Blue Like You

Archive for the ‘Nanny State Knows Best’ Category

As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m planning to focus on Christmas preparations now, but that doesn’t preclude mentioning some noteworthy issues. The following are just too juicy to ignore.

Jeers:

1. Dalton McGuinty for refusing to make necessary corporate tax cuts. So Jim Flaherty was right after all!

2. Michael Bryant for his over-the-top, catastrophic rhetoric.

3. Public Service Unions who go on strike with a flagrant disregard for the plight of their private sector counterparts. Their selfish actions may further contribute to everyone’s financial hardship. Entitlement continues even in a severe economic downturn.

4. The Toronto TSX for technical incompetence. You are not sending a good signal, folks!

5. Elizabeth May -   Via Bec in comments: "Jeers to.. Elizabeth May for saying, “It was embarrassing being a Canadian at these meetings,” at the UN climate conference in Poland." (I might add that we are embarrassed that Elizabeth May is a Canadian too.)

6. Opposition parties and special interest groups that want a quick fix NOW, without any concern for accountability or value for money - or as John Ivison says, "The opposition parties have responded with a predictable call for immediate action — presumably, activity being judged a suitable substitute for achievement."

7. The Globe & Mail - Via Skipper in comments: "Jeers to the G&Mail. Why bother reading that biased newspaper. They would be the first to complain if he gave a rosy outlook!"

And what a pile of crap in today’s Globe!

…Worse is that Mr. Harper continues to actively misrepresent the events of the past several weeks and the motives of his opponents. "We only found out [after the economic update] that they’ve been planning to overturn the results of the election ever since election night," he said. In fact, there is nothing to suggest that the opposition had any prior intention of toppling the government…

Did the braintrust at the Slop & Pail hear about this?

And of course there’s this damning evidence that Sammy saw on the Michael Coren show:

Anyone watch Michael Coren tonite?that old CUPE hack Sid Ryan was on,and topic was the coalition.Of course Sid was singing the praises of the idea.But,he also said that he (sid) and Jack Layton had met and discussed the ‘idea’ of the coalition.When another panelist pushed Sid about the timeline,Sid said this mtg.had taken place 2-3 WEEKS PRIOR TO THE FISCAL UPDATE! So,it WAS all planned well in advance,and Layton is the idiot behind it…

Cheers:

1. My readers, who I’m sure will pick up this thread with gusto.  I’ll add the best links. Any topic is fair game.

2. Prime Minister Stephen Harper - Via Alberta Girl in comments: "Cheers to the Prime Minister who keeps on chugging with the knowledge that he is swimming upstream against a waterfall of negativity and anti Harper sentiment." Many others have seconded the motion.

3. CTV - For suspending Canadian Idol! One silver lining in the economic storm clouds.

With all the financial turmoil going on these days, it’s easy to become distracted from an insidious, but ever-growing threat that is extending its tentacles right within our own Canadian society. It is the encroachment on our liberty and freedom of thought and speech.

Ezra Levant’s blog is probably the ‘go-to’ resource for a comprehensive list of PC attacks against Canadian democracy. Political correctness has evolved from an ideology to monitoring, punishing force under the guise of Human ‘Rights’ Commissions.

And now we see young PC enforcers being groomed at Queen’s University, with their dialogue monitors patrolling the halls in search of thought errorists. (Great article, Stephen!)

As Liz J pointed out at Taylor’s blog, George Jonas touched on this assault on free speech and privacy in his column, Dalton McGuiinty’s Singapore of the North:

…Ontario is reverting to authoritarianism from a cultural tradition of liberty. This is hardly an improvement, although some people may think so.

If enough people do, Premier McGuinty will turn out to be right. Ontario is already a province where dictatorial social engineers have high expectations. At Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., they expect students and faculty to roll over when monitors, called "facilitators," butt into private conversations they deem politically incorrect. Authorities couldn’t expect this in China since the demise of Mao’s Red Guards. In Ontario, government counts on people to obey when ordered not to smoke in their own cars while transporting children. No authority could count on such a thing in China — possibly not even under Mao. (True, in Mao’s China few people had private cars, but if present trends continue, private cars will also be rare in McGuinty’s have-not Ontario.)

Dalton McGuinty truly is the epitome of the Nanny-State Daddy.

Do you see how this all ties together? If the state coddles you and looks after you and does all your thinking for you, then you don’t have to do any of that. The state will tell you what to think and what to do.  Individual responsibility is no longer required.

We have one brave political knight daring to stand up to the strangling menace against free speech: Liberal MP Keith Martin.

So as you watch the value of your stock portfolio continue to plummet and your job prospects decline, don’t forget that your freedoms are also being stealthily diminished.

Please send Dr. Martin a note of encouragement and support, before the either the PC Police or his own caucus force him to undergo some ‘thought readjustment.’

