Shakespear once called it the Merry Month of May. Sadly in my life that never seems to have been the case. My Mother's breast cancer is stage 4 and yet she seems to be finally making some improvement ironically since she has been declared palliative. Tonight Aunt Sherry and I can sleep one night of piece in my house in London knowing no bell, bang or emergency will cause us to jump up in a gasp of panic. We live in a world where we have chosen to infuse every bit of energy we can find into the thankless task of trying to bring life back to someone we love. We are often also dealing with distrust or hurtful indifference from those who should be our support. How could they possibly understand? How do you describe or prepare for something so horrible. It's like being hit by a bus. No amount of preparation or well wishes will make it ok. The biggest frustration in our lives is the amount of energy that is wasted on bureacrats who make the homecare system a broken mess. We hold board meetings in our pjs with 4 or 5 people at a time whose only acomplishment is filling in forms and providing road blocks to those who do come to assist. A pharmacy can prescibe a cream with simple instructions but someone who has taken courses as a health care professional cannot read those instructions and apply it without a bureaucrat coming to instruct them. So instead the family who knows even less has to step in or we have to agree to have our lives disrupted with an endless series of useless meetings and training sessions, forms and disruptions. Yesterday we escaped the madness and went to see the Hunger Games (after three months of living the hunger games it was much better on the big screen). We decided to go out and taste life and it never tasted sweeter. We came home at 1:30 am and the next day we even escaped to London. My Mom is safe in Vincents hands tonight and for one night we get to recharge and decompress surrounded by all the things that I should be able to take for granted. Tonight I will lay in my own bed beside my husband and thank god for all the things I took for granted for far too long.

Taking Back Our Government.

This spring's worst kept secret is likely the fact that we are all quite likely to be sent out to the polls to Elect a new Government in Canada.  Not the Harper Government as some would like us to believe but Canada's Government.  Personally I found the whole rebranding of our Government as the "Harper Government" distasteful.  No matter who lead's it we all retain ownership of it.  It does not belong to one man or one party.  Especially when we are talking about a Minority Government.  Even ridings who elect a member who is not part of the governing party continue to have a say in our future.  Whether you agree or disagree with the policies of this current Government it is still YOUR Government.  Unfortunately the current system gives too much ownership of our Government and political process to Political Parties and not enough to local MP's and ideas.

Electoral reform has been an issue that has failed in the past.  I find this a bit sad as we prepare for another round of "pin the tail on the Donkey" Federally.  Far too many asses and not enough Donkeys I am afraid.  One of the things that is lost in this whole system is the ability to support a great local candidate whose party may not be the best choice for PM.  Most of us go to the Polls and vote for the Leader or their Party.  The local candidate who will actually do the job of representing you is a fairly small part of the equation.  This is a real shame because there are quite a few opposition MP's who have managed to fight quite effectively over the years for their ridings.  Something that is quite often not the case for members of the ruling party over the course of our history.  Back benchers who don't speak unless spoken to most times make up the majority.  Others may be senior members simply riding out their last days in comfort in a "safe seat".

Imagine for a moment if you had two choices on the paper.  One for the local candidate you want and one for Prime Minister.  I believe the net result would be the best of both worlds.  You wouldn't have to worry about sacrificing the best local choice for the best Prime Minister.  The Prime Minister who is elected may or may not be a member of the party holding the majority of the seats so they may have to work harder to enact legislation that suits the interest of all MP's.  One could potentially see a candidate running for Prime Minister based on working to form a non partisan consensus.  We might even have a Prime Minister who is not a card carrying member of any party but simply the best man or woman for the job.  What a novel idea.

Your local MP choice would become so much more important and finding the best person for the job would be much more important.  Safe seats would no longer exist and back benchers wouldn't be able to just ride their party's coat tails into office.

In the end I believe we would get a democratic process that returns power to the local level without some complicated formula.  As voters we would get to take ownership back of our Government and have more of a say in who runs it.  To me with half of all voters staying home on election day any idea to return power to the people is an idea worth discussing.

Baby Joseph's family gets help from 'a mama grizzly' - Windsor - CBC News

The tragedy here is two fold.

1) Our government has chosen to battle this family over their wishes at what cost? The price of doing this procedure was likely eclipsed quite quickly in the first legal battle. Do the procedure and allow the family to take the child home.  From there this family can choose to pay for whatever care they wish in his last days. Baby Joseph will likely die either way however this family needs this option to provide them with peace of mind. We also just don't know sometimes. The stories of people who have defied our medical knowledge are all around us. It is arrogance for our establishment to make these choices. I just fed a cat that I was told was dead over a month ago. He is happy and enjoying the life our vet would have ended. Our medical science fails us when arrogance steps in. People in the medical profession need to remember the more we know the more we realize we don't.

2) This family's plight is being exploited by people who have a mission outside of helping this child. None of these Good Samaritans would be there to help if the press wasn't taking pictures. They are adapting this child's case to their own agendas and rhetoric.

Baby Joseph's family gets help from 'a mama grizzly' - Windsor - CBC News

PMO Throws The Media Out Before Iggy Speaks.

What I find most troubling with this is that the partisans are running the show. In any party you have extreme elements. Unfortunately in our current government it would seem the those elements are holding the reins and crossing what are traditionally non partisan lines.

Whoever we elect is supposed to become part of the "Government of Canada" an entity greater than themselves or any one party. Whether or not you agree with the Prime Minister's politics we are all supposed to have respect for the Office of the Prime Minister. This office is supposed to represent us on the world stage and be a source of pride. Recently our Government has been rebranded in far more partisan ways. It is now officially the "Harper Government" and the PMO is acting like a bunch of Partisan thugs. In addition our opposition parties have at times undercut our government on the world stage. The whole thing is shameful.

In reality our's is not the Harper Government. While they may control the key posts they do not even have a majority in Parliament. Rarely has a ruling party ever had so little ownership of the agenda in Parliament. All laws are passed based on the support of the house of Commons which means that they need the support of the Opposition.

It is time to stop fighting over who's ball it is and focus on working to make this government and country something Canadian's can be proud of again.


PMO apologizes for booting media from Ignatieff speech - Politics - CBC News

The Price Of My Neglect

There is some irony in the title to my last piece. Almost two years later I have come to realize that my own neglect of this blog needs to come to an end. I have decided to start including stories from the web that I feel are important along with my own writings. If anyone out there is actually reading any of this please feel free to comment. If not it will at least be a bit of a diary for myself and those I love of my thoughts and feelings at this time in our world.

