Hergest Ridge

Few people manage to defy logic as often and as spectacular as Limbaugh does.

… I learned early on that most debates on this question are vapid or worse, since what we are discussing is not a form of sex, or not only a form of sex, but a form of love. As such, it must command respect.
– Christopher Hitchens

What is her name, her favourite colour?
What did she want to be when she grows up?
What was her last memory?

Go to work, get married, have children, pay taxes
pay bills, watch television, follow fashion, act normal,
obey the laws, and repeat after me: I am free.

Adapted from original by boryseks over at Demotywatory.pl.

When the axe came into the woods, many of the trees said: “At least the handle is one of us.”

– Turkish Proverb

Had a squabble with a priest today, right on church ground. I’m certain he never did recover from the shock of my not addressing him as father, and was slightly disappointed he did not try and call me “my child,” for which instance I’ve prepared words of condemnation ahead of time. (These terms are much more common in the Polish language than the English.)

The polish RC church does not follow Vatican protocol and demands witnesses for apostasy. I knew that ahead of time, and was well prepared. The priest however mumbled something about needing to bring in a higher priest from out of the city.

“All this difficulty? It was easy getting in, wasn’t it? Why do you put barriers up on exit?” (The universal answer being “it’s a money and greed thing.”)

“It wasn’t easy getting in” he replied.

“Getting me signed up in here was someone else’s mistake, one I’m here to rectify.”

Thursday I am going back, with two options for the church:

You cross me out of your evil book of baptisms, and confirm my apostasy, and I let you be – I don’t believe in God, in none. If however you continue with the guerilla tactics on my apostasy, here is a message for you:

I’ve the means to take this all the way up the EU courts. Your filthy behaviour in trying to discourage people from leaving your sick organisation will cost you significantly more than you are getting on my account from Poland’s corrupt Government. I speak fluent German, English and Polish – I will take care of everything with greater agility than that with which your organisation robs people.

Let me leave now, don’t make me come back here again to serve you with papers of much more inconvenient nature. And just to be clear, at this point I will be happy with what ever path you choose. I will be happy forgetting about you and your kind with the signing of my apostasy, but just as eager for you to give me that one last reason to take you on full force and pave the way for others less determined to leave here for good. So help you your sick, sick God, amen.

Thank you Mr. Layton for your service to Canada and its people. You are an inspiration, and will continue to affect Canada in a positive manner for a long time to come.

Your genuine smile, your victories, legacy and memory live on in the hearts and minds of those you leave behind. You’re now absolved from the challenges you’ve taken on so bravely, only death able to stop you in your tracks. Thank you. Thank you, Sir.

Love is better than anger.
Hope is better than fear.
Optimism is better than despair.

Let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic and we’ll change the world.

– Jack Layton (1950 – 2011)

Couple of days ago, I’ve sent a newsletter to my web design business subscribers. Below is a resulting exchange.

Client: Good luck I am sure the socialists in france will appreciate the extra revenue from their oppresive tax regime

Me: I find your reply interesting, yet not sure which of the many possible angles to approach it from, nor the source of the “extra revenue” which might enter the pockets of the “socialists in France.” Perhaps I can get a better understanding if you point me to which part of my Email you’re specifically replying to – a direct explanation is fine too. :)

Client: I assume you will be a taxpayer to an arrogant [French] government that still forgets it lost the battle of waterloo, relied on the United States for its freedon from the Nazis not to mention it was the country that most cooperated with them. But in todays world, you come to a country [Canada] that is by far, a country with a better financial situation, ample clean water, a country that is renowned for its assistance to other countries (incuding france) yet you make snide comments about it. Basically I am saying good riddance to someone who has no understanding of what Canada offers. Despite having cellular service that is more expensive in large part due to the countries size Vs population. The US carriers are far more profitable per subscriber as is Virgin Mobile. Canada is not perfect but overall. France is not a country to be proud to be in. I am a proud Canadian…I know what the country has done for my family and many others. If high cell phone bills chased you away…good for you

Me: One of the things that makes Canada so great is the freedom to voice personal opinions. My knocks are against the gouging of consumers in Canada by cellular providers, and not Canada itself. Economies far smaller than Canada’s are host to a thriving cellular network sector.

The statement that I do not understand what Canada offers is a complete miss on your part – your clearly stated and mistaken understanding that I’ll be a taxpayer in France perhaps offering an insight to your deeper misunderstanding of my entire sentiment.

I’ve flown the world over with the maple leaf on my backpack – I, and those I met on the way know where my home is. Your bigoted remarks against the French are likely the most un-Canadian part of the entire exchange – and I mean that in the most non-judgemental way.

I loathe bigotry.

Exactly my sentiment, from someone who’s seen and studied the problem face to face.

“Let me clarify that point: it is an utter and complete failure [the war on drugs] – we cannot win the war an drugs. We have 20, 30 years of experience south of the border to illustrate that we cannot arrest our way through the problem. The drug war prohibition has created a lucrative underground economy for illicit drugs, and until we begin to look at that public policy measure called the war on drugs, we will never get on top of the gang situation or the drug trade.”

– Michael Chettleburgh