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Update: More from Steve Janke, who is fighting some free speech issues of his own.

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Shameless self-promotion: Please don’t forget to vote at Canadian Blog Awards!

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More political-correctness fallout from Lorrie Goldstein - We spent $2 million for this?

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Monday Update:  VICTORY!!

Repeal hate speech provision: Moon report - Post.

Moon Report released - SDA.

Tuesday Update: Jonathan Kay on cystic fibrosis, and the disgrace of Carleton University’s Students’ Association - Post.

Wednesday Update: Our premier’s becoming a little too paternal - Jim Coyle (Record).

Post: Revise the Human Rights Act - Dr. Keith Martin. (Man, I’m glad he won that recount!)

Stephane Dion in Saskatchewan (H/T National Newswatch):

"What the Conservative government has done to this economy especially is very wrong. Each time the Conservatives are in power they destroy what we Liberals have built," Dion told reporters in Regina. "We need to be back for Canadians, and we need to convince them about that. It will be a fight, hour after hour, day after day and I will have a great team to win it."

Translation: You stupid, moronic Canadians don’t realize that we are your only hope. But don’t worry. We will beat you over the head until you finally get it.

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Update : According to Roger Smith on MDL, changes are being planned to the Green Shift.

Don Martin - Step one for Dion is to get his own MPs onside - Post.

Stephane Dion is having a tough enough time trying to sell his Green Shaft in Alberta. Don Braid of the Calgary Herald sums up the problem quite nicely:

…But Dion, with breathtaking gall, claims he’s doing it for Alberta’s own good. "It’s very important for the world to know how much Albertans care about the environment, how much you are green and you want to do the right thing," he said Saturday.

"I cannot accept that your reputation is damaged as it is now."

Premier Ed Stelmach isn’t saving us from this evil reputation, he suggests, so he must. (Never mind that Dion’s words hurt our reputation even more.)

So thank you, Mr. Dion, for fitting Alberta with a fiscal hair shirt so we might redeem ourselves…

I don’t think this kind of condescending, Nanny-State-knows-best arrogance is going to sit well with the folks out west. They may be too polite to ream him out right now, but if Dion were ever to become PM, they would likely be questioning the value to them of remaining in the confederation.

Then along comes Garth Turner with this caustic remark in his blog which has fueled all kinds of outrage in Quebec and in Alberta:

…As for Dion, he will move from Calgary to Edmonton, where he’s to have an open, Town Hall meeting on his climate change plan. You might not agree with everything the man says, but you have to admire this about him. He stood up once to the self-aggrandizing, hostile, me-first, greedy, macho, selfish and balkanizing separatist losers in Quebec. I guess he can do it again in Alberta.

Dion was not pleased to have to deal with the political fallout from this gaffe, but has assured us it is taken care of. The Liberal Leader says Turner has ‘retracted’. However, as far as I can see, he has only retracted the word ‘losers’, which is missing from his non-apology:

…The issue is a single sentence in my last post in which I drew comparisons between those who wish to separate from Canada, whether they live in Quebec or Alberta. I called such separatists, who put regional and self-interest ahead of the national cause, “self-aggrandizing, hostile, me-first, greedy, macho, selfish and balkanizing.”

…But there’s no way I, as a federal member of the Canadian House of Commons, am going to lay down before people who openly advocate ripping the country apart. Moan all you want about money, or lament those who don’t share your culture or language. But don’t expect me to roll…

Then in the next post he further ‘clarifies’ his position. It sounds like he’s really digging his heels in on this one:

…The fact I’m news, and under the gun by a bevy of leaders and political parties, for ripping separatists, is a sad thing.

I understand well this is all about positioning, power and votes. But it’s also about principle.

My choice is made.

That does not sound like a retraction to me.

And on one hand, I can see where he’s coming from (if I try really hard). Basically he’s saying that separatists are self-centered activists that have no concern or love for our country, which may certainly contain a kernal of truth.

However, aside from the possibility that some separatists may actually truly believe in their cause and are doing so based on strong principles, the fact remains that you just don’t defy the captain of your team if you want to stay in the game.

And even a ‘respectful’ leader like Stephane Dion eventually has to make a decision on how to deal with this nagging headache before it totally disables him.

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Update: Then there’s the Conspiracy Theory…

Nah.

More from ChuckerCanuk - "Damaged."

Lorne Gunter - Fault Liberals for regional resentments:

…This is an old Liberal tactic: Equate Liberal policy with the national interest so that anyone who disagrees can be portrayed as an enemy of national unity and not merely an opponent of Liberal ideas…

Lorrie Goldstein - Climate Spin Machine.

This is great! Via Stephen Taylor.

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Monday Update: Lorne Gunter - The obnoxious Garth Turner.

Now that I have your attention, let me explain.

First of all, everyone knows that regular people are stupid and Big Government knows best. Liberal Governments are the smartest of them all.

