613-623-5005

But do they exist?  In answer to Jack MacLelland’s question  ( what label for one who faithfully believes there is no God ),  may I suggest “ Orthodox Nonitarian “  ? July 10, 2004

When I first heard Peel Police Chief Catney’s press conference on radio, I wondered where the word ‘alleged’ was. Had I missed it?  Later, on TV I saw Chief Catney point to the photo of a man who was named and referred to as the murderer.  Not ‘ the one alleged or accused ‘ ,  just the one who had done it. Am I missing something here? Like a trial. July 24, 2004

If Rex Murphy needs an insight into the hatred for George W. Bush among many Americans, he has but to read “ Bushwhacked” by Molly Ivins.  She gives reasons for loathing not only Dubya, but that entire neo-con cadre of corrupt cronies, crackpots and crooks.  Ivins points to the ongoing destruction of Texan and U.S. economies, environmental protection, education, food safety,  and more issues near and dear to the people because of Bush II policies. Further,  Ivins contends the American people, especially the poor, are paying a heavy price to benefit GWB’s rich and  powerful friends and financial supporters.

Then there’s foreign policy.  Then there’s the dismantling of the US Constitution. Then there’s war with dubious cause. These are reasons to put Bush behind the “ hate ball ”   But for the cause beyond reason, we have another factor and her name is Pfc. Lynndie England .  Americans think of themselves and their way of life, their values only in superlatives.  They take for granted they are the best; Pfc. England showed them at their worst in a graphic way the American culture machine could understand. Molly Ivins  chronicled facts and statistics, did the hard research and made her argument.    Pfc. England drew them a picture. July 31, 2004

Lawrence Martin indicates that George W Bush’s terror alerts, as specious as they may be now, will some day come true even if it is something as simple as a car bomb in a U.S. city. I fear this will happen before November’s US elections and that the terrorist perpetrators are deliberately planning to keep Bush and his neo-con cronies in the White House.   Osama bin Laden’s cause is better advanced with a Bush presidency.  Or it could be Bush will repeat history in a ( second ) illegitimate grab for power;  remember the burning of the Reichstag?  Fear gets the job done; ask any fascist. August 6, 2004

Letter writer Gerald Faucher writes “It's time society placed the blame and responsibility firmly where it belongs, at the feet of the only person responsible for Ms. England 's actions, Ms. England herself.”  We might add, “ and the people running the jail and intelligence operation who gave her the idea ( orders ? ). August 7, 2004

Norman Spector writes that Roy Romano does not suggest public service wage controls, an option available to the Federal Government to curb rising health costs, i.e. regulation.  He implies  the former NDP premier wouldn’t want to upset the unions. Another way to  regulate health costs in, for instance a federally assisted pharmicare program,  would be to reduce the time multi-national Drug Lords hold patents; then  generic drugs could be purchased more cheaply.   But I don’t suppose taking on the International  Drug Industry is an option Norman Spector would think of. August 9, 2004

John Barber’s column lectures us bumpkins who are concerned about the fate of Toronto ’s garbage. It’s been said that one measure of a people’s civilization is the distance between its garbage and itself.  Maybe that’s why Mr.  Barber thinks Torontonians are so civilized while the rest of us are bumpkins. And you wonder why the rest of Canada loves to hate Toronto ?  August 10, 2004

Letter writer Van Sommerfeld’s says if government investment in the tobacco industry is wrong, so too are taxes on their products. I disagree. The moral point turns on the effect of the two actions.  The wrong lies in promoting an unhealthy and potentially lethal activity among the general population, something to be eschewed by government. Investing promotes the industry, heavy taxing discourages product use, especially among the young, which is the industry’s vital market  ( irony intended ).   The unequivocal moral stance would be prohibition.  Not likely in my lifetime.  August 21, 2004

