Family Day is Awesome

This was only the second year we celebrated family day in Ontario. The provincial government only recently created the holiday. Last year I remember scoffing and calling it a fake holiday. This year I just took it and made sure I enjoyed it to the max. Sure it's provincial only and not everybody gets it, but it coincides with President's Day in the US and several other provinces take a holiday on the same day.

If it wasn't for Family day it would have been 99 days between New Year's Day and Good Friday. It was a welcome break and I'll gladly take it!

Which is Worth More?

So which is worth more a barrel of oil or a DVD? One is essential for transportation and making our economy work, the other is good for an hour and a half of fleeting entertainment. According to the markets last Friday a new release DVD was worth more than a barrel of oil.

Oil Closed below the $35 on Friday, and opened there again yesterday morning. If only I could convince some poor fool to buy my DVDs for $35 each, I'd be able to drive for free for years to come!

Bold Move by Ontario Human Rights Commission

I'll give Barbara Hall one thing, she's bold. At a time when Human Rights Commissions are facing serious challenges from both federal and provincial governments, Ontario's chief human rights commissioner wants to create a national media watch dog to review all publications such as newspapers, magazines and websites:

The Ontario Human Rights Commission is calling for Parliament to force all Canadian magazines, newspapers and "media services" Web sites to join a national press council with the power to adjudicate breaches of professional standards and complaints of discrimination. . . .

The media's freedom of expression comes with a duty to "address issues of hate expression, and [media] should do so either voluntarily through provincial press councils, or through statutory creation of a national press council with compulsory membership," the report reads.

"At the same time, the OHRC recognizes the media have full freedom and control over what they publish. Ensuring mechanisms are in place to provide opportunity for public scrutiny and the receipt of complaints, particularly from vulnerable groups, is important, but it must not cross the line into censorship."

Barbara Hall, OHRC chief commissioner, said in an interview the rise of the Internet has strengthened the case for a national media watchdog. In her vision, a national press council would be "a vehicle for full discussion about what's written in the media" that is less strict and more accessible than the courts.

Hold on a second, this sounds an awful lot like the current human rights commissions - more accessible then the courts and receiving complaints from vulnerable groups. This would just create more opportunities for left wing interest groups to launch complaints against anyone who disagrees with them as we've seen happen through the recent cases brought against Maclean's for publishing excerpts of America Alone by Mark Steyn.

Fortunately the proposal looks like a non-starter based on the heavy criticism its receiving and the fact that there is no likely champion in Parliament to advocate for such a body. I'm sure there are already many eloquent condemnations of the idea, but for now I'll settle for highlighting some of the highlights from today's National Post editorial, No to National Censorship Council.

As if Barbara Hall's own crude, broadsword agency were not destructive enough of free speech rights, now the Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) wants a national press council to further chill free expression in the media. And she is not looking just to curtail newspapers, talk radio and television news. Ms. Hall wants any new press council to have jurisdiction over Internet sites and blogs, too. . . She seems to think the best way to preserve free speech is to limit it.

. . .

Ms. Hall also stated that all journalists should put their writings through a "human rights filter" before publication. Because she was not able to force such a filter on Maclean's, her current proposal for a national press council is almost certainly an attempt to make such a filter mandatory, in law.

"Media has a responsibility to engage in fair and unbiased journalism," Ms. Hall has said previously. But because no one has god-like powers to discern accurately what is "fair" and "unbiased," then no one -- not even the chief commissioner -- is qualified to sit in judgment of which articles and opinions meet those criteria and which do not. Most people's interpretation of fair and unbiased reporting corresponds very closely with their own opinions on the subject at issue, and Barbara Hall is no different. She has been granted no special powers not given to other mortals to divine the truth; therefore, neither she nor any other pompous purveyor of social concern has the ability to judge which speech should be free and which not.

"Free societies should not be in the business of criminalizing opinion," Mr. Steyn, told members of Ontario's standing committee on government agencies this week. "When you go down that road, all you do is lead to the situation that you have in, say, Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, you can't start a newspaper and print what you think, so if you object to the House of Saud, the only thing you can do is blow stuff up."

Similarly, making all writers, bloggers and broadcasters hostage to a national press council is merely the first step toward letting the Barbara Halls of the world decide what you get to hear, see and read. To that, we say: "No, thanks." And so should every newspaper reader, Web surfer and television viewer in the land.

I agree wholeheartedly.

Is This Really Necessary?

I came across this stamp in my travels. To protect the individuals involved I cannot reveal where.
I just have one simple question, Why would anybody keep a printed copy of a document if it didn't contain important information? I guarantee whoever created that stamp is one of those annoying people who label all of their emails as high priority.

