OK, OK, that saying died a warranted death many years ago, but it fits, dammit. Gerry over at the National Citizens Coalition has graciously posted his op-ed column in the Globe & Mail (behind a subscription wall), where he asks Belinda if she intends to honor her signed pledge to oppose gag laws.
I find it encouraging that the Globe has it under “Top Stories,” don’t you?
You can view the pledge on Gerry’s blog.
Election sing-along
I don’t know who built this,but I found it in the comments at “comments please.”
Brilliant.
UPDATE: Further browsing of commentsplease gives credit to Cannuckistan Chronicles.
Does Criticism of the War Undermine Troop Morale?
My latest article, “Does Criticism of the War Undermine Troop Morale?” is up at Tech Central Station. The conclusion:
Soldiers ultimately decide for themselves whether their mission is “worth it.” To the extent that they are concerned with political debates in Washington, it is mostly about the small picture: ensuring they get the tools and equipment they need to survive and get the job done. While they may be interested in grand strategy, it seldom motivates them to risk life and limb. They may agree or disagree with establishing a foothold for democracy in the Middle East but they fight for their comrades-in-arms, out of genuine concern for locale villagers whose situations they empathize with, and for hundreds of other reasons unique to each soldier.
Read the rest at the link.
crosspost from OTB
Banned Blog Words: 2006
Forget those extra 10 pounds. They aren’t going anywhere. So much easier to swear off a few flabby words.
Let’s start the new year off fresh and dump the comfy cliches once and for all. Some of the ones below always sucked; others have worn out their welcome like an incontinent grandma.
I say we pinky-swear not to use the following words when we blog, as of midnight, New Year’s Eve:
* asshat
* moonbat
* sweet
* MSM
* idiotarian
* heh
Add your own in the comments.
Gun Control Roundup
Gosh, what a surprise. PMPM announces he’s going to “ban” gun control and opinions, both pro and con, appear all over the place.
So, a quick roundup. And you may be surprised by some of the stances taken by some of the bloggers. I was. And was pleased to see that we are all not walking in lockstep with our stated ideologies, because then we’d just be a bunch of Stepford Wannabes, and who needs that?
Dazzlin’ Dino looks at what extremely strict gun control has done for the crime rates in the UK.
StageLeft & Treehugger (in the comments) surprise the Hell out of me. I knew there was a reason I liked those guys!
Skippy rescues sanity from the well of Liberal idiocy, and I find myself marking the wall for the second time in… easily a week. Which I find rather mindboggling, since I’ve been reading him on & off for six months and never agreed with him on points until the election was called… He’s got a few posts on this subject, all well thought -out & intelligent. (ed: I just re-read this and realized how stupid it sounds. Skippy’s arguments are all usually well thought-out & intelligent, I just rarely agree with them.)
CalgaryGrit quits harping on PMPM to give him kudos. Damn, I thought we had a convert.
Celestial Junk does his rant, with the perspective of a *gasp* handgun owner, and explains just how much red tape he went through to get said *gasp* handgun.
Joe “stick to the facts” Lamerde gives them to us.
Occam’s Carbucle is back to Step 1 of the 12-step “quit blogging program” – Much as I’m all for self-help and ending addictions, I selfishly hope the struggle continues past January 23.
Section 15 smelled the coffee. Of course, he probably had a latte (which isn’t intended as a slam, as I’m addicted to them myself, but it was a good segue), so he has a different take on a similar theme.
Andrew Spicer wants to endorse it, but is struggling.
Hell, even CBC is having a problem with it.
Personally, I agree with the bulk of the bloggers above. This is politics, pure & simple. Especially when you look at the fine print (from The Globe & Mail, if you can believe it, this policy must REALLY SUCK):
“The Liberals would pass legislation to let provinces make handguns illegal.” So it will still be up to the provinces to buy in or not. This must be an attempt to save the few western seats they have, as well as a back door should the magic ban not immediately eliminate gun-related crimes.
“Part of the plan is to pour $325-million into law enforcment, including an RCMP team of 250 officers to combat gangs, organized crime and drug trafficking. And it would hire 75 officers to work to fight gun smuggling.” Since there are over 1,000 RCMP positions open, this is peanuts. The 75 officers to fight gun smuggling will be pretty stretched to cover the US border, doncha think?
Anyway, if you find another good post, throw the link in the comments.
Judge: 128 Miles Per Hour Not Reckless Driving
I posted this earlier at OTB but thought sda readers might get a kick out of this, too.
A Nebraska judge ruled last week that driving 128 miles per hour [206 kph] on one’s motorcycle while fleeing from state troopers does not necessarily constitute “reckless driving.”
Nebraska Judge Says 128 mph Not ‘Reckless’ (AP)
Speeding is not necessarily reckless, even at 128 mph, a judge ruled in the case of a motorcyclist who tried to flee from state troopers. With some reluctance, County Judge John Steinheider ruled last week that Jacob H. Carman, 20, was not guilty of reckless driving on Sept. 5, when he was spotted by a trooper who then chased him at the top speed of his cruiser’s odometer � 128 mph. “As much as it pains me to do it, speed and speed alone is not sufficient to establish reckless driving,” the judge told Carman on Friday. “If you had had a passenger, there would be no question of conviction. If there had been other cars on the roadway, if you would’ve went into the wrong lane or anything, I would have convicted you.”
Otoe County prosecutor David Partsch acknowledged that Carman could have been charged with speeding but, “We felt that the manner in which he was operating the motorcycle was reckless.” Carman didn’t get off entirely. He was fined $300 for expired tags and other violations.
