Bad Medicine

I read the book "Bad Medicine" by John Reilly today. The book is a bit of an autobiography of judge John Reilly's brave move to address corruption, therefore violence, depression, suicide etc in the First Nations of Morley, Alberta and nationwide. It was highly enlightening about how our outdated, racist system continues to oppress people within our own borders while attention is diverted elsewhere. Great book, I hope people have the sense to read it a care about human rights.
It is published by Rocky Mountain Books 2010. www.rmbooks.com

On The Book I Am Reading (Part Dos)

Obama. As mentioned previously, I am reading his latest book. My motivation for this has been my curiosity surrounding his policies. My opinion of him is largely geographical. Him being the president of the United States, spells relief. However, if he was a Canadian Prime Minister, I would be upset. I shall attempt to assess some of his policies and how they will influence the world. 

First of all it is very obvious that he is a socialist. Everyone knows that. Socialism is so un-American! If Obama lasts eight years in office, the wonderful U.S. of A. as we know it will no longer exist. Oh no! What will we ever do? Now if a socialist (think Jack Layton, NDP) was in the P.M. seat, I would move out of this country! From my observations, socialism destroys market economies. However, if the economy is already a train wreck, what the hey! Give it a try! It can't get much worse! 

If Obama has one good thing going for him, it's that he is concerned about the well-being of his people and the people of this world. He is appalled with atrocities and injustices committed against humanity. This is a nice change from the last guys who didn't seem to care about the well-being of anybody except themselves. He promises education, healthcare, and good union jobs in America. Fair enough. These are all things we take for granted here in Canada. Our back-wards friends to the south are not so lucky.

Over-all, if President Obama can live up to the extremely high standards that everyone expects of him, it will do the world good. Heck, Americans may even realize that there is other nations in this world, not just lands to plunder.

I believe that Obama is a necessity at this point in history. He has the vision of change, which the entire world wants. His socialism should add some stability to the tumultuous American emotion-based economy. I just hope that he remembers (as Leon Trotsky and I discussed one night as I lay dreaming) that the best way to govern a nation is through a healthy mix of socialist and capitalist policies.

on The Book I Am Reading

Good day. I thought I would give a little update as I have been getting comments from certain people enquiring to when I will post another witty entry. Well, like good wine, these rants of mine take time to get sweet as they fester in my head. Also, good wine requires good grapes, hand picked and juicy from the finest vine. Well the grapes are here and I am crushing them out.

  I have picked up a book by Barack Obama titled "The Audacity of Hope." You may have seen it at your favorite corporate bookstore. Well, I have gotten through the first chapter and I am already pleasantly impressed. He calls for cooperation between the two parties in the U.S. Government. I believe Canada could learn a thing or two about cooperation. Is it not sad that in this "peacekeeping" country the "left" and "right" sides of our parliament in Ottawa are two and a half sword lengths apart? Following the recent "coup" it the Canadian government I got to thinking how foolish our governing system is. How is anything ever supposed to get done if two nearly equal enemies constantly shut each other down? Obama states that sometime in the past (1960s), the governing system went from a "balancing act" to an "either for or against." Instead of coming to an agreement with the other party, everything is done to shut down the opposition without even thinking of the nation. 

In high school, I played an active role in representing a country in a mock United Nations caucus. I was impressed by the order and efficiency at which resolutions were agreed upon. In a UN debate, each representative must speak in turn and presents his/her values, views, and opinions clearly and precisely. There is no banging on tables, acting like animals. When a bill is to be reviewed, it is presented before the entire committee, there is a question period, and each individual country votes (yes, that's democracy). Not everyone agrees, and the bill can be amended in order to gain the support of the majority of voters.

Wouldn't it be nice if our government could make mature decisions like that? 

on Pretentious Bus Reading

Pretentious Bus Reading, hereby known as PBR, is a great way to force your supremacy upon others. Recently I finished reading Sun Tzu's Art of War on my daily commute to and from the wonderful, the magnificent Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. Even the business students gave me a knowing nod as they gave their seat up for me. 

PBR books must fall within certain parameters to qualify as appropriate material.

1. The title must be prominently displayed on the front cover, along with the highly intellectual author's name. (eg. The Invisible Hand, Adam Smith) This is obviously to display how intellectual you are. 

2. The size of the book should be small enough to slip into your overcoat or laptop bag (right next to the latest copy of the Walrus) yet large enough to flash the important title about. 

Other things must be considered. The book must be held at an angle which facilitates curious passengers to notice the stimulating material you are perusing, yet not so high as to give the appearance of "nerdiness." It may be necessary to glance at the commoners to reconfirm that you are indeed overwhelming them with your awesomeness. 

As for me I already have several PBR's lined up for the next week, including The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli.