A song to think about...

While in the midst of what promises to be an exceptionally busy weekend, I popped an old Tom Petty CD into the car stereo.
What I heard seems rather an appropriate anthem in the wake of this past week's shenanigans north of the border.
Check the lyrics to "I Won't Back Down". Whaddaya thimk?

Well I won't back down
No I won't back down
You can stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won't back down
No I'll stand my ground, won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin me down
gonna stand my ground
... and I won't back down

(I won't back down...)
Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
(and I won't back down...)
hey I will stand my ground
and I won't back down

Well I know what's right, I got just one life
in a world that keeps on pushin me around
but I'll stand my ground
...and I won't back down

(I won't back down...)
Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
(and I won't back down...)
hey I will stand my ground
(I won't back down)
and I won't back down...
(I won't back down...)
Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
(I won't back down)
hey I won't back down
(and I won't back down)
hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
(and I won't back down)
hey I will stand my ground
(and I won't back down)
and I won't back down
(I won't back down)
No I won't back down...

Thanks to Lyrics Depot for the confirmation.

And I probly won't see you until next week. Daughter runs in the area track meet; son plays his first inline hockey game for his high school club. (Thank God I bought a car that gets 33-35 MPG)

Maybe Magna needs the cash

Reported on Saturday May 21 2005 in the (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal:

"Magna is a company that has lost $200 million over the past two years..."

That, of course, is just the Stronach clan's race-track businesses. Still...

Wonder what THAT means???

I don't believe I read what I just read

From the Associated Press (probably via CP), on the queen's visit to Regina, Saskatchewan:

A member of the group People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals, dressed in a bear costume, attended each of the queen’s public events, but was the only high-profile sign of protest.
Allison Ezell said she wants to draw attention to the use of bear fur on the hats worn by her household guards. She caught Prince Philip’s attention Thursday as he noticed her placard that read: Bear skins are for bears, not for guards.
“He read it out loud, he smiled and he came right into my face and said: `What happens when the bear dies?”’ Ezell said. “I’m not sure what he meant by that.”

Hello, Allison? Anybody home?

Hold your heads up

There's a lot of doom and gloom amongst my northern friends, with the decision by Belinda Stronach to cross the aisle and join the Libranos... and their subsequent failure to defeat the Librano government's budget.
Don't let it get you down.
Just keep some things in mind...
Quebec's election is two years away. If, by some miracle, the Martins hang on that long, or somehow manage to form another minority government in the meantime, the Quebecers will certainly be looking to punish someone... that being M. Charest, the current premier, who is... a Librano! Can you say Parti Quebecois sweep? Can you say separation vote a few months later? Can you say blame the Libranos when the separatists win? Gosh, Ontario will have such a cow.
"How did this happen?" the sheep will bleat.
"You caused it," the voices will call out. "You backed a cadre of crooks masquerading as a government."
They won't be too shaken if separatist parties make inroads out west. But Quebec? Merci.
Just remind every Librano sympathizer that you encounter that continuing the Martinite (reminds of kryptonite, doesn't it) regime increases the chances of disunity. Remind 'em every single day.

Welcome to the Future

We have seen the future of global government, and it is here... just as Paul Martin promised almost three years ago.
Thanks to "Martin's Mafia"'s post on Andrew Coyne's blog, we have been given some insight into some of the nature of what post-modern rule will be like.
[From the Globe & Mail, Sep. 3, 2002: ]
"We Canadians are the wave of where the world is going -- not where it has been," said Martin. "That means we do have a responsibility to take the world to a new level of governance.
"There is one country that has the capacity to understand the direction the world must go and that is Canada. We are slowly but surely setting the steps for that to happen."
As the world's "first post-modern country," Canada is ideally suited to lead the debate, Martin said.
Now, nearly three years after the fact, we have even greater insight into just what a "post-modern country" is, Paul Martin-style.
* It is indisputably corrupt to its bones. Rob has reams of information on just how entrenched the corruption is. It makes promises to its citizens that it has absolutely no intentions of keeping. It stabs its neighbours in the back for the profit of its corporate sponsors. It is duplicitous, dishonest and disingenuous.
* It is exceedingly amoral. Religious leaders who speak out against a government proposal are formally harassed by the government (see Bishop Henry in Calgary). Its religious mantras are "abortion for all" and "same-sex marriage." It spits on the victims of crime and coddles the criminal element.
* Its only justification is maintenance of its own power. It has no agenda, no ideas, no vision... only an obsession with lording it over the rest of us with a "moral superiority" of such vacuousness that it makes Paris Hilton or Belinda Stronach look like Rhodes Scholars. It will scheme endlessly, bribe endlessly, and smear endlessly in order to maintain its grasp on the levers of power. (If it did not, many of its leaders would certainly be facing lengthy stays in the penal institution of the people's choice.)
* The institution that is supposed to be the watchdog -- a free press -- is a lapdog in the post-modern nation's kennel. (With that, I am insulting dogs everywhere. My apologies to the canine world. You should not have to bear comparison with such swine. [It's getting deeper. My apologies to the pig family.])
Upon further review, you don't need to go back to Mr. Martin's speech at the University of Toronto to capture the true nature of the post-modern country, Martin style.
Just read a nice, disquieting book written by an avowed socialist... "1984."