Steinheider is right. Recklessness has to be weighed against the totality of circumstances rather than the posted speed limit. In some states, driving 15 miles per hour over the speed limit is automatically deemed “reckless.” Considering that people routinely drive at that speed in heavy traffic, that’s absurd on its face.
On the other hand, driving 128 mph to evade chasing police officers is not the same as doing it for the thrill of speed. One would think felony charges for resisting arrest or the like would be brought rather that issuance of a traffic citation.
When bailing isn’t an option…
Click here and scroll down to the video to see what happens when an impromptu interview goes a bit sideways.
h/t Stephen Taylor
***link fixed***
Who is the Balanchine of the Muslims?
“Just before going back to the USA after five months in the UK I attended the ‘Global Peace and Unity’ Conference at London�s Excel Centre presented by the new Islam Channel and sponsored by Emirates Airlines, Western Union (hmm??) and the Metropolitan Police.
“It was advertised as a diverse event to which non-Muslims were invited and the impression one got from the website was of a celebration of Middle Eastern culture, food, music and children�s activities in a London milieu.
“To my utter horror — and I should have written this report two days ago but my physical and emotional shock have rendered me nearly inert — it was a seven-hour call to Jihad by a succession of ranting and shouting rabble-rousers…”
(…)
“After the event I went to get some fresh air upstairs and as I looked out at a quaint old mill on the Quay a young English Muslim in a long robe and head covering asked me about this place where we stood, Canary Wharf. I told him it had been decimated and nearly obliterated by the Luftwaffe in the Blitz (…)
“He looked at me and said, ‘Who did you say did the bombing?’ I replied, ‘The Luftwaffe.’ He said ‘Who are they?’ I said, ‘The Germans.’ He said ‘Really? Well, I�ve learned something today.’”
So much for Tax-Free Retirement Savings
Maybe I’m just naive, maybe I just don’t pay attention, maybe pigs fly, but am I the only one that didn’t know this?
Liberal Childcare Program to cost Canadians $100 Billion
SDA gets results
According to our comment section, the Globe & Mail will print an apology in its Wed, Dec 7 issue for that “born again Christians” remark. Scroll way down to “Muttering in Manitoba”‘s comment for the details.
Fine work, blogwarriors!
If it’s December 6, it must be time for…
Mark Steyn’s perennial “Montreal Massacre” column (2002) about “Marc Lepine”‘s mysterious Muslim name.
A good friend of mine from Montreal recalls hearing a local radio report that day, an interview with a female witness who told the reporter that the gunman was shouting what sounded like “alla akber or something…” Make of that what you will.
Wanting your cake…
If you’ve never wandered over to Canadianna’s site, you are missing some of the best, well-thought out posts in the ‘sphere.
Her latest, The Problem with Conservatives, is a classic, and well worth the read.
Daycare Policy Roundup
Wow – there seem to be as many opinions on daycare policies than there are kids in Canada. CTV has a pretty good roundup article that had a gem I had to read over a few times:
(under the Liberal plan):
“…As for accusations that stay-at-home parents would face discrimination under the Liberal day care plan, the party says it is simply responding to reality, which finds that one in seven mothers with pre-school children are in the workforce.
“We all want to spend more time with our kids for lots of reasons, economic, social, (but) for reasons of independence, we don’t,” Social Development Minister Ken Dryden has said…”
James Moore podcast
Stephen Taylor interviews James Moore, Conservative Party MP and has posted the podcast (MP3 file) over on his website.
Mama, don’t let your babies grow up to be slave girls
UPDATE: All blogspot sites were down most of yesterday evening. If you had trouble accessing this story last night, it should be fine now…
***
“I’m willing to bet $100 that the little black, Pakistani and Chinese boys in this Toronto class weren’t forced to wear kilts or lederhosen or Star of David pendants.”
More.
The Natural Governing Party
has obviously done a good job indoctrinating their Quebec star candidate. Watch the clip attached to this story, and pay close attention to the last 20-30 seconds. Particularly his response to Craig’s last question. “I want to work effectively for the Liberal Party of Canada.”
Shouldn’t he want to work effectively for his constituents?
cross-posted at Waking Up on Planet X
Canada’s paper of record: sheer class!
“Christmas is fast approaching, and with it, the dilemma of what to give the less likable people in our lives: office mates, ex-spouses, born-again Christians.”
“Canada’s Prince of Darkness, Michael Ignatieff”
“Or, Thomas Friedman in Stripped [sic] Trousers, Silk Stockings and Garters”
Unintentionally hilarious piece in something called the Asian Tribune, by one John Chuckman, “a retired Chief Economist for Texaco Canada” and a “prolific writer” whose work has appeared at “SmirkingChimp” and “Democrats with Spine”
(I dunno, I think “Jealous Much?” — without typos — would have been a more accurate, if less colourful, subhead…)
Some highlights:
“Another Canadian, David Frum, made it all the way to the White House with his custom-tailored scribbling. So too such a genuinely dangerous American as Pat Buchanan. How does a man like Thomas Friedman pick up prizes writing advertising copy for the Pentagon? As I said, loyalty is handsomely rewarded.
Note the use of key words like “imperialist” and “neo-con” throughout. I especially enjoyed Chuckman’s contention that Paul Martin is “essentially a decent man” — “I don’t wish his government any harm…”
“CAIR’s hotel hell”
Kathy from RelapsedCatholic here, guest blogging whilst Kate enjoys umbrella drinks with Colby Cosh on the Lido deck.
Here’s something, via JihadWatch:
“Don’t miss the riveting account by Joe Kaufman and Jeff Epstein of how the Marriott hotel chain refused space to an anti-jihad conference (at which, incidentally, I was scheduled to speak) but allowed CAIR to come — and responded to protests that they feared Muslim violence.”