Changing Direction and Focus

February 20, 2012 | Author: Just A Canadian

speaking my thoughts I have been doing a lot of thinking lately, and have come to the conclusion that I need to change direction.

Not just of this blog, but of my own life.

I am not getting younger, and frankly I doubt I will last as long as Mom has lasted. I mean she is Ninety Four years old, almost 95, and I just know I don’t have that kind of inner strength.  Not even sure I would want to, given how much I see her suffer.

Thing is, that sometimes you just simply drift through life, and I am one of those.  Least I have been, but honestly, it is time to simply grow up.

After all, I am fifty seven years old, and it is time to stop living in a dream world.  Time to start being realistic about life, about what I should be doing.

Right now, I look after Mom, and that is a full time job, in itself. I also do some writing and online marketing.

Some don’t like to be up front about their work, but hell, if I want to change course, perhaps it is time to stop hiding behind the invisible wall of anonymity.

I write adult fiction, with a gay slant.

After all I am Gay, and have been married legally to my partner David for seven years now. We have been together, as a couple, for sixteen years in total.

For some, that may be offensive.  Frankly I don’t know why, because being Gay doesn’t make me some creep, or for that matter a Sinner. I simply do not accept that GOD is mean spirited and vengeful.  Least that is how I was raised, and is what I believe in.   So for me, being the person GOD created, is just fine. If it offends some, well, that is something they will have to come to terms with.

Nor does writing Adult Fiction make me some pervert.  Honestly, it is life, and where would any of us be, if Sex wasn’t something natural?

For some people, they have a narrow view of what is acceptable, and what isn’t.  I don’t force anyone to read my stuff, or visit my adult only sites.  Nor does having that in my portfolio make my opinions worthless.   I mean okay, so I see sex differently than you, how does that make my views on Senior Care any less relevant?

How does writing about romance, sex, between two consenting adults lessen the value of my views on Health Care, Education, or the Economy?

Perhaps we should ALL stop trying to ignore that there are things we, as individuals, do that some won’t like, but that it doesn’t make their opinions or ideas less valid.  I love the idea of Politics, and I love to express my views.  It is a perk of living in a Free Society.   Least until someone decides that having a different view than the majority is no longer allowed.   Then we are no longer a Free Society and let’s be honest.

GOD himself is the one who GAVE US ALL the right of FREE WILL.   Long before any Democracy existed, GOD decreed that MAN had the right to choose for themselves the road they wanted to travel.  So who are any of us to say that GOD is wrong, and that differing opinions are no longer valid?

I hope you will join me, as I explore the reality of living in today’s rather polarized world.  It might prove to be interesting.

Ian, just a Canadian

 

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Why I Am So Angry

February 7, 2012 | Author: Just Old Fashioned

It is a question that gnaws at me.

I used to be a quiet guy, who was happy. Or so my Mom tells me, and she should know, but honestly, that last few years I have become angry. I don’t know why, other than perhaps it is the changes I am seeing around me.  Changes, that make me feel disconnected from my past, my upbringing.

I grew up when things were about people, about helping and being a part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Government was about public service, not about how much money they could make afterwards, or in some instances, while in Office. It was about helping those who couldn’t help themselves, who needed help. It wasn’t about calling them names, or saying they were lazy either. And yes, there were some who simply were, but it was not the majority.

Far as I know, it still isn’t.

Back then, it took one income to raise a family, to provide decent food, clothing, and shelter.  Today it can take three incomes to just exist.

Yet, it is more than MONEY that has me angry.  It is people, who have changed, or allowed themselves to be bullied into believing that the golden ring, is MONEY and nothing more.  Strange, because you know, you can’t take money with you to the hereafter, but you can take peace of mind, knowing you did good.  Least, if you believe in Heaven and GOD.

Maybe it is simply, frustration.

I see people like Stephen Harper winning elections, and I wonder, what are my fellow Canadians thinking of, when they re-elect someone who has no regard for the real Canadian Values?  Is it that they are afraid of the alternative, or that they are too absorbed in their own personal dramas, called LIVING?

