Ontario Public School Board Association Gets It Right!

The Province of Ontario has made the decision to empower its young people by overhauling "Sexual Health Education".

As the result of recommendations by the Ontario Public School Board Association, the province's schools will broaden the scope of Sex. Ed. and start teaching it earlier.

Starting in grade 6, students will learn about gender stereotypes and homophobia. In grade 7, sexually transmitted diseases and preventative measures; grade 8, sexual identity and dating violence; and grade 9, gender-based violence, sexual harassment and more detail about previously covered issues.

This forward-thinking approach will be difficult for those teachers who are uncomfortable with the material, and no doubt many parents and religious groups will be up in arms about schools stepping into areas where families should be teaching their children based on their beliefs.

Too bad, so sad.

What it all boils down to is knowledge. Knowledge is power, and the more children learn about their bodies, their feelings, their rights and the rights of others, the more self-control they will gain, the more good decisions they will be able to make, and the more choices they will discover.

Children and young adults are exceptionally curious and thirsty for facts about all things sexual. They are much better served by curriculum that provides information that is current and age appropriate than they are by images, language, and details that they come by on television or the Internet, in the fashion industry, video games, magazines, song lyrics, or graphic fiction, or in movies.

Some great teachers have always helped their students navigate the difficult years of puberty, and now have the opportunity to discuss further the realities of being a teenager in 2009. Other teachers will balk, but they hold great responsibility in their positions as educators, and the young people they teach need them to put aside their discomfort and do the right thing.

As for parents who want their children to learn about their bodies, feelings and rights at home; if they haven't begun teaching healthy sexuality to their children by the sixth grade, they've already failed, and it's a good thing there's a teacher who can help that child before it's too late.

President-Elect Obama.

The next president of the sleeping tiger south of us is planning to come north for his first international trip.

It would be much more suitable if Michael Ignatieff were Prime Minister during that visit. Stephen Harper was up to the charisma challenge of George Bush. The bar wasn't set very high. Harper and Bush weren't exactly exciting, or thought provoking, or even the least bit appealing, but President-elect Obama is electrifying, people all over the world are captivated by this history-making man.

Michael Ignatieff would present a cosmopolitan, educated and magnetic personality on the world stage he shared with President Obama. Sadly, it'll be Stephen Harper, with his winning ways, who represents us. Unpleasant much?

I admit to being a supporter of Hilary Clinton, and was disappointed when she failed to win the Democratic nomination. That being said, I also admit that I became a late convert to the cult of Obama. He is everything a President should be: intelligent, articulate bordering on eloquent, honest, strong, and dedicated to his family. To top it all off, he is of mixed race, something that should not be an issue in 2008/2009, but sadly, is.

I never before wished that I could vote in an American election, but I would have been thrilled to vote for Barack Obama.

Now that his January 20 inauguration is looming large, Mr.Obama is facing Hurculean tasks and is viewed by many as the saviour of his people. He has been left a country in ruins, financially and spiritually. How he is supposed to fix everything that is broken in and by the U.S. is the question on everyone's mind, but Mr. Obama, with his "Yes We Can" attitude, exudes confidence.

It is my hope that the new president is given the time and support he'll require to start rebuilding our closest neighbor. What is good for the U.S. is generally good for Canada.

I think Barack Obama will be good for all of us.

Lions And Tigers And.....Cougars! Oh My!

I'm not afraid of coming upon a black bear, or a bobcat, or a coyote in my travels. I figure if I'm smart and do what experts say to do, I'll come out of the encounter with little more than a racing heart.

Cougars are a whole different story.

Our neighbor told me that a cougar was sighted in a backyard five houses away from ours. There have been sightings in Coquitlam as well. The big cats are hungry and as we take away their natural hunting grounds, they are taking away our false sense of security.

When we moved from Vancouver to the wilds of Maple Ridge, I didn't realize just how "wild" it really is out here. We had a fence erected as soon as we could to keep our dogs safe.

Yeah, 'k. Safe? Not so much. A six foot fence isn't much protection against a bear with a brain, and certainly not against a cougar. Those cats mean business. They rely on silence and stealth, and once they grab their prey by the back of the neck, it's game over.

Apparently cougar attacks on humans are rare, but the most vulnerable are under 16. If they can't find wild prey, they'll eat pets as hourves dourves and continue looking for a llama, or a horse, cow or sheep as the main course.

