Why I Am Not a Liberal
Dennis Prager
Tuesday, August 12, 2008

The following is a list of beliefs that I hold. Nearly every one of them was a liberal position until the late 1960s. Not one of them is now.

Such a list is vitally important in order to clarify exactly what positions divide left from right, blue from red, liberal from conservative.

I believe in American exceptionalism, meaning that (a) America has done more than any international organization or institution, and more than any other country, to improve this world; and (b) that American values (specifically, the unique American blending of Enlightenment and Judeo-Christian values) form the finest value system any society has ever devised and lived by.

I believe that the bigger government gets and the more powerful the state becomes, the greater the threat to individual liberty and the greater the likelihood that evil will ensue. In the 20th century, the powerful state, not religion, was the greatest purveyor of evil in the world.

I believe that the levels of taxation advocated by liberals render those taxes a veiled form of theft. "Give me more than half of your honestly earned money or you will be arrested" is legalized thievery.

I believe that government funding of those who can help themselves (e.g., the able-bodied who collect welfare) or who can be helped by non-governmental institutions (such as private charities, family, and friends) hurts them and hurts society.

I believe that the United States of America, from its inception, has been based on the Judeo-Christian value system, not secular Enlightenment values alone, and therefore the secularization of American society will lead to the collapse of America as a great country.

I believe that some murderers should be put death; that allowing all murderers to live does not elevate the value of human life, but mocks it, and that keeping all murderers alive trivializes the evil of murder.

I believe that the American military has done more to preserve and foster goodness and liberty on Earth than all the artists and professors in America put together.

I believe that lowering standards to admit minorities mocks the real achievements of members of those minorities.

I believe that when schools give teenagers condoms, it is understood by most teenagers as tacit approval of their engaging in sexual intercourse.

I believe that the assertions that manmade carbon emissions will lead to a global warming that will in turn bring on worldwide disaster are a function of hysteria, just as was the widespread liberal belief that heterosexual AIDS will ravage America.

I believe that marriage must remain what has been in every recorded civilization -- between the two sexes.

I believe that, whatever the reasons for entering Iraq, the American-led removal of Saddam Hussein from power will decrease the sum total of cruelty on Earth.

I believe that the trial lawyers associations and teachers unions, the greatest donors to the Democratic Party, have done great harm to American life -- far more than, let us say, oil companies and pharmaceutical companies, the targets of liberal opprobrium.

I believe that nuclear power, clean coal, and drilling in a tiny and remote frozen part of Alaska and offshore -- along with exploration of other energy alternatives such as wind and solar power -- are immediately necessary.

I believe that school vouchers are more effective than increased spending on public schools in enabling many poorer Americans to give their children better educations.

I believe that while there are racists in America, America is no longer a racist society, and that blaming disproportionate rates of black violence and out-of-wedlock births on white racism is a lie and the greatest single impediment to African-American progress.

I believe that America, which accepts and assimilates foreigners better than any other country in the world, is the least racist, least xenophobic country in the world.

I believe the leftist takeover of the liberal arts departments in nearly every American university has been an intellectual and moral calamity.

I believe that a good man and a good marriage are more important to most women's happiness and personal fulfillment than a good career.

I believe that males and females are inherently different. For example, girls naturally prefer dolls and tea sets to trucks and toy guns -- if you give a girl trucks, she is likely to give them names and take care of them, and if you give a boy trucks, he is likely to crash them into one another.

I believe that when it comes to combating the greatest evils on Earth, such as the genocide in Rwanda, the United Nations has either been useless or an obstacle.

I believe that, generally speaking, Western Europe provides social and moral models to be avoided, not emulated.

I believe that America's children were positively affected by hearing a non-denominational prayer each morning in school, and adversely affected by the removal of all prayer from school.

I believe that liberal educators' removal of school uniforms and/or dress codes has had a terrible impact on students and their education.

I believe that bilingual education does not work, that for the sake of immigrant children and for the sake of the larger society, immersion in the language of the country, meaning English in America, is mandatory.

I believe that English should be declared the national language, and that ballots should not be printed in any language other than English. If one cannot understand English, one is probably not sufficiently knowledgeable to vote intelligently in an English-speaking country.

