Canada's Alert Ready System Needs Improvement

This past weekend in Ontario, we had an Amber Alert issued. And although the child was found safe and sound, there are some things that need major improvements.

Last year, Canada's "Alert Ready" system was rolled out, this is similar to the "Emergency Broadcast System" that has been in the United States for many decades now. This system uses traditional radio and television signals to inform people of important events such as severe weather, terrorist threats and Amber Alerts just to name a few.

Now, the Amber Alert system has been in place for quite a while now and the new alert ready system is another way to get the message out there. Prior to now, it would be up to the individual radio and TV stations to broadcast this information. This new alert ready system is an attempt to get information out faster and more efficiently by having important information broadcast on all media outlets at the exact same time. These alerts will interrupt the broadcast that you are watching or listening to. Some people have complained about this. That's not what this article is about. This article is about getting information out EFFECTIVELY.

On Sunday night, we had an Amber Alert issued for a missing child here in Ontario. Here is what the alert looked like on news websites and other social media:

THIS IS AN "AMBER ALERT" ACTIVATION MESSAGE!

Police: Toronto Police Service

Child : 3 month old baby boy, short dark hair,

Abductor: Male white, 20-25 years old. Short blond hair, 5 foot 11 inches, medium build

Vehicle: Tan colored 4 Door 1997 Toyota Camry, Ontario # BWRC 161

Location last observed: Northbound Highway #27 at Albion Road

If observed call 911

Looks pretty good right? Yes it does. Unfortunately, trying to get this information out via Broadcasts was a complete disaster. Here is the audio version as this alert sounded if you heard it on TV or radio:

 
So many things wrong here. What did the guy say? Of course it wasn't a real guy, it was obviously some text to speech system. And as you can hear, the numbers weren't translated correctly. The 1997 model year was transcribed to "one thousand, nine hundred ninety seven". And the best part, if you see this vehicle, call "September 1st, 2001". On top of that, this alert aired only ONCE. Imagine driving in your car and hearing this on the radio. Before you can really grasp what is going on, the alert is over and is never repeated. I have other beefs with the way this was all handled, I covered it this week on my podcast.

This system was in development for a few years before it rolled out. I have a hard time believing that somewhere along the way, someone didn't think to put some test text into the system to hear how it sounded.

I really hope improvements can be made to this system. Even though this was mandated by the government, it's still good to have as many venues as possible to get vital information out there. Perhaps the private sector could have pulled this off more efficiently.

Politicians Missing a Huge Opportunity To Reach Young Voters

By now you may have heard about this news story over the weekend where a VICE news reporter was denied an opportunity to ask Stephen Harper a question during a campaign stop in eastern Ontario. If you haven't heard, take a look... it's a good read. And this coming from someone who doesn't always read an entire news article before he gets bored.

Here's a brief synopsis:

We all know about Stephen Harper's policy of only taking 5 questions from the media during his election campaign stops. Well, during a campaign stop in Ontario this weekend, VICE news reporter Justin Ling noticed there were only 4 other reporters present. Justin asked Harper's media people to inquire if he could have that 5th question. Long story short... Harper only took 4 questions. As it turns out, the 5 questions aren't just random pickings. 1 question is reserved for local media (who are only permitted to ask a local question) and the other 4 questions go to established traditional media outlets. So if you're an independent reporter or work for a smaller news organization like VICE... you're out of luck. But here's the kicker... those established media outlets have paid to be on the Harper bus.. $3,000 a day (or about $78,000 for the whole campaign). So in other words... reporters have PAID to be there. Justin only wanted to ask a question about foreign policy. Instead, he was passed over in favour of the established reporters who only seem to ask about the Mike Duffy trial these days.

Money talks I guess. I hope I'm not the only one deeply concerned here. Furthermore, what does it say about our established media that it took a smaller media outlet for this dirty secret to come out? Clearly, this has been going on for quite some time and the mainstream news outlets have gladly and quietly ponied up the cash. Apparently, only the Conservatives require a cover charge to gain elite access to their campaign bus. But just as bothersome, is the fact that smaller news outlets and bloggers are being shut out completely. A huge opportunity is being missed here, many young people get their news exclusively from online news sources like VICE. If politicians and their political parties want to reach younger voters their attitude has to change.