Liberalism = Arrested Development (UPDATED)

The difference between small-c conservatives and small-l liberals in North America is little more than a matter of maturity.
The conservatives have a taste of it; the liberals do not.
Think about some of the key dividing issues and the common thread that ties them together.
Same-sex marriage? It's a focus on the now, not on the future. Unfettered abortion rights? Ditto. These are almost litmus tests in the political world of the left.
Then, look at the juvenile rage that emanates from many leftists when it comes to President Bush. It clearly debases the debate (and, even though I tend to be small-c conservative, I'm not walking in lockstep behind all of his ideas). And I don't even want to take you to the Daily Kos post on the elevation of Pope Benedict XVI and the instilling of the f-bomb in his birth name).
See, it's not a far trip from liberal to libertine.
For liberals, it's all "I want. I want. I want."
The sad part is, once liberalism had a vision of the past, a comprehension that we are on a continuum that began long before our great-great-great-grandparents were conceived and that should continue - barring the ultimate cataclysmic event - for long after our great-great-great-grandchildren have passed on. There was a responsibility for the future. It even had a belief that people could and should have opportunities to climb the ladder of success.
Now, liberalism has become its antithesis. With the exceptions of the sexual issues referenced above, it wants things to stay just as they are. They have what they have, aren't likely to get a helluva lot more, and want to keep it. Environmentalism? A ploy to ensure that the lower classes won't have the opportunities to rise, while enriching the elites and their allies.
Progressive? Ha! Ha! Ha! Anti-progressive is more like it.
Taste in leaders? Style rules, substance is insignificant.
In discussing CPC leader Stephen Harper, Canadi-anna delivers the point.
"He'd probably never raise his voice let alone hit someone, he doesn't cheat on his wife, I'd bet he helps tuck in the kids at night -- and makes every effort to do the right thing so he'll be a good example for them. And he's smart, and he's funny, and private. These qualities are the kind of qualities adult women look for in a man. It's teens and twenties who look for the charm and 'charisma'. Maturity looks for decency and Harper is the personification."
If you can find them, try to read "The Unmaking of a Mayor" by William F. Buckley Jr., the godfather of modern U.S. conservatism, and "The New Elite" by David Lebedoff. They reveal the real nature of contemporary liberalism far better than your humble poster could ever hope to.
And, as Right Girl put it, "If we stayed children forever, with no common sense, we'd be liberals."
UPDATE: Exile from Hillary's Village took my core idea and ran a lot farther with it... very well, too. I urge a visit.

Heads up, hockey

From the Associated Press:

Labor talks between the NBA and the players’ union broke off Wednesday, increasing the chance of a lockout starting in the offseason.
In a statement, the NBA accused the union of backtracking on several items that the sides had agreed upon. The collective bargaining agreement expires June 30.
“Since we are at a loss as to how we can possibly reach a new deal that is in any way consistent with the principal terms that we have been discussing for many months, there are no further meetings scheduled at this time,” deputy commissioner Russ Granik said.
The union did not immediately respond.
If no new agreement is reached, a lockout could begin as early as July 1 — three days after the draft.
The sides had been publicly optimistic over the prospects for reaching a new deal until last Friday, when commissioner David Stern downgraded his outlook to “hopeful.” That came just hours after two union attorneys gave a verbal outline of the union’s new offer and, according to the league, changed its position on several key issues.

To Gary Butthead, er, Bettman and Bob Not Goodenow, get your butts in gear and get a settlement NOW! You have a chance to be the only game in town for a while if you do! And if you don't, your league is dead, dead, dead.

The real deal

In a residence on Sussex Drive in Ottawa, the phone rings. It's the special emergency line; the number is known to only a handful of people.
"Hello."
"This is P.D. Give the ho a portfolio."
The resident chuckles.
"Dat's a good line, boss. Rhymes and all."
"Just do it. Quick. It's all lined up."
---
In an office in the suburbs of Toronto, an older man calls a woman into his office. She is the man's daughter.
"Princess, I have some great news for you."
"What is it, daddy?"
"You're going to be Honorable."
"That's not great news, daddy. That means I won't have any fun."
"No, you silly girl. Mr. P.M. wants to make you an honorable, with your very own portfolio."
"But I'm not in that party. And my current boyfriend isn't either. What will I do?"
"You just go to Mr. P.M. and say, 'I'll join your party.' He'll be more than glad to take care of you."
"Mr. P.M.? Will he be my boyfriend now, Daddy?"
"No, darling, he's already married. But that nice Mr. Scott is available."
"Daddy, he's gay."
"Darling, no man can be gay under your spell."
"Ooh, Daddy, you say the sweetest things."
"Now, I'll call Mr. P.M. Have Miss Daisy drive you up to Ottawa to Mr. P.M.'s house. By the time you get there, it'll be all set."
"I'll be an Honorable? For real?"
"For real, princess."

