Mornings, vacations

Hello again!

Good news: my morning run is coming to an end. Bad news: I'm going on vacation come Saturday. But I'll be back blogging and back to normal (relatively speaking) on Wednesday June 4th!

I'll be filled with lots of stories, I'm headed to Italy!

Have fun, be nice to Rick and I'll chat with you soon.

Cheers,

Amber

My absence!

Hey!

Although I'm still talking to you on the phone, I've just taken a wee break from blogging. I'm working a morning shift and it's restricting my blogging time!

Great show with Jerbear last Friday though, eh? It was great to see him.

Conspiracies yesterday and probably lots of political talk today with the NDP not supporting the budget, but the Liberals propping up the government for another year.

I am so ticked about that, you have no idea.

Anyway...I'll be back soon, I promise!

Cheers!

Amber

A small victory

We accomplished something today.

It's so nice to come out of the studio and feel happy instead of feeling the typical sense of impending doom. Our phone assault worked!! Even though the Premier claimed Judy Streatch said she was going to pay for the damages yesterday, we know our boiled over anger today played a role in the contrite news release. How could it not? I mean, a Minister gives her son the keys to her government-leased S-U-V, her work car, go to down the street and get some ice cream? Hey, I like a delicious dairy treat as much as the next person, but come on! Here's what I haven't heard: I haven't heard Judy Streatch say it was wrong for her son to be driving the car in the first place. That is why this is a small victory. She'll pay for the damages, but it still doesn't sound like her government-leased car is going to be for business only.

You know it's serious when Wade Keller calls the newsroom and wants to get the Premier on the Hotline. To me, that's the number one sign it's damage control time! The Premier tried to speak very clearly and utilized some very good spinning techniques. Putting the potential injuries of the 17-year old out there - very clever. However, ever caller who phoned in after the Premier was not impressed. Clearly Rick struck a nerve with his "Take the Bus" comments over the past 2 weeks. What made me laugh was caller Tony railing against the Premier while having no clue the Premier was waiting on the line to come on next. It was awesome. The Premier tried to be clever at the end by twisting the bottom line of why he won't come on the show. The bottom line is - all the Premiers have always come in for an hour. It's the way it has always been because there's not enough time to deal with the amount of problems in this province in 30 minutes. 1 hour isn't enough time either! Rick said an hour or nothing and they said no, that's why the Premier hasn't been on the show. Don't let them spin you otherwise. Another thing that struck me as incredibly hilarious was the though of Wade Keller and the Premier being chauffered around listening to the Hotline and grimacing and making notes and grinding their teeth. Overall, it was just a stellar day on the show.

As Rick says: the Tories are toast. That's his prediction, and I'm going to have to agree.

On a totally different note: GO CANADA!!! Huge game this afternoon, should be a great one. It's so cool to see the foreign fans walking downtown, faces painted, wearing crazy costumes. This is a great tournament and it makes Halifax look so good. I'm wondering how it's going over in Quebec City.

Well, it's a sunny warm day today. I kind of have a hankering for a big ol' ice cream. Maybe I'll take a station vehicle to Dairy Queen. Wait a second, not a good idea. If I got in an accident and wasn't doing something for work, I'd probably be fired. Why is that different in the government ranks?

Thank you so much for the calls today and the participation in the phone assault. Next up, the election. Let's make a difference!

Cheers!

Amber

A better day

I'm really trying to keep it positive, but it's hard after hearing about more food riots, this time in Somalia and this devestating cyclone that's hit Myanmar killing up to 10-thousand people there.

Okay, it is hard to keep it upbeat. I was going to complain about my parking ticket I got yesterday downtown, but not it doesn't seem like that big a deal in comparison to what some are going through right now. What I will say is, instead of penalizing people for going downtown for big events, why not loosen it up a bit and only ticket people who are in handicapped spots or who are blocking driveways, etc. I park in the same spot every Sunday morning and this was the first time I got a ticket. It's a cash grab and it's sick. Made me feel happier when I went to Bayers Lake and didn't have to risk getting a ticket and I'm a huge supporter of the downtown!! Anyway, that's my rant about that!

That being said, there is a very cool vibe downtown with all the tourists here for the games. It's really fun and the weather really co-operated. It was a lovely weekend.


So, Jim Meek thinks we're too hard on Fred. Here's a link to his Sunday column:

http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/Opinion/1053823.html

What it seems like to me and I've heard this from men too - the boys' club protecting the boys' club. Bottom line.

Well, that's about it for me. All I can say is Go Team Canada and Go Sidney Crosby!!!

Have a solid Monday,

Amber

Only in Nova Scotia

Only in Nova Scotia would you not attach a performance clause to bonuses or extra pensions.

I think a board of directions might be a little upset if the CEO of the company received any extras when the company posts a loss. However, we're the board of directors and we get no say whatsoever.

An election can't come soon enough. Bring it down, please D.D. and Stephen MacNeil! PLEASE!

Funny hour with Bill Spurr during hour number 1. Rick and Bill chatted about issues and about restaurants as Bill is the "Bourgeouis Gourmet" in the Chronicle-Herald. I adore Bill's column, it's so droll and bang on. I really love the fact he dines with his family and his son B.J. is a little foodie in training. He brought his son to the studio today along with his friend Bruce from Ontario. We all sat back and laughed at the banter between the two boys. They traded insults, like Rick Bill about his weight, while Bill told Rick he could never be the Lieutenant-Governor because "he's not regal enough". Ouch!

Speaking of, this lady is out of freakin' control!! Master Chef? This is Nova Scotia! Land of fish and chips - if you want to be treated to something a master chef would cook, use your allowance and go to one of the many fine dining establishments we have in HRM. Bodyguards? I'm pretty sure the Premier doesn't have a bodyguard. I bet if I asked 10 people on the street right now who Mayann Francis is they wouldn't have a sweet clue. Seriously, get over yourself! I'm not sure who she's hanging out with, but it certainly sounds like they've convinced Francis she's next in line to be the actual Queen of England. In a time where the government just released a shoddy budget where we're getting no tax breaks whatsoever (those piddly tax credits don't add up to much), we're going to fund Mayann Francis' Buckingham Palace fantasies? See the title, only in Nova Scotia.

Well, this kid has to go write some news and then get ready for the weekend!

The weather looks like it's going to hold - have a great weekend and we'll chat with you on Monday.

Cheers!

Amber

Hi, Stephen MacNeil!

The Liberals have launched a new ad campaign to introduce the leader to Nova Scotians. I haven't seen them, but we kept saying "Hi, Stephen MacNeil" all day long!

We ended the show talking to two lovely ladies, Andree Gracie and Suzanne Morrison about the Family Expo. It was good hour, talking about issues which affect families. Not having any kids, it's not really something I really think about, but it's interesting. Something Andre said really grabbed me. She said it's important to take time to laugh and not get bogged down in the heavy media stuff. I completely agree, but it's difficult, when you're sitting behind the board listening intently to the world's woes every day. It's hard to turn off. You can stick your head in the sand, but I'm definitely going to try to get out and do the things I enjoy before the world ends. (See, I can't turn it off completely).