But, there's a little epilogue to this tail. NDP leader Tom Mulcair has been criticized this campaign for often taking NO questions at all. Mulcair was campaigning in Kitchener yesterday and stoped by a local radio talk show. He was asked about Harper's lack of transparency and being closed off to the media. As expected, Mulcair ripped into Harper, despite the fact that he failed to take any listener questions during his scheduled 25 minute interview. I say 'scheduled' because the NDP leader showed up late! And then proceeded to leave early, leaving the talk show host an extra 3 minutes to fill until the commercial break. I find it hilarious that Tom Mulcair had the nerve to attack Harper calling him "Arrogant" yet he himself showed up late... left early... and didn't take any phone calls from the public.

Now, I'm not defending Harper. The way he's treating the media during this campaign is disgusting. But really, this seems to be an indication that all these guys are exactly the same. Politicians will NEVER put your interests ahead of their own. All of this talk about voting for 'change' is really just a smoke an mirrors show. For small c Conservatives like myself, there really is no mainstream option for smaller government anymore... assuming there actually was to begin with.

A Letter To My MPP

A few weeks ago, I did something that I've never done before. I wrote a letter to my MPP. I was worried that a carbon tax would be introduced in the upcoming budget and I was concerned about that.

Here's what I wrote:

Dear MPP,

I am writing to say I OPPOSE the rumored carbon tax the Liberals are proposing in the upcoming spring 2015 budget. Please do research on climate change. Virtually all statistics coming out are being manipulated to it make it appear that there is a warming trend... the opposite is true.

Please do the right thing and vote against a budget that has a carbon tax in it. 
 
And here is the robotic response I got. Looks like this is a generic e-mail with my name slapped on the top. Didn't address anything I had to say in my original message.

Dear Political Paradox,
Thank you for your email regarding our government’s ongoing discussions surrounding a climate change strategy for Ontario. I always appreciate hearing from constituents.

The Government of Ontario is committed to providing leadership in fighting climate change, which is why the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) is launching consultations on a new Climate Change Strategy.

We know that climate change threatens our communities, infrastructure, natural resources, businesses, and the environment – at home, and internationally. While we still have a lot of work ahead of us, we are proud to build on the progress we have already made.

Ontario’s decision to close coal-fired electricity plants, curb the use of cosmetic pesticides, and protect 1.8 million acres of land have resulted in fewer smog days and cleaner water. Ending coal-fired power is the single largest greenhouse gas reduction initiative in North America, equivalent to taking seven million cars off the road.

Over the next few months, we will be asking Ontarians about their thoughts on how to fight climate change, foster economic growth, and keep our businesses competitive. In fact, Ontario has the fastest growing clean-tech sector in Canada, with 2,700 clean-tech firms employing 65,000 people and generating annual revenues of more than $8 billion.

To begin the process, a Climate Change Discussion Paper has been posted to the Environmental Registry for public comment on February 12, 2015 for a 45 day period, and is the first phase of a series of comprehensive consultations to be held throughout the coming year. To contribute to the ongoing discussion, please visit www.ebr.gov.on.ca

These province-wide consultations will speak to climate change, the risks of doing nothing, economic growth opportunities, and our path forward. Further details regarding in-person public sessions can be found at www.ontario.ca/climatechange

We look forward to hearing from the general public, industry stakeholders, businesses, Aboriginal leaders, and municipal representatives on this vital issue. Also, Ontario will host a Climate Summit of the Americas from July 7-9, 2015, to advance collaborative action on climate change ahead of the Conference of the Parties in Paris in December 2015.
Once again, thank you for writing. If I can be of assistance with any other provincial issue, please do not hesitate to contact me.

The "Power Wall" Smoking Ban Has Failed

On Friday night, I took a quick trip to my local convenience store to buy the winning ticket for this week's Lotto Max draw. I think they gave me the wrong ticket, as it turns out, they sold mine to someone in Owen Sound. Oh well... maybe next time. While I was waiting in line I looked up at that blank wall behind the cashier, for behind that wall I knew were cigarettes. Now, I don't smoke and I never have but I think everyone knows what is behind there. They are called "Power Walls" and they are illegal in Ontario.

In may of 2008, the province of Ontario along with many other provinces banned the display of cigarettes in convenience stores. I'm going to show you a picture here, something as rare as a sighing of the Yeti, something which hasn't been seen in almost 6.5 years.. .something which is illegal:

 

There... I did it, let's see if I can write the rest of this article without being jailed.

So, as I'm standing there in line, I got to thinking... I wonder if the power wall ban has been effective in reducing smoking? If you are a regular reader of this blog or a listener to my podcast, you'll know what my immediate suspicions are... not at all... and I WAS RIGHT! A report out last year shows no change in the smoking trend of Ontarians.

