John Edwards Keeps Renegade Bloggers

Great news for the Republican party - John Edwards has decided to keep Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan on the payroll for the time being. (Doesn't mean he won't quietly dump them before the campaign kicks into a higher gear, of course.) This will be hailed as a victory among the lefty netroots and will re-invigorate their devotion to Edwards.

If 2004 repeats itself, and Edwards is able to capitalize on online fundraising the way Howard Dean did, he will syphon a lot of money and primary voter allegiance away from the Obama and Clinton campaigns, while simultaneously ensuring that if he were to somehow get the Democratic nod (unlikely even with nutroots help) he would automatically be rejected by large swaths of non-insane Democratic voters.

Edwards looks like a tool for having so easily and carelessly gotten himself into this mess, so really it's win-win-win for Republicans.

Blogging Lite

Sorry about the continued drought of new posts. I have some things happening in my personal life that are taking up a lot of my time and concern. Please check back periodically, but posting may be light for the next while.

Thanks,

Marty

A Penny For Your Thoughts

Ugh. What a stupid title.

Damian Penny has written so much in the two days since I looked at his blog that there's no way I can possibly comment on all of it in a short post. Go yonder and fill yer boots.

Bounder Update

mcf from the other Bounder of Adventure has returned my email, and is okay with both of us keeping the name.

Earl McRae Cares More Than You Do

Colby Cosh excoriates Earl McRae in this post regarding McRae's latest Ottawa Sun article. Paul Martin doesn't make it through unscathed either.

Michael Moore Is Such An Ass

I didn't watch the People's Choice awards, because awards shows give me hives. (My personal opinion is that good art doesn't require public congratulation, but is it's own reward.) Anyhoo, A Chick Named Marzi has a couple of posts about Michael Moore, who apparently received a pat on the back for his oeuvre.

Of Compassion and Continuity

Bob at canadiancomment has thoughts about the fickle nature of government compassion, and a later post about the nature of America's religious tradition.

Shakespeare In The Classroom

Huck at BumfOnline has a post up about an issue that I didn't even know was an issue. It shouldn't be an issue. Ignorance of Shakespeare is like ignorance of grammar or spelling. Not teaching at least some Shakespeare in the classroom is like not teaching reading. Shakespeare's work is the literary foundation of virtually all modern English language writing. If they aren't teaching Shakespeare, what are they teaching?

Update: speling errers corected. Duh.

Soft Power, Soft Justice

Andrew at Bound By Gravity has a post about a problem that's not going to go away any time soon - literally.

Whither The Red Crescent?

Damian Brooks posts about the lack of Muslim charitable assistance in Southeast Asia. Is there really a dearth of support from Islamic countries and charity organisations, or are we just overlooking it in reporting on our own contributions? No, really, that's not a rhetorical question. Does anybody know?

He goes on to discusses his reasoning for canceling his National Post subscription. Maybe the publishers should take a few notes.

Then he goes and gets all metaphysical, in a down-to-earth sort of way. A long post, but sure to provoke a few thoughts.

The Sad State of Our Military

John at Argghhh! laments the sad state of the Canadian military, and coins an apt analogy of the situation.

Molson Canadians

Joel Fleming, who I have just added to the blogroll, has another great post about seperating anti-American Canadians into two breeds, the first of which he calls Molson Canadians. This is the first of a two (or maybe three) part series. Looking forward to the continuation.

Bounder Update

A reader emailed to say the black background was a little hard on the eyes, so I'm trying out charcoal gray. Any comments would be appreciated.

Also, I've noticed that Blogger has a weird habit of screwing up the order of things I've posted after midnight, switching post times on different items. It's not crucial, but it's irritating. Does anyone know why this is happening?

Steyn Alert

A great column from Steyn about airline travel at the Spectator. (Login required.)

(Hat Tip - Jay Jardine)

Freeway to Serfdom

Please welcome Jay Jardine at Freeway to Serfdom to the Bounder blogroll. This post, about the ever increasing levels of humiliation airline passengers are being subjected to, is a good read.

Joel Fleming Alert

Welcome Joel Fleming to the blogroll with this magnificent post about the youth vote and like matters, from the youth perspective. Joel's the second university student to email me about his blog. It's good to know that such bright young men walk the frosty, conservative-unfriendly halls of academia here in the Great White North. Keep up the good work, Joel.

Update: Sorry for the delay in posting this, Joel. In the meantime, Joel's added a Part 2 to the above post. I think his take meshes nicely with mine.