Edwin Black was a fascinating interview! I want to get his books right away! His thoughts and feelings on corporate criminality, along with his facts, were terrifying but enlightening. He warned us that Islamic extremism is the number 1 most dangerous thing facing our world, along with "petro-terrorism". He warns us about the dangers of believing "pseudo-science" and, he was just so compelling. I must get his books! Here are his 2 websites to check out:

http://www.edwinblack.com/

http://www.thecuttingedgenews.com/

It is Holocaust Memorial Day and it's just overwhelming to really think about the Holocaust and the number of people who suffered because of Hitler and his "final solution". To hear about these companies that worked with the Nazis, very scary stuff. In my travels to Germany, I've been to Buchenwald and Dachau and they were incredibly difficult experiences, you're really put in a position where you can start to get into the mindset of what the people went through. Actually seeing ovens where people were burned is something so shocking, it turns information that seems too horrific to be real into stark, cold reality. Both trips were on sunny days and the contrast between the bright sunshine and the grey, uniformity of the place where these atrocities occurred was such a contradiction. It's impossible not to feel the gravity of these places. It is hard to see, but important at the same time not to forget what happened.

Take care,

Amber

Bring it down!

I'm serious. DD and Stephen MacNeil - BRING IT DOWN!

This budget is an absolute disaster!!! When the highlight is a tax credit for people who join gym that might save them all of 10 dollars on their taxes, that's pretty pathetic.

BRING.IT.DOWN.

I can't believe I agree with something Michael from Cape Breton said today. He said "Bring it down". There must be an election. Bring it down!

The only winners: Nova Scotia post-secondary students and people living with colorectal cancer. I chatted with Cathy Connors yesterday, Jim Connors' wife, and she thought Jim would have been very pleased about the government's decision. It's too bad Judy Young and Jim Connors had to die before it happened. The government even admitted it was a political decision. Rick did a great interview with Pat Connors today, Jim's son, who is pleased his dad made a difference. We're happy too, and he is sadly missed.

As for the electricity thing, it's just so shocking I can't even believe it actually happened. I don't know how long they think the middle class can prop everyone up. The middle class is quickly becoming the lower class with tax hikes, the price of food, gas, etc. It's, as we say in today's Hotline poll, it's Armageddon, baby!

I'm actually kind of in a better mood today, because everyone else was depressed on the show today. One caller even went as far as to tell me he was sad, sad Bob, in fact! Knowing I'm not alone in my utter and complete frustration with what we have to deal with here makes me feel a little better anyway. Thanks!

I don't know if you caught what went down at the end of the show. First of all, I think Rick and Sue Uteck have called a truce. They were very friendly, even agreeing with one another!! I think they were both shocked since they've been kind of nemeses for so long. Secondly, Jim at the very end called Rick "Rickster", which made me grimace because Rick thinks I put everyone up to it and I do not! Then he told me he loves Ben from PEI! Obviously I do too...so we had a moment. Jim Smith and I united over our admiration for the crazy dude from the Island.

The world has officially changed: Ontario is a have not province, and Newfoundland doesn't need equalization anymore. Wow. You have got to hand it to Danny Williams, that province is only going up! Where's N.S. going? God, the answer is too depressing. Despite that, I definitely want to wish Michael Baker well. He's fighting cancer and obviously we wish him the best. For a N.S. Conservative, I've always thought he was a pretty good guy.

Well, that's my rant for today. It's getting sunny outside too, so the day is looking up.

Can you believe Fred MacGillivary? I don't know what to say.

Cheers!

Amber

Paid political mafia

Everyone on the Hotline was fired up today! Maybe they were inflamed by the Premier constantly hovering over our studio with his helicopter! You may have heard him a few times today during the show!

Today's title comes from a caller, simply fed up with the current state of everything. Add me to that list as well. Everyone's concerned about BPA, etc. I'm not. I really feel doom about the future. Food prices skyrocketing, hoarding of food, high fuel prices, taxes. I think it was the story about the dirt cookies in Haiti that affected me so much, I can't shake the feeling it gave me. Yeah, it's doom and gloom week on the Hotline! I agree with the statement you shouldn't just complain, because that's empty unless you do something about it. That being said, I don't think I would want to run for office because the problems are too great! Where do you start? How do you circumvent the bureaucratic system in place that is designed to take (waste) time because it gives people good paying government jobs? We're in a lose-lose situation, I'm so sorry to be so morose!

One thing amused me today. I realized when Rick does his Rodney MacDonald impersonation about telling Nova Scotians to "take the bus", all of a sudden Rodney turns into a French Canadian! It's hilarious!

So, how do you feel about the government taking back its electricity rebate? We were kind of confused about it this morning, but now from what I can tell, the electricity portion of your heat will still be rebated, but not the TV/lights part. I sense a rent increase coming on....
Looks like another ploy to keep people addicted to oil, which is totally the best.idea.ever.

Well, this grey day is not improving my dismal outlook on the future of Nova Scotia. I just read some of the snapshots of the provincial budget - that's not helping either! More on that tomorrow!

Cheers,

Amber

His hypocrisy

That's the reason I don't like Stephen Harper. Plain and simple.

One of our callers coined a new term for Rodney MacDonald today. "Premier Marie Antoinette" has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?


For those who have heard the expression "Let them eat cake!", here's a little background on it. You can see how fitting it is! (Except there is doubt that Marie Antoinette actually said it)

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/227600.html


Rick had Peter Duffy on to close the show talking about a fascinating Nova Scotia connection to one of the most famous Nazis in history. Here's the link:

http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/Columnists/1052104.html


Did you read the Globe and Mail this weekend? Overall, it was an incredibly depressing experience for me. Not that it was poorly written, but there were so many incredibly depressing stories, including one about wild salmon stocks in B.C. becoming almost extinct and this story, which I plan to keep talking about because it's so shocking. I think I can realize what is ethnocentric and what isn't, and I'm sorry, this must be stopped!!


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080424.wbrides04262/BNStory/Front/

I hope Rick reads this and is as shocked as I was. I had never heard of this practice and it MUST be stopped!

Back to Nova Scotia, this Bill Gillis character sounds like he was someone truly dedicated to protecting the public purse. Buses, bagged lunches, etc. Wow, it's sad how we're shocked by something like that nowadays.

Hey, one of my friends here at work told me a pretty disturbing story. She says she she went to a local sporting goods store looking for a new, non-number 7 plastic water bottle. She went into the store and found a huge display of #7 bottles. She asked the clerk about it, referring to the fact a lot of the big guys had taken the bottles off the shelves. She said they weren't doing that and they were going to let the customer make the choice. My friend made the very valid retort that that move helps customers who haven't heard about Bisphenol A use the offending products! She says the clerk seemed disinterested in the whole issue, so she took her business elsewhere.

I'm jumping around a lot here, but there were so many issues today! Caller Don, a South-end resident, brought up the South End truck traffic issue to Dave McCusker today. Then he wrote an e-mail to Rick comparing that to Africville. I thought that was a wee bit of a stretch, did you?

Well, enjoy the day. It looks like it's clouding over, sadly and we've got more rain on the way this week.

Cheers!

Amber

Jeeves, ready the chopper

Seriously.

How can the Premier or any members of cabinet really take our gas concerns seriously when they don't even pay their own gas!?!

We had an all-open Friday free for all today, but I kind of messed up the first hour as I mistakenly thought we were talking about sports! Oops. Sorry for the couple of people I told to call back after 11. My bad.

