Media Alert

I will be on the Michael Coren Show tonight at 8:00 PM to plug my book, Loyal to the Core.

It's a one on one hour-long interview, so lots of time to discuss stuff.

You can't spend your way out of recession

British politician Daniel Hannan takes Prime Minister Gordon Brown a peg or two.

Loyal to the Core, Q & A

This week's issue of the Hill Times features an interview with me talking about my book Loyal to the Core.

The actual article is behind a subscription wall, but I've managed to reproduce it on my website.

Conservatives looking for a home

A group I recently joined, The Homeless Cons , is making a little bit of news.

Media Alert

I am scheduled to be a guest on Newsline with Joe Easingwood (CFAX Victoria) at 2:00 PM EST to talk about my book, Loyal to the Core.

More Post Harper Speculation

A couple of days ago I wrote a column in the National Post suggesting a schism might develop in the Conservative Party when Prime Minister Harper steps down as Tory leader.

Well today, Sun media columnist Greg Weston considers this idea and also suggests another scenario: he says the man to replace Harper might just be none other than Quebec Premier Jean Charest.

Wonder if that would split the party?

Amazing Sheep

Ewe you might find this interesting.

Keep the lights on

On Saturday we are supposed to turn our lights off for an hour -- It's called Earth Hour.

Last year I put in my two cents about this dopey idea.

So this year, I have decided to offer a couple of other opinions.

First, check out Joseph Ben Ami's piece; he explains why Earth Hour is not such a bright idea.

Next read this op ed from the Ayn Rand Center, which argues the "call for people to renounce energy and to rejoice at darkened skyscrapers makes its real meaning unmistakably clear: Earth Hour symbolizes the renunciation of industrial civilization".

Good Review for Loyal to the Core

Check out Kathy Shaidle's review of my book Loyal to the Core.

Is it a good review? Well I am posting it aren't I?

Post-Harper Tories

Check out a column I wrote which appears in today's National Post.

I look at the burning question of what happens to the Conservative Party after Prime Minister Stephen Harper decides to pack it in.

George Kell RIP

Sorry to hear George Kell died a few days ago.

Kell was a Hall of Fame third baseman for the Detroit Tigers in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

He won the American League batting championship in 1949, beating out a guy named Ted Williams.

But I remember Kell not as a player, but as the voice of Tiger TV broadcasts back in the 70's and 80s.

Something about Kell made watching Tiger games a little more fun; naybe it was it laid back attitude, or his Arkansas accent or his intimiate knowledge of the game.

Just wish there were more broadcasters like him today.

Dear AIG, I quit

An AIG executive explains why he is resigning in this letter published in the New York Times.

H/T Powerline

Housing timeline

Just in case anybody needs a reminder of the American housing mess timeline.



H/T Proud to be Canadian

Free Thinking Movies

Tired of all those left-wing films and documentaries Hollywood churns out?

Well good news.

A group call The Free Thinking Film Society specializes in presenting films which put forward alternative conservative/libertarian messages.

And on April 13th, the Society will present a double feature: – The Monster Among Us & The Case for Israel.

For details go here.

Two views of me

This guy says I am the "voice of doom."

This guy says I am the voice of "hype."

Loyal Review

Check out this review of my book Loyal to the Core.

Tory Schism?

I am quoted in this interesting Hill Times news story predicting a schism in the Conservative Party after Stephen Harper steps down as leader.

Nobody is Happy

Comedian Louis CK says we are spoiled.

Media Alert

I will be a guest on the World Tonight with Rob Breakenridge tonight at 9:35 PM EST to talk about, yup you guessed it -- my book Loyal to the Core.

That's the same book, by the way, which Seamus O'Regan of Canada AM called a "fascinating read."

Homeless Cons

Are you a principled conservative who feels orphaned?

Are you looking for a political home?

Well if you answered yes to those question, you should definitely consider joining a new social networking site devoted to those of us who don't feel at home in the so-called Conservative Party.

It's called Homeless Cons.

Think of it as an ideological shelter.

Loyal to the Core

Had my official book launch for Loyal to the Core in Ottawa last week.

It was a fun event, which a couple of bloggers, -- here and here -- covered.

