Don't Get Mad at the Natives (Updated - Police Neglect of Duty)

"We're going to have that expression of strength and solidarity across this country," Brant said in an interview near Deseronto, west of Kingston. "Then we'll step back and say: 'You absorb this.' Because the next time we come out, it's going to be harder, it's going to be longer and it's going to have an impact on this economy that Canada can't imagine at this point.
- Shawn Brant, Mohawk Leader

Shawn Brant is absolutely right. He is planning to lead, as he has so often before, illegal protests that will include criminal mischief, trespassing, common nuisance and other unlawful acts. He will close the 401 Highway. He will disable rail lines. He will occupy other people’s property. He will cause millions of dollars in lost productivity, jobs and corporate revenues.

And he will absolutely get away with it.

And – this is the kicker – none of this is Shawn Brant’s fault. He is simply engaging in tactics that we have let him use. It is well-established, as a matter of record, that unlawful, criminal activity organized and undertaken by aboriginal groups will not result in any significant intervention or enforcement action. The OPP may have hired tough-guy Julian Fantino as their new Commissioner, but his testicles clearly weren’t included in the deal. At Caledonia, native protesters occupied land, beat people up, used bulldozers to knock over hydro poles – all in the presence of OPP officers who did absolutely nothing except watch it happen.

So, when your travel plans are disrupted this holiday weekend by native blockades, or your shift gets laid off at the auto parts plant, don’t get mad at Shawn Brant for doing what he clearly has permission to get away with.

Instead, take a long, hard look in the mirror and ask yourself why your government and police services have decided that the laws of this country don’t apply to aboriginals.

Self-emasculation is the new "I am Canadian."

Update: As of this morning (June 29), native protesters wearing balaclavas and some carrying shotguns have closed several highways and rail lines. The OPP are "negotiating" with them. When our society has been reduced to pleading with armed thugs to pleeeeease obey the laws (you know, the ones we don't actually enforce), I'm not sure our society is worth saving anymore....

Update #2: "First Nations protesters are again blocking CN’s rail corridor and the OPP continues to refuse to intervene," said a statement issued by the railway early today. Brant, a 43-year-old Mohawk, is out on bail on previous charges of mischief, disobeying a court order and breach of recognizance in connection with a 30-hour blockade of the nearby CN line April 20. No, he has not been arrested although a warrant has been issued (worthless if not executed).

From the Code of Conduct for Ontario Police Officers: 2. (1) Any … police officer commits misconduct if he or she engages in, (a) Discreditable Conduct, in that he or she (i) fails to treat or protect a person equally without discrimination with respect to police services because of that person’s race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family status or handicap, … (c) Neglect of Duty, in that he or she, (i) without lawful excuse, neglects or omits promptly and diligently to perform a duty as a member of the police force, … iv) fails, when knowing where an offender is to be found, to report him or her or to make due exertions for bringing the offender to justice,

Abortion Clinic Pics and Lost Irony

Yes, yes, I know – abortion is no laughing matter. But sometimes, the pro-aborts have their heads shoved so deep in the sand that even their most painfully obvious double-speak is lost on them. Take the website of Toronto’s Bloor West Village Women’s Clinic as a prime example of just how forked a tongue can actually become.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, right? Check this out – the abortion clinic’s website offers a slideshow tour of the clinic, pictures of which I’ve reproduced here with “stating the bloody obvious” running commentary. The headlines below are the photo captions exactly as they appear on the website (click photo to enlarge):

Reception; where you’ll meet some of our friendly staff
(Gee, they must be hiding behind the desk. Don’t these kinds of “welcoming” reception area photos for “health clinics” usually show smiling faces, waiting to greet the customer?)





Have a seat in our waiting room
(What? No smiling, happy customers? No proud women extolling “My body, my choice!”?)







All questions answered by our counsellor
(She must be on the speakerphone. Do the pretty bags help the guilt go away? Do you get two if you abort twins? And take note of the tissue box…it becomes a theme as you’ll see)






Enjoy the view
(Anything but think about that baby you’re about to snuff out. Gee, aren’t those pretty houses…the kind families live in, right? At least there’s more tissue!)






Ultra-sound and procedure room
(Hey, do they get to see the baby’s heartbeat too? Before I mean? Those machines can do that you know….)






