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Open Letter to Dr. James Dobson
This letter was sent to Dr. Dobson regarding his assesment of Senator Barack Obama. Please review for your opinions. I meant every word.
He spoke against our candidate and was clearly misguided.
Dr. Dobson.
I am the daughter of a old timey preacher. A pastor who is 85 years young is my Dad. I am a white 58 year old woman along with my disabled combat Vietnam vet husband, raising our four grandchildren as our own.
Every Sunday afternoon after church we have family devotional. We say the blessing before we all sit down to eat at the table. We all say our nightly prayers and ask blessings and forgiveness along with protection for our loved ones. We ask forgiveness and understanding for our enemies.
As a family, we reach out to help those less fortunate than us. Those not only who are deprived of food but spiritual guidance as well. We are a modest family., with modest means. We try to follow Jesus's teachings. We tithe and give and fast. We are pentacostal. We are baptist. We are Our GOD'S children. We honor our troops.
Yet we do not want war and pray for those who push it. We pray for those returning home. We want children, including ours to have affordable healthcare. We want children, including ours to have a qualaity education. We want our children like our's to be more safe from the horrors of war, and we want more equality for the masses.
We think Jesus wanted us all to follow these simple rules of love for one another. We were brought up to believe that we should love our neighbor as ourselves. This is scripture.
Judge Not lest ye be Judged? This is Scripture as well.
Dr, Dobson, you will start being included in our prayers since you seem to be breaking one of the most dreaded things God hates the most. Sowing discord among the bretheren, which of course is what you are doing when you call out and judge men who are promoting family values such as SenatorBarack Obama.
I am not one of the Obamamaniacs. If there is such a thing. I am a conservative person who looks at the issues and decides who is best suited morally close to our own values and that person with the exception of a few personal things, is like our own value system. That person is Barack Obama. No candidate is perfect. If that is what you are expecting, then you must wait until the hereafter to find your perfect world with perfect answers. We do beleive that strong drink......AND MONIES MADE FROM that is against our value system. We believe pushing war and more war is against our value system. A person who follows in lockstep with President Bush is against our value system. Serving the rich and not the poor is against our value system. The person not honoring our troops would be Senator McCain, so therefore he does not represent our value system.
Dr. Dobb, before you take to the airwaves, I think you should Focus on your own values and family before you start preaching to the masses of things that clearly do not square up with YOUR OWN PERSONAL belief system. You cannot cherrypick the Word of God to suit yourself. Nor can we. We have to live our faith and speak of our faith but in the end, we are accountable to only God and his grace.
If Sir, you feel you are anointed from GOD to speak your interpretation of GOD's will which I feel you think, then it is my job to tell you when you are clearly off the mark and need prayer. When you start sowing discord among the brethern for political gain, you are not in the Will of God, but the will of man.
You are on our prayer list.
God bless
Sincerely Amanda Kato and Family
- Suicide rate in Colorado Springs is the highest in the country.
By Pat in Colorado on Jun 28, 2008 3:52 PM EDTIn the latest Harpers' there's a diary the young man who killed three people in his church o Colorado Springs posted on the web. The brand of religion Dobson and others like him preach is coercion, cruelty, punishment, a mental, emotional, and spiritual slavery. This is the antithesis of Christianity.
Ted Haggard is another who got away with the totalitarian, dogmatic, and vicious teachings that perport to help people. The diary the young man wrote is full of anguish, fury, and hatred for what was done to him. He was home schooled, punished repeatedly, denied media of any kind and friendships, plus told that he was evil.
Ah, what a species we humans are!
Dave Lindorff: Primary Season Over, Barack Channels Hillary Obama has forsaken his progressive base to become a Clintonian Democrat, seeking votes he will probably not get while imagining he can count on the votes that won him the nomination. Meet Hillary Obama, the Democrats' next loser.
I think it's genetic. Humans aren't particularly good parents. The young who are most demanding and adept at getting sustenance and succor are more likely to survive.
The maternal/paternal instinct is an example of wishful thinking. Everybody wants to be wanted for him/herself.
- cow herds are very heirarchical and have the benchmark maternal instinct
By Phil Specht on Jun 28, 2008 5:18 PM EDTbut so do wolves
 Printable version |
Anglican rift is about more than sex |
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 Word has got about that traditionalist Anglicans have something against gay people - and that is what is driving the Communion towards disintegration. |
What a wonderful museum. It has changed quite a bit since 1970 when I was last there. I only had a few hours, but I did manage to see the special exhibit on baseball. They had some incredible things on display. Jersies worn by leagues dating back to the late 1800's - and of course much of it was not about major league baseball at all. Jackie Robinson's jersey, the chair president Taft used to sit in at the Wash DC ballpark (can't remember it's old name). And yes it was wider than others :)
LOL they even had Michael Jordan's bat. A few kids around me were incredulous that he played baseball for awhile. The marketing stuff, the scandals, the racism that was present when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's home run record. They had a letter someone wrote to him that was so nasty but was an example of the hate felt by some. Very well done exhibit, wish I had time to look at each thing individually. But I had a 4pm ticket for IMAX Grand Canyon. Here is an excerpt of what it was about - RFK Jr. was in it, and the environmental message he and others in the film bring to us is imperative.
