Beggars are annoying. But poverty is a lot more annoying

If you live in a big city, chances are you've run into panhandlers on the street asking you for money. Toronto is no exception. Whenever I walk my dog in the morning, I come across beggars on pretty much every block. But I don't just encounter them walking down the street. I've been approached by them when I'm driving. They sometimes approach my car while I'm waiting for a traffic light. Some of them will even block traffic and force drivers to swerve to avoid them. There's no avoiding them on the TTC either. I've often seen panhandlers just sitting on the ground and asking for spare change just as they would if they were on a street corner. Sometimes, they will approach you directly asking for money. Some panhandlers will even come inside of restaurants or cafes to ask people for spare change.

If I'm making this sound like it bothers me, it does. Like a lot of people, I don't appreciate being approached by strangers begging for money, especially while I'm doing something like eating or driving. But of course, the folks who do this probably don't appreciate being poor and having to resort to begging in order to survive. I seldom give money to panhandlers. Not because I'm insensitive to their situation, but because I don't know their situation. They could very well be genuine cases of poverty. People who have no home, no job and no one to help them. But they could also be people trying to feed an addiction, whether that addiction involves booze or drugs. This is the reason that whenever I have given anything to panhandlers, it's always in the form of food or offering to buy them something to eat. In general, however, if I want to be charitable, I will donate to reputable organizations rather than giving money to random people on the street.

Yes, panhandlers can be a nuisance. But poverty is a much bigger nuisance. So it would help if governments at all levels would do something to help these people instead of simply perpetuating their poverty. I'm talking about things like permanent, affordable housing, skills training and better addiction and mental health services, not band-aids like shelter beds and temporary respite centres. 

Doug Ford has been a disappointment so far

It's been just over a month since Doug Ford was sworn in as Ontario's Premier and so far, I'm not impressed with what he's done. Yes, I understand that it's way too early to pass judgement on him and his government, but he's not earning any points with me so far.

Firstly, he scrapped the sex-ed curriculum that the Liberals introduced in 2015. He promised to do so during the election campaign. But he also promised to create a new curriculum based on consultation with parents. Until then, he's decided that Ontario's students will learn from the old sex-ed curriculum. A curriculum that's twenty years old, which doesn't talk about things like sexting, gender identity or other factors that play into sexual education that were not present when the 1998 curriculum was introduced. These are things that kids need to learn, regardless of what Ford's social conservative backers think. His government later changed its tune a bit and said that kids would still learn about things like social media in regards to sex-ed. So we have a lot of inconsistency here. No one seems to have concrete answers on just what kids will be learning when they go back to school this September. The better thing to do would have been to keep the curriculum that the Liberals introduced in 2015 until the government could create a new one. Okay, yes, maybe the curriculum that the previous Liberal government was controversial, but at least Ontario's youngsters would still learn about what is for all intensive purposes the world of sex and gender in the 21st century.

The new Ford government has also moved to scrap the cap-and-trade system that was introduced by the Liberals. I'm not a fan of carbon taxes of any kind and think it's just a simple cash grab. Nevertheless, climate change is a clear and present danger to the entire world's population. If Ford wants to scrap cap-and-trade, he should at least present an alternative plan to address environmental concerns. He cannot just ignore the problem. I should also mention that there are severe financial consequences to cancelling the cap-and-trade system. Contracts that were made between the Ontario government and other parties under this scheme will now have to be terminated, leading to possible lawsuits and perhaps billions of dollars in financial penalties from cancelling these contracts. Now of course, Ford and his entourage will try and blame the Liberals for any of the financial costs associated with cancelling the contracts. But blaming the previous government isn't going to plug the big financial hole that will be dug once cap-and-trade is done for. So how will Ford's government make up the shortfall? The answer is, surprise, surprise, deep cuts to things like health care and education. As always, the books will be balanced on the backs of those who cannot afford it.

Many of the cuts that will inevitably come from the Ford government will be felt in the province's capital, Toronto. And Ford has already taken a page out of former premier Mike Harris' book by shoving changes to the city's governmental structure down the throats of Torontonians. Just as folks in Toronto are about to vote in municipal elections, Ford has moved to cut the size of the city's council almost in half. That means less elected officials representing more people. It's already hard enough for Torontonians to reach their representatives at City Hall. Now Ford wants to make it even harder. And inasmuch as I would love to see many of Toronto's councillors lose their jobs, the size and structure of Toronto's city council should be decided by Torontonians, not by Queen's Park. If Ford wants to improve the way Toronto operates, he should start by giving the city's mayor stronger powers so that he's not just a eunuch who can't do much more than the members of council he presides over. I'm talking, of course, about a strong mayor system. The kind that big U.S. cities, like Chicago and New York have. Hell, Douggie himself said he supported such a system, yet he won't put his money where his mouth is. So Toronto's municipal government will continue to be disfunctional with different councillors peddling their own pet projects and agendas. They'll just have bigger fiefdoms this time.

