First let me state I am a conservative thinker who believes in small government, low taxation, individual responsibility and family values. I believe the Government should provide only the necessary infrastructure required to allow its citizens to live freely lawfully. I believe the Government must develop and employ the resources required to protect its citizens ( police and military). That doesn't mean I kick animals, have no compassion, practice hatemongering, espouse racism and advocate a religious theocracy. I present that last sentence to counter the normal description that all Libs try to tag onto Conservatives. So now you know my biases. My question is "Why are most of the Liberals in the Canadian media and the elite celebrities in most walks of life so afraid of the new Sun TV station that wants to follow the USA Fox News model?" I subscribe and watch Fox news because it provides both sides of every political issue with entertaining hosts and knowledgable talking heads from a diverse range of people and thinkers. While my bias causes me to lean towards the conservative point of view I sometimes agree with the LIbs on some subjects when they stick to facts. Unfortunately, a lot of the Libs ideology is subject to debate due to its conflict with common sense and its focus on compassion but not on results. For instance you must give them credit for the fact that they care about the poor even though every program and policy they have ever introduced has done more harm to society than good. I believe what makes the Libs angry is that when confronted on their ideas and their relation to common sense they end up looking foolish most of the time. Today on Canadian TV we only see the main stream and unarguably Liberal media with no other comments than those integrated with their point of view. What is wrong with allowing people to get a perspective from more than one ideology so they can decide which sounds and looks more reasonable to them. However the Libs (check the Star and the CBC) want no part of a different point of view so they began denigrating the people producing the TV programming as rascists, haters and bigots. Do they not feel they can particate in the arena of "ideas"? Are they afraid that people will see their elitists positions as being just what they are..ie self serving and damaging to society? Our Country was founded on the idea of freedom of speech yet when it involves something that directly challenges the Libs beliefs, "freedom of speech" can go to hell as far as they are concerned. If a "Fox News" type channel is so bad, how come in the USA it is running away with the ratings as more and more people are attracted to real journalism rather than the constant barrage of Socialist and Liberal logic (in my view an oxymoron). There is no better way to make a decision than to have all of the facts and the only way to get those are for a TV news station that presents issues in a "fair and balanced way. Another plus for both sides of the political spectrum is the actual process of debate which, in my view strengthens a person's skills in outlining his or her position. For instance when I used to watch Juan Williams on CNN I didn't respect his views because he was obviously married to his philosophy regardless of reality or facts. But now on Fox news he is still a Liberal but much better spoken, less angry and quite convincing on many issues. Finally the very fact that the above mentioned folks are screaming so loudly about the new TV station is proof of their fear of losing their monopoly. Hopefully we will get the same chance to view the world of politics from both sides of the aisle in this Country as they do in the USA. I wonder if Fox News is contributing to the increasing number of people becoming involved in the politics of their Country? Mmmmmmmm

Beginning September 1st in Ontario new limits will be implemented on all auto insurance policies. What this means is that you will pay the same for less coverage however you will be able to keep your current coverage by paying more. This is called "having choices" another liberal progressive program that ignores the cheats, fraudsters, criminals and rapidly rising health costs at the expense of the honest and hardworking citizens. You see the Insurance Companies are complaining that they cannot maintain their necessary level of profit due to the above mentioned attacks on the system. Contrary to the popular habit of criticizing the Insurance Companies I blame the Liberal government and their ideology for the continuous rape of our pocketbooks. You see, the Libs don't believe in leaving the market alone to correct itself and to be honest there are now so many regulations and laws ( introduced by the Libs)in place to prevent that from happening you would have to scrap everything and start from scratch to do it right. Therefore the government has to continue its assault on free enterprise but instead of identifying and solving the real problems they slap another increase onto the ordinary law abiding citizens. The proper way to correct the situation is to allow the insurance Companies to drop abusers (validated and proven) from the system. Second the justice system should increase the fines and sentences for insurance fraud to deter criminals from plying their trade in this industry. Third medical practioners who abuse or abet the abuse of the insurance system would be subject to losing their licence to practice. Last they should increase the divide between good and bad performers. In other words, remaining accident and claim free by way of your own actions buys you much lower premiums and conversely higher for those that don't. But no, the Liberal way is to make everyone suffer for those that don't abide by societies rules. Its the same as welfare fraud which allows lazy bloodsuckers to con the system right along with the truly needy rather than prosecute them. Therefore welfare costs continue to rise and taxes have to follow suit. Or the public sector unions that are exempt from the pressures and realities of those in the private sector. Rather than set up a system that would disallow these public employees from holding citizens at ransom the governments instead constantly cave into union demands that drive up costs and ultimately cause you to pay more taxes. The Lib's policies always seem to reward criminals, lazy parasites and anyone that wants to blackmail the population over key public services. I always think that one day people will wise up and decide it is time to keep more of their own hard earned dollars rather than let Liberals and socialists give it away however it hasn't happened yet. I see some signs in the USA and maybe some in the Mayorilty race in Toronto so hopefully the beast is starting to stir. Let's hope so while we still are able to keep at least 40% of our money.