I was also a bad girl during the 11 o' clock news when Chris started his story about the monkey in New Brunswick and the fact the monkey's name is "April" just really struck me as funny, so I started laughing and then Chris started laughing on the air too. Sorry!

Onto something more serious - did you hear this story today?

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080425/nypd_verdict_080425/20080425?hub=TopStories

50 shots! This story is absolutely outrageous, I hope someone raises it on Monday.

Too bad about the Mooseheads, eh? That is so strange that Brad Marchand was benched. Someone called me off the air to say he heard something going down in the dressing room prior to the game and that's why he was a healthy scratch. Rick asked Marcel Patenaude about it though and he denied anything like that, although he was very vague. Maybe John Moore can shed some light onto this...

Well, it looks like it's trying to become sunnier outside! When I got off the air there were flurries!!! I'm glad I didn't take my snow tires off yet. The weekend looks kind of crappy, but let's make the best of it, okay?

Have a great weekend!

Amber

The Mayor's reality check

Again, I get a reality check from the Hotline, this one from Mayor Kelly himself.

I usually chat with the Mayor for a few seconds before he gets on and I start droning on about how depressing the weather was. I had no idea what Rick was talking to him about, I thought it was just city business. The Mayor told me it was better than snow and that I had to change my perspective. I told him he was the most optimistic person I've ever known and he said, "You have to be". Little did I know why. His brother has leukemia and he's donating his stem cells to his brother to hopefully get him better.

I'm not depressed about the weather anymore.

If you want to check out the program Mayor Kelly told us about, here's the link:

www.onematch.com


So, we played trivia today and well, I sucked! I could barely answer any questions as the lifeline. It was not my best lifeline performance, I'm sorry!!! I did get a question right about Lorne Green and brought up the fact he hosted my favourite show when I was a kid called "Lorne Green's New Wildnerness". Rick hadn't heard of it, so I promised him I'd post a link. Here it is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorne_Greene's_New_Wilderness

Does anyone remember this show, or is it just me? Congrats to Paul, our new champion today!
Now I know that Mud Creek is now called Wolfville. My life is complete. You might have heard Ben doesn't call Rick "Rickster" anymore. He calls him "Me favourite addiction". Nice one!

Anyway, time to write some news, talk to you tomorrow!

Cheers!

Amber

The truth is the truth.

So says Rick Simpson.

He was in today and he's very convincing. Although I'd have to test it on myself to see if hemp oil works to cure diseases, I am with him on the fact that cancer is a business and there's no business in cures. Pharmaceutical companies make billions of dollars off disease, disease prevention and pain mitigation, bottom line.

If you want to chat with Rick, his phone number is: 902-545-2285 or you can reach him by e-mail: admin@phoenixtears.ca.

Or you can see him in person tomorrow at the Universalist Unitarian Church at 5500 Inglis St. from 11-2. Rick says he's going to show his film "Run from the Cure" and then tell you how to make hemp oil. Rick (Howe) and I were talking about how it's natural to be skeptical, but then how do you explain all these people coming out of the woodwork saying they were cured?? Anyway, if you go to the meeting call us on Friday and tell us about it!

Here's the other website talked about: www.mumm.ca, that's the group "Maritmers Unite for Medical Marijuana".

Hey, some good news for Home Depot! They've pulled pesticides that are banned under the HRM by-law off the shelves of their stores! It's nice to hear about a business being a good corporate citizen for a change.

An interesting tidbit that I checked after someone called me off air to ask: Moncton has 1 mayor and 10 councillors!!! 10! Granted, their population is only 117-thousand. But I was thinking about Windsor, Ontario aka my hometown where the population is nearing 300-thousand - and they have 1 mayor and 10 councillors! It's actually a good set up in Windsor. They have city council and then they have county council which governs the rest of Essex County. Smart people, those Windsorites!!! Moncton has a pretty cool website too - it's www.moncton.ca.

So, are you a Rick Simpson believer? Let us know tomorrow. Plus, we're playing trivia!! I'm so excited!

Cheers,

Amber

The sleaze runs thick

Rick came up with another great title today! Thanks, boss! (I'm being very careful not to call him "Rickster")

My second choice for today's title was "Panacea of joy" which is something Lee Cohen spoke about during hour number two. Cohen was in talking about the perceptions and challenges facing immigrants and Canadians today and it was interesting to hear the immigrant side of things and how Canada is perceived by others. Indeed although Canada is a great country, it's not the be all and end all, the land of milk and honey as some may think. Although I think immigrants can get a raw deal in this country, I kind of had to agree a little with Ross who says it does seem a bit unfair that immigrants come over and then are entitled to all the services we are overtaxed for. A couple of people called me off the air to express support for the position caller Fred took today, talking about how immigrants are ruining our way of life. I wished they would have gone on the air, it's an interesting debate and one people don't really talk about much for fear of being labelled "racist".

If the Liberals had a strong leader, the Conservatives would sooooo be going down right now. Good for Stephen Dion for saying the Conservatives won the election by cheating, but he's just not strong enough! I think it's going to be a long time before there is another majority government in this country.

Well, I'm going to get some lunch and get out in this sunshine before it disappears for the week.

Have a good day!

Ambe r

You're in prison, you idiot

Thanks to Rick for the title today!

I wanted to find a link to the Jim Carrey film "Liar, Liar". There's a scene that perfectly encapsulates my feelings towards the prisoners in Burnside feeling hard done by. I'll try to summarize here. I forget how, but in the film Jim Carrey cannot tell a lie and he's a lawyer. He gets a call from a client and his secretary passes over the phone and says "So and so is on the phone for you. He's been arrested again" Jim Carrey grabs the phone and says:

"QUIT BREAKING THE LAW (EXPLETIVE)!!!"

That pretty much sums up my stance on the whole thing.

We heard a pretty memorable quote from Fall River area councillor Krista Snow today on her love for Elton John. When asked about the possibility of the singer coming to Halifax she said, "I'd walk over broken glass and catpoop to drink his bathwater." Um, okay!! I'm a fan too, but I'm not sure if I'd go that far. Pretty crappy about Paul McCartney, eh? That did kind of seem too good to be true. That concert would have been amazing and fantastic advertising for HRM. Do you get the impression that Mayor Kelly is really trying to get a concert as a feather in his cap for the election in October?

Lee Cohen, Halifax's best known immigration lawyer, will be in the studio tomorrow and I was telling Rick I'm really curious to get an update certain cases like the Bondarenkos and Sonja Petjzel (probably not spelled correctly).

Barry Barnet called after Rick talked about a story involving the Health Promotion Minister today. Apparently, BB locked his keys in his car and then submitted the receipt for the taxpayer to pick up! Rick didn't think that was kosher and made that clear on the air and BB ended up calling and telling us it was an oversight, it was submitted in error and he's definitely paying for that little mistake himself. Good to know, thanks for the call!

Jeez, do you think if the federal Conservatives were actually as transparent as they make themselves out to be, they would have invited all the media to a news conference over the weekend, not just a select friendly few?? If they have nothing to hide and didn't do anything wrong, why are they working so hard to spin this story? Sickening, it truly is.

Well, that's it for me. I'm trying to open www.youtube.com to put a link to that Jim Carrey clip. It's a classic and if I get it, I'll post it later.

