Grey in Black and White

Scammer Call #2

2010-10-28T17:24:00.001-04:00

Got the call again, and used a line from a friend:

Scammer: Hello sir, I'm phoning from Bell Canada. We want to give you a free cell phone.

Me: Do you have service in Antarctica?

Scammer: No. Sorry sir.

Me: That's a problem for me. I hate getting off the helicopter at Vostok Station and finding I have zero bars. If you start offering service in Antarctica, you be sure to phone me back and we'll talk some more.

Scammer Call #1

2010-10-17T17:48:00.002-04:00

I get regular calls from scammers, so I thought I would start posting my conversations. Mostly they are from people claiming to be from a phone company, telling me that I qualify for a free cell phone. Here is one of the calls, from which I borrowed ideas from a friend.

Scammer: Mr Shawn? Good news. You qualify to receive a free cell phone.

Shawn: Does it run on batteries?

Scammer: Yes.

Shawn: That's a problem for me. Battries wear out. Do you have one that is nuclear powered?

Scammer: No. It's a cell phone, not an atomic bomb.

Shawn: Well you be sure to phone me back if you get some nuclear powered models.

Hydro

2010-04-21T05:48:00.004-04:00

I would like to know how Ontario Hydro customers can be required to pay a monthly debt reduction charge when the utility is increasing it's debt. You look at this charge and say to yourself, "OK, for whatever reason, there is a debt. Paying off debts is good. So I won't grumble about paying the extra." But it's all a shell game.

Hillary visiting Ottawa

2010-03-30T22:20:00.003-04:00

Hillary Clinton is visiting Ottawa, and is generally shooting her mouth off. She's been rudely suggesting that Canada continue to provide troops for Afghanistan after the 2011 end of our mission. She doesn't seem to understand that all she can accomplish is to embarrass herself, her President and her hosts by asking a question for which the answer is "No."

However today, her stupidity eclipsed her bad manners. Taking us to task for an initiative for mother's health care, she said, "You cannot have maternal health without reproductive health and reproductive health includes contraception and family planning and access to legal, safe abortions." Well no. What she could have said was, "You cannot have women's health without reproductive health and reproductive health includes contraception and family planning and access to legal, safe abortions." Maternal refers to motherhood, and it seems to me that contraception, family planning and abortion are about preventing and ending motherhood.

Hansard

2010-03-27T11:27:00.003-04:00

The following is a quote from the Canadian Parliamentary Hansard for March 26, 2010, by Conservative member of Parliament Pierre Poilievre (just after the visit to Canada by Ann Colter):

Mr. Speaker, the member has raised a very important question about an American commentator who has come to this country with some outrageous comments: comments supporting the Iraq war, comments supporting the use of torture, and comments referring to Israel as a war criminal. But enough about the leader of the Liberal Party.

Moral Lethergy

2010-02-06T21:10:00.002-05:00

The headlines are telling us that a NATO warship has recaptured a ship that was taken over by Somali pirates. Good news, right? But read the article and you will see that when the pirates saw the NATO special forces coming, they left the ship. No pirates shot, no pirates disarmed, and no pirates arrested. After all, there are restrictive rules of engagement, and even arresting a pirate is problematic due to a lack of laws.

But I shouldn't be too hard on NATO forces. After all, the Ottawa City Council can't even deal with some coyotes prowling around a local playground. The council has got permission from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to watch the coyotes for a month. If they are deemed dangerous, the animals will be trapped and released. But regulations require the release site to be within 1 km of where they were captured. So the whole exercise will remove the coyote for about an hour. In the mean time, our council is beginning an information campaign to tell us that coyotes tend not to be dangerous unless they are sick or provoked. And I am sure that if a child encounters a sick coyote or "provokes" it, our municipal and provincial governments will find a way to modify their information campaign, or get the coyote some therapy or something.

We have to be the stupidest people on the planet. Western civilization totters on the brink, and most of the world must wonder how we were ever a power to be reckoned with. And we can't even come up with the moral energy to deal with a coyote.

By the way, my wife asked is farmers were allowed to kill coyotes that prowl around their livestock. I don't know if "allowed" is the right word, but I suspect most farmers know how to handle the situation without asking the government to help.

Back to the Moon? Not on my watch...

2010-02-01T20:16:00.002-05:00

Rumour has it that President Obama will cancel the current plans to return to the moon. More troubling is the possibility that he will cancel the Ares I and Ares V rockets, which were to be a replacement for the Space Shuttle. The Shuttles are at the end of their lives, and the Ares replacements have already started test launches. The Ares program is almost ready to go, and canceling them means another decade without a major launch system.

American Politics

2010-01-23T07:54:00.002-05:00

To hear some conservative pundits talk, Obama's health care plan is finished and Obama himself is on the way out. Perhaps as a somewhat dispassionate observer, I can make a few suggestions:

(1) don't believe Nancy Pelosi when she expresses doubt over the health care bill passing. Just because the Dems lost Teddy's seat doesn't mean they have given up. Which Senators are on the fence and could be swayed by some pork tossed their way? What options does Pelosi have?

(2) Obama is not finished. I don't like Obama's politics or worldview, but I am under no illusions. If the Republicans want to stage a comeback, they will need to work hard. Victory is possible, but it is not assured. Obama is a resilient, disciplined and crafty opponent.

(3) Republicans have failed because they have failed to provide a compelling alternative to the Democratic health care proposals. Almost every American I talk to expresses concern/fear about health care. Your TV stations are flooded with ads for insurance. It is a national obsession (a fact that is only apparent to those visiting your country). But Republican's alternative is to talk about how bad socialized medicine is. The arguments against socialized medicine might work when Republicans are talking to die-hard Republicans, but the average American seems to want some better options. If you provide some better options, you will be in the drivers seat. If you stick to your dogma, the Democrats will determine what the health care plan is.

Security Measures

2009-12-27T06:46:00.002-05:00

So another religiously inspired lunatic has tried to blow up an airliner on Christmas Day, showing a complete lack of respect for other peoples religion (which of course they demand for their own religion on pain of death).

But that's not the focus for this blog posting. The focus for this posting is airport security measures. Let me state that I understand that these security measures are a necessary part of modern life. But unfortunately they leave the impression of closing the barn door after the horse has escaped. Having come within inches of disaster, our governments will now show how zealous they are for our welfare by tightening up security measures that wouldn't have prevented this act of terrorism.

The answer to this particular problem is simple. When a father phones the U.S. embassy and says his son has become a dangerous jihadi, take the warning seriously. Put the lad on a watch list. Find him and have someone chat with him.

Now there are other reports, which I don't know are true or not. Like that he was living in a $4 million apartment in London. And that he showed up at the gate without a passport. If these reports are true, then someone should be fired for incompetence.

The Next Liberal Party Leader?

2009-11-28T07:42:00.000-05:00

Government by the Conservatives no longer feels like a temporary aberration from the natural order of the universe. And it's getting harder for the Liberals to play the "Harper is scary" card.

The Liberals may hang onto Iffy, but if they don't, I suspect they will be looking for a white knight; that fabled leader who through personal charisma alone can turn their fortunes. And maybe I'm mistaken, but I'll bet they stake all on Justin Trudeau. There are others who are a bigger threat to the Conservatives, but having failed twice I don't think the Liberals will look for a steady hand who can rebuild the party, but someone they can rally their hearts towards.

Wondering about the Rumour

2009-11-23T21:21:00.002-05:00

There is a rumour going around the Internet that the American ambassador is in negotiations to hand several provinces over to the Taliban, including Kandahar where Canadian soldiers are stationed. I hope this is completely unfounded, given how many Canadians have died to hold Kandahar away from the Taliban. It would be the height of arrogance for the U.S. ambassador to be holding such talks, and would make a mockery of the sacrifice of so many Canadians. I guess we'll know in a couple of days.

The missing ingredient

2009-11-09T17:40:00.002-05:00

I got an email today from someone who was quoting Anthony Robbins, saying that the only thing holding you back is your imagination and commitment. Of course Robbins didn't say anything about intellect, because most people don't have enough of that and would like to think that if they can just dream bigger dreams they'll be successful. Sorry folks, but chances are you aren't smart enough to be a brain surgeon.

Responsibility Exists in Alberta

2009-11-04T21:42:00.002-05:00

My hat is off to the government of Alberta. After news broke that the Calgary Flames hockey team jumped the priority line and got vaccinated in a private clinic, the most senior decision maker in this process was fired.

Harsh? Not if you believe in the broken window theory. The theory says that once a few windows are broken in a building, people will break the rest. And it applies not only to vandalism but also to any other sort of social breakdown. Applied to the present situation, people will wait until the highest priority people are vaccinated and will stand in lines for hours... provided they are assured that the system applies equally to all people. But once they believe there is favoritism, the social veneer comes off and it is every man for himself. And who can blame them. If anti-social behaviour is rewarded, who will continue to act in a civilized manner?

In any case, Alberta took strong and appropriate action.

More on the Flu

2009-11-03T20:47:00.002-05:00

I can handle the fact that I am not part of the priority targeted group. I don't mind waiting my turn. Well, I wouldn't mind waiting my turn if it were not for the line jumpers. The local hospital immunized their staff, plus whatever staff spouses and children showed up. The hospital said they struggled with an ethical question, but decided to vaccinate the relatives because the care givers would be unavailable to work if their family members were sick. Uh huh. Sounds more to me like they just didn't want to say no to their friends.

And then there are the Calgary Flames, who not only got a vaccination but didn't need to stand in line with the plebes. Yup, a private clinic. And no, they are not part of the priority group but they still got their vaccination. After all, hockey players are important, not like the rest of us.

Frankly, my opinion is that the people making these decisions should be fired. On the spot. Just maybe the rest would learn.

October 31, 1517

2009-10-31T20:04:00.000-04:00

Just wishing everyone a very happy Reformation Day.

H1N1 vaccination

2009-10-31T14:14:00.002-04:00

At the moment, it looks like the H1N1 vaccination program is a mess. Let's lay aside a discussion of the vaccine supply. After all, the Federal government has purchased enough doses for everyone and the delivery schedule is a factor of the manufacturing process.

So let's concentrate on the factors that we do have some control over. First, there is effective communication as to who gets priority. I've heard different messages from different levels of government, including the municipal, the medical officer of health and the province.

Part of the confusion is how people are treated when they show up for the vaccine. The local news is running stories that the target population is under 5 years of age, but that no child is being turned away. That sends a message that we have no target population, and that it's A-OK to just show up. Federal politician Hedy Fry didn't help when she suggested that Parliament Hill should have its own immunization clinic.

Then there is how the actual implementation is organized. Some people stand in lines for hours. Some are given a ticket with a number. Some pick up extra tickets for family members. Some are told to come back at a certain time.

And by the way, it seems to be a problem that cuts across political divisions. In Ottawa we have a left leaning municipal government, a Liberal provincial government and a Conservative federal government.

There needs to be a single source of information, and a single plan. The plan needs to be clear on how the clinics will be run and who will and will not get the first doses of vaccine (with no exceptions).

By the way, H1N1 is a trial case and we've clearly blown it. The fatality rate of H1N1 is low (I saw 0.5%). If the fatality rate was 5%, we'd be seeing massive social disorder. People can live with a message that they must wait, but they can't live with a message that sometimes line jumpers will be accommodated.

Conservative Dinner

2009-10-30T14:50:00.002-04:00

Last night I was out at the annual Fall supper for my Conservative EDA. There was an excellent meal at the local Holiday Inn, but the highlight was a speech my Senator Mike Duffy. Duffy was for many years a journalist with CTV. He was known as one of the smartest men in journalism, and indeed it turns out that he is a very funny speaker. He didn't say anything last night that the Liberal Party could latch onto in a vague attempt at scandal, but he certainly was a conservative's conservative. One of the highlights was his list of firsts for the Conservative Party (such as the first to elect a Muslim MP, first to elect a Hindu MP, introduced simultaneous translation into the House of Commons, etc). I wish I could remember the whole list.

