It's all in who you know.

I have connections, and I'm not afraid to use them.

BONUS BEATDOWN: When even the Calgary Edmonton Sun thinks you suck, well, you suck.

It's not like you didn't see THAT coming.

The residents of Lower Wankerville would like to take a brief break from describing their opponents as troop-hating, terrorist-loving, leftard, moonbat baby-killers who despise Canada to complain piteously about grossly inappropriate comparisons.

We now return you to your regularly-scheduled, shrieky wankfest.

Yes, you may worship me now.

The lead-in. The punchline. Sometimes, I'm so brilliant, I frighten myself.

GUEST POST: Matt Bin on "The Inconvenient Troops."

CC HQ cub reporter Matt Bin checks in with some thoughts.

A new report shows that Canada is not taking care of its wounded soldiers and their families. Oddly, this isn't mentioned anywhere in the gushing praise for the outgoing Rick Hillier -- a Liberal-appointed CDS who became the poster boy for the war on Afghanistan.

I've been saying since the start of our work in Afghanistan that the price of this war isn't tallied today, but starting ten years from now and carrying on to the end of this generation. We've sent thousands of Canadians into an intense war zone -- many of them reservists -- and we must bear the cost of dealing with the consequences of our little national adventure as great and as long-term as those costs might be.

If we don't actively and cheerfully bear those costs, if we don't care for the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of the wounded and their families for as long and as far as they need us, then we have failed as a nation. The "support the troops" brand of politicization, crude and inane as it might be, requires those who subscribe to it -- most notably our current government -- to actually put in place the infrastructure and mechanisms by which these troops are actually supported.

The military is doing better than it was, say, 15 years ago, when there was no individual counselling for returning peacekeepers and no treatment available for PTSD. But without the political commitment -- which in this case means money and effort -- to maintain the standard of living for wounded soldiers and their families at least at the average for other soldiers and veterans, our government has failed those soldiers. It won't be long, at this rate, before the Afghanistan mission's image is an aging panhandler -- similar to the image of Vietnam veterans in the USA today.

Our current government has already failed once -- an abject, tragic, and shameful failure -- to support our soldiers deployed around the world. Afghanistan is poised to become a much larger failure, whose consequences will be borne throughout Canadian society for many years to come.

-- Matt Bin

And a fine job you did, General Hillier.

CP's John Ward purely creams himself in a spasm of Hillier worship:

Rick Hillier reconnected Canadians with Forces

Updated Sun. Jun. 29 2008 1:48 PM ET
John Ward, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA -- Rick Hillier brought a refreshing bluntness to the country's top military job, but his true legacy may be that he re-introduced Canadians to their soldiers and instilled a pride in both...

"He reconnected the Defence Department to the Canadian public and that is a critically important thing, and it's turned the prospects of the Defence Department right around," MacDonald said.

"The public support is there in spades."

Quite right, John. Those red T-shirts are all the rage these days, and you can't swing a dead cat without whapping into a car with one of those cool yellow "Support the troops" magnetic ribbons on it.

Sadly, all that support hasn't quite translated into, you know, actual recruiting. But red T-shirts are good. No, really. We're cool with those.

And in other vacuous news ...

NEWSFLASH! Canadian PM Captain Charisma wins shiny trinket from special interest group. Canada's wankers are totally pissed by lack of news coverage as mainstream media recognizes the ceremony for the content-free, back-slapping, politically opportunistic and utterly meaningless photo op that it is and gives the story a pass.

Lack of film at 11.

FUCKING "LIBERAL" MEDIA: As Blogging Tory and sycophantic Harper propagandist Sandy Crux points out, even the right-wing birdcage liner National Post didn't think much of Steve's new bauble.

So what does that tell you, Sandy? No, really -- when even the Harper-worshipping Post can't manage a woody over a meaningless award like that, isn't that some kind of clue? Think about it; it'll come to you.

Or maybe not.

You keep using that word "gomer" ... quite correctly, I might add.

Blogging Tory and The Politic's Matthew unwisely decides to tell us what he thinks of the movie "Expelled" and biological evolution in general. That would, of course, be this Matthew.

Any further savage beatdown on my part would be unnecessary, wouldn't you say?

It's funny until a cop shoots an unarmed man in cold blood ...

... then it's hilarious.

Ladies and gentlemen -- your Blogging Tories.

And in other cognitively dissonant news ...

Shorter The Great Pumpkin: "The fact that Stephen Harper would receive this prestigious award only proves what an admirable human being he is."

Shorter The Great Pumpkin: "The fact that Henry Morgentaler would receive this prestigious award only proves how utterly meaningless these award ceremonies really are."

The wicked bitch slap of reality.

Well, there's batshit crazy delusional optimism:


And then there's reality.

Yeah, that's gotta hurt.

Self-obsess much, Kate?

"... and would you like another chair for your ego, Ms. McMillan?"

A Cheap Post Created As An Excuse To Swipe A Graphic

World o' Crap gives some critical attention to Michael Medved's phobic sexual pathology. Evidently the concept of virginity is too complex for Medved, he receives much needed assistance in the comments.

Actions. Consequences. I'm sure you can figure out the rest.

Shorter Canadian whackjobs: "Well, this sucks. Just because we're a bunch of shrieking, homophobic, racist white supremacists, everyone's going to give us a hard time now. It's just not fair."

Your daily Denyseitude.

There are some things that really get Canadian IDiot Denyse O'Leary's hackles up, like:

I don;t know what to think, but this comes to mind. If PZ can trash The Spiritual Brain: A neuroscientist's case for the existence of the soul without reading it, surely, he can trash a film without seeing it.

Yeah ... allegedly publicly passing judgment on a book without even having the common courtesy to read the whole thing first. What a tool.

Oh, wait:

Two nights ago, I finally saw the Expelled film.

I had become almost proprietorial about the widely denounced #5 political documentary...

If I need to explain the hypocrisy here, you are way too stupid to be reading this blog.

BONUS TRACK: Regarding Denyse's claim that PZ panned her book "without reading it," PZ's actual review is here. Readers can judge for themselves Denyse's honesty and accuracy. Or hideous lack thereof.

OH, IT GETS BETTER. As far back as March, Denyse was clearly lying:

That said, PZ doesn’t really have a problem just because he wasn’t let into the film. You see, it doesn’t MATTER whether he sees the film or not.

He trashed Mario Beauregard’s and my book, The Spiritual Brain WITHOUT reading it. He wrote,

I tried. I really, honestly, sincerely tried. I’ve been struggling with this book, The Spiritual Brain: A neuroscientist’s case for the existence of the soul, by Mario Beauregard and Denyse O’Leary, for the past week and a half, and I’ve finally decided it’s not worth the effort. It’s just about completely unreadable.

