Been Awhile

So I think if I remember correctly that its been over two years since I posted last. I cant even lay this at the feet of "time flies when you're having fun". I just kinda lost interest. I thought that blogging would be a good way to pass some time and give the world the benefit of my vast life experience.....LOL. Sorry, I tried to keep a straight face.

I come by this honestly if that's any sort of excuse. My family (on my Dads side) comes from a long line of procrastinators, most of which never finished anything they started. That, coupled in part with boredom, and the realization that no one was listening anyway gave me pause to give up........

There's a reason for giving up though. It seems that no matter how badly you bitch about something that nothing changes anyway. No one is willing to take responsibility for their actions and no matter what happens, whatever it is, its someone else's fault. When did we turn into a nation of feckless people or more importantly which generation is at fault. 

Perhaps its all part of the me generation. This is the generation that grew up under someone elses rules because both mommy and daddy had to work to make ends meet. In reality mommy and daddy both didn't have to work to make ends meet, they just had to work to keep up with the joneses. If mommy and daddy couldn't have the big house in the burbs, with two cars and all the toys and afford to go on a good long vacation in the summer and perhaps a week away from the snow in February then they were failures and really should have just placed themselves on an ice floe and left. That's what we have become. Don't think about the fact that perhaps around 60-85% of one of their incomes would go to child care expenses so they could both have "careers". That insignificant fact wouldn't play into the fact that it probably would have been cheaper in the long run if one of them stayed home and actually raised their little brat kids.  I cant really blame the parents for their little brat kids though seeing as someone else was instilling values in them instead of their parents. I can though blame the parents reaction to little Johnny throwing a hissy fit in the mall food court when they begin to feed him enough pharmaceuticals to give Keith Richards  a remote high. Stop drugging your kids and let them play outside, give them rules to live by that don't include the phrase "me first" and the world will be a much better place.

I am an old dinosaur but in the end still only a child of the 70's. My wife and I decided a long time ago that one of us would take one for the team and stay at home to raise the kids. She took one for the team and gave up everything she wanted to be in order that our children would have a stable secure home life with boundaries attached and that they wouldn't be raised by a virtual stranger at some puppy mill of a daycare center. You know what? It worked. We have two daughters who any parent would be proud to call their own. Both grown up and gone now onto their own lives but both professional ladies with their heads screwed on right. and its all because of my wife giving up her aspirations to do that. The nature of my work had me away from home a lot and so she raised the kids, and did a fantastic job of it. Now I am about to retire after 36 years in the same job and she is coming into her own. She cant wait for my retirement so that we can start the next phase of our life together which includes her reaching (finally) her dreams and goals. God knows she's waited long enough. There's a lot going wrong in the world today, but if you raise your kids right, give them values and boundaries and instill in them a sense of responsibility, they will do you proud. I have my missus to thank for that.

What's the So What?

I do a lot of work pushing paper and doing things for my bosses that require a decision to be made. The decisions are usually made by the boss after he asks the question "Whats the so what"? For the uninitiated that basically means "If I didnt take your recommendation, what would happen" So then I need to have my ducks in a row and have a list of things that make my recommendation the one that the boss chooses. Hows that relevant to the blog?
Well it looks like we might well be having an election shortly and it should be up to each and every Canadian to ask themselves "Whats the so What" from the perspective of how they vote. My mind is made up and will probably not change. I look forward to being able to make my mark if need be and to help possibly have a say in forming the next government in this country. Lets look at the options and ask ourselves "Whats the so what"
Steven Harper and the Conservatives. Say what you like about the guy but he is keeping us afloat  in a world thats tanking around us. We have a standard of living thats second to none in the world and have not had to live through the mortgage fiasco thats gone on in the states. Thats partly due to our banking system also so he cant take all the credit.
The Bloc cant form a government and never will because they dont run candidates in enough ridings in Canada, so they arent a problem right? Not so fast. There was a time when the BQ was her majesties loyal opposition in this country due to the amount of ridings that are in Quebec. So any votes for the BQ is really a lost vote for getting anything done in this country. All they want is to sit in their corner of the house  and complain, reminding us about that little french problem we have.
The NDP is a real dark horse to win a government. Jack, Olivia and their crowd are the socialist side of the group. They really remind me of Robin Hood because they want to rob from the rich to give to the poor. Thats what socialism is. we can all expect to live on minimum wage and a guaranteed income, however low that is. The So what is that it takes away any incentive to work hard and make a better life for your family seeing as they would only take it away from you anyway. No real threat.
Liberals and Iggy... Dont really know how to take him. He tries to come across as the "working mans" politician but he seems more like an elitist than anything else. He has been out of country for 30 odd years teaching at prestigious places like Harvard and Cambridge. That doesnt enamour him to the working man. Recently the Liberals held a rally someplace that was supposed to connect the liberal leader to the working man. They held this rally at 2 pm. How can a "working man" show up at a rally at 2pm? See thats the way Liberal think. Iggy also has no "Team" to speak of. Theres Bob Rae, whos record as an Ontario NDPer speaks for itself and who will probably never get another vote in that province. Then theres guys like Scott Brison, another floor crosser which to me brings into question his ethics, and Dominic LeBlanc, who it seems has politics in his blood, having followed in Daddies footsteps. The Liberals also don't really have a platform to run on. It seems to me that their policy is to go against the Conservative policy, whatever that is. What if the Conservative policy is a good one for the country, do they still oppose it?
The Liberals are the only real threat to form a government in this country besides the Conservatives. The problem is that the liberals power base is in Ontario and Quebec. Whats the so What? You can form a government in this country without holding one seat from outside Ontario and Quebec, thats the so what. Your party can be shut out in 8 provinces and 3 territories and you still will form the government if you win enough seats in Ont and Que.
Its no wonder that theres so much opposition to the Liberals outside of Ontario and Quebec, and even talks of western sovereignty. Looking at it from a fiscal perspective Alberta gives more money to Canada for equalization payments than Ont and Que but doesnt get the same amount of equality at the table. Hardly seems fair does it?

