Islamist ideology = kill the Christians

His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, is seen here comforting some of the Iraqi Christians who survived the tragic and disgraceful Hallowe'en Massacre perpetrated by Muslim militants at the Syriac Catholic cathedral in Baghdad.

This past Sunday, at the Angelus, the Holy Father prayed for the victims of the "continual attacks that are taking place in Iraq against Christians and Muslims." Then and previously he cited other "situations of violence, of intolerance, of suffering...in the world." But the insistent reference to Iraq seemed to express unusual concern.

The October 31 attack was deliberately planned for a time when hundreds would be hearing Mass. 58 Catholic faithful were butchered and scores wounded, in what can only be seen as a revelation of the true intention of the Islamist radicals.

The attackers were wearing explosive belts. They opened fire and threw grenades shouting, "You will all go to hell, but we to paradise. Allah is most great." The attack lasted five hours! In that time, the terrorists stopped killing twice to pray to Allah, and all the while recited the Qur'an as if in a mosque.

They devastated the altar, used the crucifix for target practice, and terrorized even small children simply because they were "infidels".

Here we see confirmed the widely-held Muslim belief that violence against "the infidel" is something intrinsic to Islam, not a distortion of it. This is the idea that was at the centre of the Pope's lecture in Regensburg, for which he was widely condemned as "racist" and "intolerant".

What the Holy Father was saying, though, is that this idea of "jihad against the infidels"and that pope Ratzinger maintains can be reversed only with a "revolution of enlightenment" on the part of Islam itself.

What are the chances of such enlightenment? Don't hold your breath while waiting. In Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq the killing of Christians just because they are Christians goes on, with western nations turning blind eyes and deaf ears.

Just two days ago, a married couple were attacked murdered in their own home. And the exodus of Christians from the Middle East continues.

Take down that offensive Christmas tree!

Following Walt's earlier post urging you to wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS, Agent 17 passes on this sad-but-true story from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Ed. has shortened it a bit; you can read the whole horrible thing here.

SOUTHLAKE -- Chase Bank told Texas businessman Antonio Morales to remove the Christmas tree he donated to a local branch because it could offend people.

The tree remained in the lobby from the Monday before Thanksgiving until Tuesday. Morales said the bank manager -- a personal friend -- called him Wednesday to tell him the tree had to go. She later showed him an e-mail from JPMorgan Chase saying that the tree had to be removed because some people were offended by it.

Greg Hassell, a JPMorgan Chase spokesman, said that the company's policy isn't anti-Christmas. "People wish their customers merry Christmas when it's appropriate," he said.
However, to ensure that everyone who visits Chase branches feels welcome and comfortable, the bank's policy is to use only decorations supplied by the company.

"We appreciate the thoughtful gesture from Mr. Morales," Hassell said. "Unfortunately, we're unable to keep it [the tree] on display for the remainder of the holiday season." JPMorgan Chase ensures that decorations are "something everyone is comfortable with, regardless of how they celebrate the season," Hassell said.

But others see the tree as a symbol of the season. A spokeswoman at Trinity Bank in Fort Worth said it has had a tree in its lobby since the Friday after Thanksgiving.

"I've been in this business more than 30 years, and every place I've worked we've put up a Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving," said Linda Robertson, assistant vice president.

Bryan Fischer, director of issue analysis for the American Family Association, called Chase's decision absurd.
"According to Advertising Age, 91 percent of American people celebrate Christmas," Fischer said. "That means that the single most inoffensive thing you can do at this time of year is wish someone a merry Christmas."

Fischer said that companies that have gotten away from acknowledging Christmas claim that they do it because they want to be inclusive.
"The most inclusive thing you can do is wish someone merry Christmas," he said. "This means that Chase is running the risk of offending far more people by disrespecting Christmas than they are by honoring it."

Agent 17's comment: This will frost your privates as it did mine. 91% of Americans celebrate Christmas and the minority dictates what we do!

Walt sez: Political correctness triumphs again! In the land of the free and home of the brave, minority "rights" trump majority opinion every time.

Wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

The Christmas season is upon us. I got the Christmas tree up last night. And I will be making a conscious effort this year to wish everyone I meet a Merry Christmas!

It's my way of saying that I am celebrating the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

I am asking you, dear readers, if you agree with me, to please do the same.

And if you'll pass this on to others, maybe we can prevent one more Canadian / American / British tradition from being drowned in the sea of political correctness.

Further thought... If you don't believe that people have forgotten what Christmas is really about, Google the images associated with the phrase "Merry Christmas". Sad is what it is.

SCTV is (back) on the air!

Let's face it. Canadian sitcoms stink. Remember King of Kensington? And how about the execrable Little Mosque on the Prairie?

You probably haven't seen or heard of either of those, even if you live north of the border. King was created by a Canadian Norman Lear wannabe. It tried to be sensitive and funny at the same time and succeeded at neither. As for Little Mosque, it starts with a ridiculous premise -- the title says it all -- and goes downhill from there.