He trashed our book without reading it. So presumably he can trash a film without seeing it, can’t he?

So let's think about this, shall we? Even though PZ makes it clear that he is "struggling" with the book for the past week and a half, worthless douchebag Denyse O'Leary accuses him -- not once, but twice -- of not reading the book!

And yet, if we go read PZ's review that Denyse linked to, we can examine PZ's very next paragraph:

The writing is aggravating. It is constantly broken up with strings of quotes — 3, 4, 5, or 6 at a time — that are just plopped out there to speak for themselves, and often the authors don't even bother to address the points brought up in the quotes. It's like, presto, John Eccles said it! Or Steven Weinberg said it! Or some random guy on the internet said it! It begins to wear on the reader, and you start to assume you can just skip over the stupid quotes, and then they refer to something in one that you need to know to understand what the heck they're talking about. You just can't trust that it's only filler, even though it is 95% of the time.

in which PZ makes it abundantly clear that he is reading it closely enough to realize it's utter crap.

So Denyse knows this, and she is simply lying. Shocked. Shocked, I am. Well, no, not really, It's just Denyse being Denyse. Again.

Sunday Funnies.

I’m on my way back to the office, kids, which is very quickly becoming my new home.

Um …. ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww?

Wendy "Isn’t Mark Steyn the Dreamiest" Sullivan’s taste in boots ...


Versus my taste in boots.


I report, you decide.

P.S. While there are many, many words that I could use to describe my reaction to that atrocity masquerading as a pair of boots, jealous is not one of them. Obviously Wendy's taste in men/heroes and footwear are on the same, shall we say, highly questionable scale.

P.P.S. I'm tired. I just thought that needed to be said.

Sunday Morning Rawk

Making our point so much more eloquently than we could.

Ah, the unintentional hilarity:

CTV thinks all Conservatives are knucklegraggers anyway.

And they think your spelling sucks. There's that, too.

The douchebaggery of Kathy Shaidle.

Five Feet of Flagrant Bullshit whines thusly:


Um ... no, Kathy. You are not being taken to court for criticising the CHRC; you are being sued for libel. There's a difference, although I'll understand if none of you shrieking, hysterical whackjobs understands what it is.

Jesus, what a douche. Did I mention that Kathy's a douche? Yeah, she's a douche.

Dear darlings:

LuLu is very, very, VERY tired.

Strangely enough, working 14 hours a day all week will do that to a girl. And it’s starting to look like we’re having a weekend slumber party if we’re going to get this bitch of a proposal signed, sealed and delivered by 2:00pm on Monday. Then it’ll be on to the next disaster ... I love my job. No, really.

So play nice, kids — your regularly scheduled LuLu-blogging will remain erratic for the next 2 weeks.

Kisses,
Me

Brane Hurtz...

zoom

Awwwwwwwwwww, isn’t that sweet?

If, you know, by sweet, I actually mean terrifying. Bet you’re all wide awake now.


And furthermore. Is it just me or does anyone else find it kind of sad and pathetic that Five Feet of Not-So Blushing Bride™ can’t even post a wedding picture without yet another gratuitous claim of martyrdom? I don’t think it’s just me.

H/T to someone sweet who emailed this to me.

Saturday Morning Cartoons.

Hmmmmm ... more coffee, please. More, more, more.

When we use the word "consequences," we don't actually mean for us.

Those who never have to deal with reality are just the ones to keep telling you how it should work.

P.S. Yuval Levin ... Levin ... Levin ... oh, right. Movin' on, then ...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Yeaaahhh ... 45 is kind of old to go running home to Daddy. On the other hand, these are Conservatives we're talking about here -- stunted emotional development seems to be a way of life with them.

Your overwhelming Denyseitude.

Oh, noooooeeez!

Birds: What you thought you knew about their evolution is ... wrong?

From both Science Daily and New Scientist comes the word that, in the words of New Scientist's Bob Holmes (June 26, 2008),

A new study – the largest analysis of birds to date using modern genetic methods – has turned up numerous surprising relationships that will force biologists to reevaluate much of what they thought they knew about avian evolution.

Those dastardly scientists -- being prepared to re-evaluate what they believed in light of new evidence. Bunch of sleazy douchebags, the lot of them, eh, Denyse?

And people wonder why there is an intelligent design controversy ...

Not really, Denyse. The world is full of hideously stupid people. No mystery there.

You keep using that word "irony" ...

... and now we know what you mean.

Stephen Harper: Shut. The. Fuck. Up.

Well, here's some irony for you:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper condemned the runoff elections taking place in Zimbabwe today as a "perversion" of democracy.

Speaking at a conference of B'nai Brith, the international Jewish organization, Harper spoke of anti-Israel sentiments around the world, and said that the Middle East is not the only region of the world where democracy and human rights are lacking.

"Today the government of Zimbabwe is holding an election that is an ugly perversion of democracy," Harper told a crowd of several dozen.

Here's a thought, Stephen -- until you intervene in the case of a Canadian citizen who was captured as a 15-year-old and who's been stuck in Guantanamo Bay for the last several years, you have absolutely no moral standing to lecture anyone about democracy or human rights, or whatever the hell you think that freshly-minted, tin foil-wrapped chocolate medallion you just got gives you the right to bluster and yammer on about.

When you can demonstrate that you give a shit about actual Canadians, Stephen, then we'll let you give us your opinions about larger matters. So how about you start small, Stephen? Omar Khadr. Deal with that first. Then we'll see if you're capable of bigger issues.

Does that work for you?

P.S. Oh, and Stephen? About all those "anti-Israel sentiments" you keep whinging on about these days? Yeah, you can shut the fuck up about that, too.

I'm just sayin'.

Well, stop the fucking presses!

Blogging Tory and enthusiastically obedient Conservative Party sock puppet Sandy Crux is all about the hero worship:

One hopes that all mainstream media outlets in Canada have the courtesy to tell the Canadian public what happened today, that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made us all proud by receiving a major international human rights award.

Called the “B’nai Brith International President’s Gold Medallion” it represents the conservative government’s efforts to fight discrimination and uphold human rights in Canada and around the world.

Yes, Sandy, that is big news ... grown-ups awarding each other sparkly little trinkets as if they were somehow significant and actually meant something. After all, in the world of handing out bright shiny baubles and wondering if those people truly deserve them, what could possibly go wrong?

I'm sure Guantanamo detainee and Canadian citizen Omar Khadr is suitably proud of Stephen's commitment to human rights. Someone be sure to mention this to him.

Chicks with blogs.

Ha. How can you not like a blog named "Disgruntled Liberal Female?" And such exquisite taste in blogroll.

Yes, I've been drinking. Deal with it.

Can we just waterboard this little fucker and get it over with?

What a grotesque little weasel:



Can't we simply round them all up as war criminals and be done with it? Please?

