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Blog of Adam Daifallah -- author, journalist, law student. Lover of politics, writing, golf, curling, fitness, fashion, bacon and maple products -- not necessarily (but probably) in that order. Partisan of the Anglosphere. Contact me via email at adam@daifallah.com. This summer I am joined by Keir Wilmut and Omar Soliman.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Conrad's latest salvo
Thursday, August 23, 2007
The Bloc's last gasp
This is what you do when you have no other issues to grab onto: you play politics with dead soldiers. One word: shame.
It's scorched Earth time for the Bloc.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 8:50 PM
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Mulroney's memoirs
The media buzz has started about Brian Mulroney's memoirs, which are set to be released Sept. 10. The coverage of the memoirs' and their content will be quite interesting to observe as it will serve as a good indicator as to whether the media has finally warmed to Mulroney 15 years after he left office. They never gave him a fair shake when he was in power and haven't treated him all that well since, although public perception of him has improved immensely in the last five years. Canadians have begun to re-evaluate the legacy of the man who was our last Big Ideas Prime Minister. He revamped the tax system, attempted constitutional reconciliation, privatized Crown Corporations, fought South African Apartheid, negotiated the Acid Rain Treaty, supported the liberation of Kuwait and much more.
It seems that those leaders who are supposedly "reviled" when they leave office tend to be those most appreciated in the history books. Two notable examples are Churchill and Harry Truman. I think Mulroney will join the group and I wouldn't even be surprised if George W. Bush does too.
The opening paragraph of this CBC story on the memoirs caught my eye:
He's been skewered by an old friend in The Secret Mulroney Tapes and had his political legacy assessed by assorted biographers, but now former prime minister Brian Mulroney is about to tell his own story.
Actually, no. His political legacy has not been assessed by any biographers because there haven't been any legacy-assessing biographies. The Secret Mulroney Tapes was not a biography: it was a bunch of slapped-together interview transcripts. Previous Mulroney books such as L. Ian MacDonald's Mulroney: The Making of a Prime Minister and John Sawatsky's The Politics of Ambition were written during his time in office. There has not been a single serious biography written yet on Mulroney's time in power or his legacy and we are long overdue for one. It's astounding, really, that no political journalist or author has taken up the challenge.
Hmmm. If this law career doesn't work out ...
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 8:29 PM
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
The slow goodbye to the Reaganites
When Lyn Nofzinger and Cap Weinberger died last March, I noted that we would likely see many more Reagan officials passing on in the next couple of years. Sadly, it is happening.
Last week it was Merv Griffin, the great entertainer and businessman and Reagan friend, and now it is Michael Deaver, the man who created the image and persona of America's greatest president. He died of cancer at the too-young age of 69.
Many conservatives did not like Mike Deaver because he was very protective of Reagan and, according to many, hostile to conservatives. True, Deaver was not a policy person. He was principally concerned with presentation and public relations. So he was probably more indifferent than anything.
But the fact remains that the Reagan presidency would not have been possible without him. His relationship with The Gipper went back to the 1960s, when he began working for the then-California governor in his 20s.
As recounted by John Gizzi in Human Events today:
Yes, one needs a Mike Deaver, particularly if one is president. Sure, he was not very interested in policy but , in Don Regan’s words, “There was, of course, no reason for him to be interested in the substance of policy. His job was to sell the product once it was invented and ready to be marketed. Deaver was in charge of the Reagans’ public image, and judging by the results he had achieved, he deserved his reputation.”
Indeed, he did. Although neither holds the power in George W. Bush’s White House that Deaver did in Reagan’s, Dan Bartlett did and Ed Gillespie now does perform roughly the same function for the 43rd President as the man who died this weekend did for the 40th President. I daresay that, given George W. Bush’s current public image and approval ratings, neither Bartlett nor Gillespie holds a candle to the man Time once dubbed the “vicar of visuals.” And just as Republicans almost always say these days, “The party needs another Ronald Reagan,” it would not be a reach to say it needs a Mike Deaver, as well.
Michael Deaver changed the way politics is practiced and was the brains behind some of the greatest audio visuals ever seen in the political arena. His techniques (for instance, proper use of sunlight and eye-catching backdrops) are still taught at campaign training schools. Whatever his ideology -- or lack thereof -- Deaver will be missed.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 10:38 PM
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Conservative graffiti
Conservatives are used to seeing campaign signs, posters, National Post boxes -- anything you can think of really -- defaced with graffiti. But today, for the first time in my life, I actually saw some right-wing graffiti. Someone has drawn Soviet-style hammers (no sickles) on Thomas Mulcair signs along upper Côte des Neiges in Montreal. Wasn't me!
