Things were quieter on the American campaign today. No pot shots, no partisan sniping, no “I endorse this message” commercials on the radio or TV… anywhere. They have more important things on their minds.
Both McCain and Obama have declared today to be off-limits for their respective campaigns. I don’t know about you, but I consider that to be an act of class… on both their parts. Some things are more important than taking swings at each other for a day. Things like the memory of the thousands who were murdered and the brave souls who dashed into the inferno while others ran. Things like the hearts of those who continue to grieve to this day, and the sacrifices of those who have been called to their country’s service in the aftermath.
This is no day for the crass minutiae of politics.
On this day, may the Lord offer his comfort to you all.
Though you may walk through the valley of the shadow of death, be not afraid, for He is with you.
And they are with Him now.
It’s enough to make you wonder what happened to the laws of temporal mechanics, the way time seems to crawl along whenever the season rolls around for all the politicians to fling their pieholes open.
For those of you who might have been hoping that this time would somehow be different: forget it. The bullshit is flying just as fast and furious as you were afraid it would.
“I want my tag-team partner”
Dimwit Dion still has his heart set on having some backup at the leaders’ debate. Who can blame him? He needs all the damned help he can get, or else Steve’s gonna eat him alive…
The Liberal leader began his day in Mississauga going to bat for Green Leader Elizabeth May’s quest to get in on the leaders’ debate, accusing Conservative, New Democratic Party and Bloc Quebecois leaders Wednesday of “hiding themselves behind” a consortium of broadcasting executives.
Now, before anybody out there starts barking about how Dion’s being a fool by trying to get May into the debate, remember what we used to say when we were camping up north: “I don’t need to outrun the bear, I just need to outrun YOU!”
“Shut up and listen up, broads”
Oh well, at least Steffy sticking up for Elly May means that he can still count on the female vote:
And Stephane Dion’s pandering to women at a round table this morning, where he out-talked the women participants with promises of gender-parity throughout his government, was hardly captivating.
Oopsie. Nice irony.
I’ve had fish…
…that I pulled into the bottom of the boat that didn’t flip and flop this much. Looks like I opened my yap and moved on too quick on this one. I guess whining like a spoiled brat actually does get you your way, after all. Well, start looking for every bunch o’ kooks in the country that managed to register a political party to start expecting the same…
Canada’s broadcast networks have agreed to include Green Party Leader Elizabeth May in the televised debates, after the Conservatives and New Democrats backed down from their initial opposition.
May said on CTV’s Mike Duffy Live Wednesday that it was “inspiring that Canadians can’t stand unfairness and I think that bodes well for the rest of the election.”
“I’m just so grateful to Canadians,” she told reporters earlier in a conference call. “This last couple of days proves that democracy doesn’t happen behind closed doors.
“I think it’s enormously encouraging.”
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper and NDP Leader Jack Layton both reversed their opposition to the inclusion of May earlier Wednesday.
I don’t know about anyone else, but what I wanna see, is Harper & Dion… one on one!
Vis du bloc
It’s about God damned time a politician somewhere in this country finally came out and said what the rest of us have known for years now. Leave it to a Tory to have the stones for this:
Mr. Fortier said the Bloc has achieved no real results, spearheaded no major projects and created no employment.
“The only jobs that Bloc MPs have created in 18 years are their own,†he said. “A vote on the Bloc is a wasted vote – Quebecers are already realizing the Bloc can’t deliver, and are already turning their back on this powerless party,†he said.
Last word on the debate debacle…
…goes to Hugh. I have to admit that I hadn’t thought of it from that angle. He makes a damned good point, though (May is going to be one helluva loose cannon)…
This is what will happen in the debate.Every time May attacks Harper it will make it harder for the other three to attack Harper (and it will be four on one).They will have to soften their blows (as I did) with prefixes such as, “well I don’t know about that, but I do agree that Harper sucks.â€
Speaking of elections…
Oh, yeah. The Americans are still all tied up in that odd ritual they do every four years. You’ll get a kick out of this. It seems that a couple of Left Wing Nutjobs at some radio station or other were looking to dig some dirt on Sarah Palin so they brought in Mike Gravel, a former Democrat senator from Alaska. Hey, if you wanna slag Palin, who better to get than a Democrat, right?