Ken O’Brien rightly calls photo radar ‘ a sensible use of technology ‘  which reduces speeding on our highways and subsequent injury or death. Sensible, yes.  But if we used good sense, we wouldn’t need such devices. And we are all speedsters and we none of us want to get caught.  We all slow down when we see a cop car on the horizon or in the rear view mirror but speed up again once the threat of being caught has past.   We all want to be ‘ under the radar ‘ when we act un-sensibly;  even if that means greater danger on our highways. August 26, 2004

Your editorial tries to shoot down arguments against the US anti-missile program. You missed. You point out that Ronald Reagan’s Star Wars 1 led to the development of the Patriot missile.  And this is a good thing? Reviews I’ve seen show the missile had very limited success and its track record was white-washed by the military.  Star Wars 2 will prove to be more boondoggle than boon with the Texas Oil / Texas War machine urging their Texas President to divert tax dollars from government for the people to war toys for the good ol’ boys. I cannot think of a better example of what Eisenhower referred to as ‘ the military-industrial complex’. August 27, 2004

A reading of Molly Ivvins portraits of the Texan tyrant will show him as no Churchill.   When you consider the massive tax relief to the upper class and manufactured wars that benefit the oil / military industrial complex, a more apt saying is, “Never has one president done so much for so few.” September 2, 2004

“ Hamilton Tiger-Cats player Julian Radlein turned down a lucrative job offer from the Green Bay Packers in part because of his beliefs”, which were critical of the belligerent U.S. policies in Iraq and Haiti as well as the Son of Star Wars strategy.   It takes guts to play pro-football but even more to stick to your principles.  Another reason to be a Ti-Cat fan. September 11, 2004

Now that our Federal provincial tug of war on Health care funding is over, I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. You can’t get away from the fact that resources are limited; what you give extra in one area you must take away from another.  What will suffer as the left shoe hits the floor?  Education, Infrastructure, Cities?  Most likely Foreign Aid, Sports and the Arts spending will  be cut drastically.   Now more than ever, we must not join the Americans  in costly ‘defence’ ventures designed to prop up a post-cold war military-industrial complex. September 16, 2004

There are many  ethical problems inherent in condoning voluntary suicide near life’s end. The clearest to me is that mistakes happen and may be deliberate ‘mistakes’  by others whose interests conflict with the person ending his/her life. I have the same problem with the state exercising the death penalty.  The ultimate mistake brooks no recourse.  As long as there is inheritance, voluntary suicide by the elderly will always be suspect. Motive, Means and Opportunity become all too convenient when the victim is suffering from dementia. September 16, 2004

I think this would be a good time to repatriate the game of hockey.  Games of a Canadian League of 12 teams ( allowing Hamilton and Halifax the opportunity they deserve ) would be better attended than in Nashville .  We have a year to entice our own boys ( and girls?) to make of a CHL what the CFL  is, a more interesting sports experience than what’s offered in the States.   As far as Sir Stanley’s Cup,  maybe the GG, Adrienne Clarkson can lend her name to such a silver trophy . This is a window of opportunity.  Let’s take it!   September 17, 2004

Selling government owned buildings only makes fiscal sense if we intend to shrink the government, reduce the role of government, and cease providing services to the taxpayers of this country.  That must be PM Martin’s plan as he has promised so much to the Provinces for Health Care and, without a proportional tax hike,  the money must come from somewhere else: i.e. dropped programming,  gutted departments and reduced service.   The PSA has every right to be fearful; their jobs en masse are probably on the line.  But it is a political decision not just a question of asset management.   It didn’t take long for the other shoe to drop.  One week between the Health agreement and Brisson’s announcement. September 22, 2004

Rather biased  If CBS is to be fined for showing something obscene to the public,  shouldn’t all the networks be penalized for broadcasting the Republican National Convention?  September 23, 2004

Thank you for your item on asymmetry and the bully boys .. even more frightening, for those of us still clinging to the romance of democratic principles, is yesterday’s announcement that CBS is shelving the Bradley piece, a report on America’s justifications for going to war in Iraq.

  “ Democracy is on the march” is Bush’s mantra for the US electorate… but it seems to be marching backwards.  CBS claims delving into the reasons Bush sent his armies off to was “inappropriate”  leading up to an election.   What could possibly be more appropriate?

