My 4 Major Political Issues

Recently I've had several discussions with fellow Canadians about the new Obama presidency. Everyone I've spoken with is smart and I would surmise that they've all consistently voted for either the Conservative or Liberal parties here in Canada. Each of them is a big Obama supporter.

But now the Obama Administration has signed into law a provision entitled "Buy American" that clearly and directly hurts Canada. It is almost certain to start a trade war between Canada and the U.S. Even some Americans realize how dumb it is.

This, combined with the recent strange political events in Canada have forced me to go back to first principles and clearly think about what my biggest political issues are. Though they are apt to change over time, here they are in current order of importance:

1. Law and Order - Many Canadians have come to the realization that our judicial system is an abject failure. Much of the reason for this is our horrific "Charter of Rights", which has proved more important for criminals than for any law abiding citizens. Here in British Columbia, where I live, things appear to be the most out of control. The ridiculously light sentences given out to violent offenders who have committed the most terrible acts is an absolute tragedy.
   
   
2. Free Speech - 2008 was the year where Canadians' lack of free speech rights came into the spotlight. Thanks to the efforts of Ezra Levant, Mark Steyn, Kathy Shaidle, and others a bright spotlight is now permanently focused on the kangaroo courts that we call "human rights" commissions. But a lot more needs to be done to restore free speech rights to Canadians. Belgium has recently provided a signpost in the distance, a perfect example of where Canada is headed if it doesn't reverse things soon (and permanently).
   
   
3. Fiscal Responsibility - Spending is out of control by most governments and by many individuals throughout the Western world. How we ever got to the point where people felt it was okay to spend more than they can afford, leaving debts to future generations is beyond my comprehension. Even here in Canada where I thought the federal government had finally learned its lesson a decade ago, it appears no longer to be the case. Conservative Party friends of mine have assured me that things would be much worse under a Liberal or NDP government. I don't doubt them but it still doesn't relieve my unease at what is happening.
   
   
4. The Promotion of ALL Citizens - All of my life I have believed that all people have the opportunity to be the best that they can be. Certainly each of us is dealt a different set of cards at birth: some are born into wealthy families, some are born into poverty, some are born with physical or mental disabilities, some not. But in Canada today every person does have the opportunity to achieve greatness if they're willing to work for it. Unfortunately many socialist activists have meddled with things, enacting assorted programs that promote victimhood and diminish incentive. I wholly reject any such attempts to artificially establish "equity", not because I'm insensitive or cruel but precisely for the opposite reasons.

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In case it is not immediately apparent:

• Any efforts to meddle with Free Trade (ie. add Protectionism) violate #3.
  
  
• The NDP's policies violate in the worst way all four of the political issues that are most important to me. That's why I can never support them.
  
  
• Where Barack Obama will take America only he knows. If he starts attacking any of the aforementioned issues in ways that I consider destructive then my earlier fears about him will prove to have been correct. Sadly.
  

Canadian "Human Rights" Watch

There's a crazy story out of wacky Toronto with this headline:

Gay aboriginal fired from Gerstein Centre

Says he lost job for saying immigrants more privileged than natives

Here's the start of the story:

A gay aboriginal man says he was fired from his job after being accused of racism. Stanford Sinclair says he was fired from his part-time job at the Gerstein Centre — a Toronto mental health crisis centre — after an Oct 6 conversation with several fellow employees.

"There was a discussion," says Sinclair. "We're all social worker, activist types. I'm queer and First Nations. A call came in from a queer guy from Morocco.

"We got into this big discussion about immigration. The one thing I did say was immigrants had more privileges than First Nations."

Mr. Sinclair now plans to take his case to the Ontario "Human Rights" Commission. I can think of no one better to handle this case. And I say that with absolutely no respect.

I'm part of a discussion here, trying to help figure out who has the most "victim" points and thus should win. This all makes one wonder how we possibly got by as a nation before HRCs were here to set things straight. :-)

The "Hate Men" Agenda is Alive & Well in California

One of my regular correspondents has provided me with two preliminary photos from his school, the University of California in Santa Barbara (UCSB). With apologies for the poor photo quality, here is an example of the degrading propaganda that male students (and female students) must endure on a regular basis there:

In case you couldn't read the words, here are two choice quotations:

• "Male privilege is being proud of not raping anyone while failing to take action to change men who do."
  
