The more time I spend with people ...

 

Okay, I'm gonna just say it: THE MORE TIME I SPEND WITH PEOPLE THE MORE I APPRECIATE AND LOVE MY DOGS!!!!!!!

Mind you, it's not ALL people ... just some ... but increasingly that latter category is fast outstripping the former!! More and more people I met strike me as more than slightly challenged!!

My observations of late have caused me to conclude that the word "NO" is truly an anathema to some people. They can't bear saying it, and they never want to hear it - yet, if we learn to say it properly and appropriately, we could spare ourselves many irritating and aggravating moments. 

I've also noted in the Church circles that too often we want to avoid even the slightest hint of having to hurt someone's feeling. The pendulum has swung too an extreme where we've become so warm pink and fuzzy that we can't bear the thought of offending or hurting people ... this is connected with our unwillingness to offer a firm "NO!" ... When I consider this I ponder the whole "What Would Jesus Do?" thing and wonder if he would just shake his head in bewilderment at the wishy washiness that has embraced his church. 

Why have we lost the ability to stand on firm and solid theology, while living the radical inclusivity that is inherent in the Gospel??

Yesterday I spent some time with my Great Aunt and Great Uncle who live not far from here and as I left Uncle F's words resonated in my ears - he said "People are SO selfish today ..." 

I think that is the heart of the dilemma that brings such cynicism to my heart. People are increasingly selfish. They have grown fearful of change and the rapid change by which it seems to be happening, and so they look inwards and focus more and more on them selves ... Fortunately, I continue to stumble upon people who are not selfish, but wonderfully and lovingly self-less. 

Thus far in the Church, and in the circles where I live and move, the self-less still out number the selfish ... but my bumping into the stupidly selfish when I move beyond my circles causes me great concern. 

BUT, that concern thus far, doesn't drive me to despair, but instead inspires me to hang out with my dogs, and then head back into the world more determined to be the change we seek!! 

I'm far from perfect, but today, like yesterday and like the days before that, I will continue to do the best job I can living out the idea that together we can make the world a better place, one step, one breath, one small action at time!! 

And when my cynicism increases, I'll spend some time with my dogs and regain a much needed perspective!!

  

Reflections on the summer than has been ...

My summer started with a break-in at the bush, and the loss of an atv, some tools and few other items ... after a couple of days of work, Noahkila and I got things back in order, and moved some things home rather than risk further losses ...

The Beetle arrived for an extended holiday ... meanwhile, my Dr had put me on some new meds because of concern about tests I had had previously, the meds threw me and my system for a loop, so I spent the first bit of the summer feeling like I had been hit by a truck ...

I can't say my energy level has gotten back to where it has been previously, but it has regained some ground, and more importantly, I've come to appreciate the need to balance my time and be more intentional looking after my self - something I've seldom done well.

Looking back in the waning days of summer, I can say that it has been a fun, rewarding, exhausting and very busy summer ... along the way we set the date and started working towards the auction sale for Mom's house, stuff and other assorted items ... I've been to T.O. several times and visited the CN Tower, the Hockey Hall of Fame, Much Music, China Town and the Police Memorial ... I've made a dozen trips to Stratford and hauled stuff to the dump, and I've been able to relax at home with the important people in my circle of family and friends around me ... all in all it's been a good summer.

As the fall unfolds and we move into the busy-ness that the season entails, I have no doubt I will find myself rushing about trying to keep up, but if I learned nothing else this summer, I've learned that at the end of the day the stuff is less important than the relationships we have with those we care about.

This past week Ms. H and a couple of her friends wanted to go to Keady Market just south of Owen Sound ... I drove them there, then accompanied them as we walked up and down and up and down the seemingly endless rows of STUFF !!!! Aside from the crowds I found myself marvelling in a less than positive way, at the sheer quantity of STUFF that was available ... I couldn't help but wonder WHY???

WHY?? are we so enamoured as a culture with STUFF, that we keep buying and buying and buying, then renting places to store the stuff that we never use, and never look at??

WHY is shopping so ALL important in our culture??

