Moral High Ground Disappears Faster Than The Buffalo

Tom Flanagan Appears on CBC in Buffalo Coat

     Just a few weeks ago, while watching my favourite Canadian political talk show, Power & Politics, I snapped this picture of my television as it seemed pretty out of the ordinary! Far be it from me to explain what goes through the mind of  a Right-Wing pundit and former advisor to the Prime Minister and why he was wearing a Buffalo coat in a TV studio. Last night at the University of Lethbridge Tom Flanagan, self-styled Libertarian, pontificated in a speech that he "had grave doubts about putting people in jail because of their taste in pictures" while referencing Child Pornography. Also saying " it's a real issue of personal liberty...for doing something in which they do not harm another person." Later he also joked (to jeers and boos) that he had been receiving e-mail from The North American Man Boy Love Association for the last two years, I will address NAMBLA shortly here, but first let me explain why this flippant attitude toward child pornography is so wrong. Simply put, the production of it harms children, the consumption of it builds a market and all of us in the world have decided that it is illegal and so repugnant that we don't even joke about it. Also recall this man, was once considered the darling to the Ultra-Right Wing Reform Party and advisor to then leader Preston Manning and also served as Stephen Harper's Chief of Staff until 2004, he also has some role within the Wildrose Party in Alberta and to no one's surprise has been quickly dismissed by leader Danielle Smith. The problem not only lies in his bizarre comments to a room full of students but his access to the Right-Wing elites of this country and the optics surrounding that, since they so often claim moral high-ground. Yeah, remember when Justice Minister Vic Toews pretty much called all Canadians against his internet spying Bill to be in league with the child pornographers? That's pretty rich! The problem also seems to lie in the video itself where his remarks were said with a straight face, and the intent did not seem humourous, it actually seemed like he believes what he said. As someone who has many friends in Forensic Psychology, I understand that child pornography and child abuse is not a victimless crime and more widespread than one may think. It's certainly not a topic to bring up in support of Freedom of Speech, if that's what he was trying to get at???

     Unfortunately, or not, for Flanagan, most people will only hear the headline and feel the anger and ick factor from the media, besides children being murdered in a classroom I suppose making ill-conceived comments about child porn is about as beyond-the-pale for most people. Congratulations on another disastrous week Canadian Neo-Cons! It would seem the bloviating Right Wing "twitterotti" don't know what to make of this, check the comment section on Sun News Network and see the twisting and turning logic where they are trying to defend yet trying to not sound in support of Flanagans comments, they must be sweating bullets to try and polish this turd! I'll give you a few examples, because really? why torture yourself?
- "Harper dropped him years ago idiot! Now he works at the CBC", as if the CBC is culpable in this, they also fired him today!
-"I guess we all better be careful about being to aggressive with our comments on pedophiles, we wouldn't want to be labelled as hate speakers, This world is really falling apart." OK, apart from using "to" instead of "too", which I really find illiterate I suppose this person is trying to channel anger at the gay community and recent Hate Crime decisions by the Supreme Court?, because a lot of them actually equate gay with pedophiles and bestiality and Satan I suppose? Meh, it's a classic deflection with this bunch!

 And then there's all the NAMBLA talk, otherwise known as The North American Man Boy Love Association. These people actually believe this is a real organization! Which is why John Stewart on the Daily Show has referenced it perhaps hundreds of times, except in a successful comedic way which mocks the usage of such made-up over the top ideas to scare the public with. As recent as last week the American Right Wing tried to derail the nomination of Chuck Hagel by insisting he was involved with a group called Friends of Hamas, turns out this non-existent group was made up by the Right Wing blog Breitbart. They just love made up facts, it's how they think they will win the world, by duping the gullible and creating outrage! It's like saying your opponent kicks puppies and steals candy from babies, well I'm outraged!!! Anyway, many years ago, I googled NAMBLA, which does exist as a webpage and did find some articles saying that back in the early Gay Rights gatherings in the 1970's there were men who did profess to belong to NAMBLA, however, they were rejected and shunned by mainstream Gay Rights activists of the day. Even if those accounts are true, they were never part of the modern Civil Rights struggle, no one in their right mind would associate with pedophiles;  It seems more likely to me that it was Christian groups who propelled an Urban Myth like this, afterall they are still the ones who equate homosexuality to pedophilia and bestiality and disease to this day. If people actually believe that a group like this could actually exist and not have all been arrested over the last 40 years then I suppose they really believe in conspiracy theories? If the webpage is real then they could easily be found out these days. The closest thing we have right now to a ring of known pedophiles is probably the Catholic Priests, yet no one seems willing to do anything about that!
Anyway, for those who actually believe in the existence of NAMBLA shouldn't they be very concerned about Flanagans remarks? Then he would be admitting to seeing child porn for two years? The gullible Right Wing commentators heads must be about ready to explode by now? I am going to guess here that Flanagan knows references to NAMBLA are ridiculous and he was trying to joke, perhaps invoking John Stewart for the young audience, and then finding it falling flat and swirling himself into a world of controversy? I am giving him the benefit of the doubt here, unless he really has been looking at child porn? Ewww.