It's not that Canadians have no sense of humour. There's a lot more good-natured irreverence in Canada than in the counterpart society to the south. Unlike their American cousins, Canadians know theirs is a nitwit country, and they're not afraid to laugh at themselves. Who do you think writes all those Canadian (and other) gags for The Simpsons and South Park?

Walt thinks the problem is that most Canadian sitcoms are commissioned by and for the deadly dull Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, a public (i.e. government-owned) broadcaster so politically correct that it's impossible to poke fun at any identifiable group except maybe the Church.

Yet making fun of racial, ethnic and religious characteristics of one group or another is the essence of most of the jokes you'll hear around the water cooler or at the watering hole. Sketch comedy, fortunately, is another matter. Some would say that sketches are a lower art form, but in reality they require better writing and better, funnier ideas than sitcoms. There's a lot more to creating a funny TV sketch than dressing some actors up in funny clothes and makeup (e.g. Coneheads) and letting them do slapstick for a couple of minutes.

Canadians do sketch comedy superbly. And one of the best Canadian sketch comedy shows, SCTV, is back on the air. Incredibly, SCTV (Second City Television) was originally broadcast on the CBC from 1976 through 1984.

That network's insistence on political correctness led to the creation of the famous "Great White North" sketches, featuring Bob and Doug Mackenzie (Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis), which begat a movie, Strange Brew.

Even Americans found the Mackenzie Brothers hilarious. Thomas and Moranis said in an interview that they didn't think Americans realized the characters were Canadian, "only a couple of dumb guys". Here's a sample.



Check the cable and satellite listings for the comedy channels and you'll likely find SCTV somewhere. It's still funny, a quarter of a century later.

Postscript: These days the CBC would never allow the "Great White North" segment. God forbid that Canadians should ever say that theirs was a white society. That would imply that people of non-whitish hues don't belong. We couldn't have that...eh...

Thanksgiving madness: sign of a lost society

This disturbing -- make that frightening -- video was sent by John Vennari at Catholic Family News to a mutual friend.

John writes:
This is a secular viewpoint. And though the tone may appear a bit sensational, I think the basic points in the video are valid.

Walt agrees. We cannot be blind and deaf to the sickness we see and hear around us every day...especially on "happy holidays".



Click here to visit the Catholic Family News website.

Internet problems - note from Ed.

Dear readers,

Walt tries hard not to let two consecutive days go by without saying something about something. However, we are at the mercy of our Internet "Service" Provider. When they cut the wire, we are rendered mute. So it was on Wednesday and Thursday.

Walt knows that there is at least one sometime reader who was hoping he (Walt) would fall off the face of the earth. It hasn't happened yet!

Ed.

Conversing about immigration

The Globe and Mail -- Canada's answer to the New York Times -- thinks Canadians should have a "conversation" about matters of importance for the future of the country. The Glob's politically correct editorial staff made up a list of the Top Ten Topics. Immigration did not appear on the list. Neither did racism or culture clash or anything which wasn't 100% politically correct.

This is more than passing strange, considering that immigration, bogus refugee claims, black crime, and the stubborn refusal of south Asians to adapt to Canadian society are the topics one overhears being discussed anywhere real Canucks gather. Anywhere outside of Starbucks and the drawing rooms of Rosedale, that is.

The Tory government of "Call me Steve" Harper, showing that it is only half-deaf to the wishes of ordinary Canadians, has introduced Bill C-49, which would curb human trafficking -- the smuggling into the country of illegal aliens.

The socialist NDP and leftish Bloc Québecois have announced that they will oppose the bill. So, in the current minority parliament, the bill's fate rests in the hands of the opposition Liberals.

The Liberals, led [after a fashion. Ed.] by Count Michael Ignatieff, hold a large number of seats in the Toronto and Vancouver areas, including some which are East Indian ghettos. The voters there are Sikh, Sikh, Sikh.

On the other hand, the Glibs are never going to return to their position as Canada's Natural Governing Party unless they can win back a goodly number of white bread ridings in TROC -- The Rest Of Canada outside the hotbeds of multicult. They are in danger of losing their grip even on Toronto's suburbs, as witness this week's by-election in the largely Italian-Canadian riding of Vaughan.

So if you're Count Iggula, what do you do? Pander to the racists or pander to the vizmins? Count on Mikey to make the wrong decision. Yep, he announced a couple of days ago -- apparently without consulting his caucus -- that his party will also oppose the government's bill.

Just another demonstration of how out of touch Iggy and the puppeteers who pull his strings are with the thoughts and feelings of the majority of Canadians.

That's not just Walt's opinion. Click here to read Michael Den Tandt's column in the Sun/QMI papers today. Here's the main point:

"Earth to Liberals: You are offside with most Canadians, including Liberal Canadians, on this issue.

"Ending the abuse of our immigration and refugee system is not contrary to the interests of immigrant communities, or of refugees. The opposite is true.

"If the abuse continues, as we have seen in Europe, the popular pressure against immigration will only grow."