Uncivil War . Naughty language , a good read though . A southerners take on the big 3 , and stuff .

My apologies if this has been posted here already:

T'WAS THREE WEEKS BEFORE CHRISTMAS

T'was three weeks before Christmas, when all through the house The opposition was stirring, even Layton - the louse.
The dealings were waved in front of noses in the air, In hopes that a Coalition soon would be there.

The Blocs were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of separatism danced in their heads.
And Jack in his 'kerchief, and Stéphane - the sap, Had just settled down for a long winter's nap.

When all across the country there arose such a clatter, Dion insisted, it didn't really matter.
Away out the window, he threw with a flash, The results of the election, amid the backlash.

The moon on the breast of Elizabeth May, Suggested she might still be able to play.
When, what to her wondering eyes should appear, But a weasely Frenchman with promises dear.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it was Jack Layton, the dick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dion! now, Duceppe! Now Mays - you vixen!
Let's get together, It's time to Listen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Let's unite! Let's unite! Separatists and all!"

And then, in a twinkling, they heard on the roof The prancing and pawing of Canadians, not aloof.
They drew in their heads, and turned around, And down the chimney St Harper came with a bound.

He was dressed all in gold, from his head to his feet, Letting them know he wouldn't be easy to defeat.
A bundle of Tories he had flung on his back, And he looked like a King, with nothing to lack.

His eyes-how they glared! his fists, how clenched!
He stands for democracy, and won't see it trenched!
His droll little mouth was drawn up in a sneer, For the governor-general soon would appear..

The promise of dissolving he held tight in his teeth, And the smoke it caused encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a stern face and a little round belly, And wanted to bury Dion in a bowlful of jelly!

Harper was elected by Canadians, voted in fair, Not a Weasel, not a Separatist, not the guy with no hair!
With them getting together, it will have to be said, Canadians will face the future with dread.

Harper spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, Shook his head in disgust, then turned to the jerk.
And laying his middle finger aside of his nose, And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a shout, Trying to teach Canadians, what this is about.
And I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight, "This is the end of democracy, C'mon lets fight!"

"I'm a Midnight Toker" -- Getting Stoned with Barry O

"Pictures from a contact sheet that Time Magazine could only manage to find now. [Yet another confirmation of what utter tools these dying bozos are.]"

"In 1980, when Obama was a freshman at Occidental College in Los Angeles, he was approached by an aspiring photographer named Lisa Jack, who asked him if he would be willing to pose for some black and white photographs that she could use in her portfolio. --Obama: The College Years - Photo Essays - TIME"

http://americandigest.org/mt-archives/truth_slant/im_a_midnight_t.php

Stephen Harper and the Conservatives are truly serving their fellow Canadians well and doing a wonderful job in tough circumstances.

How does one know this???

The CBC At Issue panel and the oh so perfect look at me I'm special Peter Mansbridge slagged the PMN and all things Conservative.

The day the Canadian "elites" who live in their little secluded self important bubbles think the Conservatives "speak for them" is the day the other 99.9% of severely normal Canadians should worry.

The fact that these egotistical self important opinionistas who are getting paid by the same taxpayer they show such disrespect for are already gaga for fellow blue blood elitist, Ignatieff, just proves how out of touch they are.

Did you know they get paid thousands of dollars in fees, hotel, transportation and perks just to give their "opinions" on CBC - because their opinions count I guess and real down to earth realistic Canadians are too stupid to think for ourselves???

So the taxpayer pays the tab for these bozos to implant their opinions in our oh so feeble pliable brains.

Finally, I got a really lovely Christmas card today from the Harpers with a casual family photo of the four of them waving.- Regular folk, just like us.

The Brian Setzer Orchestra and their version of The Nutcracker Suite:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_7AvrTnMpY

Joel has a great video from CNN where Condeleeza Rice scolds a CNN reporter and MSM in general for missing the details of an historical moment. The MSM only focused on the shoe throwing.

http://www.proudtobecanadian.ca/blog/

Well said, Marie! Further evidence that CBC News truly is simply the PR arm of LPOT (Liberal Party of Toronto).

In other news, do you all remember the illegal retrieval of Joe the Plumber's confidential info? Some people are finally paying the price. The top person in the affair, Helen Jones-Kelley wrote this self-serving diatribe in her resignation letter: "My professional career, and the legacy of service I have established, has been, and continues to be, far too important for me to allow my reputation and my commitment as a servant leader to be disparaged. I also remain concerned for the safety of my family and myself."

Ain't it the case that liberals always play the victim card when they're called out on their crappy behaviour!

John Cross - the rug is pulled from under thee fundamental position;

[ .. ]

[ Atmospheric CO2 may go where it will but I suspect in due course its rate of increase will eventually slow. The same thing will happen to any oceanic pH decline as increased raininess increases continental weathering rates which increases the export of total alkalinity, Fe and Si into the ocean (which in turn tends to CO2-absorbing primary productivity, neutralize CO2-induced acidity and so on).

Given:

* the lack of the IPCC-predicted stratospheric heating;

* the observed reduction in tropical-polar temperature gradients (underestimated by GCMs);

* the known 30 year trends in continental potential evaporation (down), cloudiness, rainfall (both up), oceanic wind speeds (up) etc; and

* the confounding 20 year surface temperature record just before and since the 1998 El Nino (up then down),

I think we can reasonably expect to see a majority of top level climate researchers in the next few years cautiously promulgating a more moderate view of global climate CO2 sensitivity and a more optimistic view on climate homeostasis and so-called ocean acidification. It is already happening at various reputable overseas universities (e.g. MIT, several Max Planck Institutes, Uni. Hamburg etc) and even now is slowly creeping into other institutions, including here in Australia.

Of course the monstrous egos, the chronically dogmatic, the hopelessly compromised, the committed members of the AGW herd won't like it but, hey, that's entropy for you.

Regards
Steve

Dr Steve Short
Director
Ecoengineers Pty Ltd ]

rik @12:01
Good one. (Add rimshot for effect)

Marie @11:44 PM

Regular folks, indeed!

Merry Christmas everyone and thanks Vitruvius, for all that you do! Smooches, hugs and cheers to all that you love!

