I am often asked, when somebody recognizes me walking down the street, “hey man, aren’t you that bald guy with the glasses from E.R?”
No, I am not.
But I was recently asked, in an e-mail from somebody who claims to be looking for answers about communism in Canada, “what is the difference between the Communist Party of Canada and the Marxist Leninist Party of Canada?”

Ah, yes. I know where this person is coming from. Disenchanted with traditional Canadian politics, sees the Liberals and Conservatives as the same, too socialist for the NDP, sees past all the bullshit and is looking for something different… But unfortunately forgets to look for something relevant.

So they turn to the two “communist” parties of Canada, looking for answers, but then the question comes: “which one do I go with?” Here’s a handy comparison chart to help you make up your mind.

Instead of voting communist, just approach your local NDP rep and tell him to grow some balls. Boom, there you have it. A perfect socialist without a scary name.

I have a few concerns with the article you wrote about Omar Khadr (in the Sunday Sun, July 20th, 2008).

First, lets talk about what you said: Essentially, that the media has had a “drama-queen”, overly sympathetic response to the Omar Khadr Gitmo detention videos. You say we should not feel sorry for him, because the “boy terrorist”, as you call him, threw a grenade that allegedly killed a US Army medic, Sgt. Christopher Speer. And the reason he broke down and cried is because he thought the Canadian agents were there to take him back to Canada, but when the agents started asking him “the tough questions”… “he knew the jig was up, and that there was no going home”. Moreover, if Omar had killed a Canadian soldier we would not feel sorry for him.

I think you have made a decent effort to present a different point of view about these videos. The problem is, anybody who ascribes to this point of view has to conveniently forget some important facts.

1) Charges against Omar were dropped in 04 June 2007 because he could not be deemed an “unlawful” enemy combatant by the US’s war crimes tribunal. He has not been charged since.
2) Omar has not been convicted of any crime.
3) There is another side to the story. Omar’s defence team argues there is corroborating evidence, including evidence submitted by a ballistics expert, to suggest Sgt. Speer was killed by friendly fire – by an American grenade.

I am not saying I believe either story. What I am saying is that you cannot deride Canadians for feeling sorry for somebody who has been held for 6 years, without being charged, without being convicted, and when there has been no real effort of repatriation by the Canadian government. In Canada we have never let somebody rot in a jail cell for 6 years without even charging them.

And what makes him a “terrorist”? If he was out there killing American soldiers, then he, even as described by his American prosecutors, is an “enemy combatant”. He did not explode himself in a crowd of civilians or detonate a truck-bomb in a marketplace.

You ask us “if this Canadian poster boy terrorist had killed (a Canadian soldier), would there be the same outrage being expressed today over his treatment in detention?”

The question is designed to appeal to our patriotism, our respect for Canadian soldiers, our sentiment for those who have died there. But the question is actually invalid. Think about it: 1) We don’t know that Omar killed anybody – again, he hasn’t even been charged, let alone convicted. 2) If a Canadian citizen like Omar Khadr was accused of killing a Canadian soldier, he certainly would not end up at Guantanamo. He would be shipped back to Canada and would go through due process. He would be tried under the Young Offenders Act. He would have evidence presented against him – and for him. He would retain his rights under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms (ie: he would be given rights to counsel before any interrogation - shamefully, something our own agents did not do when they interrogated Omar). He would not sit in a detention cell for 6 years. He would not ever be awoken every three hours and moved to a different location – a sleep deprivation technique designed to induce compliance to interrogation. He would be able to communicate with his family.

Your question is flawed, intentionally I think. You end your editorial by reminding us that “Pte Colin Wilmot, by the way, was buried on Wednesday in his home town of Fredericton”. You are using the death of one of our boys to promote the view that Khadr deserves what he is getting; you are using a dead Canadian soldier as a tool to advance a flimsy argument. The “jig” is up.

Sincerely, but with apologies to your mighty moustache,

Mercuda

A-stAr decided to leave us.
He will not be posting here anymore as with time he has changed his political views.
It is important to find your own way through rationality and not pressure of your environement and society. We sure hope he find his way on his “own”.

OMG everybody, I dunno if you just saw the latest episode of Holmes on Homes, but my dream finally came true. Mike Holmes and his crew came over and fixed my house, and it’s all because I wrote him this letter.

My letter:

Dear Mike Holmes,

We need your help! 4 years ago my wife and I purchased a detached 6270 sq ft home in Green Valley Acres (1 km south of the equestrian club). For the first three years, everything went beautifully. We really enjoyed the 3 acres of yard space, especially because we have no kids. We loved spending warm summer evenings relaxing in our gazebo, sipping vintage wine, comforted by the fact that we each make over $80,000 a year and our Land Rover is already paid off. But lately we’ve been having problems!

It seems our plumbing may have been done totally wrong! When we start the jets on our hot tub, the water that comes out first looks a little bit grey, and then it gets clear. Same thing when we start any of our taps, or when we flush the toilet. What makes this especially horrible is that we just had our kitchen renovated and had marble floors and granite counter tops put in. We’ve also noticed some grey water leakage in our basement, which makes us so angry because we just converted it into a rec-hall complete with wet bar, pool table, and walk-out to the stone patio and man-made pond with fountain. We called the people who built all of these homes in our area, but they said it was going to cost money to fix it! I hope you can help.

Mike Holmes’ response:

OH MY GOD I CANT BELEVE THEY DID THAT TO YOU. OK I WILL COME OVER. WHAT IS YOUR ADRESS I WILL MAKE IT RIGHT.-MIKE

Pictures:

Our house in Green Valley Acres. Only problem is… Something was wrong with our plumbing!

Our hot tub and back yard. And there’s our white show-horse, Pegasus, in the background! Hi Pegasus!

Mike Holmes helps lots of poor people. The people who live in this house hired somebody to finish their basement and make a rec room, guest bedroom, and wet bar… But it didn’t turn out the way they wanted. Luckily, Mike Holmes saw their plight and made it right!

Mike Holmes helps poor communities too. Here is a picture of a poor neighborhood that he helped because somebody didn’t build the fences right.

Do you have a story about Mike Holmes coming to the rescue? Share it here! Do you want to write your own letter to Mike Holmes? I can show you how! E-mail me at doubleincomenokids_homeowner@sympatico.net (please, no more renters and real poor people in apartments and condos and stuff asking for help).