat?) Apparently Herzl 'represents a sad memory for Arabs and Muslims.' Those who maintain an iron-clad distinction between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism argue that the former involves criticism of the State of Israel on the basis of its policy decisions. Herzl, however, predated the State. He organized world Jewry politically to lobby simply for the existence of a Jewish state. To protest Herzl is to protest not the State of Israel but the idea of Jewish self-determination. Those who would demand 'understanding' of Arab-Muslim culture would do well to demonstrate their own understanding of Jewish culture - and to refrain from demonizing that culture's more prominent exponents." Monday, May 03, 2004
Best Yankees blog Bronx Banter. Excellent game analysis and great list of baseball links. I thought I wasted a lot of time on the computer until I found a dozen quality baseball blogs earlier this year. Now my wife and children make appointments to see me. What can we learn from Sweden? Mostly that if a country wants a functioning economy, socialism sucks. Marginal Revolution links to numerous news reports and studies but lists these four startling facts that serve as a useful starting point in any discussion on whether or not to follow the Swedish model: "1. No new net jobs have been produced in the Swedish private sector since 1950. 2. 'None of top 50 companies on the Stockholm stock exchange has been started since 1970.' 3. '...well over 1 million people out of a work force of around four million did not work in 2003 but lived on various kinds of public welfare programs, such as, pre-pension schemes, unemployment benefits, sick-leave programs, etc.' 4. 'Sweden has dropped from fourth to 14th place in 2002 among the OECD countries (i.e., affluent industrialized countries) in terms of GDP per capita since 1970'." Kerry and buyer's remorse Opinion Journal's John Fund says many liberals are regretting their decision to go with John Kerry because they thought he was a winner. Are some Democrats getting warm and fuzzy thinking about Hillary emerging as the candidate after the Boston convention? Probably. Bring her on! Is there really a market for this? Ananova reports: "A cemetery in Santiago, Chile is offering its clients coffins with a sensor that detects any movement inside them after they have been buried." (via Business Pundit) Great poster for Kerry campaign Irish Elk posts this idea for a campaign poster (from Wizbangblog) that sums up John Kerry's entire being/reason for running. Buy Israeli Canadians are Smug suggests using this anti-Israeli boycott list in order to support Israel. Good idea. Heather Mallick is ... what's a six syllable word for crap Reading her Globe and Mail column you know that Heather Mallick thinks she is clever. You also realize that she thinks that she is better than everyone else. Writing about her experience of appearing on Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, she says: "He [O'Reilly] then went into a mad rant about lefties like Mr. [John] Doyle and how I was a typical Globe columnist. I said, no, truthfully, I think I'm regarded as 'idiosyncratic' (the first six-syllable word ever spoken on the O'Reilly show), and he erupted again." Mallick unwittingly insulted a good many lefties who have appeared on the show -- who else would O'Reilly bully -- but she wouldn't know that because she obviously doesn't watch the program. Other lowlights from Mallick's piece: "Mr. O'Reilly is not a smart man. He's like one of those old guys you see on the street ringing a bell and shouting about eternal damnation. He talks to his trousers. You know the type. They let wasps nest in their hair so they can lure weasels, trap 'em and eat 'em slow over the summer." Now that's very funny, Heather. I'll let my readers take a minute to recover from their belly-busting laughter. And: "I always say yes to American TV because how else are Americans going to hear about radical notions like feeding the poor and sheltering the gentle, or letting black people vote in Florida?" Are there not liberals in America? Aside from the pathetic caricature of America, does not Mallick recognize that there are liberals and socialists in the United States? I would induct Mallick in my Idiot Hall of Fame, but she is already there. The Bad Idea file The Guardian reports that the Association of Chief Police Officers suggests minorities and women be hired directly into more senior positions such as inspector in an effort to, among other things, combat terrorism. A simple economics lesson Over at Samizdata, Michael Jennings explains what free and pay internet services at airports have to teach us about healthcare systems. Quote of the day "The first casualty of war, it is claimed, is truth. I'd say the first casualty is context." -- Barbara Amiel discusses the mistreatment of prisoners in Iraq in her