A few good quotes from the State of the Union:

We love our freedom, and we will fight to keep it.

Second-guessing is not a strategy.

We will not sit back and wait to be hit again.

To get a great look at the speech, go visit The American Princess.

Next Tuesday, Wonder Woman and I will be driving to Buffalo to catch our flight to CPAC. I can't wait. Quite the star-studded event: Presidential receptions, speakers, book signings - why can't Canada have anything like this?

Anyway, it's costing me a fortune! Some of you have been very kind about dropinga few dollars into my tip jar, and I really appreciate it. But like PBS, I'm just going to ask and ask until I get what I need.

Thanks everyone.

I will never be a domestic goddess. I'm too much of a slob. I truly admire the tidy homes and spotless bathrooms of my friends, but I'm just not willing to put that much daily effort into things. Sure, I'll go on a blitz before a party, but the rest of the time you'd do well to keep your shoes on in my house. This week's Cotillion title is taken from a Nigella Lawson cookbook, and the Debs are going to address some of the major and minor messes in the world.

Please take your feet off the coffee table.

Attila Girl is cluttering her home with books on how to clear away clutter. Perhaps if she spent less time watching Disney movies, and more time tidying up... Oh well, who am I to talk? I will do laundry, but won't put it away. I will do dishes, but abhor washing cutlery. I never sweep (that's the number one reason I have a husband - he takes care of all that). Atilla - enjoy your mess.

I might be a gawdawful housekeeper, but I'm a hell of a cook (so long as Mr. Right is on standby to do the dishes).

Chili Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 granulated sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Melt 1 cup of the chocolate chips in a double boiler and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a cookie sheet.
In a large bowl, cream together butter & sugar. Slightly beat egg and add to butter mixture, along with vanilla. Stir in melted chocolate.
Combine flour, salt, cinnammon, cayenne and baking powder in a seperate bowl. Slowly add to butter mixture, mixing well with each addition.
Stir in remaining chocolate chips.
Bake 8-10 minutes, taking care not to burn (chocolate scorches easily).

I can just imagine ZendoDeb's house. While I know she would never be so careless as to leave her guns lying about, I'm sure there's a stack of magazines and books about ammo and shooting that's at least as tall as me. Check out her Wisconson conceled carry news.

Beth at MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy talks about bigger messes in the world: The Middle East Conflict. New and unimproved under Hamas.

Obviously (as if it weren’t already obvious), the Paleostinians have no interest in any kind of “peace,” except for the peace they imagine they’d have once they push Israel into the sea. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have elected a terrorist group to run their wholly UNDESERVED territory.

Cassandra at Villainous Company brings us a long post about the price of security (and some excellent book recommendations). May America never again have to face the kind of mess she faced on September 11th, 2001.

My current stack of unread books includes Warrior Marks by Alice Walker; Lost by Gregory Maguire; and Geisha, A Life by Mineko Iwasaki. I just finished Shopgirl by Steve Martin last night, and Rescuing Canada's Right by Adam Daifallah and Tasha Kheiriddin.

I love to curl up on the sofa - preferably without the dog - and sip a drink while I read on a rainy afternoon. This drink reminds me of ZendoDeb.

1 1/2 oz Absolut® Kurant vodka
1/2 oz triple sec
1 splash cranberry juice

Add vodka, triple sec and cranberry juice to a mixing glass, and mix well. Pour into a cocktail glass, and serve.

Rightwingsparkle brings us a heartbreaking story of a very short life. When an expecting mother is told that her baby is a mess, and that she cannot possibly live, then the only thing she has is hope.

Would have it been easier to abort Rosa? Perhaps for the doctors and hospital. A hidden grisly procedure and then everyone goes home. But life sometimes gives us harder, but infinitely better choices.

The American Princess writes about the chaotic way the left behaves in America. Their hate mail to her is messy for sure. She gives us a grammar lesson worthy of Eats, Shoots & Leaves.

Split infinitives anyone? And what, pray tell, is contradictory? American Princess? Conservative thought and fashion sense? Or the fact that I am female and not a crazed feminist? Or because I use the SHIFT key? Of course, that was two complete sentences. This guy might have given his predicate to the poor or had it appropriated by the Patriarchy:

You would think that Alabama Improper would be a mess for having recently given up smoking, but somehow she's holding it together. She brings us a roundup of headlines from all over, even the Vatican.

