What I Want From My Government

I think of myself as a free market socialist. Here's what I want from my government:

- Stay out of my life. It's not your business what I put into my body, or do/have in my home. However, if you ask politely, and have a legitimate reason, I'll gladly give your agents a tour.
- Stay out of my business. Unless it has a direct effect on public safety, what I sell and how isn't your concern. How I run my business and what I'm willing to pay is also none of your concern, unless I am doing evil, like defrauding my customers, employees, or tax collectors.
- Keep me safe. Give police and military the training and tools necessary to protect me from people who would do me and mine harm. Allow them to perform their function, and hold them accountable with fair consideration for the position they're in.
- Don't waste time and resources. Pass legislation that makes sense and has a purpose. Don't just pass laws to keep the media saying nice things about you.
- Educate me. Education certainly isn't my right, but it is an investment that will almost always pay huge dividends to the community.
- Keep me healthy. Also not a right, but definitely an investment in the community. I can't contribute if I'm ill or injured, so give me a boost.
- Tax me fairly, in a way that makes sense. Current taxation is far too complicated. How many resources are wasted in simply interpreting the policies and procedures?

Know What You're Voting FOR

I have noticed a trend floating around social media. Canadians are displeased with Stephen Harper. Every time someone posts something about the Liberals or the NDP, it says, "Vote for [insert party] because Harper..." This is very dangerous.

Everyone forgets that you can't vote against Harper. In fact, you can't vote against anyone or anything. You have to vote FOR someone. Who are you voting for, and why? You don't have to answer the question for me, you have to answer the question for yourself. If you can't answer that question without the word "Harper" in the answer, then you're voting for the wrong reasons.

Don't vote NDP because you're mad at Harper.
Vote NDP because you want higher taxes, believe there aren't bad guys hiding among the refugees that want into Canada, you want to spend $1 billion so rifle owners who already have licenses should have to register their rifles, and you believe the Canadian economy will flourish without primary industries like logging, oil, and food production. Everyone needs higher wages, not jobs!

Don't vote Liberal because you're mad at Harper.
Vote Liberal because you want to legalize weed, pay higher taxes, negotiate with people whose only desire is your death, and you also support higher taxes and a $1billion registry to tell police that licensed gun owners do, in fact, own guns.

Don't vote Green because you're mad at Harper.
Vote Green because you believe that Elizabeth May was the only one in Parliament to vote against the mission in Syria, not because she's wrong, but because she's the only one who isn't. Also, oil pipelines are bad because trains don't actually do any damage when they derail.

Please, vote Conservative. Then, call your MP and tell him/her why you almost didn't, so they don't piss you off again. Get involved. Speak to your representative once in a while. If that doesn't work, then vote for someone who will listen to your phone calls.

Retraining our Society of Victims is Necessary for Survival

When I was studying Terrorism Survival and Crime Survival, we learned the difference between a soft target versus hard target, and a low value target versus a high value target. The worst situation of course is to be a soft target of high value.

Now, you take a soft target like a Pokemon tournament. Typically not very high value, so you don't need to worry, right? Wrong, apparently. Whiny little bitches who haven't been taught how to manage their emotions now target places like schools, movie theatres, and goddamn Pokemon tournaments just to make themselves feel better.

What's the world coming to? It's coming to a place where the criminals are treated like the victims because they had shitty upbringings. The police are neutered by both the court of law and the court of public opinion, so they are completely powerless to protect us. Simultaneously, our legislators continue to pass laws restricting our rights and abilities to protect ourselves from the bad guys. We don't learn to stand up to bullies in school anymore. We're taught to comply in an armed robbery. Our emergency response procedures involve appeasement and cooperation. The bad guys are being given all the cards.

If we change how we think, if we make the conscious choice as a collective to stand up to bullies, we can make a real difference. I don't just mean stand up to bullies when you're being bullied, but when anyone is being bullied. That is the best way to discourage bullying. Youth suicides will all but stop, because they will feel safe and protected.

Continue this new mindset to the "real world." If everyone makes the conscious decision to stop the armed robber when he shows up, they'll stop. If everyone makes the decision to learn how to defend themselves, when someone shows up to shoot up the Pokemon tournament, someone is going to stop him before the body count gets high.

We learn in biology class about the Fight or Flight response to fear. There is a third option: Submit. The accurate response to fear is Fight, Flight, or Submit. I think you'll find that in most situations, people will simply submit. This is partly because of how we're hardwired, but this is also largely because of the society of victims that we are raising. Everything is always someone else's fault. Blame society. Blame the Jews. Blame the government. Blame the police. Blame the whites. Stop it. Stop being pussies and take it by the horns. It's on you to fix the problem. Do you know what to do if you're standing in line for the bank teller and someone pulls out a gun? Are you going to submit? Probably.

