Windsor Liberty Seminar

When you think of Windsor, my home town, you usually think of cars and maybe of casinos.

But libertarians and conservatives should also think of it as the place that hosts the annual Windsor Liberty Seminar, a wonderful event that helps to promote my favourite cause: individual freedom.

This year's Seminar will be held on March 24th, and I would certainly encourage anyone who cares about freedom to attend.

I had the honour of speaking at last year's event and it was a great experience.

This year's speakers include Brett Skinner (a fellow Windsor native) from the Fraser Institute, Malkin Dare of the Society for Quality Eduction and a surprise guest.

The fact that such an event is held in an NDP bastion makes it all the more fun.

Liberal Hypocrisy

Liberal leader Stephane Dion says he will oppose extending certain provisions of the Anti-terrorist Act because they infringe on civil liberties.

Well since when do the Liberals care about infringing on civil liberties?

After all, this same Liberal Party imposed a draconian gun registry, which infringes on the civil liberties of gun owners.

This same Liberal Party supports the archaic Wheat Board monopoly, which infringes on the civil liberties of western grain farmers.

And this same Liberal Party enacted an undemocratic election gag law, which infringes on the civil liberties of all Canadians.

Maybe it's time Dion admitted the truth: the Liberals don't really care about protecting freedoms. All they really care about is pandering to their left wing base.

Left Wing Fantasy

What would a world without America really be like?

Media Update

I am scheduled to appear on The Drive Home With Jim Duff (940 AM Montreal) at 5:06 PM EST to discuss the NCC's opposition to Bill 257.

Angelina Shrugged

Journalist, author and perceptive conservative thinker, Paul Tuns wonders why the Council for Foreign Relations would ask actress Angelina Jolie to join their group.

Paul, if you gotta ask you've been spending too much time reading Edmund Burke.

Actually, if rumours are true that Jolie is going to star in a movie version of Atlas Shrugged I will personally ask her to join the National Citizens Coalition.

Anything to help the cause.

Dreaming of Fields

Just 36 days to go.

That's Not Entertainment

Hey tonight is Oscar night!!

Who cares!

I sure won't be watching.

Oh I used to watch the Academy Awards to see the stars and the glitz.

But I stopped when it dawned on me that 99.9 percent of what Hollywood produces is pure junk.

So why stay up until 1:00 AM to watch an industry pat itself on the back for the .01 percent of its product which is any good.

Besides in recent years the Awards Show has come to look less like a Hollywood celebration and more like a Democratic Party convention.

And tonight I suspect the Academy voters will go all "Dixie Chicks" and give Al Gore an Oscar.

Gore, of course, is nominated in the hotly contested category: "Left-wing propaganda movies aimed at making George Bush look bad."

Other than that I don't have a clue who will win, as I have not seen any of the nominated movies.

But here's a good synopsis of the "Best Movie" contenders.

From Gerry to Justin

The news that Justin Trudeau was seeking a Liberal candidacy led me to write the following letter to the editor, which appears in today's National Post:

"Who knows, this could be the first step on a political career that ends up with Justin becoming prime minister, just like his dad. I guess Karl Marx was right when he said, "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce."

STV Explained

On a couple of occasions on this blog, I have suggested the voting method known as "Single Transferable Vote" or STV, was too complicated a procedure.

Well in an effort to help me out, Jonathan Dean of the Atlantica Party was kind enough to send me a link to this site which uses cartoons and charts to explain how it works.

And it does help to explain it.

Still I am still wondering if a voting system that needs cartoons and charts to explain how it works is really a good system.

And by the way, to figure out the winners under this system it probably helps to have a degree in calculus.

Friedman Vs. Gore

Economist David Friedman has an excellent posting on the politics of global warming. (You can also read this in today's Financial Post.)

After reviewing the science behind the issue, Friedman concludes that "global warming is probably real, is probably but not certainly anthropogenic, is probably not going to have large effects on size and frequency of hurricanes and is probably not going to have large effects on sea level. It is a real problem but not, on current evidence, an impending catastrophe."