You Always Have a Choice

Today I've gained a new pet peeve. Twice today I heard the expression I/You don't have a choice. In both cases it was simply not true and I immediately identified other choices.

First someone made a poorly thought out and rashly arrived at decision. I listed other choices but their response was basically, "I don't want to know what the other choices are." My second conversation was more balanced where one option had obvious strengths over the other.

Either way it simply was not accurate to say there wasn't a choice. 'I don't have a choice' can mean 'I really don't like the other options,' or 'I've already decided' or many different things but it never actually means there is no other choice.

I'm reminded of the famous 1984 election debate between Brian Mulroney and John Turner. Wikipedia describes the debate as follows:

Turner had planned to attack Mulroney over the patronage machine that the latter had allegedly set up in anticipation of victory. He launched what appeared to be the start of a blistering attack on Mulroney by comparing his patronage machine to that of the old Union Nationale in Quebec. However, Mulroney successfully turned the tables by pointing to the recent raft of Liberal patronage appointments. He demanded that Turner apologize to the country for making "these horrible appointments."

Turner replied that he "had no option" except to let the appointments stand.

Mulroney famously responded: “You had an option, sir. You could have said, 'I am not going to do it. This is wrong for Canada, and I am not going to ask Canadians to pay the price.' You had an option, sir — to say 'no' — and you chose to say 'yes' to the old attitudes and the old stories of the Liberal Party. That sir, if I may say respectfully, that is not good enough for Canadians.”

Turner froze, and could only repeat, "I had no option."

Mulroney called Turner's admission "an avowal of failure" and "a confession of non-leadership." He told Turner, "You had an option, sir. You could have done better." The exchange led most of the papers the next day, with most of them paraphrasing Mulroney's counterattack as "You had an option, sir — you could have said 'no.'"

The result of course was that Brian Mulroney formed the biggest majority government in Canadian History. It's worth remembering there's always a choice.

While I'm Waiting

I wrote on Sunday that I loved the movie Fireproof. On thing I didn't mention is the really poignant soundtrack. One song in particular was in my head all weekend and all of yesterday. While I'm Waiting by John Waller is a touching song with a very simple message. Keep trusting in God even while we wait for him to answer our prayers.

I've written before about some of God's answers to my personal prayers and there are many examples that I haven't written about, but I hope I haven't given the wrong impression. There are many prayers I've made that I'm still waiting to be answered - with some of them I've been waiting for years. Not being the most patient person by nature it's very hard to just wait and pray and hope and trust. That's why I love the simplicity and truth in this song:

I’m waiting

I’m waiting on You, Lord

And I am hopeful

I’m waiting on You, Lord

Though it is painful

But patiently, I will wait

Later the song encourages me saying:

I will move ahead, bold and confident

Taking every step in obedience

AND

I will serve You while I’m waiting

I will worship while I’m waiting on You, Lord

That's really hard to do, but I know it's the right response. Simply trusting in God and being faithful in worship and service will give us the strength we need to wait even when it seems like forever.

Fireproof - Rent it

Fireproof the movie just came out on DVD recently. We rented it Friday night and it was the best $5 I've spent in a while. The movie is a real romance, not boy meets girl they do lots of fun and exciting things and amazingly end up together. The movie is about a fireman who's been taking his wife for granted and their marriage is on the brink of divorce. His father convinces him to give his marriage one more shot with a 40 day challenge called the Love Dare. It's tough slugging and his wife keeps on rejecting his efforts, but with conversion, prayer and a lot of encouragement from a friend and his father, he's able to stick with it. There's just an amazing amount of self-sacrifice and personal growth for Caleb, the main character played by Kirk Cameron from Growing Pains. I knew my eyes were watery at times, but when I saw the damp spot on my wife's sleeve where I was resting my head I realized it was time to admit it made me all weepy.

Here's the trailer, you can decide for yourself if it's worth watching.



UPDATE: I cried the second time I watched it too.

Harper is Back!

Finally Stephen Harper sounds like a Conservative and he is acting like our Prime Minister. After 2 months of being on the defensive, offering the opposition 'coalition' everything they had asked for, Harper was beginning to look like a push over who was going to govern like a Liberal until the real Liberals had raised enough money to force another election. There were some days in the past few years where I didn't like that Stephen Harper was acting like a bully, but I liked him a lot less as the one being bullied.

