Valentines Day: Finally, something that reflects my lifestyle!
Shelter Magazines Get Real
Nathalie Atkinson, National Post, Feb. 14
This article concerns anti-lifestye magazines -- as opposed to Martha's lifestyle magazine and television program. Lifestyle is defined as "the relentless acquisitive pursuit of goods by the petite bourgeois masses". I felt that I should contribute to the anti-lifestyle trend with the following for Valentines Day.
Dust if You Must
A house becomes a home when you can write "I love you" on the furniture."
I can't tell you how many countless hours that I have spent CLEANING! I used to spend at least 8 hours every weekend making sure things were just perfect -"in case someone came over". Then I realized one day that no one came over; they were all out living life and having fun!
Now, when people visit, I find no need to explain the "condition" of my home. They are more interested in hearing about the things I've been doing while I was away living life and having fun. If you haven't figured this out yet, please heed this advice.
Life is short. Enjoy it! Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better to paint a picture or write a letter, bake a cake or plant a seed, ponder the difference between want and need?
Dust if you must, but there's not much time, with rivers to swim and mountains to climb, music to hear and books to read, friends to cherish and life to lead.
Dust if you must, but the world's out there with the sun in your eyes, the wind in your hair, a flutter of snow, a shower of rain. This day will not come around again!
Dust if you must, but bear in mind, old age will come and it's not kind.
And when you go - and go you must - you, yourself will make more dust!
It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived.
Thanks to Susan, who may have noticed that much--though not all--of this describes me and my lifestyle-- except for the beginning section about ever spending hours CLEANING. I simply don't notice so much that others see as important. To the good housekeepers who visit, the food is safe; have a glass of home-made plonk, relax, and enjoy. Just turf something away and put your feet up. Happy Valentines Day to the romantics among you. To the rest, have another glass of what has been aged at least a month or two; it's the good stuff, the special stash for guests. NJC
[. . . .] Documents released under the Access to Information Act show that 245 native communities across Canada have run up cumulative deficits of $300.3 million. The highest tally is in Manitoba, where 48 bands owe a total of $94.2 million as of last month. In Atlantic Canada, 20 bands together owe $47.3 million, and 50 in Ontario owe almost $40 million.
[. . . .] "You have a very difficult choice to make," said Stewart Phillip, also head of the B.C. Union of Indian Chiefs, representing 70 leaders.
"Our populations are expanding at an explosive rate, and the needs in our community are dramatically increasing.
[. . . .] Ottawa is "painfully aware" of the rising costs linked to a native population that's growing at twice the rate of non-aboriginals, Phillip said.
"The health costs alone are rising astronomically [. . . .]
[Chief Wilfred King ] scoffed at how fast Canada wrote off $750 million in debt owed by Iraq while the most isolated First Nations are denied access to natural resources on their traditional lands.
[. . . .] About one-quarter of Canada's 700 First Nations, tribal councils and native political groups are under special management because of deficits that exceed eight per cent of their budgets.
Of those, about five per cent have lost control of their finances because of continuing problems.
In Gull Bay, King says an outside manager has been paid almost $500,000 in band funds over the last five years to do little more than write cheques.
My Commentary:
Might I suggest a little common sense -- family planning? -- help yourself a bit more? -- get some initiative, education, and a job? -- pay for building your own houses, as do the rest of Canadians? -- or is that considered politically incorrect? How many generations will the payouts from Canadian taxpayers continue for the traditional treaty agreements along with a taxpayer-funded breeding program--especially since taxpayers seem to have to pay off Quebec, besides, in the service of a dubious unity? How long will it be before Canadians cannot afford to pay for what has been happening--the expanded population, health, education and other needs--despite paying higher and higher taxes? Will the natives then be treated as the rest of Canadians? Will there be any choice? Will the country be able to declare bankruptcy and start over?
I don't feel as though we owe our natives one more red cent in the service of agreements with bands consisting of relatively few people a hundred or more years ago -- agreements now buttressed by having to pay attention to dubious oral histories -- agreement obligations which keep expanding exponentially, rather like the expanding native population -- the fastest growing ethnic group in Canada. What do you think?
Canadian taxpayers are never going to get out from under these endlessly burgeoning obligations -- payments of which which do not ameliorate conditions for natives on reserves nor for those who have moved to the cities -- payments of which seem to be frittered away at the chiefs' and band councils' behest to family and friends.
Natives obviously are not satisfied with anything non-native Canadians have done. The only solution they offer is "send more money" without offering to fulfill fiscal or other responsibilities. Remember what, in that era, was considered a good idea -- to educate the children in residential schools and bring them into the mainstream of Canadian society? I am sure some were abused -- but I find the number of those stories growing with the telling too. Did the religious involved do nothing but abuse native children? Many students were educated and treated very well. Where is the balance in the telling? I am tired of the horror stories and the attempts to make non-natives feel guilt.
It might clear the air to say "Enough already!" and dig in our heels about paying any more -- though the politically correct crowd and the helping professions would disagree. Don't even mention blaming the victim to me! Ordinary Canadians are beginning to feel more and more like victims -- victims of the endless rights and payments demanded by natives and expanded by our appointed judges. NJC
Petition to Stop Bill C-250 to Change the Definition of Marriage
This came from a colleague; it will be of interest to those who feel strongly that they do not want the definition of traditional marriage as including a male and a female changed.
We Were Overwhelmed! Thank You!
Dear Friends,
Thank you so much for your response to this alert we sent out a couple of days ago. We were overwhelmed by your response. Literally!
Your response was so great that our server could not handle the volume after it was climbing over 20,000 e-mails an hour! So we had to interrupt the e-mail-through-to-senators feature and make some changes. As a result, we know that many of you were unable to e-mail through our site.
What would happen if Canadians were asked for input in a referendum? Our Liberal government does not appear to want to know. If you feel strongly about this, link and sign the petition. NJC
