Faith Based Funding For Schools

Personally I feel that their should be only one school system and that should be the public system. If McGinty really believes that faith based funding is the issue between Tory and he I would ask what system did his children attend and for that matter what system did he attend. If it was not the public system isn't he being a little hypocritical ?

McGuinty is a child of the times

George Jonas

National Post

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Who says Ontario's Liberals oppose a faith-based school system? They certainly don't, as long as the faith on which it's based is Ontario's official religion.

Ontario doesn't have an official religion, you say? Please! It's a deep and abiding faith, called State-sponsored Non-denominational Multiculturalism. Think of it as SNM for short.

Ontarians can certainly have other religions; Premier Dalton McGuinty doesn't mind. As long as people keep their antediluvian beliefs to themselves, they can even educate their children in their divisive and barbaric faiths -- after all, it's a free country. Only they shouldn't look to the Premier to fund their endeavours.

Let me stress that the Premier didn't say any of this. He never uttered the word "divisive," let alone "barbaric." He didn't even say "antediluvian." All he said, according to the newspapers, was that funding schools was to be a "defining issue" between him and Conservative leader John Tory in this fall's provincial contest.

Layton Knows How To Spend Your Money

Why is paying down the debt such a horrendous crime? In my household it is a priority.

Public should have say in surplus spending: NDP

Updated Sat. Aug. 25 2007 1:54 PM ET

Canadian Press

NDP leader Jack Layton says the public ought to have a say in how the government plans to spend a massive budget surplus now pegged at $6.4 billion.

Layton is calling for a parliamentary debate over the surplus, which the Finance Department revealed Friday is now double what was initially projected.

He is urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper not to simply inject the funds into paying down the national debt -- something both he and Harper criticized the Liberals for doing when they were in power.

Layton says hardworking Canadian taxpayers are responsible for the surplus, yet many are struggling to support their families.

He believes the surplus should be spent on foreign aid, affordable housing, public transit and keeping post-secondary education fees down.

Layton also wants the government to fill the vacant parliamentary budget officer post created a year ago under the Federal Accountability Act to oversee the management of large budget surpluses.

Why Are We In Afganhistan?

Measuring progress.........not only in Afganhistan but also Iraqi.

Support for Afghan Mission Falls

NOT:

Canadian support for the military mission in Afghanistan remains surprisingly stable, including in Quebec, despite the loss of three soldiers from that province in the past week, a new CanWest News Service/Global National poll suggests.

Conducted by Ipsos Reid, the poll found 51 per cent of respondents across the country said they support the mission, while 45 per cent oppose it. The numbers remained virtually unchanged from a month ago.

I know that many of you disagree with me when I say that DND and the PMO have done a horrible job of explaining the mission to Canadians; but imagine the support, were our government to regularly inform us of the tremendous progress being made.

Posted by Cjunk at 1:21 PM

Bill Maher Can’t Get NYT Baghdad Correspondent to Bash Bush

By Noel Sheppard | August 25, 2007 - 11:45 ET

As the new season of HBO's "Real Time" began Friday night, I watched with great trepidation, especially given host Bill Maher's disgraceful special on that network back in July wherein he spent virtually two-thirds of the program bashing President Bush and anyone with an "R" next to his/her name.

With that in mind, my stomach started turning during his opening monologue as he made joke after joke about our president. I was put in further unease as he introduced his first guest, New York Times correspondent Damien Cave, currently in Baghdad, who seemed likely invited on to speak the liberal party line about how the surge is failing, and how things are much worse in Iraq than the Administration wants to admit.

Miraculously, my concerns were all for naught, for Cave, much like the Times' Baghdad bureau chief John Burns, sees good things happening in Iraq, which appeared to catch Maher off guard. For instance, when Maher asked, "What is the morale of our troops, because I know President Bush always says that the troops are steadfastly all behind him - uh, I have my doubts. What is your view?"

Cave's response was clearly not what Maher was expecting (video available here courtesy of our friend Ms. Underestimated):

More good news out of Iraq

Ten Things You Won't See Comrade Miller Do

They are all good ideas and a positive approach to problem solving but Miller will continue to blame everyone else in order to protect his feifdom which is populated by social in-activists, environuts, unions, waterfront condo owners and island squatters.

10 things Miller needs to hear TheStar.com - Ideas - 10 things Miller needs to hear

The mayor should have seen this fiscal crisis coming. Still, it's not too late to do something about it. Here's our plan

August 25, 2007

Royson James
City hall columnist

Days before he was re-elected mayor, David Miller said: "Our city is stronger, thanks to sound fiscal management and new partnerships with the federal and provincial governments to bring hundreds of millions of dollars of new investment in policing, transit, child care and the waterfront."