This past weekend we went to the Falls for a couple of days for the first time in 15 years or so and stayed at a hotel just on the outskirts of the town. After taking in the sights on the first day the only thing I could say that hadn't changed (that I could visibly see) were the Falls and the Niagara river. The town has grown enormously with two casinos and several new high rise hotels. The railroad tracks right through the middle of Clifton Hills were gone and there were double the amount of restaurants and fast food joints. The cheesy sidewalk shows like the wax museums and the House of Frankenstein were still there but a few more more extravagant games arcades dotted both sides of the street. Inside the casino's everything was first class including the prices although the tab for parking ($10) seemed more than reasonable when compared to everything else. Needless to say no one got rich during our wagering but no one lost the house either so it was good night of entertainment after all was said and done. The biggest change I noted however was in the ethnicity of the tourists populating the town during this month of August in 2010 versus those from back in the 1980's and 1990's. I would speculate that 75% of the folks in the casino's and walking the streets were either of East Indian descent or of the Far East Asian heritage. I am not drawing any conclusion from this statement other than the makeup of our Country has and continues to change dramatically as the years go by. Immigration is necessary to keep our population growing and our Country prosperous. Therefore, because the birthrate has plummeted over the past 50 years it isn't unusual to see a multitude of ,other than, Anglo Canadians. People that complain about the ethnicity of our immigrants have no real argument if you think about the facts concerning the world population. Anglo's or Caucasions originated primarily in Europe and Northern Asia (Russia and Slavic nations) and were the first to migrate to North America in any great number. What has changed in the so-called western world over the last 50 years is the enormous effort put into family planning. It has been so successful that the caucasion race will eventually die out over the next 100 years. While the populations of India, the middle eastern nations and China are large and continue to grow and so that is where the immigration has to come from. The Europeans are in the same boat so there are no large amounts of people available to emigrate which leaves the above mentioned peoples to fill the void. You can debate all day long regarding birth control, abortion and Socialist policies that create heavy taxation and the need for two parent working families but you can't argue with facts and numbers so get used to seeing Canadians from every ethnic group in the world because it is where we are right now. Hopefully they do a better job than we did of keeping their culture alive over the next few centuries.

