Category: Antistupidity

A couple of quick vids for gun owners out there. The first one comes from Tony Bernardo of the CSSA/CILA:

The second one comes from Katey Montague. You remember Katey, don’t you? Well, here’s what she has to say now:

Kinda compelling for a kid, isn’t she?

Um, look again, dude.

As you all know by now, unless you’ve been loitering in a cave someplace, the federal Conservatives have cracked out their official package of promises to the public this week. I’m still trying to make up my mind as to whether this kind of timing is brilliant or daft. On the one hand, it comes out too late for the HypoGrits and others to twist it around with the usual fearmongering spin and pretty much guarantees the Tories will eat up most of the news in the last week of the campaign. On the other, it doesn’t give Bob Q. Canuck a whole lot of time to digest just what it is that the Tories have to offer. Time will tell, I suppose.

The whole platform can be found in .pdf form here (I put it on my own server because the original link was moving like a turtle on heroin; I guess it’s a popular download…) and is damned well worth a careful read. Just make sure you grab a coffee first; the darned thing’s over 40 pages long… 😯 So much for the “no platform” meme, eh?

For those of you looking for a quick once-over, here’s my take on what jumped out at me (but don’t forget to take the time to look it over for yourself later):

Reducing Taxes on Diesel Fuel
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will reduce the federal
excise tax on diesel and aviation fuel by half – from four cents per litre to two cents per
litre – reducing the price of transportation by truck, train, plane and ship, and helping to
bring downward pressure on consumer prices.

This one’s pretty much a no-brainer. The rising price of diesel has jacked up the price of everything. From farmers needing it to run tractors to the fact that nothing teleports itself to the store where you buy it, this is going to pull the government’s hand a little further out of everybody’s pocket.

Restricting Unfair Text Messaging Charges
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will prevent
telecommunications companies from charging fees to customers for receiving
unsolicited commercial text messages. We will amend the Telecommunications Act to
strengthen the power of the Commissioner of Complaints for Telecommunications
Services, including the creation of a code of conduct for wireless services. We will also
create a compliance and deterrent power that allows the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to block these and similar unfair charges in
the future.

[…and…]

Protecting Against Internet Spam
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will introduce legislation
to prohibit the use of spam (unsolicited commercial email) to collect personal
information under false pretences and to engage in criminal conduct. The new law will
reduce dangerous, destructive and deceptive email and web site practices, and will
establish new fines for those who break the law.

Both of these sound good on the surface (who the hell likes the idea of having to pay for SPAM???) but, as anyone who knows anything about IT will tell you, it’s itchy stuff whenever a government tries to legislate technology. I’ll wait until I see the actual legislation on this one…

Increasing Trade with Emerging Markets
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will continue to pursue
trade agreements, such as those successfully reached with the European Free Trade
Association, Colombia, Peru and Jordan. We are committed to seeing these deals passed
by Parliament. In light of the recent setback at the World Trade Organization
negotiations, a re-elected Conservative Government will move aggressively to improve
Canada’s network of bilateral and regional free trade and economic agreements.
To improve Canada’s position as a global trader, a re-elected Conservative Government
will proceed with plans to open new trade offices in China, Mongolia, Mexico, Brazil
and India (in Hyderabad, Kolkata and Ahmedabad).

This will be a good idea, IF it means that we also get access to these markets ourselves. Contrary to the Liereral mythology, trade with China has long been a one-way street… 🙄

Reforming or Abolishing the Senate
The Conservatives and Stephen Harper believe that the current Senate must be either
reformed or abolished. An unelected Senate should not be able to block the will of the
elected House in the 21st century.
As a minimum, a re-elected Conservative Government will reintroduce legislation to
allow for nominees to the Senate to be selected by voters, to provide for Senators to serve
fixed terms of not longer than eight years, and for the Senate to be covered by the same
ethics rules as the House of Commons.

