Integrity

I don't often discuss work, my profession, or anything really inside my professional sphere. However, I've increasingly been disturbed with today's journalists and their (lack of) integrity.

As a blogger, I get to share my personal views. If I was getting paid to write for someone else (as I am in my day job, for example) those views go out the window. Your job is then one of two things (depending on your gig). You are either neutral and report the facts (like journalists are supposed to do) or you write what people tell you to write.

We spent a lot of time discussing ethics when I was studying public relations (as hard as this is for some people to believe... PR professionals do have ethics). I must say, I'm a bit of an idealist when it comes to things like this. I expect fairly unbiased news, even though I realize every paper, news programme, magazine or blog has a slant. I expect news. I also expect journalists not to prey on victims of heinous crime and tragedy.

This is why I have no idea why Mark Whicker's editor even allowed him to write a sports column focusing on what Jaycee Dugard missed when she was kidnapped, raped, and held captive in a shed for 18 years of her life. He began his article as follows.

It doesn't sound as if Jaycee Dugard got to see a sports page.

Box scores were not available to her from June 10, 1991 until Aug. 31 of this year.

She never saw a highlight. Never got to the ballpark for Beach Towel Night. Probably hasn't high-fived in a while.

She was not allowed to spike a volleyball. Or pitch a softball. Or smack a forehand down the line. Or run in a 5-footer for double bogey.

Now, that's deprivation.

Let's play that again. "Now, that's deprivation." It's deprivation that a girl of 11, who was kidnapped, raped, impregnated, and held captive in a backyard shed until the age of 29 never got to read sports scores or spike a volleyball.

Making light of the terrible things people have been through, or using them to sell papers really bothers me. Mark Whicker's article makes me want to throw up, and it also irks me that the media hounds the families of victims of 9/11 to dredge up stories to sell anniversary issues. Yes, it was a terrible, terrible event and I will never forget where I was when I heard the news, or the images of the planes crashing into the towers. But as a society we need to support each other, we need to pick up those who need us, and we need to rebuild. I know I'll probably get some flack over this view, but I think news should be news. If there are new developments, report on them. If not, let people grieve on their own. If people have stories they need to get out, be that vehicle. Otherwise, let them remember their loved ones in peace.

Read Tommy Cragg's call-out of Mark Whicker here.

He's a spider on the web

The Boy reads my blog (hi honey!) so it's not uncommon to have a conversation that stems from what I've posted during the day.

We were talking about just how many people commented on my request for music post (thank you, thank you, thank you*) when I pulled up my Google Analytics.

"Oh wow, you can get all that info?"

I thought I'd show him one better and pointed out where most of my traffic comes from (his work server) and how people find me. We found some weird search terms.

a part of you has grown in me
admiring the struggle it takes to be human
boob mail banner girl
boys resting on girls boobs photos
engineering girl boobs
never judge people
New Zealand picnic pictures
small girl boobs
And my favourite... small talk makes me want to cry

I made some comment about how many people seem to be looking for boobs and he comes out with this little gem, "Well, you know, when you search for 'misadventures of elle bee' a porn site comes up."**

Ah, frack.

*I officially have a girl crush on Jenny Lewis.

**Of the entire page of search results, the porn site is number three. I am the rest of the page. Also, in case you think I've been posting my more scandalous misadventures elsewhere, that site is totally not me. That I know of.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

I'm no fashionista. Big name designers don't design for me. I do more classic styles, with some trends that I can pull off, mainly trendy colours. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate the beauty of well-made clothes, I just can't pull a lot of it off. For this reason, I was a bit nervous when the lovely Andrea invited me to be her right-hand girl at Edmonton's Fashion Week last night.

I shouldn't have worried. For starters, a glass of red while making fun of the "model" talking herself up to a group of young 4H girls does a lot to ease the mind. Secondly, Andrea is fabulous. Finally, it wasn't really all that impressive (though I had been warned).

Some of the stuff that went down the runway was just sad. The music was strange, the girls looked uncomfortable and awkward, the clothes didn't fit, the seams buckled even though the garment wasn't too small and there were loose strings everywhere. Heidi Klum would not have approved. Since I don't subscribe to the same journalistic principles as A., I can let you tell you the good, the bad and the ugly. And oh, was it ugly.