  
• "Male privilege is getting paid more for the same job."

One cannot read such hateful vitriol without reflecting on Barbara Kay's recent column on the myths of male violence toward women. The whole problem with the Radical Left agenda being practiced at UCSB is that it promotes all women as victims and all men as potential rapists, but guilty regardless. If you think this has no effect on twisting the minds of vulnerables souls then let's not forget this woman in Calgary.

Please read Barbara Kay's column and then look at those photographs again.

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Further to this, imagine if similar groups launched a campaign against the "sins" of white males. Would it be very difficult to imagine slogans like these:

• "White male privilege is being proud of not ever hanging a black man from a tree but failing to actively ensure that no white men ever do so again."
  
  
• "White male privilege is getting paid more for the same job than minorities. Disclaimer: This comment does not apply to Asian men & women."
  
  
• "White male privilege is feeling comfortable that you can date women of any ethnicity but not feeling guilty about the challenges faced by your minority brothers to date white women."
  
  
• "White male privilege is feeling good to be alive while failing to spend every waking moment atoning for the sins of your fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, and every damn male in your family before that!"
  

Letter to Bill O'Reilly

After watching a segment on The O'Reilly Factor where it was discussed whether John McCain's use of "that one" and Sarah Palin's use of "hockey mom" and "Joe Six Pack" were racist terms, I just had to send a letter to Bill O'Reilly:

I'm from Vancouver, BC but have spent the past 2 weeks in the U.S., visiting Texas and now Chicago. Most every weekday evening I've had the great pleasure to watch your show.

Having spent muchof the past 44 years of my life in Canuckistan, I've watched political correctness severely damage my country. Day to day discourse has been greatly hampered for fear of offending each other. It has gotten so bad that anyone can be hauled in front of quasi-legal bodies known as "Human Rights Commissions" for simply hurting someone else's feelings. If you think I'm exaggerating, you'd be incorrect. Mark Steyn and Ezra Levant have spent oodles of money and time defending themselves from these Kangaroo Courts. A Toronto comedian is current facing the same fate.

I had naively thought that the United States of America was very much free from such PC nonsense. Oh how naive I was! The piece de resistance had to be the Ph.D. from Temple University who should be the 2008 poster child for Permanent Victim Syndrome. Please note that I deliberately didn't say "poster boy" for fear of offending him.

God Bless America but also God Help America. For you all need such help as much as us in Trudeaupia do!

Permanent Victim Syndrome

Amy Alkon had an interesting column about how she got in an argument with a fellow about personal responsibility. Here's a little snippet:

Yesterday, I debated a guy I started talking to in Starbucks about the big problem in the black community. He said it was poverty and unequal schools. I said it was daddylessness. I also think there's a huge problem with victimhood. Read the rest here . . .

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Here's the comment I left:

Picking up on something "Toubrouk" said, look at the similarities between the Mainstream Black (MSB) views and the Mainstream Feminist (MSF) views.

Both are steeped in a never-ending mentality of victimhood. Look what Phyllis Schlafly said about the MSF movement here:

Feminists never boast about [so-called conservative feminists like Sarah Palin] because feminism's basic doctrine is victimology. Feminism preaches that women can never succeed because they are the sorry victims of an oppressive patriarchy. No matter how smart or accomplished a woman may be, she's told that success and happiness are beyond her grasp because institutional sexism and discrimination hold her down.

Doesn't that sound strikingly familiar to what we continuously hear from the leaders of the MSB movement?

Whenever the topic of racism in America comes up, I often tell my American friends to come up to Canada to see how the same "Permanent Victim Syndrome" canards are preached to the electorate by at least 2 of the political parties here and echoed by hundreds of like-minded organizations, almost all of whom are funded by taxpayer dollars. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how they ensure that gov't $ keep on flowing in.

But up here, there is no particular racial component so it washes away the illusions perpetrated by the MSB talking heads.

Teach a man or a woman how to fish and they will never be hungry. Give them a fish and they will be back tomorrow. Keep on giving them fish and they will depend upon you for a lifetime. Get the government to fund your fishing program and you will be employed for a lifetime. Follow the money, folks, follow the money.

