American Evangelists Are Spewing Their Hate-Filled Rhetoric Above The 49th Parallel

American-based fire and brimstone, apocolypse-fearing religious zealots are attempting to save Canada from itself.

How nice of them.

It seems that the thought of equal rights for Lesbians and Gays is so disturbing to these right wingnuts that they feel they must leave their money pits, er pulpits, stop marrying their cousins, refrain from handling snakes and speaking in tongues, and tackle the northern hinterland with all its Satan-inspired sins: tolerance, equality, diversity, and freedom of expression.

Laughing at these idiots and their congregations of lemmings (for the most part they are not smart enough to be considered sheep) is easy to do when they are warning their fellow Americans of the dire consequences facing blasphemers and sodomites, but when these mental midgets bring their hatred and stupidity to Canada, it's not funny, it's just insulting.

We don't need or want the advice of a bunch of uneducated, inbred bible thumpers here. Canada has evolved faster and further than the United States both intellectually and philosophically, and we understand the fundamental need for the separation of church and state. If this country's leaders required guidance about human rights issues, they would sure as hell never go to Dubya, and the "spiritual" leaders in the U.S. cannot offer any useful information about morality, either.
Every Evangelical Christian preacher who comes to this sovereign nation to spread messages of hatred and intolerance needs to be sent back to her/his country, where s(he) is free to counsel parishioners to beat their children, treat their wives as property, execute mentally challenged people, condone bigotry and take up arms to solve minor disputes.

There's no place for more hate-mongers here, we have enough of our own, we don't need to import any more.

I'm Losing My Sanity!

It's going to the same place my patience, sense of humour and ability to cope have all gone.

Our Co-Op is under siege. Built in the eighties, it is a combination of shoddy construction, cut corners, poor planning and sheer stupidity. It is now undergoing a complete cladding removal, roof repair, rot repair and God knows what else. Total estimated time of destruction/construction is 18 month

Eighteen months of pure, unadulterated hell for the inmates....er Members, yeah, Members. People serve less time than that for manslaughter!

It was bad enough when it was "just" the building envelope demolition. The constant noise, dust, disruption and inconvenience is a major PITA, but one learns to adjust.

Then the jackhammers started.

For the past two days, starting at 7:30 AM, it has been virtually non-stop filling-rattling, headache-inducing, nerve-stretching horror. I am entertaining some really disturbing fantasies.....but the less said about that, the better. We are looking at four more days of this full assault on our collective mental health. I fully expect to be homocidal by next Friday.

My poor dogs are suffering under the strain, and the cat, who I felt certain was bullet-proof, has also started to show serious signs of stress.

I really wish Members could launch a class action lawsuit against the idiot who chose the construction company who built this disaster in the first place.

Or at least force him/her to live in this God forsaken place until next summer when this awfulness ends.

"Labradoodle" Is Not A Dog Breed!

A note to the brainiacs of the world who think Buster the Schnoodle, Sam the Cockapoo, Buddy the Eskiewawa and Pugsley the Bug are "registered" dogs.

People, you are the guardians of very nice, very expensive mutts.

Gullible people with a little more disposable income than common sense will fork over big bucks to brokers in exchange for mixed-breed dogs....aka mutts. They are often conned into believing they are purchasing registered animals, when in truth, the Canadian Kennel Club only registers purebred dogs, and even the CKC doesn't recognize some breeds (Border Collies and Jack Russell [or Parson Russell] Terriers, for example).

Mutts are the best! They often have a wonderful combination of the most desirable traits of several breeds, they have fewer health problems than many purebreds, and they generally have sound temperaments. Shelters and Rescues are full of awesome mixed breed dogs available for adoption, but people continue to support an industry with no regulations, no scruples and no concern for animal welfare.

It's time to eradicate backyard breeders. They exist only to make profit and have little or no regard for their breeding stock and the miserable lives they lead. Pumping out huge numbers of puppies to sell to anyone with the required cash is the only interest they have. Quality of life, health, socialization, breed standards....none of these things matter to money-hungry brokers.

And I will continue to say, when introduced to Labradoodles, "Nice dog, my furkids are mutts, too."

Little League Girls Are Learning A Harsh Life Lesson

The British Columbia Little League Girls Champions, the Beacon Hill Majors of Victoria, have been told, in no uncertain terms, that they are second class citizens.

The Majors won the right to represent their province at the Canadian finals next month. They were no doubt thrilled at the prospect of travelling to Windsor, Ontario to compete against other provincial champs. This is a huge event for Little Leaguers, it is their World Series.

The British Columbia Little League Boys Champions from Whalley are making the trip to Timmins, Ontario, and their expenses are being covered by Little League Canada.

Not so the girls' team.

Little League Canada can tap dance around the truth all it wants, but the fact remains that these little girls are being told they are somehow less deserving than the boys. They worked just as hard, sacrificed just as much, and are just as worthy of praise, admiration and support, both emotional and financial, as the boys are.

To tell female children on the verge of adolescence that they are less valued and less important than their male counterparts is a terribly damaging and truly horrible thing. Society wonders why so many little girls grow up thinking they are ugly, dumb and/or helpless. This fiasco is a perfect example of why girls so often lack self-esteem.

Little League Canada owes the entire organization an apology for this short-sighted, hurtful decision. The only acceptable solution is to finance the girls' team, just as they finance the boys' team.

There is no other option.

Why Did The RCMP Allow Brenda Moreside's Murder?

Yet another woman murdered by her partner.

