Stephen Taylor

Poor Mike Myers. The man behind Austin Powers looked very much like a deer in the headlights when Kanye West departed from the script during NBC’s telethon for Hurricane Relief. Kanye turned political and accused President George W. Bush of “not caring about black people”. Myers is visually uncomfortable when West goes on his rant and gives a helpless “oh come on now” glance towards the rapper when West finally utters the ridiculous claim.

As Ben Stein noted in the Spectator yesterday:

“George Bush is the least racist President in mind and soul there has ever been and this is shown in his appointments over and over. To say otherwise is scandalously untrue.” — Ben Stein

Kanye’s ridiculous rant obviously lacked any positive effect whatsoever and merely injected vitrole into a humanitarian effort at the expense of the other volunteers who took the time to raise money for the non-partisan Red Cross. Unfortunately, people likely tuned out after being disgusted by West’s comments and ultimately these comments hurt the relief efforts.

Kanye West on George W. Bush (.mov)

I thought that Paul Martin put an end to the practice of appointing partisan Quebec Liberal supporters to the bench. Perhaps he thought nobody would notice.

I did.

Remember this pledge by Paul Martin in March 2004?

“We have declared all-out war against waste and mismanagement. We will put an end to cronyism” — Paul Martin

Today, Paul Martin couldn’t be more ignorant of the concept of cronyism as he appointed André Wery to the Superior Court of Quebec:

Prime Minister Paul Martin today announced that Her Excellency the Governor General has approved his recommendation that the Honourable André Wery be appointed Associate Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Québec

Associate Chief Justice Wery has served since 1997 as a judge of the Superior Court of Québec. He received a bachelor of Laws from the University of Montreal in 1974 and was admitted to the Barreau du Québec in 1975. Prior to his initial appointment to the bench, he was a partner with the firm Desjardins, Ducharme, Stein and Monast.

This appointment is effective immediately.

Let’s take a look in the Elections Canada database for donations by André Wery. Yes, Wery is a Liberal partisan:

1995: $342.45 to the Liberal Party of Canada
1996: $1,340.69 to the Liberal Party of Canada
1997: $346.79 to the Liberal Party of Canada

Judges aren’t even patronage appointments! Isn’t the judiciary supposed to be without bias? Wasn’t this a cornerstone of the corruption found in Adscam?

While President Bush will likely shoulder at least part of the blame for the US federal government’s sluggish response to provide relief efforts for the people of New Orleans, I’m watching the man on CNN right now and must recognize the power of a gesture. As he meets survivors in the Gulf States, he’s in his element as the Everyman’s President and his warmth and genuine concern permeates easily through the television.