So far the reaction to my book is overwhelmingly positive, so be sure and order your copy today.

A sad turn of events

This past weekend I attended the Manning Centre Networking Conference in Ottawa.

That's the good news; the bad news is that while in Ottawa I was computerless.

Hence, I was unable to voice my outrage on this blog over the speech Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently delivered in which he basically threw libertarians and fiscal conservatives under the bus. See here for an excellent analysis.

Imagine my frustration!

Even more frustrating was that I actually heard his speech in person.

Yet, although frustrated, I am not surprised. Not a bit. In fact, about a year ago, I wrote a column in the Globe and Mail basically predicting this sad turn of events.

In that column I stated Harper was intent on creating what I called the "Red Populist Nationalist Alliance."

I wrote, "it seems Mr. Harper is trying to unite Pierre Trudeau-style Liberals, Reform-style populists and Québécois-style nationalists under the Conservative Party banner."

And that's exactly what's happening. Harper's pathetic attack on Wall Street capitalists and free markets was simply a cynical attempt to woo both left wing voters and Reform-style populists.

Actually, on second thought, maybe I'm not outraged.

Just depressed.

As I wrote in my Globe piece, "there is room for everybody in Mr. Harper's Red Populist Nationalist Alliance – everybody, that is, but conservatives who believe in the equality of citizens and want more freedom and less government. Sadly, these Canadians no longer have a political home."

Johnson on the PM

Stephen Harper biographer William Johnson has an interesting audio Q and A on the Prime Minister's recent political performance.

Kids say the darndest things

When I was 14 years old the most important thing in my life was baseball.

And it still is today.

But check out this 14 year old named Jonathan Krohn, who sounds like he should be advising Prime Minister Harper.



H/T Paul Tuns

Taube on the Tories

Former Conservative speech writer Michael Taube says the Tories are heading in the wrong direction.

Tories targeting the wrong enemy

I have a column in this week's Hill Times in which I offer some tactical advice for the Conservative Party.

Essentially, I say the Tories should go "negative" but not against Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff.

Bald Brother

A public service announcement from Larry David.

First Review

My book, Loyal to the Core, won't be officially released until next week at the Manning Centre Exibition, but there's already one advance review.

Wendy Sullivan, of Rightgirl fame, says, "The book is awesome."

And she adds, "every Canadian remotely interested in politics and the state of the country should have a read of Loyal to the Core."

You can read the rest of the review here.

The Tory Lesson

While at the Ontario Conservative Party convention a few weeks ago, I asked a delegate if he thought John Tory would win his by-election contest.

"Oh yes," replied the delegate. "We could run a scarecrow in that riding and win."

Well maybe Tory needed more straw, because he lost.

So what happened?

The likely answer is Tory simply didn't excite the party's grassroots base. And unexcited, unmotivated voters, sometimes don't bother to vote.

That's a lesson the federal Conservatives should heed.

Right man for the job

Today's National Post carries an extract from my book, which you can order here.

Frum vs Limbaugh

David Frum has taken some nasty shots at conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.

See here and here.

In a nutshell, Frum sees the outspoken Limbaugh as a millstone around the Republican Party's neck because he is, according to polls, unpopular with a wide streak of the American public.

But who cares whether or not Limbaugh is popular with the masses? He isn't running for office. Limbaugh's job, which he does brilliantly, is to mobilize (and entertain) conservatives.

And like it or not, right now Limbaugh is the most prominent voice for conservatism in America. That's mainly by default.

So perhaps rather than lashing out at conservative talk show hosts, Frum and other Republicans should be figuring out how they can recapture their own base.

The wonderful preteen years

Back in the early 1990s when my two sons were just little tykes, they loved a video I owned called In the Mind's Eye.

The video was nothing but a bunch of oddball computer-generated imagery with a futuristicky music sound-track.

But they would watch it for hours, which was a great way to keep them out of trouble.

Just for fun, here's a sampling:

Changing Times

Interesting video, with interesting facts.(If true.)

Hollywood's Sin

Apparently the Iranian government wants a visiting Hollywood delegation to formally apologize for the films 300 and The Wrestler.

As usual the Iranians have it all wrong. If Hollywood should apologize for anything, it's this.