Stephen Harper: Economist

September 15, 2008: "My own belief is if we were going to have some kind of big crash or recession, we probably would have had it by now." - Stephen Harper

The next month: Dow Jones plunges 2,340 points

October 7, 2008: "I think there's probably a lot of great buying opportunities emerging in the stock market as a consequence of all this panic." - Stephen Harper

Six week later: TSX down over 2,000 points

September 26, 2008: "All the fundamentals of the Canadian economy are good. It's not the time to do anything new, wild or stupid." - Stephen Harper

September 26, 2008: Harper accused Dion of attempting to "drive down confidence in the Canadian economy without foundation, and quite frankly, sitting on the sidelines, virtually cheering for a recession."

October 6, 2008: "I know economists will say well, we could run a small deficit but the problem is that once you cross that line as we see in the United States, nothing stops deficits from getting larger and larger and spiralling out of control." - Stephen Harper

October 8, 2008: Asked if running even a small deficit would be bad in these difficult times, Mr. Flaherty said flatly: “Yes, it would be.”

October 10, 2008: "This country will not go into recession next year and will lead the G7 countries." - Stephen Harper

November 22, 2008: "These are, of course, the classic circumstances under which budgetary deficits are essential." -Stephen Harper

November 27, 2008: Flaherty predicts recession, offers no stimulus package

December 15, 2008: "The truth is, I've never seen such uncertainty in terms of looking forward to the future. I'm very worried about the Canadian economy. [...] Obviously, we're going to have to run a deficit." - Stephen Harper

December 16, 2008: Canada's leader [Harper] says depression possible

December 17, 2008: "It’s quite clear on the basis of the forecasts, and the continuing decline in the forecasts, that there will be a deficit." - Jim Flaherty

December 18, 2008: Ottawa could suffer four consecutive years of deficits, even before stimulus.

Thanks to CalgaryGrit for this timeline of incompetence.

Hey ulianov, two words:

Sponsorship scandal.

It is to laugh.

Jim Traverse is clearly one of the most biased holier than thou crude and downright disrespectful of all things Conservative opinion writer (no real journalist can spew such venom and call it news).

Dear Jim has written a venomous piece about Harper's senate appointment blanketing ALL senators as pigs at the trough for the most part.

Here's the irony: Many of those so called "porkers" are Liberal journalists and bagmen who earned their perks by being caustic and rude about all things conservative.

In other words, they are buddies of Jim Traverse; many are his fellow Toronto-centric drinking hole buds.

Methinks Jim's oh so prominent nose is clearly out of joint as he has played the Liberal journalist game for so many years now I think he expected a nice little thank you seat in the Senate by a nice little coalition or Ignatieff PM.

Traverse venom reminds me of Garth Turner's when he was passed over for cabinet minister.

The two of them truly do believe that they are smarter and more entitled to their opinions and rewards than lesser humans.

This man's writings should be analyzed by a head soctor - the jealousy and rage and bias and downright seething hatred for the abhoration called Conservatives is actually quite scary.

And he gets paid for this kind of hate mongering???
Just like Jim

Hey ulianov....

Johhny Cretin, mob boss: "a proof is a proof"

Pauly Martin, shipping magnate: "uhhh....uhhhh....uhhhh"

Cityoen Dion, France professor: "dis is not fair"

Iggy Pop, American professor: "torture's cool with me"

Have you ever held a position of responsibility, Ulianov, or do you consider sticking to an ideological stance in the face of changing circumstances to be some badge of pride, or some other misplaced form of hubris? Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds". Fortunately, Ulianov, we have you to remind us of the wisdom of his words.

Hey eskimo, two words:

Ancient history.

Unlike the Cadman tapes and the "in and out" funding scheme.

How old are you ulianov? How long have you been paying taxes?
Under the Lieberal, we have written an extra cheque every year. Under the Conservatives, we don't. Do the math, or not.

Maybe you do everything under the table or never pay taxes but do not spew crap that has nothing to do with reality.

Even your "god's" did not predict this one...do your flippin' homework.

Quit already with the cut and paste, please.

Excuse me, Vit, but the words "sticking to an ideological stance" and Harper have a lot in common. Thanks to his "sticking to an ideological stance" we are without a functioning government in the middle of the biggest economic crisis since the 1930's. No...instedad of cooperating like he promised after the election, he had to try and screw the opposition parties. And when they told him to FU, he ran away. Some leader.

Ancient history? Typical mmonbat kneejerk response. Very well. In 30 minutes time the December 18th comment will be ancient history too. Doesn't negate the fact that the LPC are, were and will continue to be corrupt.

Right, Bec, it wasn't predicted...except that real economists were predicting this for over a year.

As you wish, Ulianov; it's not my job to prevent you from being wrong.

'Screw' the opposition parties? You're reaching now ulianov. Funny how only the CPC has grassroots support and the rump parties have to rely on the taxpayer to foot their bills! Harper wanted all parties to lead by example, a concept foreign to those who have entitlements hard wired into their DNA.

PS. nice Bolshevic name there, ulianov.

I'm not wrong...Harper was.

Tonight on CTV newsnet they had a story about the canadian who was shot 3 times in Mumbai returning home. He was shot by 'militants' also known as 'terrorists'. Not once in the 4 minute clip was the word 'Islamic' or 'jihad' used to describe these murderous bastards, who also killed two other Canadians.....Of course,Cbc would mention this rather important fact in their report,right? Of course not,cbc did not even cover the story. It is not news if canadians are shot or murdered,what is important is never, ever, showing anything that may make Canadians think Islam is anything but a misunderstood 'religion of peace'. Disgusting,just f'en disgusting.

As you wish, Ulianov, in the end, all that matters is the massed effect of the
Canadian electorate, in which both you and I have exactly one vote each.

And I do apologize for being so pragmatic,
just when you've got your dogma in a knot.

Pursuant to my above post,I wandered over to the cbc.ca site and checked out their coverage. They did cover it, it is the 21st story in 'Canadian headlines.'Islam' or'jihad' is not mentioned in the story,or the fact that 2 Canadians were also murdered that day. There was 16 comments following the story,and again no mention of either word.The 17th does include both,and they did print it.I'm shocked,I wonder if it will last.

But my dear Vitruvius, that massed effect only matters if there is another election. It's the majority opposition that determines if we carry on with a minority government, and the Governor General determines if the coalition is worth a try.

Aye, we shall see.

"snow-mageddon" vs "consensus on global warming is melting"
...-

"Truckers protest pre-set speeds
London Free Press - 3 hours ago
By JOE BELANGER Drivers heading east on the Highway 401 today can expect a slow commute as a big winter storm -- dubbed a "snow-mageddon" -- blows in."
...-

"The so-called consensus on global warming is melting"

"As news reports falsely told Canadians, "Scientists and governments from around the world have reached a consensus" about human activity causing global warming, the real story is that large numbers of scientists are switching teams to declare global warming science is far from settled and there is no consensus.