That's A Bit Harsh, Maybe

Colby Cosh comments on Elizabeth Nickerson's apology for plagarism.

More Support for Danny Williams

Dana at canadiancomment voices his support for Danny Williams.

He also links to and reprints part of a great article by David Frum about the UN's "moral authority".

Update: How embarrassing. I've been alerted that Dana is not a woman's name. My apologies. The post has been corrected. If I ever meet you, please don't kick my ass.

Update: Dana posts about the name issue. It looks like I'm in the clear, or at least that I have some company.

Michael Jackson Reads Blog, Plans Move to Canada

Lindsay at United Right has a few things to say about N*A**M*B**L*A (name intentionally changed to avoid Google hits). Why, exactly, is the legal age of consent 14 in Canada, anyway? (Full disclosure: members of this organisation who try to contact me with their side of the story will be beaten senseless or ignored, depending on which method of communication they attempt.)

Insert Politician Here

Jaeger at Trudeaupia has harsh words about Pierre Pettigrew's trip to Thailand. Why am I not surprised that Pettigrew wouldn't even have cursory knowledge of Canada's contribution to the relief effort before going?

"Tom, Go ---- Yourself"

Kate at Small Dead Animals has some advice for Tom Cochran and friends. I couldn't have said it better myself. (Note this later post about language.)

She also warns in this post about a PETA-like animal rights organisation that you might want to think twice about giving money to.

Also of note: this story about why one woman will be receiving her back surgery across the border.

Update: Trudeaupia comments on the surgery story.

Potential Terrorism Alert

Len at Rite Turn Only links to a suspicious story about unnamed individuals attempting to purchase a large quantity of fertilizer in Calgary.

He also has good advice for those of you using Firefox as your web browser. I tried his suggestions on my desktop running Firefox, and it does seem faster.

This Is Why I Ignore Awards Shows

kariba at Right in Canada notes that The Passion of The Christ has been completely shut out of the Oscars. I would have thought that any movie, no matter what it's content, that generated the kind of international sensation that The Passion did would receive at least some recognition. And judging by the other nominees, the controversiality of a movie's content isn't a very important consideration. (Full disclosure: I haven't seen The Passion of The Christ.)

This Might Be a Hoax

Sean at PolSpy does a great job of satirizing an AP wire story.

Meanwhile, Nancy has a post noting the short life-expectancy of first world generosity in tragedy situations, and advice for politicians who want to use the tragedy as a photo-op.

Occam's Quandry

Alan at Occam's Carbuncle posts his feelings about CPC, and decides to stick with the party.

Religious News, Religious Views

North West Winds has a number of very deep and interesting posts about a variety of religious views, and links to other religious bloggers.

Richer Is Better

Jason Hayes at Musing looks at the effect wealth has on preventing the much devestating effects of natural disasters.

He also links to a hugely important article about adult stem cell research.

And anyone who can read this post and maintain that deep environmentalism isn't a fully fledged religion, well, hasn't really read the post. It's all right there.

He Taps My Knee Wit' Da Little Hammer, An' It Jerks!

Dr. Monger "examines" Paul Martin's trip to Southeast Asia and the latest drugs, and posts his "knee-jerk reactions" to same. (Sorry doc. I'll try to keep the bad metaphors to myself in future, but this time I just couldn' resist.)

Jacques Chiraciavelli

In keeping with my fun new hobby of adding "iavelli" to politicians' names I direct you to this post at Minority of One. Warning to unilinguists: get out your French/English dictionaries.

Dearth

Sorry about my dearth of linking over the past two days. Had a bit of the mid-winter 'flu to cope with. I'm feeling better now.

Legal Voting Age

Mike Brock has a post up about the Supreme Court's decision to shoot down a bid for the legal voting age in Canada. (I started writing a short analysis for this page that has grown too large. Check out my additional comments on Weather Report.)

Self-Absorption

Matt at Jerry Aldini links to and comments on a study of self-esteem promotion, and comes away feeling good about it.

Is This What They Mean...

...when the Left talks about something being "self-sustaining"? Publius at Gods of the Copybook Headings has an interesting post about the correlation between the generosity of welfare benefits and long-term dependancy on the same.

In one of the longest posts I've ever read (and honestly, I didn't get all the way through it) he has a back and forth argument with Upper Canadian about the differences between Canadian and American health care that deserves your attention, if you can spare the time.

