Thursday, January 26, 2006
Let's not get crazy, now...
Mr. Hewitt led me to a critique of a cartoonist from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch who referenced a classic Bill Mauldin cartoon. I think conservatives lose credibility too often when we slap people around just because they're liberals. So I commented on his post: "Hmmm... the guy may be a ranting liberal cartoonist, but I think in this case the criticism is misplaced. If Shakespeare is referenced in a novel it doesn't need to be footnoted. I'm not a huge political cartoon afficionado but I recognized the reference, even if I didn't know the name of the original cartoonist. Blasting away at liberal targets on marginal stuff discredits the legitimate criticism on the cry wolf principle."
Sunday, January 22, 2006
SeaDawgs Rule!
...just as I called it, contrary to popular opinion it will be a Steelers-Seahawks Super Bowl - and the Dawgs will take it. These guys are much better than anyone is giving them credit for.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Dizzy...
...is what I am right now. A brisk walk didn't help. Ingesting two double cheeseburgers from DQ didn't help. Man, I hope it's just a cold coming on... or stress... this Constructive Dismissal thing has created a bit of tension around here. OUT! That's what I need. The sooner, the better. Sleep would be good, too.
I can't get interested in the Canuck election this time around - at least not yet. It's hard to get very excited when the outcome is 58% likely to be another Lie-beral minority, 40% likely to be a Tory minority, and 2% likely to be... something else. Besides, one can just tune in after Xmas, which makes it a relatively painless 3 week campaign. Frankly, I couldn't care less that the campaign is happening over Xmas, and I think the Lie-berals have cottoned on to the fact that most people don't care, which is why I haven't heard much lately about the evil Tories forcing - Gasp! A Christmas Election Campaign! Oh, the Horror!
Update: Apparently Child #2 has been dizzy all day too, and wished to go home mid-day. Whew. Hopefully that means I'm not going to die tonight...
I can't get interested in the Canuck election this time around - at least not yet. It's hard to get very excited when the outcome is 58% likely to be another Lie-beral minority, 40% likely to be a Tory minority, and 2% likely to be... something else. Besides, one can just tune in after Xmas, which makes it a relatively painless 3 week campaign. Frankly, I couldn't care less that the campaign is happening over Xmas, and I think the Lie-berals have cottoned on to the fact that most people don't care, which is why I haven't heard much lately about the evil Tories forcing - Gasp! A Christmas Election Campaign! Oh, the Horror!
Update: Apparently Child #2 has been dizzy all day too, and wished to go home mid-day. Whew. Hopefully that means I'm not going to die tonight...
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
The Innu have a Duty to Mitigate
Instead of hunting polar bears and cariboo, for instance, they'll have to learn to kill lions and gazelles. The WWF might not heartily endorse that idea, however.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Monday, November 07, 2005
Mr. Hewitt was going to talk free trade, so...
Hugh,
Mr. Bush (a great man whom I take a LOT of flak for supporting in this neck of the woods) is going to have a very difficult time selling the concept of free trade to anyone in the Americas so long as the United States continues to refuse to play by the rules of the the FTA & NAFTA. The Softwood Lumber Dispute has gone as far as it can go in the dispute resolution process, the Canadians have won at every level, and the United States' Federal Government still refuses to abide by the rulings. Five & a half BILLION dollars which belong to Canadian lumber producers - some of whom are American companies - is sitting in limbo, when it ought to be repaid immediately. This administration is handing a big stick to Hugo Chavez with which to beat the possibility of any new trade agreements with. It also makes it very difficult for Americaphiles like myself to get an ear here in Trudeaupia. Why would any cold-eyed, intelligent, trade-friendly, business-like president or prime minister sign a trade agreement with a party - the United States - who can't be trusted to follow through on the agreement?
As I tell my friends here, who shake their heads when they see the Stars 'n' Stripes hanging in my office (and which I have had hanging somewhere close to me almost non-stop since 9-11), Mr. Bush is a free-trader. Unfortunately, Senators & Congressmen - of all stripes - are protectionist to the core when it comes to the goring of their constituents' oxen - even when those oxen are sick and dying of the protectionist disease, and the North American lumber industry is a case study in how tariffs hurt everyone, especially those they are meant to protect. (And Mr. Bush is unwilling to tell the Commerce Department to enforce trade tribunals' rulings or lobby Congress hard to lay off the protectionism, because there are Senate seats up for grabs in lumber producing States - understandable, but unproductive in the long run). Under tariffs, the Canadian lumber producers have become lean and hyper-efficient, while the U.S. producers have become fat, unproductive, and lazy - to themselves and U.S. consumers alike - just ask Home Depot.
