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.

Disgusting Politics

I'm often disappointed when I hear average people run down politicians as crooked. I have the highest regard for many of them who I know personally and I know they bring integrity to their own lives and their political careers.

Unfortunately days like today make it easy to understand why people are cynical. The Democratic Governor of Illinois appeared in court today after being arrested on charges of corruption. Federal Investigators taped his phone lines and reportedly have evidence of him attempting to sell Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat. It's absolutely disgusting, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald was right when he declared today is a "sad day for government. . . Gov. Blagojevich has taken us to a new low, this conduct would make [Abraham] Lincoln roll over in his grave."

I hope this guy does jail time.

A Very Good Day for the Conservatives

If you're Canadian, you surely know that Stephen Harper survived and will continue to be the Prime Minister until at least January 29. This is good news because it will give cooler heads a chance to prevail.

I thought the odds that Michaelle Jean would prorogue Parliament were better than even. First, it would have been a huge constitutional precedent for a Governor General to refuse the request of the Prime Minister. Second she would have opened herself up to a torrent of personal criticism as a Liberal patronage appointee and wife of a prominent Quebec Separatist, prematurely handing power to the Liberal - Separatist coalition would have looked awful.

I never expected that the 'coalition' would start to fall apart so quickly. The Canadian Press reports:

Liberal resolve to topple the Conservative government began crumbling today almost immediately after Prime Minister Stephen Harper won a stay of execution. Within an hour of Governor General Michaelle Jean agreeing to suspend Parliament until Jan. 26, some Grit MPs were pulling back from the idea of trying to replace the Tory regime with a Liberal-NDP coalition propped up by the Bloc Quebecois.

Toronto MP Jim Karygiannis bluntly asserted that Liberals blew their chance to take down the government.“We did have that. It didn’t work. Who are we kidding here?” said Karygiannis. “I think it’s over.”

So the government survived, and if the Conservatives continue to appease a large enough segment of the opposition they will likely survive the Winter session. The stability is probably the best thing that could have happened in the short and medium term.

I hope that Stephen Harper is humbled and that the Conservatives and the willing members of the Liberal caucus focus on governing. Had I written anything yesterday, my advice to Stephen Harper would have been stack the Senate to make sure there aren't any vacancies for Dion to offer to Liberal insiders. I've changed my mind now I say hang back and just stick to the business of governing. You don't often get a second chance in Politics, Stephen Harper should use it wisely and recognise that he'll need to be conciliatory if he wants his minority government to survive.

Truly Shameful Actions

Here's an excellent post about the people who trampled a WalMart employee to death last Friday. Cory Heildeberger has a way with words and sums up my thoughts exactly:

The facts: about 2000 bargain hunters lined up at the Valley Stream Wal-Mart on Long Island in the wee hours Friday morning. They started pushing, busted the doors open a few minutes early, and trampled Mr. Damour to death. The sale-crazed shoppers put four other people in the hospital, including a pregnant woman. The rushing crowd also pushed aside workers who tried to assist Damour and others. Minutes later, when the store announced everyone had to leave due to the death and injuries, shoppers complained that they had been in line since Thursday morning and kept shopping.

The meaning: this is what unbridled consumerism gets us. 2,000 people participated in mass murder... or murder by the savage masses. 2,000 people killed a man, not for justice, not in some understandable (excusable?) panic from fire or flood, but for greed. It is sufficiently idiotic that in their burning desire to accumulate more cheap plastic junk from China, these Long Islanders—these fellow Americans—sacrificed sleep, family time, and even in some cases the entire Thanksgiving holiday. But Friday morning, they sacrificed a life, and their own humanity.

I truly hope that all those responsible take time to reflect on the gravity of what they've done. They are responsible for killing someone because of their selfishness. Unfortunately they probably won't, if they were disposed to reflection they would have been spending the time giving thanks for what they already had. Those of us who are disposed to personal reflection have an opportunity examine our own consciences even if we didn't stampede anyone. I can think of an example from just a few weeks ago where I was ready to jostle my way into the line to get on an airplane before my wife said no it's pointless.

