Without question, the contributions of homeschoolers are dramatically changing our political landscape. For example, leadership courses, camps, and organizations such as Generation Joshua, a division of the Home School Legal Defense Association, are coming alongside homeschooling families to train future leaders. During the 2010 mid-term elections Generation Joshua deployed 900 of their nearly 6,000 members to make a difference in 21 political races across the nation, including that of Congressman Daniel Webster (R-FL), a homeschooling father.Suck it, public schoolers.
Dr. Brian Ray, founder of the National Home Education Research Institute, in his 2004 study of more than 7,000 homeschooled adults, showed that homeschoolers were more likely to vote, volunteer for political campaigns, and participate in community service. Dr. Ray found that 71% of homeschool graduates participated in ongoing community service activities compared to 37% of U.S. adults of similar ages, and 76% of homeschool graduates (aged 18–24) had voted in a national or state election within the last 5 years, compared to 29% of non-homeschooled graduates.
Sunday, 26 December, 2010
Homeschoolers, FTW
My uncle forwarded this on to me, and I thought it was worth sharing:
Saturday, 18 December, 2010
Support our friend, Andrew Lawton
I haven't been updating a huge amount lately - something I intend to rectify soon - but I thought that this deserved more than its share of attention.
It seems that outspoken conservative writer, blogger, broadcaster, activist, and publisher Andrew Lawton has fallen into some very, very serious health problems. Wendy Sullivan at Girl on the Right has the details:
As Mike Brock has remarked upon at The Volunteer, some will undoubtedly use this emergency situation in Andrew's life to score partisan points: Andrew was a noted critic of Canada's health-care system, and his dependence upon that system undoubtedly presents some of his own critics with an opportunity to jeer at the cruel irony of it all. I think Wendy Sullivan has the best response possible to such criticism:
I'll leave the last word to Mark Steyn:
It seems that outspoken conservative writer, blogger, broadcaster, activist, and publisher Andrew Lawton has fallen into some very, very serious health problems. Wendy Sullivan at Girl on the Right has the details:
And meanwhile:The Good News: Andrew will be going into surgery at some point today or tonight (I will advise later) to have his blood oxygenator removed, as he no longer needs it. His blood is getting enough oxygen now through natural means + the heart/lung machines.
The Bad News: Andrew is very weak, so any surgery is a risk. Spare an extra-super-duper-double-shot prayer with sprinkles on top for him today.
I’ll update on Twitter when the OR has been booked.
A Show for Andrew
Jerry Lewis has his kids, and we have Lawton. Andrew and his family don’t need money or gifts or anything concrete at this point - they need hope and prayer. So I’m re-joining the crew at Take That Media for a reunion show and impromptu prayer/well-wishes show which will be recorded on Friday night. Mike Williams, my old producer, has opened up the Take That hotline for anyone wanting to leave a message of hope and prayer for Andrew. Your well-wishes will be included throughout the show.
717.892.0353
Lines will be open all day today, tomorrow and till Friday at noon.
I've known Andrew for a little while, now, as we have tended to move in the same circles, and consider him to be a friend. More recently, he has become my editor at Strictly Pop, which I recently joined as a contributor. For more background, I would suggest that you check out this interview that my editor at the Libertas Post, Nate Hendley, conducted with Andrew back in June.No flowers are permitted in ICU, but cards are welcomed by the family:
Andrew Lawton, Patient
Victoria Hospital, Critical Care Unit
800 Commissioners Road East
London, Ontario
Canada N6A 5W9The family has started a separate Facebook page, because they do not have access to his passwords. The link is here. Please show your support. The family will attempt to provide updates, but their schedule is rather harried, as you would expect. Keep checking in with myself here and on Twitter (@RightGirl).
