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Archives for October 2008

Not even the choir is singing…

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I agree with Paul Tuns over at Sobering Thoughts. Robert Fulford’s piece about Harper is good.

But so far as we can gather, nothing [Harper] did during 33 months in office altered his reputation as a potential danger to what many Canadians like to call, in their most euphoric moments, “Canadian values.” In trying to convert voters to his view of government, he seems to be dreaming an impossible dream, as the song goes, while struggling “to fight for the right.” Not enough of us are singing along.

Not enough are singing along–not dedicated conservatives (small-c) and certainly not the rest of the country. To win a majority, you need a leader who can at least inspire the choir, and then do a bit more.

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Rebecca adds: “To win a majority, you need a leader who can at least inspire the choir, and then do a bit more.”

Indeed.  In 2006, Harper went up against a reeling Liberal party coming off Adscam and scandals involving biker gangs, led by the comically bumbling Paul Martin, and only managed a minority. Yesterday, Harper went up against a Liberal party advocating a massive and elaborate tax hike and no sound fiscal policy in the midst of an economic crisis, led by Stephane Dion’s leadership which brings to mind Abbot and Costello skits, and managed only a (larger) minority. At some point, Conservatives should ask if he’s ever going to close the deal.

The next question is, of course, who would be better? And how do Conservatives make him (or her, but probably him) the leader without yet another conservative schism that hands the Liberals another decade on a platter?

The thrill of voting

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I’ve poked fun of Judith Timson before: Her views on life are about as out of touch as, well, the rest of Toronto’s elite. Bygones–this piece about voting is a good one. Voting is, however, more than a thrill, rather a true right in democratic countries. (Politics is personal in so many regards: I’m Canadian because my parents were denied this right, among others. I don’t wish communism on anyone–but my family history lends a certain perspective, which puts me squarely in the Take Voting Seriously camp.)

Car unveiled. Women? Not so much.

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A car designed specifically for women, with electronic parking aids and a jack making it easier to change a wheel, has been unveiled by Iran’s state-backed manufacturer.

Well, I say, you can take our cheerfully coloured cars with decorated dashboards, but you can never take our FREEDOM! (Thank you, William Wallace.)

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Brigitte is somewhat offended: Whadayamean, parking aids? I don’t need no stinking parking aids! Plus I’ll have you know that here in the Decadent West, women are not only free to drive better than men, they’re also allowed to drive manly cars. Or homosexual ones – like my brand-new 2009 Forester, which I am told is a favourite among lesbians (mine is sage, a soothing and slightly feminine colour which gives my aggressive parallel parking style a bit of a softer edge). Lesbians sure know how to pick great cars. Take that, Iran Khodro! (One is tempted to add: Give me Lesbaru or give me death!)

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Tanya hates to admit it: but, Brigitte, if ever I was parking next to you, you’d wish a parking aid on me. And it’s not because I’m a woman. It’s because my 2004 Ion will likely ding your 2009 Forester.

Giving thanks for tolerance, Québec-style

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[Turn on sarcasm]

A little while ago, I posted on the Conservative candidate in St-Bruno QC who was “outed” by Gilles Duceppe for having Catholic principles. Principles that do not reflect the open-minded ways of the Québécois people (a loose quote) according to Duceppe. Worst than being Catholic, Nicole Barron-Charbonneau was piloried for being a practicing Catholic, one that abides by the teachings of the Catholic Church. Gasp. My local MP was similarly outed by the local French paper for having — get that — a picture of the Pope in his office. And, believe it or not, a small statue of the Virgin Mary on his desk. Egad. Apparently, the chap goes to *Church* on Sunday. Not the mall, ladies and gentlemen, Church! We owe an eternal debt of gratitude to such devoted members of the fourth estate and the Bloc Québécois for seeking to save us all from principled would-be politicians. Because goodness knows that the only thing worse than a politician without principles is a politician that has some. Moral compass as a disqualifying factor in Canadian politics: another feature of our proud heritage!

[turn off sarcasm]

Yes, hum. My in-laws live in St-Bruno QC and volunteer on Nicole Barron-Charbonneau’s campaign team. I was asking them how the campaign was going, what was their feeling about the outcome, you know, small talk over the turkey. They said it was really sad because many of her campaign signs have been vandalized following Duceppe’s comments on her religious beliefs. Signs have been torn-down and “Opus Dei” spray-painted on others (Barron-Charbonneau is believed to be a member of this Catholic organization).

Vandalism as a virtue of open-mindedness. It reminded me of some of my family members who are so liberal, tolerant and open-minded that they can’t even talk about abortion or religion.

You can’t say we never have anything for the guys

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A handy dance tutorial for dudes. Most amusing.

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Andrea adds: So this is what happens when professional dancers enter academia. Hope the fellow doing the demonstration isn’t Dr. Lovatt. If he is, I can understand why he had to leave his professional dance career behind.

Dr Lovatt, who was a professional dancer before he went into academia, filmed 15 short video clips of himself performing different dance moves and blurred out his physical features so that only his movements were visible.

If you think Palin is extreme on abortion…

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…you must concede, so too is Obama:

Palin skewered Obama for voting “present” while in the Illinois State Senate on a bill that would have required medical care for fetuses that survived abortion. “So in short, Sen. Obama is a politician who has long since left behind even the middle ground on the issue of life,” she said.

Botched abortions equals babies born alive–and oftentimes left to die in sterile, metal dishes to die alone for their few minutes of life here on earth. Something’s wrong when you need an act of Congress to tell people how to treat “babies born alive.” And something is even more wrong when politicians vote against giving those babies care.

Now he’s a “catalyst for change”

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I didn’t watch the awards ceremony for Morgentaler. It’s a very busy season, right now, but even if it weren’t, I’d probably prefer root canal.

I note from this article that Morgentaler

was praised as “a catalyst for change and important debate.”

Important debate, yes. Except that my opponents have been arguing since I was born that there is no debate. That’s over, done. Resolved. No one questions “abortion rights.”

Summarizing, then, the freedom of speech issue–when you support abortion, you are a catalyst for an important debate. When you are against abortion you are a pesk, some spending time in jail, others sidelined from their working spheres, be it politics, law, medicine or journalism.

Again, euphemisms are the hallmark of the “abortion rights” world. It’s almost exclusively through concealing what they stand for that they win.

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Véronique adds: The headline of the day, from my local French newspaper (Le Droit). A quote, presumably taken from the award ceremony (I couldn’t say, I was not invited.):

Une société plus humaine” (A more humane society).

With less humans in it.

That makes sense. Doesn’t it?

Saturday morning fit of laughter, sort of

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Running my usual Saturday morning blog count, I came accross this post. The news is what it is, I am now too disillusionned by two years of graduate studies in ethics to be surprised by anything. So the debate about the morality of abortion is done and over with, what else are we going to debate about? Plant dignity. Please tell me this is from the Onion News Network…

But to put everything in perspective, keep reading the comments section. Some of them are hilarious!

h/t Small Dead Animals

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Andrea adds: The comments are hilarious. I too, imagine Vegetable Rights Tribunals. I have always thought those new orange cauliflowers were weird. Now I know they mark a grave injustice.

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