Judy

The Price Of Neglect

Here is my original version of the piece that was printed in The Expositor Today. I am finally waking up to the fact that I should be doing a better job of keeping this blog up to date with the things I have written that are published. That way hopefully I will have a record of my writing for my nieces and nephews to enjoy someday.

Sympatica Crescent is actually a nice place to live though you might not know it from the outside. 20 years or so ago our city planners in their infinite wisdom crowded what seems like all of the apartment buildings and Co-Operative housing for Lynden Hills onto one side of this otherwise relatively quiet crescent. Perhaps proof that what is happening to areas near the downtown is nothing new. Despite this it is far from what I would consider a Ghetto. Though you may have trouble convincing the city of this it seems. At last count there were 5 street lights burnt out on our street. It seems typical of the lack of care from the city that leaves people thinking parts of Brantford might not be a nice place to live; an attitude that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Just a few steps outside my door is the beauty of Bridle Path Park, complete with two schools and a rec centre. Unfortunately the sound barrier along the back has been painted with graffiti for years. At least one generation of kids has grown up looking at the markings of the “519crew” and their hope for “old log” to rest in peace. Over the years parks crews have mowed that grass faithfully every week. If they reported the graffiti to their bosses it fell on deaf ears. Gradually we have seen new tags sprouting up and entire sections of the sound barrier have been destroyed providing easy access to the industrial park from the school. One corner of the park has been allowed to become overgrown and now provides a hiding place for teens looking to consume things they don’t want to be seen consuming. A quiet day enjoying the sun on the grass in the park these days can be interrupted by motorcycles and even the occasional car ripping across the grass. As children have grown up feeling that nobody cares what they do here they have felt emboldened to do more. This year has seen a bumper crop of new “tags” added some using colourful words not fit to print let alone be seen by elementary school students on recess; kids that will go on to become teens with too much free time, and a can of paint in their hands. It’s all about that feeling that the city has created through neglect here. They think nobody cares. Next November the many residents of Sympatica Crescent will make their usual walk down our dimly lit street and across our graffiti stained park to that rec centre to cast our votes in the usual city election. Some of us just might care about these things and have had enough. Food for thought for those hoping to have us make a check mark beside their names.

Rewards for a Job Poorly Done.

I am no economist but I can't help but be shocked by recent financial events and the American government's reaction to them. We stand on the precipice of what could be the biggest financial meltdown of the modern era. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have failed along with such luminous names as AIG and Lehman Brothers. These huge ships crashing into the rocks threaten to cause a depression the likes of which we haven't seen in generations. Should anyone be surprised that the CEO of Fannie Mae actually took home $13.4 million dollars in 2007 (a 7% raise over the previous year) while the company itself lost $2.1 billion dollars that year? Not to be outdone while his ship was sinking Freddie Mac CEO Richard Syron took home $19.8 million in compensation last year. Lehman Brother's CEO Richard Fuld made a full $22.1 million last year as well. AIG's relatively new CEO had the courage to decline his $22 million dollar severance package after less than a year on the job. No wonder considering the company took a nose dive of over 90% even if it was mostly due to conditions put in place by the former boss Martin Sullivan. Martin wasn't so shy. He took home over $13 million in 2007. So while these financial giants were being run into the ground the people at the top responsible for making the decisions were pocketing a small fortune.

So who is going to pay for the mess they left behind. Why the American taxpayer of course. What's a few more billion to a government that as I write this is $ 9,789,513,626,309 in debt (feel free to check the current debt here http://zfacts.com/p/461.html ) But that is not enough. Now the American government would like to step up to the plate with a 700 Billion dollar bailout of the financial industry as a whole. Given their debt situation this is not money they have sitting around on hand. This is money they will have to borrow and pay interest on further driving up their debt. In addition the US government is also pushing through somewhere between 25-35 Billion dollars in interest free loans for the auto sector. Let's not forget the Iraq war continues at an overall cost in the Trillions at the same time. The net effect is that the American government is spending money far faster than it can make it.

We have seen on a personal level what happens when people are induced to spend more than what they have. They buy houses and think they can afford them but as their debts mount they become bigger credit risks and their interest rates go up. Mortgages go into default and people lose their homes creating the situation that caused these large companies to go belly up but just what is the result going to be when the world's largest economy hits the credit wall? The likelihood is a worldwide recession the likes of which we have never seen which is why we should all care.

So just how well do government bailouts like this work? Well it was only a few months ago that the US government went into debt sending out “Stimulus Checks” in a brave plan to head off a recession. Supposedly putting a bit of money in people's pockets would get them spending and fix the economy. It was estimated to have cost $152 billion in 2008 and an additional $124 billion over the next ten years. 6 months later the economy has gotten even worse and the cheques are only just a memory. Does this sound like the results of a successful strategy?

Maybe I am naive but I do wonder if maybe there was a better way. What if mortgages hadn't been handed out at unrealistic interest rates? Maybe then people would have bought the house they could afford or not at all. Instead the economy was artificially inflated by getting people into houses they couldn't afford with dream loans that had expiry dates. For that matter what if the rates hadn't been jacked up to unrealistic proportions later? We are dealing with banks that are complaining that they lost money when they foreclosed and threw people out of their houses. Maybe the better solution might have been to meet somewhere in the middle on the interest rates and come up with a payment that the homeowners could continue to afford. Instead the government in the US is bailing out the people who now need handouts and housing and the banks who threw them out and spending money like there was no tomorrow. The only problem is that their government debt will have to be repaid someday and you can't artificially prop up an economy forever. Sooner or later we will all have to pay our debts. It is just a bit unfortunate that the CEO's of the companies that created this current crisis got so richly rewarded for running up debts everyone else will be stuck paying for.

Footnotes

Fannie Mae CEO Salary http://www.reuters.com/article/bankingFinancial/idUSN0434145720080407

Freddie Mac CEO Salary http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/23/news/companies/freddie_mac_exec_comp.ap/index.htm

Lehman CEO Salary

http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/05/news/companies/lehman_proxy/index.htm?postversion=2008030519

AIG CEO's

http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2008/04/04/afx4857306.html

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080922/financial_aig_willumstad.html

Looking forward for solutions instead of looking to the past for handouts.