Cougars are also territorial, so now that this one has been seen in the neighborhood, it's very likely it will be spotted again. Oh good. The bear sitting on or front lawn this summer wasn't enough.

The female cougar has a distinct scream that has been described as "nerve-wracking, demonic, terror-striking and a trilling wail". How nice that this could be the final sound someone were to hear.

No wonder one of the many other names for "cougar" is "Indian Devil".

Celestial Marriage

B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal finally has the evidence he requires to lay charges of polygamy against Winston Blackmore and James Oler.

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has, for many years, hidden behind the pretext of "religious freedom" for practicing multiple marriages. Blackmore, 52, has 20 wives at present, but has had 26, many as young as 14 or 15. He has at least 108 children, many of whom are substantially older than some of his younger wives.

Bountiful, B.C., home to the largest community of the FLDS in Canada, has been the subject of several investigations involving allegations of polygamy, sexual abuse and trafficking of teenage brides across the Canada-U.S. border to sister communities in the U.S. Blackmore and Oler are the leaders of two factions of the sect living in Bountiful. Oler, 44, has two wives.

It has taken three Attorneys General, many special prosecutors, millions and millions of tax dollars, and almost nineteen years to arrive at a point where the secretive world of the FLDS can be brought to light. This is not about religious freedom; it's about child abuse, sexual assault, rape and human trafficking.

With any luck, the truth about the horrific lives women, children and young men endure under the guise of "religion" as members of the FLDS will also be exposed. The reality of conditions under which "sister wives" of the first or most favoured wife must survive. The lack of basic education for many children, the fact that teenaged boys of the sect are seen as competition for wives to old goats like Winston Blackmore, and are often forced, as a result, to leave their homes and families, with no education, no skills and no resources. The truth about little girls having to disregard their natural thoughts and feelings in order to "keep sweet" for marriages to men over which they have absolutely no say. The understanding that once a child or young woman is married, she has no protection from her husband, has nowhere to turn if he is abusive, and cannot count on anyone to help her.

Warren Jeffs, "prophet" of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and the leader of the largest polygamous group in North America, was sentenced to 10 years to life on Tuesday November2, 2007 in a Utah court, on two counts of being an accomplice to rape of a minor. Jeffs was responsible for ex-communicating Winston Blackmore and stripping him of his title of the Bishop of Bountiful in 2006, after Blackmore denounced his role as the "Prophet" of the FLDS, God's representative on earth. Jeffs, Blackmore, Oler and a small handful of men once held total control over a sect that numbered in the thousands. It one time, there were only six surnames in the FLDS.

The courts in the U.S. (and in Utah, of all places) recognized that "religious leaders" were committing rape. The courts of Canada can't let grown men get away with the abuse of children, either.

Stay Away From The Bushes!

It is to weep.

George H.W. Bush has stated that he thinks his son John Ellis (Jeb) has what it takes to be the third White House Bush.

God help us all.

George H. W. Bush, with his "Thousand Points of Light" speech, which cemented his right wing beliefs about the importance of the Pledge of Allegiance and prayer in schools, his full support of capital punishment and the right to bear arms, and his unwavering opposition to abortion, not to mention his famous "Read my lips, no new taxes" line, the Iran-Contra Affair (as Vice President to "Bedtime for Bonzo" President Ronald Reagan) and the Persian Gulf War, was Vice President for eight years and President for four. Had the United States not suffered enough?

Apparently not, because George Walker Bush (better known as Dubya) wanted to play, and after his machine stole the 200o election, the U.S. became this overgrown frat boy's playground. The horrific events of September 11, 2001 gave Dubya an excuse to ram all kinds of civil rights violations through the various levels of government, and overshadowed his lack of intelligence, grace, diplomacy and honour. When, 9/11 stopped providing him convenient justification for his "policies", Dubya maneuvered a war in Iraq based on non-existent weapons of mass destruction.
His highly creative enemy of the American people, the "axis of evil", was the new reason for any and every atrocity committed under his order as Commander-In Chief. His reign of terror has been responsible for Agu Ghraib and Guantanamo, unwarranted surveillance of individuals under the guise of the NSA, and a serious erosion of the civil rights of many Americans. I truly think this man should be charged with crimes against humanity.

