Brad Trost Affirms Life Again!

I wrote about Brad Trost, the MP for Saskatoon-Humbolt here. I told you I was proud to have him as my MP when I lived in that riding.

Well, I'd like to tell you about another great thing he is doing. As you may be aware last week Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff raised the abortion issue stating that the Conservatives were trying to defund international "women's health" (read abortion) services.

I wish. But that's besides the point.

If you want to read his hysterical ravings, go here and here and here and here.

I don't want to talk about Mr. Ignatieff in this post because that will get me angry, and the post will turn negative. Instead, I want to talk about Mr. Trost and another Saskatoon MP, Maurice Vellacott (Saskatoon- Wanuskewin). Both men are staunchly pro-life.

The wrote an article titled "Abortion ideology harmful tot he health of moms, children" in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix yesterday. You can read it here.

Its worth reading. It's nothing pro-lifer's haven't heard before, but its a well reasoned, well cited article. And its published in one of Saskatchewan's two major newspapers.

The abortion debate isn't dead. And with MP's like Mr. Trost and Mr. Vellacott, hopefully the issue will be discussed in the open. And that can only help the pro-life cause.

When people think about abortion- think about what it really is- the killing of a human being- they cannot remain pro-abortion.

If you live in either of these ridings, or if you just want to congratulate these courageous MP's, please write to them.

The Hon. Brad Trost, MP (Saskatoon-Humboldt)
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6
Phone: (613) 992-8052
E-mail: trostb@parl.gc.ca

The Hon. Maurice Vellacott (Saskatoon-Wanuskewin)
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Phone: 613-992-1899
Fax: 613-992-3085
E-Mail: Vellacott.M@parl.gc.ca

And keep praying for a culture of life to take over this great country.

And so it begins

Today the United States inaugurated its 44^th President. Barak Obama was sworn in as President accompanied by much fanfare. While I am not American, I can't help but follow the story of Obama that has just begun to unfold in the US. The US is the only superpower in the world right now, so the man who leads it will come under much scrutiny. Had I been American, I would not have voted for Obama, for a variety of reasons, chief among them being that Obama seems to be the most anti-life leader ever elected in North America. He has promised to pass FOCA (the Freedom of Choice Act) as soon as he can, and his views on life scare me. He can do a lot of damage in 4 years, and even more if he is re-elected.

I don't think Obama will live up to everyone's expectations. No one can live up to the hype that currently surrounds Obama. He is being hailed by some almost as if they believe he is the second coming of Christ. He is not. He is only human, as weak and sinful as any of us. He's already backing off from some of the promises he made in the election campaign; for example the Guantanamo Bay situation. For whatever reason, he has realized that the situation in Gitmo is not as simple as he thought. We can only hope that he will realize that with many of his extreme positions, because a lot of people could die if he maintains them.

I choose to believe that the worst won't happen. Why? Because if we fear Obama as much as we should (and I think we do) we will all spend more time in prayer, lifting up life issues to God. With prayer all things are possible, and so we need to pray. The novena against FOCA which ends today is just the start. We need to be praying for Obama's conversion and change of heart, and we need to be praying for the unborn, the weak and the vulnerable more now than ever before. I hope you will all join me in adding an intention for the United States, and its leaders especially to your daily prayers.

Tonight, as the United States comes under a new administration, I hope you will all join me in praying, "God Bless the U.S.A."

Of Left and of Right

It struck me today as I was reading through my various news sources that we have become a world that politicizes everything. Maybe this is just the way the world has always been, but today is the first day that I really thought about it. What I mean is, we take every story and idea and look at it and report on it through the lens of politics, the lens of left and right, rather than just looking at the facts and coming to our own conclusions about what those facts mean.

For example, let's look at global warming, or climate change, as we are to call it now. Our governments spend billions on attempting to reduce CO2 emissions with the hope that it will somehow stop global warming. However if anyone stops to ask if we can actually link CO2 emissions to rising temperatures, or, heaven forbid if global warming is even happening, people jump down their throat quicker than you can say "Ice Age." Invariably such people, regardless of their credentials are attacked for being right wing whackos in the pocket of mega-corporations. The same things happen when a scientist publishes or tries to publish any research that might deny the climate change theory. Why? Because people stand to make money off of the global warming fear mongering.

