Category Archives: News

Phil Robertson suspended from Duck Dynasty

Phil Robertson booted from his own show?!?

“LOS ANGELES, Calif. – “Duck Dynasty” patriarch Phil Robertson — suspended from the series indefinitely after making disparaging remarks about gays — is getting some support from key followers.

Sarah Palin posted a picture on her Facebook page of her with the reality show clan with the message, “Free Speech is an endangered species.” And Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal also lamented the suspension on free speech terms.

“It’s a messed-up situation when Miley Cyrus gets a laugh, and Phil Robertson gets suspended,” said the governor in a statement Thursday the show is filmed in his state.”

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In the News: US Government Shutdown

Today we are all reading about the US government shutdown.

Should we in Canada care?  Does it affect us?

Well yes and no.  It doesn’t really affect you (unless you’re travelling to a national park) – but it is good to pay a bit of attention to it.

But in reality it is interesting to see how this is playing out, the causes, and the effects.  It is really coming off as a bit of a child’s game.

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In The News: RCMP Gun Seizure in High RIver

The flood may be old news, but the RCMP gun seizure in high river is still an ongoing concern.

Essentially, the story is that police were going door-to-door during the High River, Alberta floods in June of 2013.  They say it was to search for possible victims, injured people, elderly, and other people requiring help.  However, when they were in the houses, any firearms they saw improperly stored (their interpretation) they seized for “safe keeping”.

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In The News: Harper Prorogues Parliament Again

As a Canadian who is interested in personal sovereignty, you may be someone who votes for the Conservative Party by default.  I suggest you rethink that because they stand just as much for the expansion of government as the Liberals and socialist NDPs.  But perhaps with a bit more of an elitist and corporatist flavour than the other two.

For the fourth time during his tenure, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has prorogued the federal parliament.  This time, it was to prevent having to answer questions over senate expense account scandals.  This scandal involves inappropriate expense account claims by Mac Harb, Mike Duffy, Patrick Brazeau, and most recently Pamela Wallin.  The short version of the story is that these senators expensed hefty travel charges for activities that were unrelated to the Senate.  We’re not talking $5000 here; some of the figures I’ve seen thrown around are of the $100,000 order.  Just more examples of government misspending our money.  Thankfully, it is a continued topic of debate whether the Senate is still relevant and worth the cost, or if it should be abolished.

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In the News: Toronto Power Supply Vulnerable

Toronto, the jewel of Canada.

Maybe this is an “In the News” category or a “Lessons Learned”

Recent storms in Toronto broke the one day rainfall record there.  Previously held by 1954 Hurricane Hazel at 121mm, the storms on Monday 08 July 2013 dropped 126mm of water.  Flooding roadways and overwhelmed storm drains are one issue, but the real problems that arouse involved the power grid.  Two major hydro power transmission and distribution centres were knocked offline due to the storm, which left hundreds of thousands of Torontonians experiencing rolling blackouts or even completely without power.

The real story here is the degraded electrical infrastructure in Toronto.

Disasters and major events could cause failures to the transmission system and lead to voltage instabilities or problems with electrical supply.  In this instance, the two transformer facilities were completely flooded out.

There is more than enough electricity generated in Ontario to feed the hunger of the city.  However, bringing that power to the city, then distributing it is problem.

A report referenced in the story shows that power generation within the Toronto region has declined rapidly since 1985.

This means that our nation’s largest city is completely dependent on the rest of the provence for its power generation needs.

With so many people not assuming responsibility for themselves and building up their own backup power capabilities, events like this will continue to occur.  A smart residential generator salesman would be capitalizing on this.

Read the full Global News article here: Toronto Power Supply Vulnerable

Though Toronto is unlikely to be a hotspot for people interested in self sufficiency, it is likely that events such as this will prompt some residents to realize that they are responsible for their own well being.  If this is you and you are beginning to explore self reliance: Bravo and Welcome!

If you are reading this, please consider getting an inverter for your car that could power some of your 120V items at home.  A standalone generator would be a follow up step after that.

Perhaps this is just another story show how government has no place being involved with highly technical corporations.

The leaders are voted in and out all the time.  Priority is given to short term results, not building long-term infrastructure.

 

In the News: Quebec banning religious garb

I am a minarchist and fully support personal freedom and liberty.  The government has no place in regulating or banning our clothing: whether it is for religious, political, or ANY other reason.  There should be no state supported religion – all countries and states should be completely secular.

 

Recently, the provincial government of Quebec, led but the Parti Quebecois, revealed their plans to ban wearing religious outfits or symbols by those in public service.  This specifically mentions turbans (worn by Sikhs and others), Islamic headscarves, Kippas (Jewish caps), and others.  I think this action is wrong.  Now, I will never go on a parade promoting these items, but I am not offended by them at all whatsoever.  In fact, I can admire a person secure enough in their religious beliefs to wear such obvious symbols of their devotion.  Essentially, if it is not causing us harm, hindering our freedom, or standing in our way of progress with our own life – then it is none of our business.

Currently I live in a multi-cultural, international city, I think it would be boring if everybody looked the same and wore the same clothes.  Different people, different languages, different foods, different cultures, and even different clothes make for a well-balanced society.

I think this is just a case of the provincial government creating sensationalism and wasting more money in an area where they have no right to be meddling.  Thankfully all of the opposition parties in the province do not support the ban.  But why is this even being discussed?  Why does the provence think that this is an area that they even have a say in?

Read the entire Globe & Mail article here: Quebec Reveals Religious Symbols to be Banned from Public Sector

As an aside, as much as I am the biggest fan of personal liberty, I do not endorse enforcing separate laws on separate groups of people (i.e. Sharira law), wasting tax payer money on translation services (if you don’t speak English or French – that’s your problem), and any sort of minority quotas or affirmative action.

These are all forms of government interference and/or waste.

What are your thoughts on Quebec banning religious garb?  Does this affect you?