Contagious disease alert

This in from the Centers for Disease Control...
It appears that a particularly virulent strain of virus has attacked significant segments of the Canadian population.
"It's pretty nasty," said Dr. B. Reel, advisor to the CDC and the director of the Institute of Deep Thoughts in Mocanaqua, Pa. "It really causes some very serious brain malfunctions."
Dr. Reel explained that the virus attaches itself to certain individuals, though he said it does not seem to cover the entire population in a given area.
"It affects rational thought processes and particularly cripples the area of the brain where right and wrong are determined," Dr. Reel added. "Most people who have been afflicted with this virus find themselves unable to distinguish between right and wrong, or in some cases confuse the two."
The virus appears to be particularly strong in certain areas,the doctor reported.
"Toronto's got it bad. Real bad," he said. "And Ottawa's not much better off. I fully expect that if this virus is not controlled, its victims will become dithering idiots."
Are there any areas that seem to be less immune?
"Quebec's pretty healthy and so is Alberta," Dr. Reel advised. "There are spotty areas throughout Canada, but by far Toronto and Ottawa are in the worst shape."
Finally, Dr. Reel, has the CDC come up with a name for this ailment?
"Yes. The official name for the affliction caused by this virus is Librano-itis."
Is there a possible cure?
"We're hoping," said Dr. Reel, "that Drs. Harper and Duceppe have in their hands the solution. But only time will tell.
"You see, there is a delusional factor here, too. Librano-itis victims don't think they're sick."

How to Scare a Liberal

The Conservative Party has been called "scary" by no less an authority than Paulie Librano, Prime Minister of the Joe Bananas Republic of Power Corp. Canada.
To prove his point, I will, in the next few lines, demonstrate many easy ways to scare a Liberal.
Say the word "responsibility." Say it several times. Liberals will react in horror.
Then say the word "honesty." Repeat it several times. You should see signs of incipient convulsions.
Then, after you have done that, begin a chant. "Responsibility. Honesty. Responsibility. Honesty."
Just one warning -- the Liberal may go into cardiac arrest. Make sure you have your cell phone on speed dial for 911.

Newsweek: Obscenity

By now, you know about the Newsweek report alleging that a US soldier flushed the Koran down the toilet at Guantanamo.
Most of you don't know, though, and wouldn't by the tone established here that I support my family by working at a newspaper in the US. Yeah, the MSM (with which I disagree religiously). I work in sports, though, so I have zero input into the world of news and politics, etc.
I can tell you this, therefore, from first-hand information: Newsweek absolutely, positively failed tests that are applied to stories at much smaller news organizations.
The story relied on information provided anonymously by a single source. Talk about red flags -- one source? anonymous? That should have raised a whole division worth of flags somewhere in the system there. If someone doesn't have the backbone to support the story by being willing to yield his or her identity, that should immediately raise serious questions. And if you cannot get a second source to confirm -- confirm, not decline comment on, not question, but POSITIVELY confirm -- the information, you don't have a story. Newsweek ignored the red flags that lowly copy editors -- the lowest part of the food chain in the editing process -- at small newspapers know means trouble. It ran the story.
Second, the magazine itself said its reporters managed to talk to only two other people in pursuit of this story. Only two? Come on, friends, they didn't try very hard to confirm the story before rushing it into print.
The catch phrase "Newsweek lied. People died." is horrifically true.
Here's the bottom line, from where I sit:
The reporters involved are likely to be disciplined. That's unfair. Reporters do not make decisions about going with stories or not going with stories. Reporters present the stories; editors make the decision about whether to go with a story or kick it back for more information or spike it altogether.
The key editors involved with this story reaching print -- far before it was ready -- deserve to be disciplined... yes, maybe even fired. And take it all the way to the top of the masthead.
However, I would not hold my breath waiting for that to take place.
I would bet that Hell will freeze over, John Kerry will sign the release of his military records, Hillary Clinton will admit to her lifelong history of criminally-tainted dealings, Paul Martin will resign as Canada's prime minister, Alfonso Gagliano will admit his ties to U.S. organized crime, and Warren Kinsella will join the Conservative Party before that happens.