The report was produced by the Propel Centre For Population Health Impact at the University of Waterloo and appeared on a number of websites. I found it at the website of the Manitoba Tobacco Reduction Alliance (If you'd like to read the whole report, click HERE.). In the report, appeared the following chart:

 

As you can see, the number of daily smokers has remained pretty steady, even after the power wall ban came into effect in 2008. Here is that chart in a different form:

For some reason there was a big up trend in 2012, I didn't look deep enough in the report to see if there might be a reason for this. Now, it appears that "Smoking Prevalence" (which basically includes occasional smokers as well) is down. However, the trend was going down even before convenience stores were forced to cover up:

Of course, I'm sure some will claim some sort of victory with this final stat claiming that numbers are down since 2008. Government jumps in front of a parade, then pretends to be leading the parade.

So in conclusion... what has happened? Lots of money was spent putting this plan in place and there has been no impact or reduction in smoking levels. The "out of sight, out of mind" mentality clearly has not worked here in Ontario. Let's let retailers again be allowed to display the products they have for sale.

Ewwww, Look At What School Kids Are Eating For Lunch

It's currently one of the hottest trends on twitter. The #ThanksMichelleObama hashtag chronicles some of the interesting and at times, disgusting lunches kids are getting in their school cafeteria's.

It's part of the USDA's (US Department of Agriculture) new healthy eating guidelines headed by the first lady who has made it her mission to tackle obesity in children.

A USDA spokesperson told buzzfeed the students tweets"do not fully reflect the full range of choices students are provided."

Alas, here are some of our favourites:

This is supposed to be a grill cheese sandwich:

Yummy school lunch grilled cheese #ThanksMichelleObama pic.twitter.com/zliTnsPSMS
— lakota™ (@lakotatbh) November 24, 2014

This is just wrong:

"@HouseCracka: This should be a crime. Its a school lunch! #ThanksMichelleObama pic.twitter.com/BXw4VidvgP" 😂😂😂😂
— Ethel's Grandson (@Poppa_Diop) November 24, 2014

This cheese has mold on it:

Moldy food #thanksmichelleobama pic.twitter.com/QcDMO8zb6B
— Genevieve Galligan (@genniegalligan) November 24, 2014

I have no idea what this is supposed to be:

Students post gross school lunch pictures using #ThanksMichelleObama hashtag http://t.co/g5LZQTGEdX pic.twitter.com/D26AoIEOJs
— FOX 29 (@FOX29philly) November 24, 2014

Sadly, This one looks to be the most appetizing so far:

This was lunch today at my sons grade school. Shoppy Joe, green beans, jello w/3 oranges & milk #ThanksMichelleObama pic.twitter.com/ZH5ImNPo3U
— Lori Ann Dicks-Head (@Oldsmobilelady) September 17, 2014

Heard of "where's the beef"? This one has me asking, "Where's the tuna"? I had to look twice before I saw it:

#ThanksMichelleObama for this mystery meat in school lunches #MysteryTunaTuesday @PhatMatt28 @jared_raley_ pic.twitter.com/uk9jemw8ry
— ⚾KyleGrabill⚾ (@KG_2) April 8, 2014

And finally, can someone tell me what this is please?

my school lunch today #ThanksMichelleObama pic.twitter.com/2jeYlJF0wu
— josh russell (@josh_emerson) November 21, 2014

A Closer Look At Tomorrow's Municipal Election

A Libertarian friend of mine has an online radio show. He has just done done a special episode looking at tomorrow's municipal election as it relates to Waterloo region.

Some good journalism being done here about how many of our currant candidates vying for your vote seem to have changed their tune on certain issues or have conflicts of interest on the LRT issue. Unfortunately the LRT is pretty much a done deal and will be very difficult to stop.

Among the facts he dug up:

•  At Least 4 regional Councillors who voted for a 12.9% tax increase for the LRT project, live in townships that are exempt from the tax increase.
  
  
• Councillor Sean Strickland was quoted in 2010 saying a 9% tax increase for the LRT project was too high only later to vote for the 12.9% increase.
  
  
• Waterloo mayoral candidate Dave MacDonald has said during election debates that as Mayor he would be very transparent and have an open door policy. However he has ignored virtually every media interview request during the campaign.

... And much more. If you live in Waterloo Region, I highly suggest you take a listen to this 37 minute commentary before you vote tomorrow.