Canada's Permanent Victim Central

I read with disbelief two connected columns by Jonathan Kay about Canada's Permanent Victim Industry. The first is here and the other is here. It's beyond insane that in 2008 so many Canadians are making so much money promoting victimhood. But it is all about the money, isn't it? For if any of these nincompoops were to wake up one day and realize that they're accomplishing nothing for the members of the choir that they're preaching to then the gravy train would quickly dry up. The fact that they're doing everything to keep it flowing is beyond pathetic.

It just occurred to me that there's a clear cut human rights violation against the entire "human rights" industry. But they'd never listen, would they?

The Twisted Logic of Khurrum Awan and His Colleagues

By "colleagues", I don't actually mean Muslims. Rather, I mean his fellow social activists like Barbara Hall, Heather MacNaughton, Lori Andreachuk, John Miller, Petti Fong, and everyone at the CBC except for Rex Murphy and Don Cherry (well, perhaps a few others too!)

On Saturday Mr. Awan, in his usual double-speak, said some pretty frightening things at a conference in Toronto. I've only read the highlights and haven't seen any actual video yet. Perhaps he'll soon become the Canadian equivalent of Jeremiah Wright?!

I've put together a video of what Mr. Awan said and my thoughts about the dramatic harm this young man is doing both to Canada in general and the Muslim community in particular. Some have suggested that this is very much his intention. I do not know. You can also read the thoughts of Awan's tirade from Marni Soupcoff here and Colby Cosh here.



This will be my last posting about anything serious for a week or so. In its place, you will get to see some great photos (I hope) of the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Wishing you a great week too!

Dr. Anne Wortham

Here's a brilliant African-American woman who believes strongly in the teachings of Ayn Rand. Very fascinating is how she describes that liberal colleges will not hire her because she refuses to tow the line of teaching Black students to be victims. Instead she believes in teaching them to be independent and pull themselves up from their bootstraps.

How incredibly sad it is that people like her are ostracized, yet Permanent Victm preachers like Barack Obama and Al Sharpton are held up to high esteem. How incredibly sad indeed.

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This video has been removed from YouTube but if you're at the University of Maryland then you can watch it here.

Letter to Jennifer Rubin

Jennifer,

I learned of you and your blog from Hugh Hewitt's interview of you. The few entries I've read so far are most interesting!

I don't know if most of the commenters on here are Jewish Americans, but I'm not. I'm a Recovering Catholic in Vancouver, BC on Canada's Left Coast. But I enjoy learning about what others from around the world are thinking.

More than perhaps anyone on here realizes, your country's election has captured the attention of many Canucks. I'm no exception. Up until about mid-February I was enamoured with Obama's message of Positive Change. Then strange things started surfacing from him and from those around him. Since I've never drank any politician's Kool-Aid, I'm able to clearly analyze what's actually being said and change my opinion of the politician if need be. The more he has kept talking, out of at least 3 sides of his mouth, the more I've realized how scary he would be, not just for America, but for the West in General. Not at all because he's Black, but because of his extreme socialist views. I've seen how socialism has hurt Canada, France, and Britain. We're now on the mend, Sarkozy is trying to take France in that direction, and Britain may be moving the pendulum in the other direction soon.

On New Year's Eve last year I wrote a little something about my hopes & dreams for my nation in 2008. But I clearly shouldn't have limited its scope! Now that I see the Obamanation message coming clearly into focus, I realize that what he really stands for is directly against most of my core principles.

Worst of all is the Identity Politics that his campaign is playing. Not only are they pitting different ethnic & religious groups against one another, but they're using the new age PC trick of calling anyone who disagrees with them a Racist. And their millions of supporters are repeating the charge verbatim. I find this absolutely repugnant.

There's a bright guy on You Tube named Tom who recently posted a video called Sushi Politics. He makes an interesting, though flawed case, that people who eat sushi on a regular basis support Obama whereas those who don't aren't as enlightened. To him I asked a simple question:

Might it be possible that Obama's "base" consists of 3 primary groups:

1. African-Americans.
2. People who never equated the need for work as a necessary requirement to get what they desire.
3. Liberal educated people who detest Bush and think Obama would be a "refreshing change".

Is there anyone else who really supports him?