HALLELUJA!! It’s about God damned time! This alone should get the Tories a majority. The unelected, unaccountable Senate has, for too long, been a hung stumbling block to the will of the Canadian people. Hell, I’ve been ranting about this for years now and, let’s face it, everybody knows that this has been coming for some time now…

Limiting the Federal Spending Power
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will ensure that any new
shared-cost program in an area of provincial or territorial responsibility has the consent
of the majority of provinces to proceed, and that provinces should be given the right to
opt out of the federal program with compensation, so long as the province offers a similar
program with similar accountability structures.

Now sit back and watch da Librano$ absolutely shriek about anything that might get in the way of them being able to bribe you with your own money. Seriously, just watch. I give it until the end of the week… maybe.

Ensuring Responsibility and Rehabilitation for Young Offenders
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will replace Canada’s young
offenders’ law with new, balanced legislation that focuses on deterrence and responsibility.
The new law will make the primary goal of the legislation to protect society and the
primary goal of sentencing to discourage others from committing crimes. The law will
ensure that young offenders who are convicted of very serious and violent crimes will face
appropriate sentences and that upon conviction they will be named. As under the old law,
the age at which the sentencing provision applies (14, 15 or 16) will be determined in each
province.

[…and…]

Replacing Automatic Release with Earned Parole
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will replace the automatic
release of prisoners after serving two-thirds of their sentence with earned parole for
behaviour and rehabilitation in prison.

More no-brainers here. Don’t look for the Leftbots to see it that way, though. After all, thugs just need hugs, right? There’s a whole bunch of good stuff along this line starting on page 36; make sure to check it out.

Ending the Ineffective Long-Gun Registry and Reduce Guns in our Streets
A re-elected Conservative Government led by Stephen Harper will ensure that all
firearms belong to licensed gun owners, and that all restricted firearms, including
handguns, are registered. But we will end the wasteful, ineffective long-gun
registry.
Instead, the Conservative Government will direct resources to measures that will
actually reduce the number of guns on Canadian streets, including investment in
better enforcement at our borders.
As a first step, a re-elected Conservative Government will launch a Joint Force
Land and Marine Border Patrol Pilot Project with the Customs and Border
Services Agency and the RCMP to patrol unguarded U.S. road and marine
crossings to Canada in Quebec.

Where’s a bigass happy-dance graphic when you need one? That asshat white elephant should have been taken out behind the barn and shot years ago.

Well, that’s all I have time for right now. Like I said, make sure you read the whole thing here and pick out what you like about it. Unlike the other parties, this one really does have something for everyone, and without any pie-in-the-sky bullshit.

Enjoy. 🙂

Well, it seems like a slow election day today…

(or maybe it’s just that my mind is on my son’s first game of the season today and he’s all bugged that they started him off as left guard in all the practices but have now shifted him further to the left all of a sudden so he’s trying to get his head into a completely new space with next to no notice and besides, being moved to the left in any fashion, especially when it’s not your idea, really sucks even more than a run-on sentence…)

… so I guess that I’ll get back to something that I’ve been neglecting a little bit lately: the dastardly, conniving, rights-ravaging HLCs and their Section 13 sycophants and the Stalinist show trials they love so much (a little thanks to Kathy for bringing this back into my melon). What really gnaws at my gnuts about that post is the complete and utter heap of seaming bovine byproducts that Iggy decided to hack up on the rug in response to an email:

…thanks for your message about Keith Martin’s proposal. It blindsided the party, so we’re still working past that problem to look at the merits. I don’t want a free speech chill, but I also don’t want open season on minorities. So Im still working on it.

HUH???

First of all, it’s in the name of these so-called “vulnerable minorities” that Stalag Section 13 is being abused in the first place. Being white seems to put a bullseye on your ass when this bunch is around. Open season, my lily-white ass…

Second, as Kathy pointed out, Section 13 has turned into a one-man band in the last few years. Little Dickie Warman has turned the whole damned CHRC into his own personal cash cow. Being the most thin-skinned sonofabitch in Canada pays pretty good, from what I hear.

