Are you really the parent?

  There is a serious logical discrepancy inside of our health care and legal system. Recently one of my Twitter followers found this from an abortion clinic in Alberta. Regardless on how you feel about abortion if you are a parent this should concern you.

"Do I need parental consent?

No. Consent in Alberta is based on capacity, not age. If the physician and clinic staff feel you understand the procedure and its risks, you may sign your own consent form. We encourage young women to talk to a parent or guardian before having an abortion and most do. However, if you are reluctant to talk to your parents, there are sympathetic people you can speak to. Whether you plan to continue or terminate your pregnancy, see a doctor as soon as possible. Early medical attention will result in a better and safer outcome regardless of what you choose to do."

Here is the link to the site http://www.kensingtonclinic.com/faqs.php#parentalconsent
There is a really scary president set here as well "However, if you are reluctant to talk to your parents, there are sympathetic people you can speak to." So now these health care workers are taking it upon themselves the legal and moral responsibility of the parents?
Parents are legally responsible for their children to the age of 18, rightfully so. Our legal system doesn't recognize them as adults till 18 as well. It also puts restrictions on what they are allowed to consent to prior to being 18. Sexual consent of minors is not legally allowed till the age of 16, again rightfully so, yet there is no age restrictions for when a person can consent to get an abortion?  Think about this for a second, they can't consent to sex but can consent to killing their unborn child.   They can't consent to have someone father the child but can consent to have someone end the life of that child. Regardless if you are pro-life or pro-abortion, where is the logic in that.
Look at it this way as well. Those same kids can not go on a field trip at school without parental consent. They can not get a body piercing without parental consent. They can not get a tattoo. They can not vote. Why, because our society has deemed them not mature enough to make those decisions. Yet they can make life and death decisions? Once again where is the logic in that?
 Parents have the right as the responsible guardians of their children under their care to be the ones involved in this decision of those under their care. Abortions should not be performed on minors without parental knowledge or consent. And once again the government needs to sit back and realize that they are not the parent and that they are starting to cross the line in what regards their responsibilities are. Its time to back off and let us, the parents raise our kids not the state!

Lest we Forget or Have we forgotten?

Every November 11 we take time to remember the sacrifices of the brave men and women who gave their service and in too many tragic cases their lives to ensure that we back home have freedom. Around this time of year we wear poppies as a symbol of the the phrase "Lest we Forget" which leads me to the question,... Have we?   What is it that we are trying not to forget?  In my mind it is the fact that God  ( the same God that our Constitution recognizes to have Supremacy)  gave us freedoms in this life in accordance with the moral law he wrote into our consciences.  Yet when you watch the news and hear the special interest groups yelling,  they have clearly forgotten and so we have as well.  You may be asking really??  What proof do I have to make such a claim?  Well we don't have to look to far back in the past to see that we are repeating the same mistakes that have been made in the past because "We Forgot".  This past fall in the Canadian Parliament one man, Stephen Woodworth stood up and asked Canada to put together a committee to study whether one of its laws was fair. Sec 223.1 of the Canadian criminal code stated that there is one group of humans we excluded from protection under our law.  This is the same kind of laws that Nazi Germany use to start the progression to the Final Solution.  Now we wear a little red poppy, now we feel good because we say "Lest we Forget", but alas "We have Forgotten". Canadian Parliament voted down Mr Woodworth's motion.  It was a fair and logical question and he was right.  We should not in a free and democratic nation, one that claims to be champions of Human rights, one that claims to be tolerant and all inclusive have laws that deny any human their rights before the law rights endowed by our creator.  But its to easy to forget when you are blinded and more interested in your own selfish wants and desires,  and so "We Forget"  Those men that fought and died for us did not do so in order that we can ignore the principles that this country was founded on.  They did not die while fighting a dictator  in order that we could slowly start adopting the terrible and sick policies that he brought in and tried to force on Europe. "Lest we Forget" ???  Open our eyes people we have forgotten!!  Abortion is unfettered in Canada, more and more Socialist policies are being accepted and the government keeps trying to take away the freedom of the people.  Government time and time again keeps trying to take responsibility away from parents and try telling them what is best and how to raise their kids like we saw in Alberta last year with Bill 2 the education bill.  Thankfully it was thrown out but it isn't the only case.  In Ontario Educators have tried to call themselves "Co-Parents" saying its also their shared responsibility to raise the children. Examples can go on and on, so yes, I say " We have Forgotten".   When we throw out freedom and human rights for all humans so that we can have the "choice" to deny one their rights to kill them in order that we aren't inconvenience what does that say about our moral compass?   To me it says its broken.  And why, because "We have Forgotten"!  We as as a nation have not remembered those brave people sacrifices, they did something we have forgotten how to do.  We have forgotten what it means to be RESPONSIBLE.  Responsible to our family, friends, neighbors and fellow country men and women.  A common phrase I've heard a lot lately is " We have no right to tell another person how to live their life"  That is wrong, we do have a right and a responsibility to do that.  We do tell others that they can't take what isn't theirs to take, we tell people that they can not inflict harm on others, ( yet this is completely ignored during abortion )  and the list can go on.  Freedom comes at a price and that is being responsible and taking responsibility for our actions and when we ignore human rights and deny human beings those rights to skirt those responsibilities that we know that we have forgotten. We have forgotten that we do have a great country that affords us rights and protections and that we can not due to our own selfishness deny others those rights because its is not convenient for us.  We have forgotten that we must take responsibility for every thing we do in this life and that actions have consequences.  We have forgotten that taking responsibility does not mean demanding the government to do everything for us.  We have forgotten that we as a nation must also recognize that yes, God is supreme,  and it is not our will that should be done but His alone.  So next time you go and put on that little red poppy think deeply about what those people died for,  "Lest we Forget"

