Climbing Out Of The Dark

Seriously? It Was Okay For A Woman To Protect Herself And Her Baby?

2012-01-31T23:51:00.000-07:00

Well, not here in Canada, but maybe we should be looking at a form of Castle Doctrine here.

The H/T from the comments:

Mike from Saskatoon

This is ludicrous. Canada needs a Castle Doctrine. We need to drop this dangerous and ignorant situation where the government treats people defending themselves and their property as criminals.

The US has many problems, but this is one area where they got it right. A prime example would be the 18 year old mother in Oklahoma who faced a home invasion on Dec 31 2011. She was recently widowed and had a 3 month old at home, and two men tried to break into her home. She barricaded the door & called 911, but for over 20 minutes the cops didn't show up. She ended up having to shoot one of the criminals when he managed to break down the front door, killing him.

US reaction: congratulate the woman, and charge the surviving criminal with murder.

Canadian reaction: haul the woman to jail, charge her with murder, and hand her child over to strangers to raise.

No sane person can say our system is superior.

I'm thinking, is that a REAL story? So, I searched it out, and sure enough, it's true!

A young Oklahoma mother shot and killed an intruder to protect her 3-month-old baby on New Year's Eve, less than a week after the baby's father died of cancer.
Sarah McKinley says that a week earlier a man named Justin Martin dropped by on the day of her husband's funeral, claiming that he was a neighbor who wanted to say hello. The 18-year-old Oklahoma City area woman did not let him into her home that day.
On New Year's Eve Martin returned with another man, Dustin Stewart, and this time was armed with a 12-inch hunting knife. The two soon began trying to break into McKinley's home.
As one of the men was going from door to door outside her home trying to gain entry, McKinley called 911 and grabbed her 12-gauge shotgun.
McKinley told ABC News Oklahoma City affiliate KOCO that she quickly got her 12 gauge, went into her bedroom and got a pistol, put the bottle in the baby's mouth and called 911.

Make sure you watch the video at that site, it will make you think about how our citizens in Canada are treated. Thankfully this guy had video too! If it would have been just his word against the criminals, the criminals would have won. Despite the taped evidence of criminals fire bombing his place.....

He is the one being charged with illegal storage of fire arms. That is how stupid Canadian law is. The guy under threat from three terrorists, is on trial. We need a form of the Castle doctrine:

Typical conditions that apply to some Castle Doctrine laws include^{[citation needed]}:

An intruder must be making (or have made) an attempt to unlawfully or forcibly enter an occupied residence, business or vehicle.
The intruder must be acting illegally—the Castle Doctrine does not give the right to attack, for example, officers of the law acting in the course of their legal duties
The occupant(s) of the home must reasonably believe that the intruder intends to inflict serious bodily harm or death upon an occupant of the home
In some states, the occupant(s) of the home must reasonably believe that the intruder intends to commit some lesser felony, such as arson or burglary
The occupant(s) of the home must not have provoked or instigated an intrusion, or provoked or instigated an intruder to threaten or use deadly force
The occupant(s) of the home may be required to attempt to exit the house or otherwise retreat (this is called the "Duty to retreat" and most self-defense statutes referred to as examples of "Castle Doctrine" expressly state that the homeowner has no such duty)
In all cases, the occupant(s) of the home must be there legally, must not be fugitives from the law or aiding or abetting another person in being a fugitive from the law, and must not use force upon an officer of the law performing a legal duty

Another person leaving a comment stated it better than I could:

Hobbittall

Incredible story.

Mr. Thompson did make several mistakes though and he deserves to pay.
1) He should have used a shotgun and left these bombers as a puddle on his lawn.
2) He is a white male (and therefore he has no rights).
3) He is not Indian like chiefie Spence of Attawapiskat so "Blame the victim" will not work.

I could go on with his multitude of faults...

It's clear that his proper course of action would have been to twiddle his thumbs in the corner saying "Our Father who art in Queens Park, Dalton be thy name..." as fire bombs rained down on himself and his property.

He still has a chance to redeem himself slightly though. If he were to self immolate on the steps of Queens Park to partially compensate society for his grievous crimes.

Throw the book at him I say!

As a female, I am supposed to shout "FIRE" if some predator is chasing me down the street. God forbid I have a gun to protect myself, and if I did happen to have a gun (yikes) it should be triple, double, double, locked up at home with the ammo for it at my Mom's house 8 blocks away.

Our laws are ridiculous. Mr. Thomson should have never been charged with anything, period. Unfortunately, our liberal attorney generals and police listen to Dalton and other political people and forget that their jobs are to protect, we the people, not we the politicians. Mr. Thomson has killed fewer people than a certain ex-attorney general in Ontario.

Mr. Thomson now has to pay court and lawyer fees, while the criminals who fire bombed his place get court appointed lawyers, and they have not been charged with the most obvious crime they tried to commit, ATTEMPTED MURDER.

The main reason for the governments (on all levels) lack of response to this crime against citizens is that we have no property rights. The government reserves the right to take away anything from us, because they have the power. This is what we should be yelling about as freedom loving people.

Feminists Speak Out Against Honour Killings....

2012-01-29T22:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, I lied, not one feminist that I know has voiced her opinion on the murders of 4 women by their family, because of "honour".

They should be marching on Parliament to tell all MP's that "honour" killings are a crime against all women. They have not, and they will not. They are hypocrites. Women's rights, as long as you don't step on any "middle eastern" male toes. I should add that "honour" killings are a cultural/tribal thing as much as a "religious" thing. All cultures are equal aren't they ladies? Right???? HA! Just what I thought, they are hiding behind their multicultural metrosexual males.

