Oh My God

Hey, apparently there's a judge in Quebec who decided he wants to be known as "the Friend of Pedophiles," because that's the only way I can explain this horrendous decision. You'll want to vomit after reading this. I know I almost did.

Something is wrong with our judicial system when you can be 32 and let off easy for "being young" and when having only raped a child once before is something that reduces your sentence by six years. This sicko raped two different children - this is what's called pattern behaviour, people.

This judge should be stripped of his robes as far as I'm concerned

Check This Out

You're more likely to die walking around in Detroit than in Iraq, so says a Republican Congressman.

H/T to Neale

Updates

Greg Staples confirms something I've long believed about Canadians and Kyoto.

Five Canadians were injured today in an RPG attack in Afghanistan's Panjawi area. Thankfully, none of them received life-threatening injuries and two of them are aready back on duty. Write a Soldier!

Peg Norman, Oblivious

Peg Norman was the NDP candidate for St. John's South in January's election. Norman describes "the most rewarding years of her life" as those she spent volunteering, working, and later managing the Morgantaler Abortion "clinic" in St. John's. Peg also made headlines when she received a substantial campaign donation from former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell (which she had to refuse, in accordance with our Election laws). In the end, she had no real chance of winning and was handily defeated by Fisheries Minister and all around swell guy Loyola Hearn, who is also famous for his role in uniting the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative parties. I don't in any way feel Norman would have done anything worthwhile for the riding, and frankly I don't think she would have been prepared enough to manage the responsibilities of an MP. Peg was interviewed by The Telegram (St. John's) on Sunday and elaborated on a few of her more...interesting...viewpoints.

Q. What is the biggest issue right now on the federal scene?

A. The wool being pulled over the eyes of Canadians - I fear [Prime Minister] Stephen Harper is doing what he wants, especially in terms of controlling the media.

Q. Are you still wary of the Harper government?

A. Very much so. For example, I consider myself to be pretty aware of what's happening and I didn't know that the Liberals were sending Canadian troops into Afghanistan in more than just a peacekeeping role. Now Harper is making sure they stay. There's no real opportunity for real, meaningful debate (emphasis mine!).

Peg Norman - walking contradiction. It's beyond me how someone can claim to be well informed and then in the same sentence state that they didn't realize that we invaded and attacked Afghanistan. Yeesh. This was someone who wanted to be an MP, and she isn't even paying attention to current events. Someone's got the wool pulled over their eyes - and it isn't the Canadian people, Peg.

Representing a ridng is a lot more work than just showing up in Question period and shutting those big bad neo-cons up with some made for TV righteous speech exposing their hypocrisy and lies and hey - No Blood For Oil^tm!. Then they'll crown Jack Layton King of Canada right on the spot and everyone will live happily ever after. Boy, what a lot of fun! It'll be just like in the movies!

Unfortunately for Peg, pesky reality gets in the way. Those big bad neo-cons? They don't put their tails between their legs and cower - they fire right back. Welcome to politics, Peg. Aside from that trifling inconvenience, question period is only about 2% of what an MP does. Just for starters there's never-ending committee meetings on the hill, late nights drafting policy, community functions, public consultations with constituents, dealing with the fact that your constituency office is a de facto immigration centre, and most of all helping the people of your riding with their concerns, no matter how big or small. A good MP should be available in some form 24/7. You're always working, and you'll probably spend more hours than you can count on planes going to and from Ottawa. Your life is spent in the service of your constituents. Simply put, it's not like blogging - you don't bitch about ideology and politics for an hour and then call it quits for the rest of the day. It's real work, and not everyone can handle it. I think that's why the people of St. John's South said no to Peg Norman on January 23^rd, 2006.

Five Canadians Injured in Afghanistan

Five Canadian soldiers were inured in a roadside attack today. None have serious injuries however, and all are okay, thank God. If you have'nt already taken the time to do so, write a soldier and tell them just how proud you are of them for what they're doing.

The People Have Spoken!

It is just an internet poll, but like I said - the media is "showing their hand" as of late. People aren't stupid - they pick up on these things.

