Gay Rights
Wow! I've been reading through some blogs I look at from time to time and came upon this hornet's nest about gay marriages. The discussion is passionate on both sides and I do not wish to debate it here. However, I will say that we should keep church and state (government) separate. The world has changed so much with so many transplanted people in different countries that a government cannot be everything to all of its citizens if they allow religion to enter into their thinking. Yes, I believe in the guidelines set out for us in the bible, however, I do not believe it is wholly the word of God. Man wrote it, whether it be now or millions of years ago and with that come the various versions of the scripture and its interpretation(s). Canada seems to have a higher tolerance of the differences found in all of us, but we are not free and clear of prejudice by any means. If we keep the teachings of some religions out of the picture, the right to gay and lesbians to be united in a form of marriage should not be hard to fathom. Allow the government to govern and sanctify, legitimize that partnership just as couples in a common-law relationship are given certain rights of "marriage". If there are churches that believe that their interpretation can allow a holy coupling then so be it. I live in a common-law relationship, with children between us. To some religions this is sin. So be it. I was told by a Catholic Priest that the important thing is that there is love between the two people when they enter into the act we know as sex. "If there is love", he said, "then God blesses it".
The one thing about the bible that has always puzzled me (and I have read it cover to cover) are the many contradicting verses that are in its pages. That is why I called it a guideline earlier. It is not black and white as some would believe it is, and that's alright for them to have that belief.
I don't read other people's blogs based on their beliefs. I read them because they are interesting and come from all different walks of life and beliefs. THAT is what makes the world an interesting place to be (and some will argue that is all that is wrong with the world too).
I haven't been at this for too long, at least compared to many blogs I've been reading of late. I have, however, been bitten by the "bug" that is blogging. Although I do not update it everyday, mostly because I just can't get organised or disciplined enough to do it each day, I do spend some time on the subject of blogging each and almost everyday. Take the last couple of days for instance. Work has been somewhat light in the busy department lately, so I find myself with nothing overly pressing to do. Of course, I am the great procrastinator, and feel I do some very good work when under the pressure of a deadline. No deadline = procrastinate.
Anyway, getting back to the original line of thinking...I have spent the last three days at work looking into various aspects of blogging. I've updated this site with little links and code that I've found on other sites. I've looked at numerous reviews and sites over at Weblog Review and have set up a way to easily review most of the blogs I like to read over at Bloglines. Some of the sites I've looked at could easily be questioned by the higher ups as to the validity of my time spent on them...but I can't help myself. I'm curious, as though starving, for ideas and probably somewhat nosey in reading the personal blogs of some people. I find it fascinating the amount of detail some people are willing to reveal in their blogs. I've always been a people watcher, and have always been interested in how people react to things. Whether it be adversity, or joy in their lives. I have an interest in the human psyche. Weird? Maybe. But this is where I get my stimulation in this world of humanity. I would like to be that proverbial fly on the wall in many cases and in some way some of the blogs put me there. I've also noticed, as far as readership goes, for the most part it is the personal blog that has the largest following of loyal readers...that and of course "sex" blogs. I guess I'm not alone in my voyeuristic tendencies.
Well, after reading many of these very well-written blogs I suddenly get a feeling of some inadequacy. Time will tell, I suppose, if that feeling passes. Whatever the case, these are my thoughts and opinions, and teacher always said you can't argue with an opinion as long as it's backed up properly. Hmmm, that seems like too much work for a procrastinator like me. I'll just give you my opinions, you do with them what you will, OK?
Mike Weir
Another stellar performance. I don't watch golf very often, but when Mike is in the mix I tend to flick on over to watch a few holes. I saw the last two holes yesterday. Pouring rain didn't make it easy for the competitors. The tense moments leading up to the final hole were second only to Mike's Masters' win last year. His chip on 18 is what won it for him. On a slope a few feet off the green Mike made a chip most of us can only dream of, and under such pressure. Congratulations Mike!
REVIEW
Hey look, I got reviewed!! I did a google on the site and found Mac's Picks. I got on his recommended list in January. This is what he wrote:
You know I enjoy showing you blogs (web logs) written by folk in different parts of the globe. The One Canadian Voice is a nice easy reading blog written by, funny enough, a Canadian. This one talks about all kinds of things from the snow to Canadian politics. Interesting read and well worth a look. It night inspire you to try writing your own. ;-)
Nice...I took a look around his site too. He's obviously been at it a while longer than I, as evidenced by the many links on it, ranging from funny to serious. I'll visit again.
SPORTS
A great deal of events have been happening in the world of sports lately, so let me weigh in with my two cents.
Baseball
The trade: Rodriguez to the Yankees
Yes, it makes the Yankees better...much better. However, they still have some question marks on the mound. Boston's staff is better, and the Jays staff is at least equal to. The other big problem down the road, as I see it, is Jeter. How can he stay at shortstop when beside him at third will be, arguably, the best shortstop ever to play the game? Wouldn't it make sense to move over to allow A-Rod to do his thing. To me, A-Rod at third is just a waste of talent. A-Rod at second makes more sense. We'll have to wait and see how this all unfolds.
There is another angle to this. What does this do to baseball as a whole? Look at the size of the contract A-Rod has. Texas had to eat a good chunk of it to make the deal happen. They needed to move A-Rod to start bettering their team. Does this say to the rest of the league that they too can pay an enormous amount of money to a player for a year or two and then, if the "experiment" doesn't bear any fruit unload the player to the Yankees? After all, they are pretty much the only team that could afford him. What about the ridiculous payroll the Yankees will have this year? 200 Million! The Jays are looking at 50 million. How do you possibly compete? Yes, the games are won and lost at field level, but it must be a little disheartening for many to know that they have little hope of winning it all.
