I couldn’t agree more.
Social Issues
1 in 3 Americans on Some Form of Welfare
This is a screenshot from the US Senate Budget website. This is OfficiallyScrewed!!!
Pink Floyd Music Still Tearing Down Walls
I remember living in Toronto and watching The Wall at The Wall during a lightning storm back in the summer of 1990. The song was so representative of the Berlin Wall that had fallen some 8 months earlier. But since the day Reagan told Gorbachev to tear down the wall, it has also come to symbolize freedom and breaking free of political bonds. And in 2010 it is once again turning into an anthem thanks to the sons of Iranian immigrants living in Canada.
Blurred Vision is their name and below is a link to a song that is quickly gaining an underground cult following. According to FoxNews, Roger Waters has given this song his full blessing as he has been an outspoken critic of Iran’s human rights policies.
Obama said ASS. Who Cares?
He said “ass”. *giggle giggle snort snort*
I was rereading the story about the Gloucestor Dragon’s (who rumour has it have reversed their “win by 5 goals and you lose” ASSinine rule. I mean next thing you know they would fail kids who get more than 5 marks higher than the clASS average. So back on topic. In that post I said “ASS whooping”.
Well it has dawned on me that ASS is not a word we should worry about. It’s a very commonly used word in society and very acceptable and I think the fact that the President got a bit of flack for it from both the left and right wing media is ridiculASS. I mean anyone who watched “That 70’s Show”, one of my favourite sitcoms, knows Red Foreman would say the word ASS almost every episode. “Get your ASS in the car”, “Do it or I’ll kick your ASS.”, etc.
Even George Carlin, going back decades did a bit about the 7 words you can’t say on television. ASS was not one of the 7 words.
So the verdict is? ASS gets a pASS.
As Canadian As Having A Beer
I was watching a short interview with Jon Montgomery and I felt bad that he had to note that he was not an alcoholic or anything after he was filmed taking a couple of gulps out of a pitcher of beer shoved into his hands after he won gold in the Men’s Skeleton. Don’t worry Jon. I think Canadians know you aren’t. You were just being Canadian.
And then the women’s hockey team had their celebratory beer (and a bit of sparkling wine) on the ice where they had won gold a short time earlier. It’s ok girls. I think Canadians are forgiving you as well. You weren’t slamming shots like Marion Ravenwood in her bar in Nepal. And about the 18 year old on the team who is a tad too young to legally drink in B.C.? I just note that in every country except Canada and the USA, that same girl would have already been drinking legally so if the whole world doesn’t mind, who am I to argue.
As for how beer is good in other ways? Well I personally have bet a case of Sleeman’s vs. a case of Yuengling with an American friend and another with my American cousin on today’s Olympic gold medal hockey game. It’s all in good fun and bragging rights are a fun way of thickening our skins and laughing and enjoying sport with each other. It’s why the Olympics were so successful back in ancient times and it’s why they are now. I think battling it out with hockey sticks as opposed to battling it out with artillery and then having a beer is simply the best way diplomacy happens.
Even our Prime Minister apparently has a friendly wager with President Obama that involves beer. It’s things like this that make me smile and know that no matter what is going on in the world, Canada and the USA can rib each other, share different views on the occasional issue and even on occasion put up a bit of a barrier at the national level. But the bonds that tie our nations together are bigger than one fat rope connecting Washington to Ottawa. The bonds that bind us are the thousands, nay millions of tiny threads that have sewn our nations together, the same way I am part of many of those strands. My friendships and family are scattered all over the USA as I am sure is the case with millions of other Canadians.
So win or lose today, I encourage everyone to sit back tonight, watch the closing ceremonies, have a beer and be happy knowing that we threw one hell of a party for the world…and we served beer.
How Canadian.
Sheila Copps Is A Partisan Second And A Hypocrite First
Sheila Copps wrote a piece for the Hill Times where she spews on about how women in politics (whether politicians or journalists) are being ignored and shoved to the sidelines but she eschews the top female news maker in politics, Governor Sarah Palin.
It is not only an injustice to her article to avoid mentioning Palin, but it demonstrates that Liberals are as much in line with the likes of the ACLU, who did not lift a finger to defend Palin against late night host David Letterman when he made jokes about her 14 yr old daughter having sex with a Major League baseball player.
In addition, Copps goes on about how the Liberal Party should up it’s female candidate quota from 33% to 40% in the next election and she mentions the number of female cabinet members Obama has named but she doesn’t mention the fact that the only major political party in Canada without a female leader in it’s history is her own Liberal Party.
