Where Is He Now?

Were you to go down the right-hand side panel of this blog, you would see that Pat Robertson appears in 30 past posts. That I did not acknowledge his recent passing is attributable more to the fact that I've been busy lately rather than to a loss of interest in the crazed old evangelical, who exerted an outsized influence on the American political landscape.

We trust his arrival at his final destination went off without a hitch. 

Although I do not have time to list abuses of his evangelical authority over the years, you can click here if interested. His real master must be proud of him. In any event, a letter in today's Star gives one a real measure of the man, a diabolical mischief-maker who will not be missed by any sane and balanced individuals who still live amongst us:

Pat Robertson was an evangelical minister out for himself

Pat Robertson united evangelical Christians and pushed them into conservative politics, June 9

Ben Finley mentions some political scandals in his sparing reflection on Pat Robertson’s life. However, Finley notes that his enterprises included “Operation Blessing, an international humanitarian organization” without expanding on its reprehensible activities.

I am not surprised; very few people became aware of its work, except for those who saw the film “Mission Congo.”

The documentary screened as part of TIFF 2013. Shortly afterward it was almost impossible to find. I contacted the producers and directors to see if I could get a copy, using the information TIFF had provided, but could not reach them. For two years there seemed to be nothing. Best I could guess was Robertson’s lawyers had done a good job of keeping it out of public view. Eventually it came to Amazon U.S., but not Canada.

The film documented Robertson taking advantage of a huge, squalid camp near Goma, home to almost one million refugees. On his religious broadcasts he asked for contributions to send medicine and medical personnel to help the suffering. Seems like genuine Christian humanitarian work, right?

However, what the film demonstrated was: he used pictures of Doctors Without Boards workers to promote the fundraising, without their approval, making it look like Operation Blessing was providing the staff; sent boxes of Tylenol which the staff there found not so useful; used the money raised to purchase a light plane; and flew to the camp for a photo op where he shook hands with Théoneste Bagosora, the man who had helped lead the Rwandan genocide in collaboration with the Interhamwe and was later convicted by the international court in Arusha.

All of this would have been bad enough, but the real fraud came with how that new plane was used. It carried dredgers to Robertson’s diamond mine concessions in other parts of the Congo — concessions he had obtained with the alleged help of corrupt Congolese officials. The documentary included interviews with American donors who, having given from their meagre savings, felt completely duped.

So, let’s remember him for who he really was. Not someone who sold all to help the poor, but someone who milked the poor, ignored the true needs of others, and enriched himself.

Paul A. Wilson, Toronto

Somehow, I doubt that the good pastor is resting in peace.

Adding Fuel

In the debased species known as humanity, it perhaps is not surprising that the very wildfires consuming us have become fuel for yet more deranged people and their 'theories'. Here are two of my favourite examples of our ongoing slide into social, political and spiritual senescence:

The embers of one particular theory were fanned Thursday morning by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who was asked by podcast host Ryan Jespersen about how she reconciled her government’s resistance to emission reduction schemes with the reality that climate change is contributing to more damaging fires.

“I think you’re watching, as I am, the number of stories about arson,” she responded. “I’m very concerned that there are arsonists.”

 The question of arson seems to have taken hold in certain corners of the internet among users who share stories of people charged with arson, and given oxygen not only by Smith, but by federal politician and one-time Conservative leadership hopeful Maxime Bernier, who tweeted earlier this week that he bet “a good portion” of the fires had been “started by green terrorists.”

Then there is this illustration of supreme idiocy: Nicholas is fighting fires in Alberta. The rumour is that the military that came to help isn’t even Canadian…it is the UN. Here, not to fight fires, but to round “them” up and put them……where? IDK .

“Our guts are telling us it’s round up time”

That's all I have the heart for today. 

UPDATED: A Lesson For All Of Us

Some 'religious' people will undoubtedly find this teaching from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hard to accept. 

Republicans have good reason to fear this woman, because her ability to cut through their BS is a master class in the art of political engagement. She absolutely understands how to sell a values driven argument and her honesty, integrity and passion spills out from every point she eloquently makes. #DemsAct #DemVoice1 #wtpBLUE #ONEV1 #FAM46

UPDATE: If you go to the six-minute mark in the following, I think you will find a perfect example of the kind of misconduct AOC is railing against:

Apparently the video is no longer available on YouTube, but here is a link to the story and video.

