This is the “Age of Enlightenment”?

If you ever find yourself feeling a little bit smug about living in a country where women do NOT have to cover their face and their ankles in public, where they are allowed to go to school, work, marry the person of their choice and even vote, then just come on down to Ontario and tune in to the debate raging over a vaccine (Gardasil, Merck Frosst) that can actually immunize young women against 4 different strains of the virus which cause 70% of all cases of cancer of the cervix and 90% of genital warts.

This is like two miracles for the price of one, first, that such a vaccine has been developed, and then, that a modern day government will actually pay for the preventative treatment. Imagine that, the holy grail of all of those midnight walkathons, the Terry Fox run, the pink t-shirt run/walk, the quilting bee’s, the daffodil drives, an actual vaccine that can prevent a cancer. And the religious Luddites are in full throated uproar over a plan by the Provincial Government to inoculate almost 85,000 young women in Ontario.

The Catholic School Boards, already under siege in the current electoral climate because of plans by the hard charging Tory, Tory party to screw them out of their exclusive status as a publicly funded separate school system, is engaging in some illogical ranting and foaming at the mouth over the plan to start giving this vaccine to all female grade 8 students in the Province which is to start this month. To be effective, the drug must be administered before any exposure to the virus has occurred.

The virus in question, the HPV or Human Papilloma Virus, which can cause cervical cancer, is sexually transmitted you see and even though almost all citizens of Canada are exposed to this virus during their lifetimes, most without any ill effect but more than a few women subsequently exposed develop cervical cancer and die, yet the school boards are arguing about allowing their precious little ones to have the vaccinations.

The arguments being put forth are embarrassingly ludicrous, “the drug company is making too much money off of this” , “there hasn’t been enough testing” and the granddaddy of them all, “if our girls get this needle we know they they will be promiscuous”. Yeah, better they get cancer. One little needle and all of the graduating class of St. Monica's are going to be contestants in the next America's Next Porn Star on the Fox Network.

Now, I know that young Catholic girls don’t engage in sexual acts, at least they didn’t when Mother Syncleta was beating me senseless once a week with a leather strap back at old St. Luke’s. However, I knew the local abortionist in those days and she was doing a brisk business so somebody was engaged in carnal activity with somebody. Just not the Catholic girls I suppose, not then, not today. Place head in sand and repeat after me. There is no place like home, there is no place like home.

That's it Dorothy, wake up and smell the coffee. OZ is only in your dreams, just like a sex free Catholic population. Let's get this straight, if Catholics weren't having sex there wouldn't be any little Catholics running around and since they are having sex they are going to come into contact with this virus. This should be a no brainer, instead, it seems that all of the No Brains are on the Nay side of the equation.

Twits

The Ontario Schools Question, and the hangover to come.


I read Mr. Tory’s words in defense of his proposal to extend public funding education to religions other then those codified in the BNA act that created Canada and I can’t help but hold my breath in eager anticipation.

Mr. Tory said this week that it was just too hard to look into the eyes of Hindu/Jewish/Muslim parents and not agree with them that it is just not “fair” that Catholics get their own schools and Hindus, Muslims, Jews and a host of fundamentalist Christian organisations don’t get the same treatment. He had to “do something” about it and his passion for this cause knows no bounds.

Well, it really does, and even though he says the bounds are around $500 million dollars I think that his typical political mathematics is way off the mark. All of the aforementioned groups and untold others are going to expect marble archways, fleets of buses, gleaming gymnasiums and ultra-modern designed and equipped schools built wherever they live. They won’t put up with rented space and car-pooling cause that’s not what those Catholics have. You have to be fair!

Notwithstanding that Mr. Tory is taking a page out of the Dion phrasebook by making “Fair”ness a major plank in his platform, I do believe that the real challenges are yet to come. They are sitting in the weeds, injunctions and subpoenas in hand just waiting for the precedent to be set.

Next up is, " I want my kids taught in (pick one or make up your own), Mandarin, Cantonese, Farsi, Hebrew, Italian, or Maltese at their own school where they can be with others of their own kind. After all, that is what the FRENCH kids get and we want to be “Fair” don’t we".

There are currently 12 French Language school boards in Ontario, 6 French language school authorities, and they administer 397 schools just full of French speaking kids.

Unlike with the publicly funded Catholic Schools, to which anyone can and do go in large numbers, even if they are not Catholic, if you aren’t French don’t bother showing up at these 397 doors. No way.

Do you think Mr. Tory has thought about how his Fairness Doctrine will cope with all of the creative ways that the cultural isolationists will develop to suck public money out of any government he might lead?

I don’t, not for a minute. I don't believe that he is thinking past tomorrow's poll numbers and such nearsightedness indicates poor judgement and a lack of planning. Perhaps Mr. Tory might have benefitted from a few years of study with the Jesuits.

Twits!

We are in the throes of an election here in Ontario, and the talking bags of wind are in full throttle, throwing out equal parts of empty promises, ephemeral bags of money and damning accusations in a non-stop orgy of campaigning.