Why wouldn't they be supporting Tooba? She was obviously railroaded by her husband to commit the murders. Or don't they like her because she was what they would call a "breeder"?

"My body, my choice" as long as it doesn't mean that baby girls are being targeted for the "scrape". They are forced to embrace ALL abortions, for ANY reason because of they hypocrisy. They refuse to admit that abortions kill human babies. Abort a baby at 40 weeks? Perfectly legal in Canada. They have a problem now that these same lack of laws allow female babies to be aborted just because they happen to not be what those of other cultures/tribes want... females!

It is a sad statement when women, who profess to be in support of all females, are reduced to defending the killing of females, be it in "honour" killings or selective abortions.

Friday Night Funnies: What I Owe My Mother!

2012-01-27T22:37:00.000-07:00

Cough Syrup..........

The pharmacist walks into his store

to find a guy leaning heavily against a wall.

He asks the Newfie clerk:

"What's with that guy over there by the wall?"

The clerk responds:

"Well, he came in here this morning

to get something for his cough.

I couldn't find the cough syrup,

so I gave him an entire bottle of Laxative."

The pharmacist yells:

"You idiot, you can't treat a cough

with a laxative!"

The Newfie clerk responds..................

“Of course you can! "

"Look at him, he's afraid to cough".

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The Older Crowd

A distraught senior citizen
phoned her doctor's office.
'Is it true,' she wanted to know,
'that the medication
you prescribed has to be taken
for the rest of my life?'
'Yes, I'm afraid so,' the doctor told her.
There was a moment of silence
before the senior lady replied,
I'm wondering, then,
just how serious is my condition
because this prescription is marked
'NO REFILLS'....'

---------------------------------------------------

An older gentleman was
on the operating table
awaiting surgery
and he insisted that his son,
a renowned surgeon,
perform the operation.
As he was about to get the anaesthesia,
he asked to speak to his son.
'Yes, Dad, what is it? '
'Don't be nervous, son;
do your best
and just remember,
if it doesn't go well,
if something happens to me,
your mother
is going to come and
live with you and your wife....'

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Aging:
Eventually you will reach a point
when you stop lying about your age
and start bragging about it.

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The older we get,
the fewer things
seem worth waiting in line for.

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Some people
try to turn back their odometers.
Not me!
I want people to know 'why'
I look this way.
I've traveled a long way
and some of the roads weren't paved..

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When you are dissatisfied
and would like to go back to youth,
think of algebra.

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You know you are getting old when
everything either dries up or leaks.

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One of the many things
no one tells you about aging
is that it is such a nice change
from being young.

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Ah, being young is beautiful,
but being old is comfortable.

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First you forget names,
then you forget faces.
then you forget to pull up your zipper.
It's much worse when
you forget to pull it down....

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Long ago
when men cursed
and beat the ground with sticks,
it was called witchcraft....
today, it's called golf.

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Two old guys are pushing their carts

around Wal-Mart

when they collide.
The first old guy says to the second guy,
'Sorry about that. I'm looking for my wife,
and I guess I wasn't paying attention
� to where I was going.

The second old guy says, 'That's OK, it's a coincidence..
I'm looking for my wife, too..'
I can't find her and I'm getting a little desperate'
The first old guy says, 'Well,
maybe I can help you find her..
What does she look like?'

The second old guy says,
'Well, she is 27 yrs old, tall,
with red hair, blue eyes, long legs,
and is wearing short shorts..
What does your wife look like?'

To which the first old guy says,

'Doesn't matter,
--- let's look for yours.'

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What kids think about childbirth...
Due to a power outage, only one paramedic responded to the call.

The house was very dark so the paramedic asked Kathleen , a 3-year old girl to hold a flashlight high over her mommy so he could see while he helped deliver the baby. Very diligently, Kathleen did as she was asked.

Heidi pushed and pushed and after a little while, Connor was born.

The paramedic lifted him by his little feet and spanked him on his bottom.

Connor began to cry.

The paramedic then thanked Kathleen for her help and asked the wide-eyed 3-yr old what she thought about what she had just witnessed.

Kathleen quickly responded,
'He shouldn't have crawled in there in the first place......smack his butt again!'
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WHAT I OWE MY MOTHER:

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
'If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I
just finished cleaning.'

2. My mother taught me RELIGION .
'You better pray that this will come out of the carpet.'

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL
'If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!'

4. My mother taught me LOGIC .
' Because I said so, that's why.'

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC .
'If you fall out of that swing and break your neck,
you're not going to the store with me.'

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
'Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident.'

7. My mother taught me IRONY.
'Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry
about.'

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
'Shut your mouth and eat your supper.'

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM .
'Will you look at that dirt on the back of your
neck!'

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA
'You'll sit there until all that SOUP is gone.'

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER ..
'This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.'

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY
'If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!'

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE .
'I brought you into this world, and I can take you
out.'

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION.
'Stop acting like your father!'

15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
'There are millions of less fortunate children in
this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do..'

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
'Just wait until we get home.'

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING .
'You are going to get it when you get home!'

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
'If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going
to get stuck that way.'

19. My mother taught me ESP .
'Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?'

20. My mother taught me HUMOUR .
'When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me..'

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN
ADULT .
'If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow
up.'

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
'You're just like your father.'

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
'Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?'

24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
'When you get to be my age, you'll understand.'

25. And my favourite:
My mother taught me about JUSTICE
'One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out
just like you '
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A few days ago I was having some work done at my local garage. A blonde came in and asked for a seven-hundred- ten.