What a hypocrite. Sheila Copps is a major reason why this country is OfficiallyScrewed.
h/t ChuckerCanuck
York University Professor Likens "Sexting" To "Spin The Bottle"
York University Professor Peter Cummings has likened “Sexting” to “Spin The Bottle”.
For those who are unaware, “sexting” is a play on the word “texting” and refers to someone taking nude photos of themselves and sending via cell phone to others.
Peter Cumming, an associate professor at York University in Toronto, presented a paper on children’s sexuality at the 78th Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences defending the practice as a modern variation on “playing doctor or spin-the-bottle.”
This is, quite simply, a travesty. It takes a big step forward in the degradation of our youth when someone in the education field indicates that it is a modern right of passage the way “spin the bottle” was years ago.
I do agree with the professor that youth should not be prosecuted for this. I would go so far as to say the same “of similar age” defense should apply to this. But the fact remains that indicating that “sexting” is as acceptable as a kissing game is not even close to hitting the mark.
The ramifications of “spin the bottle” is perhaps a cold sore or perhaps even mononucleosis, both of which are not the end of the world. But when someone has their nude photos potentially spread all over the internet the outcome is potentially far worse.
That this person is an educator, and someone we entrust our children to, makes it that much worse.
Shortshaking – Don't Be Man'hand'led
Between my non political day job in technical sales and my political volunteering, I shake A LOT of hands. And I mean A LOT. And in shaking so many hands, I have come to the conclusion that there is one specific type of handshake that I really dislike.
And that is the “shortshake”.
For those who do not know what I mean, a “shortshaker” is the type of person who has a good firm grip, but tends to start the grip “short” or early. This results in the shortshaker gripping the fingers of the “shortshakee” which makes it impossible for the shortshakee to return the grip as their fingers are immobilized by the shortshake.
What I would call a good handshake is when the webbing between the thumb and index finger of both people is close enough so that when both shakers grip their fingertips can curl around the other person’s hand so that both can get a good grip in.
I dislike the shortshake so much that I have started saying things like “let’s do that shake again and let me get a grip this time.” or if it’s someone I am close with I might even say “hey, don’t short shake me…you make me feel like a wimp. Give me a chance to shake your hand properly.” and I will then reshake. My wife thinks this is probably offending the person, and she may very well be right but I have stopped caring.
In actuality, I think the response is either appreciative or earning me a bit of respect. The appreciation comes from those who just have never thought about it and perhaps feel that I have helped them realize what a good handshake is. The respect is a different story. I feel that many shortshakers do it as a sign of power as it leaves the shortshakee in an awkward position. By standing up for a good shake, I am showing those types that I am willing to stand up for myself and that I cannot get walked on.
So stand up to the shortshake with me.
Ontario Liberal Hypocrisy
During the last provincial election in Ontario, Dalton McShifty and his Liberal posse railed for a month about how the public school system is “for everyone” and “together” and rah rah rah we are one big happy family. And that the reason a community as multicultured as Toronto has little violence is because the kids grow up in schoo….”together”. Those were Dalton’s words, not mine.
Well a couple of days ago, the Toronto District School Board passed by a vote of 12 to 11 a motion to create an Afro-Centric School and I have yet to hear either the Premier or his Minister of Education speak out against this decision.
So it seems the provincial Liberals have a problem with “faith based schools” and did not want to create further segregation there, but when it comes to race, they stay silent.
Another group that deserves to be slapped is the Ontario Teachers Union. During the last election they bragged relentlessly in TV commercials about how the education system was working and doing great things. Why even bother mentioning the fact that it was pretty crass of them to pay for these commercials in the heart of an election run where the hottest topic was the faith based school funding issue? Well if the school system is working so well, why are we now creating a segregated system within the publicly funded umbrella.
The answer is simply hypocrisy at it’s finest.
One Man's Opinion That I Share
Today an old friend emailed me the following health care opinion and asked if it was accurate. All I could answer was yes. This is what happens when unions get a hold of health care. It also means that left leaning pro union parties are obligated to support the public system despite it’s obvious cost overruns and wait times.
(p.s. I changed the names to protect the innocent.)
I saw on the news up here in Canada where Hillary Clinton introduced her new health care plan. Something similar to what we have in Canada. I also heard that Michael Moore was raving about the health care up here in Canada in his latest movie. As your friend and someone who lives with the Canada health care plan I thought I would give you some facts about this great medical plan that we have in Canada.
