tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23948057.post2869258620387850345..comments2009-07-09T12:15:17.238-04:00Ben Burdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06372169478978720740ben@eagle.caBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23948057.post-62299600673680012762009-07-08T15:29:08.037-04:002009-07-08T15:29:08.037-04:00<i>&quot;Those who ab-use language to make disconnections between men and women care nothing for liberty. Those who believe that politicians are for target practice care nothing for poetry.&quot;<br /></i><br />Those who make such claims are bloated with banality, and the intellectual beauties of analogy, metaphor, simile, etc have rightly fled from their soulsWally Keelerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02370532557074561490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23948057.post-72255179368460986672009-07-07T12:10:56.843-04:002009-07-07T12:10:56.843-04:00A union is a collectivity of men and women sanctioned by the rights of free association and assembly, which along with free speech are fundamental liberties.<br /><br />Both poetry and politics involve the exercise of and require the protection of such rights.<br /><br />Those who ab-use language to make disconnections between men and women care nothing for liberty. Those who believe that politicians are for target practice care nothing for poetry.William Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14237954496211789520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23948057.post-54907400974921208412009-07-04T14:59:56.105-04:002009-07-04T14:59:56.105-04:00Leave the poetry to poets who know better than any other human being how to wield words with precision and the full potential of their effectiveness.<br /><br />Poetasters and other prosaics get to wishy-washy play in the tarpit of language at their own peril and humiliation.<br /><br />A union is no more principled than a parade, gay or otherwise. A union suspended its principles for several hours to service one parade over another. The reason? Politics. <br /><br />You threw your red herring on dry land, William.Wally Keelernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23948057.post-64361341523284403952009-07-03T14:47:55.889-04:002009-07-03T14:47:55.889-04:00Powerful ancients offered bread and circuses to distract the people from their condition.<br /><br />More recently, our EI bread having gone moldy, they offer us only circuses.<br /><br />There is nothing inherently principled about a parade, nor anything remotely poetic about about words used as weapons. <br /><br /><i>Kind hearts are more than coronets.</i>William Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14237954496211789520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23948057.post-61226705512476987842009-07-03T14:17:14.700-04:002009-07-03T14:17:14.700-04:00Here&#39;s a <a href="http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/660105" rel="nofollow">letter</a> in <i>The Toronto Star</i> from a Toronto resident who, seeing potential for good coming from the strike, says this: &quot;if this strike forces us to face the amount of waste we produce, and reduce it, I&#39;m all for it.&quot;<br /><br />Amen.William Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14237954496211789520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23948057.post-84077649984602797212009-07-02T19:26:38.603-04:002009-07-02T19:26:38.603-04:00NB to Wally:<br /><br />Like the song says, &quot;you say tomAto, I say ToMAHto, let&#39;s call the whole thing off&quot;.<br /><br />Was that Cole Porter, George Gershwin or Irving Berlin? Can&#39;t remember.Deb O'Connornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23948057.post-61663579202017119192009-07-02T10:12:20.428-04:002009-07-02T10:12:20.428-04:00In olden days, when times got tough, the powers that be would offer bread and circuses to distract the masses.<br /><br />With EI bread gone stale, the powerful of today offer only circuses, while their clowns, without rhyme or reason, sound their trumpets, jumping at any excuse to lead a parade.William Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14237954496211789520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23948057.post-8938866911338724982009-07-02T00:38:29.085-04:002009-07-02T00:38:29.085-04:00On June 18, 2009 Ben Burd said: &quot;Perhaps we should forget all of this “left”, “right” sophomoric nonsense and deal with facts not silly prejudicial opinion&quot;<br /><br />Yesterday Ben Burd said &quot;I&#39;m unleashing the right wing opinion dogs on this one,..