This is an American who speaks for me

Coulter represents ‘darkest side’ of American character, says Kennedy
(Kennedy-Speech)
Source: The Canadian Press
Mar 25, 2010 5:52

LONDON, Ont. _ American politician Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the U.S. has spent decades lost on a dark path that Canadians are in danger of following.

But he told an audience in London, Ont., Wednesday there’s hope for both countries if they end their reliance on information and energy from the large corporations threatening to take power from government.

Kennedy spoke at the University of Western Ontario three days after far-right pundit Ann Coulter spoke there as well.

He drew applause when he said “Ann Coulter really represents the darkest side of American character.”

Kennedy said Coulter and others in the far right don’t understand that without government, the country would be run by “unrestrained corporate power.”

That corporate power, he said, has made a mess of the economy and environment by converting natural resource into cash as quickly as possible. (London Free Press)

INDEX: NATIONAL POLITICS

(Full disclosure.)


Coulter cabal*: “Utter disorganization”

Hmm. A somewhat different take on the Venomous, Vile Vituperator’s Visit©* to Ottawa:

CTV’s Daniele Hamamdjian said “a combination of overcapacity and utter disorganization” contributed to the collapse of the event.

Prior to the cancellation, Hamamdjian said only a small number of students were tasked with verifying the names of the people who had signed up to attend Coulter’s talk.

“It was a disaster in terms of just organization, which is probably one of the reasons why it was cancelled,” Hamamdjian told CTV News Channel from Ottawa on Wednesday morning.

Police eventually showed up to the scene and blocked the door to the building, but Hamamdjian said she doubted whether the combination of protesters and disorganization actually constituted “a physical risk to Ann Coulter.”

(*I love alliterations. Guilty as charged.)

O’MALLEY-GRAM: The plot thickens. And, perhaps, sickens. Anyone ever see Bob Roberts?


On this morning’s drive

Driving my youngest and oldest to school.

Youngest: “Daddy, can I get the new Nerf gun?”

Me: “Maybe. What’s new about it, buddy?”

Him: “Daddy. [Sober voice.] It has a flashlight on it. It’s not just an ordinary Nerf gun.”

[Suppressed laughter by me and daughter. He pauses.]

Him: “Daddy.”

Me: “Yes, buddy?”

Him: “Can I be home schooled?”

[More suppressed laughter.]

Me: “Hmmm. How would that work, buddy?”

Him: “I could just stay home and watch lots of educational TV.”

Me: “Well, that’s an interesting idea. We’ll have to think about that, buddy.”


Ann Coulter: Jews, perfect yourself

I haven’t been much interested in getting involved in the predictable debate about this bilious harridan because, well, it’s all so predictable. (Threatening her with the Criminal Code, as a University of Ottawa appartatchik did, is really dumb, by the way.  It diminishes the legal significance of real expressions of hate, things like promoting genocide.)

Anyway. I’ve noticed a few commentators – many Jewish – who have defended her, her rights, blah blah blah. In my opinion, these commentators should eyeball this YouTube clip, below; it’s quite revealing. As I tell my Jewish friends all the time: evangelical types don’t profess to support Israel, and Jews, because they respect your beliefs. They do those things because they want to get close enough to you to convert you to Christianity.  It’s Scripturally-ordained, even.

Check it out:


Mark Linkous, R.I.P.

A fortnight after the fact, while in NYC this week, I heard that Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse had killed himself. He shot himself in the heart on March 6, near a friend’s house.

Linkous’ music was arresting, and shambolic, and attracted the attention of everyone from Tom Waits to Iggy Pop. He struggled with drugs and mental illness for most of his life.

Here’s one of Mark’s better-known tunes, ‘Someday I Will Treat You Good.’ Sleep well.


W@AL: The search for Mrs. Bart continues

Remember Bart?  Canada’s best-loved political fish?  Of course you do.  And you miss him, don’t you? I sure do.

My kids are in Jamaica for Spring Break – which, naturally, got me thinking about Bart.  Here, then, is one from the archives.  Maybe my kids have found her by now!


Kraft Dinner: the crucial question

As we sit here in a blecchy airport in New Jersey, reflecting on life, it occurs to me that the biggest response a wk.com posting received, in recent years, was about Kraft Dinner.

I ate a lot of it in university; I still do, given that I am completely incapable of (a) cooking and (b) learning how to cook. Besides, one box neatly satisfies one single and solitary person, which I decidedly am.

Anyway. Recently, a young fellow I know in Wales asked me about Kraft Dinner. “Still prefer butter over milk?” he queried.

Yes, I replied. Yes, yes, I do. Of course.

Being a person who is (sort of) interested in the opinions of complete strangers, I decided to extend my Welsh inquisitor’s inquisition to you, Dear Reader. I’m that kind of guy. I’m open to other points of view. (Sort of.)

So, then: when you make KD, do you use lots of butter, like I and other smart people do? Or do you – yuck! – use milk instead?

Comment now, comment often!