Regulatory group for psychologists ordered Jordan Peterson to undergo 're-education' after he expressed his opinions online. He's taken it to court, and the result might prove seismic.
Beyond his work as a cultural commentator, a professor, and a bestselling author, Dr. Jordan Peterson has also made a name for himself as an accomplished clinical psychologist.
Following complaints — not by clients but by strangers — about some of Peterson's publicly-stated views unrelated to the practice of psychology, the Canadian governing body for psychologists in his home province of Ontario ordered him late last year to submit to mandatory media training at his own expense.
Rather than submit to the procrustean re-education scheme, Peterson, who no longer has a clinical practice but intends to maintain his clinical license, elected to take the College of Psychologists of Ontario to court, stressing that its order runs afoul of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The court now appears set to reveal its decision in the case, which could prove greatly consequential.
According to Jonah Arnold of the Association of Aggrieved Regulated Professionals of Ontario, a non-profit advocacy group that represents health care workers and other professionals who have experienced mistreatment by their regulators, "the outcome of this case may affect the fundamental rights of about 400,000 professionals from all 29 regulated health professions in Ontario. It could even affect other professionals including teachers, accountants, and lawyers."
What's the background?
Peterson was previously in good standing with the CPO and had no public record of any complaints, reported the Toronto Star.
Then he expressed personal opinions online that evidently did not resonate with everybody.
Peterson retweeted a comment made by the leader of Canada's official opposition party, Pierre Poilievre, concerning the unnecessary severity of COVID lockdowns.
He criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Trudeau's former chief of staff, Gerald Butts, who resigned amidst the liberal leader's damning SNC Lavalin scandal.
Peterson also took Ottawa city councilor Catherine McKenney to task over her use of "they/them" pronouns and suggested the doctor who removed actress Elliot Page's breasts was a "criminal physician."
It appears these and other remarks were too much for some people to handle.
Individuals whom Peterson indicated were neither clients nor familiar with his clients complained to the CPO.
According to Canadian state media, the CPO then launched an investigation into Peterson.
The CPO's inquiries, complaints, and reports committee determined in November 2022 that the doctor's comments were "degrading, demeaning and unprofessional," adding that his conduct "poses moderate risks to the public," and runs the risk of "undermining public trust in the profession of psychology, and trust in the college's ability to regulate the profession in the public interest."
Peterson claimed that he was further accused of tweeting his opinion "'disrespectfully,' ... in a 'horrific' manner that spread 'misinformation'; that was 'threatening' and 'harassing'; that was 'embarrassing to the profession,'" adding that he was also accused of being "sexist, transphobic, incapable of the requisite body positivity in relationship to morbid obesity and, unforgivably of all, a climate change denialist."
Peterson told Canadian state media that the committee had proven itself unable to demonstrate any harms to the targets of his tweets.
Nevertheless, the committee concluded that he must complete a "specified continuing education or remedial program" at his own expense or face an allegation of professional misconduct, which would result in the termination of his license to practice psychology.
Peterson takes the college to court
Peterson wrote in a Jan. 4 National Post article that in agreeing to the CPO committee's re-education order, he would have to admit that he has been unprofessional in his conduct and to have that noted publicly.
"I’m not complying. I’m not submitting to re-education. I am not admitting that my viewpoints — many of which have, by the way, been entirely justified by the facts that have emerged since the complaints were levied — were either wrong or unprofessional," he stated.
"I have done nothing to compromise those in my care; quite the contrary — I have served all my clients and the millions of people I am communicating with to the best of my ability and in good faith, and that’s that."
Peterson told the Toronto Sun that he determined "the best way to challenge [the college's order] would be in the courts on constitutional grounds. ... I don't trust the process at the College and no one should."
The psychologist filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for a review of the ruling by the committee.
His notice of application for judicial review stated that the committee's decision as well as certain bylaws and policies of the CPO infringed upon his freedom of expression rights. It also highlighted how his impugned statements "do not relate to the 'practice of psychology.'"
A panel of three Superior Court judges is expected to reveal its decision in the case any day now.
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New Residents Flooding Into Florida Bring Billions With Them
People moving to Florida have brought with them almost $40 billion in net annual income, according to a report by the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
In the organization’s 2023 Florida Business and Economic Mid-Year Report, chamber president Mark Wilson wrote that this year, “Florida is reflecting another year of population growth, wealth migration, more jobs, and a flourishing economy.”
The chamber’s goal is to make Florida a “Top 10 Global Economy” by 2030, Mr. Wilson wrote.
