Paul Martin Jr.: Bad for U.S.-Canada relations

The prime minister of Canada really wants to get things done with the U.S.
Not!
Paul Martin often accuses the U.S. administration of being flat wrong - about many things - these days.
He appears practically eager to antagonize the White House and position himself as a bulwark against a president largely reviled by Canadians for his go-it-alone stance on Kyoto, the International Criminal Court, and especially the war in Iraq.
Weeks of Bush-bashing on softwood lumber and climate change have so irritated the White House that it apparently called in Canada's ambassador this week.
"It appears that oftentimes, some officials, in order to build Canada up, attempt to tear the United States down," said the U.S. ambasador to Ottawa, David Wilkins.
But Martin was unapologetic.
"The foreign policy of this country - the overall policy of this country - is set by the prime minister. And I'll continue to do that," Martin said.
Well, Paul, don't think we're not paying attention.
That takeover of the tunnel in Detroit that your government is so against? Too bad...
All that trash you send to Michigan? Keep it. You won't be able to dump it here soon.
Softwood dispute? What softwood dispute? You keep dumping and denying that you're subsidizing the business. Fuggedaboudit.
Kyoto? Clean up your own act first.
That passport plan the State Department's working on? Full speed ahead, as long as you run the government.
And if a terrorist strikes, don't worry. We won't be in any hurry to help.
Americans remember who their friends are. Paul Martin Jr., you are no friend of America.

Frustration...

To a high school student, frustration is getting 7 inches of snow on a day when you're already off school.

This is too good

Jeff over at the Think Sink has come up with the Ghost of Christmas Future story to end all of 'em. Go read this. Now.
Dickens would be proud.

How I spent my week, phase 4

The family room tree - a 12-footer. About 1,300 lights on it.

How I spent my week, phase 3

The focus isn't the greatest, but that's a taste of the outside lights (not shown yet -- the deck and the shed).

How I spent my week, phase 2

The young lass at the end of her leg in the 400 free relay on Tuesday. (She swam the second leg -- her team won the race, but not the meet.)

How I spent my week, phase 1

The young lad (second from right) on bass guitar at his recital, jammin' to Steely Dan's "Black Friday".

Carnival update #2

Now, from London (Ontario, that is), the second most famous person out of UWO (behind New York Rangers centre Steve Rucchin) presents another edition of the Carnival of Satire.

Carnival update #1

Live, from Philadelphia, where the mayor's best friends are all crooks, it's the Carnival of Comedy No. 32, hosted by Ooooh-ALa, whose Blonde Sagacity can dazzle (I think).

The ACLU's Christmas Carol

...as written and performed by Right Wing, Right Minded...

Twas the night before December 25th and Santa's a wreck...
How to live in a world that's politically correct?
His workers no longer would answer to "Elves".
"Vertically Challenged" they were calling themselves.
And labor conditions at the north pole
Were alleged by the union to stifle the soul.
Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety,
Released to the wilds by the Humane Society.
And equal employment had made it quite clear
That Santa had better not use just reindeer.
So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid,
Were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid!
The runners had been removed from his sleigh;
The ruts were termed dangerous by the E.P.A.
And people had started to call for the cops
When they heard sled noises on their roof-tops.
Second-hand smoke from his pipe had his workers quite frightened.
His fur trimmed red suit was called "Unenlightened."
And to show you the strangeness of life's ebbs and flows,
Rudolf was suing over unauthorized use of his nose
And had gone on Geraldo, in front of the nation,
Demanding millions in over-due compensation.
So, half of the reindeer were gone; and his wife,
Who suddenly said she'd enough of this life,
Joined a self-help group, packed, and left in a whiz,
Demanding from now on her title was Ms.
And as for the gifts, why, he'd ne'er had a notion
That making a choice could cause so much commotion.
Nothing of leather, nothing of fur,
Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her.
Nothing that might be construed to pollute.
Nothing to aim. Nothing to shoot.
Nothing that clamored or made lots of noise.
Nothing for just girls. Or just for the boys.
Nothing that claimed to be gender specific.
Nothing that's warlike or non-pacific.
No candy or sweets...they were bad for the tooth.
Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth.
And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden,
Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden.
For they raised the hackles of those psychological
Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological.
No baseball, no football...someone could get hurt;
Besides, playing sports exposed kids to dirt.
Dolls were said to be sexist, and should be passe;
And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away.
So Santa just stood there, disheveled, perplexed;
He just could not figure out what to do next.
He tried to be merry, tried to be gay,
But you've got to be careful with that word today.
His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground;
Nothing fully acceptable was to be found.
Something special was needed, a gift that he might
Give to all without angering the left or the right.
A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision,
Each group of people, every religion;
Every ethnicity, every hue,
Everyone, everywhere...even you.
So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth...
"May you and your loved ones enjoy peace on earth"