We all looked at each other and another customer asked, 'What is a seven-hundred- ten?'
She replied, 'You know, the little piece in the middle of the engine, I have lost it and need a new one..'

She replied that she did not know exactly what it was, but this piece had always been there.

The mechanic gave her a piece of paper and a pen and asked her to draw what the piece looked like.

She drew a circle and in the middle of it wrote 710. He then took her over to a car just like hers which had its hood up and asked 'is there a 710 on this car?'.

She pointed and said, 'Of course, its right there.' the mechanic fainted

If you're not sure what a 710 is:

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HOW TO INSTALL A HOME SECURITY SYSTEM

1. Go to a secondhand store and buy a pair of size 14--16 men's work boots.

2. Place them on your front porch, along with a copy of Guns & Ammo Magazine.

3. Put four giant dog dishes next to the boots and magazines.

4. Leave a note on your door that reads:

Bubba:
Bertha, Duke, Slim, & I went for more ammo and beer. Be back in about an hour.
Don't mess with the pit bulls. They got the mailman this morning and messed him up bad.
I don't think Killer took part, but it was hard to tell from all the blood.
Anyway, I locked all four of 'em in the house.
Better wait outside. Be right back.
"Cooter"
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Fighting off a cold, have a great weekend. I'm off to bed with my hot lemon and honey drink and Cold FX!

Say It Isn't So!

2012-01-26T23:32:00.000-07:00

Could our PC government in Alberta be corrupt? Surely not, they have only been in power for 4 decades. Alberta Ardvark has been mentioning this stuff, but who is he, just a blogger. Just a blogger who got a national paper, the National Post to write about it....how's that for blogger power? WTG Ard!

A scandal over improper political donations in Alberta has been brewing for months, and new details dug up by the opposition Wildrose Party are further evidence of a systemic problem. It is alleged that the governing Progressive Conservative party has been accepting donations, largely through fund-raising events, from government entities. And while most of the donations are relatively small, too many have come to light to be ignored.

What is Red Ali doing about the improper political donations? Nothing. I guess she figures if you just ignore it, it will go away. It won't. Wildrose won't let it go away if they are smart.

Alison's Magical Mystery Tour!

2012-01-26T00:39:00.000-07:00

Red Ali is on a tour, using taxpayers money to embrace Albertans. She took her cabinet Ministers on a political, Alison in Wonderland party, at our expense. This is a pre-election tour to get her face in the news.It is Alison's Magical Mystery Tour, because we are wondering why she is on it, when the Gateway pipeline is being discussed right now in Edmonton! Can you say "out of touch"?

With all this touring, one can hardly find time to govern.
Alberta Premier Alison Redford’s cabinet began a province-wide tour Monday, hoping to “talk with Albertans about their priorities for the future.” It’s an all-too-familiar refrain as of late. They may indeed find Albertans’ priorities include, for starters, a preference for fewer tours.

....

Tours can add up. For instance, in 2010, when Ms. Redford was justice minister, her office spent $61,103.27 on “meals, accommodation and travel,” but detailed breakdowns aren’t made public.
Between April and November 2011, Alberta’s 21 ministries claimed a total of $487,354.83 in ministers’ “meals, accommodation and travel.” It’s an average of approximately $23,207 over the first eight months of the fiscal year. And that’s above what each MLA can claim for travel.

How well is that money being spent? How many days did they sit? Consider this:

Depending on the math, the opposition parties pointed out the shortened session means the legislature would be open for business a total of just 44 or 45 days this year.
“The PCs are playing hooky,” Rachel Notley, one of two New Democratic MLAs, said in a statement. “Having a full fall sitting is important to getting work done for Albertans.”

How would you like to work for only 45 days a year and get full pay? Right, they are in their ridings....doing what? Have you ever met your MLA? I have, and he's a mouse, now known as our Health Minister. She likes weak "yes" men around her, it makes her look better.

We have two females running to be Premier. As a female, I should be torn about who to vote for, but I am not. I really find nothing to like about Red Ali. She is a typical lefty feminist, and honestly, she makes my nose turn up because I smell something not quite right about her, call it my sixth sense.

Tonight, I got invited to participate in a conference call from Danielle Smith, it was about education. I listened to all the people asking questions, and I liked all of her answers. She is one smart lady. The conference call cost way less than Alison's Magical Mystery Tour, and it was funded by the Wildrose Party, not the taxpayers.

Most importantly, Danielle leads a party that is actually Conservative, not like our PC/red tory/liberal party. She is young, dynamic and personable. Heck, even Rick Mercer went out on a date with her!

Only thing I think is missing from this video is that she should have taken him to the shooting gallery where he could have shot a real gun. He would have liked that, as he is a great supporter of our military, and horrifying as it might be to lefties, our military actually have weapons and know how to use them!

Ask yourself, who is the phony, Alison or Danielle? I suspect that Albertans are smart enough to smell a rat, and Alberta is rat free! Go Danielle and Wildrose!

Game and Set?

2012-01-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

It appears that the "charitable" groups are getting some heat about their political activism, and they are starting to get concerned about their funding dollars, and loss of said "charitable" status.

A prominent environmentalist has been fired from an organization that has staunchly protested the Northern Gateway pipeline after he accused the Prime Minister’s Office of resorting to intimidation tactics against the project’s critics.
The dismissal of Andrew Frank, spokesman for anti-oil-sands group ForestEthics, comes amid an increasingly tense atmosphere among environmental groups – especially those registered as charities, whose public advocacy is supposed to be limited – that have come under fire by the federal government for harbouring “radicals” intent on “hijacking” the review process for Gateway.

