Sunday, May 30, 2004

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

My friend and former colleague Kevin Michael Grace, amused that part of one of his past articles is being used by Canada's Liberal Party to paint Stephen Harper as an extremist in election attack ads, points out that the Tory leader is no modern-day Enoch Powell.

I don't share Kevin's paleoconservatism. Nevertheless I am somewhat concerned that Mr. Harper is trying to at least appear moderate in order to appeal to Central Canadian voters. If the New Democratic Party is made up of "Liberals in a hurry", I am sure that I can guess which party Kevin would dub the "Liberals on Quaaludes".

I would like to think that if the Report was still around that the magazine would dare to ask "How conservative *is* Stephen Harper?" I think that Kevin Grace is to be commended for raising the question.

Friday, May 28, 2004

"....[T]he claim that [abortion] legalization has prevented the deaths of thousands upon thousands of women doesn't hold up...."

The Straight Dope writer Cecil Adams does pro-lifers a favour in today's column when he points out that the estimates of the amount of women who died due to illegal abortions in the U.S. prior to Roe v. Wade are probably grossly overinflated.

I can imagine that some members of the Straight Dope Message Board will be annoyed to read this column, but Mr. Adams is quite right.

Thursday, May 27, 2004

It blowed up real good

Hmm, I wonder why none of my fellow Shotgunners mentioned Victoria Day on the blog. Could I be the only monarchist there?

Anyway, here's some memories of when Victoria Day was the big day for fireworks for Canadian kids.

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Why Wilfrid Laurier would not be allowed to run for the Liberals

Quotes like these would place him beyond the pale:

...."the role of government [is] [...] not to force action in any one direction but to remove barriers to man's own efforts to undertake personal and social improvement [...] Man must be free to seek his own improvement and be responsible for his own destiny...."

Sunday, May 23, 2004

Our happy little one party state

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin is planting the idea of something noxious that might rebound to Canada's disadvantage twenty ot thirty years down the road.

As expected, Mr. Martin rhetorically wrapped himself in the Canadian flag this morning as he called a federal election. His main criticism of Conservative leader Stephen Harper was that he wants a "more American system" of governance, etc. Only the Liberals are "Canadian" in their political agenda.

Aside from being an ideal to one-party thinking, does Mr. Martin want to plant the idea that being a conservative is being an "American" in the minds of Canadians?

Imagine this...several of Canada's more conservative regions or provinces deciding that they will secede from Canada and become U.S. states. I can imagine, after decades years of Liberal appeals to avoid the "American" boogeyman, rash and poorly thinking Canadians deciding that they should ensure that their parts of Canada renounce the federal Liberal party forever by joining the United States.

If Mr. Martin keeps saying that Canadians can't "become American" by adopting conservative social policies and tax rates, then he has to consider what will happen if Canadians begin to say to themselves "What's so bad about that?" and decide to actually move or work for merger with the United States. It makes sense in a twisted sort of way. "Okay, if we can't be Canadians and have private medicare, then let's be Americans instead!" Just ask all the frustrated Canadians who have moved to the United States in recent because Canada just will not change [thanks to the Liberals] to become the kind of country that they would like to have.

In order to keep Canada as a viable country, we need both conservative and liberal Canadians to recognize that advocating policy choices and alternatives is not the equivalent of treason to one's country.




Friday, May 21, 2004

The Great Pumpkin is smiling

A publisher has launched a series of books reprinting all of the Peanuts comic strips.

Thursday, May 20, 2004

Time to smack the SCOC upside the head

I like Colby's comments on why election spending clampdowns are not a good thing for Canada.

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

Little Marcy!

If you've ever heard of the singing Christian ventriloquist puppet Little Marcy, you can listen to one of her albums here.

My fave track: The Lord Is Counting On You, which I first heard by a non-puppet trio of singing kids on a 78 record.

Monday, May 17, 2004

Bloggeuse?!?!

Antonia Zerbisias picks on some Canadian conservative bloggers in her Toronto Star column.

I'm sure that they can defend themselves. I do note that Zerbisias dubs my blogging friend Kathy Shaidle a "bloggeuse".

Funny, but I thought that the experts of the left, which would include Ms Zerbisias as a charter member, had decided that female-specific nouns were now forbidden. Anyone care to call Antonia Zerbisias a "reportrix"? :)

Thursday, May 13, 2004

Praise the Lord, and hike the immigration

VDare columnist Sam Francis writes that liberal churches in the US are trying to keep their membership numbers up by taking advantage of increased immigration. This also givers liberal churches a pronounced inclination towards advocating increased immigration too.

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Born to hand jive, baby!

If the "hand jive" dance ever makes a come back, here is a website with instructional pictures, lyrics and a Real Player file of a Hand Jive song.

I think that a cousin of mine is in the photo of the girls dancing the hand jive at the bottom of the page. Or at least someone who looks like her.

Thanks to the fabulous Billy Fury tribute site, where this particular page is usually posted.
Boy Meets Girls

TV producer Jack Good was, in some ways, the Dick Clark of England. You can read more about him here.

He made a very shrewd prediction about the future of music on TV in 1959:

"It will become the standard practice for every artist to make a film of themselves performing their record. These short films will be sent to TV producers for their programmes...it would not be a disc at all but a videotape. You would play it on your television, which would have a recorder-like attachment, which would also allow you to record your favourite TV programmes."

Tuesday, May 11, 2004

Ahhh...

Okay, now I understand why I am getting all these hits for "Rachel Marsden photos"...the aspiring journalist has taken down all the come hither pictures at her website.
Duh!

A recent British academic study explores just how clueless incompetent people can be.
Well, duh!

A recent British study explores just how clueless incompetent people can be.

Sunday, May 09, 2004

Fair dinkum

The wonderful Tim Blair on Aussie rules football's plans to create "family friendly zones", with no swearing or drinking, at "footy" games:

This is insane. Without expert instruction, how will children ever learn how to swear? They'll grow up swearing all wrong.

Pass the chips

Todd Wilbur had to buy two gallons of salsa at a restaurant in order to find out the secret of this salsa recipe.

Friday, May 07, 2004

No Herbert Clark Harper please

While reading Gene Smith's The Shattered Dream, I found an interesting quote:

"We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty that ever before in the history of any land. The poorhouse is vanishing from among us. We have not yet reached the goal, but, given a chance to go forward with the policies of the last eight years , we shall soon with the help of God be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation."

--Herbert Hoover, accepting the Republican nomination for President, August 11, 1928.


This leads me to suggest to Stephen Harper that he be careful with his promises in the upcoming election. Cleaning up the Stygian mess left by the Liberals will take several terms, so Mr. Harper should dream big without talking big.

Thursday, May 06, 2004

"We have $135 million to make the movie so I don’t have to share a car or anything."

--Michael Caine on his plans to play Alfred the Butler in the upcoming Batman movie.
"All I know is that these 20 games are about as fun as swallowing bug-flavored glass."

Seanbaby rates the 20 Worst Nintendo Games.

Wednesday, May 05, 2004

Summer Camp Of The Saints

The Shotgun discovers what paleo-cons call "The National Question."

Monday, May 03, 2004

Your sister swims out to meet troop ships

A group of ladies that facilitates pity sex for U.S. troops going overseas.

Update:Seems it was a big hoax after all.