Comfort

Well its almost 6 am and I have already been up for two hours. I checked my mail and played many games of on line poker to pass the time. I havent slept well all week and I equate it all to comfort. Dont get me wrong to room I have is comfortable. It just not MY comfortable. At home we have a king size bed thats pillow topped, individually pocketed coils, sleep on a cloud, theres an MMA match going on on the other half of the bed and I cant feel the movement on my side of the bed comfortable. So the bed I have, while adequate, isnt MY bed. The pillows arent MY pillows. You get my drift.
As I age I find that my comforts are important. Its comforting to be with your "stuff". Its comforting to be able to have a coffee when you feel like it that doesnt involve a logistical planning exercise to get one. It comforting to have all the things around you that make you feel like you are at home.
When I was in the army one of my old Sgts told me that anyone can be uncomfortable in the field, its all a matter of not doing anything to make yourself comfortable. While I am not uncomfortable right now theres just something missing. And to me thats all the stuff that makes me feel comfort. I guess when you get older comfort is more a psychological than physiological feeling.
I got to see Tina tonight also. I got the nickel tour of her workplace after which we went to supper and had a good gab for a couple of hours. The whole thing was way too short but I didnt have a car and the logistical nightmare of getting around town popped up. So after supper I put her on the bus home and I grabbed a cab back to the base. But in the outcome it was great to see her and shes got jam now:)
She's always Jonesing for her mommas jam.

The older I get

They say that change is inevitable.....Why does it have to happen all of a sudden? As I get older I find comfort in things staying the same. Yeah, I am in the wrong job for that. One thing about what I do is that change is constant. Thats because theres no continuity in my line of work. Everyonne has a "Vision" but only has a few years to implement it before moving onto bigger or better things. That give the person very little time to implement their vision and get it on the rails before the next boss takes over and comes out with their own vision.
If you dont get seen by your bosses as being able to lead change, then theres a chance that you wont get picked up for promotions or new positions. So every three to four years the vision changes and the wheel goes round and round.....
Stability is a good thing. Just dont let the good idea fairy light onto your shoulder. And for gods sake keep the little bastard away from your boss.....If not you'll be reinventing the world every three years.

Best person for the job......

There's a social engineering group in Hamilton Ontario who goes by the name of "Community Coalition against Racism" who is actively advocating racism.....What's that you say!!!!!....Let me explain.
In 2010 Hamilton hired 12 new firefighters. All were white and one was a woman. In 2009 they hired 11 firefighters.All of them were white and none were women. According to the "Community Coalition against Racism thats no good. In fact Mr. Ken Stone. the chair of the CCAR is quoted as saying the following in the papers:
"CCAR has been trying to get an official meeting with Mayor Bob Bratina for some time to ensure this item isn’t stricken from the budget as it was last year. But we need the help of ordinary Hamiltonians of every racial origin who believe in fairness to get involved in the 2011 budget process by phoning their city councillors (who are all white), by writing letters to the mayor and to the editor of The Spectator, by taking stands in their churches and community organizations and by using social media, all to demand the city act now to ensure the fire department is finally integrated." 
In thinking that they are lobbying for fairness in hiring practises they are in fact advocating racism against a group of people. Its been done before and its called affirmative action. The wikipedia definition of Affirmative action is:
 policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, sex, or national origin"^[1] into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination. The focus of such policies ranges from employment and education to public contracting and health programs.
So by advocating affirmative action because of the narrow mindedness of our ancestors they are de facto being racist against other races. 
Think of it this way. Do you want YOUR firefighter to be the best candidate for the job, who won it through a fair and open competition, or do you want YOUR firefighter to be the one who didnt win the competition but was hired because of their skin colour?
Whatever happened to hiring the best person for the job regardless of their race, colour or sex?


