CanuckInUSA

Who is responsible? I'd say the American people are responsible for allowing the "Culture of Entitlements" grow to where it is today. Americans could pay higher taxes and it wouldn't kill you. I pay way more taxes now that I am back in my native Canuckistan compared to what I paid when I lived in the US and while I have far less discretionary income now, I still manage to keep my head above the water (well at least I think it is above the water). But you could tax American's at 100%, in otherwords take all of their assets (this would include taking the resident professor's beloved airplane away from him) and it would just barely pay for one maybe two years of US spending. But then where would you be when there is nothing else to tax and you still have a mountain of entitlements that need to be paid out? The US is on the fast track to bankruptcy and it does appear that you are past the point of no return. Oh well, all dominate societies in the history of the world have collapsed. America is no different. Time to learn Mandarin? The blame lies on the back of all Americans for allowing the "Culture of Entitlements" to grow. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

- Jonathan Logan licensed firearms owner (Baxter, ON) Arrested when some people claimed he was seen prowling with a rifle adjacent to a soccer field where children were playing when in reality he was no closer than 300 meters in a different field hunting groundhogs with the owner of the field's permission. Mr Logan was initially taken down on suspicion of operating a firearm illegally but when this trumped up charge was going nowhere, he was later charged with "careless storage of a firearm". And where was this carelessly stored firearm located? Initially the police searched Mr Logan's truck, and did find a firearm in it. But it was properly stored as the law requires. No the police found the firearm in question in Mr Logan's basement, and it was an inoperable dismantled firearm they found after they entered the home illegally all in front of Mr Logan's distraught wife and crying children. In 2006 Mr Logan was acquitted on all charges by a Provincial Court Judge who ruled the police take down and public strip search of the Baxter man was unconstitutional and illegal. Well at least the end of the story ended well. But Mr Logan and his family had to endure great emotional and financial legal costs in this ordeal for a crime he did not commit. http://www.lufa.ca/news/news_item.asp?NewsID=5747 - Lawrence Manzer licensed firearms owner and retired member of the Canadian Armed Forces as well as his neighbour Brian Fox (both from Burton, NB) were both arrested after they confronted three drunken teenagers who were vandalizing Mr Fox's property and disturbing the neighbourhood at 2:30 in the morning. Mr Fox was charged with assault for physically apprehending one of the drunken teens (his charges were dropped before he went to court) while Lawrence Menzer was charged with "Pointing a Firearm". Mr Menzer's case went to a court of law where the Judge ruled "Lawrence Menzer's Charter of Rights were violated by the RCMP" and the judge declared the case a mistrial. Another story that ends well, but only after Mr Menzer is subjected to great emotional and financial costs to fight his legal battles. Oh and there is no mention as to whether the police had a warrant or not when they arrested Mr Menser. If you want to nitpick I am not sure this case meets your requirements, but there it is. Another licensed firearms owner with a good record being abused by the system. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5xnTZEj17I http://christopherdiarmani.com/2979/police-state/lawrence-manzer-case/lawrence-manzer-case-ends-abruptly-in-a-mistrial/ Of course the highest profile case going on right now is that of Ian Thomson who also was recently acquitted. I don't believe Mr Thomson's case involved an illegal search, it was just another case where a licensed firearms owner was abused by the law. But as in Jonathan Logan's case there are cases where the police have conducted illegal searches. However they are often harder to find on the internet because you have to realize these are legal cases (some that are still before the courts) and in many case details are purposely omitted from the eyes of the internet when legal matters are still to be heard. But they are out there. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I just read it now. I was not aware that Mr Sansone told the police he did not object to them searching his home. For this, what I originally wrote, I was obviously incorrect. I guess Mr Sansone did not fear the police searching his home because he knew there was nothing illegal in the home. But this whole Sansone incident is just one example of where society is going with their gun paranoia where teachers call the police before talking to the parents. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

