Comments on The Burd Report: Plenty of copy to write but so little time

I am chickenshit's alter ego.

2010-06-24T16:27:55.524-04:00

I am chickenshit's alter ego.

"what the &%# is Keeler's beef?&q...*

2010-06-24T16:25:45.628-04:00
"what the *&%# is Keeler's beef?"

PRZT! -- the sound of Anonymous' comment entering the blogosphere.

Two way street my ass. You're hiding behind fi...

2010-06-23T21:19:38.837-04:00
Two way street my ass. You're hiding behind fifty other chickenshit anonymouses. Your comment is uttely meaningless. You choose not to obtain or stick with a 'handle'.

(Oops....I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean you, of course. I meant some other chickenshit anonymous, didn't I? Please accept my apologies chickenshit2. Or chickenshit3. Or whoever you are, brave soul.)

what the *&%# is Keeler's beef?

2010-06-23T19:25:18.356-04:00
what the *&%# is Keeler's beef?

Merklin Muffley saying "Gimme a godamned brea...

2010-06-23T11:23:09.164-04:00
Merklin Muffley saying "Gimme a godamned break" presents the question 'why the hell should we?' That's a two-way street Merklin, and it's definitely not your style.

Hey chickenshit anonymouse: who let the doggerel o...

2010-06-23T11:17:51.268-04:00
Hey chickenshit anonymouse: who let the doggerel out of your kennel?

Merklin Muffley says "We're $8-million in...

2010-06-23T11:08:18.551-04:00
Merklin Muffley says "We're $8-million in the hole and sinking fast" I'm guessing that he pays cash for everything, including his homes and his vehicles. How else would he support his belief that the town should pay for everything up front? There's a rumour, a pretty solid one, that the water issue and related water and sewage infrastructure was a hardship imposed by requirements to meet provincial standards in those services. On top of that, municipal financing has its own peculiar challenges, including the responsibility of spreading the burden of costs for services over the full body of beneficiaries of those expenditures, including the future beneficiaries over the foreseeable life of the assets involved. That unfortunately involves debt and its associated costs. If we want to challenge that, we have to take our beef to the door of the perpetrators, the provincials, and to some degree, the feds.

Merk the sadsack's juices are getting stirred ...

2010-06-23T10:48:15.052-04:00
Merk the sadsack's juices are getting stirred - good. Isn't it interesting that when he's the subject of criticism with no particular purpose other than to agitate him, he becomes even more cantankerous, yet he's completely satisfied that his purpose-free criticisms of others is just the ticket to get things , uh --- on the right track - or something like that. Gosh, I guess the world just has no idea how valuable his purpose-free commentary really is, and hence also has no idea how much it owes him for his invaluable insights. For me, I do enjoy the humour it employs, at times, but that's easily overshadowed by the vehement indignation that appears to be the lone reason for his comments.

As for his despair at the lack of attention to his - uh - argument, Merriam-Webster defines 'argument' to be "a coherent series of statements leading from a premise to a conclusion", it's the lack of coherence and conclusion that makes his comment simply a rant rather than an argument. Sorry Merk, no joy there. Even a suggestion of something better than what you're criticizing would get you a point or two on the argument scale, but sadly, that has yet to be. It is sad, really, because you show some promise and potential; if you could only harness all that, shall we say energy, to help get us get on the right track.

Ya gotta love that ad hominem crap from the last c...

2010-06-23T08:15:08.032-04:00
Ya gotta love that ad hominem crap from the last chickenshit anonymous, eh? That's it, go after the individual (his hairstyle, his wingtips, his glasses) instead of his argument. If it gets any lower you'd have to put that kind of comeback on a subway just to get it back to its owner.

Again, it's the whole big Little Mary Sunshine thing. All Things Bright And Beautiful. Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life -minus the irony. I've said it before and I'll say it again (with apologies to Barbara Eherenreich) "Positive thinking is neither".

And if you find that rather trite phrase as easily dismissed as you do any of my cancerous criticisms of council, then I suggest you take a good long look at where positive thinking has gotten Port Hope. We're $8-million in the hole and sinking fast and yet we've got all the positive thinking in the world down there on Queen Street rah-rah-ing us (complete with tacky parades, tacky sidewalk sales, tacky candle-light walks) into complete bankruptcy. But oh dear gawd -let's not say anything un-nice, eh? Oh no....that would never do.