  Did their leaders lie them into a war? What’s the real reason the US is there?  ( I am just now reading Linda McQuaig’s latest work, “ It’s the Crude, Dude “ ) Which sponsors are putting pressure on CBS? I have relative in the States.  I am afraid I will have to visit via e-mail / phone and letter.  I am seriously afraid to cross the border these days.  September 26, 2004

It seems suspect singer (turned-Muslim), Cat Stevens was prescient when years ago he wrote that he was being followed by a moon-shadow.  A climate of fear grows.  I am reminded of my childhood growing up in the United States in the 1950s.  September 26, 2004

Only one extra year? Too bad.   Canada has been well served by Adrienne Clarkson as Governor General.  She has made the role a touch-stone of Canadian culture, if not as reflection perhaps, but as aspiration.  For Ms Clarkson as GG is intelligent, refined, cultured, sympathetic and generous; in a word, Her Majesty’s representative in Canada .   The Governor General is supposed to be ‘above’ us in the best sense of the word, a star.  Ad aster, per asper!  October 2, 2004

So the New York Times judges Canada to be a faded flower.  Their article cites Canada ’s  “ uninspired leaders … lack of national purpose, stunted imagination, and befuddled priorities….” Tomorrow we will hear the speech from the throne.   Our government’s latest expression of a vision for Canada may not be as strident as a George W. Bush’s State of the Union Address, but bombast and demagoguery do not constitute vision.  It’s also important to not lie when leading a nation, focusing on our national purpose, inspiring imaginative vision and setting priorities to achieve that vision.  October 4, 2004

Letter writer, JOHN McCAFFERY poses marriage as the closing of a loop by God to bring Man and Woman together.  He says only a fool would deny this ‘absolute truth’.  I thought sex brought  people together, for the most part men and women. But in the case of gays and lesbians, it  brings Man and Man together and Woman and Woman together.  As to ‘absolute truth’,  God protect us all from the folly of  those espousing absolute truths.  October 7, 2004

So Alberta Premier, Ralph Klein is giving his B.C. counterpart some tips on how to become debt free. Live within your means annually.  Pay down your ‘mortgage’ regularly.  Parsimony and prudence, eh? He seems to have forgotten the best advice of all:  sit on a hell of a lot of oil when crude sells for $53 ( US ) a barrel.  October 9, 2004

US President G.W. Bush means what he says!  He repeated that at least five times during the first televised debate. So when he says, “take advantage of our fantastic, opportunistic society”,  it’s not a malapropism. He may be referring to his foreign policy or his VP’s business track record.  “ “Fantastic”, as in his rationale for  waging war; “opportunistic” as a good description of  the real reasons for same.   “George W. Bush”  and “Crude”  they go together!  October 9, 2004

Ken Wiwa seems to think a second Bush term will mean the end of ultra-conservatism in American politics. The German Communists thought the same way in the 1930s; ” After Hitler, us” was their catchphrase.  And we all know how well that turned out.  Another line comes to mind, “ the operation was a success but the patient died.”  October 30, 2004

Senryu : 5 – 7 – 5  syllable   pattern as in haiku. ( haiku is traditionally more ethereal and refers to nature, senryu is drier ) Three examples:

Can(pol)Lit -  Sponsorship scandal:/ Many showed to share the loot./  None to share the blame.

Amerika duh booty full -  Earth money, dig it!/ But if all you do is take,/ the gold turns to lead.

Personal Pleasure -   Laughter of children / Quiet smiles on old faces / Music to my ears.

