CRTC and Internet Regulation
I’m not sure how I missed this gem.
I read this article while shaking my head in amazement, truly wondering what planet these people live on.
Old and new media? Guys. Seriously. There’s no such thing. It’s media – get over it.
If one could regulate Canadian content on the Internet, what would this accomplish? Assuming you could think of something (and I cannot think of what it might be), the question now becomes “how?”.
Do we tax the Internet, and build a big fund to produce content? Why? There’s already a massive amount of Canadian content being created on the Internet. This blog entry is Canadian content. Are you going to send me a cheque?
Are you going to restrict which Twitter feeds or YouTube channels Canadians can view?
I’m sorry, I just don’t get it. I don’t think these people have thought through what they are asking. The Internet is a global network. Canadians are connected to it and prospering from it. Canadian firms make buckets of money selling to a global audience. They’re not fancy Film Board production companies with lots of pointy heads and round glasses, perhaps, but they are Canadian nonetheless, and are doing just fine thank you very much.
So what’s the problem? Some in the so-called “old” media (read: “establishment” media) are losing audience share. Well, duh. That’s because they’ve been too stupid to get online quickly, too inward-looking to experiment with new business models, and too stunted to create content that people actually want to experience.
Anyway, these people obviously live in caves and have no idea what the hell goes on in the real world.
Idiots.
And the winner is … The liberal political agenda!
I really, really wanted Mickey Rourke to win Best Actor. Failing that, it was good to know that Brad Pitt would finally win one. Because everyone knew these were the two best movie actors this year. Well, everybody except “the Academy”, of course.
For anyone who reads my stuff regularly, you probably already know that I’m not some rabid anti-gay neanderthal. (Really, how could I be a neanderthal when the world is only 6000 years old? Whoa, kidding!)
(In my youth I was even been accused by some – in the media, no less – of being a “gay rights crusader”.)
While I didn’t support the gay marriage amendments here, I did support removing the word “marriage” from law (as some smarter countries have done). My logic went something like this: why enrage either side of a debate when you can enrage both. Well, hmmm… something like that.
Anyway.
On to the Oscars…
I haven’t seen Milk. I heard it was great, and I would like to see it. I saw The Wrestler, and Mickey Rourke was simply brilliant. I didn’t see Benjamin Button, but Brad Pitt is looooong overdue for an Oscar (c’mon Academy, it’s time to forgive him for A River Runs Through It).
But the fix is definitely in on Sean Penn. No, I don’t think there’s some Obama-Hollywood conspiracy orchestrated from the Oval Office – but I do think those Hollywood liberal elite have outdone themselves this time by choosing politics over their art.
When a clear toss-up between Mickey Rourke and Brad Pitt results in … “Sean Penn”.
I think this is sad. Not because it’s a movie about a gay man, but because two clearly better actors in what might be the greatest roles of their careers are snubbed.
And maybe Sean Penn’s performance was brilliant. But his little political speech at the end of the show certainly didn’t inspire me. Honestly, Sean, if I wanted politics, I would have changed the station to Fox News (or CNN if I was in Hollywood).
Shame on the Academy for another show of political grandstanding. I guess nobody should be surprised.
Anyway, I guess I best be off to see Slumdog Millionare.
The 6 Million Dollar Question!
So, did Prime Minister Stephen Harper get Barack Obama’s BlackBerry e-mail address?
That would be the real means test as to whether it was true love or political showmanship.
Happy 4th Birthday Conservatism.ca!
On February 14th, 2005 I posted my first ever blog entry on Conservatism.ca, created hastily in preparation for the Montreal convention. Remember that? Belinda and her crazy ice cubes, anyone?
I redirected the conservatism.ca domain name to a page on Blogger and just let loose.
Blogging had been around for a bit in 2005, but was still something of a mystery to most – including the mainstream media. While the MSM wasn’t decimated by this new reality (as so many haphazardly predicted), technology and the blogosphere certainly have changed their game.
I remember blogging on the train from Montreal to Toronto (offline, of course) after the convention, and thinking about how crazy the whole concept was. But it was incredibly fun, and still is.
Needless to say, there’s been a few changes since those days. I’m still having fun though. And I very much appreciate that 250 or so people visit each day to read, peruse, hex or otherwise chastise my insane rants.
Thank you, and let’s hope the next 4 years are at least half as exciting as the last!
Scary Unemployment Numbers
Welcome to the global recession, Canada.
A jump from 6.6% to 7.2% unemployment in one month. Here’s some scary ways to think about the data:
- Proportionally, about twice the rate of the United States’ job loss (suffice to say, they had alot of months before January which were proportionally worse than us).
- A little more than 1 out of every 125 working people in Canada lost their job just after Christmas, as the holiday credit card bills started arriving.
- It’s like if every man, woman and child in Guelph was working in December, then suddenly every single one of them got laid off in January.
- The largest one month decline on record (including the downturns in the 80s and 90s).
Most of the losses are in Ontario. Some in B.C. and Quebec (I live in Victoria and don’t know a single person who’s been laid off – I’m presuming most of our losses are happening in forestry and other resource industries, and some in tourism).
Anyway, it’s on. Stock fresh food and water. Warm blankets and sweaters. Buy that backup generator and make sure those propane tanks are full.
