“I wouldn’t touch that with a ten foot pole!”

“I wouldn’t touch that with a ten foot pole!”

Last Monday when Ralph Goodale announced loudly that the Liberals would be bringing in their non-confidence motion/vote to be dealt with tomorrow… one person I know said the above words… about the pole. Knowing the political climate at this time – it was deemed foolish for the weakened Liberal Party to go messing around with this kind of thing. “People are not going to like this happening now… so don’t touch it with a ten foot pole.”

Within one day the Liberal Party suffered some bad press and a poor reactions on behalf of their leader Michael Ignatieff as sputtering was done in reaction to the resignation and strategic protest of a key Quebec politician. Instead of looking like a rising and powerful, potential leader… he was ‘Buffooned’ by the TV report.

I bet the Liberals wish now that they had not touched that with a ten foot pole!

One the Other Side – the Conservatives… and a really dumb decision… about sex offenders…
The Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan’s office, or some part of it, has cut off funding to a vital community program entitled COSA – that is Circles of Support and Accountability. COSA is a powerful group that works directly with sex offenders and in particular Pedophiles when they come from prison. The COSA helps these men to get back on their feet, keeps them safe in the community – and above all keeps the community safe from a very real potential of RE-OFFENSE by these ex-offenders!

In an article posted yesterday by the Canadian Press and reported on CTV (see Link Below)– the money needed to work with the sex offenders was being cut. And in another report that I received the money was cut off entirely.

In this situation the Conservatives are going to wish that they had not touched this one with a ten foot pole! When the Liberals finally get to know what this is about and how dangerous this makes each community – they will use it to their advantage – BIG TIME!

Cutting off money that helps coordinate an unbelievable volunteer group is so stupid that there are not words for it.

But our Conservative Party in Canada thinks some very uninformed thoughts and make some really weird decisions. But it isn’t until they typically get into really hot water or deep mud that they realize that they shouldn’t have touched that with a ten foot pole!

Messing with one dynamic and the best organized safe community group ever designed – is so stupid.

How can it happen?

Well COSA being what it is as a quiet group, for the sake of its clients and volunteers, makes little noise – but does a gigantic work in every community.

At the present time there are about 150 people that are core members in the COSA from what I can determine. Soon it will rise to 300 with more sex offenders coming from prison.

Each person gets a group that has between 6 to 12 volunteers around every man. Each situation is guided by Federal Community Chaplains or Federally funded support groups.

That is where the funding will be cut. There will be no more money going to the organizing of the groups. My prediction is that the groups will fall apart in less than 2 years… then sex offenders will be lucky – very lucky to make it in our present society.

YES – I am very knowledgeable about this – I have been a volunteer that works with pedophiles in COSA. I have witnessed the value and power of this group! Cutting it or destroying it is not something that a politician would want to do!

Again they should never – and would never touch this with a ten foot pole – if they really knew anything about!

So what about the ten foot pole?

“YourDictionary.com” states… quote…
“Stay far away from, avoid completely, as in Ronald wouldn't touch raw oysters with a ten-foot pole. This expression dates from the mid-1700s, when it began to replace the earlier not to be handled with a pair of tongs. In the 1800s barge-pole was sometimes substituted for ten-foot pole, but that variant has died out.” End quote (from YourDictionary.com)

With this simple definition in mind – the Liberal Party is wishing now that the resignation and accusations within the party would have never been made – their not-so-good friends in the Conservative Party will use it to sink their barge!

And when the Conservative Party’s brilliant decision about cutting COSA Funding is known by their not-so-good friends in the Liberal Party – their going to wish they never got their barge stuck in that mud… or hung up on that river bank – and stopped dead.

I have a ten foot pole made of iron wood that my friend Winston let me cut from his yard. When the next politician comes near my door – I am going to pick up my ten foot pole and holding “him” or “her” at a ten foot distance from me. I don’t really want to touch them with a ten foot pole!

Yikes!

~ Murray Lincoln ~
www.murraylincoln.com
Source: http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090929/sex_offenders_090929/20090929/?hub=TorontoNewHome
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/not_touch_something_with_a_ten_foot_pole
http://www.yourdictionary.com/idioms/not-touch-with-a-ten-foot-pole
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jester