Just Right… with Bob Metz and Robert Vaughan

593 – Carbon copy recession predictions

Jan 312019

Ontario premier Doug Ford has been chastised, ridiculed, and criticized for connecting the imposition of carbon taxes with the possibility of an ‘economic downturn,’ or recession. While governments and economists assure us that the odds of a recession are remote, in light of the recent report by MMP insolvency trustees that reveals 46% of Canadians are within $200 of insolvency, one wonders if Canadians aren’t already in the middle of a recession.

What makes the whole debate fascinating is the superficial level on which economists are analyzing a very real and serious situation. It is difficult to reconcile the assurances of economists that Ontario’s economy is growing at a healthy rate with the visible reality of the growing rates of poverty that Canadians are reading about each and every day in their news reports.

Meanwhile, in the United States, there can be very little doubt that America is experiencing an economic resurgence unparalleled in recent history.

What is common to both the American and Canadian experience is how the Left in each country continues to suffer from the political Derangement Syndrome once only associated with America’s Donald Trump, but that is now surfacing with respect to Ontario’s Doug Ford. Of course, what has been called the ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ has always really been a deranged attitude associated with anything to be perceived on the Right. Continue reading »

DMS 045 – The impending police state

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Jan 272019

Being required to ‘prove a negative’ perhaps defines one of the fundamental roots of injustice (to say nothing of irrationality), and yet, that is what Canada’s latest round of ‘drunk driving’ laws (under Canada’s Bill C-46) actually does.

Under the new ‘drunk driving’ laws, those caught over the ‘legal limit’ any time within two hours after having last driven a motor vehicle, can now be required to ‘prove’ their sobriety when they last drove. Being over the legal alcohol limit any time within two hours after having last driven is now considered an impaired driving offense, even though not driving at the time.

And when a sober Mississauga driver returned what was deemed to be an ‘excessive’ number of bottles for recycling at his Beer Store, he found himself forced to take a breathalyzer to prove his sobriety.

Given an absence of ‘probable cause’ and the requirement of reverse onus, in their assessment of this situation Danielle and Robert entertain the possibility of an encroaching ‘police state.’ Continue reading »

592 – Guest: Paul Lambert – A short wave with a long reach

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Jan 242019

Shortwave radio has long been a weapon in the war of ideas, and continues to be so today, much to the surprise of many. So powerful a weapon, at times throughout history simply being caught in possession of a shortwave radio could warrant imprisonment or death.

It is a significant fact that those threatened by shortwave signals have never been friends of freedom. So it is fitting that our guest, Paul Lambert, who sponsors Just Right on shortwave broadcasts heard around the world, should join us in a discussion about shortwave and about some of his European perspectives on many of the issues often raised on the show.

As a resident of Berlin, Paul’s views on the political environment within Germany offer some fascinating comparisons to the narratives heard outside that country in the major news media. From the disturbing social trends between men and women developing in conjunction with Germany’s mass migration policies, to arbitrarily forcing households, employers, and even car rental agencies to pay a ‘TV tax,’ these trends may well become the norm in a not-too-distant North American Leftist future as well.

At the heart of every issue discussed is, of course, the very ‘right’ itself to discuss any matter or issue with willing participants, and to share those discussions with willing listeners/viewers. A ‘TV tax’ is merely one contrived way to force the unwilling to finance views and values not shared or even opposed. Continue reading »

DMS 044 – The Qur’an problem and Islamism

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Jan 202019

Two recent events, the swearing-in of an American congresswoman on the Quran, and the formation of the Islamist Party of Ontario, have generated numerous conversations about the ultimate meaning and significance of each. Danielle and Robert discover that they have a difference of opinion in that regard.

Citing distinctions between the Qur’an, Islamism, and Sharia Law, Robert suggests that swearing an oath on a document that one personally values is acceptable, since it affirms the ‘veracity’ of the oath. And, he suggests, political Islamists would prefer to run for a party like the Liberal Party, as they already have – not for an ‘Islamist’ Party of Ontario.