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:51 AM
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Shuffling the deck
There was an interesting story this week (can't find the link) about how cabinet shuffles have historically had little to no effect on a government's popularity. It's easy to understand why: most people don't follow politics closely enough to know who is minister of what, and a change of names on the roster doesn't make a wink of difference to the average citizen.
Today's cabinet shuffle will likely follow the historical trend. It is not a major shuffle, and no one can possibly find any serious fault with the new lineup. What amazed me more than anything was how secret the shuffle stayed until the swearing in ceremony. Virtually nothing leaked out. This government is really secretive -- in a good way!
Of all the changes, one disappointed me and one really pleased me. This won't be hard to guess. Particularly gratifying is the promotion of Maxime Bernier to foreign affairs. I can't say enough about this minister: he's an actual small c-conservative, is happy to make it known, is from Quebec and he dresses properly. What more could you ask for? This guy is going places.
The letdown is Josée Verner to Heritage. Verner is not going to do anything to promote conservatism in this ministry. Culture is an area where we could make a lot of headway if we had a minister with a mandate and some courage. Verner will just traipse around giddily handing out piles of cash from the panoply of slush funds at her disposal and continue to try to appease various special interests in the arts and "cultural" communities, all of whom will never ever vote Tory.
I was hoping Myron Thompson would get the call, but we'll have to wait till next time.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 11:31 PM
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Live...from New York City!
Sorry for the tardiness in blog posts, folks...I've spent the past week getting ready for my departure to New York City, where I begin my Masters next week. The schools at Columbia University all start a little early, which sucks.
I bade temporary farewell to family, to fiancee and to the best public affairs/government relations group in the country, the Daisy Consulting Group--headed by Mr. Attack Dog himself, Warren Kinsella.
Plenty of first-hand observations about NYC...but, since everyone who is reading this has already been and seen it all, I'll leave these observations for another post.
THE DAIFALLAH BLOG COLUMBIA CONTEST
Meanwhile, I am required to submit a thesis topic by mid-September. I NEED IDEAS! The most original idea for a thesis topic--which, for the Journalism School, is supposed to be a unique investigative piece--will get a prize, couriered from me (something New York'ish or Columbia'ish). I'm serious.
# posted by Omar Soliman : 7:22 PM
Organ contracts
Following up my post from last week about organ donation, here is an article from Reason advocating (surprise) a market-based solution:
If you want to induce people to provide something that other people want, there are basically three possible approaches. The first is to encourage them to do so out of the pure joy of helping others. That hasn't worked. The second is to take it from them, an approach that "presumed consent" uses. That probably won't be enough, either, and it has the added downside of infringing on personal autonomy.
The third is to appeal to their own self-interest—by paying them. People could sign contracts agreeing to donate any organs suitable for transplant when they die, with the money going to their heirs.
I still like my idea better.
# posted by Keir Wilmut : 11:47 AM
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
The hypocrisy of it all
Brilliant column by David Frum in Saturday's National Post pointing out some of the hypocrisy of Hollywood enviro nuts:
Laurie David reviles SUV owners as "terrorist enablers." She has paid for television commercials demanding higher mileage standards for cars and trucks. She owns and operates the Web site, StopGlobal-Warming.com.Her message: "There's something that we can all do about it." In her many media interviews, Laurie David details her own contributions to the cause: She uses only recycled paper products and she has made her two children take shorter showers. Now back to our celebrity chitchat. Note again what Mrs. David's new amour does for a living. He's a builder, specifically the builder of Mrs. David's new 25,000-square foot house on Martha's Vineyard. That's a bigger house even than her friend Al Gore's. Gore's Tennessee house uses 20 times as much energy as the national average. And he only owns one house -- the Davids own two. Fuel consumption for electricity production is the largest single source of carbon emissions in the United States. You may wonder: How does a Los Angeles resident like Mrs. David travel between her west coast home and her new east coast summer place? Answer: She charters a Gulfstream jet. Environmental journalist Gregg Easterbrook calculates that a midsized Gulfstream G200 burns as much fuel on one transcontinental flight as a Hummer monster SUV consumes in an entire year. Easterbrook sourly comments: "But then, conservation is what other people should do." It's just too predictable. And speaking of Hollywood nuts, Sean Penn is apparently still working as a part-time "journalist":
When asked if he wants the United States to win the war in Iraq, Penn replies: "I think we're past that point in human evolution where there's such a thing as winning wars."
