Guest Column

Humanity shuld be more human

The search for proof of alien life has taken another twist with astronaut Buzz Aldrin having passed a lie detector test about having seen a UFO. There is no need to search that far for proof as the world leaders provide many forms of alien life starting with the humorous - a president with Orange skin and hair and then the horrific - a leader so inhuman that he would gas his own people. We don't need to look to space for inhuman beings, rather we need to look to Earth for more human behaviour.

A Poker Bluff

Apparently President Trump is going to 'double down' in the Tariff battle. This is real, not a poker game with a bluff being called, although there is something to be considered in the gambling lore of 'A Smith and Wesson beats 4 aces'.

Places like California would lose House members if an honest count of legal voters was done

Every 10 years we are required to take a census (tally) of the number of people in our country. Over time we have found it necessary to add pages of additional information, education, employment, what kind of house you live in and whether you rent or own, age, ancestry, internet use, health insurance coverage, whether you receive food stamps, income, fuel you use to heat your house and much more. But, oh the uproar at the suggestion that you would be asked if you are a citizen. Can there be a bigger hypocrisy? In my mind, the citizenship question should be #1. Much government planning is based on census data. In doing that planning, the number that are really eligible for some things is important. I would also contend, if we are not going to ask citizenship question, we shouldn't ask all the other invasive questions and save money by doing a simple head count. The real issue here is not protection of illegals, it is about votes, plain and simple. Places like California would lose House members if an honest count of legal voters was done.

The election of Pres. Trump has done little to improve the approval rating of Congress which stands at just 15%

The election of Pres. Trump has done little to improve the approval rating of Congress which stands at just 15%. The American people consider Congress virtually useless, unable to solve problems or even agree on simple matters. That is probably the reason that good people like Jason Chaffetz and Trey Gowdy are leaving. They are frustrated with the inability to get the work of Government done. Who can blame them? Most of us see that Congress functions on reelection stats, all decisions are made with an eye toward getting reelected. Shame on Congress for abandoning their jobs and the American people.

Turn - Don't Swipe

Being that it was close to April 1st I thought the story that beginner students at schools were 'swiping' their paper books rather than turning the pages was a rather amusing April Fools joke but it was actually a fact. The members of the National Union of Teachers (UK) have reported that this now a common event. Apparently it's a result of the overuse of iPads as a childminding device and the cost of paper books. As a child I was always happy to read a book and still do almost 60 years later although I read most newspapers online. Books rarely run out of power, they are ready the moment you pick them up and there are not ads at the bottom of the page. Print this letter out on paper and show your child how to physically read it. Regards, Dennis Fitzgerald

Tariff war: A numbers game

After teaching Math for over 30 years I have taught a range of students including some who found it 'challenging'. Even the least able were able to understand some simple arithmetic - if you charged someone $10 and they charged you $10 then nobody was better off and you were probably both annoyed. This works the same for larger numbers! Why can't our world leaders understand this? A tariff war with matching increases will not help anyone in the long term. Get back to looking for positive approaches. Regards, Dennis Fitzgerald

Still a long journey to a peaceful school

Recently Malala, the youngest Nobel Peace winner, returned home to Pakistan but didn't find the peace that she promotes. For a person who left as a gunshot victim and returned as a Nobel Laureate the biggest change was in her and what she has achieved but until it is safe for everyone to go to school in Pakistan and many other countries the world has a long way to go.

Australian Cricket Player available

Re: Cricket: Disgraced Aussie trio likely to challenge suspensions I am available for Test selection. I can't bat, bowl or field but I am honest. Regards

Waiting for the big announcement that everybody in Ontario gets free groceries for life for the liberal vote

Premier Wynne's 25% hydro discount was to cost a minimum of 45 billion dollars for 24 billion dollars of hydro relief if the government could balance its budgets for 30 years in a row and now the Wynne Liberals have stated they will run huge deficits for the next 6 years if re-elected with zero thought of getting a balanced budget.

"Upheaval" in the Trump administration

There's a lot of air time being devoted to the "upheaval" in the Trump administration. Let us remember that middle America supported this President and applauded his promise to drain the swamp. That is not an easy or quick thing to do. Many times vacancies are sought by more swamp creatures. And the parties are creating swamp creatures at an alarming rate. The example of David Shulkin comes to mind, under President Obama he served as an under secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Department was failing our veterans, President Trump fired Bob McDonald and nominated Shulkin for the job. Shulkin was still an Obama era employee and it didn't work out. At least give Trump credit for trying to work with existing staff. It has been wisely pointed out that all Presidents surround themselves with staff who hold and support the views of the President. Barrack Obama was the most recent and glaring example. His staff was of one mindset. And they helped him advance his agenda in his second term. His first term was spent on his own re-election. This President has made mistakes but he has also accomplished more in one year than most Presidents accomplish in a 4-year term. And he certainly is not spending exorbitant amounts of time in front of the cameras. He is working. Polls show that nearly half of us see these truths.

Wrong Date, Maybe

A local newspaper ("The Australian", March 31) had an article headline I never thought I would or should see "Who do you believe, the President or the porn star?" Surely this would be more appropriate the next day - April 1.

Children, listen up. Do you know the meaning of hypocrisy?