If the state were an independent country, its economy would be ranked 16th globally, figures from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) show.
As the state’s population grows, so does its wealth, thanks to the income of newcomers moving from other states.
More than half of the $39.2 billion income influx from 2020 to 2021 came from residents moving in from just five states.
The states that lost the most annual net income to Florida with those relocations were New York by $9.8 billion; Illinois by $3.9 billion; New Jersey by $3.8 billion; California by $3.5 billion; and Pennsylvania by $1.9 billion.
The figures are based on the latest available data from the IRS, a chamber spokeswoman told The Epoch Times in an email.
4x Bigger than Texas
Florida’s net migration revenue, at $39.2 billion, was four times that of the second-ranking state, Texas, which gained $10.9 billion over the same period.
“I think we’ve had more wealth move into Florida in the last three years than has ever moved into a single state over a similar period of time in all of American history,” Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, told members of the American Legislative Exchange Council at their annual meeting in Orlando on July 26.
Much of the money has flowed to South Florida. Miami-Dade County gained $7.4 billion in net annual income and Palm Beach gained $7.2 billion.
The next three highest gains were in Southwest Florida: Collier County gained $4.9 billion, Lee County gained $2.4 billion, and Sarasota County gained $2.3 billion of net annual income.
A popular retirement destination, Florida is seeing its demographics change. Those 80 and older now number 5 percent of the population.
The chamber projects they will make up 8 percent by 2035 and 10 percent by 2050.
The group made up of residents 65-79 is expected to remain about the same. Younger age groups are expected to drop by a percentage point or two, chamber analysts predict.
Hispanics, now making up about 27 percent of the Florida population, will reach 32 percent by 2050, analysts predict.
As he runs for president, Mr. DeSantis likes to talk about residents of blue states—like those bringing the Top 5 amounts of wealth— as “voting with their feet.” They’ve made Florida the No. 1 state where people have relocated during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I would point out, though, that the people are leaving those woke states and they’re migrating to states like Florida who are doing it differently,” Mr. DeSantis, a Republican, said in an interview with actor, activist, and podcaster Russell Brand on July 21.
Mr. DeSantis touts Florida’s pro-business and anti-regulatory climate as part of the reason it’s drawing so many new residents. He also points to the state’s radical departure from the federal government’s public-health policies in response to the pandemic.
And he believes the state’s cultural stance against wokeness is another reason individuals and businesses have pulled up stakes elsewhere and planted roots in Florida
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Criminalize Misgendering? Yes, Say Millennials
In a poll conducted by Newsweek, respondents were asked about their thoughts on preferred pronouns and “misgendering.” The prompt stated, “Referring to someone by the wrong gender pronoun (he/him, she/her) should be a criminal offense.”
First of all, we won’t use scare quotes every time, but in the Left’s lexicon, “misgendering” means using pronouns corresponding to biology regardless of a person’s chosen “identity.”
One may assume that Gen Z would be the generation most ardent to support this. Surprisingly, it is the Millennials who are calling for the criminalization of misgendering. According to the poll, 44% of respondents aged 25-34 (Millennials) said they agreed that misgendering should be illegal. Only 31% disagreed. Millennials were the worst, but Gen X wasn’t far behind them. While the 35- to 44-year-old cohort includes some Millennials, 38% of that group think misgendering should be a criminal offense, with only 35% disagreeing.
Interestingly enough, Gen Zers (age 18-24) seem to have the most common sense. Thirty-three percent agree with criminalizing misgendering, and 48% oppose.
This seems like a far-fetched idea, but people have been thrown in jail for using the wrong pronouns. PJ Media lists several examples in Europe and Canada where people have been arrested or investigated as criminals. Townhall cites an Irish school teacher who lost his job for refusing to use a student’s declared pronouns.
If the Newsweek poll is to be believed, then who’s to say that the U.S. won’t start making misgendering illegal? Except we already are trying. In California, students were suspended for using a teacher’s “incorrect” pronouns. In Michigan, House Bill 4474 passed. This legislation would make it a felony to intimidate someone and misgender them. It is classified as a hate crime.
Preferred pronouns are perhaps the most confusing and egotistical part of the transgenderism canon. People who claim they are the opposite gender believe a delusion and aren’t satisfied unless you affirm their delusion. The next step is always force for this ideology.
People resist this ideology because it is a lie. A man cannot become a woman or a woman a man. A singular person is not a they/them, zhe/zher, or whatever other linguistic concoction they make up. Preferred pronouns are based on a lie, foisted on the public, and can be changed on a whim.