Yes, Reid ... whatever you say, dear.

Blogging Tory "Right from Alberta" Reid is not happy with Stephane Dion:

... Dion is hosting a reception at a restaurant and a breakfast at the Zoo. Dion's reception is exclusively for Laurier Club members (people who donate the max allowable to the Liberal Party) and thus not open to the public. The breakfast is technically open to the public, but since you have to pay to get in (when there's free pancakes to be had all over town) the only people who will be going will be Liberal supporters.

There will be no "average joes & janes" there. And any soundbytes of people cheering and applauding must be understood to be those of people who support the Liberals no matter what (like stealing taxpayers' money). Make no mistake, Dion doesn't have the balls to stand in front of average Calgarians (or any other Albertan).

Excellent point, Reid. And speaking of pants-pissing cowards who don't have any cojones:



You must have seen that coming.

Those who do not remember history ...

... are condemned to look like total dumbasses:

Turns out, Dion isn't just after Alberta and Saskatchewan's money. He truly cares about the two provinces. No really! Come on, Stephane Dion wouldn't just say one thing and then do another would he?

Of course not, Platty. Because saying one thing and doing another with respect to Saskatchewan would make you a total fucking douchebag, wouldn't it?

CC HQ: 1. Stupid, right-wing blogger: 0.

Whoopsie.

Yesterday's statements are inoperative.

Yeah, about all that "public funding" whining you keep hearing ...

Apparently, in Australia, it's not enough that religion has all those ducky tax exemptions:

World Youth Day to cost taxpayers $86m
Posted Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:10am AEST

The New South Wales Government has revealed that World Youth Day events in Sydney will cost taxpayers $86 million.

Government World Youth Day spokeswoman Kristina Keneally says the money will be used to pay for additional police officers, extra public transport, and to turn schools into dormitories.

Not surprisingly, a few people are a bit hacked off about this grotesque Catholic Church swindle of the taxpayers:

The New South Wales Greens say the Catholic Church should be billed for the services the State Government is providing for the event.

"The Catholic Church is the organisation that will gain the biggest benefit from this event, not the people of New South Wales," Greens MP Lee Rhiannon said.

"It's a clear promotional event and therefore they should be footing the main part of the bill.

"The $86 million for accommodation and transport is a huge amount of money and means the economic benefit we were promised is now being whittled away."

Which probably explains the annoyance:

Dear Deynse:

This just isn't going to be your month, is it? Not surprisingly, PZ is on the case. With a little help.

BONUS TRACK: When even the National Post kicks you to the curb, you have some real issues.

BETTER AND BETTER. In fact, the National Post has been on this issue for a few days now, with one John Moore slapping around that despicable film. At which point ... what ho!

The science of evolution

National Post Published: Tuesday, June 24, 2008

John Moore attempts to discredit the movie Expelled by raising the idea of conspiracy theories. But he fails to report that renowned scientists and academics fail to intelligently answer Ben Stein's questions about origin. Darwinist explanations can't be proved or tested and are often not even intelligent -- why are they considered science?

Expelled could accurately have been called Exposed.

Brian Rushfeldt, Calgary.

Rushfeldt ... Rushfeldt ... oh ... this Brian Rushfeldt? And if it is, is there a reason we weren't informed of that? It's called "disclosure," and it's the difference between thinking Brian is just another concerned citizen, and realizing he's an ignorant, demented, Bible-pounding, anti-science fuckwit with an agenda.

It's those details that really make a story, you know.

ATTENTION, PHARYNGULOIDS: For National Post, think Washington Times. Or Fox News. Suddenly, it's more amusing, isn't it?

MORE WINGNUT-STOMPING, CRUNCHY GOODNESS: Globe and Mail, come on down!

You keep using that phrase "ad hominem" ...

... I do not think it means what you think it means.

I just pissed myself.

Blogging Tory and Boy Detective Steve Janke whines about that nasty political bias that so unfortunately permeates the Intertoobz.

No, really.

So Long Sandy

Prime Minister Big Steve's work mommy has resigned from her position as the great stonewall of the Queensway. As Director of There-Will-Be-No-Communications, she herded the Conservative kittens and kept them from losing their mittens in front of the bad, bad people that we call the press. Sandra was the architect of the micro-managing, message massaging of megalomuffin Steve. She was the one that would beat petty bureaucrats into submission for straying from message or failing to adhere to the North Star principles as set forth by Canada's New Government. I'll miss the cartoons from over at Creekside1.

On a more serious note, regardless of political differences, I'm hoping that Ms Buckler is leaving to devote her time to other pursuits and not as a result of health issues arising from her recent bout with thyroid cancer. Meanwhile the next few days of unsupervised recess at the Parliament Hill Public School should be good for some snickers. Without Buckler's iron fist in Stevie's tinfoil glove, lawd knows what those lackwits might say out loud.

Dear Denyse: Feeling lonely yet?

Canadian IDiot, scientific illiterate and unabashed groupie of the cinematic atrocity "Expelled" Denyse O'Leary is probably not going to be pleased. I suspect it's only going to increase Denyse's martyr complex, if that's even physically possible anymore.

(Wag of the tail to Red Tory.)

UPPITY DATE: It just gets betterer and betterer.

GREETINGS, PHARYNGULOIDS: Check back every so often ... we're all over this story like Ted Haggard on a gay meth hooker.

OK, maybe that metaphor could have been more diplomatic, but you get the idea.

They seemed like good ideas 30 years ago.

Somewhere, hell looks like this.

When wingnuts be wingnutty.

The Globe and Mail is suitably (and appropriately) unimpressed:

Still waiting for answers

June 26, 2008

At long last, Maxime Bernier has deigned to speak about the scandal that ended his cabinet career. But only his most ardent supporters - the ones chanting his name last night as he addressed them in his home riding - could seriously believe that the former foreign affairs minister has laid the matter to rest.

If Mr. Bernier had been eager to set the record straight, he would have appeared before the parliamentary committee that for weeks requested his presence. At the very least, he would have answered the questions of reporters. Instead, he delivered a prepared text that sounded more like a campaign speech than an explanation.

And, on the other hand, there are the usual pandering sycophants:

Did anyone else happen to catch Bernier’s speech to les Beaucerons just now?

I thought his speech was very compelling ...

Not surprisingly, that's where I stopped reading. If I was really interested in that kind of delusional unreality, I'd start drinking the stuff stored under the sink.

Oh. Dear. God.

A little full of ourselves, are we?



And the funniest part? Curiously, no mention of the fact that he's a Republican. How odd, wouldn't you say?

More Andy Schlafly beatdown.

A little birdie points me at this more complete coverage of the savage smackdown of creationist dingbat and scientific retard Andy Schlafly.

And then there's Andy ...