I have struggled for months to write something in response to my feelings on the current state of affairs in Brantford and Caledonia. Too often I have thrown away what I wrote because I was afraid that it might sound angry or provoke anger on one side or another. Today I finally submitted this to the Expositor. It is likely controversial so it may not be published. Fortunately I have this blog to publish it myself.

Someday I would love to see Canada become a just society. A place where all Canadians are equal regardless of ancestory. The current system obviously doesn't work and is unfair to all parties. We supposedly give people with native ancestory special status making them more than equal. So they don't pay into the tax pot but are expected to draw from it the cost of providing them the services they need. It is a system of dependence and has lead to deplorable living conditions on reserves and a lack of political will in society to change things for a population we see as getting a free ride. What makes things even worse is when we add into the mix claims of ownership that go back hundreds of years and threats to hold our way of life hostage or take away our homes and our rights to do with them what we want. Basically a role reversal of the horrible injustices that were done years ago to our native peoples. Families that have worked for generations on farmland have to worry whether or not that land might be taken away or can be sold for a fair value. A man building a house for his daughter is beat within an inch of his life by teenage thugs claiming to own the property he paid for. Threats and violence on both sides erupt. It is also not fair for an unelected council representing a small minority to claim rights of governance over the rest of us and expect that they can tell us what we can and can not do with our own property. If there is an injustice to be settled from 200 years ago then a legal case must be made and any settlement needs to be expected to be monetary (if any). It is long past due time we started living in the 21^st century again. The reality is the cities of Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, Brantford and Caledonia are not going anywhere and in a free country nobody has the right to tell their populations what to do. We cannot turn back the clock 200 years and displace what must be close to a million people for the sake of the claimed rights of a few thousand. The truth is that every family has been wronged by society or government somewhere in it's history. Life a few hundred years ago was unfair to everyone. We can't apply modern standards of fairness and equality to life 200 years ago and expect the descendants of those wronged in the past to get huge payouts. If we did just about everyone would be entitled to a cheque and there wouldn't be enough money in the treasury to cover them. About 100 years ago children and adults were working and dying in factories in unsafe conditions while government turned a blind eye and women were treated like possessions without rights. Religious persecution and a highly entrenched class system made people flee Europe. Many Chinese lived and died building a railroad for a country they were not welcome in. Not that long before people were bought and sold as slaves. The french in Quebec were conquered by force and made to join a British Empire. Acadians were exiled from their homes in Atlantic Canada. That's just a start and already the financial burden to right these wrongs of the past is probably more than we can afford. What we don't need is more big payouts to individuals. What we need is to apply a statue of limitations so that the past can stay in the past. We also need a equal society where everyone pays into the tax pot and has a right to expect the same modern conviences and services. No more handouts or supposed free rides and no more third world living conditions. But more importantly we need a world where everyone is equal and free and get's the same opportunities to succeed based on their own hard work and skills. Our past should be a reminder of how far we have all come as a society and we should be looking to build a better future together with pride.

9/11 5 years later.

As we mark the 5th anniversary of 9/11 I think it is worth remembering where we were that day and how it effected us.

I awoke that morning and turned on the TV to sit with my coffee to learn that a plane had already struck the first tower. I called to my husband to come down and see. As we questioned whether or not this was an accident the scenes came across the screen of a plane now hitting the second tower. We sat glued to the television as the horror of that day unfolded and we realized this could not be an accident. I remember the chaos and the fear. Planes from all over were being diverted to Canada to clear American airspace. Flights from Europe to the US were rerouted to small communities on Canada's east coast like Gander and Sydney and travelers were shuttled from there to other area communities. Hotel rooms across the country filled quickly. In some cases there would be more “refugees” than citizens in these towns by the time the day was over. People volunteered to take strangers into their homes and feed and clothe them for however long it took to get the planes flying again. Condi Rice will be in Nova Scotia today to mark the anniversary to say thanks to the many families there who did this. There was also a certain amount of fear about whether or not there could still be terrorists on board some of the planes and might they now head for targets of opportunity here? In the midst of all of this the stories came across of a fire at Toronto city hall just as we were leaving for work and of fighters being scrambled to deal with a plane out West in Canada that was not responding to air traffic controllers.

At the time hubby and I worked for a cellular telephone carrier. As we arrived late morning to begin our shift we found the place completely swamped. Everyone had picked up the phone to check on loved ones. To top it all off thousands of now stranded travellers had got off their planes here in Canada and picked up their cellphones to call home and tell them they were okay. Circuits were overloaded with the traffic. Many were getting busy signals and calling in to inquire why they couldn't get through. In the midst of all of this office buildings in the area began to empty out as workers headed home. We were offered the option to go home but only a handful left (one girl had a relative who was supposed to be at the towers that day but later turned out to have changed plans). Eventually we were the last large office building in the area still working. No one knew to what extent these attacks would take. Would other office buildings be targeted. Could we be in danger? In the chaos and confusion of the day anything seemed possible. But we stayed anyway. The group of us worked like a team with a purpose. Managers and staff who didn't normally answer phones took up the challenge to help with the workload. Like many we put in overtime to ensure we helped as many people as we could get calls through to their loved ones. In our own way we felt like we had proved the terrorists wrong by staying. The people of North American can not be frightened away so easily.

When we left that evening it was still light out but it was like a scene out of a zombie movie. Not a soul was in sight on the streets on the way home that night and it seemed like ours was the only car in existence. Everyone had rushed home to be with the ones they love to watch and try and make sense of an act that had none. We finally learned that the fire at Toronto city hall had only been a garbage dumpster and the plane out west had a pilot who spoke poor english but was escorted safely to the ground. It didn't matter. Whether or not any local buildings had been targeted we were a part of the tragedy that day and felt as connected to the events as anyone.

In the days that followed we continued to work long hours as our network dealt with the overwhelming number of stranded travellers. We ordered T shirts with Canadian and American flags on them with the quote “the flag stands for freedom and you can't take that away”. The money raised was sent to the victims families and the T shirts became an exception to our usual dress code. It was not uncommon to see business suits and dresses with an ill fitting T shirt draped over top that fall. We survived but we never forgot. It was the only time in my lifetime that we felt like there was no Canada or US but only one North American people united in one cause. We sent our boys to Afganistan and today they are still there making up a large portion of the forces fighting in the more dangerous Taliban held areas. My cousin is there training boys to fight before they head for the front lines. We watch the news for his name and hope to never see it. If you were to ask the Canadian boys over there why they were there they would answer with a number. 9/11 a number that has come to symbolize so much, so quickly to so many.

