Klaus Rohrich

Moral cowardice writ large

It’s often said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. But what can one say about those who purposefully refuse to learn history’s lessons, as is the case with the City of Toronto’s ban on portions of a traveling Holocaust exhibit that points out the similarities between the things said by Adolf Hitler and those said by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinajad? Probably the kindest thing one could say about Toronto City Council is that they have lost their moral compass in their wish to curtail “inflammatory” situations.

Mohamed Elmasry wants you to shut up

Mohamed Elmasry, president of the Canadian Islamic Congress (CIC) and famous for declaring all Jews over the age of 18 in Israel fair targets in the Arabs’ struggle to annihilate that country, thinks the decision by the Canadian Human Rights Commission to dismiss claims against McLean’s Magazine and columnist Mark Steyn is wrong. Elmasry claims that “hate speech” creates a dynamic that silences disadvantaged groups and individuals and keeps them from participating in civil discourse.

Heather Mallick has a right to her opinions

There’s really no debate over whether Heather Mallick is a toxic cesspool of ill-concealed rage and ill-conceived ideas. Her vitriol is ever more shrill and ever less reasoned and it’s a safe bet to assume that the best parts of her career can dimly be viewed in the rear-view mirror, while her road forward gets ever narrower and more constrained.

A manufactured crisis

So, Lehman Brothers is toast and Merrill Lynch has been gobbled up by Bank of America, the stock market is in free fall and there is no small amount of hand wringing and navel gazing. The lessons of Economics 101 seem to have been lost on those Masters of the Universe whose economic Léger de main has brought us to this place and the finger pointing among politicians is rampant.

The politics of boredom

Countless times over the past week Canadian pundits have lamented the lack of zip in our current federal election. If only the Canadian election could be as interesting and exciting as the current contest between Barack Obama and John McCain, covering the race might be more fun.

Toronto shooting will affect election campaign

The latest series of shootings in Toronto will surely affect the federal election campaign, as candidates attempting to garner favour among urban voters will renew calls for tougher gun laws and the outright banning of handguns. While vilifying concealable weapons makes for good political theatre, it will do very little toward solving the problem of gun crimes within out cities.

Shifty promises

Given the state of my maturity, I can safely say that I have been witness to many elections in Canada. However, I’ve never seen an election where a candidate for prime minister promises the country that he will have them paying more. . .for everything. That’s exactly what Stephane Dion with his much ballyhooed “Green Shift” is promising Canadians.

The world’s priciest trailer park

Watching the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, one is tempted to venture a comparison with the alien bar from the first Star Wars Movie. Except that would be an insult to aliens. So let’s just say that the freak show in Denver is more akin to a trailer park, except those attending are slightly more, um eccentric.

Between a rock and a hard place

Poor Hillary. Poor Obama. Poor Democrats. The one thing they have in common is that they are caught on the horns of a dilemma when it comes to Obama’s choice of running mate. I can’t imagine that Hillary would accept the position, given that she would then likely have to wait another eight years before she gets another shot at the Big Prize. In 2016 she will be 69 years old and for her a run for the presidency would be an uphill battle all the way. The only circumstances under which I can see Mrs. Clinton accepting the spot as number two would be if she had some prior knowledge that Barack Obama would not live to finish his first term.

The end of climate change hysteria

Russia’s invasion of Georgia last week is another nail in the coffin of climate change hysteria, as concerns for a stable world supply of energy are beginning to overshadow those of the earth’s changing climate. The European Union (EU) had counted on pipelines bringing a steady supply of oil and natural gas through Georgia, an attitude that the Russian invasion of that country quickly negated, leaving the hapless Europeans to look for steady, secure energy elsewhere.

In praise of collectivism

If anyone’s interested in what the New York Times considers a “conservative” columnist, reading the latest column by David Brooks will convey a fairly good overview. In his August 11 Times column, Brooks wrote gushingly about how China as a collectivist culture could teach the west, with its rugged individualism, a thing or two about making society work harmoniously.

Ralph Nader brings his campaign to Canada

Ralph Nader, the loonie left’s perennial presidential candidate, brought his presidential campaign to Canada this week. But then, chances are he’ll do a lot better running for president in Canada than he’ll do in the US, as his ideas for fixing what ails the US are more in line with the way Canadians tend to see things.

Ralph Nader brings his campaign to Canada

Ralph Nader, the loonie left’s perennial presidential candidate, brought his presidential campaign to Canada this week. But then, chances are he’ll do a lot better running for president in Canada than he’ll do in the US, as his ideas for fixing what ails the US are more in line with the way Canadians tend to see things.

...and they called it ‘puppy love’

The former mainstream media’s enchantment with Barack Obama can only be described as puppy love, that desperate, deeply hormonal, urgent, irrational feeling made famous by Paul Anka and legitimized by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews who felt a “tingle running up his leg” when he heard Obama speak. David Brooks, the New York Times’ alleged token conservative has even lauded Obama for his flip-flops. In a June 20th op-ed column penned by Brooks, he praised Obama for being an opportunist.

Media ignores national defense

Yesterday I had the honor to be present at a luncheon that featured a speech by CanWest Global’s Matthew Fisher, one of Canada’s few real war correspondents. Fisher talked about the paucity of resources the Canadian Media has committed to military matters. His point was that as a nation we know precious little about a war to which we have committed our best and brightest.

Disingenuous debates

Recently Canada Free Press received an email from a reader who wondered why we had heretics such as Dr. Tim Ball writing about global warming when the whole argument was settled. In fact, the letter went on to say that:

It’s time to bury Dudley George

The current brouhaha over the non-scandal involving OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino breaking up a roadblock is a textbook example of how Canada’s loonie leftists will tie themselves into pretzels in efforts to vilify the cops and side with one of the nation’s sacred aggrieved. The alleged “breach of the law” that, according to the likes of John Sewell, Fantino is guilty of involves some wiretaps that took place during last summer’s “day of protest” at the Deseronto Mohawk Reserve.

Welcome back Khadr

Canadians are the worst wooses on the planet. The amount of sympathetic wailing and hand wringing the citizens of this country are demonstrating over this “child soldier” is a clear indication that very few people in this country seem to know which side is up.

Democrats more dysfunctional than ever

Barack Obama’s people have said that Hillary Clinton will probably not be the Democratic vice presidential candidate because of her husband, Bill’s past. In explaining why the former First Lady will likely not be on the ticket, an Obama spokesman said that vice-presidential candidates must be “fully vetted”.

The gang that can’t shoot straight

How the mighty have fallen! I can barely believe that the current Liberal Party of Canada is the same Liberal Party that fielded the likes of Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chretien. Not that I ever agreed with anything they stood for, but you had to hand it to them; they knew how to gain and wield power.