Tomorrow’s meeting is going to be interesting! Further to the motion that I commented on from Sarnia Councillor Bill Dennis there is another motion by Dave Boushy that is identical and then takes it even further. There are two items that he added: e) Removal of the Workplace Investigation section from the www.sarnia.ca (all reports will remain publicly available); f) Staff …
Further Motions Regarding Mike Bradley’s Sanctions Read More »
Sarnia Councillor Bill Dennis Has a motion on the table at the next council meeting “that any compensation related matter (including eligible expense criteria or other financial reimbursement matters) for Sarnia City and City/County Council members be referred to a Committee of private citizens (to be established) for recommendations to be submitted to Council for their …
Chris Cooke is ‘concerned’ about me and my politics. He’s not wrong to be concerned. My style of politics is a direct affront to his. I call out BS, I don’t write it. I want to see our administration thrive and he actively looks to disparage whoever he disagrees with. Let’s grab a beer sometime …
The recent news of three business owners leaving Mitton Village is really heartbreaking that they found themselves unable to sustain their businesses in that area. It really sheds light onto larger set of issues that we face as a city. I’d like to make a few suggestions to guide our discourse about these things that …
Suggestions On How To Talk About Struggling Neighbourhoods Read More »
I have spent most of the last twelve years being the lowest paid staff of any of the businesses I am a co-owner of. I don’t make decisions based on my own financial gain, but in the best interests of the overall vision in which we are striving towards. So speaking of my own salary …
Yesterday there was a motion in regards to the Integrity Commissioner to “re-issue the RFP in effort to seek additional proposals and broaden the scope of potential bidders in the interest of the Corporation” in hopes that more local candidates would apply. I voted against this motion (though the motion passed) for the following reasons: …
Lower Taxes! This is the mantra of the masses, propagated by politicians. It is a message of fear that attempts to shift the citizen’s focus away from what is actually going on. An honest politician has to catch themselves feeding into the narrative that lowering taxes helps keep more money in your pocket and continually …
Coming off the heels of my first budget city council meeting, a motion was made today to increase our contribution to reserves (aka. savings account) of $3.5 million (approx 1.5% increase of taxes) to start the process of tackling our looming $350 million infrastructure deficit. That motion was rejected with some of the stated reasoning …
Debt is a trigger word in politics, and when we use it, we end up using it no different than how the average consumer talks about credit card debt. In business however, debt is a tool, among many, for growth. We cannot speak of a multi-million dollar corporation’s debt as if they are “in debt” …
The Difference Between ‘Having Debt’ and Being ‘In Debt’ Read More »
The words ‘always’ and ‘never’ in argument communicate emotions, not facts.
I ran for city council in Sarnia and I won! I’ll post a bit more often on my Facebook page. I’m excited! Here is a transcript of a 5 minute talk I gave at a Kiwanis lunch (it includes some of my thoughts on Mayor Mike Bradley’s sanctions.) Here is an interview I did on …
The golden rule that I’ve been taught my entire life is to do onto others as I would have them do onto me. Jesus said it and most religions have some sort of similar proverb or guideline. I’ve recently begun to wonder if this is the best advice. Considering my privilege – the way that …
The most intelligent man in the world came up to Jesus and said “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life”? Jesus said to him, “Keep all the commandments” The smart man said, “I have never broken the commandments, so what else do I lack?” Jesus said to him, …
Photograph by Steve Helber I’m the kind of person that loves conflict, and confrontation, and disagreement because I think that it is one of the best ways to uncover and discover deeper truths that neither side of a conflict are actually communicating. When X debates Y – rarely is the truth X or Y, it’s …
When we celebrate someone’s birthday it’s a way of acknowledging a person’s life. Another year. This seems good. A way to validate an individual, a way to affirm their existence and value in the world. We celebrate when things go well for us. If my child gets a good grade, or if I win the …
Art by David Hayward (Naked Pastor) I was raised in a religious tradition that emphasized trying to make converts to our belief system. Conversion was a central pillar of my upbringing. There was opportunity at almost every gathering to convert to our belief. There was thousands of materials and resources available to you to try …
Art by David Hayward (Naked Pastor) I’ve been trying to understand and appreciate the role of institutions (the definition I’m using for institutions is “a society or organization founded for a religious, educational, social, or similar purpose)” in the world and my own life. Whether it be corporations, churches, non-profits, governments or community groups. I …
Belief-Based Institutions Are Not Sustainable Or Effective Read More »
I can feel myself slipping. By this I mean, that I am starting to lose my (perceived) foothold on who I am, what I am doing and what everything is. Since I can remember, I have prided myself on my ability to understand what is going on. This is just a general way of saying …
A few weeks ago, Josh Walters, John Silvestri and myself were invited to join the Sarnia- Port Huron – Freethinkers for a public dialogue. There was the three of us and three folks from the Freethinkers group and we worked our way through these questions: 1) What is Faith? 2) Where do Love & Morality come …
Christianity is a complex system of belief, rituals, lifestyles and systems. It makes no more sense to reject Christianity as it does to reject God. Some would say if you reject specific beliefs (such as Jesus’ divinity or the creeds) then you are rejecting Christianity. Some would say if you reject specific rituals (such as Eucharist …