Out of town. Check out the blogroll !
Senator Flip Flop
Christophers Law
From a reader, this ruling on Ontario’s sex offender registry. Relevant section is at the bottom, which you might want to skip right along to, unless you have a law degree and a glutton for punishment. (I skimmed, but not so quickly as to have missed this sober passage; “…but the words of McKinlay J.A. in Cuddy Chicks [1989]”.)
On to the money quote.
[130] As noted previously, the objectives of Christopher’s Law are admirable but I find that in fostering these objectives Christopher’s Law is overbroad. The legislation incorporates means which limit and violate Mr. Dyck’s right to liberty and security for no reasons. The objective of Christopher’s Law could be accomplished without infringing on the life, liberty and security interests of Mr. Dyck or others in the manner it has which I find is arbitrary or disproportionate. The provisions of Christopher’s Law impair the rights of Mr. Dyck under section 7 more than is reasonably necessary in order to achieve its legislative objectives.
[131] I find, therefore, that Christopher’s Law violates Mr. Dyck’s rights under section 7 of the Charter and the legislation cannot be justified under section 1 of the Charter.
Mr. Dyck (his real name or fun lovin’ psuedonym ? … the mind boggles) is a convicted sex offender who objected to being added to the Ontario sex offender registry and his objections are upheld.
So there you have it. Law abiding Canadian citizens are mandated by federal law to register their firearms (or face criminal prosecution) ; mandated by federal law to register all purebred animals (under threat of a $50,000 fine); by provincial law, to register all motor vehicles and trailers. They must register their intent to serve alcohol at a public gathering. They must register their intent to hold a charity raffle. They must register their newborns and their dead.
But it’s unconstitutional to mandate the errant Dyck to register his errant dick.
Bulge Over Troubled Waters
With admiring overtones, local lefty CKOM afternoon host, Kurt Leavins, played a short clip of Ted Kennedy speaking at the DNC this afternoon. In what was presumably meant to be a moment of nostalgia and profound reflection, he then shared an audio clip of the man who could have been President if the bitch had just learned to swim speaking at the funeral of his big brother, John F.
Leavens said it gave him a feeling of “deja vu”.
The spine shivers.
?
Deja vu? As in an instantanious funeral revisitation? Ted Kennedy delivering a eulogy at the DNC?
(If you say so. My Kennedy “deja vu” moments occur when young women succumb to death by rich playboy”, but that’s just me.)
In related coverage;
Via, Bankers Online, the convention schedule;
6:00pm – Opening flag burning ceremony.
6:05pm – Pledge of Allegiance to the United Nations
6:10pm – Secular words by Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton
6:30pm – Anti-war concert by Barbra Streisand.
6:45pm – Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.
7:00pm – Tribute theme to France.
7:10pm – Collect offerings for al-Zawahri defense fund.
7:20pm – Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.
7:30pm – Tribute theme to Germany.
7:45pm – Anti-war rally moderated by Michael Moore.
8:25pm – Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.
8:30pm – Terrorist appeasement workshop.
9:00pm – Gay marriage ceremony for male and female couples.
9:20pm – Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.
9:30pm – CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN urge defeat of President Bush.
10:00pm – Posting the Iraqi Colors by Sean Penn and Tim Robbins
10:10pm – Reenactment of Kerry’s fake medal toss.
10:15pm – Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.
10:20pm – Cameo by Dean ‘Yeeearrrrrrrg!’
10:30pm – Abortion demonstration by N.A.R.A.L.
10:40pm – Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.
10:50pm – Special thanks to the New York Times & Washington Post.
11:00pm – Multiple gay marriage ceremony for threesomes and groups.
11:10pm – Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.
11:15pm – Maximizing Welfare workshop.
11:30pm – Saddam Legal Defense Fund pep rally.
11:50pm – Ted Kennedy proposes a toast.
12:00pm – Nomination of Democratic candidate.
NEW: 5:00am -Ted Kennedy Will Conduct a Swimming Class.
Protein Wisdom is also blogging the convention. Well, channeling might be the more accurate word…
We’re Number 1!