No sweeter sound

Somewhere in the corner of a bar somewhere in Ontario a violin is playing for the smokers who now must take their butts outside. If we listen hard enough we might hear it. Or maybe not. Perhaps it might be hard to hear over the laughter of an asthmatic taking their first turn at a slot machine now that entering the Niagara casino will no longer include breathing the blue haze of cigarette smoke. Few pieces of legislation have liberated so many and will save so many lives. People like Heather Crowe who died recently after her long battle with a lung cancer she contracted serving customers in so called "smoking areas". We might also have trouble hearing it over the song and dance from business owners about the potential for lost sales. I know I wont hear it. I will be too busy thinking about the lives that have been saved and the voices of the many young Heather Crowe's who just got the biggest tip they will ever receive. The right to earn a living without putting your life at risk. But then here in Brantford the song is already familiar so we can afford ourselves a bit of pride as listen while the rest of the province catches the tune. There can be no sweeter sound.

Another Life Lost

Yesterday morning I awoke at 4:15am. I did not know what it was that had disturbed my sleep so I went about my scheduled routine. At 6am when we headed out to the gym we drove past a armada of police vehicles on the other side of the complex where we live. My natural curiosity grew as with each pass by during our routine that morning I noticed more vehicles and police tape marking off the area. Eventually just after 9am I reported the scene to our local paper the Expositor in hopes that their sleuths might find the answers to the developing mystery. Later that day my worst fears were confirmed when it was reported that Fallon Mason a 23 year old mother of 2 small children had been brutally murdered by a former boyfriend with a history of violence against her. He committed this act while he was out on bail awaiting trial on charges related to a previous break and enter and assault he had committed against her just last month. While we lived in such proximity I did not know Fallon but I cannot help but be touched by her loss. As a woman who made many poor choices in the company I kept at her age and who suffered domestic violence at their hands I can only feel that there but for the grace of god go I. For that reason this blog is dedicated to Fallon

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Look now for answers to questions we are too late in asking. As a lonely police car provides sentry to the now vacant Brantford home that was so brutally invaded while nobody defended it and a young life snuffed out within. How can it happen here we ask when our question should be how can it happen at all? How can our court system be so preoccupied with procrastination that even violent offenders are granted the luxury of sometimes years of bail while their cases are decided. Years to torment their victims further while justice crawls along blindly. In an enlightened society without a death penalty a 23 year old girl was executed in the wee hours of Tuesday for the sole crime of poor choice in love. We live in a world where picking the wrong mate can be the crime that is punished most severely. Yet while we ponder and wonder so many other victims in our own community will sleep a lot less tonight as the cold chill of the danger they face in their own long wait for justice becomes all the more real today. What solace can we offer them and who among us has the courage to speak and tell two small children why we failed to protect their Mother in her hour of need? Today a Brantford court will be presented with a murderer. No answers will be given and no justice metered out. The sole topic of conversation shall be whether or not he receives bail and when next we can bring him back to appear and reschedule another appearance before the court. For Fallon Mason justice will come far too little far too late.

Common Sense 101

After 6 months without a contract OPSEU decides to take a March Break strike throwing college students out of the classroom at a critical time in their year. Even if the strike is short lived the missed instruction time will be reflected in lower final marks and less confident graduates. Lectures with large class sizes are better than none at all. Shame on OPSEU and it's members for hurting the very students they claim to want to help.

Our local community colleges have been collecting tuitions and booking classes now since September knowing that they did not have a contract with their staff. They knew at any time the teachers that were booked to teach these courses could walk out. They have made little effort to settle this issue without a strike and have not made proper preparations to inform students about the potential for a strike and what to do. In essence they took payment in advance for a service they knew darn well they quite likely would not be able to provide. Shame on our Community College's. For every day that they fail to provide our students with the services they paid for they should be forced to refund a portion of their tuition. Perhaps then they would take avoiding strikes more seriously.

Ontario's students deserve better than this. Teaching at all levels should be considered an essential service so that bean counters and union bosses can't play chicken with people's futures anymore. In today's competitive world how can learning be considered to be anything but essential?

Open Office: Something Good That's Free

I have added a button to download the latest free Open Office Suite to the right column of this page. I have not and will not receive any money for doing this. So why bother? It only seems fitting since these writings were done with Open Office Writer.

Open Office is a free, user friendly alternative to Microsoft Office. Think of it as a non profit alternative to Microsoft. Any donations received go into making it better and promoting it not paying share holders. Open Office is also open source. It has been created and improved thanks to mostly volunteer efforts of some very talented people. Being open source anyone who has an idea on how to make it better can give it a try. You are even free to make your own version or submit your suggestions for consideration in the next release. In this way the software becomes the product of a worldwide community of developers and users instead of a small team of programmers. Some people get really involved. Others like me just enjoy using a program that works.

Open Office also supports the open document format. This means your documents are not tied to the program they were created on. As more and more programs support this format the freedom to switch word processors without having to worry about your existing documents not working will be a thing of the past. How many millions does Microsoft make because users feel locked into Office to ensure their old documents still work? Office is one of it's biggest cash cows. Most users are paying more for office than the processor in their new PC! Then there is the latest updates to be able to read the newest document formats. Worst yet what happens when the word processor you were using is discontinued or becomes out of date? Open Office works with Word documents, Excel Spreadsheets and Power Point presentations for all Office versions. Something not even the previous version of Office can do.

The best part is being freely available Open Office is allowing people around the world the ability to use a powerful office suite that is affordable regardless of economic circumstances. Due to it's 0 cost Open Office is being used today in various projects trying to put computers in the hands of school children in the third world. It is a nice thought that a student in Malaysia might be using the same powerful world processing program I used to write my blogs to write their assignments.

All that from one little button.

5000 miscalculations=time for a new part time job

Where last we left off in the Olympic-Sized miscalculation department prior to our previous election our counsellors planned to keep their city owned laptops even if they were defeated. Naturally this severance bonus for sore losers didn't go over that well. The people of Brantford rattled the walls of city hall in anger and the idea was quickly scrapped.