Daily Telegraph column. On teaching/learning modern fiction at the university Joseph Epstein, from an interview with The Atlantic Monthly, in 1999: Q:You've written that the inclusion of contemporary writers in teaching curricula has not done much for literature. Could you explain why? A: I think it's lowered the standard. In the old days of Oxford they used to teach nothing beyond Wordsworth. The assumption was that you didn't have to teach the good contemporary novelists and critics, because if you were interested in literature you were going to read them on your own. I'm not sure that assumption holds up anymore; it may be that there are too many competing forms of intellectual entertainment -- movies and television and all of that. But university education is so finite that it seems to me a mistake to spend a lot of the four years reading living writers. You should really try to cram yourself with the most serious stuff. Mine are clearly reactionary views, though, that aren't going to have any effect at all. The fascination with the contemporary is going to go on and on until students are studying writers who haven't even written anything yet. Rabble Here is the website of, by and for the Canadian Left, rabble.ca. Here is Samuel Johnson's thoughts on rabble several centuries earlier: "Here malice, rapine, accident conspire, And now a rabble rages, now a fire; Their ambush here relentless ruffians lay, And here the fell attorney prowls for prey; Here falling houses thunder on your head, And here a female atheist talks you dead." - Samuel Johnson, 'London' (via About Last Night) Brock's on the job, Rush must be trembling David Brock gets $2 million from liberal donors to set up Media Matters, a website that will correct the "errors" propagated by the "right-wing media." Big surprise is not that Brock is doing this or that liberals have $2 million to set up a website or that the Left thinks it needs to counter Fox News and Rush Limbaugh but that the New York Times actually described Brock as a liberal. John Kerry, Man of the People Billionaire Warren Buffet will become an economic advisor to presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee John Kerry (UltraD, People's Republic of MA). Buffet also provided an insight into how the Left views Kerry, which is not positively: ""I personally think our election will be a referendum on George W. Bush. The Kerry campaign is much less important than how people feel about Bush." The campaign does not want it to be about Kerry because if it is, Kerry will lose. Sunday, May 02, 2004
You gotta be joking The Boston Globe reports that Senator John Kerry (UltraD, People's Republic of MA) wants his own Dick Cheney soon, so the search for the perfect veep might be expedited. Usual list of supsects (Rep. Dick Gephardt, Senators Evan Bayh, John Edwards, Bob Graham and Ben Nelson, Governors Ed Rendell and Bill Richardson) but the idea that Kerry's meeting with Dick Durbin was to size up the senior senator from Illinois as a possibility to be his running mate buggers credibility. Ben Mulroney is his father's son and Kinsella is still a jack-ss Ben Mulroney is horrible but Warren Kinsella is worse. Find out why at The Shotgun. The empty suit that is Paul Martin Over at The Shotgun, I noted that PM PM is clueless but gets a free pass (the news peg was him not knowing what he gave President George W. Bush as a gift). Sean M comments: "The more I see of Paul Martin, the more I'm convinced he is a poser. Say the right things, and you'll be remembered for at least having the heart - if not the metal - to make this a better world. Problem is, reality keeps reminding us that there is a price to pay for what you say. You know, maybe Paul really didn't know anything about adscam as clearly he's not a detail guy. Unfortunately, he's not an idea guy either." Required reading Who's the bigger threat to the lives and freedom of American women: President George W. Bush or Islamic fundamentalists? Feminist answer: W. Real answer: al Qaeda and those who share their views. Read Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby for more. Palestinians kill Israeli family of six A pregnant Israeli woman, Tali Hatuel, 34, and her four daughters (Hila, 11, Hadar, 9, Roni, 7, and Merav, 2), were gunned down by Palestinian terrorists. Their father David was away from their home because he was lobbying against the Israeli pull-out of Gaza. Ha'aretz reports that "The Islamic Jihad and Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella organization of militant groups linked to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, claimed responsibility for the 'heroic' attack in a call to The Associated Press." How anyone can call the murder of six innocents heroic is beyond me. I guess one must be a Palestinian terrorist to understand such logic. Check out The Shotgun I've been posting mostly