He boasted that in three years he'd wrung more money from Ottawa and Queen's Park than his predecessors had in three decades.

The future – Toronto by 2010 – looked great.

Torontonians returned Miller to city hall. But within months, citizens were brooding over a very different Toronto, one where community centres are to be closed on Mondays, libraries on Sundays, sidewalks left snow-covered. What went wrong?

Pecunia Non Olet

Angelo is looking at it from a national perspectivewhile I just thought it was in describing thelocal comedy........ Confusing Grit policies have astink to them

By ANGELO PERSICHILLI

When Roman emperor Vespasiano introduced the "urine tax" on public toilets, he was criticized because he was collecting "smelling" money. He answered "Pecunia non olet" (Money doesn't smell).

As Far As I Am Concern It Is Much Ado About Nothing

But then of course my family and I don't live in the area so why should I care....

West Queen West not all it's cracked up to be Graffiti, drugs and now murder, but little action from BIA or City Hall

By SUE-ANN LEVY, TORONTO SUN

Queen St. W. sex shop owner Katie Matthews has watched the crime in her area escalate following the recent fatal stabbing of a St. Catharines man by a pack of panhandlers working the strip.

The elegant owner of MissBehav'N would have expected a stepped-up police presence in response to the Aug. 9 attack on 32-year-old Ross Hammond. Instead, she's noticed the drug deals and panhandling now occur any time of the day or night on Queen west of Bathurst -- and the police are nowhere to be seen.

"It's because of an attitude of tolerance," she said. "Not even a death seemed to get the attention of the city, the police and the West Queen West Business Improvement Area."

On a rainy afternoon this past week I visited the area. It's a part of the city that's much talked about by the out-of-touch socialist do-nothings at City Hall. Not due to the recent stabbing, though, but because it has been touted as a safe, inviting area ripe for development and already flourishing with an edgy mix of shops, restaurants and art galleries.

If the strip west of Bathurst is inviting and safe, I certainly missed it. During a leisurely 5 p.m. stroll, I saw crack dealers selling their wares in the graffiti-infested doorways of the alley behind Queen St. W.

Expert Says "Just Holding A Rock" Is Provocation...

.....and if that is the case then would police have been within their right to arrest EVERYONE holding a rock or other type of missile. Did anyone see an undercover officer throw rocks. "Reporters at the scene said they did not see extensive rock-throwing until long after the incident with the undercover officers. At the same time I don't think everyone would agree that the Sûreté du Québec is a no nonsense force more interested in public safety than being social workers.

Know The Enemy

Is your son or daughter a member?

Undercover cops just doing their jobs

By EARL MCRAE

ONLY IN CANADA -- Only in Canada --- a.k.a. Dreamland -- would such a big, oh-my-God, tsk, tsk, tsk, outrage happen over some cops caught pretending to be protesters at the Montebello political summit.

What, exactly, is the big deal?

There IS no big deal.

Except that now you have a bunch of naive, not-too-bright Dreamlanders trying, predictably, to exploit it for self-serving political purposes, trying their damnedest to create a national issue when there is no issue, period.

They don't come across looking intelligent.

They come across looking what they are: DUMB Dreamlanders.

Sûreté du Québec to review practices

Police say undercover officers were not at protest to incite violence; union leader to file charges

CAMPBELL CLARK , INGRID PERITZ and IAN BAILEY

August 25, 2007

OTTAWA, MONTREAL, VANCOUVER -- The red-faced Sûreté du Québec promised to review their practices after three of their officers were caught posing as protesters trying to confront a line of officers at this week's Montebello summit.

Both the provincial police and federal Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day defended the police infiltration of protests as legitimate work, however, and insisted that the officers were trying to prevent violence, not incite it.

No One Is Denying The Need For Additional Revenue (Taxes) But......

.....it would be an easier sell if:

* Miller has had the courtesy to show up at the last round of citizen meetings to discuss the issue.
* Miller took part in reducing expenses; ie: reduce council office budgets, rollback the last council pay increases, eliminate perks, etc.
* Miller sent a strong message to city unions that the city will seriously look at contracting out, eliminate the "fair wage" credo and allow non-union contractors to bid on city work, that the job for life attitude is being put out to pasture, etc.
* Miller complete the harmonization of services and if the service is not provided to all the old "cities" it is provided to none.
* Miller put on the market all the old "city halls" that are underutilized.

Miller tries to persuade residents to back new taxes

JENNIFER LEWINGTON

CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF

August 25, 2007

From his city website, Mayor David Miller yesterday fired the first volley in his fall campaign to win public support for two new city taxes.