He also reprints one of the best quotes I've ever read about the stupidity of political terminology.

Update: Publius has written me to correct an error I made above: his argument over healthcare is not with Upper Canadian's Michael Paetzold, but instead a gentleman named Johanthan Dursi. The final wordcount for this post, as of his writing is 9,242. It's an important issue in Canada and needs this kind of debate.

Paul Martiavelli

Bob Tarantino at Let It Bleed has an interesting theory about the appointment of Frank McKenna to the US ambassadorship.

Just Say No

Kateland at The Last Amazon reprints and comments on a recurring theme among the global Lefty jet-setters: global taxation. Doesn't that just warm your heart? The concept is blowing synapses throughout my frontal lobes. The only word that comes to mind is "no". I'll have more to say about this at a later date, you can be sure.

Update: Andrew at Bound By Gravity chimes in.

It's Not All Singing Chipmunks Out There

Darcey at Dust My Broom reminds us that wild animals are not pets. They are dangerous. Avoid interacting with them if you want to avoid tragic consequences. Greenpeace activist types, marching in their plastic sandals in downtown Toronto, don't have a freakin' clue about this. Believe me, I've known a few in my time, and they actually believe what they see in movies. And I mean Disney movies, where the animals freakin' talk.

A Brighter Future for Newfoundland

Not to stereotype, but to a man and woman all of the Newfoundlanders I've met in my life have been hard working and fiercely independant, exhuberant in times of plenty, and wistfully, even cheerfully stoic in hard times. It's hard to reconcile this opinion with the level of government dependance that our Easternmost province has come to accept. Damian Penny examines this topic in a review of Margaret Wente's latest Globe column.

Update: Jaeger at Trudeaupia comments.

Colby Cosh Live

Colby Cosh advises of his coming public appearances in this post. He also provides a short introduction to his latest National Post column, and reprints the text of an older column.

Give Anyway

Andrew at Bound By Gravity posts about the Canadian government's pledge to match contributions to the tsunami relief effort. Caveat: check the comments for more information that is somewhat crucial. Still, I say give what you can.

Year in Music Review

Huck at BumfOnline has his top ten picks for the year's best music, with a short review of each album. Here are his picks in order:

1) Gomez - Split the Difference
2) The Twilight Singers - She Loves You
3) Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose
4) Guster - Guster On Ice: Live from Portland Maine
5) Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
6) Social Distortion - Sex, Love and Rock and Roll
7) J.J. Cale - To Tulsa and Back
8) Sarah Slean - Day One
9) Jem - Finally Woken
10) Arcade Fire - Funeral

I listen to a lot of music, but to be honest I've never heard of seven out of ten of these albums. Time to broaden my horizons again.

Secrets of the Chia Tank Revealed!

John at Argghhh! shows off his Photoshopping (uh, make that Creative Suiting) skills.

The Bounder of Adventure Mission Statement (shudder)

I don't like the idea of "mission statements" but I didn't know what else to call this post.

I got an email from Damian Brooks today alerting me to a post he'd written about Bounder, including comments and advice about how to proceed. Thanks for the email and the great writeup on your blog, Damian. I agree with basically everything you said in your post, and everything that was added to the comments for that post (up until the time of this writing). I'd like to take this opportunity to give my perspective, and my reasons for creating Bounder.

I've been reading blogs posted by other people since 2001. My original introduction to weblogs was a reference to Andrew Sullivan's blog in a National Post article by Mark Steyn. Before that I'd heard of blogs but never bothered to look at them. I was amazed by what I read, by the links to so much great writing, and most of all by the blogroll of like-minded people. Within days I had URLs to dozens of American blogs, many of which I still read regularly to this day.

My introduction to Canadian blogging was very scatter-shot, and it took me years - literally - to find a collection of bloggers from Canada that I enjoyed as much as I enjoyed the American stuff. It occurred to me that while there are dozens of linking blogs on the web, most of them are drawn to American sites just by the sheer volume of writing going on in that country. Recently I deduced that Canada needed a linking site, a nexus of Canadian blogging, an easy means of locating and drawing attention to the great writing that Canadians had to offer.

Bounder of Adventure is a tribute to Canada's contribution to the blogosphere. I am not a hardcore nationalist by nature. I am a huge fan of the United States, and on my commentary blog Weather Report I fully intend to link to American sites (and sites from around the world) on a regular basis.