Dalton McGuinty, Liar in Chief of the Liberals, is saying, “ I mean it this time”, “ I am not lying to you now”, over and over hoping that it will catch on and sound like a sincere statement. Not working.

John Tory, who was cruising along towards at least a major role in a minority government or at best, a real shot at becoming Premier, decided that he really did not want to win and announced, a week before the writ, that his government would open up for question and funding the one issue that energizes the old Orange Order base of the Ontario Conservative party, funding for the (Catholic) Separate School System.

Tory has tried to make this all about “inclusiveness” and “fairness”, normally coveted Liberal buzz words, by saying that his plan is to allow government funding for ALL faith based education systems in the Province. He is of course, trying desperately to separate Mr. McGuinty from his cricket playing constituency, the Black Hat Orthodox Jewish voters and the overwhelmingly Liberal and growing like a weed, Chinese ethnic community.

All of these folks now think that if Tory is elected that they will get the same thing the “those Catholics” get, equal funding. They envision gleaming schools, with pools, libraries, and well equipped class rooms, all classes being taught in their native tongues with cafeterias full of nan, or rice or matzo served by properly kosher/ halal educated dietitians.

I see little yellow school buses cruising the neighborhoods, some of them with a Union Jack on the front, others with the Star of David, one over here with a Crescent symbol closely followed by a larger bus with a Papal blue flag flying.

On the corners, flocks of children, all decked out in various uniforms waiting peacefully for their ride. Separated by little chain link barriers to make it easy for the drivers and to avoid anyone getting on the wrong bus. Perhaps the Catholic kids could all wear a large cross around their necks, the Jewish contingent could have little yellow stars on their sleeves. Separate pens for the female members of the hard core Jewish and Muslim sects who insist on such things of course.

Just a heavenly image of peaceful co-existence isn’t it?

Of course, it will never happen, and Tory knows this. His real purpose is to rally to his side all of those old line Tories who were calling for the head of retiring Premier Bill Davis when he extended funding to Catholic secondary schools in 1985. These voters expressed their outrage by staying home on election day and sinking the good ship PC being then captained by the plaid wearing used car salesman from Bracebridge, Mr. Frank Miller. Who was promptly defeated by NDP Bob Rae.

A Workers paradise ensued of course.

Tory has trotted out that very same Bill Davis as his point man on this file, and I am certain that all are convinced that good old Bill will “do the right thing” and recommend abolition of all funding for any schools other then the Public system.

Never mind that under the terms of the BNA negotiated in 1855, upon which our country was founded, Ontario and Quebec were bound to provide equal funding to both a Catholic and a Protestant (read Public) system in their respective provinces. Until 1985, the province of Ontario short changed the Catholic school system at every turn and the Conservative voting base begrudged every last nickel.

John Tory knows all of this, he worked for Bill Davis during that period, and he now seeks to ignite an argument that will force Dalton McGuinty who, as I have read countless times this past two weeks, is a “product of the Catholic School System whose wife is a teacher in that system” . Horror of horrors, the Papists are in charge of the government, where is King Billy when you need him?

All of this is a sickening and transparent bout of pandering of the very worst kind. A whole lot of people are going to be very disappointed and extremely angry when this is over no matter how the election turns out.

John Tory should be ashamed of this and he is not. I predict that there will be a whole lot of shame to spread around when this is over.

Mike Harris must be chuckling in his beer.

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NATO & the NUTSO’s

The top brass from the NATO member nations were meeting in Victoria BC last week. A nice place to visit, get away from the demonstrators in Brussels and, for something completely different, check out their Canadian counterparts waving signs and shouting insults around the Harbour in Victoria.

All of this is old hat by now, a bunch of folks with too much time on their hands and altogether no idea why/how they have the freedom to protest and how important that right is, band together, occasionally dress up in stupid costumes and show that they are “down with the struggle” of “poor, oppressed, people of colour/ethnicity/religion/status” everywhere. Throw in a few people wearing G. W. Bush or Donald Rumsfeld masks and you have yourself a party.

Ho, Hum, send in the clowns.

I don’t much mind these people unless they start destroying things or hurting other people to show that they are really, really, really, in favour of Peace. I do often wonder about their level of understanding of the issues that they purport to hold dear however and one sign in particular caught my eye which made me laugh/sigh/weep and mutter “suspicions confirmed” to no one in particular.

Sign said, “ Pull out of NATO now and preserve Canada’s reputation as Peacekeepers”.

I am pretty sure that this dimwit has no idea what NATO stands for, it’s history, and dead certain that they have zero clue as to how Canadian soldiers gained their reputation as Peacekeepers.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, founded in 1949 and now comprising 26 member countries not only were the thin green line that kept the “Commies” from taking over Europe during that long 40 years or so of the Cold War, they also kept belligerents apart in Cyprus, Bosnia, The Golan Heights, Egypt, Lebanon, Croatia and most recently Afghanistan.

