We have Lindsay Mitchell and Muriel Newman and other dedicated, valuable and brave critics of the social self destruction that is our no questions welfare system, but there is no one with the quite the same ability to skewer idiocy as Canada's Mark Steyn. Michael Laws is sometimes in the territory.

One of the certainties if Steyn was here would be a showdown with one of official bodies with which our anointed try to suppress views that offend them. It would be even odds on whether the first to "get him" would be our Human Rights Review Tribunal, the Privacy Commissioner, the Broadcasting Tribunal or a judge offended by a lack of respect for some suppression order.

His tussles with the Canadian anointed ended in a draw

Dan McCaffrey prompted this reflection, with a link to Steyn's two page pointer to what may be the silver lining of the GFC – the unwinding of don't-ask-don't-tell welfare.  Try "We're too broke to be this stupid" from the century old Canadian magazine Macleans.

I look forward to Steyn's views on the international humbug to which New Zealand has dutifully added her squeaks,  voicing "concern" about Israel's response to the dilemma posed by blockade breaking ships. What did we expect the Israelis to do – humbly lead them in to Gaza?