Drea

Unfortunately we cannot legislate personal responsibility... In an ideal world no one would need daycare subsidy -- but alas!, we live in a world where families oftentimes cannot afford daycare -- those people we should give daycare monies to. (and we already do!) The ones on welfare should not recieve any additional monies. In fact they should not recieve cash at all, but food/shelter "stamps". Nor should those who have one income but one parent who stays home get a "daycare" allowance. We already have a very generous program called the Child Tax Benefit which helps low income parents (whether or not they stay home, are single, or two parent families).

Hear Hear! GreenWhiteandPink

I expect that the Gordon Campbell British Columbia *Liberals* will also deduct it from welfare payments. *BC Liberals are actually conservatives.* Let's see -- based on what a single mom we know used to get last year from welfare... she has 2 little kids. $625 shelter portion $500 living expenses portion $500 child tax benefit $200 new conservative plan $1,825 NET income for a single mother with 2 kids who stays at home and does nothing towards the future. How many of us clear $1800+ per month with no job and no education?

I certainly know people who are addicted to Marijuana, and one of them is my brother-in-law. He will tell you himself that he has to toke in order to get through a day. When he gets up in the morning, one of the first things he does is roll a joint. His next chore is to roll a few more dubbies to take to work with him, and to smoke on the way to and from the job-site. So yes some people are addicted to the drug whether that addiction is just psycological or physical I'm not sure but I would suggest from watching my Brother-in-law I would say it is both. Ok, so you know of one person who is *addicted to marijuana.... but you didn't touch on the difference between the two people -- one has a scotch after work, one has a joint. Again, what is the difference? *addicted -- the body does not require marijuana. It is not physically addictive. Your brother in law might get cranky without his pot but he will not go through any type of physical withdrawl as with alcohol or other addictive drugs. The street terms are: for alcohol, the DDT's; for heroin, I believe the term is "jonesing". This just does not happen with marijuana.

This morning on CTV newsnet.... The US has approximately 12 million illegals and they are protesting -- one fellow even said it could lead to civil war in the US. Does this mean Canada must have 1.2 million (10% as we have 10% of the population of the US) illegals? Nope. Not even close. No I don't have the numbers -- but I'm willing to bet that we don't have 1.2 illegals here. What you are saying is "get rid of your illegals who are obviously terrorists who want to destroy the USA" ... our way of life will change for the worse? Why? How? How many Canadians are sneaking across the border to find jobs as janitors and nannies? How many Mexicans are sneaking across the border to become janitors and nannies? Which border should the US be concerned about?

I certainly don't (didn't) expect Canadian law... hence I was pretty freaked when we got back home and found those old roaches. I do expect, however, to be treated with some amount of dignity and respect. After all, if I'm on my way down there I'm obviously going to spend some money and benefit their country. Currently, with Bush in power, I'll stay away. If things change, perhaps I will resume my weekly visits. I live practicallly within spittin' distance from the border.

Chretien and Martin were both from Quebec.

SO you are saying that it's better to have a "gagged" media than a "liberal" media. I say it's better to have a wide open media (rightwingers feel free to have all the media you want -- the Western Standard comes to mind...) regardless of who is reporting (right or left). The office of the Prime Minister shutting out the media and feeding the public information in "canned news bites" authorized by the govt smacks of facism. The job of the media is to investigate. Not to simply accept. If you don't like the msm, read Ezra. Although he is not mainstream (not for lack of trying LOL), he is the voice for the right and I would not deny him his soapbox.

You've got to be kidding?! You would agree to have a chip implanted in you? Isn't that a rather high price to pay to get cheap cheese! I have nothing to hide, but there is no way anyone is ever going to put a chip in me! I have a question... If an American citizen requires a passport (or funky id card, or chip) to come back from Canada, does the same apply if he goes to Mexico? Or will the Mexican border (both ways) be open as usual to Americans?