&quot;<br /><br />Take your own advice, Ben?Wally remembers Keelernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23948057.post-3665466187892557192009-07-01T15:05:18.058-04:002009-07-01T15:05:18.058-04:00&quot;It [Toronto] has failed to be a leader in recycling while other municipalities like ours [Cobourg]have taken charge of the issue and done what was necessay.&quot;<br /><br />Toronto was the first city in Ontario to ban the cosmetic use of insecticides and pesticides. That&#39;s leadership and taking charge of an issue.<br /><br />Back to you Mz O&#39;Connor.Wally Keelernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23948057.post-19216996568942763062009-07-01T14:38:03.565-04:002009-07-01T14:38:03.565-04:00Well we all know that Gay Pride trumps National Pride; that&#39;s the principle.<br /><br />Insofar as garbage is concerned, Cobourg and other small nit-picking holier-than-thou municipalities do not have to deal with the quantum volume that Toronto has to deal with. <br /><br />Toronto has been and continues to be the lead creator of wealth in this country. Toronto residents have subsidized via taxes, many of the benefits enjoyed by the rest of the country.<br /><br />The nation as a whole (the one the unions will not uphold on this one day a year) makes immigration policy; refugees included. We all know that the vast majority of immigrants gravitate to Montreal, Vancouver, but mostly Toronto.<br /><br />Nevertheless, it is Toronto taxpayers that pay for national policy, not the small parasitical municipalities orbiting it; those municipalities that whine about immigrants busing from Toronto to enjoy parks.<br /><br />Small towners bloatedly posture but do not have to live half a block away from two story-high piles of garbage, watch rats scampering willy-nilly across playgrounds and schools to get into the pile, late night raccoons tearing bags open and threatening and attacking pets.<br /><br />How smug &amp; righteous the dime-a-dozen Toronto-bashers!Wally (35-yr Toronto-nik) Keelerhttp://ihavefreespeech.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23948057.post-44900256379592422502009-07-01T12:44:54.326-04:002009-07-01T12:44:54.326-04:00Ooh, hot news on the political front. I wonder what the Liberal old boys are thinking now.<br /><br />I&#39;m looking forward to hearing more about Andrew McFadden, and I suspect I am not the only person in the riding, liberal or otherwise, who has never heard of him until now. Not a good start for a politician.<br /><br />At least I know Kim (my mother was president of her labour council) Rudd and Christine Herrington, Brighton mayor and former Warden.<br />Either could take on Rick Norlock without difficulty, and certainly Kim Rudd has the chops to expose him for the cretin that he is. <br /><br />Haven&#39;t seen enough of Ms. Herrington yet to reach any conclusions, but this might be a very entertaining nomination meeting to attend. I&#39;ll bring the popcorn.Deb O'Connornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23948057.post-9694160934857125722009-07-01T12:37:08.288-04:002009-07-01T12:37:08.288-04:00First, a reminder to Mr. Keeler that politics, and this strike, are all about principles! I have to agree with Sid Ryan that the union bashing seems especially virulent this time.<br /><br />On a practical note, I have for years been ticked off that Toronto has failed to get a grip on its volume of garbage. It has failed to be a leader in recycling while other municipalities like ours have taken charge of the issue and done what was necessay. <br /><br />It&#39;s not that I think Northumberland&#39;s system is perfect, or that I particularly like paying to put out my wet garbage, but at least we have taken responsibility for it.<br /><br />For folks in Toronto to be in a fever about what to do with their garbage, when it&#39;s only been a week and a half, convinces me even more that they generate too much of it. We only put wet garbage out every other week, sometimes it can go to 3 weeks. If we lived in Toronto we wouldn&#39;t even have noticed it on a household level yet. So what&#39;s with these people?Deb O'Connornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23948057.post-61509452217383270362009-07-01T10:16:48.188-04:002009-07-01T10:16:48.188-04:00Toronto union workers didn&#39;t rain on the Gay Pride Parade, but they did rain on the Canada Day festivities.<br /><br /> http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/06/30/matt-gurney-in-patriotic-toronto-pride-parade-goes-ahead-canada-day-gets-the-axe.aspx<br /><br />At least we know where their priorities are; politics before principles.Wally (non-union) Keelerhttp://ihavefreespeech.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com