http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/robert-redford-grand-canyon-imax-47031304
The Grand Canyon, the Colorado River that runs through it and the larger Southwest region, is under threat of changes on a geologic scale. Lake Powell and Lake Mead, which supply drinking water to the region, could dry up within years, in part due to a decades-long drought that could persist for decades more, in part due to global warming and the melting of mountain snowpack that supplies the Colorado River with water, and in part due to chronic mismanagement and over-reliance on the river for multiple competing uses: agriculture, drinking water and wildlife.
"The odds are very bad that an Obama administration will rock the boat by going after the Bushies or their rich friends."
Were it true, it would have to be music to the ears of someone who comes to quote and laud the wit and wisdom of a senator who votes with the Bush administration 95% of the time.
Aw Tom, you can do better than that!
Are you trying to say Chuck Hagel isn't some great senator after all?
Hagel gave a very good speech. I posted his Iraq remarks. What part of those do you find Repuglicnant? (assuming of course that you read them--or any other part of his speech).
Hagels's way down the list of Repuglican bad guys-- he's to the left of Levin on the Iraq war!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/28/obama-undercuts-his-brand_n_109758.html
Sen. Barack Obama is risking his brand as a political reformer, according to reports today in the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post. In recent weeks, he has moderated or changed positions on a number of politically-charged issues, leading to criticism from demoralized Democratic activists and charges of "flip-flopping" from conservatives.
The Times reports:
In recent weeks, he toughened his stance on Iran and backed an expansion of the government's wiretapping powers. On Wednesday, he said states should be allowed to execute child rapists. When the Supreme Court the next day struck down the District of Columbia's ban on handguns, he did not complain...
..."I've been struck by the speed and decisiveness of his move to the center," said Will Marshall, president of the centrist Progressive Policy Institute......And Obama endorsed a compromise wiretapping bill despite stiff opposition from liberal activists. MoveOn.org, the liberal online activist group, asked its members to flood Obama's campaign office with phone calls and e-mails urging him to support a filibuster of the bill.
The changes carry some risk that Obama will diminish the image he has sought to build as a new type of leader who will change how Washington conducts business. McCain and other Republicans have used his recent policy statements to argue that Obama is a traditional politician, unwilling to take clear stands on tough issues and abandoning his principles when he finds it advantageous.
The Post reports that those who should be his strongest supporters are taking this as a wake-up call:
The switch is not without precedent. On a variety of issues, including gun control and campaign finance regulation, the presumptive Democratic nominee has shown himself willing to settle for incremental changes in the face of political reality rather than to hold out for the sweeping and uncompromising positions he initially stakes out.
But even some who should be his core constituents -- in the Democratic Party's progressive wing and the liberal blogosphere -- have taken his recent maneuvers as a wake-up call. They are warning the senator that in his quest to reach voters in the middle of the political spectrum, he risks depressing the enthusiasm of the voters who clinched the nomination for him."American voters tend to reward politicians who take clear stands," said David Sirota, a former Democratic aide on Capitol Hill and author of the new populist-themed book "The Uprising." "When Obama takes these mushy positions, it could speak to a character issue. Voters that don't pay a lot of attention look at one thing: 'Does the guy believe in something?' They may be saying the guy is afraid of his own shadow."
He votes with Democrats 97% of the time but only votes with the administration 40% of the time.
I half-heartedly support Obama, and will vote for him.
I'm forced to suspect that McCain is secretly your guy. He's one senator that votes with the administration as often as Hagel.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-ridley/when-rove-calls-obama-arr_b_109639.html
Karl Rove says Barack Obama is arrogant.
We've heard that; we've heard the pejorative "arrogant" before. When I say "we" I mean those of us who are "others" in America; people of color. Minorities. Women. We hear the word all the time from a select section of privileged white guys; the codifying they use when they fear the silver spoons are about to be snatched from their lily palaces: "Those people... How dare they think they can work jobs like ours or live in neighborhoods like ours or send their children to school with ours? Those people are just so damn arrogant."
Arrogant, of course, is a euphemism. In the monochromatic bunkers from which old-schoolers cling to power the true word they use is "uppity" when hurled at blacks. It's the "B-word" for women. I'm not sure what the Rovian ilk use for the Latinos and Asian-Americans who dare claim their due, but I'm sure it's equally as derisive and wielded with sick pleasure.
Arrogant?
