Give 'em Hell Ezra

To quote...

"You're in trouble now lucy"

Lies, Damn Lies and Artists

So, my daughter wants to be an artist , no, not that kind of artist, a graphic artist. You know the kind that is actually interested in making money.

Months ago she sent out applications to 4 Universities/colleges that have degree programs in Graphic Arts. Each of these schools required a portfolio which my Daughter dutifully and painstakingly produced from her sketchbooks and paintings. She also had to include “artist’s statements” on her work and write an essay as to why she wanted to become a commercial graphic artist.

Having written the essay she brought it to me to proofread. I had only gotten about one paragraph into the essay when I stopped. It was full of statements about her “making a difference through her art” and extolling the virtue of art to change society.

“Do you really believe all this?” I asked.

“No, but that’s what the schools want.” She said.

“So telling them that you want to make lots of money so that you can be a functioning and productive member of society is out of the question?”

“Yes.”

So I read the rest of the essay, and corrected only for grammar and not content. The socialist mantra my daughter had espoused was a means to an end, I was happy about that at least.

But the incident bothered me, and still does.

Why is it necessary for us to hide the healthy, rational and logical reasons for our desire to work?

Why is it necessary for my daughter to lie and refer to the social ramifications of art and artists when all she wants to do is earn a decent living off of something that she enjoys and is good at?

But this tendancy is not new, when I joined the Army and was asked why, I would often say that I did it to serve my country, but slowly I began to realize that my reason, the real reason I joined the Army was to make a living. I was a mercenary, pure and simple.

I would not have spent 22 years soldiering if I had not been well paid for my service. Yes I served my country but making a living was THE reason behind it, not the other way round.

Sadly though altruism trumps honesty, integrity and rationality in the socialist age.

Until we as individuals learn to reject the altruistic lie and tell the whole truth about why we do something as fundamental to our way of life as work, we will continue to win the battle but loose the war with socialist thought.

Shirlene You Jest...

"But what is more marvelous still is the bovine indifference of the hearing officer."
c/o Lee Duigon @ MitchNews.com

And with reporting like that it is little wonder that Ezra Levant's verbal bolt gun has claimed its first victim...

Coming at it from Another Angle

As I was reading this, and planning to share it here, the thought occurred to me that some might find this opinion at odds with the proceeding post and the scorched earth ideal in general, but that is not necessarily so. Just as there is more than one strategy at play in our current shooting war in Afghanistan, then we too must use more than one strategy to win the cultural one at home.

J.S. Mill argued vocally that in order to understand any freedom or belief, we must allow those who do not to voice even the most odorous of thoughts in order, not only that we would have a better understanding of our beliefs through confrontation and argument but that the stupidity, ignorance and even evil of the other persons belief or position could be made apparent to them.

To that end, I finally bring you to the quote I wanted to show...
thanks to The Gods of the Copybook Headings

"To win the war against Islamism we need only be ourselves and proclaim it loudly. At every turn denounce the violation of liberties and basic humanity. Every author censored, every women beaten, every daughter denied an education, in Karachi, in Tehran and in Mississauga. Speak loudly, speak boldly, have no fear of causing offense. The truth will set us and them free."

Leave Nothing For The Enemy

The post may be UK centric but the sentiment is universal. The question is how long until the tipping point is reached and like brave Denmark we all just say no?

"If the price of getting the extra two million votes needed to win an election is to lose a few thousand “scorched earthers” on the right..."

Little Thinkers....

Because it's never too early to start reeducating your children.

Marx
Che
Wow, I can't wait for the next members of the little murderers series, perhaps a plush Hitler or bean-bag Stalin

Little Thinkers

Yay Socialism!

Most Zimbabweans now earn more than $100,000.00 a week! To compete with these growing salaries the government has introduced the $200,000.00 bill.

Of course inflation for the month of December was 66,212% and your new .2 million dollar note might buy you a kilogram of sugar.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7244769.stm

Hahahahaha... hahahahahaha... hahahahahahahah...

That wacky Buz and his off-beat lefty humour.

