Oh, where do I start on this one? Let's see what we know: (a) that organized crime supplies the drugs, (b) organized crime facilitates the illegal activities (prostitution, trafficking, etc.) that help pay for the drugs and (c) that once you've committed a crime to get the money to pay for your illegal drugs that the state will then step in and say, "don't worry, it's okay to do what you're doing, just let us watch you get stoned for today and then we'll send you on your merry way". I mean, really, is this an answer? To my mind, it's just aiding and endorsing a continued downward spiral for these troubled individuals.
What I do support is (a) treatment, (b) counselling and (c) much more vigilant law enforcement. The argument that the insite facility is more cost-efficient in serving public health is a cop-out in actually dealing with the root causes of the problem - I challenge Mayor Sullivan, the B.C. health minister and the local health and law enforcement groups to provide real answers and help get these people off the streets in the first place.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Bills In Toronto - This Is So Wrong
Why do people like me love to drive all the way to Buffalo to watch a losing football team? It's all about the passion those fans feel. Kinda reminds me of what it's like in Toronto when the Leafs are winning (how does that feel again?). You meet people from everywhere (I always seem to run into a group of Quebecers who drove all day Saturday and stayed in 'amburg (Hamburg, a small town near the stadium)), you tailgate (you barbeque in a parking lot and always share and make friends with your neighbour) and then you enter this stadium with 75,000 other idiots and yell on every defensive play all game. There's a guy named Pinto Ron who's been to every Bills game home and away for 16 years who has a permanent parking spot close the stadium where he cooks the mashed potatoes, peas, gravy and meat on the hood of the car. This guy is certified!
I understand the reasons the Bills needed to come to Toronto. Not that Ralph Wilson, the owner (the original owner, since 1960!!) was losing money - he just wasn't making enough money. So like any prudent business owner, he looked for a way to spruce up the bottom line. In steps Ted Rogers, and just like that, old Ralphie boy has another $70 million in his pocket.
How many real fans will come out to the games? About the same number as at the Leafs games in Toronto. With VIP seats reportedly priced in the stratosphere and regular seats at about $300, the only people who can afford to go are the probably the same "suits" who own all the prime seating for the Leafs at the ACC (Air Canada Centre). And this will take place in a baseball stadium, the Skydome (whoops, sorry it's now the Rogers Centre) that has horrible sightlines for their CFL tenant, the Toronto Argos. So you end up with a bunch of people who really don't care about what goes on on the field but will be able to say they saw the NFL in Toronto.
Kinda like when the Blue Jays were winning their world series.
Worst of all, what game is awarded to these uncaring Toronto fans? Miami. The game all Buffalo Bills fans look forward to every year. What a kick in the teeth!
Bottom line, the loyalty Bills fans in Buffalo feel for their team rivals what Toronto fans feel for their beloved Leafs - but you will have a tough time finding real Bills fans when they enter the Skydome.
I understand the reasons the Bills needed to come to Toronto. Not that Ralph Wilson, the owner (the original owner, since 1960!!) was losing money - he just wasn't making enough money. So like any prudent business owner, he looked for a way to spruce up the bottom line. In steps Ted Rogers, and just like that, old Ralphie boy has another $70 million in his pocket.
How many real fans will come out to the games? About the same number as at the Leafs games in Toronto. With VIP seats reportedly priced in the stratosphere and regular seats at about $300, the only people who can afford to go are the probably the same "suits" who own all the prime seating for the Leafs at the ACC (Air Canada Centre). And this will take place in a baseball stadium, the Skydome (whoops, sorry it's now the Rogers Centre) that has horrible sightlines for their CFL tenant, the Toronto Argos. So you end up with a bunch of people who really don't care about what goes on on the field but will be able to say they saw the NFL in Toronto.
Kinda like when the Blue Jays were winning their world series.
Worst of all, what game is awarded to these uncaring Toronto fans? Miami. The game all Buffalo Bills fans look forward to every year. What a kick in the teeth!
Bottom line, the loyalty Bills fans in Buffalo feel for their team rivals what Toronto fans feel for their beloved Leafs - but you will have a tough time finding real Bills fans when they enter the Skydome.