Be my voice

A friend of mine inspired me to write a poem and figured why not write one about about an issue that's very important to me right now, enjoy.....

Be my voice
I can not speak
Stand up for me
Your help I seek
I may be small
I need to grow
I just need time
for mom to show
That I've been here
now for a while
a few more months
you'll see my smile
unless I don't
make it till then
because their choice
I face my end
Don't want to die
I do want life
MY choice is not
The surgeons knife
Do not want me?
Then give me away
then I will live
and see the day
Though the law says
Thou shall not kill
I cry for help
I beg you still
Be my voice
I can not speak
Stand up for me
Your help I seek

Wake up!

   Let me just take a snip-it from the Canadian Centre for Bio-ethical Reforms statement of how they view the beginnings of human life that I believe "that it is self-evident that human beings, by virtue of their humanity, are objectively valuable; that value makes them equal in worth to one another." I also "acknowledge In human reproduction, a new, living human being comes into existence at fertilization (when a sperm fertilizes an egg)."  And yet there are many in this country that will not acknowledge this, although they know it to be true, all because they want to keep the abortion option open, but why?  Because of choice? Who's choice, certainly not the child's choice,  they take any hopes of that away when they cut it apart and tear it from the safety of its mothers womb. So they do it for their choice. No human has the right to purposefully take the life of an innocent child especially in the name of choice! Its time we have a law, its time we as a nation afford the most basic right we as people of this great nation enjoy and that is the right to life, to the children growing in the womb. Organizations like weneedalaw.ca are fighting for exactly that, a law to protect the preborn humans from the abortionists instruments of death.  But they have people standing in the way saying that they should have the choice. Ah but that leads to another question should they even have that option as a choice? I say NO! As should society. We as a civilized society already place limits on people. We make laws saying that we can not take what is not ours. We have laws that say how fast we can travel. We also have laws that say that we can not inflict harm on others or do anything that causes another's death. But yet over 100,000 times a year in Canada harm is being done to innocent children growing in what should be the safest place on the planet to start their journey in this life, their mothers womb. Are you asking if this really happens? We have no laws? Yes its true we have no laws protecting the preborn children who grow in their mothers wombs a place that was designed to do just that, grow the child till it is strong enough and big enough to be exposed to the harsh environment outside the womb. We have no laws here in Canada since 1988 when the Supreme Court struck down our abortion laws and no governing official lately has the moral fibre or strength of conviction to stand up to the selfish attitude of the populous and say that its not right! As a matter of fact there are enough of them that don't even want to talk about it!  Stephen Woodworth a MP from Ontario has purposed a motion to parliament to study if our current laws that are based on a 400 year old definition of when human life starts is up to the current data that we have with our modern medical knowledge.  And our PM and others in his government and the entire opposition party not only disagree with him they don't even want to debate it!  How sad is that, that we as a modern civilized country do not want to debate something!  Debate is what democracy is all about!  It is how this country was built and is paramount to keeping the truth in the forefront and oppression at bay!  And now our governing officials want to suppress the fundamental principle of democracy... debate!!! 

