Peeve Farm

g r o t t o 1 1

Peeve Farm
Breeding peeves for show, not just to keep as pets

  Blog \Blôg\, n. [Jrg, fr. Jrg. "Web-log".
     See {Blogger, BlogSpot, LiveJournal}.]
     A stream-of-consciousness Web journal, containing
     links, commentary, and pointless drivel.

On My Blog Menu:

InstaPundit
USS Clueless
James Lileks
Little Green Footballs
As the Apple Turns
Entropicana
Cold Fury
Capitalist Lion
Red Letter Day
Eric S. Raymond
Tal G in Jerusalem
Secular Islam
Aziz Poonawalla
Corsair the Rational Pirate
.clue

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10/6/2003 -  10/8/2003
9/29/2003 -  10/5/2003
9/22/2003 -  9/28/2003
9/15/2003 -  9/21/2003
  9/8/2003 -  9/14/2003
  9/1/2003 -   9/7/2003
8/25/2003 -  8/31/2003
8/18/2003 -  8/24/2003
8/11/2003 -  8/17/2003
  8/4/2003 -  8/10/2003
7/28/2003 -   8/3/2003
7/21/2003 -  7/27/2003
7/14/2003 -  7/20/2003
  7/7/2003 -  7/13/2003
6/30/2003 -   7/6/2003
6/23/2003 -  6/29/2003
6/16/2003 -  6/22/2003
  6/9/2003 -  6/15/2003
  6/2/2003 -   6/8/2003
5/26/2003 -   6/1/2003
5/19/2003 -  5/25/2003
5/12/2003 -  5/18/2003
  5/5/2003 -  5/11/2003
4/28/2003 -   5/4/2003
4/21/2003 -  4/27/2003
4/14/2003 -  4/20/2003
  4/7/2003 -  4/13/2003
3/31/2003 -   4/6/2003
3/24/2003 -  3/30/2003
3/17/2003 -  3/23/2003
3/10/2003 -  3/16/2003
  3/3/2003 -   3/9/2003
2/24/2003 -   3/2/2003
2/17/2003 -  2/23/2003
2/10/2003 -  2/16/2003
  2/3/2003 -   2/9/2003
1/27/2003 -   2/2/2003
1/20/2003 -  1/26/2003
1/13/2003 -  1/19/2003
  1/6/2003 -  1/12/2003
12/30/2002 -   1/5/2003
12/23/2002 - 12/29/2002
12/16/2002 - 12/22/2002
12/9/2002 - 12/15/2002
12/2/2002 -  12/8/2002
11/25/2002 -  12/1/2002
11/18/2002 - 11/24/2002
11/11/2002 - 11/17/2002
11/4/2002 - 11/10/2002
10/28/2002 -  11/3/2002
10/21/2002 - 10/27/2002
10/14/2002 - 10/20/2002
10/7/2002 - 10/13/2002
9/30/2002 -  10/6/2002
9/23/2002 -  9/29/2002
9/16/2002 -  9/22/2002
  9/9/2002 -  9/15/2002
  9/2/2002 -   9/8/2002
8/26/2002 -   9/1/2002
8/19/2002 -  8/25/2002
8/12/2002 -  8/18/2002
  8/5/2002 -  8/11/2002
7/29/2002 -   8/4/2002
7/22/2002 -  7/28/2002
7/15/2002 -  7/21/2002
  7/8/2002 -  7/14/2002
  7/1/2002 -   7/7/2002
6/24/2002 -  6/30/2002
6/17/2002 -  6/23/2002
6/10/2002 -  6/16/2002
  6/3/2002 -   6/9/2002
5/27/2002 -   6/2/2002
5/20/2002 -  5/26/2002
5/13/2002 -  5/19/2002
  5/6/2002 -  5/12/2002
4/29/2002 -   5/5/2002
4/22/2002 -  4/28/2002
4/15/2002 -  4/21/2002
  4/8/2002 -  4/14/2002
  4/1/2002 -   4/7/2002
3/25/2002 -  3/31/2002
3/18/2002 -  3/24/2002
3/11/2002 -  3/17/2002
  3/4/2002 -  3/10/2002
2/25/2002 -   3/3/2002
2/18/2002 -  2/24/2002
2/11/2002 -  2/17/2002
  2/4/2002 -  2/10/2002
1/28/2002 -   2/3/2002
1/21/2002 -  1/27/2002
1/14/2002 -  1/20/2002
  1/7/2002 -  1/13/2002
12/31/2001 -   1/6/2002
12/24/2001 - 12/30/2001
12/17/2001 - 12/23/2001