Keep those letters to Revenue Canada coming people. It's time we started fighting back against all those supposedly "charitable" environmental groups that are trying to hijack our economy and sovereignty.

I Guess..... It's "Game On"!

2012-01-23T23:31:00.000-07:00

The Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) left the BlueGreen Alliance on Friday, citing a disagreement with the group’s members over the Keystone XL pipeline.
LIUNA, a vocal Keystone supporter, took aim at other unions for opposing the project.

“We’re repulsed by some of our supposed brothers and sisters lining up with job killers like the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council to destroy the lives of working men and women,” LIUNA General President Terry O’Sullivan said in a statement.

.......

Many unions — including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the Teamsters, the United Association of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters for the United States and Canada and others — support the pipeline. But some labor groups, including the Amalgamated Transit Union and the Transport Workers Union, oppose it.

LIUNA’s decision to leave the BlueGreen Alliance comes just two days after President Obama rejected Keystone, blaming the decision on a 60-day deadline imposed by Republicans. The GOP has vowed to work to reverse the decision legislatively.

It seems that the labour unions are waking up to how uncompromising environmental groups really are. The environmentalists don't care about jobs because they get millions in donations for wrapping themselves in a "green" blanket. Unions are about jobs for their workers who rely on the jobs to support their families and communities. The environmentalists are never happy, unless a bird is being chopped up in their heavily subsidized wind turbines. Forget saving the seals, SAVE the eagles! Environmentalists should be out planting trees, if they really actually cared about pollution. Plants suck up CO2 don't you know! Like this:

Just like the environmentalists still use 20 year old pictures of white baby seals being clubbed, they will NEVER, EVER show you the reclamation of the oil sands... that would seriously hurt their fund raising. Some of those trees are 20 years old now, but the "greenies" just can't live in the present. Telling the truth would mean that about 90% of them would be unemployed, if you call going around the world, in a polar bear suit, making an a$$ of yourself, employed.

Here is another article that shows how unhappy Americans are with Obama's decision:

By rejecting the Keystone XL oil pipeline, President Obama did more than just pander to environmentalists. He shredded attempts by his handlers to cast him as a pragmatic and reasonable man who can appeal to independent voters.
Instead, he stands naked as an ideologue willing to sacrifice workers on the altar of special-interest politics.
Thousands of jobs were cast aside with no more thought than yesterday’s socks. Demolished, too, is the promised commitment to energy independence.

I especially like this response from one of the comments:

steelking

OBAMA -

First President to refuse to show a valid birth certificate.
First President to apply for college aid as a foreign student, then deny he was a foreigner.
First President to have a social security number from a state he has never lived in.
First President to preside over a cut to the credit rating of the United States.
First President to violate the War Powers Act.
First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally obstructing oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
First President to defy a Federal Judges court order to cease implementing the Health Care Reform Law.
First President to require all Americans to purchase a product from a third party.
First President to spend a trillion dollars on shovel-ready jobs and later admit there was no such thing as shovel-ready jobs.
First President to abrogate bankruptcy law to turn over control of companies to his union supporters.
First President to by-pass Congress and implement the Dream Act through executive fiat.
First President to order a secret amnesty program that stopped the deportation of illegal immigrants across the U.S. , including those with criminal convictions.
First President to demand a company hand-over $20 billion to one of his political appointees.
First President to terminate Americas ability to put a man in space.
First President to encourage racial discrimination and intimidation at polling places.
First President to have a law signed by an auto-pen without being present.
First President to arbitrarily declare an existing law unconstitutional and refuse to enforce it.
First President to threaten insurance companies if they publicly speak-out on the reasons for their rate increases.
First President to tell a major manufacturing company in which state they are allowed to locate a factory.
First President to file lawsuits against the states he swore an oath to protect (AZ, WI, OH, IN)
First President to withdraw an existing coal permit that had been properly issued years ago.
First President to fire an inspector general of Ameri-corps for catching one of his friends in a corruption case.
First President to appoint 45 Czars to replace elected officials in his office.
First President to golf 73 separate times in his first two and a half years in office.
First President to hide his medical, educational and travel records.
First President to win a Nobel Peace Prize for doing NOTHING to earn it.
First President to coddle American enemies while alienating Americas allies.
First President to publicly bow to Americas enemies while refusing to salute the U.S. Flag.
First President to go on multiple global apology tours.
First President to go on 17 lavish vacations, including date nights and Wednesday evening White House parties for his friends, paid for by the taxpayer.
First President to refuse to wear the U.S. Flag lapel pin.
First President to have 22 personal servants (taxpayer funded) for his wife.
First President to keep a dog trainer on retainer for $102,000.00 a year at taxpayer expense. (How dumb is that dog?? My addition and bolding)
First President to repeat the Holy Qur'an tells us, and openly admit the early morning call of the Azan (Islamic call to worship) is the most beautiful sound on earth.

I guess it's "game on"!

For My Lefty Friend SQ.

2012-01-23T00:16:00.000-07:00

It is interesting that when I posted about prisons, no-one seemed to be interested, except SQ. So, in deference to her opinion, as my longest posting lefty fan, and her beloved lab, who helps kids read, I present Samara and her amazing tail (yes spelling is intentional) of helping people.

I want to thank one of my readers for pointing me to this awesome article about dogs who help people. You know who you are, take a bow! You too SQ. We might disagree 99% of the time but on this issue we can both agree.