Sisu brings us round to one of my all-time favorite subjects: money. Unfortunately, she writes about the messes money can get us into. No, not credit card debt. Bigger. Governmental corruption and special interest groups.

Speaking of corrupt governments, Florida Cracker brings us my other favorite subject: chocolate. She has a quiz for you.

Cross-posted to the Cotillion.

I'm still blegging! Paypal gives me a bit of grief when it comes to editing a post with one of their buttons in it, so it means I probably have to make a new bleg post every couple of days. It means I'm actually working for the money I'm requesting.

I'll be keeping this at the top of the page, so scroll down for new stuff.

So please be generous, and send me to CPAC, so I can learn how to save this crazy country of mine.

I mentioned meeting "Freshly Squeezed" from Orange Juice the other night at the Blogstravaganza. Well, I popped in on him this afternoon, and he has come up with a brilliant idea on sorting out the Liberal leadership race:

The only solution, as far as I can tell, is a Survivor/Big Brother-style elimination tournament. Get Ben Mulroney to host - he's already got his face plastered on everything CTV does as it is. Well, him and Brent Butt. They could have little challenges and everything: the Responsibility Dodge, the Mud Slinging Contest, and, my personal favourite, Follow the Missing Tax Dollars!

And they say there can be no common ground between the NDP and the Conservatives! Pshaw!

Last year, when Rabble cartoonist Mike Constable created the Heil Mary cartoon, Christians across North America wrote angry letters.

But when a cartoonist from Denmark depicted Muhammed as wearing a turbin that was actually a bomb, ambassadors get recalled, and food company employees get beaten.

Denmark-based Arla Foods, which has been the target of a widespread boycott in the Middle East, reported that two of its employees in Saudi Arabia were beaten by angry customers. Aid groups, meanwhile, pulled workers out of Gaza, citing the threat of hostilities.

If such hostile actions actually work in favor of the obviously psychotic Muslims, then perhaps Christians should go out and start smashing heads at the ACLU.

Then again, we weren't raised that way.

From David Warren:

After the first TV reports that their party would win the Canadian election, Conservative campaign workers began smashing windows in the Parliament Buildings, and in government offices around Ottawa. They roved through the corridors, beating up clerks and civil servants suspected of having Liberal Party connexions. From St John’s to Victoria, both winning and losing Conservative candidates took to the streets, leading heavily armed supporters in ski-masks, followed by millions of happy, cheering, banner-waving CPC voters, dressed in toques and scarves. Merchants and homeowners raced to get Liberal and NDP signs out of view, as the Tory hordes marched through towns, firing their guns in the air, vandalizing post offices, and looting shops belonging to their opponents.

I finally gave in. I've invited Wonder Woman - replete with commas - to join me in my humble home here at Girl on the Right.

I can see a day, not too far from now, when she will be posting on every right-wing Canadian blog.

Sometimes it frightens me.

Welcome aboard, WW!

A week ago we had a Liberal government, and the country was divided. Families turned against their own, friends became cool to one another. It was all about drawing party lines. But now the election is all over, and it's all about partying!

Last night was the pan-partisan Toronto Blogstravaganza at Fiddlers Green. A rousing success, and no one bled or cried. Heck, even Warren Kinsella left without suing anyone!

One of the funniest (and most humbling, I'm sure) moments of the night was when a girl walked up to Andrew Coyne (in his usual sport jacket), asked him his name, and then asked him if he was a blogger. She had absolutely no clue who he was.

I, of course, needed to be babysat, lest I get too far into my cups and pick a fight with someone. The lovely Wonder Woman (in an awesome shirt) and her groupie who shall remain nameless, had that fun job all night. And then she drove my drunk ass home, along with Steve from Nice Comfy Fur, who as it turns out is a neighbor.

Another neighbor I met last night was Accordion Guy, who played a large part in the election on a local level, by running with the story of Sam Bulte being in the pocket of the record companies. Joey is left leaning, but it doesn't mean we probably won't end up going out for brunch at one of the neighborhood hot spots at some point.

The charming Damian Brooks was sniffing around the girl's table, hoping MustControlFistOfDeath would stop by (alas, she was tired and burned out from a winter cold), and we all had a great laugh.

Kateland from Last Amazon was there, and at some bleary point late in the evening, I recall that we ganged up on a very young Dipper going by the handle Freshly Squeezed (oooh, too many places I could go with that one), who I thought was utterly adorable, and I plan to visit his site regularly. He took the ribbing in stride, and there was no mention of anyone hurting anyone else's feeeeeelings. Classy.