Have a good Monday!

Cheers,

Amber

Paul

That's the angel of Genelle Guzman-McMillan.

I hope you heard her story today, it was riveting. She was the last person to be rescued from the World Trade Centre after 9-11. She spent 27 hours buried under rubble. The part that made me get goosebumps is when she said someone named Paul came to her and held her hand until she was rescued. Welll, she has tried to find Paul for the last 6 years and it turns out, no one named Paul was on any of the rescue teams during 9-11. She says she had an angel, Paul, who helped save her life. Chills.

You can read more here in this fascinating article from Time:

http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101020909/asurvivor.html


We also had a chance to speak to Gloria McCluskey today who is hoping to be released from the hospital tomorrow after knee surgery. As per usual, Gloria is on it, calling it like is, being the real, awesome person she is. Nothing fazes her, not even pain! Feel better, Gloria!!

A few people have called me to tell me about the number 7 plastics in their houses. One man says his big 1 litre ketchup is a #7 and Sandy told us today her deoderant is a #7. I think it's kind of crazy that although the government has said it's a dangerous chemical....nothing is going to be done about it right away! It's dangerous - deal with it is the message the government is sending. Uh, thanks!

I liked what Barry had to say about a 10 cent surcharge for coffee at Tim's. As much as I love Roll up the Rim to Win, it must change. They need to give people an incentive not to use the cups. It's a great promotion, but I'm so sick of seeing Tim Hortons cups on the ground. It is absolutely gross out there with all the litter. Right outside of our building on Russell Street, it's an absolute sty. Seriously, I might bring a garbage bag and some gloves and go pick-up the trash next week. I mean, the city is at fault if they aren't emptying their garbage bins that are overflowing. However, people are at fault for being lazy pigs and not taking their garbage with them and throwing it away! Plus, there's the issue of throwing stuff in the public garbages that should be recycled! People need to look at the fiscal realities of littering. Taxes just went up....just think of the better uses there are for that 2-million dollars alloted to picking up your trash! Think about it.

Well, that's my rant for today. It looks like a great weekend ahead, I'm excited for it.

Oh, we heard some sad news today, but we're all confident it's going to be okay. Al Hollingsworth announced he has prostate cancer and he told us so that other men would go get a check-up! Al says they've caught it early enough that he's confident he's going to be okay. I think Bill Casey would agree - get it checked before it's too late! We love you, Uncle Al, good luck with the surgery in May and we can't wait until you're back on the air with us, eviserating the government with your good sense!!!

Have a great one and we'll chat with you on Monday. We'll have a couple of councillors in, so have your questions/concerns/rants ready!

Cheers,

Amber

Poor Spelling

I have to get this off my chest before I forget! Two crazy spelling errors yesterday that made me stop in my tracks.

The first was spotted at a restaurant near work. I was about to go in but was stopped in my tracks by this sign:

sorry we are out of olote of veggies

That's exactly how it was written! Then I was walking home and I saw at another restaurant:

Wednesday
Chicken Solvlaki

What is Solvlaki, exactly?

Anyway, it was just so funny/sad yesterday seeing these spelling errors at every turn. I misspell sometimes too...but who can't spell "a lot"?

Peter Duffy was in during hour number 2 today and he made an incredibly interesting point right at the very end. He thinks there may be a slight chance people are depending on the government too much for things. My generation is bombarded with saving for the future, getting RRSPs, investing, etc. Maybe seniors now are the last generation that weren't taught that? Peter says he knew he had to work hard and save and he's still working. Obviously there are going to be instances where people fall through the cracks, people who have been injured on the job, death, divorce, etc. But are there people who just lived recklessly, didn't save and now are crying for the government to help? Peter was wondering and I'm wondering that too. Are there people out there who don't think they are responsible for themselves? There's also a rule I'm living by - until I can afford it, I'm not having kids.

Budget drama continues at city hall. As Steve Streatch said to us today: "The rhetoric is so thick you can cut it with a knife". Ha. Apparently they're going to wrap it up today too with a tax increase. Let's just hope they got rid of that fog machine.

It is another stunning day! Rain on the way tonight and tomorrow though, so enjoy this! Paul Hollingsworth will be in the studio for our "media open hour" tomorrow at 10. Talk to you then!

Cheers!

Amber

Sad

It's just so frustrating and sad the way seniors are treated in this province. Agree with it or not, we had Evelyn Oakley on the show today and it was heartbreaking. She lost her husband on Monday, is having heart surgery this afternoon and because she's ailing, faces losing her bed at Northwood. Her attitude is awesome though, she says she's a "feisty, Irish lady" who's not going out without a fight.

Then after hearing about these ingrate prisoners complain about conditions it dawned on me:

PRISONERS ARE TREATED BETTER THAN SENIORS!

Unreal! This province (but admittedly it's not just N.S.) drives me nuts!

What is going on at the Burnside jail?? Seriously - everyone gets take-out? Prisoners are being transferred in taxis? I'm with Bill Estabrooks on this one - there are some serious issues relating to the leadership down there. Plus, where is Jermaine Carvery?? He's still missing and it's just a matter of time before he turns up again. There's going to be another heist where people's lives are ruined because I'm sure he needs money. Just wait - it's coming.

Another maddening day on the Hotline - give us a call tomorrow! Let it out, it feels good!

Take care,

Amber

Guttersnipe

From www.thefreedictionary.com:

gut·ter·snipe

n.
1. A street urchin.
2. A person of the lowest class.

From www.yourdictionary.com:

gutter·snipe (-snīp′)
noun
a child of the slums who spends most of his or her time in the streets: contemptuous term applied to anyone regarded as having the manners, morals, etc. of the gutter

From www.urbandictionary.com: (my personal favourite)

Gutter Snipe

A dirty, hairy homeless man who lives in alleys and survives on cats, banana peels and puddle water.

The war of words continues between Paul Watson, Danny Williams, and Loyola Hearn. Hmmm, not to be cynical but do you think Danny maybe called Paul Watson a "terrorist" to maybe change the headlines in the paper that are beating him up for this botched breast cancer test scandal in NFLD? Just asking.

I do think it's kind of funny that Farley Mowat is in on this debacle as well, throwing out the word "Guttersnipe" and paying the bonds for the crew in jail yesterday.

http://www.randomhouse.ca/author/results.pperl?authorid=21473

Today was really interesting. I'll go back to something I said last week. If you're against something, that's great - it's better for the show that way! However, I wish people would come at issues without resorting to personal attacks. Make an intelligent argument for yourself and people will probably concede on some level. Both sides in the seal debate come at each other with such incivility - why go personal? I want to come out and say I'm against the seal hunt but I can't. It's my own personal hatred of hypocrisy. I'm not a vegan or a vegetarian, so how can I be against the slaughter of seals and be for the slaughter of chickens?? It's speciesism, so I can't go there.

I heard something so sad today that made me forget this seal business for a while. Rick mentioned the food riots in Haiti and how some of the people were eating dirt cookies. That hit me like a tonne of bricks. We have so much food here!!! Even if you're poor, there are a lot more options than eating dirt. That gives you some perspective about the difference between poor people in Canada and poor people in Haiti.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2008/01/31/haitians_trick_empty_bellies_with_dirt_cookies/

It does suck that seals are being killed. But maybe we have to focus on the plight of fellow human beings once in a while too.