Brenda Moreside was 44 when she was stabbed to death in February. Her common-law husband, Stanley Willier, in a drunken rage, broke through a window in the home they shared in High Prarie, Alberta.

Brenda Moreside called 911 just before 6:00 A.M. on Feb. 13, 2005, begging for help. The RCMP did not attend the "domestic dispute", and as a result, she was brutally murdered.

An internal investigation is being conducted, but it is doubtful that the findings will include some of the horrible truisms facing women in abusive relationships in Canada.

Many police officers believe that women can and should just walk away from partners who abuse them. Other officers think that "family problems" should be dealt with by the family. Then there are the Neanderthals who think most battered women "asked for it". Some cops are loathe to walk into a domestic dispute because of the danger to themselves.

Regardless of the excuses the RCMP comes up with, another woman has been murdered by another man who felt he had the right to take the life of his "property". At his trial, Stanley Willier will attempt to justify his behaviour, just like every other murderer does, but there is no justification, he murdered Brenda Moreside because he wanted her dead. He murdered Brenda Moreside because he could.

And the RCMP did nothing to stop him. They are not as guilty as Stanley Willier, but they are still guilty. The blood of Brenda Moreside is on their hands.

Ugandan Virgins Offered Free University Educations.

Wow.

In a misguided attempt to halt the spread of AIDS in Uganda, the government has come up with a plan to educate young female virgins free of charge.

The legislator who hatched this idea hopes that young women will "resist defilement", and be "morally upright", and as a reward, those who are proven to be virgins during a gynecological exam will receive educations paid for by donors.

Where to begin?

The patriarchal rulers of Uganda refuse to see the true causes of the devastation in their country. Poverty, lack of education, systemic abuse of women and female children.

In Uganda, a country with 35% of its citizens living well below the poverty line, an average life span of 51 years, each woman producing an average 6.74 children, and diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, typhoid fever, malaria, African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) and schistosomiasis killing thousands yearly, money needs to be spent on the basics....clean water, nutritious food, education, appropriate housing, medical services.

The Catholic Church has a stranglehold on the country, and AIDS, a preventable disease, will remain prevalent in any culture that encourages unprotected sexual activity. It is estimated that a million people are living with AIDS in Uganda. Many of those people are children born to mothers with AIDS.

Targeting young women who are seen as property by their fathers and brothers is not the answer. It matters not how "morally upright" a girl child is when a society views sexual abuse and rape as normal activity. Young Ugandan women face an uphill battle from birth. If they are not destroyed by their own families as children, as adults they become the property of husbands and later sons. Only the strongest of the strong survive in Uganda.

When Ugandan government cleans up the stunning civil rights abuses of its female citizens, educates all its citizens regarding basic health and safe sexual practices, and provides a minimum standard of living for all Ugandans, the scourge of AIDS will start to abate. In order to do that the government leaders need to separate church and state.

If there is a God, I hope she has mercy on the women of Uganda.

I Was Only Following Orders......

Libertarian Socialist Noam Chomsky finds himself in a bit of a jam. He unknowingly (says he) did an interview with Hustler magazine.

Yes that Hustler magazine.

So this self-described anarchist, who distrusts the media (but grants "hundreds" of interviews yearly) and agrees when his adoring public refers to him as "one of the greatest intellectuals alive" was hoodwinked by a representative of Hustler and tricked into doing an interview?

Of course.....we mere mortals are just too cynical, too suspicious, too jaded. Poor Noam trusted that he was being interviewed by Harper's, not Hustler. One of the greatest intellectuals alive can't be expected to deal with trivial details. Harrowsmith, not Hustler. Horoscope Guide, not Hustler.

In his own defense, Mr Chomsky relates a story about his recent interview with a Neo Nazi journal. He argues, basically, that he was stupid enough to be sucked in by the skinheads, so being sucked in by the brain trust behind one of the most grotesque, degrading and socially repugnant magazines in circulation is not so bad.

I'm guessing he's not waiting by the telephone for news of his nomination for a Pulitzer prize.

If Noam Chomsky wants to discuss his philisophical beliefs in the pages of Hustler, so be it. The people who subscribe to this pornographic magazine might have difficulty with the big words, but a few discerning readers might be able to master the vocabulary with two syllables. Even those who think only with their little heads deserve the chance to expand their horizons.

He should just be honest about it.

I'm sure his Harvard chums will understand his desire to be immortalized in the pages of Hustler. Look for his thoughts, you'll find them right between "Hot Horny Hillary" and "Saucy Stacked Stacey".

Oy Vey!

Equality, Thy Name Is Marriage.

The Senate has passed third reading of Bill C-38 by a vote of 47-21, with three Senators abstaining.

With that, Canada becomes only the fourth country in the world to legislate equality for their citizens who fall outside the category of "straight". For Gay and Lesbian Canadians, this means we will be able to legally wed in any courthouse or city hall.......

........providing public officials in those courthouses and city halls are willing to conduct the ceremony.

Therin lies the rub.

Justice Minister Irwin Cotler says that the jobs of public officials who voice personal religious convictions that prevent them from performing same-sex marriages will have their positions protected under the Charter of Rights' Guarantee of Religious Freedom.