In a letter addressed to "fellow Torontonians," Mr. Miller issued 15 pages of information about the city's fiscal plight - and the need for new revenues to pay for "the kind of Toronto I want to build and the kind of city you voted for when you re-elected me last November."

The mayor's pitch to residents marks the first salvo in what will be a war of words, leading up to a council vote on Oct. 22, on a proposed land-transfer tax of up to 2 per cent and a $60 fee to register motor-vehicle ownership.

If approved, the two new taxes would generate $356-million in revenue to offset an estimated budget shortfall of $575-million in 2008.

If The Cause Is Just Why Object To Scrutiny

We don't object to police going undercover with street gangs,biker gangs and other suspected organizations that could be a threat to safety so why should anarchists, peaceniks, etc. be given a pass.

Let's Not Forget.....It Is Bar-B-Que Season

Woman sets fire to ex-husband's penis

Thu Aug 23, 2007 2:37PM EDT

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A woman set fire to her ex-husband's penis as he sat naked watching television and drinking vodka, Moscow police said Wednesday.

Asked if the man would make a full recovery, a police spokeswoman said it was "difficult to predict."

The attack climaxed three years of acrimonious enforced co-habitation. The couple divorced three years ago but continued to share a small flat, something common in Russia where property costs are very high.

"It was monstrously painful," the wounded ex-husband told Tvoi Den newspaper. "I was burning like a torch. I don't know what I did to deserve this."

Bloc Needs A Shot In The Arm So They Take An Afganhistan Pill

Today party leaders bring up Afghanistan or Kyoto when they need to get some media attention and it is safe ground for them because the majority of Canadians are "ignorant" about what is happening.

"I've had enough"

A must-read, experience-based rant on the appalling ignorance of Canadians regarding the Afghan mission, by someone who's been there:

I've had enough. Consider this my rant against ignorance; my protest against agendas, half-truths, and lies. For almost two years I have been closely following the news from and about Afghanistan and it has been demoralizing to say the least. I spent a year in Kabul with the Strategic Advisory Team and watched the media only report the deaths our Forces suffered rather than the successes we (not just the SAT) achieved. I have watched "experts", editorialists, politicians, protesters, activists and pundits mangle facts, misread situations and push agendas. Most of what I have read and seen has been flawed to one degree or another. As a result many Canadians I have spoken to are wholly unaware of what we are doing there and why we are doing it. The debate has been so muddied by poor reporting and incomplete information that most people are stunned when they hear of our successes.

At the same time I have heard only reactive, ineffective whimpers from our establishment. Our government and DND in particular has done a poor job of getting the message out. Granted things are improving but you only have to look at the News Room on the DND website to see that the majority of news releases concerning Afghanistan concern the deaths and injuries we have suffered in Kandahar. In other words we are playing into the media's "if it bleeds, it leads" approach to coverage.

You really do need to read the whole thing.

Posted by Damian at 3:00

An Insight Into The Reality Of Home Ownership

The simple truth......"We can afford to live there, we just can't afford to enjoy it."

Unreal estate

Get your own mortgage or pay your landlord's? Buying is a better investment, but renting lets you have a life

By Chris Bilton

We can afford to live there, we just can't afford to enjoy it,” says Nick Clayton of the Clinton Street house he and his wife purchased two years ago. Not interested in condos or commuting, they sought out what could be considered the holy grail of first-time homeowners in Toronto: a small semi-detached place in the Annex

Too Much Hullaboo About Faith Based Education

All the polls, at least in the mainstream media, indicates the populace in not in favor of faith based education as put forward by John Tory and if this is the foundation of the Conservative election campaign I fear we could be in trouble. The public education system is a bureaucratic nightmare which draws $$$$ away from the classroom and it would seem to me that "faith based" would just add to this bureaucratic mess.

Premier has it all wrong

Tories grab hot potato, again

The City Of Toronto From A Left Wing Perspective

It is not much different from the right wing.....same villians, same apathy, etc.

News MCGUINTY’S UPLOAD OF BULL

Before David Miller's foes declared that lobbying the province was the only ethical alternative to new taxes, it was that lobbying itself that they decried. Miller needed a Plan B,...

News SELLING OFF QUEEN WEST

City’s secret triangle deal is just the start – six more towers may be on the way

With the media revving scare stories in the wake of the stabbing death on Queen West a few weeks back, development issues on the strip have once again slipped below...

City in brief BARN GETS ITS GROOVE BACK

After more than two years stuck in legal limbo, legendary Church Street gay hangout the Barn may at last be reopening. According to Tom Ricketts, executor of the estate of...

Don't Be Too Harsh With Civil Service

Incidents like this have more to do with poor leadership and human nature......

City investigates complaint that staff had tickets `fixed'
Paul Moloney 73 min. ago
An allegation that City of Toronto staff have had parking tickets...

