Bud Talkinghorn: Confederacy of Dunces, Tale Told by a Ditherer, Feminists' Horns of a Dilemma, PM-Gay 'Marriage', Question Period
A confederacy of dunces seems to be running Canada
You have Paul Martin telling the Quebec media that "Syria is in Lebanon to keep the peace." Not content with that gaffe, he tells the House of Commons that "The Syrians should get out of Syria. I've said that three times. Why can't the Opposition get it?" Well, Paul, because nobody can.
Former Ontario NDP Premier, Bob Rae, forgetting that he was drummed out of office by the electorate for general economic stupidity, has decided that he is now fit to pontificate on education policy and its economic benefits. At least he has narrowed his focus. Rae's newest brain child is that Ontario should double its numbers of university graduates. Forget that the universities and colleges are clogged with dim-witted students already. Rae wants the province to pony up an additional $1.3 billion to assist more mediocre entrants. One of the few incentives for academically poor students to forego college party time is the cost. They then find useful employment in the technical and industrial sector. That is where they prosper and Canada gets its necessary skilled labour. Professorial friends of mine report that large numbers in their classes cannot string together a coherent paragraph, let alone an essay. Some actually use computer shorthand, e.g. "4U", in what are supposed to be scholarly submissions. We won't even talk about their graammatical and punctuation deficiencies. Maybe if Rae were forced to wade through some of these essays, he would see the folly of his suggestion. I would even loan him my "Stupifying Rubblish" rubber stamp.
On to the judges. There are too many judicial stupidities to enumerate, so I will take only the latest one. A Montreal judge, Simon Noel, has released a terrorist suspect on bail and house arrest. Adil Charkaoui has been in detention since he was fingered by no fewer than two top al-Queda sources as a sleeper cell member. He has trained with al-Queda in Afganistan and is thought to belong to the Moroccan Islamic group that bombed the Madrid trains.
Still, the judge doesn't think Adil Charkaoui remains a threat after two years in detention, because he has lost contact with most of his fellow terrorists.
What part of "sleeper cell" does the judge not understand? "If there was an imminence of danger, then it is self-evident that it is neutralized," the judge stated. To me, it is "self-evident" that the judge's brain is what has been neutralized. For once, the Liberals did the right thing and fought his release; however, the courts were once again able to overrule Parliament's wishes. The judge also mentioned that Charkaoui had a devoted family to return to. What rot! I'm sure Paul Bernardo and Clifford Olsen had devoted families too.
More and more I think we should stop electing Parliamentarians, and simply elect the country's judges. They are the ones making all the major decisions these days.
The Ontario Medical Association is fearful that the provincial Ministry of Health is trying to ram through the entry of medically incompetent foreign doctors. Out of 600 international doctors who went through round one of clinical testing, only 200 were allowed to progress to phase two. But even in this group, one examiner wrote, "That of the 30 foreign doctors who passed through my testing station only two were fit to practice in a hospital. Some were so deficient that they could hardly be medical clerks. 50% couldn't even pass an easy diagnostic test.
Despite the extremely low calibre of the majority of the applicants, he fears that political correctness will triumph over public safety.
Even David Jensen, a ministry spokesman, admitted that he would accept foreign doctors, who were only at the level of fourth year Canadian medical students. This, despite the fact that most Canadian medical students have to pass two to six years of residency after graduation, before they are certified to practice their specialities. That old adage: "Go to the hospital to die", will definitely take on a literal meaning if these quasi-quacks are allowed to operate in Canada. When it comes to malpractice at the hands of foreign doctors I have had a few personal horror stories; one was a misdiagnosis that could have blinded me. Even with our rigorous standards, we have Canadian doctors who slip through the cracks and do enormous damage. We don't need to compound that problem by accepting inferior foreign doctors. If they can pass the same exams as our lads, then let them practice. Otherwise, hold the line against affirmative doctoring.
Today's National Post [Feb. 19, 05] has a letter from a U of T medical assessor of foreign-trained anesthetists. Of the ten tested over the past three years only one was deemed fit to practice. The other nine would need at least two more years of residency training. When your anesthetist says:
"I'm putting you under", you don't want it to mean six feet under.
Let us now consider the sacred cow of aboriginal affairs . The only other contender for top "cow" might be legislated bilingualism (gotta keep all those top civil service jobs reserved for francophones). While I don't ordinarily indulge in discussing the physical attributes of a key government player, I will make an exception in the case of the Minister responsible for natives, Andy Scott. His alarmingly expanding girth is a perfect symbol for the increasingly bloated, unaccoutable, native welfare system. Never under control, at least his predecessor, Robert Nault, tried to rein in the rampant corruption. Nault introduced The First Nations Governance Act, which would have demanded better fiscal accountability from the chiefs and band councillors. But Paul Martin backed off this important legislation after Phil Fontaine and the Council of Chiefs complained. Although they had not a shred of proof, the chiefs maintained they were better at keeping the books. The legislation died and the new Indian Affairs Minister, Scott, has made no attempt to revive it.