So why is it that so few people seem to know about this? Hell, even the last few calls I’ve gotten from the Conservative Party were (except for the first guy) by people who, while they were nice enough, hadn’t a friggin’ clue what it was that I was so steamed up about! I try to give them the Reader’s Digest version, because I understand that they have a job to do and need to get on with it, but I still get the feeling that most of them are left scratching their heads.

The main reason for this was, no doubt, the utter silence that emanated from the national media on the subject. After all, who really gives a rat’s ass if some neo-nazi kook gets himself battered from pillar to post through the legal system? Is that really news? Is it going to sell any papers? Not likely.

Well, all that changed when McLean’s — the much-beloved “Canada’s National News Magazine®” — found themselves in the gunsights of not one, not two, but three of these little Thought Police commissions. Ah, okay… now there’s something wrong. Had themselves a little Martin Niemöller / road to Damascus kind of moment there, I guess. Yeah, well; whatever it takes to get ’em finally talking.

But does anybody think that this will stop at McLean’s? I mean, really? Barbara Kulaszka — one of Marc Lemire’s lawyers — doesn’t think so, and has a no-bullshit warning for anyone who thinks that It Can’t Happen To Themâ„¢:

Barbara Kulaszka, a lawyer for Mr. Lemire, told the tribunal that the mainstream media paid no attention to unfairness of Section 13 complaints until Macleans magazine columnist Mark Steyn was targeted by a Muslim group earlier this year.

“Every religion is going to start using it,” she warned. “Just look at the first Muslim complaint in 30 years. Everyone went nuts. The media woke up, and said: ‘It isn’t just Ernst Zundel and his creepy right-wingers being attacked. They are going to come after us.’

“You’re going to be caught in the cross-hairs,” she cautioned.

Translation: They might not be bothering you — YET — but they WILL come for you; and who will be left to speak up?

And you — yes YOU, sitting there in front of your computer, all nice and comfy — pay attention:
Your turn is coming. Sooner or later, they will get around to you. Totalitarianism is a hungry animal, it needs to be fed regularly, and when it runs out of its usual food, it turns elsewhere. Mark my words: sooner or later, YOU WILL BE NEXT.

It’s just a matter of time.

PS-

In case you need some sort of recap about why we need to get rid of these Stalinist show trials, here it is:

1. They only support Leftist causes (sound familiar?).
2. The complainer gets all costs paid while the accused is forced to pay out of pocket (again: familiar?).
3. The very process itself IS a punishment.
4. The conviction rate is 100%!! (No, I’m not making that up) I don’t think even the Gestapo managed to pull that one off.
5. They plant fabricated evidence and willfully use it against the accused.
6. They only prosecute people of one race.
7. The rules change from case to case, as needed to ensure that the accused’s rights are properly violated.
8. Truth is not a defense.
9. They have no sense of humour…

Well, now… I was wondering if (or should I say, when?) this was going to happen. You know that the Loopier Left is starting to get all nervous and freaked out when they start recycling — yet agaaaaiiiinnn — the old “a Conservative government will mean the end of the world!!” canard. 🙄

Yeah, it’s back. But it wasn’t the Grits that dug up this corpse, sowed it together, and ran a few volts through it this time. That was a bit of a surprise.

Going pear-shaped

Danny Williams may be something of a superhero back home in Newfoundland but the rest of us are starting to wonder if his cheese hasn’t slid clean off his cracker…

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Premier Danny Williams levelled his most blistering attack yet against the prime minister, telling a business audience yesterday a Stephen Harper-led majority government would mark one of the darkest eras in Canadian history.

Williams escalated his public feud with Harper, warning voters the Tories would stoop to any depths to implement their hidden “right-wing, Conservative-Reform party” agenda.