The list of George W. Bush's many (many) sins includes the absolutely abysmal way in which his government dealt with one of the worst natural disasters in American history-Hurricane Katrina. The President made it abundantly clear that he was unwilling or unable to deal with the human tragedy that was occuring in his own backyard.

He shares, of course, the common Bush beliefs: anti-gay marriage, pro-the right to bear arms, anti-abortion, pro-capital punishment, and anti-embryonic stem cell research.

Oh, and he has left his country on the verge of a depression, nearly bankrupt, like many of the oil companies he started and destroyed back when daddy could still fix it all for him.

So now Jeb? He's another pro-life, pro-death penalty (although as Governor of Florida he suspended executions after a botched lethal injection), anti gay rights, give-em-all-a-gun Bushman. I'm wondering how one can be "pro-life" and "pro-death penalty". Oxymoronic, no? Emphasis on the moron.

Please, no more White House Bushes. Maybe some more trees, or shrubs, or hedges.

Out Of Bounds Means: Stop Idiot, There's Danger!

It's avalanche season on the west coast; it happens every year, and, also every year, people go looking for fresh powder for the perfect ski, snowmobile or snowboard experience.

And every year people are drawn to out-of-bounds areas looking for that virgin snow.

This has been a particularly bad season, and it's only the beginning of January. Young men are dying in astounding numbers because they didn't think about the abject stupidity of risking it all for a few moments of heightened adrenaline. Others are getting lost and barely making it back from the brink.

Rarely does one hear or read about young women risking life and limb for that one perfect run. It seems to be a rite of passage for an irresponsible, indifferent few males who believe that mortality is no more a barrier to them than the ropes they go under or the fences they climb over to get to the big air.

It would be nothing more than suicide by ski or snowboard if these thoughtless people didn't involve others in their brainless pursuits. They do; however, engage many people when it all goes wrong and they require rescue.

Police Officers, Firefighters, Ambulance Attendants and especially Search and Rescue personnel are put in jeopardy every time they have to go out looking for out-of-bounds idiots. When the threat of avalanches is high, Emergency Response staff face the real possibility of death when looking for stranded, out-of-bounds people who knew the risk they took when they broke the rules and made the decision to go anyway.

There's a debate going on about whether skiers and snowboarders rescued out-of-bounds should be forced to pay for their rescues.

I say hell yes. They should have to pay for their rescues, they should be fined, and they should be banned from every ski hill in British Columbia for life. If they can't make good, intelligent decisions about their safety and the safety of others, the decisions should be made for them.

Too bad there's no cure for stupidity.

Alanis Morissette's Battle Of The Bulge.

No, really, I'm serious.

Alanis Morissette was so "fantastically indulgent" that she packed on a whopping 20 pounds!

By pampering herself with too much salt and too many processed grains, our Jagged Little Pill became a Bloated Little Capsule.

Good God! I nearly choked on my Cheetos when Alanis said she felt like a 12 year old, full of energy, with no aches and pains because she went on a Vegan diet and cut out her beloved sandwiches. Her allergies disappeared, she could dance the night away, as her "curves" faded away, so did all of her problems. She now wants to live to be 120. The porky pre-diet Alanis only wanted to live to be 110.

20 pounds. The woman was already so tiny that she had to jump around in the shower to get wet. Soon she'll just disappear.

Maybe then she'll be okay with who she is.

Piper Is A Slut.

Our pug, Piper, is now three years old, and has reached sexual maturity.

Done large.

Living with the Punk is similar, I would guess, to living, 24/7, in a striptease bar with very lax rules. Our little Thug is totally into oral stimulation. The dog just cannot get enough.

It's not an unusual sight to see Piper flat on her back, eyes at half-mast, groaning in pleasure as one of her pack mates (usually Tucker, the dirty old man) services her. It doesn't seem to matter much to Pipes who her partner of the moment is, she's there for a good time, not a long time, so basically any dog with a tongue will do. Think Courtney Love. Okay, think Courtney Love with a brain.

It used to be a little disconcerting, watching our wrinkled little curly-tailed cuddle bunny behaving more like one of Hugh Hefner's Playboy Bunnies. She has no shame. She's a total narcissist, and will lay there for long periods of time, waiting for someone to meet her needs, and someone always does. Often there's a queue, and that's just fine with Piper.

