Come sept 27 2010 as people across this province file into the polling booths in record numbers you will hear one mantra repeated over and over
A vote for anyone but Conservative will lead to a Liberal government
This is patently untrue
What needs to happen for each and every voter is diligence and research
Take a look at ALL the options on the ballot (there are more then 2 contrary to what the Liberals and Conservatives would have us believe)
find out exactly what each party stands for and where ever possible try to meet your candidate in person (most candidates will gladly try to meet with everyone they can unless they have something to hide) meet and greets are good ways to judge your candidate and see how he handles himself.
Remember that for the next four years this person will be responsible for reflecting your will in the legislature, is the person you are looking at likely to do that in a way you will be comfortable with
most importantly whatever you do Do Not Vote Against Someone Vote for Someone.
Pick someone you are happy with and vote for the type of government you want and above all else remember the lessons from NBpower. The people of this province CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
When you mark your ballot remember you are standing up for your rights to be represented not by your compromise choice but for the best choice to meet what you expect in your MLA and hold them accountable if they drop the ball
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
For A Better Understanding of Why Mandatory Volunteering is A Bad Idea
To begin this I need to explain to you what in my life causes me to object to this policy.
I have volunteered in the past with a Resident's Association and as a Baseball Coach so i am not unfamiliar with the concept of being a volunteer and am not against volunteering
Presently I have a son who is six and in kindergarten. A typical day with him will involve at least one serious attempt to escape his TAs and usually at least one outburst of some form that will involve throwing something at random or striking out at his TAs. See my son is Autistic and this is a good day.
His attempts to escape are standard he will wait till his TA is answering a question or perhaps even just a step or two behind him and he will bolt. Experience allows the TA's to avoid most escapes and ability as well as standard school lockdown procedures means the rest are blocked. At lunch and recess he will as a normal daily activity walk the circumference of the playground fencing looking for holes.
His striking out or throwing are always caused by the same thing. Asking him to do something he is not prepared to do at that particular time. They could include things like sitting and listening to the teacher, sharing a toy, or any number of other things a student would normally be expected to do. It is for this reason he is assigned a Full Time TA.
And before someone goes off halfcocked and suggests that perhaps these students dont belong in a classroom the latest figures suggest that 1 in 91 children born develop Autism that percentage is increasing rapidly. In the 1960's 1 in 1000 born developped Autism and as recently as late 1990's the numbers were 1 in 110 so the growth of Autism is increasing generation by generation.
It also needs to be noted that my son is non-verbal while my wife, myself his TA's and those who closely interact with him on a daily basis would understand a few words he uses to the majority he will have maybe 10 words if he chooses to acknowledge you even exist.
This is not the type of person that should ever be put in a situation where he is forced to deal with any person against his own initiation.
The concept of mandatory volunteering concerns me because there would not be those safeguards. Unless his TAs were present he would simply walk away. without verbal skills we would only be able to rely on luck to ever find him. And top that off with the risk that on that particular day he could decide that he was unhappy with what he was asked to do and chose to throw the tray of food across the room or perhaps the heavy oak table that took six people to bring into the room could end up on it's side.
See people who say well it will be good for them don't understand Autism and they dont understand that while they can tell your child don't talk to strangers or perhaps don't go out of the yard or even dont play in the street. The day before I installed Chain locks over MY head on all exterior doors My son unlocked the back door, walked barefoot down a gravel driveway, across a busy two lane road, down the street, onto a main road where he was picked up by a passing officer walking down the middle of the road. This all took less then 10 minutes during which time HE NEVER LOOKED UP FROM HIS VIDEO GAME. He would never have realized he was in the least bit of danger.
Take a close look at autistic children in the news across north america. see how many of them have walked away from home in just the last year. how many of them lived. Then realize the system that needs to be in place between parent, teacher, TA and family on a daily basis.
How can you expect that mandatory volunteer work is going to be a benefit to these children, how can you expect another student to watch them, and every school in this province likely has at least one Autistic child some have many more then that.
This program is a risk that parents of Autistic children simply cannot allow it is far to dangerous not only to our children but to others who do not understand how to deal with them
I have volunteered in the past with a Resident's Association and as a Baseball Coach so i am not unfamiliar with the concept of being a volunteer and am not against volunteering
Presently I have a son who is six and in kindergarten. A typical day with him will involve at least one serious attempt to escape his TAs and usually at least one outburst of some form that will involve throwing something at random or striking out at his TAs. See my son is Autistic and this is a good day.