Link: http://fauxcapitalist.com/2014/10/26/jason-erbs-informative-and-candid-take-on-the-october-27-2014-waterloo-region-election/

The RCMP Has Some Explaining To Do...

Obviously, yesterdays shooting in Ottawa is a tragic event and all types of questions are being asked. But leave it to the mainstream news media to ask questions EXCEPT the one question that everyone is wondering... How did a gunman get so far into the main parliament building in the first place?

I've been thinking about this Kevin Vickers situation. Mr. Vickers is the one who successfully brought down the gunman at parliament hill yesterday. And today is being hailed as a hero. By taking down the shooter he definitely stooped a terrible tragedy from getting worse and that's of course is a good thing. However... let's not forget that this guy is the head of all security at parliament hill and he should be put on the hot seat about how a gunman was able to advance that far into parliament hill and come within feet of being able to kill mass amounts of people at once.

It's my understanding that the two security guards at the main entrance are unarmed. This seems to be irresponsible to me. Supposedly, the main duty of these officers is to check ID. A little further inside the hill are armed officers in civilian clothes. But even this failed yesterday as one of these undercover officers was shot in the leg while trying to grab the shooters riffle. The shooter continued down the hall getting within feet of where parliamentary meetings were going on. At this point, Mr. Vickers heard the chaos in the hall and grabbed his gun from his desk drawer (which also seems a bit odd to me) and shot the gunman in the hallway.

Government security failed us big time yesterday. If I were the prime minister, there is no way I would trust my well being and security to a government agency. I would hire a private security firm who has a vested interest in making sure I'm safe. Otherwise, they wouldn't have a job. The problem with many Government agencies is they rarely have to answer when they mess up and are rarely held accountable for their actions.  

How much heat is the RCMP going to take for "Being Caught Off Guard"? Government never goes out of business, they just keep on rolling along. If this were a private security company, guaranteed... there would be a different company looking after parliament hill starting today.

Kevin Vickers. Hero?... Maybe. Completely innocent? He'll have to be put on the hot seat to know for sure.

Red Light Cameras... Raising a Red Flag

Let me put this out there... I don't like red light cameras. In fact, I doubt there are many who do. Well there is one group who does, local governments who love the revenue they generate.

I have many reasons for my opposition to these cameras. Mainly, I have a problem with a computer convicting me. If I get an actual ticket written by an actual police officer, I can challenge it in court. If the police officer doesn't show up (which half the time they don't) the charge and fine get thrown out. If I challenge a red light camera... who represents the camera? The government doesn't trust me when I say I'm innocent but YOU want ME to trust that your camera is calibrated correctly?

To my delight, there was a report on ABC World News last night proving my point. As it turns out, some traffic cameras in Baltimore are not set properly. There are reports that people going 10 miles under the speed limit are getting tickets for going 10 miles OVER. And in one case, a car got photographed sitting properly at a red light not moving!

Then there is the issue of whether or not local governments are intentionally rigging the system to catch more people. In a some US cities, local governments have been found guilty of speeding up the light cycle. In other words, the time it takes a signal to go from Green to Yellow to Red and back to Green again has been sped up slightly. Thus, clouding drivers judgement as to how much time they have to safely make it through a changing intersection.

The argument when putting in these cameras is that they reduce collisions. Although head on and T-Bone collisions may be down, the evidence has clearly shown that the number of overall collisions are up. Why? In fear of getting photographed, people slam on the breaks resulting in being hit from behind. This is exactly what happened to me a couple weeks ago. No real damage to either of our vehicles. The icy, slippery conditions certainly contributed to the incident, but had it not been a red light camera, I wouldn't have second guessed my decision to safely continue through the intersection. If the original purpose for these cameras is not being met,then they must go. Otherwise, it's simply a tax grab.

The REAL Reason Behind The Light Bulb Ban

I really should put Reason Magazine on my browser bookmarks. I almost missed this article about the controversial Light bulb ban.

On January 1st, the Canadian and US governments put into place a ban on 75 and 100 watt traditional light bulbs (the 40 and 60 watt bulbs will be phased out at the end of this year). At first it looked like this was a push by environmental groups to ban traditional light bulbs which were less energy efficient. But now, the secret is out. This light bulb ban has nothing to do with Environmentalism. It was crony Capitalism.

We are now finding out that some of the biggest light bulb manufactures like Philips, Sylvania and General Electric lobbied the government for this. In particular, Phillips paid environmental groups (like the national resources defence council) to pressure the government into banning traditional light bulbs.