It’s easy to see why Samara, a 10-year old Samoyed, is a beloved pet. Her luxurious white fur calls out to be petted, her dark eyes brim with steady affection, and the curl of her bushy tale clearly says “happiness” in a language everyone can understand.
But Samara is much more than a pet. She has an occupation. In fact, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to call her a health care professional.
Samara works one-on-one with seniors who face multiple, often debilitating, health challenges; she teaches life skills to youth with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder; she even helps children learn to read. She has been credited with bringing people back from the brink of death, and has helped ease the passage of those who can’t be brought back.

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The Views is both a heart-wrenching and a heart-warming place. Heart-warming because you can see how much care and energy goes into making the residents’ lives comfortable and meaningful. The staff is kind and attentive; there are big windows letting in light and a view of the estuary; there are bingo games, card games, manicures, visits by a hairdresser and other organized activities.
But it is also heart-wrenching, because regardless of all that, The Views is still an institutional setting, a far cry from the warm embrace of a family home. Residents of The Views often have multiple medical conditions, such as dementia and limited mobility. Quite a few are in wheelchairs.
“For most people, this is their final address. The average life-span of people who move here is five months,” says Dave Fletcher, who as well as being Samara’s guardian is also the unit facilitator of the local St. John’s Ambulance Dog Therapy Program.
Samara’s role, in this setting, is to cheer people up and encourage them to connect to the world around them.
She is very good at her job.
Dave leads Samara around The Views on a leash, stopping to meet people in the hallway, visiting residents in their rooms, and making their way around tables in the common area. It is there that Dave spots Mike, reclining on his wheelchair. His facial muscles are slack, his eyes unfocused.
Dave heads over to Mike, pulls a chair up beside him, and motions for Samara to jump up onto it. Many of The View’s residents need Samara to come to their level so they can see and touch her. For a moment Mike’s eyes remain dull, his face passive, but then a bright spark of interest shines as he recognizes who it is. Slowly, he turns his head, which is supported by a headrest on his chair, in Dave and Samara’s direction. Dave says hello and moves easily into friendly small talk as he reaches down, picks up Mike’s hand and places it into the soft fur of Samara’s neck.
As his hand connects with Samara’s warm body, Mike’s face transforms—the change that comes over him is as dramatic and uplifting as when the sun suddenly emerges from the clouds after hours of rain and gloom. His hand works in Samara’s fur, and he starts to answer Dave’s questions. Samara sits calmly, looking right at Mike, and, I would swear, smiling.
This sort of scenario repeats throughout Samara’s hour-long visit. It has been proven that therapy dogs can improve physical and mental health, enhance vocabulary and memory, and increase sociability and movement, and that petting a dog reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, distracts from chronic pain, and helps people deal with grief. But it is one thing to read these assertions in print and quite another to see it in action.

Read the whole article, it will warm your heart on a cold day. I would love to meet Samara, what a wonderful dog! I bet SQ and her Lab would enjoy visiting with Samara too (just don't talk politics). To all those who volunteer, good job. To those of you with special dogs, who help special people, thank you. You are wonderful, but I have to admit your dogs are the ones who are really awesome! Who could resist Samara's cute face? Not me!

Life In A Prison.

2012-01-22T00:25:00.000-07:00

Most people have never visited a prison. Prison is for prisoners, lock them away and forget about them. Problem is that they get out of prison, and have no skills so they go back to what, and who they know, the very situation that got them into trouble in the first place.

The National Post's Christie Blatchford has an excellent article about the closing of the prison farms. It is well worth the read.

At the time, Ottawa’s rationale – I use the word loosely — was that agriculture has changed so much the prison model wasn’t useful any more, that the farms cost taxpayers $4-million a year (I can find no evidence the government ever proved this, and some of the farms even made money) and that the work trained inmates for nothing practical.
It would seem to be all over but the last bit of shouting, so to speak, in court.
But aside from the closures being an illustration of just how dopey the Stephen Harper Conservatives can be on crime, I have to say how very much I think they missed the boat on this one.
I say this as one who has only ever been gentled and ennobled by my contact with animals – any animals, including cows but especially my pets – and who believes that they make us better and kinder.
Because of changes to the law – more mandatory minimum sentences and doing away with two-for-one credit for time served in pre-trial custody – Canadian federal prisons are already more crowded and are going to get only more so in the coming years.
In some minimum-security joints, for instance, inmates are already being double-or-triple bunked. In such conditions, even the illusion of any privacy is impossible and tensions naturally rise. Programming, usually minimal, will become more so. (Not too long ago, while purging my house, I donated boxes of books to a barren prison library, where the selection was old, dated and lousy to boot: Who wouldn’t want to encourage inmates to read?)

I think I can speak to this issue with some authority because I volunteer at a women's prison in a gardening project.

I agree that people who commit crimes should be locked up. Funnily enough, so do most of those I meet who are serving time. What I have come to realize by working with the ladies, is that they need something they can do to make them feel worthwhile. I have never had so many hard workers on a project. If they had to weed all day, they did it, without complaining. They didn't want to sit around and do nothing, and they especially enjoyed reaping the harvest of vegetables.

I also noticed that it was volunteers who came into the Institute as mentors who provided the support system for the inmates, NOT social workers. I have never had so many people so grateful for the few hours I could give them. The volunteers provide a positive link to the outside for the inmates, without any aura of authority. What I also noticed was that most of the volunteers were from religious organizations, but they did not "preach" to the inmates. I wonder where all the lefties are, if they are the saviours of the down trodden, the prison is the place they should be if they really believe what they yap about. They sure are not volunteering, guess they are too busy occupying "nowhere".