Kicking S

Back here I slapped the bishops, so to speak. Rushing to their defence with the motorized goalposts, came S. From the comments we extract his/her attempts to repudiate my commentary.

"I suppose the logic of "progressive thinking" means that you can condemn entire groups for the actions of a few"

Where to begin with this bit of drooling stupidity. Dear S, I am sure it escapes you that disagreeing with what I have written, in one post and a followup comment, does not indict "progressive thinking" as a whole. In fact you are, within the space of a sentence, doing exactly what you are fuming about. And of course you get the extra comedy points for this broad brush response when your initial criticism in the thread had to do with not marching in lock step with CC, regarding the corporate pharmaceutical biz, dubious efficacy of HPV vaccine and Conservative government tie ins.

Unlike our echo drunk friends on the right, we on the left can agree to disagree on details and issues. We can look at a problem from more than one angle, consider a variety of solutions and still, for the most part, get along.

"I also suppose that the consistency of the church's message regarding sex outside of marriage (despite the hypocritical behaviour of a minority of clerics) offends your relativistic sensibilities."

The church has long held an unhealthy attitude toward sexuality, regardless of marriage. HPV vaccine does not lead to premarital sex or adultery or homosexuality or any other form of sexual activity. Hell, it won't even make you a wanker, you've done that all on your own. Again, you of the wandering goalposts, have sidestepped my point. A few aberrant clerics aren't the issue. A systemic and long term cover-up of those deviants of the cloth is at issue. I'm looking at a hierarchy that enabled the criminal child abusers in their midst, that set up, ran and profited by the cultural genocide of native populations through the residential schools. I'm looking at the men in the biggest gowns and the tallest hats holding forth on public health policy because they believe that sexuality is a sin, that your body is dirty and shameful and that you are condemned from conception until you bend your knee at their altar. I'm looking at the men in charge, the ones running this creepy deviant circus.

The "entire groups" you bleat about, well for the most part people regardless of denomination, are just trying to get along. Most folks, regardless of religion or sect or political stripe, are pretty decent folks. That includes the majority of the clergy. That includes worshippers of allah, jehovah, buddha, the flying spaghetti monster or non-worshippers. Of course it would be unkind of me to note the sort of readily accessible and widely celebrated opinions of your pals on the right, when it comes to worshippers of allah. But that's different, isn't it S? ADSCAM? Shiny thing?

"So much so that even when you have a common cause, like the efficacy of the HPV vaccine, you find it necessary to demand that the church shut up.
Well, congratulations. This is the "progressive logic" that is splitting up opposition to the corporatists and letting them succeed."

The shady old bishops aren't talking about the efficacy of vaccines. They're pimping their demented doctrinal, anti-sex crap, the continued demonization of anything that has to do with human sexuality. So yes, they should shut their fucking yaps. They are not holding common cause in opposition to the corporate culture that would profit by the wide spread distribution of a medicine for good or ill. They are not advising their parishioners based on their superstitious fears and mumbo jumbo, they are making public declarations and attempting to influence policy. They are overstepping the bounds and limitations set on them by the tax code, governing religious and charity organizations and political involvement. If you weren't a hypocrite and a dullard, you wouldn't be refuting an argument that I'm not making. I'm not splitting anything, I am quite specifically arguing that the bishops should shut up, sit down and behave.

"And as for having nothing of value to tell us, the church has been around for 2000 years and will be around a lot longer, which wouldn't be possible if it had nothing of value. On the other hand, you guys will be dead and forgotten soon enough. So much for the "value" of what you have to say."

Well isn't that a fancy yardstick! Prostitution has been thriving since long before the church sat ass no. 1 in a pew, therefore prostitution is a valuable social outlet, preventing sperm retention headaches? What were you saying about relativism? But it's okay if you're a conservative, you have the power of dudgeon and squeak behind you. The church has been around for two millennia therefore it has value to offer, satanism has been around exactly the same length of time, as have a variety of pagan belief systems and atheism for that matter. As for my value or the value of us guys, well, we're not claiming to have the key to eternity and all of the mysteries of the superstitious and invisible world of magical ponies. But that wouldn't be a relative comparison you're trying to twist into a ridiculous knot would it S? No, no... you're just above all of that arguing in good faith bother.

No reason. Just 'cuz.

Take a minute to visit Michael and Jane. Tell them I sent you.

No snark required.

Shorter Blogging Tory "Hunter" and I quote:

Lefties think swingers clubs, bathhouses, legalized prostitution, and indoctrinating young kids with lessons on "alternative sexuality", is GOOD!

Spanking or grounding your kid, BAD!

No ... really.

You know, it's a complete fucking wonder that "Hunter" hasn't called for the mass sterilization of "Lefties" everywhere.

Mouthbreathing, Big-Daddy-humping fuckwit.

Words fail me.

Seriously.

Overwhelming stupid that needs no smackdown.

Just when you think you've reached the bottom of the Blogging Tory barrel, someone comes along and lifts up the barrel:

But everyone always does the right thing...honest!

Ah, the age-old argument. Would our society be as moral if it were not for the religious (Judeo-Christian) influence when it was founded?

And that's when things went full-metal dumbshit retard.

P.S. I really wish Christians wouldn't try to get all intellectual and everything. They're just not very good at it.

... but he promises to use his psychic powers only for good.

Blogging Tory Jonathan Strong is seriously hacked off with all this "innocent until proven guilty" due process bullshit:

The US Supreme Court Gets it Wrong, Again

After their ridiculous opinion on providing Guantanamo Bay inmates access to American civilian courts last week, despite that these prisoners never entered the US and the only connection they have to America is that they planned or carried out attacks from a distant battlefield, ...

Yes, Jonathan, that's what they did. Well, except for these guys. And this guy. And this guy. And this poor bastard.

The rest of them are all guilty as hell, though, no doubt about it.

A bit territorial there, aren't we, dear?

Shorter Blogging Tory "The Great Pumpkin": "It's not fair! We want some smart people on our team, too!"

Oh, baby ...

Me want. If that thing were any cooler, I'd need a cigarette.

STUPID WEBSITE. They broke their own link, so here's another one.

Your daily Denyseitude.

Dear Denyse:

In view of your unabashed adoration of that cinematic atrocity "Expelled" and its overwhelming scientific illiteracy, well ... bite me.

Thank you for your prompt attention to the matter of biting me.

P.S. You should all drop a short note to reviewer Peter McKnight here, and give him the props he is due. Let us all encourage good reviewers to keep it up.

And punish the bad ones. We'll do that, too.

Don't be bringing that liberal compassion shit in here, mofo!

All right ... we're talking some serious legal smackdown here:



Afterwards, cake was served.

Oh, fer Chrissake!

Hyperbolize much?

OH, FER CHRISSAKE, part deux.

Radio!