Morgentaler Appointment Nothing to Celebrate
This column is not about whether you are pro-life or pro-choice.
Who are the people who decide appointments to the Order of Canada?
The appointment of Dr. Henry Morgentaler to the Order of Canada, a divisive figure to say the least, does not in my view speak for the vast majority of Canadians. To say he was important and influential is in my mind without question. But what is there to celebrate here?
While I would never take away a woman's right to an abortion, I believe that an abortion is a horrific, painful and desperate option for any woman to consider, not without guilt or emotional scars in many cases. And for pro-choice advocates to denigrate the idea of counselling and the presentation of options to women in this situation is I believe irresponsible.
So while Mr. Morgentaler fought and won this right in the courts, public reaction underscores why politicians won't put forth legislation or touch this issue with a ten-foot pole. So how it came to be that Dr. Morgentaler has been awarded the Order of Canada is something that frankly baffles me.
Who are the people who decide appointments to the Order of Canada?
The appointment of Dr. Henry Morgentaler to the Order of Canada, a divisive figure to say the least, does not in my view speak for the vast majority of Canadians. To say he was important and influential is in my mind without question. But what is there to celebrate here?
While I would never take away a woman's right to an abortion, I believe that an abortion is a horrific, painful and desperate option for any woman to consider, not without guilt or emotional scars in many cases. And for pro-choice advocates to denigrate the idea of counselling and the presentation of options to women in this situation is I believe irresponsible.
So while Mr. Morgentaler fought and won this right in the courts, public reaction underscores why politicians won't put forth legislation or touch this issue with a ten-foot pole. So how it came to be that Dr. Morgentaler has been awarded the Order of Canada is something that frankly baffles me.
Obama Begins Flip-Flop on Iraq
While Barack Obama has charisma and oratorical gifts without question, his statements on the pullout in Iraq, while playing wonderfully with voters, are insincere and may come to haunt him as the U.S. campaign edges closer to November. Obama has stated publicly that he would pull out all U.S. troops from Iraq within 16 months. Setting this type of timetable without identifying or reaching any goals for the security of Iraq in the aftermath would allow this country to degenerate into civil war - Iran is ready to step in and take control and thus destabilize the middle east into a deeper mess than it is presently. To think a full pullout is possible within the term of the next president is naive and shows Obama's lack of understanding of the complexities of the entire Middle Eastern situation.
We now see Obama starting to waffle on this question as he does a little more research on the situation and isn't otherwise occupied with the heat of a nomination battle. He has more recently been quoted that the pullout will occur "with the advisement of our military leaders" and his spin doctors no longer dwell on the timetable. Also consider the budgetary angle in all this - the savings from the pullout form the foundation for most of Obama's numerous spending promises. So if the pullout from Iraq drags on (which it appears it inevitably will), where will Obama find the money to pay for all of his promises?
The McCain camp, while no doubt fighting an uphill battle, will need to capitalize on Obama's poor grasp of the Middle Eastern situation to have any hope of making this a race by November.
Arguments about whether the U.S. should or should not have occupied Iraq in the first place are now irrelevant. America has a responsibility to leave Iraq with some measure of stability before it exits, a fact that now appears to be dawning on Barack Obama.
We now see Obama starting to waffle on this question as he does a little more research on the situation and isn't otherwise occupied with the heat of a nomination battle. He has more recently been quoted that the pullout will occur "with the advisement of our military leaders" and his spin doctors no longer dwell on the timetable. Also consider the budgetary angle in all this - the savings from the pullout form the foundation for most of Obama's numerous spending promises. So if the pullout from Iraq drags on (which it appears it inevitably will), where will Obama find the money to pay for all of his promises?
The McCain camp, while no doubt fighting an uphill battle, will need to capitalize on Obama's poor grasp of the Middle Eastern situation to have any hope of making this a race by November.
Arguments about whether the U.S. should or should not have occupied Iraq in the first place are now irrelevant. America has a responsibility to leave Iraq with some measure of stability before it exits, a fact that now appears to be dawning on Barack Obama.
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