Disorders

If 7-year-old Mozart tried composing his concertos today, he might be diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and be medicated into barren normality.

Here! Have Some Money

CTV reports that the Ontario government will contribute $81.2 million to help create hundreds of new jobs at Ford’s engine plant in Windsor.

This generous and continual outpouring of taxpayers’ money leaves many wondering if the governments of today are really in touch with the common citizen, or if they even want to be.

Things Noticed

A response from the local NDP MP to a letter objecting to the new HST tax contained this sentence, “I and my NDP colleagues oppose the manner in which these deals are being implemented”.

One could pull from their response that the NDP may be more opposed to the manner in which the tax is implemented than the tax itself.

A letter to the NDP, such as the objection mentioned, apparently gains you a spot on their mailing list even though you didn’t ask for or want such an addition.

More Taxes

The Canadian government will be adding yet another tax to airline tickets. It will range from $2.58 to $8.91 for a one-way ticket. The reason the government gives is the all encompassing excuse of “enhanced security”.

The minimum Canadian taxes on the cheapest ($437) Vancouver to Montreal return flight ticket are currently $115.18.

This compares to a longer US return flight between Spokane and Florida which nets only $48 in taxes.

Government In Your Life

According to the New York Times, nearly one in four American workers finds employment with companies that have contracts with the federal government.

Reverse Report

Liberal members of the Senate called for sweeping changes to the RCMP in a published position paper.

They prattled on with much fancy language and political yak-yak.

But what if we reversed that? What if we substituted “RCMP” where it said “Senate” and “Senate” where it said “RCMP” What if we made some slight alterations?

The story might read this way:

RCMP Report On The Re-Making Of The Senate

“Restructuring the Senate makes far more sense than trying to stuff more of the old cronies into Ottawa. Weeding out the useless is far more effective than sending political favourites into their very own “money and benefit haven” for very long stretches of time.” So declares the latest RCMP report on the Canadian Senate.

The RCMP acknowledges that there is a Senate reform process underway, but the RCMP does not have much faith in that process. They warn that if it does not work, Canadians are in for many more "horror stories" about the wasteful abuse in what they call democracy.

"The Senate transformation seems to lack any momentum," said Sgt. DeGood. "Some of the bigger things it lacks are any sort of honesty, reality or human-caring.”

Among the reforms suggested by the RCMP is a Taser policy. Rather than getting into petty, infantile arguments with each other, the Senate, and even the House of Commons, could simply taser each other when they disagreed.

The RCMP report went further, “Perhaps the Senate in Canada has served its purpose and it is time to move one. Total abolition might be the best answer.”

Leprosy

Canada has about 7-10 reported cases of leprosy (Hansen's disease) a year. The US has 150 to 200. The frequency increases with the amount of immigration.

Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams

Perhaps he could have had his heart surgery in Canada, but he chose Florida instead. It was his place of preference.

Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams spoke these brave words of freedom to a largely socialist Canada, "This is my heart, it's my health, it's my choice."

What Connects Canada?

I wondered while observing the Olympic Games fervour. I wondered about what unites Canadians.

The Americans have their revolution and their fight for independence. They have their constitution. They have 9/11. All of these give points of national, all-embracing emotional connection.

What does Canada have that unites its citizens emotionally?

I asked the next four people I talked to and received these answers:

· The Grey Cup

· Not God

· Ordinary people achieving great things

· Small people not trying to be a big player

In the soon future, I would like to ask that question again.

Outer View

Outer View

By Old Willy Longbeard

WillyLongbeard@boundaryfreepress.com

Well, howdy.

This morning someone gave me some good words. I’d like to share them with you.

He said, “Place your life before the Lord.”

I like that. Right away you become honest-like.

Then he said, “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit right into it without even thinking. Fix your attention on God and you will be changed from the inside out and not be dragged down into society’s low level of maturity.”

How wise is that, I ask you?