First of all
1) The health care plan in Canada is not free. We pay a premium every month of $96. for [Jane] and I to be covered. Sounds great eh. What they don’t tell you is how much we pay in taxes to keep the health care system afloat. I am personally in the 55% tax bracket. Yes 55% of my earnings go to taxes. A large portion of that and I am not sure of the exact amount goes directly to health care our #1 expense.
2) I would not classify what we have as health care plan, it is more like a health diagnosis system. You can get into to see a doctor quick enough so he can tell you “yes indeed you are sick or you need an operation” but now the challenge becomes getting treated or operated on. We have waiting lists out the ying yang some as much as 2 years down the road.
3) Rather than fix what is wrong with you the usual tactic in Canada is to prescribe drugs. Have a pain here is a drug to take- not what is causing the pain and why. No time for checking you out because it is more important to move as many patients thru as possible each hour for Government re-imbursement
4) Many Canadians do not have a family Doctor.
5) Don’t require emergency treatment as you may wait for hours in the emergency room waiting for treatment.
6) [Jane’s] dad cut his hand on a power saw a few weeks back and it required that his hand be put in a splint – to our surprise we had to pay $125. for a splint because it is not covered under health care plus we have to pay $60. for each visit for him to check it out each week.
7) Shirley’s cousin was diagnosed with a heart blockage. Put on a waiting list . Died before he could get treatment.
8) Government allots so many operations per year. When that is done no more operations, unless you go to your local newspaper and plead your case and embarrass the government then money suddenly appears.
9)The Government takes great pride in telling us how much more they are increasing the funding for health care but waiting lists never get shorter. Government just keeps throwing money at the problem but it never goes away. But they are good at finding new ways to tax us, but they don’t call it a tax anymore it is now a user fee.
10) A friend needs an operation for a blockage in her leg but because she is a smoker they will not do it. Despite paying into the health care system all these years. My friend is 65 years old. Now there is talk that maybe we should not treat fat and obese people either because they are a drain on the health care system. Let me see now, what we want in Canada is a health care system for healthy people only. That should reduce our health care costs.
11) Forget getting a second opinion, what you see is what you get.
12) I can spend what money I have left after taxes on booze, cigarettes, junk food and anything else that could kill me but I am not allowed by law to spend my money on getting an operation I need because that would be jumping the queue. I must wait my turn except if I am a hockey player or athlete [or the Minister for Health Promotion getting a Cancerous skin lesion removed] then I can get looked at right away. Go figger [sic]. Where else in the world can you spend money to kill yourself but not allowed to spend money to get healthy.
13) Oh did I mention that immigrants are covered automatically at tax payer expense having never contributed a dollar to the system and pay no premiums.
14) Oh yeh we now give free needles to drug users to try and keep them healthy. Wouldn’t want a sickly druggie breaking into your house and stealing your things. But people with diabetes who pay into the health care system have to pay for their needles because it is not covered but the health care system.
I send this out not looking for sympathy but as the election looms in the states you will be hearing more and more about universal health care down there and the advocates will be pointing to Canada. I just want to make sure that you hear the truth about health care up here and have some food for thought and informed questions to ask when broached with this subject.
Step wisely and don’t make the same mistakes we have.
I would like to add a bit more.
15) The loonie left in Canada will fight to keep you from having heart surgery, a PET scan or an MRI at a private clinic, but they will be the first to defend abortions that are only performed in private clinics.
16) (to expand on 14 above). We used to have needle exchange programs, but now they are Needle Distribution Programs (ironically acronymed NDP, the same as our left leaning political party). So the city of Ottawa pays someone $50,000 to pick up dirty needles. If we had maintained the needle exchange, at least the druggies would have been helping us keep our children safe from finding these things on the street.
17) God help the person who has no family to help them go through any major operation in the hospitals. The blame is not on the nurses who do an amazing job with what they are given to work with. But in this day and age, someone having an operation almost HAS to have family members around to help care for them and make sure they are getting what they need, when they need it because the logistics and planning in hospitals just does not allow for smooth timely operation. My mother had heart surgery last November and the ice chip machine on the Critical Care Unit floor at Sunnybrook hospital was broken so we would go to different floors to bring her ice chips.
Ontario residents need to send Premier Yellow Bellied McShifty a clear message this October 10th.