Lord, help me be more courteous and forgive me for the times when I have let my selfishness make me less of a person.

No Good Can Come of This

I'll admit it's taken me a while to digest this news of a potential coalition government led by Liberal Leader Stephane Dion. When I first heard the news last week, I just discounted it believing there would be absolutely no way those 3 parties could work together. As it sunk in that these guys could be serious a creeping sense of panic has ensued.

I can think of nothing worse for this country than to have a laundry list of socialist hand outs, bail outs and cop outs. The resulting fiscal mess and uncertain political environment will only further discourage investment in our economy and drive risk averse businesses away. I maintain that the only thing that is unifying these 3 leaders is frustration of being constantly out-witted by Stephen Harper. Once they get beyond their cynical power grab and financially crippling spending spree, the 'coalition' will be incredibly unstable full of infighting and it will fall apart in months.

That said, I can't help but admire the opposition leaders for this power play. Regardless of the outcome they have seriously wounded Stephen Harper. He deserved to have his wrist slapped after talking all Fall about being conciliatory and cooperative, and then pushing forward with a legislation to cripple his opponents. I'm not happy that he pulled that stunt, it would have been fair game if he was transparent about his plans to govern as if he had a strong mandate, but the move seems dishonest after all the warm-fuzzy, 'let's all get along' talk.

My message to the opposition leaders is this. Congratulations! You've made your point and you've humbled Stephen Harper. You've won the day and by retaining the right to topple the government at any time you'll be able to keep the government in check. But please give the Conservatives a chance to govern, they won a solid minority and the people of Canada deserve to have their voice respected. and with all the economic uncertainty stability is in the Canada's best interest.

Killing Section 13 is Not Enough

There is a rapidly emerging political consensus that section 13 of Canada's Human Rights Act needs to be repealed. The Act regulates so called hate speech and has been used to attempt to silence individuals who have written a simple letter to the editor and more recently popular political commentators such as Ezra Levant and Mark Steyn.

Recently a review by Richard Moon, a long time supporter of the Human Rights Commissions, also recommended that Section 13 be repealed. Once again, Liberal MP Keith Martin has put forward a private members bill to do just that.

These are all excellent developments. Governments have no place deciding what is and is not fair political discourse. BUT, as the tide turns against the Human Rights Commissions, it's time for a complete overhaul of these kangaroo courts. These commissions have attacked individual liberty and promoted special interests particularly a homosexual agenda using many other avenues besides the infamous section 13. A Knights of Columbus hall was ordered to allow a Lesbian 'wedding' reception; numerous cities that were forced to declare gay pride day; and a private print shop that was ordered to print objectionable material are all victims of Human Rights Commissions gone wild using some of their other powers.

If there really is political will to reign in these commissions now is no time for half measures.

Pity the British

Say it ain't so:

LONDON (AP) - Britain is considering a ban on "happy hour" discounts at bars and
restaurants to curb drinking, a spokesman said Saturday, as health advocates warned that a rise in liver-related deaths among young people may signal a future epidemic.

Health officials will decide on whether to ban the happy hours - designated times for discount drinks - once an independent policy review is published in coming weeks, a health department spokesman said on customary condition of anonymity.

The proposal was one of several aimed at stemming a trend in binge drinking in recent years, particularly among teenagers and young adults. The government also plans to spend 10 million pounds ($15 million) on a new public awareness campaign, and wants to improve enforcement of laws against underage drinking.

Even worse:

They are considering a ban on a number of practices, including drinking games and speed-drinking events popular at some British pubs.

What's this world coming to?

Answered Prayer - Driving in Europe

I was recently on vacation for a few days in Portugal where we rented a car for a week, which was risky by itself. On the highway while I was driving 140 KM/h, I spent more time looking in my rear view mirrors than through the windshield, I'm certain cars passed me going over 200. Then there was that taxi ride down the massive hill in Coimbra through narrow one lane streets, but that's another story.