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but there are hundreds and probably thousands of "religious" people , with hundreds and probably thousands of "religious convictions" (read prejudice, bigotry, hatred, backward thinking, self-serving beliefs....) in positions of authority all over the country. There are people who feel that all women should wear veils, that all men should have uncut hair and beards, that men and women should not interact, that only boys should receive an education, that women should remain barefoot and pregnant at home with their seventeen other children, that the punishment for adultery should be stoning (for women) or a hearty handshake and an 'attaboy (for men), that people of different faiths should not marry, that people of different races should not marry, that Sunday is "sacred" and nobody should work, play, sing, dance, or crack a smile that day, that men should be allowed to have a dozen wives, the younger the better.......These people cannot refuse services to a clean-shaven man or a veil-less woman. They cannot refuse to marry a Christian and a Muslim. They cannot refuse to provide service to anyone of any colour, faith, ethnicity or language based on their "convictions".

So why are they allowed to discriminate against homosexual Canadians?

Some officials have stated they fear losing their jobs if they refuse to marry same sex couples. Hell yeah! Would these same people not be tossed out on their bureaucratic asses if they refused to perform other duties outlined in their job descriptions? When they leave their private homes and arrive at their public places of employment, they leave behind their right to pick and choose which of their duties they shall or shall not complete.

Religious institutions; synagogues, temples, mosques and churches retain the right to define marriage and refuse to provide services to same sex couples. That's cool, I'm okay with that, just as long as those religious institutions receive absolutely no support from the public purse. No tax breaks, no protection, no charitable status, no government help, of any kind, at any level.

There are a few kinks to be worked out in the aftermath of this historic time in Canadian history, but today is a time to celebrate right conquering wrong, fairness conquering bigotry.

Thanks Canada.

BSL Is BS.

Although the ugly threat of BSL (Breed Specific Legislation) has passed, at least for the time being, in Vancouver, there are other, less enlightened cities, towns and municipalities that are plowing ahead with laws that cause nothing but needless misery for Pit Bulls (and that term, a misnomer, encompasses a wide variety of breeds on the BSL hit list) and the people who love them.

Banning a breed of dog serves no purpose. Not in public safety, not in morality, not in fairness, not in the eradication of dog on human or dog on dog aggression. Add to this the fact that a dog's breed cannot be proven, even through DNA, and BSL is clearly pointless.

Vicious people produce vicious dogs. Should one wish to, one can easily make a Labrador Retriever, a Beagle, a Vizsla or a Cocker Spaniel vicious. Any idiot can corrupt any breed, but all dogs are born perfect, and it takes deliberate acts of cruelty, neglect and/or training to change a healthy puppy into an aggressive adult dog.

Pit Bulls are bred to be rock solid with humans, especially children. Careful and thoughtful breeding long ago erased aggression against humans; these dogs are born loyal and loving. When some braniac drug dealer, gang banger or other criminal decided that Pitties are cool, and psychotic Pitties are even cooler, the process to eradicate the breed's natural trustworthiness, reliability and faithfulness began. Irresponsible breeders saw a niche and followed the money, creating dogs that were destined for lives of abuse and depravity.

There is a certain small but damaging group of people who covet the stereotypical Pit Bull. They want man-stoppers and do whatever it takes to get one. Those people are in the minority, but they get a lot of attention.

Just what these idiots want.

I know several gorgeous, gentle, sweet-natured Pitties....from soft and sensitive Brando, a truly amazing case of love conquering all, to gentle, confident, intelligent Arlo, an Ambassador for his breed, to wild and wacky Pucci, who has far more character than any dog needs. To even contemplate a law being passed that would condemn any of these wonderful animals makes me nauseous. It should make everyone queasy. It should make everyone furious.

The fantasy, urban legend and bald-faced lies about attacks by Pit Bulls mean nothing in the real world. The fact is that any dog can bite, and will, if sufficiently provoked. Any dog can kill. Any dog can go off the deep end and turn on her guardian or a complete stranger. To blame an entire breed is pointless, to blame even an individual dog is ridiculous, a vicious dog has one cause, the human who made it that way.

A 27 year study out of New York University identified the nine pure and/or mixed breeds that are responsible for the most biting incidents. They are:
1. German Shepherd Dog
2. Chow Chow
3. Poodle
4. Italian Bulldog
5. Fox Terrier
6. Mixed Chow Chow
7. Airedale
8. Pekingese
9. Mixed German Shepherd

Not a Pittie on the list.

Until society steps up to the plate and lays the blame for aggressive dogs at the feet of the guardians of these dogs, nothing will change. Banning Pit Bulls will eradicate the aggressive Pit Bull problem, but it will not succeed in addressing the real issue of dog aggression. Which breed will be targeted next? Rottweilers? Mastiffs? Doberman Pinchers? None of those breeds made it to the top nine, but there are people who view them as dangerous, too.

Shih Tzus? Collies? Golden Retrievers? Will complacent people sit idly by while every breed is jeopardized because of the actions of stupid people?

There are many war cries regarding BSL, "Punish the Deed, Not the Breed" being one of them. Not one Pit Bull deserves to suffer because of human stupidity or a panicked case of groupthink.

Let's all hope that good sense triumphs over blind fear, ignorance and narrow-mindedness.

Your favourite Pittie's life may depend on it.

Three Year Old Boy Murdered For Being "Gay".

One has to wonder about the state of the human race.

A three year old Florida boy, Ronnie Paris, lived a short, brutal, loveless existence with an irresponsible, emotionally absent, weak mother, and a violent, intellectually absent, hate-filled father. Ronnie's mother, family "church", and neighbors stood by while his father battered him to death, slowly, horribly.

Ronnie's crime? His father thought he was gay.

At three years of age, a child is neither gay nor straight, he's just a sweet, innocent little person, filled with potential, accepting of everyone and incapable of hate. By all accounts Ronnie was a gentle, loving, sensitive soul, a beautiful child. The stupidity of this child's father is staggering. He felt little Ronnie was a "sissy", "weak", not "tough enough". He was concerned that his boy was gay.

