Reintroduction

Alas, the vagaries of the internet have caused the death of Secular Ijtihad. Somehow, Google didn't want to recognize the password I used. Oh well. I was contemplating a different style anyway. Secular Ijtihad was intended to include chronicles of my silliness, but I found that in the end, people actually enjoyed reading my more serious work. "Morgan in the Wilderness" is the handle I use while commenting on the Globe and Mail, and I've decided to carry on in that tone here. Naturally, due to my profession (for those who don't know, I'll keep it that way), I have to be very careful about how I comment on current events. When commenting as "Morgan in the Wilderness", I developed a sort of persona that was based on firmness of conviction and elegance of prose. Sure, it can be less entertaining than some of my more creative riffs, but eventually a man's style must mature. With "Morgan in the Wilderness", I will strive to pursue a Roman tradition of oratory. This said, one must keep in mind that though I will strive for accuracy, I am in effect more a polemicist than an impartial reporter. My political nature is Libertarian, my philosophical view utilitarian.

Secondly, there are rules to this blog. This is not my facebook account, where I will be too lazy to arbitrate over discussions (those of you who experienced the travesty that was commentary on my dislike of the supposed 4/20 holiday know what I mean). Comments that are libellous will be removed. Comments that do not directly pertain to the issue being discussed will be removed. Comments that fail to meet basic standards for logical consistency will be removed. I will hold you to a Parliamentary standard. Argumentae ad Hitlerum will result in you being mocked, then blocked. I am a supporter of Free Speech, a lover of the US First Amendment. Unfortunately for most trolls, I actually read and understood the Amendment. I am not required to tolerate your views, I am merely forbidden from preventing you from expressing them. For those of you who don't get the difference, it means I'm not allowed to hack your blog to shut it down. I can silence you here whenever I want. See the vast evidence leading to the exoneration of MacLean's Magazine for exerpting Mark Steyn if you need further elucidation.

Finally, some pseudo-legal points. Don't ask me to advertise for you if there is money involved. If you would like me to link your blog, feel free to ask. The views posted in this blog are purely my own as a private citizen, and in no way reflect the views of any group to which I may belong (Italo-Canadians, devilishly handsome young men, etc).