So why all the doom and gloom pronouncements from people like Al Gore.

Because, says Friedman, "Environmentalism in general and global warming in particular provide new arguments for expanded government power, new taxes, and the like. That does not mean, of course, that those arguments are wrong, but it does mean that there are a lot of people who have an incentive to support them whether wrong or right."

In other words, he says "Global warming provides arguments for things that a lot of people, mostly left of center, want to do anyway—shift lifestyles away from automobiles towards mass transit, reduce consumption of depletable resources, and the like. Environmentalism is in part a real argument, in part a religion, in part an aesthetic; the second and third parts make people too willing to accept the first."

A word (or two) about all those polls

The media and a lot of Conservative sympathizers are going ga ga over all these polls which seem to show Liberal leader Stephane Dion is in a free fall.

The latest is an Ipsos Reid poll which indicates Dion actually ranks behind Stephen Harper and Jack Layton when it comes who Canadians think would make the best Prime Minister.

Of course, Reid has been way off before, but that's not important.

What's important is such polls give the perception that Dion's leadership is in trouble.

And this perception will set in motion an inevitable dynamic which will work to further undermine Dion.

For one thing, these bad poll numbers will force the media to explain to us why Dion is in trouble.

Now they don't really have a clue but since this is something they can't admit, they will have to come up with some sort of explanation.

So the very same guys who a few months ago were fawning all over Dion's intelligence and charm, will now be informing us that he is actually stiff and indecisive.

In other words, the media smell blood in the water and this will induce a feeding frenzy. (Note the media's desire to eat a politician alive overcomes whatever political bias they may have.)

This bad coverage in turn will lead to more bad poll numbers, which will lead to more bad press.

So this is indeed all good for the Conservatives.

But there is also some bad news for them.

A recent Decima poll for instance, indicates Quebec voters are leaving the Bloc and going over to the Liberals.

If that trend continues it could spell real trouble for the Tories come election time.

This may sound ironic or even treasonous, but for the Conservatives to win a majority the Bloc Quebecois must be strong.

Political Anagrams

Found this site that generates anagrams, so naturally I couldn't resist plugging in the names of our federal party leaders.

Here's what I got:

Stephen Harper = Sharpen Her Pet (Sounds vaguely naughty)

Stephane Dion = Hasten Dope In (New Liberal campaign motto?)

Gilles Duceppe = Spiced Gulp Eel (Mmmm yummy)

Jack Layton = Joy Klan Cat (Sounds like a racist jazz musician)

And here's me: Grey Hill Scorn (Darn those grey hills!)

O'Rourke's Latest

No one is better at explaining economic policy in a way non-economists can understand than American writer P. J. O'Rourke.

So I am looking forward to reading his latest Opus -- On The Wealth of Nations.

Of course, when it comes to deciding what to read, I am always mindful of something O'Rourke once said: "Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."

So if I do happen to die, I hope I am holding On the Wealth of Nations in my hands and not the other book I happen to reading right now.

Adler vs. Greenie

Check out radio host Charles Adler's spirited analysis of Stephane "Greenie" Dion's leadership shortcomings.

Mind you I said it here first.

Liberal Stand on Terrorism Bad Politics

Not quite sure why Liberal leader Stephane Dion is opposing extending certain provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Yes it will appeal to the Left-wing faction of his base, but it might also alienate the all-important swing voters, most of whom don't much like the idea of getting blown up.

It's like Dion is saying, "I will protect you from the Alberta oil sands, but you're on your own when it comes to Osama Bin Laden."

And it seems like some Liberals agree with me.

Conservative Physics

My son recently told me about his favorite physicist, Richard Feynman (yes my son actually has a "favorite" physicist which tells you he and I are very different people.)