Also present was Laureen Harper. She was as warm and friendly as ever, and in addition to being a tremendous political asset for the Prime Minister, is a really nice person.

More Attempts at Justice

2009-10-24T06:49:00.003-04:00

Sucker punch a drunk from behind who is walking away from you, kill him, get a stern warning about how serious the crime is plus an apology that the sentence actually includes jail time. Two years less a day. Would you believe that justice was served if it was your son who had been killed?

Statistics on Paying Taxes

2009-10-16T17:39:00.003-04:00

Here are some interesting statistics. In 2006, 0.7% of Canadian taxpayers paid 20.9% of the taxes. 23% of taxpayers paid 78% of the taxes. And 32% of taxpayers paid no income tax at all.

From a practical viewpoint, it means that politicians who call upon the wealthy to "pay their fair share" are populists of the ignorant or lying variety.

It also means that a political party can't win by calling for income tax cuts, because 32% of the electorate will see nothing in it for them, and 77% of the electorate will see little in it for them.

Economically it means the poor don't need tax cuts; they need an economy that generates better paying jobs. Someone who is making $10/hr and paying no taxes doesn't need a tax cut. He needs a job that pays $15/hr, of which $1/hr goes into taxes.

Finally, it means that we had better not lose too many of those 0.7% people to places that have lower tax rates.

Last Night of the Proms

2009-09-22T20:22:00.003-04:00

I had it in my calendar, planned to watch it via the BBC, and forgot!

So I'm watching some clips. The highlight of course is "Rule Britannia". And as is traditional, there were many flags waving. The Union Jack of course, but also St. Georges flag. And I can understand why the Australian flag was waving. The Royal Air Force Ensign has a proud history, and certainly belonged. The German flag was there (no doubt in tribute to the House of Hanover, though that line "The nations, not so blest as thee, Must, in their turns, to tyrants fall" has got to sting). But why was the guy in Hyde Park flying the Jolly Roger? Maybe the only flag we had? Maybe a political statement? Maybe drunk? But alas, we'll never know.

You got to wonder...

2009-09-22T17:47:00.002-04:00

You got to wonder how some people stay in business. There is a local pizza place that we haven't ordered from in a long time. We're a little under the weather, so I thought we would order some pizza from them. Since the kids like cheese pizza, I asked if they could take their "2 pizzas with 3 toppings each" and put all the toppings on one of the pizzas. The answer was no. They could make sure that one of the pizzas had cheese and the other had 3 toppings. They told me they could pile all the toppings on one side of the pizza. But as for 0 toppings on one and 6 on the other, that wasn't possible. So I politely thanked them and told them I would order from somewhere else. So I phoned mega-chain-pizza-company and they said it was no problem. I threw out the flyer from the other place. Thanks guys, you had your chance.

Will We Ever Learn

2009-09-13T22:40:00.002-04:00

Starting under Clinton, the U.S. Government pursued policies that encouraged banks to offer loans to people who really couldn't afford houses. Government was happy, because it could point to a great success. Individuals were happy, because they thought they could afford homes. Banks became happy, and adjusted to the new reality. Unfortunately it wasn't reality. It was a socialist inspired dream, that government policy could flaunt the laws of economics and make life better for the poorest in society.

Last forward to 2009. To get the economy moving again, the U.S. Government has offered incentives for people to buy new cars. And the program has been insanely popular. The only problem is that 1/4 of buyers are having second thoughts on whether they can afford the shiny new cars they just bought. The lesson of course is that governments, by intervening in the market, usually do it in a way that is both popular with the people, and in a way that will ultimately make life more difficult for the poor.

Please understand that I am not saying we should abandon all social programs! But the more a government tries the flaunt the laws of economics, the more it ends up hurting the poor. Socialism ultimately leeches away the vitality of a system that generates increasing wealth for all, and replaces it with a system that simply redistributes ever decreasing wealth.

Loblaws Supply Chain

2009-09-10T19:41:00.002-04:00

Loblaws is up to old tricks with their supply chain. Which is to say they haven't fixed it, in the half-decade its been giving them troubles. Case in point, our local "Real Canadian Super Store". They have about 30 boxes of patio furniture piled up. Sorry, but the summer is over. It would take a massive sale to move them. Maybe they'll leave them piled up beside the building until Spring.

Don't get me wrong. In many ways I like the Loblaws chain. I think they are doing a whole bunch of things wrong with the RCSS brand, but the big thing is their supply chain. Trying to sell patio furniture and barbecues after Labour Day? Running out of meat on a regular basis? Looks like something needs a shaking up. Good luck to them. I wish them the very best.

Harper must reach out

2009-09-03T21:11:00.001-04:00

Jack Layton is saying that if Harper wants to avoid an election, he must "reach out". I think this Layton speak for "spend lots of tax payers money on socialist projects."

Natural Law and the Ignorance Defence

2009-08-12T21:51:00.001-04:00

We say that ignorance of the law is no defense. For example, if a man is charged with murder he can't claim that he didn't know it was wrong. This is based on the idea of Natural Law, that the dictates of God are written on the conscience. But our society is moving away from this, towards arbitrary law based on a Constitution. So... if we no longer believe the requirements of justice are written on our hearts, does that mean that ignorance is now a defense?

It's not TV

2009-07-17T22:59:00.003-04:00

Sometimes you wonder if our opinion of the criminal "justice" system is coloured by television. On TV, people are always getting off on technicalities. But that couldn't be real life, could it?

Today the Supreme Court of Canada threw out a drug conviction against a man. The police pulled over his SUV, he was driving with a suspended license, and when the cop searched his SUV the cop found 35 kg of cocaine.

Now I don't believe random searches are justified in a free society, but this guy was already committing a crime by driving with a suspended sentence.

Apparently I am not Supreme Court material. I'm just surprised that our judges didn't order the police to return his "private property" (a.k.a. the cocaine).

It's not just TV folks. The people in our top court truly are on the loony left, making crazy decisions for what they think are higher motives.

Homeschooling

2009-07-11T13:37:00.002-04:00

And people really worry about whether home schoolers will develop enough social skills. Actually, in the sphere of education, this is not one of the biggest worries.

Obama

2009-07-04T07:08:00.002-04:00

I'm not a big fan of the policies of President Obama. However I just read something that said Obama tries very hard to pronounce the names of people and places correctly, even including phonetic spellings in his notes and briefings. I'd like to complement Obama for this. Pronouncing names and places incorrectly is an insult, while taking the time to pronounce correctly is praiseworthy.

Salaries

2009-07-02T19:03:00.002-04:00

The list of salaries of White House staff has been released. No surprise at the top of the list; the Chief of Staff makes the mandated maximum of $172K. But surprisingly the Senior Presidential Speechwriter makes $65K and two others make $45K. There are a couple of other speechwriters who make a bit more, and have "Director" in their title, but frankly this is a pittance considering the kinds of hours these guys work and the overall responsibility.

Whining

2009-06-29T23:13:00.002-04:00

I guess it was inevitable. Bernie Madoff, whose $50 billion ponzie scheme collapsed and took out the life savings of thousands of individuals and the endowments of hundreds of major charities, was sentenced to 150 years in prison. That was not inevitable. I'm surprised that he got a real sentence. What was inevitable is that some have already started whining that 150 years is too harsh a sentence. After all, they argue, it's not as if he did anything violent. Personally I think "Life Imprisonment" should mean just that, for a whole range of violent crimes. But Bernie got what he deserved. If you steal billions and destroy the confidence of millions of people in our economic system, why should you ever get out of prison?

I'm Wondering About Priorities

2009-06-27T06:48:00.003-04:00

For the last 3 days, all the news headlines have been about Michael Jackson's death. I agree that his death is worth a news mention. He was very talented, albeit disturbed. But 3 days of headlines? Surely we could realize that other stories are more newsworthy! The United States is tracking a North Korean ship which may carry fissile materials. North Korea has threatened war if it is stopped. Protests in Iran continue, and the death count could go into the hundreds as a brutal regime cracks down. I've even heard rumours that the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Church is planning on revealing the Ark of the Covenant, which if true would be the story of the century. So what does the news devote itself to? King Michael is dead.

Just Everyday

2009-06-26T20:59:00.003-04:00

My oldest asked me how long it's been since I posted on my blog, and the answer is "almost a month". Seems like there is little time for detailed postings. I spend what little time I have doing short Facebook updates.

However there is always lots happening. We just got back from a short vacation in Niagara Falls and Toronto. The Great Wolf Lodge is a really great place to stay when you have children. The indoor water park is the big draw, but the food is actually very good too.

We bought a Tassimo coffee maker. I just enjoyed a decent home made cappuccino, for about 50 cents. It also makes tea and hot chocolate. I might be up all night, but at least I'll have a smile on my face.

I'm trying to spend more time reading in the evenings, rather than surfing the web. I have a bunch of half-read books on my bookshelf, and I am trying to finish them off one by one. Likewise I am studying the Gospel of Luke, in preparation for some upcoming sermons. I've done expository preaching through Hebrews and Romans, but never one of the Gospels. I'm looking forward to it.

Since coming back from vacation last Monday, I've been sick. I have a cold with a dry cough, and each day I'm a bit worse. I came home early today (though realistically I put in enough extra hours each week that I shouldn't feel guilty). I canceled a sermon out of town for this coming Sunday, because I suspect my voice would not hold out. No fever so it's not the flu.

Work continues to be very heavy. I am the Technical Project Manager and Test Manager for a relatively new product. The good news, career wise, is that I am working at a higher level than ever before (making higher level decisions) and feel like I've had a graduate degree in how to manage software projects over the last couple of years. Also good is the fact that my product is on the verge of widespread acceptance. The bad news is that there is just too much to do, though now I'm able to start sharing the load.

Finally, I need to do more around the yard. The lawn needs work, the fence needs painting, the driveway should be sealed, etc. Just normal everyday life...

Canadian Conservativism

2009-05-30T07:32:00.001-04:00

A friend from High School took an online quiz, and was surprised to find the political leader she most identified with was Ronald Reagan. She is not someone who would vote for a conservative political candidate and yet, if the quiz is accurate, is more conservative than she realizes. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and would like to put this in the context of Canadian politics.

Conservatives come in many genres. There are philosophical conservatives, theological conservatives, social conservatives and fiscal conservatives. But my friend doesn’t necessarily fall into any of these categories. So where does that place her? I would like to argue that there is a fifth type of conservativism which is often ignored, which I will term the “hearth and home conservative”.

A philosophical conservative is one who has immersed himself in conservative political theory. He has read the major authors on conservative theory, and is comfortable debating the ideas of major philosophers throughout the last couple millennia. Unlike fiscal conservatives (and to a lesser degree, social conservatives) he sees political ideas more in terms of right and wrong than in terms of effective or ineffective. For example, it doesn’t matter to him whether the country can afford to spend $60+ billion in economic stimulus; for the philosophical conservative it’s still wrong due to the long term affect on people’s attitudes.

Philosophical conservatives will tend to vote for the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) for want of a better option. Better options would include various “fringe parties”. Philosophical conservatives are relatively rare and so deliver a smaller number of votes and manpower to assist in elections. The amount of money that they would deliver to a campaign would be smaller still due to the wide range of conservative causes to support, and due to an attitude of “I’ll give my vote for a lack of a better option, but I’m not happy and I won’t give my money.” Pragmatically speaking, there is little point in the CPC courting philosophical conservatives; they are too few in number and adopting their program would alienate huge numbers of voters in the center. Still, every party should have a philosophical foundation.

