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Would You Send Your Kid to Fight?
Today is March 4th, and the conflict in Ukraine has been raging for a week. My website has been down for a week owing to some problems that appear to have been generated when a new version of the site software was issued. I’ve finally gotten it re-booted in a pretty plain looking format. It’s…
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Information Sources in the Age of Trump
Of all the disgusting, infuriating, perplexing and dangerous things that Donald Trump has done since he became a political powerhouse, probably none is as dangerous as the destruction of confidence in the mainstream media. If the President can tell the most preposterous lies and get away with it, then it becomes impossible to rely on…
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Is This Really YOUR Convoy?
Dear Trucker, I feel for you. You’re a regular guy, home-maker, family man, responsible citizen of Canada, and you have a beef with vaccine mandates, especially the one which requires unvaccinated truckers to isolate after they cross the border from the USA. You decided you wanted to register a protest, and you chose to join…
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Politicians Fumble the Freedom Convoy Challenge
I have been angered, shamed, disgusted and frankly a little scared at the nonsense that has been displayed in Ottawa and other major cities this week, and I’ve already written a couple of articles about that subject. This one is a little different. I want to examine what triggered the angry response of the mob,…
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What Freedoms do Truckers Lack?
I’ve vented once already about the awful nonsense being spouted around the so-called trucker’s protest, or occupation of Ottawa, but it irritates me so much that I have to do it again. Truckers and their associated Proud Boys and Western Separatists and whoever else is in Ottawa this week, when they’re not waving swastikas or…
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Truckers’ Protest – Deflected and False
This morning I turned on the TV and watched the highlights of the Leafs’ victory over the Anaheim Ducks. I had watched the game last night, of course. One has to swallow a little chagrin over the fact that they once again severely out-shot their opponents but gave up a 3-1 lead and had…
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Two Weeks from Hell
It has been two or three weeks since I’ve managed to write and post anything. To all of those who’ve missed my offerings, I apologize… to both of you. I have an excuse though. The dog ate my homework. Uh, umm, I mean, I’ve been sick. On Christmas Day we had our son and grandson…
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Preparing for the Apocalypse
As the year end approaches, one reflects on the recent past. One must. It’s like a law. Every TV station on the boob tube is reflecting on the year that was, and so, it must be the right thing to do. And let’s face it, it has been an unsettling year. We’ve been cursed with…
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One Language For All
Did you know that there is a European treaty called The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages? The Council of Europe web-site says “The Charter is designed to protect and promote regional and minority languages and to enable speakers to use them both in private and public life. It therefore obliges the States Parties…
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It’s Time to Follow Barbados
Barbados this week chose to shake itself loose from its colonial past and become a republic, with no formal allegiance to the British crown. Good for them! Here are five good reasons why Canada should do the same, and as soon as possible. 1) King Charlie? Chuckie? Chuckles? We all admire Queen Elizabeth II. I…
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An Open Letter to Covid Deniers
An Open Letter to Covid Deniers Recently a close acquaintance of mine advised me that he was “so done with all this Covid BS”. He went on to explain that the precautions we’re being asked to take are seemingly illogical and arbitrary, and in his opinion not doing much to make us safer. And he…
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Population Pressure and Immigration Policy
Population Pressure and Immigration Policy Today is November 24th. It’s the day that something like 27 people drowned trying to emigrate from France to the United Kingdom in a large open inflatable dinghy. This comes days after Belarus created an international incident by routing migrants to the border and urging them to cut fences and…
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Greta Thunberg – Heroine or Brat?
Greta Thunberg – Heroine or Brat? Greta Thunberg… what is she? Global heroine fighting to preserve a dying planet? Or an obnoxious little brat? The Nobel prize lends credence to the first view, but her social media coverage demonstrates that many people are inclined to the latter. I predict that in fifty years, some 17-year-old…
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Population Pressure & An Absolution for Baby Boomers
Population Pressure An Absolution for Baby Boomers I’ve been puzzling myself with concerns about population pressure, so I looked up a couple of articles on population growth. I’ve begun a practice of trying to check the credibility of sources when I do any quick google research, and to that end I use a site called…
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Voluntary Taxes and Summary
Voluntary Taxation and Summary The fourth mechanism for governments to raise money is voluntary taxation, by which I mean gambling. I have a short little diatribe on the use of gambling as a government fund-raiser, and then I’ll try to summarize these four sermons. I buy lottery tickets. I maintain that if I don’t buy…
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Consumption Taxes
The second source of money for the government is taxation tied to our spending habits. GST, HST, PST – every time we buy an article, we get to send money to the government for the privilege. Some articles have direct taxes associated with them – gasoline, “sin taxes” on alcohol, and tobacco and now cannabis. …
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Taxing Income Streams
Taxing Income Streams How many ways are there for the government to separate us from our money? Fundamentally, there are only four. They can take money as it’s coming in, they can take money as it’s being spent, they can grab what we’re trying to hold onto, or we can give it to them voluntarily.…
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In Search of Fair Taxation
Taxation Systems Some time ago, I watched a news story which said that people working in the tax system believe that it is unfairly biased in favour of the rich. It went on to discuss what the survey information meant and how tax loopholes are being used to enable tax avoidance. More recently we went…