Apparently, yes. He didn't mention whether or not his mom got the truck back, LOL He looks like a bad biker type guy... but he's not... he has long black hair worn in a ponytail, a goatee and he is a big man... so the border guards probably wanted to "make an example" of him. They probably had a hoot harassing him -- made them feel sooooo powerful. *insert puking icon here* BTW, this occurred in the early 90's -- about the same time I used to cross weekly.

I know of a fellow who tried to go across in his mom's new pickup truck ($30,000 truck btw). Well just so happens he had an old conviction of possession from years back. He had a Canadian pardon but US customs said "We spit on Canadian pardons". He was strip searched and harassed and then the truck was confiscated. No more truck, gone, see yah later, never to be seen again; and it wasn't even his truck! Meanwhile, his mom is sitting in Seattle with no way home. Rather than doing all this to the guy why didn't they just make him turn around and go back? Because they LOVE to harass people. Gives them a real feeling of power. Apparently though, if one is brave enough one can get a "waiver" to cross. Then again, they probably "spit" on waivers too -- even though they are issued by their govt. Geeez it's like friggin' east and west Germany before the destruction of the wall -- people afraid even to be near the border for fear of being "detained". Nothing could make me cross that border these days... no way hosay. If I ever get to take a tropical holiday, it will be a direct flight to Cuba or Mexico.

Well of course, if one tries to cross the border into the states with even one gram. The US border could just have marijuana sniffer dogs. If you've got pot, you're turned away and cannot cross. Simple IMO. Back in the early 90's (when I still travelled there weekly) I found some old roaches in a film container in the trunk of my boyfriend's car -- it had probably been there for years. Aaaack! Lucky we didn't get caught with it.

Men prove they are men by how much they know about football? My very masculine hubby does not have any interest in sports. Loves to go fishing and target practicing (with a rifle) with our son but that's about it. I know more about Hockey than he does. GO CANUCKS!

The safest place to live is right beside a Hell's Angels clubhouse. So what if they're the baddest asses on the planet? Hey, they're our friends 'cause if we didn't call them our friends they would commit all their bad-ass crimes on us! I guess it is better than living beside a Vietnamese gang house or a Indo-Canadian gang house so hey, we should be happy that we live next to the "nicest" criminal on the planet. Lets see. South Korea maintains a military of around 600,000 compared to Canada's 60,000. I don't think countries who really have something to fear from their neighbors put much faith in your theory. Perhaps it's because they really do have something to fear and you don't. It's not a "theory" but an "analogy" I never said they were "equal" criminals. I said they are the nicest criminals on the planet, certainly not the worst. None-the-less, they are still criminals IMO.

Doesn't say men WITH women... Says "spouses" not "husband" or "wife" It says "family" not "husband" with "wife" with "children".

It's not the Christian religion that is moderate -- it's the society that it's located in. Here in the "west" we have the benefit of a secular society to keep religion in check. Yes, Islam seems to be a more violent religion than Christianity but only because they don't have a population of people saying "you can't do that". If 90% of our education was based on the Holy Bible then we would be as admant in our religion. If there were no non-believers, the Pat Robertsons of the world would certainly run amok with their brand of religious fanaticism. "Moderate" Christians like you only exist because of us non-believers, as do moderate muslims.

