VIDEO: The Habs in another winter of discontent

Ed. here. Walt's favourite hockey team, the Montréal Canadiens, are enjoying (we hope) a week off ahead of the phoney-baloney NHL All-Star Game. So this is a good time for our National Sports (As Long As It's Hockey) Editor, Poor Len Canayen, to analyse how the Habs are doing, a little more than halfway through the season. Over to you, Len.

Tank youse, Hed. Don't forget dat I already did a mid-season analysis, not dat long ago. But since you're paying (right?), I do have a few more thoughts. Let's start with this.

  

For years now, Brendan Gallagher, although he's never worn the "C", has been the heart and soul of les Glorieux. No one works harder. No one takes more punishment. No one gets fewer calls from the refs. But for three years now he's been playing for a team which is in rebuild mode, not expected to play better than .500 hockey, let alone make the playoffs. 

Brendan's getting older, too. He has a lot of hard miles on the chassis and simply isn't able to do the things he used to do. In recent weeks, his frustration has led to some late-game penalties, a couple of which have cost his team the game. What you saw here is the latest and worst. I was shocked... really! Even Mme Len put down her knitting to take notice.

The Habs won that game, 4-2. Usually the the final score in way too many Habs' games is 3-2... one way or another. No team in the NHL has had more one-goal games, overtime games or shootouts. They  have played 49 games, with 33 to go. They have a record of 20-21-8, which can be read as one game under .500. 

They are tied in points with the Sabres at 48 but Buffalo has two more wins, leaving les Glorieux in seventh place in the Atlantic Conference. Overall, the Habs are ahead of only the Senators and Bluejackets in the Eastern Conference and the Wild, Blackhawks, Ducks and Sharks in the West. 

The chief lesson to be learned from the stats is that what the Canadiens lack is the ability to put the puck in the net. Their goal differential is -39, worst in the East and ahead of only three teams in the West. In spite of the odd flash of brilliance, their power play ranks 19th at 19.88%, a full 10 percentage points behind the Lightning. Their penalty kill is 29th at 73.53% -- not a good number for a young team that takes a lot of penalties. 

There are some bright spots. After a slow start to the season, Cole Caufield is rounding into form, although he needs to get over an understandable reluctance to go into the corners. Captain Nick Suzuki improves every year. Although he's still inconsistent at the faceoff dot, he has proven himself a true leader. Sean Monaham has managed to stay healthy and regained his confidence, to the point where he's suddenly become real trade bait.

On the defensive side, Mike Matheson is having his best season ever, often deserving a star in those tight games. The surprise of the year is D-man Jayden "Apple" Struble, who's come out of nowhere to be one of the three best in bleu-blanc-et-rouge. Unfortunately I can name only one more -- Kaiden Guhle -- who I wouldn't trade. The team also needs an experienced defence/PK coach.

In goal,  Samuel "Monty" Montembeault, who seemed last year like a perennial backup, has been good, and on some nights brilliant. And why not, with the defence allowing opponents almost 40 shots per game. The dilemma for Montréal's management is whether to trade Jake Allen or Cayden Primeau. Ièm not convinced that young Primeau is ever going to be more than a journeyman goaltender.

In October and November there was talk, amongst us fans, that the Habs might make the playoffs earlier than expected, i.e. this year,  But fans have to understand that rebuilds take time. You can't go from last to first in just a couple of years. 

Say what you like about Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton. They have a plan and it's working out, slowly but surely. Coach Martinuting it well. St. Louis is a terrific teacher and communicator, and has fully embraced recent changes to how hockey should be played. The future isn't brilliant, but it's bright enough. And fans should rememer that the future extends beyond June of 2024.

Blowback from "Best Real Name" award

Ed. here. An assiduous reader disagrees with Walt's choice of Chun In-bum as Best Real Name of 2024. (See yesterday's post.)

First, she thinks the award is premature, given that there are 11 months to go before we welcome in a new year and a new, greater America. (Didja get the political point there?)

Secondly, she says that Chun In-bum ought not to be eligible for the award, because it's not an "English" name, meaning it probably means sometehing un-funny in Korean, and is only funny to us because it sounds like... well... "funny" is in the mind of the reader/hearer.

We take issue with that assertion. To us, "Chun In-bum" just sounds funny. And, believe it or not, "Bum" is not an uncommon name in Korea. There was a story during the Vietnam War about the Korean Foreign Minister, whose name made Americans laugh. It was Lee Bum Suk.. Embarrassed TV bingo-callers (newscasters who read off the Autocue) tried to soften it up a bit by pronouncing it as "Lee Boom Sook", but Mr Lee made it clear that, no, it was "Lee Bum Suck".

