Sometimes it is hard to defend a principle

This week a story broke about an appeal launched by Troy Davey. Now to be fair this clip is not about defending a murderer nor is it an attack on the local police so back off and read this piece carefully. This story, about the appeal, is based on an insidious practice called - jury vetting. Quite popular and seemingly widespread, this practice is the way some Crown Attourneys have been ensuring that juries are less than random. In theory every person demanding a jury trial is entitled to be heard by jurors drawn at random to ensure impartiality. Each side, at trial, is entitled to challenge each juror as they appear in front of the judge for selection. It became obvious, last year, that as part of the jury selection process, when the names of the jury panel were submitted to the local Police for a routine criminal check, that some Police Services, as a favour to the Crown (?) were adding editorial comment to the names. This would indicate if the named person was partial to one side or the other.

If the Cobourg Police Service was doing this then it was part of a widespread problem as the practice is illegal and offensive and could pervert the course of justice by placing friendly people on juries. But it is a question that the Police Services Board has to answer - did they do it and have they stopped it? If a retrial of Troy Davey is necessary to correct this practice then sobeit, a price to pay for a clean system.

Finally some people have voted for "none of the above"

Iceland has elected a party in a recent municipal election that is called "the best party" and is led by a professional comedian. Here is the story. In this quote he justifies the party's name - "Nobody needs to be frightened of the Best Party because it's the best," party leader and comedian Jon Gnarr told RUV, a public broadcaster. "And we only want what is best -- if we didn't, we'd be called the Worst Party or the Bad Party."

So there it is folks the voters' revenge. Perhaps a portent of things to come in the 2010 American midterms and the soontobe Canadian election.

At last - Dan Christie's offensive post

Who Let The Doggerel Out?

The word “manifesto’ is usually preceded by ‘Communist’ –as in The Communist Manifesto, the 1848 blueprint laid out by Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels that dealt with class struggle and the evils of capitalism. Which is not to say only godless commies set out manifestos either. It’s a pretty safe bet that if those protesting the upcoming G8 and G20 conferences in Toronto have a manifesto then so to do the leaders of the G8 and G20.

Both groups have manifestos, it’s just that the wording is slightly different.

Last week Port Hope resident William Spotton, 42, announced his candidacy for mayor –his second attempt at Starting At The Top. His first try in 2003, against Rick Austin, came within 200 votes of success.

Mr. Spotton has a Manifesto 2010 for Port Hope which he says is “about how we can do politics” –the precise meaning of which, I’m afraid to say, totally escapes me. But then, Mr. Spotton is a poet –a poet with an extensive body of work laid bare for all to see at his Baharnai Hayyim (don’t ask…) blogspot website.

Whether or not Mr. Spotton’s poetry was as difficult to write as it is to read is entirely subjective. Personally I prefer the straightforward rhyme and rythym of Robert Service as opposed to the ethereal heartbreak of “The wallet left on a new kitchen counter/Graced by gentle blond highlights” favoured by Mr. Spotton.

Yep, give me The Cremation of Sam McGee any day.

Mr. Spotton’s resume is, shall we say, a tad light. His LinkedIn profile says he’s currently an Assistant at the office of Liberal MPP Joe Dickson in Ajax. At the same time his Blogger profile lists his Occupation as ‘Trying’. ‘Trying’ what? To write poetry? To be Mayor of Port Hope? To find Wendy and the rest of the Lost Boys?

Not only does Mr. Spotton not seem to have what might be called a real job, something that naturally leads voters to think maybe the real reason he wants to be mayor is because it’s a steady paycheck, but he hasn’t served on any Committees of Council either. And, while I stand to be corrected, of the many Port Hope council meetings I’ve suffered through, I can’t recall ever seeing Mr. Spotton share my misery. If you want to be mayor, shouldn’t you start by going to the occasional meeting? Maybe even ask a few questions of the people purporting to serve the Town and its citizens?

Don’t get me wrong; I wish Mr. Spotton well in his journey. I admire anyone brave enough to throw their hat in the ring. I salute anyone who thinks they can unseat the Old Girls Club that runs Port Hope –some of whom were actually elected. But the gentle breezes of poetry are no match for the wicked blasts of hot air that practically peel the paint off the walls every Tuesday night down at Port Hope Town Hall. No match at all.

As for that Manifest 2010, Mr. Spotton, you’d do well to come up with something a little less autocratic-sounding. Get the mandate first –then impose the manifesto.

Just like the autocrats you’re –ahem- “trying” to de-throne.