WHY ... we left Keady Market and went to Stratford and I looked critically at all the STUFF that still crowds Mom's house and I rolled up my sleeves and set to work ... I filled a dozen or more trash bags, I sorted and sifted mountains of detritus, and on Wednesday we loaded every inch of my truck for TWO dump runs that go ride of a MOUNTAIN of garbage ... then I pulled the last of the mementos I wanted from the house and set to work readying the place for the pending auction ... and today I'm left, still wondering why we've put so much emphasis on the "STUFF" in life, rather than on life itself ...

I'm glad my summer was relaxed and I had time to spend with the people I value ... I think my priorities are getting back to where they should be ... hopefully this summer will continue on this path!!

Really??? The United Church makes the headlines again ...

This weekend, Globe and Mail Columnist Margaret Wente once again takes aim at the United Church of Canada, and dubs us and other more liberal denominations as irrelevant ...

My first response was "Really? Again?"

Then I read the article and I wondered yet again, why the media publishes articles about the United Church and manages almost EVERY TIME to interview people within this vast and diverse denomination, who are not really that reflective of the Church or its leadership.

There are those folks out there who do well at getting press coverage and getting their ideas and opinions out there, and in the process are deemed "reflective of the United Church." But when I read yet again, a clergy person who expresses a negative opinion of something as central and basic as belief in God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit I have to wonder what United Church they represent.

This past year, our congregations did a line by line study-conversation of the documents of faith that are part of the revisit and reframing of our beliefs as a Denomination. Over and over we commented on how the older pre-1968 words were problematic in embracing and reflecting our modern beliefs. But overarching that conversation was a firm and unwavering belief in God, and the basic tenets of the Church ... God, the Resurrection, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the transformative power of the Holy in our lives and in our world ... the words may vary, but the faith does NOT.

We spoke of the power and the necessity of prayer.

We spoke of the power and centrality of community.

We spoke of how our faith effects everything we are about as we live and move in our circles of family, friend and community.

We spoke of how what we believe colours and inspires our choices and actions.

We spoke of how being Believers motivates us to support the local food bank, offer support to our neighbours, opt to support outreach programmes and initiative, and be active and involved in our community.

We spoke of how living our faith means being open to sharing it with others through worship services, outreach dinners, weekly gatherings, the presence at the Farmers' Market and a dozen other things we do over and over and over ...

Is the Church irrelevant ... to some ... but as even Ms Wente notes, there is a spiritual hunger out 'there', and it our responsibility as a believing and vibrant Church to open our doors to new people, and invite them to become part of the conversation.

AND, I will go out on a limb and say BOLDLY and UNAPOLOGETICALLY, that 99% of that task rests on the shoulders of the Clergy. It is our responsibility as clergy to provide a passionate, enthusiastic, and faithful (not too mention Faith FILLED) leadership that inspires our people to dream and hope, and equips them intellectually, mentally, emotionally AND spiritually to go out  into the world and envision ways of sharing their faith.

It is NOT about the cult of personality that see Pastors drawing in waves of people enamoured by the prosperity gospel or some simplistic reading of the Scriptures, but rather it is ALL about COMPETENCE!!!

We need clergy who care about more than their pension and their next cheque.

We need clergy who are not marking the days to retirement.

WE NEED CLERGY WHO GIVE A DAMN!!!!!

Too many clergy are bland milque toast in their preaching and in their presence ... and too many clergy and leaders are SO steeped in the ways of the Church, that they are truly out of touch with the real world ... what we need is a diversity ... passion ... enthusiasm and a HUGE dose of living vibrant faith.

I can count on my facebook at least a dozen clergy friends who are incredibly competent and capable and amazingly passionate in living their faith - almost everyone of them begins and ends their work in prayer, and none of them undervalue the necessity of the Church to change and grow and embrace the leadership of the Spirit. They ARE believers and not surprisingly, none of them have ever been interviewed by mainstream media about what is wrong with the Church - and THANKFULLY, almost everyone of them is willing, able and courageous enough to express their take on what is wrong with the Church we all continue to call home.

I can speak only for myself, but I am willing to bet, that everyone of them continues to share in the ministry of this Church - This UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA, that we call home because everyday they encounter amazing people who inspire them and remind us that we are not dead yet, and that with the presence and love of the Holy Spirit Resurrections loom and bloom around us every single day.

Thanks for folks like Adam, Barb, Nick, Audrey, Phil, Clare, Cheryl-Anne, Darren, Brian, Bill, Bob, Gord, and dozens of others - the Untied Church of Canada is alive and well, and STILL living what it believes.

