Mother’s day is approaching and to say that everyone is pretty clear on “mothers”, and the role they play in their children’s lives would be an understatement of generous proportions. Fatherhood, however, is another story and many fathers themselves struggle to truly understand what responsibilities they have in rearing kids these days. The conventional wisdom is so broad that it covers a huge spectrum from disciplinarian to best friend and 100 different things in between. The truth however can be summed up in two words, “ Leadership and Love”. These things became very clear to me as I transitioned from a father figure to a grandfather “wish-granter extraordinaire.” As a father I always wanted my kids to like me but many times this desire had to be put on the back shelf to make sure I was leading my sons in the right direction in respect to morals and social responsibilities amongst other things. As I look back I realize what I was doing now but not necessarily then because I was following some gut instincts, some learnings and mostly my own vision of what was right and what was wrong. I know I obviously made mistakes but that is where the “love” comes in because as your children grow older and have kids of their own they suddenly realize what you were trying to do back then. Hopefully some of it was right and has rubbed off on them so they have a gauge from which to operate so they can provide their kids with direction and life skills. God knows there are many pitfalls and traps to fall in such as the “Buddy Dad” syndrome. Many fathers want to be friends or pals with their kids rather than lead them, direct them and teach them. They want to share in their kids lives from a perspective of a buddy rather than a father and when the kids arrive in their teens they find out , much too late of course, that that is all their children see them as a ” good friend” but not a parent. Dads out there don’t get caught up in the “Please like me” obsession because this will make you feel better momentarily but will not help your child in any way. I always liked that saying that goes, Rule 1 “Dad is always right and Rule 2 “If you think Dad is wrong please refer to Rule 1”. Of course there is nothing wrong in admitting mistakes afterwards but the Rules must be the starting point to maintain discipline and provide leadership for young minds. They will survive your mistakes, believe me. I can attest to this by citing my own sons who have grown up to be excellent young men ( I may be a little biased). And one of the best benefits is that you can have your friendship with them they are adults and this relationship is 100 times better when their brains are mature and not full of mush at 10 years old. Moms have it so easy …oops sorry.

I joined CARP (Canadian Association of Retired Persons) two years ago for several reasons. First I could get discounts for many items being a member and second I could get information on items of interest for retired people. However, as with many things that start out heading in one direction they have now taken an abrupt turn in another. Mr. Znaimner the "CEO" announced that CARP was to become "ZIP" a new political party which was founded to further the fortunes of the "over 50 years" of age crowd. So instead of working to support the retired from the sidelines he now wants to jump right into the middle of the political arena and be a major player. Of course the motivation is not to work towards a better Country for all of us it is to further the interest of the CARP members only. Voila' a new "Special Interest Group"! Unfortunately this is not a good idea for CARP members. It is only a good idea for the likes of Moses and Susan Eng who thrive in the spotlight and orgasm in the pursuit of power. Consider Susan Eng's credentials, as described by Moses, "an agitator extrodinaire (or something like that"). Not a thinker, not an educator, not an expert on retired peoples issues or anything else for that matter,but no, an agitator. Great, that's all this country needs is another splinter political party to split votes and send us towards the multi party coalitions caused by minority governments that never get anything done due to the constant trade-offs and diluted policies forced onto them byspecial interest groups like the NDP, the Green Party etc. Sure maybe I should jump on board because anything the new party can get will no doubt be in my self interest but somehow I feel like I'd be joining the "me" generation and going against my basic principles of individualism. I believe that we all have enough benefits paid out of the public purse as it is so why should we as seniors feel like we should have the same or more than anyone else. Shouldn't we be leading the way in educating our children on the benefits of self sufficiency, not the inside mechanics of the political machinery with the objective of getting all that we can for US and the hell with everyone else. This type of thinking segragates our citizens into groups and blocs fighting over someone elses money. That's right lets not forget that the Government has no money until it takes it from someone else (ie the taxpayer). Susan Eng and Moses Znaimner are high profile political activists with a well established record on the left side of the political spectrum which, amongst other things, always wants to see a "big" government that is in control of its citizenry and keeps this control through entitlements. They believe the debate in government should be primarily to determine which groups get the most money.Their strategy is based on the theory that the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Maybe this is how the game must be played these days but I hope somehow, sometime we, the people, will regain control of these power hungry politicians and left wing zealots that goose step their way through life.

Llamas are one of four main species of New World camelids. The other three species are the alpaca, guanaco and vicuna. Camelids are thought to be related to Bactrian and Dromedary camels of Asia. Llamas are first and foremost pets and companions. They are ideally suited to this task because of their predictable low-key temperament, intelligence and ease of maintenance. In some foreign countries, where the resident llama population is quite high, there is interest in using llamas as a food source. Llamas may be brown, red, black or white or a combination of these colors.