I'll leave you with a quote from the Rev Jesse Jackson:

Wacky news of the week...AKA are you F&#$king kidding me?

A man in ALBERTA successfully beat a traffic ticket because it was in English only.  The case goes to the Supreme Court, where judges side with the wacky driver demanding the province spend a small fortune in legal costs to ensure the driver can continue his legal battle so people who break driving laws can read about their crimes in two official languages.


This didn't come cheap either. It will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to get all this on the rails so that the most English of Provinces "gets in line"....Makes one wonder what would happen if I got a ticket in Quebec and asked for it in English.....


How about the case of a woman who, for whatever reason fired one of her employees. The woman was a strict muslim who wore strict muslim dress and was only employed at the shop for a few weeks. 
But when the muslim woman took her ex-employer to the human rights tribunal  (HRT) they immediately sided with the muslim woman and never let the employer make her case. Its going to cost the employer $36000 and if she doesn't pay then the  HRT will come after her house, sell it and make the payment.
The thing is though a court, a real court not a kangaroo court like an HRT, said that the ruling is illegal and illogical but the HRT is still pressing their case AND paying for the legal representation of the complainant.


a Toronto University study (read public funded money) came up with the stunning finding that children need to wear helmets, balls need to be deflated and goalposts need to be padded because of the incidence of injuries to kids playing soccer.......WTF! Its a kids game, Stop bubble wrapping them and let them play the game....but academics have studied it so it must be correct.


Lastly, To round off the week, two NDP MPs stepped forward to insist if the CRTC relaxes its control of our airwaves, American-style hatred will fill Canadian television screens and radio stations. What these fellows really mean is they will be forced to tolerate more people who do not like the NDP. There are, after all, tens of millions of such sensible Canadians out there.

When did the neurotics, the special-interest obsessives and the control fanatics take over in this great land, and is it too late to use them for soccer practice? Answers please in both languages and have them vetted by the NDP.

You have the right to remain silent......But not the ability.

Another great article from Lorne Gunter in the National Post today that speaks volumes about what some of our politicians think we can and cannot say.....
Seems that there is a law right now which states that news channels cannot broadcast "any false or misleading news". Well that law has been deemed to be to vague and wouldn't stand up to a charter fight so the CRTC has been directed to change the rules to state that broadcasters wouldn't "knowingly" broadcasts news that is "false or misleading and that endangers or is likely to endanger the lives, health or safety of the public."
Seems like a good idea right? Well not if you are in the NDP. Its seems that they believe that changing the rules will open the Canadian broadcast landscape wide open to all sorts of right wing propaganda.
According to Charlie Angus we would have Fox News North spewing all sorts of hate and untruths over the airwaves. Its a little presumptuous isn't it ? There are many many Canadians who have conservative leanings who listen to and watch Fox news and people like Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh on a regular basis because they find the news appealing to their own beliefs. What makes all these people wrong? If I went up to Charlie Angus and said that you cant watch CBC or read the Toronto Star because it was too left wing do you think I would be well liked?
Well Charlie, on thing about free speech is you shouldnt be able to squash it, no matter who you are. Speaking the way he did just laid out all the biases that are dangerous from the perspective of politicians making decisions about what is "good" and "bad" speech. 
It also goes a long way towards leftist views of what free speech is. By definition whatever broadcasters agree with them are factual and objective, while those who dont agree with leftist policies are branded as bigoted and dishonest. Mr. Gunter has a theory about why this is. It would seem that the left is so used to being in charge around here that they have gotten used to having public debate almost entirely to themselves.
As David Frum put it " liberal-lefties are all for freedom of expression until they are shocked by the realization that not everyone agrees with them." 
Once the left realizes that not everyone agrees with them then their reaction is to try and silence their opponents.
If you think its not happening think again.