"The head of the auto workers union says he told Prime Minister Stephen Harper at a private meeting yesterday that he will actively campaign against the Conservative government if it doesn't do something to rescue Canada's endangered auto sector."

Like he was ever going to do anything else.

I say again.

Hahahahaha... hahahahahaha... hahahahahahahah...

Not Thick... Soundproof.

Alan Shanhoff's article is based on the premise that publishers should view defending free speech as a "cost of doing business". He also states with regard to Ezra Levant's case;

"Let's not feel sorry for Levant. As publisher of the now defunct Western Standard he knew that he could be subject to some form of legal action for publishing the Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed."

And you know what, I could go along with this premise if not for that one, little, almost inconsequential, phrase. "Legal action". But you see, I was raised in a nation where the requirements for legal action are laid out and known to all.

I'm no Lawyer but I know that during the process of a "legal action" in my country if I'm accused of a crime I am served notice by an officer of the court, not a bureaucratic functionary. I also am made aware of the charges against me, there is due process, burden of proof, the hearing is public and anyone can watch the proceedings to satisfy their curiosity or to ensure themselves that the whole thing is above board. I face my accuser in court and unless the state is the one charging me with a breach of the law then my accuser has to hire his own lawyer to argue his case.

I guess Alan Shanhoff forgot all this. In his rush to preserve the powers of the human rights tribunals to prosecute that 1% of racists, xenophobes and hatemongers in Canada he forgot to prevent the use of these powers to persecute the remaining 99% of us.

Ooh, I almost forgot.

Could someone please point me in the direction of the edict that states that we here in Canada CAN NOT PUBLISH PICTURES OF ANYONE WE DAMN WELL PLEASE?!?!?!?



As an aside, the tendency to err on the side of totalitarianism seems to me to be a leftist trait. It is a manifestation of the collective belief that the individual is evil. It's a pessimism of the Socialist condition that reeks of the phrase "they can not be trusted". But beliefs which hold the individual as a free thinker and a rational being, such as old fashioned conservatism and objectivisim are optimistic, believing instead that man will choose good over evil 99% of the time without being compelled to do so, and for his own good.

The Unarmed Man

In a battle of wits

To quote Bugs Bunny "What a maroon."

More Free Speech in Canuckistan

Last time I checked Public Service Employees did not swear an oath to the government. So what's up with this?

Have we already gone so far down the collectivist road that the government feels it can now prevent people from expressing negative opinions about it?

I've little hope for Kieth Martin's motion, (M446) now. It's not a Human Rights Commission problem, it's a Canadian problem.

But then, when a Canadian institution like the Liberal Party of Canada calls on a parliamentarian who is fighting for freedom of speech to withdraw such a motion we've already lost quite a bit haven't we.

Can't Never Could Do Anything

NDP Leader Jack Layton says the Taliban cannot be defeated by international troops and there's no point continuing to fight an unwinnable war in Afghanistan.

"It's an endless mission. There's no end in sight. We say it's a dead end,''

I'm confused, is Taliban Jack Bin Layton talking about The Golan Heights? We've been there since 1967. That's a long time. Cyprus perhaps? 30 years and counting. Or is he referring to Bosnia, because we were there for over 15 years.

"Layton's emphatic statement about the futility of the mission comes amid a new push to present his party as the sole anti-war option."

Nope Jack the coward is talking about Afghanistan, because all morality, principals and integrity aside the real reason behind taking a strong stance on anything in politics is to distinguish your party from the rest. Right, wrong, honest conviction and human rights be damned eh Jack?

What a POS.

Preemptive Solidarity

Let me be the first to express my support for David Warren in his upcoming Canadian Human Rights Commission inquisition.

No, it hasn't happened yet, I'm just hedging my bets over this.

It's spot on by the way.

From Cap and Trade to Cap in Hand?

