The Times Advocate, 2005-03-09, Page 44
Exeter Times—Advocate
Wednesday, March 9, 2005
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Editorial Opinion
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EDITORIAL
Deal with
trafficking
problem
This nation had some of its naivete tragically
stripped away last week when a crazed gun-
man murdered four RCMP officers outside
Mayerthorpe, Alb.
James Roszko, who then killed himself after being
injured by RCMP fire, had long been known and
feared in the community, both by residents and
police officers. The question is: How was this
tragedy ever allowed to happen in the first place?
Roszko was known to be well -armed, violent and
unstable — a lethal combination that resulted in
snuffing out the lives of four young officers, three of
whom were still in their 20s. Const. Peter
Schiemann lived in London for several years.
Hindsight is 20/20, but it's clear Roszko, a man
described by his own father as "the devil," should
have been kept behind bars. Previously convicted
for raping a family member repeatedly, Roszko's
other memorable acts include shooting at two peo-
ple on his property, holding a gun to a neighbour's
head and setting up booby traps around his proper-
ty. In short, he was a ticking time bomb — the jus-
tice system should have dealt with him long ago.
In light of this tragedy, the RCMP and Canada's
justice system has a lot to answer for. Why was
Roszko a free man? Why were young RCMP officers
sent in to an explosive situation carrying only
revolvers?
In the meantime, Canadians are reminded of the
risk police officers face everyday.
We are also reminded of the deadly dangers
caused by the drug trade in this country. These
grow -ops aren't run by your stereotypical peace -
loving dope smokers, they are major, professionally
run operations and they need to be dealt with seri-
ously.
Locally, Huron OPP and the Western Region Drug
Enforcement Section seized $483,000 worth of mar-
ijuana at a home in Huron East between Brucefield
and Seaforth last week. Found were 449 marijuana
plants, two kilograms of processed marijuana,
cannabis resin and $50,000 worth of growing
equipment.
This isn't something that should be shrugged off
or sneezed at — this country has a drug trafficking
problem. Do we have the wherewithal and the guts
to deal with it?
You have to visit the baby
To some people, a new baby in the family means
things like cute baby faces, cute baby noises and all
that other stuff people think babies do.
But for some of us (meaning me), it means just one
question. "When are you going to see the baby?"
My response is "why would you want to?"
It's not that I'm a baby hater or puppy kicker but I
mean let's face it. What do babies do that warrants
a visit?
It isn't like they can sit up and have a
conversation, get out of the crib and play
cards or do anything even mildly entertain-
ing, other than the occasional drool bubble
while lying on its side, which I am fairly
capable of doing myself, and no one seems
to think that's overly entertaining.
If the high point of your day is discover-
ing your hand or any other body part,
maybe you shouldn't be the centre of
attention.
And once again, let's face it, newborn
babies aren't a Norman Rockwell painting
by any stretch.
Despite what some (mostly women) people think, a
baby with a swollen misshapen purple head that it
can't support, isn't something to be gooed over and
made cute little bubbly noises at.
But no matter how babies smell, look or act, people
keep asking, "have you gone to see the baby?"
But people like me don't belong around babies.
Because no matter how funny looking a kid is, there
is the politically correct crowd who think all babies
are beautiful.
And poking your head through a crowd of people
gooing over a baby and asking, "what's wrong with
it?" makes people look at you like you're some sort
of neanderthal.
The other problem with a baby visit, is that
the kid gets hungry, a lot. And when it does,
you might get to know a friend's wife far bet-
ter than you (or him) ever wanted. It's hap-
pened to every man when, in the middle of a
casual conversation, you turn your head the
wrong way and there they are.
A room gets small quickly and there isn't
any kind of a conversation that can be carried
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on while your friend's wife sits with her shirt
open to God and the world, with a kid
attached to her, slurping away.
So sorry sis, you may not be seeing me for a
while. But let me know when he can catch a
baseball, or at least hold his head up, and go for
longer than 30 seconds without dribbling on himself.
And I'll try to do the same.
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