Finally, I believe that there are millions of Americans who share most of these beliefs who still call themselves "liberal" or "progressive" and who therefore vote Democrat. They do so because they still identify liberalism with pre-1970 liberalism or because they are emotionally attached to the word "liberal."

I share that emotion. But one should vote based on values, not emotions.

Link

Canadians for Language Fairness Inc.
P.O. Box 40111
Bank & Hunt Club Postal Outlet
2515 Bank Street.
Ottawa, ON, K1V 0W8
Tel (613) 321-7333 Fax (613) 524-3247
Website: www.languagefairness.ca Email: [email protected]

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August 17, 2008

This item may or may not be language related – that can only be a question answerable by the VisMin themselves. I’m circulating this in the hope that readers who want to may circulate it to their own groups & decide what to do. It has been suggested by one reader that the VisMin groups or individuals should get together and use the Human Rights Commissions or Tribunals to their advantage. After all, it is there to be used, why not use it to our advantage, especially when research has shown that there is an issue here. Submit a complaint against the PSC, stating your own case or the case of your group, and suggest that it could be the French language that is the real barrier. After all most of our immigrants are English-speakers and when French is made the deciding factor in entry-level positions & then in getting promotions, the problem escalates. No, bringing in more immigrants from French-speaking countries will not solve the problem. Canada is looking for well-qualified immigrants who can contribute to the building of this country, we’re not looking for immigrants whose main function is to increase the demand for French-language services in parts of Canada where French is not needed or wanted.

If anyone wishes to, he/she can contact me & I can put you in touch with a person who has previously complained to the Human Rights Commission so that he can guide you as to how this can be done. Maybe, someone can do some research & pass on any information as to how the process works. I will be only too pleased to circulate any information submitted.
This is not the 1st time Maria Barrados has accused the PSC of not representing the immigrants fairly. The charge made by Igho Natufe, president of the National Council of Visible Minorities, is that “it is a case of racism” – maybe someone should contact him.

According to the PSC, “Language does not seem to be a barrier, especially for entry level jobs”. I would beg to disagree with him as many VisMin do not come from French-speaking countries & when French is required for all mid-level & senior-level positions, they’re stuck in the low-level jobs. India produces a large group of well qualified immigrants whose technological advancement is well known & who have inherited the legacy of the English language & understanding of the British civil society from their colonial history (which, in this case, is a great advantage). China is now sending out a lot of technologically qualified personnel & they are becoming increasingly proficient in the English-language.

The same situation applies to the English-speaking majority but in Canada that group of citizens do not care enough to complain so what can one do? We are the largest group but we are so divided that we cannot exert any political pressure. We are ignored, dismissed & marginalized because we’re not willing to get behind the issue of language. No main-stream party is willing to act on our behalf because we’re not loud enough or care enough about our own rights. What are we waiting for? Already we’ve lost many of our rights – the right to jobs without being forced to be bilingual; the right not to have our country’s agenda directed from Quebec with Quebec’s interest as the focus; the right not to be a country divided along linguistic lines; the right not to be over-taxed & have our taxes work against us!! Frustrating!!

My immediate focus is to help Howard Galganov win the case against the Russell township sign by-law. He is willing to take the case right up to the Supreme Court but he needs our financial assistance. This case is extremely important – if you’ve never donated to the cause of English-speaking Canadians, NOW is the time!!!


Kim
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http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/new ... a21f170ae1

The Ottawa Citizen : August 16, 2008

PS ordered to hire more minorities

Privy council clerk tells deputy ministers to 'close the gap' during recruitment drive

Kathryn May

Canada's top bureaucrat has ordered departments to target visible minorities in his latest recruitment drive to hire another 4,000 new university and college graduates by the end of March.

Privy Council Clerk Kevin Lynch sent out the orders as part of this year's "action plan" to renew the public service, which is undergoing a massive turnover as baby boomers retire in record numbers over the next several years.

The big question is how long it will take to close the widening gap between the growing population of visible minorities in Canada and the proportion who land federal jobs.

Mr. Lynch's plan didn't specify what proportion of the new hires should be visible minorities, but recruitment will have to be in large enough numbers to start "closing the gap in representation of visible minority Canadians in the public service." To do that, the plan says visible minorities will have to be recruited in numbers beyond their proportion of the workforce.