In contrast, Danielle argues that the book or document upon which someone swears an oath should represent a set of values shared by the body to which an allegiance is being sworn. She objects to swearing an oath on a book that represents the ‘antithesis’ of what it is supposed to uphold. And, she fears, a party like the Islamist party may have a larger constituency than some expect.

Whatever one’s views on the significance of these developing events, it’s simply not possible to picture any compromise between the basic tenets of the Qur’an, Islamism or Sharia Law – theocracy – and a free society that could ever be Just Right.

591 – The lexicon of government

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Jan 172019

‘Democracy’ is a deeply philosophical concept, not just a process of voting or holding elections. In fact, the idea that democracy is simply ‘majority rule’ is an idea destructive to the concept of democracy, while the practice of unlimited majority rule results in consequences that do not lead to anything democratic.

To understand why this is demonstrably so, one must consider the wisdom drawn from the ancient Greeks and Romans whose lexicon of political terms form the roots of the words we use today when discussing politics and government.

It may surprise most people to learn that, despite the popular and accepted use of the terms, words like ‘bureaucracy,’ ‘meritocracy,’ ‘aristocracy,’ ‘plutocracy,’ and ‘minarchy’ (among others) are false and inaccurate concepts. These are ‘garbage words’ explains Paul McKeever in his conversation with Bob, as they review several recognized terms that would be found in an accurate and proper Lexicon of Government.

Bob and Paul bend, twist, and stretch the political concepts of the day in an effort to demonstrate how many of the popular political terms being used today are a major source of political impasses and misunderstanding. And with tongue in cheek, they agree that a ‘minarchy’ is not a kingdom of short people, nor is an ‘idiocracy’ – a society governed by idiots – a literal possibility, despite what many might consider evidence to the contrary. Continue reading »

DMS 043 – The other side of the coin

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Jan 132019

Are the symbols, artwork, and historic figures that appear on our money always appropriate to the medium? Or do some serve a sinister purpose? Those are just two of the broader questions considered by Danielle and Robert as they reflect on what appears to be more of Justin Trudeau’s political ‘virtue signaling’ on Canada’s currency.

While few would contest the various social advancements that occurred in Canada with regard to racial and sexual issues, they are certainly not unique to this country, nor do they represent the essentials on which the country is based.

Though seemingly only symbolic, the numerous changes to Canadian currency reflect a certain lack of respect for the principles upon which the country was founded. Canada’s essential history is being subtly re-written to destroy the political substance of the nation, and to advance a ‘social history’ based on the current victim culture narrative.

There is a lacking sense of permanence to Canadian currency; it has a ‘disposable look’ and – inflation aside – seems to be treated as such by the Canadian government. As they say, ‘just follow the money,’ though in this case doing so reveals a vision of a planned socialist future, not of a historic past. Fiat money should reflect the geographic (jurisdiction) and political identity (uniting purpose) of a nation, not the propaganda of a given day. Continue reading »

590 – Hating capitalism

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Jan 102019

Capitalism as an ‘unknown ideal’ continues to be demonstrated in our popular media and discussion shows daily. Common fallacies about both capitalism and variant forms of socialism persist.

Two recent on-line discussions featuring well-known personalities – one between Russell Brand and Candace Owens, and another between Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson – provided perfect samplings of how both those on the ‘left’ and ‘right’ share many of the same anti-capitalistic sentiments. These myths demand a response because when acted upon, undesirable consequences arise for all of us.

‘Capitalism’ has become the word used to describe the economic condition that arises in a political and social environment of freedom. It is the ‘economic dimension’ of freedom and is only made possible when freedom’s other dimensions are in place.

Unfortunately, the word ‘capitalism’ was effectively created by Karl Marx so as to turn the idea of capitalism into a ‘political’ concept, which, unlike socialism, it is not. Whereas capitalism operates on the economic principle of supply and demand (under freedom), socialism operates by fiat. Continue reading »