about Canadian politics at The Shotgun, the group blog of The Western Standard. Also, check out Kevin Steel's "Steel's Disunified Theory of Echoing Continental Economic Cycles" and think about what it could mean for Prime Minister Paul Martin. Paulitics This week at Paulitics: veepstakes, GOP Congressman retires, the Florida Republican Senate primary and the 2008 Minnesota Senate contest. Koppel's Stalinist gimmick In his Chicago Sun-Times column, Mark Steyn recounts Stalin's quip about one death being a tragedy, a million deaths being a statistic and chastises Ted Koppel for exploiting this for ratings. Koppel's sin is not reading the names of the dead to illustrate the cost of the War for Iraq but doing so without the context, that is, examining the benefits of the war, the reason for the mission: "But we owe it to the dead, always, every day, to measure their sacrifice against the mission, its aims, its successes, its setbacks. And, if the cause is still just, then you honor the fallen by pressing on to victory -- and then reading the roll call of the dead." (In hushed tones) Demography is destiny Even the Washington Post's Jim Hoagland gets the fact that Europe is growing old and not replacing its workforce. While having fewer children and lots of immigration is changing Europe into what Mark Steyn calls Euroabia, Hoagland notes that in polite company, these issues are not mentioned. Discussing a recent conference on the "Atlantic Community" (Europe and the United States -- Canada is usually ignored but can be thought of as part of Europe or the United States depending on the context and this time it's Europe), Hoagland notes "There are good reasons for caution in talking about policy-related demographic changes. But the silence the experts stumbled into is instructive. Like individuals, nations try to avoid thinking about aging, its costs and consequences. We whistle past the rest home as well as the graveyard." Hoagland doesn't mention abortion but that's one graveyard most journalists would rather whistle by than ponder the significance of. Debating abortion: When should one hold one's tongue? National Review's Ramesh Ponnuru in The Corner: "Kevin Drum writes, 'Ponnuru is right: if abortion is murder, then anyone who gets an abortion should be jailed. Anybody who performs an abortion should be put on death row. Anybody who supports abortion rights is little better than a mobster or a terrorist. But if that's what [pro-lifers] believe — and they do — why does he think it's unwise to admit it in public? The question answers itself, doesn't it?' It's always nice to hear that others think that I'm right about something. But I can't be right to hold beliefs that I don't actually hold. I do not believe that it follows from the homicidal nature of abortion that anyone who procures one must go to jail. (I've explained myself a little further on this point here.) I do not believe that it follows that anyone who commits an abortion should be on death row. I do not believe that anyone who supports abortion is little better than a mobster or a terrorist. I am quite certain that most pro-lifers do not believe any of these propositions, either. It is true that I believe that pro-lifers should generally pick those true arguments at their disposal that are best calculated to win legal protection for the unborn, not those true arguments that are likely to repel people who are otherwise open to persuasion. I don't fault people on the other side of the debate from choosing their public arguments on the same basis. Everyone involved in practical politics does this, and should." I've always been uneasy with 1) not arguing for jail sentences for women and doctors involved in abortion even though it is a political non-starter and 2) not being truthful about one's own positions. Holding back on what one thinks is morally necessary even if it is politically expedient strikes me as dishonest. Yet, Ponnuru has a point about choosing those arguments (indeed issues) that one can win. It comes down to that whole power versus principles, pragmatism versus purity thing. Dean of the Parliamentary Press Gallery on Paul Martin's re-election I don't think Sun Media columnist Douglas Fisher would put a lot of money on it. He concludes his column outlining how Paul Martin has not lived up to his promise (not the first time, Fisher notes, the latest Liberal example being John Turner in 1984) thusly: "Clearly, he [Martin] would be lost without his Earnscliffe handlers, who seem both conceited and adolescent, a mix indicating a brief prime ministerial run for their puppet." Let's hope so. Saturday, May 01, 2004