I'll probably submit, too. Any level of martial artist, soldier, or police officer out of uniform and in that situation will probably submit. The difference between us and most of you is that while we submit, we'll be looking for a tactical advantage. If and when we find that tactical advantage, that sunuvabitch will no longer be an entity unto himself. We will own him.

The world needs more people who think that way. Right now, the bad guys do what they please because they know we'll all submit. We, as a society, need to teach them that we will not submit. That we will own them. We will take away their power, and we will lock them in a cage to consider their life choices. If they truly repent and make amends, then we will forgive them and allow them to reintegrate into our society, but we will not forget. If they think we will allow them to fool us twice, they're done.

There, in a few short paragraphs, I have solved violent crime in North America. Now the problem is convincing people. Seek out some classes. There are classes for everyone. If you have years to learn and want to master something, there are traditional martial arts out there that can adapt to real world situations. If you like to compete, there's competitive arts like Taekwondo, MMA, Boxing, and Kickboxing. If you just want to learn some self defense, seek out Reality Based Personal Protection or Krav Maga. It's not the techniques that matter, it's the mindset. It's the conscious decision made ahead of time to take action, and the conflict rehearsals that prepare you to do so.

As one of my instructors always says, Be a Hard Target. I'll see that and raise it to Make Everyone a Hard Target.

The Warrior Creed

by Robert L. Humphrey(Marine Rifle Platoon Commander on Iwo Jima
& Bujinkan 10th Dan)

Wherever I go,
everyone is a little bit safer because I am there.

Wherever I am,
anyone in need has a friend.

Whenever I return home,
everyone is happy I am there.

Policing Freedom

On the day that America celebrates its Independence Day, I reflect on the main tenet America was founded upon - freedom. Canada was founded in a much different way, but on the same basic tenet. What happened to our freedom?

Sure the United States passed its Bill of Rights, and we passed our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Now, slowly and democratically, we are giving our freedom away. Especially in America, we have recreated the aristocracy. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer, just like so many times in history before violent uprisings.

We elect our representatives, considering a 40% turnout to be an excellent turnout of voters. That means that the majority of the minority is actually electing our representatives. The rest of us can't be bothered, because we simply can't be bothered. Even if we do vote, we fill out our ballot, and stop paying attention. Whomever we elected can do whatever the hell they want, and we don't pay attention. We are actually happier being told what to do... until someone tells us what to do.

When someone tells us what to do, it is usually a police officer, speaking on behalf of the democratically elected government, which was "democratically" elected by the majority of the people who could be bothered to give a shit and vote. Then we vilify the police officer, who is obviously being an asshole and infringing on our freedoms because he is a jackbooted thug with a gun who feels entitled and is powertripping. Right? Right?

When a democratically elected government, whether municipal, provincial, or federal makes a stupid law, don't fight the guy who has been told by that government to enforce it. He is going to win. It's not his job to debate with you, or explain it to you, or reason with you, or even decide if it's right or wrong. It's his job to impose the will of the government on you. If the will of the government is stupid and unfair, it's still his job. He doesn't have to like it, but he does have to win the fight. Period. The police officer's job description in two sentences: "Impose the will of the government. Period." Fortunately, we live somewhere that the government's will is usually benevolent, so Community Policing, involvement, serving, and protecting, is part of that will.

Before you get pissed off at a police officer for enforcing a stupid ass law, maybe take a look at the jackasses that voted for the people who passed that law. Then go have a chat with the elected officials. Take part in the democratic process. Don't complain that the rules are stupid and get mad at the guy whose job it is to enforce them, get involved and help CHANGE THE RULES.

The Lord's Prayer in School

I've been asked to post my take on the big issue in Taber right now, prayer in school.

Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done
On Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day, our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
Thine is the kingdom,
The power and glory,
Forever and ever.

If I harmed you by writing that, I don't think the problem is the prayer. I think you need to sit down and examine your life a little closer and determine why it hurt you.

You don't have to believe in God for this prayer to have power. It works just as well translated into plain speak and internalized:

'OK, Ty. Everything's going to work out fine. Get through today, it'll be alright. Everybody makes mistakes, so don't dwell on those made by others. Don't eat that second helping of cake, and don't shoplift that chocolate bar. Just stay out of trouble, and remain humble.'