His attempts to escape are standard he will wait till his TA is answering a question or perhaps even just a step or two behind him and he will bolt. Experience allows the TA's to avoid most escapes and ability as well as standard school lockdown procedures means the rest are blocked. At lunch and recess he will as a normal daily activity walk the circumference of the playground fencing looking for holes.
His striking out or throwing are always caused by the same thing. Asking him to do something he is not prepared to do at that particular time. They could include things like sitting and listening to the teacher, sharing a toy, or any number of other things a student would normally be expected to do. It is for this reason he is assigned a Full Time TA.
And before someone goes off halfcocked and suggests that perhaps these students dont belong in a classroom the latest figures suggest that 1 in 91 children born develop Autism that percentage is increasing rapidly. In the 1960's 1 in 1000 born developped Autism and as recently as late 1990's the numbers were 1 in 110 so the growth of Autism is increasing generation by generation.
It also needs to be noted that my son is non-verbal while my wife, myself his TA's and those who closely interact with him on a daily basis would understand a few words he uses to the majority he will have maybe 10 words if he chooses to acknowledge you even exist.
This is not the type of person that should ever be put in a situation where he is forced to deal with any person against his own initiation.
The concept of mandatory volunteering concerns me because there would not be those safeguards. Unless his TAs were present he would simply walk away. without verbal skills we would only be able to rely on luck to ever find him. And top that off with the risk that on that particular day he could decide that he was unhappy with what he was asked to do and chose to throw the tray of food across the room or perhaps the heavy oak table that took six people to bring into the room could end up on it's side.
See people who say well it will be good for them don't understand Autism and they dont understand that while they can tell your child don't talk to strangers or perhaps don't go out of the yard or even dont play in the street. The day before I installed Chain locks over MY head on all exterior doors My son unlocked the back door, walked barefoot down a gravel driveway, across a busy two lane road, down the street, onto a main road where he was picked up by a passing officer walking down the middle of the road. This all took less then 10 minutes during which time HE NEVER LOOKED UP FROM HIS VIDEO GAME. He would never have realized he was in the least bit of danger.
Take a close look at autistic children in the news across north america. see how many of them have walked away from home in just the last year. how many of them lived. Then realize the system that needs to be in place between parent, teacher, TA and family on a daily basis.
How can you expect that mandatory volunteer work is going to be a benefit to these children, how can you expect another student to watch them, and every school in this province likely has at least one Autistic child some have many more then that.
This program is a risk that parents of Autistic children simply cannot allow it is far to dangerous not only to our children but to others who do not understand how to deal with them
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
The Threat David Alward Poses to NB Power
David Alwards plan which involves a commission that is made up of business leaders as well as well as members of the community can be actually extremely scary
1/ If he was dedicated to NO SALE he would remove that as an option and ask for alternatives to a sale
2/ A portion of the panel are going to be made up of those who wanted the sale done in the first place
3/ he promises a referendum but most telling fact of all is he has never made any attempt to make the referendum binding which means he could hold a referendum with a 90% against the sale and still sell with little recourse and have completely quieted any opposition by focusing it on the referendum instead of using other options to block the sale
4/ Of all the people on the NO to Sale of NB power boards on facebook with over 29000 members there is none on Alwards inside team or as a candidate even tho there were a couple of candidates with a good shot at the nomintation in the riding which means he may be scared of the information on the site
1/ If he was dedicated to NO SALE he would remove that as an option and ask for alternatives to a sale
2/ A portion of the panel are going to be made up of those who wanted the sale done in the first place
3/ he promises a referendum but most telling fact of all is he has never made any attempt to make the referendum binding which means he could hold a referendum with a 90% against the sale and still sell with little recourse and have completely quieted any opposition by focusing it on the referendum instead of using other options to block the sale
4/ Of all the people on the NO to Sale of NB power boards on facebook with over 29000 members there is none on Alwards inside team or as a candidate even tho there were a couple of candidates with a good shot at the nomintation in the riding which means he may be scared of the information on the site
Merger
I have not been posting here lately simply because i have been working to complete a merger with the People's Alliance of New Brunswick
now that it is completed and i have given most of my policies to their policy advisor I have a couple of posts to make
but first i needed to fill those who follow the blog in on what was going on
now that it is completed and i have given most of my policies to their policy advisor I have a couple of posts to make
but first i needed to fill those who follow the blog in on what was going on
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