Through a series of events we found ourselves driving into Lisbon looking for our hotel on the night before we were going to catch an early morning flight. We had the street address for our hotel, but no map and no directions. To add insult to injury, I wasn't used to roundabouts at every intersection, and there seemed to be a distinct lack of street signs in the entire country. After we had circled the city once and stopped at a McDonald's for dinner and directions, the staff were very helpful and we thought we were on our way.

About 45 minutes later we realized we were hopelessly lost and we started praying that God would help us find our hotel somehow. We pulled into another McDonald's, this time I asked the girl at the counter if she spoke English, she said "a little" but it was clear no one behind the counter could understand a word I was saying. Then the guy beside me offered to translate, I told him I was trying to find my hotel and I showed him the address. He recognized this address but he said this is very difficult to get to from here. He started to give me directions but then he stopped.

Then, he said, "Why don't I lead you there?" We gladly accepted and we followed him through some crazy intersections and large roundabouts, all the time he was very careful not to lose us. As we drove we said to each other, God's really answered our prayers and sent us an angel to guide us home. After about 20 minutes he turned on his 4 way flashers and we pulled up beside him at an intersection and he told us this was the spot. We thanked him and asked him his name.

He smiled and said, "My name is Gabriel."

Answered Prayers

I should have written this post a few weeks ago when the stories were more fresh in my mind. I was just going to let it go, but a recent experience has convinced me it's worth writing about.

First off I had a number of difficult phone calls to make at work one day, I was a little nervous so I said a prayer before making the calls. I don't know why or how but each call went far better than expected with the reaction being, "Yes! I was just going to call you about the same thing." Our interests coincided perfectly in each case even though there were several different issues.

On the drive home that night I was on a country highway going at a safe but healthy speed when I went over the hill I saw the police cruiser sitting on the opposite side of the road. I got a huge lump in my throat when the officer quickly spun around and started catching up with me, I prayed, "God please get me out of this!" The cruiser kept following me as we approached town I was certain the siren would turn on and that would be it. But the lights never turned on and I arrived home 5 minutes later with no ticket.

Later that evening a close friend called and I shared the story. They said, funny you should mention that, "My mother in law was in the hospital for the past 3 days with kidney problems and a serious reaction to her medication, she was going down hill fast and we stayed up all night praying that she would recover. Today she's awake and alert and the doctors say she may be ready to come home tomorrow."

Needless to say, that was an amazing, faith-building day. Hopefully I'll get the chance to write about the more recent cool story soon.

Shameful Tactics at the University of Guelph

I only found out about this today as I casually saw the front page of today's Guelph Mercury. The University of Guelph's Central Student Association (CSA) revoked official club status for Life-Wise, Guelph's pro-life club, and on hearing an appeal of the decision the board of governors was not able to come to a conclusion.

The Guelph Mercury was right to condemn the CSA's decision noting:

For an ostensibly "pro-choice" entity, the Central Student Association at the University of Guelph has made an incredibly ill-advised choice in pulling the accreditation of a campus anti-abortion club. . . . Through its action, the student association's board has signalled that "freedom of choice" in this instance is limited to just one side of the extremely controversial debate about abortion -- and that's not the anti-abortion side.

Exactly right. I don't understand how the inherent contradiction is not obvious to this student society as they state in the same breath, I'm 'pro choice', and you don't have the right to form/choose an opinion. It's enough to make your brain explode.

I still think/hope that they will come to the right decision, however, the very fact that the CSA wants to silence opposing viewpoints is a sad commentary on the student leadership at Guelph.

When Will we Kill (or at Least Neuter) Human Rights Commissions?

This is wrong. Just wrong. The Canadian thought police are at it again, but this time they aren't just picking on a poor print shop owner or a right wing blogger. According to Ezra Levant, they're going after a former member of parliament. It's a relatively short article, and it's tough to pull out the most relevant part but this should give you a sense of the story:

In Saskatchewan, the CHRC [Canadian Human Rights Commission] is prosecuting a former Member of Parliament for politically incorrect mail that he sent to constituents five years ago.