Writing for Bounder has been a great experience for me. I can see that it's going to be a lot of work, but I think the potential rewards are worth it.

If the day comes that I feel like Bounder has become irrelevant, or if I just can't take three to five hours a day of reading and posting, then I'll hang up my hat. I'm having way too much fun for that to be any time soon.

Enjoy Bounder of Adventure, follow the links that interest you, and drop me a line now and then. Thanks for reading.

The Other Bounder of Adventure

That's what I get for using a Monty Python reference for the title of my blog.

Earlier in the week I did a Google search for "Bounder of Adventure". (I guess I'm a bit of a narcissist.) To my surprise I came across another blog with the name Bounder of Adventure.

The other Bounder appears to have gone dormant - the last entry is from April 2004. I tried to contact the author by email but so far I haven't got a reply.

Now I'm in a bit of a pickle. I'd like to keep the name, but I don't want to step on anyone's toes. The ideal situation from my perspective would be if the other author has decided to hang up her (his?) hat and let's me keep the name without compromise. On the other hand, the worst scenario would an irate Democrat who hates Canadians in general and despises the Right insisting I drop the name and make some sort of public contrition.

I've thought about pre-emptively changing the name to just "Bounder" (my original name for the blog - the Monty Python reference crept in at the last minute) or perhaps "Bounder (of Adventure)".

If anyone has any thoughts or advice on this issue I'd appreciate it.

Such Is Life

My apologies to regular readers, whoever you are. (Mental note: get that site meter installed stat!) A previous engagement came up last night and I was unable to do my daily review. I know, I know, it doesn't bode well that I'm already falling down on the job in the first week, but bear with me. I have my schedule cleared for tonight to do double duty on the blogroll.

Thanks for your continued patience.

Blogroll Update

Welcome Ben Bach, a 21-year-old student from U of T, and his blog Skeet Skeet Skeet.

Cynacism Setting In

Lindsay at United Right is fed up with all of the pissing contests that have been going on in the wake of the tsunami disaster.

Chicken and Egg?

Jaeger at Trudeaupia posts about the tsunami disaster, Southeast Asian volcanos and climate change.

Aboriginal Friends

Kate at Small Dead Animals introduces new blogger Raskolnikov and reprints his takedown of Winnipeg Free Press writer Colleen Simard.

Something Missing...

...I know what it is! It's The Monger! I'm a long time Monger fan, and somehow in the wackiness of getting this site up and running I forgot to add him.

Here's a typically great Monger entry about the simple logic of correlation versus causation.

Rumour Mongering

Nancy Fielding at PolSpy wants to start a rumour about American beef.

The Great Canadian Blog War

Bob Tarantino has the whole low-down of the twists and turns in a flame war between Kathy Shaidle and Norman Spector at The Shotgun. Think of it as a modern-day Norse saga in blank verse. Or not.

Then there's this entry about the CHOI-FM drama from last year with a great quote from Jeff Filion, the jock at the centre of the storm.

Suggestions for the CPC

I'd like to welcome Matt at Jerry Aldini to the Bounder of Adventure blogroll and link to this excellent post full of suggestions for the CPC. We on the right side of the fence need something to believe in in this country, and these suggestions have to be taken seriously by the CPC. They just have to.

(Hat tip - Bob Tarantino's Let It Bleed)

"Strong Negotiator Preferred"

From The London Fog - I noticed this ad a few days ago as well, and I agree that it's completely creepy, in a way that I can't quite describe. It's not just the teeth, it's the look of satisfaction in the eyes.

From Mistaken Identity to Innovation

Jason Hayes at Musing reprints a funny and yet thought provoking article about how innovative some people can be.

Irony

Kateland at The Last Amazon notes an ironic programming decision by CTV. I agree with her - what were these people thinking? I shudder at the thought they may have done it on purpose.

Merry Christmas

Minority of One's Wednesday roundup is a great read - links to all kinds of fun stuff.

Inter-Blog Fisking (With Good Intent)

Publius at Gods of the Copybook Headings fisks a fellow blogger's take on American culture. A long post, but a great read. In a seperate post he notes an article about the potentially nightmarish consequences of Europe's system of publicly funded benefits.

Is the PM a Lame Duck?

Mike Brock asks the question in this post examining Paul Martin's not-so-stellar performance as Canada's de facto head of state. Personally, I think he's worse - as much of a glory hound as Chretien was, with even less of a sense of direction for the country (if that's possible) than his predecessor had.