Canadian Tax Credits for Film

As reported on the CBC (http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2008/04/10/tax-credits.html), Canadian film stars and producers are up-in-arms about the discretionary power to deny tax credits on films that the department deemed inappropriate to be granted to the Heritage Minister by bill C-10.

The descriptions of the bill (I haven't read the actual bill yet...) suggest that we shouldn't be funding "inappropriate" films. The film producers say that they can't make movies with that kind of financial uncertainty hanging over their head.

I think we should probably cut all tax credits for film. We shouldn't be giving gifts to certain industries just to keep them in business. Why should we shield them from risk and let them take all the rewards.

It's not like we do handouts for the farming, cattle, logging, energy, and sporting industries.

Stephen

Three More Years

So, Jeff didn't get elected... he placed 15 out of 16 running (well ahead of 16 I might add). So his campaign is starting now.

Apparently, 22% of Lethbridge stuck its head out, saw something that might resemble progress and now we can expect three more years of the same, old "same, old".

Hurray for majority rule in our democratic society.

Jeff Graham for Lethbridge City Council

The "Jeff Graham says... just vote" campaign is well underway for the 2007 Lethbridge Civic Election. Jeff's website has his contact information (see http://www.jeffgraham.ca/)

The city has its information here http://www.lethbridge.ca/election

Wikipedia has a page here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethbridge%2C_Alberta_municipal_election%2C_2007
and I wish that outbound links from candidates names to corresponding websites were not persistently removed as "advertising". Links to url's in support of wikipedia documents are encouraged.

UPDATE!
Having had some discussions on the related discussion page, the outbound linking has been fairly and equitably resolved. Thanks for your hard work, KmSiever!

If democracy is better than other government, why do we need to force people to choose it?

So, I was thinking, it wasn't too long ago that people were concerned with creeping communism and felt that we needed to convince wavering countries that democracy was way better. In fact, many democratic countries used various political, economic, and military means to persuade non-democratic countries to change. If democracy is so great, why do we have to shove it down people's throats?

ditto Communism

and most other -ism's for that matter

Great Customer Service

Great customer service is always refreshing. My two recent outstanding moments were at Applebees in Tacoma (on the I-5) and at Steeps in Calgary

I'm writing this from Steeps. I'm having a classic Earl Grey tea and a Turkey with Havarti sandwich (warmed). I needed a tie for a business meeting so they found me two menswear shops nearby.

Kudos also to Megatunes on 17th Ave here in Calgary for pointing me to Steeps.

Dr. Jim Henry is passionate about barbershop

And I agree with him.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=38F7BE0C6039A30E

Gold medal moments are important always.
You can be on a mission.

Sing-cerely,
Stephen

Citizenship and Oaths of Allegiance

Over beer last night a friend of mine mentioned that his wife was not so keen on the Canadian Oath of Citizenship which is required to become a naturalized citizen in Canada

"I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfill my duties as a Canadian citizen."

Her objection seems to be the "bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,..." part.

She is a citizen of the United States of America by birth and probably has re-asserted their Pledge of Allegiance:

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all."

It should (theoretically) be possible to fulfill both pledges, unless Canada goes to war against the United States of America. There is so much common ground in Canadian and U.S.A. law(s) that by working within the laws of Canada (as pledged), you can still ally yourself with a symbolic piece of cloth and the nation for which it stands without violating a pledge of allegiance to the Canadian head of state.

This is hardly different than the position expressed by Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Muslims and the Canadian Oath of Allegiance[1]

Just a thought about allegiance to a republic: Since a republic is (more or less) a state where the government's political power depends solely on the consent, however nominal, of the people governed, then if the citizens choose to withdraw consent or otherwise disagree with those elected, anyone who would faithfully uphold the pledge should immediately seek to change the government.

That must be why the U.S. Government works so hard to keep all the citizens "on-side".

God Save the Queen.