As Mike Brock has remarked upon at The Volunteer, some will undoubtedly use this emergency situation in Andrew's life to score partisan points: Andrew was a noted critic of Canada's health-care system, and his dependence upon that system undoubtedly presents some of his own critics with an opportunity to jeer at the cruel irony of it all. I think Wendy Sullivan has the best response possible to such criticism:
There are no comments permitted on this post today. I’ve already seen too many comments elsewhere about how he deserves to suffer because he feels Canadians are getting a shitty deal with our health care system. Let that shitty health care system prove Andrew wrong. In any case, assholes don’t get the right to talk about my friend here, when we don’t even know if he will live to Christmas Day.Any comments to the effect that Wendy mentions above will be deleted from this site as well.
I'll leave the last word to Mark Steyn:
Andrew is only 23 and has already had one serious stroke. Yet, despite ill health, in a few short years he's established himself as one of the most energetic figures in Canadian conservatism. He was not only the ingenious promoter of last month's highly successful Steynapalooza, but also (per a last-minute request from Mark) the piano-playing imam in the closing number. After the Ontario gig, Andrew and his Strictly Right colleagues Ari and Ryan then flew on to Calgary to film Mark's appearance with Fred Thompson and Howard Dean, including Governor Dean's Canadian Content version of his "I have a scream" speech.Indeed. I imagine that Andrew and I would not see eye to eye on every issue, but he is a good man who has been dealt a bad hand. I'm not really into the whole 'prayer' thing myself, but I would urge you, dear reader, to keep Andrew in your thoughts at the very least.
We need Andrew out of the hospital and bringing his unique contribution back to the scene.
Thursday, 16 December, 2010
Links from around the block, Dec. 16th
Jim Quinn, at The Burning Platform: Bernanke is 100% sure.
Yahoo News: German police find 6-foot marijuana plant decorated as Christmas tree.
Boing Boing: Judge to copyright troll: get lost.
Hillbuzz: Is Fred Phelps a Democrat? Is Westboro Baptist a Democrat organization?
Yahoo News: German police find 6-foot marijuana plant decorated as Christmas tree.
Boing Boing: Judge to copyright troll: get lost.
Hillbuzz: Is Fred Phelps a Democrat? Is Westboro Baptist a Democrat organization?
A peek into the Downtown Eastside drug trade, part III
Matt Chambers at The Dependent continues his streets-eye view of the Downtown Eastside drug trade. It makes for fascinating reading:
A week earlier a young woman by the name of Ashley Machiskinic fell to her death from a fifth-storey window. Community leaders are adamant that she was killed over drug debts. Standing on the corner I hear a lot about money owed. The talk isn’t of dope-sick addicts running tabs $10 too high — addicts don’t get tabs — it’s about those with sufficient credit to get themselves into real trouble: the workers, holders, and dealers.Check it out. Seriously.
Surely no one would be so crazy as to openly support the HST?
Well, yes. In fact, they're called Support HST, so it's not even as if their intentions are up for interpretation.
I've been meaning to write about Support HST for a while now, actually. They first came to attention when they followed me on Twitter.
Who is Support HST?
Check out their site. Watch a few of their videos, like this one:
These are people - business owners and CEOs - who are providing examples of how the HST has helped them. Which is, of course, something that would be a part of any kind of sane narrative.
Unfortunately, as I've pointed out before, the Harmonized Sales Tax debate is not so much a debate about the Harmonized Sales Tax. It's a moral referendum on the BC Liberal Party, spurred by the rather back-handed, clumsy, and downright inept way that they went about introducing us to their new tax regime. People are mad as hell and they aren't going to take it anymore.
The HST itself - at least, in conjunction with the tax system that the BC Liberals have introduced to go along with it - is actually a pretty good tax. Pain in the short term, good economic planning in the long term. This is something that the Fraser Institute has been pointing out for a while, and, based on pure observation, the idea that the HST is good for business and economy is generally well-received. People won't argue with you on that.
But what people will get heated about is the idea that the HST - as is - should stay. Thanks to the BC Liberal Party, a lot of people feel like they have been lied to, and a lot of people are unhappy, and a lot of people want this whole shameful, dirty thing out of their lives - myself included. Throw in a rogue agent like Bill Vander Zalm, and you've got insta-tax revolt.