Note:
For those who are wondering what is going on it is speculated that the column Dan Christie writes for one of the local papers was spiked for being locally offensive and not up to the usual standards of this paper - a SunMedia publication. Hey anybody that publishes Sue Ann Levy can't be all that bad, can it?

Anyway the BurdReport has obtained a copy of the column and it sits above these comments. Mr Christie has given permission, by proxy, to publish:
"How odd. I happened to run into Dan Christie last night. He was holding court at Zest. His spiked column was being passed around the outside patio. I asked if it would be alright if it got posted on The Burd Report. He finished urinating in the corner (well, I think he was urinating anyway...)zipped up his fly, and punched me in the nose. One of his entourage, an elf, said that was his way of saying 'yes'. So I sent the parchment copy of the column (by way of wheelchair courier) to Ben with permission to post it on this site.

Gotta run. My nose is still bleeding...."

Deja-vu all over again!

Having just visited San Francisco I can swear that this topic did not come about as a result of a visit to Haight-Ashbury. But it is a flash-back.

The subject of jetskis is in the news again. It was in my time but that time Councillor Spooner was a bit younger and obviously more spritely then as he was in the news for a trip into the water to accost a jetskier. Yep, he actually got his feet wet when he walked into the water and mouthed off at a couple of yahoos upsetting all on the West Beach. I see his response this week was to see that it (a similar incident) gets investigated by the parks & Rec committee.

Incidentally the clip from the cartoon was one drawn by Barry King (God how we miss that guy) and summed up the complete situation. If I remember correctly the complete cartoon showed Councillor Spooner as well, but being the politician that I was I only kept the clip that was mine. I knew that there would be a reference to it some decades later.

An interesting advertisement

Arriving back from a short vacation and reading the papers to catch up one of the clips that was noticed was a small ad asking for Nurses at the NHH. Just what the F** is going on here? Only weeks after undisclosed amounts of money has been committed to severances for laid off nurses he is looking to hire some of them back!

I'll bet that the money involved would be more than enough to pay for the closed clinics - $450,000 - a shameful performance if there ever was one!

Britain's New Regime Forges Ahead

With the Master safely away on vacation, it's time for the Minion to take over. Casting about for fodder to write about, the Guardian answered my call with a detailed story about announcements made today on the economic front.

Naturally the new coalition government chose a tory for the all important post of Chancellor of the Exchequer, in appointing one George Osborne, who delivered a budget plan that business is quietly supportive of (but still complaining anyway), and unions are predictably upset about.

In announcing cuts of 6.25 billion pounds, this no doubt foreshadows the kind of initiatives we can expect here in Canada in the future, regardless of whether we find ourselves with a conservative or liberal government in the times ahead.

I'm no economist and too many numbers make my head hurt, but I've tried to distil the information into a meaningful snapshot of the kind of cuts that have been imposed so we can try to compare that to our situation here in Canada. I've done my best to get all the numbers right but don't guarantee complete accuracy.

Civil servants will take a hit with a hiring freeze of one year. That's expected to translate into savings of 163 million pounds, and thousands of jobs that will go unfilled. An efficiency and reform group has been formed to ensure the cuts really happen this time, including the use of consultants and job perks like paid travel and other expenses. The Cabinet office has to find savings of only 79 million pounds, which is still better than the funding boost to the PMO that the tories gave themselves in Canada while every other government department was cut back.

The National Health Service was left alone, but Education was cut by 670 million pounds. Some was set aside for increasing apprenticeship programs, and while there were cuts of 780 million pounds to the "Department for Communities and Local Government", an extra 170 million was found for social housing. Grants to local authorities were cut by 1.2 billion pounds at the same time.

The famous Home Office was cut by a modest 357 million pounds, with a mind blowing 135 million coming from police services. Compare that to Canada, where we are criminalizing more and more Canadians with our fake law and order agenda, building more and better jails to house them/us. Our various police bodies rarely have a funding request denied despite the fact that the crime rate has been falling for some years now.

In the "Department for Work and Pensions" (their version of Welfare/Disabilities), cuts to various programs totalled 535 million pounds, with an extra 640 million saved by axing a program called the Child Trust, and cutting "ineffective" job training programs. Funny how no matter which side of the Atlantic you`re on, it`s always the least advantaged who must sacrifice the most.

In Economy and Business, 836 million in unspecified cuts were announced. Likely targets are loans to manufacturing interests, especially the auto sector, although unidentified cuts are the easiest to fall off the butcher`s block.

It kind of looks like the new British version of coalition government is alot like a conservative government, with a few sops thrown in for the Lib Dems to keep them happy. Not too surprising given the election results. After all, this is what the people voted for, and they seem to have been unfazed by the results.