October 31, 2004

Margaret Wente notes that, put to a popular vote, gay marriage would not pass.  True:  in Canada or most elsewhere, I believe.   When I was in college, 40 years ago,  there was a survey done in middle America ; it was  a broad poll asking how you felt about certain  issues.  It was a trick, of course,  the results showed 80 % of Americans, if polled, would gladly abolish  the Bill of Rights. Which is why we do not govern by referendum ( except in California ).  As I was raised a secular humanist I am an admirer of critical thought. Being human, my heart is on the left!  I am insulted by the religious right who say I have no values.  I have my values, decidedly not theirs.  Thank God. November 7, 2004

Lisa Evans decries the unconscionable  plans to make a  Hollywood movie  out the tragedy that was Bernardo/Homolka. She asks, “  When will morality supersede the drive for profit? “  When the human race does not produce monsters like Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka,  or war mongers like Krup or Haliburton .  Profiteers always put their greed  ( sexual or financial ) above consideration for anyone else, and regardless of the consequences.  November 14, 2004 

Books for Bush  Perhaps even more obvious reading for President Bush would be the comic strip Pogo, wherein he might glean the wisdom, “ We have met the enemy and it is us.”   November 17, 2004

Joanna Manning would rather President G.W. Bush be greeted by  Carolyn Parrish than by the PM, lest Paul Martin become another one of “Bush’s poodles”. Great! A pet poodle or a barking bitch; is this the best we can do?  How about a statesman ( not a ‘State’s man ) with a sense of civility and a backbone too?  November 18, 2004

On The House ( CBC Radio) I just heard Carolyn Parrish explain her self, her situation and her views. In dropping her from caucus ( why do the media pundits say ‘fire’ ? ) the PM  got it right in a perverse way, I think. Ms Parrish had to be thrown from the Liberal Party only after disavowing the party, it’s leader and her caucus solidarity.  I’d have thrown her out too..  That fact that she was not disciplined for her anti-Bush remarks ( as funny or crude or uncivil as they were ) underscores the (small ‘l’ ) liberal philosophy of the party and still sticks it to the Bushies while appearing  to be toadying to them.. How Liberal ( big ‘L’ ) can you get?   As some  ( herself included ) have pointed out,   Parrish as an independent MP will hold more power now, get once a week guaranteed Question Period Time ( government backbenchers might get 2 questions a year, if they’re lucky or bother to show up ). Has PM Paul Martin done this deliberately?  ( grassy knoll, here we come )

He has accommodated the right-wing in Canada, pleased the left, admonished a thorn in his party’s side,  looked like a banana-republic toady to Bush and thugs while at once pretending to be strong in caucus but at the same time tolerant of MP-backbench  views.  Martin did all this while teetering on the high-wire of Minority government. Carolyn was the ballast  that, once jettisoned, helps keep him up there. No wonder they are the Natural Governing Party of Canada.  November 20, 2004

Ms Rowntree fears Provincial and federal governments will ‘pander to voters’ and not provide the money for services which autistic children need.  What governments do is:

1. act within fiscal reality
2. set priorities
3. meet the needs of their constituents as best they can

 The courts may intervene  to mandate rights but they do so, wisely, with an understanding of the role and limits of government.  Judicial Activism must work within the principles of responsible government and democratic process. November 24, 2004

In 1990 I locked into a five year mortgage at 13.5% , only to see interest rates plummet to near nothing over the next five years.  I was kicking myself, to be sure.  But I wasn’t blaming the Royal Bank and I certainly was not demanding that the government compensate me for my error. I applaud our national approach which tries to offset inequities and bring about balance. It is a testimony to the good will of Canada .  But please, one province proclaiming, “ je me souviens “ is enough!  November 26, 2004

Dave Ashby fears the battle for good grammar is all but lost.  He has good reason to fear.  A few years ago I was in a local elementary school on my way to a meeting with  the principal.  I passed a bulletin display of cut-out letters and images which proclaimed, “ April Showers Brings May Flowers”.  I asked a teacher who happened to be in the hall to correct the error.   I jokingly said, “ Perhaps the person who put this up thought “showers” was a collective singular.”  This teacher’s response was, “Huh? “  I told him how it should read.  He grabbed the offending  ‘s’ from off ‘brings’, crumpled it and said,. “ So, is that better? Are you happy now? “ and stomped off. I imagine he didn’t know about agreement of subject and predicate; his students won’t be any the wiser either.  November 26, 2004

