As a conservative thinker I have steadfastly made my position known regarding our flawed welfare system and the relentless practice of Liberal and Socialist types of throwing cash at every problem facing the poor. I believe and I think most common sense folks would agree that we must always help the less fortunate in our society if they truly need and want our assistance. But this help should be first directed at those that are either unable (either physically or mentally) to care for themselves. Then we should look to those that find themselves in dire circumstances but are willing and able to accept help with the desire to get back on their feet. The objective should always be to help return them to self sufficiency not to learn to survive on the dole. Every once and awhile you read a story in the papers about a person who has ended up on the streets and needs help to get back into society. Every time it seems that someone or some group of people step up to the plate and offer assistance in the short term and what is more helpful, a job or an opportunity to better themselves on the road to a reasonable future. It is with these two categories of people that we need to direct our money and efforts towards. I remember years ago when I would go down to the Scott Mission to serve meals to the homeless and poor during the Christmas season. I would talk to some of these folks and I always wondered why they never seemed enthusiastic about changing their lifestyle. Eventually it occurred to me that many of them chose to live on the streets for a variety of reasons, many I`m sure that may not seem plausible to you or me but never the less they were adamant that it was their choice. We on the other hand were facilitating their choice and because we focussed on them we have built up a bureaucracy around caring for their type and their type only. The millions and millions that are poured into the homeless programs rarely cover more than the basic needs for shelter and food. If we were to think about the true meaning of Christmas and caring for the weak and needy we would focus our efforts towards those that truly can`t help themselves, as mentioned above, and then those that want help that will lead to a life off the streets and out of the shelters for good. Turn the funding over to volunteer citizens that will find these people and help them out of a lifetime of poverty and government handouts. Two things would happen. First, those that choose to live on the street will move on to other city`s if they can`t get the regular dole here. This of course will bring down the number of homeless and secondly those that accept the hand up will eventually leave the streets for a better life. This again will reduce the numbers of folks on the streets. This type of system will take a little more work but I bet you will get more volunteers than you think. People will stand up to help if it appears these folks will really be aided and not just given a few bread crumbs so the elite can go home and feel guilt free because they have `helped``. Massive infrastructure, massive spending and gigantic giveaway programs don`t work as we have seen over the past 40 years. The problem just gets bigger and bigger and as the old saying goes, ``if you keep doing what you have always done, you will keep getting what you have always gotten``. Forget the platitudes and the political mumbo jumbo let`s try to really solve this problem with the true Christmas spirit.

Why do so-called intelligent people keep perpetuating a problem year after year rather than taking steps to solve it???? Throwing good money after bad into a deep dark hole called “Foreign Aid to Africa”. Read the following excerpt from Brookings....

The Bush Administration Record
The Bush Administration has significantly increased aid to Africa, but that increase falls far short of what the President has claimed. U.S. aid to Africa from FY 2000 (the last full budget year of the Clinton Administration) to FY2004 (the last completed fiscal year of the Bush Administration) has not "tripled" or even doubled. Rather, in real dollars, it has increased 56% (or 67% in nominal dollar terms). The majority of that increase consists of emergency food aid, rather than assistance for sustainable development of the sort Africa needs to achieve lasting poverty reduction.

Why do you think GW Bush provided more in food aid than just a cash handout to the individual so-called governments of these African nations? Could it be that food was more likely to reach the people within the countries that it was ultimately designed to reach? Bush knew, as did all of the Presidents before him knew, that aid in the form of cash went into the pockets of the dictators and despots that rule most of these poorer nations. The money never reached the people and the actions needed to permanently solve the poverty issues never did happen. Yet why do the western nation’s carryon this facade of continually dumping money into these areas without any commitments from these governments to use it productively? Well I will tell you, it is because, as with most bleeding hearts initiatives, it is always about the act and not the results. They can wrap a nice bow around 25 billion dollars and send it off thereby relieving their perceived guilt about having so much and others having so little. They now feel better and can go about their business regardless what happens in a far off land filled with starving people. If anyone tries to tell them that this doesn’t work and something must be done about the corrupt governments, their answer is “We can’t meddle in another country’s business as we do not have the right”. I say “HOGWASH!!!!” What is wrong with demanding a plan to show where this money will go along with auditable milestones? Also require a full accounting on a quarterly basis that is reviewed with the subject Country and with the understanding that any discrepancies with Global Standard Accounting Procedures will curtail the flow of aid money. It seems pretty simple to me but when politicians dole out this cash you must remember they are spending our tax money not their own bucks. This is another area where “out of control government spending” is taking place and is a good starting point to begin reeling back these wasteful activities. Hey people it’s not going to happen until we speak up rather than just complaining to ourselves.