I feel guilty for breaking for lunch. This is why I love the Hotline; it gives me some much needed perspective from time to time.

Take care,

Amber

Eco Goons

Thanks to Grumpy Barry for the title today!

It was either going to be "Eco Goons" or "Black Ops". If you look at it from the government side, the Sea Sheperd Conservation Society are definitely goons. If you look at it from the Society's standpoint - this Black Ops, Tom Clancy style takedown that Rick talked about today was completely out of control. I'm going to have to agree with the Globe and Mail and Rick on this one - sub-machine guns? Black clad Mounties? The government is cool with the Coast Guard illegally boarding a foreign-registered ship in international waters, but hasn't said boo about the Coast Guard's botched tow job that killed 4 sealers? What's the priority besides Loyola Hearn's personal beef with Paul Watson? Can you believe Hearn's quote this morning "Welcome to the new Dodge. " This guy needs to get a grip. I can't wait for Question Period today!

So, thanks to caller Bernard for alerting us to changes to the government's Pharmacare plan. As of April 1st, there is no 30 dollars flat rate co-pay. As of April 1st, seniors have to pay 33% of the cost to a maximum of $382. It says right on the website that seniors are paying more and that's a shame. Here's a link to read more and there's also a FAQ for the changes that happened on April 1.

http://www.gov.ns.ca/health/pharmacare/info_ns/seniors_pharmacare/seniors_pharmacare.asp


Here's a link to Russell Wangersky's website. We had him in the studio during hour number 2 talking about his book "Burning Down the House" about his days as a volunteer firefighter. Riveting hour, let's hope his bad dreams start to abate soon.

http://www.russellwangersky.com/

Tomorrow, an hour about the seal hunt! Bridget Curran, an anti-sealing activist will be in taking your calls during hour number 2.

Cheers!

Amber

Where are you Captain Corky??

Apparently, Captain Corky had his own show on CJCH television.

We had a TONNE of calls about the golden age of TV, to kind of coincide with what CTV is doing on its supperhour newscasts this week, airing some old clips of some of the stars of yore. The best part about today was that I was able to speak with Jerbear and we had him on for a few minutes with Steve Murphy. If it's not clear - I HEART JERBEAR!!! He's so funny, gracious and awesome. Love him! That would be awesome if Rick could track down some Hello Metro clips. I haven't heard any either, I've just heard the premise of some of them and it's absolutely hysterical. One caller brought up Another World, which I didn't think was that big of a deal, but turns out Atlantic Canadians adored that soap opera! Steve Murphy said the day Another World was cancelled was the busiest day on the Hotline!!! Hilarious! It was a good soap opera though. I loved the villianous Carl!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_World_(TV_series)

Rick pointed out today that Calgary got 25 centimetres of snow yesterday and they didn't cancel school! I think Rick definitely has a point. It seems like 6 days cancelled this year is a little much. I lived in Calgary from the age of 4-9 and I remember really having to bundle up when I walked to school. In fact, it was so cold we had to put heat packs in our mittens and our boots to stay warm!

So, are you going to take a "Staycation" this year? Makes sense, with the price of gas. It also makes sense because sometimes you go on vacation and you're go, go, go and then you come back and you need a vacation from your vacation! I think I'm going to go to Ontario for a few days this summer and then spend the rest of the time chillin' on my deck, looking at some water, maybe enjoying a brew or 2. I'm happy with the weather we've had this week, it has been incredible.

Well, a rainy weekend ahead, but try to enjoy it anyway!

Cheers!

Amber

What is the matter with Nova Scotia?

Someone posed that question and I wish I had the answer.

But, if that little query was solved, we wouldn't have a show. So, let's just leave it alone!

That being said, any negativity about this Paul McCartney concert could really backfire on us! People were so happy about it yesterday and then today talking about boycotts and things? Unreal! Rick thinks it's great that everyone complains constantly (well, his job does depend on it), but I think sometimes we take it a little too far.

These personal attacks are a little much. If you're going to criticize someone, at least come at it intellectually. A couple of people called me off the air talking about Dawn Sloane, and the basis of their argument, to me, was that they don't like her because she's an opinionated woman. I know Dawn. She's a hard working, intelligent person and if you're going to dislike her, back it up with some rationale, a council decision, something. Going at it at such a base level is so disconcerting.

Back to Paul McCartney, has he commented on the seal hunt lately? He's a vegetarian, so obviously an animal lover. But, I don't remember him speaking out about the seal hunt lately. That kind of seemed like Heather Mills' issue and he was just supporting his wife. I'll try to google it and find out if he's still vehemently against it. I do know he was for the sealers receiving some sort of compensation if they did ban the seal hunt. He was pretty reasonable on Larry King that time, unlike his wife who appeared to be "difficult".

Totally off topic - the Masters starts today! Any chance Mike Weir can do it again or is it all Tiger? I love watching golf. There's something meditative about it, or as some would say "boring".

So, Curtis Sliwa is coming to town in early May to graduate some recruits, and the new Guardian Angels will be patrolling in the middle of May. Very interesting. We'll have to wait and see what kind of effect they're going to have. I really hope Curtis comes into the studio, that will be interesting!!!!

Anyway, that's it for me. Have a good day!

Amber

I'd like to be alive

That's what caller Ross said when requesting that Darrell Dexter bring down the government during this session of the House of Assembly. He says he's a senior and he's been waiting for years! As per usual, DD's response was measured and intelligent, but sometimes people just want to hear someone lose it, I know I do. Not just because it's great radio (because it is), but because it denotes some passion. I know DD is in the game for the right reasons, but he's so damn smart he could just tear the Premier apart. I know that's not his style, but it sure would be fun to hear!!!

Dr. Peter McKenna from UPEI certainly didn't hold back, did he. He railed against the governments of Atlantic Canada for being complicit in ruining people's lives by keeping VLTs around. He unleased some damning evidence on the show today about how there are no records of how many people might take their own lives because of addictions to VLTs and indicated in one province, they don't even ask the question even though it's required. It's far too damaging to governments. We actually heard from one caller who told DD 2 of his friends lives have been ruined by VLTs. It is extremely sad, and for those of us who aren't currently battling the addiction, hard to relate. But at the same time, we must know the addiction has to be intensely strong if people are losing their homes, etc. To me it's one of those things like smoking - we know it's dangerous, it kills, but the government continues to profit from it. Even if the government banned VLTs, the casinos are still open and gamblers could go there. We've got to be stronger than the traps the government sets for us. Cigarettes, junk food, gambling, alcohol - we know this things are dangerous, they aren't going to be banned anytime soon, so we have to empower ourselves. If we don't buy these things or partake, the government won't make any profit and maybe then they will be banned.

Everything's related to money - isn't it sad?

On a lighter note, I think this Paul McCartney concert is going to be AWESOME! Big thanks to Will for the tip!!! I can't wait to see who's going to open for him.

Well, it's a beautiful, sunny, spring day, which is something quite rare for Halifax. Enjoy it, as there's a little rain on the way for tomorrow.

Take care,

Amber

Two faces

Here's a picture of the 2-faced baby Rick was talking about today.