Political correctness over security Check out the post below on discrimination and reality and then come back and read this Observer article from last week reporting that Muslim women in the United Kingdom will be exempt from ID card photos. I don't like the idea of an ID card, but I like the idea of a (real, full) ID card for some even less. The Derb's insensitivity John Derbyshire discusses discrimination in his end-of-the-month column: "Everything is equal to everything else. The feeling that America is losing its grip on reality grows daily. The essence of having a grip on reality is the power to discriminate, to make distinctions. A tree is not the same kind of thing as a fencepost, a faun is not a snake, a garden shed is not a cathedral, a fleeting urge is not a deep passion, and so on. Discrimination is the essence of common sense. Unfortunately, two generations of Americans have now grown up believing that 'discrimination' means 'being unkind to black people.' A dark shadow has now fallen over discrimination of every kind..." Wait a minute there, Derb. Please refrain from such derogatory racial epithets. "Catholic politicians" The Associcated Press reports that Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader and pro-abortion "Catholic", said, in defiance of Catholic teaching, that she will continue to receive the Holy Eucharist despite her opposition to Church teaching and the Vatican's insistence that self-excommunicated politicians refrain from presenting themselves during communion. Pelosi said "I fully intend to receive Communion, one way or another. That's very important to me." Apparently, however, not important enough to give up her advocacy of killing unborn children. Pelosi added: "I believe that my position on choice is one that is consistent with my Catholic upbringing, which said that every person has a free will and has the responsibility to live their lives in a way that they would have to account for in the end." But using Pelosi's reasoning, she should be a libertarian opposed to all government programs, shouldn't she? Every person has free will and the responsibility to live their lives and suffer the consequences (and benefits) for it. I look forward to Ms. Pelosi's new outlook when it comes time to vote on legislation that affects anyone's free will (for example affirmative action or raising the minimum wage). One last point, this one about the media. The AP reports that Pelosi is "a San Francisco Democrat who was raised in a devout Italian Catholic home." How do they know? Why, just because someone was raised Catholic, is it automatically considered devout. Jean Chretien biographer Lawrence Martin says the same thing during his treatment of Chretien's views on homosexuality (Chretien is pro same-sex marriage, the Catholic Church, of course, is not). Obviously, Pelosi's and Chretien's home was not devout enough. Sharia watch In Nigeria, "Governor Ahmed Sani of Zamfara State, has ordered the demolition of all churches in the state, as he launched the second phase of his Sharia project yesterday." Technically, Governor Sani's actions are unconsitutional but who cares about such formalities. (Hat tip to Relapsed Catholic) From the Oh Poop files Paul Martin says "We will defend ourselves and we're not going to ask anybody else to do it for us." I hope there are take-backs. He couldn't possibly have meant this unless he honestly believes that Canada is just so golly darn good that no one will ever want to harm us. Including those nasty terrorists. Just say no to torture Ralph Peters has a very good column in the New York Post on the criminal mistreatment of military prisoners and one that avoids the usual moralizing. Peters says, "On the battlefield, we must be fierce. But once an enemy becomes a prisoner of our military, he must be treated justly and humanely. Strictness, yes. Abuse, no." One is pure fairness, abiding by the Uniformed Code of Military Justice and the Geneva convention. The other is purely pragmatic. Getting caught violating the rights of prisoners, Peters says, proves the dictum "One aw-shit cancels a hundred attaboys." If found guilty, the American soldiers must spend time behind bars. Great NR cover Check out National Review cover featuring a story on Senator John Kerry's (Ultra D, People's Republic of MA) here. I agree with KJL that it should be turned into a t-shirt. For those insanely interested in baseball A detailed look at whether Mike Piazza, who tied Carlton Fisk earlier this week for the most homeruns by a catcher, is the best catcher of all time. Rich's Weekend Baseball BEAT dodges that question but finds Piazza the best hitting catcher of all time. It's too late now CBC reports that the feds are increasing penalties for late filers of the income tax and that fines are doubled for repeat offenders. Coming soon: Dean Scream II The Associated Press reports that after the November election, Howard Dean is mulling the idea of hosting his own TV talk show. The kicker: he says it wouldn't be about politics. But what else is there for a far-left liberal, a worldview that maintains the personal is political? |