Over the past year or more I have been alerting people to the dangers of big government and the slow process of change that is taking us towards Socialism and maybe on to Communism,who knows? So to you naysayers (not mentioning any names “B”) here’s some facts that clearly illustrate what I am talking about. Over 30 years ago I would always tell my sons that the “Private Sector” was the place to get a job and plan a career. Working for the Government was not a very secure job and the pay was not as much as in the Private Sector. Every time the recession cycle came around the government had to tighten its belt and layoff’s generally occurred. The upside was that you didn’t have to work very hard and the benefits were good, not great, but good. Even people just out of high school who chose not to go to University or College had the opportunity to get general labour jobs in the market that paid very well. If you were fortunate to land a position at one of the “Manufacturing Plants” in Ontario you would be able to maintain a reasonable lifestyle while raising a few kids. Then it started to change as Liberal Government after Liberal Government both Federally and Provincially began to spend more and more money to bring in larger entitlement plans as well as projects that weren’t necessary. Of course in order to pay for these giveaways and boondoggles taxes had to be raised on everyone through many different ways. Sales taxes, Value added taxes, health taxes, employment taxes, and gas taxes and on and on were introduced in order to pay for the indulgent and high spending politician’s programs and pet projects. As the everyday “Joe” lost more and more of his paycheque, guess who had to go to work to supplement the family income?Boom a wave of women hit the job market and guess what, jobs became more difficult to get and when there are more people than jobs the hiring folks are in the driver’s seat. Next came the assault on industry as tons of red tape and taxes were hoisted onto business driving down their revenue and profit. Because of the low value of the Canadian dollar the Canadian manufacturing sector managed to survive for awhile by exporting more to the States (thanks to NAFTA). Once the dollar began to rise then this edge was lost and Company after Company either failed or moved out of the Country. Thousands upon thousands of jobs were lost and never replaced. The average of 3% or 4% unemployed rose to the new norm of 8%. Now here we are today and I am telling my sons, “ stay in the Public Sector because these are the jobs that are secure, well paid and have enormous benefits." You will make on average $20,000 more per year than the average Joe in the Private sector and you won’t have to worry about being laid off because now during a recession the Government just keeps on spending and hiring. It reminds me of the USSR in the late 80’s when I went there on business. At the manufacturing plant I visited the parking lot had many BMW’s and Volvo’s that were driven by the Boss’s and the Communist Government overseers. Right next to these were some Lada’s and then mostly horse and wagons that were used by the employees. If we don’t get common sense Government leadership or the people don’t revolt I submit our workplaces will look the same. Check the stats in both the USA and Canada and you will see the same trend. Unfortunately for Canada we have too many sheep and not enough bulls so it will more difficult to stem the tide, but not impossible.