Kathy Shaidle and Rick McGinnis came out, but sadly, I barely saw them. I'm sure we'll catch up soon.

Okay, so who am I forgetting? Greg was there, I know that. And the Loyalist. The handsome Brian Mertens, The Meatriarchy, Paul Tuns, and a shedload of others. I don't think I even got to speak to half the people there last night. I really hope we do it again sometime. If getting the most opinionated people from all sides of the political divide together (and adding booze) is what it takes to make this new Canada and this new government work, then we need to do it often.

But Warren can buy the next round.

This is the post election drunken blog post.

We have a Conservative government!!! It's a minority, but it's a start. I have spent the last three hours convincing myself I'm happy over this. Let me stay that way till the hangover kicks in.

Jurij didn't win. I didn't expect him to, but I was hoping for second place. I can't understand a riding that put Sam Bulte behind the winner with so few votes. A cross section of the lemming-ness of Canada. But at least she didn't win.

Congratulations to Peggy Nash. We may be idealogically opposed, but she's a very nice lady. She ran an honest campaign, and she deserves the win. However, I reserve the right to fight her tooth and nail from this day forward (as soon as I sober up!).

To the Klufas campaign team: Jurij, Teresa, Gerry the Giant, Steve & Jane, Mary (a saint!!), all the people I'm forgetting in my tequila-induced state, and especially Tim, our leader. Scarecrow, I'll miss you most of all. You have been an inspiration. You all have. I am better for having known you.

Osama 'plug' boosts book's sales

Osama Bin Laden has seemingly propelled a book by an obscure historian into the US bestseller list, by endorsing it in an audio message aired on Thursday.
"Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower" had reached number 21 on the Amazon list by Sunday, leaping from below the 200,000 mark.

Well, I'm off to church in a few minutes. I'm really trying to get in the habit. I went maybe a dozen times in 2005 - let's see if I can do better this year. I have a lot to be thankful for - I have been blessed in the past several months.

After church, I have a scrutineer's meeting. I will be taught the basics of checking the voter list, and counting and approving/junking ballots. This sounds like a rather important responsibility, even if it is fairly easy to do. A lot like church.

The thought of scrutineering made me think of Lost Budgie's post regarding official ballots being used as teaching aids in classrooms. How easy is it to get hold of these things in advance, and what does that mean for the validity of votes?

Judi McLeod at Canada Free Press reports on multiple incidents of Election Canada Official Ballots being used in classrooms for mock student elections. The obvious questions concern their origins, and how the Canadian people are supposed to know that none will be used to commit election fraud.

I realize that the subject is topical, and now is a great time to teach students about elections and voting (I myself remember drafting fake Charters in class back in the day), but wouldn't it be better to use mock ballots? If these ballots accidentally fall into the hands of counters after Monday's election, will they actually be counted as being votes for one party or another?

Voice your concern at Elections Canada during business hours: 1 800 463-6868 or by emailing the Commissioner's Office
Elections Canada's website does have a section to order materials for schools, but the ordering process is closed during an election period. Makes sense to me.

Today, when discussing my trip to Washington to meet my hero, George W., it was suggested by a colleague that upon meeting him, I "ought to slit his throat".

Slit his throat? Is this how "good Canadians" think? Is this what the Liberals and NDP and all the other anti-American parties have been teaching us all these years? That I should go to a cocktail reception and kill the fucking President?

I don't belong in Canada. I am not like them.

From BumfOnline:

'Twas the Night before the election, and all through the House,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a same-sex spouse;

The whistleblowers were hung out to dry with care,
In hopes that integrity soon would be there;

The spin doctors were nestled all smug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-coating danced in their heads;

Goodale in his kerchief with no spending cap,
And Layton settled down with a long fiscal trap;

Go read the rest!!

Last year, I checked my stats, and found "Naked girl on a golf cart" was a search that linked me. Interesting...

But today I topped it.

girl turned into kangaroo as punishment from Allah

Wow.

Shout out to the boy from Providence who's hit appeared on my stats. Drop an email and let me know how you're doing.

RG

I've been tagged, at long last, by the weird meme. Thanks Brian. This is going to be difficult, because almost everything about me is weird. I'm actually not aware half the time. I'll give it a try.

1. I used to work in a cemetary. I was a real estate agent to the dearly departed.

2. I have no gag reflex. This has its good and bad points. On the bad side, I have had to have my stomach pumped twice for poison, because I could not induce vomiting on my own. On the good side... well...