It's more or less a poem about how to be a good person. Saying it hurts absolutely nobody. They aren't teaching creationism in their history class. It ain't broke, so don't fix it. Fighting about whether or not it's said in a group setting will accomplish absolutely nothing in the big picture, but it will hurt the children caught in the crossfire of the conflict.

Minimum Wage: Myopic, Ineffective, and Harmful

There has been a lot of talk about increasing minimum wage in Alberta ever since the NDP was elected to a majority government. The current minimum wage in Alberta is $10.20 per hour, unless you're a liquor server. If you're a liquor server, it's $9.20 per hour because you are supposed to make decent tips serving alcohol. The government wants to increase minimum wage to $15.00 per hour by 2018. The government feels this will reduce poverty in Alberta, but in reality it will actually increase poverty for families. It will do absolutely no favours for minimum-wage earners, and it will do severe damage to rural economies in Alberta.

The Flawed Logic

Few people remember it, but the New Democratic Party actually used to be called the Communist Party. They are considered much more socialist than communist in this age, but we are already seeing the beginnings of communism from this government. Think back to junior high social studies. The first thing that a communist government does when it comes into power is called Redistribution of Wealth. While this sounds like a wonderful idea to the lower class, a cool idea to the middle class, and a terrible idea to the aristocracy, it truly is just a bad idea on the scale of a province. Trying to redistribute wealth in a province of a much larger country will simply drive the wealthy to other jurisdictions. Alberta has been thriving for decades largely because other provinces have tried to redistribute wealth, and that has driven the wealthy towards Alberta.
There is a saying among the proletariat classes: "From below, everyone above you just looks like an ass." We resent the wealthy because we are envious of what they have. Step back and take a look at the larger picture. It is the wealthy who invest money in our province. They pay taxes (although arguably not enough), they invest in charities, they spend money on community initiatives (parks, etc), and they are the members of service clubs. I am a Rotarian, and when I joined Rotary, I heard the joke that some clubs are considered ROMEO's. That stands for Rich Old Men Eating Out. That is a large part of what several service clubs do with their time, but it's at those dinners that they discuss where they can invest their money and volunteer their time to help people. So many communities around the world have benefitted from the wealthy spending their time in clubs like Rotary, Lions, Kin, Knights of Columbus, Stonemasons, Kiwanis, and so many others. These clubs aren't exclusive to the wealthy by any means, but it's definitely the wealthy that provide the lifeblood and make the initiatives of these clubs possible. If the wealthy all move to other areas of the country, or other countries, we will only suffer as a whole. We all want a bigger piece of the pie, but it's there to earn. Take careful risks, make good choices, get educated, and make it happen. Don't rely on electing the right person to legislate it to you. That's lazy, weak, and whiny.
The main idea behind increasing the minimum wage to $15.00 per hour is that the "living wage" in Calgary is $17 and change. Those in favour of a minimum wage increase argue that you cannot make a living and support your family on the current minimum wage. In order to live in relative comfort, you must make at least $17 in Calgary. The main problem I have with that is that I don't think anybody is actually expected to make a living and support a family on minimum wage. Minimum wage jobs are meant to be entry-level jobs for people who are just joining the work force, and they have minimal skills, minimal experience, and minimal employability. These people are youths, students, underachievers, or people that have fallen on hard times. The kid pumping your gas, or carrying your groceries, or sweeping your shop floor are the ones who are making minimum wage. They are learning what it's like to be in the workforce, to be part of a team, to show up on time, and to learn to earn more. That's what these jobs are meant for. As the people in these jobs learn, they will receive wage increases, or promotions and no longer be minimum wage earners. As they improve themselves with knowledge, experience, and education, they will make more money. If they don't make more money, they will leave the job they're at and go work for someone else. Wages are policed by Adam Smith's Invisible Hand of Capitalism, because if you're not happy with what you're making, you're going to work for someone who's paying better. It should not be the government's role to police wages. The exception to this is servers, who rely mostly on tips, and as a result can make just as much money as anyone else, if they're good at what they do and work in a busy restaurant or bar. However, higher minimum wages will destroy these restaurants and bars, so servers won't be able to make any money at all, will they?