So thank you, Support HST, for being crazy enough to point out the obvious: the HST is good for business over-all ( with exceptions in the service industry ). And as the recall machine steams along in the Oak-Bay-Gordon Head riding, let's all remember the real villains here:
I've been meaning to write about Support HST for a while now, actually. They first came to attention when they followed me on Twitter.
Who is Support HST?
We are a group of independent BC entrepreneurs who want to offer specific examples of how the HST has been a positive change for our business and our employees.
Check out their site. Watch a few of their videos, like this one:
These are people - business owners and CEOs - who are providing examples of how the HST has helped them. Which is, of course, something that would be a part of any kind of sane narrative.
Unfortunately, as I've pointed out before, the Harmonized Sales Tax debate is not so much a debate about the Harmonized Sales Tax. It's a moral referendum on the BC Liberal Party, spurred by the rather back-handed, clumsy, and downright inept way that they went about introducing us to their new tax regime. People are mad as hell and they aren't going to take it anymore.
The HST itself - at least, in conjunction with the tax system that the BC Liberals have introduced to go along with it - is actually a pretty good tax. Pain in the short term, good economic planning in the long term. This is something that the Fraser Institute has been pointing out for a while, and, based on pure observation, the idea that the HST is good for business and economy is generally well-received. People won't argue with you on that.
But what people will get heated about is the idea that the HST - as is - should stay. Thanks to the BC Liberal Party, a lot of people feel like they have been lied to, and a lot of people are unhappy, and a lot of people want this whole shameful, dirty thing out of their lives - myself included. Throw in a rogue agent like Bill Vander Zalm, and you've got insta-tax revolt.
So thank you, Support HST, for being crazy enough to point out the obvious: the HST is good for business over-all ( with exceptions in the service industry ). And as the recall machine steams along in the Oak-Bay-Gordon Head riding, let's all remember the real villains here:
- 1) The sheer panic over this new tax which has introduced a very dangerous amount of instability and uncertainty into our economy - hell, it's even spilled over into Washington.
- 2) The BC Liberal Party, for being so absolutely obtuse as to scuttle good policy with bad handling.
Wednesday, 15 December, 2010
Killa Cali
A little while back, HFG at Rethink America wrote quite possibly the most fascinating thing you will ever read about the California prison system:
Killa Cali- it’s not just the correctional system. SWAT started there (under noted racist Darryl Gates). The Watts riots, Rodney King, the Rampart scandal, CRASH, the list is endless. LAPD is a nationwide leader in police brutality, police corruption, and is probably THE leader in police militarization. Even many of your major street gangs started and are still headquartered in California: MS-13, Bloods, Crips, Avenues (originally an anti-black extermination force under direct control of the Mexican Mafia), Nazi Lowriders (originally a hit squad for the AB), 18th Street (aka Mara 18), one of the biggest gangs in the nation with over 50,000 members (100,000 worldwide). Those are just the ones that started in LA. Also the Hell’s Angels started in Cali, as did the Mongols and other outlaw bike clubs.
The solution to the prison problem, by the way, would be to have it run by the US military:
Surprisingly, the US already operates a nationwide network of virtually rape-free and gang-free prisons. I've done time in two of them. Sexual assaults in the military prison system are almost unheard of compared to federal & state systems. I was in one of the larger facilities and nobody could even remember when the last one was, or if there even was a first one. There weren't even any rumors or tall tales, and many a con can spin a good yarn. Their way of doing things prevents the conditions which cause the problem from occurring in the first place. Even fights were only about as frequent as you might see in a Navy bar-room (maybe even less frequent, depending on the bar).And since we're speaking about how much California absolutely sucks, Victor Davis Hanson has written an excellent article about two very markedly different versions of the same State
It is almost as if the more California regulates, the more it does not regulate. Its public employees prefer to go after misdemeanors in the upscale areas to justify our expensive oversight industry, while ignoring the felonies in the downtrodden areas, which are becoming feral and beyond the ability of any inspector to do anything but feel irrelevant. But in the regulators’ defense, where would one get the money to redo an ad hoc trailer park with a spider web of illegal bare wires?It's disturbing how the best and the worst of society can co-exist so easily.