Hat tip to TrekMedic for discovering this gem. Spread it around.

A little history lesson

This is December 7.
Sixty-four years ago today, the United States was hit by a terrorist attack. An act of war.
The Americans of that era responded -- immediately.
It took a long time, at a horrific cost, but eventually the U.S. and its allies won.
Think about this for a minute, if you would... I grew up in a small town, one that never had more than 2,000 people. There is a monument that still exists in front of town hall, bearing the names of 19 young men who gave their lives in that war. Nineteen in a town of less than 2,000 is mind-boggling, but no doubt it is repeated in similar proportions throughout the U.S. (and Canada, too, for that matter).
Fast forward to today.
We are engaged now, as we became engaged then, in a war. This one is with an enemy far different from the enemy back then, yet it is similar in its evil. It is a far different kind of war than was waged back then; in fact, it's not really like any war this hungry planet has ever seen. It is a war not with a nation or nations, but with an ideology that stops at nothing to achieve its ends. The rules of engagement of the past do not necessarily apply in this conflict. (Even if they did, it's doubtful that this enemy would acknowledge them.)
Yet, many of our leaders here in the U.S. of A. would choose not to pursue victory, but retreat in the face of an enemy who has already told us that retreat is tantamount to surrender. Past retreats have only emboldened them, not pacified them, as these leaders would want us to believe.
They don't sing Kumbaya, Charlie Brown. Their songs are the songs of the glories of the 72 virgins they claim they will receive should they sacrifice their lives for their demented cause. In a way, that is not unlike the kamikaze pilots who, too, believed they were in store for a special reward in the afterlife at the completion of their mission.
It makes you ask: If these same leaders who want us to walk away from the current fight had been in charge on December 7, 1941, would we be singing Deutschland uber Alles or the Japanese national anthem today?
Sadly, I can only conclude that we probably would.
Hundreds of thousands of young men paid the ultimate price so that we could enjoy the freedoms we have today.
If those who endorse walking away from this fight ever take power, those sacrifices may very well have been in vain.
And the day that will live in infamy... the words of a Democrat president, by the way... will be little more than a blip on the radar screen of history in our descent into Hell.
Dammit, we can't let that happen.
---
E.M. and JimmyB have good stuff on Pearl Harbor, too.

Whine of the year, nominee 1

(subtitled: proof of the immaturity of certain leftists)
Go read this and tell me this person isn't an immature spoiled leftoid.
(Warning: you'll need Lysol or something stronger after reading it)