Dear wankers: Please shut the fuck up.

To all of Canada's right-wing, Harperbot wankers who are currently stroking themselves into ragegasms over the current "Green Shift" trademark brouhaha, let me give you some friendly advice: Fucking shut the fucking hell the fuck up.

Thank you.

It's because they lie. All the time.

Via JJ, we learn that, just when you think the fetus fetishists can't possibly sink any lower, well, they sink lower:

Lookie lookie, there's a new "anti-choice pretending to be pro-choice" website in town, and it's one of the most pathetic entries in the category to date. It's called *ta-da!* "Pro-choice.com", slyly co-opting the pro-choice name in order to lure the unsuspecting in search of a pro-choice site, then inundate them with a lot of anti-abortion bullshit.

Let us first take a few minutes to allow the fetishists their moment of infantile chuckling and hooting: "Oh, man, that's priceless! That's brilliant. You pro-aborts have been, like, totally PWNED!!" Etc, etc and childishly etc.

And now that that's out of their system, we can at least all -- every one of us -- agree that these people are hideously dishonest. Yes, we can. Because even if you think this development is insanely funny, you still have to acknowledge that it is, at its core, a lie.

Regardless of what side of the aisle you're on, it's been well established by now that, for better or worse, phrases like "pro-life" and "pro-choice" have a generally understood meaning. So for a virulently anti-choice group to register and use the URL "prochoice.com" is nothing less than deception. And if they're going to lie to you on that level, it's a safe assumption that they will continue lying to you about everything else, such as on this page where they try to warn you about the (discredited and non-existent) link between abortion and breast cancer.

Yes, I'm sure the fetishists think this is just devilishly clever, and perhaps it is. But it's also dishonest and, more than anything else, it tells you everything you need to know about these people: They lie. Relentlessly, perpetually, pathologically. Always have, always will.

And that's the truth.

It sounded so promising at the time, didn't it, Sandy?

Caveat lector, as they say, as we watch Blogging Tory and reliable stenographer, mouthpiece and party shill Sandy Crux's vaunted list of CPoC "accomplishments" take a bit of a beating:



Yeah ... "Orders for new frigates cancelled June 10,2008." Do you see a pattern here?



Blogging Tory Sandy Crux: When "accomplishments" can mean whatever you want them to mean.

Do you see a pattern ...

... here?

And here?

And here?

And here?

That kind of condescending, self-absorbed narcissism just can't be healthy.

Bishops Meddling In Policy

Obnoxious men in gowns are sounding off again. And hey, when it comes to matters of sexual mores, who knows better than the Catholic clergy?

The message from Alberta's six Catholic bishops is straightforward:
"Catholic teaching is that sexuality is a God-given gift that should be reserved for marriage," the bishops wrote.

Unless of course you are a member of the Catholic priesthood and have a predilection for the kiddies, in which case bishops will shuffle your "celibate" ass into a new parish and hush that shit up. But what can one expect from a pack of zombie worshipping lunatics. Time for the fucking bishops to pay their taxes or shut their fat mouths about public policy and health issues. Jeeziz. Don't vaccinate your children against disease or they'll be whoo-ers. Who in their right minds listens to a bunch of creepy old fucks that wear tea cozies on their heads about anything that matters? Somehow these tacky, decorated frauds have conflated HPV vaccine with promiscuity. Better that your daughters risk cancer and bask in ignorance according to the mother church. What a fucking blessing that is.

I R Scary

I've been out of town for a few days and pleasantly occupied with things other than intertoobs. I got home after a crap first day back at work to discover that my cat, a spite artist, decided to forego the whole litterbox thing today. We had words. I've coaxed her back out from under the bed and we've made up (providing the floor remains unsprinkled). Just when a fella's in need of a pick-me-up... the fabulous LuLu dug this up and sent it along to me.

That's a still lifted from Milla Jovovich's site. So yeah, there's Milla selling me a gun in a scene from .45. There's also a link to the Taiwan version of the trailer on her .45 page. I get some nice coverage in the Thai trailer but sadly, I was left out of the American promo.

Your daily Denyseitude.

Canadian IDiot Denyse O'Leary is all excited about some other wingnut writing a mind-meltingly asinine book:

I am currently reviewing mathematician David Berlinski's The Devil’s Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions. I will post a link to the review, when I am finished, but just this for now:

The book seems to have been written primarily to deflate vast, windy claims, to strike a blow against the crass, dim stupidities currently hawked in the name of "science."

Let me save you the trouble of hunting for a suitable beatdown. You're welcome.

Ewwwwwwwwwwww.

Gross. I wouldn't inflict Heinz mayo on Patsy Ross. I'm a Hellman's man.

No problem, I enjoy doing your research for you.

Over at Blogging Tory "Atheist Conservative," everyone's getting bent out of shape over the proposed HPV vaccination program. Curiously, no one sees fit to mention this.

No, no, don't thank me ... educating you folks is what I live for.

And a new orifice appears.

An actual scientist takes a mouth-breathing dumbshit out to the woodshed. Perhaps we'll stop by Denyse O'Leary's place later and see how ignorant she is today.

Holy fuck, Stephen, but you're a whiner.

Blogging Tory co-founder Stephen Taylor is sure that everybody's out to pick on his precious Tories:

... First Jason Kenney gets rebuffed by CTV and then Craig Oliver mistakes the Liberals for the government (and Stephane Dion as the Prime Minister by extension)

Oh, nooooeezzz!!! Whatever will we do now that Craig Oliver mistakenly, and in the heat of the moment, referred to the Liberals as "the government?" We must, of course, ascribe nefarious and sinister purposes to this since it's inconceivable that, given Oliver's history of being a reporter under several straight years of Liberal rule, it might have been just a slip of the tongue. Hell, no! Fucking liberal bias! Burn the heretic! But Stephen's indescribable dumbshit idiocy doesn't end there:

ADDENDUM: Why wouldn’t Jason Kenney be permitted to speak for the government? After all, he was the first one quoted on the Conservative “Will You Be Tricked” ad campaign in Sun Media. He’s been quoted in just about every Conservative Party press release attacking Dion’s Tax Shift plan. Kenney has also been the government point man in QP answering all of the questions put forward by the Liberals on the topic of the environment during this latest Tax Trick/Green Shift arc. Kenney also had a press conference at the National Press Theatre to give the government’s reaction to Dion’s plan. It sets a horrible precedent for journalists to choose who can respond on behalf of the government.

No, it doesn't, Stephen, you snivelling pissant, and this is why:

11:06:52 AM
Ooh, apparently this stems from an injunction request, filed this morning, ordering the Liberal Party to stop using the tape.

More clips from [James] Moore—who I can’t see, because the room is so full of cameras. The tape was allegedly “doctored” more than once. He claims that the tape has now been “thoroughly discredited” before going back to his usual spiel...

