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thatpatguy

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  5. The Toronto Sun - journalism at it's finest!

    in Politics

    Posted

    here is an editorial from the Toronto Sun (linked from the Read Here Not There, to avoid giving the Sun more "clicks") that outlines how the cause of gang violence is absentee fathers in the black community ("many of whom impregnate as many willing women as they can") and the solution is giving more power and money to black, socially conservative, evangelical Christian churches.

    Thanks for clearing all that up for us Lorrie Goldstein, you're a national treasure.

    http://readherenotthere.tumblr.com/post/26566157508/roots-of-gang-crime-absentee-black-fathers-ensure

    We’re having another spasm of gang and gun violence in Toronto, but of course politicians don’t want to address the biggest cause of it.

    That’s the breakdown of the black nuclear family and the reality of absentee black fathers, many of whom impregnate as many willing women as they can.

    Kids growing up in poverty without dads are the single greatest future recruitment mechanism for the gangs, the single greatest predictor of future violent urban street crime.

    But politicians, so politically correct they’re in danger of disappearing up their own behinds, ignore this.

    Instead we get pointless calls for handgun bans. Even bullet bans. Because in their blinkered view of the world, talking honestly about gang violence, which is primarily black-on-black violence, is racist.

    Except what’s really racist is to consign entire sections of Toronto, or any city, to the terrorism of criminal gangs, without doing everything possible to combat it.

    It’s racist because most of the victims of black gangs aren’t whites, although the random gun violence is increasingly claiming innocent victims of every race, creed and colour, when it bursts into public settings like crowded, downtown malls.

    Most of the victims are black, including the vast majority of law-abiding, decent people forced by economic circumstances to live in the same communities as the gangs, where they’re terrorized by what, to them, is an occupying army.

    One problem is the chronic unwillingness of too many judges to use the perfectly adequate laws and sentencing provisions we already have — we don’t need new ones — to address violent urban street crime.

    Another is the unwillingness of too many politicians to spend the public money needed to ensure there are enough prosecutors, courts, detention facilities and prisons, so that the system doesn’t have to constantly rely on easy bail, early parole and plea bargains to avoid collapsing from overcrowding.

    But even if we dramatically increased the rate of incarceration of gang members, that won’t curtail the next generation coming up behind them, because of the breakdown of the black nuclear family.

    I’d invest public funding not into any more academic studies of the problem — we know what the problem is — but into black, socially conservative, evangelical Christian churches who preach and teach the real remedies to black crime.

    Sexual restraint. Fidelity. Delayed gratification. Self esteem. Family and financial planning.

    Many of these churches provide these programs on their own, but lack the necessary resources to make a societal difference.

    Black preachers know what their communities need, and are unafraid to say it, because they’re the ones who have to deliver the funeral eulogies for the gangsters and their victims.

    The rest of us need to stop pretending racism plays no part in this crisis, because it does.

    It starts with decent kids living in the communities dominated by the gangs having to lie about where they live, even to apply for minimum wage, after-school jobs, because otherwise employers won’t even look at their applications.

    We should allow school boards to tax again, subject to annual audits proving the money raised is being invested in effective programs to bolster student performance in our most vulnerable communities.

    But the underlying choice is simple.

    We can do the real work, or we can pretend banning bullets is the answer.

  10. 'Baby steps' to US agents on Canadian soil: RCMP

    in Politics

    Posted

    yeah.. I worked as a comms officer (I built and managed the web and socialmedia properties) from Sept 2010 to Jan 2012.. so I got to experience pretty much the highest high (elxn 41/Orange Crush) and lowest low (Jack's passing) of the party. It was quite the ride.

    I think Mulcair is really trying to reach out to centerist liberals right now, in preparation for not only the next election but also the Liberal leadership race.

    During the NDP leadership race Mulcair was criticised for not being as pro-union/pro-labour as the NPD's roots, maybe that's what we are seeing here.

    Though I'm obviously an NDP supporter, I'm not the type of supporter that blindly follows any party. I'm just looking for the best fit with my personal politics. Currently (and historically) that is the NDP. But I certainly don't agree with everything they do.

    I think it's unfortunate when you get people who blindly follow a political party. No institution is perfect, especially a political one :)

    I have yet to hold a union gig. One day though, here's hoping :)

  11. 'Baby steps' to US agents on Canadian soil: RCMP

    in Politics

    Posted

    I haven't been in the employ of the NDP since January, so I can't really comment on what they are currently doing, I know as much as anyone else now that I'm a civilian.

    I think they are carefully looking at how they are perceived in terms of how they are fighting for the unions these days.

    I'm very pro-union and would like the NDP to keep their strong ties with the unions and the labour movement, we'll see how Mulcair does with that though.

  16. Dirty Little Secret - Zaphod's - Saturday April 28

    in Soundboard

    Posted · Edited by Guest

    Sorry for the late notice on this one folks. Dirty Little Secret (you know, that band with Ms.Huxtable) is playing an early set at Zaphod's tomorrow night. To add to the fun and excitement of seeing Ms.Huxtable belt out the tunes is that I'm the new bassist for DLS! :)

    Also on the bill are Toronto's Little Foot Long Foot (http://www.littlefootlongfoot.com/) and The Mercy Now (http://www.themercynow.com/).

    Show starts at 8:00pm (I told ya it was early) and DLS will be up first playing from 8:00 until 8:40ish.

    We hope to see you all tomorrow night!!

  23. Paddy not Patty

    in Soundboard

    Posted

    March 17th is just around the corner so I'm going to get this major pet peeve off my chest now. It's St. Paddy, not St. Patty. Patty, with Ts, is short for Patricia. Paddy, with Ds, is short for Patrick, from the Irish "Pádraig".

  24. Zombies!

    in Soundboard

    Posted

    Romero's first three Living Dead films (the real trilogy) is all about character development (and social commentary/satire).

    Now, he didn't have the same amount of time to really flush out characters like you do on a TV series, but the individuals dealing with the zombies was just as important to him as the blood and gore.

    Add that to the commentary on racism, consumerism and the military-industrial complex and you have your self some fine cinema.

    28 Days Later and Shaun of the Dead also provide excellent viewing for character development and social commentary. I could write an entire essay on the character development in Shaun of the Dead, but I won't :)

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