Imeson?????Originally named Jacksonville Municipal Airport Number One, the facility was renamed after Thomas Cole Imeson (1880-1948, pictured), city councilman and later longtime commissioner in charge of airports and highways. Imeson’s visionary work led to the creation of Jacksonville Municipal Airport, as well as improvements to its runways, hangars and terminal buildings. This facility served as the city's main airport for 42 years.
After World War Two, airlines struggled to compete with the railroads, and production of new civilian passenger aircraft took time to catch up with demand. Larger four-engine transports made travel faster and more comfortable. They could carry more lucrative airmail and cargo, too. Gradually, air travel became more affordable to more people.
By the late 1950s, Imeson Airport was too small to meet the needs of new jet-powered aircraft. The faster, heavier jets required longer, paved runways. More air carriers wanted to serve Jacksonville, and airlines like Eastern, Delta, National, and Southern needed more room as annual passenger figures soared into the hundreds of thousands. Taxpayers approve a $9 million dollar bond issue to fund JAX. Once again, Jacksonville needed a new airport with room to grow. At a time when supersonic travel was on the horizon, plans were set for Jacksonville International Airport (JAX).

Regenerating Liver? The simplest explanation of "why" holds that natural selection has evolved an organ that is so critical to the body's functioning that, were it to fail, death would result.
Given the liver's criticality, and the fact that the body possesses a single liver, the liver also evolved the ability to regenerate. Mechanically complex organs (the heart) have not so far evolved such regenerative ability - perhaps natural selection can only go so far.
The clue to the liver's ability is homeostasis - "feedback" mechanisms that preserve function. Think of blood sugar - it has a desirable concentration which is regulated within narrow limits by insulin (to preserve the upper limit) and metabolisation of body fat and protein (to preserve the lower limit). Now that we know "why", the answer for "none of the others can" - better asked as "none of the others were driven to" - is given by the existence of paired organs (lungs, kidneys, so we have a backstop), mechanical complexity (heart, too difficult) or "you-only-get-really-sick-and-die-but-it-often-happens-after-your-reproductive-peak" (pancreas, where diabetes can be survived for many years). Remember that natural selection gets an organism to the point where it can reproduce - it "doesn't care" about old age - regrettably.

The Fastet Horse????Secretariat was born a champion and disappointed no one at the 1973 Belmont Stakes. With so much hype as to being the first triple crown horse in 25 years, Secretariat won the race by 31 lengths. His time of 2:24 for 1½ miles set a world record many argue may never be broken.
Not since Seabuscuit was a horse talked about so much as he graced the cover of Time , Newsweek and Sports Illustrated featured the horse on the cover the same week. The William Morris Agency booked his appearances as no movie star was as hot as "Big Red." In stud, Secretariat sired such future champions as 1986 Horse of the Year Lady's Secret and 1988 Preakness and Belmont winner Risen Star. But none of his offspring came close to matching the standard he set. At age 19, Secretariat came down with laminitis, a very serious condition of the hooves. Everything possible was done for him, but he could not be saved. He was humanely put down, and buried at Claiborne Farm.

If you ask most parents, “What is the one thing you want to do for your kids in their formative years?” the majority would probably answer with something like, “To make sure they are well prepared to enter adulthood with the proper education and tools to be successful in life.” This is an admiral objective but if you have been watching what has happened in our Liberal society over the last 20 years most parents are going in the opposite direction. One of the most glaring examples is in the arena of sports. Beginning at the most early of ages children are taught that there are no winners and losers just participants. Trophies for individual achievement are non-existent as children are taught that they must not be seen as better than their teammates. This of course is ridiculous because real life is not like this (unless of course you grow up and join a union). The fact of the matter is that most kids will feel bad if they lose a contest, for about 30 seconds, and then it’s on to the next challenge or happening etc. Kids need to be taught how to lose and exhibit good sportsmanship but never to be passive and enjoy losing. Instead they need to understand the reasons they lost and then move on and try to win the next one. The idea that every kid must get a trophy for just showing up is not doing anything but shaping their expectations for the future and driving home that competition is bad. I coached minor sports for 20 years and always had 3 awards every year for players on my teams, a) Leading scorer b) MVP c) and a skill recognition award for that specific sport. The kids always knew who deserved these awards but some of the parents rarely did. Sheltering your kids from losing is the wrong way to educate them. Another example would be my grandson who went to a karate competition along with 6 other members of his learning group and was the only one that did not get a ribbon for achievement in the individual exercises. This was an accurate reflection of his performance as it was his first competition. When the picture of his group was taken there he was without an award while everyone else had one. His grandparents and parents all felt badly for him but he didn’t seem to let it bother him for very long. The next competition he entered he came away with a second place award and he won it in a playoff as he ended up tied with another participant. He was ecstatic about his achievement and the beauty of it was that he earned it himself. Nobody just gave it to him for showing up. Individual sports seem to stay closer to this principle than the team sports.
Our children need to know that the world doesn’t end when you are unsuccessful. You just have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try again adding more learning, practice and better tactics for the next time. This is what makes winners not being pampered because your feelings get bruised.