Children, listen up. Do you know the meaning of hypocrisy? It means insincere or hollow. Your "March for Our Lives" was your cry for school safety, or at least I thought so. You think the 2nd amendment is a bad law, You want restriction placed on the right to bear arms. You feel that would keep you safe. Here's the hypocrisy part, if you were truly concerned about your own safety, you would welcome a rule requiring clear backpacks. But you don't like that rule, do you? It infringes on your constitutional rights, you say. Critical thinking is necessary to understand that constitutional rights belong to everyone, not just you. I think some serious civics education is in order. We, as Americans have rights. This is a free country. As long as people can move about freely and are not (hypothetically) subject to undue government interference or restriction, there could be danger. But, taking away freedoms is a slippery slope. And, the fact of the matter is that the Constitution reads like this: Amendment IV. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. That means they can't search your backpack without a reason. It does not say that the school can not require clear backpacks or ban backpacks all together. And, it doesn't say that school can't have rules. They have lots of them and we should be glad they do.

Switched off

Julian Assange has had his Internet access cut off and the world knows about it, although obviously not from him. He has made the use of the Internet his tool or weapon to spread information that others don't want spread and this has made him a number of enemies but seemingly few friends. With the spread of so much fake news there is a need to spread real news even if it is confronting, although there have been concerns that he may have endangered a number of people as well.

Small Business Reaction to 2018 Ontario Budget

TORONTO – The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is disappointed that the provincial government missed another opportunity to directly offset the rising payroll costs for small business as a result of the recent minimum wage hike and labour reforms. Instead, the province has decided to embark on a pre-election spending spree, abandoning any spending restraint and fiscal discipline.

Dough lost in translation

A recent discussion with a friend from the Bakery industry reminded me of the line from the classic British comedy 'Fawlty Towers' - He's from Barcelona!

State, local income taxes, property taxes and sales tax all hit record highs in 2017

State, local income taxes, property taxes and sales tax all hit record highs in 2017. It is easy to understand why. More people are employed, businesses are growing, new homes are being built, and people are spending money. Yet even with all this, governments want more. They have an insatiable appetite for money, our money. There is never enough. They build facilities which need maintenance. They permit housing developments without the infrastructure to support them. They give tax breaks to encourage more development which then saps services. They run buses with no passengers and buy fleets of higher-priced vehicles. The ways to cut spending are numerous and obvious. As voters and citizens, we must not be fooled by the emotional pleas. Take a good look at budgets, both income and expenses. I bet you'll find, historically, government will spend whatever it takes in and ask for more - more school taxes, more local sales taxes, higher property taxes. Well, guess what? This economy has given them all of those just by being vital. And when the next downswing happens (and it will), there won't be a penny saved and they'll be crying for more.

Bill 71

Mr Goodale, if you wish the general law abiding Canadian citizen not to be in possession of firearms for what ever reason you, your party or the United Nations can come up with, why then don’t you just come and take them ? You have the entire Armed Forces and RCMP not to mention the Ex-Officio (armed) departments of this great country at your disposal, so why not use them? It would be quite decisive and at a much lower cost and a more or less complete disarmament of the honest citizenry. The liberals, etc, could then proceed with whatever nefarious plans you may have for ultimate control over the people of Canada. Are you afraid that we won’t like what you have planned for us? At this point, Mr Goodale I really do not believe you are a honest Canadian with the good of Canada and its people at heart. I believe you and the Liberal party are a huge lot of cowards bowing to the wishes of the UN. There is still time to correct this mistake, we were screwed once by the liberals but we will not be screwed twice. You will notice that I have not mentioned the PM in this letter because he is of no consequence just someone who was pushed to the head of the line to take the heat. The sad thing is he is too simple to realize it. I feel sorry for Sophie and the children. Please sir, give us good reason to vote Liberal in the next election.

Disturbing that our children are being subjected to adult biases, in the guise of education

The story about the California school teacher who, back in January, told his class that that members of the U.S. military are the "lowest of the low" has finally been put on administrative . His remarks were inspired by a 17 year old boy wearing a Marines sweatshirt. There is so much wrong with this picture that we must question what took so long? In one statement he insulted the student, disparaged the military, and displayed distain for other members of the community. We appreciate our teachers but we expect them to keep their personal biases to themselves. I remember the worse argument I ever had was with a teacher who said, "Doers are not thinkers and thinkers are not doers". I was insulted for my blue collar family members who could also wipe up college graduates at Trivial Pursuit. I was defensive of my grandmother who was one of the most thoughtful and well read people I knew but who also was a hard worker. It was, as was the incident in California, an elitist self important attitude by a teacher. I have never forgotten it. Frankly, I find it disturbing that our children are being subjected to adult biases, in the guise of education.

The Senate proposal to ease some of the Dodd-Frank rules will help stimulate the housing market,

The Dodd-Frank Banking Law was designed and enacted after the 2008 boom and bust of the housing market. It was created to protect the public from continued taxpayer bailouts of failed banks. It greatly tightened regulations on the banking industry. All the current hoopla about loosening those regulations overlooks a critical point, that under Bill Clinton, banks were forced to make bad loans.

It might be easier to believe some news stories if the hypocrisy wasn't so blatant.

It might be easier to believe some news stories if the hypocrisy wasn't so blatant. Have you seen pictures of Al Gore's 9 million dollar mansion which is reported to use nearly $3,000 worth of energy a month? Kind of hard to listen to him tell us to reduce our carbon footprint. Or how about Bernie Sanders showing up at an anti-gun event while being escorted by armed guards?