In short Ms Wente, and folks like David Ewart are WRONG.

The Church is still relevant - and our willingness to embrace social causes while living our belief with honesty and integrity and passion is what WILL change the WORLD!!!!

Stay tuned ... we've ONLY JUST BEGUN !!!!!

A stop in one of my favourite places ...

This past week I had a fast round trip journey by road back to Brandon ... along the way I was able to stop by one of my favourite places and have an all too short visit with some of the most amazing and incredible people I have been blessed to meet in my time upon this planet ...

I can not say enough about the work that the staff and volunteers at Brandon's Samaritan House Ministries do day in and day out ... they are standing on the front lines of a battle that at times seems lost long ago ... they continue though, to offer Hope, Encouragement, Care and Help to those who others would so easily dismiss and ignore.

Despite the set backs and frustrations that Marla, Marcia, Marlene, Brian and the others face EVERY SINGLE DAY they continue to do the work that needs to be done, and offer a much needed whisper of Hope to those who live and die on the margins of society.

My first involvement with Samaritan House was delivering food from Minnedosa Churches when I served as Minister ... then my involvement deepened as I began to help in the expansion of the food cupboard held in Minnedosa United to a full blown food bank ... next came our partnering with the annual visits of the Holiday Train, and one glorious afternoon hosting a lunch time Tom Jackson Concert in the packed auditorium of Tanners' Crossing School.

Along the way, these folks became friends ...

When I lost my place as Minister in Minnedosa, their care and support kept me going ... and lead to me applying to the job of Homelessness Coordinator in the City of Brandon. Now, rather than being a community partner, I was part of the team seeking to secure and implement the much needed funding this important community service needed ... my visits to Samaritan House became more frequent, and involved leaning more and more about the mechanics of the work they do, and the ever increasing needs they were addressing ...

When my contract as the Homelessness Coordinator ended, I soon became a client of Samaritan House, relying on the day old bread to supplement the food my family needed to survive ... I also became staff by driving their truck periodically and seeing first hand the places where the food and cast offs that feed people (or to use Marcia's term - the "garbage that is used to feed people"). But more importantly the folks at Samaritan House offered support and encouragement that allowed me to keep moving forward and imagine a day when I would once again be living, working and engaging in the ministry I was called to ...

It was a sad day when I left Brandon, but the last place I visited that morning was Samaritan House, to say farewell (for the moment) and to thank them for ALL the support they have given so freely to me over the last 12 years of my life.

On Friday morning when I stepped through the doors of Samaritan House, I was welcomed with huge smiles, warm hugs and the ever presence teasing that is part of them circle of care they offer ... and I felt like I had come home ... home to a place of limitless and unbounded love ... home to a place that welcomes in the most marginalized and most downtrodden and with patience, care, love and FAITH, affirms the heart of the Gospel that tells us that we are ALL the Children of God.

Oh sure, the staff are not perfect ... they get frustrated and catty at times ... but they are doing the best they can with what they have ... and this past week as I walked through the facility and realized how thin the stocked food was, and saw exhaustion and frustration in the beautiful faces of my friends, I felt great sadness that our society has shifted to a place where that care for others has become so rare.

The state of the city in Brandon today is pretty bleak ... even with the pending (and exciting opening) of the Massey Building with its 50+ new units, the situation is dire for many ... rental costs are skyrocketing upward by the week ... the availability of safe, affordable and secure housing is lower than zero ... and the gap between the haves and the have-nots is like a yawning abyss into which the vulnerable and the most marginalized fall like lemmings ...

All the while, the elected leadership and those who sitting in offices of responsibility keep talking about what should and could be done, but then bicker amongst themselves over who should do what and are more concerned with preserving their turf and claiming press coverage instead of just doing what needs to be done ...

Thankfully, on Friday I spent time with people who don't have time for the press conferences and politicking and jostling for position ... instead the wonderful folks at Samaritan House, people I am truly blessed to call friends, are too busy trying to make a difference one life at a time to worry about the nonsense ...

Today, I wish I could do more for the folks at Samaritan House and the folks in Brandon who are being washed away by the economic tide that supposedly lifts all boats (according to a conversation on CBC radio this past weekend, this metaphor has been proven false - the ONLY boats the tide raises are the luxury yachts of the already wealthy - the rest of us are left to bail or sink!!!).