The recruitment of visible minorities is among the dozen "commitments" Mr. Lynch's action plan laid out in June for deputy ministers, who are also expected to deliver human resource plans linked with their departments business goals.

Deputy ministers are expected to spell out in their plans how they intend to recruit, develop and promote visible minorities, as well as disabled and aboriginal employees.

A panel of in-house and outside experts will review those plans by November.

Each of the new 4,000 recruits must have a personal learning plan, including what training they need to master English or French early in their careers.

Mr. Lynch's commitments revolve around planning, recruitment, employee development and enabling infrastructure, the centerpieces of his renewal strategy to ready the public service for the future.

The hiring and promotion of visible minorities have ostensibly been priorities for a decade, but visible minorities keep losing ground in the public service.

Last year, the Public Service Commission sounded the alarm when it found the recruitment rate of visible minorities was falling, even though overall hiring in the departments increased. Despite the hiring spree, recruitment of visible minorities dropped from 9.8 per cent to 8.7 per cent of all hires.

The dropoff bedevilled the commission, especially since visible minorities are more educated than most applicants -- half have bachelor degrees or higher. Language does not seem to be a barrier, especially for entry jobs, and neither does the preference for Canadian citizenship.

Commission president Maria Barrados launched a series of surveys and reviews to determine why visible minorities aren't landing jobs in the public service at a rate proportional to the numbers that apply. She also asked Statistics Canada to determine how many visible minorities will have to be recruited "within a reasonable amount of time" so the federal workforce reflects Canada's labour force.

What's worrisome is that the gap between those who apply and those who are hired comes when the number of visible minorities in the labour market continues to climb. Ms. Barrados said the commission is still reworking the numbers on how to close the gap, as well as how long it may take to ensure the visible minority population in government represents that of the country at large.
"The question is, at what rate do we hire to get representativeness and whether this will close the gap," she said.

But officials say there are concerns about the way visible minorities are counted, so it's unclear just how big or small the gap really is.

Ms. Barrados's annual report, due in the fall, is expected to address the issue.

Some public servants, for example, say they are visible minorities when they're hired or competing for a job, while others don't.
This is further complicated by the 2006 census, which found that Canada's foreign-born population grew four times as fast as that of the Canadian-born population during the first half of the decade and accounts for nearly one in five people who live here. It is projected that one in five Canadians will be visible minorities by 2017.

Under Canada's employment equity laws, the government must hire women, people with disabilities, aboriginals and visible minorities in proportion to their share of the labour force.

At last count, departments were trailing in the hiring of visible minorities, who make up 10.4 per cent of the labour force, but have 8.6 per cent of federal jobs. This rate, however, is based on the 2001 census, which has been eclipsed by the 2006 census.
Statistics Canada has yet to calculate the proportion of visible minorities in the labour force, which some say could range from 12 to more than 16 per cent.

The National Council on Visible Minorities has long argued that poor planning was a large part of the problem. Departments have known for years that the visible minority population is exploding, but they continued to follow the 2001 census labour force availability as the guide for hiring.

"They all knew those projections and we were way behind. They knew one in five Canadians will be visible minorities by 2017, but we have to wait until it gets here before we plan for it?" said Igho Natufe, president of the National Council of Visible Minorities.

He argued building a "representative" public service is more than numbers. It also means integrating visible minorities into all occupations, including the top jobs where they have been shut out. The government has currently set up a pool of qualified visible minorities for entry executives -- known as EX-1s -- as they come up.

He said even in departments like Canadian Heritage, the keeper of multiculturalism in Canada, visible minorities are concentrated in lower level jobs and shut out of top positions.

"The barriers to overcome are systemic and cultural," he said. "If we are among the most educated (to apply) then why aren't we employed? The answer is racism, pure and simple."

On paper, getting more racial minorities into the public service has been a federal priority since the Liberals approved targets in 2000 recommended by the Embracing Change task force. It called for one in five new hires to be a visible minority by 2003. Similarly, one in five promotions into the executive ranks was to be a visible minority by 2005.

But a Senate study found the government went backwards and only one in 10 new hires is a visible minority.


© The Ottawa Citizen 2008

Conservatism in Canada is linked to American fundamentalist religious bias.. with rednecked racist overtones and holier than thou ideation.. esp now we have a bible thumping george wya ass kisser from the west on his throne.