NCC Endorses Unelected Senate

Once upon a time the National Citizens Coalition stood for Senate reform.

Those were the days when it was an independent truly conservative voice.

No more.

Now it's impossible to figure out where the Conservative Party spin machine ends and the NCC begins.

Sad.

Americana

Things I have had a hard time adjusting to in the United States:

* Round-abouts.

* Paying for gasoline before you put it in your car.

* Getting used to Fahrenheit temperatures again.

* Remembering to ask people where the "bathroom" is instead of "washroom."

Political GPS

I just bought one of those GPS car navigation systems to keep me from getting lost as I travel through the wilds of America. (I often get lost even in the wilds of Oakville.)

And I got to say it's a pretty cool device. It not only shows me which way to go, but it actually speaks to me.

"Turn here," says a robotic voice.

Plus you can apparently change the voice to suit your fancy.

This got me wondering what these GPS devices would sound like if you could program them to sound like our political leaders.

They might sound a little like this:

Stephen Harper GPS voice: "This car won't move until I say it can move. Now prorogue this vehicle immediately."

Michael Ignatieff GPS voice: "You are travelling along Highway 401 ... at least I think it's Highway 401 ... I don't know this country all that well."

Jack Layton GPS voice: "Turn left .... turn left .... turn left."

Gilles Duceppe GPS voice: "Sorry I only give directions inside Quebec."

I'm off to America!

Canada’s conservative movement will somehow have to get along without me for the next little while.

That’s because I have just signed a deal to work for an American political consulting firm, meaning I will be temporarily relocating to the United States.

I will be attached to a Senate campaign down there which will keep me pretty busy for the next few months.

Consequently, I expect my blogging activities will be greatly reduced for the foreseeable future.

But fear not, when I return from my American tour of political combat duty, I plan to resume blogging at full steam.

In the meantime, wish me luck.

Facebook Fury

It seems "grassroots" Canadians are in a fury over Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to prorogue Parliament.

Or so says the Toronto Star.

And what's the Star's evidence of this fury?

Well, it seems more than 28,000 people have joined an anti-prorogation Facebook page.

OK that's impressive.

It certainly shows that lots of people on Facebook disagree with the prorogation.

But clicking a link on Facebook is no measure of emotional intensity.

And it's emotional intensity which fuels "grassroots fury."

You need such intensity to pick up the phone and complain to your MP or to a radio talk show host, you need such intensity to get citizens marching on Parliament Hill or to attend rallies. You need such intensity, in short, to mobilize the grassroots.

So far I don't see any evidence of such emotional intensity among Canadians when it comes to shutting down Parliament.

And that's not surprising. The fact is, people rarely get all that worked up about process or procedural issues.

It's the kind of thing which excites constitutional scholars, political columnists and partisans, but nobody else.

Anyway, if you want to have a say on this issue, you can vote on the latest Libertas Post survey.

Looking back at 2009

The year is drawing to a close

And except for the wars, the world-wide economic recession and the never-ending Tiger Woods saga, 2009 was pretty good.

It was an especially amazing year when it came to Canadian politics.

Don’t believe me?

Well here’s a brief recap of 2009’s top political highlights:

* A Constitutional crisis nearly occurs when it’s found no one in Parliament knows how to pronounce the word “prorogue.”

* A Health Canada campaign instructed Canadians on the proper way to cough into their arms. This helped stop an H1N1 flu epidemic; unfortunately it triggered an epidemic of infected elbows.

* The Queen awarded former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien with the prestigious “Order of Merit.” An ecstatic Chrétien celebrated by throttling a nearby protestor.

* To battle the recession, the Conservative government implemented a bold and exciting plan, which mainly entailed spending millions of tax dollars on TV ads telling Canadians the government had a bold and exciting plan.


* A photo op went tragically wrong when a giant cardboard novelty “economic stimulus” cheque government MPs were handing over to local politicians in South Porcupine, Ontario suddenly collapsed destroying several buildings and injuring dozens of onlookers.

* After wowing the nation with his singing performance at the National Arts Centre Gala, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced he will appear as a contestant on American Idol. In unrelated news, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson were both appointed to the Senate.

* The Canadian government’s budgetary deficit soared to a record-setting $56 billion. However, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty promised the budget will soon be balanced thanks to the expected royalties from Prime Minister Harper’s newest CD, which includes the hit single “What Afghan detainees?”