So, for what it's worth - I offer this humble post a long overdue thank you to a wonderful group of people who have for too long worked to change things in Brandon by doing whatever is needed,
- reclaiming food that would otherwise be tossed out,
- creating community gardens
- handing out food baskets
- offering education and training opportunities
- lending a listening ear
- breaking bread and sharing coffee
- offering clothes, furniture and other needed items
- raising awareness
- whispering hope
- feeding the hungry, and caring for the neglected
- offering a refuge for mind, body and soul in a troubled world
- living their faith and refusing to take NO for an answer
- building networks and connecting people
- challenging people in their faith and complacency
and perhaps most importantly:
- daring to actually dream that the Kingdom of God, where all these problems are gone once and for all may actually be possible if people would simply open their eyes, their hearts, their minds and their souls to the possibility that eliminating poverty, hunger, sickness and marginalization can happen if we take seriously the call to action embodied in this simple notion "Love your neighbour"!!

What would Jesus do??

If you want and answer to that question stop by Samaritan House in Brandon and see it first hand ... your life and world will be forever changed - Mine was!!!

 Samaritan House is a beckon of Hope in a world full of shadows, and I for one am glad it is there!!!

The future is now ... paperless pulpits and online musings ...

I can remember the argument like it was yesterday ... we were busily connecting remote ministry points through the ecunet - an online, email, chat room and message board service that once linked churches around the world.

Ecunet represented an amazing resource for small isolated ministry points like Bella Coola BC ... I was, through the ecunet able to connect with people and resources around the world. One Christmas Eve, prayers were exchanged between our community and a small rural point in the deep south of the US ... mutual tragedies meant we held one another in prayer as the full moon rose, and we listened for the brush of angel wings ...

Earlier that year, a local Hereditary Chief sustained devastating burns in an accident on a fishing boat, and as he fought for survival and his family gathered by his bed side, he was remembered in prayer LITERALLY around the world ... my request for prayers on behalf of he and his family was met with responses from almost every corner of the planet ...

The power of the internet and the world wide web was just beginning to stir in our society 15 years ago, but some of us saw HUGE potential looming on the horizon ... I could see on-line committee meeting for far flung corners of our church - rather then investing enormous amounts of money to bring us together once or twice a year, I dared to dream that through emails we could hold committee meetings with members spread across vast territorial distances ... I could see the opportunities skype represented long before online video streaming was even dreamt of ... I saw unbelievable possibilities looming in the strange electronic boxes that were becoming ubiquitous in our offices and churches ...

Today, almost every ministry personell in the United Church has at least one email address ... resources are regularly sent out via email, pdfs and jpegs, churches have web sites, and many of us have plunged head long into the new media of blogs, tweets, and social networks ... everywhere we turn in the Church the computer has become a tool of ministry that fills some with awe and wonder, and fills others with gut-wrenching fear ... The generational divide in the Church is looming before us like never before. The use of technology can launch the Church to exciting new forms of ministry, which stretch far beyond the hour and half gathering once a week in a vast physical building ...

Through online communities, social networking, information sharing and a myriad of other applications, programmes and other online undertakings the Church stands on the verge of reinventing itself as something dynamic and truly inclusive on a global scale.

Yet, the voices of doubt that border on the luddite, remain.

15 years ago standing on the steps of a remote west coast church a group of us debated strongly the possibility of having a committee "MEET" online by using emails and computer resources ...

"Nope," came the reply, "can't do it. We have to meet face to face ..."

"You mean that we have to spend THOUSANDS of dollars to meet face to face instead of just trying to do this by the private chat room?"

The debate that followed drew battle lines between those who couldn't see how a committee could function without meeting, and those of us who couldn't see how a committee could rely ONLY on meeting face to face in a time of economic restraint ... the outcome was a proclamation that one day in the not too distant future, everything we need to do as a Church and as ministers will happen on computer, and I went even further to say that the computer will be something that we will be able to carry under our arm to and from any place we find ourselves.

"IMPOSSIBLE!!" came the retort.