The man was arrested for a drawing his 4 year old daughter drew. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Yes this is true Jessie Sansone has a criminal record (for a non-gun related crime when he was a young adult), he served his time and yes he is prohibited from owning firearms. Well all indications are that he has attempted to reform his life and least in my mind owning a nerf gun is not a crime. I didn't bring up his past because I was not aware that having a criminal record allowed the authorities to violate Mr Sansone's civil rights. Want more? Bruce Montague purposely allowed his firearms license to expire in order to challenge Bill C-68 and how did the Ontario Government respond? They confiscated his house. Mr Montague never used his firearms in a crime and yet here the government was confiscating his property because he had the nerve to stand up to them. Then again the Ontario Government is not exactly the model for a well run Provincial government. Want more? I can't remember his name but there was a terminally ill gun collector in Toronto's who failed to renewed his firearms registration while he lay sick and dying in a Toronto hospice. What did the police do? They broke down the door of his Toronto home, broke the locks of his secured gun lockers and proceeded to cart all these firearms away. Oh and want to know the real crazy thing about this story? Who was there to report what the police were doing on live TV? Oh it was none other than a CBC camera crew. The cops told the CBC about their confiscation plans ahead of time so that the CBC could be there to tell the story about what a horrible this man was for having all those guns in his home. The man has since died ... so he no longer has any use for his collection. But these are just a few samples. But I am sure these examples are not good enough ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Jessie Sansone was arrested, his children were seized by family services and the Sansone house was searched without a warrant. What was Jessie's crime? His 4 year old daughter drew a picture while in school with her crayons of a man holding what appeared to be a gun and when asked who was that? The four year old child responded "It's my daddy fighting bad guys and monsters". For that Mr Sassone's civil rights were abused and when the school's superintendent was asked "Didn't you over react", his response was "No, we will do it again because we co-parent these children". Oh and what sort of gun did the police find in the home after their warrantless search? They found a nerf gun. What a joke. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Post #58 of this thread outlines the most offensive things I have with Bill C-68. 1) The ability to search homes without a warrant. 2) Allowing the state into the bedrooms of firearms owners. 3) The firearms owner becomes an instant criminal the day any of their paperwork expires. 4) Unable to apply for a license if they have been laid off of work in the last 2 years. There are others, but these are the one's at the top of my list. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

You have admitted you do NOT know our laws regarding firearms, This is unfortunate because you are letting your personal bias dictate your views. As I have said, there are some aspects of the laws which are perfectly acceptable and very few if any are calling for these to be changed. But there are other aspects which are offensive. But since you do NOT know the laws, you allow your personal prejudices to dictate your views. Want to know one of the most offensive aspects of our current firearms law. Bill C-68 gives the police the ability to enter the homes of licensed firearms owners any time they want without a warrant and search these homes. If you can not see why law abiding firearms owners view this as offensive, then ... well ... let's just say your view and my views of "freedom" are very very very different. Want to search my home ... get a warrant ... and before you tell me "this would never happen". Wrong. It has happened, it does happen. There are numerous other "offensive" aspects of our laws. Like how the government is allowed into the bedrooms of licensed firearms owners. How the licensed firearms owner instantly becomes a criminal if something regarding their paper work lapses for one day, how the government will deny people the right to apply for a license if they have been laid off of their job within the last two years, so on and so forth. But since you do NOT know the law you are not aware of it's faults and you allow your prejudices to dictate your debate. I've said it before and I will say it again. Please educate yourself on the actual firearms law of this country. Once you know the actual law, you will know what parts of it are good and what parts should be changed. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

All I ask is that you inform yourself of the actual firearms laws because you are showing clear evidence that you do not know them. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Your country? Who the fuck do you think you are? Justin Trudeau? This is not YOUR country. This is OUR country. Once again you come off as someone who is very uninformed as the actual laws of this country regarding firearms. If you actually knew the laws, you would not be making these claims of "I don't know how to get a handgun", you would know the exact process someone needs to go through in order to legally obtain a handgun. Plus you would not be making these claims of "As long as they use it on a firing range", because you would know the actual laws that law abiding firearms owners must follow. Finally if you actually knew the laws regarding firearms in Canada, you would know why certain aspects of the existing laws are offensive and would understand why some (not all) aspects of the existing laws are being asked to be changed. Get informed, learn the actually laws regarding firearms of this country. By the way criminals DO NOT follow the firearms laws. That is one of the reasons why we call them criminals. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Please educate yourself on the actual firearms laws in Canada. You sound very uninformed. There are some aspects of our laws I think are perfectly reasonable, things like requiring mandatory training on how to safely handle the firearm as well as the need to pass the written and practical exams with a mark of 80% or better is perfectly acceptable. Even the idea of a mandatory criminal background check and a waiting period is acceptable. But there are other aspects of Bill C-68 that are extremely offensive and only if you know the actual laws will you begin to understand the problems law abiding firearms owners have them. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I am a software developer and I hate the commute to and from work and for sure there are times that I can easily do the work I need to do from home as long as I am motivated to get it done. But if you are working on a project where collaborating with others is required rather frequently throughout the day, it is so much better to all be in the same office. There are pros and cons to telecommuting. But I think we can all agree being stuck in traffic during the commute sucks. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