Not to be outdone this latest council has decided to up the ante and throw a 24% pay raise, plus pension, plus free High Speed Internet, plus, plus, plus at their own pockets while telling rate payers to saddle up for tax increases. But don't worry a five thousand dollar increase in pay for a part time job isn't that much money we are told by one of our gluttonous council members. Not much at least to a city counsellor who is out of touch with the rest of us and reaching for the gold. Ladies and Gentlemen we have a winner and that rumbling you hear is not applause.

Update: Brantford City council backed down due to citizen pressure and has now gone ahead with a more reasonable pay increase. Democracy works when people speak up for what we believe in.

Welcome To Catbucks and evil mornings.

I am not a morning person. Some people shouldn't drive or perform important tasks late at night because they are too tired. I would be better to try doing things drunk than trying to do things before 10am. I have in the past...

Put a coffee in the freezer. Put the cat food in the dishwasher.
Put fridge food like milk in the cupboard.
Put the phone in the cupboard (you should have seen the look on my face when the cupboard started ringing).
Among other things. Generally if I can't find something small like my keys I will check the freezer and the cupboard since those are places that I will put things in the morning for some reason. Zombies tend to be more alert than me before my second coffee.

This morning though took the cake.

I got up this morning at 8:30am and one of the cats (Mickey) was pouting upstairs. About an hour later I was getting myself a second coffee when I noticed Mickey had finally come downstairs. I was so happy I decided to give him some dry food right away since he missed breakfast. Just then Dusty started squawking so I put down two bowls with a bit of dry food. I then went back to making my coffee. Sir Squawks-a-lot(Dusty) though was not happy with the dry. So I grabbed another small bowl and put it on the counter and grabbed the can of food from the fridge and a fork. I then turned put a small amount of food on the fork and proceeded to put the food in my coffee. If the food hadn't stuck to the fork it would have gone in. It was as I was going to bang the fork on the side that I caught myself. MMM that would have been tasty. A lovely Catbucks coffee to start the day. No wonder I am crazy:)

Judy

Martin's mistakes have come back to haunt him.

Martin's mistakes have come back to haunt him.

This morning we woke up to a Conservative Minority government and a revitalized NDP. Strategic voting is over and the Conservatives have succeeded making Quebecers believe that there is a federalist alternative to the Liberals. One can only hope that the lack of a majority will allow us to see a kinder, gentler Prime Minister Harper than we might have expected. Most importantly our next trip to the ballot box had better be more than 18 months away.

Elections are won and lost based on a variety of factors. I think however that these 10 mistakes were the ones that put an end to the Liberal government. One can only hope they learned something from them.

1) No political party can succeed unless you can build consensus among all it's factions. Martin split the Liberal Party into Cretien and Martin camps. Once he won that battle he only widened the divide instead of healing it. Instead of drawing on the strength of household names like Copps and Cretien he was left battling against them. The leadership change smelled more like a Palace coup than the natural transition of a strong liberal dynasty. People who voted Liberal in the past did not feel they owed Paul Martin any loyalty.

2) We are not afraid of the Big Bad Wolf anymore. Expecting people to vote Liberal because Stephen Harper is a monster only worked when people didn't know who he was. Once they saw him on their TV smiling every day and kissing babies they no longer believed the outlandish accusations even if there was some truth to them.

3) A campaign is about having something to vote for and something to vote against. Too much focus was paid to why you should vote against Harper. Not enough was given about why you should vote for Paul Martin. The Conservatives controlled the early part of the campaign with sound bite policy announcements every day. Then all they had to do was summarize the key points every day at every stop for the rest of the campaign. It was a simple effective strategy that left Stephen Harper looking confident and ahead of the game. The Liberal party by contrast seemed to be always reacting and never leading the debate. By the time the Liberal message was being dropped out there after Christmas it looked like a desperate reaction and lost credibility.

4) The Liberals underestimated the amount of traction the GST promise had. A 2 % cut on a tax you see on every receipt at the height of the Christmas shopping season. Talk about simple but effective. Especially since the Liberals failed to keep a promise to scrap it. Ask David Peterson just how much people (especially in Ontario) hate sales taxes.

5) Far too much was left to be announced during the run up to and during the campaign. Canadians are smart enough not to believe promises a government in election mode makes. No matter how well intentioned they don't hold much water. These issues should have been addressed sooner. Instead Paul Martin looked like Mr Dithers doing nothing over the summer and then suddenly trying to buy our votes in last minute desperation.

6) The attack ad's went to far. This kind of advertising makes you look even more desperate. When you have to end the ad with the tag line "we are not making this up" you know you have gone so far out there that people probably wont believe you. People thought only a fool would approve some of these ads and Paul stepped forward to say he was the fool. Anyone remember the ad's saying Jean didn't look Prime Ministerial because of his Bell's palsy? Those helped Kim Campbell fall down to a defeat of unheard of proportions. Do we learn nothing from history? The suggestion that Stephen Harper would use the military to take control of the country was laughable. Paul Martin must have surrounded himself with too many yes men that didn't have the courage to tell him this was a foolish move.

7) Voters want confident leaders. When you look desperate you do not look like a leader. The combination of all of the above left Paul Martin looking like the most desperate man in Canada. People don't trust desperate people for good reason.

8) The rural divide. The Conservatives are probably the most Bay Street party there is but the Liberals failed to demonstrate that. They lost the battle for the rural vote by letting Stephen Harper have his cake and eat it to. Stephen got to quietly play the businessman's friend and the farmer's salvation. Paul was left looking like he was the enemy in the pockets of the big corporations.

9) The Liberals allowed the big issues that they do well on like health care and education to get lost in a debate over taxes and law enforcement which are Conservative issues. It is hard to beat Conservatives on Conservative issues.

10) The attempt to shield Paul Martin from the sponsorship scandal was not credible (especially in Quebec). He would have been better to have hit it head on and admitted some mistakes were made than to pretend he didn't know anything. Instead of just a crook he looked like a liar and a crook. Voters know governments mismanage money but they hate being lied to about it.

10 Reasons To Get Out And Vote Today.

Why should I vote today?