I have proof of this, and as you know, da proof is da proof. And anything that smart Liberal ex-PM said is now irrefutable truth.

So now Stephan Dion is telling us all, and particularly the oil-rich provinces, that we need to suffer some hardship for our own good. Dion knows that the market cannot possibly be relied upon to change human behaviour, and so Big Government must intervene with with a sledgehammer. So it is decided:

Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion says 40 per cent of Canada’s carbon emissions come from Alberta and Saskatchewan and the two western provinces will have to do the most to change their habits under his new green plan. But he said it will be good for them - and he’s taking that message to the Calgary Stampede next weekend.

"If we do this plan, Alberta and Saskatchewan will be better off 10 years from now than if we don’t do this plan," Mr. Dion said. "Their economies will be more diversified, their universities will be at the centre of something big happening around the world, and investments will grow."

He rejected the notion that the two highest polluting provinces having to contend with a greater carbon tax burden could result in Western alienation…

See, it’s kinda like a wise and benevolent father doling out punishment so that the kids learn a couple of things. He’d spank them, but of course the Liberal-dominated Senate has ruled out that one. Now Papa Dion has to resort to charging the kids for naughty behaviour everytime they disobey Mother Earth.

It’s like making them throw a quarter in the pot every time they use a swear word. Eventually they’ll stop, right?

Then Papa Dion can give them that jar full of quarters and they can go to university. Uh-huh.

Well the problem is that little Sask and big brother Al might decide to run away from home.

Oh, but they’ll be back Papa, right? We’ll just sit here and wait for them. They’ll be back for sure, dragging their backpacks full of corn-stuffed, Made-in-China Oily’s with them.

Then you can read them a bedtime story about the funny man with the dog named Kyoto who thought he could save the world from global warming by punishing Canadians, ruining the economy and somehow giving them lots of tax treats in the process.

And we’ll all live happily ever after.

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More great links for your reading pleasure:

Michael Harris - Green Shaft not so simple.

Gay & Right - Cap & Trade; carbon taxes just won’t work…

And if this leadership gig doesn’t work out, Stephane Dion always has a fall-back position… Stephane Dion does the weather.

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Saturday Update: Here’s an example of how the high cost of gas is already affecting human behaviour in one segment of the tourist industry - Market for cottages cooling down (Record).

Saturday’s National Post editorial condemned the Nanny State for increasing interference into traditionally parental jurisdictions - Leave parenting to parents. The unelected, Liberal-dominated Senate wants to ban spanking in Canada, and the motion will now go to the House of Commons for approval.

As Licia Corbella illustrates from personal experience, there are times when a little tap on the hand or rear end is the only method that works:

…We tried reasoning with our little angel. That didn’t work. Then we gave him time outs. Then longer time-outs. We lectured calmly, we screamed loudly, we removed privileges. Nothing worked.

The bites became a reflex. Soon they were leaving significant marks and a very upset victim.

Eventually, we warned the biter that if he bit his (twin) brother again, he would be spanked. We didn’t have to wait long. He bit his brother that same day. I spanked his clothed bottom. And guess what? It worked.

The biting stopped.

Vow broken. Sanity and peace restored. One son protected from bodily harm, another from a very anti-social habit…

Spanking should of course be used as a last resort, or as a way to convey imminent danger when the child is just to young to understand anything else. Here I’m thinking of situations with a hot stove or running out in the street, etc. But spanking should never be done in anger or excess.

What really baffles me though is how the Liberals ignore the imminent reality of a growing fetus, but then suddenly want to take over every aspect of that child’s life as soon as he emerges from his mother’s body.

Why not just grow a population of Test-tube Lemmings and eliminate the middle(wo)man?

This one’s been flying under the radar, but Chinta Puxley has brought it to the forefront - Stayed cop corruption charges ‘troubling’ says McGuinty.

The story involves the decision of an Ontario Superior Court judge who stayed criminal charges Thursday against six Toronto police officers because of ‘unreasonable’ delays caused by the Crown.

Dalton McGuinty calls the situation ‘troubling’, but opposition parties are clamouring for stronger leadership:

…Conservative Elizabeth Witmer said the government needs to take the time to review the decision, but the Liberals also have a responsibility to let the public know what went wrong. “I would hope that the premier is in a position to make a statement in the very near future,” she said, stopping short of calling for an inquiry. “We need to take a look at the whole system and if justice is not being done, we need to make sure that issue is addressed…

…New Democrat Peter Kormos said the stayed charges reveal a “crisis” and warrant a full public inquiry into chronic delays within the justice system.…

The Toronto Star reports that lawyers allege there may have been some intentional sabotage:

“The fear I have is that members of the public will think this happened because it was the police, it (the case) was thrown out because they were police,” Morton said.