This alignment would result in a lot of travel for every team outside of the northeast division. I guess ESPN/NBC feel the northeast teams are entitled to an easy travel schedule compared to the rest of the league and thus ensuring these northeast teams will always have an easier time come playoff time. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Sweden? You want to compare Sweden, a nation with a population of less than 10 million people to the USA with a population well into 320 million (possibly as high as 350 million thanks to all the illegals), half of whom pay no federal income tax? ROFLMAO ... thanks for the laugh. The culture of entitlements knows no limits. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

That must have been cool. I can't remember what year it was (late 60s or very early 70s) but one year my grandfather took me to a Leafs/Rangers game while I was visiting some fam'damily in Tarana. That was cool. But it wasn't until I was a young adult when I got to begin attending some Habs games at the old Forum. A friend of mine at the time had season tickets and he took me to about 8-10 games during the '83/'84 season and I will never forget getting to see Gretzky live for the first time. He was able to stay ahead of everyone else putting himself in just the right part of the ice just when he needed to be there and not one second sooner (or later). A true master of his time. PS: I hate to jinx them, but I can't help but notice the Habs are in first place in the East. The Hawks are clearly the best team at this time though and there is still plenty of hockey to be played. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

There are a number of similarities between the old AFL and the WHA. The AFL was created to compete against the NFL just as the WHA was created to compete against the NHL. Numerous NFL players were attracted by $$$ to play in the AFL as were a few NHL stars such as Bobby Hull to play in the WHA (first hockey player to be paid one million buckaroos). But like the AFL that eventually merged with the NFL, the WHA also merged a few of their teams into the NHL. Now the USFL ... that is a different can of worms. Spring football made sense to some, not to all. But there was no way the USFL could compete against the NFL in the fall. That was dumb of them to change their schedule. It killed the USFL. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

It's not that long. It's only 7 minutes. Too bad this was a virtual "State of the Union" speech. Too bad it didn't happen for real. Maybe it should happen. But of course don't expect Obama to give such a speech. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

It is higher. There are millions of assets sitting dormant in the western prairie provinces that were never registered. And the funny thing with these millions of firearms the government does not know about, they don't go around killing anyone. They just sit there doing nothing, harming nobody. But if they are ever needed, there they are. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Not quite correct (though I will admit I needed to look this up). The Atlanta Flames never played in the WHA. They were created in 1972 and immediately added to the NHL to keep the WHA out of Atlanta. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_Flames Other than that the rest of what you said is correct. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

They had to go somewhere. Having a FL only conference would be rather silly. Besides, there are a lot of snowbirds from Canada and Northeasterners who vacation in FL in the winter who will take in some games. I know back in '95 I did this very thing. I happened to find myself in the Tampa area for the week (happened before I jumped) and I went to a couple of Lightning games in the old Thunderdome while I was there. Huh? Looks like even you have them listed in the same Conference. Speaking of Conferences, isn't this more of a Divisional re-alignment? It's really only the Jets re-aligning into the West where they geographically belong. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Which team? The Atlanta Flames or the Atlanta Thrashers? LOL The Thrashers moved to Winnipeg at the start of the 2011/2012 season. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Sorry as someone who's worked in IT in the private sector since the mid 1980s, as someone who has worked at more than 25 different organizations (some times it was my choice to leave, sometimes I was told to leave, sometimes leaving was the only logical choice for both parties), I have little sympathy when a government worker whines about a possible job loss. When you are ready, come join us in the real world where layoffs happen all the time, where we learn to adapt to an ever changing job market and where we never feel we are entitled to a "job for life". Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Norway? ROFLMAO ... Norway is good enough to compete in the Olympics, not good enough to win medals. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Actually we should be blaming Herb Brooks, not Eruzione. If Herb wasn't the eccentric nut case that he was, he never would believed in the impossible and never would have driven his players to go where no one else thought they could go. Damn you Herb ... why did you have to go spoil everything. RIP big fella ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Hockey is bigger than Canuckistan. It's just that those of us who's heads split in two when we talk realized what a great game hockey was long before others realized what we already knew. But to folks like Chuck and Lawrocket's credit, they too have come to realize what a great game that it is. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over