3. When I was 7, my teacher asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. In front of my entire class, I said "A madam". And so I had my first trip to the principal's office.

4. I have had nightmares since infancy. Several times a week, in fact. When I was little, I would beg to stay up and watch horror movies. My mother wouldn't want me to, "No, it'll give her nightmares", but Dad, who was always on my side, used to say to her "For Chrissake, Mickey Mouse gives her nightmares! What does it matter?" Ergo, I've seen hundreds of horror movies in my life, and only gave them up after seeing The Ring, which I may never recover from. I am also afraid of balloons, toddlers (toddlers with balloons make me break out in hives and hyperventilate), fire, and the number 27.

5. I have never lived in any one place for more than 2 years. And in the past decade, I have never lived anywhere for more than 15 months. Staying in one place too long makes me panic, and no matter how hard I try, I cannot commit to buying a home. The idea of being that tied to something for so long scares the hell out of me.

I'll tag:

Baldilocks because I don't know much about her
Little Miss Attila because I'll be meeting her next month, and I want ammo for picking on her when we get drunk
Regular Ron, because I'm sure he'll have some interesting stuff to share ;)
Monte Solberg, for shits and giggles, and because he's so funny
and Kateland The Last Amazon because I know she'll have some skeletons to share

Catch the scoop here.

I posted on January 3rd about Parkdale-High park MP Sarmite "Sam" Bulte, and her buddies in the recording industry throwing her a $250/plate fundraiser on Thursday January 19th. To recap, it wouldn't be so bad to have a recording industry fundraiser if you weren't the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Canadian Heritage, and if there wasn't important legislation in the works regarding said industry. Basically, more brown envelopes is what it boils down to.

Michael Geist has it in for her. He created the Copyright Pledge, which was read out at a Parkdale-High Park all candidates meeting last week. Click here to get to Accordion Guy's site, where he has video of Bulte's screechy, borderline hysterical reply, where she calls Geist and his supporters "zealots". She's scared. She knows she's probably going to lose her campaign over this, yet she still hasn't cancelled the fundraiser. Geist also writes this for the Toronto Star:

The Bulte controversy has highlighted the close connection between Canada's Parliamentary Secretary for Canadian Heritage and the largely U.S.-backed copyright lobby with many copyright groups contributing hundreds of dollars exclusively to the Parkdale-High Park MP. Beyond the Bulte story, lobbyist registration records, campaign finance returns, and documents newly obtained under the Access to Information Act reveal a process that is badly skewed toward lobby interests and in serious need of reform.

Industry Canada's Lobbyist Registration Database includes dozens of registered lobbyists for copyright interests. The Canadian Recording Industry Association has five registered lobbyists on its payroll, while Access Copyright's similarly sized contingent of five registered lobbyists even includes former MP Paul Bonwick, a Bulte contributor who worked closely with her on a 2004 copyright report while both served on the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

The Star covers it further with this piece by Cory Doctorow from yesterday, and goes into detail about how this problem is prevalent in the United States.

The candidates from Parkdale-High park will all be on Goldhawk tomorrow. I have a feeling that Sam is going to need a Xanax by the time the show is over.

x-posted to The Shotgun

I'd love to stay and chat, but there's a phone at the campaign office that's ringing just for me, so I only have a second.

Angry in the Great White North reminds us that the Liberals have a very strong voter base - inside our penitentiaries. Are criminals really the people we want casting the deciding votes of this tight election? Do they really have the right to vote while incarcerated? I always believed that committing a crime and being in prison was supposed to temporarily strip you opf your rights - that's part of the punishment. Obviously a criminal will vote for whomever is going to give him the biggest break. Or they vote for other criminals. Either way, they're voting for the Liberals!

Adding insult to injury, Lost Budgie brings us Paul Martin's latest act of desperation: the Heroes Fund.

If supporting the widows and families of fallen public safety officers was truly important to the Liberals, they wouldn't have waited until mere days before a Federal election - when the party has declared a "mayday" and is heading down in flames with Captain Martin panicking at the controls.

What's the point? Martin is soft on crime, letting animals who will vote him in run through our streets, shooting our cops. Only then will he make reparations to the families of the fallen. How about reducing their chances of getting shot by keeping your voting base off the streets, Paulie?

And from Gerry comes an email regarding how vicious animals can be when they're cornered.