The Wage Scale

In a blog post I wrote a few years ago, I alluded to the concept of "relative wage." Someone else may have come to this concept before me, but this I conceived it on my own, so if my theories don't mesh perfectly with what you've already read in an economics textbook, it's because I didn't read that textbook. My theory is that all wages are relative to the minimum wage. If you make $12 per hour, but minimum wage is $5 per hour, your wage is $7 per hour relative to minimum wage. Imagine wages as weights on a scale. When you weigh food on a scale, you have to zero the scale first, right? If you're going to weigh soup in a bowl, you must first put the bowl on the scale, and zero it. That way when you measure the soup, you get only the weight of the soup, not the bowl. Minimum wage is that zero point. If you make $20 per hour, with our current minimum wage of $10.20 per hour, your relative wage is $9.80 per hour. If we change the zero point by increasing minimum wage to $15 per hour, your new wage is $5 per hour. Does this still sound like a good idea?
The most obvious myopia of increasing minimum wage is that it will devalue everyone else's wages. For instance, I have worked the same job for almost 5 years, but I haven't seen a wage increase. Even though minimum wage has increased 3 times in the past 5 years, my wage has stayed the same. I suspect that is the case for a great many people. My relative wage has actually decreased 3 times in the past 5 years, and yours may have, too. Unless you work for a very generous employer who has increased your wage at a rate higher than all the minimum wage increases that have been imposed on us, then your relative wage has also decreased. The naïve people of our middle and upper classes think that increasing minimum wage will cause employers to increase everyone else's wages, too. We're just redistributing the wealth, right? Wrong.

The Effect on a Rural Economy, and the Hospitality Industry

In a hypothetical anecdote, I'm going to refer to a shoe store in a small rural town, not unlike my current town of Taber or my home town of High River. Jane has been running this shoe store since the mid-90's, and employs 5 people. She has 2 high school girls working in the evenings, making minimum wage, 2 people in the daytime making a relative wage of $7, and a manager responsible for the scheduling and helping with administration, making a relative wage of $12. It's a fairly prosperous business, and she pays herself a relative wage of $18 and she supports her family on that. Of course, minimum wage is $10.20, so her students make $10.20, her full time salespeople make $17.20, her manager makes $22.20, and she pays herself $28.20. This is a decent situation. The government increases minimum wage to $15. Legally, she has to pay her students more, so they get a raise up to $15 immediately. This comes directly out of her own pay of $28.20, so now she makes $12.60. (hey! She is paying herself less than minimum wage!!! Who is going to protect her from that?) She wants to give her other employees a pay increase to be fair to them, so she increases the price of shoes. Because every other store owner in town is doing the exact same thing, the price of everything is going up, so people can't readily afford to buy new shoes at the increased price. She starts selling fewer shoes. One of her full-time sales people is dissatisfied with a relative wage of $2.20, so she quits, leaving the owner short-staffed. She doesn't save any money on that because, she is now selling less product. She ends up closing in evenings because she can't afford the minimum wage of her students, so they're now without work. Again, she doesn't save money because she's not selling any shoes in the evenings, now. Our heroine continues to try selling more shoes at the higher price so she can pay her staff more and still support her family. She can't. Eventually, she gives up. What choice does she have? Next week, she is selling shoes for Wal-Mart in Calgary for $17, because that's the only possible way she can support her family. Every small business owner in my hypothetical town goes through a similar problem, so now my hypothetical town becomes a shadow of its former self, employing nursing home workers because retired seniors are the only people who can live there.
This sounds like a worst-case scenario, but I'm seeing evidence of it happening already. Take a drive through downtown Taber. How many empty storefronts do you see? SAAN is gone, the Bargain Shop is gone, the men's clothing store is gone, so many stores are gone! There are other factors, but I promise this is a big one. It's not profitable to own a small store anymore, so nobody does. When your store can only afford to pay you less than you'd make at Wal-Mart, you go work at Wal-Mart. It's the only thing that makes sense.

What can we do?

Please contact your local MLA. It's surprisingly easy. Click on https://www.assembly.ab.ca/net/index.aspx?p=mla_home and select your area. Send them an email. You can either write how you feel, or just simply send them a link to this post and tell them you are not in favour of a minimum wage increase. They work for you! Tell them what you want them to do. Please. It's the right thing to do to protect your job, your business, and your livelihood.

I Was Bullied!

I don't mean as a kid, I mean very recently.

Someone I know had posted a video pertaining to the situation in Baltimore. The video was of police officers standing in ready formation. The crowd was getting rowdy. They were yelling at the police, jumping on cars, throwing water bottles at the police, smashing windows, looting stores, and the police stood there in formation, watching. They didn't engage, they didn't retreat, they didn't advance. They stood there. What she posted with this video was "I don't understand how these cops live with themselves."

I was so confused. I still don't know what she saw in this video that was so evil. So, I did the obvious thing. I asked her what she saw that I missed. She replied, "Systemic racism. Hundreds of years of black people being murdered by those paid to keep law and order."

