My U.S. gun surprise.

For the first time since I was a child, I took a trip down to Minot North Dakota for a weekend getaway. And to be completely honest, I was completely taken aback at how much I loved it there. Sure I expected to have a good time, but I think I expected Americans to be more... I don't know.... xenophobic maybe? But whatever I expected, I had no encounters this trip to justify anything close to what I had preconceived!

There was a point in our trip where (as an outdoor enthusiast) I went into a local sporting goods store located in the mall, where I happened to walk by the handgun section to notice 3 customers purchasing assorted handguns. I happened to overhear one customer ask what it required, and to my utter shock, the salesperson said "do you have a driver's licence? Then you're all good". The one thing I didn't see during my trip, was any sort of fear, or violence. But it made me realize how the Canadian Government has oppressed the rights of ownership for average Canadians. So needless to say I was a little frustrated with my own Country.

My frustration made me go "off book" in one of the shops we were in, where after some friendly banter between a young saleswomen and my wife and I, I broached the subject of her opinion of conceal and carrying sidearms. Being a 25 year old young lady, I naturally assumed her to be an anti-gun Liberal. Boy did she blow my socks off (funny thing about that statement, we were in a shoe store! lol)! Not only was she pro-gun, SHE had a conceal and carry licence!!! She explained that she had gotten it for protection at 18 when she left home, and then proceeded to ask me about gun laws in Canada.  I have to say I was both so embarrassed and furious at my Countries willful erosion of personal rights that it was getting hard to keep my voice moderate, but I managed to explain all the restrictions, to which she just shook her head and said it seemed "unreal".

Are we too willing up here in Canada to let our Government and it's officials run roughshod over our rights? How did we get to the point that we allow the Government and it's agencies to dictate ownership and self defense right to us? We have gone over the rails, sacrificing personal rights for the appearance of security by Government agencies.

Time to repeal the "do nothing" Gun laws (not all laws do nothing, I believe we should toughen penalties, and laws for crimes committed with a firearm, and allow self defense), to allow Canadians to be free.

The costs of civil disobedience.

Obviously I'm not an Investigative Journalist, but certain things start to make me wonder where I might get information about certain things.
Like for example:
1.) What is the costs of extended manpower in police law enforcement after 14 weeks?
2.) What is the cost of damages to businesses through vandalism?
3.) How much have businesses lost in revenue over the 14 weeks of protests/riots?
4.) What happens to the students tuition for the term the likely won't complete?

I started wondering at costs when this article from the National Post decried warnings to the Montreal Tourist Season due to protests: http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/05/23/montreal-tourist-season-at-risk-over-tuition-protests/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

This was also brought to attention by Brian Liley, who quoted a report from the Desjardin Bank that said  if Quebec were it's own country it's Debt/GDP was listed as 5th among the world, right behind the European countries that are in economical crisis. http://blogs.canoe.ca/lilleyspad/category/byline/
Which means without federal transfer payments from more prosperous regions, Quebec would be force into an extreme form of fiscal austerity.

So when you break it all down, how much did this outrageous temper tantrum actually cost the taxpayers? Because you know the bill isn't being carried by the protesters/rioters, because even some of their leaders want their rent for free.
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20120523/quebec-student-leader-promo-120523/
http://bit.ly/Le2tN5

Democracy; What's good, is also what's bad about it.

What makes democracies so great is the ability of the will of the people to change that which is unjust. By this I mean Protests for the common good (ie: intergration.). What makes democracies bad is the perversion of protests by lobbyists and activists, who are only interested in getting their way (ie: Quebec students protest tuition increase, and Leadnow's attack to overturn a valid election.)

Taking the 2 examples I give;
1. The student's are mad that they will have to pay more for schooling. Understandable, yet at the same time the costs incurred with providing that education must be adequately covered as well. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2012/03/07/student-protest-montreal.html
2. The robocalls scandal has shown a vast separation between even the centralized Tory government and the radical nature of the Left, leading to the media acting as lobbyists/activists on their behalf.  http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/14/unlikely-a-tory-staffer-could-have-acted-alone-in-pierre-poutine-scam-source/

Now I'm not saying there aren't justifiable reasons to remove a Government from power, but to do so when that Government is actually accomplishing positive goals for a Country shows an ideological desire for power, rather than overall social well being and justice. I also agree that there are times, and ideas, where University students have change the course of countries with positive results. But that is less and less the case when you live in a Country like Canada, which has all the benefits it does to offer. Protests and activism have become about getting your way, not making life better for everyone.

The same thing that makes our democracy great, can be perverted to make it all about self.