Dumb & dumber

The “debate” on the long-gun registry  just gets dumber by the day

In fact if the long-gun registry  gets axed people will be dropping before their time. No seriously…

The head of Canada’s association of police chiefs says repealing the long-gun registry would harm police officers’ work and “could get them killed.”

Sure what ever you say, don’t the police also say… that tazers save lives ?

Thankful at least one police chief in Canada has managed to keep things in perspective…

Rick Hanson, Calgary’s police chief, told CTV on Monday that “the gun registry has done little to make the streets safer.”He said officers use the registry as an investigative tool, and it doesn’t work when dealing with gangs and drug dealers.

“The guns these people have, they don’t register, they don’t care, they’re probably stolen, they’re probably obtained illegally, in many cases they’re prohibited,” Hanson told CTV…@

Next we hear from the doctors,and what words of wisdom they are…

“Keeping guns away from depressed people is essential.”

And the long-gun registry does this how ?  What about knives,tall buildings,bridges & prescription drugs …just saying ?

But to be fair the doctors do get one thing right,indeed it puts the whole issue of guns into perspective. That is when it comes to guns, crime should be the least of our  worries…

The majority of firearm deaths in Canada are suicides…@

Hummm so why not spend the monies, now being wasted on the registry, on crisis-lines etc… just a thought ? Maybe we could force the depressed to register then we could extrapolate that data with your data ….aaaaww forget it you know what I mean.

And so it goes…

Take that ‘stupid’ voters…

Apparently even a former Liberal finance minister know what a bald-face lie looks like when she sees it

“This particular tax takes the tax off businesses – it takes $1.8-billion off of businesses – and puts it on consumers,” Ms. Taylor told a CTV News panel last week. “But I think the bigger issue is that [Premier Gordon Campbell] promised that they would not – they would not – do the harmonization of the sales tax. And then right after the election, decided to do it.”…@

I suppose though that not even she could remain silent any longer considering how blatant the lies & double-talk of her former boss Gordon Campbell have become.

Ms. Taylor’s statements will definitly help the NDP, not that the NDP really needs it…

Seeing as  the B.C  Liberal Fiberal’s  support/popularity was already in free fall,that said  sadly not much of that drop can be credited to anything the NDP might have done. Truth be told the NDP’s performance through out Campbell’s two terms has been pretty lackluster if not confusing at times.

Indeed the NDP’s  inability to capitalize on Liberal ineptness, in a more effective manner,  is definitly a head-scratcher.

Particularly when one considers just how many times the B.C Liberals have screwed-up  & or out right lied -two terms worth at that- literally serving  the NDP political ammo on a silver platter.

That said though, why quibble…  in politics a win’s a win, even if it comes about despite one’s self.

Keep up the good work King Gordo.

And the moral of the story is,that it’s possible to win an election without having to do much of anything,other than turning up that is.

H/T The Gazetteer

The tortoise and the hare

Usually I do not pay much attention to poll-iticing.

That said the latest poll is interesting…

“In my memory, I can never recall both major political parties being under 30 per cent of the popular vote — ever. To me, that’s the stunning part,” the veteran pollster told The Canadian Press….@

Who knows perhaps the NDP’s turn at the big brass ring is just around the corner.

The NDP  has always been a patient & principled party,slowly but surely  building support. Once won to their side  supporters tend to be loyal & life long . And unlike the Liberals the NDP understands the importance of being consistent & principled. Or to put it another way  the NDP does not trade in the currency of political expediency for short term electoral gains…most of the time

Slow & steady  wins the race…

With Jack Layton at the helm   the NDP continues to go from strength to strength. Particularly since the NDP adopted the strategy of positioning themselves as the only real alternative to the Tory’s.

Indeed  the Liberals and Conservatives are & always have been but  two sides of the same coin.

On a side note the NDP’s strategy of playing for keeps rather than playing second fiddle seems to have instilled a new found confidence  in the party.

All of which explains why, backed up by  a number of polls, Jack Layton of all the party leader’s,  is hands-down the most trusted and respected.

Hell Jack has even inspired me to do what I normally don’t do,that is vote.

A salute to Metis & Cree freedom fighters

Yesterday day ,April 24, marked the 125 anniversary of the battle of Fish Creek Saskatchewan (formerly part of the Northwest Territories).

1885, the Provisional Government of Saskatchewan was involved in an armed conflict with the Dominion of Canada. The urge to freedom prevailed  that day,but sadly in the end the rebellion was put down.

Some of the militiamen questioned the message sent by the government about the rebel Métis and aboriginals. There was a feeling among some of them that the Metis and aboriginals had been wronged, the government had been criminally negligent. Other militia had no compunction about looting and burning Métis homes, and driving off their livestock…@

The last surviving veteran, Honor’e Jackson ,one of the leader’s of the  Provisional Government,  died Jan 10 1952.