Theological conservatives are largely represented by self-identified Christians (including evangelical Christians and observant Roman Catholics), though devout Muslims, Jews and Hindus could someday be considered part of this category. Theological conservatives have a philosophical basis for their conservativism, which would be referred to as “special revelation”. Special revelation refers to a divinely given revelation, typically codified in a book. Theological conservatives have several significant differences from philosophical conservatives. First, their conservativism is based on the acceptance of their book, rather than on a philosophical consideration of major schools of thought. Theological conservatives also make up one of the larger voting blocks in the country. For example, a Macleans poll on religion suggested that 7% of Canadians are “born again Christians”. While this represents about half the percentage of born again Christians as the United States, it is still a large potential block of support.

One can argue that the CPC has been effective in mobilizing theological conservatives. Within evangelical churches, a surprising number of members have become CPC members. They may not talk about politics, but they have become more politically active in recent years and are providing their votes, their money and their time to the CPC. The challenge for the CPC will be to make sure that these supporters do not walk away. Theological conservatives in Canada are surprising politically mature. They do not expect an unimpeded march towards theocracy, and indeed the vast majority of them do not want theocracy. They believe in a division between church and state, but as Richard John Neuhaus once said, they “do not believe in mutual ignorance.” Theological conservatives believe they have ideas which will benefit their society as a whole. I would argue that if the theological conservatives go away, the CPC will not be able to win elections. The bad news is theological conservatives feel the CPC has not delivered much on their agenda. The good news is that this situation could be easily turned around. And even better news is that devout Jews (who have historically voted Liberal), Muslims, and Hindus could be added to the ranks of CPC supporters.

Social conservatives fall into a different category than theological conservatives. Though many of their ideas overlap, they must be considered separately. Social conservatives have conservative ideas about how society should be structured, but have less of a philosophical basis than others. They are more concerned with what works effectively, rather than philosophical right and wrong. While they may pronounce on matters of moral right and wrong, there is no overall foundational basis for their beliefs. One result is that each issue must be decided on a case by case basis, though in practice social conservatives can adopt a block of issues that they and their friends support.

Because social conservatives decide issues on a case by case basis, the CPC runs less chance to losing all of them (or gaining all of them) dramatically. For theological conservatives, it is much easier to make an all or nothing decision to back the CPC or ignore politics altogether. For social conservatives there is a wider range of opinion.

Fiscal conservatives form the backbone of most conservative movements. This is because it is easier to subscribe to fiscal conservativism rather than the others I have mentioned. Likewise, fiscal conservativism is an easier sell than the others. In practice this means that a pragmatic political party will often act in a fiscally conservative and socially liberal manner, so as to obtain more votes from the center. The other types of conservatives are left consoling themselves that things will get better, but feeling like they are ignored and used.

Fiscal conservatives can also be a shifting base of support for the CPC, because it is well known that the Liberal Party of Canada tends to campaign from the left and rule to the right. Essentially this means that the fiscal conservatives and social liberals tend to get along well in Liberal circles. It also means that fiscal conservatives who are left learning on social issues (a.k.a. Red Tories) can feel comfortable swinging their vote to the Liberals.

So that is an analysis of the traditional types of conservatives. But now we come to a type of conservative which has been historically ignored. This is the “hearth and home conservative”. The H&H conservative does not self-identify with any of the previous categories, and indeed may vote for any of the major political parties. But in their personal decisions, the H&H conservative aligns their life with the traditional types of conservativism. While distaining any attempt to suggest a course of action for others, the H&H conservative chooses to make very conservative decisions on a personal basis.

How is this lived out in a practical way? The H&H conservative may not respond well to a traditional “law and order” platform, but personally be very supportive of having additional police patrolling the neighbourhood. Likewise, H&H conservatives may reject doctrinaire defenses of “traditional families” but will respond well to specific policies which they can see as being family friendly. So the key to reaching this audience in a campaign is to avoid making doctrinaire statements, but to propose a series of practical policies that ring true in their gut. The good news is that there are a lot of H&H conservatives out there. Even better, most of them are swing voters, whose support the CPC could pick up. And many are women, in a demographic that the CPC has had a hard time winning over in a sustainable way. It should be noted however that the H&H conservatives will provide votes, but will be unlikely to provide money or manpower to help in a campaign.

Isaiah 53

2009-05-23T09:35:00.001-04:00

I've been thinking about Isaiah 53 this week, and what it meant for Christ, what it meant for the Father and what it means for us. I'm finding it helpful to go through it with one audience in mind and pick out the individual words that are applicable to each audience.

Wireless Networks

2009-05-21T20:47:00.002-04:00

To say that I have had bad luck with wireless networks in an understatement. I had a Linksys Wireless-G network, but it bounced up and down. I laid out major cash to move to a Dlink Wireless-N network, but continued to have problems (continual deauthentication messages on my DIR-625). Even my youngest children would complain that it was time to start the router, and she can't even read.

Anyway, my ISP is replacing their DSL modems with a new unit that has built in Wireless-G. It is a step down, but I thought I would try it. And it is now rock solid. And the cost is the same as my rental on my old modem. Maybe it was the old modem that was causing the problem, but the problem seems to be solved.

Now if only I could solve the problem of my iPod Touch losing contact with YouTube in mid-video, and my Dell laptop that loses track of its wireless card until I shutdown, physically remove it, reboot, shutdown, reinstall the card, reboot and ask Windows to search for new hardware!

What Does the Future Hold

2009-05-17T20:47:00.002-04:00

I make no claim to having a gift of prophecy. But I try to keep my eyes open. Here's some suggestions for events which are possible in the near future:

25% chance - Pakistan is taken over by Islamic extremists in the next 6 months. Which would lead to an almost certain invasion by India.

50% chance - regardless of what happens in Pakistan, continuing instability leads Taliban supporters to claim that they now have possession of one of Pakistan's nuclear bombs. It doesn't matter if this is true. It doesn't need to be true. It is enough for them to make sure a claim.

33% chance - Israel takes out Iran's nuclear weapons program. Everyone knows Iran is building the bomb. Nobody wants Iran to have the bomb. Everyone will be secretly relieved that Israel did the dirty work. And Israel will be blamed, punished, etc.

2% chance - Obama uses a speech in Egypt in June as an opportunity to declare that he is a Muslim. Currently he would deny it, and even if he said he was, most people would not believe him (assuming that he is just saying it for political advantage). But his policies have been too consistently anti-Israel to be coincidence. Still, I would say this is unlikely.

5% chance - serious evidence is presented that Obama was born outside the United States, and thus is not constitutionally allowed to hold the office of President. Yes, this is another outside chance. However if it did happen, a vast majority of Americans would be in favour of forgetting what the consititution says about this matter.

75% chance - barring world instability (as above), the economy recovers much faster than expected. The Left takes credit for the stimulus spending, when in fact most of the stimulus spending is still working it's way through the government approvals process and stimulated nothing.

Joe Biden

2009-05-17T20:45:00.002-04:00

Type the following into Google, "Secret VP Bunker" and you will need to come to the conclusion that U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is some sort of village idiot. He's just given away the location of a secret bunker designed to protect HIM during a national emergency. Way to go Joe! Well, at least he can still smile about it.

Would you use a medicine developed through stem cell research?

2009-05-14T05:58:00.001-04:00

The "killer question" (in any debate) is the question that is deemed so powerful that it is irrefutable and ends the debate. In the debate over the use of embryonic stem cells for medical research, I sometimes hear someone from the Left trotting out their "killer question". So the question goes, "If there was a medicine developed through stem cell research, would you deny it to your sick child?" And if you say "no, I wouldn't deny my child" they can try to pretend that you are a supporter of their position or a hypocrite. And if you say "yes, I would deny my child" you are some sort of insane child abuser.

Unfortunately most people think of answering this question in terms of yes and no, when in fact it is a question that makes no real sense. It is as if I asked you if you would use the autobahn in Germany and then declare you to be a supporter of Hitler. The autobahn is there and I would use it. But given a choice of a world with autobahns and with Hitler, or a world without the autobahns and without Hitler, I would choose without.

Playing with Sharp Tools

2009-05-02T15:15:00.002-04:00

I was sewing up my track pants this afternoon. I managed to do it and only pick myself a little bit. Sharp tools seem to be among our most useful tools, but they are sharp and they will hurt you if you aren't careful. In fact, tools that are powerful and sharp are even more useful and more dangerous. Think of a circular saw. Lots of power. Lots of blade. And if you aren't careful, off go the fingers.

But this got me to thinking. I'm no fan of President Obama. I think he's out of his league*. I think he's naive. And I think by his behaviour he demonstrates that he is firmly in the socialist and secularist camps.

So what does this have to do with sharp tools? Just this. President Obama recently gave a speech in which he said that low level employees of the CIA would not be prosecuted for waterboarding America's enemies. And then he proceeded to reveal details of America's interrogation techniques. Each of us has our own opinions about "enhanced interrogation techniques". But I wonder how many people understand the significance of Obama's speech?

The CIA is an intelligence agency. It is also a place where people work, have careers, and look forward to retiring from. And Obama has just made sure that nobody in the CIA will want to work on the anti-terrorism file. Far safer to track independence movements in some forgotten corner of the world.

But Obama's speech also makes it clear that the more senior members of the CIA need to worry. Obama will not only make sure their careers will end, but he'll be happy to pass them off to some international court if it will help the populist masses continue to feel good about Obama.

And so we get to the convergence of the danger of sharp tools and Obama's speech. Because while the CIA is a government agency, it is also a sharp tool. A powerful, sharp tool. And for all the worrying of the Left about Right-wing conspiracies, most Left-wing politicians have no clue as to handle a sharp powerful tool like an intelligence agency. The Left assumes that because their man got the vote, every government agency will fall into line. Including the intelligence agency that is now demoralized, shocked and under the threat of legal prosecution.

So there are a couple of ways that this could play out. Maybe the CIA will roll over and play dead. Or maybe this is just to first step towards Obama trying to get control of the intelligence services (the Left already controls the media, the courts and the education system). Or maybe some very intelligent people in the CIA will decide that their careers would be protected from Obama**, and their nation would be protected from terrorism, by ending Obama's presidency. No, I am definitely not talking about assassination. That would touch off a racial powder keg. I'm talking about character assassination. The right words said to a reporter who wants the next Pulitzer, and their goal is accomplished.

I don't like the way the world works, but I'm not naive. I would prefer to see the democratic principles of government honoured. But I think Obama is naive if he thinks he can play carelessly with a circular saw and never get cut.

* and lest I inevitably get called a racist for saying I don't like Obama, let me say that I can think of two black politicians (Powell and Rice) who would not be playing out of their league. Though I suspect I am more conservative that either of these, I would have been delighted to see people with their experience running for President.

** the latest version of Firefox flags "Obama" as a spelling error. This is probably due to the vast powers of the right-wing.

Dell Studio One 19

2009-05-01T18:36:00.001-04:00

I got an email from Dell about their new Studio One 19. Looks cool. Until you see the keyboard they ship with it. Why, why why?

Constants in the Universe

2009-04-26T16:19:00.002-04:00

It's nice to know there are some constants in the universe. Unchanging, unyielding and unthinking. Every problem is caused by someone else. My side is always right. The company has plenty of money. Capitalism is bad. Socialism is good. The government should solve all the problems. Yes, times change, but some attitudes remain.

Homeschooling in the Real Universe

2009-04-25T21:08:00.003-04:00

Last Saturday we were at an event where we didn't need to explain why we home school our children. It was the annual Rideau Valley Home Educators Association conference. As usual, we had a blast. But outside of the conference, the question gets asked a lot. We had a babysitter who was explaining that they didn't have any classes on Friday because one of the students made death threats, and they had to cancel classes while the police tracked the guy down. On the way home from dropping her off, I passed a high school advertising that their students now could get a concentration in "Environmentalism" (good for getting a job as... well... well what would you get a job doing if you had a high school diploma with a concentration in environmentalism?". And then the report out of Britain that schools want to train their students to use Facebook and Twitter, and to make room they are cutting out History. Yes, the average high school student needs to take a course in learning to use Facebook! All of which is to say that when people ask me why I home school, I sometimes wonder what universe they live in.

