7.26.2005

canadian wingnut

Who says wingnuts don't grow on maple trees? I must thank AndyM at funcentral. Without Andy, I never would have found Richard Evans, Canadian Wacko. I thought this was a parody. But no, the guy is just a parody of himself. Richard baby, I'm a'comin' to ruin your country!!! Mwaaaahahahaha... Poking fun of Evans is only one of many reasons to visit funcentral.

Hey, check out my nifty new countdown clock. Redsock found it and was quite keen (Britishism there) on my using it. It was originally a countdown to the MLB trade deadline, which we eagerly await. Although not nearly as much as we await wmtc.

I never did get to give notice yesterday, my supervisor must be on vacation. (What a job, eh? I never see my supervisor, and I speak to her about three times a year.) I'll keep trying.

I feel so free and happy, despite having a zillion things to do. One month of seeing friends, enjoying New York City, making lists, doing errands, packing up. "I love it when a plan comes together." I must be getting really silly, I'm quoting the A-Team now.

Do not, I repeat, do not, do a Google image search for Mr. T. It is very frightening. Don't say I didn't warn you.

24 comments:

James Redekop said...

"Who says wingnuts don't grow on maple trees?"

On the contrary, maple trees are exactly where they grow!

Maple tree seed (called a maple key):
http://biodidac.bio.uottawa.ca/thumbnails/images/ACER001B.gif

Wing nut:
http://www.allcompu.com/PAONew/fasteners/wing-nut-tg.gif

See the resemblance?

BTW, Canadian Cynic is a great source of Canadian wingnuts.

http://canadiancynic.blogspot.com/

laura k said...

On the contrary, maple trees are exactly where they grow!

Ha - good one! When we were kids, we used to call those things helicopter seeds.

I love Canadian Cynic. I've mentioned him several times as a "blog of note".

allan said...

Do you pity the fool who searches for Mr. T?

(By the way, T recently threw out the first pitch at a Red Sox game in Chicago. It was strange.)

Kyle_From_Ottawa said...

Whatever happened to intelligent conservatism?

There's a few exceptions like Rob, but today's conservatives seem to lack any idealism, convictions, or even grammatical coherence.

From an old-school conservatice

"Over the years, my articles have elicited both support and constructive criticism from a wide range of viewpoints. But from current conservatives I receive little more than angry name-calling, threats, factual ignorance, and assorted forms of irrationality. I even get e-mails from people who call themselves Christians, even as they support war!

As I read and listen to the conservative rampage against the very values that once defined their position, I am reminded of my young adult years, when those of us who held individualist views had to work, ever so hard, to confront collectivist doctrines. The Marxist/socialist camp was wrong on just about every issue, but they offered a challenge to the mind that had to be met.

I find no inner substance to modern conservatism that requires careful examination. Their oratory remains at the level of adolescent taunting, or what one might hear at a labor union beer-party. Like sharks lurking offshore, most conservatives are a deadly force to be avoided, not intellects with which to reason."

andym said...

Sadly, there's plenty more wingnuts from whence Richard came. However, they all sound the same, so it could appear that there's only a few.

I think that we'd all be happy if we could somehow swap Quebec and Alberta for the Blue States. Talk about harmony.

Rognar said...

I agree, Kyle. Many prominent conservative commentators in the US (since there are no conservative commentators in Canada) are little more than showmen with no substance. The few more thoughtful ones, like William F. Buckley, George Will and Christopher Hitchens, tend to be drowned out by the likes of Ann Coulter, Michael Savage and John Gibson. It's an embarassment for all conservatives.

Of course, if I were a lefty, I wouldn't take much pride in the limousine liberals like Sean Penn and Ted Danson either. A more vacuous group of people you'd be hard-pressed to find.

Rognar said...

I think that we'd all be happy if we could somehow swap Quebec and Alberta for the Blue States.

Sounds good to me....except the Quebec part.

Anonymous said...

I think the problem is not related to left or right as Rob is stating. The biggest reason we see such commentators now is because sensationalism sells on TV. The average person wants to see confrontation and yelling instead of thoughtfull political debate. Sad, but then that is the society we have become (even in Canada to some extent, although not as much as in the US).

laura k said...