The only arrogance Obama is guilty of is the same "Unforgivable Blackness" so many exceptional people of color have demonstrated throughout the history of this country: a refusal to bend to the will of the Retro Guard. To Rove, to the neocons such attitude is wholly unacceptable. Back in the day such "arrogance" was met with a strong rope and tall branch, and anyone who believes that analogy to be too harsh, read here how Roy Bryant and J.W.Milam dealt with the arrogance of 13 year old Emmett Till.
But in this day and age Karl Rove is reduced to making statements which he does not even have the meat to own up to.
Nevertheless, speaking of Obama's "arrogance" Rove is quoted as saying: "Even if you never met (Obama), you know this guy. He's the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone."
Really, Mr. Rove? Do you really wish to go there? I will give you the cigarette. Obama did smoke. I will give you the beautiful date. Beyond being a Harvard-educated lawyer, Michelle Obama is a beautiful woman. But I would bet the farm -- and I have a farm to bet -- that George Bush has been in more country clubs than Barack Obama. I would easily take the line on who's had more cocktails in their day. And isn't it the current president who loves to slap a condescending nickname on everyone?
And is there anything more arrogant, Mr. Rove, than ignoring the international community, the United Nations, weapons inspectors on the ground, very facts themselves, to invade a nation because you and a small cadre believe it's the right thing to do? Is there anything more arrogant than the belief that after such an invasion we as the occupying nation will be welcomed as liberators? Is there anything more arrogant than slapping on a flight suit, playing like you're the one landing on a carrier deck, making nice for the cameras before that infamous banner while tens of thousands of troops are left behind to fight, and four thousand (and counting) are left to die?
Arrogant?
It's nothing but hubris for the neocons to believe they can win the election on that one.
I wish I had the gift of eloquence, but I don't, I'm a pretty simple person. But here goes, I watched Barack yesterday at Unity and today speaking at NALEO. He is brilliant, he cares about people, I agree with most of his policies. Yes he gives me HOPE. I could care less what the news people state, could care less what is written about him. Maybe I don't agree with everything he saids, but like Barack states we can work together.
I stand behind him 100%. He is an intelligent, good, kind man. I am going to do everything I can to get him elected. Donating when I can. Even though I live in the reddest of states I refuse to give up, I am talking to my neighbors, friends and coworkers. Having McCain as Pres is unthinkable.
I've been flamed here before for saying I have hope. I could care less. How can anyone live and breathe without hope?
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John, about the indies, I can add this, my son who lives in AK, said the indies are voting for Obama. Barack can win AK.
It takes cynicism to think otherwise, and you don't have it.
I hope you're right Sandy.
I'm an indy, and I'll vote for him ( lesser of..., gag reflex, etc.)
That's how I'm spending my day after the morning parade in Redwood City.
Simple to do, you meet nice people, and what better day to do it?
of the bogus Obama plan to prosecute Telecoms for criminal offences:
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Olbermann_jousts_with_Salons_Greenwald_on_0627.html
In his Daily Kos response, Olbermann -- just as he has done on his show repeatedly ever since Obama announced his support for the bill -- also suggested that Obama is harboring a Secret Benovelent Plan that he isn't telling anyone about whereby he is supporting the FISA bill so that he can prosecute the telecoms "criminally" once he's in office. There are likely many reasons for confining immunity to civil liability -- including the heightened difficulty of proving criminal intent and, most importantly, the fact that Bush, on his way out, can pardon telecoms from criminal but not civil liability. So it's far from certain that Obama -- even if he did have a Secret Plan criminally to prosecute telecoms once in office -- would even be able to do so. If Bush pardons everyone connected to his illegal spying program, as many have speculated he might, then Obama's Secret Plan -- even if it existed -- would be instanteously extinguished. That's why these telecom lawsuits are the only real avenue left to ensure accountability and obtain a legal ruling on what was done.
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Added Formatting crap, courtesy of the obfuscators
Are you trying to tell us that the FISA Amendment Act of 2008 is a piece of shit?
Yes indeed!
The only reason I ask is because not only have I not read the post of anyone here who has suggested otherwise, but I have yet to read that anyone here has read the amendment.
I have, and it's an abject surrender to Bush and the Telecoms, by the slimeballs masquerading as the Democratic Leadership, all but one of the Republicans, and over half of the house Democrats. In the Senate, it's supported by all repugs, and all but 15 courageous souls on the Democratic side. That includes Obama, Clinton, and a lot of other Dems, bought an paid for by corporate America
Who thinks the Navy cap on John McCain's pointy little head is just too funny?
For anyone doing that, please remind them that the easiest way to vote is with Mail-In balots (Absentee ballots). They also provide a paper trail if your state does not have them.
We are pushing Mail-In ballots here in Florida. It's very easy to change your way to vote here and perhaps in your own state by going online to or calling your Superintendent of Elections. Here and probably most states one can select whether to have these ballots for one or more elections for primary and/or general elections.