I know I have mentioned earlier that Martin was too smug for somebody swirling around the bowl. The Liberals are the masters of spin so buckle down.

He sends this link to the Globe & Mail.

Liberal strategists believe they can turn around the last week of the campaign by continuing to broadcast their attack ads and going hard after Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, hoping that something will stick.

Liberal Leader Paul Martin executed part of that strategy yesterday as he hammered away at the Conservative policy platform, arguing that the numbers don't add up and it is a throwback to the Mulroney era.

It's going to be a messy week. I think I'll dig my old rain slicker out of the back of the closet. It's easier to clean if I get any mud on me at the debates in our riding.

Wow. Every conservative has to read this to prepare their arguments, and every liberal has to read it to soothe their fears. Canadianna has done a wonderful job.

I've said this before about Harper: Harper appeals to me. He's a thinking woman's kind of guy. You know he's safe. He'd probably never raise his voice, let alone hit someone. He doesn't cheat on his wife; I'd bet he helps tuck in the kids at night -- and makes every effort to do the right thing so he'll be a good example for them. And he's smart, and he's funny, and private. These qualities are the kind of qualities adult women look for in a man. It's teens and twenties who look for the charm and 'charisma'. Maturity looks for decency and Harper is the personification.

Disagree with Stephen Harper. Believe that his policies will not benefit our country. Believe that his platform does not benefit you -- but these 'scary' accusations just don't hold water and they are offensive to everyone who believes there is a political alternative to socialism and corruption.

Go read the whole thing, as she debunks the fears of an NDP reader.

From Angry in the Great White North:

Paul Martin, on television, January 12, 2006:

Paul Martin defended the series of controversial ads his Liberal Party unleashed this week and continued his attack on Stephen Harper, painting him as a leader who subscribes to a far right-wing ideology.

Anne McLellan, in an email, January 11, 2006:

The Liberal ad related to military presence in Canadian cities was never approved by the Prime Minister and was never aired on Television.

In the end, they will find a way to say that Harper thought up the ads himself at an anti-abortion rally he attended with Karl Rove and Valerie Plame.

Hat tip to Regular Ron:

A British airline banned its staff from taking Bibles and wearing crucifixes or St. Christopher medals on flights to Saudi Arabia to avoid offending the country's Muslims.

British Midland International also has told female flight attendants they must walk two paces behind male colleagues and cover themselves from head to foot in a headscarf and robe known as an abaya, the Mirror newspaper of London reported.

[snip]

The airline's staff handbook says: "Prior to disembarking the aircraft all female crew will be required to put on their company issued abaya. It will be issued with the headscarf which must be worn."

The employees' union wants staff members to be able to opt out of the flights, but the airline says the only option is to transfer from overseas staff to domestic flights, which could mean a loss of about $30,000 a year in wages.

Bottom line: Comply with the demands of an ever-growing Muslim population, or pay the Dhimmi tax out of your wages.

Something I was pondering last night while chowing down on my Hawaiian slice:

If Piglet is offensive, and piggy banks are offensive, and lots of Canadian hospitals now only serve halal meat - how come every Abdul and Mohammed is sending gun money back to Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia on what he earns in North America running a pizza shop and manhandling pepperoni, ham, and bacon day after day? Huh? Is bacon okay if it's in the service of Jihad? Do any of you terrorist bastards out there have an answer for this?

Things that make you go hmmmmm....

Zendo Deb, our gun-toting debutante, is hosting the Cotillion this week. Try all you want to get your hand up a debuatnate's frilly dress, but there's a surprise tucked into the garter. Be careful.

The party is also happening over at the main site.

I found this great remix of a Liberal attack ad on Stephen Taylor's site.

Here's the original. Here's the remix.

Heh. The power of technology.

1. Because I believe in the extent to which the official Languages is carried out and enforced; that every public servant even in the most remote part of B.C. should be fluent in the French language, but that the government business in Quebec should be in unilingual French.

2. Because I believe that only lawyers from the province of Quebec are qualified to be prime minister of Canada.

3. Because I believe that the federal government should be entirely controlled by the province of Quebec.

4. Because I believe that all criminals are just poor misunderstood victims of society and can all be easily rehabilitated in a very short period of time; and that only they have "rights"; not the victims of their crimes.