The Senate report quotes one Nobel-winning scientist as saying, "I am a skeptic . . . global warming has become a new religion." A climate expert says the debate now follows "a fundamentally unscientific approach,"while a former IPCC member says the climate change models used to project global warming changes are only useful in "explaining climate changes after the fact." Another former IPCC member is now undertaking a "detailed assessment" of how the IPCC policy-makers "distorted the science" when drafting its policy document.

How did the UN IPCC reports become the gold standard for documenting global warming if there are so many doubters? Because non-scientist policy-makers have the final say on what scientific conclusions and policies are included and UN claims of scientific support are highly exaggerated.

For example, the UN claimed 2,500 scientists supported its key claim that human-generated greenhouse gases are the primary cause of global warming. But those 2,500 weren't asked to support it--they were only asked to review it. Only 62 completed the review, and 55 had serious concerns, leaving a total of seven to support the science that is the basis of the IPCC climate-change policy."
http://preview.tinyurl.com/4yh9t3

maz2 - "Drivers heading east on the Highway 401 today can expect a slow commute as a big winter storm -- dubbed a "snow-mageddon" -- blows in."

And a good thing too!

It's 8:30 Friday morning in Woodstock, Ontario and the fine snowflakes are going by my window -- SIDEWAYS!!!!

Old fashioned winter style!

AGW be damned.

ulianov has his mind made up Vit. Don't confuse him with the facts.
Fact is Prime Minister Stephen Harper warned of difficult economic times coming in his Christmas address of December '07. Of course the media chastised him for that and of course Calgary Grit didn't include that in his 'list'.
Another fact is that PMSH has a better understanding of this economic downturn than the media.
In my area there is a demand for skilled labourers. And I'm still seeing packed malls and houses being built.Yes..some industries are wisely going to a 4 day week.They will survive because they are adapting.
The media is fearmongering.

Joe, any cardinals at your feeders? Snowbirds? Great Horned Owls?
...-

Vote Dr. Tim Ball for senator.

" CO2 is not causing warming or climate change. It is not a toxic substance or a pollutant

Pre-industrial CO2 levels were about the same as today. How and why we are told otherwise?"

"How many failed predictions, discredited assumptions and evidence of incorrect data are required before an idea loses credibility?"
By Dr. Tim Ball
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/6855

Actually, ulianov/lberia, it's the people of Canada who determine whether we carry on with a minority government or a coalition. Or a majority government.

Your assumption that our government rests in the hands of and only of, our elected representatives in parliament and an appointed representative ignores the fundamental word: 'representative'.

These people represent our will. Not their will. Any breach of this connection violates the basic principles of democracy. To maintain this connection, the question of 'what should be the nature of our government' has to be put to and answered by and only by, the electorate.

Your suggestion that it can readily ignore this requirement and that our mode of governance rests only within the partisan agendas of the Opposition and the GG - rejects our democracy and moves Canada into an oligarchy.

Another minor comment is that, despite your suggestion that the opposition is a majority they are 3 parties not one. I presume there is a fundamental reason why they have not, as yet, merged themselves into your image of Oneness and why they have not put such an offering to the electorate.

Try and visualize just how "proprtional representaional" governmants would function, because you are getting the dog wagging the tail now.
Just wait until you get ten different special interest reps elected.
Talk about disfunction, you would have it in spades.

Hey maz2- , Juncos, nuthatches, cardinals, house finches, the occasional blue jay, and of course crows.

"The official reason being given is that the "weather is not the climate." For those readers not skilled in dialectical huckstering, the argument seems to be that the weather can get colder while the climate gets warmer.

Proponents of global warming finally have an irrefutable, because incoherent, theory guaranteed to win any debate. This hypothesis cannot be refuted. If the "weather" cools it proves that the "climate" is getting warmer. If the weather gets warmer then the climate gets warmer. As the barker shouts out at the carnival,
"Winner! Winner! Winner!""\
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/12/climate_crisis_logic_crisis.html

c'mon joe - what about the ever-present chickadee? Oh, and squirrels.

Proportional representation would be a disaster. An important aspect of PR is that it becomes politicized and corrupt because the MPs are chosen by the party rather than directly by the people. They are therefore, answerable to the party rather than to the people.

Remember, our esteemed supporters of the coalition, who inform us that '62% voted against Harper' - odd, since I thought that we each voted FOR a party and its presumed policies - but these supporters include the Marxist-leninists, communists, marijuana etc supporters in this coalition.

ET thinks she's a constitutional expert, while in reality she's a propaganda expert:
"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." Somewhere, Goebbels is smiling.

"Have you ever held a position of responsibility, Ulianov, or do you consider sticking to an ideological stance in the face of changing circumstances to be some badge of pride, or some other misplaced form of hubris? Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds". Fortunately, Ulianov, we have you to remind us of the wisdom of his words."

Nice bitch slap Vitruvius.

I'm not sure if anyone has brought this up someplace else, but makes for some interesting reading re connections:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12192008/news/columnists/500m_problems_for_madame_secretary_144933.htm

By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN

NOW that Bill Clinton has re leased the list of his 205,000 donors who have given close to $500 million to his library and foundation, it is clear why he resisted releasing the list while his wife was running for president.

Now, compelled by the Obama transition team to make it public as a condition of his wife’s appointment as secretary of state, it becomes clear that the list is a virtual encyclopedia of conflicts of interest for the husband of a senator - to say nothing of the husband of an incoming secretary of state.

Particularly troubling are the massive donations from Arab governments in the Middle East.

Pardon us for looking such generous gift horses in the mouth, but it is hard to imagine so many governments, monarchs and businessmen in the Middle East giving money unless it was with some hope of a political return. Will that return now come with the appointment of Sen. Clinton as secretary of state?

How can Hillary Rodham Clinton mediate and negotiate conflicts in the Middle East impartially when her husband’s library and foundation - over which he has total control - have been bankrolled by the very nations with whom she must negotiate?

The list reveals another key center of conflicts of interest in Kazakhstan, the former Soviet republic, now home to some of the world’s greatest mineral deposits and ruled by a corrupt dictator, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who, according to The New York Times, has all but quashed political dissent.

Bill Clinton visited Kazakhstan and met with its president on Sept. 6, 2005, accompanied by Canadian mining financier Frank Giustra.

