This is the thirtieth Raising of the Red Ensign. I am honoured and humbled to be part of this fine group of bloggers. I was not an original member of the Brigade, but I certainly thought it was high time that it was created. Our founder, Nick Packwood, is no longer active in the unit, but I like to think that we're still true to his original idea.
Unlike most of the members, I'm not a conservative, although we certainly have plenty of common ground. I'm one of the libertarians within the Brigade, so some of the things that get most of our membership agitated are of marginal interest to me and some of the things that get me angry are similarly of only marginal concern to the rest of the Brigade. We get along okay, in spite of that.
The Red Ensign was Canada's unofficial flag until the adoption of the Maple Leaf as the official Canadian National flag. The flag debate was bitter, as the unofficial flag was especially disliked in Quebec (then, as for much of Canadian history, a power base of the Liberal party) and strongly supported in Ontario's rural heartland (at that time, strongly Conservative). Rather than trusting the decision to a referendum (as proposed by Conservative leader John Diefenbaker), Prime Minister Lester Pearson formed a parliamentary committee to decide the issue. The committee unanimously endorsed the Maple Leaf flag, which was derived in part from the traditional flag of the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. It became the offical flag of Canada by parliamentary act and Royal Assent, and was officially flown for the first time on 15 February, 1965.
The land the Maple Leaf first flew over was, in many ways, a much freer and more democratic society than the Canada of today. Canadians in those days did not automatically turn to the government to solve problems in every sphere of life. Government had its place, and that place was generally agreed to be the defence of the realm, maintaining the peace, running the judicial system, and international affairs. The vast increase in the size and power of the federal government started in the same period as the new flag was adopted, so that modern Canadians seem to feel that the government should be — and always has been — fully involved in every activity of life in Canada. The Federal government, for all its faults, was (especially compared to today) squeaky clean: ministers would resign at the mere hint of mismanagement within their departments . . . unlike today, where the RCMP has to be in the aisle waving handcuffs before a tainted minister even considers stepping down from office.
The Canada of the Red Ensign was far from perfect: plenty of social and economic injustices existed, but generally the situation was good for most Canadians. The economy was relatively unencumbered with government controls, the judicial system was widely believed to be working well, and the country was a magnet for immigration. I take the liberty of quoting our founder:
I am proud to say this is one of a handful of countries in the whole world where you can arrive, work hard and send your kids to school in the hope of a better life. No matter your accent or appearance you will be Canadian.
Somewhere along the way, Canada has lost some of the attributes that helped to make it a great country. Red Ensign bloggers hope we can get back that essence. Sometimes the past is worth fighting for, too.
With no further blathering from me, here is the round-up of the last two weeks of Brigade posts.
 | The Red Ensign Brigade | |
905 Tory recently announced his retirement from blogging.
Rue, at Abraca-Pocus!, finally got out to see a movie and re-discovered the power of scent. She's also decided to take the plunge and apply for Canadian citizenship.
Ith, at Absinthe & Cookies has been having a slow blogging week, although she provides some useful tips for people who call her co-workers and has a Serenity quiz to help pass the time.
Angry in the Great White North (which won 3 top-of-category awards at the SDA Blog Awards) may be one of the most prolific bloggers around: he always has something new on the blog. He takes side in the Newfoundland flag debate, tries to decipher the gruesome reality of Canadian healthcare, and tries to game the search engines with his entry on Orgies at teen proms!
Dirtcrashr at Anthroblogy talks about the negative results of Socialist Redistribution and does his best to rename Hollywood as Tinselgrad (gotta love it).
Our foreign correspondant in China, asiapundit, offers some insight into the Benjamin Joffe-Walt case and a round-up of other links on the situation. He also provides an interesting discussion of possible changes in China's economic policies.
Sadly, Damian, of Babbling Brooks, has also decided to close up shop and pay more attention to life outside his blog . . . but he did briefly post to clear up any misunderstanding over l'affaire Kinsella.
In a refreshing change from the usual story, bluetory.ca has just come back to active blogging. He reports on labour negotiations, machinations within the NDP caucus, and a bit of Alberta-boosting from south of the border.
Andrew, at bound by gravity, is another blogger who posts plenty of content (he recently won the coveted "Best Blogging Tory" category of the Small Dead Blog Awards. He's looked at Canada's DART unit, was the first to note the return to blogging of Occam's Carbuncle, and Canada's slide down the corruption tables. Bill, a guest blogger, took some time to argue against allowing Intelligent Design to be taught in the schools.
Huck, at BumfOnline, when he's not obsessing about hockey, had some reflections on Einstein, and a few thoughts on funding post-secondary education.
Dana and Bob post at canadiancomment, including some thoughts on the merits of the Nobel Prize.
Canadianna's Place has been quiet lately, although she did post some thoughts on school "lockdowns".
I can always get my fix of military affairs and gun pron at Castle Argghhh!. But the folks at the Castle don't feel limited by those narrow categories. Recent posts have included a caption contest, poetry, amusing quotations (a topic near and dear to my heart), and the burden of teaching.
ChrisCam says goodbye to Gerhard Schroeder and the historic vote in Iraq.
Conservative Hipster is now a proud father. Blogging output will likely be very slim for the next few weeks or months.
Doxology sends a Newsflash to the Culture of Death, takes note of a personal milestone, and confirms once again that celebrities are not good role models.
Selecting a few representative posts from Dust My Broom is quite a challenge: it's a high-frequency blog. Among the many posts were: fact checking, addressing economic illiteracy, an adventure with a canoe, and government provision of unsafe drinking water.