OK, forget the Korean names. Our reader wants a nice American name? Walt has one for ya, taken from p. 144 of An American Company: the Tragedy of United Fruit, by Thomas P. McCann, a former PR executive of the company. (Crown Publishers, New York, 1976). 

"One of the company's supervisors, who later rose to become an Assistant Manager of one of the tropical divisions, was a Texan named Remington Patterson Coon. His friends called him Pat."    

The author does not mention Mr Coon's race, but given his position in one of the great imperialist American companies, we'll guess he was white. Anyway, his name is not entered in this year's contest. Further nominations are welcome.

Wally award for Best Real Name

Agent 3 has forwarded us the link to "Kim Jong-Un rips up plan to reunify Korea, raising fears of all-out war", which appeared in the MSN feed of The Daily Telegraph earlier today.

We are posting the link so you skeptics out there can check out the following quote, should you think Walt made up the name which gets the coveted Wally Award for Best Real Name of the Year 2024.

 Experts such as Chun In-bum, a retired general who once commanded South Korea’s special forces, believe Kim could engage in more limited military aggression now that he has taken the “significant” step to reject the historic common bond between North and South.

Even though we haven't reached the end of January, that looks like a sure winner to me. Congratulations to Agent 3 for having spotted it. Your cheque is in the mail.

A new soubriquet: Soupy Joe

Canadian court calls out Trudeau for Freedom Convoy suppression

Yesterday was a big news day, not just in the Excited States of America but to the north of the World's Longest Open Border (TM). Those who participated in or supported the Freedom Convoy were finally vindicated when Mr Justice Richard Mosley of the Federal Court of Canada ruled that Prime Minister Just In (from Jamaica) Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act to shut down the trucker protests against vaccine mandates and other lockdown measures unconstitutional. 

The lawsuit was brought against Canuckistan's Liberal misgovernment by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Canadian Constitution Foundation, and other individuals concerned about the loss of freedom of speech, not to mention fines imposed by liberal judges and the confiscation (without notice or appeal) of their bank accounts.

The plaintiffs did not seek damages or reparations -- although claims for such may follow yesterday's ruling -- but a declaratory judgment confirming that Blackie McBlackface and his minions were wrong, wrong, wrong!

They argued before you can invoke the Emergencies Act, you have to have an emergency. The truckers' protests, they said, did not meet the legal threshold for the government to use the powers granted under the Act, which had never been used since its enactment in 1988, as a replacement for the War Mesures Act, a means of combatting terrorism. 

The invocationt of the Act by "Little Potato" (as the Chinese call M Trudeau) -- reportedly at the urging of Senile Joe Biden hisself -- allowed the federal government to arrest the leaders of the Freedom Convoy, freeze bank accounts of protesters, and seize donations by supporters of the protest, including many American citizens and organizations.

The Act states that, for the government to declare a public emergency, there must be "threats to the security of Canada that are so serious as to be a national emergency." Was there such an emergency? In February of 2023 the Whitewash Commission presided over by Mr Justice Paul Rouleau -- a Liberal appointee -- found "with reluctance" that the threshold had been met. After all, Blackie had gone into hiding at an undisclosed location -- not Jamaica but somewhere in the Gatineau hills -- so he must have thought it was a real threat.

On the contrary, Mr Justice Mosley said, "I have concluded that the decision to issue the Proclamation does not bear the hallmarks of reasonableness – justification, transparency and intelligibility – and was not justified in relation to the relevant factual and legal constraints that were required to be taken into consideration.

"The potential for serious violence, or being unable to say that there was no potential for serious violence was, of course, a valid reason for concern. But in my view, it did not satisfy the test required to invoke the Act."

The judge went on to say that the actions from the government also "infringed" on the rights guaranteed to Canadian citizens under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. "It is declared that the Regulations infringed section 2(b) of the Charter and declared that the Order infringed section 8 of the Charter and that neither infringement was justified under section 1."

Prime Minister McBlackface was unavailable for comment yesterday, but the state-owned Canadian Broadcorping Castration reported that the lovely and fragrant Deputy Prime Minister said during a cabinet meeting in Montréal that the government intends to appeal the ruling.

The case will almost certainly go to the Federal Court of Appeal and likely beyond that to the Supreme Court of Canada. But the decision of Mr Justice Mosley -- like Mr Justic Rouleau, a Liberal appointee -- will be hard for Trudeau’s minions to dismantle. 