I recently purchased a DVD album with 55 episodes of old Cowboy TV shows with stars such as the Lone Ranger, Buffalo Bill and Rowdy Yates along with many more. After viewing a few Lone Ranger shows it occurred to me that as we traveled through the decades our society has gained so much knowledge and technology but at what price? These old shows just overflowed with moral lessons regardless if there was violence or not. When two guys got into a fight it usually pitted good vs bad and it was always easy to identify the hero. The story lines were usually simple and easy to follow and so as a youngster I could run outside after the show and immediately become the “masked man”. On the downside the simplicity of these shows were also their downfall as special effects started to edge its way onto TV and all of the sudden the written word and a guy dropping to ground after being shot didn’t carry as much impact as a profanity laced tirade coupled with a gunshot to the head that spewed blood all over the place. Respect for your foe became extinct and even the friends were not to be trusted. All the TV producers scrambled to get more and more so-called reality into their shows through special effects and realism that the idea of a good script and a good story dropped by the wayside. Deadly violence became a necessity because without it you wouldn’t be able to see the wound and the seeping blood, or the piece of skull flying off with the buckshot. Don’t get me wrong though, because I’m not suggesting that TV and movies create killers and violent morons as some are want to do. This is just a convenient way to explain away mass killers. What I do think it has done, however is to accelerate the growth of our children. I would submit that with the technology today and the overload of information on the TV shows that these kids are bombarded with, makes it almost impossible to shield them from any or all of it. These kids at 7 years old are far smarter than we were at the same age half a century ago and they understand more about adults then many give them credit for. These children at 7 & 8 years old know as much as many 13 year old's did in the 60’s. And while many say this is good, it can be a challenge for the parents who must realize with whom they are dealing and adjust accordingly. In the past a command from a parent did not elicit a response of any kind. Today a command may well be challenged for some logic and even if it is just “hey I’m tired” it gives them a reason to do what they are told and life hopefully goes on without a problem. What I also don’t like in this acceleration mode is the number of children who continuously watch all these smutty cartoons and early evening adult shows. They surpass their parent’s mental prowess and end up as “miniature adults”. These kids bring their learning’s, lack of discipline and questionable morals from home to pass on to our kids in the hallways and like a disease it can spread rapidly throughout any school. The sharp parent must keep up with their kids and provide them with confidence to be independent and to stand up and think for themselves. Easy to say I know, but very tough to do. I have two grandsons that are fortunate enough to have a Mom and Dad that are very good at the art of parenting which is very evident when you see the boys. I have another grandson who is very young at this point but I foresee him as being blessed with great parents as well. Every year that goes by, the job of raising children becomes more and more challenging, so keep your wits about you, Mom and Dad.

The other day I heard a story about a woman in Oklahoma that had shot a man breaking into her house. It was an amazing story because after she heard this guy outside in the yard she immediately called 911 and the dispatcher was on the line for the entire time including when she was forced to defend herself against this home invader. She explained that a man was outside pounding on her doors and windows telling her to let him in or he would smash the window to accomplish the task. She told the dispatcher that she had a 12 gauge shotgun and did not want to use it, but would if she had too. The guy who apparently was over 6 ft tall picked up a sofa type object on her front porch, raised it over his head and proceeded to throw it threw her front window smashing it to pieces. Once he had created an opening he walked over the debris and into her house. It was at this time as he approached the woman that she shot him point blank while screaming at him and the dispatcher. She then went outside saying she thought she had killed him. Outside in the driveway was his friend, a woman passed out in the passenger seat allegedly high on drugs and alcohol. This guy it turns out had a record of burglary and drug related crimes. According to the law in this State it is crystal clear that the lady was defending herself in her own home and that will be the end of the issue. By the way she lived in a rural area. Now let’s compare that episode with what could possibly happen in Canada and specifically in Ontario if the situation was the same. Here is a brief excerpt of the law that relates to the self defense issue:
“A person is justified in using force to defend himself against an unlawful assault provided he did not provoke the assault and the force he uses is not meant to cause death or grievous bodily harm. The defense may be available even if the assailant is killed. Provocation consists of conduct intended to provoke an assault. The force used must be no more than necessary to enable him to defend himself.”

Our justice system may conclude that she provoked the assault because she did not open the door? Perhaps he had to go to the bathroom or needed a drink of water. The point being that she had no idea what he wanted other than to get in. Did she have to use deadly force? Did she not have a baseball bat or a taser handy? Could she have just strongly warned him not to assault her without shooting him? Was it necessary to kill him or could she just have shot him in the leg to slow him down so she could get away. She might also get in trouble for premeditation by telling the dispatcher she was going to shoot the intruder. Unfortunately, under Canadian law she could face a lawsuit from the family and a charge from the Crown of unlawful use of a firearm along with manslaughter which could carry a sentence of up to 8 years. This may seem outrageous to many of you but it has happened already and God forbid if the deceased assailant is a member of a visible minority because then she would be attacked mercilessly by the media and the left wing do-gooders as well. On the upside the fact that she’s a woman will definitely help her chances as opposed to being a healthy male who would have been treated much more poorly and if he was white he would have no chance at all. This is a sad state of affairs but it is exactly where we stand today in the world of “Political Correctness” and the “save and rehabilitate the bad guys” mental set. My choice would still be to shoot the guy. As a friend once said to me “I’d rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6.