F9/11 Film Fan Detained
On the eve of Michael Moore’s Crawford, Texas screening of his blockbuster documentary, Farenheit 9/11, federal officials have begun to arrest his Texas bound movie fans.
Zahra Kazemi Still Dead
Court TV, Tehran;
“Counsel for the defense most strenuously objects to the charges, your Honour.”
“We have rock solid evidence that my client had no part in the misfortune that befell this woman. He had no knowledge of her detainment, took no part in her interrogation, did not lift a hand in the beating, promptly delivered her to medical authorities upon the first that her hunger strike had resulted in low blood pressure and death by old age.”
“In her sleep, I hasten to add.”
Canadian officlals responded by threatening to hold breath until blue in the face.
The Belmont Club weighs in. His verdict on the Canadian response …. (I know the suspense is killing you.)
Martin’s Law Of Inertia
(Click on the pic to see more fabulous Pol:Spy stuff.)
Blogging The Convention
Tim Blair is in the US blogging the DNC convention.
“I’m heading into town now to set a trap for Michael Moore. I can’t reveal too much, but it involves a long piece of string, an empty cardboard box (extra large), a stick, and a cheeseburger.”
So is another one of my favourites, talk radio host Hugh Hewitt.
And this sobering convention analysis from Reason’s Matt Welch.
(Larry King) doesn’t walk, he sashays — left hand on hip, pinkie and ring-finger sticking out at dramatic angles, as he swivel-shoulders down the hallway with his jacket collar half flipped up. Looks like a 70-year-old former Teddy Boy who is very comfortable with his feminine side.
Small wonder nobody is watching the networks. The bloggers are providing the real entertainment.
A list of the rest.
Snap Peas
A few years ago I ripped up a patch of lawn with the intention of turning it into garden. Success has been well…. uneven. I’ve actually given much of it over to a tangle of wild flowers, the most successful of which are the volunteer descendants of Brown-eyed Susan seeds I plucked from a roadside several years ago. Otherwise, things have not been worth writing home about. My corn grows to 16″ in height. I have had failed potato crops. Failed potato crops. Imagine.
(Yes, I grabbed a tire iron to stake some flowers. Deal with it.)
But this year, a turnaround. I have romaine and spinach on my plate every night, there is celery and purple, green and yellow beans that will be ready in about a week. The beets are actually growing, I may get carrots and I’ve had my first feed of baby red gourmet style potatoes.
The tomatoes will still be a while yet, but they’re healthy and flowering. There’s even hope for the corn.
And snap peas! Peas with edible pods.. who knew? I’m cooking more of them tonight. Delicious little things raw or steamed. Why would anybody grow the labour intensive inedible pod varieties at all?
This wasn’t so hard, after all. All it took was some rain and a bit of planning to take better advantage of sun exposure. My thumb may be showing a hint of green after all.
I’m hooked.
Next year, I’m planting chickens.
O’Reilly Corners Moore
Matt Drudge has a leaked transcript up. It’s not pretty. One would think that with all that time to think about his accusations, Moore would have a more skilled response ready. OTOH, I think O’Reilly missed the boat by not dismissing Moore’s “send your children” faux question.
Nobody is sending “children” to Iraq. They are adults, professional soldiers and all are volunteers.
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It’s the Palestinians who send their children to war. |
Polls Sagging
This has to be a bit of a downer for convention celebrants. Kerry’s polls are sagging faster than his debotoxified face …
hmmmm….
Considering the fact that average voting Americans are only beginning to pay attention to the choices before them, maybe the DNC should rethink giving Michael “Would you say that to Bush or Kerry?” Moore a chair in the presidential box.
New Kids On The Block
A couple of articles on the bloggers who have been accredited to cover the Democratic National Convention. The NYT is not very enthusiastic, referring to them as “diaries”, as if they haven’t stumbled across the word “weblog”.
The Opinion Journal has a less dismissive take.
(If anyone spots any other stories, send them along and I’ll include them in updates.)
The Republicans will be accrediting bloggers as well – no word yet as to who, so far as I can tell. The DNC committed the faux pas of formally inviting a few right of center bloggers, only to disinvite them for unexplained reasons a few days later.