And then there was Tressa Heckbert.

Her show was cohesive, a dash of futuristic, the clothes were well-tailored, the girls looked cool and we couldn't help but comment on the shininess of their hair. Little details made us squeal in delight. The show had been thoroughly thought through and it showed. Not a rogue thread in sight. No "dog fur" poufs chasing the girls down the runway. Everything about Tressa's show was fabulous. It was enough to make us actually want to go to St. Albert.

For more, check out Andrea's take on the show here.

Why I'm glad to be Canadian #832019

It's hard to believe stuff like this still happens in the world.

The federal government, along with other foreign affairs departments, is expressing concern over proposed laws in Afghanistan. One law would make it illegal for Shi’ite women to deny their husbands sex. Women would also need permission to leave the house. Children would be in the custody of fathers and grandfathers only. Critics are now questioning Canada’s commitment to its military program in that country. CBC Radio Clg. CTV Clg.

Read more at CTV online.

It's the Economy, Girlfriend!

I'm not a radical feminist. I believe in a woman's choice, in pretty much all sense of the word. I used to get into heated arguments where I'd subconsciously grab the hair and smack the bitches who suggested that any woman who didn't work for a living was going against everything feminists fought for. Um, I'm sorry, I thought they fought for equity and the right to be treated the same as everyone else, my bad. If a woman truly wants to stay home and raise her family, I say it's an important job like any other, and a decision that should be supported.

The thing that makes me angry is when any woman (or man for that matter, really) gets the whole entitlement attitude about them. This is precisely why this article made my blood boil. Sure enough, I probably should have let it go and not clicked on the blog. But I did. For the same reason that I continued going to my Feminist Philosphy classes. For some reason, I really like to be pissed off. I was hoping that there'd be some kind element to the girls that I could relate to, or even understand, but nope.

I can't stand the one who married a finance guy saying, "his friend told me that I need to support him and let him know I love him so he's not dead by 35... this is not what I signed up for". I can't stand the one from the conversation below, whining that her boyfriend won't take her on expensive trips because his wife is checking the finances.

Suddenly, I found myself being taken out less and less frequently. A recent argument went along these lines:
Me *pouting*: You haven’t taken me on a trip since we went to Bermuda in September. What’s going on?
Charles: Honey, finances are tight right now so my wife has taken it upon herself to check up on all of our accounts. She will notice any big expenditures.
Me *cute voice*: Wellllllllllllll, what are you going to do to make it up to me?
Charles: Can we talk later sweetheart? I’m really busy right now.
Me: No. Give me an answer NOW. Don’t you realize what you have? I’m way too hot to be treated like this.
Charles *yelling for the first time in our almost two-year relationship*: I’VE GOT TO FIRE TWENTY PEOPLE BY THE END OF THE WEEK. Z has four kids, X just had a baby girl, Y just sent his son to college and I’ve got to get rid of two of those guys… and you’re complaining about vacations and dinner? God, you are so 24! GROW UP!
Me *stunned*: Okie dokie, let’s talk later lover.

Girls who have this kind of "I'm so pretty, I deserve to be spoiled!" mentality make steam come out my ears. Really, that's the only reason why you're in this relationship or this marriage? And actually, in the marriage vows there's usually some kind of "for better or worse, for richer or poorer" line. Did you not mean them? It shows such a lack of compassion and lack of understanding on the part of these girls, who care more about bottle service and Bergdorfs than about the men who they're in the relationships with. Both the Boy and I have had our respective organizations talk about cutting jobs, and really, I'll be there for him no matter what happens, as I know he'd be there for me. I'm with him because of who he is, not because of his paycheque. I'm with him because of the qualities he has, the ones that wouldn't let him allow a situation like that to ruin him. The whole point of relationships is for them to be supportive, to love someone through good times and tough times.

These DABA girls, and the women who wrote in to them in support of their lifestyles and incessant whining, make all women look bad.

Dear Facebook: Oh no you didn't!