1) Because voting gives me the right to complain about the government for up to 4 more years.
2) Because if you don't vote whatever we get is all YOUR fault.
3) Because stupid people will be out voting and we need a few smart ones to balance things out. Ralph Klein, Paul Martin, Mike Harris, Brian Mulroney. The proof that stupid people vote is everywhere. Save us from the stupid people. PLEASE!
4) Because your party gets paid. Thanks to the latest election funding legislation your party of choice will receive government money for research and other expenses for every vote they receive. So even if they don't win they might have the money to make a better run at it next time. Considering how many major scandals came to light because opposition parties had the funds to investigate this is money well spent.
5) Because it is the one real time that your opinion is guaranteed by law to have an effect and be counted.
6) Because thousands of Canadians have died to ensure we all continue to have the right to vote. When you don't vote you take away the power of democracy and make those deaths in vain. All it would have taken to defeat Hitler at the start was a few more Germans getting out to vote against him.
7) Because every vote does count. Just ask all the image and polling consultants. Millions are spent over trying to gain that vital 1 or 2% that tends to push a party over the top. The people who stay at home make up about 50% of eligible voters every election. This is the most powerful potential voting block that is ironically made up of people who think their vote doesn't count. Either they are stupid or just lazy. Which one are you?
8) Because thanks to global warming we are enjoying a spring day in the middle of January. If you think that is a good thing vote Conservative. If you don't vote NDP. If you want some ad agency in Quebec to get millions to run ads about it vote Liberal.
9) Because you are paying for this service anyway and you might as well get your money's worth.
10) Because this is the one time your country is asking you to do something. Failing to do it could see your country ask you to do other things like go to war.

The Tax Credit Sham

A quick look at some of the recent promises shows that our next government is likely to be an accountant's dream. Instead of actually investing tax dollars in different programs we keep hearing about tax credits and tax breaks. So save you receipts
and we will all get money back at tax time right? Wrong. Lower income earners who might use cost as a deciding factor when it comes to putting their kids into sports programs or buying a bus pass are already not making enough to pay tax so they will get nobenefit. Middle income earners will get the benefit back at the end of the year but likely can't afford to pay now and wait to get their so few will change their spending habbits. The people who will benefit most will be those who already use these services and are making a bit more money and using every loop hole to avoid paying tax. They already have the accountants to do the additional paperwork on their taxes and remind them what reciepts to save. It is doubtful that tax credits will increase participation in any of these important initiatives.


If the goal had really been to increase our use of programs like public transit the answer was never tax credits. Want to put more butts in the seats on the bus? Common sense says instead of a tax credit how about spending the same money on improving service and reducing fares? Better service and lower prices always attracts more customers. Give any shopper the choice between paying $50 now or $75 and waiting for a $25 rebate in the mail and you will have your answer. Especially since reducing upfront costs puts these things in the reach of people who might not have been able to afford them before.
The same could go for many the other tax credit promises. The simple truth is tax credits are simply a way of paying lip service to the things that matter while playing Robin Hood in reverse.

With an election coming I am making my endorsement known.

I don't trust the liberals anymore. They have to face the consequences for their corruption. Paul Martin and his group have shown poor leadership since he took over. Their seems to be a culture of entitlement where Liberal cronies think they are entitled to throw our money away on everything from endless tax cuts for the corporations and the rich to lavish spending accounts. It has gotten to the point that we have to take action and fire these fools.
I will not vote liberal out of fear.

The conservatives do not share my views. They believe in looking after the rich. Stephen Harper is not about to spend money on public health care or other social programs. He would like to reopen old debates and turn back the clock on social justice and issues of equality. I would rather a government that looks forward not back. You cannot support family values if you do not recognize the value of families of all shapes and sizes.

Will the NDP form a government? Probably not. But look what they got done with a handfull of MP's. Brantford was a NDP riding for many years. It could easily go that way again. Even if it doesn't my vote will be counted and the Liberals and the Conservatives will know that there are many people out their like me who do not support their platforms. If the NDP vote increases this election don't be suprised to see a whole bunch of high paid advisors telling Paul and Stephen what they can do to moderate their platforms to appeal to the NDP vote.

No matter how you look at it no vote is ever wasted and I know where mine is going. 

10 things every new car shopper should know.

My sister and brother in law are shopping for a new vehicle. Having seen the process from the other side as a former car sales person I wrote up a list of tips and terms. I am posting it here for any and all who might benefit.


10 Things Every Car Shopper Should Know.

1) Canadian models are not created equal. Safety features and other options that are standard on US models may not be standard or even available in some cases on Canadian models. If you are buying a model based on a high crash test score in American ratings make sure the Canadian vehicle you are buying has the same equipment.

2) What works when?

ABS: Helps prevent brake lockup when you hit the brakes

Traction Control: Helps when you are starting from a stop in slippery conditions by using the brakes to reduce the force applied to a wheel that is slipping.

Stability Control: The latest and best new safety system. This one you definitely want. Detects when you are starting to lose control of the car and adjusts the throttle and brakes to help you maintain control.

3) 4WD or AWD?

AWD: Kicks in when needed by transferring power from one set of wheels to the other. Since it only powers the other axle when needed it consumes less fuel than 4wd.

4WD: Transfers power evenly among all 4 wheels to provide better traction. In some vehicles 4wd can be turned on and off. Since it can be left in an always on setting it can provide better offroad traction but it also sucks back more fuel.

4) Three parts are involved in a complete Side Impact Air Bag system and not all systems come complete with all of these parts. Only the most luxurious cars have all three parts for all seats.

Head: Small cushion that generally pops out of the seat to protect you head in a side impact.

Chest: Second larger cushion that deploys from the seat to a lower position than the head bag to protect your chest.

Side Curtains: Much larger bag that generally deploys from the headliner and covers the side window area to protect you in a rollover.

5) Every part of a new car purchase is negotiable. Watch for added high mark up items dealers stick on their vehicles like $100 pin stripes. It is also always best to wait and order the vehicle as you want it. A vehicle on a dealers lot may have been test driven many times before being sold to you as "new".

6) If you are not getting the deal you want or feel unsure leave. The same vehicles will be available to be purchased tomorrow. A cooling off period before making such a big purchasing decision is a wise idea. The sales person may even sweeten the deal the next day to get the sale if they think you are not convinced.

7) You do not have to continue with a particular sales person or dealership if they do not impress you. A good sales person is an insider who is going to help you arrange for warranty service, loaner vehicles and even rentals during the next 5 years. The best sales people will look after you knowing you will come back to them next time and send them your friends. This can be a lifelong association so pick someone you like in a dealership that you like.

