Limousine liberals.
I don’t know who first coined the term but it’s a good one. Who qualifies?
Al Gore is one (http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/01/05/rex-murphy-al-gore-friend-of-the-petro-state/). So is Eva Langoria (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2255187/Eva-Longoria-jets-Bahamas-New-Year-famous-friends.html).
What’s wrong with their profligate ways? Hypocrisy. Hypocrisy will get you every time.
We’re all guilty of it, of course. Say one thing, do another. And I think that’s OK, some times. Chalk it up to the human condition. But we should also learn from our sins, at least some of the time. So here’s the ultimate disconnect: you can’t be a millionaire and espouse socialist politics (listening, Harry Belafonte?), and you can’t be an environmentalist and live a lifestyle of the rich and famous (http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/national_world&id=5072659
and http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/may/24/will-i-am-climate-debate
).
By the way, liberal isn’t a swear word in my book, but nanny-statism, high taxes and corruption are.
The last paragraph is the most important one: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/01/04/matt-gurney-after-two-years-judge-acquits-man-who-defended-himself-with-a-gun/
I know, I know, this is a bad time to be saying anything positive about the positive role guns can play in a civilized society (for the record, I’m against armed teachers south of the border but think armed guards might be a good idea). I don’t feel like touching the issue of concealed carry, or “military-grade” firearms. My quick opinion – don’t hold me to it – is that the level of restrictions we have on firearms in Canada is good…except for the apparent zeal prosecutors had for making Ian Thomson pay for having the temerity to defend his own life and property with lawfully owned guns.
Canadian laws do a poor job of protecting private property. That should be fixed. Bottom line, someone comes on your property and starts throwing Molotov cocktails at your home, you should have the right to fire guns at them. Once investigators have confirmed the attack was real, that should be the end of the story.
Another Lancaster will take to the air: http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/01/06/tribute-to-a-lost-brother-fully-restored-bomber-to-be-one-of-three-lancasters-still-flying-in-the-world/
This is probably only of interest to WW2 buffs and fliers. This caught my attention this morning because I was fortunate enough to be at the Kingston Airport in Ontario when Canada’s lone airborne Lancaster did a fly-in (the event was arranged by a buddy of mine). It was a rather dramatic landing actually, because the pilot managed to scrape the tail landing. It was still very cool to see in the air and up close, though.
Confession: I’ve been a skeptic of the massive attention paid to bullying, as well as some of the more “progressive” developments in our schools, such as “circle” discussions to fix problems. While I still think refusing to fail students is a very bad idea, I’ve come around to the opinion that curbing bullying and the use of restorative justice in schools - http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/01/04/detention-is-over-schools-increasingly-substituting-discussion-for-by-the-book-discipline/ - has the potential to dramatically change kids’ lives and even our culture for the better.
This isn’t me giving carte blanche approval to such practices, of course, nor am I saying bullying hasn’t become a media darling – it has – but intelligent attempts to change the way young people resolve conflict are a positive step.
You may have noticed my habit of linking to the National Post. It’s a good paper.
.jpg){kind=small}