With friends like this in the Conservative Party I think their moral high ground is melting faster than the Arctic Ice Cap!

This Is The Dawning Of The Age Of Austerity, Unless You're Into Hockey

     I was born in Calgary about the same time the Progressive Conservative Party came to power here, depending who you ask that is either a really long time or the best is yet to come, either way we're all staring down the barrel of a Middle Aged Crisis! Once again our government is claiming there is no money and they don't know what to do but blame everyone except themselves, this time it's doctors salaries, in the Ralph Klein World it was Lesbian Artists who were bleeding us dry with public art funding, cue the pitchforks and a huge round of spending cuts. Several years and two Premiers later we're still in the same mess, somehow we're sitting on a fortune in oil reserves yet never seem to live within the Provincial Budget? So what happened to the Heritage Savings Trust Fund? I was only a boy when Peter Lougheed enacted this brilliant program, if  done right we could be in sound financial shape like Norway where they have saved billions from oil reserves and anyone can go to University for free! Alas, his successors didn't turn out to be cautious Conservatives like him, instead they were drunken sailors buying friends and influence. I have no personal qualm with current Premier Alison Redford, first woman Premier, Yay! She supports the gays (in the most minimal way) Yay! We've come a long way baby! Except, she does everything that a government that has been in power for four decades does, mainly, what they please and with ease. There has been no shortage of political scandal with Redford, from putting her husbands law firm on the Provincial pay roll, to illegal campaign donations, to egregious spending by Alberta Health Services employees and if you want to ask her about it too bad, she'll either get the Speaker of the House to shut down debate or will be out of town!
Here is an interactive map plotting MLA's international travel:
http://daveberta.ca/2012/10/alberta-government-travel/

     So, what's with our leaders these days? On the Federal level, the Conservatives already passed, in the first Omnibus Bill, changes to Old Age Security and set the retirement age at 67 for those of us born after 1962. Also, changes to the EI program, making it harder to get especially for seasonal workers and especially in the Maritimes. They have also laid off thousands of Civil Servants and tinkered with their retirement packages, all the while never changing retirement and bonuses for themselves and the Senate; All under the guise that the sky is falling and we're going to run out of money, and it's due to freeloaders on our society that are ruining the future for everyone! Everything has to be cut and we all need to sacrifice or "get a job", you lazy under 50 somethings! So, since I'm under 50 I understand fully that we are all being asked, uuuh I mean legislated, into working longer for less and we are to embrace the Austerity! Fine, I did not expect much from the self-absorbed Baby Boom generation anyway! Anyway, since we are all  being forced into austerity it is only fair that our governments, both Federal and Provincial also embrace it, they seem to be living in some distant age of privilege and tax payer funded entitlement.

