Vatican Forgives the Beatles!

John Lennon must be enjoying a huge laugh from his grave today as the Vatican has announced in a newsletter that it has forgiven him and the lads for those comments Lennon made in 1966. Trying to make the point that people had their priorities screwed up, he said the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, which caused a huge outcry among conservative Christians and apparently the Vatican too. Former fans in the southern USA made piles of their Beatles records and burned them, vowing to never listen to the infidels again.

While that controversy eventually died down, and we all moved on, it looks like the Vatican didn't. Until now, that is. Funny how, in the middle of what just might be the biggest and most fractious issue faced by the Mother Church in its entire history, their higher-ups found the time to forgive poor old long dead John Lennon.

What to make of it all? Surely they can't think this will distract us from the Church's abuse crisis, but what other reason would there be for making this announcement now? As a non-Catholic, maybe I just don't understand how things work. All I am sure of is that John is chuckling down at us now from whatever version of heaven he imagined for himself.

A busy weekend for some.

A wonderful weekend, sunny and brisk, but some of us were busy. The Northumberland Citizens Coalition certainly were. Parading in front of Vic Hall and signing petitions. The embedded video is courtesy of Rick Jansen - thanks Rick.

Naturally the road claimed me. Talk radio was the only relief and it was again repetitive and entertaining. Boy those hosts do love to talk about the same things don't they? The Helena Guergis deal and the Polish airliner crash were the biggies. But in the HG affair the original report in the TO Star carried a throwaway line that stuck with me and has been bypassed by all the commentary heard so far. The reporter speculated that the reason that Rahim J got off his cocaine charge might have been because he agreed to roll-over on his dinner-mates for other charges.

In the case of the Polish airliner tragedy the "Spaceman" on AM640, carried on in the vein he always mines - that one-world government and the illuminati are to blame. This time with the backdrop of the "Katyn massacre" tied to Prince Charles's recent visit to ancient heritage sites in Poland and the strange happenings of past events on the same date. fancifull stuff but he does make the hours pass easily!

But back to the local campaign by the Health Coalition folks. Tonight the campaign to educate and encourage goes to Cobourg Council. Local folks will be asking Council to support the efforts to retain services and pass a motion to that effect. Watch it on Channel 10.

An update and an opinion

The Northumberland Health Coalition had a meeting with the local MPP, it appears that no-one changed anybody's mind. Here is a report of the meeting that has been released to the media. Meanwhile the other group, Patchett's bunch, have released a progress report, that has been published as a letter to the editor in NToday, and makes interesting reading.
Mr Frank Farago, as the chair of the group which calls itself "the Citizens for Alternative Solutions", expresses frustration with a couple of things. One is that he complains that exclusive access is being denied, he is being told that his group will be meeting with other people, up to 60 of 'em. The other complaint is that he doesn't understand why the CEO and Board Chair doesn't avail themselves of the expertise contained in this group, the members of which are unknown to the general public. The BurdReport has heard rumours that this group is composed of business like Rotarians who think that their very names should open doors - obviously Mr Biron is not as impressed with them as they are with themselves. As a newcomer to the community he obviously does not recognise the social and financial impact of these guys. The BurdReport is impressed with Mr Biron's behaviour in this regard.
But back to the NHC's meeting with the MPP. It was a meeting that had to take place even if only to show just how stubborn he is being and how unresponsive he is to his constituents concerns. Having demonstrated indifference to the situation he now has to defend himself against complaints of his disregard to the situation. Not having answers about the purported new facilities that are going to be in place before any of the cuts take place is scandalous. Taking orders from the LibCentral is even worse especially when it disregards his voters problems.

I am only the enforcer of the orders

One of the disturbing things about these recent hospital cuts is the way that local hospitals have to implement central directives in a local way and make them look like local decisions. But let's be realistic. In an article published today in the TO Sun Christina Blizzard details how ALC patients are being moved from local hospitals by orders from the MoH. The moving of patients has had a terrible effect on family lives and should be stopped, especially when the facilities in local communities, for the transfer don't exist.
"Kenora-Rainy River MPP Howard Hampton says Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) are being told to get chronically ill patients out of hospitals and into long-term facilities."

So if you want to be heard in this debate get out to a meeting tonight at Trinity United Church in Cobourg at 5.30pm. The next person to be moved, as far away as Kingston, will be your Granny!

But on the flip side this debate has its supporters, a comment from the story is copied for its venom and lack of objectivity but it does show that some people just are not looking at this properly:

April 6th 2010, 11:06pm
This is about Howie Hambone backing Boob Rae when he would not allow the building of private/public nursing homes during his reign. This was felt worse in the north. Hospitals are for active medical care, not carcass storage. If you wanted to be closer, then you should have placed your name on a waiting list for the home of your choice. Everyone wants to go to heaven, yet no one wants to die. The family should take her in and have nursing care done at home, or are they just too busy, or who knows what to help out. Remember at some point, healthcare in ontario is really only about containing feces, vomit, urine, and smells.