Even those who grew up before me, who saw the horror of what happens when countries rely on fear to keep their people in line. We saw the Korean War, the Second World War, Viet Nam, and it is like we have learned nothing from those horrible wastes of human life.   It just seems that we are heading full on, for Armageddon, without any thought about what it will mean.

Maybe it is just that we have given up hope, that perhaps we really no longer believe in GOD, so we are lost in a vacuum.  I don’t know, but I do know it has made me angry, and with each passing day it just seems to grow.

 

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Heating Credit

January 20, 2012 | Author: Just Old Fashioned

making people poorThe Provincial Government gives a nice rebate to those who are low-income.  For heating oil costs, due to their Green Tax plan.   The idea being, that this credit will offset the added cost to the low-income consumer, on their energy bill.

You know, like how BC Hydro raised its rates, went to a two tier billing system.

Course, the result of the tax really hasn’t made much of  an impact on the real prices charged consumer. Given that the prices rose far more than a few cents a liter for heating oil, or that under the two tier program, hydro bills went up dramatically for just about every single home dweller.

But hey, us poor people, we get a nice little cheque, with our GST rebate checks.

I am sure that such a rebate, has placed a severe hardship on our Finance Minister, as he struggles to balance the books. I mean that extra $25 every quarter, has to amount to Billions, right?   Oh wait, not yet, that doesn’t happen until the Government has made sure that 99% of us are all in the Poor House.

The reality is that over this current cold snap here, it has cost me $10 a day for Oil heat, and at least another $4 in electrical heat.  Nothing I can do about that either, as we RENT, and if the Landlord gave a shit, well it might be okay. Ours doesn’t, and bitching would only wind up causing the RENT TO INCREASE.     After all, who cares if a 94-year-old is cold for a few days.

It just doesn’t make sense any more.  People are being forced to work at more than one job, simply to keep their heads above water, and Lord help you if you need to take care of an elderly parent or sick child.

So much for a compassionate world, eh?

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Stopping Piracy becomes Internet Censorship

January 18, 2012 | Author: Just Old Fashioned

rich get richerIn case you missed it, there were many sites that Blacked Out today, in protest of the US Congress and its bill to protect copyright material.  The two bills, called PIPA and SOPA are supposed to help fight the growing trend of people who steal other people’s intellectual property and use it for their own monetary gain.

In some instances it is as simple as some guy uploading his favorite album, or movie, and sharing it with others.

None of the artists get paid for all those who grab that tune, that movie, and according to both the Recording Industry and Movie Industry, that is one of the major reasons you and I pay so much for DVDs and CDs.

Personally I find that to be utter Bullshit.

Yes, it is a huge cost, but, the real cost for movies, for cds is how the various industries pad their costs.  The artists themselves ( least the song writers, recording artists ) aren’t the one’s raking in the big bucks.  Movie stars, well that is another story, as many of them do get obscene payments for their acting.

The way these two bills are worded, it can very easily be used to censor thoughts, as expressed online.  This blog for example, could be censored, if someone wanted to.

Course the argument is that Government would never do that, because, well people would complain too much.

Interesting argument, but the thing is, IF Government did try this, where are you going to complain?   Dissenting opinions would not be found easily, and you can bet that the so-called Free Press  (mainstream media) wouldn’t broach the topic. After all, they have advertisers to answer to, which is one reason so few know about SOPA and PIPA.

So how would you complain? Email your Congressman, Senator?  How if you lose the right to use the internet because you are a dissenting voice?

As a kid, I read George Orwell’s  1984 and it was chilling then, implausible they said, and yet if you look around today, it is fairly mild to what is actually happening in the Free World today.  Secret Prisons ordered by a sitting President, a war started based on Fabricated Evidence, and let’s not forget Patriot Acts I & II.   Citizens of a Democracy can be jailed indefinitely if they are believed to have terrorist connections. No judicial oversight, that is transparent.

Think about it.   You may not have a chance to do anything about it, once it passes.

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