Jim Pankiw, an MP who served from 1997 to 2004, is on trial for sending out flyers criticizing Indian crime in Saskatchewan. If convicted, Pankiw can face massive fines. He could also face other orders, ranging from a forced apology to a lifetime ban on commenting about aboriginal issues. If Pankiw refuses to comply with such an order, he could serve time in jail.

. . .

It’s unlikely that Pankiw will win, because the CHRC isn’t a real court, and real defences don’t apply. It’s presided over by a non-judge, and the hearing is stacked with every kind of politically correct apparatchik around. Take one of the “experts” relied upon by the CHRC, Derek Smith of Carleton University. As Terry O’Neill reported when the complaint was filed more than four years ago, Smith found proof of Pankiw’s racism in the colour of ink used in the brochures: black and red, on white paper.

Those are “colours very much associated with aboriginal people, for whom four colours have come to be associate with the four cardinal directions and have great spiritual significance,” wrote Smith. “One can hardly claim that the symbolism in this pamphlet is not inflammatory.”

Honestly this is scary stuff. Elsewhere in the article, Ezra rightly points out that MPs are given greater freedom of speech than ordinary Canadians through Parliamentary privilege. If they can't publish flyers on a legitimate election issue, then what about the rest of us?

It's time to reign these lunatics in. Now.

Incidentally, this is not new. It's been an issue for years and it's becoming mainstream. Back in the spring I had a post about Rick Mercer letting Canadians know about this travesty of justice.

It's Funny Because it's True!

I haven't heard it as much this year with all the Obamania, but there always seems to be some Hollywood star that threatens to move to Canada if the Republicans win. This video let's them know just how welcome they are!

Sunday Mornings May Never be the Same!

Our Church had a Hallow e'en fundraiser last Friday. It was a great success, must have had 1/3 of all the couples in the parish there. I was amazed by the creativity of the costumes. Actually it was really stiff competition, we had to settle for runners up in the best couple's costume category. We just couldn't compete with the couple that came as the cheerleaders from Will Ferrel's old Saturday Night Live skit, the perfect cheer. We certainly couldn't compete with their dancing! Other competition came from Indiana Jones and Laura Croft, Old Elpaso Salsa and the Nacho Man, A Football and Basketball player, and a Hippie couple where the husband wore an authentic baby blue leisure suit.

Our Priest, Father Jack Sparrow, had one of the best individual costumes, while the biker gang, super-safe cyclists, and the 50's table were awesome groups.

I expected an entertaining evening, but by letting loose with the people we usually just smile politely at, I had way more fun than I would ever have imagined. We'll definitely go again next year.

The only thing was that mass this morning seemed different. It's probably something about imagining a reader in Western gear and a Eucharistic minister in blue leather pants!

Why The Election Mattered

I've heard it said repeatedly that this election was a waste of time and money. One of my favourite commenters has even said it repeatedly. Well nonsense. In the spring session of parliament the Bloc, NDP, and Liberals threatened to defeat every government bill. Stephen Harper responded by making every vote a confidence motion, and the opposition parties would eventually give up and allow the bill to pass. It was workable enough, in fact it wasn't substantially different than the earlier sessions when the tactics were similar.

The big difference this time was the volume of the oppostition. Based on their bravado, the opposition parties would almost certainly defeated the government this fall. The election was a matter of when not if.

Critics will say that the result is still the same, nothing has changed. Again that's simply not true. Stephen Harper gained a strengthen minority government. While they're rebuilding, the opposition Liberals will have to ensure the Conservatives can push forward they're agenda, so we're guaranteed to have an effective government for at least a couple years.

The leaders that matter are sounding pretty conciliatory right now, and I believe Stephen Harper can be either cooperative or ruthless, so it's going to be up to the Liberals to set the tone. Either way the Conservative agenda will go through.