Tuesday, August 26, 2003
01:52 - You Go, National Post	(top)
In the Toronto airport while waiting for my flight, I saw that the one newspaper that was for sale on racks outside all the newsstands and snack bars was The National Post. Having some three hours to kill (which became four upon AA's learning of Chicago, my layover, having some kind of Weather Event which meant they had to meter all the flights very carefully in and out and-- rather unfairly I think-- give the summer thunderstorms the right of way, rather like giant Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade floats), I picked one up and started reading. I found myself quite pleasantly surprised. I don't know if the NP is known for being flamingly right-wing or what, but its tone regarding the US was genuinely positive throughout. Sure, it had its criticisms of various pieces of happenstance like corporate malfeasance and Cheney blocking document probes and questions over Liberia and whatnot, but I couldn't find anything that directly criticized us in the way to which I've become accustomed lately. No weird-ass swipes at Bush. No taken-as-given moaning about our genocide in Iraq. The front page, in fact, had a small but very heartfelt story on 9/11 memorial plans for Canadian victims of the WTC. And the other main headline was a kooky story about Camp Julien, the Canadian encampment in Afghanistan, and the camel spiders and scorpions that the officers there are keeping in jars after scooping them off hapless soldiers' boots. And the editorial page-- ohh, the editorial page. I thought I was drinking from a font of pure silvery water. People I was astonished-- happily-- to hear from. People with a real and studied understanding of American politics. People with common sense. Just look-- here are four of the columns clustered on one of the pages, handily online: Thou shalt not challenge secularism, in which Hugo Gurdon explains that regardless of whether George W. Bush's openly expressed Christianity gives people in enlightened athestic nations the willies, the US is brazenly secular and has been so-- and irreversibly-- since about 1960. I pointed out to a friend over dinner in downtown Toronto last night that whenever anyone says the US is in danger of becoming a theocracy, I reply that they ought to look at 1919, in which temperance committees managed to convince two-thirds of the State legislatures that they should Constitutionally ban alcohol on moral and religious grounds. Today ain't no comparison. But Gurdon makes an even clearer point: the First Amendment doesn't say that the US shall be a secular nation. It says that the Federal government shall make no law respecting religion at all-- either pro or con. It's a matter for the States. I wish more people would realize that these kinds of things go State first, Federal second-- and the President's word is not law. Besides, while it was all satisfying and stuff to posit that Christianity was inherently evil and espoused hatred as its primary tenet, like back in high school, I find that I'm much more comforted nowadays by someone who knows that not to be the case than by someone who still toes that tired old line. Iraq is not a place for 'blue helmets', in which Frank Gaffney, Jr. blasts the UN's butting in where it isn't wanted-- by either Americans or Iraqis. Parallels (and deconstructions thereof) to the Bosnia-Herzegovina situation, and incredulity that we'd consider turning over our plans for the country to a body that has Syria as a sitting Security Council member and Libya as the Human Rights chair. My months of silence are over-- Daniel Pipes breaks NDA and speaks his mind about the charges that have been laid at his feet by people insistent upon proving his racist and genocidal motivations. Finally, now that Bush has given him the go-ahead for the USIP appointment, Pipes can start methodically demolishing those claims. About time. Begone, Big Brother. Your camera, too-- Lorne Gunter denounces traffic surveillance cameras, providing delicious stories of how they don't even work. The language is one of "freedoms" and "social contracts" and what happens when the two are at odds. It's not often that I find myself reading an entire print newspaper. But I had the time, and after reading a few sheets, the inclination as well. I'm immensely gratified to find that there's a large-circulation paper in Canada that's willing to take upon itself this kind of stance. I daresay it ain't a popular one.