UPDATED: York Board Faces Backlash

 

The recent refusal of the York Catholic School Board to raise the Pride flag has generated a great deal of controversy. The childish and intolerant behaviour demonstrated by board officials, prelates and parents cries out for redress. Happily, Toronto Star readers are keen to provide some solid suggestions, the best being that it's time to stop funding the Catholic School system and its inherent bigotry:

Pride flag vote sparks outrage in York, May 30

Once again, proof that Ontario needs to jump into the 21st century and put an end to taxpayer-funded religious indoctrination.

Andrew Elrick, Whitby

 Despite the fact that Minister of Education Stephen Lecce and Ford have mandated all kinds of things with little or no input by the boards of education, both have suddenly developed a hands-off policy in dealing with the York District Catholic School Board.

When asked if he planned to intervene in the board’s decision not to fly the pride flag, Lecce answered with a bunch of political gobbly-gook.

Ford has “no comment,” obviously afraid to alienate his right-wing base. But it really comes as no surprise. Let’s remember when the Premier’s brother was mayor of Toronto and refused to fly the pride flag at city hall and also refused to appear in the pride parade because he spent that weekend at his cottage. Big brother Doug who was the mayor’s right hand man in all things apparently didn’t dissuade him to do the right thing.

The YDCSB’s refusal to protect a vulnerable group of students is reason in itself to eliminate provincial funding for Catholic education. It is long past the time to have a single system of education. As a taxpayer, I don’t want to be supporting bigotry.

Happy Pride Everyone!

Stephen Bloom, Toronto 

Somewhere in the Bible it says that God only loves heterosexuals?

I guess I missed that part.

Archie Gillis, Toronto 

 The York Catholic School Board is running scared. When will religion stop this persecution against LGBQT people? Be brave enough to fly the pride flag supporting the LGBQT community, especially our youth.

Fear is an insidious emotion that requires inner strength to overcome. Help our youth regardless of sex, sexual leaning, race, colour and religion. It shouldn’t matter one iota what a person identifies themselves as.

David Bell, Etobicoke

As a Catholic, I have to admit to being left in total confusion by the decision of the York Catholic District School Board under the guise of so-called “Catholicity.”

It is painfully obvious that their understanding of their church does not align with the principles and fundamental teachings of Jesus, its founder, because he stated quite categorically through Matthew’s Gospel (in KJV) Ch18: v5-6 “ … whoso shall offend one of these little ones … it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”

His directive is as clear as the decision of the YCDSB to not fly the LGBTQ banner in support of a minority and fringe group of students who they gladly have in their classes while taking tax dollars, donations and other financial support for their education.

If they were really honest, they should not accept any students into their schools who see the rainbow flag as a symbol of solidarity, unity, diversity and hard-fought acceptance. Through their decision not to fly this flag, they have not only offended these young people but have clearly taken a stance of rejecting them as full members of our human family.

 Matthew Marosszeky, retired Catholic school administrator), Aurora

Good letters to the editor have one thing in common: solid, informed opinion that is able to break through the miasma of prejudice hobbling so many people. 

Of course, I expect the words of the above writers to have no impact whatsoever. 

UPDATE:  The following is a good example of the childish hectoring the so-called religious like to engage in. My guess is that this warrior for Jesus has yet to crack open the New Testament.

My apologies to the above warrior. I had no idea he was capable of multitasking. Here he is with his 'freedom-loving' brethren:

 

 

 

UPDATED: No Pride In York

 

Although I make no claim to psychic powers, I can pretty safely predict someone who will soon lose her job. Her name is Dina Mayr, a teacher in the York Catholic District School Board.

Ms. Mayr, a 23-year employee of the board, has taken public exception to York's refusal to allow the Pride flag to be raised at any buildings within their jurisdiction. She

is the parent of a transgender child, who went to a school she taught at. She feels “utterly ashamed” to be a part of a system that made this decision.

“It seems to be a worldwide movement of hatred that has just infiltrated school boards, including our own,” she said. While her son has now graduated, Mayr used to feel like he was safe with her advocating behind the scenes.

“I can’t believe that a Catholic school, a Catholic system can stand by and allow that to continue to happen.”

Apparently, in the minds of some, raising the Pride flag is tantamount to surrendering to an 'agenda' that runs contrary to the Catholic faith. 

[B]oard chair Frank Alexander told reporters that trustees were advised by two archbishops that the flags don’t “align with our Catholic values.” 

"That’s fundamentally why I voted against it,” he said, noting schools that fly the flag would face consequences.

