Sept. 27, 2006: Bud Talkinghorn

Bob Rae--By your friends ye shall be known

So Hedy Fry has thrown her support behind Bob Rae. Earlier, Carolyn Bennett did the same. Considering the leftist baggage these two women carry, I suspect that Rae finds their support a mixed blessing. It will make it harder to refute the charges that he is really an NDP wolf in Liberal lamb's clothing. Fry's reputation, in particular, will always be dogged by her outrageous, racist accusations made in Parliament. There are lefty paranoids galore, but she leads the pack. I have always found Carolyn Bennett's pronouncements a tad touchy-feely. She backs just about every wasteful Liberal social policy imaginable: in other words, the social ills of the nation could be erased by throwing bundles of loot at them. She and Fry have both spent too much time in Victimology 101. This support for Rae will only re-enforce his Liberal opponents' contention that his victory would gladden the Conservatives' hearts. As John Ibbitson wittily remarked in his Globe column (Sept. 26):

Already insiders from other campaigns are telling reporters that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's advisers light votive candles each night in hope of a Rae victory. ("He wants to do to Canada what he did to Ontario".)

It is an interesting coincidence that Fry's announcement comes on the heels of Harper's slashing some of her most favourite things. Gone is the Court Challenges Program, which we Conservatives have always suspected was nothing but a socialist money grab and used to push leftist issues. Even trying to get the list of recipients and amounts given out has proven exceedingly difficult. We do know that if there were a challenge that would aid some leftist cause--and probably cost the taxpayer millions if won--that CCP would get the green light. Therefore, the cancelling of that program's $5.6 funding actually saved us untold millions in court-mandated "social equality funding". Another group whose funding was cut was The Status of Women Canada (SOW) and NAC -- organizations that mainly champion the leftist concerns of women of colour. The concerns of the majority white female population have been sidelined. (They are, in fact, considered to be part of the problem.) The last presidents of NAC have all been American imports, like Judy Rebbick, Sunera Thobani, or are Canadian women of colour like Joan Grant-Cummings and now an aboriginal woman whose name escapes me. It probably escapes the memory of the average Canadian woman as well.

As for the $4 million chopped from the medical marijuana science fund, who cares? Most people I know are aware of the advantages of marijuana in combatting chemotherapy's ravages. Many users know--or think they know--that marijuana is probably safer for keeping the "black dogs" of depression away than most parmaceuticals. It seems to have fewer side-effects than Prozac and Zoloft, so I have read. $6 million taken away from The Canadian Firearms Center (Gun Registry) won't cause me any loss of sleep either. The massacre at Dawson put the lie to how safe it makes us. Six Mounties are dead at the hands of madmen who were not deterred by the gun registry from their actions. On top of that, there are tens of thousands who ignored the command to register their guns. I wouldn't want to be a policeman who has to rely on that registery's accuracy when confronting a potential bad guy. These gun-toting people tend to be notorious for disobeying government edicts. While I admit that I don't know the ramifications of some of the other cuts, I doubt if Canada will collapse from their elimination. The Conservatives have used the billion saved to help pay down the national debt, the interest payments on which would hobble many a worthy future project. Again the Conservatives are doing what they promised to do in the election. Good Show!

© Bud Talkinghorn

[Dedicated to those who hate the gun registry, some of whom are women, FHTR]


Why we are in Afghanistan: Part 72

Recently, an Afghani woman, who had dedicated her life to giving girls an education, was assassinated by the Taliban. She stood in the way of their fanatical interpretation of the Koran. Of course, almost all their attitudes about women stem from some twisted patriarchy. These boys are the gold standard of patriarchies, yet the left's women cannot get behind the battle to end their stranglehold. It is dogma that anything Harper supported, like the Afghan struggle to bring a sense of freedom for women, is anathema. For Canada's women's groups (e.g. the Status of Women [SOW] and NAC), it is better to let the sisterhood there be crushed to cipherdom, than back a Conservative policy, no matter what its liberating premise.

Yet, we don't have to guess what the Taliban's plans are, should they succeed. Back into vogue will come: no movies, no music, no kites, beards--whatever the prescribed beard length, whipping women with noisy shoes and stones, and murdering homosexuals. To permit the Taliban to return to power is akin to cheering for the Vandals and Ostrogoths as they sacked Rome.

© Bud Talkinghorn


The following should have been posted earlier but I forgot. Sorry, Bud. FHTR

Lebanon on the edge of the abyss

Sheik Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah appeared before a huge Shia rally in Beirut. He had been in hiding for the last two months, as the Israelis don't consider him anything but another terrorist leader with a big following. Hence he is a legitimate target for assassination. The size of the gathering precluded that action, however, he is a marked man. Nasrallah used his limited speaking time to express two main themes. One was concerning the utter defeat of Israel and the claim that Hezbollah had another 20,000 rockets to fire when needed. The second pronouncement was a veiled threat that the freely-elected Lebanese government was not up to the job of defending the country, Then he yolked that idea to the claim that the Shia were not given enough political power in the Lebanese parliament.

These brazen provocations were breathtaking. Basically, he was warning both Israel and the democratic government of Lebanon. I'm sure both were suitably attentive to these threats. It also was a thumb in the eye to America. "I'm boss in this region now" was the message loud and clear. The Islamic showdown with the West has just been notched up a rung. As much as we don't want another front opened up on this conflict, it is there and must be dealt with seriously.

Reports say that the Christian and Druze militias are gearing up for the next civil war. With today's announcement, I suspect the Sunnis are, also. Whatever the future holds for Lebanon, it will never regain its previously held title of "The Paris of the MIddle East. It will become simply another Somalia.

© Bud Talkinghorn