To his credit, Tom did respond to my question but didn't really answer it. In the coming months I will watch the polls and see if a 4th or 5th group emerges. Somehow I don't think so.

I'm most saddened that Obama has turned out to be another Jesse Jackson like victim-laden politician. African-Americans deserve much more. If he's not a snake oil salesman, then he's the close cousin of one.

Nutty Mommy

Some time back a female friend of mind got me reading Amy Alkon. In case you haven't heard of her, she's like a cool, hip version of Dear Abby. This week she shares an incredible series of e-mails shared between her and a welfare mom. Make sure you're sitting down, with no sharp objects around, and read this.

Rachel: Yet Another Permanent Victim

Last night, on Big George's show on BBC London, a young woman named Rachel called up. She's an aspiring Jazz singer but is also clinically depressed and uses illegal drugs to self-medicate. She calls him up on a regular basis and moans about the same things over & over. While many instantly feel sorry for people like her, I've learned that doing so actually accomplishes more harm than good. Herein is the letter I sent to George.

I've known people like Rachel all my life. They spend most of their time each day erecting obstacles in their minds. Rather than thinking about what they "can" or "must" do today, instead they repeatedly focus on these words: "I can't because ...."

While some proponents of positive thinking perhaps take things a bit too far at times, let's look at the opposite, what we can call the "Rachel track". If someone is repeatedly running a negative loop in their head, I can absolutely guarantee you that their success rate - in anything - will be near zero. In her case, she claims that she wants to be a Jazz singer. She doesn't really want this though, does she? Instead she prefers dwelling in self-pity and having people feel sorry for her. It's comfortable and familiar.

Everyone feels sorry for themselves at times. It's natural. The key is to not get sucked into the pattern of becoming a permanent victim or what some call an "energy vampire". I strongly recommend that Rachel get a copy of the Celestine Prophecy, a 1993 novel by James Redfield. I read it 15 years ago and it changed my life. There's one chapter in particular where he compares "aggressors" and "victims". While at first glance they appear to be at opposite ends of the personality spectrum, in fact they're fairly closely connected. For both steal energy from others; the first through anger and sometimes violence and the second through guilt and pity. But the end result is the same: they coerce others to do what they want through negative manipulation.

I wish the very best for Rachel. Maybe one day she'll realize that she is much better off than 80% of the population of the earth. Maybe one day she'll realize that rather than constantly focusing on her own problems, she could be volunteering her time to help others less fortunate than her. Ultimately it's her choice and her responsibility. I, for one, won't be feeling sorry for her whichever path she chooses. Why? Because offering her pity simply helps her extend her current life of misery.

To Be or Not To Be

... a victim, that is. Interesting piece by Thomas Sowell.

Letter to Kimberley Strassel

I found this article about Barack Obama to be most interesting. Never one to shy away from expressing my thoughts - :-) - I sent the columnist this letter:

Dear Ms. Strassel,

I confess to never having read your work before. But every week I read Peggy Noonan's editorial and happened upon your latest.

Just so you know, I live in Vancouver, BC, on Canada's Left Coast. While I'm a proud Canadian, it's very clear that my views don't mesh well with the majority opinion here. C'est la vie. I've never been one to want to be part of the general flock anyway! I read and listen to news & opinion from around the world, most especially the US and the UK. Because of this, perhaps I have a somewhat different, perhaps "bigger picture" perspective than some. One of my modern day heroes is Mark Steyn, a Canadian living in New Hampshire. His writings often hit strong chords with me.

Living where I do, and given the relative unimportance of Canada on the world stage, much of my attention is focused on watching the culture in both the US and the UK. While most every American city has some periodic problems with racial tension, I would strongly suggest to you that the problem is much worse in Britain. Over there, it seems very clear that the official multicultural policies have directly resulted in promoting minorities to think of their own racial and cultural heritage first & foremost and being "British" a distant third in importance. This has resulted in many minorities viewing themselves as victims who can only seek redress from the benevolent government. While this works wonders in the short term for the Labour government in power, it can only lead to troubled times in the future.

