Brown eyes, blue eyes

Wow.

Jane Elliott blew me away today. Talk about dynamic, focused, intense! Here is her website, I can't find where you can watch the clips, but I'd try www.youtube.com.

http://janeelliott.com/index.htm

Here's a page from Oprah's website on the exercise they conducted:

http://www.oprah.com/presents/2005/20anniv/oprah/oprah_moments_284_106.jhtml

We got a couple of calls off the air too with people tell me how much they enjoyed listening to her speak. It was thought-provoking and incredibly interesting, I'm definitely going to pass on the website to my teacher friends and get their thoughts on it. It's so true - we judge all the time, but you really don't have any idea what someone goes through unless you've walked in their shoes. Plus, I agree, you have to be taught to be racist and what an interesting point - there is such a difference between "growing up" and "growing older". Even if you're 60, it doesn't necessarily mean you're mature!

Lots of news coming out of council last night. I'm really shocked about this O' Connell drive business. I cannot believe the residents have to pay! It's like a Kafka-esque nightmare for these people. I hope they keep fighting, because this is not right! See, it continues, politicians seemingly taking care of their own.

Council also got a look at a proposed new taxation system which seems a little wonky to me. Taxes should absolutely be based on how much your house is worth. If your house costs a million dollars, you should have to pay a little more than someone that owns a mini home. Honestly, I don't get the taxation system out here. In Ontario, the tax rate is based on the value of your home, but they've passed legislation that makes it market value, not these crazy out there provincial assessments that don't seem to recognize the actual market, saleable value of your home. Plus, Ontario uses property taxes to fund education. You have to pick your school board, public or Catholic. I agree that Rick shouldn't have to pay for water and sidewalks, but at the same time I think it's crazy that there are places that don't have city water and sidewalks!! That's why amalgamation is crazy and we need to get out of it. The Councillors say we can't do that though, so we're stuck with it. It's hard to create a level playing field when there's not a common standard of living.

Don Mills and I agree on something! I've said it before, we need fewer councillors. Absolutely nothing can get done now with the amount we have. Cut it in half, raise the salary, make it a full-time job. It must happen.

Well, get ready for a horrible day tomorrow! It looks treacherous with ice pellets overnight and freezing rain tomorrow morning! Should make for an interesting walk to work...

Enjoy the sunshine...and I'll chat with you tomorrow...

Amber