I was just as confused as before. I saw nobody doing anything to anybody else. All the rioters were black. Most of the police were white, but not all of them. The white police did nothing. The black police did nothing. The rioters were totally wild. Where was the racism in the video?

When I asked, she simply told me that I wasn't the authority on racism, and neither was she. I didn't say anything to that, but I thought that was just about the stupidest possible answer. I kept that sentiment to myself, and I said nothing. This was obviously not going to be an intelligent debate, or the learning experience I had hoped for. I dropped it.

She sent me a private message a few minutes later. "Dude I really don't like the way you are taking to me. Of course you can challenge me but I find your tone totally condescending and infantilizing. Aka sexist. Check yrself." That's a direct copy and paste. What the hell do I say to that? I seek information, and now I'm an infantilizing, condescending sexist. Granted, I was probably going to disagree with her all along, but where the fuck did THAT come from? I couldn't leave that alone.

"How does sexism come into play? I simply don't see what you're talking about in that video. Now, I think you're imagining insults." I thought that rebuttal was appropriate. I had intended to stop any further conflict. How the hell did I come across as sexist?

A little bit after, I get the message, "Yah I guess I'm crazy. Give me a break. That's the oldest line in the sexism book.

"Dude we really don't see life in the same way and I'd be happy to agree to disagree. If you want to know more about sexism or racism feel free to read a book. Or start with googling what is happening in Baltimore and you might understand why people are protesting there. I find your responses to be so arrogant and entitled. I don't have any obligation to educate you on these matters. Feel free to unfollow me on Facebook,  as I have you, so I dont have to read things that insult my values."

Now please, correct me if I'm wrong. All I'm reading in this is 'I can't think of anything intelligent to say to you, so I'm going to call you names.' I mean seriously. I know what's happening in Baltimore. Anyone with Facebook knows. I just couldn't see what she was talking about in the case study she provided.

Alberta's New Health Care Levy - My Observation

There has been some talk about a Health Care Levy in Alberta, given our economic problems. Makes sense, right? Government isn't making money on royalties anymore, so they need to find another revenue source. They don't want to alienate corporations, so that's less of an option.

This Levy is the Province's recognition that the oil market is hurting. Our corporations are having trouble selling their oil at profitable prices, and as a result, they are laying off the people that produced the oil for them to sell. The people that are getting laid off have no money to spend, so every other industry is also hurting and making cuts.

While everyone's profits are down, people are losing their jobs, and small businesses are scrambling to keep their heads above water, the government is the only organization that can simply decide what its revenue is going to be. Therefore, it will.

An income tax increase isn't going to help very much, because everyone hates hearing about tax increases. Besides, when everyone's income is down, increasing the proportion of taxes won't make enough of a difference. There must be a better idea. There must be a way to increase the revenue stream by a greater margin, and without calling it a tax. We can't bring back Health Care Premiums, because we went through a lot of effort eliminating them, and Albertans were very happy with that. What to do?

The answer is a Health Care Levy. It's not a tax, and it's not a premium, so we're covered there. Also, everyone has to pay it, whether they have a job or not. It's genius! This is a way that we can forcibly collect money from all Albertans, regardless of whether or not this economy is hurting them.

Okay, I'm being a little facetious, but I'm not a fan of what I'm seeing. I can't afford for the government to be taking more money from me, and I doubt I'm the only one who feels that way. We may as well call this a Poor Tax, or an Economic Problem Levy.

Taber’s Community Standards Bylaw

When this bylaw hit the news, I was approached by a lot of people who wanted me to hear their opinion, and a few who wanted to hear mine.

Background – "The Mennonite Problem"