Another example is the ongoing embryonic stem cell debate. Some scientists claim that embryonic stem cells and embryonic stem cells alone are the only way to find a cure for things like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. And yet, in the decade or so that we've been working with stem cells, embryonic ones have given humanity exactly 0 treatments or potential treatments, while adult and cord stem cells have helped in the creation of numerous therapies; including the potential to regrow teeth. A recent report says that scientists have concluded that embryonic stem cells are of no use in fighting Alzheimer's, but that report is not making it out into the public sphere. Why? Because the embryonic stem cell community likes the advocacy and public opinion that goes with having Nancy Regan as a spokeswomen. That kind of advocacy draws in funding dollars. So what if it won't ever cure Alzheimer's, people will donate money that will help find other cures.

Recent press releases by the Vatican have been the victim of this politicization as well. Take Pope Benedict's 2008 year end address where he was accused of being homophobic and stroking the fires of homophobia. The actual text of his words received very little airtime; the reporting was on the shock, outrage and betrayal that the homosexual community felt as a result of his remarks. People spoke of the church needing to get with the times.

Take the current love-fest with the upcoming Obama inauguration. From the hype everyone is making about it, you'd think the Savior was returning. From the media coverage, I almost expect Obama to heal the sick and give sight to the blind. It's as though the man is singlehandedly going to fix every single problem the world has- and he's going to do it all on the day he's inaugurated.

I could go on with examples, but I think this is sufficient to make my point. Take any current event, and look at the coverage of that event by various new sources. I guarantee that you will find some form of spin in it; spin designed with the purpose of politicizing events so that, I think, we all take sides against each other. The media has a big role to play in this. They no longer report the news; they report opinion and slant the facts to fit their editorial bent. I have no problem with that, done in the context of the Opinion pages of the newspaper; we know that what is published there is not passing itself off on news, but when it's done (as it is regularly) in the news section, the media does us all a disservice. Why does everything have to be filtered and placed along the left/right spectrum? With a few rare exceptions, the media is left wing. Their coverage of everything is slanted to the left. Humans are smart; we are more than capable of reading something and drawing our own conclusions. And yet the media insists on making everything on the left sound like its heaven sent and everything on the right is going to destroy the world?

Before I go much further, I want to recognize that some in the right are just as guilty as some in the left, myself included. As soon as I hear a report that says the polar ice caps are melting and sea levels are rising, or that embryonic stem cells are the miracle cure for all our ailments, or that the pope has revealed himself to be a homophobe, or that Obama is going to raise the US back to the level of respect it had pre-Bush, or anything along those lines, my immediate thought is to dismiss it as "lefty crap." It's as though the first thing I do when reading something is identify the author's particular slant, decide the article is left wing crap, or God's honest truth and then I read the article, with those biases firmly in place.

Even as I write this, a part of me (the non-law side) wants to just say it must be lefty crap and leave it at that. Yet, after almost 3 years in law, I find I can't just do that, much as I might like to. The common law model of law (which Canada, the US, Britain, Australia and some other countries use) is an adversarial model. We are taught that each side will advocate for its own position as zealously as possible, and the trier of fact (either the jury or the judge) will look at the evidence on both sides and come to a conclusion about what really happened; what the truth is. Justice is supposed to be blind (trust me, it's not) but that is the ideal that we want to live up to.

However, I don't believe anyone can ever fully put their biases aside when making decisions. Anyone who tells you they can is lying, naïve or a lefty. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try, but it does mean that we have to recognize our biases, and we should candidly admit to them, so that our audience knows where we are coming from. I really realized this when listening to my little sister (she's 13) talk about politics the other night. She spoke eloquently about her political beliefs, but she couldn't defend them. She had no arguments to back them up. And I think that's partially my fault. I spend a lot of time talking about how the left is destroying this country, but I don't give her the background. She loves and trusts me, and as a result, my political beliefs have become her political beliefs, without her really understanding what they mean. I think the same thing happened to me as a child; my dad talked politics, and I love and trust him, so I adopted what he said. It wasn't until I came to university and I really had to defend them that I learned what they meant; what the values behind them actually stand for. I think that is just a part of growing up; just like an infant learning to talk- we learn by repeating what we hear, and over time we come to understand what we have been repeating, and then we either accept it, or we don't.

