Somebody With Too Much Time

Some wit on the Internet has figured out that Garfield comics are even funnier when you remove Garfield.

Is it "Sordi" or "Sawdi" Arabia?

Some interesting comments on radical Islam.

Cadman Scandal

Well it looks like the Harper Tories have a full blown scandal on their hands.

Did they try to bribe Chuck Cadman with a million dollar life insurance policy in exchange for his vote in the House of Commons?

Sure doesn't look good.

Here's what Cadman's wife told the media: "Chuck was really insulted. He was quite mad about it, thinking they could bribe him with that.”

The only person who looks good in this story is the late Cadman, who was clearly a man of great character.

And that's really what caused the problem for Stephen Harper and his inner circle: they don't understand people who stand up for principle.

Austrian Quiz

Are you an Austrian?

And by that I don't mean are you from Vienna; I mean do you subscribe to the economic theories made famous by Austrians like Ludwig von Mises?

Well if you don't know, here's a way to find out.

All you need do is take this Are You an Austrian Quiz, created by the Ludwig von Mises Society.

Warning: This is not your typical Internet quiz.

Spider Dating Tips

I should have tried this when I was single.

Buckley RIP

William F. Buckley --- the world's most eloquent and erudite defender of conservatism -- has passed away.

And he defended conservatism when it needed it most -- back in the dark days of the 1960s and 70s, when liberalism reigned supreme.

When I was a university student, Buckley's magazine, The National Review, was about the only source of conservative opinion available.

I don't know how I would have survived academia without it.

And his TV show, Firing Line, was the one program in those days where conservatives seemed to always triumph. (I was biased, of course, but to my mind Buckley always made mincemeat out of the hapless left wingers who dared to venture onto his show.)

Also with his linguistic skills and encylopedic knowledge, Buckley was just plain fun to watch, even if you didn't agree with him.

Finally, unlike so many commenators of today, Buckley chose to debate with facts and logic, not with ad hominen attacks.

He will be missed.

Bacteria, Torches and Budgets

Lots of budget analysis going on today.

And it seems, all things considered, conservatives are pretty happy with the budget's contents, except perhaps for the government's unwillingness to cutback on its spending.

Here, for example, are some of the new Tory spending initiatives announced yesterday:

* $21 million to "retain top science leaders" with 20 research chairs.
Hey that’s about $1 million a chair. “Top science leaders” must really need to sit down a lot.

* $10-million for the operations of the Canadian Light Source research synchrotron in Saskatoon.
Synchrotron? Oh yeah, I think I saw one of those on Star Trek. Seems to me it was some sort of time machine. If that’s the case, I hope the Tories use this synchrotron to go back in time to the days when Stephen Harper was actually a conservative. (Sorry I couldn't resist.)

* $9 million to improve the safety of laboratories dealing with viruses and bacteria.
This really scares me.

* $25 million to provide Canadians with better information on the links between environmental contaminants and illness.
Who cares about “environmental contaminants”? The real problem are those deadly killer viruses and mutant bacteria escaping from our laboratories. I blame our “top science leaders.”

* $12 million over two years to enhance law enforcement within Canada’s National Parks.
Hear that Yogi? No more stealing picnic baskets. Mr. Ranger is now enhanced.

* $25 million to help make the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays a symbol of community and national pride.
Yes nothing gives me more national pride than watching people run around the country carrying a burning stick in their hand.

Of course, some might say this is money well spent. And one of those people is Liberal leader Stephane Dion.

Media Alert

I will be on the Charles Adler Show at about 2:00 PM to talk about today's budget; and will be on The Drive with Duff show on 940 radio in Montreal at about 5:40 PM.

Update:

I will be on The World Tonight with Rob Breakenridge at 10:05 PM EST to talk about-- what else?-- the budget

Ten Reasons Why Dion Must Pull the Plug

Check out this column I wrote, which appears in today's Toronto Sun.

I give ten powerful reasons why, for his own good, Liberal leader Stephane Dion must vote against today's budget and force an election.

Yes, I know I shouldn't use my powers to help the Liberals in this way, but sometimes you have to act in the interests of the greater good -- the greater good in this case being me getting published.

A Plan for Tory

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty must be a happy guy these days.

And why not?

John Tory is now officially the weakest Opposition leader in the history of Confederation.

Just consider the PC leader's sad situation:

* McGuinty beat him like a rented mule in the last provincial election.

* Tory has no seat in the legislature (And has no prospect of getting one anytime soon.)