Looking back it was one of those moments when you see the continental divide between what has been and what will be ... since that fateful afternoon 15 years ago, we have witnessed and explosion of technology and resources that is simply staggering. Computers have gone from enormous desk top computers with tiny memory capacity measured in double digit K's, to giga-byte memory in computers you can tuck into a pocket and carry with you ... Being online, no longer requires waiting for the dial up to connect and beep its way through a slow down load of a massive file ... instant messages, tweets, blogs, and downloads are a norm for cell phones, portable computers and home entertainment systems alike.

The potential of sharing The heart of the Gospel in this high-speed universe is immense. Being able to keep up, is a challenge, but offering a whisper of security and a foundation of tradition and heritage that is both contemporary and current, means the Church is poised to be the best of both worlds ... the old and the new, meet within the context of the Church, when it remembers its true calling is to feed the hungry - the physically hungry, the emotionally hungry, the intellectually hungry, and the spiritually hungry ... with modern technology, and an openness to playing with whatever tools that lie before us, we can embrace that challenge and feed the sheep God has sent out way ...

This week I personally took a new step in the use of technology ... I am a child of paper. My sermons and my writings are all recorded in a hard copy somewhere. When I step into the pulpit, my sermon is largely written out on paper.

While I don't necessarily simply read what I have written, I do stick fairly close to the themes outlined on those pages.

This week however, I made the conscious chose to be paperless in my preaching. Rather then printing out my sermon and carrying the paper copy into the pulpit, I instead simply carried with me the electronic notebook I had purchased a couple of weeks ago for an online interview with a pastoral charge. Having priced online cameras with microphones, I had realized that for almost the same money, I could buy a notebook to replace my defunct laptop. Counting pennies, and using money set aside for other purposes, I bit the bullet and invested in a small 10.5" notebook that would let me continue the research work with the University, write my thesis, and do a variety of online tasks that I find myself engaging in.

On Sunday as I opened the notebook, called up the sermon and began to preach from the screen, I stepped into a new realm ... the tiny computer that is not much bigger than a thin hard cover book has become my portal to the world. Emails, my writings, my resources, and most of the work I am doing currently sits within the various memories and drives of this petite electronic resource.

As I began to preach yesterday I recalled the heated conversation on the front steps of that west coast church ... today, less then 2 decades later, my entire ministry can and is and will be carried under my arm ... my preaching resources, my emails, and my connection with the greater church can be closed up, tucked in a brief case or back pack, and carried with me where ever I go ... any wifi connection will link my portable office to the world ...

Today rather then preaching with the Bible in one hand, and the newspaper in the other, we would do well to consider preaching with our Bible in one hand, and our electronic notebooks and all that they offer and represent in the other ... The Church is called to share the Gospel with all people, and today increasing numbers of these folks are found on line ... and we have some work to do to catch up ...

May it be so ... thanks be to God !!

NOPE!!!!!

Hey Ms Raitt, cancer has touched my life too ... I have dear friends who have underwent treatment for cancer, I've had family members under go treatment, I've buried people I've cared about who succumbed to cancer ... your tearful apology is spin doctoring at its absolute WORST!!!!

Yes, we feel sorry for you for your losses, and we understand completely that those loses have been devestating and have hurt - but seriously, your comment was insensitive and stupid AND was a clear indicator of nothing more than your political ambition ...

The CTV story is here

While I for one appreciate your tearful apology to people touched by cancer, it still isn't enough ... stand before the People of Canada and our Prime Minister and do the right thing - RESIGN !!!!

You are an embarassment and your apology is mere diversion, it's time to step aside.

Meanwhile Three Cheers for the opposition parties for hammering on the issue - the scandalous shortage of isotopes and the off-handed way in which the Government has dealt with it is unacceptable ... and NOW the Conservatives are trying to blame the previous Liberal Government for the problems ... hmm ...

Come on Mr Harper ... deal with this crisis and stop trying to blame everyone but your Government ...

Is Lisa Raitt, the Canadian Sarah Palin ???

Listening to CBC this afternoon and hearing one of the political

pundits comment on the perspective of the Harper Government

on Ms Raitt, the thought occured to me

that Ms Raitt is Canada's Sarah Pallin:

both women are relatively young and reasonably attractive,

both are very politically ambitious,

both have been tapped as possible leadership candidates,

BUT even more frightening

BOTH have shown breath-takingly bad judgement

bordering on outright stupidity in thier

respective political offices.

.

Come on Mr Harper - do yourself and Canadians a favour,

accept Ms Raitt's resignation that she gave you last week !!!!