Housing official fired amidst bribery probe
Laurie Monsebraaten 73 min. ago
A Toronto public housing official has been fired and an investigation has been...

If You Are On The Fence About Miller/City Council/Left Wing Read......

.....this article.

You call this efficiency?

By SUE-ANN LEVY

Let's call today's column yet another slice of life from what Mayor David Miller calls the "most efficient city in the province."

Good Gawd! How Much Does A Tattoo Cost?

Enough that an owner of a tattoo shop can afford to hire lawyers, go to court and possibly pay out $10,000,000. Who runs this shop? One of the recepients of Mike Colle and McGinty's cultural awards?

Tattoo studio faces $10M lawsuit TheStar.com - GTA - Tattoo studio faces $10M lawsuit

Former customer says he lives in fear of infection from studio's improperly sterilized equipment

August 22, 2007

Carola Vyhnak
Staff reporter

A $10 million class-action lawsuit has been launched against an Oshawa body art studio after thousands of people were urged to get tested for blood-borne diseases because they may have been exposed to dirty equipment.

The lawsuit against Longhorn Custom Bodyart Studio was filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Whitby Monday on behalf of Oshawa resident Kaleb Beaulieu, who received a tattoo at Longhorn in July.

The action includes everyone who received a tattoo or body piercing between Nov. 17, 2006, and Aug. 1 of this year, when the studio's equipment sterilizer was alleged to have been malfunctioning on and off.

Durham Region health authorities warned that possible use of non-sterile equipment could lead to transmission of HIV and hepatitis B and C and sent letters to 2,400 people, urging them to see a doctor and get blood tests. The 530 results that have come back so far were all negative, said spokesperson Glendene Collins.

A Touch Of Reality On A Bleak & Overcast Day

IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, LIE, LIE AGAIN
by Ann Coulter
August 15, 2007

Suspiciously, Daniel Pearl's widow is suddenly being lavishly praised by the Treason Lobby. Jane Mayer, co-author of the discredited hit-book on Clarence Thomas, "Strange Justice," published an article in The New Yorker last week recounting that Mariane Pearl was called by Alberto Gonzales in March with the news that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed had admitted to American interrogators that he had personally beheaded her husband and they were going to release the transcript to the press. Mayer wrote: "Gonzales' announcement seemed like a publicity stunt."

Frank Rich followed up with an article in The New York Times saying of Gonzales' call: "Ms. Pearl recognized a publicity ploy when she saw it."

Inasmuch as these are journalists who adjudge George Bush more evil than Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, their perception of reality is to be treated gingerly. But if Ms. Pearl is toying with the idea of becoming the latest liberal cause celebre, she might want to consider the trajectories of the rest of them.

All the Democrats' most dearly beloved anti-war/anti-Bush heroes invariably end up in the Teresa Heinz Kerry wing of the nut-house. Scott Ritter went from being a trusted U.N. weapons inspector valiantly defending poor, misunderstood Saddam Hussein from George Bush's imperialistic war to being just another creep trying to have sex with underage girls.

Cindy Sheehan once had "absolute moral authority." Now she's just a madwoman writing mash notes to Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez.

Read on.........

The Education Premier In A Quandry

An Insight Into Shelter Life

A very touching insight but then I hear on the news that one of the issues being discussed at Montibello is the easing of restrictions for bringing in workers from Mexico. I don't believe these are skilled workers so you have to wonder....

Gimme Shelter

August 21st, 2007

Contrary to the hardened heart they are not there because they want to be.

The next time you look at someone on a grate bundled in clothes realize that they are there for a reason. Had they the ability to cope or the intestinal fortitude to carry on, I am sure they would, and often do, dream of a different life.

Many remain outside for fear of violence within the shelter system. As is the case, the weak are preyed on physically, sexually and financially. Some commit petty crimes come winter for the safe haven of a penal institution. Generically known amongst them as “3 hots and a cot”.

Some 30 odd years ago I entered a hostel for the first time. Since then I have had the experience to visit virtually all in the downtown core.

Often the shelter system is the last house on the block. Some residents handle the suffering with grace, others with resentment. At one time alcohol was the predominant vice, but now the devil is crack. One social element that has not changed is mental illness. Some shelters are big and inherently more dangerous. Others can be smaller and spiritually based. In most cases, the staffs are very dedicated and special people.

Learning to sleep with your shoes tied to your bed, in a social and economic jail, I am sure is not what their mother envisioned for them..

And so, the builders, engraved, compelling words in stone. Above the passage entering Toronto’s largest shelter, the Seaton House, reads “Someone’s Father, Someone’s Brother, Someone’s Son”.

Prophetic words that urge us into service and “harden not our hearts”.