One of my very good friends has a son in the Canadian Armed Forces who will be deployed to Afghanistan in the very near future. He and his wife have mixed feelings of course because while they are extremely proud of him they are as equally concerned about seeing him travel into “Harm’s Way”. He is a young man who chose to serve his Country while becoming prepared for adulthood and he views this next year as his job and the fulfilment of his commitment to the Armed Services. But this is not the subject I want to write about today. After talking to my friend over lunch I discovered some things that make me both angry and ashamed of my Government and its politicians for their lack of respect for our Military. Apparently my friend’s son and many others in the Canadian Military purchase much of their own equipment (with the military’s approval) to the tune of thousands of dollars in some cases. You see when these young men and women travel to the USA to receive some of their training they have to walk alongside US troops such as the US Marine core and in his words it’s like comparing a Lexus to a Cobalt. The US makes sure their fighting men and women are provided with the best equipment as they fight to protect their Country. The Canadians on the other hand have just reasonable equipment (prior to Harper it was atrocious). For instance, the boots that are issued to the infantry are middle of the road and do not provide enough protection and comfort so the soldiers purchase their own boots which cost in the neighbourhood of $250 a pair vs. the Govt issue which are estimated to cost around $50 a pair. "Like walking on pucks" was the phrase used to describe the standard issue. He talked about other pieces of equipment that were more in the line of battlefield gear to hold ammunition for quicker access that he had purchased privately after seeing what was available while with the US service people. I truly cannot understand why the left wing politicians can find it so important to implement every entitlement program that comes through the House of Commons while continuously cutting back the funding for our brave young men and women that are in combat. Also as a Country can ship millions and millions of dollars to places like Haiti and other third world nations for every reason under the sun while simultaneously cutting the military budget to get the funding to do so. Add that to the bail out of auto makers and their union minions while at the same time letting our troops go into battle without the best available in weaponry and clothing. As you know by now I deplore Liberalism for what is has done to our nation but this is the best example I can relate to explain why I feel the way I do. Every Liberal Government since the end of the” second World War” has cut Military spending through direct reductions in equipment and/or its quality as well as organizationally with things like the amalgamation of the Forces. Out troops are some of the best fighting soldiers in the world and should be outfitted as well as any Armed Forces including that of the USA. All I can say to the politicians is “Shame on all of you from the PM to the backbenchers for allowing this situation to continue. What I can say to my friend’s son is “Thank you and God bless you and protect you from peril”.

