SHORT AND SWEET
Am back from CA and have taken a couple of weeks to get the lay of the land. The lay is not what it might be, perhaps a bit better than it could be, but signs on the horizon suggest that tough times lie ahead. Close to home, the race for mayor and councillors heats up — with lawn signs galore beginning to sprout like malignant skin growths. Can you believe anything you read or hear — Mayor Rosen (vision, courage, results) still thinks he has a chance to build a hockey arena on the North Block (we shall see); Kevin George wants a new bridge across the Cataraqui River so Wal Mart and other big boxes can pop up like even more pox on the populi. Rick Downs, who seems the least objectionable of the trio, also seems seduced by bridge fever…..my view is that we should knock down the causeway, or charge tolls, to keep the traffic down. Who really wants to develop Kingston the way these guys seem to do. Stratford seems more and more the model to which we should aspire. Keep our small town quaintness, and see what we might do to remove the brick and block market square (that reminds one of parts of the Green Zone in Baghdad–that’s another story). There are many causes in Kingston–bridges and big box buildings, for Wal-Mart or the Frontenacs–are not priority. Poverty, decaying infrastructure, friendly use of space for common community interests are. More to come.
And then there is the sputtering race for Liberal Party leader. Getting nasty now. Michael Ignatieff wants to be all things to all people, to have his cake and eat it too, to support the U.S. and oppose it at the same time, to prove to all Canadians that despite his absentee status over the past decade that he still has the interests of this country near to his heart. One wonders. His foreign policy views seem to flip flop all over the place, and it seems that the list of his challengers are having a difficult time coming up with better ideas. Bob Rae, much maligned as NDP premier in the early 1990s, seems to be a logical contender, for he has a brain, experience, and has taken some hard knocks. He would do better as a Liberal. But the Liberals have been really hurt by the Chretien scandals–oh excuse me, he wasn’t involved you tell me. Ah but we all know where the buck stops. So stay tuned as we watch Harper and his Tories, American wannabes,try to commit this country increasingly to militaristic and socially conservative policies that would play better in Tuscaloosa than Toronto. But, always remember, we the electorate get what we deserve, and the cyclical sense of conservatism following upon Liberal perfidy is well understood in these parts. But Harper should take note that the honeymoon is far gone, and that his days are numbered.
Lots else to comment upon–a grumpy old man looking out the window today at snow and continuing rain — cold rain, very cold rain — which should make for an Ark-building contest. Yes, autumn is here, warm autumn gone, hoping for Aboriginal Summer (PC Term), but recognizing that sidewalk moguls are not too distant….get those snow shovels and boots out. Now.
More to come…..of course
October 27th, 2006 at 3:17 pm
Geoff, sweetie, you ought to try driving across the causeway around 5 p.m., then tell me you don’t need another bridge or something going through there! That’s not an endorsement of any particular candidate, btw; frankly, I can’t stand any of them, and I don’t trust Rosen (or any man who looks like Tim Allen, for that matter).