This is not a crime of passion. Ronnie's father beat him for all of his three years of life, trying, he claimed, to make his son tougher, a fighter, a man's man. He would put his son in a box and pound on his head, causing him to vomit, soil himself and lose consciousness. It was Ronnie's father's plan to "cure" Ronnie of his "gayness".

Ronnie Paris died because his father hated him. His young life was stolen because nobody stood up for him, protected him, or helped him. His mother is guilty, the members of the family's warped church, who knew what Ronnie was living through and condoned the abuse, is guilty, the neighbors who turned a deaf ear to Ronnie's screams are guilty, the extended family, who did nothing to keep this baby safe from the monster they created, is guilty. Employees of Florida Social Services, who took Ronnie away from this horror, only to return him, are guilty. The father, a homophobic, stupid, angry and vicious brute, is guilty. Hopefully the state of Florida keeps him in prison for as long as little Ronnie Paris is dead.

The tears shed for Ronnie Paris are too late in coming, and come from people who didn't know him. Bitter tears for a young life wasted will do nothing to help him now, it is far too late for that.

But I'm Not A Cheerleader!

For anyone who does not get the reference, "But I'm A Cheerleader" was a wickedly funny movie released in 1999. It tells the story of Natasha, a teenaged young woman who is sent to a Homosexual "Rehab Camp" by her idiotic parents when they suspect she is a Lesbian.

The film was dark, funny, sad and smart. The fact that there really are "Ex-Gay" camps is not at all amusing.

Apparently camps designed to scare queer kids straight exist all over North America. Those in charge use a variety of methods that are questionable at best, abusive at worst.

Let me say this yet again, for the umpteenth (but probably far from last) time, Gays and Lesbians have no more control over their sexual identities than straight people do. Who in hell would choose a life of discrimination, abuse, disenfranchisement and in some cases, assault/imprisonment/torture and/or death? It is not a "lifestyle choice", it is sexual assignment.

Don't get me wrong, though. If I had the option of taking a pill and becoming straight, I would never even consider it. I love my orientation, I feel no shame, guilt or regret. I have missed out on nothing and so I embrace my Lesbianism, cherish it, flaunt it, celebrate it. Those who are loudly vocal in their belief that I should desire change need to find someone else to harrass, 'cause I'm here and I'm proudly queer. Deal with it.

I find it terribly frightening that parents and families of Gay and Lesbian children and young adults would force their children into programs whose sole purpose is to make them into something they are not. It has been proven, time and time again, that no amount of physical/psychological/verbal/mental or spiritual abuse can make gays straight. It just makes them self-conscious, angry, afraid, and sometimes, tragically, suicidal. It turns them into self-hating, self-deceiving people who feel compelled to "play it straight".

Gay and Lesbian youth still face the same prejudices and outright hatred faced by those of us who were young adults in the 80s, but there is good news. Young Queers are smarter, more vocal, less apt to put up and shut up. They will overcome.

Gimme an "L"
Gimme an "E"
Gimme an "S"
Gimme a "B"
Gimme an "I"
Gimme an "A"
Gimme an "N"

Go little Dykelettes, go!

Sarcastic AND Cynical, What A Combination.

I just read a "breaking news" story out of Edmonton, involving the disappearance of Liana White, a pregnant woman whose husband Michael White is "desperate to find".

Way too reminiscent of the Laci and Scott Peterson case, I'm thinking.

Or maybe (hopefully), Liana is more a case of "the runaway bride" like the recent disappearance of Jennifer Wilbanks of Atlanta.

Either way, a woman is missing, and almost everyone will have a theory. Some will be legitimate, others will be more "fanciful", alien invaders took her back to their home planet, she's trapped, dazed and confused, at West Edmonton Mall.

I just hope Michael White hasn't murdered his wife and unborn child. This country doesn't need another statistic to add to the huge, grotesque numbers of women who are murdered by their partners in "domestic disputes."

One fact in this case is both puzzling and troubling. The police say that Liana's wallet was missing, her identification and shoes were scattered around the parking lot and her cellphone was found in the grass 15 metres away from her Bronco. Then they say "there were no signs of a struggle." Does the fact that her things were found scattered not indicate a struggle?

Maybe Liana got tired of being a wife and mother (the couple has a toddler daughter) and abandoned both her husband and child. Most women who choose to "disappear" take their children, but maybe Liana's an exception.

Unfortunately, though, the "rule" seems to be that if a woman who has always been responsible, mature, loving and reliable goes missing, the husband/partner/boyfriend is guilty of murder.

I really hope I'm wrong.

I'll Try Being Nicer, If You Try Being Smarter.

Is it just me, or is there a disproportionate number of mental midgets in our midst?

Nope, it's not just me.

Stupid people leave their dogs in cars in the summer. Even with the windows open a little it is too damn hot to leave a fur-covered animal in what amounts to a sauna on Vancouver's warm summer days. Leave Snookums at home, where he will be safer and happier, or fully expect to be accosted by a whole crowd of angry dog lovers and/or the Police and/or the SPCA and/or the City of Vancouver Animal Control Services when you return to your vehicle. Hopefully you don't return to a dead dog.

Stupid people take tired, hungry, miserable children grocery shopping at dinner time. Good God, people, do you really find it necessary to share your childrens' meltdowns with every other shopper at Safeway? Please feed your kid and let him take a nap, or leave him with a sitter, your parents, his other parent. Someone, somewhere must be responsible enough to handle little Precious for a couple of hours so that the other people who happen to be in the store when you arrive don't have debate which is a greater sin, murder or suicide?

