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