* The endorsement of his leadership at the PC convention was less than overwhelming.

* His apparent indecision at the convention about his leadership status has undermined his credibility.

So what should Tory do?

Well maybe he should drop the "Red Tory" routine and try providing Ontarians with a realistic, small "c" conservative alternative to the McGuinty Liberals.

At this point, Tory's got nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Let the Smearing Begin

So the New York Times is smearing Republican Senator John McCain.

Is anybody really surprised?

Check out Powerline's reaction here.

And here is McCain's official response.

Corcoran Slams Carbon Tax

Check out Financial Post editor Terence Corcoran's neat dissection of British Columbia's plan to impose a "carbon tax".

Calling it a "PR scam" and a "sham", Corocoran predicts the carbon tax will do little, if anything, to reduce greenhouse gas emission, but will lead to higher taxes in the future.

Yet, carbon taxes will probably be all the rage in this country, as politicians scramble to prove their "greeness".

And the greener our politicians get, the poorer we will get.

Castro's Plot

Speaking of Castro, his resignation reminds me of the only column I ever wrote about him.

It's one of my favorites because it mixes my two passions: baseball and politics.

A Dying Breed

So Fidel Castro has decided to retire.

That means the only political leaders left in the world still espousing old-fashioned Stalinist socialism are North Korea's Kim Jong-il , Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Toronto's David Miller.

Also, I wonder if Castro will retire to Florida?

And if he does, will he float there in a raft?

Dion's Agenda

Here's my latest Report magazine column, which my friend Joel has put up on his site.

It's about a topic the media doesn't talk too much about: Stephane Dion's scary, hidden agenda.

Gag Law Police On the Prowl

The Gag Law Police are circling around a group called Friends of Science.

Seems this group may have engaged in unlawful "election advertising" when it ran a series of anti-Kyoto radio ads during the last federal election without first getting permission from Elections Canada.

Under Canada's draconian election gag law, that's a no-no.

I should know, because about seven years ago I went through this investigative process -- a process that turned out to be quite expensive.

Of course, back in the days when Friends of Science ran these ads Stephen Harper opposed the Kyoto Accord.

Now he supports it, so I am not sure if these radio ads did any good.

Mind you, Harper once also opposed gag laws, but that's a whole different story.

Forced Dues and Politics II

I have a letter to the editor published in the National Post today in response to this article.

Here it is:

Time to End Union tyranny

Re: Alberta's Unions Go After Stelmach Despite Boom Times, Feb. 15.

This article perfectly outlines why Canada needs to reform its labour laws to inject democracy in the workplace.

The law currently allows union bosses to use forced dues to pay for political propaganda.

Unionized employees, in other words, can be coerced through their dues to subsidize a left-wing political agenda whether they support that agenda or not.

That's not only undemocratic, it's anti-democratic. As Thomas Jefferson said, "To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."

It's time to end union boss tyranny.

Turban Controversy

The producer of a local TV news program called me this morning asking if I would like to go on air to discuss the case of Baljinder Badesha.

He's the devout Sikh who is challenging the law that forces motorcycle riders to wear a helmet. Badesha says his religion requires him to wear a turban.

Anyway, the producer wanted to me to take part in a debate, where my role would be to oppose Badesha's stand.

I declined for one simple reason: Badesha's in the right. He shouldn't be forced to wear a helmet. He should be allowed to wear a turban or a bonnet or a beanie cap or whatever he wants.

It's not question of religious freedom but of individual freedom.

The state has no business telling us what to wear; it has no business protecting us from ourselves.

We should have the right to make our own choices.

Liberty in Canada

Here's some good news for those of us with a libertarian outlook: A brand new website has just been launched called LibertyinCanada.

A project of the Canadain Constitution Foundation, LibertyinCanada "is dedicated to documenting the demise of Canadian liberty, but with the intention to reversing the trend."

I know the people who put this site together and I can guarantee you one thing: it will be a principled and true voice for freedom.

Forced Dues and Politics

There's an interesting article in the National Post today exposing how union bosses in Alberta are mounting a massive ad campaign to defeat Premier Ed Stelmach.

Politically this probably won't hurt Stelmach and the Tories.

In fact, it might help them -- in politics it's just as important to have the right enemies as it is to have the right friends.

The real problem with this campaign is that union bosses are using forced dues to finance it.

Simply put, it's wrong to compel unionized employees to pay for a political agenda they might not support.