Stupid people talk on cellphones (or put on make-up, shave, read the paper, eat food requiring a knife and fork, balance their chequebooks....) while they drive a piece of machinery big enough to kill a human on impact. How can you live with yourself, knowing that every irresponsible act you commit could cause devastation to an innocent person, or an innocent cat, dog, raccoon, coyote, skunk or other creature. You don't live in a bubble, Bubba, keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road.

Stupid people are disrespectful to members of different cultures for no reason other than they are mean and intellectually inferior. What kind of thrill is the result of willfully hurting another human being's feelings? Stupid people don't look smarter to anyone but their stupid friends when they are verbally abusive to a member of a minority.

Stupid people litter, including throwing cigarette butts out of vehicles and tossing them on the sidewalks. If you must continue that gross and deadly habit, so be it, it's your life, but keep your filthy butts with you until you have a safe place to dispose of them. Littering is just disrespectful and the sign of abject stupidity, there are trash cans everywhere, use them.

Stupid people seem to think that their belief systems are more important than those of any number of other people. Not only that, stupid people think that they should be able to curtail the constitutional rights of others. I don't care whether you gained your moral code through being raised by racists, homophobes, the culturally stunted, the repressed, religious zealots, or by watching 100 Huntley Street and listening to "Dr." Laura. Your opinion only counts to you (and maybe your Uncle Dad), so live your little life, spend time with only those who think or look like you, and leave the rest of the world alone. If we all end up going to hell, you can say "I told you so." That's all you wanted anyway, right?

Stupid people believe everything some talking head on television or some disembodied voice on radio says or what some biased journalist writes is gospel. Thinking people, reasonable, intelligent people question, challenge and debate. Stupid people swallow their pasturized information whole.

The saddest thing? Stupid people seem happy in their stupidity.

Harry Potter Corrupts Kids.....

According to the Catholic Church, J.K. Rowling's teenaged wizard is a danger, "like drug addiction".

Would that be the same sort of drug addiction so many former Catholic alter boys have faced while trying to deal with horrendous abuses inflicted by priests?

Would that be the same sort of drug addiction that faced many of the young women who were held in indentured servitude and subjected to emotional and physical cruelty by the Sisters of Magdalene?

Would that be the same sort of drug addiction that makes life bearable for Aboriginal men and women who survived the horrors of Catholic residential schools?

Would that be the same sort of drug addiction used as an escape not only by mothers forced to bear unwanted children, but by those unwanted children when the realities of their situations threaten to destroy them?

Would that be the same sort of drug addiction that runs rampant due to the ongoing Catholic war against Protestants in Northern Ireland, and the thousands of deaths for which Catholics are responsible?

Pope Benedict XVI truly needs to clean up the myriad of social ills his church has caused and continues to cause on a daily basis before he starts pontificating about inane and untrue "threats" caused by fictional tales of a boy wizard.

I like Adrienne Clarkson, but.....

Why is it that Adrienne Clarkson received her pacemaker the day after it was decided she required one?

We in British Columbia have heard, ad nauseum, about the twelve-year-old boy whose life-saving surgery was recently postponed due to a nursing shortage. Every Canadian seems to know a person (or ten) who is on a two year wait list to see a surgeon, or has had his/her surgery postponed or cancelled. Why does Ms Clarkson have surgery the day after her diagnosis? She was not in danger of dying without immediate surgery, so it was not an emergency.

This is, of course, a rhetorical question, we all know why Adrienne Clarkson got bumped to the top of the list.

It must be as galling as hell to the retired farmer in Manitoba or the grocer in Newfoundland, or the landscaper in Quebec who have been waiting for months and years for surgeries that will enhance the quality and/or lengths of their lives. Ms Clarkson could have easily afforded treatment in a private facility, but bumped another citizen in a public hospital.

The next time a Canadian hears there is a lack of funding for essential health services, but we should not be reduced to a two tier system, it would be well remembered that the two tier system is already alive and well here.

Just ask Madame Clarkson.

Terrorism Has No Religion.

Since the bombing in London, fear, hatred and the inevitable knee-jerk reactions from the stupid or the easily led have started to overtake sanity.

Again.

Terrorism is not about religion, faith, or spirituality. Terrorism is about hate, pure and simple. Attacks on Muslim Mosques do nothing to end the barbaric attacks carried out by madmen bent on causing agony. The abuse of the civil rights of Muslims all over the world will not stop megalomaniacs from fulfilling their twisted dreams. Al Qaeda is not a religious group, Muslim or otherwise, no more than the KKK is a Christian organization.

Those people who choose to attack Muslims or their places of worship are no better than the terrorists on whom they vow vengeance. Violence is never the cure for violence. Goons and bullies will use any excuse to behave immorally, terrorism did not corrupt them, lack of conscience did.

Terrorism is a complex problem and its eradication will not be easy. Until the world "superpowers" come to terms with their culpability and take steps to right many of the wrongs they have visited upon the lesser powers, nothing will change. Imagine how much the average Afghani or Iraqi citizen hates George Bush, and detests his self-important, self-serving, paternalistic attitude. The man has created an atmosphere of hostility and violent unrest, and his country has paid dearly. Tony Blair is just as guilty of creating a culture of loathing and revulsion with his heavy-handed policies and his inability to take care of the problems in his own country before giving unwanted advice to independent countries.

Cool heads must prevail, or the world is in for untold horror.