Facebook likes to recommend friends for people, as anyone who subscribes to the social networking site knows. It also likes to rub old relationships, and old friendships, in our face. As well-intentioned as Facebook is, it just has no idea of the reasons why I'm not friends with Leah T.

To be honest, neither do I, really.

We were best friends in grades nine and ten. We were enrolled in nearly all the same classes, and we were both pretty smart and fairly shy, which was probably why we were drawn together. We didn't drink. We had sleepovers. We watched Much Music, back when it was all about the music and less about the reality programming. She lived down the road from my great aunt and uncle. We shared lunch hours and a locker. We went to dances together to gush over boys we were crushing on and bop awkwardly while boys asked us to dance, or we got up the nerve to ask them.

Somewhere along the lines, I got a bit more outgoing and picked up friends in a different crowd through work and she found more smart, shy people in art class. No big deal. We were still best friends, and nothing could change that, right? That's what I thought, until the day a boy came between us.

No, no, it wasn't like that. It wasn't necessarily the boy that came between us per se, it was more our attitudes toward boys. I was of the opinion that boys were lame and didn't pick up on subtle hints that you were into them, and she was of the opinion that letting a boy know that you liked him would result in a fate worse than death. She had a thing for this cute blond boy in our grade, and wouldn't shut up about him. After a while, I got sick of the whining about how he never took an interest in her and so I did the good best friend thing, I chatted him up casually to see if he was interested.

A mutual friend had overheard me and put two and two together, and went to ask Leah if she was into him. And that was the last day that Leah talked to me. I explained myself, and neither of us ever did find out if he was into her or not, but she never forgave me. They remained friends, but we didn't. I was heartbroken. I was also outraged. She always had such similar advice to boys that I was into, telling me to put myself out there and whatnot, and not only was she afraid to do the same but she was willing to end our friendship because of it? Ridiculous. She moved her stuff out of the locker, and after a while I quit trying to talk to her.

Facebook, I don't want to be friends with Leah T., as interested as I am to find out where she is and what she's done with her life, I'm pretty certain she's still not over it. Thanks for trying, anyway.

This post is part of my new feature "Monday Memories".

Why you should fund your organization's media department

When I decided that I didn't want to pursue a law career, that PR was more my thing, my mom constantly hounded me with the "but what can you do with public relations?" question.

The answer, mommy dearest, is that we can prevent companies from doing something like this.

Worst media interview EVER!

Canadian politics... interesting, but not in a good way

Michelle Jean: Sorry, Europe, I have to go back to Canada... the children have messed things up again.
Harper: They're being mean to me!
Dion, Layton, Duceppe: He started it!

We have this article announcing the coalition, this one outlining how Harper can prevent it, and this one describing Michelle Jean's options.

It's all a little ridiculous. I don't necessarily support the current party in power, but I don't support the coalition either.

They haven't even seen the budget yet! Canadians just saw a huge waste of $300 million dollars with the last election, one where support was given to the Conservative party! Deal with it. Work together. In this time of economic crisis, we need leaders. We don't need the playground drama.

And Harper's radio PR campaign is a big waste of money. Not that they care. The Conservatives have been wasting money all over the place. They have never stopped campaigning. They started campaigning against Dion and the Liberals way before the election. It's getting old. To me, anyway. I like to be able to make up my mind without turning on the radio/television and hearing the party tell me what I should think.

If, for example, Harper loses a confidence vote next week, he can ask Jean to dissolve Parliament so that another general election could be held. The Conservatives, in preparation for this possibility, have already put down a deposit on a campaign plane and buses.

Seriously?! Preparing for another Canadian election? Come on guys, this is ridiculous.

I wish the grown ups would act like grown ups.

Eff YOU, Expedia

The travel itinerary, as of today (four days after the great flight debauchle of 2008) says that the plane we were to be on left Edmonton at 8:40 a.m.

When we were at the airport on Friday, we were told our flight didn't exist. This was after we were told by the airline (Air Canada) that they didn't even deal with Expedia in the first place. The airline that we were to fly on (we were directed here by the folks at Air Canada) was United, a company Expedia said they didn't work with (they told us it was US Airways, US Airways confirmed that Expedia is on drugs).