Recently it was discovered that the Organization in the UK where most, if not all of the data on man- made Global warming was developed over the past 25 years had lied and misconstrued information to support the theory that man has caused the Warming of the Planet. There were thousands of pieces of information including damning communications between the so-called scientists that showed bias and outright lies were used to keep this myth alive. My guess would be that not many reading this blog are familiar with the details of this discovery because the main stream media is not covering this revelation. They have chosen to ignore it because it doesn’t fit the template required to push this agenda through to its conclusion which, is to turn over the control of the United States and Canada’s energy consumption to the new Global Government which has been formed by the United Nations. This will mean that the largest industrialized nation in the world and another in the top ten will basically turn over their economies to foreigners. How you say? Well consider that the new government will be able to dictate to our industries how much energy they can use, the amount of emissions they can put into the atmosphere and how large a carbon footprint they can maintain. If they don’t meet these imposed standards they will be taxed in a punitive manner. Companies then will be forced to 1. Cut costs (jobs) 2. Raise prices (hit to consumer) or 3. Become uncompetitive with Global competition (those that do not have to comply with these standards China- India & smaller third world nations)and be forced to shut down. The objective behind this is not so much climate control as it is the redistribution of wealth from the North American civilization to the other poorer nations of the world. So if man-made global warming is found to be a hoax it would severely damage the entire UN plan which of course, is unconceivable from a Liberal point of view. While helping developing nations grow their economies appears to be a noble cause, this is not the way to do it. During times when kings, tsars and dictators were the ruling governments of the day you could probably make a more reasonable argument about taking from these elites and spreading their unearned wealth around. But it doesn’t work in North America because most of the wealth has been accumulated through hard work and ingenuity by ordinary folks and not through birth rites or military coups. What reasoning is there for taking away from self reliant, self made men and women and giving it to third world countries that for the most part are still ruled by despots? Once again the compassionate Liberals and socialists just want control of the money so they can hand it out indiscriminately to the needy with no thought to where it originated and in what manner it could be spent productively (think dark black hole). The brain washing of a generation seems to have been working and therefore the results may be achieved in Copenhagen this week. People get yourself educated on this subject because if you don’t, you will be following the herd into the slaughterhouse and the worse of it is, you will be smiling and thinking you have done a good thing.

CASA GRANDE, ARIZONA — Authorities say a man died after parachuting from a cell phone tower at night and hitting high-voltage power lines.
Pinal County sheriff's Lt. Tamatha Villar says 23-year-old Darrell Dunafon and two friends broke into a cell tower site about 30 miles south of Phoenix on Friday night and were parachuting off the approximately 400-foot-tall antennae.
Dunafon's parachute tangled in nearby 12,000-volt power lines and he was shocked with a live wire.
Villar says the two friends called for help, and rescue crews turned off the power and cut Dunafon down. He had a slight pulse but was pronounced dead at a hospital in the nearby town of Casa Grande.

SEATTLE — Seattle police say a man who thought he was a ninja was impaled on a metal fence when he tried to leap over it. An officer who was looking for an assault victim nearby Monday night heard the man screaming for help. Police supported him to prevent further injuries until medics arrived and took him to a hospital, where he was in serious condition in intensive care on Tuesday.

OZARK, ARK. — A police officer in a small Arkansas town used a stun gun on an unruly 10-year-old girl after he said her mother gave him permission to do so. Now the town's mayor is calling for an investigation into whether the Taser use was appropriate

SAUDI ARABIA-- a man has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for witchcraft because he makes predictions on television.Ali Sibat is not even a Saudi national. The Lebanese citizen was only visiting Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage when he was arrested in Medina last year. A court in the city condemned him as a witch on Nov. 9.

NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA ---I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! Winner Gino D'Acampo and Stuart Manning face charges of animal cruelty after cooking and eating a rat in the show. The RSPCA in, said it was "not acceptable" that a rat had been killed by the pair as part of a performance. Police confirmed they had issued court attendance notices for 3 February 2010. The Italian chef and actor ate the rat after they were "exiled" and reduced to rations of rice and beans on the show.