Now, why would Philips, Sylvania and GE be in favour of a Light Bulb ban? Because traditional light bulbs don’t have very big profit margins. The Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL’s) are more expensive and most of the time, are made in china. They can make a bigger profit off the CFL’s.

Libertarians are pro business. There is nothing wrong with starting a business, becoming successful and maybe opening up a bunch of locations.  However, when these companies become so large that they have an influence over government policy, that’s when it becomes a problem. Contrary to popular belief, large companies often lobby the government to change regulations to give them an advantage. Regulations that their competitors won’t be able to keep up with or will prevent a new competitor from even starting up in the first place. This is not capitalism, this is crony capitalism. In the case of this bulb ban, Philips and GE were worried about an upstart competitor getting a huge contract with Wal-mart.

This was not about saving energy, saving the planet or sensible environmental policy winning out. Philips and GE knew that people wouldn’t buy the more expensive bulbs so they successfully got them banned. The CFL’s aren’t really that environmentally friendly either. It’s too bad we aren’t free to buy the light bulbs that we want. One of my basic fundamental beliefs is: You should be able to buy whatever you want from whoever wants to sell it to you. Now excuse me… I have to update my browser bookmarks.

Gift Card Fiasco A Lesson For Other Government Areas

Is anybody really surprised that the Ontario Government’s “Free” food gift card program turned into a fiasco? Of course, nothing from the government is every truly “Free”, I wish more people would realize that.

After the Ontario ice storm a couple weeks ago, many people were left without power for days or even over a week for some. I was pretty lucky, my power was only out for about 7 hours. To assist those who had food spoil in their fridge because the long power outage, The Ontario government is distributing $50 and $100 grocery gift cards to those affected 

Maybe I’m insensitive for asking this question: Why didn’t these people put their food outside?? The whole country is a giant freezer right now. As I’m writing this, the wind chill temperature is -36 outside my door. The counter argument to putting food outside is the wild animals are going to get at it. These people could take measures to protect their food like putting it in a cooler or maybe some sealable Tupperware containers. Or even put your recycling box upside down over your food. Plus, how many wild animals are really out at this time of year anyway?

Enter stage right… the Wynne Liberal government who’s plan to assist these people backfired last week. First Kathleen Wynne was filmed personally delivering boxes of food to affected residents. Kathleen Wynne never turns down the opportunity for a photo op does she? And what a coindence, this was in a Toronto riding which is expected to be a very close contest in the provincial election which we all know is right around the corner. Unless she hand delivered packages to everybody in the neighborhood (and you can guarantee she didn't), then this was clearly a photo op.

Then, there weren’t enough gift cards… or so it seemed. How many of the people lining up for these cards were truly in need? There were stories of people getting more than one gift card. And CTV news filmed two women in Toronto getting out of a $50,000 BMW SUV who tried to get cards... luckily they were too late. When things are given away for free, the opportunity is bound to be taken advantage of.

We can apply this gift card fiasco to other areas as well. What about healthcare? Yes, it’s nice going to the emergency room and not worrying about how much the bill is but how many of those people are truly in an emergency situation? Some people go to the emergency room for minor ailments. No wonder the waiting times are so long, there are people who shouldn’t really be there… just like this gift card situation.

Now the government is rolling out the gift card program for other areas of the province. No word yet on exactly how this is going to work. But a news story yesterday suggested that residents will have to have been without power for 48 hours and are in financial need of assistance. I’m not sure how they are going to prove that second point. We’ll have to wait and see I guess.

The Liberal government was really in a "No Wynne" situation. People would have been upset if nothing was done too... damned if you do and damned if you don't. Call Wynne's efforts distasteful, shameless, pandering for votes whatever you want. But the unfortunate reality is any of the big main political party leaders would have done the exact same thing.

Drug Protection Laws Are Not An Accomplishment

The Harper Government has given itself it’s own report card. Last week they released their 2013  legislative accomplishments. They seem to be proud that a record 40 bills have reached royal accent calling it the “most productive year on record”. Think of it a different way…   40 of your freedoms were taken away this year. Government gets bigger and it’s touted as an accomplishment? I find this very disturbing… and so should you. I thought conservative political parties were supposed to reduce the size of government. That’s another topic for another day, and I have lots to say on that subject for sure.