Then he finished with these helpful words: “Live by pure grace. If you preach, just preach God’s message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if your are put in charge, don’t manipulate. And keep a smile on your face!”

I like those words, they warmed me.

How about you?

‘Til next time. Farewell.

Opposite Thoughts

The politically correct are busy whining that the use of French during the Olympics Opening Ceremony “wasn't sufficient". They are saying that there should have been more French.

If the truth came out, the politically incorrect, and the majority, say there is way too much French.

Wondering

Teacher unions say education is too important to leave to the competitive market.

If that is true, might it not also be said that education is too important to surrender to a politically-motivated Government Monopoly?

Just What You Need!

Just what your dog needs for next Christmas! Mattel is offering a dog collar that generates one of 500 random tweets to your dog’s Twitter account. I don’t why know the dog would want one, but you can buy it for $29.95!

Report Cards

The Fraser Institute “School Report Card” gave John A. Hutton Elementary of Grand Forks a 7.7 rating, up from 6.1. It ranked 146 out of 876 schools.

Dr. D. A. Perley Elementary, also of Grand Forks, received a 6.7, up from 5.5. It ranked 302 out of 876.

School unions have screamed furiously at the Fraser Institute for rating the schools.

Some administrators have put down the score cards as well, especially if their school districts do poorly.

At a glance, the Boundary area has improved in recent years.

Meadowridge School in Maple Ridge and Mulgrave School in West Vancouver, among other top schools, each received ratings of 10 and ranked number one.

Roosevelt Park in Prince Rupert and Carney Hill in Prince George received ratings of 0.5 and 0.3. They ranked last.

Truest Words

God has spoken so decisively in His gospel:

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life

but whoever rejects the Son will not see life

for God's wrath remains on him.

Speaking Out

We are smacked silly with taxes. So silly that we don't do anything about it.

Have we forgotten that we are free people and the government serves us?

It is not the other way around.

The government people have somehow instilled in their well-paid selves that they are free to do what they want and that we are there to serve them. They tax us and tax us and tax us, then they tax the taxes.

When they run out of taxes they switch over to charging fees, as if somehow those are different. A little while later they think up even more taxes and then some more fees. They are out of control. It is very much like organized crime taking what it wants.

How do they get away with it? They get away with it because no one stands up and says no.

It is quite valid to tell the governments to roll back all taxes 50% and then tell them to live within those means. And it is quite valid to tell them to do it now. And to tell them that there will be no further increases unless the people say yes.

If the government people put up excuses and say, "We can't", or, "But, but, but," then you replace them. They are there to serve you. It is not the opposite.

You are a free citizen and you can tell them what to do.

Owned By Government

With the use of biometric e-passports, Canadian agents access a wide circulation of data in a vast international, techno-logically assisted surveillance system.

Already, when crossing the border, names can be cross-checked in government computers to see if travelers are guilty of past tax invasion. Soon they will be able to verify if citizens have duly filed current tax returns.

Daily we are subject to virtually unfettered intelligence gathering. Those who lord over us bank and share massive volumes of personal information.

Victory Against Western Culture

Sweden's unemployment agency is guilty of discrimination for expelling a Muslim man from a job training program because he had refused to shake hands with a woman.

A Stockholm court Monday ordered Public Employment to pay $6,700 in damages to the immigrant from Bosnia. He had lost his jobless benefits when he was kicked out of the program.

Citing his faith, the man had refused to shake hands with a woman when he was interviewing him. The government agency said this behavior was part of the reason he didn't get the position. They excluded him from the program.

The court ruled it was discrimination because of his religion.

Drop In Sales

US consumers are showing less willingness to spend money for magazines. Single-copy sales fell more than nine percent in the second half of 2009.

Dictatorship Struggling

Marketplace commentator David Frum recently took a trip to Venezuela. He had some observations:

“The Venezuelan president has invited a team of Cuban energy experts to help Caracas deal with an ongoing power crisis. That's interesting on two counts. First, Cuba's not really known for having sound energy policies of its own. Also, Venezuela is one of the world's leading energy exporters. It ships millions of barrels of crude oil every day.