Chuck Cadman 1 February 1948- 9 July 2005

Canada has lost a rare citizen.

Chuck Cadman, Independent Member of Parliament representing Surrey North died after a hard-fought battle with cancer.

Mr Cadman always chose the road less travelled. He turned the anger and heartbreak caused by the murder of his 16 year old son Jesse into a crusade with two major objectives, to identify and mentor youth at risk of violent behaviour, and to strengthen laws dealing with youthful offenders. He could have become just another bitter, vengeful victim, but he chose to honour his son's memory with positive activity.

When the Conservative Party made it known just prior to the last federal election that the nomination in Surrey North would basically be handed to the person who sold the most memberships to the party, Mr Cadman chose to run as an Independent, which is generally seen as political suicide. He won the seat by a huge 7000+ vote margin.

Chuck Cadman was an MP who listened to his constituents, and bent to their will. When they told him they did not want an election based on a Non-Confidence Motion, he voted with his traditional rivals, the Liberal party, to defeat the motion.

He didn't look like a politician, he didn't think like a politician, he didn't act like a politician. He was not simply a politician. Chuck Cadman was a man of honour, a man of vision, and a man with the courage of his convictions. In the circus that is Canadian government, Mr Cadman was a sane, stable, decent influence.

May he rest in peace.

Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash.

Her heart is buried at Wounded Knee.

With the extradition of John Graham to the US to stand trial for the murder of Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash, a sad and brutal chapter from the violence-plagued American Indian Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s will come to a conclusion. Arlo Looking-Cloud, another member of the American Indian Movemrnt, was convicted of Pictou-Aquash's murder in 2003.

Pictou-Aquash was a rough-edged, idealistic, angry young Mi'kmaq who decided to put her beliefs into action, and paid the ultimate price. She was involved in two major events in the early 1970s, the Trail of Broken Treaties March on Washington, D.C., and the Wounded Knee Occupation on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. She became the target of an FBI investigation, and was a victim of what is widely believed to be an FBI-sanctioned execution.

It's a shame that so few people seem to grasp the impact Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash made during her short, harsh life. She escaped the spiritual and economic poverty that was the reality of life in Indian Brook, Nova Scotia, moved to Maine to find work, and became a tireless crusader. She fought for the rights of Native American and Aboriginal Canadian children and women, became an educator and a tireless and very vocal critic of the the systemic abuse of all North American natives.

Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash died of a bullet wound to the head. Her hands were cut off to make identification of her remains more difficult. Her body was left at Wounded Knee, where it was discovered years after her murder.

Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash was a hero. She saw injustice and did what she could to eradicate it. She saw herself as a warrior, a defender of her people, and she gave her all.

We should all be so committed to fighting for what we know is right.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
~ Buffy Sainte-Marie ~

Indian legislation on the desk of a do-right Congressman
Now, he don't know much about the issues
so he picks up the phone and he asks advice from the Senator out in Indian country
A darling of the energy companies
who are ripping off what’s left of the reservations.

I learned a safety rule
I don’t know who to thank
Don't stand between the reservation and the corporate bank
They send in federal tanks
It isn’t nice but it’s reality.

Bury my heart at Wounded Knee
Deep in the Earth
Cover me with pretty lies
bury my heart at Wounded Knee.

They got these energy companies that want the land
and they’ve got churches by the dozen who want to guide our hands
and sign Mother Earth over to pollution, war and greed
Get rich... get rich quick.

We got the federal marshals
We got the covert spies
We got the liars by the fire
We got the FBIs
They lie in court and get nailedand still Peltier goes off to jail

My girlfriend Anna Mae talked about uranium
Her head was filled with bullets and her body dumped
The FBI cut off her hands and told us she’d died of exposure
Yeah Right!

We had the Goldrush Wars
Aw, didn’t we learn to crawl
and still our history gets written in a liar’s scrawl
They tell ‘ya “Honey, you can still be an Indiand-down at the ‘Y’on Saturday nights"

Bury my heart at Wounded Knee
Deep in the Earth
Cover me with pretty lies
Bury my heart at Wounded Knee.

Kelly Ellard. What a Waste.

Does Kelly Ellard get it?

Chronologically Ellard is 22 years old, an adult. Her attitude, demeanor and behaviour appears to be that of one much younger. This woman is 22 going on 15, she looks and acts like a snotty teenager. Does she understand the level of devastation she has wreaked on the family of Reena Virk, the child she murdered in cold blood? Does she comprehend the damage her actions have caused to her own family? Does she care, even a little?

It doesn't seem like it.

At 15, Ellard battered, stomped and drowned another human being. How does one come to terms with that level of violence in oneself? How does one live with the guilt of such a cold, calculated act?

In Kelly Ellard's case, one simply refuses to accept any responsibility for her actions.

If this brutal act had been an aberration, the court of public opinion might be somewhat more forgiving of Kelly Ellard. The sad, troubling truth is that Ellard has a laundry list of antisocial, pathological behaviours attatched to her. She shows a complete lack of understanding about appropriate, socially acceptable behaviours, and little or no interest in turning herself around.

What is society supposed to do to protect itself from seemingly amoral, vicious people like Kelly Ellard? How can compassion and empathy be taught to someone who basically has no regard for decency? What does life hold for this disturbed and disturbing young woman after she is released from custody?

My belief system does not include heaven or hell. I don't believe Reena Virk has gone to heaven, where she finally has the respect and friendship she was so desperate to find in her short, difficult life. I'm not sure where her soul is, although I truly hope she is at peace. I don't believe Kelly Ellard will go to hell, were that it was so simple. Society can't pawn responsibility for Ellard off on the devil.