Monday, 13 December, 2010
Links from around the block, Dec. 13th
In Der Spiegel: Former Drug Smuggler Tells His Story.
From The Legal Project: Anti-SLAPP Statutes in the US by State.
Kim Westad in the Times Colonist, on Victoria's trash biz: Special report: Taking out the trash.
Jim Quinn at The Burning Platform: Will 2010 be as critical as 1860?
Boing Boing: New Zealand leak: US-style copyright rules are a bad deal.
Finally, Binks at Free Canuckistan has done it again: Steynian 431rd.
From The Legal Project: Anti-SLAPP Statutes in the US by State.
Kim Westad in the Times Colonist, on Victoria's trash biz: Special report: Taking out the trash.
Jim Quinn at The Burning Platform: Will 2010 be as critical as 1860?
Boing Boing: New Zealand leak: US-style copyright rules are a bad deal.
Finally, Binks at Free Canuckistan has done it again: Steynian 431rd.
Good news for Woodwynn Farm
Remember Woodwynn Farm? I've talked a little about this project before, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Essentially, the idea behind Woodwynn Farm, put into action by the Creating Homefullness Society, is this: take some of the homeless from downtown Victoria, people who truly want to get off the streets, put them on a farm cultivating and selling organic produce, and get them rehabilitated into society.
Sounds great, right? Sure there are some flaws in the plan: its location in Central Saanich, and the price of the piece of land that it's built upon, raise some questions about whether or not Woodwynn was the best place for such a project.
Then again, it's something at least. Most solutions can have holes poked in them - it's quite another matter to come up with another solution. Woodwynn, at least, is trying*.
At any rate, Woodwynn fell prey to a very organized kind of NIMBY-ism, in the form of a local group, concerned about preserving the Woodwynn property ( or, perhaps, concerned about their property values should a bunch of *ugh* homeless people show up and try to make a life for themselves ), tried to buy the property out from the under the Creating Homefullness Society.
That didn't work, and, despite some friction with local Central Saanich Council, Woodwynn Farms has done well for itself regardless. For this, they are to be congratulated. And the news keeps getting better:
*I think Minority Threat summed it up pretty well in the song In My Eyes: "At least I'm f*cking trying. What the f*ck have you done?"
Sounds great, right? Sure there are some flaws in the plan: its location in Central Saanich, and the price of the piece of land that it's built upon, raise some questions about whether or not Woodwynn was the best place for such a project.
Then again, it's something at least. Most solutions can have holes poked in them - it's quite another matter to come up with another solution. Woodwynn, at least, is trying*.
At any rate, Woodwynn fell prey to a very organized kind of NIMBY-ism, in the form of a local group, concerned about preserving the Woodwynn property ( or, perhaps, concerned about their property values should a bunch of *ugh* homeless people show up and try to make a life for themselves ), tried to buy the property out from the under the Creating Homefullness Society.
That didn't work, and, despite some friction with local Central Saanich Council, Woodwynn Farms has done well for itself regardless. For this, they are to be congratulated. And the news keeps getting better:
The founder of the Creating Homefulness Society will ask Central Saanich Council next month to allow more homeless clients to live at Woodwynn Farm.Indeed. We should wish Richard Leblanc luck as he makes his proposal next month, especially those of us who work in downtown Victoria, where any kind of pressure release on the homeless problem is, undoubtedly, welcome news.
"We would like the ability to have zoning that would allow us to grow to 96 over the next five years," said Richard Leblanc.
For now, only four clients are allowed to live at the farm because, in February 2008, council shot down Leblanc's hopes of having all participants living at the historic Mount Newton Valley farm while going through therapeutic programs.