So, our newest anonymous Burdbrain, what do you suggest? Another parade? Some fireworks maybe? Seventy-six trombones?

Gimme a godamned break and do a little thinking before you shoot your mindless little mouth off again, will ya?

(And find a nine-year old to show you how to get a google account too.)

"...in his world there are no solutions, j...

2010-06-22T16:12:40.050-04:00
"...in his world there are no solutions, just important questions."

When I was on the Board of Directors of a housing co-op in Toronto, I had no particular solutions, and could not develop any solutions until after I had asked 'important questions' of my colleagues. (And they of me)

Important questions elicit info which is the seed-bed for the best possible solutions.

Question authority. It nourishes solutions.

Merk's got lots of complaints and questions bu...

2010-06-22T15:05:06.537-04:00
Merk's got lots of complaints and questions but sadly is lacking the 'workable solutions' gene. Don't blame the poor sad-sack for missing the point because in his world there are no solutions, just important questions. Solutions only jeopardize his higher purpose. There is this image of Merk's eyes rolling back, way back, and his corpus slowly slithering limply to the floor whenever he encounters a proactive disturbance in the 'force'.

Merk misses the point: A 3% per year raise over ...

2010-06-22T07:46:16.455-04:00
Merk misses the point:

A 3% per year raise over 3 years PLUS the signing bonus worked out to over a 10% raise. These raises were mandated by the government but funding to the hospitals DID NOT increase proportionally. If your costs go up but your income does not there's a "fiscal imbalance". Hence the deficit.

The non union salaries at NHH, Lakeridge etc have not kept pace the same way.

If you want to compare the salaries of execs at NHH with others in health care take a good look at the sunshine list and compare with other facilities and you will see:

Campbellford Memorial
ISFAN KELLY, CEO $172,702.27

Ontario Shores
RAYMOND, GLENNA CEO $352,116.40

Ross Memorial Hospital PAYNE, BRIAN CEO $266,564.6

PRHC
DARBY, PAUL CEO $310,982.92

So Biron isn't even as well paid as the CEO of Ross Memorial...

The fact of the matter is admin costs at NHH are LOWER as a % than ANY other hospital in the CELHIN.

BTW: I am an ONA member (RN) who works at another facility in the LHIN. Top grid for an RN is now $42.44 per hour. If you're part time you get almost 20% in lieu so that works out to about $50/hr for us. The "signing" bonus we were awarded in our last contract ranged from $799 for a new nurse to $2749 for an nurse with 8 years experience. This all comes from the taxpayers purse/pocket.

There's nothing wrong with fiscal accountability.

The people of Port Hope then were only doing what ...

2010-06-21T09:43:01.845-04:00
The people of Port Hope then were only doing what the people of Cobourg are doing now: trying desperately to stand up for themselves. It's a little deja-vu, which is likely why there are very few PHers involved in this whole situation. You can only be put through the ringer so many times...

Merklin:
Biron only makes $111/hr. Give him a break.

Gee whillikers! Here it is! Robert Biron's sal...

2010-06-20T22:15:40.618-04:00
Gee whillikers! Here it is! Robert Biron's salary. Worth every darned penny too compared to them dad-blamed union thug nurses, eh?

$230,969.98

http://www.northumberlandview.ca/index.php?name=PagEd&page_id=2088

WOW! Them nurses got THREE PER CENT??? I had NO id...

2010-06-20T20:33:28.341-04:00
WOW! Them nurses got THREE PER CENT??? I had NO idea! Now that I know who the really, really bad guys are in this, I'll be more careful and try to always look on the bright side of life. Please, accept my apologies. Bloody unions, eh?

(BTW....can somebody tell me again how much Robert Biron gets paid? Either I forgot or I simply didn't believe it when I first heard it.)

Merk has serious points about the wussiness of loc...

2010-06-20T12:43:55.936-04:00
Merk has serious points about the wussiness of local publishers and editors. By contrast, there is the memory of a real editor: http://cobourgtown.blogspot.com/2010/06/foster-russell-is-well-hung.html

Seriously?? Decent people? These same decent peopl...

