Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Law and the Attorney-General of Ontario


Feb. 11, 2014 email to J. Gerretsen, Attorney-General of Ontario. Unacknowledged. A follow-up sent April 15, 2014.

Mr. Attorney-General,

With regard to the Ontario government no longer enforcing prostitution laws, I would appreciate learning your concept of the Rule of Law. Is it pick and choose which laws one will obey?  Is that what you wish to teach young people? Your decision plants the seeds of anarchy.

I request a reply.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Name-Calling is not Argumentation



Bravo Richard Gwyn (Sir John A. wasn't a racist, Toronto Star, Feb 7). The term "racism" must be limited to the true ideologue whom Gwyn defines. He speaks out against an overly-developed sense of righteousness and political correctness. 

A comment or disagreement too often results in one being labelled  a racist, homophobe, bigot, prejudiced etc. Such compartmentalized thinking stifles free expression. It ignores the possibility that the other person may have a valid point, however disagreeable. Name-calling is not argumentation.

Democracy demands the right to disagree even to the point of offence and insult. Only the Criminal Code can set the standard when expression becomes harmful.

Criminal Code versus Bible


Letter to the national Post. Published February 19, 2014

"Protecting children everyone's job, jury says," (Feb 15). The jury in the Jeffrey Baldwin case is indulging in wishful thinking. There is no law that demands I throw a life jacket from the bridge on which I am standing to the drowning person below me. There is no law that demands I call the fire department should I see my neighbour's house on fire. Love of neighbour and parable of the Good Samaritan are in the Bible, not the Criminal Code.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Care and Feeding of Surveys


We once received a questionnaire about the cost of our telephone service. It was acceptable, we answered. Then the key question whether we were happy with the local and long-distant rates. We mistakenly answered we thought them quite good. Others must have replied likewise. Several months later, all rates were increased.

Recently, Netflix conducted a similar survey. Almost ninety per cent of Netflix users answered that the eight-dollar monthly subscription fee was "excellent" or "good value for the money." Guess what is about to happen to Netflix fees?

When such a question if asked, the best response is that one's interest is marginal and that a fee increase will likely trigger a cancellation of the service.