Running ragged

Kids can keep ya busy, huh?
For example:
Friday afternoon -- travel to Garnet Valley H.S. (about 30 miles from the house) to see the daughter's first high school swim meet and get drafted into helping to time the meet. The young lady did well for a first high school meet, but the season could be tough. Put it this way -- of the 80 team points, Grade 12s (seniors) scored 7 points, all in diving. And Grade 9s (freshmen) scored 22.5 points (including 6.5 by the young lass). For the future, that's cool, but it could be a tough year on the won-loss record. Then, off to work.
Saturday -- travel to the local indoor soccer facility for a 1 p.m. game for the young lad (after we went out and cut down our Christmas tree -- more on that in a future post). He played pretty well (at least he was satisfied) and his team won 7-3. Then it was back to the house (a 20-minute drive), pick up the young lass, drop the young lad off at a friend's house and hustle the young lass over to Lionville (25 minutes away) for a YMCA swim meet. From there, off to work as the better half arrived.
Sunday -- drop the young lass off at swim practice, then off to work. The young lad had a CYO basketball game later, which the better half had to handle.
Monday -- an unusual day off (because I worked Sunday, which I usually don't). But the young lass had to be picked up at school after choir rehearsal and shuttled off to swim practice at 4:30. Then, it was feed the young lad (the better half was running errands -- I suspect Christmas shopping) and haul him down to his recital. He's been playing bass guitar for about 3 1/2 years now and he's gotten pretty good. The better half then picked up the young lass, met us at the recital. Then it was home to set up the Christmas tree.
Today -- just finished getting the lights on the Christmas tree. No cussin' this time (yet). Only one set didn't work and I was able to fix it! After this, it's into the shower, and off to set up for the young lass's first home swim meet (it's at the YMCA where we belong and those of us who are parents set up the pool, etc.).
They do keep us runnin', don't they?

The mystery of Kyoto-worshipping: Solved

The cracked research team at either orr has finally discovered the secret of Kyoto-worshipping.
It must be the tinfoil hats.
They must be wearing them the wrong way.
See, what has happened is that instead of reflecting heat, the hats are absorbing the heat and transmitting it to the heads of the Kyoto-worshippers.
This has caused two distinct effects which, in combination, turns a person into a raving Kyotophile.
1. The increased temperature caused by the improperly worn hats leads the wearer to believe that the world is substantially warmer than it was before.
2. The increased temperature of the wearer's brain that has resulted from the improperly worn hat has muddled the ability to think so significantly that the person is convinced that the world is going to burn up if another SUV is built.
It appears that the problem is irreversible, according to the cracked research team's director, Dr. B. Reel of the Institute of Deep Thoughts and Discount Duodenum Surgery.
Speaking from his main lab in Wapwallopen, Pa., Dr. B. Reel had this observation:
"The tinfoil hats of the Kyoto worshippers that I have examined appear to have been permanently welded into place by Strongus Mauricius, the mad scientist who deems himself the God of One World. It will take major surgery to reverse this process."
---
Hat tip to Toronto Star columnist Linwood Barclay, who needs to have his tinfoil hat removed immediately before he poisons the air further with his Kyoto proselytizations.

Sports update

Penn State to play Florida State in the Orange Bowl...
The better half is happy about this one, as am I. Go Nittany Lions!
As for the rest of the BCS, USC and Texas should be a helluva title game.
And as for the Fiesta Bowl, go Ohio State! Beat Notre Dame! My parish priest tells me I'll have to do some extra time in purgatory because I hate Notre Dame, but...

Seattle 42, Eagles 0
The NFL's Gold Standard? More like tin foil, huh? Three defensive returns for touchdowns? Outrageous! What classic ineptitude!

Flyers lose another key player to injury
Now, it's Joni Pitkanen, the young defenceman who has been playing like an all-star, who's out 4-6 weeks.
At least Esche and Forsberg are likely to be back by next week, if not sooner.
But Primeau's head is still ringing a bit, and they really miss him.
When will it ever end?

Is this love?

Paul Martin Jr. declared last week that he LOVES Canada!
He loves it so much that:
* His family's company is chartered in Barbados, not Canada, in order to dodge the significantly higher Canadian tax burden.
* His family's company builds its ships in China, not Canada, leaving hundreds of qualified Canadian shipbuilders out of work.
* His family's company ships fly other foreign flags, again to avoid giving Canada its fiscal due.
* His family's company ships are noted for dumping their sweepings into the Great Lakes, contributing to the pollution thereof.
If he loves Canada, I'd hate to think about what things would be like if he didn't.