Hockey
The Leafs are still near the top of the league, but are playing pretty sloppy lately. The importance of Belfour has been magnified over the last two games where they have given up 10 goals. If Eddie's back doesn't bounce back for the playoffs, the Leafs are in trouble.
The Flyers are looking pretty strong still. Even without JR in the lineup. The addition of Burke is huge, I think. He is a goalie the team will have great confidence in going down the stretch.
With the trade deadline looming it will be interesting to see which teams make the moves to try and better their chances at the Cup.
Basketball
The all-star game was typical. Lots of high flying dunks and very little hard defense until the end. Vince Carter, in my opinion, got ripped on his playing time. Only 16 minutes? He started off with 9 points on his first stint on the court. Then, nothing. He certainly deserved more, especially being the leading vote-getter...AGAIN. Respect isn't something Vince seems to have throughout the league.
The Raptors, are up and down. They desperately need some quality size. Don't know where they can get it though. There isn't much out there that is available that I would give anything up for. Maybe we won't have to. In the NBA there is as much consideration to the salary cap during a trade as there is to the talent being moved. Toronto has about 5 players with expiring contracts that may make them attractive to a team that is looking to clear cap room for next year. If we can find someone interested, dumping the contracts of Montross and Bradley wouldn't hurt the current team and depending on what comes back will help us.
Don Cherry
If you're Canadian, and follow hockey at all, you've probably heard about the Cherry comments and CBC's reaction to them. The TV and radio talk shows have been feeding off this, the newspapers have been covering it, and the topic is one discussed around watercoolers throughout Canada.
When I listened to the actual statements live, I thought, "You're insane, Don.". It wasn't because he had said anything against French Canadians or Europeans wearing visors, it was because I disagreed that he felt the league should not make the wearing of visors mandatory. His arguments about the sticks will come up even more may be valid, however, if the penalties are called as they should be, they will stay down, AND still nobody will lose an eye. I doubt the time after it became mandatory to wear hard hats at a construction site that the workers suddenly decided to start throwing or kicking bricks off the scaffolding because everyone was now protected.
Now, back to the comments regarding the French and Europeans. To be honest I kinda chuckled when he said that. I thought, "That's typical Cherry." I watch Off The Record on TSN just about every night (love the show). This week, of course, has this as one of the topics of discussion among the panelists. Those opposed to Don's comments have been of African American decent. They equate Don's comments to saying something against blacks. I don't see it that way. They argue also about political correctness, and how Don should be more responsible since his show is on a publicly owned TV station (the CBC is owned by the government) and therefore paid for by our tax dollars. The argument goes on about tax payers don't want to see it. Well, I do. I pay taxes (and lots of them). I take Don for what he is, a showman. Some things I agree with, others I don't. Some of his ideals are a little dated and yes seem bigoted. The man is 70 years old. His upbringing was different than ours and therefore his views and vision of the world is going to be different. I say the CBC is making a mistake by doing this because as soon as they "censor" him, the public outcry will be large.
A very funny bit on the whole situation can be found HERE.
The voices are very like the real thing, performed by Don Landry of the FAN 590.
Politics
Well it looks like the Liberals are up to their arses in scandal. Of course, it's easy to blame the previous Chretien regime, however, as a Finance Minister, don't you have to take some responsibility for what happened? The Liberals' game plan going forward is clearly damage control, but any government would be doing the same. For me, someone with no strong political ties, this is a black mark on the Liberals for the next election, however, not the deciding factor. It would be difficult to find in recent times a government that has not had some kind of black mark brought up against them. Whether it be broken campaign promises, throwing away millions of dollars in revenue for a vocal minority group, or poor spending habits. I believe all governments are corrupt in some way. We can't believe, unfortunately, in what they say. There are so many influences on the decisions made. Perhaps the ever increasing public scrutiny of our government through the media will bring forth, eventually, a government that is honest, just, and beyond reproach. A government we all would like to have represent us. After all, they are representing us!
Appropriate Spying
Is there such a thing? I'm not talking about the political espionage type. I'm not talking about the spyware some companies try to install on your PC for marketing purposes. I'm not even talking about companies spying on their employees to ensure their employees aren't misusing their internet access.
I'm talking about installing software on the family PC. There are many programs out there that can accomplish this to varying degrees of detail. You can log every keystroke anyone performs. You can take screenshot after screenshot of websites that are visited. You can even "spy" on the chat rooms that are frequented. Whatever level that is decided on, is there an ethical question here. Many of us can kick around the hypothetical question "Would you want someone spying on you?" Most would emphatically say "NO!".
However, in today's world, we are not talking about a personal diary or some hidden "stash" we might not want our parents to ever read or see. This is the internet. It's a whole new world and changes the whole question for me. When it comes to my children I don't want to leave there safety solely in their hands.
The internet, and the access to chats, emails and the outside lunatics of the world make my involvement necessary. I have had the above-mentioned software installed on the family PC in the past. I have found peace of mind knowing, that the kids in the house know how to use the internet responsibly. Perhaps the harder question is "What will I do if something does turn up?" That is a tough one. There are so many scenarios that could occur, some of which would just be a natural part of growing up. I guess I'll have to tackle that one when the time comes...give me the strength and wisdom to do the right thing.
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