In Taber, we have a very high population of Mexican Mennonites. They value hard work and close family. The Mexican Mennonites and a distinctive style and way of life that makes them visibly different from other Taberites. We aren't all that different in truth, but our differences breed distrust and fear. They don't integrate into the rest of Taber's society, choosing instead to segregate themselves into their own Mennonite schools, and observing their own holidays in addition to our own. The lack of integration and lack of understanding going both ways has a tendency to perpetuate itself through the actions of individuals. Someone will say something along the lines of "Those Mennos are at it again," and the Mennonites will say something along the lines of "Those Gringos are at it again." We just keep offending each other and making the situation worse. I'm sure that a few generations down the line, this problem will be a thing of the past, but right now it's a legitimate social problem.
I'm certainly no sociologist, and there may be people who disagree with me. I can think of one person in particular who has a degree in Sociology that has expressed interest in reading my post, so I'm hoping my opinions turn out to be intelligent ones. When you speak to the more mainstream Taberites, they often speak of "The Mennonite Problem." This isn't meant to be ignorant or bigoted, as some of these people are very intelligent, tolerant, and friendly. The Mennonite Problem is that the Mennonite youth tends to congregate in public areas on Sunday afternoons after Church in large numbers. Not a problem, right? In fact, all Canadians have the guaranteed right to peaceful assembly under Section 2(c) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. There are 2 aspects to the actual problem at hand. The first aspect is that this is a large group of youths, which in all cultures has a tendency to act without respect, seek immediate gratification, often in the form of physical or chemical pleasures, and leave a mess behind when it leaves. The second aspect of the problem is that there is a large group of people we don't understand taking up space in our parks, parking lots, and other public areas. Because we don't understand them, we are uncomfortable joining them, and that affects our own enjoyment of those facilities.
The Mennonite Problem has been widely talked about throughout Taber. I'm probably the first person to put the words "Mennonite Problem" in writing because everyone is afraid of being seen as a bigot. We could probably come up with a better name for it, but that's what the layman is calling it behind closed doors. I haven't approached the Taber Police Service (TPS – including Bylaw Services) for any official position and I have not been authorized by them to speak on their behalf, but I'm going to comment based on my own observations. TPS has been under a lot of pressure from the community to "deal" with the Mennonite Problem. That's a pretty open-ended directive, isn't it? Does that mean to drive the Mennonites out of town? They are Canadian Citizens, and are also protected by Section 6(2)(a) of the Charter of Rights, which says any Canadian can live in any municipality they choose. Stop them from meeting in large numbers? No, we're back to Section 2(c) of the Charter. There is nothing wrong with their being here and hanging out in public areas. The only actual problem is the way they behave when they assemble. That problem isn't because they're Mennonites, it's because it's a large group of unsupervised young people.

Solving the Mennonite Problem

Of course, TPS has some tools available to address the behaviour of the Mennonites. Section 175(1)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code says

175. (1) Every one who

• (a) not being in a dwelling-house, causes a disturbance in or near a public place,
  • (i) by fighting, screaming, shouting, swearing, singing or using insulting or obscene language,

is guilty of an offence…
    There are also several criminal laws in place for dealing with drinking, spitting, urinating, and damaging property. Now, imagine that you're the police officer on duty, and you head over to the Community Centre because it's Sunday and you know there's going to be a large assembly of young Mennonites hanging out. Given the demographic, there's very likely to be some individuals within that group that are drinking, fighting, yelling, swearing, urinating, spitting, or just generally looking for trouble. Is it really worth reading the Riot Act to disperse the entire crowd? The innocent ones will likely go home, or they'll go looking for trouble because they've been unfairly treated. The troublemakers are just going to go cause trouble elsewhere. Is it actually going to be productive to sift through this crowd, picking one or two out of it and charging them criminally for getting a little wild while hanging out with their friends? That means you have to detain them, investigate fully, collect witness statements (what are the odds the witnesses are going to be cooperative?), and issue a Summons to Criminal Court next Tuesday. Then you're going to have to go through the trouble of criminal court proceedings for something that's actually pretty minor when you think about it. It seems a little excessive, doesn't it?
    TPS needed another tool in their toolbox for dealing with The Mennonite Problem, because the answer is not criminal charges. Council was also feeling the same pressure that TPS was feeling, and had actually been contributing to a lot of the pressure on TPS. The people in Taber wanted a solution to The Mennonite Problem. In response to this need, Council passed the Community Standards Bylaw, which is kind of an omnibus bylaw that combines Taber's already existing bylaws for curfew, noise, panhandling, loitering, and graffiti. It added to it a bylaw infraction for Disturbing the Peace, which gives police the ability to write a bylaw ticket to the offending person, rather than drag them through the criminal court system.

Media Coverage

    Where Council made their biggest mistake with this bylaw was by allowing the Taber Times to write the story about it without any help, or prepared statements. Mayor Henk DeVlieger is quoted as saying "I'm not saying this thing is perfect, but I think we should give it a chance and try it out, and let the police work with it. After a period of time, we might make some adjustments, but let's see how it works." I agree with the spirit of what His Worship is trying to convey, but the feeling of "It's not quite right, but let's pass the bylaw anyways" isn't going to sit well with residents of Taber. Trevor Busch wrote a very good article, which reported the facts straight down the middle. Council lacked the foresight to provide the Times with a press release, explaining the bylaw. Now, Busch's well-written article has been getting the attention of Global News, the National Post, the Herald, and so many others who are going to spin it way out of context. The next mistake made by Council was naming it the Community Standards Bylaw, which just screams "We have the power, and we will control what you do. Welcome to the Nanny State of Taber." The last is combining all these bylaws into one, which seems like a good idea on the surface, but causes panic when combined with the other two mistakes.