Child Sues Parent Over Getting Grounded

2009-04-10T07:28:00.002-04:00

This story has a lot of people scratching their heads, but it is indicative of where the liberal elite (including the unelected courts that feel free to redefine society through their interpretation of the Constitution) want to take this country.

The Appeals Court has warned other children not to think they can go to court just to avoid being grounded, but why wouldn't they think this. After all, if you can find someone with some money to hire your lawyer, why not make your bid for control of the family?

Amazing

2009-04-08T20:56:00.002-04:00

While the White House is denying it, the video doesn't lie; Barrack Obama, the POTUS, bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia. I thought that kind of thing didn't happen. Ever. But apparently I'm mistaken. Either that or Obama is in so far over his head that he doesn't have a clue.

A Winning Way

2009-04-03T20:21:00.003-04:00

I have a winning way with people. It's a gift. I always know when to interject a little logic into a conversation, at the exact point in time when it is most educational. People love me for this. Sure, it's humiliating for them, but at least they have the joy of knowing that they are getting smarter.

Case in point, today while I was getting my hair cut. One of the hairstylists was asking the others what seven numbers to pick for the lottery. After a wide range of suggestions, I piped up, "How about 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7?"

To give credit where credit is due, the hairstylist immediately recognized that the odds of winning with that set of numbers are the same as winning with any other randomly chosen seven numbers. But most people instinctively believe the chances of winning are greater with 6, 14, 17, 28, 33, 37, and 41. After all, we know we will never win with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. But people honestly think they have a good chance of winning with some other randomly picked set.

Having educated a whole salon full of people I stopped to admire myself in the mirror. Not only was my educational work complete, but I look wonderful with my new haircut.

Criticism of Israel

2009-03-27T23:14:00.002-04:00

You hear a lot of criticism of Israel in the press. The Israeli war against Hamas (which is recognized as a terrorist organization in Canada) is likened to another holocaust, but this one perpetrated by the Jews. Seems you can get away with the most outrageous statements if you start by saying, "Look what the Jews did...".

But here is an interesting article. The first part is interesting, about how an Israeli was arrested for failing to follow orders in dismantling a Jewish settlement. But the second part is more interesting. Knowing that some Israeli young people were throwing rocks at Arab owned cars, the Israeli police used an Arab owned car as part of an effort to arrest the Jewish rock throwers.

I'm under no illusions that the secular state of Israel is perfect, but let's not pretend that any of the Arab nations around Israel would take such steps to protect Jews.

On the same website, news that the Israeli "Iron Dome" anti-missile defense successfully shot down a "Grad" missile that was launched at Israel. But I thought there was peace? Nope.

It's Odd

2009-03-25T21:45:00.001-04:00

Ever notice how the people who scream the most about freedom of speech and censorship, are the most willing to use the coercive power of the State to censor others?

Iranians smarter than Americans?

2009-03-21T14:50:00.003-04:00

The are Iranians smarter than the Americans? The evidence would seem to suggest so. President Obama made a video appeal to the Iranian government for a change in their relationship with each other. Besides the spectacle of the POTUS grovelling to the Iranian government, this whole event was very illuminating. Obama pulled out his election winning strategy on the Iranians, he cried out "Change", and instead of losing their minds like the American electorate the Iranians said in effect, "Go ahead." What will Obama do now? The best arrow in his quiver has failed. There are a people on the face of the earth that will not follow him when he says the magical word "change". The Iranians actually expect him to do something.

Schools

2009-03-21T08:50:00.003-04:00

The local newspaper yesterday had a headline saying that a survey of high school students in my neighbourhood showed that 5% claimed to belong to a gang. Police are disputing that claim saying that our community does not have the demographics or city layout that would encourage gangs. But I guess the question must be asked, doesn't it seem disturbing that 5% of high school students would want to be identified as being part of a gang?

About a week ago, there was an article stating that violence in schools now needs to be reported to the school Principal, and to the parents of the victim and the accused. I very much support the idea of mandatory parental involvement. Too many parents don't make time for their children, or have been told by society that they have no right to "intrude" on their children's lives. Nice to see parental involvement coming back, even if it is the State that is mandating it!

About two weeks ago the same newspaper ran a statement. I forget if it was from the school board or the police, but it stated that every school in our community has a drug problem. The article went on to discuss a number of measures to deal with this (all of which I applaud).

I should add that the community I live in is nice, modern, and has one of the highest per family incomes in Canada. There are playgrounds, modern schools, well used libraries, etc. It really is a nice place to live. It is not the kind of neighbourhood that you would drive through and say, "this place is trouble".

But given all of the above, I do find it surprising that people ask us why we homeschool. Or even more surprising that they imply (or outright state) that we need to stop sheltering our children and send them to school. To which I state that there are usually many reasons why an individual family would choose to homeschool, but sheltering my children from gangs, gang admiring attitudes and drug dealers are definitely on my list of reasons.

New Sound Recorder

2009-03-19T17:58:00.002-04:00

Our church has just purchased a new sound recorder. Recording sermons is a tricky thing, since most recorders are meant only for music, have digital copyright protection (ignoring the fact that I want to CREATE my own material, not rip other peoples material), etc.

One of the issues is to find something that is easy to use. It is no use if you have a recording device that only one person in the church knows how to use.

What we purchased the other day was the Edirol R-09HR. It has a good quality built in microphone, and a mic and line in. It runs on batteries or AC adapter. Press the record button once to check the volume, a second time to record and hit stop once to stop recording and save the file. Uses an SD memory card and has USB download. I am saving to a 96kbs MP3, but it also supports WAV.

Pretty slick.

Wall Street

2009-03-18T07:24:00.002-04:00

I am a big believer in capitalism, but some people (especially on Wall Street) don't seem to get it. Bonuses are for outstanding performance, not for cutting your share price by 90% over a 6 month period. Read what Jack Welch wrote in "Straight from the Gut" about the cultural problems when GE bought a large brokerage house (I think it was Kidder Peabody). They handed out huge bonuses during good times, and were "required" to do the same in bad times to "keep talent motivated". Eventually Welch realized his mistake, cut his losses and sold them off.

Silicon Valley vs. Silicon Valley North

2009-03-01T07:01:00.000-05:00

I got back from a business trip to California yesterday. I came in on the red-eye and so I'm pretty wiped out.

While there I got a bit of insight as to why the Valley is different, though technically I was in Telecom Valley rather than Silicon Valley. Anyway, there are tons of people there who not only use the latest technology, but are immersed in it. It is part of their everyday lives, and they are aware of the new innovations coming down the pipe, and innovation flows from this. They own/use what is currently the latest state of the art, they have friends working on the next state of the art, and they are developing synthesized ideas about what the third generation state of the art will be.

Ottawa, sometimes referred to as Silicon Valley North, has a lot of talented developers, but we don't seem to have this level of innovation happening on a wide scale. Some innovation, but not as much as the Valley.

The obvious answer is for people in Ottawa to start buying more state of the art toys. So, I'm off to Future Ship... 8-)

Understatement of the Year

2009-02-21T20:11:00.002-05:00

"The first jump was just phenomenal..."

So said a bungee jumper whose cord snapped on the second 400 foot jump. Evidently the snapping cord absorbed much of the energy, and thankfully he was jumping over a river, so after a visit to the ER he's out, talking to the press and saying he wants to jump again.

I on the other hand, am not interested in a first jump.

Weird

2009-02-18T17:31:00.002-05:00

OK, I know the economy is shaky and lots of people are worrying about their jobs. But I just can't get over the ads I've been hearing on the radio for "recession buster pricing" on 50 inch plasma HD TV's.

Socialists are Childish

2009-02-15T11:12:00.000-05:00

My children have taught me many lessons, and the recent one is that socialists are childish. Let me relate some recent events:

My youngest wanted me to give her some money so that she could put it in the collection plate at church. Whether she wanted to do so out of a sense of obligation or for the good feelings that come with giving to others, I don’t know. But when I suggested she give some of her own money she said no, “because I don’t want to waste it”.

My youngest also saw a pile of coins on my desk. She asked if she could have some. I said no, because it was my money. Then she proceeded to complain that it wasn’t fair.

Children start out as pure emotion. They start with no logic circuits. They want and if they can’t have they complain and cry. Every problem in the world has a simple solution; get Daddy to fix it. Every need and desire will find a simple resolution; get Daddy to buy it.

As parents we understand all of this, and we work with our children to help them grow into useful and productive citizens. We have a responsibility to share our own wealth with others. We work hard for what we have, and if we have more than someone else because we have greater talents, or we worked harder, or we stayed in school longer, then it isn’t a matter of fairness. Some problems are of our own making, and we ourselves are responsible for fixing most of our own problems. Emotion is not to be abandoned, but it is to be balanced by logic. And no, big Daddy doesn’t buy you everything. As parents we understand this and we try to build this understanding in our children.

However these are lessons the Left has never learned. The Left feels good that they have accomplished something when they give away other people’s money. And no, statistically speaking the Left doesn’t waste their own money on giving to charity. If someone has more than someone else, there can only be one possible reason; unfairness. And the Left knows how to use populist politics, the media, emotional pleas, the judiciary and the political system to “address unfairness”. To the Left the world is simple; all problems can be solved by more government. The government has the moral responsibility to solve all problems, not individuals. All problems can be addressed by transferring more money from productive sectors of the economy to unproductive sectors. Anyone who disagrees with the Left’s ideology is clearly being ideologically driven! And anyone who disagrees with the Left is heartless.

Capitalism is such an efficient system that it pays for all sorts of socialist nonsense. But it is possible to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. And that is one reason why the Left is more than just a nuisance. The Left is dangerous. Their ideology (and it is an ideology) will tear down the economic foundations of our society, resulting in more suffering and more calls for government control and support. What you are left with is bread and circuses, which is OK with the Left provided they are the ones handing out the bread and determining the entertainers for the circuses.

While I'm at it

2009-02-14T20:29:00.003-05:00

I was listening to Lowell Green the other day. That will be a thought crime soon, but for now it's legal. Anyway, they were talking about free needles for prisoners to control the spread of HIV and HepC in prison populations.

A number of good points were made. One good point was that if there is any place we should be able to control the drug problem, it's in a prison. Another was that it sends the wrong message. Third, the money spent giving away needles could be spent enforcing the law. All good points.

However the best part of Lowell's show was the guy who phoned in to talk about intermittent sentencing. He knew what he was talking about, having served 60 days intermittent for assault. Intermittent sentences allow the prisoner who has a job to serve his time on weekends so that he doesn't lose him job. Sounds like a good idea to me. And it is a good idea. Except it loses something in practice.

You see, many of the guys who have intermittent sentences don't actually have jobs. They get a buddy to sign a piece of paper saying they have a job, but in reality they are on welfare. Then, these guys serve as mules bring drugs in and out of the prisons. And if a guy doesn't want to be a mule, he gets told to do it or else.

Don't the prison authorities know about this? One would think so. And they do have ways of detecting the drugs. But it's a lot of paper work. And it is easier to let the prisoner dope up. And if you are working the weekend you don't want a lot of hassles. So it's easier to turn a blind eye.

Who pays the price? You and me. Paying our taxes and thinking that justice is being done. You and me thinking that society is being protected when it fact it is going down hill. You and me, living in a society that has laws but no enforcement of the law; a system without deterrence and without punishment and all of this intentionally so.

I think I understand...

2009-02-14T20:20:00.002-05:00

A man who has been found guilty of terrorism is about to be sentenced. The Crown is calling for 2 Life sentences with an extra 44 years tacked on... and no parole for 10 years. That's right folks, you can receive a double life sentence plus 44 years, and what it actually means is that you could walk out free in 10 years (minus your double or triple time for time already served).