If free trade is to work, the players have to follow the rules. Play hard, play tough, play to win - but when the ref rules it a touchdown, line up for the kickoff - don't sit down in the middle of the field and refuse to let the game continue.
Mr. Bush (a great man whom I take a LOT of flak for supporting in this neck of the woods) is going to have a very difficult time selling the concept of free trade to anyone in the Americas so long as the United States continues to refuse to play by the rules of the the FTA & NAFTA. The Softwood Lumber Dispute has gone as far as it can go in the dispute resolution process, the Canadians have won at every level, and the United States' Federal Government still refuses to abide by the rulings. Five & a half BILLION dollars which belong to Canadian lumber producers - some of whom are American companies - is sitting in limbo, when it ought to be repaid immediately. This administration is handing a big stick to Hugo Chavez with which to beat the possibility of any new trade agreements with. It also makes it very difficult for Americaphiles like myself to get an ear here in Trudeaupia. Why would any cold-eyed, intelligent, trade-friendly, business-like president or prime minister sign a trade agreement with a party - the United States - who can't be trusted to follow through on the agreement?
As I tell my friends here, who shake their heads when they see the Stars 'n' Stripes hanging in my office (and which I have had hanging somewhere close to me almost non-stop since 9-11), Mr. Bush is a free-trader. Unfortunately, Senators & Congressmen - of all stripes - are protectionist to the core when it comes to the goring of their constituents' oxen - even when those oxen are sick and dying of the protectionist disease, and the North American lumber industry is a case study in how tariffs hurt everyone, especially those they are meant to protect. (And Mr. Bush is unwilling to tell the Commerce Department to enforce trade tribunals' rulings or lobby Congress hard to lay off the protectionism, because there are Senate seats up for grabs in lumber producing States - understandable, but unproductive in the long run). Under tariffs, the Canadian lumber producers have become lean and hyper-efficient, while the U.S. producers have become fat, unproductive, and lazy - to themselves and U.S. consumers alike - just ask Home Depot.
If free trade is to work, the players have to follow the rules. Play hard, play tough, play to win - but when the ref rules it a touchdown, line up for the kickoff - don't sit down in the middle of the field and refuse to let the game continue.
Friday, October 21, 2005
Another missive...
Wow! The CBC actually had a listenable conversation on about sports! So I wrote 'em: "Now THAT was interesting to listen to - the debate about "intuition v. statistics" in baseball management. So often the discussions on The Current are boring, biased, and ignoramuses-sharing-their-ignorance. The lesson? Do more sports! (Real sports, please, not boring Olympics crud). My complements to Kevin Sylvester, as well. It is great to have a guy do sports interviewing and discussion on CBC who appears to be genuinely interested in sports!"
Friday, October 14, 2005
Must... write... daily...!
It has been waaaaay too long... let's see... what to write about? The kids just finished watching their Lilo & Stitch movie... Tarzana Joe's poem of the week is on the Hewitt show... I've been sitting in front of the fire, just chatting in a friendly & cozy manner with "The (very) Fetching Mrs. B"... but the invasion of the munchkins has broken that spell, and it's time for a different kind of interaction, mainly a family conference on the future of the bunny, whom Natalie appears to be slightly allergic to... unfortunately this leads to some conflict between the sibs, and now I'm almost alone in the living room, with Amy curled up in the green wing chair, waiting to be carried off to bed and tucked in... funny, she'd been sent to her room for cutting her brother with a sharp comment... a busy weekend? The ducting for the overhead microwave/range hood needs to be installed, fortunately the Dad-in-law drew up plans before he departed for home, Toronto... I need to do some work... I'm doing Promiseland on Sunday, and we need to spend some time together.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
People are waking up all over
The Dutch began to wake up after Theo Van Gogh's murder by Mohammed Bouyeri. The British never really went to sleep, completely, I don't think, but they're certainly awake now. This article from the Telegraph contains this excellent quote: "Living fish swim against the stream. Only the dead go with the flow." Whoa. I think I've found a blogmotto. Now to translate back to latin...
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