Further reading: 

"Turns out bouncy castles aren’t a national emergency after all", by Andrew Lawton, 24/1/24 

"Was the Freedom Convoy a threat to Canada's national security?", WWW 28/11/22

The Skinny Lady hasn't sung yet

Here's a FACT that Mitch McConnell, Chris Christie, David Frum, CNN, MSNBC, Chris Sununu, and all the anti-Trumpers (including, sadly, Walt's Agent 2) can't deny. President Donald J. Trump won the New Hampshire Republican primary.

And the corollary... Despite having spent over $30 million in donations from big business and the Establishment, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley garnered something like 44% of the votes against 55% for Mr. Trump.

Yet somehow, Ms Haley (née Nimarata Hikki Randhawa) insisted in her un-concession speech that somehow she had won, and would follow up her triumph with a win in South Carolina in a month's time.

Let's see now. Ms Haley ran third (of the main contenders) in Iowa, and second (of two) in New Hampshire. Putting it another way, she was last in Iowa, last in New Hampshire, and now she expects to finish first in South Carolina. Really?

There hasn't been much polling in Ms Haley's home state yet, but state polls taken before the Iowa caucuses, showed her trailing President Trump by 30 percentage points, give or take. The Donald enjoys very strong support there, and has been endorsed by prominent South Carolina politicians including Senators Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham.

Here's another FACT. If you exclude all the disaffected Republicans (including NH Governor Chris Sununu), Democrats and independents who voted for Ms Haley, President Trump's margin was at least double the 11% of the total vote. President Trump now owns the Republican Party, and has all but clinched the GOP nomination for thee 2024 presidential election.

Last night, talking of Ms Haley (although he didn't mention her by name), he said, "She's doing... a speech like she won. She didn't win. She lost." 

After last night's result, Americans can now look forward -- with anticipation or fear, take your  pick -- to a rematch of the stolen 2020 contest. The people and organizations mentioned in the first paragraph -- including Ms Haley -- insist that such a contest will be close. 

Before the NH polls closed yesterday, President Brandon puffed up his hollow chest and boasted that he was the only one who had beaten Mr Trump before, and he would do so again. The Democrats have even printed up T-shirts bearing that message. Walt sez: Oh yeah? Care to put some money on it? Lifetime pct .989.

This article is a HOAX, but worth reading anyway!

Ed. here. Let's get the "hoax" part out of the way. Thanks to Agent 5 for passing along this article, but checking reveals that Dr Emanuel Tanay (March 5, 1928 – August 5, 2014), a Holocaust survivor, was not German, but Polish-American physician and forensic psychiatrist. (Source: Wikipedia). The following article has been attributed to him, but is most likely a mash-up, based on his book Passport to Life with comments on the situation in Canada, UK, and Australia  added recently. 

A German's View on Islam

Dr. Emanuel Tanay was a well-known and well-respected psychiatrist. A man, whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II, owned a number of large industries and estates. 

When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism. "Very few people were true Nazis," he said, "but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. 

"I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.

"We are told again and again by 'experts' and 'talking heads' that Islam is a religion of peace and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the spectre of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.

"The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. 

"It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honour-kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. It is the fanatics who teach their young to kill and to become suicide bombers. The hard, quantifiable fact is that the peaceful majority, the 'silent majority,' is cowed and extraneous. 

"Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China 's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.

"The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet. And who can forget Rwanda , which collapsed into butchery? Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were 'peace-loving'? 

"History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason, we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points: peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence. Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from Germany , they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun."

Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late.

What do statistics tell us: not later than 2051 France will have more Muslims than Christians, The Netherlands to follow just a couple of years later, Belgium probably by the year 2060, and Germany already has over 8 million Muslims which is to say, 10% of its population and every week new ones coming from war-torn countries. 

Mosques are mushrooming all over the E. U. receiving construction permits on a daily basis. Go and ask for a church construction permit not even as far as Saudi- Arabia, just start asking in Turkey and you'll feel a hard kick in your butt. 

Now Islamic prayers have been introduced in Toronto and other public schools in Ontario, and in Ottawa too, while the Lord's Prayer was removed (due to being so offensive?). The Islamic way may be peaceful for the time being in our country... until the fanatics move in.

In Australia, and indeed in many countries around the world, many of the most commonly consumed food items have the halal emblem on them. Just look at the back of some of the most popular chocolate bars, and at other food items in your local supermarket. Food on aircraft have the halal emblem just to appease the privileged minority who are now rapidly expanding within the nation's shores. Why? Because they dare in the name of God. 

