RANT ALERT !!!!If you are easily offended, or do not want to hear
a rant about current events STOP reading now and
head somewhere else ...
Don't say I didn't warn you !!!!
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Pet Peeve Number One:
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Last night Mr Harper's Government promised MORE tax cuts including a one percentage slash to the GST ... Today is the UN Day for Action on the Eradication of Poverty ... in Winnipeg as I write this, a group of people are marching to demand in increase to the welfare and social assistance rates paid to the poorest of the poor among us ... I won't apologize for saying that Mr Harper's government is simply short sighted and wrong in promising a tax cut.
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I gladly pay my taxes. I don't look for loop holes, I don't try to find ways of avoiding taxes. I was raised and I am raising my children to understand that Taxes are OUR way of not only sharing the wealth, but ensuring that the quality of life we take for granted is enjoyed by ALL Canadians, not just the wealthy few. I've grown weary of the wealthy demanding more and more tax cuts, while programmes and services are slashed and the wealthy then complain about things like wait times for medical treatment ... CONNECT SOME DOTS HERE PEOPLE !!!
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There is a cost involved in providing things like education, roads, medical services, police protection and so on ... if we don't pay our taxes, or if we continue to demand cuts to our taxes there MUST be subsequent cuts to the services we enjoy ... Have we learned nothing from the past ????
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Pet Peeve Number Two:
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Yesterday our media was filled with the charming image of the infant daughter of Constable Worden wearing a red serge top, and last night his widow sat in the Senate Chamber beside Mrs Harper ... There is lots and lots of conversation about the RCMP Family, and caring for the family members of the fallen ... the question that is pushed aside in the middle of ALL of this is - "WHY was Constable Worden sent to a known drug house alone and without backup??"
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If the RCMP is a caring family, why aren't the members of this fine agency given the best equipment available (like video cameras on their cars) and appropriate back up ??? The men and women who serve in the RCMP and in other Police Agencies across this country deserve better. With words spoken in Ottawa of "Law and Order" - let's put the resources on ground where the front line fight for Law and Order is engaged EVERY day by men and women who put their lives at risk every day. They deserve better.
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Pet Peeve Number Three:
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Our media is touting the bargains to be found in the US with the current exchange rates ... today on CBC they talked about how many cars have been bought in the US and imported back in to Manitoba, and they even managed to offer some suggestions on how to get around the restrictions being imposed by manufacturers!!!!!
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My pet peeve with this is the SAME pet peeve I've had since we lived in the Lower Mainland and heard story after story of people who happily chugged off to the States to buy milk, cheese, and other items to save a few bucks ... There is a two fold problem with shopping in the states ... the first is the drainage of tax dollars that support the public purse and provide us with things like medical care ... I marvelled in my BC days when a friend who had diabetes happily did ALL his grocery shopping and refueled his vehicles in the states "to save money." He didn't get it when I suggested that he should then pay for his medical appointments and any treatment he subsequently gets ... Not too sound like a broken record - BUT - there's a cost to our services and that cost is paid EVERY time we pay our taxes !!!
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The second problem with shopping south of the Border is the seepage of money and resources out of OUR country ... It's bad enough the big block retailers like sMall-Mart deposit their days' earnings out of country, and their profits never come back ... but to have shoppers carry their cash out of country is nothing short of reprehensible ... There is more to live than money ... Once Canadians spoke of a Just Society and valued things like the Common Good ... now we're ALL about the Money ... I fear we've watched Jerry Mcquire a little too often ...
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Pet Peeve Number Four:
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It bugs me - really, really, really bugs me that our Governments at all levels have politicized the war in Afghanistan, and Canada's involvement therein ... Having General Hillier and veterans of the Afghani conflict sitting front and centre at the Throne Speech last night was NOTHING short of manipulative nonsense ... I'm against the war, but I for one will always support the members of the Canadian Armed Forces.
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But to have our Governments, and others say that to be a "true" or a "loyal" or a "good" Canadian you have to lend blind support to Canadian Mission in Afghanistan and we must "support our troops" is WRONG.
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I personally support our troops ... but I still think the war in Afghanistan was/is/and will always be WRONG !!! The unfortunately thing now is that we are so deeply enmeshed in it that we cant just pull out ... but it is NOT a problem that can be easily fixed ... It is NOT an issue that can entertain easy, or simple answers. It is a complicated mess that demands and deserves complicated responses and answers. But to hide behind the flag and the uniformed men and women who have proudly served there when asked by our Country, and to imply that the only support we Canadians can offer is unconditional is simply offensive to any thinking person.
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Stop politicizing the lives and the deaths of our SOLDIERS !!!! They deserve better than that !!!!
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Aaaahhhhh ... I feel better getting that off my chest ... thanks for listening ... I think I'll go put on some Jazz and curl up with my book for awhile ...
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