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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2005-06-09, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2005. PAGE 5. Other Views I welcome you to Blogworld Last winter I wrote a column in these pages about snowmobiles and why I happen to loathe them. I said that they were noisy. I pointed out that they were polluting. 1 mentioned that they were a pain in the butt (and the ear and the nose) for non- snowmobiling folks who have the misfortune to live near over-used snowmobile trails. 1 opined that snowmobiles were a noxious blight on what remains of our unspoiled winter wildernesses here in Canada. Readers responded.. .enthusiastically. I received two e-mails congratulating me on having the temerity to diss the powerful snowmobile lobby. (Hell. I didn’t know there was one.) I received two dozen emails andHetters from dissenting snowmobilers taking me (in some cases, justifiably) to task for inaccuracies and overstatements in my column - all pointing out what they perceived as my mistakes in firm but reasonable arguments. And then there were the others. I received hundreds upon hundreds of e- mails from a group which, for purposes of brevity, will henceforth be referred to as drooling, sub-moronic goons. They were snowmobilers too, I guess. Although from the illiterate howls and schoolboy/scatological ravings. I have to assume they hired someone with a functioning brain to type the emails they sent me. They called me every obscene name I have Premier and Tory could be twins Ontario has a premier and opposition party leader so like each other they could be twins. Progressive Conservative John Tory has emerged in eight months as leader as having policies remarkably close to those of Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty, whom he is trying to replace. These are early days, with an election not due until 2007, but it could pose a danger to the Conservatives, because voters will not be attracted to a party that appears to offer merely more of the same. The two leaders were expected to share some views, because Tory is a moderate Conservative like his mentor, former premier William Davis, while McGuinty is enough to the right in his party that many Liberals chose him leader to keep out former food bank head Gerard Kennedy, whom they considered a raving Socialist. The two leaders inevitably have crossed paths competing for the huge vote in the centre, but Tory has gone further than anyone could have predicted in agreeing with McGuinty’s policies. The Conservatives voted unanimously for a Liberal law that will require facilities to improve access for the disabled, while earlier Conservatives had delayed, fearing the cost to business. Tory and most Conservatives voted for Liberal legislation under which the province will keep only a watered-down role in classifying rather than censoring movies, after a court ruled it lacks broad power to censor. Conservatives traditionally have been strong advocates of censorship. Tory’s Conservatives voted unanimously to change the law so immigrants awaiting rulings on their applications to become permanent residents can send their children to schools without paying fees as high as $10,000 a year. Earlier Conservatives resented those arriving in Canada before being approved and would not pay the cost. Tory’s Conservatives approved unanimously Liberal legislation forcing doctors to report to Arthur Black ever heard and one or two that were new to me (and 1 used to be a sailor). They swore they would picket my public appearances and hassle my editors to get my column removed from the newspaper. Some even promised to come looking for me some dark night with tire irons and malice aforethought. What made it even more pathetic is that someone in this Cro-Magnon fraternity forwarded my address to several snowmobile websites in the U.S. with the suggestion that they ‘swarm’ me with responses. And swarm me they did. The Guest Book section of my website all but exploded with an infestation of Grade 6 level filth and bile. Welcome to Blogworld, where anybody with more spare time than brain cells can log on to the internet and trash the subject or object of their choice. No need to know the facts. No need to worry about fairness or objectivity. Just go on line and vent. As CNN analyst and blog victim Jeff Greenfield says, the extra attention can be a Eric Dowd From Queens Park police anyone seeking treatment for gunshot wounds in an attempt to help catch criminals. Previous Conservatives refused because some doctors feel this is confidential information. Tory’s Conservatives unanimously supported a Liberal law requiring the often intrusive industry of security guards that they be trained and licensed, which previous Conservative governments shied from imposing on business. Most Conservatives also voted for legislation that gives the province and municipalities power to designate and safeguard heritage properties, although traditionally they have insisted a man’s home is his castle. The Conservatives’ longest-serving MPP, Norm Sterling, mused in the legislature he could not recall the Liberals in opposition being as co-operative. Tory also backed McGuinty’s claim that the federal Liberal government was not returning enough of the money it takes from Ontario in taxes and the premier used the Conservative’s support in prying some relief. This is not to say Tory has no differences with McGuinty. Among other criticisms he said the premier should have demanded a more Final Thought God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. - Reinhold Niebuhr good thing. Greenfield gets thousands of e- mails a week - many of them toxically abusive. But he doesn't much worry about what he calls “the baked-potato brains who say you're a media whore...The freedom that it gives to anonymous twerps to spew out invective...that’s just part of the process.” Greenfield