Another “You’ve got to be kidding” Moment Brought to you by the Canadian Justice System/Our Legislative Government!

The Senate has passed a bill that could subject parents to criminal prosecution for spanking their child.

A Quebec judge rules that father had no right to ground her by not allowing his 12-year-old daughter to go on a field trip.

A famous Liberal prime minister once said that the state has no business in the bedroom of nations.

While Trudeau was referring to consenting adults, I believe that the state has no business telling you how to parent your child. Critics will argue that spanking or grounding could potentially have psychological trauma blah blah blah.

So does divorce, are we going to ban divorce?

What next? Criminal prosecution or fines for feeding children donuts or making your child stand in a corner for time out?

Other bloggers who have commented on this issue:

Rootleweb: Parental Concern Outlawed! Coming to a country near you and Parenting Outlawed! Also coming to a country near you

Daimnation! Sue your Parents?

Christian Conservative: Liberals attacking Mom and Dad, yet again

CBC: "One-third of people shot by taser need medical attention"

...As opposed to how many (in my opinion more than one-third) people who need medical attention after they have been pepper-sprayed or hit with a baton?

How about we consider the proportion of people who get shot by police who need medical treatment? Probably all! And the proportion of people who have been pepper sprayed or hit by a baton that need medical treatment? Probably a lot more than “one-third!” (Which is paid for by taxpayers, by the way.)

What about the proportion of people that actually cooperate with police who need medical treatment? Probably none!

Are tasers being over used? Perhaps. But in comparison to what? Guns, Pepper-spray, batons? Where are these statistics?

Are there policy issues that need to be addressed in terms of creating protocol on the appropriate use of a taser? Absolutely.

But the reality is that police have to subdue suspects or unruly behaviour. And do they use their baton or taser every time? No.

Every time a police officer unholsters their gun they have additional paperwork to do. Do really want police officers sitting writing more paper work about using their taser when municipalities are crying they need more officers on the street?

Where is the public outcry about the increasing number of people who disrespect police?

While “statistics” may report that in general crime is going down, they also report that violent crime is going up.

I am really getting tired of the slanted media attention to many policy issues today. The media have the power to control how we perceive a situation and influence how we form our opinions about the issue. What ever happened to objective journalism standards?

Unfortunately, we aren’t born with critical thinking skills. And in school the “critical thinking skills” are being taught are that if you question or challenge authority (government, police) you’re being a critical thinker.

By the way CBC, 28% is a lot closer to one-quarter (25%) than one-third (33.3%).

More Random Acts of Kindness

About a year ago, I was the recipient of a random act of kindness. About six months ago, I posted some great stories of random acts of kindness from the Toronto Star.

These stories truly touch your heart. Here are the June stories. Bookmark the page to read them every month. Here are some of the archives

May
April
March
February
January

"We Have the Power"...to Drive the Company into the Ground!

"We are going to fight this decision," Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove declared at a news conference. "This decision is unfair, it's unjust, it's unwarranted, it's illegal, it violates our collective agreement, and we're going to do everything in our power - and we have power."

Oh yeah Buzz...you have power to drive the company into the ground. GM is closing four of its plants in North America, and specifically the one in Oshawa that builds pick up trucks (Silverados and Sierras). Now union activists have set up a blockade of the GM headquarters in Oshawa.

Someone tell me where all the union-lovers are when a company is making a move based on consumer demand (gas prices and environmentalism). Environmentalists scoffed when people drove around SUVs and Pick-up trucks. Even Jack Layton proposed putting a surcharge or tax on them a while back.

It is safe to assume that most environmentalists are left-leaning and that most people who like unions are left-leaning. So how to reconcile your party's beliefs when people think they are entitled to their jobs or have a right to be employed with company that can't compete with consumer demand of small and more fuel-efficient vehicles?

Update: Joanne points us to an article by Don Martin about the reality facing the auto sector.

Globe and Mail joins the 21st Century

As they said, "The locks are off"

I can now enjoy my Jeffrey Simpson, Margaret Wente, Christie Blatchford, Lawrence Martin and John Ibbitson. I missed you guys. I was reading your books instead. (Wente and Ibbitson finished, currently reading Blatchford's).