Get out for this one

Join the others in our community protesting the hospital cuts.

Victoria Hall 10am on Saturday

Send a message

I bet the Harpercrits have one of these

Today is the first day of the election in the UK and will also be the place of new toys for political junkies. New polls based on real time, instant punditry and one of these - a swingometer - a tool that analyses election results based on swings in public opinion. Play with it for a couple of minutes and you will be hooked. The BurdReport wonders just which website in Canada will have one for us in the next few days.

How do we represent ourselves?

With some difficulty! In this story it is related that the Federal government intends to expand the House of Commons by another 30 MPs - that's just what we need another bunch of trained seals. Eighteen more MPs for Ontario, not all in Tory territory, may yet be another ploy for the Harpercrits to get nearer to the majority they lust for. But think about it just how much common sense is in this. The reason for it is to rebalance large ridings and make smaller ridings more representative. But why do we not establish rules that will allow larger ridings and keep the same number of MPs?

On another front we have municipal councils that, in my mind are too small. Seven councillors to run Northumberland is ridiculous, where is the reasoned debate pondering such weighty County questions? There is none. A small coterie of busy councillors is shortchanging the voters. Too often we have items on the agendas being passed over because of the lack of attention and the desire to placate staff positions, after all if the council directs reports to the staff they cannot then just dismiss the report when it comes back.

So the sad situation is this: we have too many MPs in Ottawa and not enough councillors in Northumberland, each situation producing a frustrated voter base and a contented bureaucracy.

And just when thought all the fun had gone out of politics

In rides a man guaranteed to stir things up in Cramahe Township. In this story it is reported that former Mayor Lee Dekeyser has filed papers to run against Marc Coombs for the Mayor's job. Coombs defeated Dekeyser last time around after some pretty stinky backroom dealings with a majority on Council that made the then Mayor Dekeyser look bad. Perhaps this time because Dekeyser is running from the oustside and public sentiment is against incumbents he will prevail. One thing to bet on this fight will be in the muck at some time during the next six months.

One for the lawyers

I am perplexed, Never being able to sort out weighty problems without help I am throwing this one open.
In a recent trial of two youths accused of murderering a schoolboy the key witnesses recant, on the stand, their previous and critical to the crown, evidence. This caused doubts about the evidence and the jury could not agree on a verdict. The judge declared a mistrial and the youths went back to gaol. But here is my point - why is there going to be another trial and if the evidence still fails to hold up in court, will there be another trial.
So the question is, how many times can one be tried for the same offence?

Sunshine List Fascinating Reading

My eyes are bugged out from scrolling through the Province's annual Sunshine List of public sector employees who earn more than $100,000. Of interest locally is the Northumberland Hills Hospital, whose CEO is already in the daily paper assuring us again just how lean a machine their management team has become.

I guess when you took home $230,969 last year, the value of money takes on a different perspective from the rest of us, given the median wage in our area was only about $27,000 and change. According to the Sunshine List, when you leave out the one registered nurse who worked a lot of overtime, the management team pocketed about $950,000 between the seven of them, not including taxable benefits. How many others linger just below the cut-off is unknown, there could be a few, there could be many more amongst the 38 administrative positions the union counted. Reading newspaper archives I learned that management costs, as a percentage of the paid workforce, has risen from 4.4% two years ago to 6% now. Tell me how that represents cuts to management as claimed by the CEO recently, because I don't understand.

Having decided to check out the List for the Central East LHIN, I found just 4 names at the top of the heap, earning $710,508 between them. Who knows how many lower paid employees there are, hanging around looking for hospital services to eliminate in our region? If their pay scale is anything like the senior staff, the costs must be enough to run a few diabetes clinics.

How about the Community Care Access Centres, those co-ordinating, home care service providing people? You know, the ones who have to come up with the long term care beds the hospital wants to eliminate. Well, our Central East region employs a total of 30 of them who made the Sunshine List, and together they earn a whopping $3,432.882! Again, the lower tier employees aren't listed here, and who knows how much they take home for their efforts.

Finally, we have the Haliburton Kawartha Great Pine Ridge District Health Unit, who also provide health care services and programs in our neck of the woods. The Medical Officer of Health takes home $212,418, followed by the Director of Oral Care at $157,851. The Director of Communicable Disease Control and her Assistant together made $223,563, leaving four others on the Sunshine List at about $105,000 each for a grand total of just over a million dollars.

That is one giant pile of taxpayer money going to top executives; money that isn't spent on actually providing health care directly. If our region is indicative of the rest of Ontario, and I suspect our high end wages are lower here, it's no wonder health care costs have gotten out of hand. If doctor's wages were included, I might just have a heart attack, although at least a doctor can treat me for it, unlike the coffee slurping, kiwi eating folks at the top.

I can hardly wait to see the numbers for the County, Children's Aid, and school boards. That will truly be the icing on the cake.