11:13:48 AM
Questions! First, from a French reporter: Did they use the original tape? They used the tape provided by Zytaruk, Moore says.

How did the tape change the meaning of what the PM said? Hm, not really an answer there—reporters pressing him on it. The gist: it was a longer conversation, and the tape was doctored. Doctored! ...

11:17:59 AM
More questions. The Toronto Star wants to clarify whether the words “financial consideration” occurred—no yes or no answer, just that “the tape was doctored.” That’s the line they want us to leave with—not how, or why, or what it changes as far as the actual conversation.

Another attempt to get Moore to explain how it was manipulated, and he suggests that we go through the binder. But how? How?

I’m not sure if this was such a good idea...

11:26:47 AM
And—there goes James Moore, leaving a roomful of vaguely hostile journalists in his wake, all asking much the same question of each other, now that he’s gone: How does this change what the Prime Minister allegedly said? What was added, or taken away, or otherwise “manipulated” so as to alter the meaning of his words?

That's what you get when you allow the show to be run by someone who doesn't have a goddamned clue as to what's going on -- half-assed answers, followed by fleeing in abject terror for the exits.

If CTV wants to do something specifically on the environment, then they have the right to demand that the Cons put their minister of that portfolio into the ring, and not substitute someone who then has the option of weaseling out of tough questions with something like, "Well, I haven't really examined the material, so I can't answer that." Or something equally sleazy.

For fuck sakes, Stephen, John Baird is the Minister of the Environment. Why are you tap dancing so hard to protect him and keep him out of the limelight? Or do we really need an answer to that question?

God Almighty, Stephen, but for someone whose party ran on a platform of transparency and accountability and stuff like that there, you people sure are a bunch of pants-pissing cowards.

The Stephen Harper Party of Canada: Standing up for Canadians!

Well, OK, maybe not the brown ones. But fer shure everybody else. Maybe.

I wonder …

... how Five Feet of Communal Property’s™ wedding went.

Oh, come on — like you aren’t, too. In a somewhat shamefaced, strangely compelling, can’t-look-away, car crash kind of way, of course.

When really, really stupid airheads blog.

Really, really stupid Blogging Tory Sandy Crux: "Green Shift” a trademark!"

National Post: "No, it's not!"

Retards, the lot of them.

John McCain wants terrorists to murder your children.

No, really.

Dumbassitude unlimited: The Richard Evans Chronicles.

Oh, this is precious. Not being content with opening up some innocent schmuck to potential harassment, we have this recent gem from the Calgary Herald:

Porn re-router fined $15,000
Richard Cuthbertson, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, June 24, 2008

A man has been ordered to pay $15,000 in damages after he set up a shadow website for a Canmore bicycle shop that re-routed Internet users to a gay pornography website...

At first, InformCycle.com forwarded users to Rebound's website. But for 16 days in November 2004, Draper programmed the web page to take customers to a gay pornography site.

That meant people looking for Inform's website -- but who accidentally typed ".com" instead of ".ca" -- were redirected to the pornography.

And why is this amusing? Oh, I don't know ... it might have something to do with one of Dick's websites.

It's not like I really give a crap about this one way or the other but if there are any good Calgary lawyers out there reading this, drop me an e-mail. Let's chat.

There's no substitute for quality.

Heh. Notice anything familiar?


Yeah, we rock. Deal with it.

The mote in one's eye, and all that.

One of the particularly stupid Blogging Tories, "NB Tory Lady," gets all shrill and shrieky:

The Green Liberal Ship hits a big snag

Oh dear the poor babies....a lawsuit is threatened....oh what will the Liberals do

Cease and desist !!
The Liberal family did not do their homework or they do not care.

Um, yeah ... not doing your homework -- that's gotta be embarrassing. Especially when it actually matters.

I never thought I'd see the day when a member of the BTs made me pine for the relative intellectual sophistication of Dr. Roy.

This is why engaging them is a waste of time.

And this is why they are not to be engaged; rather, they are to be mocked and ridiculed:

If living in canada for 3 years make people canadian, ...

Um, no, Roger -- "living in canada for 3 years" is not what makes Omar Khadr Canadian. Being born in Canada is what makes Omar Khadr Canadian.

What a fucking imbecile.

Neo's concern is overwhelming.

To absolutely no one's surprise:

Man dies in custody after Taser incident involving Ontario police

An Ontario man died Monday after a Taser incident involving Ontario Provincial Police, the force said in a media release.

The Special Investigations Unit, a civilian agency that investigates incidents involving police in which people are hurt or killed, is now investigating.

Shorter "Neo Conservative": "Yeah, yeah, dead taser victim, whatever."

The Blogging Tories: Canada's home for those who really wish you'd stop whining about people being murdered by tasers. Seriously, just put a sock in it, OK?

Oh, noez! Libruls r terrorists!!! 11!11!!!!1!

Blogging Tory "Hunter" is outraged that the Liberals were molly-coddling murderous terrorists in the foreign affairs department:

Who Is The Bigger Security Risk?

Funny how the Liberals have been railing against Bernier and calling Couillard a security risk, but nothing is said about Khawaja, now on trial as a suspected terrorist!

Did you know he was on contract with the foreign affairs department in 2004 when he was arrested? I sure didn't!

So Khawaja was a bad man! And the Liberals helped! They did!

Further to Khawaja, he used the Liberal government to help plot mass murder.

And how exactly did that work, you ask?

OTTAWA - Momin Khawaja secretly used his Department of Foreign Affairs e-mail account to plot the mass murder of hundreds of Britons in the name of radical Islam, court heard on the opening day of the Ottawa man's landmark terror trial.

Um ... yeah. See, Hunter, it's that word "secretly" that kind of blows a hole in your thesis, if you catch my drift. "Secretly," as in, no one in government being aware of it at the time. That's why they call it a "secret."

Oh, fuck, why do I bother?

And in this morning's geek news ...

Apparently, Microsoft crap just isn't "good enough" anymore:

Intel won't touch Vista

Too broken to deploy

ACCORDING TO A memo circulating a few weeks ago, it looks like Intel is taking a wise decision and avoiding the Broken OS entirely. Yes, Intel is not going to use Vista on its corporate machines... ever.

When a company as tech savvy as Intel, with full source code access and having written several large chunks of the OS, says get stuffed, you know you have a problem. Well, everyone knows MS has a problem, but it is nice to see it codified in such a black and white way though. Reassuring, like a warm cup of tea, or a public kick to the corporate crown jewels.

And the alternatives? Well, it's not like there are a lot of them:

So that leaves two other choices, Linux and Mac. Linux is a distinct possibility, they already have an in-house distro that causes employees look nervously around the room when you talk about it. Although it is not a desktop variant, there is no reason that they could not roll one given two years.