8) Rust proofing, extended warranties and just about everything else the finance person who the sales person sends you to after you agree to buy are over priced. They all come with massive markups that fatten the dealers profits. Most can be purchased later if you really decide you want it so skip it.

9) Dealers are often paid a finders fee by lenders if you finance through them. They are also providing a large amount of business so they can often get you a better rate. It is generally better to at least find out what rate they can get you before arranging financing yourself with your bank.

10) Find out the requirements for warranty service from the service department. You will likely need to at least keep a record of when things such as oil changes have been done. You can often do them yourself as long as you keep the reciepts. Don't wait for your transmission to blow to find out you need to show reciepts proving you had the fluid changed once a year for the warranty to cover it.

Websites for researching your next vehicle.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/home.htm
http://www.safercar.gov/
http://www.hwysafety.org/
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/?tid=edmunds.g.home.header..3.*

Happy Shopping

Boxing Day Hours

Another recently published article. I was pretty active with my writing during December. An election, Christmas and New Years. All this material is a writer's dream.

Judy

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It is time to take the gloves off when it comes to the fight over Boxing Day. Considering that most of us at some point or another in our lives supported ourselves through employment in the retail sector we must have short memory spans. For the most part these days a career sales clerk who has chosen and enjoys this line of work is about as common as an empty parking space close to the door. People work in retail because it is the best job they can get right now and they need money. Many staffers these days are temporary fill in's that will be cashing their meager final cheques to pick up a hangover remedy New Year's Day. But then most of us are too busy yelling or scowelling at them for being sold out of this or that to notice.

As a society we give these people very little of the respect we would want in their shoes however the one thing we did do right was the Retail Holiday Sales Act. At one time that meant these folks would get atleast one day a week (Sunday) to spend with their families. Now the stores stay open 7 days a week so instead of shopping on Monday or Tuesday evening after work we can shop on Sunday afternoon. We used to also give them Boxing Day off to enjoy like the rest of us. Of course that was such a bother having a day of peace and quiet after Christmas before the big sales started on the 27th that we put an end to that. Now we want to allow extended hours on Boxing Day because 9 hours of pushing, shoving and clawing each other isn't enough. It fills your heart with the joy of the season doesn't it?
Perhaps we could make Christmas Eve a Midnight Madness night or maybe we could get them to open Christmas Morning to allow us all to exchange the gifts we don't like. To be fair we would want to get the buses running a full schedule too for those without a car. We also might want to get the banks open for those who want to refinance their house after overspending on the holidays. Heck let's just make it easy and reopen all of the offices and factories so that none of us have to be inconvienced in any way by the holidays. But then that would mean the rest of us would have to go to work and do what we are volunteering these folks for wouldn't it? Were smarter than that. We have "good jobs", loud voices and enough clout to stop that idea.The Retail Holiday Sales Act was about drawing the line somewhere and protecting the rights of those whose voices are too easily ignored in our "shop til you drop" society. But then thinking and caring about others was always something that holidays were about.

If somebody wants to drive to Hamilton at 6pm on Boxing Day because the stores are open an hour later there let them. Most of us will be enjoying a quiet evening of rest and reflection knowing that another holiday season has come to an end and at supper tables all around Brantford the entire family will be home to enjoy it. A quiet tradition that is almost uniquely Canadian and says alot about the kind of community we want Brantford to be.

A Holiday Election

Here in Canada we are facing a holiday election campaign. The following piece was published just before Christmas.

Judy

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Just over a year ago we fullfilled our obligation and chose the make up of Parliment for what should have been another 4 years. At the time we passed the sacred right to govern to this group all members vowed to work together and cooperate. This vow was certainly not too much to expect considering cooperation and consensus are the two main skills the rest of us are required to use every day in both our work and our personal lives. With very few exceptions they broke this vow almost immediately. The truth is our minority government and it's Conservative rivals have been more concerned with getting more power than making use of the power which we bestowed upon them. The only Party that bothered to work with the others to create options and compromises held a paltry 18 seats and in the end was instrumental in bringing down the government. This entire group has brought political leadership down to a new all time low. Politics in Canada is now more about getting the job than about doing something with it. The sheer fact that the parties are celebrating the sucessfull downfall of the parliment they were elected to is proof of this. Now with their disobiediance they have allowed their squables to interupt our holiday season. I can think of no image that is more opposite to what this season is about than the footsteps of these "selfish children" on our doorsteps looking for more power than we were willing to give them a year ago. Add to that the irresponsible handling of our tax dollars and the deplorable behaviour we have seen in this house of commons every day and the picture of the lack of respect they have for Canadians is complete. Canadians have every right to be angry over this continued lack of respect and make it an issue in this campaign. If any party can convince us they can and will raise the standards of honesty, respect, cooperation and accountability in the next parliment they will see their fortunes increase. Otherwise we can expect little change in return for this disruption in our lives and the buisness of governing this nation.
This election should be about giving us something to vote for not something to vote against. Otherwise no matter who wins this election Canadians will once again be the ones who lose and Parliment will continue to be little more than a circus of morons.

I resolve to put an end to broken resolutions.

New Years is almost upon us. A time we all take stock of the year that has past and make resolutions to make next year even better. Unfortunately many of those resolutions end January 1st because we are unrealistic and have not prepared ourselves properly. Let's face it change of any kind is never easy and resolutions often involve giving up something or changing a well entrenched behavior. This year I resolve to pass on my tips for keeping your resolutions beyond January 1st.

1) Know your enemy. If you are giving up something like smoking you first need to know what kind of smoker are you? Are you a chemically-addicted must-have-10 with my morning coffee? If so maybe you need the patch. Are you just a social smoker who smokes with a particular friend? Maybe you need to enlist their aid to quit together or see them a bit less at first.

2) To forgive is divine. Resolutions are so easy to break because we make them black and white. One slip up and we are off the hook. Life is not like that and neither should be your resolutions. Forgive yourself if you slip up knowing that with time and patience your temptation to slip up will decrease.

3) Make a long term/short term plan with goals. Anybody can say they want to lose weight. The question is how much and by when. By setting yourself real goals that you can achieve along the way you will see your progress and be encouraged to keep going.

4) Reward good behavior. It works for kids of all ages including you. Maybe you can set aside what you were spending on cigarettes and buy yourself something frivolous every week to celebrate your success.