“Central University of Venezuela is a UNESCO landmark, a perfect example of the tropical modernism of the 1960s. I visited just a few days ago to talk to students and faculty and noticed something strange: Every clock in the building had stopped dead. I asked why. Answer: The 1980s vintage computer that controlled the clocks had failed, and the university could not obtain foreign currency to repair or replace it.

“I met middle-class professionals who had given up their cars for lack of imported spare parts.

“Next-door, Colombia demands dollars for its coffee, so most Venezuelans must make do with brackish Nicaraguan brew.

“Those who have maintained illegal bank accounts in the United States smuggle scarce goods from Miami.

“Those who must use local currency lose one-third of their purchasing power to inflation every year and in late January saw their savings cut in half by a devaluation.

“Electricity disappears for two hours a day outside the capital. Water taps run dry.

“In January, the Hugo Chavez government seized ownership of a major shopping mall.

“A large grocery chain was caught shipping a boatload of missiles to Hezbollah.

“Chavez ordered cable stations to drop the country's most popular TV station because it did not carry a long-winded presidential speech in full.

“It takes a certain kind of genius to lay waste to the economy of one of the world's major oil producers. But in his excuses, at least, Chavez is very far from original. He fixes the blame where it always goes: on the Americans and the Jews.”

Could Be Better

Illinois, fiscally, is on very shaky ground. The state budget deficit could exceed $11 billion.

It has a $5 billion backlog in unpaid bills. There is an unfunded pension liability of $80 billion.

Children Listen And Learn

Researchers have found that strategies known to help adolescents avoid risky behaviours like smoking, drinking, and drug use can also be effectively used in abstinence-based education programs.

Just one-third of the preteens who participated in an abstinence-only program had sexual intercourse within the next two years. Of those who only learned about out safe sex and contraceptives, 50% had intercourse in the same time period.

The US federal government has invested heavily in abstinence-only education in recent years.

President Obama has cut funding for abstinence-only programs in his 2010 budget.

Censorship At Home

This is the ad that a local TV station will not air.

Copy Of Letter To Prime Minister, Premier, MP, MLA and Governor-General

Hello,

I have been a supporter of recent governments.

This latest HST tax strikes me as unbelievable heavy-handedness by oppressive forces.

We have been pushed too long. My respect of all things government has sunk to close to zero.

I am old now, and physically challenged, and maybe I don't have all that long to go. I leave it for others to act and take charge of their future, but it would not surprise me if one day the citizens rise up in open revolt. I would support them.

This kind of tax robbery is the kind of thing that promotes violent revolution.

Michael Bonner

Greenwood BC

HST Opposition

The NDP have a petition against the HST which you can sign here: http://www.bcndp.ca/hstpetition

To write MPs and MLAs and others visit here: http://fighthst.com/

A Working Quote

Gabriel Thompson, author of the book, "Working In The Shadows," had this to say:

“One of the things that's just incredible is how much work farm workers do. In Yuma (Arizona), every day about 12 million heads of lettuce are cut.”

Working People's Reaction

The prime minister’s office confirmed that the prime minister will address the BC legislature in Victoria February 11, the day before the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games.

Two comment posts from the CBC story “Opposition Irked That PM Will Address BC Legislature” read as follows:

· WOW, can the opposition look any worse? Quit crying and try to do something constructive.

· Stop whining.

Home Ownership

In the US there is a 67.2 percent homeownership rate. This is down from a peak of 69 percent in 2004. Today’s rate is the same as it was in the year 2000. In 1960 it was 62.1 percent.

European Americans have the country's highest homeownership rate (75 percent), while those identifying as being African American have the lowest homeownership rate (48 percent).

In Canada the rate is 68.4 percent, the highest rate since 1971.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp has found that 17 percent of Canadian immigrants become homeowners within six months of their arrival, and more than half of newcomers own homes four years after their arrival.