5. Because I believe that hardened criminals like Karla Homolka should be pampered by living in a "cottage" with her own key and be allowed to have pyjama parties and go out on shopping trips; and that killers in prison "resorts" on the Pacific coast should eat filet mignon, have barbecues, go whale watching and have their own golf course, while our senior citizens have to eat left over Kraft Dinner.

6. Because I believe that mass murderers under that age of 18 should be protected by the Young Offenders Act and the rest of us law-abiding citizens do not have the right to know who they are.

7. Because I believe in bringing hundreds of thousands of unskilled people into Canada from third world countries every year so we can support them on welfare and so that they will vote Liberal; and that this number should be increased every year.

8. Because I believe that it is fair that the province of Quebec is the sole province allowed to be in charge of its immigration policy; that they receive 5 times the amount of federal immigration money than does Ontario, even though Ontario has to teach those people how to speak English whereas Quebec only allows immigrants to enter who already know the French language.

9. Because I believe that we do not have the right to own land in Canada, as it is under Liberal law.

10. Because I believe it is only fair that Liberals steal as much tax money as they can from us: through every conceivable means from the HRDC boondoggle to the 2 billion dollar gun registry that does not work.

11. Because I believe that if my family is the victim of a home invasion, I should not have the right to protect them in our own home.

12. Because I believe in huge government bureaucracy and extremely high taxes, as I believe that the government knows how to spend my money better than I do.

13. Because I believe in having essentially no military because everyone loves us and we will never be called upon to protect our country.

14. Because Jack Layton is not a lawyer from Quebec, he is not qualified to be prime minister; besides, he smiles too much.

15. Because Stephen Harper is not a lawyer from Quebec and he and the Conservative Party of Canada have a hidden agenda and they are very scary people.

16. Because I believe that we should alienate our neighbours to the South because all Americans are morons and know nothing about Canada; and that we should continue to align ourselves more closely with our true friends - France, China and Russia.

17. Because I believe everything that the Liberal controlled media tells me, especially the CBC.

18. Because I believe that no one should ever be held responsible or accountable for their own actions in today's society. It is always someone else's fault.

19. Because I believe that we should not expect newcomers to our country to accept or adapt to our culture and traditions and customs; and that we should not wish each other "Merry Christmas" in case it might be offensive to some.

20. Because I have the IQ of a doorknob and am easily sucked in by Liberal scare tactics and propaganda; and am easily bought off with my own tax money.

"The choice doesn't have to be between corruption and Conservatives..."

Jack Layton's closing remarks

I'm sorry. That's low humor, but I thought the quote was funny.

I went to see Munich yesterday, with tales of pro-Palestinian, anti-Mossad bias at the forefront of my mind. I went in there looking for Spielberg to make a pussy out of his leading character.

Instead I found an intelligently written piece about a man who goes to such great lengths to complete his job, that he sinks into fanatacism at one point, and paranoia at another. None of these things - to me - weakened the strength of Mossad or of the main character, Avner. To me, I saw what might have really happened. I know that unless you recruit a pathological killer - which Mossad does not do - they are bound to face fears and doubts. It's part of being human. The same could be said about the Marines, or snipers on the battlefield in the Middle East right now. They are strong, tough, good at what they do, but it doesn't mean that they are not human.

Spielberg does send a message, though, and I don't think it is the one everyone has been talking about. If you sit there to the end scene, after the conversation by the river (I will not go into too much detail for those who haven't seen it yet), but just before the credits roll, what are you looking at? What does the camera hold on for a good minute before the credits? The Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre. Oh yes, Spielberg is sending a message alright. He's telling us that the struggle continues, and that war is being waged on our doorsteps. It's not over. It won't be over anytime soon.

Have you ever read I'm Not Paranoid? No? Well, why the hell not? He's a quality over quantity kind of guy, only posting about once a week. But it's worth the wait.

On January 1, he wrote a post entitled Addressing the Jamaican Gun Plague.

Newsflash: Yesterday, Toronto City council passed a resolution to change the name of the city to the "OK Corral". Black suited law enforcement officers will be dispatched to every street corner to watch out for criminals. In an interesting twist, however, they will not carry guns or handcuffs. Rather, they will carry 8 x 10 glossy pictures of a stern looking David Miller to hand out to anyone who is seen shooting anyone else. The pictures will be autographed with the message: "Dear Mr. Gang Banger, I am deeply saddened and troubled by your actions". It is expected that this move, along with a ban on guns, will totally eliminate all gun crime in the city by noon tomorrow.

While even I found some of his ideas to be a bit too far reaching, I believe he's on the right track for the most part.