Yeah, right. The interview kinda went sideways on them. As Allahpundit over at Hot Air put it, “You don’t hear their hearts actually start to break until he says, ‘Troopergate is going to come out in her favor.'” Gotta love it…
So I’m sitting around last night, having me a nice cold beer, when the phone rings. It’s Debbie calling from down in Houston. Some of you who have been around long enough might remember her as a pretty regular commentor, back when she had more free time on her hands.
“Did you just see that??”
Well, since we obviously weren’t looking out the same window, the answer would likely be no; but whatever it was, she sounded pretty happy. Turns out she’d just finished watching VP nominee Sarah Palin addressing the RNC and she was pretty damned impressed.
“I can’t believe that a politics junkie like you missed that! You have so got to get your ass online and check it out; you’ll love it!”
I explained that American politics are pretty easy to miss when we likely have an election of our own coming up (she had no idea), but she was pretty adamant. She kept insisting that I’d love watching this. Turns out she was right. Now, I had already suspected that Palin was my kinda gal: gun-totin’, great gams, knows how to field dress a moose – what’s not to like? But I had no idea that she also had a wit like the barb on a fishhook! Check it out for yourself in the vids below:
Okay, maybe not. I have no idea at all how this ends. I got as far as “You shoulda got Michelle Obama ta be yo’ runnin’ mate, now that woulda been somethin’ strategic and fly” and had to go change my pants. No idea when was the last time I laughed that hard.
By now, everybody and their dog knows that US Presidential hopefuls McCain and The Obamassiah® put in appearances at the “Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency” at Pastor Rick Warren’s southern California mega-church. Just about everybody figured that Obambi would be the one coming out of it looking, if not particularly good (he’s always in dangerous waters when not sticking to a script), at least better than McCain.
As much as I loathe him, I have so far found myself forced to concede that Senator O-Bananafanafofama almost always put on a better, more polished presentation before an audience than the grittier McCain. And the nature of the audience — a large crowd of Evangelical Christians — seemed to give the Obamassiah another advantage. As Byron York put it:
Obama can be remarkably polished in this sort of situation. Unlike other Democrats, he’s not afraid to hang out with evangelicals. McCain, on the other hand, can at times be cranky and take pleasure in irritating his base.
True words, but not gonna happen this time. In my opinion, McCain definitely came away with one in the win column last night.
Things kicked off with Obama first, and he performed pretty much like I expected him to: every question met with a slow-motion tap-dance of an answer custom tailored to what he thought the audience would want to hear. McCain, on the other hand, gave such rapid, shoot-from-the-hip answers that he drove Warren to quip that he was in danger of running out of questions. Where Obama tried to wiggle away from the subject, McCain charged in balls-first.
The bottom line: Obama came off as hesitant, stilted and rehearsed, while McCain looked like a man who didn’t need to think things over because he was saying exactly what is on his mind.
Not surprisingly, the whole damned world seems to be dissecting the entrails of last night’s event (most of them underwhelmed by Obambi), but I think I’ll just let you have a look and make up your own minds:
Obama Pt 1
McCain Pt 1
Just click the “more” link to see the rest of the vids… (more…)
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.
Things were quieter on the American campaign today. No pot shots, no partisan sniping, no “I endorse this message” commercials on the radio or TV… anywhere. They have more important things on their minds.
And it continues.
…that I pulled into the bottom of the boat that didn’t flip and flop this much. Looks like I opened my yap and moved on too quick on 
So I’m sitting around last night, having me a nice cold beer, when the phone rings. It’s Debbie calling from down in Houston. Some of you who have been around long enough might remember her as a pretty 
There’s somebody in the mainstream Canadian media who actually GETS IT!!