It doesn't get any easier. The Repugnans here in Fla. and I suspect elsewhere have been using Mail-Ins for years which is most likely why they consistently have better voting records than Democrats or Independents.
Only because the subject interests me, I wanted to make the observation regarding constitutionality that the Fourth Amendment requires that the right against unreasonable searches and seizures not be violated. It does not require that a warrant be issued for a search. Reported appellate decisions hold, for example, that no warrant is required in cases where there is probable cause to believe that a search will uncover criminal activity. It has also been held that no warrant or probable cause is necessary to inspect mail, data or things generally that cross the border, which is why border searches are common at customs.
While warrantless searches are not automatically considered unreasonable under the law, the courts consider even some limited searches conducted under a warrant and with probable cause to be unreasonable.
I haven't read the Act, so I'm in no position to judge, but the issue of whether or not it passes constitutional muster should be reasonably regarded to be a complex one. I'd prefer to see other constitutional scholars, besides Obama and Greenwald, who have read the amendment, consider and comment on whether the reasonableness requirement of the Fourth Amendment is violated by any of its provisions.
How many citizens have come forward because they were illegally wiretapped by the Telecoms?
That information is classified and cannot be revealed in court under an assertion of the state secrets privilege for security reasons.
It would be nice to get the telecoms in court and find out.
my concern is with who is doing the insider trading after benefitting from the ill gained knowledge from the wiretaps
and it is amazing any foreign company continues to trade here with no expectation of privacy
The answer to my question is: nobody knows so that makes me stupid, right? How much is this going to cost me and you and other taxpayers?
- how much will it cost us to lose our trading partners if we keep spying?
By Phil Specht on Jun 28, 2008 8:27 PM EDT
- Well said, Sandy, from the heart, and to me that's eloquence.
By Pat in Colorado on Jun 28, 2008 7:43 PM EDTWhat has been lost, discarded, confiscated is the checks and balances of our Constitution. The Founding Fathers were skeptical and cynical about government, and somehow, we've undermined those very protections that made our Constitution unique. We, the people, have somehow allowed government/corporation/ideological collusion, and now we have to begin to repair what has been allowed to fail, those checks and balances.
Can we do it? Yes, I think we can. I, too, Sandy, have hope, frankly can't live without it. The sorrows and troubles of the world, our own failures as a species, would be overwhelming without hope. And I agree, Barack Obama is brilliant. His background is exactly what we need. Now, as a start in the repair and healing we have to elect him.
That doesn't mean we won't and shouldn't discuss faults, worries, drawbacks, but not at the expense of his candidacy, not to undermine the real quality and characteristics he offers us.
So, thanks, Sandy, for your thoughts.
From President Eisenhower's Farewell Address:
Crises there will continue to be. In meeting them, whether foreign or domestic, great or small, there is a recurring temptation to feel that some spectacular and costly action could become the miraculous solution to all current difficulties. A huge increase in newer elements of our defenses; development of unrealistic programs to cure every ill in agriculture; a dramatic expansion in basic and applied research -- these and many other possibilities, each possibly promising in itself, may be suggested as the only way to the road we wish to travel.
But each proposal must be weighed in the light of a broader consideration: the need to maintain balance in and among national programs, balance between the private and the public economy, balance between the cost and hoped for advantages, balance between the clearly necessary and the comfortably desirable, balance between our essential requirements as a nation and the duties imposed by the nation upon the individual, balance between actions of the moment and the national welfare of the future. Good judgment seeks balance and progress. Lack of it eventually finds imbalance and frustration. The record of many decades stands as proof that our people and their Government have, in the main, understood these truths and have responded to them well, in the face of threat and stress.
. . . .
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.
During Eisenhower's second term, Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba. Eisenhower did not believe Castro's claims that he was not communist, and imposed a blockade on Cuba. He also had the CIA plan an invasion of Cuba, which President John Kennedy would later attempt unsuccessfully.
since the Bay of Pigs was planned to get the casinos of Havanna back for the mob, JFK's assassination was probably a mob hit when he failed, Marty
keep digging and you might really come up with something
The CIA used the Mob, but the Bay of Pigs had nothing to do with Casinos
BTW why did daddy Bush go after Noriega as soon as he took power?
the drug trade has always been a part of financing black bag jobs, don't cross the money flow;that an illicit arms sales
ask Oliver North
the neat thing about all these recorded conversations between operators is the Democrats will have access to all of them in a few months not just the leaked ones to keep the program going
and then it will be our turn to disappear people to prison ships
50.1% of the voters right?
then you get to do what you damn well please, what's a constitution but a piece of paper?
So were you there on the beach? You seem to know much about Cuba.
File this under *couldn't happen to a nicer fella*. My apologies if someone already posted it.
McCain's La Jolla home in default:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/28/mccains-failed-to-pay-tax_n_109785.html
Back to Lacrosse weekend. Later gators.