After 30 years of flying (mostly business) and logging hundreds of thousands of air miles I can honestly say Yes.... air travel is safer than most every other mode of travel you can think of. Of course that is not to say I haven’t experienced some harrowing moments in the clouds over the years. On my first trip overseas in the mid seventies I recall flying out of Charles De Galle airport in France traveling to Lyon and as we approached our destination the plane suddenly dropped 20,000 ft in a matter of seconds (at least it felt like seconds) as part of our approach to the airport. I didn’t realize that with the mountainous terrain in large parts of Europe the typical slow decline and moderate approach angle we usually see in North America doesn’t work so instead you have to drop almost straight down to get in a position to land. A learning moment, with my stomach in my mouth, of which I will always remember. Then there was the time I was in a 737 flying from Charleston en route to Atlanta. Seated beside me was a young woman with a baby who was flying for the first time. She was going to visit her military husband who was on leave in Charleston. During the trip I reassured her that flying was a piece of cake and not to be worried. Then as we made our final approach to the runway at probably 1000 ft the plane’s engines roared back to power as the pilot went full throttle to pull up and abort the landing. The plane shook and rattled as the large bird groaned and moaned its way back up to holding altitude. Of course the young woman was terrified and looked to me to provide some explanation which would make sense. I remained calm on the outside but my knuckles were white holding on to the armrest away from her while I said “something must of have been on the runway”. When the pilot finally came on the intercom and said that an airplane had not fully exited the runway on which we were about to land and the tower had asked us to abort, I felt like an expert but realistically during the ordeal I was worried about finding a new pair of pants. This type of thing happened a couple times later and although I was much more prepared for it the shaking and load noise of the straining engines still made you hold your breath. One of the scariest times was on a trip to the Soviet Union, before the Iron Curtain came down. I had flown from Canada to London England where I boarded a British Airways flight to Warsaw Poland where I was to transfer and fly to Borispol in the Ukraine. Getting off the modern and well maintainned BA Jet in Warsaw I had no idea that the next plane ride I would take would be one of the scariest of my life. You see I was flying to my destination on a plane from the Aeroflot fleet, the USSR’s signature airline. Once seated I snapped shut my seatbelt and began to take in my surroundings. The first thing that caught my eye was the dimness of the lighting which may have been by design but I noticed that several of the various lights about the aircraft were out thus creating a gloomy atmosphere. Then I picked up on the head rests that were not the disposable kind that was in style with NA airlines in those years, but a heavy knitted square pad that was secured by thread directly to the seat back. They were dingy dirty and faded obviously not changed in a long time. There were no instructions by the flight attendants and the only refreshments were a cup of luke warm tea and a small biscuit but this is not what made it a scary flight. It was the constant flexing of the sides of the aircraft while we were at cruising altitude. Imagine watching the side of the plane next to you moving in and out and then noticing that many screw holes had missing screws, some of which were rolling around at the edge of the porthole. The affects of air turbulence was terrifying in comparison to anything I had experienced inside an aircraft up to that point in my life. I found out afterwards that I was on a so-called “domestic flight” which normally doesn’t carry foreigners. The better planes are kept for flying international flights out of Moscow of which I finally ended up doing. There were many more uncomfortable moments over the years as I said but none that would ever deter me from
flying.

Several issues raised over the past year show how we have allowed special interest groups and the Liberal mentality to take very simple things and spin them into politically correct causes.If you want to retain your sanity then follow this simple rule. Discard all of their rhetoric and ask yourself, "what makes sense". Here are some examples to illustrate how the left spins things:

1. Quebec bans face coverings
a) Spin...A human rights issue because it does not allow the practice of one's religion.
b) Common Sense...How do you identify someone with their face covered..licences, passports etc.
2. Ottawa university bans Ann Coulter
a) Spin...Coulter is a hate monger spewing rascist propaganda
b) Common Sense...Ann Coulter is an outspoken Conservative who has an opinion of Liberalism that differs with the mainstream. Free speech should apply to all.
3. BC tries to ban the book "America Stands Alone" by Mark Steyn
a( Spin.....The book is about Muslims and the growth of their population around the world and therefore must be considered biased against their Religion and thus is hate speech.
b) Common Sense....The book documents facts and figures that are indisputable and generates probabilites for the future. Once again Freedom of Speech under attack from the left and special interest groups.
4. Cartoonist under attack from Muslim Fanatics
a) Spin....Because this person drew cartoons about Mohammed he has been deemed to have defamed the Prophet and must be killed.
b) Common Sense.... Cartoons are pictures and words. Since when does a person have to die because of them?
5. UN slams Isreal for killing Hamas leaders
a) Spin... Isreal is an occupying nation unnecessarliy killing poor innocent Palestinians.
b) Common Sense....Isreal retaliates after months of rockets sent over their borders by Hamas which killed many innocent citizens.
6. Government pays Clifford Olsen, a convicted Serial Killer, a pension
a) Spin...Everybody is human and therefore we shouldn't discriminate.
b) Common Sense....Why does a serial killer who will never get out of prison need a pension?

I could go on but this is a sample of the stupidity surrounding Liberalism and our society of victims. Don't get fooled by their nonsense.

Ann Coulter is one of the most intelligent people I have ever ran across and so much so I would put her in a class with Rush Limbaugh who is the smartest of them all. What makes me laugh is all of the left wing pundits and elitists that demean her constantly without ever understanding that she plays them like a fine violin. Most if not all of her passionate critics never really listen to all that she has to say. They only hear snippets and sound bites that the media chooses to publish or air because they too, are critics and therefore only report on the things they feel will show her in the worst light. She has a superior wit and an incredible sense of humour but it is lost on those that have none of the same. She speaks the truth without the cover of politically correct spin and this just makes the liberal minds boil. How can this woman break all of the rules we have formed over many years of PC spin? Has she no compassion? Generally she turns the tables on them like she did with the threat to go to the "Human Rights" Commission with a complaint about a hate crime committed by the University of Ottawa. She throws their beloved Liberal beliefs back in their faces and makes them look silly when they get angry and start calling her names etc. How appropriate that these people fawn over the likes of Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Che Guevara and others that have killed thousands of people including women and children and yet they lose their cool over the words of Ann Coulter. Of course she loves the publicity because it helps sell her books and increases her popularity on TV. This is how she makes her living but it doesn't change her principles and beliefs as it does with so many of her rivals. Liberalism and its proponents provide her and Rush with a never ending supply of ammunition to point out the idiocy of this political persuasion. And when faced with having to look at their illogical policies and subsequent failures they revert to personal attacks which in turn makes them look even more incompetent. I don't consider myself a "right wing lunatic,gun totin' redneck that the left purports are the only people that listens to her and I don't believe anyone else who enjoys her is either. It does help to be a conservative however because it means you will have an open mind and will take the time to listen and understand what she says first, before forming an opinion based on what you have heard or seen in the media. Think about it. I believe you will be surprised.