After calling Expedia's customer service line, we found out we were booked onto a flight at 6:22 a.m. Customer service apologized profusely, admitted their error, and offered to reimburse our flight change. Then they gave us flights for Air Canada, which we could not book because Air Canada doesn't deal with Expedia (hello, CONFUSION).

Boy called Expedia back to try to sort out the flight thing. Again, customer service admitted their mistake and apologized. Then, offered to put us through to the flight people to get us booked on a flight right away (out of Expedia's pocket). Awesome.

Not so much. The flight people proceeded to tell us that it was our fault. That they sent an e-mail saying that the flight had been changed and it's our own fault because we didn't contact Expedia to confirm the change like we should have. I was pretty sure that I hadn't seen anything telling me to call Expedia.

Boy spent much time bickering back and forth with the Expedia agent, who refused to give him over to a supervisor or manager. As he was passed around from agent to agent, telling us we were in the wrong and we were trying to screw over Expedia, all we had was the itinerary we printed out pre-flight that said we were to leave at 8:40 a.m. We didn't print out the previous e-mails discussion a flight change, it's only reasonable that our latest itinerary would reflect any changes. After being apologized to by customer service, these flight people were being asshats. And they blamed us for not knowing that they had two systems in place to e-mail people (um, how were we to know?) and that we should have known something was wrong because it takes more than 40 minutes to transfer planes (I've transfered at the Winnipeg airport in under 10 minutes).

They didn't want to help us out, everyone in the airport knew of our issue with Expedia. A little old lady on her way to La Guardia, commented on the Boy's patience, strength and how Expedia was being absolutely unreasonable (she could overhear the conversation). So Boy paid the fee to change planes, in addition to a fee for a checked bag (pardon me?), and we told Expedia we'd deal with them later. We were frustrated and wanted to get on with our vacation (even if it was going to be five hours late).

Turns out, we were right. We didn't need to confirm anything. Direct from the e-mail from Expedia when they changed our flight time:

Dear Expedia.ca Traveler,
We have received notice from Air Canada that they have:
* Made minor changes to your itinerary
This change could mean a difference in departure or arrival times and/or a change in flight number on one or more of your flight segments.
Expedia.ca has accepted the updated itinerary, reflected below, on your behalf. It is not necessary to call us to confirm this change.

This updated itinerary was no where to be found outside of this e-mail. Logging into my account online provided the updated return flight, but not the flight to Vegas. It said we were to leave at 8:40 a.m.

I will never book anything through Expedia again. It was a ridiculous hassle to deal with them, and I don't really like breaking down in the airport because they're being jerks and it's early in the morning and dear-God-I-haven't-even-had-my-coffee-yet. I don't know what I would have done without the Boy. Well, probably cried a lot more than I did.

The flight home was better, but not by much. US Airways = an airline that makes Air Canada look good. Yes, they make the airline that overbooked my flight home for Christmas, bumped me from that flight, made me hang out in the airport for 8 hours on the possibility I might get on a flight other than the one my luggage was on, look good.

A broken plane, waiting around for them to fix broken plane, de-planing, re-planing on a different plane, no beverage or snack service, the least comfortable seats ever, no movie, and you have to pay to check a bag? Insanity.

Flights were bad, vacation was pretty good. But that's another blog. One that I'll write after I upload some pictures to share.

Meh

I get a little summary of the top daily news in my mailbox every morning. I love reading the newspaper, the real print-version newspaper, but I a) value my sleep so have no time, b) can't validate spending money on a subscription when I can find the info for free. So, one of the big news items for today, apparently, is this.

The Collins English dictionary held a nationwide contest for new words to be included in their dictionary. Now, I prefer the Canadian Oxford as my dictionary of choice (it's so much more than just a dictionary, it's a fabulous reference book -- I asked for mine for Christmas one year, no joke), and their decision of "new word" validated my choice.

Their decision, was the "word" meh.

"Internet forums and e-mail are playing a big part in formalizing the spellings of vocal interjections like these. A couple of other examples would be hmm and heh, which are both now ubiquitous online and in e-mails. It shows people are increasingly writing in a register somewhere in between spoken and written English."