Soon after, Giustra was awarded a highly lucrative contract to mine uranium there. Now, lo and behold, Frank Giustra turns up having given the library and foundation between $10 million and $25 million and the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative of Canada gave $1 million to $5 million more.

And Clinton got $1 million to $5 million from Lakshmi Mittal, the fourth-wealthiest person on the Forbes billionaire list and a member of the Foreign Investment Council in Kazakhstan.

In addition, Clinton further fished in troubled waters by taking $1 million to $5 million from Victor Pinchuk, the son-in-law of the controversial former president of the Ukraine.

Given the complexities of US policy toward the former Soviet republics in Central Asia, it is hard to see how this massive and incestuous relationship cannot but complicate Hillary’s independence.

One of the largest donors to the library and foundation was UNITAID, an international organization largely controlled by France, which donated more than $25 million. And the conflicts of interest are not all just foreign. Corporate bailout recipients and recipient wannabes donated to the Clinton fund. They include AIG, Lehman, Merrill, the Citi Foundation and General Motors.

And, almost as an afterthought, the list reveals a donation of at least $250,000 from Denise Rich, presumably in return for her ex-husband’s presidential pardon.

How could a US senator possibly serve dispassionately while her husband was collecting money from these donors on this kind of scale? And how could we have almost elected a president without realizing these conflicts existed? And how on earth can a secretary of state function with these conflicts hanging over her head?

Joe: they(enviroment canada)said we would get a skiff here in grey/bruce/owen sound on the outer edge of the storm, 10cm. i think we had that in the first hour. Currently blowing snow visibility poor i can barely see across the street(iam on hwy 6 in springmount which is 2kliks outside of owen sound on the escarpment).
Go to enviroment canada's website & look at the radar's on there, More detailed then the weather network.
toronto on the other hand is to get the brunt 25cm, The army will be on alert with shovels ready to go.

Ulianov, I missed the part of your post where you quote Liberals accurately predicting what has happened, and the solutions they recommended.

Your Goebell's "quote" is quite telling. Look in the mirror buddy. Ah, yes the canard of proportional representation. Its proponents never bother to consider that voters might actually change their behavior, and thus their vote, if this was the system (for instance, giving CPC more than 50% of popular vote).

If anyone has difficulty understanding this, just consider what the vote of the last election would have been if, instead of lying, the opposition parties had run on their "coalition" plan.

It's always fun to watch people criticize others for precisely what they are doing themselves, as in the intellectual dishonesty of Ulianov and others.

Oh, and BTW, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! HO HO HO!!!

ulianov - don't worry, 'the truth will set you free' from your bonds of frozen brain cells. Or maybe you make the choice to remain that way.

Actually, ulianov/lberia, the constitution doesn't say very much about the nature of a democracy. I suggest you read it before you venture here again.

Therefore, we have to rely on our history, and on such documents as the Magna Carta, which removed the idea of invested Sovereignty as our basis of government and placed it within the hands of the governed. Quite the change, wasn't it?

Fred Thompson at his best...on saving the economy:

http://blip.tv/file/1528079

Et - I forgot the chikadees and you are correct -squirrels, balck and grey , and my $37.00 squirrel proof feeder is not squirrel proof, but hey , that's life.
maybe we should check with the squirrels about AGW eh?.
Gotta go , blow out the drive so I can get to the LCBO>

Grey/Bruce/OwenSound has just been added to the StormWatch, took them long enough.
Says watch out for adverse weather, Watchout! clue one Ya cant see a thing if it was not Christmas i would say done early today Store Closed & No I Dont Have Any Snow Tires left In Stock.

Shamrock & other lost Owen Sounders safe drive if your coming home for the Holiday's. The Owen Sound Attack are off now until Dec27.

Good time though to say
Kate thanks for a great year, So to you & yours & all the bloggers.

Have a Very Merry Christmas & a Safe and Prosperous New Year.

From what I see Harpers way is lets see what’s really happening before we throw money and self serving political rhetoric at still headless problem. When he finds out what is truly happening in the world and not just that of the howling liberal left and an untrustworthy press he can then act with some responsible direction. What good would have throwing money around done last month? Looked good, sounded good, but bugger all in the overall scheme of things. A world problem is not going to be solved by Canada alone, wait, wait for the opportune time then inject OUR money to OUR best advantage.

"The Deadliest U.S. Natural Hazard: Extreme Cold

There’s a new essay from Indur Goklany in response to a recent Reuters news article.

Yesterday Reuters reported on a study which claimed that heat is the deadliest form of natural hazard for the United States. However, this result is based on questionable data. The study used results for mortality from extreme heat and cold that can be traced to the National Climatic Data Center. But these data are substantially different from mortality data from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) based on the Compressed Mortality File for the United States. The latter uses death certificate records, which provide the cause of each recorded death (based on medical opinion). It is reasonable to believe that regarding the cause of death, particularly for extreme cold and heat, medical opinion as captured in death certificate records is more reliable than determinations made by the meteorologists in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s NCDC (even if they have Ph.Ds.).

The essay draws on data from the CDC database of mortality in the USA. See this table:"
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2008/12/18/the-deadliest-us-natural-hazard-extreme-cold/
...-

Friendly little Chickadees never freeze their feets; but, they are mortal. Chuck Darwin tells us why.

Crosspost from the "Canadian Human Rights Commission Ruling Gives OK To 'Exterminate The Gays'" thread:

There's a great editorial about this fiasco in today's National Post.

The last sentence is worth the price of admission: it's a zinger that pulls no punches: "But until those people [coterie of HRC bureaucrats] are properly turfed out of their jobs, perhaps the CHRC could be a little less overt in their bias against conservatism and Christianity."

Yeah!

"In Canada, there’s 30 per cent more ice than last year and the polar bears, who are supposed to be on the brink of extinction, are breeding at an alarming rate.

None of this has in any way deterred the ‘global warming’ fascists."

... > and that's the way it is: December 12, 1938.
This is Walletter Gronkite saying goodnight, Mrs. Calabash*, wherever you are.
...-

"If Del Boy was around today, he'd be trading in carbon offsets

From the New York Times, December 12: Soviet scientists on board an icebreaker drifting just 300 miles from the North Pole have concluded that the world is getting hotter.

Warm-water fish are appearing in increasing numbers in Arctic seas as temperatures have risen, melting the ice caps.

The Russian explorers believe that very soon ships will be able to sail right across the Pole.