Again, I can't pass judgement on this government as it's way too early to do so. But I'd say Ford and his posse are off to a pretty bad start.   

Bad pedestrians are driving me crazy!

We've all heard complaints about bad drivers and bad cyclists. But there's another group of people we hear about a lot less. Bad pedestrians. And nowadays, they've been driving me nuts. I live in a very busy neighbourhood in Toronto, so of course I see plenty of traffic every day, both on wheels and on foot. What's driving me to the wall is that a lot of the folks pounding the pavement with their feet think they're invincible, so they'll do pretty much any stupid thing in the book while they're walking about. It's like they're oblivious to the world around them.

As you might expect, most of my issues with bad pedestrians come up when I've driving. Jaywalking is the most common infraction that I see among people walking in my area, but I have a bigger problem with the idiots who think it's okay to cross the street when the light is red and believe they're guaranteed not to be struck by a vehicle. I also get really pissed off at the morons who have their heads in their cellphones or are talking and/or texting when they're crossing the street. Hell, I've even seen people jaywalking while using their cellphones. How dangerous and stupid can you be!? Then there's the people who cross the street at the last moment before the light turns red yet don't even have the decency to hurry up so that they're not in the intersection when the cars get a green light. Okay, if you're old or disabled and you can't get across in time, I'll give you a pass. As for the rest of you, MOVE YOUR ASSES!

Now in the interests of fairness, I don't make myself out to be a perfect pedestrian any more than I could pretend to be the perfect driver. I jaywalk every now and then. It's hard to blame people for doing it when the nearest crosswalk is ten blocks away, although if you must jaywalk, at least don't do it while using a cellphone and not paying attention. I've even crossed the street while using my cellphone a couple of times, though I certainly don't make a habit of it like a lot of other people do. Yes, we've all done stupid things while walking in busy neighbourhoods. The problem is that too many people are making a habit of not being responsible while navigating on foot. I just wish that bad pedestrians were as accountable for their actions as motorists are expected to be.

Mayor John Tory has to go

Four years ago, I and many other Torontonians elected John Tory as mayor of our great city. I supported him because I wanted someone who wasn't divisive, like late former mayor Rob Ford was. John Tory seemed to fit the bill. But over the years, he has gone from simply wanting to reach a consensus with other city politicians to basically giving them everything they want. For example, he's let the city's would-be social engineers run wild, installing bicycle lanes where they shouldn't be and making it harder and harder for anyone who dares to drive an automobile in this city to get from point A to point B. The social engineers wanted bike lanes on Bloor. He let it happen. They wanted bike lanes on Woodbine. He let it happen. They wanted a streetcar right-of-way on King St. between Bathurst and Jarvis. He let it happen. And what are the results of these social engineering projects? More traffic chaos and a significant hit to the bottom lines of many businesses.

Tory has also spent much of his time and effort trying to appease the folks on the militant left. Groups like Black Lives Matter, which to me is nothing but a hate group. The police have had their hands tied by the mayor and the rest of the stooges of political correctness. As a result, gun crime has soared, the latest incidence of which was yesterday's shooting near Danforth and Logan in Greektown that killed two people and injured fourteen others. Drug dealers and other criminals are taking over the city's downtown core, while the mayor and the rest of the incompetents on Council refuse to clean up the mess left by users of the safe-injection sites and homeless shelters that the city has set up. As a result, folks who live near these homeless shelters and safe-injection sites have to deal with things like dirty needles, human feces and the fear of being accosted by some of the people using these services.

Clearly, Mayor John Tory lacks a backbone. He doesn't have the courage to stand up to the city's social engineers and militant, cop-hating groups like Black Lives Matter. Hence, I can no longer support him. I want someone who's going to clean up this city and stand up to the folks who are making it worse. What I would really like is a Torontonian version of Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, who made that vast metropolis livable again. He got rid of much of the city's criminal elements, despite the overwhelming opposition he faced for his methods. We need someone like him in Toronto. Someone who will put fear into criminals and give power back to our police force. Someone who will get this city moving, instead of making war on the car and making it harder for the vast majority of this city's residents to get from place to place. If such a person exists, would that person please stand up and run for Toronto's mayoralty this fall? I and many other Torontonians would really appreciate it.

Bibi, do the right thing and allow Israel's LGBTQ community to access surrogacy services

Today, members of Israel's LGBTQ community took to the streets to protest the recently passed Surrogacy Law, which mandates the use of surrogacy services to Israelis unable to conceive children, but which excludes the LGBTQ community from accessing those services. They have the support of several well-known Israeli businesses, who allowed their employees to skip work to take part in the protests. As a fellow Israeli citizen, I would also like to give my wholehearted support to these people in their ongoing struggle for equality.