Should the prison farms have been closed? NO, NO, and NO! This was a huge misstep by the Conservatives. Any skill that the inmates can learn that gives them something to do and a sense of accomplishment is a good program. Basket weaving or knitting are better than sitting around doing nothing.

Pets are good therapy for everyone. Let the inmates train dogs for the disabled. What I hear is that it is the bureaucrats that are preventing such programs because of "allergies". BS. You hear about the high cost of keeping inmates in prison, but it's the salaries of the bureaucrats that suck up most of the money. Ten inmates get a budget of $330 a week for groceries, (you try eating healthy for $33 a week!) so any fresh grown vegetables are an added benefit for them.

Lock them up for their crimes, but give them some sort of skill while they are locked up, even if it is only milking a cow, or growing a carrot. If one inmate gets out and plants a tomato plant on their balcony so their kids can have fresh tomatoes, that's a huge positive for all of us as a society.

Don't let the lefties fool you, they are all talk and no action. If you want to improve prisons, try volunteering. Start a carpentry, welding or sewing program, you will be amazed at how rewarding it is for you and the inmates.

Life in a prison? You can improve their experience and everyone will be better for it.

Friday Night Funnies: In The Closet.

2012-01-21T00:11:00.000-07:00

A little girl asks her mum, 'Mum, can I take the dog for a walk around the block?'
Her mum replies 'No, because she is in heat.'
'What does that mean?' asked the child.
'Go and ask your father. I think he's in the garage.'
The little girl goes out to the garage and says, 'Dad, can I take Lulu for a walk around the block? I asked Mum, but she said the dog was on the heat, and to come ask you.'
He took a rag, soaked it in gas, and scrubbed the dog's backside with it to disguise the scent, and said 'Ok, you can go now, but keep Lulu on the leash and only go one time around the block.'
The little girl left and returned a few minutes later with no dog on the leash..
Surprised, Dad asked, 'Where's Lulu?'

The little girl said, 'She ran out of gas about halfway round the block, so another dog is pushing her home.'
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A woman takes a lover home during the day, while her husband is at work.

Her 9-year old son comes home unexpectedly, sees them, and hides in the bedroom closet. Then the woman's husband also comes home. She puts her lover in the closet, not realizing that the little boy is in there already.

The little boy says, 'Dark in here.'
The man says, 'Yes, it is.'

Boy - 'I have a golf ball.'

Man - 'That's nice.'

Boy - 'Want to buy it?'

Man - 'No, thanks.'

Boy - 'My dad's outside.'

Man - 'OK, how much?'

Boy - '$250'

A few weeks later, it happens again that the boy and the lover, are in the closet together..

Boy - 'Dark in here.'

Man - 'Yes, it is.'

Boy - 'I have sand wedge.
'The lover, remembering the last time, asks the boy, 'How much?'

Boy - '$750'

Man - 'Sold.'

A few days later, the boys father says to the boy, 'Grab your sand wedge and golf ball, let's go outside and have some short game practice. The boy says, 'I can't, I sold my ball and sand wedge dad.'

The father says, 'What?! How much did you sell them for?'

Boy - '$1,000.'

The father says, 'That's terrible to overcharge your friends like that. That is far more than those two things cost. I'm going to take you to church and make you confess.'

They go to the church, and the father makes the little boy sit in the confession booth and he closes the door.

The boy says, 'Dark in here.'

The priest says, 'Don't start that shit with me again. You're in my closet now.'

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Can you believe it …. they sent my Census form back!

In response to the question: "Do you have any dependants?" I replied - "2.1 million illegal immigrants; 1.1 million crack heads; 4.4 million unemployable people, 901 thousand people in over 85 prisons; and 565 idiots in Parliament.

Apparently, this was NOT an acceptable answer. Who did I miss ?
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I love flash mobs.....This one is at the Denver Airport.

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A man went to Church one day and afterward he stopped to shake the preacher's hand. He said, 'Preacher, I'll tell you, that was a damned fine sermon. Damned good!'
The preacher said, 'Thank you sir, but I'd rather you didn't use profanity.'
The man said, 'I was so damned impressed with that sermon I put five thousand dollars in the offering plate!'

The preacher said, 'No shit ?'

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New Treatment For Sunburn - Bet you never thought of this.

A guy visiting in Hawaii fell asleep on the beach for several hours and got a horrible sunburn, specifically to his upper legs. He went to the hospital, and was promptly admitted after being diagnosed with second-degree burns.

With his skin already starting to blister, and the severe pain he was in, the doctor prescribed continuous intravenous feeding with saline, electrolytes, a sedative, and a Viagra pill every four hours.

The nurse, who was rather astounded, asked, 'What good will Viagra do for him, Doctor'? The doctor replied, 'It won't do anything for his condition, but it'll keep the sheets off his legs.'

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One night, an 87-year-old woman came home from Bingo to find her 92-year-old husband in bed with another woman. She became violent and ended up pushing him off the balcony of their 20th floor apartment, killing him instantly. Brought before the court on the charge of murder, she was asked if she had anything to say in her own defense.

'Your Honour,' she began coolly, 'I figured that at 92, if he could screw, he could fly.'

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Brain Study....

It takes a few seconds ... We've seen this with the letters out of order, but this is the first time I've seen it with numbers.

Good example of a Brain Study: If you can read this you have a strong mind:

7H15 M3554G3

53RV35 7O PR0V3

H0W 0UR M1ND5 C4N

D0 4M4Z1NG 7H1NG5!

1MPR3551V3 7H1NG5!

