"The Invisible Hand vs. The Hand of God"

Peter Foster:

The problem is excess of moralism, which bolsters divine regulatory aspirations of those who would paint themselves onto the roof of the Sistine Chapel 

“A banker, a professor and a priest walk into a bar.”  Thus Father Raymond de Souza – to appreciative laughter – began his contribution to last Friday’s panel discussion titled “Banking, Trust and the Culture of Capitalism” ... the “banker,” outgoing Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney. The “professor” was Roger Martin, who is also soon to leave his post as dean of the Rotman School at the University of Toronto.

Melanie Phillips

Talks about her new autobiography, Guardian Angel, My Story, My Britain



Excerpt.

[Via]

AMERICA'S MOST FEARED ECONOMIST

Ann Coulter:

... conservatives liberals fear most ... start being automatically referred to as "discredited."  

... no one is called "discredited" by liberals more often than the inestimable economist John Lott, author of the groundbreaking book 'More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws.' 

... Lott's economic analysis of the effect of concealed-carry laws on violent crime is the most thoroughly vetted study in the history of economics... 

... "Discredited" in liberal lingo means, "Ignore this study; it didn't come out well for us."

Liars - York Regional Police "diversity" squad changes its story

The York Police having previously admitted to the Toronto Sun that they pressured the rabbi, the National Post reported:  Police deny pressuring rabbi to cancel speech ...

Pamela Geller responded, blasting the Post as well as the police:

... look at the agenda driven picture they [the Post] use ...
... The fascist cop, Insp. Ricky Veerappan, already admitted that they threatened the rabbi with his removal from the York chaplaincy, so how does the National Post run a headline like this? ...

More reaction from Pam Geller.

And from Mark Steyn - on York Regional Police's chief  "diversity" cop:

Get lost, creep. In free societies, a constabulary isn’t there to enforce its “values”, it’s there to uphold the law. This man is unfit for his job.   [I'll disagree slightly: He's not fit to be a regular law enforcement cop, but he's probably quite well trained and fit for his Orwellian role as "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" enforcer.]

Blazing Cat Fur with Salim Mansur's letter to the York Police. [Outstanding letter, Salim!]

Update:  Ottawa Citizen editorial. Insp Ricky Veerappan, the YRP head of diversity enforcement, is a Muslim! (Doubly foul! Mighta' known.)

York police thugs enforcing sharia

York Regional Police threaten rabbi's role as chaplain over Pamela Geller speech

York Regional Police threatened to remove a rabbi as one of the force’s chaplains if he hosted a controversial anti-Islamist speaker at his Thornhill synagogue.

Insp. Ricky Veerappan, of the force’s diversity, equity and inclusion bureau, confirmed he and officers from the service’s hate crimes unit met with Rabbi Mendel Kaplan of the Chabad Flamingo Synagogue on Tuesday.

... They expressed concern about an upcoming talk to be given by Pamela Geller, a vocal critic of radical Islam.

...Veerappan said a member of York Region's Muslim community, whom he wouldn’t identify, brought Geller’s scheduled talk to the attention of police. ...

The ridiculous sharia-enforcing thugs of the York Regional Police's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Bureau, can be reached by email at diversity@yrp.ca.

Nudge, nudge - the Sunstein doctrine

Peter Foster:

Cass Sunstein obviously takes pride in having been called “The most dangerous man in America”...

... Mr. Sunstein dangerous was that ...  he is the leading peddler of the “nudge” doctrine, which aims at bigger, smarter, more subtle government.

The Orwellian rationale for this Brave New Government ... Nudgery says that governments should use these foibles in a clever form of policy jujitsu, utilizing individuals’ own stupidity to guide them towards falling on the “right” choices.

... the complex of psychological quirks that determine their own immoveable, history-free, left-liberal interventionist mentality, not to mention the fact that politicians invariably use public ignorance not for the public good, but to gain power.

... The clear and present danger represented by Mr. Sunstein is on display in his new book, Simpler: The Future of Government, and in an article he penned for the Globe and Mail on Saturday, titled Green by default.

... According to Mr. Sunstein, the answer to using more green energy is to make it ... the default “choice.”

... Ontario’s experience ... shows that Mr. Sunstein’s suggestion that “green default” would “save money” is pure biomass.  

...

 There's lots of evidence of green nudgery being applied here in BC:

Our provincial carbon tax is being used to bribe BC cities, towns and municipalities to sign on to the BC Climate Action Charter. (All driven or guided by UN Agenda 21 and ICLEI)

Vancouver Mayor Gregor ("Moonbeam") Robertson's and other cities' "smart growth" schemes (thanks again to UN Agenda 21 and ICLEI) with everything from laneway housing (boosting population density) to dedicated bike lanes (discouraging automobiles).

My own city's planning documents are saturated with green "sustainability" bafflegab that drives everything from building construction to casino approvals to our brand new, expensive (and pain in the ass) waste collection and recycling system.

This is why the left are so dedicated to pushing the global warming theme.  It enables easier nudging of the sheep into their socialist pens.

Joe Fesh and Bangladesh - Jon Kay gets it right

Dear CBC ... please lay off Joe Fresh

This was the worst accident in the history of the garment industry ... Almost every CBC show I’ve heard singles out Joe Fresh, identifies the Executive Chairman of Loblaws Companies by name, and laments the fact that he has not decided to come onto CBC airwaves to confess his company’s sins. ...

... This feels wrong to me: There are 3-million textile workers in Bangladesh, working at tens of thousands of facilities, many of which no doubt are also in a poor state of repair.  For activists, I see the logic of naming and shaming particular retailers. But the only difference between Joe Fresh and thousands of other Western companies that follow standard low-cost Western outsourcing practices is bad luck. 

... A building collapse is just one of many ways to die in a nation such as Bangladesh. Someone who’s laid off from a textile job surely won’t die in an industrial accident. But penniless and improvident, they might then be forced to watch a child expire from malnutrition or an otherwise preventable disease. Which is worse?

Peter Foster recently said something similar in Lessons for Joe Fresh from Bangladesh.