February 18, 2002
St. Stephen, New Brunswick, CanadaDr. James Lunney, Member of Parliament for Nanaimo, BC, was here at the house for supper, then I went with him and Dad to an Alliance meeting in St. Stephen. I enjoyed picking Dr. Lunney's brain during the hour drive there and back. Not many people have the opportunity to speak so casually with members of Parliament and get the inside scoop on how government really works.
Dr. Lunney spoke at the meeting seeking support for Stockwell Day's re-election to leader of The Canadian Alliance. Stock stepped down from the position to show that he wasn't power hungry. He figured that if the party members wanted him as leader he would get re-elected. Dad spoke about his experience as a National Councilor. Over the past two years, half of the national councilors were appointed, not elected, and they did more harm than good. This time, all the councilors will be chosen by the members, and Dad thinks things are going to change big time for the better.
The media makes it seem like the Alliance are dead, but they won twice the votes, have five times the seats, and ten times the membership of the PC party, who is their only "competition." The CBC is funded by the current Liberal government, so nearly all coverage on the Alliance is slanted to make them look bad. The Alliance wants small government and citizens to be self-reliant, so a lot of bureaucrats and other people with government jobs, including those at CBC, are fearful. Many newspapers are also owned by companies who want things to stay as they are-- "the status quo", as it is called. They got their people in the right positions, and if a new party forms the government, there may be a major shift in the way the country is run. Alliance is grassroots, so it represents a section of the population, and the people make it what it is-- so it's not Stockwell Day or whatever kind of monster the media paint it.
I'm not pro-Stockwell Day. I'm not even pro-Alliance. They are just names and faces. More importantly, Joe Lunch Bucket needs to get involved in democracy. The people of Canada must understand that they control this country, not the lawyers and corporations. I'm pro-personal empowerment. I'd rather not have parties at all. A parliament entirely of independents might be better. Parties divide the country as a whole, but they also unite like minds.
The email saga:
Christa... thank you for sharing your point of view. I have added it to my journal so that others can see that Ritalin does the trick for you and your son. Peace.
Thank you for understanding and for including other views. It is not fair to stereotype anyone or anything ever! We are all doing the best we can! Good luck with your adventures!
A short time later I got another email:
I just read your comments attached to my letter to you. First of all, you have no right to publish my comments and secondly you are truly a CREEP! As a matter of fact, you egocentric, ADHD is 100% genetically based and he got it from his dad! You've got a lot of growing up to do!!!!! Why would you write that??? You have a responsibility to the public since you are posting your "life" on the web to give accurate information or you are going to insult more people. If others haven't commented, that's because few are looking at your web sight. Just so you know, I have NEVER EVER done anything like this before but feel so strongly about this topic, I felt compelled to write my thoughts to you. The responsible thing to do would be to change the journal entry by adding the part about Canadians using a high amount of Ritalin, etc. but whatever...I'm done with this and I doubt anyone will read it anyway! You do not have my permission to add this letter to your web sight! P.S. You might want to try spell check!! :-)
Christa... a few times today my mind went back to what I wrote last night in my journal. I thought... "maybe I should take out the bit about her being hyper and it being in the genes". I knew those wouldn't help get you on my side, but earlier in the day I had been watching Tom Green... and I must say... I have a little of his wacky provocative I-don't-care-flare in me. Also... my judgment may have been tweaked. I started working on the journal last night at 11:30pm and didn't finish until past 4am. However... I didn't add you last name to the letter because I didn't want this to reflect back on you in "real life". I don't want people where you teach talking about this. But I gotta add the these emails to my site... cuz they are some of the best parts of the story. I like it when readers respond passionately... especially when they are opposed to my opinion. Everyone loves conflict... and there is a lot to be learned from it. It's interesting to have different points of view. This isn't an ego thing... I truly believe that I am doing important work. I get lots of feed back from supporters. I don't care if I look stupid sometimes... cuz it just means that I am daring to stretch myself. We need to laugh at ourselves. If I was fearful of what others might think... I couldn't do this web site. And as for your comments... they were rude. You cut into me with no mercy. You could have just stated your case... and stayed calm. But NO... YOU HAD TO USE CAPITAL LETTERS... so I just reflected some of that negative energy back to you. There is no need to get personal. I'm sure you are a great mother and teacher. I am very curious about all the effects of Ritalin and alternatives to using drugs for ADHD, so if you have books or web sites to recommend, please send them... I'll publish them on my site. I want to make learning fun... and if drugs help... I want people to know about them also.
I hope you show your teeth for environmental issues as well...
Thanks again for caring enough to state your views!
Namaste!