I believe Brian MacLeod missed the entire point behind Obama’s victory in passing the recent Health Care Bill in the USA. Our neighbours to the south are a representative republic meaning that the government should build legislation and laws based on the will of the people. Almost 75% of the voting population did not want this huge spending bill and they made their Democratic Congressmen aware of this fact. The Republicans also heard from their constituency but were powerless to do anything because of Obama’s super majority in both Houses. So let’s be clear he was not fighting his opponents he was fighting his own party and the American people (75%). Far from taking a stand on principle he forged ahead with this Bill because he is an ideologue who believes he knows what’s best for everyone regardless of what they think or want. He used tactics that may have been used before but never for a Bill of this magnitude. He and his co-horts bullied and bribed their own Democratic Congressmen and Senators to get the votes they needed to get this gigantic piece of legislation passed. Fortunately for him it will be these people that will face an angry electorate in November while he has three years to allow memories to blur. There is a grass roots movement in the USA to return to Conservative principles and it is being driven primarily by backlash to Obama’s administration and the way they have governed since coming into office. So I’m not sure I would call him courageous for only winning a battle within his own party and for refusing to consider the will of the majority of his citizens. We don’t need a leader of this ilk in Canada as we already have a plethora of these types.

It is very evident that the Anglo-Saxon or Caucasion race of people is slowly dying out. In Countries where thi s race of people primarily reside the birthrate is 1.5 babies per female or lower. In order for the population to stay even it needs to be a minimum of 2.1 children born for every woman. The prediction is that both the Anglos in Canada and the European Countries will have ceded the majority to non Caucasion peoples by the middle of the century. The USA will take a little longer depending on the influx of both legal and illegal immigrants over the next ten years but nevertheless it will fall in line by the end of the century. There are many reasons for the decline in the Anglo American and European races but most if not all are directly related to "Social Engineering" and "Special Interest Groups". To start and review this phenomenum one must look at the beginning of the 20th century and the Industrial Revolution. From this point onward we saw a continuous expansion of wealth in the western world and regardless of the bumps and temporary slowdowns of financial depressions and recessions the standard of living improved continuously up to and including the current day. With the prosperity came freedoms not seen or heard of before and everyone wanted their fair share of the pie so groups such as the Suffragets, the ACLU, labor unions and many many more organized to fight for their particular cause. The suffragets for instance formed to seek rights for women which was a just and righteous cause but later became the Women's Liberation movement that demonized men while at the same time ridiculing women that wanted to be family caregivers and raise their children. They also fought successfully for a woman's right to abort a baby for any reason. Now whether you agree with this right or not you have to admit that losing potentially 40 million babies to abortion over the past 40 years has negatively affected the white population in the western world. Labor unions who were originally fighting for basic workers rights grew into large political organizations concerned more with power and wealth. They, along with other leftists have pushed for more entitlement and socialist type programs which are cover terms for the "redistribution of wealth". In order to support this philosophy everyone had to pay more and more taxes which drives up the cost of living for everyone. So in the 60's and 70's it became apparent that women no longer had a choice between staying home and raising a family because two incomes were required to 1) be able to enjoy all of the products coming available in the new age of technology and 2) to cover the high cost of taxation. Mix in some planned parenthood and voila' we have the reduction in childbirth by healthy families to 1 or 2 children because they just can't afford more. Sure there are other factors involved but none with more impact than those I have noted. The United States was the last beacon of hope but with Obama trashing the concept of self reliance and inividual rights and conforming America into a large "Collective" it appears they are heading along the designated path with the others. I worry for my grandchildren and their children because if I'm right we will have not left them as great a Country as our fathers left us.
Margaret Thatcher on Socilaism........There is nothing wrong with socialism until you run out of other people's money.