Resident Concerns

    Now, I have been seeing and hearing so many concerns. None of them are actually founded, but the wording of the bylaw leaves a lot up to the discretion of TPS. For the administration of law enforcement, it's always best to keep the wording open-ended and leave as much as possible up to the discretion of the attending officer. That way, they can deal with a wider range of problems without unnecessarily complicated jargon. However, the open-endedness of the bylaw's language is leaving everyone very uncomfortable. Here is a cross section of the concerns I've been hearing:

brilang says:

MARCH 10, 2015 AT 12:06 PM

Portions of this bylaw will be struck down at the first court challenge. It contravenes Section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms several different ways.
1. "No person shall yell, scream, or swear in any public place" contravenes Freedom of Speech
2. "No person shall be a member of the assembly of three or more persons in any public place where a peace officer has reasonable grounds to believe the assembly will disturb the peace of the neighbourhood, and any such person shall disperse as requested by a peace officer" contravenes Freedom of Peaceful Assembly

Sorry Taber, but you cannot regulate what people say, or think. Only what they do.

What "brilang" is missing is that we have no "Freedom of Speech". Section 2(b) of the Charter protects freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication. Also, that if a peace officer truly has reasonable grounds to believe the assembly with disturb the peace, that it is no longer a Peaceful Assembly, and is not and should not be protected.

"I'm a loud talker/Kids make noise in my backyard/Cornfest is pretty noisy"

The administration of the Noise part of the bylaw is up to the officer at the scene. If your kids are making noise, he's probably not going to care. I think there has been a bylaw to this effect on the books for quite some time, and there have been very few issues with how it's been handled in the past. I haven't actually researched it, but I'm pretty sure damn near every municipality has a similar bylaw in effect. Police and bylaw officers need a tool to deal with legitimate noise complaints. Maybe the wording could be a little better?

"It's a cash grab"

Without actually consulting the act, my understanding of the Municipal Government Act is that the municipality has only 2 punitive actions available to them. Fines, and solving the problem for you and sending you the bill. Again, most of these rules were already in place, and most of us didn't even notice. The purpose is not to increase revenue, it's to give the police an effective tool.

"I swear a lot"

Control it in public. It's just decent. No police officer in his right mind is going to be walking through a crowd at Cornfest and write someone a ticket for dropping the "F" bomb in a casual conversation. This is for when someone is really getting out of hand and needs to be told to shut up. Again, the open-ended wording give the police a lot of room for interpretation, and that's what makes people uncomfortable.

Ty's Bottom Line

I feel that this new bylaw can be an effective tool, but like all tools, it can also be misused. Just like a screwdriver can be used as a shiv, this bylaw can be used by an officer having a bad day to treat people unfairly. I think the people of Taber would feel much better if the wording was tightened to leave a little less to the discretion of police officers, but that also might decrease the bylaw's effectiveness. Dulling a knife so no one gets cut just leaves you with a dull knife. We need to place a certain amount of trust in our police officers, and our police officers need to continue to strive for worthiness of that trust.

Resources

http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/FullText.html

http://taber.ca/DocumentCenter/View/1006

http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-15.html

http://www.tabertimes.com/news/2015/03/04/community-standards-bylaw-passed/

https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=taber+bylaw&safe=off&tbm=nws

Job Application Tips

The following is a Public Service Announcement by The Ty. This information should be mandatory before graduation, but it seems like people really don't know. I have written these tips from my personal point of view, but I've tried to keep the tips themselves relevant to any job interview.

Normally, I avoid topics like this, but I'm annoyed. I have spent a significant amount of time this afternoon reviewing applications and doing pre-screening interviews over the phone. I've also done a couple of interviews recently. For anyone out there looking for work, please read the following tips:

1) When you show up to drop off your resume, show up dressed to be interviewed. If I catch you dropping off a resume for a department that I really need someone, I may stop you and interview you right there. If you are wearing a Metal Mulisha hoodie, sweat pants, worn sneakers, and smelling like weed, don't waste my time or yours.

2) Show up with a resume in hand. This shows me that you're serious and prepared. If you don't know how to make a resume, there are lots of templates online and lots of organizations in communities that will help you.