This news will be welcomed by ‘global warming’ campaigners - except that it first appeared on December 12, 1938, and has just been republished on a website run by a former TV meteorologist, who treats the whole ‘climate change’ racket with a healthy dose of sea salt."
Richard Littlejohn
http://tinyurl.com/4u9aaw (dailymailuk)
(*H/T Jimmy Durante)

Calgary Mosque Being Sued.

Construction company says it's owed almost $4M after building house of worship

http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Alberta/2008/12/19/7802031-sun.html

"a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds".

Do you mean the sort of foolish consistency that mindlessly supports Harper despite every flip flop??

philboyd - you've provided us with a conclusion (foolish consistency=Harper)but since you haven't provided any reasons, then your post is, umm, without meaning.

Well if anyone knows anything about meaningless posts, et, it's you.

no, philboyd, that's not an answer; it's a diversion FROM an answer by moving into childish ad hominem. Try again. You made a conclusion that 'foolish consistency=Harper'. I'd like to know the reasons that led you to this conclusion.

You see, without reasons, it's just an opinion. And as an unsubstantiated opinion, its meaning remains - with you. Subjective. Isolated. And therefore, since you communicated it, without meaning.

What? Is today National Moonbat Day or something?

Or, did somebody ring the idiot bell in the idiot cave?

I think those of us who consciously support PMSH do so because we realize that, though far from perfect—which politician, let alone, human being, is?—he’s head and shoulders above the law-breaking Liberals, who ran Canada like a personal Mafia fiefdom under that master thug and bully, Chretien.

Those who think running a government is like making a simple list and heading to the well stocked grocery store are delusional. It’s more like wartime: things change at lightning speed and, as a result, policy changes are inevitable. (BTW, Politics 101, for the uninformed: let’s remember that PMSH is, in fact, a POLITICIAN and that politics is a blood sport. We’re not talking tiddly winks here. When your enemies are a vicious pack of starving jackals, you don’t toss paper clips: you use all the heavy weapons at your disposal, the same ones the jackals would use if they were in your position.)

The poor sportsmanship and treasonous actions of the anti-Harper crowd—not supported by the majority of Canadians, who roundly oppose the coalition putsch—are a national disgrace and scandal. These people are childish and their posturing, preening, and whining are most unattractive. These prima donnas and provocateurs need to grow up and show some true grit—if they can. (ET gets it. Others here do not.)

UNNECESSARY ELECTION: $300 million
EXPANDED CABINET: $4 million
BUDGET DEFICIT: $30 Billion

Knowing your rube base
won't complain:
PRICELESS

For everything else there's
MasterCon

lookout - exactly right. You know that's what puzzles me, how these leftist Liberals actually think that an unelected coalition, put together via backroom deals, relying on a regional party out of the reach of over 80% of the electorate...and set up to render itself immune to the electorate...it puzzles me how these Liberals can conclude that this is a 'democratic governance'.

They tell me that once elected, our MPs can do whatever they want - even reject the elected government and insist that, without an election, they can get together, on their own, without the will of the electorate - and be defined as a legitimate government. They say 'it's constitutiona' which shows that they haven't a clue about what is in the constitution..because that document says nothing about majority, minorities or coalitions. And the only thing it says about elections is - once every five years.

Therefore, the legitimacy of a government falls back on our history, on historical documents such as the Magna Carta, on standards of morality and duty, on previous behaviour. And we have no history of a set of MPs taking over the government of the people and rejecting their will. We have ONE incident, also promulgated by a Liberal, King, who was the PM, called an election which he lost to the Conservatives (99-114)but REFUSED to resign and allied himself with the Progressives to rule for a few months..and then, was told to hand govt over to the actual winner.

But for a group who were not in power, were rejected in an election, to align themselves with other rejects, and insist, without an election, that they be defined as our government - mindboggling. And these leftist Liberals seem to have no problem with this. Incredible.

Philboyd:

Liberals bribing themselves with stolen taxpayers' dollars - $20 million

Ensuring Liberals receive their allowance from the taxpayers - $1.95

Dithering Liberals leaders attempting to seize power without bothering with election - PRICELESS

Knowing sycophantic Liberals will try to con Canadians, once again - comme d'habitude

For every incompetent Liberal, chucking s**t at government without offering a single ideal of their own (I will lead if necessary, but not necessarily)

Master Card Liberal - please pay cash in brown paper bags, while pilfering EI fund and government pension plans

BTW, Philboyd, if you, and Grits, feel so strongly about those bad, bad Tories, by all means defeat budget and force election, so we can get CPC majority and not have to listen to moonbats for at least four years.

Hurray for the bailout! It's working! CEO's get to keep their Christmas bonuses!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1081624/Goldman-Sachs-ready-hand-7BILLION-salary-bonus-package--6bn-bail-out.html

What garbage, pilboy (my nickname for you): you think that's an argument! You sound like a grade four loser. The three "proofs" you've tried on are all, BTW, legal, which is more than can be said of the Liberals' criminality.

Check out the MULTIPLE unnecessary elections Chretien called—and with majority governments. Check out the nefarious means by which the Liberals ran such a huge "surplus". Check out the WORLD economic downturn, which calls for unusual measures. (And doesn't the coalition intend to spend us out of this problem? No deficits there. Move on, everyone. . .)

Typical, lefty magical thinking: no substance and not even an attempt to keep things in context or to provide a thesis with supporting detail. Go back to your desk, young man, do some valid research, reframe your pitch, and try again. Present grade (out of 4): Level -1. I know you can do better.

You know that's what puzzles me....

ET: Foolishly consistent, consistently wrong (not to mention puzzled in perpetuity)

...our MPs can do whatever they want - even reject the elected government
We don't elect governments, we elect parliaments. A government is a Prime minister and cabinet which enjoys the confidence of the house. Harper clearly could not win a vote of confidence. That this fact is beyond the grasp of ET and the majority who have voiced their opinion in polls is irrelevant.

I don't think Al Gore is going to like this:

Study: Did early climate impact divert a new glacial age?

The common wisdom is that the invention of the steam engine and the advent of the coal-fueled industrial age marked the beginning of human influence on global climate.

But gathering physical evidence, backed by powerful simulations on the world's most advanced computer climate models, is reshaping that view and lending strong support to the radical idea that human-induced climate change began not 200 years ago, but thousands of years ago with the onset of large-scale agriculture in Asia and extensive deforestation in Europe.