Board of Health Meeting
Monday, June 16, 2008
The Toronto Board of Health met on June 16, 2008. The Board of Health determines and sets public health policy and advises City Council on a broad range of health issues. Members of the public are welcome to attend the monthly Board of Health meetings. View the reports that were presented at the meeting.
BOH reports
Proposal for Development of a Toronto Food Strategy
Nutrition in Toronto School Cafeterias
Toronto Street Food Pilot Implementation
The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair - Journey to Your Good Health and the Youth Legacy Project
Reporting on Air Pollution from Airports
Cell Phone Use by Children and Youth
2008 Drug Prevention Community Investment Program Allocations
2008 AIDS Prevention Community Investment Program Allocation Recommendations
Toronto Public Health Capital Budget Variance Report for the Four Months Ended April 30, 2008
Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Update
Scarborough Local Health Committee Minutes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following reports were presented to the Board of Health at its monthly meeting on June 16, 2008.
Proposal for Development of a Toronto Food Strategy
(Staff Presentation)
(June 2, 2008) Report from the Medical Officer of Health
Recommendations
The Medical Officer of Health recommends that:
The Board of Health endorse the development of a Toronto Food Strategy.
The Medical Officer of Health convene a Toronto Food Strategy Steering Group to develop a draft Toronto Food Strategy for broad stakeholder consultation and engagement.
The Medical Officer of Health report to the Board of Health on the status of the Toronto Food Strategy by spring 2009.
Financial Impact
There are no direct financial implications arising from this report. Resources to support the development of the Toronto Food Strategy will be within the Toronto Public Health Operating Budget for 2008/09.
Summary
This report proposes a plan for developing a Food Strategy for the City of Toronto; presents the “State of Toronto’s Food” discussion paper that formed the basis of preliminary consultations on the feasibility and appropriateness of a strategy; and provides an overview of existing foodrelated activities in Toronto.
The goal of a Toronto Food Strategy is to develop an action plan to improve the food system to better support good nutrition, healthy development and disease prevention, poverty reduction and social justice, a strong local economy, environmental protection and climate change action, and the promotion and celebration of culture and community through food. Achieving these goals will require a collaborative process that includes a wide range of City divisions and community partners.
Toronto experiences high rates of obesity and diabetes, too many families that are unable to put enough nutritious food on the table, and a food system that under-serves many ethno-racial and Aboriginal populations. The excessive marketing of unhealthy foods to children, the contribution of the food system to climate change and the viability of agricultural lands surrounding Toronto are also immediate concerns. While most elements of the food system are directed and regulated by provincial and federal governments or the private sector, the City of Toronto has opportunities to influence food systems locally, to use food activities to meet other urban priorities, and exert influence as an advocate and champion. Other local and regional governments around the world are developing and implementing food strategies.
A preliminary consultation on the feasibility and appropriateness of a Toronto Food Strategy found an overall positive response with many stakeholders expressing the need for urgent changes as well as a long-term comprehensive process. The Food Strategy will flow from an analysis of each stage of the food system through a health lens, broadly defined in terms of nutrition and disease prevention, poverty and social justice, economic development; the environment and climate change, and culture and community building. The structure for developing the strategy will be multi-sectoral and interdisciplinary, with expertise and input from a wide range of food sectors. The process will ensure input from councillors, senior City staff, community members, academic institutions, the Toronto Food Policy Council and other food issue experts. It is anticipated that a draft Toronto Food Strategy can be completed by winter 2008/09 with a public consultation process in spring 2009.
Background Information
Proposal for Development of a Toronto Food Strategy - Staff Report (PDF file size 183KB)
Nutrition in Toronto School Cafeterias
(June 2, 2008) Report from the Medical Officer of Health
Recommendations
The Medical Officer of Health recommends that:
The Board of Health urge the Ontario Minister of Education and the Minister of Health Promotion to establish mandatory, comprehensive nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold and/or served in elementary and secondary schools, including school cafeterias, vending machines, special food days, school events, canteens/tuck shops and food-related fundraising activities, and to support the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of these standards.
The Board of Health recommend to the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board that, in the absence of mandatory, comprehensive provincial nutrition standards for schools, local comprehensive nutrition standards for Toronto schools be developed, implemented, monitored and evaluated in consultation with the Medical Officer of Health.
Financial Impact
There is no financial impact arising from the recommendations in this report other than what was approved in the 2008 Operating Budget.
Summary
This report provides an overview of nutrition in school cafeterias in Toronto and makes recommendations for the Board of Health to advocate for the development and adoption of comprehensive nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold and/or served in schools.