ESR's Musings include a bit of NFL post-game thoughts, poking a bit of fun at Mugabe and Chavez, and a bit of prom suppression.
Jay, at Freeway to Serfdom, appreciated Thanksgiving, but had a tougher work week as a result. He also scooped the prestigious Silly Libertarian Award.
Alan, at Gen X at 40, has concerns about Big Brother warrant in Britain, condemns "guesstification", and wants Web 2.0 to be properly named Bubble 2.0.
Grandinite links to the Great Canadian Blog Survey (and is called on to defend the methodology thereof), finds an interesting-looking economics book, helps out with another book.
James, at Hammer Into Anvil, despairs of his fellow Canadians' toleration of corrupt officials (especially David Dingwall), but finds some consolation in the fact that science has finally delivered on the promise of stink-proof underwear.
Shane, at High Place, has some fun with 1950's stereotypes, comments on blog survey results, and tries to get bloggers more politically involved (I wouldn't have thought that last idea was necessary, given how political bloggers can get).
One of the most recent members of the Brigade is Blair, at Italics Mine. He'll be happy to know that even though he "pinched a nerve practicing the secret handshake" and was therefore "unable to attend the fundraiser", we've changed the date so he can attend. Aren't we nice? Blair also found that 124% of Columbians agree that Hillary should be the next President.
John the Mad takes issue with a Joey Slinger column, attempts to console the poor voters of Vancouver Centre, and finds the new Governor-General's loyalty to be suspect.
Glenda, at Just Between Us Girls, tracks early reactions to the Gomery Report leak and considers writing as a sideline.
Ryan, at King's Perspective, is hopeful about the recent German election results, discusses a recent call to action from Quebec, and passed along his best wishes to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Kate, at The Last Amazon, provides some insight into Toronto's schizophrenic addiction policies, takes aim at a monstrous breakdown of government responsibility, looks at the effects of the Bambi cult, and feels somehow cramped by an overly protective family.
The group blog called The London Fog specializes in pointing out the stupidities of the municipal, provincial, and (like shooting fish in a barrel) federal governments. Talk about picking a blogging area that will never lack for material! Of course, there's always room for specific London, Ontario posts too.
The Meatriarchy attended a special sooper-sekrit VRWC blogger gathering (with photo evidence), does a bit of hockey analysis, and links to some photos from the Iraqi elections.
Keith, at Minority of One, is looking forward to watching the race for the insanity vote in 2008, and ponders a bit of political history.
mkbraaten.com is facing the challenge of keeping track of all the current scandals, passes judgement on Edmonton's latest tornado-damaged building, and reads the signs on the wall on the Gomery Report.
The Monarchist discusses the decline of loyalty, points out that the Queen should not be referred to as the Queen of England, and welcomes the first female blogger to join their group blog.
Jason, at Musing, was out of town at a conference at which he managed to pick up a souvenir flu bug, which kept him away from blogging pretty much all of last week. He did manage to find time since then to post about the Toledo riots and inequality before the law for the "elites" and the rest of us.
Myrick has a Dead Milkmen moment, but otherwise directs your attention to asiapundit, where he posts more serious matters.
Curt, at North Western Winds, has a long post on evolution, virtue, and game theory, revels in his self-confessed status as a Archaic Relic, and takes time to find some religious humour.
The Phantom Observer bids an unfond farewell to Carolyn Parrish, does a bit of NDP caucus calculus, and tosses a few stones at David "Bubble Gum is Deductible!" Dingwall.
The current Brigade commander, Ray at Raging Kraut, had some good news to announce and views with alarm the reactivation of the Smurf Collective.
The Raging Ranter first meets the Young Liberals, and then has some fun "interviewing" them.
Paul, at Ravishing Light, has found that blogging time has been overtaken by study time. Get your priorities straight there, lad!
Ed, at robot guy, talks about the unseen genocide, contemplates Albertan separatism, and posts some cool Cassini images. He's also tracking Hurricane Wilma.
The other most recent member of the Brigade is RootleWeb, and sets a fine example by volunteering to host the next Standard. Recently, she's discussed changing Dutch attitudes, the Dingwall affair, and Saddam Hussein's trial.
Stephen Taylor - CPC is hopeful that the Tories are starting to address real issues, does a bit of poll analysis, and runs a caption contest.
Chris, at Striving Against Opposition, has been occupied with external-to-blogging issues, but still managed to post some thoughts on the Supreme Court of Canada.
Chris, at Taylor and Company, chronicles the rise and decline of the Smurfovik Collective, discovers that, in the music world, time still marches on, and offers some key hints to a contingent of slobbering fanboys.
Tipper, at Tipperography, does some fine analysis on why one- or two-dimensional political quizes cannot capture the fine distinctions between individuals' real-world philosophies. This was one of my favourite posts in the Brigade over the last couple of weeks. Tipper does a very good job of illustrating why "either/or" questions work well for computers, but poorly for human beings. She also had some good news which will unfortunately have the side-effect of reducing her time to blog.
Sue, at Turning 30 and a half, has taken some steps towards being recompensed for dental problems, copes with a valium-addicted dog, and experiments with Photoshop.
Temujin, at West Coast Chaos, scored a patriotic prize and pokes a bit of fun at sunken cheese.
Update, 25 October: Now listed at the TTLB ÜberCarnival.
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Previous standards have been hosted at the following blogs (thanks to Shane at The High Places for doing the legwork):
Visitors since 17 August, 2004