In some ways I think the media is still the child parroting back what it has heard at home. Until you are secure in, and understand the reasons for, your beliefs, you can't step up and say, "I am a social conservative, a Catholic and an advocate of small government; what most people would term right wing" (fill in your own political persuasions here) and I believe x because…" For a real discussion or dialogue to occur, you have to be able to identify yourself in terms that the rest of the world can relate to. Those terms may not be as precise as you would like, but they give others a frame of reference to understand your point of view. The media is still a child because they can't, or won't do this yet. They still claim to be unbiased when they are really a cheerleading squad for their beliefs. And until they grow up, we will be stuck with this left wing/right wing lens being placed on all events they cover.

I guess what I'm saying is question everything anyone says; break it down; identify biases (including your own) and then come to your own conclusion and be prepared to back them up. If you know why you believe what you do, no one can beat you in a debate. They will be reduced to name calling to try to make your point go away, because you are secure in who you are, and they don't know what to do with that.

Stephen, Stephen, Stephen, what are you doing?

Actually, I know what he's doing, but he's wrong to do it. On December 29, 2008 Conservative MP Rob Bruinooge wrote an opinion piece titled "Why I am pro-life" in the National Post. Bruinooge is the newly elected chair of the multi-party Parliamentary Pro-Life caucus in the Canadian Parliament. The piece is very simple- it outlines why he is pro-life. This article prompted Prime Minister Stephen Harper (the leader of the Conservative Party) to again state that his government would not introduce or support legislation on abortion.

I'm so disappointed in him. When the Harper conservatives were first elected, I was so excited. I thought it meant a real change for Canada; a return to traditional values.

I was naïve.

And I'm not anymore. While I still follow politics (mostly because I can't help it) I no longer love it, but I recognize the extreme influence and control politics has on society, so I stay involved. However, I have come to realize that there is no party in Canada that truly fits my values. The Conservatives are the closest, but they aren't perfect. But, back on topic.

Regardless of where Mr. Harper stands on abortion (and I honestly don't know where that is) he is taking the position he thinks is politically safest. He doesn't want to rock the boat and lose votes because he's still trying to get a majority government. He is willing to muzzle his MP's if he thinks their actions will do anything to cost him votes.

That is wrong, and for that reason I don't think he deserves to be Prime Minister. (Not that I think any of the other options are great.)

If you want to accomplish anything, let alone lead the country, you need to be willing to stand up for your beliefs. If you can't stand up for your beliefs (whatever they are) you can't have credibility or respect. However, politicians everywhere seem to think they can vacillate with popular opinion (and that seems to be working for them unfortunately) but we the people deserve better.

And what makes absolutely no sense to me is that poll after poll demonstrates that people DO NOT want unrestricted access to abortion. Even hard core pro-choicers I've spoken to mock the women who use abortions as a form of birth control. A poll was just done in the States that said 4 in 5 wanted at least some restrictions on abortion. Canada has no restrictions on abortion at all, and apparently Mr. Harper doesn't care at all.

Mr. Harper, please search your conscience and take a strong stance for life. Or, at the very least allow your MP's the freedom to do what their conscience tells them to do. I don't even know that it will cost you votes (it probably will) but maybe it will be such an innovation people will vote for you because you would be THE FIRST POLITITCIAN EVER to take a stand and hold to it no matter the cost, simply because it's THE RIGHT THING TO DO!!!

I wonder what the world would be like if we all did the right thing? Mmm, just imagine- and then pray, because that's the only way it will ever happen in reality.

PS- As a complete and total offside, it looks like I'm writing another 50 page paper this semester (long story) in Employment Law, and I need to come up with a topic. If you have any suggestions on how to incorporate life issues into Employment Law, send them my way! Thanks!

Children, Children, Children

Reading the title of this post, you would be forgiven for thinking that it was going to have something to do with children; maybe some family law, or Church teachings on family. Well, it doesn't. It has everything to do with the childish antics coming out of Ottawa over the last few days. Last Wednesday, when the trash talk started, I laughed it off, and thought it was just more parliamentary BS; or a trial balloon that, once floated, would quickly be shot down. Apparently I was wrong. I am no longer laughing; instead I dread checking any one of my news sources, and everything I read sends a sharp chill down my spine.

For those who aren't aware, or who haven't managed to follow the convoluted stuff coming from Ottawa, here is a brief rundown, followed by my opinion on it all.