     Since our government is putting the burden of supporting already well-off Baby Boomers onto Generation X to Z plus Millennials too (and whoever is after that) maybe it is time everyone chip in? The message everywhere seems to be the party is over, and for us under 50's I'm not sure it ever began? You'd think with all Premier Redford's recent trips to the U.S. she may have heard of Obama's tax the rich plan? Turns out there are actually more middle and low income voters than rich ones and one can win elections on this principle! Since I live in Calgary I see a lot of wealth, there are million dollar condos next to skid row, people  drive cars held together with duct tape and paint while children of the rich speed off in cars worth more than my mortgage, to their summer homes in the mountains, or to nightclubs and restaurants that cost in the hundreds of dollars for a night out. There is a lot of money flying around this town, for some, and those that 'have' constantly laud the Reagan Era "trickle down" economic theory, Calgary is so 80's! It is common for people to complain about the price of gas and then in the same breath say it benefits Alberta, oh really? I must have missed my cheque in the mail recently. Someone should really tell Ms. Redford and the PC Party that the 80's were three decades ago and it's time for some economic reality! If one googles Tax Rate by Province, you will get the Canada Revenue Agency page that shows all provinces, except Alberta, have tax brackets. The highest brackets and rates vary by Province, Ontario's is over $509,000 with a tax rate of 13.16%, British Columbia is 14.7% over $104,754 and our other neighbour Saskatchewan is 15% over $122,589, just for some "have Province" examples. In starkly insane contrast Alberta's is 10% across the board! Can't you just hear Oprah saying, "You get 10%, you get 10%, Everybody gets 10%!!!!!!!!" It seems so crazy I wonder if it has it's basis in paying a tithe to your Church? I can't really think of any other random reason for this random tax rate. The official website for Alberta also brags about how low the taxes are here, comparing rates to other regions in the U.S. and Canada, you should open your business here because we have "The Lowest Taxes in Canada" and the sunniest weather! Yeehaw!

     Meanwhile, having the lowest taxes in the Western Hemisphere does have it's disadvantages. As local news was reporting the huge Budget shortfall and Alison Redford was talking cutbacks and gearing up for a fight with doctors salaries, here were the following news items minutes later; The Tom Baker Cancer Center is in dire need of funding and people are waiting too long and have been for the last eight years, also funding for the Little Warriors Be Brave Ranch was denied $650,000 in funding from the Province, it was to be a treatment and education facility for sexually exploited children, also supported by Sheldon Kennedy, famous abuse- victim-advocate. There's just no money for this first of it's kind facility in Canada, you can read about it on their site here: http://littlewarriors.ca/news/  I wonder if Ms. Redford saw the news story the next day, featuring a girl of around 8 or 9 years old, who, devastated by the letter sent by the Province, is trying to raise money by selling macaroni pictures? To date she has raised $600!
     My biggest problem on the news that night was the announcement of Edmonton's new Hockey Arena! Well, yay for Hosers everywhere, Edmonton City Council can pass anything they want I guess, it doesn't mean we should all pay the 100 Million $ they are asking of the Province! To date Ms. Redford has not committed any public money to the project, and if she would like some sound advice, she shouldn't.
     I'm sorry, talk of building a multi-million or billion dollar arena right now has me over the edge! What was that recent Hockey lockout about? If the millionaire Hockey players and Billionaire owners want a brand new arena please do not come looking for me to support it! It sounds like y'all have a lot of money to fight over. I do not watch Hockey, but I do drive on roads, go to the doctor and went to public school, three of these things are necessities and one isn't. Although we have our first female Premier I still think she is part of an "Old Boys Club", I ask you why it is important to fund things boys like, like sports, but not things that could be considered more female and nurturing like Health Care and Education? I apologize for the stereotype here, but I thought that was kind of why we have looked forward to having women in politics for so long? We may as well be back in the smoke-filled boys room, polyester 3-piece suit days of the 70's and 80's with priorities like these! Everyday we hear about the things we need to build, I just read that more people are moving to Alberta again, which means we need to build more roads and schools, and hire teachers and doctors. There is the Highway 63 issue, the so-called Highway of Death, which should have been twinned and rebuilt long ago; as a side note, since it is oil company equipment and traffic on its way to the North causing all the problems why don't they take some of their billions and build it? Jus sayin', I've never been further North than Edmonton and have no plans to, who's the freeloader here? You want the benefit of the oil and expect tax payers to fund the roads you use too, and pay the lowest taxes in North America?...and it's doctors who are making us broke? Anyway, too bad Edmonton, It is not this Calgarians problem you have built your image on Wayne Gretzky and The Oilers, you need to get your heads out of the 80's too and realize it's 2013! I don't even know if I'll be able to retire and the generation under mine would like to move out of their parents basements one day ! I am only asking that those in the top 20% or so pay their fair share, it would be a start. It's time to get some priorities straight and put new Hockey Arenas on ice!!!