When Canada's employment report came out yesterday and we found out that 129,000 jobs were lost in January when most analysts only expected 40,000 would be lost, the leaders of the Spend and Spend Coalition went into full panic mode demanding even more stimulus money. This time Harper is holding his ground, the Globe and Mail reports:

Stephen Harper says he will not yield to opposition calls for more economic stimulus measures despite confidence-shaking news that Canada lost 129,000 jobs in January, the sharpest decline ever.

Little more than a week after the federal government introduced a budget that projects a massive deficit and pours $40-billion in stimulus measures into the economy over the next two years, the opposition Liberals have said the worsening economic picture will probably require more.

Mr. Harper said Canadians can expect more job losses in 2009, but that the government has already responded in a big way. "The reason this government has proposed such a massive economic plan and such a massive deficit-spending stimulus is our anticipation of significant economic challenges, including significant job losses in the year to come. That's why we're doing what we're doing," he said at an event in Miramichi, N.B . . .

. . . the Prime Minister directly rebuffed the Liberals' hints they might force the Conservatives into another round of stimulus spending in late spring. "We cannot have in Parliament, quite frankly, instability every week and every month, every time there's a new number, people demanding a different plan…" Mr. Harper said. "We continue to believe this is the action we need, and we're going to need it in the months to come, and we're not going to be blown off track every time there's some bad news."

He's right. There are limits to how much the government actually can do to revive the economy, and there are definite limits to how quickly it can take effect. The government's budget contains a lot of new spending and other measures to breathe life into the economy, opposition calls for more spending before any money flows from this stimulus package are simply ludicrous.

We've already learned the hard way in the 80s and 90s that massive deficits can cripple the economy. I'm hoping the big deficits our government will run in the next few years are only temporary. For the first time in a while Stephen Harper looks like he might be capable of keeping spending in line.

Now's Your Chance John

The Toronto Sun Reports, "Finally! Tory gets a chance." Premier McGuinty has called a by-election in the riding where Conservative MPP Laurie Scott agreed to step down so that John Tory could run. The election will be held on March 5 and then the Conservative Leader will finally be able to sit in the legislature and challenge the premier face to face.

Tory has been without a seat since the 2007 election that saw the Conservatives get soundly defeated and saw John Tory lose his own seat. Since then the only time John Tory has made the news was when he faced various challenges to his leadership. Essentially he's wasted a year and a half when the party could have been rebuilding while he tried to convince someone to step aside for him. Assuming he wins on March 5 it will be his chance to turn the tide and show himself to be an effective leader. I hope he's up to the job, but I'm just not sure.

Incidentally Facebook keeps on suggesting John Tory as a friend I may know. Somehow I just can't bring myself to add him to my friends list.

Narnia is BACK!

Christmas 2010 is the target launch date for Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the next installment of the Narnia series. I've been a Narnia nut for the last several years - ever since I heard Focus on the Family's radio drama of all 7 books. I very much enjoyed the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and I just bought Prince Caspian on DVD (previously viewed - I will NOT pay $35 for a DVD). I had only learned a few weeks ago that Disney had pulled out of producing the movie, but last week MTV reported:

Walden Media has found a new studio to call home, and Fox will be sharing duties on “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.” The studio is hoping that the high fantasy of the third installment revives interest in the franchise — if the film is a smash hit, they will likely continue the franchise, and give Narnia fans the seven films they crave.

That's great news. Walden media is an excellent film company and they're certain to do justice to the books. I'm looking forward to all 7 films it's just too bad that we still need to wait almost 2 years for the next one.

Everything is Back to Normal

Now that the budget has passed, it appears things are moving back to normal. The best indication has been how quickly conservative commentators have been to criticise the budget. The National Post didn't pull any punches in their editorial:

As we’ve noted in recent days, all bricks-and-mortar stimulus programs are inherently problematic from an economic point of view: Injecting cash into public works and private projects involves picking winners and imagining the future; and for a variety of reasons well-understood by any student of Adam Smith, governments usually botch that job. But at least much of Mr. Flaherty’s extra infrastructure money is being focussed on projects that Canada may actually need — bridges, roads, schools and the like. In this sense, Mr. Flaherty’s blueprint compares favourably to the current legislative incarnation of the more scattershot U.S. stimulus package, described by New York Times columnist David Brooks in recent days as “a muddled mixture of short-term stimulus haste and long-term spending commitments.”

The attention being given to “social housing” by Mr. Flaherty, on the other hand, should raise red flags among fiscal hawks. Housing expenditures will raise the cost of labour in the short term for more immediately productive enterprises. Moreover, social housing has a long history of unexpectedly turning into a black hole for unwary governments — the white-elephant Vancouver Olympic Village being just the latest
example. And it doesn’t make much sense to hand cash to first-time homebuyers while simultaneously stimulating the real estate market — thereby making it more
expensive for them to buy that first home.