* A new political star emerged in 2009: the Conservative Party logo. The logo showed up on Canada’s Olympic sweaters, on government “economic stimulus” cheques and most amazingly of all, on the forehead of CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge.

* Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff announced Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s “time was up” and declared he was ready to force a Fall election. Later, Ignatieff explained to reporters that he really meant the Fall of 2016.

* Beleaguered Liberal MPs desperate to reverse their sagging poll numbers reportedly plotted the overthrow of their leader Michael Ignatieff. Mentioned as possible replacements for Ignatieff were Bob Rae, Justin Trudeau and the Conservative Party logo.

* Hacked emails from a global warming research institute revealed a startling fact: former Liberal leader Stephen Dion’s dog, Kyoto, is actually named “Coal Burning Plant.”

* To protest a planned re-enactment of the Battle on the Plains of Abraham, Bloc Quebecois Bloc MPs donned 18th century military uniforms and stormed Parliament Hill. The stunt backfired, however, when the Bloc MPs were captured by Canadian military personal and handed over to the Afghan army.

* Governor-General Michaëlle Jean made headlines when she ate a raw seal’s heart. To gain similar publicity, NDP leader Jack Layton ate a pound of raw tofu shaped to look like a seal’s heart.

So you see 2009 was politically speaking a banner year.

And 2010 promises more of the same.

But try and have a Happy New Year anyway.

These wars need better names

And now, because I have nothing better to blog about, here is a list of some wars with dumb names.

* The Eight Saints War

* Gulgers'War

* War of Jenkins Ear

* Holy Wars of the "Mad Mullah"

* War of the Oranges

* The Pastry War

* Red Eye Brow Rebellion

Chrissy Snow

Merry Christmas!!

And I have posted this picture simply because Suzanne Somers played the part of "Christmas Snow" in that wonderful old TV series Three's Company.

Outrage Prize

Hey, just as Barack Obama won the Nobel Prize, it seems I am a prize-winner too.

Media Alert

I am scheduled to be a guest on the Tom Young Show, this afternoon at 1:30 PM EST to discuss my Eco-Christmas blog.

Have yourself an Eco-Christmas -- that's an order

It didn’t get a lot of press, but the recent Copenhagen Climate Change summit issued a series decrees concerning the Holiday Season.

These decrees have essentially established new environmental Christmas traditions.

If you want to legally enjoy Christmas you must now adhere to the following rules:

All festive sing-alongs must include the song “I’m dreaming of a non-globally warmed Winter season.”

Santa Claus must now wear green instead of red and he must look like Al Gore.

Instead of reindeer, Santa’s sleigh must be portrayed as powered by solar panels. (The same goes for Rudolph’s nose.)

Burning of yule logs or any other non-renewable resources is strictly prohibited, unless the burners have first paid a carbon tax.

“Christmas” lights are banned unless they draw their energy from windmills.

On Christmas Eve, all parents are now required to read their children a poem which begins, “Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring, except for David Suzuki, who was snooping about looking for illegal beer fridges.”

Instead of receiving a lump of coal, naughty children will now receive recycling bins stuffed with environmentally friendly products.

Christmas trees are now forbidden; instead families will now decorate a pesticide-free “Christmas tree seed”, which must be planted the following spring.

All food served at festive gatherings must be “organic” and “grown locally”. Since this is Canada and since nothing grows here in the dead of winter, all meals will therefore consist of whatever walnuts, fruitcakes and candy canes are left over from last Christmas.

Instead of hanging up stockings, Canadians must now hang up reusable canvas bags, the uglier the better.

So those are the new Eco-Christmas rules and regulations.

Happy Holidays!

(Please note these rules do not apply to any Third World Dictatorships)

Carbon Copy Tax

The Afghan detainee issue will not hurt the Conservative government, the prorogation of Parliament will not hurt the Conservative government, the fallout from the Copenhagen Climate Change summit will not hurt the Conservative government, but a flip flop on carbon taxes -- that definitely would hurt the Conservative government.

Conservatism in Canada

Is Canada moving to the Right?

Interesting CP article on that topic (and it's not interesting just because it happens to include a quote from me!)

New OLA site

The Ontario Landowners Association has just come out with a revamped website.

It's all part of the OLA's increased efforts to promote and protect property rights.

Property rights, of course, is one of those issues we don't hear a lot about. And that's too bad, because the right to own and enjoy property is crucial for a truly free society.

That's why the OLA's mission is so important. And it does a truly great job in exposing and opposing attempts by politicians and bureaucrats to infringe on our freedoms.