Letter writer,  DAN NYZNIK wants to know if the government allows tobacco because it’s hooked on tax revenues.  Partly so.  The tobacco lobby in the United States is strong enough to force the issue even without the added incentive of  an easy tax grab. The industry has billions of dollars and the  ‘undying’ ( irony intended ) support  of hundreds of millions of addicts world-wide.   The arms industry  is likewise powerful and influential and ( world-wide ) kills more people each year than the tobacco industry.  Perhaps the American taxpayer should be comforted in knowing tobacco-generated taxes will be going to pay for the Bush Missile Defence System which, from what I read in this paper, will likely bring us closer to war while offering no real defence. And if this makes you nervous, you can always have a drink or light up a … never mind.  November 27, 2004

Letter writer Merilee Olson  wonders how to write the plural of ‘is’.  I believe “ is’s “ with the ‘is’ italicised but the pluralizing ‘s’ which follows not in italics.   I quote from the web site Webster.com:

 “ We use an apostrophe to create plural forms in two limited situations: for pluralized letters of the alphabet and when we are trying to create the plural form of a word that refers to the word itself…..

• ·         Jeffrey got four A's on his last report card.

• ·         Towanda learned very quickly to mind her p's and q's.

• ·         You have fifteen and's in that last paragraph.

Notice that we do not use an apostrophe -s to create the plural of a word-in-itself. For instance, we would refer to the "ins and outs" of a mystery, the "yeses and nos" of a vote ....” On a further grammatical note, the Subjunctive Mood is used to express a conditional state. Thus the confused reference to a “ Conditional Mood”.  ( maybe I should get a life ) November 27, 2004

Dear Ms Blatchford,   Re: Your column in the Saturday Globe

 When doctors, governments and, God only knows, mothers caution us to live in a healthy way, we should take heed. The warnings are so strong because the situation has gotten so bad.    Extreme health warnings, it seems to me, are necessary to offset the extremes of  junk food availability and sedentary entertainment/ employment.  

It is no longer enough to live by the credo, “ Move more, eat less” ( although that’s an excellent foundation for a healthy lifestyle in affluent North America ).  We must be more careful than ever. Careful  in choosing foods because there’s so much non-food and downright unhealthy fare out there and most of it is not sufficiently labeled. Careful in consciously scheduling exercise because our lives ( work, travel and entertainment )  are geared toward ease.

The extreme urging by the medical profession and governments is toward moderation of life style, a tipping back of the scales to a healthy balance.  It is not (solely) motivated by our generation’s super-ego quest for eternal youth; it’s just good sense and the sort of thing your mum would have advised.  November 28, 2004

Mr Hinzman’s refugee claim is valid because, unlike the United States , Canada honours the Geneva Conventions on war.  It is not that the Iraq invasion is an ‘unjust war’; that would be open to interpretation.  It is the documented, ongoing violations of  the Geneva Conventions in Iraq and Guantanamo , sanctioned and defended by the American administration,  that makes the execution of this war illegal and immoral. Hinzman has grounds for refugee status.  December 2, 2004

Letter writer Hannah Parish wonders who will speak for Canada now that Great Canadian Voices such as  Douglas, Trudeau,  Gzowski,  Burton et al are silenced. I believe, in a democracy, each of us has the opportunity to do so.  Who will be ‘great’ at it?  Time and circumstance will tell. But it is worth noting that the Canadian people chose David Suzuki as one of the top ten ‘greats’ ; Conrad Black was nowhere on the list.  That says something about how we see ‘greatness’ and that, in and of itself, is a hopeful sign.  December 2, 2004

It was a case of naked threats from the Emperor who has no clothes.  That’s what we saw in the bushwhacking news conference where the US president all but demanded we join in his Missile Defence Program.  We shouldn’t be surprised.  It’s the Bush Doctrine:  The right to pre-emptive attack, the right to say who is a threat / enemy; the simplistic “ You’re either with us or against us “ philosophy.  