Good for them, it's time for voices of reason to weigh in and add balance to the debate. Government by hysteria will leave a big hangover long after the money's been spent.

The Tragedy of Penny and Karissa Boudreau

When I first heard of how Penny Boudreau strangled her 12 year old daughter in a bid to keep her boyfriend I was shocked and disgusted. The details are sensational: Penny's boyfriend told her she would have to choose between him or her daughter, so Penny strangled her daughter, put the twine in a garbage can, threw her daughter's body in a river, put her daughter's clothes in a garbage can and then reported her child missing and went on National TV pleading for her daughter's return.

She eventually confessed everything to an undercover police officer and her fate was sealed. She received a life sentence for the murder. So justice has been served and it's time to close this sad chapter of history. Well maybe. What has struck me more recently is the viciousness of the condemnation that she has received. Most commentary seems to be of the "hanging's too good for her" variety, and I shuddered when I read the judge's comments:

"You can never call yourself mother," said Justice Margaret Stewart, glancing up at Boudreau. "The words, 'Mommy, don't' ... are there to haunt you for the rest of your life."

The judge may be more right than she knows. I cannot fathom how a mother could do this to her child, and I definitely can't begin to understand how she is living with herself. It seems like she's already grappling with the magnitude of the situation, the article said that she was weeping throughout the hearing and:

After sentencing, Boudreau stood up briefly to address the court.

"I'm sorry," she said in a meek whisper.

Nobody seems to interested in her apology. But maybe we should be. I'm reminded of a number of sermons I've heard about evil and about confession. There's a classic trap that the devil seems to use - first he tries to convince us that whatever wrongdoing we're being tempted to do is OK, normal, or justified by the circumstances. THEN after we've done it he encourages us to feel guilty, ashamed, worthless and unforgivable. I'm certain that's how Penny Boudreau is feeling right now, the judge did her part to make sure she is.

The amazing thing for Penny, and for all of us, is that if her guilt leads her to sorrow, and her sorrow leads to true repentance, then God is willing and able to forgive even her. What Penny did was less than human, but she is still a person. I'm praying for her that she will truly repent for her sins and that she will feel God's love. I'm also thinking it's time to go back to confession myself.

Just one disclaimer: Our system is just and Penny was rightly given the maximum sentence for her actions. My only hope is that the next 20 years she spends in jail is a time of healing and repentance not a time of debilitating guilt and mental anguish.

Barack Obama Hype

I’ve had a sneaking suspicion that the Barack Obama hype has been overdone. This past weekend confirmed it. I visited some friends in Detroit and ended up wandering through Target, a big department store. I was thoroughly disturbed when I found 2 hardcover children’s books about Barack Obama. They were the most predominantly displayed books in the whole section with some copies of “A Child’s First Bible Stories” and “The Story of Abraham Lincoln” tucked in behind.

After briefly lamenting for the poor children who are going to extremely disappointed with their bedtime stories, I walked on to the card section. I saw a card with a great big picture of Barack Obama with a big heart around him. On the front it said Happy Valentines Day, on the inside “Barack and Roll.” If that’s what works with the ladies, it’s a good thing I’ve been out of the dating scene for a few years now.

The New Adventures of Heidi

We got a DVD copy of the New Adventures of Heidi for Christmas. I'll admit I was less than enthusiastic about the gift, but on Friday we just wanted to watch a movie, and it was too cold to go to the video store, so we popped it in. To my surprise I quite enjoyed it.

I was struck by how far we've come in 30 years. For starters, it wasn't digitally remastered, so it was a good reminder how much of a difference video quality has come. The story was about a delightful young girl who lives with her grandfather (Burl Ives) in a cottage on the Swiss Alps but discovers she may need to move away because her grandfather is going blind. Heidi meets a friend who is running away from a school road trip, and they forge a bond that is so strong her friend's family eventually takes Heidi in and they travel to New York City.

Friendship, Family, and Faith all feature strongly in the movie. My eyes got all watery more than once and I had a nice warm cozy feeling at the end of it. What was most interesting is how simple sincere prayers were a big part of the movie, and I can't remember the last time I've seen that. Recently if I've seen prayer in a movie it's either as a lame joke (think Talladega Nights) or it's part of an overtly religious movie like Facing the Giants. In this movie, it was just part of life and it helped advance the plot and conveyed the emotions the characters were feeling.