“The only reason we haven’t seen his full plan for Canada implemented is because he had a minority government to keep him in check,” Williams said. [Be afraid! Be veerrryyyy afraid!!! -D] 😯

Ah, yes, the good ol’ Hidden Agenda®, don’tcha just love it? These idiots remind me of a doomsday cult: every time the appointed day for the End Of The World As We Know Itâ„¢ comes and goes, they just move the goalposts. In the last election, we were all warned about how the sky would fall if the Tories formed a government. I know I’ve pointed this out before, but I think some boneheads out there need a refresher. So here, along with a few additions, is my own little list of…

Catastrophes We Were Promised But Didn’t Get

1. Neither Stephen Harper nor any members of his caucus have eaten any babies.
2. Quebec has not separated from Canada.
3. The sun has not burned out.
4. Our health care system has not collapsed.
5. Homosexuals have not been rounded up into camps in the high arctic.
6. Women have not been forced to get pregnant in order to be denied access to abortions.
7. We have not become of 51st state of US of A.
8. We have not sent troops to Iraq, either.
9. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms has not been scrapped.
10. We have not withdrawn from the UN.
11. The sky has not fallen.
12. There have been no reliable reports (other than above) of the dead rising from their graves to feast upon the living.
13. We have not declared war on puppies.
14. Toronto has not been placed under martial law (although that might not be such a bad idea).
15. The polar ice caps have not melted.
16. The National Capital has not been moved to Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump.
17. The economy has not collapsed.
18. We still have no official State Religion; Christian, Satanic or otherwise.
19. Fun has not been outlawed.
20. No one has been executed for anything.
21. Banjo lessons are not a compulsory component of our educational curriculum.
22. No angels have tooted any trumpets, cracked any seals, or done anything else worrysome.
23. Petroleum is not included in the Canada Food Guide
24. Gun ownership is not mandatory (and here I was looking forward to that one)
25. etc, etc, ad nauseum…

Please, guys; on behalf of Canadians everywhere, from Lotusland to the Rock and Point Pelee to the Pole: quit being so STUCKING FOOPID and get some new material, ya friggin’ idjits! Seriously, we mean it. This is getting beyond old.

Clever buggers

Say what you want about Jumpin’ Jack Jerkweed and his Not Democratic Party, but at least one of them over there knows how the ‘net works. Much as I hate giving the Dippers credit for anything, I’m forced to admit that this is some darned good thinking:

OTTAWA — The New Democrats have cut a deal with Google and Yahoo to grab Internet traffic in a marketing ploy that has some online experts impressed.

Type the names Stephen Harper, Stephane Dion or Gilles Duceppe into the major search engines and an ad for NDP Leader Jack Layton pops up on the screen, along with the search results.

Google Adwords; gotta love ’em.

Who’s where? 12:20

Just in case anybody’s wondering where all the bestest blowhards’ll be today…

Stephen Harper

• MONTREAL: Young leaders’ breakfast at 8:45 a.m., 2200 Rue Mansfield
• News conference at 9:30 a.m. Mansfield Room 4, Cours Mont-Royal
• ST. EUSTACHE, Que.: Rally at 12:30 p.m. at Vignoble de la Riviere du Chene, 807 Riviere Nord
• HALIFAX: Evening arrival. No events scheduled.

Stephane Dion

• SAINT JOHN, N.B.: Pancake breakfast and annual general meeting at the Saint John riding association, 8:00 a.m. Media availability to follow at 8:50 a.m., Lilly Lake Pavilion, 55 Lake Dr. S
• Speaks at Saint John Board of Trade luncheon at 12:00 p.m. Media availability to follow at 12:30 p.m., Delta Brunswick Hotel, boardrooms A-B-C, 39 King St.
• THUNDER BAY, Ont.: Greets local candidates and makes brief remarks during a stopover at the Thunder Bay International Airport, 5:50 p.m., Thunder Bay International Airport Maintair Shell FBO, 316 Hector Dougal Way.