Tell them what you think at ctvnews.ca!

Go Climb a Tree!

Some people just blow it off. Some people take the suggestion quite seriously. File this under "so ridiculous I couldn't have made it up," right along with Harper's new Bush-mobile.

H/T to Fred over at Gay and Right.

Harper Fires a Shot Across the Press Gallery's Bow

I think this explanation plays out well with the public. By showing that he's completely willing to talk to local media, Harper plays to the people and shows the press gallery as the bunch of screaming petulant termagants that they are. The Parliamentary Press Gallery can complain all they like about how Harper is avoiding the media, but that just won't fly if he's talking to your local news anchor on the evening news hour. I mean, heck, if Harper is taking the time to go to your town and talk to your local news anchor, the Press Gallery's argument that he's avoiding the media looks pretty foolish.

You're on My List

I think my own personal "Blogs I Bead" blogroll is cursed. I mean, so far both Meatriarchy and Wonder Woman have given up blogging, at least for the forseeable future. That's two out of seven, people. What can this mean for the likes of SDA, Daimnation!, BBS and DMB?

All kidding aside, I'd like to wish Wonder Woman all the best as she pursues other goals in her post-blogging life. Hopefully she hasn't been cured of the blogging bug, and will one day return to us. Until then, God Bless, and thanks for the insight!

Built To Last

From a comment I left over at Political Staples, run by the supermodel heart-breaker we all know and love as Greg Staples, regarding Tom Flanagan's recent article in the Globe and Mail:

To be honest, I think Flanagan’s got it quite right. Harper is working on building a strong national party - he’s not interested in continuing the ‘tradition’ of the Tories simply being the party that gives Canada a break from the Liberals every 25 years or so. Sure, the idea of a “natural governing party” is anathema to us all, but I think Flanagan simply means that Harper wants the Conservatives to last and to offer a real competitive alternative to the Liberals. And it looks like that’s exactly what Harper is doing. The mistake people continually make is underestimating Harper’s political acumen and his ability to develop a plan and learn from his mistakes.

I think that about sums it up.

Media Walk Out on Harper, Conservative Popularity At Its Highest Yet

In the media's latest hissy-fit over new parliamentary access rules, members of the press gallery walked out of a scheduled press conference shortly before Harper arrived. Meanwhile, the Conservatives enjoyed news that their popularity is now at 43% nationally.

Watching CTV today, I was actually kind of shocked when I saw an Ottawa correspondent in the middle of what was ostensibly supposed to be a news story make a series of insulting remarks towards Harper and the new press rules. It was completely unprofessional.

The only effect this spat is going to have on the Canadian public is to make them more aware of the MSM and its predilections and biases. While the attempt of certain journalists is to shine a critical light on Harper, their efforts are backfiring - instead, some members of the MSM are "showing their hands" so to speak. And Canadians are going to start picking up on it.

In the end, it doesn't seem like Canadians care about the endless stream of "woe is me" stories coming from the press. They want news - they don't want to read the personal diaries of people bitching about their jobs. As long as the government is doing its job right, Canadians just don't care. The snarky commentator had it right when he was asked what the public thought of this spat - "I don't think they give a hoot."

Caledonia Blockade Coming Down

It appears that native protestors are finally removing their blockade.

Irony

Caught this, and thought it was amusing:

I'm Not Making This Up

I didn't realize it would get this ridiculous: Harper's SUV is apparently to "Bush-like." Or it looks too much like something "Darth Vader would be driving. I'd joke that Pat Martin is going to say "Stephen Harper eats babies as an afternoon snack" next, but I honestly think that's a possibility at this point.

What the hell are the people who elected this guy thinking? I know that if my MP started saying things this loony, I'd book him an appointment with a shrink.

If I say 'Yeesh' one more time, I think I'm going to be in danger of wearing it out...

The Petulance of John Gray

If you get a chance, read this whopper from John Gray, who waxes left-wing talking points at the CBC website's Reality Check like there's no tomorrow. I can understand cynicism towards government and politicians given what we've experienced over the last 13 years, but is it so hard for Gray to believe that someone in this country might actually want to work towards making it a better place?

