I just love it when people like PMS and Robert Ford say that getting tough on the causes of crime is tantamount to “coddling thugs.” I’ll be brief on this one. Nothwithstanding the uptake in gun violence recently, and my feeling that mandatory minimums for an unlawful discharge of a
Continue readingAuthor: BlastFurnace
Blast Furnace Canada Blog: Guest post: [Belated] Reflections on Canada Day
Once again I am pleased to offer my space for a guest post and once again by Jared Milne. This time Jared addresses the very real issue of Central and Eastern alienation now that “The West Wants In” has become reality. ***** This past Canada Day, I was reflecting on
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Harper: Going after Guergis to punish Jaffer?
Of all the arguments I’ve heard from the Conservative Party regarding the Helena Guergis lawsuit where she is claiming PMS and Co defamed her and dismissed her as a Cabinet minister without cause, this one has to take the cake; that the party can’t be sued because it is an
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: When WalMart meets GO Transit
A little while back I wrote about how there are dozens of bridges in the Hamilton megacity (read: consolidated city-county), most of them in a horrible state of disrepair; and how with many of them no one seems to know who actually owns them. Well, there is one that we
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: US Supremes — courage in upholding health care
Who would have thunk it? The Chief Justice of the United States, John G. Roberts — and not Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy — proved to be the swing vote in upholding most of Barack Obama’s health care initiative. (Text of decision in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, and
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Romney and the "M" word
CNN’s religion section notes today that W. Mitt Romney (W for Willard) still has a major hurdle to overcome on the road to the White House. His religion, Mormonism. Now personally I can’t understand why it should be such a big deal — who should honestly care what one’s belief
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Dalton gets his way … at what price?
Call me nuts, but if there’s one thing I don’t like about minority governments (also called a “hung legislature” in some other democracies) is that they often rule as if they have a majority. Case in point — Queen’s Park finally passed the 2012 Ontario budget but only after a
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Get with the program … um, what should we call Catholic bishops these days?
So the Ontario Legislature passed a bill that allows “Gay-Straight Alliances” in all schools that receive public funding. That’s both the non-sectarian schools and the Catholic (Roman or Eastern) schools. The wording of “Bill 13” (not sure yet what numbering it will have in the 2012 statutes) also shows that
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: The foot which rocks the (Con) cradle
I know, that’s a terrible pun. But the fact that two body parts which were hacked off a torso found in Montréal and then mailed to Conservative Party HQ — one actually got there, the other was intercepted in the mail — makes me wonder what message was being sent.
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Deny, deny, deny — Syria edition (and why sanctions aren’t enough)
This past weekend’s massacre in Houla, Syria was so uncommonly cruel in its scope that even Russia and Mainland China, which have been vetoing several resolutions due to their arms sales to Damascus, finally said enough is enough. At least 108 are dead, and quite a few Western states have
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Since when did one need a permit to demonstrate?
Consider: During the American civil rights struggle in the 1950s and 60s, virtually every southern state tried every trick in the book to maintain the racist status quo. One was a more than frequent law that said that one had to get a permit to have a demonstration. Since blacks
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Michael Rafferty gets the book
Three words: Big. Fucking. Riddance.
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Obama’s flip-flop for the good
I never thought I’d live to see the day, but finally a sitting US President — Barack Obama — has stated the obvious: Gays and lesbians should have the right to get married. While he is still a bit cautious about nationalizing the issue, saying it should also be an
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Blast Furnace Canada Blog 2012-05-07 14:48:00
Today, David Frum in a column for CNN said the obvious, what most of us in the progressive movement have been saying — that Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican challenger to incumbent US President and Democrat Barack Obama, has allowed himself to cave in to the extremist elements of the
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Special treatment for Conrad?
So Conrad Black … um, Baron Conrad Black is out of jail. On the one hand it’s good to see his time in prison has mellowed His Lordship out somewhat and that he’s actually starting to see some of the issues of a day with a much more open and
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Blast Furnace Canada Blog 2012-05-02 20:15:00
So today, a former exec at Ornge ™ was disputing the idea that her rapid rise from an ex-lifeguard to a top executive position there had nothing to do with her relationship with her boyfriend who ran the company. Perhaps she is telling the truth, but one can’t help
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Cowards of Oxford County
There really is no other way to describe the killers of Tori Stafford. And I use the plural because it takes at least two to engage in a conspiracy that leads to the death of a minor. It’s hard to think of another word other than “coward” to describe an
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: To what possible end with …
… the “human life” thing? Yes, I’m pro-life. Yes, I have argued here in the past there is a need to open up a debate — not necessarily on banning the abortion procedure but how far along a pregnancy is before restrictions ought to begin, as well as to have
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Raymond Taavel — when will enough be enough?
Raymond Taavel, of Halifax NS may not have had the profile that Harvey Milk of San Francisco CA did more than three decades ago; but the fact Taavel was murdered probably because he was gay is nothing short of outrageous. I was six years old when Milk was shot, but it
Continue readingBlast Furnace Canada Blog: Some (more) suggestions on income taxes
Maybe it’s me but the whole concept of “boutique” tax credits has become something of a joke. Some items such as making public transit passes tax deductible makes sense as it puts transit users on the same level as those who drive for a living and can deduct those expenses.
Continue reading