Apparently, the message of love, acceptance and compassion that permeates the New Testament means nothing to the powers-that-be, who seem more in tune with the Old Testament Yahweh, who was known to get His celestial nose out of joint on occasion, resulting in much smiting and tribulation.

But, I suppose, we must respect the doctrinal 'purity' of York's decision:

At York Catholic, Alexander was asked why the YCDSB is one of a few remaining boards that won’t fly the flag, and he said “what’s different about us is that we stand for our faith, we stand for Christ.”

The committee’s report, however, said “our Catholicity calls us to be inclusive, compassionate, and empathetic. Pope Francis continues to urge all of us to welcome LGBTQ members into the church, to demonstrate ‘tenderness, please, as God has for each one of us.’”

A political response riddled with hypocrisy, if there ever was one.

Getting back to vocal critic Dina Mayr and my prediction of a truncated career with York, allow me to tell you a story from my teaching days demonstrating that publicly opposing your employer, while perhaps principled, is never tolerated. 

In my final year or two of teaching, I had a terrible principal, one I regarded as a psychopath. My vice-principal was sane, but he was an overly sensitive man who saw those of us in the West Wing of the school  (the farthest geographic point from the administrators) as constantly conspiring against him and his ilk. (It wasn't true. We only occasionally conspired against him.) Anyway, he redeemed himself completely in my eyes after he left our school to become principal of a vocational school within our board. By all accounts, he did an excellent job for the students, so much so that he publicly railed against the board's decision to close his school.

Ultimately, his efforts failed, and he was slated to become the principal of a vocational school elsewhere when the board announced it had changed its mind and appointed someone else, on the pretext that in the closing days of his old school, an act of  vandalism under his watch. While they refused to comment on his fate, I later learned the board fired him. The same fate awaits Ms. Mayr, perhaps, for example, for something as trivial as unauthorized used of the photocopier. 

The lesson to be learned, a hard one, is this:

"Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord [and the board].

UPDATE: Here is Michael Coren's take on the issue.

 

 

AI: Threat To Humanity, Or Its Saviour?

You decide, but I'm thinking that if ChatGPT could get a senior diplomatic posting, it could help avert disaster. (If you have trouble reading the text, please click on the above link and expand the test there.)

A Political Prisoner

 

                                                                   

                                                                        BUT

During my reasonably long life, I have been witness to an array of political leadership styles and sensibilities: the inspirational, the aspirational, the ideological, the bumbling and, worst of all, the stupid. Here in Ontario, where I reside, it is stupidity that is on daily offer from Premier Doug Ford.

I'm sure Doug sees it quite differently, doubtlessly convinced his 'ability' to wade through and often eliminate red tape and see through 'scams' is the kind of bold leadership the province needs and is benefitting from. 

- Why all this endless talk about the future of Ontario Place? Just bring in a giant spa, sign a 99-year-lease, and have the taxpayers fund an underground parking lot to the tune of about $700 million.

- Need more houses? Cut development fees and build on farms and wetlands. 

- What's wrong with having such close ties to developers who benefit from inside information? Fostering close relations with movers and shakers is how to get things done.

Sadly for Doug, there are too many 'stupid' people who fail to appreciate his genius. Take their attitude toward development of  the Greenbelt, which our Ford recently called "a scam."

Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the Greenbelt a “scam” on Thursday as the NDP accused his government of hiding from new reports about the area’s planned development.

“We have a Liberal government that [got] a bunch of staffers, randomly got a highlighter and went up and down roads. They were going through golf courses, through buildings. It was just a big scam as far as I'm concerned,” the premier said of the 2005 government which established the space.

Ford made the comments in response to questions about reports that suggested his office discussed changes to the Greenbelt months prior to announcing it would be removing 7,400 acres from 15 different areas of the area for development. He denied that his office discussed the changes in August, as was reported by Canadian investigative online magazine The Narwhal.

Sorry, Mr. Premier. Not so fast. Victor Doyle, one of the developers of the Greenbelt Plan, begs to differ.

Ontario’s Greenbelt is fundamental to the environmental, agricultural and economic sustainability of the Golden Horseshoe. In calling it a “scam” — defined as a dishonest or illegal plan or activity — Premier Doug Ford has disparaged the Ontario civil service along with countless professionals, citizens, politicians and the municipalities, conservation authorities, civil society organizations and community groups that devoted their time and knowledge to create the largest and most strongly protected Greenbelt in the world.