And based on what logic?  “ We know we’re right so we don’t have to prove it.  Just like we know there’s WMD in  Iraq so don’t waste time looking for them.  We have faith in BMD so we don’t need proof that it can work.  If you don’t like that thinking, you must be our enemy; and because you are the enemy, your arguments are invalid. ” This is all tautology; dare I say it, an axiom of evil.  

Mr. Martin, it may be expedient to give the schoolyard bully your lunch money; that doesn’t make it right. Do the right thing. December 3, 2004

Daniel J. Stone objects to the Globe repeating  gutter language like ‘ rat’s ass’. He says such language befits the graffiti on the walls of steamier parts of Toronto . Shucks!  It has been a long time since I visited Toronto .  I guess punks there have cleaned up their act.  December 4, 2004

The Social Conservative reaction to this week’s Supreme Court  ruling on same-sex marriage was predictable and sad. They oppose social change on the grounds that it is an attack on Canada ’s social values. Social Conservatives have been doing this for a long time. It was they who fought against  universal medicare; for fifty years they said giving women the vote would destroy the family; American social conservatives of their day knew it was God’s will that they be allowed to own slaves. The Supreme Court has affirmed our Constitution as a living document. They have shown Grace under fire from  the Social Conservatives; it’s time for  Parliament to show it has the political Will. For Will and Grace, do the right thing. December 10, 2004

Letter writer, Jake Wilson  asks,  “ Did men get to choose if women got the vote?’ Yes. Men and only men were allowed to vote on that issue.   That’s why that particular struggle, begun in the 1840s in the United States , took about 75 years to win.  December 13, 2004

Letter writer, Al MacLachlan is angry at Jack Layton for demanding party unity over  same-sex legislation in the Commons. Mr. MacLachlan  says  the NDP is not allowing a free vote.  But their members are free to vote “ according to conscience of wishes of their constituents”;  they just can’t call themselves New Democrats if they vote against what their leader clearly sees as a fundamental party policy. John Nunziata was free to vote against his government’s budget. “ Freedom” does not mean you don’t have to pay a price; it means you are free to act and suffer the consequences.  Sort of like life.  December 13, 2004

Globe Columnist Murray Campbell asks, “ So why not grandfather these rooms? Make them unpleasant, make their patrons come out and get their own drinks and food so no servers have to go in.”  

I suspect the reason for not going this route is that making exceptions would threaten to undermine the  impetus toward change.  When trying to change a cultural mind-set, it is advisable to send a steady, clear and unequivocal message.  It took but a couple years of hard headed ( hearted ?) enforcement in Ontario and now buckling up has become  automatic. The not drinking/driving campaign would have faltered had we been wishy-washy on enforcement.  Parents are told how to mete out discipline: Say what you mean, mean what you say, and don’t be mean when you say it. As a Town Councillor, I am proud of our town’s recent non-smoking by-law . The moves planned by Queen’s Park will help us make it a success. December 16, 2004

Mad dogs and Canadians  All this brouhaha in the main stream media over PM Martin meeting and shaking hands with Lybia’s Col. Gadhafi.  Where was  the  media indignation when then PM Chretien met with Indonesia ’s Suhartro in Vancouver a few years back?  Then only street protesters objected to such a ‘ handshake with the devil’ and they were pepper sprayed for their audacity.  December 21, 2004

Jeffery Simpson’s editorial, Scandal of squandered skills, has me baffled. While agreeing with his premise about the need to overhaul immigration policy, I find his critique of the Prime Minister’s aid to cities / communities a contradiction. On the one hand, Simpson decries a ‘diluted’ community agenda ( spreading financial support beyond  the borders of major cities ) and, on the other, he points out that immigrants with needed skills should be encouraged to settle in places other than Toronto , Vancouver and Montreal .   How can we attract them to our small towns when our infrastructure, transportation systems, roads etc. are left in dire need due to lack of funding?  December 22, 2004

The Canadian flag is removed from provincial buildings in Newfoundland and Labrador? Why stop at symbols? I expect Premier Williams will have the equalization rebate cheque in the mail already. December 24, 2004