Background Information
Nutrition in Toronto School Cafeterias - Staff Report (PDF file size 25KB)
Toronto Street Food Pilot Implementation
(June 3, 2008) Letter from Executive Committee
Summary
Advising that the Executive Committee on June 3, 2008:
deferred consideration of the report (May 13, 2008) from Sue Corke, Deputy City Manager, and the Acting Director, Purchasing and Materials Management, until its meeting scheduled to be held in November, 2008;
referred the street food project to the Toronto Board of Health to develop recommendations for the introduction of healthy, ethnically diverse food, and report back to the Executive Committee by November 2008; and
requested staff of the various city departments to assist the Medical Officer of Health and the Chair of the Board of Health in the formulation of a street food plan.
Background Information
Letter from Executive Committee (PDF file size 11KB)
Toronto Street Food Pilot Implementation - Staff Report (PDF file size 219KB)
Toronto Street Food Implementation - Attachment C (PDF file size 1.87MB)
The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair - Journey to Your Good Health and the Youth Legacy Project
(April 8, 2008) Letter from William Duron, CEO, Royal Agricultural Winter Fair
Summary
Requesting an opportunity to give an update to the Board of Health on the progress the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair is making to help encourage Torontonians to live a healthy life by eating the right foods and enjoying activity; and also to highlight two of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair's innovative health programs, Journey to Your Good Health and the Youth Legacy Project.
Background Information
Letter from The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (PDF file size 32KB)
Reporting on Air Pollution from Airports
(May 29, 2008) Report from the Medical Officer of Health
Recommendations
The Medical Officer of Health recommends that:
The Board of Health request the Toronto Port Authority and the Toronto City Centre Airport to undertake, in consultation with the Medical Officer of Health, Transport Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Environment Canada, an airport ambient air monitoring program which includes assessment of nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds, particularly acrolein.
The Board of Health request the Greater Toronto Airports Authority to repair their existing onsite monitor and maintain the Airport ambient air monitoring program for at least 15 years to assess the potential air quality impacts associated with changes in Toronto Pearson International Airport operations.
The Board of Health request the Ontario Ministry of the Environment to conduct airshed studies of the areas around Toronto Pearson International Airport, and Toronto City Centre Airport, including community-based air monitoring and developing an emissions inventory for the community surrounding each airport.
The Board of Health request the Medical Officer of Health to report back on any new air quality-related information and improvement measures at the Toronto City Centre Airport or Toronto Pearson International Airport in June 2009.
The Board of Health encourage the Director of the Toronto Environment Office to explore the development of a corporate travel policy that takes environmental impacts into account, including air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions.
Financial Impact
There are no financial implications arising from the adoption of this report.
Summary
Emissions from air transportation contribute to air pollution in Toronto. Two local airports affect Toronto’s air quality: Toronto City Centre Airport, and Toronto Pearson International Airport.
Toronto Public Health previously reported on Toronto’s air pollution burden of illness from all sources, and more recently on the air pollution burden of illness from vehicle traffic. However, lack of available data and limitations in available methods prevent Toronto Public Health from carrying out a valid burden of illness calculation for airport emissions.
Airport authorities have used human health risk assessment methods to evaluate the health risk from total air pollution levels at or near an airport. A comprehensive air quality assessment was carried out by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority in 2004, allowing Toronto Public Health to evaluate the health risk of air pollution near Pearson International Airport. It is not possible to evaluate the health risk of air pollution from the Toronto City Centre Airport because a comprehensive air quality assessment has not been undertaken.
More information about the air quality near each airport and sources of air pollution in the areas around each airport would improve Toronto Public Health’s ability to comment on health risks from air pollution in nearby communities.
Compared to trains and buses, planes use more fuel and emit more carbon dioxide per passenger for a given distance travelled. Although air travel outside Toronto by City staff is not common, there may be opportunities to reduce transportation-related emissions from staff travel. A City policy could provide clear guidance on selecting the most environmentally friendly option for staff travel.
Background Information
Reporting on Air Pollution from Airports - Staff Report (PDF file size KB)
Cell Phone Use by Children and Youth
(May 29, 2008) Report from the Medical Officer of Health
Summary
The Board of Health and Toronto City Council recently endorsed a Prudent Avoidance Policy that will help ensure that public exposure to radiofrequencies (RFs) from cell phone towers is 100 times below the current Health Canada exposure standard known as Safety Code 6. This policy does not address public exposure to RFs from the use of telecommunication devices such as cell phones. RF exposure from using a cell phone can be considerably higher than environmental exposure to RFs from local cell phone towers or antennas. Cell phone use has risen...Some jurisdictions in Europe recommend that children decrease their exposure to RF by strictly limiting their use of cellular phones and some have strongly recommended that use be avoided completely....
http://www.toronto.ca/health/boh_reports.htm#006
Cell Phone Use by Children and Youth
The Board of Health and Toronto City Council recently endorsed a Prudent Avoidance Policy that will help ensure that public exposure to radiofrequencies (RFs) from cell phone towers is 100 times below the current Health Canada exposure standard known as Safety Code 6. This policy does not address public exposure to RFs from the use of telecommunication devices such as cell phones. RF exposure from using a cell phone can be considerably higher than environmental exposure to RFs from local cell phone towers or antennas. Cell phone use has risen consistently in the last decade in Canada. In particular, the number of children who use cell phones has increased greatly.