This confused me. It obviously has nothing to do with justice. And it obviously has nothing to with logic. It is certainly a violation of English usage, for which the word "life sentence" has a different meaning.

However I think I now understand. This is meant to be a catharsis, so that those involved in the legal system can feel that they are doing something. It also gives them an excuse if challenged (we were tough on him, we gave him a double-life sentence). But again, it has nothing to do with justice.

Well, that's something that's got to change. Life ought to mean life. And don't give me any nonsense about needing to give prison populations hope so that they are easier to manage. There is nothing to manage if a guy is sitting in a cell 24 hours a day.

Justice?

2009-02-12T21:15:00.002-05:00

Today I was listening to the news and was once again greeted by a pathetic attempt at justice. A man was sentenced for 1st degree murder. He knifed someone to death on one of our city buses, as part of a robbery.

As is usual for this kind of case, the judge made very strong statements about the guilty party. He said the crime was deliberate. He said that the victim was innocent. He said that he was concerned that the guilty man showed no remorse for his crime.

And then as usual, after the tough talk, he handed out a sentence that was pathetic. Yes, life in prison... with no parole for 10 years. And with time served, he'll be out in 7.5 years.

Pathetic.

But what really surprises me is that he wasn't given double or triple time off for time already served. Our "justice" system has this neat trick whereby they give double or triple credit for time served before trial. Being criminal but not being stupid, some felons are seeking to delay their trials as much as possible, knowing that they are guilty and will serve the time anyway, but usually getting out earlier because of their 2x or 3x pre-trial incarceration.

Eyeballs

2009-01-31T22:08:00.002-05:00

Coming home from the Museum of Civilization today, I experienced that wonderful "sunlight gleaming off the pavement into your eyes until you see green spots every time you blink" phenomenon. However, it lead to a realization... your brain registers the same amount of brightness regardless of whether you are seeing with one eye or two. If the brain was a relatively simple input sensor, it would register twice as much light when you were seeing with two eyes as opposed to one. Of course this would make our sight a very different type of thing, and I would suggest would make vision of much less value. But the brain is not simple. On the contrary it is very sophisticated. And to my way of thinking, this sophistication is more evidence that we were designed rather than just being the product of evolution. Of course I could discuss how unlikely it would be for the eyeball and the vision center of the brain to develop simultaneously, but without both structures vision is impossible.

Moral Equivalence in Argument

2009-01-31T20:10:00.002-05:00

Regrettably, polite social interaction militates in favour of moral equivalence for members of the political right. The way it works is like this:

The Loony Leftwinger says "It's terrible what Bush did. Thank goodness Obama is the President now!"

The Sensible Rightwinger is thinking, "This is some kind of joke. The Left has been engaging in character assassination for 8 years and now we need to listen to the deification of Obama?" But that's not what he can say. The rules of polite social interaction require the person on the right of the political spectrum to pretend that moral equivalence exists, and to say something like, "I'm sure both men have their strengths and weaknesses."

This would be OK, except for the fact that the same rule doesn't apply to the Left. If someone on the Right says, "I think Bush will go down in history as a great President" the person on the Left is free to jump all over that statement. Moral equivalence does not apply to the Left.

Is this because the Right is more polite? Or is this just one of the unfair biases built into the political system?

What Have We Learned?

2009-01-13T20:38:00.001-05:00

What have we learned from this whole Hamas vs. Israel thing?

Land for Peace is a Myth
One of the favourite aphorisms of the Left is that there will be no peace until Israel surrenders land. But we have now learned that this is not true. Israel unilaterally surrendered its settlements in Gaza. Hamas took over and treated this as a great victory. And then Hamas used that land to lob about 6,000 mortar shells and rockets over the border into Israel. No doubt the Left will keep up the pressure on Israel to surrender more land, but we now know that these demands have nothing to do with peace.

Hamas Really Means It
A man named Hitler once wrote a book called Mein Kampf, in which he described what he was going to do. Nobody took him seriously. He couldn’t possibly be serious. But he was. And he kicked off a war that murdered 6 million Jews and perhaps 70 million others before it was over. Hamas is absolutely dedicated to the destruction of Israel. Now we know this. They will break a 3 hour humanitarian ceasefire. They will fire rockets from school yards. They will shoot from U.N. compounds. They will hide weapons in mosques. They will move their soldiers around in ambulances. They will hide behind women and children. And they are 100% serious when they say they want to drive the Jews into the sea. Hamas might seem radical, but they really mean what they say.

Don’t Trust the Press or the U.N.
Neither the main stream media nor the U.N. can be trusted to be impartial in this conflict. From staged scenes for the T.V. media to broken U.N. promises to investigate shooting from U.N. compounds, these two agencies are no longer credible.

Anti-Semitism is Alive and Well
Supporters of Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization, can march through the streets shouting “death to the Jews” and governments around the world turn a blind eye. More chilling is the video footage of German police breaking into a private apartment to remove an Israeli flag from a window, rather than risk the anti-Semitic terror supporters getting more violent. I was talking to a friend last night and he was right; the incredible hatred being shown against the Jews must be supernatural. There is an active malevolent power in this universe that is ultimately behind anti-Semitism.

Human Rights Commissions are a Farce
The various Canadian Human Rights Commissions are a farce. They are brave when taking on some isolated Christian Pastor, but when the crowds get fired up and chant “death to the Jews” the HRC’s are absent.

The Palestinians are Hurting
I have no idea how many Palestinians have been killed or wounded in this conflict. The current quoted number is 800 killed, but honestly, who can trust that number? But whether the number is 800 or just 10% of that number, I have no doubt the Palestinians are suffering. They have been victims of their own governments (whether the corrupt guys or the fanatics), their own political disunity, their own tendency to shoot themselves in the foot, the Arab governments around Israel who refuse to let them settle, and the hatred in their own hearts. I don’t blame them for the hatred. If I had suffered the same way I would probably hate too. And I would be looking for someone to blame. But acting out of hatred will not end their suffering. Someone among the Palestinian people themselves must step up to provide honest, competent and moderate government, and the Palestinians themselves must follow such a man. This is a huge leap, and historically few peoples have been able to overcome hatred and build a lasting peace. The Palestinians have suffered for half a century. Hopefully the next half a century will be better for them. I really hope so. I have a lot more sympathy for the Palestinians than you realize.

Ridiculous

2009-01-10T22:08:00.002-05:00

I saw a clip from CNN today. It was a video of a 12 year old child brought to a hospital in Gaza. The boy's older brother was a freelance photographer and got the call to come home because his brother had been killed by an Israeli bomb. The CNN anchor warned that the clip was heart wrenching, and it was. Or at least it would have been if it wasn't a fake.

It was quite obvious that the two doctors who were performing CPR on the boy were faking it. And that makes me wonder how much more of it was faked. Because of the faked CPR, I have no idea of whether any child was actually harmed or killed on that day. Unfortunately it goes to show how little we can trust the majority of the main stream media.

It is well known that much of the imagery coming out of Gaza (and Southern Lebanon a couple of years ago) was faked. Photographic evidence shows that many of the "atrocities" were staged, complete with Directors showing what camera angles to use and calling for second takes. In the long run I have to believe that this will hurt the Palestinian people. Right now they are able to gain sympathy through a wide variety of faked images, but eventually people will wise up. And when they do wise up, there won't be any sympathy left even when the Palestinians are suffering. When you cry wolf one too many times, people stop believing you.

But let's stop for a moment to think about the main stream media. Why are they publishing so many faked images? I can think of several reasons:

many of the images come from freelance Palestinians, who only make money if they can show something dramatic. Furthermore, they are able to support the Palestinian cause by showing something sensational (even if it is faked).
the media makes money on the dramatic, so there is little incentive to sort out the real from the fake (well, little incentive except your own integrity).
producing dramatic pictures boosts a journalists career. Remember the photograph from Vietnam of the police chief executing a civilian in cold blood? It got the photographer a Pulitzer Prize. Too bad nobody pointed out at the time that the "civilian" was a North Vietnamese Army officer who was caught in civilian disguise, and that under those circumstances summary execution is quite acceptable.
many in the media support the Palestinian cause, and think that any means are justified in helping the Palestinian people (even at the cost of truth). This will come back to hurt the Palestinian cause. I'm sure Palestinians really are hurting, but how can we know to what degree? After all, we can't trust the media to tell us.
any reporter in Palestine who doesn't play along will be a target for the extremists. Who wants to be the next Daniel Pearl?
antisemitism seems socially acceptable in some countries and among some peoples and political parties. There is a thin veneer of acceptance, but many people seem to have no sense of shock at the mobs marching along screaming "death to the Jews". One would think we would have learned this lesson after World War Two, but I guess not.
nobody in my culture has been trained to think. We accept everything we see uncritically. And we can't imagine that anyone would ever lie to us. Of course this makes it very easy for people to lie to us.

All in all, I find this very discouraging. I have very little respect or trust for the main stream media. And they've done it to themselves. But when will the rest of the people in my culture wake up?

Interesting Posting

2009-01-10T07:52:00.003-05:00

Someone on Facebook made an interesting comment, which I would like to share and expand (i.e. I don't claim credit for the majority of this thought, but want to add a bit of my own in italics):

"Our society is post-Christian, post-modern, post-historical and post-literate. Post-literate means that even if we could read, we wouldn't understand what we were reading."

Yes, I think this is a good summary of where we are at. A Christian foundation is rapidly disappearing. Now I doubt that the majority of people in my society were ever devout Christians. However a Christian foundation provided a common understanding of reality.

Post-modernism introduces it's own set of insanities, with such lunacy as the denial that truth exists. Post-historical means we not only don't learn lessons from the past but that we don't think the past has any lessons to teach us.

The Post-literate comment was new to me, but I think it was insightful. Most people read very little, unless it is popular trash, a single paragraph summary, or has been dumbed down as so to spoon-feed the reader.

All of this presents challenges for the Christian church. How do you reach out to people with the truth when they look at you blankly and tell you that truth doesn't exist. For that matter, when a person is converted to Christ, they no longer have an instinctive and implicit Christian understanding of reality. They don't all of a sudden have the reading skills required to read and study the Bible.

However... for Christian parents, and especially homeschooling Christian parents, this presents a tremendous opportunity. Because we can train our children to understand and appreciate truth, history, literature and especially the Christian faith. Because this provides a basis for reality and for functioning in the real world, we can give our children a chance to excel in comparison to all the children who are indoctrinated with post-Christian, post-modern, post-historical and post-literate nonsense.

Rush to the Trough

2009-01-07T03:38:00.002-05:00

The Canadian Federal Government is planning a huge amount of deficit spending to try to jolt the economy back to life. Unfortunately the prospect of money has every special interest group salivating and putting flurries of press releases explaining that they should get some of that windfall. And you can bet the day after the budget, reporters will be seeking out anyone who didn't get any money to ask them their opinion of the Harper budget. Likewise, the Opposition Parties will be asked their opinion. I assume they will say "Not enough. Wrong priorities. No plan. No hope. Hard right ideology" no matter what Harper does.

So let's see. A student federation is calling for $2.4 billion to be spent on educational infrastructure. Perhaps a worthy cause, but is it likely to jolt the economy? There are calls for more spending on healthcare. Indeed a worthy cause, but is more spending going to put more people to work? Others are calling for Harper to go ahead with the Kelowna Accords with Canada's aboriginal people. Perhaps Kelowna is a good thing, but will it really put more people to work, or is the Left jumping at the opportunity to spend money on their priorities under the guise of helping the economy?

A lot of people share my belief that tax cuts are a good thing for the economy. It puts more money in people's pockets, which has two benefits. First, people can choose to spend that money directly and that is good for the economy. Second, if they use the money to pay down debt or save for the future, it makes them feel better about their overall economic situation, which helps address the confidence problem (when people lose confidence about the future they stop spending, and no amount of government stimulus can overcome this problem). So tax cuts are a good thing.