1N 7H3 B3G1NN1NG

17 WA5 H4RD BU7

N0W, 0N 7H15 LIN3

Y0UR M1ND 1S

R34D1NG 17

4U70M471C4LLY

W17H 0U7 3V3N

7H1NK1NG 4B0U7 17,

B3 PROUD! 0NLY

C3R741N P30PL3 C4N

R3AD 7H15.
PL3453 F0RW4RD 1F

U C4N R34D 7H15.

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Still freezing here, stay warm and enjoy your weekend.

The Sky Is Falling, The Sky Is Falling!

2012-01-19T01:06:00.000-07:00

Obama says, NO, but maybe later. It reminded me of this:

Obama is the Keystone Cops, going over a cliff and still never getting his "man".

Poor old "heavy crude" sometimes called "bitumen", it's not as fast flowing as "light, sweet crude", so it's called "dirty". Alberta oil sands have been a huge target of foreign funded attacks by our stupid, greedy "greens".

Interesting to know, Alberta is not the only producer of "heavy crude", even though you wouldn't know it from our far left media/environmentalists.

Increasing U.S. Dependency on Foreign Crude Oil
Over the past five years, studies of global oil production have consistently predicted that diminishing discoveries of conventional crude oil will cause worldwide oil production to peak and irreversibly decline by the end of the present decade.^{[1], [2], [3], [4], [5]} But heavy hydrocarbons still remain as a largely untapped petroleum resource — heavy crude oil and natural bitumen (also called “tar sands” or “oil sands”) exist in abundance.

Shocking! Conventional oil (1.02 trillion) is ruled by the middle east, and heavy oil (5.6 trillion) is ruled by Canada. Still Obama rejected Canadian oil in favour of middle east oil and even the Venezuela heavy oil. A well hidden fact is that California oil is 51% "heavy crude", but don't expect environmentalists to tell you about that, or to ever protest in the US.

Heavy oil was discovered in California before the turn of the previous century and currently comprises about half of the state’s crude oil production. With this production spread among more than 200 reservoirs, significant infrastructure to access heavy oil is already in place.

Foreign interests are sponsoring Canadian environmental groups to stop the Gateway pipeline. WHY? What's in it for them, except control of our oil without investment in it?

Even the middle east realizes that "heavy crude" has to be looked at.

Middle East oil countries should increase production of heavy oil as oil prices remain higher and improved technology makes it easier, those attending an industry conference in Bahrain were told.

....

Production and refining of heavy crude costs more than recovering and processing light crude. Production of heavy oil from oil sands in Canada’s Alberta province has an estimated break-even point of $35 a barrel, Mirza noted. But Bahrain’s heavy oil could be recovered at a cost of between $8 and $9 a barrel, he said.
Oil prices in recent weeks have fluctuated in a range of $70 to $80 a barrel, which OPEC officials have declared an ideal range.
“Heavy oil will be a savior to the ever-increasing demand for fossil fuels from the developing nations,” Mirza was quoted as saying.

Hello environmentalists, the gig is up. You should go to the middle east and tell them that they need the same environmental controls as Canada has had imposed on them. But they won't because environmentalists are chicken little's, running around in circles, wearing polar bear suits, yelling that the sky is falling, the sky is falling!

We Are ALL Taxed Out!

2012-01-17T23:33:00.000-07:00

First up, underage smokers! Shock! Retailers sell smokes to underage kids. What will happen if marijuana is legalized? Will under aged kids be able to get it, like they get booze? Funny thing about pot versus smokes, is that if anyone near you smokes pot, you get high, whether you want to or not. What about the people that have severe reactions to even the smell of pot? If peanuts can be banned from schools, than pot should be banned, not only from schools, but from anywhere the pubic gathers. No pot bars allowed, if smokers can't light up indoors, or have smoking bars, neither can the potheads.

Second, a hidden article: Provinces REJECT federal governments health care funding.

Canadian premiers have unanimously rejected Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's take-it-or-leave-it plans for health transfer payments to the provinces, B.C. Premier Christy Clark said Monday.
She said they all agreed the plan – made without negotiating with the provinces -- is both "unprecedented and unacceptable."

Oh, my God, how stupid are the Premiers? Seriously? They have been whining for years that the federal government has been intruding on health care, and now that they have been given FREE reign, they are unhappy? Are they really that stupid? My bet is that Clark and Redford are too stupid/inexperienced to realize that Dalton and Charest are using them.

I hope that Jim Flaherty sticks to his budget and makes the provinces pay for their own health care, after all, it is their responsibility! Suck it up buttercups, you now have 6% more money for health care, use it wisely, and stop making the federal government the bad guy, when your deficits and debt combined are higher than the federal governments.

Red Ali agreed to NOT support a 6% increase in health care money even though the new per capita formula meant that Albertans would get way more money from the feds. She obviously doesn't care about Alberta. She sold Albertans out for her own political aspirations. She only cares about her image as a Progressive Liberal lite latte sipping elite. In the final analysis, she's not very bright is she?

My impression of the Premiers meeting is that they tried to unite to become the "fake" federal government. They now think that since they have been given MORE power by the federal government that they will now rule this nation if they can only combine their provinces.

I hope that the provinces reduce the ridiculous trade barriers from province to province, so they can increase trade. I wish that provinces would take responsibility for education, health care, the environment and all the other responsibilities mandated to them in the constitution. Stop relying on the federal government for all your goodies. Stop your whining and be glad that the feds are giving you room to innovate. Stop running home to Momma!

Remember there is only ONE taxpayer, on the municipal, provincial and federal level. One taxpayer, three levels of government taxing us all. We are all taxed out.

Cold Weather Hits! Look Out For Your Kids And Animals!