TWIN CITIES Marathon --Veteran marathoner Jerry Johncock, 81, was four-fifths through the in October when he was overtaken by a medical problem common to men of his age: urinary blockage. As he stopped to discuss his plight with officials, noting that he would have to quit the race to get to a hospital before his bladder burst, a spectator overheard the conversation and offered him the use of a "spare" catheter he had in his car. Johncock repaired to a rest room, administered the catheter, and returned to finish the race. [St. Paul Pioneer Press, 10-7-09]

CHERTSEY ENGLAND-- In August, the Thorpe Park amusement facility, posted signs on its roller coaster admonishing riders not to wave their arms during the ride. According to director Mike Vallis: "We've found that when the temperature tops 77 degrees (F), the level of unpleasant (underarm) smells can become unacceptable, and we do receive complaints." [Daily Telegraph, 8-18-09]

HAMILTON ONTARIO-- Lisa Blair and her six sisters were enjoying a Thanksgiving meal when they began noticing suspicious flecks in the food and realized that their necklace lockets, containing the ashes of their mother (who had passed away two weeks earlier) were leaking. A local funeral services store restocked and sealed the lockets. [Hamilton Spectator, 10-26-09]

If you want to focus on learning a skill which will be extremely useful to you during your lifetime then learn to lie properly. Our society today, demands that you know how to lie and more so, to do it with passion. If you think I am kidding consider the justice system which is built around the ability to lie convincingly. If you are arrested or charged with a crime and you are guilty every lawyer worth his or her salt will tell you to lie by pleading not guilty. In this way the system has to prove you guilty within a reasonable doubt. If you are sued on a civil matter then there is a need to prove your guilt through a preponderance of the evidence and therefore you always have a chance of winning the case. Politicians above all others must master this skill if they are ever to be successful. They call it spin but the bottom line is it is deceit by way of omission, the twisting of facts or just bold face lying. Think about the celebrities who get caught with their hands in the evil cookie jar and then tell me which ones ever come right out and tell you the truth before they are forced to do so if ever. Sure David Letterman did a mea culpa on national TV but this was after years of lying to his wife and others. How about all of the athletes that took steroids and then adamantly denied it to the public and in some cases to the Congress of the United States and the Justice Department? But it is not just criminals and famous people that lie it is every one of us who twist the truth every day to suit our needs. If you get stopped by the police for speeding do you immediately say to the cop “Yes I was speeding I deserve the ticket” and then smile while you accept a $100 fine? If your child breaks an expensive piece of furniture are the chances good that they will readily admit to it or say “It wasn’t me!” In the past a man’s word was his bond and in most cases you could take it to the bank because people had to have trust in other folks in order to make society work in the old days. Most times it was a matter of honour and folks such as knights and royals would prefer to die rather than damage their reputation. The Military is the last harbinger of honour as I see it because they require this attribute if an army is to function properly and each soldier is to rely on his or her comrade on the field of battle. Even when captured they do not lie when interrogated they just relate minimum details like rank, name and serial number. So you ask, “How did we get here?” My guess is that our Liberal society has and continues to focus on the “ME” premise and not the good of the whole, that being our families, our culture, our society and our country. Rules and principles have been thrown out the window if it means I can get a better deal for myself. The media and the guru’s make fun of religion and anything else that isn’t based strictly on the quest for a hedonistic society that has no moralistic boundaries. Truth is a premise that can make you a fool, a rat or a loser whereby lying shows you have courage, moxy and good damage control PR people. It is foolish to expect the truth from anyone today so sadly I say to you, be aware and always consider you are being told a lie until you can verify it yourself.

