The Times Advocate, 2005-11-02, Page 44
Exeter Times—Advocate
Wednesday, November 2, 2005
=CNA
Editorial Opinion
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EDITORIAL
Pay attention
to Gomery
The next few days could decide Prime
Minister Paul Martin's political future.
The first of two Gomery reports was to be
released yesterday after the Times -
Advocate went to press and what's con-
tained in the reports will have a large effect
on the next federal election, whenever that
may be.
The sponsorship scandal isn't all that
exciting, which may partly explain why the
Liberals still lead the Conservative party in
national polls. While there was initial out-
rage at the fact the Grits wasted at least
$100 million of taxpayers' money on Quebec
ad agencies for basically no work,
Canadians' forgiving nature soon took over
and the Liberals' popularity started to rise
again.
Why? Are Canadians so apathetic they just
don't care that their hard-earned cash was
flushed down the toilet? Or is it that
Canadians are afraid of the prospects of an
uninspiring Conservative party with an
unpopular leader governing the country?
Better to deal with the devil you know
rather than the devil you don't.
And this has been Harper's great failing —
handed one of the greatest political scan-
dals in Canadian history, he's been unable
to convince Canadians that his is the better
party to govern the nation.
Despite this, Canadians need to pay atten-
tion to the Gomery report and hold the
Liberals accountable. Wasting taxpayers'
money in such a brazen and careless man-
ner is unforgivable.
If Martin is directly linked to the scandal,
his political career should and will be fin-
ished; if, however, he escapes much of the
blame, Martin and his Liberals will likely
win a winter election, harkening the end of
Stephen Harper as Conservative leader.
Stay tuned ... it should be an interesting
ride.
About the Times -Advocate
THE SKY IS FALLING!
THE SKY IS FALLING!
f+
.fir
2005 Distributed by Canadian Artists Syndicate Inca
It's not just a car
I didn't really mind following you down Highway 4 in
your grey van at a brisk 75 km/h Oct. 16 around 3:30
p.m. We're all trying to save money on gas and I wasn't
in much of a hurry. I was a little puzzled when about
three miles out of town, you started a careful descent
into Exeter like you were lining up a 747 for an
approach.
And I guess it was unreasonable to expect that with
your left turn single on to turn onto Highway 83, maybe
you could have, oh I don't know, used the turn lane?
Maybe you didn't notice it. After all, it's only
40 feet long. But just for the sake of interest to
myself and the other drivers who at best you
confused, and at worst could have killed, while
you were sitting at that long red light did you
happen to notice the three foot turn arrow in
the lane beside you? But either way, you have
my nomination for one of Canada's Worst
Drivers.
If the Discovery Channel show wasn't so sad
or just flat out scary, it would be funny. The
only problem with the show (other than the dri-
vers) is that it should be called Canada's
Average Drivers. Because these people aren't
rare. They're all around us, all too often in
front of us and frighteningly behind us.
Like the title says, it's a simple idea. Take some of the
worst drivers around, put them through a series of tests
every week and then watch them disintegrate.
The eight drivers have various bad habits, like
Madalena, who has racked up at least 30 tickets in five
years of driving and Manuel who is just straight out
absent minded or slowpoke Tatiana who was previously
unable to get anywhere close to the speed limit. David
has a tendency to hit things and Chris is afraid to get
behind the wheel.
And then there is Heather, dear sweet Heather, who
looks incapable of looking sideways at anyone, but is
like riding with Satan herself. After beating up on 10
cars in 20 years, she is singlehandedly supporting the
Canadian auto industry.
But they all have one thing in common. None of these
people should ever be allowed to drive on a highway,
sideroad or cow path ever again. The fact is, they, like
thousands of drivers the rest of us face every day, are
not capable of operating a motor vehicle and should
have their licenses shredded in front of them.
But each week, the show graduates one of the drivers
that has shown some sort of improvement. If there is
one thing our schools preach, it's this—no one
should be told, no matter how incompetent,
they can't do something. But some of us real-
ized quickly, usually around the greater
than/less than phase of Grade 3 math, that we
weren't destined for the
astronaut/doctor/accountant jobs. Each of us is
better and worse at different things. Some of us
are perfect drivers and some belong on the
sidewalk before they put their car there.
Operating a car doesn't seem that difficult
mechanically speaking. With a gas pedal, brake
pedal and steering wheel, it's about as simple a
machine as you could ask for and probably easi-
er than riding a bicycle in the sense that if you
slow down in a car you don't fall over like a bike, or fall
out of the sky like an airplane that violates the laws of
flight.
No matter what the softhearted (i.e liberals) say, it's
not just a car. It's a 3,000 pound projectile capable of
speeds of hundreds of kilometres an hour. The bleeding
hearts (i.e liberals) have done everything but make it a
crime for anyone (except criminals) to possess a
firearm. They would never think of handing a weapon
to someone like Heather (except criminals) who didn't
have the ability or judgement to use it safely.
And as for you in that grey van, don't feel bad. You
may not have been on television, but keep it up. You
will, one way or another.
PAT B
BACK 40
VIEW
OLEN
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