While there are many illnesses and diseases that plague our planet cancer remains one of the most deadly killer of them all. As I look back over my lifetime and think about the many friends, associates, relatives and general aquaintances who have been touched by this disease in some way or another it makes me shudder when I view the number. Kids as young as 10 all the way up to adults in their 70's have fought this extraordinary enemy and were not always victorious. The other sad thing about this disease is that the treatment in some cases is almost as painful as the disease which is why some people forego the chemo for onstance if it is the third time around for them. It seems we have raised millions and millions over the years to fund research into discovering a cure for this malady but there seems to be nothing on the horizon as of yet. Granted there have been improvements in the different types of treatments and some success with lab animals but nothing yet that can stop the destruction of human cancerous cells in their tracks. Recently a former work associate succumbed to the disease after two separate battles. The first was with breast cancer in which she seemed to have been successful in eradicating the bad cells from her system. But with only a short period of time to enjoy the freedom from pain and intrusive therapy she was diagnosed with brain cancer and died shortly thereafter. If I was to guess I would say this woman wasn't long into her 50's which is not very old in our current day and age. She also had a beautiful family and was an extremely gifted person who excelled with anything electronic ie computors. Another example of how this disease can ravage a family is the story of my old boss who in the space of two years lost his oldest daughter and his wife to this dreaded disease. I know people today that have gone into remission which is fantastic but the bravery they exhibit knowing it could reoccur at any time is beyond belief. The following are some Canadian Cancer statistics;
General cancer statistics for 2010
An estimated 173,800 new cases of cancer (excluding about 75,500 non-melanoma skin cancers) and 76,200 deaths will occur in Canada in 2010.
• Approximately 83,900 Canadian women will be diagnosed with cancer and an estimated 36,200 women will die of cancer.
• Approximately 90,000 Canadian men will be diagnosed with cancer and an estimated 40,000 men will die of cancer.
• On average, 3,340 Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer every week.
• On average, 1,470 Canadians will die of cancer every week.
The risk of cancer increases with age: 43% of new cancer cases and 61% of cancer deaths will occur among those who are at least 70 years old. However, cancer can occur at all ages.
• Lung, prostate, breast and colorectal cancer account for 50% of all new cancer cases every year.
• Lung cancer accounts for over a quarter (27%) of all cancer deaths each year.
• Breast cancer accounts for over a quarter (28%) of new cancer cases in women.
• Prostate cancer accounts for over a quarter (27%) of new cancer cases in men.
Probability of developing or dying from cancer
Based on 2009 incidence rates, 40% of Canadian women and 45% of men will develop cancer during their lifetimes.
An estimated 1 out of every 4 Canadians are expected to die from cancer.
Cancer is the leading cause of premature death in Canada: 1,026,600 years of life were lost in 2004 as a result of cancer. This represents 32% of the potential years of life lost resulting from all causes of death.
Prevalence
At the beginning of the year 2005, there were approximately 723,000 cases of cancer that had been diagnosed in the previous 10 years.
Survival
Based on 2002-2004 estimates, 62% of people are expected to survive for 5 years after their cancer diagnosis compared to the general population of the same age and sex. Survival rates differ according to the type of cancer

Why do Liberals and Socialists always resort to personal attacks to smear their opponents? I've asked this question many times and I have always come up with the same answer. They can never debate issues because their logic is so convoluted that they resort to attacking the individual rather than defending their point of view. Take for instance the "would be" mayor of Toronto who made a statement yesterday regarding the possible relocation to Toronto of the "Tamil boat people" who landed in BC this week. In short he said something like, our city is so deep in debt and our infrastructure so stretched that it is not the time to take in any more immigrants. We must get our finances in order so we can take care of those that currently live in the cty today as well as easing the burden on our taxpayers. This seems like a common sense approach and yet the Libs and the lefty press media called him a racist for saying these things. These people look for any opportunity to score political points even if it means fabricating stories and using race baiting as a tool to achieve their goals. It is shameful but not surprising. The humourous thing is that a large majority of Torontonians agree with him, including new and old immigrants because they all have one thing in common, "they are taxpayers" and they don't want the Libs putting their hands in their pockets anymore than they have done over the past 8 years. Another amazing example is the furor over the planned mosque at ground zero in New York city. Those who suggest that putting this mosque so near the place where fanatical muslims flew planes into the twin towers is insensitve to all Americans and in particular to the families of the victims who died are now being labelled racist. What is wrong with arguing the point about the insensitivity instead of immediately firing off the racist bomb to attack your opponent's credibility? Because this is common sense and once again it is difficult for the intellectual elite to justify their position. I really believe that the tide is beginning to turn and people are rejecting this nonsense and the politically correct limitations on free speech. If we had more politicians and people in public life like Rob Ford or Don Cherry we would all be better off. Truth would be the rule of the day and political spin could be dumped over the cliff where it belongs. The average citizen must embrace these folks if we are to change the rules of political discourse in this country so get on board "the staight talk express" and support truth and integrity even if it hurts. Wait a minute.....did I say something wrong.....should I rephrase that?