Here's the link to the story:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,337492,00.html

Bruce Devenne had a pretty good line when Rick told the story and then said "Hi, Bruce!" Bruce came back with "Talk about a born politician". Ha!

Hey, I wanted to give you the link to George Murphy's blog - I didn't know he had one!

It's: http://www.gasandoil.blogspot.com/ I was shaking my head listening to George say home heating oil is going to be MORE expensive next year! That's unreal, and scary for those who have had tonnes of issues this year keeping their homes warm.

Rick was getting a little frustrated today because everyone kept calling him "Rickster". It's one of my favourite nicknames for him, but I didn't start it - that credit goes to Ben from PEI who starts every call with the obligatory "Whoo-hoo", then follows it up with "Ricksteeeeeeeerr". So, blame Ben.

Will called up and he wants credit for breaking the story about Paul McCartney! Trust me, Will, Rick says you told him, he's giving you tonnes of credit. Full credit can't be gleaned though, unless it comes true! Let's hope it does, that will be an incredible concert for Atlantic Canada - thanks for the scoop, Will!

So, promoting 250 years of democracy costs 9-million dollars a year. Hmmm. Maybe we should promote 100 years of paved roads and put some money into fixing our bloody potholes. Just a thought.

Anyway, thanks for tuning in! Talk to you tomorrow!

Cheers,

Amber

A fresh breath of democracy and Bob Eubanks

Caller Ray told us today that apparently the Democracy 250 movement is handing out breathmints. Rick tried to find the correlation today, but couldn't. Maybe it's the bad taste left in our mouths after this public relations exercise ends and we're still left with a goverment that thinks sitting for 16 days every year is cool.

It was pretty shocking to hear about caller Tina's experience with getting stitches for her dog over the weekend...paying 600 dollars for a few stitches!! Yikes! Even more shocking was that Rick spent close to 6-thousand dollars keeping his dog alive. See, he's actually a softie!

How about everyone's favourite magician: Jermaine "Houdini" Carvery? He somehow gets out of his leg irons, gets out of handcuffs and disappears? Okay, so one guard gave chase, what was the other one doing?? There are so many questions that can't be answered with the head of corrections' explanation of "I'm baffled". Really, well maybe you need a new job. This guy terrorized people all across the country and if he needs money, he'll do it again, I'm sure he still has a few connections around the country. Now, the Justice Department has referred all media inquiries to Halifax Regional Police. I'm going to hazard a guess that they're not down with that particular decision! Someone messed up, let's let someone else deal with the aftermath.

Our tax hour was actually interesting!! I think the majority of people agree that tax dollars should be based on the services provided, but I don't think anyone wants to see someone who owns a mansion pay as much as someone who owns a mini-home. Maybe there can be some sort of differential, a flat rate for a home over 500-thousand dollars or something? I don't know, just thinking aloud.

Between my news and my weather at noon, Rick strolls in and says "Bob Eubanks is going to be calling on the private line". In turn, I started screaming my head off, because I'm a huge fan of Bob Eubanks!!! I used to watch him all the time, because when I was little I wanted to be a game show host, LOL. He used to host this show that no one saw called "Infatuation". It was on overnights and I had insomnia for a while when I was a teenager and I used to watch it. Bob's awesome and I can't believe I'm going to miss his extravaganza at the casino tonight. If you go, call us tomorrow and tell us how it went!! Bob freakin' Eubanks. That was so cool.

Anyway, Charles Cirtwell will be in tomorrow to talk about the school rankings in Nova Scotia, so hope you tune in!

Enjoy this spring-like weather - FINALLY!

Cheers!

Amber

Jim Connors' Obituary

CONNORS, James L., Q.C.CONNORS, James L., Q.C. - 52, Dartmouth.

Following a life of service and advocacy, Jim passed away at home with his immediate family with him on Thursday, April 3, 2008. He was the loving and attentive husband of Cathy (Cunningham) and the father of his treasured children, Paul, Lunenburg; Lauren, Dartmouth, and Patrick, Dartmouth. Born on December 8, 1955 in Dartmouth, he was the son of the late John Thomas Connors, Q.C. and Doris Elizabeth (Esson) Connors. He was the brother of Charlene Connors, Chilliwack; Nicole Connors and Camille Stokoe (Tim), Edmonton; Charles Connors (Melissa), Fort Saskatchewan. He is also loved and remembered by parents-in-law, Ron and Marg Cunningham, and sisters-in-law, JoAnn Cunningham (Gordon Page), Mary Barron, Carol Cunningham and Clare (Shawn) O'Brien, and nieces and nephews, Laura, Nigel, Kelsie, Andrew, Nicholas, Dennis, Sarah, Mitchell, Emma and Jack. A lifelong resident of Dartmouth, Jim was educated at Dartmouth High School, Memorial University of Newfoundland (BA '76), and the University of British Columbia, (LL.B '79). He was called to the Nova Scotia Bar in April 1980 and was named Queen's Counsel in 1997. His professional career was of one of leadership and integrity. He was, at the time of his passing, the Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Emera and had been the Vice President, Legal and External Affairs, Sempra. Prior to moving to the energy business, he had been a respected and admired Partner with Boyne Clarke. He had also served as a special constable with the RCMP in the Yukon and British Columbia during law school. During his legal career, he appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada, Federal Court of Canada, Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, Court Martial Appeal Board of Canada, National Energy Board, Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board, Nova Scotia Labour Board, along with other commissions and panels. His appearances before all such bodies were marked by thoroughness and well-prepared and thoughtful arguments. His successful appearance before the Supreme Court of Canada resulted in cameras being permitted in the Nova Scotia Legislature. His commitment to his fellow citizens is reflected in his extensive civic involvement to make our community a better place. Among these are: Alderman, City of Dartmouth 1985-91 (did not re offer); Commissioner, Dartmouth District School Board, 1985-1990, including a term as Chair. Other organizations with which he enjoyed a relationship include the Wee Care Child Care Centre, Chair of the Board; Dartmouth Whalers Minor Hockey Association, Registrar and Board member; Columbarium Business Plan Committee, Christ Church; Alderney Landing, Board member; Dartmouth North Community Centre, Honorary Trustee; Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party, President; Metro United Way, Vice President and Board Member; Dartmouth Senior Citizens Capital Campaign, Chair; Canadian Diabetes Association, Annual Campaign, Chair; the Christ Church Restoration Campaign, Chair; Habitat for Humanity - Halifax-Dartmouth as a founding Board Member; Dartmouth Heritage Museum, Board member, and Discovery Centre, Board Member. He provided his time and expertise to many other groups including court training for social workers, fundraising projects for other groups including Legal Aid and assisted REACH Nova Scotia's Volunteer Lawyer program for persons with disabilities. He spoke at conferences, events and at schools on topics ranging from employment law to drug testing. He continued to serve the law by regularly presenting in support of legal education from laws schools to high schools. More recently he was asked to serve on the national boards of the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada, the Cancer Advocacy Coalition of Canada and the Canadian Cancer Society-Nova Scotia Division. His focus with these groups was on helping others. He had been widely recognized with numerous awards for his insight, expertise, and charitable work all combined with a brilliant intellect and a quick wit and sense of humour. He enjoyed a special relationship with St. Nicholas during the Christmas holidays at Christ Church services for children. Jim was a keen supporter of hockey, soccer, baseball games and the musical pursuits of his children. He will be remembered by many as perhaps the most successful ice cream seller at the Highland Games in Halifax and in Antigonish, which he did in support of the Dartmouth and District Pipe and Drum Band. Jim was an avid and voracious reader and enjoyed camping and travel with family and friends. He conducted himself always with passion, compassion, commitment and humour. This great husband, father, and friend will be missed, and his life is an example for us to follow. Visitation will be in Christ Church Parish Hall, 21 Dundas St., Dartmouth, on Sunday, April 6, from 2-5 p.m. Services will be in Christ Church, Ochterloney and Wentworth Streets, Dartmouth, at 2 p.m., Monday, April 7, Archdeacon Paul Smith will officiate. Arrangements have been entrusted to Dartmouth Funeral Home. Jim's ashes will be interred at the Christ Church Columbarium immediately following the service with a reception to follow in the parish hall. In lieu of flowers, donations in Jim's memory can be made to Christ Church, Wee Care Developmental Centre or Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada. On-line condolences should be sent to: jimconnors@ns.sympatico.ca