In the UK, the Muslim communities refuse to integrate and there are now dozens of no-go zones within major cities across the country that the police force dare not intrude upon. Sharia law prevails there, because the Muslim community in those areas refuse to acknowledge British law.

As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts -- the fanatics who threaten our way of life, in the name of God. Anyone who doubts that the issue is serious is contributing to the passiveness that allows the problems to expand. Let us hope that thousands world-wide read this, think about it, and pass it on before it's too late!

UPDATED: Waiting in the wings... or maybe just outside the window?

With President Trump's near-certain lock on the Republican nomination, the prognosticators (and people who like making predictions), are turning their alleged minds to the possibility that someone other than Joe Brandon might lead the Dumbocrats to the brink of disaster.

In "Waiting for Hellery" (WWW 10/8/23) and again in Formerly "'Demented Joe', now 'DESPERATE Joe'" (WWW 11/12/23), Walt suggested the DNC was setting things up for a third (and ABF) at-bat for Mrs Bill. 

Over the weekend, a big chunk of the commentariat has floated a trial balloon for the wife of the Prez. The talk is that Camela Harris wasn't the perfect diversity candidate, because (a) she's not black enough and (b) she can't put together two coherent sentences. Michelle Obama, however, looks black enough (although she doesn't talk black), and, unlike Ms Harris, has a black(ish) husband. 

And there's more. The Obamas come from Chicago, which everyone knows is an exemplar of the peace and prosperity that can be yours, dear American reader, if only you vote for the party whose icon is an ass.

I'll be talkin' at ya again on Wednesday.

UPDATE ADDED 25/1/24: OK, so it's Thursday, not Wednesday. Here's a report posted Wednesday on PJMedia, headlined "Barack Obama Is Telling Joe Biden to Quit the 2024 Race". Of course we don't know if Brandon is listening to the Prez... or even capable of understanding the message.

MUSIC VIDEO: "Don't Take the Good Times for Granted"

Let it never be said that Walt never posts anything positive and uplifting. 

 

Thanks to Agent 6 for sending this to us. Hope ya get shovelled out sometime soon!

Thought for the day from C.S. Lewis

Declining number of perishers forces closure of Ontario church

Shelburne, Ontario is a small town -- only recently upgraded from a village -- in Dufferin County, on the "roof of Ontario", about 150 miles northwest of Toronto. [Agent 3 says "That's not far enough!"] For over seven decades it was home to the Canadian Old Time Fiddle Contest, which was worth a long drive to attend. Sadly, the event was "paused" during the Covid dempanic. It is unclear whether it will return this year.

That part of Ontario is Orange -- as in Loyal Orange Lodge -- country. There are mighty few Catholics on the ground there. And not as many Protestants either, according to an article by Paula Brown, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter for the Shelburne Free Press & Economist, picked up recently by Canadian Press.

Ms Brown reports that one of Shelburne’s founding churches is ending a more than 150-year-old chapter in history as they prepare to officially close their doors this month. 

St. Paul’s Anglican Church, will be closing its doors following a final service for the congregation on Sunday, 21 January. 

For non-Canucks, the Anglican Church is the Canadian counterpart of the Church of England. In the US of A, Anglicans would be called Episcopalians. In Canada they're known as "the ToryParty at prayer."

The decision to close the church came in October of 2023 with a vote from church members after months of discussions. “Many of our congregation has aged out, going into long-term [care] residences or subsequently passing away,” said Marg Finlayson, "People's Warden" -- sounds kind of Communist, doesn't it? -- of the congregation. “People have also moved away." 

Ms Brown writes: "The limited number of perishers also led to a decrease in funding, putting a financial strain on the church." 

Memo from Ed. to Paula Brown: It seems you are a product of Ontario's education "system", and, as such, have never been taught to spell or use a dictionary (as opposed to a spell-checker). Allow me to help you enlarge your vocabulary. 

A perisher can be: 

(a)  A chatacter in The Perishers, a long-running British comic strip about a group of neighbourhood children and a dog. (Source: Wikipedia)

(b) One of Ola Klüft (vocals, guitar), Martin Gustafson (keyboards, backing vocals), Pehr Åström (bass), and Thomas Hedlund (drums), the members of The Perishers, a Swedish indie rock band. (Source: Wikipedia)

(c) A child who is being annoying. (Source: Cambridge Dictionary). 