Some jurisdictions in Europe recommend that children decrease their exposure to RF by strictly limiting their use of cellular phones and some have strongly recommended that use be avoided completely. http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2008/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-13559.pdf
With our corporate-controlled media news blackout.
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“Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age.”
By Tom Bearse on Jun 28, 2008 8:03 PM
From President Eisenhower's Farewell Address:
“…each proposal must be weighed in the light of a broader consideration: the need to maintain balance in and among national programs, balance between the private and the public economy, balance between the cost and hoped for advantages…., balance…, balance…., balance.
….The record of many decades stands as proof that our people and their Government have, in the main, understood these truths and have responded to them well, in the face of threat and stress.”
-----------------------------
Really?
I guess Eisenhower's last statement has become obsolete, at least Obama himself does not agree with it today. In his primary election speeches he said multiple times that this balance has been lost and is in vain since long ago, by pointing out to the "ever raising bar” for American people which makes “American dream” for them ‘slipping away”.
So, I guess Tom, you have to choose which stance to support (Eisenhower's half century ago, or Obama’s today). It’s not too convincing to support both mutually contradictory stances.
(At the same time I’m not sure that it’ll be very hard for you to find about the same as many Obama’s speeches where he promises that his Government [the good one…, lol] will undoubtedly improve situation and restore the lost balance . Certainly it would be outside of conventional logic therefore I can’t help with it, instead it is the logic of [professional politics]…, lol).
In contrary, the logic of common sense and History itself tells us that several hundreds of life long bureaucrats headed by (even the most brilliant) POTUS can’t and won’t be able to substitute talents and abilities of hundreds of millions of American People in achieving that same BALANCE in their life the Government and the State so desperately trying to impose on them.
- which I'm sure is why Obama always says he can't do this alone
By Jo*in*Vermont on Jun 29, 2008 6:22 AM EDTbut perhaps you've missed the point he makes in every single speech about the necessity for the American public to take their responsibility as citizens seriously - to stay involved AFTER the election. to be engaged and run for office, to work for and support goood candidates and to be diligent in demanding that he and every other elected official do the people's business and not play the same old politics as usual.
- You can never go home, and Barack knows it and does not attempt the foll of repeating...
By Imn2Paine on Jun 28, 2008 10:03 PM EDT“Love (understood as the desire of good for another) is in fact so unnatural a phenomenon that it can scarcely repeat itself, the soul being unable to become virgin again and not having energy enough to cast itself out again into the ocean of another's soul.”
Thanks, Imn2Paine, for the James Joyce quotes. I went back to my home town, mountain town in Nederland on Bloomsday June 21st, to read Ulysses aloud with old friends and neighbors. Again, the idea that the artist foresees events ten years ahead at least seems very true.
Just finished watching Charlie Wilson's War. Tom Hanks, Julie Roberts, superb acting, Mike Nichols produced, Tom Hanks directed, and Aaron Sorkin of West Wing wrote the script. It seemed too real, too painfully real as the American role in Afghanistan was portrayed. When will we get it right?!
Another recommend: I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron. She's witty, funny, but as with all humor there's grief at the heart. In one essay she talks about falling in love with a New York apartment, but in a single sentence mentions that when her second child was two months old, she got her second divorce, a statement almost in passing. She's unique, and for a woman, she speaks of her experience with verve, humor, individuality, and insight.
Off then, as usual, enjoyed the dialogue. Night Folks.
We will never get it right. That is our fate as humans in nature's marvelous rainbow.
I watched Charlie Wilson a couple of weeks ago. I was amazed to think that's how the US of A gov't works -- ie, some rich witch in TX gets some do good idea and some Congressman puts it into action through iou's in Congress -- thus we screw up Afghanistan, won't rebuild, they get ticked at us and blow up the World Trade Center. After watching that movie I think maybe America deserved it, our government is so f'd.
My movies today were both downers -- I watched something called 'Living Goddess' about Nepal. It tells the story of the removal of the king who became king after the whole family got shot in the name of 'democracy.' Can't help but wonder if the Chinese version of the CIA was behind it all. Anyway it's told from the point of view of these three girls, one just a young - say 7 year old who are considered Goddesses (Buddhists inhabited by Hindu goddesses). It was fascinating except for watching them behead all the goats and oxen. The other movie was Sesame Oil Maker about a woman making a living in some town in China. Hard to pin down the era - say late 20th century. She was sold at age 7 b/c her family was wiped out in a flood. She becomes a famous sesame oil maker, has a retarded son, arranged husband is a drunk, physically abusive. She arranges a marriage for the retarded son, the bride comes to live with them, works hard, is abused. At the end, she suggests the young wife divorce the retarded boy b/c 'life is long.' It is a very moving movie -- I'd say the main idea was how rough life is for women -- at least in this town in China.