2010-06-20T11:05:55.303-04:00
Seriously?? Decent people? These same decent people tried before to hijack democracy. Do any Cobourg folk not remember how the "Port Hopers" tried to ensure that the balance of power in the initial merger of the hospitals remained in their control? They bused hundreds of the "life members" to the AGM in Oshawa and handed them papers telling them what slate of candidates to vote for.

Does anyone not remember how that turned out? Oh, right. The board was dissolved by the MOH, a supervisor appointed and a board based on representation by population was appointed which actually made things more democratic (unless you lived in Port Hope) for the rest of Northumberland.

The current "crisis" at the hospital has been years in the making. During the McGuinty years the unionized "rank and file" have been getting raises averaging 3% per year in their contracts. PROVINCAL funding for the hospitals however, has risen only 1% or so each year. How can this result in anything but an unacceptable situation? Case in point: The last ONA collective agreement was 3 3 year deal that averaged out to more than 3% per year AND included a hefty signing bonus even though the previous contract hadn't yet expired.

Mr Biron and the board would have been better off cutting the Palliative care beds and saving the physio/diabetes program even if the waiting list for outpatient physio was way too long and most people who needed service in a timely fashion couldn't get it anyway.

Biron and the board consulted with the community and done what they were directed to do to avoid running a deficit (which by the way is illegal in ON unless you're the government).

Quit demonizing people who do their jobs in good faith and place the blame where it belongs: at the feet of McGuinty and the Liberals.

Seriously, did anyone actually think the outcome w...

2010-06-19T11:42:14.725-04:00
Seriously, did anyone actually think the outcome would favour "decent" people?

How well I remember, back when Port Hope had both a hospital and a newspaper, how Frank Mastinsek "palmed" the infamous ballot and how Port Hope Evening Guide reporters Ian Elliot and Tracy Huffman won a National Newspaper Award for reporting the story. But there is no newspaper in either Port Hope of Cobourg anymore -and no hospital in Port Hope, despite the efforts of 'decent' people to save it.

Decent people don't stand a chance against the Robert Biron's of this world. Ask yourself: To what end do you think Robert Biron will go to protect his fortune? Me, well, I think he'd drown his children in the bath before he'd take even a slight cut in his grotesque and indecent salary. And that's what's at the very core of all that's going on. It isn't about health care at all. It's about doing whatever it takes to make sure you've got more than everybody else and that no one gets anywhere near taking it away from you. Robert Biron no more gives a shit about health care than Gordon Gecko gave a shit about the homeless. Decency? I don't even know what the word means anymore.

The newspapers should be raising bloody hell. But, ever since the takeover of community journalism by The Rotary Club (don't laugh -how the hell did the appalling Bill Johnson ever get his dreary 'Mr. Bill' column? What service club did the publisher of the day belong to? Who was really running the paper?) what passes for editorial integrity usually revolves around the crisis of non-white users of Victoria Park or strongly-worded missives urging readers to pick up after their pets.

Once the press is de-nutted the fight becomes muted, a distant hum. If Ian Elliot and Tracy Huffman were still around they'd be digging into Mr. Biron's background, financial affairs and how he came to be so highly compensated. But nobody's going to do that kind of thing now because, well, it might embarass somebody or worse, cause a stir. And we wouldn't want that, now would we? No, it's all about thinking positively -even if Barbara Eherenreich did say "Positive thinking is neither."

Comments on The Burd Report: Plenty of copy to write but so little time

I am chickenshit's alter ego.

"what the *&%# is Keeler's beef?&q...

Two way street my ass. You're hiding behind fi...

what the *&%# is Keeler's beef?

Merklin Muffley saying "Gimme a godamned brea...

Hey chickenshit anonymouse: who let the doggerel o...

Merklin Muffley says "We're $8-million in...

Merk the sadsack's juices are getting stirred ...

Ya gotta love that ad hominem crap from the last c...

"...in his world there are no solutions, j...

Merk's got lots of complaints and questions bu...

Merk misses the point: A 3% per year raise over ...

The people of Port Hope then were only doing what ...

Gee whillikers! Here it is! Robert Biron's sal...

WOW! Them nurses got THREE PER CENT??? I had NO id...

Merk has serious points about the wussiness of loc...

Seriously?? Decent people? These same decent peopl...

Seriously, did anyone actually think the outcome w...

"what the &%# is Keeler's beef?&q...*