Two things that I have done that apparently gnotalex hasn't.
1 Eat at Taco Bell - trust me you can do worse with food that is cheaper than chewing gum.
2 Eaten seal meat. I have cans of the stuff in my pantry I could send to Alberta if you like. And trust me seal meat isn't white it's closer to black than white.
Rick Mcginnis has set up a blog devoted to the upcoming Toronto Mayoral election. As I have just moved to Burlington i will not be eligible to vote. However since I will be living in a town that is essentially a satellite in Toronto's gravitational pull, the results will affect me.
For what it's worth the municipal elections are often pretty boring. However since the provincial government under Mike Harris downloaded many responsibilities to the cities municipal elections and municipal affairs are more important than ever.
In Canada most political parties don't pay attention to politics at the local level. The only party that does so effectively is the socialist NDP party who pays very close attention to municipal politics and uses it for grass roots organizing to launch candidates onto the provincial and federal scene. The federal NDP leader Jack Layton (Leyton?) is a perfect example of this.
In my old riding Sandra Bussin as councilor has been regularly elected and has devoted her energies to primarily NDP causes like car hating - Sandra and Jack teamed up to put in more speed bumps and traffic restrictions in my old neighborhood than you could shake a stick at.
The NDP strives for a block group on the council and has succeeded in pushing many council decisions squarely to the left. Mel Lastman the bombastic outgoing mayor although a "small c" conservative made many compromises with Jack, Sandra, Olivia Chow and the rest of the NDP cadre and if the current polls are an indication this might get worse.
David Miller the current front-runner is the most left- wing of all the candidates - although Barbara Hall could give him a run for his money. The Toronto Sun has been bashing Miller's union connections continuously and with good reason. This man is not the right choice for the city of Toronto
Barbara Hall is like that annoying loud aunt who comes to visit and you have to tolerate because your mom says so. She would be always trying to hug and kiss you and wearing insufferably loud pantsuits. At least that's the impression she gives you. Worst about Barbara Hall is her voice a disturbing monotone that makes her sound like she is on Valium. For her voice alone Barbara shouldn't be elected. But her left wing credentials also disqualify her. Once I went to see that idiot Jeremy Rifkin speak when is ridiculous book "The End of Work" came out. Barbara was mayor at the time and she introduced him and made out like his book was the next best thing to the bible. 6 years later there has been no end of work and the only country dumb enough to implement his ideas (France) has seen it's economy suffer for it. Trust me we don't need this idiot in office.
John Tory is the only candidate with real business credentials having been commissioner of the CFL and also President of Rogers. Ok a monopoly business and a failing sports league aren't exactly Fortune 500 material but it's better than the others have. If I was living int Toronto I would vote for him however his platform hasn't really stood out. It seems really wishy washy and trying to appeal to many people. If he were a little more decisive he would probably get more votes. As it stands right now his failure to appeal to the right in an organized way has played into NDP front-runner Miller's hands. Tory has also been dogged by allegations that he bribed another candidate (John Nunziata) to drop out of the race. The charges seem a little spurious but in the absence of real issues the media has beaten the story to death.
John Nunziata is still trying to climb back up the greasy pole since he left the federal Liberal party over their failure to eliminate the GST. Canadian's have rewarded his principled stand by regulating him to political obscurity and now he seems to spend most of his time trying to get elected anywhere. Unfortunately he has reduced himself to the level of political gadfly. His accusation of a bribe from John Tory to drop out of the race has made headlines but it's hard to imagine Tory would need to have Nunziata drop out to help his chanced. Nunziata is not polling much support and there is no way to tell if that support would go to Tory if he was to drop out. Try as he might Nunziata is a non-factor in this campaign.
Tom Jacobeck is one of the few candidates who can say he has strong municipal govt experience having served as a councilor for 20 years and a stint as the city's budget chief. However he doesn't have "star power" and his feisty personality has turned some voters off. Probably trying to attract the same voters as Tory he is the one that should have been bribed to leave the race.
I have no idea who my candidates are in Burlington or who I should vote for. I may do an entry on this sometime soon.
Say everybody have you seen my balls they're big and salty and brown. If you ever need a quick pick me up just stick my balls in your mouth.
Oooo suck on my chocolate salted balls stick em in your mouth, and suck em! Suck on my chocolate salted balls, they're packed full of vitamins, and good for you. So suck on my balls
I hope those who protested against the removal of Saddam Hussein will reconsider their actions considering the videotapes of torture that have surfaced.
Continuing the theme of Toronto sports reporters hatred of the most popular local sports team Ken Campbell has no interest in pointing out the penalties that weren't called against the opposing Thrashers last night. He is however quite convinced that the referees were on the side of the home team:
"Then after blowing the lead, they had a clear chance to win it in overtime when Andy Sutton took a minor for elbowing with the cleanest shoulder hit you'll ever see, then earned another minor for protesting the call."
Bullshit. Sutton elbowed Darcy Tucker in the head. This is not a clean hit. Tucker was bent over at the time but that is no excuse. The danger of an elbow to the head doesn't disappear if the player isn't standing upright. Campbell needs to see the eye doctor. Or at least take off his blinders when it comes to reporting on the Leafs.
I'm convinced that to be a reporter and in particular a sports reporter you have to have amnesia. Case in point Howard Berger who writes for the National Post and covers the Toronto Maple Leafs for Toronto's Fan 590 radio station had this to say in Saturday's paper :
"Maple Leafs rooters are lightning-quick to wag their fingers at players, coaches and management, and that was proven again over the past nine days.
Suggestions that Pat Quinn's head should be put on a slab after only five games were preposterous when viewed in the context of this season"
Berger should have put it a bit more succinctly it was he who was suggesting that Pat Quinn's days were numbered while appearing on the Fan 590's morning drive show earlier in the week. He hinted darkly that the players viewed Quinn as a lame duck coach and had stopped playing for him.
Berger wasn't alone several other media foghorns picked up the thread and it was the topic of much discussion on the Fan 590 ( a sports station that inconceivably seems to hold the fans and management of the Toronto Maple Leafs in utter contempt).
Two wins later and the tone has changed remarkably. But all the talking heads are now making jokes about the Toronto fans who were on suicide watch after the Leafs looked miserable out of the gate.
Of course none of them will admit they were wrong. It's fine be objective about sport teams if you are a reporter, but the level of animosity that emanates from some media towards the local hockey team and it's fans is beyond what would pass for journalistic integrity. It smacks of childishness and spite and it's disgraceful.