Some say cynicism is the mark of experience. I say it's the mark of someone who's given up.

-Update-: And remember: if the enemy isn't Big Oil, it's Big Coal. Reality? Yeesh! Someone at the CBC has been taking a few too many Valiums.

Shake Your Head and Sigh

I'm not entirely sure I understand the logic that the Liberals are using lately. Scott Brison (who happens to be the Liberals' environment critic) is calling for the head of Rona Ambrose because he believes she's "undermining Kyoto."

I think the Conservatives have been pretty clear on this issue: it's their position that Kyoto won't work and as such we need to pursue other avenues of climate control plans, preferrably ones that set reasonable targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. It's not news to anyone that the Conservatives aren't going ahead with this. So why is Brison trying to pretend that this is a shocking new development? Is it a slow day in his leadership campaign headquarters? Is he trying to fill out some sort of media appearance quota?

Maybe he was watching Wheel of Fortune, and "Undermining Kyoto" was the answer to the puzzle. My advice? Stick to buying vowels, Scott.

New Comments System

Some of you may have noticed that I recently switched to a new comments system. This has actually been quite some time coming, but I finally got around to it this week. I gave it some thought, and I decided to go with Haloscan after hearing some good things from friends. We'll see how it works out, but so far I like the new capabilities it gives me.

This new comment system also gives me the ability to ban, but relax! Have an Ice cap. Prop your feet up! My philosophy on comments has always been very easygoing - be nice, and have a ball. I don't even like the idea of banning someone from commenting - I've seen it abused far too much by bloggers of...other political persuasions, so to speak (I don't mean to tar everyone with the same brush, of course). In any event, I'm not going to ban anyone unless they've been a complete and utter jerk. And even then, if you want to get unbanned just drop me a line and sincerely apologize - we all make mistakes sometimes.

Anyhow, so far I'm pretty happy with the switch. If you've got any thoughts or reccommendations, let me know! I'm all ears.

SABOTEURS, SPIES, SCOUNDRELS!!!!

The official opposition is now saying we should recall our Kyoto delegation, despite their insistence upon Canada following this toothless and ineffective treaty. While this may seem a little puzzling to you and me, I wouldn't suggest you try too hard to comprehend the logic they're using - logic has never been one of their strong points.

Jack Layton thinks this demand is a little hasty. While he's just following his gut ideological instinct, he's right - this is simply more fearful Liberal sabre-rattling in an attempt to remind the Canadian public that yes, they still exist (not for long).

Andy's Antics

By now I'm sure that word has gotten out to the rest of Canada about how much of a circus the St. John's City Council is. Regular meetings consist of endless arguments and personal attacks. To be honest, I fail to see how they ever even get anything done.

I don't think anyone on council can claim innocence here. But without a doubt, the worst instigator seems to be (in my opinion) Mayor Andy Wells (I have to be careful here, because Andy is by no means afraid to litigate when his reputation is on the line. This is the kind of guy that would make even WK step back and say Seriously, man. You've got to chill out). Wells has been accused of being a bully on council and councillors have often taken issue in regards to denigrating statements he has been accused of making (note my careful language).

Recently, Mayor Wells won a lawsuit against former councillor Paul Sears, who suggested that Wells was "bought" by certain developers who wanted to build a supermarket on the site of the old Memorial Stadium. I should point out that this was a contentious enough issue for area residents without the addition of a defamation of character lawsuit. In the end, Wells was awarded $40,000 in damages, all the while knowing that it would be paid for by the city's insurance policy - in other words, the taxpayers. Classy.

Wells isn't the only guilty one here. Councillor Sears had a chance to avoid this lawsuit by simply retracting his statements. This would have saved city taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in legal costs in addition to the settlement awarded to Wells. Although he replaced the word "bought" with the word "favours," (how nice of him) Sears refused to retract anything else he'd said - leaving city taxpayers to pay for this clash of egos.