Enjoy a variety of snacks and beverages
(Cause there’s nothing like the munchies after offing your kid, right? And just why, do you think, do they seem to need so much tissue? Every recovery chair gets its own box. These women – they’re not, you know, upset and crying are they? Whatever for? It’s just a clump of tissue, a mass of the products of conception, right? Gee, you’d think someone had died or something….)


Seriously folks, if you're about to undergo a procedure at a place where no one will show their faces, and the clients needs counselling and endless boxes of tissue to get through the process, maybe you want to think just a little longer about this irreversible thing you're about to do. (Hint: Women who have had abortions it regret it, but those who didn't, don't).

Wanted - Best Local Confessors!

It’s time to publish a list of the best confessors in our own dioceses. Please submit in the comments section the name, parish and (arch)diocese of any priest you feel possesses extraordinary pastoral capacity in the administration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Penance/Confession).

For the purposes of nominating, please suggest any priest who:

• Makes himself available to administer the sacrament outside of regular hours or conventional settings;


• Warmly welcomes the penitent into the sacrament;


• Has an unusual capacity to ‘tease out’ sin, and assist the penitent in identifying his/her particular occasions of sin;


• Makes astute and probing inquiries of the penitent, without being voyeuristic;


• Appears to have a firm grasp of the moral challenges facing today’s families and youth, and is able to correctly articulate sin and its occasions for the penitent;


• Provides firm guidance, advice and tools that are of practical use to the penitent;


• Discerns sometimes unusual (and maybe difficult), but relevant and appropriate penance tailored to suit individual circumstances and needs;


• Removes the sense of despair from penitents who feel they cannot escape sin, or who are weak in faith;


• Creates an atmosphere of trust, hope, love and forgiveness that can sometimes cause a penitent to reveal past sins previously concealed; and


• Fosters an understanding that the conquest of sin may be a long journey, and that neither he nor the church will ever give up hope for the penitent.

This is obviously not an exhaustive list of what makes a good confessor. A sound knowledge of sacramental theology and scripture, personal spiritual health, affective maturity and other factors contribute significantly to the character of priests who administer the sacrament.

That said, it is time to make a list of priests known for their extraordinary abilities in the confessional generally known so that the faithful can avail themselves of the best pastoral resources in their own communities. Too many have been away from this sacrament for far too long, and need to experience this extraordinary gift at its very best.

Comments Note: Due to the sensitive nature of this post, anonymous comments have been enabled to allow those who wish to post without attribution to do so, but my preference is for attributable comments. Also, please take the time to hyperlink the parish or priest name so that others can more easily track them down (which is the whole point here - to embolden others to take advantage of the sacrament). Thanks!

Ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

SSPX in the Jewel of Victoria, BC

The Society of Saint Pius X in Canada holds monthly services in the historic St. Ann's Academy in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia. I had the pleasure of visiting this historic landmark, officially deconsecrated by the Roman Catholic Church after Vatican II but preserved by the BC Government as a historical site.

The chapel has often been referred to as "The Heart of St. Ann’s". For the Sisters, their lives as Postulants and Novices began in the chapel, and ended there, when they passed away. For students, it was a place of beauty and music, that put them on their best behaviour. Many of the girls received their first Holy Communion there. The chapel became part of St. Ann’s in 1886, when it was added on to the newly built wing of the school and Convent. However, the history of the chapel begins long before that date.

Please enjoy my photos!

Dad vs. Puberty: Part 1

Actual conversation with my 12 year old son:

Dad, boys like to look at girls’ apples, don’t they?

What?

You know…their apples.

Uhhh…son, do you mean melons?

Yeah, that’s it – their melons.

Son, it’s normal for you to be attracted to girl’s body, but it is rude to refer to body parts that way. They’re called breasts, not melons.

OK Dad.

...

Dad?

Yes son.

Mom’s are more like apples though, aren’t they?

Victim-bashing, Right-wing Nutcase Answers Stupid Liberal Question

So many folks have begun saying aloud what I have been thinking myself, that a pattern of squishy-left responses has become clear. When anyone dares ascribe cowardice to victims (a la Virginia Tech) who fail to fight back, the retort is almost always “What do you know about it, you keyboard warrior? If you’re such a big man why don’t you go to Iraq and fight terrorists? Until it happens to you, you can’t possibly know how you’d react, so how dare you blame the victims?”