Globally recognized and recipient of both provincial and national awards, the Greenbelt ensures clean water by protecting our aquifers and rivers that feed the Great Lakes. It protects our forests to provide clean air and habitat for plants, wildlife and pollinating insects. It protects vast tracts of the best farmland in Canada, which are a fundamental component of our economy and food security and it plays a critical role in combating the impacts of climate change by mitigating flooding, sequestering carbon and moderating temperature.

The real scam is the premier's insistence that the Greenbelt is needed for housing.

Today, leading research by civil society organizations and the Regional Planning Commissioners of Ontario show there are over of 200,000 acres of approved, unbuilt land for urban uses in the Greater Golden Horseshoe with over 2 million units planned, 1.3 million of which are either under construction, approved or applied for.

This does not include the 60,000-plus acres of farmland the minister approved for urban use this past fall just in the GTHA. There is absolutely no need whatsoever to remove any land from the Greenbelt, which is supposed to be the counterbalance to the permanent urbanization arising from development of the above lands.

To a hammer, everything looks like a nail. To an idiot, simple solutions are ubiquitous. In many ways, I feel like a political prisoner, shackled to a government that knows the cost of everything but the value of nothing. 

Would that there were enough intelligent voters to rectify the situation in 2026.

 

To Live In Ignorance

I am beginning to think that those who travel to Florida to live or play are either living in ignorance or engaged in some sort of massive cognitive dissonance. How else to explain the fact that it is is the fastest-growing state in the Union, despite the existential threats it faces through climate change? And the reactionary political climate cultivated by its governor, DeSantis, is characterized by repression, censorship and thought control, surely a threat to all who value critical thought and freedom.

Given the recent warnings about travel to The Sunshine State, it becomes apparent that people both inside and outside the state need to educate themselves about the dangers posed by reactionary lawmakers. The movie clip below from Inherit The Wind might be a good place to start:

Psst! Got Any Extra Kerosene?

 I know of a state that would gladly accept your contribution.

And should presidential-hopeful DeSantis secure the high office, expect conflagrations throughout The 'Union' that will rival their worst wildfires.

Where The Sun No Longer Shines

                                         

That would be the so-called Sunshine State, Florida, under the heavy hand of its governor and apparent presidential aspirant, Ron DeSantis. Things are becoming so repressive there that a number of groups are now warning tourists about its 'hostile laws'. 

The NAACP, long an advocate for Black Americans, joined the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), a Latino civil rights organization, and Equality Florida, a gay rights advocacy group, in issuing travel advisories for the Sunshine State, where tourism is one of the state’s largest job sectors.

The warning approved Saturday by the NAACP’s board of directors tells tourists that, before traveling to Florida, they should understand the state of Florida “devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.”

DeSantis is proud of labelling his state as the place WOKE goes to die. His legislation suggests a real appetite for repressing anything that would contribute to critical thinking, something that has always been anathema to the extreme right.

... the DeSantis’ administration in January rejected the College Board’s Advanced Placement African American Studies course. DeSantis and Republican lawmakers also have pressed forward with measures that ban state colleges from having programs on diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as critical race theory, and also passed the Stop WOKE Act that restricts certain race-based conversations and analysis in schools and businesses.

In a move no doubt prompted by a passion for inclusivity, DeSantis has also targeted Hispanics, restricting local governments in a number of ways, including requiring

hospitals that accept Medicaid to include a citizenship question on intake forms, which critics have said is intended to dissuade immigrants living in the U.S. illegally from seeking medical care. 

“The actions taken by Governor DeSantis have created a shadow of fear within communities across the state,” said Lydia Medrano, a LULAC vice president for the Southeast region.

Equality Florida is also distressed over Florida's repressiveness under DeSantis, issuing this warning:

“This is an all out attack on freedom. Free states don’t strip parents of the right to make healthcare decisions for their children. Free states don’t ban books, censor curriculum, or muzzle free speech. DeSantis doesn’t see freedom as a value worth defending, he sees it as a campaign slogan in his bid for the White House. And he is setting freedom -- and Florida’s reputation -- ablaze in his desperation to win the GOP nomination. The nation should be on high alert. We are all Floridians as DeSantis seeks to export this blueprint of authoritarianism to the rest of the country."

There is undoubtedly a constituency for the governor's nonsense. By labelling things as either black or white, he is providing succor to those for whom thinking is a chore. Happily, there are many others still capable of deep critical thinking who refuse to let these assaults on freedom go unchallenged. 

 

 

 

 

The Face Of Pain

Pain, both physical and mental, comes in many forms; not all instances are remediable, but some are, if we really put our minds to it. The following video is of an American vet whose (mis)treatment by the Veterans Administration (VA) has only aggravated the problems he brought back from battle.

