Crap

I read a review of Ann Coulter's latest book, 'Godless: The Church of Liberalism' on AOL Books (yeah, I know) and was stunned to find out that this woman considers herself to be a Christian. Now, it is far beyond my role to call in to question the state and reality of her faith, and in the article she does seem to sound like an Evangelical Christian. Which is part of the crap part.

You see, I can't imagine myself ever coming to a point of political agreement with her. She is so right-wing that I suspect that she crowds out a few libertarians on the fringe right. While I have not read her book, I have seen interviews with her and have checked out her website, and what I have experienced of this woman's opinions has left no doubt of the very wide and vast gulf between her political views and mine.

There my be some of you out there who might know me well enough to say; 'Hey, Ron! Didn't you used to belong to the Canadian Alliance?' To such a pointed question, I would have to respond in the affirmative. Hey, we all make mistakes - but I still believe that belonging to the party when I did was the right decision. Once the whole charade was revealed by the goofy DRC episode, I was gone. Politics is about one thing; POWER. Until then, I believed that the Alliance was an organization of similar thinking, mature, rational people. Now it is clear that they were nothing much more than a gang of back-biting amateurs.

Others will say; 'Hey, Ron! So, you're happy to be a Liberal, right?' to which I'd have to reply in the negative. I've let my membership lapse as the party has lapsed in to a long period of backwater navelgazing. This is the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada circa 1993 all over again. Why else have all of the top-tier leadership contenders stepped back from the current invisible race? Why didn't Michael Wilson run in 1993? It is because these smart people know that the Poseidon is not a ship to be promoted to Captian on.

So, perhaps the rest of my readership may be wondering where I stand politically. Simple. I have continued to create and formulate my own sense of what I believe and hold to be right and noble. Does this fit neatly in to a single party? Of course not. I doubt that (other than Ms. Coulter) most individuals fall neatly within a single political party's ideological bounds. In a practical sense, I continue to drift leftward - but of course there is much that I'd change in the NDP before I could ever consent to a membership.

Back on topic - Ms. Coulter in that interview states that DDT is harmless to humans, and that the banning of DDT puts an anti-biblical viewpoint as the basis for the ban. She asserts that humanity was charged with dominion over the animal kingdom, and therefore in the pecking order, people come first. A quick review of the DDT entry in Wikipedia (yeah, sure, it isn't vetted, but it is trustworthy-IMO) reveals that 7 studies have shown a cancer link in humans from DDT and a profoundly negative impact on some fish, most birds and some aquatic animals like shimp and crayfish. Ann also asserts that this ban on DDT is harming the fight against malaria, but again according to this article, the use of DDT to combat disease where no alternatives or affordable alternatives exist is still legal and practiced.

Even though I haven't read her latest book, what she is reported to have said in this short article is proof enough for me that Ann Coulter is not someone whose words and knowledge is something to be trusted. That is too bad because I don't like to be speaking poorly of a fellow Christian, but when lies and deception are given out as truth, one needs to stand up and set the record straight. I simply wish that she had the integrity to be truthful - even when it hurts her cause.

The Smoking Debate, part zzzzz...

It seems as if the people we've appointed to run this city can't quite find the time to get the job done. It seems to be the story of our times....just not enough people available. Tim Horton's are closing at night, Burger King is closed for most of the weekend...and our city council can't find the time to discuss and decide on just when we will join with the rest of the modern western world and implement a comprehensive restriction on smoking in public areas.

12,000 people took the time to sign a petition to ask that these wunderkinds make the bold decision to move our implementation date ahead by a year, so that we won't die of a new malaise - embarrassment. It seems that the only thing that was decided was a pay raise. (yes, they did decide that that should go ahead)

I've heard the cry from the Mayor's office that city hall would loose credibility with the business sector if it were to change the implementation date that was established a few years ago. This is poppycock. If anything, it should instil a confidence in our elected officials - that they can actually respond to the will of the people, and that they can be counted on to improve on past decisions when the past decision was a poor one. If I owned a bar, I wouldn't be too worried - people across our continent who have lived in a non-smoking community continue to visit bars and drink beer. In fact, even more people come out for two reasons; 1) The majority of the population is NON-SMOKING and therefore will not be put-off by sitting in an ashtray while they enjoy a brew. 2) Many of the previously smoking customers will quit the habit and have more cash for beer, and most of them will likely live longer - giving bar owners even more revenue as they continue to visit for additional years. There are many other advantages to removing smoking in bars and all public spaces, but no doubt you've read them elsewhere.

Hopefully our city council will FINALLY decide on July 24th to move the implementation of our smoking ban forward by one year to January 1, 2007. If they don't, Calgary will become the ashtray of the nation as desperate smokers flock to our city for 17 more months of smoking freedom.