So check out their site and consider offering your support.

Debating Canada's reputation

Had a fun time yesterday debating former Liberal/Bloc Quebecois MP Jean Lapierre.

Our topic was Canada's reputation on the world scene when it comes to climate change.

Lapierre thought it was important that Al Gore like us.

I disagreed.

You can see it here.

(Note my Christmas tie doesn't show up very well.)

Media Alert

I am scheduled to appear on the CTV news program Power Play today at about 5:30 PM EST.

Be sure and watch because I will be wearing my special Christmas tie.

Stop the dopey stunts

Both the Liberals and Conservatives really need to tighten up their security.

After all, it seems drunken frat boys are somehow breaking into their party headquarters late at night and causing all sorts of juvenile mischief.

These delinquents, for instance, posted a tasteless doctored photo on the Liberal website of Prime Minister Stephen Harper getting assassinated a la Lee Harvey Oswald.

It must have taken quite a few beers for the kids to do something that outrageously stupid.

Meanwhile, these same mindless pranksters also managed to insert a “pooping puffin” into a Conservative Party ad. Then there's this.

If something is not done soon to stop the sophomoric punks responsible for this sort of inane activity, it’s going to reflect poorly on our political process.

Canadians might start to think the Liberals and Conservatives actually condone such childish stunts.

McGuinty deserves credit

A couple of weeks ago, I had some nice words on this blog concerning Liberal MP Bob Rae.

Well as if that's not strange enough, I know find myself congratulating Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.

It seems the premier is considering the idea of privatizing certain provincial assets as a way to raise money for his cash-strapped government.

The fact that a lefty-Liberal like McGuinty is even considering privatization is pretty newsworthy and he deserves credit for putting it on the table.

Of course, only time will tell if he actually does place government agencies on the auction block.

I hope he does.

Then I hope he rolls back his plethora of nanny-state decrees.

Hey a guy can dream, can't he?

Let's be the bad boy

According to news media reports, Canada is a “pariah” when it comes to fighting global warming.

And I think that’s just great.

After all, when it comes to everything else we are such upstanding international citizens: we are never late for UN meetings; we are always polite to all the other countries, we hang out with the nice Alliances.

In other words, we are goody-two-shoes – the global equivalent of boy scouts.

Nice, but boring.

However, when it comes to the environment, or at least when it comes to “climate change,” Canada is the bad boy, the outsider.

We are dangerous, we are edgy, we play by our own rules.

When Al Gore sees Canada strutting down the sidewalk, he meekly crosses the street.

Rather than bemoan this state of affairs, as so many in the media do, I say let’s revel in it.

Sometimes it's cool to be bad.

So let's play it for all it's worth.

For instance, here’s what we should do at Copenhagen climate summit:

* Leave a couple of tons of fresh Alberta tar sands on Denmark’s doorstep and ring the doorbell.

* Announce we plan to increase our greenhouse gas emissions, “just because we can”.

* Spice up the environmentalist protests in the streets of Copenhagen by unleashing a dozen or so hungry polar bears.

* During all meetings we should drink out of plastic bottles labelled “Melted Glacier Water.”

* Continually ask the question: “If global warming is such a problem how come it’s so darn cold outside?”

Of course, none of this will actually impact on the climate. But then again, nothing done at the Copenhagen summit will actually impact the climate.

At least we can have a little fun.

Crossposted at Libertas Post.

Speaking out on gag laws

The reaction to my speech on election gag laws, which I recently delivered at a Free Speech and Liberty Symposium, has generated an extremely positive reaction.

And that's gratifying.

However, my real goal in delivering this talk was to help re-spark interest in the whole issue of free-election speech.

Sad to say, this issue has fallen off the radar lately, which is unfortunate because election gag laws deny all Canadians the right to free expression, not just those who wish to advertise. After all, free speech is a two way street; it means having the opportunity to speak and the opportunity to listen.

Simply put, gag laws prevent Canadians from getting all sides of a story.

So I am glad to see that writer/author Paul Tuns is blogging about how gag laws negatively impact on the Right to Life movement.

Similarly, Rightchik is urging Canadians on her blog to contact Prime Minister Harper and demand he scrap the gag law.

I hope other bloggers follow their lead.

Anyway, I would like to thank Joseph Ben-Ami of the Canadian Centre for Policy Studies, which organized the symposium, for giving me the chance to speak out on this matter.

It was a great event.