The same callous disregard for the needs of our own vets has been reported widely in Canada. The way ex-soldiers are treated in both countries bespeak an attitude whereby ultimately returnees are treated at worst as disposable bodies and at best as irritating reminders of our collective failures. I almost see them as metaphors for the many dispossessed in our midst. 

Whether they are the homeless, the addicted or any other manner of marginalized, no one deserves to be subjected to anything other than compassion and assistance.

Hand-wringing accomplishes nothing.

H/t TizzyEnt

When They Start Talking About Ideologies And Agendas

 ... you generally know where they are coming from.

"We must protect our children from sexual grooming and pedophilia. The sexualization agenda is robbing children of their innocence."

"I am a very concerned person who has done research on the subject of the LGBTQ ideology" .

Thus spaketh Lorraine Hackenschmidt, described in a CBC report as a constituent and grandmother making a presentation to the Brandon, Manitoba school board trustees last Monday to express her desire to have school libraries remove objectionable materials, materials she fears will taint the children and lead them into 'unnatural choices' in life.

You can watch Hakenschmidt's presentation here, starting at the 50-minute mark. I don't find her entire presentation objectionable, especially regarding puberty-blockers and gender-reassignment surgery at an early age; however. in her desperation to prove her points about the danger of books, she starts quoting 'authorities' such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, not a man known for political moderation, and the National Post, not exactly a balanced source of news or views.

Unsurprisingly, Hakenschmidt's views are challenged by actual experts.

Brandon Sexuality Education Resource Centre program manager Kerri Judd says it's very concerning to see people asking for LGBTQ books to be removed — especially because many children rely on their school to be a safe space of inclusion and respect.

"We're seeing this in many parts of the province. And if we look at what's going on in the United States, I think that it's not that big of a surprise ... I'm just disappointed that it's a conversation that's happening within the community I live," she said.

"It is completely inaccurate and false and actually really disgusting that people associate gender identity to pedophilia," Judd said. "It's a false narrative … and so it has nothing to do with one's gender identity."

Another expert opines,

Students must see themselves represented in school resources for their well-being, says Patty Douglas, a professor in the faculty of education at Brandon University Faculty of Education. Douglas says human sexual diversity, neurodiversity and all kinds of diversity are normal, and children, just like adults, have the right to be able to see themselves represented.

"I think that bullying ... of kids who are different is ubiquitous. It happens all the time, every day. You know, educational trauma happens every day for kids who come from, you know, non-white cultures, from non-normative family arrangements and this will just worsen that," Douglas said.

"School then becomes something to survive rather than thrive in."

And the  University of Manitoba's Sarah Hannon, a political scientist, 

says the call to remove books in Brandon shows two issues coming together: protecting transgender kids and the queer community more broadly, combined with a more general point about book banning.

"They're not pornographic materials. They are sex education materials. And schools should be in the business of educating people about their own bodies and about their sexuality," Hannan said. "That is a crucial part of ... everyone's well-being."

Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont condemned the book ban request at the Legislative Assembly Wednesday, calling it disgusting for its "terrible accusations" against educators and librarians.

"You don't get converted to being 2SLGBTQ by reading a book," Lamont said. "I want my children to be safe and this includes being safe from extremists who want to take away our freedom of choice and freedom to read."

He called on the Progressive Conservatives to take a stance against the proposal. 

Where will this presentation lead to? It is too early to say, but here is something worth bearing in mind: books, knowledge and learning are never subversive. Ignorance, and actions based on it, are.

 

Things Could Be Worse

These days, I take my comforts wherever I can find them. In contemplating the state of my province, Ontario, under the administration of the Doug Ford government, I'm deriving some small solace in the fact that there is a jurisdiction even more ineptly led: Alberta.

The Breakdown

@TheBreakdownAB

WOW! Smith's presser was just completely derailed by protestors condemning Smith's proposal to sell off hospitals! And then the remaining candidates did an excellent job of... standing.

That deer-caught-in-the-headlights look reveals much, doesn't it?

A PSA From The FBI

 I can't imagine living in a country where this kind of Public Service Announcement is necessary.

And on a slightly different note, we now know why "thoughts and prayers" aren't working.

A Brief Programming Note

 

I have been a bit under the weather for the past few days, a bit of a virus that repeated testing has shown is not COVID. (Whew!)

I have also begun work on a new writing project that includes some research, so I expect for the next little while my blog posts will be somewhat sporadic.

Just wanted to let you know.