Before a proposal was submitted, council voted unanimously not to support institutional or residential zoning on the 78-hectare property. But attitudes have changed over the last 18 months as the group has refurbished the dilapidated farm, grown vegetables, cut 13,000 bales of hay and planted 680 new trees -- all with increasing community support.
"What has changed is that we have demonstrated our program on a small scale. We seem to have struck a very supportive chord in the community," said Leblanc, who knows the proposal will be contentious, but is hoping council will mirror the community support.
"It doesn't make sense to have people living off-site and taking a bus back and forth," he said.
*I think Minority Threat summed it up pretty well in the song In My Eyes: "At least I'm f*cking trying. What the f*ck have you done?"
Sorry, y'all
I apologize for the lack of posts lately. A combination of busy-ness, distraction, depression, and sheer laziness is the culprit.
Not that you care, but I'll be back into the swing of things in two shakes.
Not that you care, but I'll be back into the swing of things in two shakes.
Tuesday, 7 December, 2010
My very first post at Strictly Pop
I'm proud to say that I am now part of the team over at Strictly Pop. I'll be writing there on a weekly basis ( fingers crossed ) from now on. Here's my first post: Season one of The Walking Dead shuffles off too soon.
Monday, 6 December, 2010
Sex, drugs and rock and roll
Some thoughts on recent events in sleaze.
1) Last week the Ontario Court of Appeals granted a stay on the three prostitution-related laws struck down earlier by Justice Susan Himel, keeping them in place until the federal government has had a chance to appeal Himel's ruling to the Supreme Court - which could take more than a year. The hold expires in April.
I think I've expressed my thoughts pretty clearly on prostitution in the past: it should be legalized and regulated in order to make it a safer practice for customers and, er...service providers alike. Not to mention that legal prostitution would waste less police resources.
This isn't just a matter of whether or not the government should be regulating the business of sex, or of whether or not it should be involved in the car backseats of the nation. It's a matter of protecting women who are out on the street. Prohibition puts their lives at risk. Period. And now, thanks to the government of Canada and the Ontario Court of Appeals, working women in Ontario are going to have to continue to be at risk until well into next year, for no other reason than to satisfy the current status quo. Disgusting. And meanwhile, as noted by Dan Gardner and Chris Selley, the leader of the opposition, Michael Ignatieff, doesn't even seem to believe it's his job to weigh in on the issue at all.
2) Forget Mexico. Holland has become the latest country whose war on drugs has literally resulted in gunfire in the streets. The Dutch province of North Brabant, in what Eindhoven mayor Rob van Gijzel calls an 'untenable' situation, has seen a string of drug-war related incidents recently, including shootings which have killed two people, a grenade attack on a 'coffee' shop ( where legal cannabis is sold ) and a machine-gun attack on the home of an ecstasy producer. The mayor of Helmond in North Brabant and his family have gone into hiding. Gijzel has worked with the Dutch Security Minister to put together a temporary police group to handle drug-related crime. And meanwhile, the Dutch coalition government is considering expanding police powers so that entire towns can be sealed off at a time, and their residents searched. Our favorite populist, Geert Wilders, even wants to send in the army.
As in Mexico, this is obviously not a good thing to be happening, and those escalating the violence on the side of organized crime are obviously not to be encouraged. But at the same time, one has to wonder: is this really the price that the Dutch want to pay for having a war on drugs?
3) So, we've had sex, we've had drugs, and to stay true to my post title, we should have some rock and roll. I thought this would be appropriate:
Update: for those readers who are interested, here is a chart documenting the legal status of prostitution around the world by country.
1) Last week the Ontario Court of Appeals granted a stay on the three prostitution-related laws struck down earlier by Justice Susan Himel, keeping them in place until the federal government has had a chance to appeal Himel's ruling to the Supreme Court - which could take more than a year. The hold expires in April.
I think I've expressed my thoughts pretty clearly on prostitution in the past: it should be legalized and regulated in order to make it a safer practice for customers and, er...service providers alike. Not to mention that legal prostitution would waste less police resources.