Among their ‘accomplishments’ are laws that protect Canadians from unsafe drugs. Many people see this as a good thing. And it CAN be for sure. However, rarely is it thought of the other way: What about lives that are lost because drugs which could be beneficial, are kept off the market? How will you ever see the lives lost because of that? Many years later when the drug IS approved, the only people who might object to that will be dead.  But they may still be alive if they had access to that drug.

For years, Beta Blockers were kept off the market for fear that they would be deadly. Upon approval, it was mentioned that this drug would save up to 10,000 lives a year. Since it took 10 years to approve, does this mean the Government killed 100,000 people? It’s in health Canada’s best interest to always be late on approval; they are not going to want the bad publicity from potentially killing thousands of people.

But it’s also in a drug company’s best interest to make sure the drugs they are putting on the market are safe. If a drug turns out to be unsafe, then that drug company deserves anything that comes it’s way… bankruptcy, class action lawsuits whatever. In a free and open market, potential for bad publicity keeps people honest. A free and unregulated market can police itself if given the chance.

Who died and put Health Canada in charge?

What Is A "Monopoly" Anyway?

Today, the competition bureau announced it’s going to look into whether or not google has too much dominance in the marketplace. The word monopoly wasn't actually used in this story but a Google run ‘Monopoly’ is really what is being investigated here.

Too often, people throw around the term “Monopoly” way too often. Progressives who use this word should really look up the definition in the dictionary. The definition of monopoly as given in the dictionary is:

Monopoly
: complete control of the entire supply of goods or of a service in a certain area or market
: a large company that has a monopoly
: complete ownership or control of something

There you have it, a monopoly is when one company or organization has 100% control over a marketplace or industry. However, monopoly is often used in the same sentence as ‘Walmart’ (or insert a big name company here). So if Walmart has a monopoly, then does Target not exist? Does Sears not exist? What about the dollar store? All of these companies are competitors for Walmart. Walmart may be the most successful and have the biggest share of the competitive pie, but by no means do they have a monopoly.

The fact is, monopolies almost never occur in the private sector. Monopolies occur almost exclusively with government. Like here in Ontario with the LCBO. If you want to buy wine or spirits, there is only one game in town, and that game is run by the government. Not only does the government have a monopoly on alcohol, they have outlawed all competition. THAT is a true monopoly. I find it funny that progressives who talk about these (fake) monopolies seem to be ok with government controlling almost every aspect of their lives. Let me tell you something, government will mess with you 100 times more often than any big corporation will.

I find it hilarious when a monopoly (government) investigates what it perceives to be a stranglehold on the marketplace. So much for Harper’s “Free Market Approach” huh?

Ontario "Healthy Schools Strategy" Has Failed

Well, surprise... surprise. Ontario high school students aren't eating at their local cafeteria because the food sucks.

Three years ago, the province of Ontario put in place what they called the "Healthy Schools Strategy". Chocolate bars, burgers and soft drinks were outlawed and replaced with apples, rice and corn in high school cafeteria's.

Ontario's annual Auditor General report was released this week and found in part, sales at High school cafeteria's are down by as much as 45% and vending machine sales are down by as much as 85%. This making it very difficult for Ontario to reach their goal to reduce childhood obesity by 20% in 5 years.

When the government forces people to do things they don't want to do, they go elsewhere. High taxes on tobacco products have forced people to go underground to get their fix. Many people cross boarder shop because prices are cheaper... even when you factor in the price of gas (which is also significantly cheaper in the US). In this case, high school students are ditching their local cafeteria's for fast food options across the street.

When I was in high school, I rarely ate at the cafeteria as I usually brought my lunch from home. Healthy eating starts at home, not with the government telling us what we can and can't eat.

The auditor general's report also found that many cafeteria's aren't even following the healthy eating plan either. Of the three schools tested for this report, some entree's had two times the amount of allowable fat and one dish had 40% more sodium than was supposed to be called for.

In addition to the undesirable options, many students say their local cafeteria menu prices are just too high and the fast food dollar menu across the street is more appealing. I bet the next step is banning fast food establishments near high schools. Sorry... I don't want to give the government bureaucrats any ideas.

The Reform Act: Two Sides To Every Bill

There has been a lot of talk lately about The Reform Act. Last week, Conservative MP Michael Chong put forth a motion which would give more power to your local MP. It sounds like a good idea on the surface but as with most things in life, there are two sides to every story.