We're stuck with her.

It's A Shame That Stupidity Isn't Painful.

If stupidity caused pain, the former Leader of the Assembly of First Nations would need a morphine drip.

David Ahenakew, who faces judgment at his hate trial on Friday, is the mental midget who called Jews "a disease" in a speech he made in 2002. One might think a member of a group that has been a victim of systemic racism for centuries might have a little more understanding, might be more aware of the horrific affect blind hatred has on society, might be capable of a little more sensitivity.

One would obviously be mistaken.

It's terribly unfortunate that many victims turn into abusers, people who were mistreated as children will visit the same cruelty on their children, people who were bullied will go on to bully others, that people who have been the targets of racism will become racists. It's an ugly fact that what goes around, comes around.

It does not have to be this way. People have the opportunity to learn, change and grow, if they choose to do so. David Ahenakew is a racist because he has made the choice to fill his life with hatred. He is an adult, in control of his faculties, he has nobody to blame but himself for the problems he now faces.

The Office of the Governor General is removing this man from The Order of Canada. He's looking at a "lengthy" prison term (maximum 6 months, what a travesty) due to his promotion of hatred. Will Ahenakew see this as an epiphany? A wake-up call telling him that he must change his way of thinking? Probably not, he will more likely come out of this chapter of his life bearing more hatred for Jews, blaming them for his problems.

We all carry prejudices, some large, some small. We all have preconceived ideas about certain groups, buy into some stereotypes, like some people and dislike others. Most of us recognize this bigotry as a problem, a character flaw, and work to correct it. Then there are the David Ahenekews of the world. They embrace their intolerance, and then wear it like a badge of honour.

For shame.

Feminism. This Ain't Your Mother's Woman's Liberation Movement.

I have not always been a Feminist.

Some may think Feminism and Lesbianism are interchangeable, but that is simply not the case. I was born a Dyke, but was raised to believe women (as a group) were inferior to men. I became a Feminist when I was fortunate enough to find a mentor who changed my way of thinking. She knew in her heart that women and men share the same likelihood of being creative, intelligent, strong, dedicated, capable and filled with unlimited potential. She also knew that men could be as nurturing, compassionate, emotional, and loving as women. She lived her life according to her beliefs, and through her actions and words she molded me into a lover of all women.

Feminism is the belief that men and women should be equal politically, economically and socially. It is not about women hating men, women feeling superior or women wanting to be given a free ride.

We just want a level playing field.

All that being said, I am now beginning to look at men, and my relationships with them, as an area of my life that needs to be redefined. I am not terribly interested in the male perspective anymore, especially when discussing issues primarily affecting women, or in conversations where a male perception is irrelevant. This is not to say that males should not have an opinion, share an opinion, or express an opinion, I just want them to keep those thoughts to themselves unless I ask for them.

As a woman, my life is fundamentally different than the lives of any of my male acquaintances. I view the world differently, I behave differently, I have dissimilar interests, needs, wants, plans, and philosophies. Not all aspects of my life are diametrically opposed to those of my male friends, but enough are that I feel much less kinship with familiar men than I do with unfamiliar women.

Having reached the ripe old age of nearly 41, I have finally decided that from women I can draw all the strength, courage and audacity I require to live life on my terms. I have female heroes, female role models; goddesses and crones who are there to help struggling girls and women fit more comfortably into their own skins.

Separate but equal. It has been the struggle of groups of disenfranchised and marginalized persons since the dawn of time. Women are still struggling, but we will overcome.

Reproductive Rights.

Unless you have a vagina, I don't care about your opinions regarding birth control and abortion.

There, said it. Reproductive rights, including, but not limited to abortion, contraception, "Plan B" (the "morning after" pill), family planning and sterilization are issues that affect the health and lives of women. Women are the authorities on their bodies, they are the experts, and only women should be making the decisions that affect their bodies.

Pissed off yet? Good.

Men play a large role in the creation of an embryo. Without sperm there is no fetus. That said, until governments, churches or medical professionals tell males that they have the collective right to milk them for sperm, or to castrate them at will, or force them to procreate, they need to zip both their pants and their lips.

Every female child born in every country on the planet should have total dominion over her body. No female person should have to face unwanted pregnancy, regardless of what her boyfriend, husband, father, doctor or priest has to say, regardless also of what her mother, sister or girlfriends think. Society has no voice in the womb, either. No woman should be harassed by pro-life groups, Planned Parenthood, Birthright, churches, politicians, or any other self-serving individual or collective with a gratuitous opinion.

If a consenting adult woman wants to bear one child, or ten children, on her own or with a partner, it should be her decision. If she opts to end a pregnancy, for any reason, it should be at her sole discretion. Some religious fanatic from Whoville, Alabama has no right whatsoever to tell a woman that she has to share her body with an unwanted embryo. All women must demand access to safe, clean and affordable termination facilities. Contraception products must be made available to every woman of child-bearing age. This has nothing to do with public opinion, the courts or morality; this is about one woman's right to determine her own fate. Every woman.

It's all about women. Their wants, their needs, their decisions. It's as simple as that.

Live 8. A Manufactured "Solution" to a Devastatingly Real Problem.

Bob Geldof has a God complex.

According to Sir Bob, the extraordinarily multifaceted human tragedy that shapes so many of the countries in Africa can be addressed by the G8 countries, but only if a bunch of musical celebrities push people to sign a petition.

Geez, why didn't Kofi Annan think of that?

