For my grandson: on a special day

Embrace criticism, whether from the wise or from fools. No one ever regrets raising the bar, ever, ever, ever. Scare yourself.

Never have words been uttered that didn't have meaning to those who’ve heard them.

This in no way means or implies what you heard was true! Maybe you heard those words to test your confidence, to challenge your resolve, or to help you rethink earlier choices… only you know. 

But, if you did not hear the words, you would never know. Remember Thoughts become Things... choose the good ones!

 

What the news?

Take charge of your life.

In order to live your second adulthood (or childhood in my case:-) with freedom purpose and passion, stop and take a look at yourself as well as your physical, emotional, and spiritual environment.

This checklist may help serve as a guide to get you started. It is not exhaustive but is meant to be a beginning point.

Do you have a will? Do you have detailed instructions about what arrangements you want when you die?

Do you have a living will and a designated person as medical power of attorney?

Are your important documents such as your driver’s license, passport, will, up to date? Do you have copies of each of these stored in a safe place?

Do you have a secure place to store important documents?

Does at least one other person know where this is and have access to them?

How is your health? When was your last physical and eye examination? What do you need to start doing to either improve your health or maintain good health?

Is your living space cluttered? Ask yourself: is this item really important to me? Do I use it or enjoy it regularly?

Clear out, clean out and make space for the life you are living now.

Is your vehicle in good running order? Do you have emergency road side service, a working spare tire, thermal blanket, bottled water, jumper cables, snow chains, first aide kit?

Do you have adequate health, home, and life insurance?

If you’ve put off taking care of any important aspect of your life—now is the time to take action! Make a plan and get started—one step at a time. Don’t leave the important things to chance. Unfortunately, we’ve all heard stories of people who waited too long to see their doctor, to make an amend, or record their family history.

What are you putting off accomplishing that you know is important and would increase your peace of mind and overall well-being?

The Green party debate

In Canada the TV stations decided that they would hold a televised debate with only four of the current registered parties taking part. The TV stations also decided that if a party did not have any members in our house of parliament, that party  would not take part in the debate. The Green Party of Canada has about 5% of the votes but because of our first past the post system did not elect any members to the house of Parliament.  The leader of the Green Party is a woman called Elizabeth May. She objected and has taken the issue to court to fight for her "right" to participate in the debates. The TV debates are important as they may make a difference as to which party wins in a close vote. The Bloc is a party that advocates the French Canada should leave Canada. Only Canadians would allow the leader of a party with this agenda to debate about how Canada should be led. :-)

The issue that appeared to be taking up time away from the other policy issues of the Canadian election is the issue of whether or not Elizabeth May should be allowed to take part in the leadership debates. The debate is interesting, Creative Revolution has some interesting ideas on this as do the readers of CBC news. I initially thought she should not be in the debates and I also believe that the Bloc should not be in the debates. My thinking on the Bloc, is that the Bloc only runs in one province and therefore should not be invited to debate at the national level.  I see nothing wrong with them taking part in a French Canadian debate amongst all leaders.

My initial thinking about Elizabeth May is that she and the Green Party were given the opportunity to take part in the last debate, but they failed to get a member elected. They may have gahered 5% of the vote in the last election, but they are, in my mind a party, that has not yet impressed enough Canadians to get any members elected. So even though they are running in every riding, they should not be given the right to debate at the National level, with the three other parties who have impressed Canadians enough to get members elected.

However, when I did listen to her position on why she should be in the debate, I realized that she had a legitimate arguement and that with  5% of the vote perhaps she should be given a chance to take part in the debate. The matter is moot as the courts have refused to hear her case, and unless there is a huge public outcry she will not be heard.

Having said the above, I do believe that the Green Party would have been better served if they focused their money, attention and time on finding key ridings where they had a chance to get elected. Once they show me and I suspect other Canadians,  that they have what it takes to get a member elected then I would be more willing to take them seriously. Until then, in my opinion, because of the size of their vote, they have a right to be at the table as they have shown they are not a minor party, but perhaps so do any of the other parties that have not elected members to the House but who represent legitimate (or not) concerns of many Canadians.

The following are a list of the 19 registered political parties in Canada from the Elections Canada Website. I have included the links to each party as well. Note only four have members in the House at this time, the Liberals, the Conservatives, the NDP and the Bloc.

         Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada

         Bloc Québécois

         Canadian Action Party

         Christian Heritage Party of Canada

         Communist Party of Canada

         Conservative Party of Canada

         First Peoples National Party of Canada

         Green Party of Canada

         Liberal Party of Canada

         Libertarian Party of Canada

    Marijuana Party

    Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada

    New Democratic Party

    People's Political Power Party of Canada

    Pirate Party of Canada

    Progressive Canadian Party

    Rhinoceros Party

    United Party of Canada

Western Block Party

Six Thought Provoking Questions

Thought provoking questions usually put forth a certain viewpoint, if only because they inherently challenge the accepted one. However, they don't require you to agree with that viewpoint, and a question is just a question. We'll each have different answers to the following, despite their provocative intent.

Thought Provoking Questions - Politics
1. When several hundred thousand want a given person or party in power, but can never elect them because only Liberals or Conservatives or NDP will be elected by the other hundred thousand voters, can they believe that this is a representative government? Would a system that allowed them to send their own representatives to the legislature be more fair? Is there a way to devise a system which allows any voters that agree on a candidate to have representation? (There are a many libertarians, for example, who never get represented.)

2. It is considered immoral for me to steal from my neighbor Joe in order to send my kids to school, or to paint a picture, or to subsidize my tobacco crop, so how can it be right for me to do it using the government as my agent? Is it moral just because enough of us vote to take Joe's money for something we want to do? Is this "mob rule" okay for any purpose, or only if it is a "good" purpose? If so, who decides what a "good" purpose is?

3. Hitler was elected to parliament, and the ancient Greek parliament, which was more representative than what we have today, voted to kill Socrates for teaching young men to think. So is Democracy the best we can do? If people vote to violate their own rights or those of others, is it okay, just because the majority wants it that way? (Another question: Why did we start calling our system a democracy just because it votes for it's leaders?)

More Thought Provoking Questions
4. Since a moral rule like, "don't steal," can lead to immorality, as in not stealing to feed your child when that's the only option, is it possible we need a new way to define morality? Can morality be permanently codified in words, or should we use words only to point at what is beyond the definitions, and alter the definitions as often as we come to understand new things about the world and our role in it?

5. If the laws are recognizing more and more that animals shouldn't be treated cruelly, do animals have "rights," as children do? Children are dependent but with basic rights. If animals are the same, are their "owners" obligated to give them them proper food and medical care, and should they be prosecuted if they fail to provide it? Should they be forced to care for pets for life, with no option to have them killed when they become inconvenient?

6. Some believe that holy books instruct us to kill people for working on the wrong day (Exodus 31:15), or saying the wrong words (Leviticus 24:17) or because they're homosexual (Leviticus 20:13), and millions believe these books are the words of God. So is it possible that religions inherently breed violence, or is it just some religions, or do they only do so if people really take their religions seriously? Most people would condemn a person who said these things, so why do they worship gods who say them? Religion gives us some of the most thought provoking questions.