Time will tell how this works out, and what effects will transpire across Europe and here in North America. Hey, it beats reality tv for this watcher of politics.

The last comment for a few days

I'm outa here, tomorrow and I leave with a little bit of anticipation that politics in Port Hope may be a little hotter by the time I come back. On his facebook page John Morand announces he will be writing an election blog as he feels that a "clean sweep" group is coming to Town. Well I hope that the clean sweep doesn't include the perennial angry man - John Floyd who has been running a peculiar facebook campaign, for I don't know what, entitled "Pink Floyd for Mayor". Pink and John don't go together try flaming blue. Besides a clean sweep means NEW folks.

So pics on facebook from San Francisco.

BTW the BurdReport is 'openline' for the next few days, want to say something that might interest other readers or just have something to get off your chest write a comment, call it a guest post and it will be put up.

Libertarian Socialists Unite!

Don't know if it's the muggy weather without the promise of a good drenching rain, or just old age and crankiness, but I seem to have blown an emotional gasket upon hearing that a city councillor in Toronto wants to ban soft drinks from vending machines in community centres and other municipal spaces.

This on top of several municipalities who suggest banning smoking out in the open air. Then we have the Province deciding that while the HST could result in a drop in liquor prices, they will move to up the price so the customer doesn't benefit. After all, consuming alcohol isn't good for us. Especially while smoking and using a soft drink for mix!

Then we have the Christian fundamentalists who want to prevent women from having abortion rights, and Quebec residents who don't want Islamic women to wear their hijabs. I won't even start on the obscene war against drugs that has prevented the de-ciminalization of simple marijuana for decades while making criminals out of thousands of people who just want to light up a joint without persecution.

When exactly did we become a nanny state where self righteous, uptight know it alls think they can tell the rest of us what to do? Has the Puritan poison of old times re-surfaced or is it the New Authoritarian movement exemplified by Stephen Harper and his Reformers?

Whatever it is, I don't like it. Deep down I adhere to John Adam's famous quote that we are all entitled to go to hell in our own way, and if that means with a drink in one hand and ciggie in the other, so be it. Who wants to live forever sitting quietly with hands folded in our laps, reading the Scriptures anyway? But if we let these people have their way, that's all that will be left. Once they ban soft drinks, they'll come for our chocolate next, then our beloved french fries and burgers. Cobourg's Rib Fest will be a thing of the past, replaced by an Estival showcasing fresh veggies and tofu salad.

All this has led me to an exploration of Libertarianism, and in particular, Libertarian Socialism. Like me, they believe in equality, and an equitable division of the world's wealth and resources. Unlike the conservative variety who want to do away with government all together, the Libertarian Socialists believe in direct democracy through municipalities, citizens' assemblies, trade unions and workers' councils.

This kind of small, localized community democracy sounds like a promising idea, and when the world economy and oil supply collapse in the coming years, it's likely what we'll end up with anyway.

By the way, did you know that addiction experts and our own health unit consider the consumption of caffeine to be an addiction too? Look out folks, they'll be coming for your Timmies next!

A free way out

On Monday evening the Council will be receiving a letter from the farmers' Market organisation asking for financial help in closing 2nd Street for market purposes. Why do they need help? because Council has determined that in order to close the street on a regular basis it would cost $7,500, mainly to offset the cost of union labour needed to arrange the barriers each week.

But has the union been consulted to waive the arrangement? How much would it cost to have the aleready 'oncall' person erect the barriers or even better how much to pass a bylaw authorising the street closing and then have the already bought and paid for Bylaw Officer string a chain across 2nd St using the existing bollards/ street lamps.

Just a cheap thought

It ain't over yet!

Victories come in little packets and yesterday we won one. The LHIN has decided to keep some of the recently announced beds to be cut, open; they will not be cut - not this year anyway (see this story). Now we have to fight even harder to get the full Diabetes Clinic services and the Outpatient Rehab back into operation.

So don't tell me that "nothing can be done!" as all the naysayers have been telling us every step of the way. Hopefully we can convince the 'Doubting Thomases' that the rest of the job can be done. But it will need effort. The next effort is to atend a meeting at the Motor Inn at 7pm on June 1st. Then the full AGM of the hospital association has to be attended to stop the bylaw revisions that will effectively, if adopted take the majority of the membership out of the Association.

So congratulations to all - the 5,000 people who signed the petition, Cobourg Council that passed a mighty fine motion decrying the cuts and all of those who have lobbied, attended rallies and lent support to the cause.