Who knew? Speeding Infers Compensating for Small Penis Size …

… But who’s to say it doesn’t actually infer a braggart with a per square inch generous endowment? Seems like a perfectly sensible question.

It’s pretty sad when the only way left to morally shame men into not speeding is to tell them it means they are lacking in the manhood department.  And not manly virtue or anything likely to elevate human dignity, just penis size.

Does anyone actually think such an ad will work? The marketing behind this must figure Australian men will be convicted to feel utter shame everytime their foot gets too heavy because some stupid ad says, “Oh, now you’re just compensating for your small penis.”

And what about the speeding ladies? why only male drivers? Surely the ladies speed too! Maybe their ad will infer that girls who speed are only nerdy fat chicks compensating for too much junk in the trunk.

Politics of Hockey

Heh.  This is a bit of a stretch.

But hey - I am sure some people who come here have an interest in Hockey.

So, this whole Balsillie thing - with the co-CEO of Research in Motion (the producers of the Blackberry) are trying to buy the Nashville Predators and move them to Hamilton.

Now, granted, Copps Coliseum is old.  It needs at the least, refurbishment, at the most, to be replaced.  Balsillie could always make that problem go away by throwing money at it.

The real objection is, and has always been, the Toronto Maple Leafs (though to be fair, Buffalo is almost equidistant).  They don’t want another team horning in on “their” market.

But I don’t get that, at all.  I mean, the Golden Horseshoe (including Buffalo) is home to 7 million people.  7 Million people!  6.7 million of them are Canadian, which means at least half rabid hockey fans.   By comparison, there are 3 teams in the New York-New Jersey triangle, home to a population of 18 million.  2.5 times larger, yes.  But what percentage hockey fans, as compared to the golden horseshoe?

The thing that Bettman and company need to be asking themselves is, “where are our fans?”  They need to put teams where their fans are - places like Hamilton or Winnipeg, or yes, even Quebec City again.  In Canada, people get HNIC even if they don’t have cable (and who really doesn’t have cable anymore?).  They get tons of hockey exposure, top of the sports news in every paper, every radio station, every TV news broadcast.  They DON’T get that ANYWHERE in the USA.  They can build popularity in Canada - right now, they can’t in the USA.

At the height of popularity of hockey in the USA, (probably coinciding with the Rangers winning the Cup in ‘94), there was momentum.  There was the jealousy factor - there were good clubs in major northern USA cities - New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Detroit, Boston.  Other cities in the USA wanted into that club, because it was fun.  Now, it ain’t fun.  The big cities’s teams all suck (with the possible exceptions of NY/NJ where one team has sucked for years until this year and the other has played the most boring style of hockey humanly possible for 10 years or more) .  Those markets need re-strengthening, and people in the USA need to see people LOVING hockey before that jealousy will return.  They won’t see it when the odd game that makes it to television features a 3/4 empty coliseum in Tampa or Nashville or Atlanta. They will see it when they see a Canadian dome, packed to the rafters every night, screaming their fool heads off.

But back to Toronto.  Does Maple Leaf Sports And Entertainment not see that competition incites rivalry, excitement, and drives ticket sales?  If they are the only game in town, who cares… but if there is a team down the road that are “evil” - that are the hated “other”… how much more money would you make?  How popular would Edmonton or Calgary be in Alberta if they weren’t BOTH there to fight with?

Just my thoughts.

Does my but look big?

Do you believe in moral absolutes? Are you a fan of the categorical imperative? Ya know:

THOU SHALT NOT…

I realize that our commenters seem to have different moral absolutes from our posters, so I’m not asking you to support traditional marriage, capital punishment, the Dewey Decimal System, or driver’s side airbags. I’m simply asking if you are a complete moral relativist in all aspects of your personal, social and civic life and, if so, whether you think this is odd. So, to give an example:

Suppose you believe in gay marriage, Kyoto, the Green Party and Fair Trade coffee from Starbucks. I assume that although you get a mite twitchy at the Ten Commandments you would draw the line at people who discriminate against others based upon race, creed or color:

Thou shalt not discriminate against people because of….