5) Avoid the worst temptations. We all have friends who share the same vices we do. If you are trying to give up one of those vices you may need to take a pass on their big party this week. Perhaps instead you can add a new activity like going to a movie that night.
6) Enlist everyone's aid you can. Tell all of the people who are supportive in your life about your plans so that they can encourage you along the way. To often we don't tell them because we don't want to be embarrassed when we fail.
7) Keep a list of all the reasons why you should be making this change. Post pictures of the people who encourage you to stick to it on the fridge, by the bathroom mirror and at your desk.

8) Be proud of yourself for making the choice to change. Punishing yourself for having a bad habit does not help. You are a brave person for taking the first step. Be proud. Remind yourself of the things you can have rather than those you are giving up.

9) Keep it simple. One problem at a time. Trying to make more than one major change at once only adds to the stress and decreases your odds of success.
10) Clean and organize your environment to clear your mind and reduce reminders. If you are quiting smoking driving around in a car full of butts and old packages is not going to help. Clean up your environment and start off with a clean slate. It will help you to keep your mind clear and focused on the task.

Best of luck to all of you who are brave enough to take that first step towards making your life better January 1st. I am among you as I work towards filling up less of my favourite chair. A task which I am certain not to be alone in. Here's hoping we lose weight not resolutions.

Happy New Year

Judy

Letter to Santa

Some background...
The following was published last week in the Expositor.
Dave W is a local politician who admitted he is suffering from Manic Depression and had the courage to step asside. Kacie and Isabel are little girls whose letters to Santa were recently published. Our local bingo hall was recently shut down cutting a major source of revenue for charities and Wayne Gretzky a major local hero just lost his mother to lung cancer. She was a lifelong smoker.
Enjoy

Judy

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Dear Santa

I know I haven't written for a few years but I guess I have been busy. My adult life has been so full of challenges that I didn't expect that I lost touch with some of the things that were important to me as a child like you and Rudolph. I am however rediscovering these things with new eyes thanks to my nephew who sings Christmas Carols on the phone. I think I have been a good girl this year. Okay maybe not that good but I have a good excuse for all of the bad things. I guess that's the difference between being a child and a grown up. I can find something good even in the worst mistakes.

I have a list for you this year. I know that some of these things might be beyond the capabilities of your elves especially with so many Xbox 360's to make so I am going to "cc" in God. Hopefully he can help with the things that are beyond your abilities.

1) Teach us all first and foremost to give thanks for the things we have before we ask for more as little Kacie did in her letter to Santa in today's paper.

2) Give us all a bit of Dave Worbel's courage. It takes real courage to admit any illness let alone mental illness. More importantly it also takes great wisdom to admit that maybe the best job I can do is sometimes having the humility to admit I just can't do it. I know I could use a bit of that.

3) Remind me that Christmas is about giving to others whether it be large like Frank Stronach's Canadaville in New Orleans or 8 year old Isabel's simple wish of no more hurricanes.

4) Teach parent's to look after themselves and remind them that just being here to care for their children now and in the future is the greatest gift they can give. Help them to overcome life threatening addictions like cigarettes and alcohol and do all they can to see the joy on their grand children's faces on Christmas mornings years from now.

5) Give us Wayne Gretzky's devotion to family. Help us to make the right choice and put our career aside and family first in times of need. Give strength to the Gretzky's and the many other families dealing with an inconsolable loss at this time of the year. Surround them with the love and support of a community that truly cares.

6) Help us to teach our politicians that morals and honesty are more than just campaign issues. Give us the foresight to see through the BS and slogans and vote for the people who actually represent what we believe in and not just against something we fear.

7) Push us to maintain the remarkable spirit of giving that shined through so many tragedies in 2005. Remind us that everyday "hurricane's" of poverty and homelessness continue to claim lives in our own community every year. Help us to translate some of that spirit into making the lives of all the people in our community a bit brighter this holiday. Let everyday acts of charity fill the void of charity funding left by the closesure of our Bingo hall.

8) Teach us the vision to see that consuming without regard is not just wastefull but selfish. Help us to maintain the spirit of conservation we saw during our summer energy crunch. Teach us not to wait for a huge energy bill or a brownout to realize that everything we consume has a cost to our environment and a limit in supply. Remind us everything we waste today will have an effect on the world we leave to our kids.
9) Put something extra in the stockings of our city council for putting a limit on the hours of the commercial insanity of Boxing Day. Help us to remember that the "stupid slow cashier" behind the counter is somebody's child trying to earn a few extra dollars to buy his parent's a Christmas gift. Give us the courage to brighten their hectic day with a smileand a bit of patience in the spirit of the season.

10) Remind us to say thanks for all the gifts we get this year big or small knowing in our hearts that it is truly the thought that counts and nothing can be more special than being thought of. Help us to remember that spending time with the ones we love is a much greater gift that cannot be bought in any store.

With regards to you and Rudolph.

Judy

Welcome

Someday I will think of something more impressive to say to introduce my blog. For now I will start off with the basics.

Who am I?
I am a thirtysomething married woman who currently lives in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Brantford is about an hour outside of Toronto and has a population of roughly 100,000. It isn't quite the end of the earth but it is far from a happening place. I enjoy the balance between the two. I am also here to assist with caring for my Grandmother (currently 89) and two parents in their 60's. I am what I would like to call semi retired. I earn an income from Workers Compensation due to a workplace accident that damaged my lungs. I moved out of the house at 16 so I have a relatively long experience of looking after myself. I have seen many different walks of life in those years and hopefully learned to see things from other people's points of view and not just my own.

Why am I writing?
I have a lot I want to share. I won't always be right but hopefully I will make you think. If you read my blog and get pissed off because you think I am wrong about an issue it has served it's purpose because it has made form an opinion on an issue I care about. I am a frequently published contributor to our local paper but a blog gives me a chance to reach a larger audience and makes it easier for relatives and friends who do not live here to read my latest writings. Some of the writings here will have been published in the Brantford Expositor. Having a blog however also allows me to put my original submission out there and not just the edited for print version.

What are my thoughts on?
Keep reading and you will find out:) I tend to believe in and support causes envolving the environment and social justice. I believe a society is only as good as the treatment it's lowest member recieves. I like to think I am one of those people who has the courage to step up and defend people who's voices we so often ignore.