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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-06-17, Page 7Healthcare To the Editor; Re: Emergency Room Closures If the people of Huron and other rural counties in Ontario hope to stop the con- stant erosion of community life in such things as education and health care they had better face up to the central fact of Ontario political life. That central fact is that the McGuinty Liberal Party is a Toronto party. When Toronto wants something Toronto gets it. When rural Ontario needs something, it gets a cold shoulder or a small bone thrown to an unwelcome nuisance. So until rural people face up to this central fact of present Ontario politics, communities will continue to wither as their core facilities, in such areas as health care and education, are downsized, amalgamated and generally mangled. Delusion suggests that the district health councils and school boards are responsible for the systematic social and cultural destruction that is being forced on rural Ontario. Cold reality on the other hand dictates that the provincially appointed health councils and provincially regulated and financially dominated school boards are mere strong arm squads directed and manipulated by the all powerful provin- cial government who sets and enforces a devastating agenda for rural Ontario. The school boards and Health Council might deliver the social poison to com- munities across rural Ontario but it is the province's McGunity Toronto party that Godench Signal -Star, Wednesday. June 17, 2009 - Page 7 Opinion a big -city priority for Liberal Party manufactures the product and holds the patent on the socially lethal formula. And all those smiling provincial per- sonalities -- teeth glistening, hair gelled, platitudes at the ready -- that seem to be on permanent call for any and all public events across these rural counties are in fact a modern fifth column -- the Trojan Horses or Quislings depending on your frame of reference -- when it comes to the vital interests of rural Ontario. Rural Ontario welcomes those folksy smiles, the pink lemonade and the infinite shmoozing at its peril. Frequently these political hucksters on the McGuinty Toronto Party's back benches are either without principle or more likely without power. Either way they are a menace to the vibrancy of rural communities. If without principle they illtrade rural Ontario's core needs for w some decorative political post. If without power they will be treated as irrelevant and ignored when the important decisions are made. This shifty sales force of an alien regime ensconced in its stronghold of Toronto are always ready to pull a slew of statistics out of their poisonous bag to show how much the provincial govern- ment had done for the rural counties. Remember Mark Twain: There are lies, damn lies and statistics. Much of the present economic debris across the continent comes from having bought the fraudulent statistics sold by smiling companies and smiling govern- ments over the past. as it grows rural Ontario proportionally The present E -Health scandal and hun- will become even more marginalized and dreds of millions gone down the drain powerless. For rural Ontario the future with it should offer a sobering call to real- social and economic menu is one of nega- ity to those people who feel that the pro- tion and neglect. vincial government knows what it is The feeble penny pinching provincial doing in health cafe. Think of what $700 response to the closing of Volvo million could have done for health care in (Goderich) and Campbell Soup (Listowel) rural Ontario instead of going as it did to contrasts glaringly to the billion -dollar the friends of the government. bailout of Chrysler (Brampton/Toronto) Every time that you vote for the and should leave you in no doubt where McGuinty's Toronto Party focus on its you and your communities stand if your real intents and interests. Truth tells the future is in rural Ontario. astute that Party's interests are not your interests. Their focus is to build up Toronto and Peter Sturdy Eco fees a substantial addition to taxes From page 6 WEEE program or set any related fees or taxes. I am asked to contact the Ministry of Finance should I have ques- tions regarding taxes on electronic items. Neither the Ministry of Finance or Premier Dalton McGuinty have replied to my correspondence. In June 2007 Dalton McGuinty insist- ed that the recycling fee consumers will be required to pay on electronic equip- ment cannot be called a new tax. "I can certainly rule out a tax. There will be no additional revenues to the Province of Ontario." It appears that this statement was incorrect. The additional revenues generated by both PST and GST being charged on the added ECO fee to electronic equipment at the retail level is very substantial. Perhaps by the time this letter is pub- lished I have received a reply from the Premier (or maybe not). I should mention that the disposal fee being charged on television sets at the Mid -Huron landfill site in Holmesville is $20. Sincerely, Christopher Bentley • • John Daly —great golfer or comic genius Golf sensation John Daly is not exactly Tiger Woods although once in awhile he plays as well as the grand master. And he's not exactly Phil Mickleson although he does draw larger crowds when he plays. No, John Daly is more like Red Green on crack cocaine who has replaced his chain saw with a bag of golf clubs. For just about all the wrong reasons, professional golfer John Daly is sensational. At the age of only 44, John Daly has lived an interesting life. He's been suspended twice by the Professional Golfers Association for misconduct he's been in rehab three times for alcohol abuse, he has four kids and four ex- wives, he has won millions of dollars on the professional tour and lost millions of dollars at the gambling tables and he's famous for his drunken binges and sexual adventures. Oh yeah, and his current wife is in prison for drug dealing. So we're not likely to see a sign for "The John Daly Golf Camp for Kids" any time soon. If the creators of Animal House took their movie -making cameras to the world of golf, The John Daly Story we ild outgross Porky's I, II and III. Unfortunately neither ,Chris Farley or John Belushi are around to play Big John. Yet somehow Daly has managed on occa- sion to be a great golfer, a "grip -it -and -rip -it" hitter who out -drives the entire field and on good days out putts them as well. He won the PGA Championship at 25 and -four years later, the coveted British Open. Ten years ago at the Vancouver Open, Daly had the.shakes so bad from a drinking binge he was unable to putt. Most thought his colourful career had come to a predictable end but now he's back again. And with Tiger Woods no longer dominating the game and Phil Mickelson off the tour and at his ailing wife's side, John Daly will be the star of the show with thousands following his footsteps and millions more watching on televis Like it or not, and the PGA, fearing embar- rassment won't, golf has just become reality TV — John Daly, The Desperate Driver. Daly admits his best and only friend for years was Jack Daniels. Then they had a fall- ing out. Daly checked into rehab, got sober and with the bourbon habit off his back he won the British Open For a time Daly was under doctor's care, not drinking and taking prescription drugs. And he hated it. So he went off his meds, started gam- bling again and drinking, but only beer. He likes it better his way. A comparison to the great soccer player George Best is inevitable. The greatest foot- baller in the world for his time, "Georgie" once claimed the only thing he treasured more than that title, was being the greatest drinker in the world. And after he received a new liver, he went right back on the bar tour. Then he died. Whereas most professional golf- ers endorse golf balls, sports cars and condominium resorts, John Daly is the spokesperson for— wait for it — Hooters. His marital record is not as good as his golf game. When one woman he had been living with threatened him with a pali- mony suit, Daly came up with a unique solu- tion to stay out of court. He married her. A lover of country and western music, he record- ed a song not long ago. The title? "All My Exes Wear Rolexes." Fat, soft spoken and brutally honest — fans just love John Daly and women find him very attractive. But not after they many him. He claims Sherrie, the last one, the one in prison, once attacked him with a steak knife. Somehow he didn't turn that incident into an ad for The Keg. Not long ago, Daly went home to Dardanelle, Arkansas and bought the golf course that he learned to play on as a kid. If you go, don't spend a lot of time deciding on your outfit. The dress code is kinda relaxed. "I don't care what you wear, just, you know, cover up the private parts," says the new owner. Always overweight, Daly has never done a pushup or a sit-up in his life. His diet consists mainly of fast food, cigarettes and beer. Daly's attitude is — who needs to be healthy when you can be wealthy, which he is every once in awhile. A couple of years after blowing a three- foot putt and losing to Tiger Woods in a playoff, Daly took his winnings to Las Vegas where he lost 1.6 million in less than five hours. Vulnerable and almost loveable, John Daly is not curious ahout anything beyond his case of beer, his golf clubs and the ambience of Hooters. The curiosity arises in those of us who watch his every move and follow his career on a daily basis. Why? Ask the first guy up ahead who slowed down in order to look at the car wreck on the other side of the highway. It's like listening to Janis Joplin dead or Amy Winehouse live. Subconsciously we have them in our death pool and we can't wait to see the ending. When interviewed on 60 Minutes, Daly claimed that having kids had really made him grow up. "So the children remind you that you're not going to he here forever?" asked Morley Safer. "I don't think I want to be here forever," said Daly. "Life's too tough, man" John Daly may be obese but we, the avid spectators are morbid.