What's more, according to the same computer simulations, the cumulative effect of thousands of years of human influence on climate is preventing the world from entering a new glacial age, altering a clockwork rhythm of periodic cooling of the planet that extends back more than a million years.

"This challenges the paradigm that things began changing with the Industrial Revolution," says Stephen Vavrus, a climatologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Climatic Research and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. "If you think about even a small rate of increase over a long period of time, it becomes important."

Settled Science?

A person posts, " . . . the majority who have voiced their opinion in polls is irrelevant". Is that so?

This person also writes, "Harper clearly could not win a vote of confidence". Let's see: it's the prerogative of the Opposition to vote down the government.

I say, bring it on—but the coalition bullies are too cowardly to do it—and then we'll see what the majority's opinion is. I can say very safely that it will not be in favour of the weasel parties' coalition.

So, what is this person's point?

philboyd - what is a parliament? Hmm? Where do you get your information from? Just Wikipedia or a bit of slightly more substantive research?

A parliament - and we'll only refer to the lower house, consists of a number of elected representatives, usually of at least two and sometimes more party affiliations.

One party, the party that won the most seats in a general election, is defined as the government. The party with the second most seats is defined as the Loyal Opposition. (Note that word, 'loyal').

The selection of these two roles, the government and opposition, has nothing to do with the 'confidence of the House' but with the 'confidence of the electorate'.

We, the people, voted that party into power, and we don't accept that a gaggle of MPs have the legal or moral authority to decide, on their own, in backroom wheeling and dealing and offers of Cabinet and Senate seats...on the nature of our government. Got that?

Your model, philboyd, totally rejects the rights of the electorate to choose their government, and is based on what is known as the Sovereign Model. This is a nominalist model, with an emphasis on the free will and power of the individual MP - who is answerable to no-one, not to any law, not to any notion of a transcendent rule(above the individual will), not to any notion of duty to the nation or people. They are instead focused only on 'the lust of domination'.

That is the nature of the coalition, which gathered together a bunch of MPs, who were not elected to govern by the people, and decided to insist that they WERE the government. They had no intention of going to the people for validation of their WILL. Nope. Instead, their WILL was the RULER's WILL. "The unjust ruler seeks his own advantage' (Aquinas).

This coalition is a tyranny, because it rejects limits, it rejects of law of the peoples and insists on its own volition, its own elitist self-affirmation of its superiority to everyone and all.

Most certainly, the coalition could not pass a 'confidence vote' or election. Indeed, as was just shown in the October election, these three parties were not selected by the people, either separately or as a coalition, as the people's government.
And this gang knows that they couldn't pass the confidence of the people - which is why they've refused to go to the people in an election.

Furthermore, when this gang announced their intention, the people wrote, rallied, and polled - their rejection. A massive rejection, for the ratings of the CPC went up, up into the mid 40's while that of the Blessed Liberals went down, down into the low 20s. I know that you, as an elistist, philboyd, consider that the masses, the people, don't count.

But, Reality matters, philboyd, and your rejection of the people, apart from revealing your own elitist isolation - well, frankly, it doesn't matter a damn.

oh, and by the way - you still haven't answered my questions. How about some data to substantiate your opinions? Hmmm?

Regulating CO2, maybe not...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081219/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/bush_global_warming_1

storm letting up here in grey/bruce, Looks like Toronto getting Smucked right now.
Have the army been called out yet?

Joking aside Drive Safe everyone

Here's where the Politically Correct Champions of the Radical Left want to take us.

J. Scott Carpenter, Views of Arab Democrats: Advice to America on Promoting Middle East Reform

Conventional wisdom holds that the Bush administration's Freedom Agenda has made "democracy" a dirty word throughout the Middle East. It this really true?

In a departure from past practice, The Washington Institute brought together an an array of Arab democrats -- from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, and the West Bank -- to ask them what they think about both the past and future of America's efforts to promote democracy throughout the region. While they offer sobering suggestions for how Washington should advance democratic change, they are universal in their call for the new Obama administration to persist in this vital effort. At a time when our president-elect has promised to listen to the voices of America's friends throughout the Middle East, this new Strategic Report -- edited by the Project FIKRA director Scott Carpenter -- should be "must" reading throughout the halls of government...

[Full report in PDF.]

ET, I applaud your attempt to educate the Hateful Trolls about the importance of the Will of the People in a Democracy, but they will never listen. They completely ignore the fact that the polls are showing a clear disgust against the Coalition's actions. They completely ignore constitutional scholars like Ted McWhinney. And they completely ignore the fact that something like this, with remotely similar circumstances, has NEVER been attempted before in Canadian history. All of this is irrelevant to these thugs, just like it was to their like minded comrades who took over country after country after country in Eastern Europe after WW2.

To make it even worse, if the roles were reversed and the Conservatives had tried this with a Christian Fundamentalist party from the Prairies, do you think these same Bolsheviks would be making the same arguments? Of course not.

Undemocratic Thugs and Hypocrites - Working directly from the Worldwide Socialist playbook - Their mothers must be so proud!!!

Gordon G. Chang, Thirty Years of Reform in China

As Beijing celebrates the 30th anniversary of its reform era this month--generally considered to have begun with the accession of Deng Xiaoping--the dominant narrative in the world is that this is China's century. This perception is almost entirely based on the country's roaring economy, which has, according to official statistics, averaged 9.8 percent annual growth during the period.

Yet at this very moment the Chinese economy is moving from expansion to contraction and decelerating rapidly. In 2007, China's gross domestic product grew by an astounding 11.9 percent. In the first quarter of this year, growth was 10.6 percent. Second quarter: 10.1 percent. Third quarter: 9.0. This quarter, analysts expect 5.8 percent growth. If the trend continues--and there is every reason to believe it will--next year the Chinese economy will expand by one or two percent--or maybe not at all. China is experiencing a greater and faster economic slide than almost any other country this year...

Robert: So true, great vid. We wish it would go away and notice how he wispered at the end.

Bryan, I've met enough people from the Radical Left to understand how they operate. The vocal ones are usually male, are always fueled by hate and are desperately lonely human beings. They absolutely have no respect for democracy, only agreeing with it if the majority at the time support the government THEY want in power.

They absolutely want to shut us all up. It's what they and politically correctness are all about.

Robert: I have told this story for the last 4yrs on here.