Sadly enough, this isn't the end of the whole sordid affair: Wells is now appealing the court's decision because he wants more money for his troubles. If you're feeling a stinging sensation right about now, relax - it's just the salt in your wounds.

I didn't vote for a mayoral candidate in the last municipal election. After Vince Withers, my preferred candidate, dropped out of the race the only other mayoral candidate aside from Wells was a man who was caught vandalizing the election signs of someone who wasn't even running against him - misspelling the word "liar" in the process. Damned if you do...

Yeesh. There are no winners, here, people. It's not a pretty sight.

Short Takes

Occasionally I get honoured by a leftist blogger who feels threatened by something or other that I write here. A sure sign that you're doing something right (no pun intended) is that you make others throw a hissy-fit. Case in point: when I slapped those "5% GST" stickers all around the walls of my university campus during the election campaign, a famous local leftist complained on-air during a talk-show interview about how upset they'd made her.

I count these moments as amusing little treasures.

In any event, I thank a certain leftist blogger out there who counts me as 'mock-worthy.' It's kind of nice to get mocked alongside of great blogs like Blue Blogging Soapbox and Civitatensis. Heck, I always welcome more traffic.

Your Daily Dose of Partisan Politics

"It seems like he's taking his bat and ball and going home.''
-NDP MP Peggy Nash.

Actually, to me it sounds like the opposition put their own partisan interests ahead of the welfare of Canadians.

I shouldn't have expected much else from the opposition parties on this. The appointment of Gwyn Morgan, the man who was to head up a proposed public appointments commission, has been torpedoed by opposition MPs in a House of Commons operations committee. As a result, Harper has said he's going to scrap the idea for the time being and wait for a majority government before putting this issue back on the table.

I'm really, really disgusted with the opposition over this. Regular readers will know that I wax ad nauseum about how the other parties are stuck in a mindset that belongs in the early twentieth century. One of the reasons I supported the Conservatives in the last election was because I liked the plan they had for Canada. I liked the idea of an open and accountable government where things were done democratically and transparently instead of sleazily and under the table. I liked the idea of a modern functioning democracy with an elected senate.

The opposition parties don't want any part of this plan. The Conservative plan would force them to change the way they do business in Ottawa, and this would limit the power they would possess in government. This frightens them immensely.

So the opposition parties torpedoed Mr. Morgan's appointment, showing the very same disgusting anti-democratic attitude: Well, we can't have this man, he said something about ethnic gang violence. Well, yeah it's true - but it's uncomfortable to talk about. Let's ignore the problem and use it as an excuse to further our own agenda.

This man and this proposed committee would have been one small step in moving Canada towards a more open and modern democracy. It's no secret that I feel the British model of democracy has much room for improvement and modernization, and anything we can do to improve upon it is a step in the right direction. We had our foot in the door of the future here. But that door is shut for quite some time to come, all because of a digusting display of partisan politics.

Canadians now have to ask themselves: why did opposition MPs willfully act against the best interests of Canadians in the pursuit of pure, disgusting partisan politics?

Ask yourself. And remember the answer when you're standing in front of the your ballot next election day.

Blogging Tories Has Come Down With Bird Flu

That's the only explanation I can think of. I know Craig's really busy and is doing the best he can, and we thank him for it. But seriously, has anyone else noticed just how on the fritz the aggregator is lately? I think it's safe to muse about this now, because my posts are now actually starting to show up again. If you've been visiting Uncommon Truths lately, you'd notice that ever since mid-April I've been on a hiatus of sorts. That's because:

• I was busy with my final exams.
• I figured that, what with the aggregator situation, traffic would decrease (this is a fallacy as most of my traffic comes from other sources).
• Sid Meiers' Pirates has brought out my neglected inner buccaneer.

Anyhow, I'm musing about the aggregator having bird flu because it's upchucking old posts from the politic (no offense meant, of course) at the moment. I'd link to them, but one look at the BT main site will give you all the Politic "linky goodness"(TM) you can handle.

What gives?

Dalton McGuinty: Boo Hoo!!

Canada's most crybaby premier is at it again.