I’m no economist, but I do remember hearing a few years back that the “Business Cycle” is speeding up. This was caused by technological improvements and faster communications (now we can Twitter about the recession, after all). I’m just hoping that this also means that recessions are shorter than before. I remember one economist theorizing that business cycles could speed up so quickly in the future, that they could be weeks or days, rather than years.
It reminds me of that scene in The Fifth Element where Gary Oldman’s character (Zorg) lays off one million employees (including Bruce Willis) to slow down economic growth. But I digress.
Bye, Bye Conservative Pie …
CONSERVATIVE PIE
by Anonymous
A long, long time ago…
I can still remember
How that man used to make me smile.
And I knew he had his chance
Preston could make those people dance
And, maybe, they’d be happy for a while.
But February made me shiver
With every Macleans I’d deliver
Bad news on the doorstep;
I couldn’t take one more step.
I can’t remember if the tears were mine
When I read about, Budget 09’
But something touched me deep inside
The day, conservatism, died.
So bye-bye, right-wing guy.
Drove the platform to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And libertarians were drinkin’
Whiskey and rye
Singin’, this’ll be the day it all died.
This’ll be the day it all died.
Did you write the book on gov
And do you have faith in the market above,
If Friedman tells you so?
Do you believe in capital-ism,
Can you talk about it ad-nauseum,
And can you teach me how to spend real slow?
Well, I know that your in love with him
‘cause I heard you singin’ Trudeau’s hymn.
You both kicked off your shoes.
Man, Keynes can give me the blues!
I was a lonely teenage, ideologue
With a pinko teacher and a pickup truck,
But I knew I was out of luck
The day, conservatism died.
I started singin’
“Bye-bye right-wing guy.”
Drove my platform to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And so-cons were drinkin’
Whiskey and rye
Singin’, this’ll be the day it all died.
This’ll be the day it all died.
Now for 3 years we’ve been on our own
And pork grows fat on a rollin’ stone,
But that’s not how it was supposed to be.
When the jester sang for the king and queen,
In a coat he borrowed from Flaherty,
And a voice that came from you and me,
Oh, and while the king was looking down,
Dion tried to steal his thorny crown.
Parliament was adjourned;
No confidence was returned!
And while Layton read a book on Marx,
The Bloc practiced in the park,
And we sang dirges in the dark,
The day, conservatism, died.
We were singing
“Bye-bye right-wing guy.”
Drove my ideas to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And Reagan was drinkin’
Whiskey and rye
Singin’, this’ll be the day it all died.
This’ll be the day it all died.
Helter skelter in an Ottawa swelter.
Martin’s ships sailed from a tax shelter,
From Barbados and steamin’ fast.
It landed foul in an AG report,
The CPC tried in QP and court,
With Orchard on the sidelines in a,
pillow fort.
Now the convention air was sweet perfume
While the grassroots played a victory tune.
We all got up to dance,
Oh, but we never got the chance!
‘cause the Coalition tried to take the field;
The Government refused to yield.
Do you recall what was revealed.
The day, conservatism died?
We started singing,
“Bye-bye right-wing guy.”
Drove my dreams to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And Klein was drinkin’ (lots) of
Whiskey and rye
Singin’, this’ll be the day it all died.
This’ll be the day it all died.
Oh, and there we were in one place,
A generation of conservatives lost in space
With no time left to Reform again.
So come on: Jack be nimble,
Layton be quick!
Duceppe say on a candlestick
Cause the NDP is the Bloc’s only friend.
Oh, and as I watched in the House
My hands were cusped over my mouth.
No capitalist born in hell
Could break that socialist spell!
And as the red ink spilt over the Budget
I got the feelin’ we’d fudged it.
I saw Rae laughing with delight
The day, conservatism, died.
He was singing
“Bye-bye right-wing guy.”
Saw your plans at the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And Mike Harris was drinkin’
Whiskey and rye
Singin’, this’ll be the day it all died.
This’ll be the day it all died.
I knew a think-tank that spoke of Blue
And I asked it for some happy news,
But Fraser Institute just turned away.
I went to a Calgary store
Where I heard Preston speak years before,
But the MP there said with voters,
it wouldn’t play
And on payday: the taxpayers screamed,
The blues cried, and libertarians dreamed.
But not a word was spoken;
The movement now was broken.
And the three men I admire most;
Harris, Preston and Reagan’s ghost,
They caught the last train for the coast
The day, conservatism, died.
And they were singing,
“Bye-bye right-wing guy.”
Drove my vision to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And the Great Ones were drinkin’
Whiskey and rye
Singin’, this’ll be the day it all died.
This’ll be the day it all died.
And they were singing,
“Bye-bye right-wing guy.”
Drove my dreams to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And grassroots were drinkin’
Whiskey and rye
Singin’, this’ll be the day it all died.
For those who remember Belinda’s rant about baking a bigger economic pie, this is completely unrelated.
It was apparently inspired by the good folks at Macleans Magazine (people like my newest FaceBook friend, Andrew Coyne).
This is an anonymous poem. Although it is very humourous and witty (like me), I did not write it. (As much as I’d love to take credit.)
Network