Earth to Intel: If you need two years to simply roll out a "desktop variant" of something you already have, you're not as tech savvy as you think.

The other one is the big white horse in the corner, Mac OS. If there was ever a company that is loyal to Intel, it is Apple. If there was ever a company that could make MacOS work internally, it is Intel. While any marriage with the turtlenecked sociopath is a match made in hell, don't count this one out either.

In the end, you have Intel flipping MS the bird, and telling them what they already know, Vista is undeployable by anyone with a grain of common sense. The impressive thing is that it just might lead to a waving off of MS entirely, they are the underdog for the next round of upgrades.

Frankly, I don't see Intel being edgy enough to go the Linux route, but it can't shock anyone that someone finally told Microsoft that their software is just too crappy to waste any time on anymore. The start of something big? One can only hope.

Microsoft Outlook: A virus-delivery mechanism with optional e-mail capability.

Oh, fer Chrissake!

Some folks need to get over themselves:

Comment by rabbit:

If Muslims are willing to use HRCs to defend their faith or their kind from criticism, why not Christians? I've read many a blog - mostly but not entirely on the left - ripping into Christians and their institutions.

Stuff like this: [External Link]

The only things protecting such opinions right now are (1) the unwillingness of Christians to file HRC complaints and (2) possibly the unwillingness of HRCs to view as Christians as a group worthy of protection.

Or perhaps, when we describe large swaths of the fundamentally devout as a bunch of hypocritical, scientifically-illiterate child molesters, we like to think that truth is a defense. There's that, too.

Fuck, what a bunch of whiners.

Stupid people who are Denyse O'Leary.

Oh, sigh:

The Right's war on science? Lots of ink spilled there, but how about the Left's war on science?

Yuval Levin, senior editor at The New Atlantis, has some fun with the loud red shriekies who believe science is being hijacked whenever it doesn't conform to a left-wing agenda:

Fine ... let's pop over there and ...

Yuval Levin is a senior editor of The New Atlantis and a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

You just know where this is going, don't you?

The Ethics and Public Policy Center was established in 1976 to clarify and reinforce the bond between the Judeo-Christian moral tradition and the public debate over domestic and foreign policy issues.

I believe my work here is done.

So many questions, so little time to make them up.

Blogging Tory Papa Junker sneaks out of his room at the home while the hall attendant isn't looking and ...

I've often wondered why leftists loath [sic] soldiers.

And I've often wondered why conservatives are butt-fuck stupid cretins. Some things are just a mystery, aren't they?

DEAR STOOPID CONSERVATIVES: Just between you and me, it's getting really, really tiring to hear how liberals hate the troops, when it would be impossible to find an American administration that has treated the military with more dismissive contempt than the current one. Where to even begin:

• Administration Fights Dem Plan to Boost School Aid for Vets


• Maimed in Iraq, then mistreated, neglected, and hidden in America


• Bush Administration Argues That Veterans Not Entitled to Specific Types of Health Care


• At Walter Reed, Bush Offers an Apology


• Mistreated Casualties

Shall I go on? No, really, I know how to use Google, I could be here all day.

DOUBLE PLUS GOOD BONUS: And let's be clear about who really supports the troops:

Obama Blasts McCain On Veterans' Benefits
Criticizes GOP Candidate For Opposing College Scholarships For Those Who've Served One Tour

(AP) Barack Obama told veterans Saturday that he can't understand why Republican John McCain opposes legislation that would provide college scholarships to people who have served in the U.S. military.

"Now, let me be clear: No one can dispute John McCain's love for this country or his concern for veterans. But here's what I don't understand. I don't understand why John McCain would side with George Bush and oppose our plan to make college more affordable for our veterans," the Democratic presidential candidate said. "George Bush and John McCain may think our plan is too generous. I could not disagree more."

Dear whingers (NOT WORKPLACE SAFE!!!):

IOKIYAD (It's OK if you're a douchebag).

Goddamned protectionists:

OTTAWA––U.S. Senator John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, used a speech in Ottawa today to defend Canada-United States free trade and said his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, is a trade protectionist who threatens to undo a bilateral pact that has benefited citizens of both countries.

Yeah! I mean, what is it about those leftard, socialist moonbats and their fucking protectionism?

Whoops, sorry, wrong link ... I'll get back to you on that one.

Oh, this is going to be good.

Oh, dear. If I were the unfortunate Mr. Friesen, I'd be dialing a good lawyer right about now.

Canada's conservatives: Always willing to lecture us on the civility of discourse, when they're not physically stalking our family members.

CURIOUSLY, the very people who have been howling and shrieking and stroking themselves into a high dudgeon over my anonymity all these months and years couldn't be happier about getting their information via anonymous e-mail or from a website by an unidentified blogger.

Go figure, eh?

AND THE FRANTIC BACKPEDALING BEGINS: On Dick's post currently:

Update: For those who seem to be confused: Linking to another website and asking if the information is true is different than stating something as fact. As the initial e-mail notifying me of the site came anonymously, for all we know, It was a red herring sent by CC himself... With that in mind I've pulled the guy's pic but left the original post intact...

Luckily, CC HQ stalwart LuLu had the foresight to do that screen cap thing:



An image that Mr. Friesen's lawyers are more than welcome to. No, no, don't thank us ... we're all about protecting the children. Especially Dick's.

P.S. If someone would like to create an anonymous blog that suggests that Dick pimps out his kids for child porn by the hour, by all means, drop me a nameless note and I'll be happy to link to that post. I won't advertise it as a "fact," of course -- but it would be irresponsible not to speculate, wouldn't it?

Of course it would.

And solitary? Sure, that works for me.

Members of Canada's Right have some ideas on how to handle that pesky crime rate:

... if we can not rehabilitate, then should we not at least punish?

should not the thought of 10 years at labor with no:
- phone/internet/tv,
- voting privileges,
- good food (not rotten food, but really boring/bland & cheap),
- visitors,
- drugs/smokes/drinks/porn
- free education
be considered a good thing as a deterrent?

And why not? Because if you want to produce useful, productive members of society, what better way than to remove them from society completely, totally and utterly for several years, let them associate with no one but other convicts, then see how well they cope when they're thrown back into the general public? What could possibly go wrong?

The Blogging Tories: Canada's home for people who think beating mentally-handicapped people to death is just a hoot.™

P.S. No, seriously, that's my new tag line. Feel free to use it. Over and over. Again and again. Repeatedly. Since it's clear we can no longer engage these people, let's just make it clear that they get a kick out of murdering the helpless.

And millions of dead Jews. That's a real knee-slapper, too. I'm just sayin'.

Oh please, oh please, oh please …

... Let this be true. The unending potential hilarity would be off the charts.

That’s no lady.