Hat tip to Glenn Reynolds, who pointed the way to this Corante post.
Sask Labour Updates Anthem
Based on an old classic;
“Take your 65,000 jobs and shove it…”
Offensive Driving
DNC “Politburo”
Brokaw, on the DNC network coverage;
“Any entrepreneurship that we show on booking guests or unilaterally calling up people and trying to get them to come to our booth, we get a call 15 minutes later from the Kerry operation saying ‘No, no, that’s not part of our booking procedure,’ ” Mr. Brokaw said. “There is a politburo running this convention.” (Stephanie Cutter, a spokeswoman for Mr. Kerry, said the campaign’s booking operation was set up to facilitate interviews, not restrict them.)
The campaign went so far as to try to limit the kind of questions Mr. Brokaw and Mr. Rather were to ask Mr. Kerry here on Wednesday afternoon. The staff wanted the questions to concern Mr. Kerry’s expectations for the convention, nothing more, according to people at both networks. It was the sort of terms-setting that few have dared to ask of network anchors. The request was swiftly denied.
Mr. Kerry did not help matters when he failed to appear until nearly an hour before the evening newscasts, leaving the anchors to wait at Faneuil Hall with increasing anxiety. (Mr. Kerry was not running late in returning from a campaign stop but rather from his vacation home in Nantucket.)
“What that said to me was that either they don’t have their stuff together, or he’s ultimately responsible, or he just took it lightly,” Mr. Rather complained.
All that, and a Jennings-Brokaw pissing match, too.
Heh.
Be Sure To Wash Your Hands
The most disturbing aspect of this latestrevelation is the possibility that there are articles in the National Archives that may have spent time in Sandy Berger’s pants.
Progress In Afghanistan
More good news that the mainstream media deems unfit to print. Aussie blogger Arthur Chrenkoff in the WSJ Opinion Journal;
For all the fashionable talk about Iraq distracting the Bush Administration from the war on terror, it’s largely been the media that have ignored Afghanistan except for the occasional story about another skirmish with the Taliban remnants or the explosion in opium cultivation.
CBS’s veteran journalist Tom Fenton recently had this to say about the work of his media colleagues: “You know the old saying: No news is good news. But in the news business, it is just the opposite: Good news is no news–which is why you have been hearing so little from Afghanistan recently.”
Some of that good news: the status of women has improved dramatically, with 2.1 million now registered to vote. Afghan refugees continue to return. Polls indicate that the US is favoured over the Taliban by a margin of six to one. Two thirds of the population believe the country is moving in the right direction, and the interim government enjoys solid support. 81% intend to vote in the elections in October.
“And for the first time, female athletes will represent Afghanistan at the Olympic Games in Athens. Robina Muqimyar will run in the 100 meters, and Friba Rezihi will compete in judo. “
The full article is worth a read.
While they Afghans will continue to be dogged by setbacks, and certainly face the prospect of opposition attacks as they near their elections. it is hard to believe that this much progress has been achieved in only two years time – and at such a low cost in human life.
No word yet of a rebuttal from Noam Chomsky.
hat tip – the excellent Pejmanesque
Joe Who?
Ed Morrisey charts the media coverage of the Joe Wilson before (Bush lied about Iraq seeking uranium in the SOTU address) and the Joe Wilson after (Joe Wilson lied about what he found in Niger and who recommended him for the job) media coverage;
Outlet………Wilson Before….Wilson After
CBS………………..30……………0
NBC………………..40……………1
ABC………………..18……………1
Washington Post…..96………….2
New York Times……70………….3
Los Angeles Times…48………….2
Using “uranium niger” and “Joe Wilson” as search terms:
CBC.ca…………………..7……………0
CTV.ca……………………1……………0
(It appears that CTV preserves stories for a shorter period of time)
“Off A Tich”
Reuters:
Three weeks of imaging data by the agency’s satellites from early 2001 showed more than 10 individual giant waves around the globe of more than 25 metres in height. Previously, scientists believed that such large waves occurred only once every 10,000 years.