For Jim

What incredibly sad news to wake up to today.

Jim Connors died yesterday after a long battle with colorectal cancer.

I didn't know Jim well, I just knew him as well as I know anyone who regularly comes on the Hotline. We had a rapport, he was a really nice man who was dealt a hand I'm sure he probably wasn't expecting.

I feel like he might have had a few epiphanies later in life, buoyed by his fight against the government and he came out hard against them. I don't know what his political affiliations were, but I'm convinced he was shocked when the government didn't listen to him and approve Avastin.

He could afford the drug himself, but he continually fought for others to have it, in order to have their own lives extended. He deserves a lot of credit for that. Mike Savage pointed this out today - most people aren't activists when they are healthy, let alone when they are dying and that's what kind of strength Jim Connors had. We spoke to him a few weeks back and he had just finished taking 3 trips with each of his kids, in my heart I knew he was close to the end.

I admired Jim, I prayed for him and I know he fought as hard as he could. To Jim's family: we are so sorry for your loss.

We'll miss you, Jim.

Thank you for all your appearances on our show and let's hope the government honours your memory by doing the right thing.

It's a little windy

Seriously. I was on the MacDonald bridge this morning and I was stopped in traffic and my car was blowing side to side because of the wind. It was nuts.

Another busy show today with lots of calls about this disturbing debit scam. One caller had an excellent suggestion, change your pin number! It sucks though, I really don't want to do that, but I guess it's better than being robbed! I checked my account this morning just to make sure no one was taking anything from me! We heard from two women today who were robbed, one of a thousand dollars, the other 500. It's a really sophistocated scam using Bluetooth technology, and I just hope police get these guys quickly!!!!

I have to agree with Rick today - Paul Watson crossed the line. He says the real tragedy is the baby seals dying and not the four sealers who died in the towing accident with the Coast Guard. What??? I'm not a huge supporter of the seal hunt, but these men weren't even sealing at the time, they thought they were in safe hands. They were being rescued!! It's a horrible tragedy, much, much worse than the seal hunt. I admired Paul Watson and his efforts to stop illegal shark and whale killings, but this was a little much. It's pretty shocking when I'm in agreement with Loyola Hearn on something.

So, the councillors were in during hour number 2 and man oh man, the poop is going down at city hall right now! I wish I could tell you what's up, but let's just say, jeez, I don't even know what to say. It's drama-licious, let's put it that way. Younger and Johns came out hard against the city staff, which I think is great! I mean, putting it on the taxpayer. Talk about phoning it in. Do you think the staffers hate the councillors and gave them an option that would make them unpopular with the voters?? I think that's what it's come to. I said it last week, this ferry thing is so much bigger than a fast boat. The drama is going to hit the fan on Tuesday. I think I'll follow suit with caller David, have a beer in my hand and I'll sit back and giggle. When you think about it though, it's actually not funny at all that these councillors are fighting so badly between each other and the staff. These people are controlling our tax money, God help us all.

Well, don't blow away today!

Cheers,

Amber

Dude, we're tapped out

You know what's a day ruiner? Nearly getting hit by a car as you're enjoying a walk to work on a spring morning. I drive too, I get impatient, but jeez, people need to slow down and just chill, especially when they see a pedestrian. Speeding to try and get past them on a side street is just so stupid, so thanks for nearly hitting me, lady in the silver Volkswagen!!!!

Luckily, the day started to look up when I got to work and was extremely busy fielding all sorts of calls today. We had a great call from a lady named Frances who was armed with tonnes of stats on the police service suggested we may have too many police officers in Halifax. It's an argument I've never heard, but it's interesting! Rick got an e-mail suggesting Frances does more research than most city councillors. Ha!

Very interesting at council last night. A tax hike! Yikes. You know it's a serious situation if they're looking at a tax hike in an election year. I kind of just want them to start from scratch. Gloria McCluskey has been calling for an audit of every department for years. It just seems like nothing's ever cut, we just have to always pay more. You know what would come in handy right now? The millions of dollars we let go to the Commonwealth Games Bid Committee. That would eliminate the snow removal debt and give us a little something else to play with. But, hindsight's 20/20 right?

So, the Mayor broke some news yesterday. He says Nova Scotia Power is applying for a 13.8% rate hike! Unbelievable!! Of course, Nova Scotia Power denies it. Well, the proof will be in the UARB application, which Margaret Murphy says they are in the process of filling out for "future hikes". I honestly don't know how people who make minimum wage get by, life is so incredibly expensive just getting the basics, let alone the luxuries. That's why Joan Alexander spent this winter in the cold, along with many others who couldn't afford to heat their homes this year. Yet, we're potentially looking at another increase. Again, streamline your operation, show us you're making cuts too and then ask the taxpayers to pitch in. I don't mind paying more if the service levels go up or there is a superior product to pay for (like Natural gas!), but the taxpayers' trough is dry! We're tapped out, seriously.

Well, enough tax talk. We'll get our fill tomorrow when Rick has a couple of councillors in during the second hour tomorrow.

Enjoy this beautiful day!

Amber

HRM - Problem Capital of Canada!

Seriously, does any other city have our many issues? Maybe my opinion is skewed as I hear complaint after complaint during the Hotline. You have no idea - you hear what gets on the air, you have no idea what people say to me off the air. It's a complaint bonanza, sometimes they just start firing and hang up and I haven't said a word!!! Others want me to pass stuff on to Rick and I try to pass on as much as I can that's topical, but honestly, I get at least 10 calls a day from people who don't want to go on, they just want me to pass on the comment. I've also been getting calls lately from a drunk guy, which is, ummm...interesting. I have to kind of filter it for Rick, so it's not information overload. You have to remember too, Rick and I have essentially 4 minutes to talk during the hour, so I've really got to prioritize what I tell him. Anyway, just a little sneak peek into my fascinating life as Hotline producer. Ha!