I know there's not much we can do to stop these people from getting media coverage for their lunatic views, but one small thing I do is to not go to the movies. Don't help to enrich these people. If you are really desperate to see something, OK, fine. But if not, find something else to do on a Tuesday night. Or wait for the DVD or ignore it altogether. The Left advances their agenda through their spending choices (fair trade coffee, etc...) and we should too.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:28 AM
Friday, August 03, 2007
Let's have a two-tier system for organ transplants
Following BC’s lead, Ontario is going to begin reimbursing living organ donors for donation-related expenses. It’s a move in the right direction, but nowhere near far enough: Canadian provinces should adopt a two-tier system for organ transplants – but the tiers shouldn’t be based on the ability to pay.
Canada suffers from a fundamental organ transplant problem: simply, not enough people are donating organs. Although more than 3,700 of us are on a waiting list to receive an organ, fewer than 14 Canadians per million have donated an organ. As a result, 147 Canadians died last year because a suitable organ was not available in time.
Altruism, it seems, isn’t enough to motivate people to sign their donor cards.
Under the new program, Ontario will reimburse up to $5,500 for any pre-approved travel, accommodation, food, or lost income expenses.
But living donors can only provide kidneys and livers - no help for those waiting for a heart or a lung. Such programs also don’t offer much of an incentive; if you aren’t currently willing to donate one of your kidneys, would a $5,000 stipend to cover some of your wages lost while recuperating change your mind?
Some have gone even further, arguing that Canadians should be able to pay out of their own pocket to buy organs from living donors.
Again, this would only help those in need of kidneys or livers. More problematically, it would establish a two-tier organ transplant system. In a country where paying to see the doctor faster when you have the flu is seen as incompatible with our national values, there is no chance that the trade in organs will be legalized. Rich Canadians would not just be buying better health care than the poor, they would literally be buying the health of the poor.
A better solution would be to introduce a two-tier organ transplant system where the tiers are based not on ability to pay, but rather on willingness to donate.
Under such a system, a patient in need of an organ transplant would be placed in one of two queues: if she had previous signed an organ donor card allowing her organs to be harvested in the case of her death, she’d be placed in a priority queue. If she had not previously signed an organ donor card, she’d be placed in a secondary queue. Those in the secondary queue would only receive an organ donation if the organ was incompatible with everyone in the priority queue, or if the person in the secondary queue was on the verge of death and everyone in the priority queue could safely wait.
Such a system would have three benefits. First, it would dramatically increase the number of organs donors, and hence the number of organs that could be harvested. We’d no longer be relying on altruism to get people to sign an organ donor card; instead, people would register to be an organ donor so that, if they ever needed an organ transplant, they’d be at the front of the line.
Second, it would avoid both the public cost of having the government pay the expenses of donors, as well as the extreme moral questionability of letting the rich harvest organs from the poor.
Finally, this system is fair: if you are unwilling - for moral, religious, squeamishness, or any other reason - to donate your organs after your death, you shouldn’t be permitted to receive an organ before someone who is willing.
Organ donation is the gift of life. This gift should be first given to those who have demonstrated a willingness to give it themselves.
# posted by Keir Wilmut : 2:43 PM
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Bloated bureaucracy
It may be the silly season, but this issue is an important one and it deserves attention:
In the early 1990s, the size of the core public service was about 245,000. But between 1994 and 1998, Jean Chretien's government slashed 75,000 jobs to help curb Canada's deficit. By 2003, the number of public servants had bounced back to 235,000. The total number of people employed by the government increased to 351,000, excluding Crown corporations and federal business enterprises, at a cost of $25 billion per year. "By 2002-03 then, the core federal government's effective size was at least as great as in the early 1990s," the report states. The study also shows that civil servants took a total of 7.74 million days of leave in 2002-2003. On average, each employee took: - 17.3 days for vacations
- 8.3 days for sick leave
- 1.6 days for family-related leave
"I think the whole idea that public servants are somehow overworked is just a farce," said John Williamson of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. But civil servant Shannon Steele said she earns her pay. "Of course I get more benefits and stuff, but I think I deserve them," she said. "I do a lot of work, and it's stressful." No offense to Shannon, but I think the vast majority of working Canadians outside the federal public service would be thrilled to take your job, even with that terrible stress! If there were ever an issue the Harper Tories could seize upon to start getting small-c conservatives energized again, this one would be it.
UPDATE (Monday, 11 pm): Lorne Gunter weighs in.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:47 AM
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