Preferred pronouns are also pretty egotistical because the user forces people to adhere to a personal whim, the results being that people are confused or exhausted trying to remember and insert the correct preferred pronouns for people.
Who’s to say a person can’t get legally charged if they “misgender” someone simply because the object of their misgendering had changed their pronouns half a dozen times? “Misgendering” might be considered a hate crime, but unlike race, age, biological sex, or physical/mental ability, gender expression and preferred pronouns aren’t immutable characteristics.
Why are so many younger and middle-age adults on the censorship and cancellation bandwagon? Some have speculated that these generations are simply the product of Boomer Hippie parenting, which is fair. It is far more likely that these people have bought into this ideology because they have children who are living the ideology. Our Nate Jackson recently wrote about such parents, who would rather go down with the transgenderism ship than admit they permanently damaged their kids.
Millennials have also been strenuously taught to respect everyone — even if that means lying to them, apparently. Hopefully this generation will wake up to the dangers of going down this road. Transgenderism isn’t the next civil rights movement. It is an ideology that preys on the vulnerable and should be refuted at every opportunity.
https://patriotpost.us/articles/99186-criminalize-misgendering-yes-say-millennials-2023-07-27
*************************************************Tyrannical banks in Australia too
The heads of two major British banks lost their jobs over their Fascist attempt to "debank" Nigel Farage. One hopes that Australian bankers will take a lesson from that.
I recently went through an elaborate auhentication process that the Commonwealth Bank required of me. Like anying over the net, it was difficult but I eventually got an approval mark. So I may be in the clear.
But I am going to keep a fair bit of cash on hand from now on. I do mostly pay by cash these days. Tyrannical bank behaviour has become another good reason to stick with cash. Nobody has ever rejected one of my $50 notes
Many Australians are unaware that they can be denied access to their money if they break rules buried in the fine print of opening an account.
The Commonwealth Bank states a customer may not use their banking services if they engage in conduct 'that in our opinion' is 'offensive, harassing or threatening to any person' or 'promotes or encourages physical or mental harm of any person'.
Professional poker player and author Crispin Rovere, who is in dispute with Westpac after they froze his account, highlighted the Commonwealth Bank's terms and conditions in a tweet last week.
A Commonwealth Bank spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the terms were to prevent 'to address the issue of financial abuse in the context of domestic and family violence'.
'In 2020, we updated our Acceptable Use Policy to address technology-facilitated abuse and to provide a safer banking experience for customers,' the spokesperson said.
'Any customer found to be using NetBank or the CommBank app to engage in unlawful, defamatory, harassing or threatening conduct, promoting or encouraging physical or mental harm or violence against any person may have their transactions refused or access to digital banking services suspended or discontinued'.
But some Aussies said the rules were too vague.
'Since when are banks the arbiters of moral and legal conduct? Especially the Commonwealth Bank? Do they even remember The Royal Commission findings????' one said.
'Setting themselves up to freeze people's bank accounts for wrong speak,' another added.
Others said the rules were justified.
'Classic example is abusive ex's harassing their ex-partners with 1c transfers that include threats in the description. In support services you see this all the time as a modus operandi. In the normal world, most don't even know it happens.'
In July, Mr Rovere slammed Westpac as 'totalitarian', claiming the bank froze his accounts after he made a 'modest' cash deposit following a poker win.
The bank demanded to know where Crispin Rovere's funds came from, which were 'way, way under' $10,000 and refused to unblock his account until he told them.
Last Wednesday the Commonwealth Bank came under fire after it announced it had opened a cashless 'specialist branches', where customers would no longer able to access their money over-the-counter a trend also happening with NAB branches.
'The specialist centre branches focus more on business customers and loan products and are located nearby to traditional branches,' a spokesperson said.
'We continue to maintain Australia's largest branch network for customers.'
However, the news did draw favourable responses on social media.
'Bank branches without money? WTF! That's like having a petrol station with no fuel! Do they expect people to call into the branch just to say hi and have a chat,' one said.
Another joked: 'A bank without cash, that makes real sense.'
'I suggest everyone to change their bank where this is happening,' a third said.
Mr Rovere told Daily Mail Australia he only realised there was a problem when he tried to make a card payment at a hotel he was staying in, but the bank rejected it.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12330529/Commonwealth-Bank-rules-stop-accessing-money.html
****************************************My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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Kristina Pimenova, once said to be the most beautiful girl in the world. Note blue eyes and blonde hair
Bliss: What every woman wants: to feel safe and secure in the arms of her man. Robert Irwin and Rorie Buckey. See
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