Feel free to load up the comments and view it as a bit of a straw poll. The question is:

“Do you believe in the existence of moral absolutes? Moral absolutes that are always everywhere true without exception, no ifs, ands, or buts.”

Have fun.

Sincerely,

M. Facino

(rhymes with Cappucino)

Kieran King, Pt. 2

Don’t you hate when Colby Cosh comments on a subject about which you’ve already said something? He always makes it look so easy:

What fascinates me about the case of Kieran King, the Saskatchewan high school student who was threatened, punished and slandered by various officials over the past three weeks for talking with some pals about the health effects of marijuana, is that it explodes almost every single utopian cliche about public schools that has been ever propounded by their employees and admirers. It’s almost glorious, in a way. Ever heard an educator say “We’re not here to teach students what to think — we’re here to teach them how to think”? BLAMMO! “We encourage children to make learning a lifelong process.” KAPOW! Poor Kieran didn’t even make it to age 16 before someone called the cops.

Kieran King Update

According to today’s Globe and Mail, legal action may now be taken on behalf of Kieran King, the fifteen year old student who was suspended by his principal Susan Wilson — an ill-informed, bullying autocrat — for asking questions and offering information about the effects of marijuana relative to tobacco and alcohol:

A video recording of a free-speech protest at a Saskatchewan high school shows a school superintendent saying publicly that 15-year-old Kieran King had been accused of selling drugs at his school, even though his mother says he had never been investigated or charged, or even spoken to by the school principal.

Kieran’s mother, Jo Anne Euler, says the drug-selling accusation is false, but hasn’t yet decided whether to pursue legal action. Her first priority is to appeal the school’s decision to prevent Kieran from writing his final exams, which means his grades will fall from the high 80s to the mid-50s.

I hope she does sue, because I would like Susan Wilson — a narrow-minded, cold-hearted power-junkie — to think twice before slapping down the next inquisitive student that crosses her path. I’m just not really sure how good her chances would be.

In the U.S., under the Tinker standard, I think Kieran would have a strong case. Anyone know what the state of educational free speech case law is in Canada?

CTV.ca - Bias Much?

What the heck is this? (hat tip to Kerplonka)

Harper, helped in no small part by the overwhelming support of Conservative-leaning respondents, was the preferred choice in four of five activities.

So, what are you suggesting - that somehow Conservative supporters got wind of this poll and somehow finagled their way into the survey to make Harper look good?

The survey of more than 1,000 respondents was conducted May 31 to June 4 and is considered accurate to within plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times in 20.

Sounds to me like your average, ordinary phone survey. There is only one defence I can think of for this statement - that it is literally true, and by implication, suggests that Conservative supporters ALWAYS chose Harper because they like him, whilst Liberal supporters were more fair and balanced and considered each on merits.

Alternatively, they could have just meant that”Conservative-leaning respondents” are by definition, not ordinary Canadians, like the rest of the survey respondents were.

Stop Complimenting Your Kids

If you’re a parent, read this. Right now.

Michael Moore: Sicko Reviewed

Kyle Smith:

The silliness of Moore’s oeuvre is so self-evident that being able to spot it is not liberal or conservative, either; it’s a basic intelligence test, like the ability to match square peg with square hole.

Smith gets at the fundamental dishonesty of Moore’s approach. Moore knows he’s a polarizing figure. By tackling the American health insurance nightmare, he is doing nothing more than ensuring that the 50% of Americans who hate  his guts will harden their resolve against public health care.

MICHAEL Moore’s latest documentary, “Sicko,” is an urgent bipartisan plea. Liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, Yankees and Red Sox can surely all agree, says Moore, that our health-care system ought to be run by Fidel Castro.

Hillary Can Keep Her…

A quick note tonight that Hillary Clinton has selected a song from Celine Dion to use as her campaign’s theme. The cosmic harmony in this decision is unbound…

The Prius: The Destroyer of the Environment?

A neato study was done comparing the total environmental impact of a Toyota Prius hybrid over its expected lifespan (100 000 miles) as compared to its arch-nemesis, the Hummer over its expected lifespan (300 000 miles).   Guess which one came out on top?

Hat tip via.

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