This isn't just a matter of whether or not the government should be regulating the business of sex, or of whether or not it should be involved in the car backseats of the nation. It's a matter of protecting women who are out on the street. Prohibition puts their lives at risk. Period. And now, thanks to the government of Canada and the Ontario Court of Appeals, working women in Ontario are going to have to continue to be at risk until well into next year, for no other reason than to satisfy the current status quo. Disgusting. And meanwhile, as noted by Dan Gardner and Chris Selley, the leader of the opposition, Michael Ignatieff, doesn't even seem to believe it's his job to weigh in on the issue at all.
2) Forget Mexico. Holland has become the latest country whose war on drugs has literally resulted in gunfire in the streets. The Dutch province of North Brabant, in what Eindhoven mayor Rob van Gijzel calls an 'untenable' situation, has seen a string of drug-war related incidents recently, including shootings which have killed two people, a grenade attack on a 'coffee' shop ( where legal cannabis is sold ) and a machine-gun attack on the home of an ecstasy producer. The mayor of Helmond in North Brabant and his family have gone into hiding. Gijzel has worked with the Dutch Security Minister to put together a temporary police group to handle drug-related crime. And meanwhile, the Dutch coalition government is considering expanding police powers so that entire towns can be sealed off at a time, and their residents searched. Our favorite populist, Geert Wilders, even wants to send in the army.
As in Mexico, this is obviously not a good thing to be happening, and those escalating the violence on the side of organized crime are obviously not to be encouraged. But at the same time, one has to wonder: is this really the price that the Dutch want to pay for having a war on drugs?
3) So, we've had sex, we've had drugs, and to stay true to my post title, we should have some rock and roll. I thought this would be appropriate:
Update: for those readers who are interested, here is a chart documenting the legal status of prostitution around the world by country.
Mark and Connie Fournier in court tomorrow
Andrew Phillips writes:
In the meantime, some primer on the legal suits being brought to bear against Mark and Connie.
I hope those people in the Ottawa area can turn out for Connie and Mark'sIndeed. We here at the Blog of Walker will be sure to check in on tomorrow's proceedings in what capacity we can here in British Columbia.
day in court tomorrow at 161 Elgin Street at 9:00 a.m. Freedom of Speech is
everyone's concern as are they people who would restrict it.
In the meantime, some primer on the legal suits being brought to bear against Mark and Connie.
Sunday, 5 December, 2010
I'm still here!
I know I haven't been posting much lately, and I do apologize for that. I spent most of my play-time monetizing my site content and messing around on Twitter today.
But I will be back tomorrow. With updates. I promise.
But I will be back tomorrow. With updates. I promise.
Saturday, 4 December, 2010
Today's business
Today I did some minor work on a couple of interviews, did some blogging at the Victoria Politics Examiner, and handled some comments on this site.
Meanwhile, I've added a PayPal button to my sidebar, in case anybody feels like sending some of their hard-earned cash my way as a tip. Hint hint.
Also, check out the 'My latest' column in the side-bar. I added it a little while back, but neglected to mention it. I'll be posting my latest content here, there, and everywhere up there, as opposed to spamming readers with blog posts mentioning my work - although I'll probably highlight the odd piece, like this one on Elections BC.
See y'all tomorrow.
Update: Oh, and thanks to Vlad Tepes and The Blogging Tories in Their Own Words for the links.
Meanwhile, I've added a PayPal button to my sidebar, in case anybody feels like sending some of their hard-earned cash my way as a tip. Hint hint.
Also, check out the 'My latest' column in the side-bar. I added it a little while back, but neglected to mention it. I'll be posting my latest content here, there, and everywhere up there, as opposed to spamming readers with blog posts mentioning my work - although I'll probably highlight the odd piece, like this one on Elections BC.
See y'all tomorrow.
Update: Oh, and thanks to Vlad Tepes and The Blogging Tories in Their Own Words for the links.