says. Which is true. In Blogword, everybody gets their very own column, and who’s not in favour of democracy? But it comes with a responsibility. If you use your space to talk potty mouth like a 10-year- old street urchin, you cheapen the medium and reveal yourself as a none-too-bright jerk. 1 have no problem with legitimate criticism - the more the merrier. Neither has this newspaper - which is why it’s called a newspaper and not a Papal Edict. But for the sake of discourse - keep it reasonable. Keep it civil. And please don’t threaten me. You look REALLY stupid when you threaten me. All I can say to the legion of legitimate and rational snowmobilers out there is - look around, folks. If this is the company you keep, perhaps you should consider switching to curling. P.S. This experience has left me with a new respect for thinking, reasonable snowmobilers. But I still think those machines you ride are an abomination for the environment. permanent re-arranging of funding from Ottawa. Tory said the Liberals should not have raised taxes in their first budget and broken a promise and should spend more on agriculture, health care, municipalities and police and move urgently to balance their budget. He argued that the Liberals plan to designate land as greenbelt is unfair to owners and the province should make it easier for adoptees and birth parents to contact each other, but guarantee privacy to those who prefer to be left alone. The Conservative leader should be given credit for believing in his stands and not being a mere copy-cat, because he has demonstrated he has principles and does not oppose for the sake of opposing. Tory does not obstruct the legislature when he disagrees by reading lists of lakes and rivers for days, as former Conservative premier Mike Harris did, or use abrasive words, his most inflammatory being a Liberal claim was “a bit rich,” for which he also should be praised. But his differences with McGuinty so far have not been dramatic and striking enough for him to carve out a niche as an alternative and why would residents vote for someone not much different from what they have? Letters Policy The Citizen welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and should include a daytime telephone number for the purpose of verification only. Letters that are not signed will not be printed. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity and content, using fair comment as our guideline. The Citizen reserves the right to refuse any letter on the basis of unfair bias, prejudice or inaccurate information. As well, letters can only be printed ag space allows. Please keep your letters brief and concise. Bonnie Gropp The short of it A learning experience Don’t you find June a little exhausting? From showers and weddings to graduations and family reunions, from yard sales to ball games it’s an amalgam of activities that move in at a dizzying pace. After a long winter of cocooning, and the slowly building wake-up call of spring, the mid-month hits with all the energy of a two- year-old on a sugar high. It’s as if we’ve waited so long for good weather (grant it, we have) that there’s an immediate need to fill the calendar with social and recreational plans. It’s al) too much for me. If there’s ever a time when I need to find a space to catch my breath it’s June. Trying to stay on top of all the action at work, while co-ordinating it with my personal life often has my mind zoning out. That’s a fascinating aspect of my middle age. The brain that used to absorb instructions I was reading, while answering the persistent questions of children, and helping hubby find a misplaced address, seems to have become a little single-minded. Actually concentrating on one thing at a time can even be challenging some days. I suppose I’d be a little concerned if the condition had deteriorated since I first noticed. But no, it would seem I’m in a holding pattern, that what I’m experiencing sometimes happens as we get older. To try and keep that mind fresh, however, experts praise the power of on-going learning. Never stop educating yourself. Never stop experiencing new things. Stay on the move, be out and about with others. Stimulate those grey cells on a regular basis. It’s not advice we often think about. The little challenges that come our way we might assume can be stimulus enough. Every day is a learning experience and staying on top of things on the job can certainly help to keep one sharp. I’ve certainly never felt that life hasn’t presented a new lesson to me each and every day. Yet, upon careful reflection it’s become apparent that I’m taking a somewhat lazy approach to my mid-life schooling. The classes are short, the exercises easily completed. Sure, I still have my books. I like to test myself with the odd crossword on occasion. But what I really need, I recognized, was a hobby or project that would allow me to research and feed my mind with useful information in an on-going manner. To do so, of course, the subject would have to hold considerable interest for me. It would have to be something that has fascinated me in order to hold my attention. And I found it. Actually, it’s a topic that has piqued my curiousity for a long time, but for one reason or another I have always found one way or another to put off any further study. Until the other day when I picked up some herbs. Plants that is. And I am quite excited to let the education begin. Though some may be surprised by my choice thinking such an earthy hobby couldn’t be intellectually stimulating, let me assure you that discussions with herbalists have had my head spinning. Herbs are limitless; their powers mystical. My challenge is to eventually grow as many as possible. My learning will be in discovering as much about their potential as this old mind will absorb. My fun will come in using them to their full extent - perhaps even finding ones to calm me through June and wake up my tired brain.