Enter Stage Right hands out its awards...

The Earth is Flat Award

A celebration of the inane, insipid and asinine...

web posted December 6, 1999

I have to admit that this is the first time I've ever been sad to give the Earth is Flat Award to someone. Though it is deserved, at the same time it's not entirely McCain's fault.

McCain Foods Ltd., one of Canada's best recognized foods company, announced last week that it would no longer process genetically modified potatoes. Not because science has proven that the spuds are harmful to human health but because of a potential adverse reaction from consumers.

McCain's is facing several competing pressures. As a foods company it faces an ever increasing demand for its products. Genetically modified food allows it to bring more product to market because farmers can plant a crop that is resistant to blight and pests. McCain is sensitive to public concerns about modified food -- founded or not -- and the resulting problems that can cause its shareholders.

Stirring up this hornet's nest are environmentalists keen on returning us to the glorious days of an agrarian society and mass deaths due to food shortages and "scientists" like Dr. David Suzuki who use their prestige, deserved or not, to convince an ignorant public that "Frankenstein" foods are a time bomb waiting to happen.

The science is clear. Genetically modified foods are safe for human beings and the only danger is to company's like Monsanto who face economic losses if their modified seeds travel to neighboring farms -- something they don't get paid for.

McCain would have earned my respect had they stood their ground and tried to convince Canada's food-buying public that genetically modified foods are safe and will enable the world to continue feeding its growing population, something that couldn't happen if environmentalists got their way.


We already gave Al Gore this award once for his claim that he invented the Internet but America's favourite stump seems intent on claiming credit for everything he can. This time, Al Gore was responsible for Love Canal.

Not for the environmental damage itself -- which by the way wasn't that bad and I would live there right now if asked -- but that he was the first person in the nation to tell the public what was going on there. Gore, on a visit to a New Hampshire high school, said that he "found a little place in upstate New York called Love Canal" and that a hearing he had in Tennessee in October 1978 "started it all."

That story works if you remove U.S. President Jimmy Carter from history, which wouldn't be that bad of a thing. Carter actually beat Gore to the punch by several months when he decried what had happened at Love Canal.

Well, on December 1, Gore went into damage control mode and called the Associated Press' Buffalo office to clear up his comments and apologize. A friend of Gore, Rep. John J. LaFalce, D-Tonawanda, then told the press that the Vice President was actually largely responsible for the Superfund law which clean up abandoned hazardous sites.

Surely you've heard of Superfund? It is a government program which spends tens billions of dollars a year to clean-up sites which aren't hazardous, has thrown people out of their homes for spurious reasons and in several instances taken a decade or more to clean-up a site which should have at best taken a few years.

It is a government program which has seen the federales take over private property...for safety reasons of course

It was a good week for Gore, wasn't it?

The Vinegar in Freedom Award

There is an old Serbian proverb that says vinegar in freedom tastes better than honey in slavery. This award is meant for events and people Enter Stage Right considers to be positive.

web posted December 13, 1999

If we had a supermodel spokesperson for Enter Stage Right, it would definitely be Naomi Campbell.

It seems that Campbell and an animal rights activist are in a war of words which once again reveals what that movement is all about: hatred of humanity.

It seems that Dan Matthews of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals announced recently that he admired Gianni Versace's killer, Andrew Cunanan, "because he got Versace to finally stop using furs."

Campbell, who at one time was a spokeswoman for PETA but now is pro-fur, called Matthews' comments "unbelievably insensitive" and "extremely offensive."

"I am doubly thrilled to no longer be associated with" PETA, said Campbell. Naomi was sacked as a spokesmodel for the group after wearing fur in a Karl Lagerfield show in 1997.

I doubt that Campbell is opposed to PETA for the same philosophical reasons that readers of this magazine are, but it does show that not everyone in the world of the la-la media walks in lockstep. It also shows what has been argued in the past in this magazine, that environmentalism is -- at its root -- inherently anti-human and anti-intellectual and only desires the eventual destruction of humanity to bring about a mythical sylvan past.

Anytime Campbell wants to take a run at PETA is fine by us and my e-mail address can be found on this page if she wants to serve as our spokesperson.

web posted December 6, 1999

Considering that the right to keep and bear arms is under constant assault by everyone, it's refreshing to see some people taking an activist role in protecting the parts of the U.S. Constitution that other people don't like or aren't convenient to them.

The Second Amendment Foundation announced last week that it was filing a federal lawsuit against the mayors of 23 cities on the grounds that they attempted to conspire and rob Americans of their rights.

The Second Amendment Foundation said it sued to stop a string of lawsuits various cities and counties have filed against gun manufacturers, accusing them of selling defective products or marketing them in ways that increase the likelihood that they will fall into the hands of criminals.

The Second Amendment Foundation said it suspected the suits actually have been filed to financially injure gun manufacturers and owners.

Under the gun -- so to speak -- are the mayors of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley, California; Compton, California; Miami; Atlanta; New Orleans, Cleveland and Boston and the U.S. Conference of Mayors .

The suit said the cities' suits impose an undue burden on interstate commerce and violate the Constitution's first, second and ninth amendments.

Will the suit be successful? Remember, the court system ignores the law as often as any politician so it won't be hard for them to ignore the Constitution and rule any way they like, but at least the foundation is trying. Most gun rights groups talk a good talk about protecting your rights, only one seems to be doing anything about it.


Alan Keyes will never be president. There are plenty of reasons why, but it won't be because of a lack of skill.

During the recent GOP debate -- the first where George W. Bush deigned to appear -- the atmosphere was largely polite, just like a country club. Quiet all except for one candidate, Keyes, who continues to impress Republicans with his oratorship and passion and the fact that he has principles he would stick to.

Discussing Bush's plan to cut billions in taxes, Keyes attacked and called for no less than the elimination of the 16th Amendment. He also referred to American workers as slaves and thanked "'Massah' Bush because he is going to give us some (money) back."

Wow.

When's the last time you heard a candidate go full out? Not read their script or resort to carefully memorized ad-libbed comments? That's Keyes for you. Love him or hate him, he's the only candidate who makes you think he really does give a damn. From debate to debate, Keyes always looks like he's trying to earn your vote even if you both know you won't give it to him. He tries. When's the last time you could say that about Bush, Hatch, Bauer or the other automatons in politics?

Will he win? George W. Bush would have to kill a man just to watch him die before anyone had a chance of unthroning him as the GOP's golden boy, but while his money lasts we can at least enjoy a Keyes run.

Have someone you want considered for the Earth is Flat Award or the Vinegar in Freedom Award? Email ESR with your candidates!




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