But tax cuts are not enough. For a number of years I was of the opinion that tax cuts should be focused on the people earning the least. I have (currently) a good job and don't need tax cuts. But then I realized that the people at the bottom of the income scale don't need tax cuts so much as they need opportunity. A guy who is making $20K a year doesn't need a $200 tax cut; what he needs is the economic opportunity to get a job that pays $35K a year.

So, across the board tax cuts can help (provided they don't reintroduce structural deficits). We also need to keep lowering corporate taxes so that companies will set up in Canada. The guy earning $20K a year needs job training so that he can move into a better paying job. And the guy making $100K a year needs more new companies starting up with venture capital to use his existing skills to build world-beating products here in Canada.

A final note on infrastructure. Infrastructure spending is often touted as the panacea. But it won't help if the money is given the projects that will be kicking off 18 months from now. If we are going to deficit spend on infrastructure projects to jolt the economy, the newly available funds need to be applied quickly. Any funding must be applied to projects that can start immediately. Yes, there are some roads that could start immediately, and this sort of spending brings long term benefits to the economy. But in addition, to my way of thinking, money could be spent on repairing social housing. Most of it is falling apart and most municipalities have a list of projects they would like to tackle. A lot of repair companies and small contractors could be put to work within a couple of weeks of additional moneies being provided.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents at 4:02am. 8-)

Growing Up

2009-01-04T21:45:00.002-05:00

Tonight my youngest child asked me what I want to be when I grow up. Obviously a question that is on the minds of children and young adults. Even a young child thinks about such things. But just as obviously, it isn't a practical question for someone my age. I'm past the big "four-oh", I have a job, and I really can't afford to start over on something else. Once upon a time I had a dream, but I didn't have the grades or diligence to pursue it. Then I had another dream, but I ran out of steam after 8 years in university. Finally I had a third dream, but the legitimate responsibilities of life meant it was impossible. So here I am. I am grown up. I have a good job and I would like to think I'm reasonably good at it. I have much to be thankful for. But I wish my children wouldn't ask me what my dreams are, because I don't have a lot of dreams left. That isn't a tragedy; it's just reality.

Deficit Spending

2008-12-28T05:20:00.002-05:00

Everyone is clamouring for deficit spending. I wonder if this is really because they believe it will jolt the economy back to health, or because they have a list of things they really want to buy.

As for Harper, he's not in a good situation; no matter how irresponsible he gets with running a deficit the Opposition will be saying it isn't enough. Likewise, no matter how much extra debt he takes on, someone won't get the money he was expecting and the press will be there to capture him saying that Harper doesn't care. Number one in the line of people to explain that they didn't get their fair share will be the BQ and the PQ.

Remember folks, deficit spending is not a panacea, and this debt is an extra tax that we are taking on for ourselves and our children (it will need to be paid back with interest, out of the taxes we pay). The way we were going, it looked like our national debt might have gotten paid off in time for me to retire. Now it looks like we will stretch it out further; maybe in time for my kids to retire. But not even then if we get addicted to deficit spending again!

Christmas Meals

2008-12-25T17:45:00.002-05:00

We started this morning with raspberry cream muffins and coffee. This was to tide us over until the presents were opened.

For brunch we had breakfast lasagna (pancakes, waffles, strawberries, blueberries and custard baked together) with real maple syrup, sausages, scrambled eggs, toast, clementine oranges and more coffee with french vanilla cream.

As if this wasn't enough, Karen pulled out all the stops for supper. Roast turkey, sage stuffing with mushrooms, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans in a bacon sauce, corn with butter and cranberry sauce, with sparkling grape juice and ice water, served on Royal Albert bone china with Pinwheel crystal. For dessert we had homemade pecan pie and plum pudding with white sauce, and some orange flavoured chocolate.

Yes, I am stuffed! And very, very blessed.

Snowblower

2008-12-21T07:19:00.002-05:00

For those who are curious, I did get my snow blower back and it does run. I made a personal visit to the store, talked to the service manager, went in the back and talked to the guy who fixed it and watched them start it. They did manage to send the truck by my house to pick up a snow blower (instead of dropping it off) and copied down my credit card number wrong (requiring them to phone me about why the card didn't work), but another truck showed up and I do have it back.

100 Things I Would Like to Do

2008-12-18T21:20:00.000-05:00

1. write a book (isn’t this the first item on everyone’s list?)
2. visit the British Museum for 3 uninterrupted days
3. befriend my cat (a.k.a. Lexi the Slasher)
4. start a seminary
5. fix the whining noise from the audio output on my laptop
6. run a political campaign
7. discipline myself to read my Bible more regularly
8. go back to school to study architecture
9. make my wife and children proud of me
10. vacation in the Turks and Caicos Islands
11. shave my head
12. watch the entire Star Trek Voyager series, beginning to end
13. wrestle with my children without getting scars
14. win a game of Strategic Command 2
15. tour Italy
16. exercise daily
17. put interlocking brick at the side of the house (where nothing will grow except weeds)
18. offer a course on Christian worldview
19. do an MBA
20. take the Le Cordon Bleu Cuisine Diploma
21. read the great works of theology
22. become a CMA (Certified Management Accountant)
23. write a song (that’s actually worth listening to)
24. do a Masters in Theology
25. improve the “Brethrenonline.org” web site
26. try “the durian”. Foolishly I missed my previous opportunity.
27. learn Latin
28. convince my youngest child to eat meat without a fight
29. learn another programming language
30. play with some Linux applications
31. visit the National Gallery & Smithsonian in Washington
32. run a half-marathon
33. tour the original Marathon in Greece
34. start drawing again
35. take a cruise to Alaska
36. lead someone to Christ
37. visit Israel. See the Valley of Megiddo
38. help my children graduate from university without debt
39. tour the Hermitage in St Petersburg
40. read Calvin’s Institutes
41. keep my desk clean for one week
42. build a study in the basement
43. take an early retirement
44. learn to play a musical instrument
45. go to the Torah Museum in Brooklyn
46. make another good friend
47. lose 20 pounds (and keep it off)
48. restudy the Epistle to the Romans
49. memorize the Epistle to the Romans
50. clean my garage
51. organize a conference
52. learn New Testament Greek
53. develop some reasonable level of skill at chess
54. see the rings of Saturn through my own telescope
55. spend a whole day in worship and prayer
56. start writing with a fountain pen
57. pay off my mortgage
58. have a mortgage burning party for a hundred of my friends
59. restart the “C.S. Lewis Study Group”
60. take Karen somewhere nice for our 15th anniversary
61. prepare some home school curriculum that I can sell as an income stream after I retire
62. finish reading Toynbee’s “A Study of History”
63. keep my job. Some days it’s hard to make a living.
64. make a difference in someone’s life
65. increase my charitable giving each and every year until I retire
66. execute on a plan to deconstruct the Canadian culture
67. test drive a BMW (not to buy, just to try)
68. spend a day phoning everyone I know to give each person a genuine compliment
69. make an impulsive decision (just once)
70. take a ride on a Boeing 787
71. the next time I get a wedding invitation from a friend in India, accept the invitation
72. run “The Theology Program” in Ottawa (from Stonebriar Christian Church)
73. get my PMI certification
74. send my parents on a nice vacation. They’ve done so much for me.
75. listen to all of S. Lewis Johnson’s New Testament expositions (on mp3)
76. play with my grandchildren
77. “rock and roll” with an AK-47 (on a legal shooting range!)
78. make French onion soup from scratch
79. host a home Bible study
80. take up model rocketry
81. fast for a day
82. speak at a homeschooling conference
83. get more traffic on my blog
84. rewrite Master of Orion 2 so it will run under Windows Vista
85. sell automobiles as a way of learning negotiation skills
86. be free from the love of money
87. eat supper at “Signatures”, Ottawa’s only 5 diamond restaurant
88. finish painting the house
89. find the world’s best chicken parmesan
90. come up with an innovative way to use the computer for Bible study
91. organize my library
92. disciple some young men in the Scripture
93. finish reading “Wealth of Nations” and “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”
94. learn to fly a plane
95. get my snow blower fixed. Grrr!
96. become a recognized expert in... something
97. help develop some open source software
98. visit Cardiff Castle (it was closed for renovation when I visited when I was 13 years old)
99. take a guided bus tour of the UK
100. live in truth, humility and holiness, worship God, love my family, strengthen my local church and serve my fellow man

Kudos

2008-12-18T18:23:00.002-05:00

It's been a while since I blogged. Things have been crazy busy for me at work, leaving me totally drained when I get home. That's not likely to change, but I did want to do some blogging tonight because I'm still alive and still have opinions!

First I would like to offer some kudos. The power window on my van broke on the weekend, leaving the window half dropped down into the door. The closest GM dealer said that they couldn't possibly take me into their shop, which would have left me with a half-open window in the middle of the Canadian winter. No kudos for them. But when I phoned Myers Cadillac Chevrolet, they told me that they wouldn't be able to fix the window on the Saturday but they would try to get it closed for me. After a very frosty ride across town, they did exactly that. Kudos to Myers for getting my window closed for me.

The second kudos is for "Mosaic Buffet". This is a Chinese / Indian buffet in Kanata. I offer a kudos on a couple of scores. First, it is innovative to offer both types of food. Second, the price is great, particularly Monday to Thursday, plus children 5 and under eat free and 12 and under eat for half price. Third, the food is good. Yes, I've had better food, but typically in places that charge twice as much. Fourth, the owner has the strength of his convictions. He is a Muslim and does not serve pork or alcohol. Pork isn't such a big deal, but not serving alcohol will hurt him in the pocket-book. Still, I have an admiration for a man who is willing to live by his own convictions. The meat is halal.

Tomorrow I may have another update about a merchant in Ottawa, but if they don't have my snow blower fixed it will not be a kudos! If they manage some minimal level of customer satisfaction, I will refrain from naming them and just keep silent about the matter.

Pathological Hatred

2008-11-30T11:52:00.003-05:00

If you ever wanted more clear evidence of the pathological hatred the Liberals and the Left have for Stephen Harper, Scott Reid has provided it in an article in the Globe and Mail. Reid, a former Liberal Communications Director under Paul Martin makes it clear that the current wrangling in Parliament is not about the Canadian economy, what's best for Canada, the Canadian people or different visions for the best future of Canada. It is only about their pathological hatred of Harper.

"Harper is the most dangerous animal lurking in the jungles of Parliament"

"the public interest is always subjugated to his personal political advancement. And he poisons Parliament with an extreme, bare-fanged breed of partisanship that has no hope of repair until he is banished."

"he has laid himself vulnerable to his opponents. Their imperative could not be more clear: kill him. Kill him dead."

"So don't get fancy. Don't get confused. And don't get weak in the knees. If you don't put Mr. Harper in his grave, he'll put you in yours."

Remember, this is not coming from some ignorant yahoo. It is coming from a man who is accustomed to speaking for Prime Ministers and for the Liberal Party. It's not about what is best for you; it's about a hatred of Harper.

Government to Fall?

2008-11-29T14:54:00.001-05:00

Lots of questions about what is going to happen in Parliament. With the Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc get together to defeat the Conservative government? Will the Governor General ask Stephane Dion to form another government? I admit to being a partisan Conservative, here's why I think she'll need to send us back to the polls:

(1) Dion is the leader of a party that is trying to find a new leader

(2) Dion delivered the smallest % of the vote and the least number of Liberal seats of any Liberal leader in recent memory

(3) a coalition would require the support of the Bloc, who are unlikely to be formal partners in a coalition

(4) a coalition would require the support of the Bloc, who are dedicated to the destruction of Canada

(5) the Liberals are motivated by a blind hatred of Harper, rather than what is best for the Canadian economy

(6) the Liberals only real complaint against the Conservatives is that they aren't spending enough money. They have no good plan of their own to address problems in the economy

(7) Canadians voted for the Conservatives because they perceive that the Conservatives are best for the economy

(8) The Conservatives received the largest % of the popular vote

(9) The Conservatives have a very strong Minority

(10) I could be wrong, but the only historical precedent at the Canadian Federal level is the King/Byng Crisis. A Governor General is not likely to want to repeat this event.