THE FACTS

Prime Minister Harper (duly elected on Oct 14, 2008) announced he was considering cutting taxpayer money to political parties because of the economic crisis. (In 2003, then PM Jean Chretien announced each party would get $1.95 for every vote they received.) This cut was to be a largely symbolic gesture of belt tightening. Essentially, if PM Harper was going to ask Canadians to tighten their belts because of the economic crisis, he felt the politicians in Ottawa should do no less. (It's the whole leading by example thing that we all seem to have become unfamiliar with- sorry, I will try to stop editorializing in the recitation of the facts).

The leaders of the other 3 political parties quickly announced this was a partisan policy by PM Harper and was only being suggested because it would hurt them far more than it could hurt the Conservatives. (The Conservatives stand to lose about $10 million, the Liberals about $7.7 million, the NDP and the BQ about $3.3 million and the Greens about $1.7 million- not exact numbers.) However, in terms of money fundraised by each party, that would be about 2/3 of the other parties financial support.

On Thursday, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty delivered his economic update. In it, he proposed to cut the funding to political parties, prevent civil servants from striking for 1 year, and several other matters, all ostensibly geared to help keep Canada's economy afloat in the current world economic turmoil.

Even before Minister Flaherty had finished his economic update, the opposition parties were talking about a coalition government if they voted down the economic update. Their reason is that they have lost confidence in PM Harper to govern as the country needs during this economic crisis. Currently, PM Harper's Conservatives are 12 seats shy of having a majority in Parliament. That means that if the Libs, NDP and BQ get together, they can vote down any measure Harper proposes. As of a few minutes ago, Stephane Dion sent word to the Governor General that the three parties were prepared to govern if the Conservative government falls. The only other option is to have another federal election, 6 weeks after the last, at a cost of about $300 million.

EDITORIALIZING

That is a very short rendition of the facts, and leaves out a lot of details, but that's because I want to do what I do best- offer my opinion on it all.

The Economy

Ostensibly this whole constitutional crisis is about the current economic climate. (I don't believe that for a second, but, let's assume that's true.) There is no denying that economies all over the world are in trouble- you only have to look at the stock markets and the price of oil. Before I go any further, I want to make it clear that I am not an economist, nor have I ever taken a post secondary class on economics. But, correct me if I'm wrong, this whole crisis started because people were spending more than they had. People were living off of credit- buying homes they couldn't afford to make payments on, using the equity in their homes to purchase cars and RV's they couldn't afford, borrowing against lines of credit and racking up credit card debt like there was no tomorrow. Well, tomorrow has arrived, and the post-easy credit hangover has set in.

And yet, what is the approach of the Coalition of 3? Well, to spend more of course. Huh?

That's right, spend more money- stimulate the economy.

What? I'm sorry, but if I personally am living beyond my means, how is getting into more debt going to solve the problem? Isn't that what caused the problem in the first place? And, I know that we are talking about a whole economy here, not just one person, but I think the same principle still makes sense here. Are there going to be people who lose their homes and jobs? Yes, that's what happens in an economic downturn. Does it suck for those people? Yes, it does. I would really appreciate it if someone could explain to me how pouring billions into the Big 3 automakers will solve that problem. Sure, it will let those people retain their jobs for awhile, and allow them to continue paying their mortgages for awhile, but it doesn't fix the problem- it's a band aid solution. Unless the automakers (or whatever industry we are talking about) determines why people are no longer buying their products and makes the appropriate changes, they will continue to lose money. At the end of the day, pouring money in without huge restructuring and changes to business plans won't do anything, except delay the inevitable for a few more years, when the industry will again come hat in hand asking for more money, because, shocking! The last handout is gone and nothing has changed.

The right approach, in my view is to not give any money to a business that is failing. I don't approve of handouts. And I think that's where the Conservative government is coming from. We don't solve problems by spending more, we solve problems by tightening our belts and giving up cable and the annual Caribbean vacation until the crisis is over. Unfortunately, that policy isn't going to gain them any votes in a country that has decided that handouts are just business as usual.

Politics as Usual

But like I said, I don't think anything actually going on in Ottawa right now has anything to do with the economy. I think all 4 (yes all 4) political parties are trying to use the economy as an excuse to further their own agenda. That agenda, as always, is to get more votes. For the Liberals and the Conservatives, it's about getting a majority government. Interestingly, it is the NDP and BQ who are best poised to further their agenda's right now- both major parties lack a majority, so they have to make deals with the other parties to accomplish anything. Essentially, the NDP and BQ are in a position to blackmail- i.e. we won't support you unless you do x.

