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Home My WebLink AboutLucknow Sentinel, 2009-11-11, Page 5Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, November 11, 2008 - Page 5 Laurie not happy with MP mail -outs Dear Editor, Another week, another piece of Tory election material masquerad- ing as an MP message. If Conservative MP Ben Lobb's mail -outs contained significant information for constituents I wouldn't begrudge the money spent to produce and deliver it. Our former MP Paul Steckle sent con- stituents a useful booklet of infor- mation on programs that were available, current bills and issues in parliament, as well as what he had been working on in his role in, Ottawa. But these new flyers are elec- tioneering tools. They advertise only three bullets of information cutting personal income tax, increasing the age credit amount for seniors, the home renovation and first-time home -buyer's tax credits. These are listed as the Conservative government's plan not the Canadian government's plan. We are well aware that in a minority government the Conservatives cannot take owner- ship for what passes through the House of Commons. A significant number of members from other parties have to vote for these itgms to get through third reading and the Senate. In fact, without NDP and Bloc support, the home renovation tax credit and the current govern- ment would not exist today. At the bottom of these one-page flyers is a mail -back section that is a blatant attempt to garner names of Conservative supporters in the period between elections. You can check off Stephen Harper's name in a questionable pseudo -survey. Our MP doesn't want your answers or ideas. There is little space for • writing any response. He and his party just want your name and con- tact information - once again mix- ing party business with govern- ment business. What the flyer doesn't tell you is that the mailing costs usually asso- ciated with sending non -addressed mail to every constituent in the rid- ing will run around, -$4,O00. But an MP's mail is free courtesy of the government. That doesn't mean it isn't paid for. You and 1 foot the bill through our taxes. On the other hand, political cam- paign literature must be paid for by the respective political parties. When our MP sends these sheets of paper out courtesy of the Canadian taxpayer, he is certainly pushing the envelope. If the Conservative party is sending them out, fme, but then they need to pay the bill and take ownership of the literature. Asa point of interest, according to the website www.howdtheyvote.ca, our MP's parliamentary record also shows that he did not vote for the exten- sion of EI benefits_ or for much- needed affordable housing when these bills came up in Parliament. This type of mailing is part and parcel with the current debate around taking credit for money and work done by the government (and even previous governments) by signing novelty cheques with MP's names and affixing Conservative party logos. As of Oct. 15, a num- ber of photos on Ben Lobb's web- site displayed big cheques signed. by him personally. The money, of course, is coming from the Government of Canada. During the Iast election cam- paign Ben Lobb promised he would not insult the residents of the riding with'th is kind of campaign. literature. He has broken this prom- ise repeatedly. How much dishonesty in govern- ment is okay? Joe Laurie, 76716 Parr Line , RR#3 Clinton, ON NOM 111) Head lice in the at school and at home is no joke Well, it's been two months and there : is still no sign of head lice in our home or at our school. When I say "at our school," I mean I have no idea if any or all of the other students at school have head lice. And I don't want to know. This is because getting head lice is . like yawning. Once one kid does it, everyone follows suit. The common misconception about head lice . is that they are spread by sharing hats. This is a blatant lie. Head lice spread from kid to kid by a variety of means, including thinking about them. In particular, thinking: "Man, I would hate for our children toget head lice." They also seem to spread by petting the dog, wearing blue socks and sitting down. Once you have them, they are very easy to get rid of if youfollow this Two Step Procedure: 1. Burn down your house. 2. Leave the country. Last year when we got the notice that head lice were "going around" in school, we'did what every other parent would do in this situation. We looked at the date of the memo. It was already six weeks old! Teachers, for somereason, still believe that children will pass important documents from their backpacks to their parents, even though they (the teachers) have been with them (tile students) all year and are fully aware that they have the mem- ory of kumquats. It was my sister-in-law who first discovered them on :our kids and let us know using the subtle, understated tone that adults use when they want to convey an important message without getting dra- matic. "EEEEEK! I found one!" She then, in a non -panicky sort of way, herded all of HER kids into a different room and coated their heads with Ben -Gay. "Ha Ha!" she laughed when we found her. "No problem here! I routinely con- fine my kids to 'a dark room and oil their hair! It's a game we play!" There is no way you can feel anything but terrible when your kids get head lice. "But I try to be a good mother!" moms will think to themselves. "Why is that kid home?" dads will wonder. Your first response will be to grab your child's head (which, depending on how upset you are, may or may not still be attached to her body) and give it a thorough scrubbing. This will affect the lice in the same way that cleaning your son's room will affect him. "Thank you!" they (the lice) will say in their inimitable insect way by wiggling their antennae, and then they'll go back to their work, namely pumping out a thousand eggs a day and gluing them all to hair follicles. (If you had that many kids to keep track of, you would too!) This year, our strategy will be to avoid looking in our kids' backpacks at all. Just to be safe, I'll also be getting a jumbo pack of Ben Gay... Mark Thrice is our nationally syndicated humor columnist. • Photo by Pat Livingston Susan Alton and Bev Thompson were busy putting the finishing touches to this corner of handmade Christmas items found at the Lucknow United Church's annual bazaar, bake sale and lunch- eon last Saturday, Nov. 7. SUDOKU 9 9 8 8 9 3 8 6 9 1 7 3 3 More at: yrwwlovattspuzzles.corri To solve a Sudoku puzzle, every number from 1 to 9 must appear in: • Each of the nine vertical columns • Each of the nine horizontal rows • Each of the nine 3 x 3 boxes • Remember, no number can occur more than once in any row, column or box This week's puzzle sponsored by: You can Advertise Your Business Here! Call Pat for Information 519-528-2822 See answer on classified pts • • 4_