So "the event" has taken place, the biggest global rock concert in history is now a memory. The participants can feel good about doing their part to help. They can go back to their star-studded lives of wealth and privilege and pat themselves on the back for sharing their talents for yet another good cause.

And every 3.6 seconds, another person on the continent of Africa dies of starvation.

The world has a responsibility to help those countries most in need. It is a complicated and demanding process, and yes, the G8 countries: Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States have a greater responsibility than most. That being said, however; the myriad of evils: poverty, racism, AIDS and war that are the root causes of the disastrous state of Africa, will not end simply by canceling debt and sending financial aid. That's been done before, and it was not successful. The only way Africa will heal from its devastation is if it is the will of Africans. Well-meaning but naive musicians like Bob Geldof and Bono cannot and will not change Africa's reality. The world can provide money to back programs and facilitate education, but until it becomes important to Africa's leaders to save their people from disease, hunger, poverty and violence, nothing will change. Handouts cannot go on forever, and they really have little impact on the problems anyway. Making huge pronouncements about ending poverty creates terrific sound bites, but until there is a fundamental change in the thinking of every single citizen in every African nation, the status quo will go on.

Does Bob Geldof truly believe that a rock concert has made one iota of difference to the men, women and children who are living daily with pain, fear and hopelessness? Does he think that a bunch of celebrities will affect change that the United Nations has not been able to?

In the lead-up media frenzy to Live 8, the world was told, repeatedly, that this was an event we would remember forever, we would always be able to recall where we were and what we were doing on July 2, 2005.

Why, because Bob Geldof says so? Not good enough. I don't worship at the alter of the cult of celebrity. I believe the people of Africa hold the key to the survival of the continent, and I put my faith in them.

Dubya is a War Criminal.

George W. Bush. The man is the elected leader of one of the most frightening countries on the planet, but nobody will admit to voting for him.

Nobody has ever tried to pass Dubya off as an intellectual heavyweight, regardless of the fact that he graduated from Yale. Graduating from a university does not equal intelligence, look at the scores of American athletes who get free rides, literally and figuratively, throughout their academic careers, and are barely literate when they leave the hallowed halls of academia.

Nobody has tried to use Dubya as an example of an astute businessperson, either. His daddy spent a ton of cash bailing Junior out of one failed business attempt after another. He couldn't keep a thriving oil field in Texas solvent...'nuff said?

Good soldier? Nope, not so much. Being AWOL is frowned upon in the Airforce.

Good father? Not so's one could tell from the behaviours and choices made by the Bush daughters.

So what is Dubya good at?

The President of the United States of America is a Very Bad Man. He's a war criminal, and he's damn good at that.

The President likes to come off as a decisive man, a guy totally in control. What he is, though, and what he appears to be are two totally different things. He sees what he wants to see, reacts like the dim bulb he truly is, lies and manipulates to cover his tracks, and is too arrogant to understand that he will eventually be held accountable for his actions. That's not decisive, that's delusional.

The war in Iraq never should have started. The "Military Intelligence" (what an oxymoronic term that is ) Dubya required was manufactured, served to him on a silver platter, and will eventually be the cause of his downfall. There were no weapons of mass destruction, there was no threat to America or Americans, and George W. Bush now has the blood of thousands of Iraqis and Americans on his hands.

That blood would also be on his conscience, if he had one.

The question now is, why are there still soldiers in Iraq? Why is Dubya continuing to carry on this charade? Why are the American people not demanding an end to this travesty? How many more twenty-something-year-old young people have to give up their lives to lend credibility to this farce? This never has been a legitimate military action, and has now stretched into a huge human tragedy that lives on to feed the President's ego.

Sacrificing American soldiers barely out of their teens, and sanctioning the murders of innocent Iraqi civilians are crimes against humanity. George Walker Bush is as guilty as sin.

The Very Long Weekend....

This weekend I had to deal with the BC Ministry of Children and Families as the result of a horrible case of extreme neglect of children due to mental health and substance abuse issues. The kids are okay for now, but the guilt associated with damning them to foster care was and is really hard to take.

I spent months (and months and months) in foster care as a child. It was hell.

Maybe things have changed for the better in 30 years. Maybe British Columbia was always light years ahead of other provinces when dealing with kids in crisis, and is now at the forefront of child welfare and advocacy. Maybe these poor little kids will not be more screwed up after they leave foster care than they were when they went in.

Call me cynical, but I don't believe in "maybe". Maybe usually means "no".

Children removed from the care (for lack of a better word) of a parent face huge emotional trauma. No matter what the circumstances, kids will take on the responsibility for the breakdown of the family, even though it is most often the neglect, or abuse, or stupidity of an adult that is at fault. Leaving a parent, even a wasted, addicted, narcissistic, useless, abusive or largely absent parent creates spiritual damage that can define the course of a child's journey into adulthood. If a parent can't protect, nurture and love a kid, if a parent can't be counted upon to provide the necessities of life, who can?

In my experience, the answer is not a foster parent.

I'm sure there are truly dedicated, professional, experienced and gifted foster care providers out there somewhere. Not every foster parent is in it for the wrong reasons, but my brothers, my sister and I never met any of those committed to excellence types. Between us we racked up probably twelve or thirteen different foster homes, and none of them provided the support, encouragement , safety and understanding that we needed as the prisoners of war we were in our parents' battles with the demons of alcoholism, mental illness, spousal abuse, child abuse and spiritual poverty.

I have to believe that the children I met this weekend are better off with strangers who are paid to see to their needs than they were in their family home.

I hope to God I'm right, because the price they will pay if I'm wrong is far too high.