.

The world only needs ONE Sarah Pallin!!

(and even ONE is too much)

Hey Mr Harper!!

Okay ... let's get this straight ... Prime Minister Harper is rebuffing calls for Ms Raitt's resignation from ALL three opposition parties by calling their actions "Cheap Politics."

Read the CTV.ca news item by clicking here.

He's even sent out the minions to defend Ms Raitt's comments by saying "they were taken out of context."

What part of a shortage of medically necessary isotopes for cancer surgery being SEXY is being taken out of context???

Does the context that it was an unguarded candid conversation make it OK??

Does the context that Ms Raitt was just speaking her mind in what was a behind closed doors setting, and expressing her political ambitions at the expense of Canadians needing treatment suddenly acceptable??

I dunno Mr Harper, but the hole you and Ms Raitt are digging here just keeps getting deeper and deeper ... your attempts at diverting the issue, and muddy-ing the waters by trying to do some political spin are seeming more and more feeble and pathetic ...

As you stand in the House of Commons and accuse your fellow parlimentarians of "Cheap Politics" I can't help but think of what my late Grandfather used to say to us when we called one another names. Grandpa would quietly say - "when you call someone else a name, or call them down, just remember that there are three fingers pointing back at yourself ..."

Damned Mr Harper ... cheap attack ads ... bullying behaviour ... frivilous law suits ... I wonder who is practising cheap politics ...

Oh, and for the record Mr Harper, I have no problem with the tempest in a tea cup about Mr Baird dropping the F-bomb about the GTA ... atleast the F-bomb has a parlimentary tradition with Mr Trudeau ... but the ineptitude exhibited by Ms Raitt and her staff can not and must not be waved off with accusations against your Loyal Opposition ...

Cheap Politics Mr Harper ??

Look at your extended index finger of accusation and consider where the other three fingers are pointing ... then ask yourself who is really practising cheap politics ...

Mr Harper, me thinks the Prime Minister doth protest too much !!!!

WHY is this Woman still in Office ????

Let's see - to recap recent events ...

Ms Raitt's assistant left sensitive papers behind and resigned.

Then it turns out that this same assistant left behind a tape recorder some months ago with a conversation between her and Minister Raitt. When the tape recorder resurfaces, this now unemployed young woman launches what may be an expensive law suit to prevent the contents of the tape from being made public through the media ...

The lawsuit is unsuccessful and we now have heard Ms Raitt questioning the competence of a fellow cabinet minister AND as if that wasn't bad enough, we hear Ms Raitt call the shortage of medical isotopes in Canada a "sexy" issue that would presumably help her political career ...

Today I did a bit of an online search about Ms. Raitt, who won her seat after a rather nasty campaign against former Conservative turned Liberal Garth Turner and discovered a few things:

From Wikipedia there is the following entry:

"S.L.A.P.P. controversy - In 2006, Raitt in her capacity as CEO of Toronto Port Authority, initiated a rare political libel action against a citizen group, Community Air, that had criticized her. The Globe and Mail described TPA's multi-million dollar strategic lawsuit against public participation, as designed to prevent "the volunteer activists from making any more allegedly defamatory statements about the federal agency -- a category of speech, according to the wide-open statement of claim the authority filed in court last week, that would seem to include every public statement any of the activists has ever made in this hotly contested, thoroughly aired, public debate". The suit was eventually settled out of court when Community Air agreed to retract its statements and apologize."

I also learned that Raitt went on record saying that melting polar ice caps in the north would be good for tourism in the arctic, AND NOW the NDP are asking for a review of her spending in her position as President and CEO of the Toronto Port Authority - her expense account exceeding 80 000 dollars for (among many things) hospitality expenses !!!!

Is it just me - or is Mr Harper ignoring the BLINDINGLY OBVIOUS ????

Stephen Harper!!!!
Lisa Raitt HAS to GO !!!!

Ask for an accept her resignation, then have the courage to stand before the House of Commons and take your licks for this silliness ... don't try to spin it as a Liberal-NDP conspiracy ... don't try to blame Mr Ignatieff ... and don't try to pretend that ANY of THIS is OK !!!

AND PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE - don't resort to the courts to pretend this didn't happen by suing folks or slander or libel ...

Come on Mr Harper - use that iron fist of yours to do the right and moral thing !!!