    It makes you wonder, why do they not want to talk about it?  My theory is that they deep down know that the truth is that it is self-evident that human beings, by virtue of their humanity, are objectively valuable; that value makes them equal in worth to one another. And in human reproduction, a new, living human being comes into existence at fertilization (when a sperm fertilizes an egg). And if it is true than they have sat by on the sidelines of one of the worst cases of human slaughter that our world has know. We as society have been duped by the self centred interests of our society and have, by dehumanizing the child growing within, bought a lie that is a clump of cells and not a human. Time to wake up Canada! If the mother is a human and the father is a human, what else can their offspring be?  And if it is self-evident that human beings, by virtue of their humanity, are objectively valuable; that value makes them equal in worth to one another than what are we doing allowing the slaughter of 100,000 innocent children when we won't even kill a serial murderer for his crimes?  Like I said wake up people!  Will you remain silent? 

The Storm

Well holidays this year were an adventure to say  the least! We had hot weather, a beautiful lake, an encounter with a bear and a storm that made me realize how quickly things can go bad. Ill just get it out of the way and tell you that it was an awesome trip and after we survived on of the worst nights of my life, the week calmed down (except for the bear, I'll get to that in a bit ) and we had a blast but it didn't start off that way.
  We got to the Shuswap and climbed on our house boat and set sail for a week of sunshine and laziness. The first night was uneventful and quite relaxing the second however was a different story.  After a hot day of playing on the lake and cruising around we found what we thought was a nice spot to park for the night. It had a bit of beach to park the boat and a rocky outcropping that looked like it might be a good place to fish, and it looked pretty. So we parked the boat, pounded the 3 foot metal steaks into the ground and tied the mooring lines to them for the night. Let me add that at this time the lake was a sheet of glass it was so calm. Off in the distance just over the mountains it did look like there was a storm brewing tough, and brew it did! It came up over the mountain and down on to the lake, still off in the distance it was beautiful producing some great lighting an  providing a great contrast from calm to storm. It was kinda neat seeing it move down the lake and we didn't care because we had our big boat nicely tied up on shore and if it started to pour we had all the luxuries of home on board, TV, DVD, stereo, fridge, food and a couch we would be fine. As the storm got closer we heard a call on the radio "ya, there's a storm moving down the lake, um you can expect 3-4 foot swells". No prob right. We had a large boat safely tied up with two 3 foot steel anchor pins pounded all the way in on shore we aren't going anywhere. With the CB radio that they gave us we stayed on channel 3 and that was all communication from base to all the Twin-Anchors boats and while we were listening we started to hear calls for help. Other boats farther down the lake were getting beat up bad. The party spots had the younger kids/adults tie up their boats side by side in order to have a floating party barge and if it would have stayed calm it would have been fine but the storm  started to slam their boats together and those were the calls for help that we were hearing. Looking out the back of our boat we realized we didn't have much time we ran out and tightened the lines and cleaned everything up quickly and then the waves hit. You wouldn't think that 4 foot swells is much but when your boat relies on having the front sitting on the beach and anchor lines coming from the back of the boat on an angle to the shore tied tight to steel pins so the boat can't go backwards back into the water those swells cause a huge problem. The boat was now not stuck on the beach but floating freely with the mooring lines still tied up and the waves pounded it. And pounding it! It took a matter of a few waves and the shear power of them ripped the mooring pins right out of the ground like they were nothing. In a flash the boat got turn sideways into the waves and started to rock back and forth. My buddy Steve was off the boat trying to tie his Sea-doo up better and saw all this happening and called out for us to get off the boat! This all happened so quick it was so hard to process,. Instantly the adults started to get the kids off the boat literally having to almost throw them down off the rocking boat down into the surf where another adult was there catching them to bring them to shore, and the lightning crashed and flashed right above us! Once everyone was safely on shore in the pounding rain and lightning storm we saw the power that the storm had. The boat was now just seconds after we got everyone off, getting pounded into the rocks! On many occasions we thought that the boat was going to be flipped up on its side because how far over it was being rocked. And as the lightning flashed and cracked right overhead as the boat continued to get pounded, and we sat on shore huddled together in the rain. Now there was another boat parked just down the beach with another young family on it for safety reasons they too got everyone off the boat and on shore although his boat was firmly tied up still. You see, he had been house boating many times and knew that you don't tie your boat up to the steel pins they give you but you tie them to big trees that they tell you not to just in case you damage the trees. Needless to say after that night we didn't use the steel pins. He also had his boat company give him instructions to throttle up and keep pushing his boat on to the shore every time the wave hit that way his boat would stay firmly anchored on shore. If we would have been told that we too would have been fine, lesson learned I guess. This family was great! We were so thankful that they were there. She brought out blankets so that we could wrap the kids up and try keep them warm. We got a fire going too which heated us up from the front while the rain cooled off our backs as it continued to pour down on us! For an hour and a half we sat huddled in the rain by a fire while the lightning cracked overhead and our boat continuously was smashed into the rocks. And although it was scary I had a calm inside of me, a voice almost, telling me that we were going to be fine. The little voices of my kids singing the song they learned at VBS played in my mind ...Trust in God.... and as my wife reminded them of the same thing as they sat huddled in the rain the two youngest rested their heads as they fell asleep on that beach, in the rain, with lightning filling the sky. Then as fast as it started it was finished.