You're welcome.

Moving forward with Brandon

Crooked Joe's 2024 election campaign... 

As the Democrats see it. 

Warranty expired long ago but what the hell, it's still running. Besides, there's nothing better on the lot.

As the Republicans see it. 

Never gonna make it up the hill carrying so much baggage. Joe's not "crooked", he's "cooked"!

Very à propos Image submitted by a faithful reader. Keep the faith, baby!

Why young Americans are so confused

The problem is the new politically correct vocabulary. What they read and hear is the opposite of reality.

Thanks to Neocon Servative, on Disqus.

On to New Hampshire, while CNN, MSNBC sulk

I hear there is already much soiling of shorts at the DNC HQ. My sources tell me President Brandon has been invited to come out of hiding and get into the office for a little talk.

And this is only the beginning of the end for Senile Joe and The Boy. As Nelson Muntz sez: HA-ha. 

Oh yeah... stay tuned... but NOT to CNN or MSNBC. Read: "MSNBC, CNN Refuse to Air Donald Trump's Victory Speech in Iowa but Air Haley and DeSantis Speeches", Breitbart News, 16/1/23.

Are the Habs for real? Poor Len Canayen's mid-season report

Memo to WWW National Sports (as long as it's hockey) Editor. Len, you scum-sucking son of a motherless goat, you've got exectly ten hours to get your copy in before tonight's Habs-Oilers matchup. It's a new year and I'll be damned if you're going to draw any salary for sitting on your derrière. Vas-y!

Hokay, Hed! (Hey, you're not going to post dat, are you?) Here's my report on the Montréal Canadiens, to the half-way point in their NHL season. Thursday night's loss to the lowly San Jose Sharks. 

Final score 3-2, and that pretty much sums up the Habs season so far. Lots of one-goal games, and so many games won or lost in overtime or a shootout that I've lost count of them. 

That said, les Glorieux have won their share of those games. They rarely get blown out of the rink, and have 6 wins in overtime or a shootout. Could be worse. They've been playing roughly .500 hockey, currently .488, which is good for 6th place in the NHL's Atlantic division.  

That means -- and this is the "pleasant surprise" part -- that they're not likely to finish in a good position in the draft lottery. Indeed, with a bit of luck, they might get a wildcard position in the playoffs. That's nothing to sneeze at. The 2020-21 Habs finished 16th overall, just barely getting into the playoffs, but made it through to the Stanley Cup finals, which they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

That les Glorieux still have a chance at this point in the season is due to good coaching from Martin St. Louis, and a much improved team effort, and that without Tanner Pearson, Alex Newhook, Christian Dvorak and Kirby Dach, who played in only 2 games before being laid low by a season-ending injury.

Let's look at who's still on the roster, whoès helping and who's not. This year's team is remarkable in that a lot of scoring is being done by defencemen. For my money, the Canadiens' MVP is D-man Mike Matheson. If Montréal didn't already have a good captain, they should give the "C" to Matheson. The guy's a horse! He's one of the NHL’s leaders in time on ice and his willingness to lead the rush -- it's a pleasure to watch him skate -- makes him the ideal for a team coached by St. Louis.

At the other end of the spectrum is Johnathan Kovacevic, one of half a dozen youngsters who've played in front of Habs goalies this year. "The K-man" is a solid stay-at-home defenceman, who may think he needs a passport to enter the opposing teams' zone. He has scored 5 goals, including the most bizarre goal of the year, into an empty net when eveeryone (except him) thought there had been a stoppage in play. However, Kovacevic is +6, which is a decent +/- stat. The coach doesn't seem to like him, but I do!

I'm not saying Coach is wrong. The Canadiens lead the league in goals by defencemen but they rank a lowly 28th in offence, which means guys up front haven’t been pulling their weight. 

Captain Nick Suzuki leads the team in scoring for a third consecutive season, with Cole Caufield, for whom fans had great hopes, in third place. The aforementioned Mike Matheson has one more point than Caufield.

Caufield's goal production is off, and I think it's because the little guy is playing like a little guy. (Wee Brendan Gallagher, on the other hand, always plays like a giant!) Perhaps Caufield is dealing with the effects of the shoulder injury that sidelined him for the second half of last season. He shys away from the "dirty" areas -- the slot and the blue paint -- and opposing teams have figured that out.

Another forward I like (and wish he could do better) is big Josh Anderson. Talk about slow starts! It wasn't until December that Anderson scored his first goal, not counting an empty-netter. Then he had 5 points in 5 games and now he's gone dry again. It's not that he doesn't try. Bulling his way into the offensive zone he's nearly unstoppable. But when he gets there... hands of stone. Keep trying, Josh!