Yes, meh, hrm and heh are vocal interjections. They are sounds. Spelled out because you can't relay noise through a computer screen/text message. By no means are these words. I would never use "meh" in a sentence. You have a so-so day and someone asks how you are? A "meh" and shrug of the shoulders will suffice. Saying "The Canadian election was so meh" makes absolutely no sense to me. LAME! The Canadian election was LAME!

Even by judging from the origins of "meh", I would not call it a word.

The naming of "meh" as winner of the nationwide contest has generated international media attention, partly because the term first gained widespread usage after it was featured in an episode of The Simpsons in which Lisa and Bart, glued to the television set, listlessly utter "meh" to rebuff Homer's offer of a day trip.

Expression of disinterest, yes. Legitimate word, no.

How Canada plans to deal with the failing economy...

... sell the CN Tower!

My good friend, Large David, sent this article to me last night. We then discussed how ridiculous it is that the feds would a) sell off these pieces of Canadiana to private companies (ahem, see the Rogers Centre, formally known as the Skydome) and b) that they would do so to bail out the constantly failing auto industry.

With globalization as it is, there's this whole we-can-get-things-from-other-places-rather-than-constantly-bail-out-our-own-failing-companies thing. Maybe we should invest in opportunities and business ventures which make us money (research! nanotechnology!) and scrap those that we're constantly sinking money into to no avail. Crown corporations and assets make the government money. In this difficult times, is it really worth selling these revenue builders off for a couple (million/billion) bucks in the short term?

We also discussed how sad we both are that Gerard Kennedy will not be running for Liberal leadership. That he's the only one with a decent head about him regarding policy, who has the possibility to unite the fallout from the Martin versus Chretien days. Further, he put in his time in Western Canada, giving the Libs the chance to bridge the West to Ottawa (since Calgary's Prime Minister Harper has failed so miserably at that).

I'd vote for Layton and his creepy mustache over voting for Iggy (or Bob Rae, even).

Creepy

Halloween has passed for yet another year, but this is by far the scariest thing to come out of this weekend.

An Edmonton filmmaker charged with first-degree murder in a case that shares similarities to the movie he was making and the serial killer television show Dexter will appear in court on Monday.

On his Facebook page, Twitchell is revealed to be a huge fan of the Showtime program Dexter, which follows the exploits of Dexter Morgan, a blood-spatter expert for the Miami police who also leads a secret life as a serial killer.

Canadians will miss Bush? Not bloody likely.

In an article from CBC:

Canadians will find themselves missing U.S. President George W. Bush if the next administration tinkers with the free trade deal, the American ambassador to Canada says.

Speaking at a Fraser Institute engagement in Montreal, David Wilkins said that the next president should check the facts and figures on the benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement. ...

... Bush has been a staunch supporter of NAFTA, said Wilkins, who was appointed by Bush. "Canadians just might discover that they will miss President George W. Bush," he said.

I doubt we'll miss Dubya. A couple reasons why NAFTA needs to be re-worked:

• the whole thing with pesticides (which is reminiscent of other times Canada has banned something for the good of the country and has been sued by companies in the United States)
• softwood lumber
• beef

Oh.Obama

This is scary. 

And these are the guys that get caught.  One has to think that there are equally crazy and much more plausible murderers plotting something out there right now.

Profits over health?

Opponents of the weed killer 2,4-D says a US company's challenge of Quebec's ban on the herbicide is undemocratic and based on the flawed notion that science has deemed the chemical safe.

Gideon Forman, of Canadian Physicians for the Environment, says studies have linked it to cancer, neurological impairment and reproductive problems, adding numerous health authorities have gotten behind such bans.

The comments came after news that a Canadian unit of Dow Chemical filed a two million-dollar notice of action against the federal government in August.
The document does not start the case but signals it could go ahead after the expiry of the 90-day notice period.

The action maintains Canada breached its obligations under Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement with the United States and Mexico. (The Canadian Press)

I worked for Gideon out of the London [Ontario] office for the Canadian Cancer Society, when we were lobbying City Council for a pesticide bylaw in London. NAFTA was one of the issues that came up then, especially since Quebec had just announced its province-wide bylaw at that time. People were curious as to how it would affect Ontario passing a ban. It will be interesting to see how this turns out, especially since the NAFTA argument has been used against other banned chemicals in Canada in the past. Ah, chemical companies… more concerned with making a buck (or million) than Canadians’ health.