Here is a great article about publicly funded sports arenas having little impact on local economies:
 
Why Funding New Sports Stadiums Can Be A Losing Bet
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/01/30/sports-arenas-stadiums-cost.html

Post Colonial Contact

     Like many White Canadians my ancestors came here as farmers, lured by free land to expand the Great Western Frontier, and, according to family stories, I would be writing this from the U.S. if it weren't for the fact that there was no free land left in Minnesota so my Great Grandfather chose Southern Alberta instead. So much for the, we worked for everything we have, argument, yeah it was a huge government program that brought the White people here in the first place along with that other huge government program, the railroad. I know the Right-Wing hate the "You didn't build that" line of thinking from Obama (and look where that got him) but it's true! With the help of slave labour from China we did get that railroad built across the 2nd largest country in the World! There was also a great push to amalgamate the culture, ie; make everyone speak English as planned out by Sir John A. McDonald which is why I'm not writing this in German or Russian or Swedish. I bring this up because there seems to be a certain attitude out there, a collective we, an us vs. them, like we all started from the same place, which is not true, every Nationality in this country owes a debt to civility and common decency, under which we all became equal citizens. Canada was a place to come to escape persecution and find peace and prosperity. So, it is with immense disgust I read comments on news media and elsewhere that say the most vile things a human could come up with against our Aboriginal People. Since Aboriginals were already here when the RCMP rode into the West claiming land for the Crown, our History has been together. That History has been good and bad, but mostly bad for the Natives, and really, anyone who has gone to school in this country should know that!
     It should be no surprise that I read the worst things on the Calgary Sun website, they seem to have a loyal following of "Trolls" ready to stamp out and yell down any logical argument posted. I often wonder if it is just their staff or Conservative Party members propagandizing their platforms since there is never any opinion or article to the contrary? I say this because I never seem to meet actual people with these opinions, a lot of the postings just don't seem like what actual people say, and the comments also seem to hit certain talking points again and again, just like a political campaign. Boy there sure are a lot of people out there with the same talking points on that site who have all the time in the world to write everyday???
The arguments I keep reading are basically:

- The Natives should GET JOBS, and quit asking for more rights and money, they are LAZY and don't deserve special treatment. The right-wing seem to love this argument, it's probably the one most often used, which I find cute for a variety of reasons. I think it comes from the Tea Party mindset out of the U.S., the ultra-right argument that freeloaders are bankrupting the economy and everyone should pull up their socks and get to work, while we cut public spending. I suppose it goes over well with all those descendants of farmers? One could call it the "Protestant Work Ethic", nothing is worth anything unless it is worked for. Personally, I find the Lazy Indian accusation really racist and completely evil, akin to old images of the American Negro eating watermelon. It is also quite rich in a Canada where people get EI for a year just for having a baby, claim the Child Tax Credit, send kids to Public School on public roads or public transit and watch Hockey Games in publicly funded Arenas,and enjoying a government supplied and quality controlled water supply, just to name a few things, so much for the Ayn Rand philosophy! Also, for the vast number of people leaving this comment, I suppose they should get a job, unless it is their job!?!?!?

-The Natives weren't the first people in North America, thus they have no claims to anything and you are a f**ing idiot who should go read History! I actually first heard this argument almost 5 years ago on a completely unrelated topic and thought what the hell are the right trying to fabricate now? It sounds a lot like what we hear from the radical right in the U.S. and/or something Ezra Levant would come up with, it's a common tactic akin to there should be more guns in Elementary Schools to prevent shootings or Oil from Canada is "Ethical" ,as opposed to other nationalities of petroleum. It's all completely cockamamie but if they say it enough people will believe it because they're not going to go read a book on Human Evolution or Early Human Migration, because they're busy leaving nasty comments online somewhere.