Here you go.... the most resiliant lawn on earth

Wow! The ignorant and intolerant are now preaching about the ignorant and intolerant. You complain that Islam is intolerant and then you call my belief “moronic fanaticism” and my prophet “stupid”. You say you believe in “one God and his son Jesus Christ” and could care less about Islam. Didn’t you find that hypocritical? You realize that this post was about intolerance right? Illiterate, uneducated people are taken advantage of all over the world by power hungry profiteers who care not for any religion, culture or morality. This barbaric law is not enforced in any other Muslim country in the world except for the well-documented medieval society of Afghanistan and still this becomes yet again a broad generalization about the beliefs of all Muslims. I do not believe in generalizations, they are usually used to spread hate. Nazi’s used it against the Jews, kkk against blacks, Hutus against Tutsis etc. I do not sit here and pretend to ignore the inexcusable actions taken place around the world in the name of my religion. But I know it has little to do with religion and a lot to do with fear, ignorance, poverty, corruption and propaganda. I know this because I live in a free, tolerant and open society where I have access to knowledge and cultures that the ordinary Afghans do not. Most Afghans have never met a Christian or Jew and they are afraid of them and belief in the propaganda that is forced upon them under the veil of religious fatwas. If you can transport the lot of them to Canada, I am sure that their opinions would drastically change once they were exposed to a free and multicultural society. But we don’t have that option. All we can do is try to educate them on the idea of democracy and freedom. What I don’t understand is how does someone living in this western society become just as intolerant. You have to be pretty damn ignorant wouldn’t you? Fabulous post sami, thanks for a "voice of reason" in the chaos. I have a friend in Iran and do worry about her. I've learned alot about her culture and what being a muslim means to her. To her and her family, it's important that they follow the teachings of Mohammed, but equally important is her future -- I'm working with her parents and the Iranian community here to bring her to Canada in 2010. Some people here will fear her, some will despise her, but she is willing to come here to try to make a future for herself.

Didn't see *insert being facetious icon here* or *winking icon* or *nothing to indicate scriblett does not agree with the "official story"* But I got you to ask a question! Whaddya know! You DO have an inquisitive mind!! Congratulations! Those who accept the official "version" of the "story" are blinded by their patriotism to GW Bush's America (not the real America, that's all gone now folks -- sadly, never to return). No, Bush didn't do it himself, he allowed it to happen. Folks, there's much more going on here than any of us (even us tin-foil-hatters) know.

See, another one...No debate of the findings, just flat-out refusal to look at anything that may not agree with the "official story". Anyone who would like to question the official "story" is automatically told "put on yer tinfoil hat". So, tell me how exactly one passport made it through while the dna of some people in the towers has not yet been found? What happened to the plane that hit the pentagon? Did it disintegrate while leaving the lawn infront of the pentagon untouched? Come on people, wake up. Ask questions! Demand answers!

And why can "most Canadians" no longer afford to purchase a home? Why can immigrants afford them? Does gov't set real estate prices? How have home grown Canadians (I'm one) been "defrauded out the the RIGHT to normal expected amenities in their own country."? You sound bitter because you can't afford a house and the guy who "just moved in" can. Instead of being so bitter, you should pull up your own socks, get an education, get a good career and after a few years -- ba-da-bing, you should be able to afford a home! I remember back in 1980 my step father (racist bastard that he is) would not sell our ranch to Indians (east). Even though they gave us the best offer. My mom left him 3 years later and he had to sell it for less than the Indians had offered. LOL (and she dated an Indian man, not the one that made the offer btw -- what a gentleman he was!) We all laughed because it was such a slap in the face to my racist stepfather.

Why then, did you say "only in America"? The slave trade and discrimination against blacks lasted the longest in the USA. They were the LAST country to abolish slavery, the last country to disallow segregation (I mean western, democratic countries, of which there are many on earth, not just the US). "Discrimination exist world wide and the only country that really feels at home (to some) is the country of your initial culture and if you feel that way the door is always open." Unless of course, your ancestors were stolen from their countries of inital culture. Blacks did not immigrate to the US. They were stolen and brought over. So they can't really "go home" now can they?

INDEED!

Gee, do immigrants get their homes for free? Do they get to purchase goods and services tax free? No? Then they are building and nourishing Canada. Tough titty for you or your kids who didn't think forward enough to get a good education which would lead to a good paying career which would garner them the money to buy a home. Move out here to the fringes of the Fraser Valley -- there's like maybe 10 Indian families and maybe 4 Oriental families; I think I've seen 2 black people in the 10 years I've lived here... Heck, it's whitey heaven! And one can still purchase a home for under $200,000.

Leafless you took a great story about a great man and said: "Only in America will you see this. In the U.S. it's American FIRST and that includes culture to most." Do you think there are blacks only in America? That they never settled in any other part of the world? That they were never accepted in other parts of the world? That they never had equality in any other part of the world? "Only In America" -- big f**king American EGO -- "Only in America!" "Only in America!" If I ever run into a single person with an ego like America I will certainly slap such person upside the head.