There are things about this bill that are good, like allowing a party's local riding association to pick their own candidate. Too many times these days, your local election candidate could be a parachute candidate. The leader of the party will pick high profile candidates and put them in ridings they know they can win, even if that riding is 1000's of miles away from where that person lives. I personally believe that a candidate should live in the riding they are running in. This is an issue that people care about, the 'where do you live' question seems to come up in most debates I watch. The whole parachute thing is dishonest politics, this is exactly how Green Party leader Elizabeth May got elected in 2011.

So there is definitely some good stuff in this bill. But... has anybody seen they part where only 15% of caucus MP's can overthrow their leader?  This concerns me. Take the Liberals for example, the federal Liberals have 36 seats in the house of commons right now. So this would mean if 5 MP's don't like him, he can be kicked out? 81, 000 card carrying liberals voted for Justin Tredeau earlier this year at the leadership convention and if only 5 people don't like him, those vote will be null and void?

But wait there's more, party MP's will have the power to choose the replacement. And this vote occurs in secret and with only 50% + 1 of the vote, a new leader is voted in. And it's not mandatory that every MP attends the meeting either. So in theory, a new leader could be voted in by literally a hand full of people as well. And this is supposed to be more democratic? If you are a card carrying member of a political party, you should think twice about supporting this bill.

There are two sides to every story. Whenever you hear about a piece of legislation, especially something you think is going to benefit the voting public, ask yourself this question: What is in it for the person (or people) proposing the bill? Everything government does by its very nature is political. Politicians will rarely do anything that benefits the people, everything they do is ultimately for their own political gain. In this case, it's a few back bench MP's who don't see eye to eye with Stephen Harper and they want to overthrow him. Sure, Michael Chong says this won't come into effect until the next election in 2015 but he could very well get re-elected and then.. It's on.

Be very wary of this proposal, It's gives more power to government bureaucrats and less power to you, the voting public. Remember, ask yourself: What's in it for me? The answer... nothing.

The Tables Are Starting to Turn

As I predicted last week, it appears that the tables are starting to turn, Barack Obama's approval rating has now fallen to 37%.

You had to scroll way down to find it but an interesting story today from the Associated Press stating that Barack Obama's approval rating in the wake of the the partial government shut down is now at 37%. You heard almost nothing about it in the news media today.

I am of the belief that many of the media outlets don't know how bias they actually are. You see, a majority of news here in Canada and the United States comes from only a small handful of news sources... "The Wire" as it were. If the wire services (which are few to begin with) aren't reporting certain stories, you won't hear it on a majority of major media outlets.

I give you an example of that happening with today's story about Obama's low approval rating.

Below, is an excerpt (you can read the whole story here) from the story as it appeard on AP's Website:

Most Americans disapprove of the way Obama is handling his job, the poll suggests, with 53 percent unhappy with his performance and 37 percent approving of it. Congress is scraping rock bottom, with a ghastly approval rating of 5 percent.

Indeed, anyone making headlines in the dispute has earned poor marks for his or her trouble, whether it's Democrat Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, or Republican John Boehner, the House speaker, both with a favorability rating of 18 percent.

Now I present you with the wire version of the same story... in it's entirety:

WASHINGTON - A new poll says Americans are holding Republicans primarily responsible for the partial government shutdown.
    
The Associated Press-GfK survey finds plenty of disdain to go around as people size up the federal impasse. Most now disapprove of the way President Barack Obama is handling his job. And Congress' approval rating is a perilous 5 per cent.

    Overall, Republicans are taking the bigger hit in public opinion. In the poll, 63 per cent say Republicans deserve a lot of the blame. About half say Obama or the Democrats in Congress are largely responsible.

    The poll finds that the tea party is a significant influence among Republicans as well as a source of division. Forty-one per cent of Republicans identified themselves as tea party supporters and they want Republican leaders in Congress to stand firm.

 It should be noted that Obama's 37% approval rating is now lower than George W. Bush's approval rating at the same duration in his presidency. And at it's worst, Bush's approval rating was 33% and that was with the media crapping on him all the time. Unfortunately, the media is still in Obama's corner. Hopefully they wake up soon and start doing some actual reporting... like a CBS reporter did yesterday.

Glenn Beck - "The Forgotten Man"

As mentioned below, I've been listening to a lot of American radio talk shows the last couple weeks. In particular, I've been finding Glenn Beck very entertaining and informative.