-Those people have no right to block roads, I am not a lawyer so I don't know if that's true or not and I think it's meant morally anyway. Sorry as a Canadian I believe people have the moral right to protest peacefully and standing beside a road is not as effective as standing on it. I'm sorry people are so busy and so important they cannot be inconvenienced. This is not rioting or bombing like some countries so Canadians need to take a chill pill. Comments on blockades ranged from those savages should not be scratching people's cars to hoping a giant truck would plow through them. That last one is nice isn't it? So tell me who is feeling entitled to public roads right now?

-People who claim racism are racist themselves, this is kind of a new one for me but relates to the above cockamamie pretzel logic of the right wing. If they say two ridiculous things with words in between it will start  to make sense to someone. Whoever says this does not know what it is like to be the only minority in a room, not get a job or rent an apartment or fear for your life because of how they are perceived. No, actually racism, sexism, or homophobia are real things. I suppose if they tell themselves these things they don't have to feel the guilt?

     That's probably the top types of arguments, it gets worse, delving into dark recesses of hate and racism. I did notice on The Sun website "Netiquette" rules, such as no threatening language, racist language, personal attacks, comments in foreign languages and typing in all caps, which no one follows but everyone has "virtually" agreed to, it means almost every user is breaking the agreed upon rules and none of it is moderated. I did read their lame editorial piece recently claiming that "The Sun is not racist", following some Idle No More protests in front of the Sun Media building in Calgary. The article said that they cannot moderate all comments and there are a "few out of line comments". Well, I say that is a total lie and minimizing of what they know is their bread and butter. The Sun has always been the go-to place for tabloid style outrage at one minority or another, it is no more newsworthy or subtle as some drunk guy down at the bar! Most importantly, I ask of the Conservative Party who is in league with the Sun Media, do you denounce these race baiting articles and accompanying comments? These people are representing your side Mr.Harper.
     The Sun knows it's promoting racism and lowest common denominator arguments, it's their modus operandi; and our government with oil companies know this too. They do not want the masses to think about changes to our water and environment policies, that were done overnight with the stroke of a pen. People might get too angry if they knew all of our Natural Heritage and water supply is subject to the approval of one appointed MP. They would rather people argue over the morality of protesting or the gall of "those lazy Indians" to demand more rights and money than the rest of you hard working slobs. It is the worst most dishonest style of governing, completely cynical in style. Canadians deserve better and are smarter than all of this!