I had a customer that informed me when i said to them to have a merry christmas that i was in correct & it was not political correct and that happy holiday something like that was the proper way. At first i thought the customer was joking but he continued to critique me for saying it going on & on In front of Other customers i might add. So i had enough & i lost it, I informed him that in my store i will say what i like Not what he liked So take your political Incorrect Ass & get the F*** out of here and stay out & you can still have a Merry Christmas.(there were of course a few more choice words, But i cant say them here)
The other customers thanked me for speaking up, in a close knit community as ours the word went around & i still have people thanking me.
Like i said Robert i have told that story every year on SDA since it happened.
Take care all the best time to bail for the day
Merry Christmas

robert w - yes, it's quite remarkable, how the left rejects any idea of a government beholden to the will of the people.

That's one reason why I conclude that the left - NDP/Liberals/Bloc etc are actually a two-class ideology; they define themselves as superior intellects, above the common people, and define themselves as alone knowing 'what is best' for a nation. They see no need to consult the people, considering it a waste of money (a common excuse), a waste of time, viewing the people as ignorant and uninformed (Brison et al) and insist that they alone have the expertise to govern.

The fact is, this view is what is known as a sovereignist mode, a view fought against by advocates of democracy - whether via the Magna Carta, or the American Declaration of Independence and Constitution and so on.

This notion of 'divine right' - whether it be vested in a king or an unelected coalition - rejects the concept of a governance with limited authority, and an authority that is always subject to the analysis and consideration of the electorate.

I have to admit to astonishment at reading some of the - yes, garbage - of these Followers of the Divine.

Statements based on emotion and ignorance. When you ask for data - you get insults in return but most certainly, no data. Ignorance about the economic reality of our current global situation; ignorance about our parliamentary system and its conventions. Misinformed statements about 'the coalition is constitutional'..when if you read the Constitution it's almost totally empty about parliamentary structure and processes. Ignorance about what the government of Harper proposes; what it has done.

For example, as noted above, the Economic and Fiscal Statement of November 27/08, didn't say anything about stopping women from attaining pay equity. Not one word. But, on page 10-11, it noted that since 1980, over 4 billion had been spent on pay equity settlements, the results of complaints to the Canadian Human Rights Commission. The problem was, that these complaints were filed after agreements on pay equity had already been reached via the public sector unions. And new complaints continue to be filed, often by the same groups that have already received settlements via this same CHRC!

What was the proposal? Rather than having these groups 'double bargain' for pay equity, and take the govt to court even when their unions have bargained and received equity...using the HRC...an extremely taxpayer costly action, the government said they wanted: To "make pay equity an integral party of collective bargaining". End quote.

Now, how the heck can the Liberals and NDP come up with their claim that the government wanted to STOP WOMEN RECEIVING PAY EQUITY???? How?

But, these 'stuck on stupid' people continue to insist that the coalition is 'constitutional', is 'democratic', is 'the wish of the people'. And that Harper wanted to 'end pay equity for women' and didn't offer any 'stimulus package'..and I know damn well they haven't a clue, as do none of us, what that ambiguous and sanctimonious term actually means...

As you say, if instead of using the Bloc as the Power Broker - and boy, that usage IS all and only about Power - the Conservatives had set up a small equally fundamentalist group, isolated to Alberta, or the Yukon, in that same vetting position - wow - they'd be screaming 'anti-democratic'..from here to the fall-off point of our earth.

Bryan, it continues to get worse.

ET, well put! As a follow-up, let me paraphrase something Dennis Prager once said: "For the Left, history is completely uncertain and can be altered when it doesn't properly fit into one's political agenda. The only thing that is certain is the future, which they feel they have every right to shape as they wish."

As you said, for the Left democracy doesn't really matter, dissenting opinions don't matter, free speech doesn't matter.

I'm reading a fascinating book right now called
Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945, by Tony Judt. It's absolutely frightening how many of the same techniques used by Stalin & co. back then are employed by the Left today.

As for the trolls here on SDA, I don't think they're bright enough to be in any "management" positions amongst the Left's hierarchy. They mostly seem to be mouthing talking points. For when they're asked simple questions, such as you've posed, they have no answers.

They never have any real answers. Coming full circle, it's unimportant to them to actually debate those who disagree with them. For they deeply believe that there is only one future, an Orwellian type future shaped by them & their comrades. All the rest of us will be destined for gulags where we'll be "re-educated". :-(

I truly believe that Stephen Harper knew there were a number of Liberals who were going to either abstain or be absent if there was a non confidence vote a few weeks ago by the power hungry mongers of the so called coalition.

If that had happened instead of getting together to work on the economic catastrophe befalling the world and our country we would be hit with all kinds of headlines of infighting and character assasination and probably some floor crossings to the Conservatives by those Liberals (and I heard at least 2 NDP and some BLOC).

Stephen Harper would have won the fight but at a terrible cost for those more sane and sensible opposition members who could not betray democracy in such a blatant power grab.

I believe he parogued parliament in a big part to spare those fine MP's the harrassment that would have come from the pack of hungry vultures who make up the NDP, BLOC and Liberal "we're supposed to be the governing party" honchos. Not to mention the backroom power borkers who have been salivating on getting their hands back on the taxpayer's wallets.

It would have been very ugly. I believe Stephen Harper took the heat to take it off those people.

And, who would like to place a bet that there will be more than one floor crosser to the Conservatives next month?

There are enough Liberals who believe their party needs a few years time out to rebuild and they are so distracted with the taste of power at any cost they will not be able to participate in helping govern the country through tough times,

I don't know if I believe that theory, Marie. One that seems more credible to me is the one about Iggy's people secretly telling Harper's people what Layton, Duceppe, and Dion had planned "at the earliest opportunity".

Drunken UAW workers of the world unite

http://www.clickondetroit.com/video/10235271/index.html

Damn, I'm feeling old right now. For those of you who grew up on Star Trek will be saddened to hear that Majel Barrett Roddenberry passed away yesterday. I know it was yesterday but I just heard. http://www.roddenberry.com/

Lwaxana Troi, Daughter of the Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, Heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed, RIP.

From MercatorNet;

What’s The Matter With Greece?

[ The riots in Athens and across Greece have nothing to do with "alienated youth" and everything to do with a society in decline. ]

[..]

[ The BBC’s Michael Brabant in Athens even suggested that the voting public feels alienated by the policies of conservative Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis. Such explanations are offered and believed mainly by academic type commentators who breathe each other’s air and avoid any rationale that involves individuals taking personal responsibility for their behaviour and the practical outworking of their political philosophy.]

[..]

[ Anarchy, by definition, is the absence of authority. And it is that reaction to authority, and the attempt to revolt against it, which is what we are witnessing in Greece today.]