And this Feynman guy sounded interesting, so I checked out some of his quotes, and found this one which should strike a chord with any conservative:

"There are 10^11 stars in the galaxy. That used to be a huge number. But it's only a hundred billion. It's less than the national deficit! We used to call them astronomical numbers. Now we should call them economical numbers."

And here is something he said which pretty much described the Liberal election campaign last year:

"When things are going well, something will go wrong. When things just can't get any worse, they will. Anytime things appear to be going better, you have overlooked something.”

And finally it seems Feynman had a libertarian streak:

"The real question of government versus private enterprise is argued on too philosophical and abstract a basis. Theoretically, planning may be good. But nobody has ever figured out the cause of government stupidity—and until they do (and find the cure), all ideal plans will fall into quicksand."

Hmmm, maybe my son and I have more in common than I thought.

Letter of the Day

In case you missed it, Sun Media columnist Greg Weston had a great column on why Bill 257 is a bad idea.

In response I wrote a letter to the editor, which was printed in today's Toronto Sun as "The Letter of the Day".

Here it is:

MPs must do what's right

Greg Weston's column ("Anti-scab bill a flop," Feb. 15), should be required reading for every Liberal MP.

As Weston makes clear, if the Liberals really care about Canada's economy they will oppose Bill 257.

After all, this bill would give union bosses the power to shut down businesses and to cripple key infrastructure industries such as trucking firms, banks, and telecommunication companies.

What's more, Bill 257 would also deny unionized employees the right to cross a picket line during a strike.

For all these reasons this bill should be scrapped.

We know the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois support Bill 257. Most Conservatives oppose it.

That leaves it up to Stephane Dion and the Liberals. They can either side with big union bosses or they can do what's right for Canada. Let's hope they choose wisely.

Gerry Nicholls
Vice President
National Citizens Coalition

NCC Ad Takes on Bill 257

If you not yet done so, go out and buy today's edition of the National Post.

Why?

Because the National Citizens Coalition has an ad in it opposing Bill 257, a bill that if passed would hurt Canada's economy by giving more power to union bosses.

To learn why this is a bad bill you can go here.

Valentine's Day Massacre

Here's a news release I just sent out:

NCC Says Today’s Kyoto Vote Could be a Valentines Day Massacre for the Economy

(Toronto February 14)The National Citizens Coalition says the Liberal Party wants to immediately implement the Kyoto Accord even though such a move could trigger an economic recession in Canada.

“Today’s vote on Kyoto could go down in history as the St. Valentines Day Massacre for Canada’s economy,” says NCC vice president Gerry Nicholls.

Nicholls says implementing the Accord, which demands impossibly steep emission cuts, would clearly have a negative impact on the country and on the standard of living for all Canadians.

“The Liberals, along with the other Opposition parties, want to force the government to implement a treaty which they know full well would gut Canada’s economy,” says NCC vice president Gerry Nicholls. “Yet all the Opposition apparently cares about is scoring cheap political points.”

Nicholls says Liberal leader Stephane Dion’s only goal with this ploy is to embarrass the government.

“The vote this afternoon on Kyoto is not about protecting the environment, it’s just a cynical maneuver to help Dion paint himself as an environmentalist.”

Nicholls says if the Kyoto Accord is implemented it would undermine Canada’s energy sector as well as its manufacturing sector and mean higher taxes for all Canadians.

“Instead of pushing a flawed treaty, our politicians should seek ways to protect the environment without wrecking Canada’s economy”.

Also for an interesting take on this vote, see talk show host Roy Green's blog.

A Cynical Valentines

One of the wonderful things about capitalism is that it allows for cynical creativity.

For instance, here we are on Valentine's Day -- the day for romance and lovers -- and what do I see at the train station?

A guy selling dead flowers to help advertise the site - Ihatemypartner.com

And no it's not a site about how to dump your spouse, it's a site about how to dump your business partner.

Anyway, Happy Valentines, everybody -- especially to my legions of female fans.