Freedom in the digital age
From Boing Boing:
And if you feel like taking a few minutes, check out this post on Bunnie Huang's blog: USA v. Crippen — A Retrospective.
- Fate of Spain's Internet/copyright law depends on El Pais releasing relevant Wikileaks cables NOW.
- State of the indy music industry looks rosy, so why all the doom-and-gloom about music?
- Wikileaks cables reveal that the US wrote Spain's proposed copyright law
- U.S. Government Seizes 82 Websites: A Glimpse at the Draconian Future of Copyright Enforcement?
- EFF Tool Offers New Protection Against 'Firesheep'.
- EFF Asks Judges to Protect Identities in Porn-Downloading Lawsuits.
- EFF Calls on European Commission to Protect Internet Users’ Rights by Requiring Court Order Before ISP Takedowns .
And if you feel like taking a few minutes, check out this post on Bunnie Huang's blog: USA v. Crippen — A Retrospective.
Friday, 3 December, 2010
Tory economics
Kevin Page: colour him unimpressed:
This summer, Kevin Page surveyed municipalities that received Infrastructure Stimulus Fund (ISF) money. Results released Thursday show that 21 per cent of municipalities said they were able to use that money to boost employment. Another 43 per cent reported that the funds had no impact on job creation.Naturally, though:
The findings were based on 644 completed questionnaires out of 1,129 sent out. Page said that on balance, they indicate that the economic stimulus has been "moderately positive" in terms of its implementation and its impact on community welfare, among other things.
But its effect on the labour market has been "more muted, less positive, less glowing," Page told CTV's Power Play.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty defended the stimulus program on Thursday, and said that Page was "alone" in criticizing its impact on employment.Just him, the Fraser Institute, members of the business community, and just about every libertarian and fiscal conservative in the Tories' base. So yes, that guy Kevin Page is way out there in the boonies of opinion.
Speaking of Mark and Connie Fournier
Andrew Phillips emails:
Seriously, check it out.
Update: read this.
Last year I had Connie and Mark Fournier speak to at my Libertarian meetingYou can watch the video here. It provides some excellent background to the legal campaign that Mark and Connie at Free Dominion have been on the receiving end of. Yours truly even gets an honorable mention for something I wrote about, erm...someone or other. The sharp-eared reader who picks out the mention gets absolutely no prize whatsoever. Considering the topic, I'm afraid I'll keep the comments off on this post, but feel free to email me with any comments.
and with them heading back into court here in Ottawa Next Tuesday I though
some of you might like to watch the video. The link above is in my dropbox
and you can download it and watch it at your convenience. I think since the
return on Tuesday to court is about the same thing you might like some
background on their fight. I will leave this video in my dropbox
[ ed: ... ] until Tuesday and I hope to get a video of them after the court proceedings that will replace it with an update.
Seriously, check it out.
Update: read this.
Thursday, 2 December, 2010
The UN abandons the gay community
Lauryn Oates at The Propagandist writes:
The United Nations, the body founded in the wake of the Holocaust and the horrific consequences of unchecked fascism, has once again signalled just how far off its foundation it's slid over the last 60 years. In a resolution on extrajudicial, arbitrary and summary executions, a specific reference to sexual orientation has been dropped from the list of unjustified reasons for executions, after several Arab and African countries banded together in a bid to have the reference removed.That's messed up, man.
A peek into the Downtown Eastside drug trade, part II
Matt Chambers continues his fascinating series on the Downtown Eastside's street-level drug trade:
It’s like any other business, the senior man explains, you gotta know where your inventory is at all times. He looks over at me: right, man?It's good stuff.
I nod, not sure that it’s the right thing to do. As I do so, though, I realize that my understanding of this system is nearly complete.
Two tiers of addicts, whom the courts view as sick and exploited rather than criminal, insulate the dealers from the law and allow them to stand openly on the street corners. But while the workers and holders provide resilience to the system, they seem a likely weakness as well — I wonder how much product is lost in their pipes and arms.