[Crazy?] Nebraska Senator suing God

A Nebraska senator is suing God. Unfortunately for him, God doesn’t have an address, so he wasn’t able to be served any papers. Darn.

"The court itself acknowledges the existence of God," Chambers said Wednesday. "A consequence of that acknowledgment is a recognition of God's omniscience." Therefore, Chambers said, "Since God knows everything, God has notice of this lawsuit."

The article explicitly states that Chambers graduated law school but didn’t take the bar exam. Ha.

Surprise! Conservative minority!

Harper hoped for a majority government, but unfortunately, him and his PR team couldn’t achieve it.

They went from hoping to double their seats in Quebec, to hoping to hold on to the seats they had. Justin Trudeau won his hard-fought seat in Papineau for the Liberals. It’s important that he wasn’t parachuted in to an easy riding. Justin has been working towards this far before this election began. He has shown not only that he is charismatic Canadian royalty, but also that he cares about the people. His win in Papineau will help earn him some respect rather than just being Trudeau Jr.

Conservatives won seats in Toronto, which is a pretty big deal. In this heavily multicultural area, they campaigned well. The seats the Liberals and NDP thought were safe ended up not being so safe at all.

On that note, Linda Duncan’s win in Edmonton-Strathcona takes Alberta from being all blue to blue with a tiny speck of orange. With so many Alberta candidates being unseen in their constituencies during the election, opting instead to fly across the country and help other candidates, it sends an important message that Alberta is not as safe as the Conservatives thought.

The NDP did well, and though Elizabeth May lost her seat in Central Nova to the hunky Peter McKay (surprise!) the Greens also did considerably well.

With the political gaffes and scandal from all parties, the PR stronghold over Harper, messaging, and the bright idea to release his platform a week before the election, it’s not much of a surprise that voter turnout was dismal. Though, personally, I think Canadians should be ashamed. I just hope Mr. Harper doesn’t think people stayed home because they were complacent. In an election where polls got increasingly close towards the end of the campaign, my guess is that most Canadians just didn’t want any of the leaders to win.

What a way to spend $300 million.

'Canadian' now a racial slur?

From this National Post article.

Cab-astrophe

New: An Ottawa-based group has released a report is recommending the city bring in more taxis to help people find rides home from bars and at night time. They are calling for at least 60 more taxis. Service in this city runs a little differently with over half of all cabbies owning their own vehicles. Owner-drivers can decide not to work evenings and weekends which is when the taxis are really needed. They call for a higher rate at night to attract more drivers to that shift. The city is also being encouraged to allow taxis from the counties around Edmonton to alleviate the stress. Most taxi drivers don't like the report. CBC Radio Edm.

If I were a cabbie in Edmonton I would be so not worried. The problem is less that there aren't enough cabbies and more that there are zero dispatchers. If you call the cab company and actually get something other than ringing or a machine, they'll tell you to go wait in the street because they are too short-staffed to connect you. And if they do connect you, chances are the cabbie will opt to pick up someone off the street as they travel the distance to where you are. They have a ridiculous amount of business. And they price gouge like it's going out of style. Dear Ottawa group: our city is not like your city. I've taken cabs in both, and this is a whole different world out here.

Want a cab? Walk to a hotel. Seriously.

Wish list, not overly Canadian

Facebook has this "Great Canadian Wish List" thing going on right now. It's an interesting experiment by the CBC to interact with the younger generation, they plan on compiling all the data and releasing the list on July 1.

I'm interested in seeing what things people think would make our country better; which ideas they have to make our country greater.

A few examples of what has been written:
Abolish Abortion in Canada (top wish)
Spirtual revival (number two)
Pro-choice Canada (number three)
Restore the Traditional Definition of Marriage (number four)
Lower/eliminate Tuition Fees (number five)

I'm a little afraid for this future. There's also a "wish" that Canada be completely athiest. Yikes. Let it be said that I consider myself to be more "spirtual" than "religious"... mainly meaning that I don't think the problem lies in people believing in a higher power, but that the problem mainly lies in the politics and drama of organized religion itself. I believe that it is our differences and the toleration of these differences that make our country what it is. Tolerance and respect, no matter which culture, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, gender, age, etc.