I went to Buffalo again yesterday to pick up 13 dogs (12 from Georgia) and everything went reasonably well this time. The number of animals was just right so it wasn't as taxing a job as trying to fit 17 into the van considering the limited space available. What struck me about these particular dogs was that half of them were emaciated with their ribs clearly visible. They obviously hadn't had much nourishment in their last hotel and were severely in need of some good food. It is sad to see an animal in this condition and it amazes me that anyone could stand by and watch them slowly starve. The good news is that current lodgings will provide them with good food and hopefully in the long run a new home with a loving family. Although I didn't spend a lot of time with these canines it was obvious to me that they were beautiful animals that were loving and affectionate and would be an amazing addition to any family. When I think back to our first dog which we obtained from the pound in the 60's she was a small mutt with no identifiable breed markings but she lived 17 years and was our darling throughout that time. We couldn't afford a pure breed then and when we got our second dog we again went to the pound to get a doberman that turned out to be a wonderful pet. So much so that when she passed on we opted for another of the same breed for our next two pets and we were just as happy with those girls as well. We didn't really think about rescue dogs back then and of course we centered in on a particular type of dog which pointed us to "pure breds" out of a litter which was produced to make money for the owners. Many of my friends and family have done the same thing because they liked and were comfortable with a certain breed of dog and wanted nothing else. After my recent experiences with the rescue farm I have totally changed my opinion and I suspect any animal lover would do the same if they were exposed to these lonely pets that have been abandoned and/or abused. There are so many of these animals of all types that are left to fend for themselves that it raises the question, "How do we get people to look at these canines first before heading to a puppy mill to get a dog?" Someone suggested legislating or making puppy mills illegal but this infringes on the rights and freedoms of our citizens which is not the way to go. I believe it is possible to inform and educate people through the various types of media with mass and repititious communications. Because this is not a money making exercise it will take charity and many volunteers to make it happen but I am sure it can be done. Until we get there and if you are in agreement please pass on the above to your friends and aquaintances as a first step in getting the word out.

Lying side by side in the long green lush grass which gently bends in the cool evening breeze on this isolated piece of paradise in the middle of nowhere she quietly whispers.......... Got ya!! I am waiting to see how many extra hits I get this week because of the title of this article. No matter what new thing hits the market it can never compete with sex. Howard Stern has always maintained that sex is the main driver behind every important event that has happened in history since man lived in caves. He's probably right when you think about considering the average lifespan of people back in the "olden" days was around 50 years so the testosterone was still pumping strong for most if not all of their lives. I can't remember the exact studies but I think it's conclusions were that post puberty boys thought about sex every 5 seconds and this number didn't increase much up to the age of 50. As humans became more civilized and men were required to exercise more control of themselves the actual number of acts obviously decreased but not the feelings and the urges lying just under the surface of each male's thought process. On the other hand females are said to think about sex less often but also in different terms. They have a natural purpose to prolong the species and therefore have to reproduce which requires a man to complete this objective. Given their ability to control their urges much better than men they had the upper hand and usually the smart women were able to use this to their advantage. I remember when I was young that I would have only considered doing the most ridiculous things asked by a girl for mere seconds if it meant getting to first base. Reaching second base allowed no time for thought about any request and I would have had no memory about what I did as long as I reached safely. Now a days the mystery surrounding sex is all but gone as pictures, stories and porn inundate the senses from every direction. Imagination and anticipation don't seem to be as important as they were years ago which may or may not be a good thing. Immediate gratification reverses our direction on our approach to sex and it is strange that women seem to be relinquishing their control of males in this area in the quest for so-called equal status with men. When you hear young girls talk about servicing boys with a ho-hum attitude in order to remain in the clique it seems like such a shame that the mistique has been shattered. It has now become another asset in the stable like the proper fashions, the right makeup and the up to date electronic toys. I am a male so I must confess I have stated things like I was born too soon, or where were those teachers when I went to school but somehow in the back of my mind I'm not sure I would trade my history for a shot at today's goodies. Maybe it was because the frequency was so low that the imagination and anticipation burned the experiences into my brain so that I can remember the details like it was yesterday. Then again..............................................