Show your support for Mark and Connie Fournier
If you're in Ottawa, you might want to think about showing up in court for this. Via my inbox:
I am sending this email to my friends who are in the Ottawa area, and/or who are bloggers who might have readers in the Ottawa area because I am hoping to get people to come out to our Motion hearing on December 7th, and I hope that you will be able to come, or, at least, to help us spread the word.
In this Motion, Richard Warman will, once again, attempt to get personal information on Free Dominion "John Does" that he claims have defamed him. We intend to make some very important arguments about the culture of the internet and the context of forums and blogs that makes them different from other, "publications".
We would REALLY appreciate having a lot of seats filled with our supporters at this hearing as this will be the first time the new law that was made in our Divisional Court hearing will be tested, and we think the precedent is going to be extremely important for freedom of speech on the internet, as it could raise the bar significantly as to what should be considered "defamatory".
The hearing will take place at 9am on Monday, December 7th at the Court House at 161 Elgin St. in Ottawa.
Please pass this message along to anyone you think might be able to come.
And, if you are the praying type...please remember us on Tuesday!
Connie
Wednesday, 1 December, 2010
Dan Gardner, FTW
Dan Gardner hits the nail directly on the head as regards the Canadian government's approach to prostitution:
Remember, Madam Justice Susan Himel decided that the existing laws were literally aiding and abetting the robbery, rape and murder of some of the most powerless people in society. To this, Ignatieff responds by lowering his fulsome eyebrows, noting that the decision is being appealed and promising that, if the ruling stands, he’ll have a look at whatever new legislation the government may see fit to put forward at some unspecified date. To ensure it’s balanced. Because Canadians want balance.There are, quite potentially, lives at stake here. Just as there have been, quite potentially, lives at stake before. But the posturing continues. Sad.
Meanwhile, if Justice Himel is right, and her decision is stayed while the appeal proceeds, years will crawl by — and the prostitution laws will continue to aid and abet crimes against vulnerable people. Not that Ignatieff has an opinion about that. It’s not his job.
The state of our bureaucracy
A very important bill recently passed second reading in our dear, unelected senate, and has gone on to committee. This bill - C-36 - would radically expand the amount of involvement that the government has in our lives. The National Post reports:
Needless to say, I think this bill is a horrible idea, and I hope it dies a much-deserved death. Sadly, I have my doubts that it will. Our, erm...'conservative' government at work, yet again.
On a related note:
Why should Canadians be concerned about Bill C-36?Meanwhile, the committee process seems to be going about the way you would expect. One of the folks from Statism Watch writes, in an email:
First, the new law removes the requirement for Health Canada inspectors to obtain a warrant to search and seize private property at a place of business. Section 21 of the CCPSA provides that inspectors may "at any reasonable time enter a place, including a conveyance" (i. e., a vehicle) "where they have reasonable grounds to believe a consumer product is manufactured, imported, packaged, stored, advertised, sold, labelled, tested or transported, or a document relating to the administration of this Act or the regulations is located."
Once there, inspectors can "examine or test anything--and take samples free of charge," open packages, examine documents, seize products and the vehicles used to transport them, order the owner of a vehicle to move it, use computers on site to examine documents and, incredibly, order the people working there to "establish their identity to the inspector's satisfaction or to stop or start the activity." It further states that "[a]n inspector who is carrying out their functions and any person accompanying them may enter on or passthrough or over private property" and that people there shall give him any assistance he requires.
Saturday night I was treated to the spectacle on CPAC of the SenateThanks to Andrew Phillips for forwarding that on to me.
committee on C36 quashing any attempts by the Liberals to have further input
on the process from the public, activists, and industry. In a 6-3 bloc, the
bill's supporters kept voting for closure and to move the bill ahead. So I
guess we'll have a real world test in very short order as to how the price
of various health products and small time food manufacturers will be
affected.
Needless to say, I think this bill is a horrible idea, and I hope it dies a much-deserved death. Sadly, I have my doubts that it will. Our, erm...'conservative' government at work, yet again.
On a related note:
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