  We were able to use the other families radio to call for help and just as the storm started to fizzle out the rescue boat showed up. These guys were awesome to say the least! They hooked lines up to the boat pulled it off the rocks and turned it toward shore again. Than with their huge engine they pushed it way up on the beach and tied the mooring lines up... to trees!!! The boat was safe again, not mobile but safe to sleep on. We had problems throughout the night with the generator going out, the bilge pump not working (which was important because all that smashing did put a hole in the boat). But after a sleepless night, the rescue guys making repeated trips we awoke to a beautiful day where they sent a tug boat out to tow us back to port and half way there they met us with a new boat! We moved all our stuff over to it and we were off again to enjoy our vacation!
 And now to the bear story. It really wasn't much of anything not compared to the storm but two days after the storm we were sitting by the fire on the beach at night, all the kids were in bed. As we sat talking and relaxing we heard a snap! Curious we turned on the flashlights and could see nothing so we continued to talk and sit there. Then we heard a snap again. Convinced that there was something in the bush right there we got up and went onto the boat. But we had a fire and wanted to sit by it! So I thought I would be brave and check it out. With flash light in hand I went back to the fire to see what was making the noise. And as I crept up to the fire area slowly I heard and saw nothing. ... Until another snap a little grunt and Steve yelling at me "GO RUSS GO!!!''  and like that I was bolting back to the boat!! As everyone was killing themselves laughing!!! worst part .... they got it on video. Needless to say we didn't sit by the fire.
 What can I say it was an adventure, the company that we rented the boat from was AWESOME!! They went above and beyond what they had to do and I wound recommend that if you want to go house boating on the Shuswap, I would recommend Twin-Anchors houseboats anytime!!

Time flies

Wow what a busy summer! The weather has been beautiful so far and things have just been rolling along. I find it hard to sit down and do my writing, although I really want to. Part of the problem is that I just cant seem to focus on what subject I want to write about. Getting into some good discussions on twitter has my mind racing all over. Time and time again I cant get over how some people out there can't see two feet past themselves. I really am blown away at how much of a selfish mentality this world is adopting. There are some out there as well that seem to have their heart in the right place and its because of those people that I know that I'm not alone in this fight [and you know if I'm talk about you (: ] And I would like to thank those people for being there!  I hope to get my next big post done soon time permitting, its crazy trying to get a minute to sit down and write while the weather is so nice out and there's so much to do and before I know it I haven't posted in over a week.   You know what they say... time flies....

Letter to editor

Well there has been some talk in the media about euthanasia so I thought I would post a letter to the editor I had published in a local paper on my blog. It still states how I feel on this issue. Here it is .....    