On Abortion: I don't support the idea of abortion. I don't think that anybody really does. But I do support the idea of trusting women enough to make these life decisions for themselves. I know that no matter how much I may disagree with any decision that somebody else makes, it is in fact their decision to make. Not mine. And the people who will have an abortion now, are the ones who will continue to resort to this end even if abortion was not legal. It is far greater to have these procedures carried out in a medically controlled, safe environment rather than in basements and back alleys. This was the whole purpose of legalizing it in the first place. Abortion should never be used as a form of birth control, and when people consent to having sex, they adopt pregnancy as a possibility. They have to be prepared for the consequences of their actions.

However, there are a plethora of situations out there which makes this whole topic a very sticky thing. It's definitely not black or white. And I am not one to determine what anybody else should do in their own, unique situation. I don't believe anyone else should make this decision for them either.

We should rather build a community of acceptance which allows women to feel safe enough to discuss their options and possibilities so that they can be sure their decision is an informed one. And no matter whether they carry through with a pregnancy and raise a child, give birth and put that child up for adoption, or terminate the pregnancy... in every situation these women need support. They don't need to be shamed.

The Spiritual Revival wish claims that "40 years ago, there was the Hippie Revolution - a turning away from the ways of our Lord Jesus Christ. 40 years has our country been trapped in the ideals of free love, drug uses, practices of abusive lifestyles et cetera; we are turning too far away. Now is the time for this and our younger generation to step up, get out of our comfort zones and pray together for a spiritual revival in Canada from sea to sea to sea!"

Blech. Way to blame the hippies for all the troubles of our country. I grew up in a family that went to church every Sunday and didn't give in to the free love, drugs, and abusive lifestyles. And let me tell you, those church-goers were far from perfect. Furthermore, they should know about the values that God/Jesus/InsertHigherPowerHere teaches. What's that? Tolerance, respect and love? Love thy neighbour as thyself? Treat others the way you want to be treated? No where does it say only to love the other Christians. It says everyone. Regardless of their creed. The great thing about religion is that nobody really knows what's right or wrong. And so really, people shouldn't pretend they know it all. It's not possible to know it all.

All we can do is respect each other and be kind to each other and hope that in the end it all works out. Again, the great thing about Canada is that it does have this convergence of values, cultures, beliefs. And ideally, we would be accepting of the values and views of others... celebrating our similarities as well as our differences. It definitely makes democracy a lot more powerful when ideas are discussed from different viewpoints before people are elected or decisions are made. Our differences are one of our greatest strengths.

On marriage, it's kind of like everything else that has been discussed here. You know what? Any two people getting married is none of your business. And people who use the argument that gay marriage "demeans" or "lowers" the value of their traditional marriage... they are full of crap. Any marriage is a vow between two people and two people only (and God if you so believe). The only thing that can decrease the value of that vow is those two people involved.

And for those religious people who believe that homosexuality is wrong? Even if that is your view, the Bible/various religious texts say outright that it is not your job to judge people. That if anyone makes a wrong choice or acts in any way which could possibly be considered "wrong", they are the ones who answer for it in the end. So be quiet. You don't have to agree with the decisions and beliefs of others. You do have to respect human kind and the ability of people to make decisions for themselves. Further to that end, I would suggest that the only thing that would possibly demean this sacrament in my eyes, is when people enter into it lightly.

And on tuition fees, I think I've written on this before. I have. February 7, 2007, for those who care to look back. Basically, I don't support lowering/eliminating tuition fees. I do support people learning the value of money and having to work for what they get. People who don't have things just handed to them tend to value what they get out of it and work harder. I think an increase in grants, scholarships and financial aid is a good thing. Education should be accessible for those who really want it. That doesn't mean that it should be free.

I think this is all the ranting and raving I've got for now.
What are your wishes for Canada and the future of our country? Go.