On Today's show, he had a great commentary called "The Forgotten Man". It's a commentary about political power. How politicians put themselves ahead of the voting public and how they use vulnerable citizens to make that happen. It's 11 minutes long but well worth the listen... Link Below:

Link:
Glenn Beck - The Forgotten Man

Harper 'Tour Tax' Leaves Much To Be Desired

Thanks to CTV News the other night who brought attention to a recent story that I somehow missed. A new 'tour tax' recently brought in by the Conservative government will make it tougher for international music acts to play gigs across the boarder. And when two of my passions in life combine (Music and Politics), I just have to comment.

Now, the Harper government isn't specifically targeting musicians but rather this an unintended side effect (a political paradox if you will) of recent changes to to the immigration act here in Canada. More specifically, the temporary foreign workers law which came into effect in August. But as I mentioned in my first post, new Government initiatives often have unintended consequences in other areas.

This new law doesn't target the bands themselves but, rather the venues they play in. Under the new law, international acts coming into Canada are considered temporary foreign workers. Interestingly, larger international acts are exempt from this fee of $275 per band member. Why?... because big acts play larger venues who's primary source of revenue is music. So a small bar owner who brings in a band a couple nights a week would have to pay up because music is not their main source of revenue.

Some are in favour of these changes saying that this will give Canadian bands a first crack at gigs. What these people don't seem to understand is that Canadian acts are already getting gigs by opening for bigger international acts. In fact, this is the most common way that Canadian Indie bands gain exposure, by opening for a larger international band that people came to the bar to see. Yeah, Canadian bands may be getting a few more gigs but what good is it if no one is there to see you play?

Most of the music I listen to is on smaller labels, what passes as popular music these days baffles me. So naturally, I'm a bit upset as this. This law targets the small business owner, the small bands that are barely getting by. Yet, the big international multi-millionaire acts like Taylor Swift and One Direction get a free pass... doesn't seem to make sense does it?

The Rollye James 3 Constitutional Amendments

One of my favourite radio talk show hosts, Rollye James is back on the air. The other night on her program she went through the 3 amendments that she would like to see to the constitution. Now, these amendments are for the US constitution, but these 3 things can be applied here in Canada or anywhere around the world for that matter.

Government is too big. Politicians and political parties often don't have the public's best interest in hand when passing bills in the house of commons. Rollye's ideas would would change all this. The 3 amendments are as follows:

Lawmakers Must Agree to Live Under The Previsions of Every Bill They Passed

If they had to live under what they voted for, things would be very different. It would help with insurance premiums which is a hot button issue here in Ontario right now. 

No Unrelated Items Onto Bills At Hand

A lot of the ridiculous spending that happens occurs when things are added onto existing bills. These items usually have nothing to do with what is being voted on. Studies like whether Yoga is effective in reducing hot flashes in menopausal women... or the studies that continuously show time and time again that smoking is bad for you etc...

Every bill should stand on it's own. If it's good enough to pass, it should be good enough to stand on it's own.

Every Lawmaker Must Read The Entire Bill Before They Vote On It

This goes hand in hand with the above point. I recently saw a film called Whipped: The Secret World of Party Discipline. In this film, they mention that politicians often only have 20 minutes or so to read over a 400 page document that they are about to vote on. Of course, this is impossible to do. This would also make sthem shorter becasue... who is going to want to read all of that.

The flip side here is... how do you enforce this rule? Will there be a test? I suppose it's just the spirit of the law.

It's great to have Rollye back on the air... even if it's only on the internet. She is a strong voice for all this who advocate for freedom. Now... if we could only get Art Bell out of retirement

can be an effective method to
reduce the frequency and/or severity of hot flashes” in
menopausal women. - See more at: http://www.darwinsmoney.com/dumb-stimulus-bill-spending/#sthash.pjIqXjul.dpuf

can be an effective method to
reduce the frequency and/or severity of hot flashes” in
menopausal women. - See more at: http://www.darwinsmoney.com/dumb-stimulus-bill-spending/#sthash.pjIqXjul.dpuf

can be an effective method to
reduce the frequency and/or severity of hot flashes” in
menopausal women. - See more at: http://www.darwinsmoney.com/dumb-stimulus-bill-spending/#sthash.pjIqXjul.dpuf

can be an effective method to
reduce the frequency and/or severity of hot flashes” in
menopausal women. - See more at: http://www.darwinsmoney.com/dumb-stimulus-bill-spending/#sthash.pjIqXjul.dpuf

can be an effective method to
reduce the frequency and/or severity of hot flashes” in
menopausal women. - See more at: http://www.darwinsmoney.com/dumb-stimulus-bill-spending/#sthash.pjIqXjul.dpuf