Media Bias: Quit Blaming the Candidate, its the Media’s Fault!

The mainstream media in general is biased towards Obama and the Democrats - if you don’t believe that, your head is firmly in the sand.  Almost every media outlet I’ve encountered is indirectly (and in some cases, directly) fawning over Obama (and to a lesser extent, Biden) while at the same time gunning for John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin.

Columnist Michael Malone agrees, and tries her best to explain why:

If the current polls are correct, we are about to elect as president of the United States a man who is essentially a cipher, who has left almost no paper trail, seems to have few friends (that at least will talk) and has entire years missing out of his biography.

That isn’t Sen. Obama’s fault: His job is to put his best face forward. No, it is the traditional media’s fault, for it alone (unlike the alternative media) has had the resources to cover this story properly, and has systematically refused to do so.

Why, for example to quote the lawyer for Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., haven’t we seen an interview with Sen. Obama’s grad school drug dealer — when we know all about Mrs. McCain’s addiction? Are Bill Ayers and Tony Rezko that hard to interview? All those phony voter registrations that hard to scrutinize? And why are Sen. Biden’s endless gaffes almost always covered up, or rationalized, by the traditional media?

Palin “Eyeing” A Presidential Bid Next Time Around

If this doesn’t scare you, nothing will. Some excerpts:

[S]he is presenting herself to the public with an eye to her own long-term political career and a possible presidential bid in four years.

An unnamed source told CNN that “she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party.”

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Disproportional Representation vs Proportional Lackthereof

Every election, you get those people who come out against the first past the post system, arguing that proportional representation would be more fair. The National Post had an interesting piece on it, and I actually agree with what they said. However, they missed the biggest problem with PR.

In a PR system, there is no individual accountability for MPs. They have no particular jurisdiction they are responsible for that has the power to vote them out if they fail to represent them. People like our old friends Garth Turner and Belinda Stronach could switch parties without any repercussion.

In my Canada, MPs represent the public interest, not the political.

Cabinet Building: Potential Picks for Conservative Cabinet

As the dust from the election starts to settle, attention is turning more and more to the question of Harper’s cabinet. Who fills which position? Who lost his chance in the last term? Who’s getting a first chance this time around? A second chance?

Finance: Jim Flaherty
Industry: Maxime Bernier
International Trade: Lawrence Cannon
Foreign Affairs: Jim Prentice
Defence:Peter Mackay
Environment: John Baird

The only real changes there are Bernier to industry, and Cannon to International Trade. Both have held these portfolios before, either federally or provincially, and both deserve to hold them now. Bernier was given a huge mandate by his constituency, and it looks like all has been forgiven.

Ambrose, Van Loan, Strahl, Ritz, Ablonczy, Finley and Day will all be picking up more minor roles in the cabinet.

I’m Feeling Left Out

With all of the brouhaha regarding the Liberal leadership convention this May, I’ve began to wonder why the Conservatives can’t ponder some of the same questions. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those people who expects Harper to resign in dismay at only winning a minority, in part because I never thought he planned on one.

Still, it could be fun, right?

The natural suggestion is Peter MacKay. He’s not from the West, he’s popular, he’s moderate, and seems pretty charismatic. I’d say he has a shot in any hypothetical leadership decision.

As sad as it is, Jason Kenney seems to be in a perpetual state of denial, which includes him thinking he can be Prime Minister someday. I’m afraid that’s not happening.

Due to Canada’s tradition of a strong federal Liberal party and a strong provincial Conservative party, I’d wager a guess that there is a great chance that a former Premier might take a run at the leadership. Not Klein, but someone.

Thoughts?

Liberals Claim To Have Grown a Pair, News At Eleven.

According to this article on Dion’s first caucus after seeing his party crash the Hindenburg into the Titanic and set the entire Atlantic on fire, the Liberals plan to stand up to Harper in the House. No more abstaining for these guys, no sir.

I call shenanigans. In this situation, they really only have two choices. Either a) Abstain in critical votes and preserve the minority, or b) vote against the government and plunge the nation into ANOTHER election.