2012-01-16T23:32:00.000-07:00

Deep freeze time. Make sure you look out for your kids and your animals. Those nice little knit coats are great and so are booties. It's funny how dogs will react to the booties, but if they are going to be out walking for any length of time, in minus 27 weather, they will appreciate you putting those booties on.

Your dog is going to react to the booties the same as every dog reacts...they are going to walk funny for a few minutes, it is not torture, but it is really funny.

The dogs are fine, and most importantly so are their paws. You stand out barefoot in minus 30 weather and see how long you can stand it!

The worse is that all the people commenting negatively about a dog in booties, seem to have nothing to say about this.

Barefoot toddler saved from brutal cold

EDMONTON - The quick actions of a Good Samaritan likely saved a child's life after he was found outside in -34 C weather wearing shorts and an upside down parka, police say.
The barefoot three-year-old boy was plucked to safety after a neighbour in his west-end apartment building heard him crying about 10:45 p.m. Sunday.
"If it hadn't been for this citizen stepping forward, I don't even want to think of what the outcome might have been," said Sgt. Gary Willits, with the Child At Risk Response Team.
"The outcome could have been tragic."

Now, that is important. Complaining about people filming their dogs wearing booties, is very unimportant in the grand scheme of things, it shouldn't even rate our concern.

Keep your kids bundled up and your pets warm in this cold weather. It's only common sense.

Premiers Are Lost Little Kittens.

2012-01-15T23:44:00.000-07:00

On the issue of health care, the Premiers have been given a blank slate by the federal government. They have been left confused without direction from the feds.

They do not seem to understand that health care is a provincial responsibility. They are refusing to take that responsibility and own it. They want the federal government to guide them.

Personally, I think the Premiers were happy to have the federal government intrude on their domain because they could then pretend it was the feds that were keeping provinces from providing good health care to Canadians. Now, they have to own it!

OTTAWA - Canada's premiers will spend the next two days trying to find a common front to present to Ottawa over health care.
Provincial and territorial leaders are in Victoria, B.C. for 36 hours of strategizing in the wake of the federal government's unilateral move to lay out the health funding framework.
But the premiers are divided along broad east-west lines over whether they like the deal, with provinces such as Ontario balking at the arrangement.
In December, Ottawa short-circuited what were expected to be lengthy negotiations over health transfers to the provinces by dictating the terms - transfers would continue to grow by 6% annually until 2017. They would then be tied to economic growth including inflation, likely around 4%.
"That completely changed the dynamic," said the University of Ottawa's Patrick Fafard, noting the provinces, instead of uniting over squeezing extra cash from Ottawa, now have to confront more illusive targets.

The provinces are so used to whining to the feds that they are in shock that they have been given the health care money without any strings attached. This makes them responsible for their own health care spending, and it scares them because they will have no-one to blame but themselves for longer wait times, no family doctors, etc.

Grow some balls Premiers, you wanted the job, now solve your own provinces problems, without crying to the feds for everything. Your whining grates on my nerves, and makes you look like lost little kittens.

Liberal Anne McLellan LOVES Red Ali!

2012-01-15T00:18:00.000-07:00

If you have doubted what I have been saying about Red Ali being a Liberal, this video will prove conclusively that I am right. Pay attention to how much ex-Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan loves Red Ali. Ever since I watched this video I have been thinking about what she said, and it only confirms that Red Ali was elected by Liberals. (Thank you Stephen for this great video!)

Her last comment about being happy that Red Ali is a female? Well Danielle Smith is a female too! I guess a Liberal female trumps a Conservative female in her eyes. Will she say the same thing if Danielle is elected?

What strikes me as interesting is that Red Ali has been making provincial friends with all the Liberals. Problem is that Dalton, Charest, and Clark are all stuck on stupid, and it appears that Red Ali wants to join their parade. She is obviously only listening to Liberals like Landslide Anne McLellan, a loser:

Conservative defeats Anne McLellan on 2nd try

Updated Tue. Jan. 24 2006 12:35 AM ET
Canadian Press
EDMONTON -- The land finally slid under Landslide Annie.
After toughing out three narrow campaign victories since first coming to power in 1993, Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan lost Monday night to her Conservative opponent in Edmonton Centre, Laurie Hawn.

Anne never understood Alberta, she still doesn't. In the clip she stated that only about 25% of Albertans would support Wildrose, and the polls back her up. Boy does she live in la la land. Most importantly, she didn't even support her own Liberal party, all she could do was praise Red Ali. Your slip is showing Anne!

If that clip doesn't convince you that Alison Redford is a Liberal plant, nothing ever will. Which makes it all the more important to get out and support the Wildrose party.

You have to know that the Liberals are going to vote for her, she gave the teachers 100 MILLION dollars, and the the NDP voters are going to like her support of the teachers union, so she will get their votes too.

The Liberal/NDP supporters got her into power, it is up to us Conservatives to get her out of power. Make no mistake, she is Alberta's Dalton McGuinty. She will take a have province and make it a have not province because of her leftist leanings.

She has done nothing to support our oil sands! Nothing. She has been too busy visiting other provinces to get them to agree to another National Energy Program, that will destroy our economy. She has to go, she is dangerous to our economy and our livelihoods.

Join Wildrose, start the engine that will drive them to power. We have to, it is imperative that we do so, because Red Ali will destroy everything we have worked so hard to build. If we do not rid ourselves of this Liberal Premier, we will be worse off than the US under Obama.

Seriously, Red Ali has to go, she is not a Conservative, and she is not supportive of the engine of Canada, the oil sands. Boot her, and all of her supposedly Conservative cronies.