When Chretien brought in the $1.95/vote in 2003, I didn't like it. I think that if you want to be a political party, you should have to support yourself- if people like your ideas, they will help you to fund your political ambitions; if they don't like them, then there is no reason that you should exist. And I think that if the government is going to ask us all to tighten our belts, they should do the same, so cutting the subsidies doesn't bother me in the least. (Although if they really want to show themselves willing to tighten up, they should all accept a pay cut, but we all know that will never happen.)

It also offends me that the other parties would even attempt to form a coalition government, or threaten to bring down the house in the middle of an economic crisis. On Oct 14, Canadians elected a minority government. That means the will of the people is that everyone gets along for the good of the country. The problem with that is there is a fundamental disagreement about what the good of the country is. The Liberals, NDP and to some extent the BQ think that we need to spend our way out of an economic crisis. The conservatives think that belt tightening and tax cuts are the way to ride it out. So, the problem is that they will never agree, and I don't think that they will be able to govern effectively- every money bill is going to be a confidence motion and as long as we have a minority government, we are going to talk about an election constantly. I don't want another election- I think it will return the same results.

But I also don't want a coalition government- that offends democracy. The people of Canada voted the parliamentary make up that we have right now, and that needs to be respected by those in power. If the BQ, NDP and Libs form a coalition, they are ignoring the will of Canadians- in essence they are denying democracy. And yes, I know the constitution allows for this, but only if the coalition can provide stable governance. If we look at the Italian example, it should be clear that coalitions almost never work, and never last more than a year.

Assuming this coalition doesn't go anywhere (and I don't think it will) for the next 2 years, we are going to play an elaborate game of chicken every time PM Harper wants to do something. And, if the Libs don't blink first, we will go to the polls. Tactically, I think if the Liberals were smart, they'd go along with what Harper wants- phrase it in terms of trying to work for the best interests of the country, so they can deny they agreed with his policies when the time comes- for about 2 years. At that point they will have a new leader (likely Ignatieff) and money back in the party coffers to fight an election. Also, this is not going to be a short economic downturn, so 2 years from now, no matter what Harper does, we will likely be in a worse economic situation then we are now. The Libs can say they let Harper try to do it his way, but his way doesn't work, and I think that platform would win them a majority (unfortunately). But they don't seem to want to do that.

So that's my long winded opinion on what I think of the mess in Ottawa. Bottom line is that given the makeup of the constitution, the composition of Parliament and the ideological underpinnings of the parties in Ottawa, we can't expect anything different. And Canadians will suffer for it- either we will spend $300 million on an election every 6 months for the next few years (like Italy does) or we will spend billions on bailouts that don't work and will just artificially pro-long the crisis. (I recommend you read some of the new articles being written on the Great Depression- academics on both sides of the spectrum say that FDR's new deal actually prolonged the depression.

Honestly, I would like to see Harper given a chance- he is an economist by trade- something none of the other parties can boast of, and I think if we give him 4 or 5 years, he can turn this around before it becomes a major depression (remember the stock markets didn't return to 1929 levels until 1954), but I don't think that will happen. Instead of doing what is best for Canadians, the politico's in Ottawa will do what is best for them.

At the end of the day, Canadians will lose, and will lose big.

God help us all.

UPDATE: (5:33 pm Monday) Apparently we can blame the antics in Ottawa for today's Toronto Stock Market loss, and the continuing slide of the loonie. Investors don't see a country that is preparing for bloodless coup d'etat as a good investment option. If that doesn't prove that the Ottawa politoco's don't care about anything but their own self advancement, I don't know what does. Don't say you are trying to save the economy when you are actually forcing it to drop faster! Argh!

UPDATE: (10:14 pm Monday) A rally across Canada for democracy has been scheduled for this Saturday. Most major centers have a rally planned. If you have the time, please plan on attending it. We need to show the coalition of 3 that Canadians won't stand for this outrage. Details can be found at RallyforCanada.com. If you are on Facebook, an event has been set up here. Everyone needs to contact their MP to express their opinion, and don't hesitate to contact Mr. Harper, Mr. Dion, Mr. Layton, Mr. Duceppe and the Governor General. All to often Canadians are silent. We need to speak now.