Truth Can Smack

The recent flaps about Pro-Life television advertising raise some interesting thoughts.

First, it is clear the majority of people in today’s age are not in favour of abortion. They will not continue to remain under suppression no matter how loud minority foes scream out to silence them. Their voices are now ebbing out.

Second is the whole spectrum of free speech. There are a lot of restrictions put upon it in Canada which make it not very free at all.

Third is the front that the television people try to put on: the commercials are too graphic or controversial. Neither excuse holds water. That some people might be offended is undoubtedly true, but so what? Be offended. Such is life. The commercials, however, do not come onto a person strong.

The real opposition comes because the commercials tell a simple truth. Television does not like truth in advertising. Ads are mostly deception. These commercials just give a plain and simple message. They do, nevertheless, deliver a high impact. The commercials don’t ask but the viewer faces the question internally, “How do I feel about that?”

There is no escape. Truth has a way of cutting through pretence.

A Statement

Opposition to abortion is not about the so-called ‘right-to-choose’ movement or any other political agenda.

It is a straight forward matter of life or death.

Letter From The Globe And Mail

Many Canadians, including me, believe that through excessive emphasis on multiculturalism, we are evolving a confused, non-descriptive Canadian identity.

Increasingly, many of us ask, what is Canadian? We don't know. Whatever you were when you came to Canada appears to be one of the principal answers.

For too many entrants to Canada, an acquired Canadian citizenship is a convenient tag on, added to the original citizenship.

I am increasingly of the view that many of the issues with which we struggle, including the full face veil, would be far less an issue by eliminating dual citizenship. If you choose to be Canadian, then you agree to be only Canadian.

Adaptation comes when you decide to cross a line, but not when you choose to straddle it.

Letter

What pray tell is social justice?

Surely we are not training our teachers to inculcate our kids with the notion that taking something from someone who has earned it and giving it to someone who hasn't is social justice!

That violates what every child knows intuitively is wrong.

Major Health Care Dollar Theft

Mr. Tim Menke, the deputy inspector general for investigations at the US Department of Health and Human Services, speaks about how organized crime and street gangs have been getting in on health care fraud.

“A crime that is very common is the setting up of a phoney billing system with a home health agency.”

How big is Medicare and Medicaid fraud in the country? Mr. Menke says, “Roughly $60 billion a year, and we recover about $4 billion a year. It's lucrative and it's safe. Why rob a bank and risk getting shot when you can click a mouse and bill Medicare or Medicaid, basically lie on some forms and make millions of dollars doing so.

“There is a sheer level of fraud that we're seeing, the audacity, the violence. I think we're a little concerned because of some of the things we're finding on search warrants. Historically, we've taken boxes of paper in a typical fraud investigation. Now, because of the organized crime and street gang influence, we're taking machine guns, automatic weapons, out of facilities that are engaged in health fraud. That's a little disturbing for me. I have roughly 500 special agents assigned to work this health care fraud and it puts a whole new spin on things. It's not the traditional white collar fraud that we were working five years ago. It's getting edgier and more dangerous.”

Bill Gates On The Economy

Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates warned against too much government intervention. “If you try to do too much, it can distort things. When you have a financial crisis like that, it's years of digging out.

“The budget's very, very out of balance. And even as the economy comes back, without changes in tax and entitlement policies, it won't get back into balance. Taxes are going to have to go up and entitlements are going to have to be moderated.”

Radio

Listening to conversations in the South Okanagan and Boundary revealed these results.

• “I couldn’t pick up NPR (National Public Radio) today so I had to listen to the CBC.”

• “When you listen to NPR, it is like a neighbour or a friend is presenting the news to you. When you listen to the CBC it is all attitude. They take themselves way too seriously.”

• “The CBC seems to have pre-desired outcomes for their stories and then they tailor them to fit that outcome.”

• “The CBC doesn’t tell you the news; they beat you over the head with it. Over and over. I don’t listen to it anymore.”