Alec Saunders notes that the Canadian Alliance has had a bit of a bigot eruption, courtesy of one of its members of Parliament, Larry Spencer, who wants to make homosexuality illegal. Priceless quote from the National Post account:

But Mr. Spencer said any MP, and especially someone from his party, risks being labelled “a redneck or a hate-monger or homophobic” if they even mention such views in Parliament.

Let me see: you want to make homosexuality illegal. That sounds, I dunno, pretty “homophobic” to me. But then we get to the Globe and Mail’s story on the aftermath, which contains this gem of a juxtaposition, discussing the implications on the merger between the Alliance and Progressive Conservatives:

One of [the Progressive Conservative] MPs, Scott Brison, is gay, and has expressed interest in running for the leadership of the new party.

Mr. Brison said Mr. Harper has a responsibility to remove Mr. Spencer outright from the party for his “outrageous” remarks. …

“… It is absolutely essential that we actually be inclusive by not tolerating bigotry, prejudice and hatred,” the MP said.

Left unsaid is exactly how “removing Mr. Spencer,” and presumably those who share his views, makes the party more inclusive. Wouldn’t that actually make it, by definition, less inclusive?

David Janes has the latest go-round on this story, featuring debate between Colby Cosh (also in the National Post) and Mark Wickens; David’s reaction seems spot-on:

Larry Spencer isn't some ol' codger holding court at the red-and-white pole barber shop, he's a member of Parliament. And whatever the mode of his internal dialogue, whether it be based the 1970's or the 1870's, he correspondingly should consider exercising his internal censor occasionally too. Everyone has nasty thoughts, but most realize that there are levels of frankness aren't particularly refreshing.

Alec Saunders sides with Janes and Wickens over Cosh, too. And, there's more from Damian Penny, who notes that the National Post has apparently unearthed the source of Spencer’s anti-gay rhetoric.

As many in the blogosphere have noted, George Bush visited Baghdad today, while Hillary Clinton was in Afghanistan. Both visits were admirable—our troops deserve the recognition—but let me focus on Bush’s visit to Iraq, and the political implications of it.

The “obvious” political implication is that it’s an example of using the office to look presidential, something none of the Democratic presidential candidates can accomplish. But there’s a second political implication: Bush is now committed. He’s gone to Baghdad, and said (paraphrasing) “we’re not going anywhere until the job is done.” It’s free ammunition for Democratic candidates who do want to stick it out with American troops in Iraq—admittedly, not all of the field—if Bush decides to cut and run. This makes it that much harder for the administration to give up in Iraq—which, to those of us who think Bush should stay the course and follow through on our commitment to a democratic Iraq, is a good thing.

Dean Esmay has the text of the President’s remarks in Baghdad. In related news, John Cole is keeping an eye on the reaction from the less sane quarters of the left.

Well, last week could have gone better. Nonetheless, I soldier on…

• 11/27: OLE MISS over Mississippi State. It’s the 100th edition of Ole Miss-Mississippi State, this year being held in the Friendly Confines of Scott Field in Starkville. Yes, it’s Jackie Sherill’s last game. Yes, State can be dangerous at times. Yes, the Rebels are coming off a heartbreaking loss. No, none of this matters. Key stat: “MSU has put up little fight since Sherrill announced on Oct. 17 he’d be stepping down at season’s end. State has been outscored 236-57 in the five games since that announcement, all lopsided SEC losses.” (From Thursday’s Clarion-Ledger.) Rebs win by 20+ in an offensive showcase.
• 11/28: LOUISIANA STATE over Arkansas. Arkansas has been impressive of late, against weak opposition, while LSU has pretty much cruised over its opposition, with only three competitive games all season (the loss against Florida, and wins over Georgia and Ole Miss). LSU should win easily, but, then again, that’s what people said last year, too. LSU by 3 in a slugfest.
• 11/29: Tennessee over KENTUCKY. UT just outmatches Kentucky in every phase of the game.
• Georgia over GEORGIA TECH. Despite their injury issues, Georgia should roll over Tech.
• FLORIDA over Florida State. As always, should be a very competitive game. Florida should win a close game.
• HAWAI'I over Alabama. The key question is whether Alabama will show up ready to play. They nearly lost last year to a Hawai'i team that was inferior to this one. I have to give Hawai'i the edge here.

Matthew Stinson observes that financier and newfound lefty darling George Soros only seems to have a problem with regime change when he isn’t instigating it personally, at least according to Wednesday’s edition of Canada’s Globe and Mail.

On the other hand, Mark A.R. Kleiman believes Putin orchestrated the whole business in Georgia, with an assist from Washington.