Worse, The National Post editorial (Feb. 19) has revealed that Scott has refused to do anything about the reported theft of $3 million from the Natuashish Innu reserve. Also a CBC investigative report claims that band councillors are involved in drug smuggling and other crimes. Scott maintains that his department cannot investigate these crimes, since they are under the jurisdiction of the RCMP. This does not explain why he couldn't launch an audit of their books, or why he has not pressured the RCMP to lay charges. These crimes are part and parcel of the pathologies that plague this newly constructed town. So far, taxpayers have spent $350 million on these 700 natives, all to little effect. Still, Natuashish is not alone in suffering from rotten governance. Recently, a judge handed two Big Cove officials an absolute discharge after they pleaded guilty to embezzling $2 million from their band coffers. All across this country there are similar cases of the government and courts turning a blind eye to crime and corruption on reserves. The National Post recommends that Scott's department start relocating natives from "these shiny new ethnic ghettoes in the wilderness" into mainstream areas of employment. Until that happens the reserves will amount to nothing more than "glorified post office boxes for welfare cheques." Such an attempt to convince natives to assimilate could take decades however. Meanwhile, Scott and Martin need to muster some courage, and at least demand more accountability for the tax dollars funnelled into them.
"It is a tale told by a dithering idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
Apologies to William Shakespeare for adding the word "dithering" to his MacBeth soliloquy. It just came upon me in a flash of malice. The aforementioned tale refers to almost every initiative that Paul Martin puts forward. He has no backup plan to deal with the Kyoto Accord he so ardently backs. Because the Liberals have done nothing since signing on to it, we now have to reduce our gas emissions by 36% in the next six years. Even with a plan, we could not do that without Canadians retreating into the Dark Ages.
Then there is his vaunted child care program. How he is going to implement that one is a project for the Ministry of Seers and Sibyls. Where is he going to find all these highly-qualified child care workers? Besides the minimally-prepared private daycare staffs, the rest are relatives, neighbours, or unemployed husbands / boyfriends. On top of which, new buildings will be needed to replace the livingrooms now used by the casual daycare people. The "approved" curriculum for turning the little ones into budding geniuses should turn into a real donnybrook of competing ideologies, especially if the NDP are still kingmakers. Once having surmounted these formidable obstacles, the entire elementary system would have to be revamped. Kids who have had years of academic training are not going to sit still for Jack and Jill stuff. Changing grade one's curriculum means changing all up the line. More fun is in store for already beleagured administrations and teachers. I'm sure that Martin is spending his weekends working on all these 'challenges'.
PS: Bud has taken full responsibility for use of the word "idiot". NJC
The Feminist Movement: Caught on the horns of a dilemma
You don't hear much from the feminist movement any more. There is a good reason for that. First, the need is not there any more. There are females dominant in numbers across the university campuses. Affirmative hiring has swelled the ranks of administrators in businesses and the civil service. Every TV ad involving a male and a female presents the male being humiliated an/or literally pummelled. Then, secondly, there was the demise of The National Action Committee for Women. NAC decided somewhere that their pretense of representing all Canadian women should be abandoned. The ultra-leftist in NAC decided that "women of colour" were not only the victims of the patriarchy, but also victims of the smug elitist white women, who once controlled the rap. So poor June Callwood, a left-winger of long standing, was turfed out. In came a collection of nobodies to rule the roost--a New York Jewess, another American transplanted East-Indian, and a Caribbean black. Is there no CRTC equivalent to force some Canadian content here? Finally, in a rare nod to a native born Canadian, an aboriginal woman was elected head. Having totally alienated the majority of leftish white women, their contributions dried up. Now they are the squeegee kids of feminism. The Liberals still cough up a few small grants to them--just to keep their street creds. Politicaly though, they are seen as vote-attracting basket cases.
Trying to keep from being completely marginalized, NAC attaches itself to larger issues. Considering the 'white-flight' from their make-up, racism is the cause du jour. The problem with that is they must bend themselves into pretzel shape to accommodate cultures that would stone them to death for most of their beliefs. Despite clitorectomies, forced marriage to old goats back in Pakistan, the purdah system, they must up-hold the myth that all cultures, even extremist Islamic ones, are equal. Therefore the 'soul-crushing patriarchy' of white culture can still be attacked; however, only a quiet gnashing of teeth is allowed about the most virulent perveyors of this patriarchy system, the Third World. Despite living in a country, which is in the forefront of gender equity, they carp about our society's lack of opportunity for women. They have lost all but the most man-hating, lesbian and hard-core socialist elements. It is time for the government to cut off their grants entirely and let them wither into a total black hole of irrelevance. Government should fund the women's causes that are pertinent to the majority of Canadian women.