Idle No More Protests Threaten Canadian Government

     A couple of weeks before Christmas I got a call from our former neighbour, we're still friends even after they've moved now, they were at one of the big malls here in Calgary and had come across a flash mob. Pretty exciting except the flash mobs we are mostly having in Canada are being staged by the Aboriginal, First Nations peoples protesting our current government. So the call kind of went like "Hey Al, listen to this"....it was hard to make out, all I could hear was a drum beat, it sounded like a factory, then I probably said "Where the hell are you?" and my friend says "We're at the mall and there's a Round Dance going on." So then I understood it was an "Idle No More" protest, after listening on the phone a little longer I could make out the Native singing. Exciting stuff! Canada is not the land of political protest, not in my lifetime, people are worried about Hockey most of the time. The other meaningful part of this little story is that our former neighbours consist of a white man married to my great friend and matriarchal figure who is an Ojibwa from Northwestern Ontario. We had many long conversations over the years, I have met their children who are my age, their grandchildren and extended family. I have some knowledge now of what goes on in some Aboriginal communities and as a minority myself (I have the gay) sympathize. It's easy to make broad generalizations about people until you get to know them and since we have kept Natives out of our society I don't think a lot of Canadians have gotten to know them. Many modern day Canadians probably don't even think about Native issues and if you're really recently immigrated you might think all this was here before somehow? Afterall, unless your name is Pocahontas we are all immigrants, I always try to keep this mind if I ever feel too entitled.
     I'm sure most people around the world think Canada is a fairly innocuous and benevolent country, helping out where we can and quietly prospering under an admirably democratic government. Well, it's not true anymore! Since the election of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his band of idealist Right-Wing MP's (Members of Parliament),and with the help of The Sun Media who are modelled on FOX News from the U.S., we have become nothing more than a frozen Banana Republic! Because of our British based Parliamentary system of government the Prime Minister has immense power, this is not America my friends there are basically no "Checks and Balances". The Prime Minister and his majority power can introduce any Legislation they want, they choose the committees and who is on them, he appoints the Senate that passes Legislation and the Supreme Court as well as the Governor General who is supposed to represent the Queen; it's regarded as symbolic, supposedly. For those not living in a Commonwealth Country this may sound weird but the British Monarch is the actual head of Government; it's why she's on the $20, it's really just a vestigial leftover from colonial times We are a sovereign country with our own Constitution; it's just a style of government as opposed to a Republic. So, my point is our PM wields a lot of power, not unlike Hugo Chavez I suppose, and they have been very busy introducing huge amounts of new Legislation -about the size of a telephone book or two - called Omnibus Bills. Most of us think they do this so no one notices all the changes and so new laws are not scrutinized by the opposition, media, and the public. During the second round of Omnibus Bills our very Right-Wing and sympathetic to large Oil companies government passed a lot of Environmental changes and changes to the Indian Act which surprisingly Aboriginal peoples are really mad about! Remember last post when I said "we don't ghettoize people" where I was wagging my virtual finger at American Gun Culture? Well, I take that back, we have been pretty bad to Native peoples and continue to, and continue to ignore it, sorry. Anyway, our Natives and the Idle No More movement is specifically opposed to Bill C-45 and the Indian Act that basically gives the government and one MP the power to take away portions of Reserve land, if they see fit, like if there's oil on it. Reserve land was where we made Indians live while we were turning the land into farms and cities, it was usually land we didn't want for these uses. Also, the Navigation Protection Act formerly the Navigable Waters Act, it gives oil and gas pipeline projects the power to ignore environmental laws subject to the approval of an appointed MP, I wonder how that approval process will work!?!?!? In the right room with the right people over an expensive bottle of Scotch at a beautiful exclusive retreat! Also, The Environmental Assessment Act which speeds up any pesky studies of the environment and of course is approved by an appointed MP. After all those years of giving smallpox infected blankets to the Natives who were in our way we're finally going to give them all cancer by dumping by-products of the Tar Sands into the waterways. So, surprise! The Natives are becoming restless!
     So, things are really heating up in Canada in the middle of the winter. We have a First Nations Chief, Theresa Spence, on a hunger strike in the Capital City of Ottawa demanding a meeting with the PM. The government with the help of The Sun Media are busily trying to smear her reputation, her protest is unrelated to Idle No More but the Right-Wing powers that be are trying to tie the two together as there are scurrolous accusations against Chief Spence and really she is not a master of the media and has made many public relations mistakes. Recently, there have been threats by various Native leaders to hurt the economic interests of Canada, including blocking rail lines, highways and border crossings and maybe more! Today a statue of Sir John A. McDonald, the first Prime Minister, was vandalized with spraypaint slogans "This is Stolen Land", "Murderer" and "Colonizer". While I personally don't approve of this, I think it speaks of the simmering anger boiling just below the surface.
     I know a lot of Canadians do not want to face their racism and prejudice ingrained in our society against Natives, in so many ways it is similar to the Civil Rights struggle of African Americans. I say to those fellow Canadians, do you enjoy clean water and air? Are you drinking different water than everyone else because of the partisan politics you follow? I think not. These laws and this government overreach affect all of us.

     The best thing the Idle No More movement can do right now is to get International attention and especially American attention. I have been busy trying to drop links all over the internet and get the attention of our more Left-leaning media friends at MSNBC. After all these protests are also starting to occur stateside; there was a flash mob at a mall in Montana just a few weeks ago by local Natives in support of Idle No More. I don't think the PM could take the International attention; it's not really in his DNA to seek discord or actually have to defend his decisions. I would like to see a conversation with someone like Kofi Annan or Ban Ki Moon, wonder what they would say???? Right now, I can only see the movement getting bigger and bigger. There is probably a lot more sympathy among Canadians of many walks who question Oil Companies, support strong environmental laws, dislike governments that rule without conscience and absolute power. No one, however, is going to support violence and vandalism so keep that in check- it will discredit your movement overnight. I would not put it past the radical Right-Wing in this country to try and stage something and blame it on Idle No More.
      These are becoming crazy times.



     Here's an explainey link from CBC, as always they have the best coverage for more information

     http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/01/04/f-idlenomore-faq.html