Which would you choose, if you had just come out of your worst general election, ever?

Canadian Lenders Assurance Facility — more bank bailouts?

This Canadian Lenders Assurance Facility sounds like one more bailout in disguise. The government is backing loans that nobody else will insure. How is that possible? It is possible because the government can print money and extort taxes.

If what the minister says is true, why are we not seeing insurance companies from “around the world” taking on the risk of these insured mortgages which “provide a reliable backstop for Canadian mortgage-backed securities, which are well accepted around the world” instead of the government? The truth is that these securities are only accepted because the people around the world expect the government will bail them out — at any cost, I might add — when they fail. I say let them fail. The more bitter truth is that the insurance companies and the banks do not have any money to do so even if they wanted to — their money depends on constant inflation of the money supply.

This temporary program will be offered to lenders on commercial terms so there is no expected fiscal cost.

Why is he calling it temporary? It makes no sense to call this temporary when the mechanism and the reliability of these markets hinges on bailouts.
No expected fiscal cost? Yeah, the money will fall from the sky!

Many countries have recently announced new and comprehensive policy initiatives to restore or protect the stability of their financial systems. “I welcome the decisive and far-reaching actions that many countries are taking, which will provide critical support to financial stability,” said Minister Flaherty.

I beg your pardon, Mr. Minister? Countries around the world are just printing money, nationalizing their banks and now you are doing the same.

Ladies and gentleman, friends and neighbors, get ready to enjoy more socialism and price inflation in Canada.

Michael Schmidt, raw milk producer, is a hero

Michael Schmidt is my kind of hero:

For 14 years Schmidt, who grew up in Germany, has struggled for the right to sell unpasteurized milk, forbidden under the Milk Act.
Michael Schmidt was found guilty Monday of contempt-of-court charges for breaching a court order requiring him to stop his unpasteurized milk operations in and around Newmarket, Ont.
—
At present, he says 150 families each own a share in one of his 30 cattle, who graze on pasture in Grey County about 200 kilometres northwest of Toronto.

The shares allow each family to a share of a cow’s milk production.

Like other government dependent producers, these people are the villains:

If selling raw milk were legal, it would in short order become a big business. The Ontario government, knowing the statistical risks of raw-milk distribution, would be legally and morally responsible for ensuring that no one got sick as a result.

Stop demanding that the government is responsible for everybody’s welfare!

I do not trust that these cronies actually give a damn about preventing people from getting sick. I think they only care about protecting their own market from competition. They want to eliminate competitive suppliers by making it more expensive to operate. If it becomes a big business — an absurdly debatable assertion — that would mean that a lot of customers would want it and they would prefer it over the other choices.

Check out Where Can I Find Real Milk? if you want to get your own.

Man acquitted of luring because deceiving teen girl pretended to be older

An under-age girl publishes that she is 16 years old to engage older men into sex and then a man is charged with luring. What is wrong with this picture?? I think many things are wrong. One of them is the prospect of the man being convicted. Luckily for one Calgary man, he was acquitted in such a sordid story. Oddly, the girl’s mother seems to be having trouble facing reality:

The girl’s mother was upset by Wednesday’s ruling, saying she believes the onus was on Armstrong to determine the girl’s age.

“My daughter’s life has been changed because of this,” she said. “We don’t have our little girl any more. She has problems with her peers and she has problems making friends.”

Lady, where have you been? Clearly, you do not know your daughter. [It would make more sense to blame rock and roll like they used to do!] Whatever “changed” your little girl happened long before this trial and likely long before she sent naked pictures of herself to older men on the internet.

Call me a knuckle-dragger if you want but I have to ask: What does her father have to say about all of this??? Can we get a quote from him too? I think this girl is a victim of bad parenting. Compared to her peers, the main difference in this kid’s environment is her home.

Gordon Campbell plans his own “Green Shift” in British Columbia

Tax cuts accompanying taxes on fuel sound like Gordon Campbell is going to successfully implement a small scale “Green Shift” in British Columbia.

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