Jack Layton

• MONTREAL: Announcement with MP Thomas Mulcair and NDP Quebec team, 9:30 a.m., Victoria Square (corner Viger and Victoria Square Streets)
• Meets party supporters at Westmount-Ville-Marie riding headquarters, 2 p.m., 490 Sherbrooke St. W.

Gilles Duceppe

• HUNTINGDON, Que.: Visit to Maison Russet factory with mayor Stephane Gendron and Beauharnois-Salaberry candidate Claude Debellefeuille, 9:30 a.m. at 142 route 202. Briefing to follow outside at 10:15 a.m.
• VALLEYFIELD, Que.: Benefit spaghetti lunch, 11:30 a.m., 67 rue Academie.
• MONTREAL: Speech in Duceppe’s riding, Laurier-Sainte-Marie at 7:50 p.m., 1220 rue Sainte-Catherine Est.

Elizabeth May

• NEW GLASGOW, N.S.: Canada AM interview taping, 6:45 a.m.
• ANTIGONISH, N.S.: Setting up signs and greeting commuters, 7:30-9:00 a.m.
• Visits staff and patients, St. Martha’s Hospital, 10 a.m.
• Lunch, meets with students, 12 noon-1:30 p.m., St. Francis Xavier University cafeteria
• News conference on education issues, 2 p.m., St. Francis Xavier University campus, location to be announced.
• Campus Green Club event, 7:30-9:00 p.m., St. Francis Xavier University Student Union Building.

Le Leftbot Limbo 12:55

How low can ya go? How low can ya go? Just what the hell is the Catholic version of Islamophobia called, anyway? While I’m not so sure myself, I’m sure that Big Wheel Gilles knows the answer…

Bloc Québécois Gilles Duceppe seeks to portray the Conservatives as a party of narrow-minded views with a rightist religious agenda that should offend many Quebec voters. His evidence for such a patently false depiction? Nicole Charbonneau Barron, the Conservative candidate in the South Shore Montreal riding of St. Bruno-St. Hubert, belongs to Opus Dei, a Roman Catholic lay organization known for its adherence to traditional church doctrine.

Yeah, and before he goes to sleep at night, he always makes sure to check for albinos under his bed. Dickweed.

For those of you who might have read one too many Dan Brown novels, try checking out something a little closer to the source.

The cutlery is out 13:10

Gee whiz, I wonder who’s back it’ll end up buried in? What are the Librano$ up to this election, really? Are they looking to win? Are they looking to clear the way to dump Dion? You tell me…

The Liberal party moved last night to cancel its biennial convention in Vancouver in December, clearing the way for a full leadership vote next year should Stephane Dion fail win the Oct. 14 election. Sources say hotel reservations were ordered released this week as the national executive gathered to finalize the postponement decision.

No wonder Dion walks the way he does. If I had that bunch “watching my back,” I’d keep my butt cheeks clenched shut, too. Et tu, Brute?

… that I just might have to start watching this show.

There’s somebody in the mainstream Canadian media who actually GETS IT!!

For years, various groups in this country (CanadaCarry.org is only one example) have been telling the hoplophobes that Canada is in dire need of becoming a “shall issue” jurisdiction. Not in some half-assed, who-you-know fashion, either: nation-wide. Either nobody’s been getting it, or the ones that are getting it just don’t have the balls to do anything about it.

Well, I’m tickled pink to tell you that Marty Gobin gets it, too. The proof is in today’s Windsor Star. Like I always do with really good stuff, I’m putting the whole damn thing here; before it expires on the paper’s site or disappears down some other internet black hole. Read on and enjoy (emphasis, links, pretty pics, etc. are mine; as usual):

Give Canadians right to use arms in self-defence

Marty Gobin, Special to The Windsor Star

Published: Wednesday, July 23, 2008

In a recent Windsor Star article (“Cops see spike in number of crime-fighting do-gooders,” June 25), it was reported that there has been a rise in private citizens defending themselves or others against criminals.