Shorter BT "NB Tory Lady": Shame, shame on Stephane Dion for making Big Daddy angry and say mean things. Big Daddy, who’s the kindest, nicest, most wonderfullest Prime Minister evah, just wants what’s best for all Canadians. Except those nasty Liberals, of course.

So there.

It's funny until a wheelchair-bound paraplegic gets his neck broken ...

... then it's hilarious. Oh, that would be this Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

And a big shout-out to Blogging Tory co-founder Stephen Taylor -- you've now made it acceptable for a Blogging Tory to publicly idolize a man who has beaten mentally-handicapped people in his custody to death.

You must be so proud.

You're too kind. Really.

Shorter John McCain: "You know, if you want Omar Khadr back, all you have to do is ask."

Shorter Conservative Party of Canada: "No, no, really, thanks, nice of you to offer, but, no. As long as we're sure he's getting a fair and speedy trial according to well-established international legal norms and that everyone's following proper protocol, we're good here. But, really, thanks for asking."

Linky.

Them's fightin' words, Lance.

Over at SDA, guest blogger Lance stands there stamping his little feet:

... This, MR. Dion, is your plan. This is your "legacy", your "remembrance". NEP II. I'll tell you right now that we won't take this. We won't take a second edition NEP. We won't allow our Province's wealth being Shafted to the east. We will not tolerate a federal incursion into our jurisdiction. You can lament our 2% (Canadian GHG contribution) all you want, but it will not fly. It will not pass and you will not win.

I know my neighbours. I know the people in my Province. We will not allow another Easterner to kill us at the moment of our prosperity . . . again.

And if anyone should know about getting thoroughly fucked over by those sleazy, lying Eastern bastards, it's folks from Saskatchewan.

I'm sorry, Lance ... was that reminder just a little awkward?

Just checking in, 10-4.

A lull in the busy, so a quick progress report -- kat is back from vet, with a couple expensive holes in her and an Elizabethan collar that I'm sure can pick up shortwave radio from Dubai. She should recover quickly; my bank account might take a little longer.

Over and out.

Saturday Morning Cartoons.

Let’s change things up today, shall we? Now amuse yourselves, you things from another world ... LuLu has company this weekend and must be at her most entertainingest (it’s a word if I say it is).

SO not workplace safe.

I'm serious. You've been warned.



But it was worth it, wasn't it?

Oh, God, the overwhelming wingnuttery.

Isn't there a limit on utter dumbassitude in a single blog post, beyond which you simply have a warp core breech or something?

P.S. I'm sure Patrick Ross will be along any minute now to tell us how appalled he is by the creepy implied threats of physical harassment and actual stalking described in that post. Yessir, any minute now ...

Busy weekend coming up, so here's your homework assignment.

Things here at CC HQ are going to get thoroughly hectic shortly, starting with a trip to the vet to see if the kat is still alive and with us, at which point the madness will truly begin, so here's what you can do to stay busy. (And I'll leave it in PSA's capable hands to collate results and figure out what to do with them.)

As James Bow points out in a longer article regarding the pernicious Copyright Law:

... I fear that this legislation does not fully address the interests of Canadian consumers, or even individual copyright holders, while favouring quite strongly large corporate interests at the expense of individual privacy and individual property rights. For instance, though your legislation expressly allows individuals to copy CDs to other media, such as iPods, it does not extend that same provision to DVDs.

You do realize that Apple’s iTunes has the capability to copy DVD movies into a format that can be viewed from an iPod, don’t you? Why do you believe that this activity, performed by ordinary Canadians, should be criminalized?

Quite. And this is how the nefarious details of Bill C-61 should be exposed -- by using plain and simple language to describe what will now be illegal. Do not get into sweeping histrionics about draconian limitations on freedoms or rubbish like that. Most people are interested in only one thing -- what will they still be allowed to do? -- and that's how the opposition to C-61 should be framed.

Imagine asking simple questions that most people would think have a similarly simple answer, such as:

Dear Music Industry:

A while back, I bought "REO Speedwagon's Greatest Hits" on vinyl. But I've pretty much worn out the album, and now I want it on CD. Since I've clearly already paid for the rights to that music, don't I have the right to just copy that CD from someone else and finally throw out the vinyl? I mean, it's the same music, right?

Sincerely,
Chet

To which the disturbing answer might be:

Dear Chet:

Fuck you, you little freeloader. We don't care if you purchased that album on vinyl, 8-track and cassette. Every time you want it again, we expect you to cough up for it again. And if you end up paying for the same music 13 times, that suits us just fine.

Sincerely,
The Industry

Or perhaps:

Dear Industry:

I've purchased almost every Eddie Money album ever put out, but I want to get one of his "Best Of" that I missed. Since every song on that album is already on one of the albums that I bought, can I just download that album off of the Net or copy it from someone else? After all, technically, I've paid for all of those songs already, right?

Sincerely (again),
Chet

And a possible response?

Jesus, Chet, what is with you? No, you can't just download that album, even though you've paid for every song on it. Every time we put out another album, we expect you to pay retail, even if all we did was re-order the songs! How the hell do you think we've managed to sell that piece of crap "Two Tickets to Paradise" 17 times already? We don't care how many times you buy a song. It's never over. You hear me? NEVER!!

Yours capitalistically,
The Industry

Well, maybe not phrased exactly that way, but you get the idea. What we need is a simple list of what will now be against the law that most regular folks would find rather surprising (not to mention really, really annoying).

So I'll leave that with you, and I'll check back later. I expect to see some results.

Yeah, what he said.

Courtesy of Mike, we have what is destined to become a regular feature here at CC HQ (not really workplace safe):



Pithy, yet succinct. Works for me. Admittedly, it's not "dramatic chipmunk" but, then again, what is?

On the other hand, there were some GOOD times, too.

You might want to clear your reading schedule:

MONTREAL–The woman at the centre of the scandal that cost Maxime Bernier his job as foreign affairs minister is to publish her memoirs this fall...

McClelland and Stewart said in a news release that Couillard's book will contain "details of a life marked by both tragedy and exhilaration."

Let's see ... there was that short-lived fling with Maxime. And I guess we'll have to wait for the official release to learn about the "exhilaration" part.

Reality? Not interested, thanks.

We catch Blogging Tory "DBT" in between his medications when he's snuck into the commons room and snatched the keyboard away from Mr. Perkins:

Isn’t this refreshing?

“Prime Minister Stephen Harper is warning Canadians that the newly released Liberal carbon tax plan will “screw everybody across the country.”

Finally a Prime Minister of Canada that doesn’t pull punches, doesn’t try and be all things to all people, and most of all, tells the truth.

Yes, DBT ... a PM who tells the truth, that's very exciting. And when we finally get one, we'll call the home and let you know. Now let's get you back into bed and ready for dinner. It's meat loaf tonight.