The member nations are pledged under this treaty to treat an attack on any one country as an attack on all members and to respond when asked with whatever help is necessary. The events of 9/11 were deemed as just such an attack and Canada (with a lot of foot dragging from Mr. Chretien et al) responded by signing on to assist in eliminating the threat in Afghanistan posed by the Taliban government’s sponsorship of the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization.

By taking part in this operation Canada is not only fulfilling it’s obligations to the NATO treaty but also maintaining it’s long and honorable tradition of Peacekeeping.

I can understand the problem with the language. Soldiers, trained to inflict death and destruction on the enemy of the day, have been saddled with the title “Peacekeepers” by soft spined politicos and soft headed editorialists who don’t really ever want to talk about all of that “icky” killing and dying stuff.

Safe at home, squishy “activists” like to think that soldiers are just kept around to fill sand bags during floods and put up tents after a natural disaster. To build schools for the little children and hospitals for the sick. So, when they see real blood and real caskets on the ground they get all panicky and decide that “somebody has to do something” so they make up signs, write catchy slogans and crash a NATO meeting in nice, safe, close to a Starbucks, Victoria.

Really useful, thanks for the message, we didn’t really even think that killing and dying was not a good way to spend a couple of summers overseas. Never occurred to us. We get it now, you can go home and pet your poodle and feel good about yourself now. The adults will finish up here soon and go back to Brussels, and Kandahar.

Twits!

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Polio and The Queen
A Mr. David Onley became the latest representative of The Queen in Ontario this day. Mr. Onley is by all appearances a decent man and I am certain that he will not embarrass the citizens of Ontario nor the Queen whom he purportedly represents during his tenure.

Mr. Onley is the latest example of a good idea gone horribly wrong and would perhaps be the last if there were any politicians active today who had any sense of decorum or responsibility. Mr. Onley, a victim of childhood polio who rides a nifty little scooter to navigate any distance and can stand and walk a very few feet with the aid of a cane, is a former Television talking head who is very familiar to Toronto viewers of the local chapter of City TV.

He has pledged to dedicate his term in office to expanding computer literacy amongst Ontario’s proud native people’s legion of youth. A noble cause chosen, we are certain, with noble intent.

Mr. Onley’s predecessor, a Mr. James Bartleman, was distinguished as the first native (read aboriginal) person to attain this lofty office in Ontario. An issue grabbing appointment choice just recently duplicated in BC I am told.

This all follows the appointment of Adrienne Clarkson as Governor General of Canada not long ago, a former Television news talking head of recent Chinese immigrant lineage. Ms. Clarkson was hailed as a sterling example of tolerance and inclusiveness and touted as a credit to her “race”.

Her successor in the job of representing the Queen in Canada was one Michaelle Jean, a former Television talking head from Quebec who was herself a recent immigrant from Haiti and boasted ties to slave ancestors.

Does anyone else detect a pattern here?

Roland Michener, Jeanne Sauve’, Ed Schreyer, Hilary Weston, Vincent Massey, Georges Vanier, et al should be rolling in their graves or sending back their purple sashes in outrage at the blatant dilution of the requirements for one of the most prestigious political offices in the land.

It is hard not to envision the earnest selection committee searching in vain for the perfectly “correct candidate” with the perfect optics. One can be forgiven for speculating on their disappointment when they discovered that Michaelle Jean was not confined to a wheelchair.

Mr. Onley seems to be a decent man, the fact that he had to dip into the bag of tricks more commonly used by beauty contest entrants for his “mission” is just sad and a reflection on the carny sideshow the office has become rather then on his intentions. One must suppose that combatting computer illiteracy amongst our proud native youth is the Canadian equivalent of “ I want to work with disadvantaged children when I grow up Monty” which is uttered breathlessly by 90% of those airhead wannabe Beauty contest queens.

I am of an age that remembers well the scourge of Polio in this country. Pools were closed, going to school was a crapshoot and organized sporting events were sparsely attended. The Ex was avoided as a hotbed of disease carrying fellow citizens.

I have tried in vain to explain to my daughters how difficult it was to go and visit a friend who was spending all of their time in an Iron Lung and had to look at you through a little mirror. It was tough going for those kids who came down with this disease. I applaud all of them who made it through.

I don’t think for a minute however that surviving a bout of Polio is a decent criteria for being appointed to be the Lt. Governor of Ontario. Not one minute. Nor is the ability to read a teleprompter while looking straight into the camera while giving the weather forecast. Nor is it an acceptable criteria to just be a victim of something, anything.

Appointing someone to these offices because of their race, their colour, their sympathy factor or the degree of their claim to victimhood, whether or not they personally use that in their lives, is the absolute height of political pandering and should be loudly condemned and stopped. Or the Institution’s themselves should be abolished.

Sorry David, I wish you luck but to the folks who gave you this job you are nothing but a cliche. I only hope that you can rise above it and do some real good on some real issues. The pathetic Ontarians’ with Disabilities Act would be a great place to start.

This is very, very sad.
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