Editor,

Recently a committee of the Quebec National Assembly recommended that rules be established that shelter doctors who perform assisted suicides from prosecution.
Canada has laws against this but now the QNA is trying to skirt this and basically allow euthanasia. If allowed this will spread across Canada.
This cannot be allowed. Do we as Canadians not hold the value of all life as sacred?
The argument people use is the fact that they want to die with dignity. Can you still not have dignity even if you have lost everything else including your health? This is not just an issue for those seeking assisted suicide but also an issue for the vulnerable of society.
One example of this exploitation of the vulnerable is evident in the case of Robert and Tracy Latimer. Because she was severely handicapped he did not think her life should continue so he killed her.
However, because he made the case that it was an act of mercy, he was only found guilty of second degree murder (thought it was clearly premeditated) and given only a two-year sentence (of which only one would be spent in prison).
Eventually his sentence was appealed and he received the minimum ten year sentence.
Because he was in minimum security he was able to complete apprenticeships in prison and still managed his farm.
Apparently disabled people like Tracy are not protected by the law to the same extent as fully autonomous people because they do not demonstrate the same degree of autonomy as others. Understood this way, human dignity is not really for humans – it is dignity for autonomous agents.

If removing choice and control (autonomy) is tantamount to removing dignity, than dignity is subjective and easily lost. Infants, the disabled, seniors, and even people who are sleeping have lost control over themselves.

Another example is a prisoner of war in a concentration camp – what dignity would they have if they lost the ability to make choices in accordance with their aspirations?
If the court is going to be consistent, it would have to conclude that these people have also lost their dignity.
Yet this is contrary to reality. We recognize prisoners of war with medals of bravery and hold them in high esteem for what they went through.
Rather than hoping that their lives be extinguished to preserve them further suffering, we rejoice when they persevere against all odds.
Likewise we treat our grandparents with even greater care when they lose some of the functioning that makes it more difficult to look after themselves.
We also applaud the disabled for their determination. In all of these situations, it is apparent that dignity is not about making a choice to give up.
Rather, it is about facing life with courage, gentleness, kindness, decency, hope, determination, and faith in spite of the circumstances of life.
Legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide further would weaken the legal protection for Canada‘s most vulnerable people.
The sad reality is that in countries where euthanasia is legalized, a large percentage of those who die never give their consent.
Others decide for them that their life isn‘t worth living.
For example, the 2009 statistics from the Netherlands that were just released show that 550 deaths happened without explicit request or consent.
To add to that, the overall number of euthanasia deaths increased by an astounding 13% over 2008.
Why are these numbers skyrocketing? Who decides when someone no longer has the dignity to continue to live?
In an aging welfare society where seniors and the disabled are increasingly seen as a burden on the state, it is hard to believe that the patient‘s dignity is what determines whether they live.
Using dignity talk to justify this shameful reality reveals that the concept itself is being exploited. Let us hope and pray that this doesn’t become legal.
And let us get this out before it’s too late!
Russ Bosch,

Summer craziness

I love the craziness of summer but at the same time I don't. I have wanted to sit down and write but I just can't seem to find the time. There is so much going on in life that it sometimes seems just like a giant whirlwind.  Between yard work and BBQs its hard to find time to get other stuff done in, don't get me wrong I in no way am saying that I want to give up BBQs ( quite possibly the best part of summer) what I am saying is that we need longer summers :)  Maybe I will find some time soon or maybe I'll find my lawn chair :)

I can't move...

So yesterday I ran.  The school my kids go to held a fund raiser that got the parents and others to get teams together and have an Amazing Race style competition to rip around Edmonton and do challenges in one day. It was awesome! I have to say I could not have had a better team to run with. There are a lot of times I have played team sports and games with good teammates and felt like part of the team,  but yesterday I felt absolute team spirit with the guys I ran with! Two friends and my brother-in law teamed up with me and we ran!  And we carried each other through the whole race utilizing everyone's strengths and at the end of the day we finished in first place, not that this was the best part of the day. The best part was that we gave it our all and had a blast doing it , as a team!! The really funny part of the race for my self was how I looked at the team in the beginning. I am the only one in the group who does some long distance running, and I thought that I was going to have to be the one at the end of the day waiting and slowing down for some of the other guys. This was far from the truth though and by the end the boys were waiting and slowing down for me. And this is where I had the best time. My knee and right hip were killing me by the time we were finishing the race so much so that I could barely walk let alone run. When I told the other boys to run off and get across the line and I would get there eventually I received an absolute "NO! we started this race as a team we are going to finish it as a team!" the boys got beside me and helped me limp across the line. That's what it means to be part of the team!!