It's just another thing that makes Piper the character she is. She's a bold, stubborn, funny, fearless, pushy, loving brat. She's built like a tank and has energy to burn.

And she has the makings of a first rate porn star.

Fat People Eat!

Chris wanted to go out for dinner last night. Aside from the fact that she wanted to go at 4:30 P.M. (which is closer to lunch time than dinner time, if you ask me) and she wanted to go to the White Spot, which is the most bland, boring, white bread restaurant on this planet, and I really wanted sushi, it was all good.

The three of us were seated, Angelina and I were poring over our menus, trying to find something that looked even vaguely interesting, while Chris was making love to her Shirley Temple, when a couple was given a booth opposite us, and it was game on.

The male half of this couple was staring baldly at us, pointing and whispering to his female companion. When I held his gaze, he at least had the decency to look away, but the animated, half whispered conversation the couple had included us and the fact that we were eating at a restaurant.

And that we were fat.

News flash stick people: FAT PEOPLE EAT! We are just like you, really we are; we love, we work, we pay taxes, we marry, we have children (or we don't), we hate our neighbors, we watch too much television, we are decent humans, we are flawed, and we eat in restaurants. We pay the same amount as you for the insipid food at the White Spot, and we have the right to do it without being the entertainment portion of your dining experience.

I'm not sure whether small and "average" size people have small or average brains to go along with their bodies. I can't come up with any other reason why those people would not figure out that we are aware we are fat. It's not as if it's a surprise every day: wake up, get out of bed, take a look in the mirror and Oh My God I'm Fat, How The Hell Did This Happen??

Sizeism is one of the last acceptable forms of discrimination. People seem to feel they have a right to comment on the weight, contours, height and body shapes of others. Where and how they earned this license to share their observations, and why they feel their opinions are of any value are mysteries.

Sort of like why anyone would want to eat anything but a hamburger at the White Spot.

She's Baaaaack!

I don't remember the date of my last post, but it was a long time ago. Chris has been pushing me to get back to writing my rants (probably so she doesn't have to listen to so many of them).

I'm not even going to attempt to fill in the events that have occurred between my last post and this, my first of 2009. I'm starting afresh, it's not as if there is a lack of pressing issues. We live in troubled and troubling times, and no matter what's happening, the Mutt has an opinion. Ask anyone who knows me.

Today a friend purchased a Translink 2-zone bus pass. The cost? $99. So a hundred bucks to be permitted to ride overcrowded, often late, always-inconvenient buses. We live in the wilds of Maple Ridge, which adds another level of hellishness, with bus routes sometimes many kilometers from relatively highly-populated areas, but many people have no alternative, and live with outrageous commutes. There's no skytrain service at all out here in the hinterlands.

Many bus riders make the choice to use transit because it's environmentally friendly, but those people often have a personal vehicle as back up in times of necessity. Some people can afford the West Coast Express, but there are a lot of Lower Mainlanders working minimum wage jobs (or several minimum wage jobs) who are dependent upon unreliable transportation, at a premium cost. $136 for a three-zone pass (required to ride from Maple Ridge to Vancouver). $99 for a two -zone pass (Maple Ridge to Surrey). $73 for a one-zone pass (from Maple Ridge to nowhere). Vancouverites get crushed into buses, shoehorned like sardines, lucky if they get onto a bus early enough to actually make it to wherever they hope to be sometime around the time they need to be there. Others stand at marked stops only to watch buses pass by, full to overflowing.

God help the elderly or disabled or anyone with a stroller, small children or packages. God help anyone who has allergies to scents or sensitivities to strong odors. God help anyone who doesn't want to hear cell phone conversations involving the words "Like, oh my God!" at high volume, repeatedly.

The Chairperson of the Translink Board of Directors is paid a flat rate of $100 000 per year. The eight directors are each paid $25 000 plus $1 200 for each meeting they attend. The directors all have "real jobs"; want to bet they don't bus it to work. Want to bet they've never ridden a bus or a skytrain?

It's not hard to understand why people become hostile whenever there is talk of fare hikes. Maybe someone will wave his or her magic wand and fix the embarrassment that is Vancouver's transit system before "the eyes of the world" are focused on the city in 2010. Let's hope.

Where there's hope there might be an empty seat for someone who deals with a 4 hour commute every workday.