Gee -- I'm sure in a cynical mood, but after these movies who wouldn't be?
Dear kato family,
You are absolutely right that as Christians we are stand up against wolves in sheeps clothing. Those who would give us pretty sounding words, but without any real Godly substance. Scriptures tells us just that in 2 Peter. We should be explaining the truth to people so that they are not decieved by these false teachers.
A false teacher is anyone who teaches anything contrary to the Word of God. So you have to start right there. What is the true Word of God. Is there only one truth?
If you said that no there isn't only one truth, then you are not following Jesus Christ. Listen to His own words.
Matthew 4:10
Away from me Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'
Matthew 7: 13-14
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
John 14:6
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Once Jesus spoke these words, He forced each of us to make a decision. There is no wiggle (political speak) room any longer. Only one of three things can be true.
1) Jesus is the Son of God and the only true way to Heaven.
2) Jesus was an arrogant/ self-seeking false prophet.
3) Jesus was insane.
There aren't any other options. If you can come up with a fourth (or more) I'd love to hear them. I can't
Now, once we have accepted one of those three options, we must act upon them. If you think either option 2 or 3 is right, don't listen to another word that He says.
If you think number 1 is right. Follow every word that He says.
Here's where Dr. Dobson and Senator Obama differ.
Senator Obama believes that not necessarily every word that Jesus spoke is right. He has demonstarted that by supporting some things that go against Jesus, and he has stated as much in several of his speeches.
Dr. Dobson believes everything that Jesus teaches and therefore sees Senator Obama as a falase teacher because he claims one thing and believes another, and most importantly, Senator Obama doesn't keep his beliefs to himself, instead he shares them with everyone who will listen.
Now, you and I are forced to decide which one of them is of God and which one is a false teacher. The only way for us to do that is to look at their track record of decisions, proclamations, and support. Which one of them is following Jesus Christ most closely (neither is perfect of course)?
Kato family, I liked your letter to Dr. Dobson. Unfortunately, you are on the wrong side. Look at all the facts again, and I'm sure that you will see the truth of it.
This will not be easy. I'll start praying for you today. I'll be glad to speak with as much as you'd like to.
God Bless You all
-Bob
Not man the judge of man. It is not up to me to know what is in Barack Obama's
heart no more than it is for Dobson to know. If I was talking to a Jewish person,
they would tell me I was wrong. Jesus is not the Messiah. That is what they would say. If I was talking to a seventh day adventist, they would
tell me I worship on the wrong day. The Morman would say to follow the teachings of
The Pearl of Great Price. The Catholic would tell me to go to mass. The Baptists tell me
I have to be baptized in water, the pentacostals tell me I have to be baptized by fire (holy Spirit) and water.
The Scientologist would tell me to heal myself. The Hindu would tell me to meditate and direct
me to Harry Krishener.
The Buddists would tell me to not eat meat and worship a golden idol named Buddah.
Reverand Moon who owns the Washington Times would tell me the Moonies and he was the Christ.
My point is, our beliefs are to our own souls and our own beliefs with a one on one relationship with God and it is for no man to judge. Not you nor Dobson or Barack Obama.
It is the most personal thing in one's life. We have choices and will. It is for my God and me
to decide after prayer my life and how I live it. The three choices you gave are your
choices. I have never read that one must be insane. Maybe Obama did not take the word literally and that has been debated for years
by the best of theologians. I personally think that the Word of God is literal in some areas and
spiritual in others. It is true...however interpreted and there lies the problem isn't it..?
Interpretation.
There are people who believe by the millions of Pre and Post Rapture.
I personally do not believe in abortion. I personally do not believe in an alternate lifestyle for me. I personally do not believe in WAR and carrying guns and creating poverty.
Dobson was wrong. Plain and simple.
I don't appreciate you questioning MY FAITH. That is between me and God. If you believe I am wrong for supporting Obama then you need to pray as instructed for our leaders.
I think you probably may have voted for Bush. Enough said about living faith between you
and me. One does not have to believe exactly as another to vote for them, but I have never heard Mccain ever confess his faith. I think my values. My family values line up with Senator
Obama. I will pray Jesus direct him..not in my will but his's. I sugggest you do the same.
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- Nice post. Did you ever hear about Dobson's dog, Siggie?
By floridagal . on Jun 28, 2008 3:08 PM EDTI have the info somewhere. It was little tiny dog, and he beat him into submission. I think you can find it on a search.
Cruelty to animals is not Christian.
Aha, found it. It is sickening.
James Dobson and a tiny dog named Siggie