It never ceases to amaze me that so many people are ready and willing to get in line and follow the latest fad, movement or so-called “good cause” without exploring the facts and information surrounding it. This latest “Man-Made Global Warming Issue” is another hoax perpetrated on society by the elitists around the world that think they know what’s best for everyone. Al Gore and his ilk have made millions from this myth about man (and in particular the North American man) causing the earth’s climate change. The so-called science for this conclusion has never been verified and now we see why. The scientists who were sceptical of this fallacy were always brushed off by the elitists and were never allowed to publish their opinions and supporting evidence in the Science Journals. Evidence supporting the fact that any warming of the planet was not man-made was destroyed lest it get into the wrong hands. The socialist governments around the world needed this scam to be believed so they could perpetuate one of the biggest frauds the Western World has ever seen. You see this was to be the “Mother of the Redistribution of the Wealth” programs. Through the guise of “Global Warming” trillions of dollars would be moved from the USA, Canada, Mexico and the EU (Not China and India) to all of the third world countries in Africa and around the World. Even today after the evidence has spilled into the public arena people still blindly support this fear mongering bunch of liars as they continue to try and get to “One World Order” through this bogus scheme. To believe in so called “Green Practices” is not a bad thing if it makes sense. For instance, changing appliances to save energy makes sense because you save money and it cuts down on the overall use of energy in total. On the other hand to give up your gas-driven lawn mower for a push mower because of so-called carbon emissions which will warm the earth is not common sense. It is a surrender to fear mongering and nonsensical facts. Even recycling can be argued as unnecessary if you consider the cost of the entire recycle infrastructure weighed against incinerators and landfills. I read somewhere that 81% of the USA land area is unpopulated which begs the question why can’t we use some of it for landfill. Cannot modern technology develop incinerators that will prevent the output from becoming smog and forget about Carbon Emissions altogether? These Global Warming hucksters are about people lying to get what they want, it’s that simple. I don’t really know who to trust these days as most politicians are so adept at spinning tales to fit their arguments. I guess in the future we just have to ask ourselves “Does this Make Sense?” before climbing on board with any political party or candidate. When scientists talk about “consensus” beware, because science is proven facts not consensus. When they tell you “man” causes the carbon emissions that heat up the earth right after you see scientific evidence that cow flatulence contributes to 80% of carbon emissions it should “ring a bell”. When the mainstream media does not even entertain a dissenting view on this subject it should make you stop and think “Why?” Don’t be a sheep be a stallion or mare leading the herd.

From time to time my son or his wife has an unexpected change in their work schedule that causes them to ask me if I could take the kids to school or pick them up after school depending on their particular situation. After pondering all of 1.5 seconds I accept the mission and the tape self destructs. The plan for this undertaking is a morning operation where I have to get up at 6:00AM to be ready to leave the house by 6:20AM. The first stop is to get a coffee and pick up the daily newspaper after which I head up north to my son’s place which is about a 15 minute drive. When I arrive the kids are out of bed, dressed and ready for breakfast. On this particular morning my son was the parent last to leave and this he did after giving the boys their waffle and syrup. The three of us then sat there watching cartoons as we usually do until they finish eating and move into the living room. I stayed in the kitchen sipping my coffee and nibbling my toast so as to drag out the finishing of my breakfast so I can get to read my newspaper. This is a tricky situation because the boys will not put any pressure on me to get up and play with them if they know I have food or coffee left to consume. The paper really doesn’t concern them so you can see why I have to coordinate these two tasks. Finally I finish or they determine I’m stalling and up I get to be armed with my sword and helmet or some other such weapons and away we go. These can be very hard fought battles and I know I won once, it’s just that I can’t remember when that was exactly. Suddenly it’s time for school and the boys automatically drop everything and head for the door. I think they were late one time and Daddy explained that it wouldn’t be a good idea if it happened again. On with the shoes, coats, hats and mitts, then pick up the back packs and off to the truck we go to get strapped in to their booster seats. It’s only a 5 minute ride to the school but we have to get there early because my oldest grandson gets picked up by a bus at the youngest one’s school. This is because he goes to another learning facility across town. After getting the #1 grandson on to the bus #2 and I sit in the truck talking and trying to keep warm until it’s time for us to walk up to the fenced off holding area where the kids all hang out until the bell rings and then file off into their classrooms. Once there I would lead #2 to the gate and the teacher would take over from there. On this particular morning however, my little guy (he’s just about 5 years old) decides he’d rather I stay with him for another 5 minutes until the bell rings. So this is what happened, he looks up at me and says,” Grampa it is unusually cold this morning, do you think you could keep me warm until I have to go in.” I couldn’t believe he just said “unusually cold” but regardless Grampa knelt down and put my arms around him in a big bear hug and kept him there nice and warm until he was summoned by the bell. We didn't move for 5 minutes in this pose which was wonderful.This is another special moment in time that I will never forget.