3) When we ask you to fill out an application, FILL OUT THE GODDAMN APPLICATION. If you simply write your contact information down on the front and inside you either nothing or "see resume" in any field, you have knowingly and deliberately refused to complete the very first task requested of you. You're lazy, you can't follow instructions, and there's no way I want to trust you with a job. Write something in every field. If the field does not apply to you, write "not applicable." We asked you to fill out the form, not write whatever you feel like writing. If you're not sure about the answer to one of the questions, feel free to take it home with you and come back with it filled out correctly. I would much rather read a complete application than waste my time with your half-assed crap. Also, include 3 references. "Upon request" is insufficient. Just give me the references.

4) Spell everything correctly. If I have to re-read something four times because you can't be bothered to actually put effort into it, I don't expect that you'll put effort into anything else, and I'll be annoyed with you before we've even met, IF we meet.

5) Deliver your completed application where directed. Insisting that it goes directly to the General Manager or to the Department Manager insults the person that's handling your application. I trust my staff to bring me the resume, but you'd better believe they're going to bring their opinion with them. If this requires a second trip, see #1.

6) Phone a few days later to follow up. This shows that you're serious about the job and dedicated to the task at hand. Be careful, because overdoing the follow-ups is annoying.

7) When you show up for your interview, dress up. I mean it. If you're male, wear a dress shirt and tie. If you're female, slacks or knee-length skirt, and a blouse. Either may wear a jacket. All things being equal, I will pick the one that put effort into his/her appearance every time. Subconsciously, a lot of managers may put more weight on your appearance than your actual interview. Use that to your advantage. If you dress like you don't care about my opinion of you, then it's a pretty solid indication that you're not going to care about my opinion of your work, either.

8) Show up early. This one is a no-brainer. If you can't or won't show up, call ahead. Even if you want to try again, that bridge will be burnt if you don't.

9) Wait patiently. I don't know any managers that are not busy people. If you respect my schedule, I will begin the interview in a much better mood. Show this respect by checking in with a receptionist, or lacking that, knock on my door or door frame. If you walk into my office announcing your arrival and plop down in my meeting chair before I'm ready for you, then you've invaded my boundaries and exceeded your welcome. This is going to be a short interview.

10) When I'm ready and I approach you, stand up. This is a sign of respect. If you can't be bothered to stand up, then either you don't respect me, or you're too lazy to stand up when etiquette dictates. Either way, I don't want you.

11) Shake my hand. Don't wait for me to offer mine. This shows confidence, even if you don't feel confident. Shake my hand, and address me as "sir" or "Mr. McLelland."  Don't call me Ty, unless we're already friends. Pretending to be my friend isn't going to make you my friend. Until you've been accepted into the team, you don't get to act like a member of the team. After you're hired, you can be respectful without being formal.

12) Don't sit until I invite you to, or at least until I sit. This is old-fashioned and formal, and most managers probably won't even consciously notice the gesture, but it'll still make them feel respected. That's a good thing. If I offer you refreshment, it's an honest offer and it's okay to accept. Do not have an alcoholic beverage unless I'm having one first. (When I'm interviewing, there's no booze. Others may indulge.)

13) Be positive. If you say negative things about previous employers, coworkers, and customers, I will instantly imagine you saying negative things about me, my team, and my customers. That's not good for business. I don't want that.

14) Be honest. If you tell me what you think I want to hear, eventually, I will find out that you were bullshitting me. When that happens, you may already be past your probation and proven your value, but I'll remember. It's not going to help your chances of getting pay increases, promotions, and favours. That's if I don't choose to terminate you for false representation.

15) Do your homework. Know something about the place. It'll add context to your answers and make you seem smarter and better qualified.

16) Ask questions. The prefix "inter" implies both ways. Show some interest. Show up with some questions prepared. Know that I'm trying to sell the job to you as much as you're trying to sell your candidacy to me.

17) At the conclusion of the interview, thank me for my time. Shake my hand again. You're still calling me "sir" or "Mr. McLelland". It is also okay to ask when you'll hear from me.

18) If you haven't heard from me when I said you would, follow up. Again, excessive calling is annoying, but following up doesn't hurt your chances.

19) If your email address has "420" in it, get a new email address. Something that doesn't read, "I have a need for instant gratification, so you're going to have to worry about me working sober, and I'm probably going to steal from you to pay for my habits@donthireme.com

Idiot Truckers

Today, several semi trucks were blown over by strong winds. This happened at great cost to businesses and individuals. Worse, it happened at great risk to human lives. Why don't we have a government agency in place to warn people about dangerous winds?

Oh. We do.

The fact that at least 5 trucks were blown over on the highway today is inexcusable. The drivers of these trucks were operating a weapon more dangerous than any firearm in dangerous conditions, and they should be criminally liable for their actions.

The story