Tomatoes belong to the genus Lycopersicon, while potatoes belong to the genus Solanum; Both of which belongs to the same "flowering plant family" solanaceae. The similarities in leaves and flowers justifies this taxonomic grouping.
When the tomato plant was first introduced into the UK, some areas were not willing to consume the fruit because they were considered poisonous. Other plants that were poisonous, and in the same family as the tomato, such as the henbane, mandrake and the deadly nightshade were reasons to be concerned.
Tomato plants were transported by colonists from Britain to North America. The plants were most valued for removing pustule (Pimples, Blisters - Pus filled, inflamed skin). The inventor of peanut butter, George Washington Carver, strongly urged his poor Alabama neighbors to consume tomatoes because of their unhealthy diet. However, he had little success convincing them that the plants was edible.
Throughout the western world, tomatoes began to grow in popularity. In the 1820s, several cookbooks included recipes which required or called for tomatoes. Tomatoes were sold by the dozens in Boston's Quincy Market in 1835. In Thomas Bridgeman seed catalogue, 4 varieties of tomatoes were listed: Cherry, Pear, Large Yellow and Large Squash.
Bruist, a seed merchant commented on the tomato in 1858 - "In taking retrospect of the last eighteen years, there is no vegetable on the catalogue that has obtained such popularity in so short a period as the one now under consideration. In 1828-29, it was almost detested; in ten years almost every variety of pill and panacea was extract of tomato. It now occupies as great a surface of ground as cabbage, and is cultivated the length and breadth of the country."
Tomatoes are self-pollinating plants which tend to become genetically homozygous after many generations. Tomatoes will rarely cross breed and usually produce plants will similar characteristics as the parents.
Some heirloom varieties have interesting histories as well; at least I think so. Lets talk about the story of a heirloom name Mortgage Lifter. A radiator repair shop owner, Charlie, experienced hard times, as did much of the nation through the Great Depression. Because of financial reasons, most people abandoned their cars and Ol Charlie's business too a hard hit. He decided to use his four largest fruit producing tomato plants to cross breed repeatedly with each other to create a plant that produced two pounds of fruits.
Claming that his plants could feed a family of six, Charlie peddled the crops for a dollar per plant. Within four years, Charlie generated enough money to pay off the $4,000 dollars mortgage on his home, which led to the heirloom name "Mortgage Lifter."
Elbe was cultivated in 1889 near the Elbe River in Germany. Since the 1870s, the Amish in Pennsylvania cultivated the Amish Paste variety. Brandywine was also cultivated by Amish farmers near Brandywine Creek in Chester County Pennsylvania in 1885. The hills of Virginia is thought to be the origin of the Hillbilly variety. Old Virginia was cultivated in Virginia as well in the early 1900s. In 1953 Campbell Soup Co., introduced the Ace variety which is still popular for canning. On Edgar Allan Poe's estate, a cultivar found growing there bears his mother's maiden name, Hopkins.