I think I’ll answer that, actually.

What would I do? I would respond with maturity, fortitude and do whatever was required. If, for example, I was accosted on the street by a mugger with a gun who declares "Your money or your life," I would dutifully hand over my wallet and let him be on his way. I would obtain as best a description as I could, then call the police and cancel my credit cards. Rushing my attacker in this case could escalate a non-lethal situation into one where bullets would be flying and any number of people could get killed. Neither my wallet nor my XY vanity is worth it.

Not so with other situations, however. In the case of school shootings, we are all well acquainted with the Modus Operandi: a suicidal maniac, armed to the teeth, will calmly roam the hallways killing as many people as he can until he is either stopped or runs out of bullets, save one, which he will then use on himself. He will, in other words, continue killing for as long as he is permitted by others to do so. Liberals may not like to hear this inconvenient truth, but an obligation falls to other human beings in the area, through no fault of theirs, to actually do something about it. In every situation these victims (those being shot at right now) and potential victims (those who will be shot next) have a choice to make. They can flee, defend or attack. All are appropriate reactions depending on the tactical situation at hand. Three guys barricading a classroom to save twenty others may be a good move in one area of engagement. Five guys rushing the attacker after he passes your doorway, or when he reloads or is firing in another direction, would have also been a good idea at many points. Lining up like cattle while he shoots you one by one will always be a very poor tactical choice. It is called "cowardice".

Please don’t misunderstand me: everyone, and I mean everyone, is entitled to freeze up for a few moments – to be temporarily overwhelmed by disbelief or frozen by shock and terror. As the moments pass and the disbelief fades, however, you will have to make choices about your behaviour – and these you can control. You will be held accountable for them in any event.

This notion about having to have special training or leaving it to the professionals in law enforcement is nonsense. Before 13 year old Marian Fisher was executed by her school shooter, she asked to be shot first so as to protect the younger children. Maybe the shooter would run out of bullets, leaving the youngest to survive, or may be he would have a change of heart after killing her, she must have thought. This child knew a lot more about courage than a lot of the students at Virginia Tech.

Airplane hijackings are, of course, another classic example where the rules are now universally understood by passengers everywhere: If the hijackers get control of the plane, you and lots of other people on the ground will die. There are, depending on the size of the aircraft, always somewhere between 60 and 300 passengers. Ever if there are dozens of well armed hijackers, they don’t stand a chance of getting control of that aircraft if everyone leaps out of their seat and rushes them. I sincerely doubt that there is a single person who would support the idea of going along for a final ride on Jihad Air, just so they could live long enough to see a national monument or F-14 up close. In this tactical situation, cowardice is simply no longer an option.

We are left, really, with simple math:

CRIME = f(CRIMINAL)(VICTIM).

Every single crime requires two things: a perpetrator and a victim. If either of those factors is absent, a crime will not occur. Victims are as much part of this equation as the suspect, and like it or not will therefore have a say in the outcome. This say means making a choice.

I’ve made mine. What’s yours?

PS: I have deliberately left the whole Christian perspective aside, as my post deals with universal morality and realities. For those asking WWJD however, you just have to read Kathy’s take:

Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend."

That stupid Jesus guy left out all the stuff about being "properly trained first", the differences between this or that caliber gun, and following our "natural instincts".

What a loser, huh?

Are there even any real men left anymore?

Kathy’s point is well taken; I call them Grief Groupies (or GGs for short) – just a bunch of misery-loving, misguided humanity wallowing in the grief of others to give their empty, pathetic lives some fleeting meaning. Get. A. Life.

One question among many unanswered ones: How did over 50 people get shot without anyone taking the shooter down? Did everyone just hurtle themselves out windows and hide under desks? Would there be over 50 shot and 30 dead if after 2 or 3 victims a few guys with actual testicles rushed the shooter? Flight 93? Anyone? Anyone…?

Seditious cowards, the lot of them. They castrated a once proud nation with twinkles in their eyes, and treason in their souls. Wall. Against. Put. Shot.

Last real man get the lights on your way out….