At present, sophomore Juraj Slafkovsky plays on the right of Caufield and Suzuki. He too had a slow start, but has learned to use his size and skill and looks to me like a keeper. The absence of Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Christian Dvorak makes it easier for defences to concentrate on the top line and the lack of depth filters through the other lines, affecting players like Sean Monahan and Jake Evans.

Monahan and Evans are both good at the dot. Props to Evans who is getting a lot more ice time this year, faut de mieux. Monahan is one of the Habs' top goal-scorers and the most consistent faceoff man despite not having much support on the wing. 

Getting back to defence, the Canadiens may have a blessing in disguise, in the form of half a dozen D-men aged under 25, in their first or second years in the NHL. One of them that Coach St. Louis likes is Justin Barron, because he likes jumping into the rush -- too much so, IMHO. He needs to learn to play defence!

A pleasant suprise this year has been the emergence of rookie Jayden Struble on defence. His solid two-way play is the reason why Arber Xhekaj is stuck in Laval, in spite of being a fan favourite for his scrappy physical game. Like Barron, Xhekaj should play defence first, fight later.

Now to another problem that is good to have... maybe. La Sainte Flannelle is the only NHL team playing three -- count `em, three -- goaltenders, more or less in rotation. None of Jake Allen, Samuel Montembeault, or Cayden Primeau has had more than two starts in a row. The save percentages are, respectively, 900, .907 and .905. Those are pretty good numbers, considering that they face an average of over 33 shots per game, the highest in the NHL, which says something about the Habs' defence.

As we approach the trade deadline, it's clear that one of the three will have to go, and there are plenty of teams sniffing around. The question for GM Kent Hughes is what he can get in return for (most likely) Jake Allen. There are gaps to fill on both offence and defence. 

If the team was still in rebuilding mode, he could settle for draft picks and "future considerations". But now that the surprising Canadiens are in danger of making the playoffs (!), fans will be hoping for someone who can make a significant impact right now. As Walt would say, stay tuned!

...or else!!!

What Covenant House doesn't talk about in its fundraising pitch

Agent 3 reports that  Covenant House Toronto has recently flighted a massive repeat of its successful fundraising video ad, which opens with a long shot of a poor waif, sitting, cold and hungry, in the doorway of a downtown building, as a strange man (possibly a "chicken hawk") approaches.

"Amazing Grace" (of course) plays softly as we go to the voiceover which suggests Covenant House saves little white "barely legals" like this from a fate worse than death. The ad would melt the heart of a Scrooge, which is the intention of course.

If that one doesn't get to you, perhaps you'll be persuaded by this snippet scraped from the Covenant House Toronto website.

Even Ayn Rand couldn't refuse to help a sweet little girl like that "find a path forward", dontcha think? Sadly, young women like her are in the minority [the visible minority? Ed.] of Covenant House's "clients". The majority, in Toronto at least, include:

* "international students", getting into Canada by the back door -- a student visa to study at the likes of the Singh School of Truck Driving,

* drug addicts who won't get treatment, seeking only need a place to crash, and

* bogus refugees, asylum-seekers and other illegal immigrants (read: benefits shoppers) avoiding deportation, not that deportation is just as much a threat in Canada as it is in the US of A.

Jasmine Ramze Rezaee, the Director of Advocacy & Communications for YWCA Toronto, which undertakes similar work, told an interviewer that for those who are new to Canada, students included, housing challenges can sometimes be magnified. "I do think that refugees and people with precarious immigration status and even folks who have not yet obtained their refugee status, deal with a lot of compounding challenges and vulnerabilities because they can't oftentimes access even the minimum level of support that our society provides. And it's not uncommon for them to end up in the shelter system."

For a more accurate picture of the kind of marginalized yoofs the charity protects from the realities of life, check out "Rising above hate to build a better life", on their website. I suppose that it would be churlish to suggest that poor Nathaniel would have been better of had he stayed in his own country and straightened out his personal life. But don't let them guilt you into feeling like an ogre for suggesting that "how he is" is his own choice, and it's somehow our duty to shield him from the consequences.

On its website and in its literature, Covenant House Toronto says "We are part of an international network. Covenant House is an internationally recognized child care agency with 'houses' in 34 cities in Canada (Toronto and Vancouver), the U.S. and Latin America."

For some reason, Covenant House downplays the fact that it is, in theory at least, a Catholic charity. The mother organization was founded by Franciscan Father Bruce Ritter to provide shelters for homeless teenagers. Father Ritter was forced to resign a few years ago over accusations of financial and sexual misdeeds. (Source: Toronto Star, 3/3/16) I beg your forgiveness for wondering in the, errr, misdeeds involved Lolitas like the one in the TV ad.

Well, no matter. Covenent House Toronto has been a high-profile Catholic charity in Toronto for the past several years now. Although their "Impact Report 2023" (a model of wokeness and DEI) says they receive only 2% of their funding from Catholic Charities and the Archdiocese of Toronto's annual ShareLife appeal, the executive director of ShareLife Toronto, told an interviewer that $1 million a year comes from Toronto’s ShareLife, and $1.5 million dollars comes from Covenant House, New York. The balance of the over $3 million yearly budget is supplied from provincial and municipal funds.

Funny, then, that according to an article in The Interim, Covenant House Toronto -- "set up to help street kids rehabilitate themselves" -- hands out condoms and does abortion referrals! While condom distribution is a matter of public record and is sanctioned by the Archdiocese of Toronto, abortion referrals are made quietly and depend on which worker a girl seeks at the House. Both practices have been publicly justified by several Canadian theologians on the grounds of "the lesser of two evils."

A director of ShareLife Toronto defended the practice of giving out condoms to high-risk street kids. He described many of them as homosexuals who were possibly AIDS carriers, and claimed this provided some measure of protection from them. He said the policy had been approved by the Catholic board of Covenant House after extensive consultations with moral theologians whom he would not name. 

I am not telling you not to respond to Covenant House's insistent appeals. I believe in "Judge not, that ye be not judged." Unlike the perpetrators of the Help Kids Canada scam, the people running Covenant House are trying to do something to help the marginalized and less fortunate. God knows their intentions and will surely forgive them if, in their zeal, they do or advocate things that are morally questionable. But that doesn't mean that it's racist or homophobic or uncharitable or un-Christian to disagree with what they're doing. To give or not to give, the choice is yours.

Something to think about

The Dumbocrats know they could run Brandon stuffed -- think Weekend at Bernie's -- and still win California, New York and (of course) Massachusetts, so what's to worry?

Anti-black racism in the Great White North? Surely you jest!

As regular readers of WWW know, racism of any kind is not tolerated in Canuckistan. Well, anti-white racism is OK, but slurs on Bipocs, followers of the Religion of Peace, Jews, and any other WAP (Woke-Approved People) are "completely unnaceptable"- the most overused phrase of 2023. 

 "Could you give us an example?", Walt hears you ask. Certainly. Meet Franck Sylvestre and his friend, who starred in a show called "L'incroyable secret de barbe noire" ("The Incredible Secret of Blackbeard") which was performed in a suburb of Montréal last year... just once.

M Sylvestre's show was included in the municipality's Black History Month schedule, but was cancelled because some Forces for Good in the community found it racist -- totally unacceptable! Imagine that!

A "civil rights" group telling named The Red Coalition -- how's that for full disclosure? -- called for further performances of the theatre piece to be cancelled, arguing that the unnamed puppet [At least he wasn't called "Sambo". Ed.] was an example of "anti-Black racism and reminiscent of blackface minstrel shows — performances intended to mock Black people."

The Red Coalition's director, Alain Babineau, tweeted that M Sylvestre's play was a "drop of systemic racism" and suggested M Sylvestre was a "sellout" in the service of white people. Franck Sylvestre is black (or "Black", if you prefer) by the way, a native of Martinique, a French possession [not "colony", shurely. Ed.] in the Caribbean.

Yesterday M Sylvestre has filed a lawsuit against M Babineau, alleging that he made unreasonable claims about the puppet, which have damaged his career in the theatre. According to the statement of claim, M Babineau "unreasonably associated the plaintiff and his puppet with racism, with the submission of Black people to white people and even white supremacism and the dehumanization of Black people." 

It goes on to call the criticism an attack on Sylvestre's reputation, and an attempt "to expose him to the hatred and contempt of the public in general and the Black community in particular." 

At a presser yesterday, M Sylvestre's lawyer said the puppet is based on his client's own appearance and that there's nothing racist about the show. He said it is not defamatory to describe actual racist comments as racist, but associating "someone who is clearly not racist, with a show that is clearly not racist" with racism is defamatory. 

