Modern Hero?

Does it make you a hero to stand up and call on a government to go through with a signed and sealed deal? "Yes" was the concensus on the Hotline today, as Bill Casey was widely praised as a "hero" for saying he will be voting against his government tonight. It is quite rare to see anyone stand up to Harper, so he's definitely brave for doing that. Who was the last person to stand up to Harper - Stronach maybe? The vote goes at 6:45 our time and it will be interesting to see if anyone joins Casey in voting "NO".

Man, there were so many topics on the show today!!! This is going to be the longest blog ever!

Did you read the Coast's council review? I thought it was so far off base. Does this guy even go to Council? To mix up Gary Mead and Gary Martin, that speaks volumes to me. Gloria Mac - C? Sheila Fougere - B? I've lived in Fougere's district for over 5 years now...never heard a word from her. As Rick said, I have no idea what she's done for the district and I live there! She seems like a nice person, but that's all I know about her. The Coast is a very left leaning publication and I think that biased was well documented. If you love bikes and bike paths, well, you were going to get a good mark. It was interesting to read anyway.

Did you read the letter in the paper today from Kaitlyn Murray-Selinger's mother today in the Chronicle-Herald? Absolutely heartbreaking.

Act must be changed

My daughter, Kaitlyn Murray-Selinger, was struck by a truck on March 26 and subsequently passed away, on March 28.
The driver, Charles Wilson MacLeod, entered a guilty plea and has until June 8 to pay the paltry sum of $387.50 for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. End of story for him.
For the rest of my life, I have to live without my daughter and the happiness of having her. I will never see her graduate, get married, or see grandchildren. She was my only child and she was the love of my life. It was just her and I, and we were very close. To never have her walk through the door again is almost too much to bear.
The man who struck my daughter hasn’t even lost his licence.
If you maim or kill someone at a crosswalk, the fine is still the same ($387.50).
The government/politicians have to make changes to the Motor Vehicle Act.
Crosswalks should be re-painted white yearly, and red lights installed so drivers can see what is ahead. I know crosswalks don’t have walls around them, but pedestrians, if they are given the OK to cross and have made eye contact, should be able to cross safely.
They were going to spend millions on the Commonwealth Games. Why can’t HRM do something for the safety of our pedestrians? My daughter’s life should not be in vain. She was loved by so many. We have to make changes.
Sue K. Murray, Dartmouth

Good luck Sue and I know most of the Hotline listeners are behind you on this.

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So the Rodney MacDonald government is slipping in the polls? Don Mills from Corporate Research spoke to Rick today about the latest poll. Did you hear when he got that little dig in to Rick about the Commonwealth games? Ha! It was interesting to hear that Danny Williams in NFLD has a personal popularity of 75%. From what I hear from people and read in the news, it's because apparently he's the same person he's always been. He drinks every Friday night at the same pub he's gone to for years etc. I don't see Rodney connecting with the people. He seems a little awkward and doesn't seem to be able to put everyday people at ease, as say, John Buchanan. Funny story - I didn't know a lot about NS politics before I moved here and I heard Rick mention all these horrible things JB did while he was Premier. I asked Rick how in God's name could anyone have voted for this terrible Premier? Then he came into the studio and literally, 30 seconds after meeting him, I'm eating out of his hand. Most charming man in the history of the universe. Hands down. Rick always groans when he remembers how weak I was to JB's charms.

For those interested in becoming a part of the Halifax Homeowners assocation - here's the number: 423-5791. There's no website, as far as I know. They're having a meeting on Monday. You can meet the other members and as Walter upsold it, "and you get a sandwich".

Rick was amused by the picture of German Chancellor Angela Merkel staring down Stephen Harper on the front page of the C-H today. It may look like she was giving him a mean look, but she really wasn't. Trust me, her face looks like that - always! Do you notice how she doesn't have laugh lines, but frown lines. The students in Germany did excellent impersonations of this notably dour individual. The students also got a kick of me saying Angela Merkel in my Canadian accent. In Germany it's pronounced "Angle-a Mairk-ell".

So, it's great to be back after a (too) short holiday. The time flew, but I had an absolute blast with my brother from Ontario!

David Rodenhiser will grace us with his presence tomorrow, so get ready to hear the (now famous) Rodenhiser intro!

Thanks for listening..and I'll talk to you tomorrow!

Cheers,

Amber