Friday, August 20, 2010

You've Got to Be Kidding!

Andrew Coyne's piece in Macleans really has my head shaking. Maybe I don't get it but I don't understand his latest.
People willing to endure what the Tamils did are just the kind we want 
What? Oh,really! If they go through the proper channels and not deemed to be a threat to our national security or a burden on the taxpayer, maybe.

So why all the fuss? There’s a suspicion that the organizers may be Tamil Tigers, the notorious terrorist group. The Tigers themselves are a despicable bunch, but helping hundreds of desperate people to reach freedom would seem the least of their crimes. Sometimes this is called “human smuggling” or “trafficking,” to give it an unseemly taint. But smuggling implies an attempt to evade detection: this ship, by contrast, went about its business openly. And while trafficking in human beings is obviously horrific when the “cargo” is destined for slavery, in this case the destination is Canada. However unpleasant their conditions may have been aboard ship, the $50,000 each of the Tamils reportedly paid for their passage is surely a bargain, if it means a chance to live in Canada.

Uh,Mr.Coyne, first of all, the captain of that boat has said to be a member of the Tamil Tigers. Secondly, human trafficking is against the law.  Thirdly, no it is not a bargain if they are slaves indebted to whoever they owe the money to, being shaken down all the time to pay back their $50,000.  Besides that money most likely would go to fund the Tiger terrorist group.  No thanks!

Is that the problem, then: are the Tamils, as it is said, “jumping the queue”?
Yes it is que-jumping because they get immediate medical care, processing etc. while others that go through the proper channels have to wait inline for a very long time.  They have already jumped the que for healthcare.

Some are concerned that this might be the first (well, the second: the first arrived last October) of many similar deliveries.
Umm...yeah. It sets a precedent and there are already reports that there are more going to be on their way soon.  Eighty boats have already been turned away from Australia this year!

A few thousand more refugees is not going to overwhelm us.
How does he figure that?  It's costing us millions to feed them, give them healthcare, process them etc.  Then what about when they cleared?  Many will be on welfare.

Perhaps it will be decided that the Tamils are mere economic migrants. Many people are very exercised about this, preferring that economic class immigrants go through the battery of tests the Immigration Department has devised to predict which of them will flourish most in Canada’s economy. Very well. I have a simple test for this, too. Here it is: have you just spent four months in the bottom of a boat to get here?
Huh?

Remember the Vietnamese boat people of the 1970s?
Yes I do. That was a little different. Many of the Vietnamese boat people had to have sponsors. I remember,our church sponsored a family. Who is sponsoring the Tamils?

I don't think we should allow just anyone into our country.  We shouldn't allow anyone who will be a burden on the taxpayer or a threat to our national security.  If Mr. Coyne wants all these migrants,fine, he can take them in and support them with his own money and be responsible for them if any poses a threat to our safety and security.

12 comments:

  1. I quite reading Coyne after he declared last week, that the Conservatives are The Stupid People's Party.
    If that's where his head is at,
    he, and Macleans, has nothing to say that interests me.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I quite reading Coyne after he declared last week, that the Conservatives are The Stupid People's Party.
    If that's where his head is at,
    he, and Macleans, has nothing to say that interests me.


    I get what you saying,wilson. He actually lost me on At Issue on CBC supposedly representing the conservative side just spews and agrees with the left wing rhetoric like the others. This post I wanted to emphasize how ridiculous his thinking is sometimes. I thought this was a good example. He doesn't really represent conservatives in my books.

    ReplyDelete
  3. About 95 % of the articles that Coyne and most of the pundits at MacLeans write are pretty boring. There is a huge void in the political discourse that none of them (except for Wells on occasion) fills.

    What I'm referring to, is commentary on political strategy. Especially at this point, almost two years into a minority gov't, a junkie like me is most interested in how the leaders/parties are positioning themselves, what they SHOULD be doing. In other words, how are they playing the political game.

    For example, Chretien advocated a merger of the Libs & Dippers. That has hardly been touched on by the pundits. And what about the coaltion narratives for each of the Parties ? Is it better for us to win or lose the gun-registry vote ? All kinds of issues that are ignored, in favor of a guy like Wherry beating the census issue to death.

    Boring, boring pundits in the msm.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Boring, boring pundits in the msm.

    You got that right! Most pundits too have their own agenda and thus that's what makes them boring. Although I do enjoy reading pundits like Lorrie Goldstein, Lorne Gunter,Chantel Hebert, L.Ian Macdonald,Christy Blatchford,Brian Lilley. They're not half bad. They're actually pretty good. They usually don't get my blood pressure risen or nor do I feel like taking a shower after reading them.
    The worst in opinion are James Traversty, Jane Taber,Don Martin,Heather Malick and Jeffery Simpson. I don't even bother to go read them anymore. Their columns are just too disgusting.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Here is a good read from Lib Blogger Steve V, of Far and Wide ... Go Time ?, where he advocates that Iggy try and force an election this fall.

    Pretty well all the Lib commenters agree. So that gives us some insight, as to what the Liberal base wants Iggy to do.

    I am kind of reminded of Lib bloggers reaction to Iggy's "Mr. Harper, you're time is up", from last year. They were all pumped up, feeling better about having a more assertive Iggy, and getting the "propping up Harper" monkey off their back, and on to Jack's back.

    Whether you agree or disagree with Steve, at least he puts forward a reasonable argument, and takes on an issue that should be near the top of every msm pundit's list of stuff to write about.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I don't know why he is put up as a conservative on At Issue, he has said numerous times he was not. Infact he said that if he had to be slotted into a political category, it would be socialist.

    And Ford is suing the Toronto Star... for making things up!!!
    http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2010/08/20/15090331.html

    ReplyDelete
  7. And Ford is suing the Toronto Star... for making things up!!!

    Good for Mr.Ford! I hope he wins. It's about time someone sued these so called news outlets for the lies and fabrications they print and talk about on the various political shows. Helena Guergis should file law suits to the various media outlets who destroyed her political career. Anything to sensationalize a story for profit. Disgusting,utterly disgusting!

    ReplyDelete
  8. o/t
    Omar Khadr not tortured: judge
    ( poor Omar, those confessions stand)

    http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/08/20/khadr-torture020.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. o/t
    Omar Khadr not tortured: judge
    ( poor Omar, those confessions stand)

    http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/08/20/khadr-torture020.html


    Why am I not suprised? I wonder what the "poor innocent little child soldier lamb Omar Khadr" supporters like Bob Rae going to say now?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Bob Rae will say it's all Harper's fault.
    Poor little Omar should never have been left in Gitmo.
    Liberals put him there, Liberals left him there, the alleged torture happened while Bill Graham was in charge.....but it will be Harper's fault.

    ReplyDelete
  11. wilson,exactly! The question is,if the Libs are so concerned about him,them why didn'tTHEY do anything when they were in power? It's nothing but political gamesmanship. I just hope Omar is convicted and stays in jail for a long,long,long time.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Andrew just revealing his liberalism if you ask me. I've had my own jousts with him in past about what a conservative is and we didn't agree. Nothing new from him. If you want to get traction on this guy, always argue money, because he claims to be a libertarian. You can always gain traction on a libertarian when you argue money for that matter. (real conservative)

    ReplyDelete

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