The Scourge of Phantom Crime

Readers of this blog may know that I place a great deal of stock in critical thinking. Although I am sure that I stray from it on a regular basis, to be a consistent critical thinker is the ideal toward which I strive. It is therefore disheartening, though hardly surprising, that an internal memo circulated Sunday to Conservative Members of Parliament gives insight into a Harper political agenda that seems largely predicated on contempt for the electorate.

An article in today's Star entitled Crime crackdown tops Harper agenda reveals, to no one's surprise, that the Fall parliamentary session is to be dominated by law and order legislation:

While it’s not known for sure what measures will be in the legislation, they could include adult sentences for youths convicted of serious crimes, expanded surveillance powers for police, curbing house arrest for property crimes and ending pardons for serious crimes.

Not to be deterred by the fact of falling crime rates, the government has an interesting, but hardly novel way to justify its promise of more incarceration time for more Canadians, who will need to be quartered in the new prisons that will be built at a cost of over $6 billion:

"Quite simply, people are not reporting to the police that they are a victim of crime,” the memo says. “More needs to be done.”

The key word in the above excerpt is simply, which, in my view, reveals how the Harper government looks at issues, never allowing hard data to get in the way of its ideological imperatives. However, what I do resent is the assumption about the citizens of Canada implicit in such an assertion. Clearly, we are perceived as lacking either the fortitude or the intelligence to collectively challenge groundless claims about issues like phantom crime.

Time will tell whether they are correct in making that assumption.

A Reminder to My MP

I am a great believer in holding our politicians to account. Even though they may prove to be ultimately meaningless gestures, letters to our elected representatives at the very least remind them that their opposition is not simply going to give up and accept the atrocities they commit in our names.

The following is the latest letter I sent to my Member of Parliament, David Sweet:

Dear Mr. Sweet,

Given your government’s refusal to end the export of asbestos, and given the fact that your government was the sole nation to oppose the labeling of asbestos as a toxic substance under Annex 111 of the Rotterdam Convention which would have required the inclusion of explicit instructions in the handling of this deadly material, perhaps you can prevail upon your leader to include the following with all subsequent shipments: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jifoNSXvTuQ

At the very least, the inhabitants of countries like India should know the future that awaits them, thanks to your government’s insistence on elevating economics over morality and human decency.

Sincerely,
Lorne Warwick

Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.

The Ford Gang Stays True To Form

Although I don't live in Toronto, it has become an object of fascination for me since the election of Mayor Rob and Doug Ford. Within their fiefdom resides a psychology that provides fascinating examples of and insights into the darker aspects of human nature: our propensity for selfishness and short-shortsightedness, our fear of ideas that conflict with our worldview, our tendency to demonize those who disagree with us, our happy reliance on propaganda and absolutism, and our elevation of ideologies over critical thinking.

I may return to each of these aspects in future posts, but I have time for just one short illustration now. As predicted in a previous post, while some councillors are feeling the heat, Team Ford is officially dismissing the results of a recent poll showing an overwhelming majority of Torontonians strongly opposed to the cuts in city services under current consideration because it was paid for by CUPE Local 79.

You can read the full story here.

Lest We Forget Those Who Die For Canada's Economy

Although the following video was made to protect B.C. workers, perhaps it could be included as a warning to all the unprotected workers who are exposed to the asbestos that Stephen Harper refuses to stop exporting to countries such as India, insisting that it is safe if handled properly, conveniently ignoring the fact that he has also obstructed any labeling of asbestos as a toxic material.

Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.

Taxpayers Versus Citizens

It probably doesn't take a genius to understand the basic philosophical and fiscal difference between the moderate and the right-wing is that the moderate recognizes the needs of the collective, i.e., the entire society, while the right-wing gives precedence to, indeed exalts, the individual.

The traditional moderate's view on taxation accepts the progressive model, whereby the amount of taxes we pay escalates with our economic standing; by contrast, the right talks only of low taxes so that the individual can decide how to spend his or her hard-earned money. The latter, of course, totally ignores the fact that “no man (woman) is an island,” that we are all part of a larger community, with both collective rights and collective responsibilities.

Yesterday's Star had an excellent column by Edmund Pries, a professor at Wilfrid Laurier University on this distinction. Entitled Taxpayers vs. citizens, it is well worth a few minutes of your time today.

Score Another One For Rick Salutin

Consistently able to 'think outside the box' of the current North American mindset, Rick Salutin, one of my favorite critical thinkers, has a column in today's Star well-worth perusal. Entitled The sector that dares not speak its name, the thesis of his argument can be summed up by the following excerpt:

"We are a society that has largely lost sight of the fact that there is anything to debate in politics except how to save money."

Using examples from the cost-cutting crusade of Toronto Mayors Rob and Doug Ford, Salutin amply demonstrates how we have forgotten that there are dimensions to civil society that transcend the dollars-and-cents-mentality of the extreme right wing.

I hope you have time to check out the entire column.

Willful Ignorance in the Ford Administration

Toronto Mayors Rob and Doug Ford and their minions, like so many of the extreme right, tend not to let facts, reason, and data interfere with the purity of their ideological vision. Someone who describes city employees as 'the gravy' and denies that eliminating daycare subsidies are cuts, but rather 'efficiencies' will likely be unfazed by the latest poll showing Torontonians overwhelmingly opposed to service cuts.

Published in today's Star, the "Forum Research telephone survey of nearly 13,000 people reveals that more than three-quarters of Torontonians want their local councillor to protect services rather than comply with the mayor’s wishes. And only 27 per cent of residents say they would vote for Rob Ford if an election was held tomorrow."

Particularly interesting is that the results involve a ward-by-ward analysis, with wards of some of the most extreme right-wing councillors showing the strongest opposition to service cuts.

But for an administration that refuses any interview requests from The Toronto Star and excludes them from invitation-only events, the poll results, despite the very large sampling, will likely be dismissed.

After all, it was commissioned by CUPE Local 79, one of two major unions at city hall. Sometimes hard data isn't hard data, especially when your opponents are involved in its collection.