The US has long been known for its melting pot approach to cultural diversity. One may indeed be racially Asian or African or Indian but first & foremost you are an American; and if not you, then your children. Some have condemned this method of integration but I'm convinced it's the only way to ensure a nation's cohesion. For with it there's no longer "us and them" but just "us", albeit in a beautiful number of different skin shades and facial features. In your nation, different is good, different is beautiful, but all living proudly under one American flag is glorious!

Which brings us to Barack Obama. In your article I agreed with everything you wrote but there's one "elephant in the room" issue that you did not line up precisely in the crosshairs. Up until about mid-February he was soaring in the polls and generally making Americans (of all colors) feel great that in 2008 a black man had just as much chance of becoming president as anyone else. He was proud, he was strong, and he was confident - clearly all the signs of a winner. Americans like winners, especially those who have come from humble roots. To the average person, one thing Obama was not was an "us and them" kind of leader like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. This, I believe, was the key to his popularity.

But then something happened. We started hearing some rather odd remarks from his wife, Michelle, and from his pastor of 20 years, Jeremiah Wright. They were both preaching from the song book of victimhood. Victims do not exude confidence. Victimhood does not correlate well with winners. For the past 2 months a shake-out of sorts occurred, where people tried to juxtapose the image they previously had of Barack Obama with this new image of Permanent Victim Syndrome laden folks all around him.

The elitist gaffs are a new twist but not necessarily death blows to his campaign. For even in America, leaders always have at least a tinge of elitism. Much worse are his recent complaints that certain questions posed to him are "unfair". That only reinforces the victim issues that are now planted in the back of the minds of voters. While he may beat Hillary Clinton because of the mathematical advantage he enjoys, if that victim "seed" continues to grow, he will get absolutely wiped out by John McCain in November. The majority of Americans will not vote for a victim. Nor should they.

All Women Are Helpless Victims

That's not me saying that. But it's precisely what 3 Socialist Kool-Aid drinkers (2 women and 1 man) had to say on Sean Leslie's show on CKNW this afternoon. Here's the e-mail I sent to Sean:

Thank you for letting the 3 pseudo-intellectuals on your program to talk about the NDP's new quota system. For it lets a broader audience learn just how sexist such social engineers like these people truly are.

I am COMPLETELY against any quota systems. They are absolutely undemocratic and simply wrong.

In the past few weeks I have discussed this subject with many people, including a large number of women and minorities. Every single one of them was vehemently against this. In fact, most of the women were extremely insulted by this initiative.

Isn't it ironic that the day after the buzz in the city has been all about Carole Taylor likely becoming the next mayor of Vancouver if she chose to run as an independent candidate, that we're talking about female political victims?!

VIC + PVS = Pathetic Disaster!

Someone recently directed me to this blog posting. It's a piece by writer, Amy Alkon. She shares her criticism of Radical Feminism and touches upon the proponents of this movement that perpetuate what she calls the "Victim Industrial Complex" (VIC). I had never heard this term before, but like it.

The all encompassing idea of VIC is that a huge swath of society are victims. Let's briefly explore the definition of this word:

vic·tim

noun
1.	an unfortunate person who suffers from some adverse circumstance
2.	a person who is tricked or swindled

Those who buy into the VIC view of the world adamantly maintain that ALL women and ALL children are victims. No harm actually ever has to come to one of these people. They're still regarded as a victim, whether they view themselves that way or not.

For every victim, there has to be an aggressor/perpetrator. If women & children are the victims then guess who the bad guys are? Excuse the obvious pun! But seriously, this does explain a lot about how such a mentality develops. I've met some women who live and breathe this stuff. The chips on their shoulders are so big that they must have severe back problems! About a decade ago I had experienced an unfortunate experience with one such woman and was talking with a psychologist friend of mine about her. He gave me the perfect line to use but I must admit I've not yet used it: "Just because you're a feminist doesn't prevent you from being an asshole!"

Long ago I invented a corollary to VIC called "PVS", which stands for "Permanent Victim Syndrome". I did so when I noticed that certain people I met were constantly feeling sorry for themselves, seemingly unable and/or unwilling to resolve the issues that were burdening them. They found it easier to always blame others or just "life" in general for all their woes. Only after I read The Celestine Prophecy did I learn that victims were on the other side of the same coin as aggressors in that both were using different techniques to the same effect: to manipulate others. This realization was a real wake-up call for me.