"It's an issue of freedom of artistic expression," the lawayer added. "If every representation of a Black person that doesn't please M Babineau and others becomes blackface, becomes the subject of calls for censorship, that limits my client's freedom of artistic expression and, potentially, that of other artists." 

Indeed. If you were a juror, would you find for M Sylvestre, or do you believe M Babineau was doing the only decent and woke thing by calling out an expression of anti-black racism which in today's progressive society is... wait for it... complete unacceptable.

Note from Ed.: We contacted the Prime Minister of All Canuckistan, Blackie McBlackface, for comment, but have received no response.

VIDEO: Is 2024 going to be even worse than 2023?

Michael Matt, editor of the Remnant newspaper, says 2024 is going to be "hell on earth!" Why? Because the one-worlders, Communists, and lunatic left realize that people are waking up to their plans for the New World Order, and are starting to resist. 

That's what we've seen in recent elections in Europe where the right is resurgent. We see it also in the Church, in the open opposition to the New World Religion of "Pope" Francis. The godless revolution of the one-worlders is failing. 

They know it and they're afraid, desperately afraid. So much do they fear that, come November, Americans will vote to join the reistance, that Tucker Carlson, for one wouldn't be surprised if they try to assassinate President Trump, which is starting to look like the only way they can keep him off the ballot. Would you be surprised? Look what almost happened to Ronald Reagan.

In this editiion of the Remnant Underground, Michael Matt takes a look at the extraordinary turn of events whereby globalism is suddenly taking so much blowback that the entire house of cards may fall in the near future. The triumph of the New World Order is not inevitable after all!
 

In the Catholic Church, for example, with its globalist pope (so he claims) at the helm, it is now manifestly obvious that not since the Avignon Captivity of the Fourteenth Century, has there been greater hierarchical resistance to a reigning pontiff. 

Mr Matt calls upon the clans to supporting the African Bishops’ conferences, the Hungarians, the Poles, the Kazakhstanis, Cardinals Muller, Burke, Sarah and so many others as they publicly resist this disastrous pontificate. The hierarchical firepower being amassed against Francis right now could lead to an imperfect council or some other form of authoritative judgment against his derelict pontificate.

Obviously, this is precisely what Cardinal “Tucho” is worried about, which is why he attempted to double down on Fiducia Supplicans this week, which only made matters worse for Francis. Michael reminds us that, due to the history-changing nature of this moment, lay Catholics need to make sure the good bishops find in us the loyal defenders we've always promised them we’d be if they would raise their voices in resistance. 

Also... President Putin’s New Year’s message to the people of Russia is probably the most nationalistic address any superpower leader has delivered since the inaugural speech of Donald Trump. Now what are builders of the New World Order going to do? 

No matter how you slice it, or whose side you're on, 2024 promises to be a year of cataclysmic change... for better... or for worse. Whose side are you on? The side of evil, personified in so many of our world "leaders" or on the side of the angels, like those Mr Matt talks about in this video. 

Let me close with one of President Kennery's favourite quotes, from Canto 3 of Dante Alighieri's Inferno: "The darkest places of hell are reserved for those who, in times of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality."

While we wait for Walt....

another good meme from the American Patriot

Walt will return...

when he's good and ready.... Ed.

Diversity hire: Did she get her job the same way Camela Harris did?

Wikipedia sez: Karine Jean-Pierre (born August 13, 1974) is an American political advisor who has served as the White House press secretary since May 13, 2022. She is the first black person and the first openly LGBT person to serve in the position. 

Wikipedia doesn't say that she's a French citizen by birth (in Martinique) and a Democrat. It also doesn't say whether she's L or G or B or T or all of the above. Too bad she's not a Jew with a disability. Then she'd have the Superfecta!

A quarter of a million dollars later...

Further reading (in case you're new to WWW of missed these the first time:

"'The Bolt Adventure' - a true tale from the world of EVs" (WWW 4/11/23)

"Another EV horror story" (WWW 23/12/23), and

"Nature fights back against EVs" (WWW 25/10/23).

That's right, folks. Walt is on the anti-EV bandwagon. And that's looking simply at cost efficience and practicality. Not included is the hyuge amount of supposedly polluting hydrocarbons used in the production of electric vehicles and in the generation of the electricity stored in the batteries.

Final comment: Even Brian Griffin is smart enough not to go full electric. He drives a Prius!

A New Year's greeting from +Father Roman

This video was discovered only this past fall, after +Father Roman's death. His greeting was recorded in 2016. I'm sure he wishes us the same today. Walt [and Ed. Ed.] say "Amen."