Now just to be fair, Israel is light years ahead of other countries in the Middle East in terms of its tolerance for people who are gay, bisexual, transgender, etc. In fact, it's the only country in the region where a person who is a member of the LGBTQ community can live without the constant fear of persecution and even death for the lifestyle they have chosen. Nevertheless, members of this community still significant discrimination in the country's laws and are still victims of persecution and hate in various sectors of Israeli society. Having children and raising a family is a fundamental human right, so not allowing Israelis in the LGBTQ community to access services of surrogate mothers is a clear violation of this right. Therefore, I call on Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government to amend the Surrogacy Law to allow members of the LGBTQ community to access these services and take another step towards equal rights in Israel.

Israel's new Basic Law wastes time and changes nothing

The Knesset recently passed the new Basic Law: Israel - The Nation-state of the Jewish People and everyone's making a fuss about it. The usual folks who want to see Israel destroyed and its Jewish population thrown into the sea are predictably calling the new law racist and equating it with apartheid. Some are simply calling it provocative. But the adjective I would use to describe the new Basic Law is redundant. It doesn't say anything that hasn't already been said in other pieces of the state's legislation, nor does it change anything.

Contrary to what Israel's enemies say, the law does not mandate Jewish-only settlements, nor does it compromise the status of Arabic as an official language. In fact, when I look at the text of the new Basic Law, I can't help but say to myself, "Tell me something I don't already know." The people who drafted this law might as well have written down, the sky is blue and the grass is green. Now if you folks who were elected by the Israeli people to govern could stop wasting your time trying to determine who is the most Zionist among you and focus on the country's real problems, that would be great.

Israel: Don't Deport Migrants Back to Danger in Africa. Why Not Send Them to Canada?

Israel has quite a moral dilemma on its hands as its leaders decide what to do with tens of thousands of migrants from Africa who have entered the country illegally over the past few years. Our government wants to get rid of these people, as do many Israelis, describing them as "infiltrators", because many of them come from countries that are hostile to Israel. Not all Israelis, however, share the view that these people represent a threat to the country and should be deported as soon as possible. I am one of them.

Yes, many of these migrants are from countries hostile to Israel. Yes, some recent criminal activity in Israel has been attributed to these people. Yes, many of them are probably not genuine asylum seekers and have made their way out of their home countries and into Israel for economic reasons. And yes, Israel must ensure secure borders, meaning that no one can be allowed to cross the border illegally. After all, a porous border is a threat to the security of Israeli citizens. But I still think that Israel needs to be more compassionate to these people. Not to the extent of allowing all of them to remain in the country, but by allowing them to keep their dignity and their lives. Simply deporting these people back to Africa, to third countries like Rwanda or Uganda, is wrong and contravenes both Jewish and universal morals. Our Bible teaches us to treat the foreigners among us with compassion, reminding us of our bitter bondage in Egypt. Our most recent history also teaches us that we should treat people looking for a better life with dignity and tolerance, lest we forget that when the Nazis were slaughtering us by the millions, those of us trying to escape the Holocaust were turned away by most countries. We as Jews cannot show the same disrespect and intolerance shown to us in the past, otherwise we are no better than those who closed their borders to us and let millions of us perish in the concentration camps. In fact, for this reason, some Holocaust survivors have publicly discouraged Israel from deporting the African migrants.

Now just to be fair, Israel has already shown these people a lot more compassion than some of its neighbours. In fact, if these people had been caught in Egypt trying to cross the border into Israel, they may not be alive today. They may have been shot and killed as soon as they came within sight of Egyptian authorities, as has happened in the past. Yet the world's media makes Israel look like the villain for wanting to deport the migrants. At least in Israel, these people have a roof over their heads and food to eat. They are not tortured and killed as they are in the Arab world simply because they have darker skin and non-Arab heritage.

So what should Israel do with these people? Well, a few days ago, it appeared that a solution had been found when the Israeli government reached an agreement with the United Nations to deport half of the migrants to Western countries that would be willing to take them, including Canada. The remaining migrants would be allowed to stay in Israel. But under pressure from members of his coalition government and his own party, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly reneged on the deal. Now we're back to square one.

In his heart, I think Bibi knows that deporting the migrants back to Africa is wrong. But of course, he's a politician and most politicians want to stay in power above all else. He still has a chance, however, to remove the migrants from Israel and still be humanitarian and compassionate while doing so. The deal with the U.N. may be dead, but I think the idea of Western countries taking in some or all of the African migrants. Now of course, immigration of any kind is very unpopular in Europe and the U.S. right now. But Canada is still welcoming immigrants with open arms. Indeed, Canada represents the other extreme of immigration policy. That policy being to open the borders to anyone who wants to come, with little regard for whether or not potential newcomers will be a benefit or a burden to the country. In light of this, I think that Israel should approach the Canadian government about taking some or all of the African migrants, and should do so as soon as possible.