Political Correctness gone mad has created some of the stupidest decisions ever made in our society. The following examples are those that one day, without a doubt, may precipitate a person or person's death. The women that want to board planes or vote without uncovering their faces are the first example. Our driver's licences and passports have our photo on them so we can be identified in areas that require us to do so such as airports, border crossings etc. Why then would anyone or any citizen of this Country think it is OK to counter this procedure for any reason, religion or otherwise. If no one can see your face you can't be identified! PHOTO ID.. get it. How about the Sikh that wants to wear his turban on the construction site and forgo the safety helmet required to be worn by OHSA and his employer. Why does everyone else wear these protective helmets? TO PROTECT THEIR HEADS!. Will a turban repel a falling brick? NO! Put on your helmet and it may still cover your hair. Let's look at the kid bringing the symbolic Kirpan (dagger) to school and someone complains about it. The teen says its part of my religion (and it is) but the schools policy is 0 tolerance in allowing weapons of any type on school property. What does 0 tolerance mean? It means NO WEAPONS AT SCHOOL period! The Sikh's do not wear these Kirpans when they fly on airplanes for obvious reasons so why is that any different than bringing it to schools? It isn't unless you want to make a point of it for political purposes. How can these simple innocent infractions of our rules and laws cause someone to die? Well let's say two teens at school get into fight and the one with the kirpan is losing. He grabs his dagger and stabs the other teen in the neck right through an artery and the teen bleeds out. As noted above the construction worker is wearing his turban only when a metal rod falls from the 10 floor of a building and hits him on the head instantly crushing his skull and smashing his brains to mush. The final and one act with the most potential for mayhem is the fully covered woman who is really not a women at all but a terrorist on the no fly list who sneaks aboard to create havoc and potentially kill passengers. So In order to abstain from offending anyone several people in our society have, and will continue to be in peril everytime this lack of common sense prevails. No Religion or customs of any type should ever get in the way of public safety and yet many of the impotent and fearful politicians that make the laws won't force public employees to follow them because of the PC effect. It's time the pendulum swung back the other way and we all resurrect common sense and the rule of law to influence our decision making in these areas. Only then will we return to truth and fairness for everyone and not just special interest groups.

As you hear and read about the Canadian Government's decision to make the long form of the census non-mandatory you will no doubt run into the following things. Arrogance.....you will be told that this information is necessary and those who disagree are not intelligent enough to understand the complex benefits we all derive from all of the personal information gathered (# of bedrooms in your dwelling). Personal Attacks......If you are in favour of this change you are a fool or Harper is just looking for more control. Generalization.....If you believe in the legislation you have to be a right wing Libertarian. False information....you will see statistics that show that over 70% of Canadians want to keep the long form and only a small percentage do not. Ask yourself this "where did this information come from? How did they develop it so fast?" If it was a poll, what were the exact questions asked to get their stats?. You won't hear the answers to any of these just the numbers that somehow always come up on the side of the Libs. Fear....all of a sudden the sky is falling and a major disaster is ahead if we don't get this critical info. For instance one advocate stated that without knowing how many bedrooms are in each house how will we know if people are being housed properly? OK now you know. What will you do? What have you done in the past? (publish reports aka NOTHING). Let's be honest how many conversations about the long census form have you had over the past year? If over 70% of Canadians are against this change how come there have been no protests or loud objections from anyone but those in the Liberal media and the elites in the acedemic society? This is about those that know it all, telling those that don't, what is best for them and the Country. The issue is really about two things as I see it. First, the long form and its questions are not being eliminated. The law is being changed so that it is not mandatory to fill it out so the Government can't put you in jail if you fail to do so. It seems to me that if 70% of people want this info to be gathered then at least 70% of the folks will voluntarily fill it out, so what's the problem? Secondly and just as important is the principle of individual privacy that has been eroded so much over the past 50 years that people are just expected to comply with any and all requests from the all-mighty Government. Sure it may not be a big deal to the people that want our society to be one big collective with the control of our daily lives centered in the Capital of the Country, but for those of us who still believe in individual freedom and liberty it is a small step in retaining some information from "big brother". If you see yourself as a conservative thinker and you read this and say to yourself, "Is he crazy what's the big deal?" you have already been indoctrinated.