Whether it was a veterinarian fighting an armed robber off with a garbage can, or a bystander chasing a violent mugger who beat a man for his prescription medications, it is clear that Canadians are responsible enough to use defensive force in a reasonable and legal fashion.

That said, it’s time that Canadians be permitted to carry weapons for defence against criminals.

This wouldn’t be such a drastic change in law. It’s already legal under Section 34 of the Criminal Code for Canadians to use necessary force to protect their life, up to and including the use of deadly force.

It’s also legal to own a firearm.

Canada even has a permitting process in place for people to carry firearms at the discretion of their provincial Chief Firearms Officer (CFO). [But, unless the CFO is your drinking buddy, good f*&%ing luck getting one -Dennis]

The only thing Canada would have to do to enable Canadians to better protect themselves is change the issuing process for an Authorization to Carry (ATC) from “may-issue”– a permit issued at the discretion of the CFO –to “shall-issue,” a permit which must be issued to anybody who meets clearly defined, reasonable training and background check requirements.

Such a change in the ATC-issuing process would make it more accountable, in that the CFO would have no arbitrary authority to withhold or grant the right to defend oneself. That kind of authority should never be held by any one office.

The change would also ensure that every similarly qualified and screened Canadian has an equal right under the law to defend themselves, their families, and their neighbors, regardless of whether they have any political ties that would grease the wheels for a carry permit.

Now, some of the more sensationalist politicos out there may suggest that allowing Canadians the suitable means to defend themselves would result in shootouts every day in the streets at high noon. 🙄

This kind of Chicken Little approach to the right of one to preserve his or her own life has been proven wrong time and time again south of the border. Michigan switched from “may issue” to “shall issue” permits in 2002, and yet thousands of Canadians manage to travel across the border daily without witnessing any bloodshed.

Vermont, which has no laws regulating the possession or carrying of arms by non-criminal adults, has the third lowest violent crime rate per capita in the USA. (In fairness, that could be accredited to the similarly lax regulation of public nudity in the state combined with the aging baby boomer population scaring off all of the potential muggers.)

Overall, over thirty states have gone the route of shall-issue permits since the early nineties, and none have seen fit to go back to the days of may-issue. The U.S. experiment has shown that there would be no bloodbath resulting from Canadians being allowed to protect their lives.

Not only has there been no public safety crisis as the result of Americans being able to pack heat, but there have actually been numerous potentially large-scale massacres stopped in progress by those authorized to carry a weapon. [YO! Miller! Pay attention, dipshit! -Dennis]

In 2002, a shooter on a rampage at the Appalachian School of Law in Virginia was stopped after not one, but two students in different locations heard his shots and retrieved their weapons from their cars, returned, and placed him under arrest until the police arrived.

In February 2007, an off-duty out-of-area police officer who was carrying his weapon at the Trolley Square mall in Salt Lake City managed to keep an armed madman under fire until Salt Lake City police officers arrived to assist.

This last December, an armed man went to the New Life Church in Colorado after having left a suicide note saying he intended to kill as many people as possible.

He only managed to kill two people at the church before a parishioner shot him.

One can only imagine how these massacres would have turned out, if, like Canada, off-duty police and private citizens were not allowed to carry guns for self-defence. Certainly the murderers in each case, who were intent on committing capital crimes, would be unlikely to care whether or not any law forbade them from carrying a gun.

Both the American example and the recent case of Canadians defending themselves and others in a responsible fashion have proven that private citizens and should be trusted to carry arms without any resulting chaos.

Hopefully our legislators will, in the near future, acknowledge that Canadians have the right to defend themselves guaranteed by the Criminal Code, and modify our weapons laws so that we may have a realistic chance of exercising that right.

Marty Gobin is communications director, Ontario Libertarian Party Member, Canadian Shooting Sports Association in Whitby, Ont.