[Zipperfish]

Jonny_C Jonny_C:

Good of you to say so, when you didn't have to. Thanks.

I'll be honest, I was just looking to use the word indefatigable in a sentence today.

[Public_Domain]

[BartSimpson]

raydan raydan:

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

raydan raydan:

In that case, the apology wasn't good enough for me.

What about a pound of flesh? Would that satisfy you?

If he was really sorry for what he said, he would have apologized the next day, not 6 months later. Either he's being forced to do so, or he feels it would be to his advantage. Voluntary apology my ass! That pound of flesh doesn't even cover the down-payment.

Then I guess it was pointless for him to apologize, wasn't it?

[raydan]

If it wasn't sincere, then yes, it was pointless.

[ShepherdsDog]

It's about a sincere an apology as you get after one kid hits a sibling and get caught by their parent

[JaredMilne]

Two things immediately spring to mind after reading Levant's apology:

First, he cites Ayn Rand in saying how stereotyping is the worst form of collectivism. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Miss Rand herself stereotype Native people and Middle Eastern Muslims as "savages", saying that one should always support civilized men when they fight these inferior beings?

Second, Levant is arguably the face of Sun News Network. I've seen the Facebook banners calling for people to support Sun News's application for mandatory coverage, and Levant's face is front and centre on them. Many cable providers don't seem very interested in carrying Sun News, judging that carrying Sun News is not worth their investment. Now, considering that the cable providers are presumably acting in response to what they think their customers will want, what does it say about Levant's market appeal that these cable companies don't seem interested in broadcasting him to more Canadians? Remember, these are private companies making market-based decisions.

[Thanos]

The reader's comments on Ezra's columns on the SUN website are almost always shut off. Almost every other columnist and editorial, except for Ezra's, has them on. That says something right there. They're either afraid that some commenter is going to go in a blow Ezra's stupid arguments apart, or that they think he's so infallible (and that he always represents the official SUN editorial and corporate opinion) that they won't ever allow his "greatness" to be contested. In my view it's chickenshit no matter which way they want to portray it.

[Jonny_C]

... or Choice #3 :

They don't want "crazies" to use his columns as springboards into the extreme. He's often already stretching the envelope with what he says.

But your choices 1 and 2 are perfectly valid speculations.

[JaredMilne]

Thanos Thanos:

The reader's comments on Ezra's columns on the SUN website are almost always shut off. Almost every other columnist and editorial, except for Ezra's, has them on. That says something right there. They're either afraid that some commenter is going to go in a blow Ezra's stupid arguments apart, or that they think he's so infallible (and that he always represents the official SUN editorial and corporate opinion) that they won't ever allow his "greatness" to be contested. In my view it's chickenshit no matter which way they want to portray it.

You know, I actually agree with Levant on some issues, namely his critiques of the human rights commissions and the NDP becoming more associated with urban elitists that come across as disdaining blue-collar workers. But it wasn't Levant himself that convinced me of these things.

It was conservatives like Patrick Ross (who used to post on the CKA forums), Individualist (who's a regular commenter on CKA's sister site Vive Le Canada) and my own classical liberal uncle who pointed out the serious problems with these things. They were passionate in advocating their positions, but they didn't resort to silly stunts like prancing around in an orange wig, hacking up a house plant with a chainsaw or brushing a My Little Pony. They tried to explain things rationally, and didn't need to resort to bizarre play skits.

Some of my conservative friends have said that that's just satire and Levant playing to the audience, but I wonder how many views he's actually managed to change, as opposed to just preaching to the choir. If I were a viewer who didn't think much about politics and happened to come across Levant's antics, I'd probably think the guy was a loon and wasn't worth listening to.

Is Levant trying to make himself out as Canada's answer to John Stewart and Stephen Colbert? Because it doesn't seem to be working.

[bootlegga]

Thanos Thanos:

The reader's comments on Ezra's columns on the SUN website are almost always shut off. Almost every other columnist and editorial, except for Ezra's, has them on. That says something right there. They're either afraid that some commenter is going to go in a blow Ezra's stupid arguments apart, or that they think he's so infallible (and that he always represents the official SUN editorial and corporate opinion) that they won't ever allow his "greatness" to be contested. In my view it's chickenshit no matter which way they want to portray it.

Jonny_C Jonny_C:

... or Choice #3 :

They don't want "crazies" to use his columns as springboards into the extreme. He's often already stretching the envelope with what he says.

But your choices 1 and 2 are perfectly valid speculations.

Probably a combination of at least two, maybe all three...

[bootlegga]

JaredMilne JaredMilne:

Is Levant trying to make himself out as Canada's answer to John Stewart and Stephen Colbert? Because it doesn't seem to be working.

Those two are at least funny - I've yet to see anything by Levant that has made me laugh like Colbert and Stewart are capable of.

I'd contend that Levant is more like Canada's version of Glenn Beck.

[ShepherdsDog]

you mean Beck is serious!?!

[Thanos]

JaredMilne JaredMilne:

Is Levant trying to make himself out as Canada's answer to John Stewart and Stephen Colbert? Because it doesn't seem to be working.

He wishes he could be like Steward or Colbert. Like Zipperfish accurately said not too long ago, all you get with Ezra is a lot of smiling but not much genuine humour, or at least not a very pleasant sense of humour. Much more like the kind that laughs at other people's accidents than a make-everyone-feel-good sort of thing. Ezra used to be a lot more naturally funny too when he was younger, as Limbaugh once was as well about twenty-odd years ago, with some wicked one liners at the expense of the more obnoxious of the lefties. Neither of them are that way anymore, they're just a couple of mean-spirited ideologues that are permanently stuck in some kind of attack mode.

[martin14]

Thanos Thanos:

they're just a couple of mean-spirited ideologues that are permanently stuck in some kind of attack mode.

I see you have much knowledge is this area.

[Jonny_C]

Kory Teneycke, Sun News VP, Takes Heat On CBC Over ‘Jew vs. The Gypsies'...

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/03/26 ... 58248.html