Read more on the Northwest Rebellion here

H/T Buckdog

The art of double-speak; Liberals & the Gun Registry

One has to wonder why the Liberals continue  to flog the   long-gun registry.

A few days ago  they announced that  from now on, all Liberal MP’s will be “whipped”  to vote against a  Conservative MP’s private member’s bill that would see the long-gun registry consigned to the rubbish bin.

Last November, Ignatieff decided not to “whip” a vote on a Conservative MP’s private member’s bill to scrap the long-gun registry. As a result, eight Liberal MPs (along with a dozen dissident New Democrats) voted with Conservatives to give second reading to the bill. The vote was a betrayal of principle by the Liberals, who set up the gun registry when they were in office in 1990s (in the wake of the Montreal massacre, where the killer’s weapon was a long gun).

Now, however, Ignatieff says he will require all Liberal MPs to vote against the bill when it comes back to the Commons for third reading, probably in June…@

As part of  their new strategy, aimed at building support for the long-gun registry,the Liberals have fired off an e-mail to supporters asking for donations in order to fund an ad-campaign .

A few things jump out …

First …

Police across the country tell us that they rely on the gun registry. I believe them. Law abiding gun owners tell us the gun registry has problems in its current form and I believe them too. [...]

Basically the Liberals are admitting that there are/were problems with the long-gun registry(a Liberal baby). Which  suggest that the critics of the registry were  generally speaking on the mark,indeed were not just a bunch of right-wing,pro-gun nut-bars and or mere partisan Conservatives as they were often portrayed ,that’s not saying that some were not all that & or  more.

So in fact the out cry -in general- that led to a second reading was not only valid but has led to the Liberal’s  admitting as much ,albeit not intentionally or due to any self held principle or virtue,e.g the ability to admit error. Notice,in the above quote, how Iggy gets around saying that he/the Liberals “might” have been wrong about the gun-registry as it was then proposed.

In hindsight perhaps detractors & critics should be thanking Micheal Ignatieff  for not “whipping” the vote back in November 09.      indeed at least 8 of the 77  Liberal MP’s had the stones to vote their conscious.

The e-mail then goes on…

That’s why it’s critical that we respond with a targeted ad campaign of our own. Canadians need accurate information about the changes we’ve proposed [...]

Here’s the rub if you miss it, immediately after stating that Canadians need accurate information the e-mail then goes on to use inaccurate information…

The attacks began as Conservative spokesman and Saskatchewan MP Gerry Breitkreuz compared Canada’s police chiefs to “members of a cult” who “should be ashamed of themselves” for defending the gun registry – a tool police officers use over 11,000 times each day in their work protecting public safety [...]

In fact the police do not use the tool 11,000 a days …

Chief Armand LaBarge, president of the Ontario Association of Police Chiefs, stated that police officers across the country search the registry about 18 times per day. (Instead of the misled 9,400 a day where any personal information search is count as a hit) However, most of those 5,000 queries are generated automatically when other queries are submitted to the CPIC system such as during routine traffic stops…@

Ummm,a billion +(that could have been spent on worthwhile programs e.g poverty ,unemployment & health issues) to provide police with a data-base that they might use a dozen or so times a day,well that “settles” it then,lol.

This suggest ,and the fact just because the police say so does not mean it is so, that the long-gun registry serves no definable purpose and it’s cost,  a billion+ and counting,can not be justified no matter how one sees this issue. This should not come as any huge surprise after all the proposal was a purely emotional and political reaction to the tragedy in Montreal (Dec 1989) which saw  a mentally deranged Marc Lepine gun down 14 women using a rifle/unrestricted firearm.

Surely nobody is seriously suggesting, or would ,that somehow a long-gun registry would have prevented Marc Lepine from doing what he did ?

Some times you have to know when to fold and when to hold.

A lesson that Liberals seem intent on ignoring in their misguided zeal to milk this “issue” for what ever its worth. Seeing as there are no definable need or provable rationale  for the existence of a  long-gun registry,particularly one that costs taxpayers  hundreds upon hundreds of millions ,the reasons for Liberal actions can only be political ones,omg you don’t say.

All said one still has to wonder why the Liberals are so intent on  saving the registry,given it’s cost and dubious worth.

The best thing to do would be to allow (as back in November) individual MP’s to vote their conscious and put this “issue” to bed rather than dragging it on & on. Given the very real possibility inevitability that Liberal actions will  provide the  Conservatives with yet more opportunities to point out Liberal inconsistencies and back peddling.

The Conservatives will come out unscathed no matter what happens to the Bill not so the Liberals.

This is not the “issue” that’s going to rebuild Liberal electoral  fortunes.Which begs the question why are they hanging so much of their political credibility on this non-issue.

There’s a time to hold and there’s a time to fold-Poker 101.