[..]

[ In many ways, the ugly riots are the results of social breakdown. Today’s anarchists in the country are wedded to a life of untrammelled freedom that is aided and abetted by the state of the modern family and the national educational system. Greece is living through an alarming increase in family break-up that typically leads to less discipline of children and higher tolerance for anti-social behaviour.]

[..]

[ So, they consider that everything is permissible and that all things belong to them.” In layman’s terms, spoiled children who need not worry about any unmet physical need are too often drawn to the extreme hooliganism and permissiveness that marks today’s “anarchist” movement.]

[..]

[ A full solution requires parents to regain control of their families, citizens to recapture the educational system, and governments to recover the power to enforce the law.]

Daniel Proussalidis is a journalist and broadcaster in Ottawa, Canada.

http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/whats_the_matter_with_greece/

Meanwhile, in Canada PET started us down this road in 1968.

Can we never, ever stop nonsense before it gets out of hand. Why do things always have to get worse before they get better ? I thought Humans we're supposed to be the "higher intelligence" mammal :(

Ron,

I just received this link from an American friend who has retired to Greece: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/12/2008_greek_riots.html

The photos are very "vivid". She is very much a Law & Order person but fully believes that the police there are corrupt, just like the government. So yes, very much she seconds your view that Greek society is in decline.

Sadly, the anarchist set here in North America (aka the Radical Left with bandanas) will see these pictures and somehow feel they give them the right to do the same over here in Canada and the U.S.

Men Flirt with Risk to Score Women

By Melinda Wenner

posted: 19 December 2008 12:15 pm ET

Buzz up!
4 Comments | 1 Recommend

On August 16, 1960: Project Excelsior III USAF pilot Joe Kittenger parachutes from a balloon 19.5 miles up, becoming the fastest human sky-diver at over 614 mph (988 km/hr).
Full Size
1 of 1

Men make up four-fifths of the world's skydivers and two-thirds of all rock climbers, and a new study suggests they do it for more than just the thrill.

Men may flirt with risk because they think it will help them score women.

Evolutionary psychologists have long believed that women are choosier about men than men are about women. It's not (just) because girls want to make life difficult for guys; it's because, at least historically, women have had to pick men who could provide for them and their children. This pressure forces males to work harder to prove their worth to females and out-compete other guys in the running. Social psychologists at Florida State University wondered: could risk-taking be one of the ways in which men show off their strength, ambition and confidence to potential lovers?

http://www.livescience.com/culture/081219-sex-risks.html

ron in kelowna, this morning (this is a cross post) I posited many of the same ideas as you’ve posted here, but in relation to Canada. E.g.,

. . . I've been in classrooms for over 50 years, as a student and teacher, and the difference in the attitude and behaviour of kids today is light years away from what it used to be. The idea of "respect" has, generally, gone the way of the Dodo.

I attribute this to the takeover—sometime in the '60s—of the anti-God squad. People could have kids—no stigma attached, and paid for by the more stable and productive members of society—at the whim of each individual (bye bye family: hello huge numbers of confused, angry, ENTITLED kids and guilty parents); man became the new god and was then, by governments, endowed with a myriad of rights, that said governments could then take away: no mention of responsibilities, though.

All of this stupidity was encoded in Trudeau's 1982 Charter and many UN declarations, including the rights of the child. (Hello, disenfranchised parents and teachers—a huge part of our problem). Everyone here should read the multitude of rights endowed on kids: e.g., a right to privacy, a right to religious belief, a right to freedom of association (“I can have any friends I want!”); a right to be respectfully listened to (after you’ve just told the teacher to f*** off?); a right to live in the same country as your parents (bye bye sound immigration policies), etc. This deeply subversive document, like Canada's own Charter—and the activist judges who have used it to recklessly socially engineer our poor country—are utopian.

When individual rights trump responsibility almost every time, it’s the irresponsible opportunists who benefit. Then standards drop—heck we’re no longer allowed to ENFORCE standards: that would be against some, usually, lowest common denominator person’s rights. Thus starts and continues the downward spiral. Generation X kids are the unfortunate “beneficiaries” of the lowering of standards and, often, like the proverbial frog in the pot of boiling water, are unaware of the lethal fallout.

Yes, it’s often not their fault that standards are so low, but many of them milk it. I believe in natural law: I’ve taught multitudes of “lowest common denominator” behaving kids. Given strict guidelines and lots of encouragement, they DO know how to behave: but watch them turn it off the minute they think they can . . . A society that functions on a daily basis on the false and destructive assumption that the lowest common denominator needs more leniency and coddling versus more structure and consequences—sounds a lot like Canada to me—is going to be in very serious trouble. Turn sows’ ears into silk purses? It ain’t gonna happen.

Rampant consumerism has been part of the fallout. In the economic downturn, if that’s no longer an option, maybe other, less selfish values will reassert themselves. But, without even the IDEA of a self-sacrificing God—who’s been tossed out of our schools to make way for Gaia: now isn’t Mother Nature a benign force?!—who expects the same altruism (what?) of us, I don’t see that a positive change is very likely. (Let's think about it: when left to themselves, how do toddlers act when there are five of them and only two cookies?)

Kyrie eleison—but only a few of us seem to care about that anymore . . .

lookout - I hope you've been able to find a copy of Jean Bethke Elshtain's 'Sovereignty: God, State and Self'.

What you talk about - is in there. She's focused on the state, but the theory of accepting responsibility and acknowledging limitations - it's all there.

Thanks for the reminder, ET.

Today, I reread George Weigel's "The Cube and the Cathedral". Much of what I've said is in there too--and the prognosis for Europe: we're not far behind--isn't too rosy.

"In layman’s terms, spoiled children who need not worry about any unmet physical need are too often drawn to the extreme hooliganism and permissiveness that marks today’s “anarchist” movement."

And a great way to indoctrinate impressionable, pent-up, developing young minds is to expose them to the "rush", "enthusiasm" and reckless abandon of a "protest movement" they know nothing about. Encouraged is acting upon emotion rather than thinking and instilling a narrative that must be adhered-to or else it's out of the exclusive club for you.

Clever monkeys, these leftists.

You know how infants still have that soft spot on the top of their skulls? The brain that pulses (you can actually feel it with your hand) when they're in distress?

Lefties are like that. All instinct, knee-jerk reaction to that which upsets them. Don't bother asking for alternatives, their shortest bus only turns left.