The neatest prayer was part of Heidi's grandfather's grace, "Lord, Help us to be grateful for all life’s blessings and to accept life’s disappointments without bitterness or complaint." That's good stuff, it foreshadowed the challenges the characters would face, and it got me thinking why don't I pray like that? I didn't have a good answer, so I've worked it into a few of my prayers already.

Taking a Stand at the UN

This is old news now that the latest round of fighting in Gaza has ended, but I still want to say that Canada should be commended for taking a stand against lunacy at the UN. Almost two weeks ago, the Globe and Mail Reported:

Canada was the sole member of the UN Human Rights Council to vote against a resolution, which passed in a 33-1 vote, condemning Israel over its actions in Gaza.

The vote crystallized Canada’s emergence under Stephen Harper’s government as one of Israel’s firmest supporters. At a meeting in Geneva, Canada asked for a recorded vote to emphasize its complaint that the resolution drafted by Arab, Asian and African countries did not recognize that Israel acted to stop Hamas rocket attacks.

European countries abstained, along with Japan and South Korea, because they felt the resolution lacked balance - it gave only brief mention to rocket attacks. Neither Israel nor the United States are in the 47-member council.

That's leadership. Not only was Canada the only country to take a forceful stand against a flawed resolution, we forced the recorded vote to make other countries take a position. Well done, and even though it's an old story. I still feel proud to be Canadian.

Barack O'Bama

I think this is supposed to be funny. The thing is it really is a catchy tune. As much as I have my doubts about this Obama guy, I gotta wish him well. If he doesn't perform he can do a lot of damage to the US and the World Economy. I do hope he's up to the task.

No More Excuses

If this comes to pass, I'm going to start running out of excuses to take care of the renovations that I need to get done around home. According to the Globe and Mail, "The Harper government has been floating the idea of a tax credit for home renovations - an idea that could deliver significant stimulus for Canada's residential construction industry in the Jan. 27 budget."

This could benefit me if my contractor ever finds time to call us back, but it also sounds like there's solid economics behind it. Most building supplies are made in Canada so the spinoff stays here, and individuals could plan to spend the money a lot quicker than a new government infrastructure program that could take years to plan and then probably come into effect once the economy has already started to rebound.

Honestly a home renovation tax credit sounds like one of the better ideas I've heard to stimulate the economy, and it's probably one of the cheapest. I hope this happens.

Welcome Helicopters

Our troops in Afghanistan are getting much deserved support with the arrival of new helicopters.

CTV reports: "the new air wing fleet includes six Chinooks, newly retrofitted with heavy machine guns to counter Taliban attacks, and eight hefty, even more heavily-armed, Griffons to act as backup. It is believed to be Canada's biggest air force presence in a combat zone since the end of the Second World War."

The support will certainly be welcomed by Canadian Soldiers who have seen more than half of their fallen comrades killed by roadside bombs. Hopefully this will save lives, boost morale, and help accomplish the mission!

Should He Stay or Should He Go?

The Toronto Star keeps on asking the question about John Tory. The answer is simple, he should GO. I don't know why we're still asking the question. He was solidly beaten in the last election and he's done nothing to advance the interests of the Conservative party in the province since he held on to the leadership despite winning less than 2/3 of the votes in a Leadership review last Spring. Now that he's missed his own deadline to get elected to the Legislature or step down as leader it's time to go before he destroys his credibility further.

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas

I'm going to listen to Christmas music on the way to and from work, and I'm going to eat a Candy Cane and I'm going to be generally happy. Today marks the last day of the Christmas Season, tomorrow is Epiphany when we remember the wise men arriving in Bethlehem to worship Jesus. Tomorrow I'll have to think about taking the decorations down, or at least unplugging the lights. I may just keep everything up a little longer. I hope that you have been strengthened by this Christmastime too, and at the risk of sounding cliche that you can carry the spirit with you into the New Year.

$35 is Way Too Much for a DVD

The other day, I was walking through the video store doing some Christmas shopping and I bought a DVD, Journey to the Centre of the Earth for $17. Unremarkable except that it was 50% off. There were all kinds of DVDs at the store for $35, I just rolled my eyes and dismissed it because I was in the mall. Just this past weekend I was strolling through my local video store and I saw new release movies on sale there for $32.99. It appears these prices are the real thing, someone in Hollywood actually thinks that's the price they can charge for a new DVD. Guess again, you guys are pricing yourselves out of the market. I've bought more new DVD's than I need and I'll often buy a DVD even after I've already seen the movie. I don't need to buy them and at $35 I promise you I won't. Give your head a shake, no wonder so many people download movies instead.