And yesterday he came out with another scathing post regarding the breakdown of our society entitled Fathers, Feminism and Parental Responsibility.

Today, siring fatherless children is looked upon as an esteemed career choice in our welfare housing communities. Many women have multiple children by multiple men and live better on our generous welfare system than many working people. The men take little responsibility for raising their children, brag about how many they have conceived and bask in the glory of their studhood.

He's a breath of fresh air in this smoggy city. Go check him out.

There was outrage Wednesday when a Vermont judge handed out a 60-day jail sentence to a man who raped a little girl many,many times over a four-year span starting when she was seven.

Man to serve two months for 'heinous' snowmobile attack on moose

Further proof that the world has gone mad.

For the past several hours, I have been working on putting together a policy package for our local candidate that centers around families and childcare. The information has been gleaned from Stephen Harper's various statements and press releases found on the Conservative Party website. Many of the statements I've come across use the word choice.

Several months back, while having a rare political conversation with my boss (I don't like to mix my private life with my professional one, and besides, she's a liberal), she said she was afraid of Stephen Harper. She said she was afraid he wanted to strip women of their right to choose. (this was a strawman brought up in the 2004 election, when Stephen Harper, defending himself, said he would not be revisiting the subject if he were elected. typical Liberal scare tactic)

Now, I've always maintained that I'm neutral on the subject of abortion. I have strong negative feeling towards third trimester and partial birth. You'd have to be an animal to be for that. I always make exceptions for life of the mother. Especially if she already has children to care for at home. I try my best to respect the feelings of those who want to protect the life of the unborn; and also those who are scared out of their minds by something they've gotten themselves into. Therefore, I give women a right to choose.

Canada gives women that same right. You can choose - in the harshest and most unforgiving terms - to murder your baby, or to keep it and love it. You have a choice.

But what if you choose to keep him or her? What are your choices then? That's where they become limited. The tax burden on parents is exorbitant. If you are a single parent, you are better off sucking the teat of the welfare rolls, because otherwise you will be taxed the same as any other family if you attempt to work. If you work, the Libs want to put your kids in state-controlled (read: overpriced and unionized) daycare. They don't want your mother to look after Junior. They don't want anyone other than themselves to have control of you kids' minds during the formative years.

In Liberal-governed Canada, the only choice is life or death. Beyond that, there is no real freedom to choose. Is it really Harper who wants to strip women of their rights and their options? No, he wants to give them more.

So I've spent the last couple of hours cutting and pasting Harper's quotes regarding his $1200 child care tax credit, and his $500 organized sports credit.

Does any of this really interest me? Not overmuch. I am childless, and plan to stay that way. But that's my choice. It's nice to see that others have could choices, too. They just have to vote for them.

Stand up for your choices.

I took this from Cannuckistan Chronicles, who swiped it elsewhere.

Why would someone so viciously oppose freeing a People who have lived for a generation in total, abject fear?

It's because they have never lived it. That is what I mean when I say reality has left their building. How many people would be opposing the war in Iraq if they had to watch, actually witness, three or four hundred thousand people being shot in the head in front of their families? At the rate of one life taken every single second, with one unique and irreplaceable person being extinguished every tick of the 60 Minutes stopwatch, going without sleep or rest, you would be at it for three and a half days. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Every face unique, every one someone's son or mother or precious grandchild. Bang. Bang. Bang. All night and all day, every second for three and a half days.

Please go read the whole thing.

Only three of them -- two 19-year-old Moroccans and a minor, all living in France -- were arrested. Both men were being held for robbery and one was also facing charges of sexual assault. The minor was to be judged separately.

Police said they believed the gang were part of a bigger group of 100 youths from the Marseille area who had gone to Nice and nearby seaside resorts for New Year's Eve, taking advantage of a special 1.20 euro New Year's Day train fare.

French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who has championed hardline security policies in France, partly blamed the state rail company SNCF for not communicating better with the police.

"The problem is that law enforcement services didn't know that there was a promotional fare going," he said, adding that he would ask the SNCF to ensure that it will not happen again.

[emphasis mine - RG]

That's not even a case of blaming the victim - Sarkozy has blamed a third party!

There are cases of Muslim rape gangs all over Europe and Australia, but the French interior minister has decided that the fault for a group of Moroccans who robbed and sexually assaulted passengers on a train should rest squarely at the foot of the rail company. Of course.