The few more thoughtful ones, like William F. Buckley, George Will and Christopher Hitchens,

You used "thoughtful" and "Christopher Hitchens" in the same sentence!! That can't be right! :-)

You know that Hitchens is a recovering lefty, right? He was converted by TWOT.

George Will is cool when he writes about baseball.

But you're right, of course, your point is well taken.

I have no problem with the Sean Penns and Ted Dansons of the world. I appreciate them. I think anyone who uses their celebrity for the greater good is doing a good thing. It's way better than having all that money and prestige and doing diddly squat.

Rognar said...

I don't necessarily say I agree with Hitchens. On the contrary, I often feel his reach exceeds his grasp when he argues in favour of the war in Iraq. But at least he makes an argument, unlike the feces-flinging howler monkeys that dominate the political discourse these days.

Yes, I know he's a former lefty. In fact, he's often quite out of step with the American Right, especially in religious matters. He is an unrepentent agnostic in the finest tradition of British liberalism.

laura k said...

the feces-flinging howler monkeys that dominate the political discourse these days.

Well said!

he's often quite out of step with the American Right, especially in religious matters. He is an unrepentent agnostic in the finest tradition of British liberalism.

That does make him less odious to me.

Anonymous said...

I think that we'd all be happy if we could somehow swap Quebec and Alberta for the Blue States. Talk about harmony.

Not so, Andy, it's even simpler. We could just swap them for each other. BC and Saskatchewan would get along much better with Quebec, Alberta would fit right in with the maritimes. I'm telling you, it's gold.

Kyle_From_Ottawa said...

Actually, there's a guy on talk radio in Ottawa named Lowell Green...

He's an American style "conservative". Lately he's been blabbering on about how we're in a war of the civilizations, and that is started 1500 years ago, blah blah blah blah. He has quite the following, but not really because that many people agree with him. It's really more because he's so stupid that its funny, plus when you seem him ranting in person (he's at the end of the 6:00 news), his jowls flap in a humerous way.

Kyle_From_Ottawa said...

Oops, that was in response to "since there are no conservative commentators in Canada".

I suppose Rob means national level commentators.

There are so called national commentators in the National Post, but nobody reads that paper.

Rognar said...

There are so called national commentators in the National Post, but nobody reads that paper.

Yes, I was exaggerating a bit. There are a few national commentators, like Andrew Coyne, but not many.

James Redekop said...

Don't forget Canadian David Frum, who gave Bush the "Axis of Evil" line.

laura k said...

He has quite the following, but not really because that many people agree with him. It's really more because he's so stupid that its funny, plus when you seem him ranting in person (he's at the end of the 6:00 news), his jowls flap in a humerous way.

This is hilarious. I will have to check it out in September.

Don't forget Canadian David Frum, who gave Bush the "Axis of Evil" line.

You know I'm predisposed to like Canadians, but there are limits.

Anonymous said...

We're sorry. We didn't know he was gonna do that. He didn't mention it at any of the meetings. His Mom was fantastic. Sometimes kids just turn out rotten. What can you do?

He's at least as ashamed of us as we are of him, at any rate.

Kyle_From_Ottawa said...

Frum moved south, you move north, it seems like more than a fair trade to me.

We didn't give him the "well why don't you stay, traitor" treatment. We just said "bon voyage!" and threw a party once he was out of earshot.

laura k said...

Wrye/Kyle: LOL

Anonymous said...

I pity da fool who thinks Robert Evans is anything but a parody!

Watch out, Robbie, WMTC is coming to Canada, suckah!

- Mr. G ;-)

laura k said...

G, you crack me up. Thanks for the laughs this a.m.

Rognar said...

I pity da fool who thinks Robert Evans is anything but a parody!

That's Richard, not Robert, don't be soiling my good name.

Anonymous said...

Whooops! No soiling intended, good fellow.

Was in a disagreement of sorts with a coworker named Rob prior to visiting the post. Musta still been on my mind. Shit happens.