“I think there has to be an accounting by the attorney-general as to why it took that long.”

Former Toronto mayor John Sewell, now a member of the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition, said there seems to have been “an extraordinary amount of money wasted on this case.”

“When you get (allegations of) serious wrongdoing by police, it’s really important to look at it hard,” said Sewell. Coupled with allegations of police impropriety, that’s a “worrisome” combination, he said. “Maybe we need a royal commission.

Along this line, today’s Sun editorial points out the hypocrisy of politicians who claim to be tough on crime, but are unwilling to deal with this “Cancer in the Justice System”. Indeed.

Christie Blatchford had a piece in yesterday’s Globe which is unfortunately under subscriber lock - “Police corruption case fizzles to an expensive end” - but BC Mary has very kindly parsed it for us because she feels there is a lesson to be learned regarding the Basi/Virk BC Rail case:

“…The judge frankly admitted he could ‘find no explanation for the glacial progress of this prosecution’ and no evidence that the prosecutors were alert to the dangers of delay and ever tried to move things along.

“Rather,” he said, “the record creates an impression of compacency or perhaps a lack of awareness.“

“But, continues Blatchford, “the second part of the answer is arguably found in the fact that these were no ordinary Crown attorneys from the gritty trenches of Ontario’s crowded courtrooms who oversaw this screw-up, but rather those with the Special Prosecutions Unit of the Ontario AG’s office, the very branch tasked specifically to handle … the prosecution of the province’s police officers charged with serious crime. In a general way, the former are the grunts of the justice system … learning the hard way the consequences of failure.

“In the same general way, the latter are the prosecutorial intelligentsia, or perhaps the technocrats: They typically have less experience in the muck and spend much of their time in appeal courts where the consequences of losing are usually less dramatic, and less severe, than those of losing a murder trial. The unit’s record in rough-and-tumble criminal court in high-profile police prosecutions is spotty at best. Certainly by Judge Nordheimer’s reckoning, the trio of prosecutors headed by Milan Rupic, the director of the Special Prosecutions Unit, seemed perilously, even carelessly unaware of the importance of their disclosure obligations...”

BC Mary concludes by observing that “The Ontario corruption case gives the appearance of an intentional failure.”

You know, it’s bad enough when the public loses confidence in politicians - at least we have to option of tossing them out. But when we have to question how corrupt and complicit the police and court systems are on top of it all, then I begin to wonder just how “democratic” this country really is, and whether we have the right to chastise others.

In any case, whether the problem is systemic corruption or gross incompetence, the whole situation is much more than simply ‘troubling’.

This is a topic that really hits close to home because last year our own Region put in a compromise ban on pesticides during the months of July and August only. Coupled with the lack of rain, this has had a devastating effect on people’s lawns. Only lawn companies are allowed to apply pesticides during these months and then only in situations of extreme infestation and lots of signage. Many folks have simply given up rather than incur the extra cost.

I also read a few weeks ago that next year the Region may be sending out lawn police to check soil samples in lush lawns to make sure nobody is using pesticides during banned months.

Now Premier McGuinty wants to enact a province-wide ban on pesticides. In one way, it might be good to have a uniform law, rather than this patchwork of city and regional bylaws on the issue.

However, it does mean another ban on a product that Health Canada is still allowing for sale on the store shelves; just like tobacco.

So where do we draw the line between safety and a homeowners right to protect his investment?

There are some environmentalist dingbats in Waterloo who are still not satisfied with the partial ban. They prefer to see dirt and weeds in place of lawns, I guess.

A total ban would have a devastating effect on lawn care companies and their employees. As Richard Maas of Peerless Turfcare notes:

A total ban will destroy lawns and force residents to try to use pesticides on their own because they won’t be able to hire a lawn-care company, he said.

“They’re not going to stop people from using pesticides,” he said. “They’ll just kill our industry.”

The regional ban has already cut into Maass’s business this summer because large commercial clients who usually purchase extra lawn-care services on top of pesticide spraying are cancelling their contracts.

Maass said he’s lost about 200 customers this year and as much as $40,000 in business.

“Companies are laying off people in the middle of summer when they should be busy or doing more hiring,” he said. “But nobody is crying the blues about the loss of jobs in our industry.”

Yet pesticides continue to be used on farms. According to a 2005 report by The College of Family Physicians of Ontario “many fruits, including peaches, apples, pears and grapes, were found to contain residues of pesticides”. The Globe article states however, that “the ban the Liberal Party is contemplating would not apply to farmers.”

Great. We can eat the stuff but we can’t have it on our lawns.

This subject gets my blood boiling to the extent that I’m having trouble looking at it objectively.

Let’s see, what’s left to ban in Ontario now?

How about McGuinty?

One thing for sure - I was ambivalent about this election until now.

Dalton, this is the last straw - which is what my lawn is going to be if you get re-elected.