Forget about me having to spend my own money on beer and popcorn. Forget about me having to pay $30 for a bottle of tequila. My days of spending money for liquor are over!

Participants in the Managed Alcohol Project were given permanent beds in a shelter and, from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m, allowed to have one drink of homemade wine or beer per hour, carefully measured out at a dispensary counter.

[...]

"If this works for alcoholism and you can keep your streets cleaner and safer, then what is stopping you from doing it for cocaine addicts or crystal meth people?" asked Brian Venables, with the Salvation Army.

Wow. This is so much better than having to take responsibility for my own actions, or pay for my own addictions.

Sarmite Bulte, from the riding of Parkdale-High park in Toronto, is getting a big payoff from the Canadian recording industry. Even while Sony is being tried for the Rootkit fiasco (installing spyware on computers), the liberals are taking their money. Perhaps to make the investigation go away? You never know.

The settlement will likely gain court approval this week, but is not without critics. They argue a few music downloads is a small price to pay for damage done to thousands of computers.

Moreover, Canadians are excluded from the settlement, leaving thousands of consumers without compensation and protection against TPM misuse unless Sony Canada agrees to be bound by the same settlement terms. That appears unlikely, as the Canadian representatives of the music, movie, and software industries have been moving in the opposite direction. Industry leaders have used the election campaign to lobby for greater TPM protection in recent weeks, culminating in plans to host a fundraising event for Toronto-area MP Sarmite Bulte four days before the upcoming election.

WonderWoman of North American Patriot hosts the first Cotillion of 2006.

The Cotillion, if you remember, was started back in June, by Janette, Beth and Stacy, who wanted to answer the question; "Where are all the women bloggers?" We're here. Week after week, we are here, hacking away at world issues, sometimes in pyjamas, sometimes in pearls. In my case: both. One of the very best things I did in 2005 was to join this band of fabulous women, who have become friends and confidants of mine.

I am looking forward to the Cotillion continuing to include amazing women from all over the world in 2006. Happy New Year, girls!

So I'm a couple of days late in doing my recap. Whatever.

2005 was a fabulous year for Mr. Right and I. We finally feel settled into our life in Canada, after the harrowing couple of years in the UK. I got a great new job back in March working for people that I absolutely adore. I became involved in politics, and am busting my ample ass working on the campaign for my local Conservative candidate, Jurij Klufas.

It was The Year of Meeting Awesome People. I met Stephen Harper back in August. I found conservative girlfriends here in Toronto to keep me from feeling like a complete alien. The Cotillion was formed. But the ultimate pinnacle of 2005 was Birthday Week in October, when we travelled to Philadelphia and Washington DC. That was when we got to meet Zumkopf, Right Thinking Girl, and Jon F.

I met Andrew Coyne, Kathy Shaidle, Greg Staples, and Captian Ed, to name but a handful of great bloggers I admire. I saw Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Rudy Giuliani speak live. Then at the VRWChristmas Party (which Jon flew up for), I met Angry in the Great White North. A local hero.

What are my resolutions for 2006? Well, I'm of the go big or go home mentality. I won't pledge to quit smoking (I don't smoke!), or to lose 20lbs (I love chocolate too much!).

I will work as hard as I can to see the Liberals beat to a bloody pulp and removed from government for a generation

I will meet the President

That's it. Two resolutions. I'll keep you posted.

The Princess Bride was on tonight for the 11th time this month. It was on W: The Woman Channel, and was preceded by "The following program contains scenes of violence. Viewer discretion is advised." The Princess Bride. Come on! This is not violent programming.

However, I was on the History Channel earlier, and they had a documentary about flight attendants over the years. You know, the pretty girls who were practically portrayed as prostitutes back in the 50's, till today's duty-free sales girls. Anyway, near the end of the program, they cut to commercial. Upon cutting back, the first scene to be shown was of the flaming towers of the WTC. After my television experience of the previous night, I was still feeling a bit fragile, and my breath caught in my throat. For a non-New Yorker (heck, a non-American), I took the falling of the Towers very hard, and I suffer nightmares to this day. It may seem excessive to some, and sometimes feels that way to me, but that's how it is.

How come I don't deserve a warning for disturbing content? How come a movie where the most violent scene involves fencing is deemed "violent", but that documentary didn't come back from commercial with a sign saying "Warning: We are about to show the burning Towers, brace yourself!"?

Your name is Osama bin Laden. You burned our Towers. Prepare to die.