Given these reasons, I believe it would be irresponsible for the Governor General to invite Dion to form a government.

Ideology

2008-11-28T17:38:00.002-05:00

The word "ideology" gets much criticized by the political Left in Canada, as if they themselves have no ideology. And politicians are much praised for setting aside their ideology for a more pragmatic approach during difficult times. But don't forget... setting aside your ideology for a pragmatic approach isn't a good thing when your ideology is right.

Protest Songs vs Changing the World

2008-11-23T22:12:00.003-05:00

I was listening to a 1980's protest song over the weekend (specifically 99 Red Balloons). Catchy tune, but of course the words were a German protest against nuclear weapons, the war machine and Ronald Reagan. How Europe hated Reagan. They denounced him as a war-monger. He was burned in effigy, protesters screamed against him, and in the end it turned out he was right and the protesters were wrong. Reagan used the power of a capitalist economy to outspend the Russians, the Russians realized that they couldn't compete because of the weakness of the socialist economy, and the Russians gave up. The walls came down, peoples were reunited, and freedom rang. And of course Europe continued to hate Reagan, to smugly ignore religion and to embrace more socialist ideals. As for Reagan, I suspect he knew the magnitude of what he had accomplished, and didn't really care what a bunch of bearded lefties in Europe thought. But for the purpose of this post I guess the important thing is that that protesters were wrong and it was Reagan who changed the world.

Protest songs have a powerful legacy throughout the second half of the 20th century. But protest songs themselves are a reflection of all that is weak about the political left. Protest songs allow the left to feel like they are doing something, while they smugly look down on anyone who would actually sacrifice for their ideals. Protest songs can only be sung openly in a free society*, unburdened by Communism or thought-control**, the two main ends for which the Left strives (C.S. Lewis's essay on why he is not a pacifist comes to mind at the point). Finally, protest songs appeal to students. These songs let students rage against the system, ignoring the fact that the system (and Mom and Dad) are paying the tab. Socialism seems so good to students, because it is nice to have everything given to you. Unfortunately for students, it is a dream that someone else pays for.

It would be a mistake to over-estimate the strength of the political Left. True, they have media and courts in their favour, and these are a powerful influence. But the Left is ideologically bankrupt. They view a complex world through a series of over-simplistic slogans, and their economic system is not strong enough to support their goals. Finally, they are not willing to sacrifice for their ideals, in money let alone blood. Yes, the Left will win victories, and sing their songs, but in the end the song has to end eventually.

* Russia had a tradition of protest songs under Communism, but they could only be sung underground.

** while pretending to support free speech, the Left in practice is all in favour of silencing dissent of the Left, and using the coercive power of law to try to change peoples thought patterns.

Indian Navy

2008-11-19T19:58:00.001-05:00

I tip my hat to the Indian Navy, who know how to deal with pirates without a lot of hand wringing about international law. Threaten to board them and when they open fire, sink them.

Car Makers

2008-11-07T21:14:00.002-05:00

Recent press reports indicate that the "Big Three" car makers (GM, Ford and Chrysler) are all in trouble. Sales are way down, they are burning through cash like mad, and without a government bailout it is possible that one or two of them will go under.

I could comment on a situation where unions consider the company they work for to be the enemy, and believe with every fiber of their being that the company will always be around to milk. However this blog entry is going to focus on something different, and that is the fact that successful car makers must also be successful at selling cars. If you don't have a product that people want, you close up shop. If you do have a product people want, then you can usually make it through bad economic times into the next boom.

As for the "Big Three" they have been ignoring what customers want for a long time. Remember when Japanese cars were pathetic? Remember when "Made in Japan" meant cheap and poor quality? Yes, it is hard to imagine today, but such a time existed. But the Japanese car makers improved quality, and now set the gold standard. But Detroit never learned. Detroit's attitude was "add more chrome, add more styling, change to performance tires." And so they lost market share.

But what has really killed Detroit was the fact that the Japanese, having mastered quality, did start to pay attention to styling. Detroit rejoiced, thinking that the Japanese were now playing their game. But Detroit forgot that the Japanese took quality and added styling, while Detroit took styling and added more styling. Without a foundation of quality, nobody cares about styling.

So what should Detroit do? First of all, fire anyone who uses the word "chrome". And demote anyone who uses the word "styling". Close every production line that is producing low quality cars, and concentrate only on those lines that have a reasonable reputation for quality. Offer considerable bonuses to anyone in the company who can come up with ideas for improving quality.

But of course they won't. They'll try to keep doing what they've done in the past, with more energy. The unions will continue to think that there is a secret gold mine that can be tapped at contract time. And style will always take the place of substance in the minds of the automakers of Detroit. Wish it was different, but...

Wow

2008-10-31T23:42:00.000-04:00

Wow. Very powerful. Very well done.

http://www.justonejudge.com/

Much prayer is called for.

Shocked for the Wrong Reasons

2008-10-25T05:42:00.003-04:00

Members of a football team are shocked that they were not informed about one of their fellow players being found guilty of sexual assault. But where is the outrage about the guy receiving a conditional sentence that allows him to still play football? Now he's been arrested for an additional 9 sexual assault charges. Of course, he'll likely make bail! If he doesn't make bail and he's found guilty, he receives double credit for time spent waiting trial. And of course with mandatory release laws, almost nobody serves a full sentence!

As a parent I try to protect my children from a world that can be very bad. And I get the feeling that there are a lot of cops who are trying to do the same. But as you go up the chain you encounter more and more people who are more concerned with helping the criminal than in protecting the innocent.

Finally at the top you have politicians of the Trudeau mold who are not concerned about prevention, deterrence and punishment, but only about rehabilitation of the unrehabilitatible. It all stems from the left-wing's favourite doctrine of the perfectibility of man. Since they believe in perfectibility, rehabilitation is the only thing that matters, not the protection of society. As for me, I believe humanity is Fallen, and that human governments are intended to be a restraint on evil behaviour. But I guess I'm in the minority.

Renewing my Mortgage

2008-10-19T15:55:00.002-04:00

I recently renewed my mortgage. The bank sent me a helpful set of papers. Essentially, all I had to do was select the term, sign the bottom and pop in the mail. Easy, right? But it would have been a big mistake.

I looked at the interest rate for the term I was interested in, and compared it to the information the bank had on their website. Their website listed a "Best Rate" that was 0.71% less than the renew by mail rate.

So I thought perhaps there were some restrictions on the "Best Rate", but I wondered if I could still knock down the renew by mail rate. After all, what did I have to lose except a couple of minutes to make a phone call.

I phoned the bank, told them my mortgage with them was coming due, and told them I was shopping around for rates. What rate could they give me? They came back with a rate that was 1.35% better than the renew by mail rate, and 0.44% better than their "best rate".

Now remember, I didn't do a lot of heavy negotiating. I didn't shop around to a million other places. I didn't need to move my accounts to another bank. I just made a phone call instead of blindly mailing in a form.

Time to make a choice

2008-10-13T21:33:00.002-04:00

It's time to make a choice. Canada is facing uncertain economic times and tomorrow is the election. On one hand we have Stephen Harper and the Conservatives. They have a proven track record of managing the economy. They are unlikely to do anything "scary" even if given a majority government. They have the best leader and a set of responsible and affordable plans.

On the other hand there is Stephane Dion. I'm sure he's a nice guy, but he's not a leader. His only plan is a carbon tax. His only solution is a carbon tax. Institute a new tax and everything will work out. On his team is Bob Rae, one of the most detested politicians in Ontario. In a Dion government, Rae will likely be Finance Minister. A former NDP Premier of Ontario, a man who managed to get the unions to hate him, running the finances of the country.

Somene's Awake

2008-10-12T19:29:00.003-04:00

Well, someone at the Green Party is awake and understands the consequences of supporting strategic voting. Their press release is calling upon Green Party voters to support their own party. I'm not a big fan of the Green Party, but this seems a more principled position. I applaud their press release.

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

2008-10-12T19:17:00.004-04:00

I know people are losing jobs. Some industries are really suffering. And real people are suffering. But as far as I can see, the overall Canadian economy is in reasonable shape. A couple of months ago it was thought that the Bank of Canada would be raising interest rates to deal with increasing inflation. Since then we've had a crisis in banking and a lot of pain in the stock market. However our overall economy does seem strong. Over the course of this weekend, I've seen 4 ads for businesses looking for help. This includes the local supermarket, a fast food place and a couple of stores in the mall. Now I know these jobs are not the same as a well paying job in the manufacturing sector. But service sector jobs dry up when people are not spending. Since service sector businesses are looking for staff, it is reasonable to assume that there is some strength in this economy.

One more thing to be said for these jobs; they are real jobs. These are jobs being provided by businesses that need staff. They are not artificial government created jobs that require constant support from the tax payers. Jack Layton can put on his angry face and demand that the government create something out of nothing, borne on the backs of the tax payers, but these are real jobs being generated by the economy.

Consequences

2008-10-12T17:49:00.002-04:00

Life is about consequences. This is a fact that Elizabeth May is about to discover. She has urged "strategic voting" in key ridings, whereby her Green Party members would vote Liberal or NDP to stop the Conservatives. And these are the consequences as I see them:

May has demonstrated that the Green Party is more about a left wing agenda than about the environment. A mean spirited "Stop Harper at any cost" attitude will her their support from people who were attracted by some of their non-environmental policies.
May has demonstrated that she does not care about creating a national political party. This will hurt the next time the Green Party wants to participate in a national debate. Being the tool of the Liberals and the NDP does not speak well for them.
May has shown that she doesn't care about the funding that comes from every vote. This is going to hurt the bottom line. The 2009 Green Party budget is going to have some holes, and some staff are going to be looking for other work. After all, when you run a left wing party, you need all the federal funding you can get your hands on; lefties are better at giving away other peoples money than giving away their own.
May has ignored the concerns of rank and file members who are "Green" as a matter of principle. I believe regardless of the results, May has seen her last election; the true Green supporters are going to be calling for her removal.
May's ignoring of the "run a candidate in every riding" principle will hurt the efforts of the Green Party to find strong candidates. Who wants to work like a dog only to have their leader tell voters to vote for the Liberals or the NDP. Yes, they'll always find candidates to fill the slots. There are always some X-Gen kind of people who are looking for something to do, but they are going to have a difficult time finding strong candidates.

Yes, our actions have consequences.

Windsor Star Endorses Harper

2008-10-11T15:13:00.001-04:00

The Windsor Star, located in Canada's battered manufacturing area, has endorsed Harper.

Ottawa Citizen Endorses Harper

2008-10-11T15:10:00.001-04:00

The Ottawa Citizen newspaper has endorsed Harper. In their words, "It is about leadership".

Montreal Gazette Endorses Harper

2008-10-11T15:08:00.001-04:00

The Montreal Gazette, one of the major newspapers in Quebec, has endorsed Harper.

Economy adds 107,000 jobs

2008-10-10T08:07:00.001-04:00

It doesn't suit the panic mongers of the political left, but Canada's economy just added 107,000 jobs.

National Post Endorses Harper

2008-10-09T22:28:00.003-04:00

The National Post newspaper has endorsed PM Harper. Specifically they are suggesting he deserves a Majority.

I think it is becoming clear than most of the well connected journalists in Canada are realizing that a Harper government would be best for the economy, and that Dion's ideas would make the economy worse.

