Driving Us Crazy

I was muttering in my car again the other day.

There's always something. On this occasion, a Vancouver Police Car turned onto the street I was travelling on. The driver gave no signal whatsoever. That's usual for Vancouver drivers. So usual that it became one of my standard silly gags on the radio. "Vancouver cars are not sold with turn signals, " I'd declare, and god knows how many believers went along for the ride.

But a cop?

"If we can't expect you to play by the rules, " I fumed pointlessly, "how can we expect anyone else to?"

Now, comes the story of a Prince George RCMP officer, who is a member of the drug squad. The fellow takes out a patrol car to go to a private party. INFRACTION #1. He drinks we don't know how many beers and gets back behind the wheel of his police car. INFRACTION #2. He smashes into a parked car. INFRACTION #3. He leaves the scene of the accident. INFRACTION #4.

About an hour later, he asks a fellow officer for advice. HE NEEDS ADVICE???

He said he "was unsure what to do."

He is both a police man and a drunk driver who has left the scene of an accident and he needs advice? If he doesn't know the rules, who does?

Net result?

This petty criminal, this dangerous, out-of-control, alcoholic fool is docked 9 days pay. He is not fired. He is not charged with anything.

He is still a member in good standing of the RCMP's drug squad.

The most dangerous drug in the world, the drug that causes the most harm viewed from any point of departure, is alcohol.

But a drunk drug cop who smashes into some else's car and leaves the scene of the "accident" is still trusted with the task of enforcing Canadian drug laws.

And we wonder why so many citizens despair of the possibility of finding justice in Canada.

To Come...

The drunk driving drug squad cop story will follow later today...

Stay tuned.

War, at Any Cost

One of the great consistencies of history is the sound of politicians justifying war.

There is always, apparently, a good reason for your sons to die "honorably."

And there is always the ploy of confusing the criticism of the campaign with an implied criticism of the soldiers in the front. This is not only a blatantly false equation, it is ugly and detestable.

When I hear of 6 more Canadian soldiers dying in a completely mistaken and hopeless mission in Af-bloody-ghanistan, I do not find myself overtaken by a communal sense of "genuine, shared grief."

Rather, I am outraged.

While Vimy Ridge is being rightly memorialized, this stupid commitment to failure in Afghanistan continues.

The flags of democracy and other highly held western ideals are waved about, to be sure. But this is the customary sham.

As much as America should get out of Iraq as soon as possible, Canada should get out of Afghanistan even sooner.

Canadian soldiers dying for the ultimate furtherance of a heroin-based economy is a maddening obscenity.

Better Late Than Never

This morning, The Rag suggest that PoCo Mayor, Scott Young, in jail over the weekend for yet another domestic problem, should step down until his legal dusts have settled.

Good.

We suggested that on Good Friday, April 6th.