Another warning about the great global warming swindle

"Common sense should tell us that good policies produce more in benefits
than they cost us. Unfortunately, common sense has left the building when it
comes to climate policy. "

"Smith found that the annual loss in GDP
would increase to the range of $800 billion to $1 trillion, which is
serious money. By 2020, Smith estimates losses of 1.5 to 3.4 million jobs -- and
that is net jobs, after adjusting for the new "green" jobs that might be created
by the bill."

The recent rumblings of appeasement in the US's Presidential race have me worried that not only has common sense left the building, it isn't even on the planet.

Hold firm America, hold firm.

UNballanced, UNfair, UNinformed, UNbelievable!

UN Watch

“All forms of racism, Zionism and foreign occupation and domination constitute an impediment to human dignity and a major barrier to the exercise of the fundamental rights of peoples; all such practices must be condemned and efforts must be deployed for their elimination.”

"Zionism is an international political movement that supports a homeland for the Jewish People in the Land of Israel."

Utilizing a "Human Rights Charter" to call for the extermination of a political movement, or to be clearer, to defy a human right?

Where have I seen that before?

Oh yeah.

Abandon All Hope

As much as the right wing and small “l” liberals in this country wine and wince about the socialist and leftist bend of our educational system we are the ones at fault for abandoning it to them.

Angelo Persichilli gets it. His article comes into focus in this statement…

“They have not simply become the apostles of left-wing culture. Rather, they are
the culture and, according to them, anyone who disagrees with their ideas is a
warmonger, hates the poor, opposes social justice. Their New McCarthyism is
actually McCarthyism in reverse.”

Until such a time as we on the right side of the political aisle in this country get our poop in a group and begin to take responsibility and ownership of the institution of education we will continue to be marginalized, and the democratic and capitalistic institutions that made this nation will continue to suffer at the hands of our children, whos education has been absconded by the socialists and leftists of academia for the common misery of all.

Marxist Pap Indeed

Thanks to Lorrie Goldstein for pointing out the rationality deficit of some of our educators.

"Excellence in schools is widely understood as reproducing 'model students' who
are trained to function within the capitalist economy. Students are not
adequately trained to ask critical questions about social inequalities; what
constitutes 'valid' knowledge; and whose points of view determine the criteria
for meaningful education. Myopic definitions of excellence are entrenched in
middle class values. These definition privilege discourses about merit and the
idea that individual hard work will result in success. The focus on merit and
individuality normalize class oppression and does not question the implications
for working class youths in schools. Critical educators propose a philosophy and
practice of excellence that centres equity and disrupt social inequalities."

If this is the prevalent attitude of our educational boards then there's no wonder that our school system is circling the drain

Read the article

You Cant Spell Unethical...

Without the UN

"Tretyakov, former deputy head of intelligence at Russia's U.N. mission from 1995 to 2000, names some names, but sticks mainly to code names. Among the spies he says he recruited for Russia were a Canadian nuclear weapons expert who became a U.N. nuclear verification expert in Vienna, a senior Russian official in the oil-for-food program and a former Soviet bloc ambassador. He describes a Russian businessman who got hold of a nuclear bomb, and kept it stored in a shed at his dacha outside Moscow."

"An 18-month investigation into the oil-for-food corruption, led by former
Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, culminated in an October 2005 report
accusing more than 2,200 companies from some 40 countries of colluding with
Saddam's regime to bilk the humanitarian program in Iraq of $1.8 billion."

Excellent!

This is just what we need, diversification of markets and more FREE TRADE!

Hubris or Horse Hooey?

Sometimes when I read things printed in and taken as news, and therefore gospel, in this myopic country of ours I wonder if the people writing it really believe the shit they shovel.

A prime example of the self-aggrandizing Canadian navel gazing graced the pages of the Ottawa Citizen today.

"The European media responded to the report with a yawn. At a downtown Paris newsstand, only the London-based Financial Times mentioned the report."

Does Peter O'Neil really believe that when the Canadian government commissions a study about what WE as a nation should do in Afghanistan, that Europe in whole or in part should stand up and take notice? Bullshit. There's a better chance that if Canada as a nation passed gas that it would be noticed by Europe .

Oh, by the way NATO is headquartered in Brussels not Paris.