Vote Liberal for Immediate Economic Chaos

2008-10-09T22:18:00.001-04:00

At least he is consistent and determined. Economic uncertainty isn't enough to slow down Dion's efforts to roll our the Green Shift.

The Strongest Banks in the World

2008-10-09T21:38:00.002-04:00

As PM Harper has been saying (and getting blasted as insensitive for not panicking), Canada's banks are considered the strongest in the world.

"The Economist" Endorses Harper

2008-10-09T21:35:00.001-04:00

The widely respected international magazine "The Economist" has endorsed Prime Minister Harper.

Globe and Mail Endorses Harper

2008-10-09T21:20:00.001-04:00

The Globe is not exactly a hot bed of right wing extremism, but they have endorsed Stephen Harper for another term.

The Prime Minister in Waiting

2008-10-09T21:02:00.002-04:00

This is the man whose poll numbers are surging. This is the man who is convincing Canadians that he has a better plan for the economy than PM Harper. But unfortunately, if you get it wrong with the economy, you can't ask to start again.

Leader's Debate

2008-10-09T18:21:00.001-04:00

I watched some of the Canadian leader’s debate the other night, in preparation for the October 14, 2008 election. What I saw frustrated me, both in the format of the debate and the content.

Clearly something was off with the format. It involved 80% of the time devoted to the opposition blasting Harper, and 20% of the time Harper defending himself. True, my percentages might be a bit off. The piranhas did take a few swipes at each other (like Layton going after Dion about 43 opportunities to bring down the Conservatives. The media is wrong by the way about this sounding the death knell for Dion’s political career. His career will be over the day after the election). However my basic premise holds; we had four people attacking Harper with Harper only getting a fraction of the time to defend himself. More fair would have been giving Harper 50% of the time to make his own points and his rebuttals. As for Harper, he did a good job keeping his cool and looking balanced.

However some of the content frustrated me even more. It became very clear how dangerous the loopy views on the left really are. For a long time I thought those on the left were nice but naive. But I’m starting to see that they are not only naive but dangerous. I say this because they would take a wealthy nation, lead it to economic ruin, and thereby defeat their own social and environmental policies.

Jack Layton made an impassioned plea for the family, by demanding the creation of jobs in the communities where people are already living, not out in Alberta. Frankly I was sickened at how out of touch Jack Layton is with reality. No government can afford to create jobs where there is no economic opportunity. From time immemorial, people have been migrating to where the work is. My grandparents did it when they came to Canada. And I did it when I graduated from a computer science program and found no jobs for computer programmers in Sudbury. Maybe I will need to do it again some day. And if that time comes, I won’t like it but I will do what I have to in order to provide for my family. And I sure won’t be demanding that the government make a good paying job for me in a place where there are no jobs.

So why do I say “they would take a wealthy nation, lead it to economic ruin, and thereby defeat their own social and environmental policies.” That they would lead us to economic ruin is clear. Capitalism is a marvellously efficient system; so efficient in fact that it can be tapped to pay for all sorts of crazy ideas. But there is a limit to a good thing. A capitalist economic system can be bled by socialism to the point that it starts to fail. At that point unemployment starts to go way up, increasing the demand for social programs at the very time that the revenue stream paying for those programs also fails. At that point you get social chaos.

But there is one other effect of socialism strangling capitalism, and that is the failure of environmental initiatives. Poor people can’t spend the money to be environmentally responsible. They need to heat their homes with whatever is available, not the most environmentally conscious choice. They can’t afford to fix their smoking automobiles. They can’t pay money to have electronics recycled in a responsible manner. When your personal finances are going under, you don’t have environmental choices. Likewise for companies. When a company is economically weak, it can’t afford more efficient equipment. It can’t afford anti-pollution equipment. It can’t afford CO2 scrubbers. When a company is unprofitable, it can’t include environmental considerations in its decision making process. Only a wealthy nation with profitable companies and prosperous people can safeguard the environment.

Malaysia Trip - Friday August 29, 2008

2008-10-06T21:26:00.000-04:00

I had a 5:00am wake up call at the hotel, which gave me time for a bath in their extra long soaker tub, and a really good buffet breakfast. There was a fairly long line-up for check-in at the Air Canada counter, but all went well. The flight back was good. I like the Airbus 320 better than the Airbus 330 and 340. The 320 has personal fresh air vents, while the 330 and 340 doesn’t.

Karen and Bethany were waiting for me at the airport. Wow, did I ever get some great hugs! My parents were visiting, and I got lots of hugs also from Joel and Hannah as well. Everyone was happy to see me again. Karen made a great chicken dish for supper, and we had two types of cake for dessert.

Malaysia Trip - Thursday August 28, 2008

2008-10-05T21:12:00.000-04:00

I slept well last night, not the least because a Gravol tablet was knocking me out. I can’t believe I’m heading home. I spoke to Karen this morning, and the next time I speak to her it will be face-to-face. As wonder an experience as this has been I can’t wait to see my family!

I had lunch with Keat San and Ginny, showed them some pictures of my family on my laptop, and then drove to the airport. We had an interesting conversation about how to encourage young people in the church and how to encourage our own children, though I was the only one with children. After checking in my bags, we had another bite to eat at McDonalds. The interesting thing is that Burger King tastes different in Malaysia, while McDonalds tastes exactly the same. I had some “Service Coupons” I got from Cathay Pacific on the way over, to try to get an upgrade but no luck.

The flight to HK was smooth and comfortable because I had nobody sitting next to me. They served chicken with fried rice, and it was quite delicious. I also got to watch most of “Prince Caspian” on the flight, and napped for a few minutes.

The flight from HK to Vancouver was of course, long. But with the jet stream it was “only” 12 hours long, and my in-flight entertainment system was working this time. As a side note, I used my “Service Coupons” plus a some extra cash to buy myself a big treat; Bang & Olufsen headphones. I have some cheap headphones I use at home, but this gives me some really good sound as a compensation for 13 hours of boredom on the way over to Malaysia. I also ended up watching most of Ironman on the way home.

I had more questions from Canada Immigration than I’ve ever had before, but I guess this isn’t surprising since my trip didn’t fall into any of their recognized categories. Business, personal or study? Personal. What were you doing? Speaking at a conference. What kind of conference? Church. So you went over for work? No. What do you do for a living? I’m a computer programmer. But you were speaking at a church conference? Yes. Where were you staying? The Dorrset Regency Hotel, the Genting View Resort, a local family, and the guest house at Jalan Imbi Chapel. We’ll you get the idea; it didn’t fit into their categories. Not my fault if the honest answer is confusing to officialdom.

It was late when I checked into the Vancouver Airport Fairmont. I think staying in the hotel at the airport was the right choice. If I had stayed somewhere else I would have lost more than an hour in taxis. The hotel was really nice, and my first priority was a shower. They had one of those fancy rainwater style shower heads. It was good to finally feel and smell human again, even if I still looked like death warmed over.

Malaysia Trip - Wednesday August 27, 2008

2008-10-04T15:58:00.000-04:00

This is the start of my last full day in Malaysia. I slept quite well in the Guest Room at JIC, and made myself a breakfast of toast & peanut butter, fresh strawberries and Ipoh white coffee. As I was sitting at my desk I held a roaring and went outside to see Mig-29 fighters flying over in formation, likely practicing for Merdeka Day, which is their 51st anniversary of independence from Britain.

For lunch I went out to a dim sum, then to a mall to buy some souvenirs and another suitcase. Even with the new suitcase it will be difficult for me to get everything home.

This afternoon I started feeling sick, with an upset stomach. We ended up cancelling the evening meeting, a decision that was made easier by the fact that it was pouring rain and the auditorium at the chapel was flooding.

Malaysia Trip - Tuesday August 26, 2008

2008-10-03T19:19:00.001-04:00

Today I woke up for my last time in the hotel. I had breakfast, packed and a fellow named Harry picked me up and moved me over to the guest room at JIC. It is well appointed, with an outer sitting room with TV and a kitchen table, and an inner bedroom with 2 beds, a kitchenette and a desk. It has internet access and a TV as well.

In addition to secular employment in his own advertising agency, Harry has an interesting ministry. He works quite a bit with the youth, and specifically in making sure that some of the smaller assemblies around the country get workers (particularly but not exclusively youth) to help. So if there is an outreach happening, he’ll make sure a couple dozen young people are sent to help.

After getting settled in, Harry took me to the Petronas twin towers. There is a shopping complex at the base between the towers, extending up 6 stories. I had lunch there with Harry and Keat San at a restaurant chain known as “Chillies”. I had the Chicken Monterey. After eating we wandered about for a few minutes, because one of the women at JIC works for the CEO of Petronas and was able to get us two tickets for the sky bridge. This is the bridge that connects the two towers, 170 meters up. These tickets are much in demand and I didn’t think I would get the opportunity to go up. Afterward I bought a number of items from the gift shop.

For supper, Ginny Lingam from the Conference Committee took me out for supper with three of the young people. They all had questions about how youth ministry is done in Canada. Two of them were medical school students and one was studying computer programming. I’m afraid I didn’t have a whole lot of answers for them about how to run cell groups.

I spoke in the evening on Hebrews 9. After last Saturday/Sunday where I had 6 messages in 2 days, preaching once a day is a pleasure. They have an expression here; “Here comes the missionary. Let’s kill him.” The implication is that they kill him with overwork. I wore a short-sleeves shirt tonight with no tie, and it was much cooler.

The people here are continuing to do an amazing job looking after me. The conference committee is making sure I’m out for lunch and supper every day, and tonight a lady from JIC came up to me with fresh strawberries and a peach. I’m being given far more food than I can eat!

Malaysia Trip - Monday August 25, 2008

2008-10-01T20:43:00.002-04:00

Today I turned down a chance to go to a Bird Sanctuary, because I was really tired. In fact, rather than meet someone for lunch, I just went down to the hotel restaurant by myself. They were serving a “Penang Feast” buffet, which was quite good, with a lot of Indian influences on the menu. There was a spiced chicken dish, a mutton stir-fry with figs, and interesting cabbage dish and some others.

I went for supper to an Italian restaurant with Anthony and Li Coon Too. I’ve enjoyed the Chinese food, but it was really nice to have a wood fired pizza. Anthony is an architect and showed me a beautiful book on libraries around the world.

In the evening I spoke at Jalan Imbi Chapel about Hebrews 7 and 8. I think the ministry went well, though I need to constantly remind myself to slow down because of my accent. However my only clean shirt was a long-sleeve and I was wearing a tie and the spot lights were on, so it was so hot that I needed to remove my tie and I almost fainted because of the heat.

Just a side note... I found it interesting that since we are close to the equator, the sun is directly overhead at noon.

Karen and I have been talking once or twice a day on the phone, mostly using Yahoo Voice. It’s worked out quite well, except at the conference where I didn’t have internet access in my room. But for that I had the phone card that I was provided with, so everything has turned out well.

Malaysia Trip - Sunday August 24, 2008

2008-09-30T22:52:00.000-04:00

This morning I woke up having had the best night of sleep so far. I guess my body is getting used to the time zone. We went to the Breaking of Bread for 8:00am, and arrived just as the first hymn was getting started. That was my fault because it took me a couple of extra minutes to get ready. After the Breaking of Bread I gave my first message, we had some breakfast, I answered some questions for the folks there, and then I gave my second message. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to go there. They are a small church that doesn’t get many visitors, particularly visitors from overseas. I was happy to have a chance to meet with them and share from the Bible. Finally, one of the sisters (Brenda Li) gave us some of the famous Ipoh White Coffee, which I am anxious to try.

After a lunch at a Chinese restaurant, we drove back to KL, I checked into my hotel for 45 minutes, and then we took a 45 minute drive down to the Klang Assembly (Pekan Baru Gospel Hall). I gave a message there, and then we went to the Lee’s house for fellowship and food. The Lee’s have a large house and typically have the whole assembly over for a meal after the meeting. This was a very long but very good day.