Read Liberal Party e-mail in full here

Please don’t Jake Layton…

That is follow Michael Ignatieff’s lead folly…

It took almost six months, but Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is finally exercising leadership in the (long) gun registry debate.

Wtf, ‘leadership’ you say ? the NDP should do likewise ?

If Jack Layton and the New Democrats now follow Ignatieff’s lead, the registry should survive the upcoming third reading vote…@ T.Star

The long-gun registry is a boondoggle of epic proportions,we’re talking hundreds upon hundreds of millions of dollars here,and for what …

I hate to use the old cliche ,’guns don’t kill people, people do’, but there is a kind of truth in the saying. Lets face it those intent on using guns for criminal purpose can get guns & they do not register their guns. Further more the registry would make criminals of  normally law-abiding citizens, who for what ever reason do not register their long-guns.

And how can we forget the public ‘safety’ arguments (or should that be political arguments)  for the  retention of the registry,which are  just as dubious & weak.

Few issues , have united ordinary people & MP’s in opposition to the registry, quite like this one…whether of the “left”,”right” or “center”.

No wonder it’s facing a third reading,it stinks…

Iggy might be a smart guy,in the acdemic sense,but when it comes to real life it’s fairly obvious that he did/does not get out enough.

Of all the issues facing Canadians,this is not the issue to hang one’s hat on. Rather the slogan should be,’wither on the vine & the sooner the better’ .

Unmasked;The “diverging” interests of the ‘left’ & of the ‘right’

A spectre is haunting Canada, the spectre of idiocy…

Seems self described  human rights advocate/ law-suit-instigator extraordinaire, Richard Warman (god-bless his heart) has  unleashed his paternalistic self-righteousness,yet again .

His target this time ,  anonymous commentators,specifically those that comment  on web sites that he has a particular “fondness” for.

In a nut shell Warman wants the state to pass a law,which would  force website owners/administrators (without first having to show cause) to disclose the names and IP addresses of those who would dare say bad/rude things about others,in particular himself.

Remember we are talking  about comments here,not actions.  Comments made  during on-line conversations & debates. Usually on personal blogs & websites discussing political & social issues,subjects that can very easily go from passionate (but respectable) debate to juvenile name calling. Jeez…welcome to life.

Again, the person(s) claiming injury do not even have to first show cause,i.e how their life/well being  was/is being negatively  impacted by the comment(s) …

In a case with implications for online privacy and free expression, a panel of Ottawa judges is considering whether websites named in libel actions should be required to identify people who post anonymous defamatory comments.

Their decision could chill whistleblowers and others who use pseudonyms to post controversial comments, say civil libertarians…read @

Hummm, give the state even more power to monitor & regulate the personal behaviors of  individuals ? Sounds like the “perfect way” to protect freedom of speech/expression.

Ye shall not be rude,off with their heads I say …

On second thoughts, what’s the “big deal’… the state already regulates what people can wear.

Indeed in some parts of Canada (Quebec) ,as in Iran and Saudi Arabia ,the  clothing police are busily ensuring that persons are ‘properly’ attired. Although in Canada rather than being a religious issue, it’s  one  of immigrants, usually of the brown skin variety.

In this particular case a handful of  niqab-wearing Muslim woman (approx 25 in Quebec where this law was dreamed up and enacted Mar 24/2010 ,that said 4/5 of Cnd’s also support the Quebec’s banning of the niqab ), who’s mere presence some how represents a threat to Quebec & Canadian culture,go figure ?

Three days later, two Immigration Department officials turned up at a West Island centre that offers the free French classes and told an Indian immigrant that she would have to follow the rules or leave her class.

Unwilling to remove the Islamic face veil, the distraught 25-year-old woman left the centre in tears.

“She was one of the best students, she wants to learn French, she participated in class and worked with men,” said Joanie Lavoie, co-ordinator of the Centre d’intégration multiservices de l’Ouest de l’Île, which offers French courses to help immigrants integrate into Quebec society.

The student is the second niqab-wearing Muslim woman to be forced out of her French class after refusing to remove her face veil ….read @

Damn it ! quit crying girl you are being set ‘free’ ,even if you don’t  know it,got it …the peanut gallery &  big daddy the state have so decreed.

Just ‘one’ more law  and all will be well…soon us citizens children won’t even have to think for our selves anymore.

Update...more laws/personal behavior regulations  to keep the “children” in line

Big daddy has spoken yet again, smokers in Vancouver are banned from parks,beaches and playgrounds. Damn nothings quite as irritating as a pompous-self righteous-idiotic-busy-body-do-gooder ,never mind a crowd of em.

Enough already… find another issue/group of people to brow-beat to death, better yet get a f#*king life…

Some people’s kids:Doing the folks proud

Guess what I did today mom…

Kick em when they’re down…kick em when they’re old…kick em when they’re defenseless…kick em off they’re land…hell, kick em all a-round… That’s how ya do it, in Israel.

One of those “other” white/European settler state’s…

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