Scrambled eggs

So I sat down with the urge to write and this is what I got ....... ........... .......... zzzzzzz . All of a sudden my brain that normally goes 100 mph came to a grinding halt. And I thought "What! I have to be able to write something, and there it was, I will write about nothing .... and everything and whatever is in between. My mind was racing today with work being a little slow ( which I don't mind ) All the projects and stuff I have to get done around the yard ( the reason I didn't mind work being a little slow). And then there is all the political stuff going on that I care deeply about because I really want my kids to grow up in a country that is as blessed as it has been in the past. And I think that that is why I just wanted to sit down and put my thoughts down. Clarity, focus, writing helps with that, it helps me really put the issues in life in perspective. As I write I am constantly reminded that we aren't in control of this world and we need not worry about every little thing. If the little sparrows go on and live fine so will we, I once read that we are more valuable that the birds of the air so why worry, God takes care of us.  That is one of the reasons why I am so thankful to have my faith and belief in God, the peace and the comfort it brings in such a crazy wacky world. I really can't imagine how people can bring all that goes on in life into perspective when you don't have a faith to ground your thoughts at times. .... Wasn't being a kid so much easier! I know I didn't think so at the time but man today I was watching my kids play and man that was the life! Why is it that when we were kids we couldn't wait to grow up and now that we are grown up we just want to be a kid again. Mind you I really don't want to go through the wedgies phase again.... on second though being an adult isn't so bad!  Even if it means work!  I mean I love working in the yard, this year we planted a garden for the first time and I keep watering it and staring hard to see those little buds poking up.  It's a great thing to sit back and the plants grow ( not literally) but it's quite something to see how fast it happens. And the best part will be in the fall when we can eat it! fresh garden food is awesome can't beat it! And so now that my eyes are starting to get heavy I do believe that this means another day is approaching its end for me, and tomorrow I am sure will be another adventure waiting to happen.

Green me!

I guess I'm about to find out how green my thumb is. Starting a garden tonight, well actually its already started. My neighbor generously let me come over and take some raspberries and some horseradish from his garden and I moved them over to mine. He gave me so much horseradish that I even have some that the kids and Alida are turning into the pasty version we get in the store, but not before my daughter took it and was eating it like an apple. And yes it is just as hot as the stuff you buy, she didn't care! So tonight we start planting the seeds and I guess we will see what we can grow! Really I bet all the fun will be seeing the kids planting and watering!!

Life

Well I'm not sure where I should begin, I have lots of thoughts running through my head what should I write about first??? Life is funny, you get into the habits of living, eat - sleep - eat -work - eat -sleep and if your lucky you might even find some time to play. I'm finding that time is no longer marching on but it has hurried its pace to a full run!  I look back at the past 17 years since I left high school and knew everything and am shocked at how fast it has blown by!  One day I am a kid and then I blink and POW I've got four kids a wife and no money!  But I won't complain, life has been good and I wouldn't trade those years for anything.  I do feel the years though, between getting beat up from playing sports to the daily grind of work, it is taking a toll on this old steed.  Maybe its the aches and pains that has me reflecting on life and whats important, maybe its just age that does that.  More and more I find myself mesmerized by how much I've been blessed and it makes me so thankful to God for all He has given me.  It sure makes me realize how we must not live for ourselves but for Him, to praise Him for all the blessings He gives.  And I think its on that note that I start writing, my views on this life from my Christian perspective not blinded by faith but enlightened because of it.  I hope that those of you that read this will stay tuned, and maybe see the world the way I see it or just laugh at what I have to say. It doesn't matter I just want to share my thoughts.....:)  

getting started

well world hope you are ready :) I'm starting a blog........ oh boy... :)