Small wonder that TV doesn't show more of Question Period
I used to think that it was solely a matter of getting the zippy sound bites, but it may be because Question Period is simply too embarassing to broadcast more completely. All the parties are guilty of appalling behaviour. The questions and answers are frequently drowned out by hooting, caterwauling, table-thumping and other rude interruptions. The Speaker of the House spends more time standing than sitting, as he tries unsuccessfully to get MP's to respect the debate. No kindergarten teacher would tolerate such chaos. For the few of us who watch CPAC's debates, those questions and answers are important. There is a litany of government waste exposed. The latest involves the "foundations", which hold $9 billion to supposedly dispense to research of some kind. In fact, the government has merely banked $7.7 of it to collect interest, and that without any auditoring by The Auditor-General. Therefore, the public has no idea how that money is being used or misused. Is this another scandal that will dwarf the sponsorship one? As well, we now discover that CIDA has lost control of how its grant money is being spent. They often give the money to corrupt states, even before the work is undertaken. Sometimes it never is. If the honourable members would pipe down, we might learn more about this squandering of our tax money. Members from all sides who cannot abide by civilized rules of discourse should be banished for a time. It is that simple. John Ivison, in The National Post (Feb. 17) got it right,
"...Question Period, which most closely resembles a frank exchange between two sets of soccer hooligans..."
Ivison contrasted this with the decorum of the same-sex debate, which was "an affirmation that our elected representatives are not all braying jackasses." We deserve better from our Parliamentarians. The respect shown during that debate should be the rule, not the exception.
Paul Martin's defense of same-sex marriage is totally illogical and puke-inducing
Here is a man who has the nerve to stand up in Parliament, wrap himself in the Charter, and talk about, quote:
"I cannot live in a Canada where the rights of the majority triumph the rights of the minority."
What nonsense! His puny, NDP propped-up 'majority' holds to itself dictatorial powers. The large minority that either smokes marijuana, or supports the rights of people to do so, are over-ridden by Liberal laws that don't just create hurt feelings, but create criminal records. This, despite the LeDain Commission and the Liberal-dominated Senate's recommendations to legalize it. In like mode, where are the rights of polygymists to openly practice their marriage vows? The list of trampled minority rights is endless. Martin has no compunction about enforcing his party's will on minority rights that he (and his loony-left NDPers) do not agree with. His hypocrisy shouts from the rooftops. If he simply stood and said:
"I want gays to have the right to marry. I will not be intellectually dishonest, as I fully know that this is opening a Pandora's Box of social activism that nobody can see the end of. I will accept that this might have unintended social consequences, but I have to appease my social activist supporters"
The gays are not having that right taken awayfrom them; rather the federal Parliament is granting that right. We are legislatively giving them that right, and the LIberals/NDP/BQ are hiding behind the small "l" federal court rulings--made by judges whom the Liberals have appointed, and who have caved in to the gay agenda.
If Prime Minister Martin could cut out his base sanctimonious references to the Charter, multiculturalism and the "evil" of the notwithstanding clause, then, I might not agree, but I could have some respect for his position.
P.S. My favourite Martin moment was his trotting out multiculturalism. He could not find a single immigrant group--outside of the Dutch and the Belgians--whose culture embraces homosexual marriage. In many countries that remain unmentioned, homosexual acts, forget marriage, would lead to a prison sentence or death.
Hockey cross-checked into the boards--one year bench penalty imposed
Unlike many hockey fans, who are no doubt frothing at the mouth, I have to go along with a reporter from Sports Illustrated, who called the cancellation, "The yawn of a new era." The idea that players can demand salaries that make tickets extremely expensive, and create huge losses for the team owners, is simply not on anymore. Add to that the lower calibre of play and players who spend more time on the bench than on the ice, and you have a potent mixture for fan disillusionment. Maybe that is why I prefer individual sports like golf. If Mike Weir either doesn't make the cut, or is sidelined by injury in the middle of his final round, that's just tough bananas. Nobody tells him to sit it out and he still collects part of the purse. The hockeyplayers had better spend their now abundant free time cracking some books on basic economics.
In Wesnesday's Question Period the Liberals could not give the Opposition any idea of what they have done or will do with the $4 billion they have set aside to meet the emission's target. At best, Paul Martin and Stephane Dion could only promise that "something significant" will be done, in some misty future -- although Martin was mighty proud that Montreal would host another climate summit. The Conservative environment critic reminded Martin that when he attended the last such meeting in Buenas Aires, Canada was labelled the worst pollution offender after America. This has all the earmarks of another billion dollar boondoggle. There are rumours of a split between Dion and the Liberal Industry Minister over how any real reduction of carbon dioxide levels will affect the economy. While the Liberal stance on same-sex marriage will lose them votes, it will pale in comparison with closed factories. The unemployed rarely look favourably on a government that caused their jobs to disappear.