You might have heard Rick rant against one of our engineers today. Here is what started it all, an April Fool's prank from Will at Halifax Live.

http://www.halifaxlive.com/content/view/1032/2/

Caller Don was talking to Rick about it and Kenny was sitting beside me doing something with the computer. I asked Kenny if he would vote for Rick and he was like, "Uh, no", so I started laughing and Rick asked me what I was laughing at. I told him Kenny wouldn't vote for him and then Rick said he was sending his storm troopers after Kenny, it was very funny as I think Rick may have convinced 6 people to vote for him today! Caller Dave was especially rough on the Rickster, calling him "Mike Duffy" in his treatment of Peter Kelly. Ouch! That stung, since Mike Duffy is not on Rick's list of favourite people, let's put it that way. He also kept referring to him as a lazy hippie.

So, will you go the Eagles concert? That's a great line-up they've put together, that's for sure. Tickets are over a hundred bucks, which is kind of expected. I'm not going. I'm not a huge fan of being in large groups of annoying people, baking in the sun all day drinking 8 dollar gross beer. What I will go see is Elton John if he comes to the Metro Centre. I love Elton John, I really hope the rumours are true (and we hear from excellent sources that they are).

Ernie brought up the issue of a pizza joint charging 1.25 if you get cash back. I'm so surprised places like Sobey's and the Superstore haven't started charging a fee. I'm surprised the banks haven't pressured them to as it's one of the last vestiges to get "free" money. I mean, it's free if you use your own bank machine, but if you're at the grocery store, you can get 20, 40 bucks out for free. It's almost too good to be true, which means it will probably soon come to an end.

Hey, if you want help quitting smoking, here are a couple of numbers for you. 1-877-513-5333 or 424-2025. Good luck!

Well, it's above 0 today, but I could do without the rain. Oh well, we'll survive, right?

Have a great day!

Amber

Happy Birthday, Bruce!

I forgot to write about it earlier, but it's Bruce Devenne's 62nd birthday today!

Have a good one, Bruce!!!

No cell, no cigs

Good afternoon!

We had a busy day today, I always like to start Mondays on the right note. This fast ferry business at council is about so much more than a fast boat. You see the council divided very clearly between the pro-Kelly faction and the anti-Kelly faction. Tomorrow night's meeting is going to be a gong show, bet on it. It was hilarious today as we had an interview with Debbie Hum who had called last week wanting to get on, and today Hendsbee and Linda Mosher both tried to get on! I wonder if this is the way it's going to be until October!!! Hey, makes my job easier, not having to track people down. Keep it coming, councillors!!!

Okay, I have to do something rarely seen in this blog. I have to give kudos to the Rodney MacDonald government. They're freezing university tuition for 3 years and startinga bursary program that will help both Nova Scotian and out of province students. Great job, seriously. It's so desperately needed and appreciated. Well done!

That was weird.

Anyway, a caller took issue with Dave McCusker today about the lack of bus service in the Lawrencetown area. Then a woman off the air told me they had petitions signed for a bus and everything. She says people are "marooned" out there. I don't know....I mean, if you're outside of the city you can't really expect to have all the services of the city, that's just reality. I kind of agree with D.M. who said the houses are spaced so far away, it would be a very odd route and he's just not sure of the ridership. I know I couldn't move outside of the peninsula before I had my car because I knew I wouldn't be able to get to work. Now that I have a car I still don't want to live outside of the area because I don't want to drive everywhere, I do take the bus when I need to get downtown etc. Anyway, if you want city services, it's easy, move into the city!!

It seems as though Earth hour was a success on Saturday night. Rick says NS Power says 150-thousand light bulbs were turned off, so if people have 10 in their homes, that's 15-thousand homes. That's not bad! Did the read the story in the paper about Calgary? Their energy grid actually went UP during Earth hour and they're blaming the Calgary-Edmonton hockey game! I know a couple of people who were vehemently against Earth Hour citing the fact it seems citizens are the ones who are making the sacrifices and doing everything, when industry needs to come to the table and start doing things. If business started being a little more "green", that would make a hell of lot more difference than just shutting off the lights for one hour.

The federal Liberals are in so much trouble. Rick pointed out a new poll today that puts them in 4th place behind the NDP in Quebec!!! Yikes!! I wish Dion would pick up a paper and resign! They can't wait until the next election, it's going to be a total and complete disaster, a la Kim Campbell's PCs winning a whopping 2 seats. You better believe I'm going to be tuning into QP today to see Bob Rae. A woman made a comment kind of castigating me for liking Bob Rae. Well, when he was Premier of Ontario, I was 8, so I didn't directly feel the influence of his government. I definitely think he got a bad rap though, I mean, he inherited a lot of problems from the previous government. Ah, the famous line of all new Premiers when they can't uphold their election promises - blame the past governments, works every time!

Well, I had a great weekend. I went to White Point for the first time, it's so great there! It was so nice getting out of the city and closer to the ocean.

Have a wonderful day and get your calls ready for Health Promotion Minister Barry Barnet tomorrow!

Cheers,

Amber

The pink dinosaur

That's apparently a nickname someone gave Stephen Kimber once after reading one of his columns! Ha! Another e-mailer to Rick called him a left-wing yanger. Whatever you say about Kimber, you can't deny he is an incredible writer and a top notch journalist. This Friday media hour is great, I think the guests we've had so far have been great. Someone called today and told us they missed the Rodenhiser though. We miss him too!! Now I want Rodenhiser back so we can play the song over and over again, if only to bug Roger Taylor!

Well, it sure was good of Councillor Hendsbee to call up and remind us that on April 4th Martin Luther King Jr. was viciously asassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. And it's sure coincidental that all these spending projects are coming up now at a dizzying rate. Hmmm....are there elections around the corner??

Call me cynical, but c'mon! We're not stupid!! The election is coming up and now all of a sudden all three levels of government are best friends and announcing things left, right and centre? So what? We'll forget that there hasn't been a provincial legislature sitting since December and that the last one lasted all of 16 days?? So we'll forget that council dithers and dathers and can't make a decision to save its life? So we forget the feds always ignore Atlantic Canada because we have a culture of defeat? I'm incredibly glad things are moving forward, but why were they at a standstill before it was an election year?

I'm glad to hear Rick Bennett and his daughter have a little bit of peace. His daughter was the one tortured by 18-year old Brittany MacNeil, who has been sent to prison for almost 6 years. It's bad enough for the families having to deal with stuff like that, but then when your name gets out into the public domain and everyone knows your business, that's got to be hard to deal with. I hope Kathie Lee can put it behind her and move on. Her dad says she has a hard time going anywhere by herself and has some trust issues. That's understandable, don't you think??

Do you think the drug war has flared up again? I mean, there have been quite a few incidents of shots being fired in HRM over the past couple of weeks and a few incidents of people actually being shot. Police have said all of them were drug related. Let's hope police are trying to crack these cases from the lowest levels, ie drug charges. You can lock up the shooter, there will always be another one moving up the ranks. Oh, I wanted to wish Chief Frank Beazley a speedy recovery. Apparently he had a fall and is in a lot of pain and off work right now. Feel better, Chief!

You know who is a funny guy? Chris Mills. I love the little jokes he makes at the end of his newscast, today's at 10 o' clock was very funny, poked a little fun at the lack of technological advances at CJCH. A couple of people have called this week wondering when Philly is coming back, well, as far as we know he continues to recuperate and hopefully he'll be back soon! I saw him a couple of weeks ago, he popped in for a few minutes. He's actually taller because of his new knees!! It's pretty funny.

Well, time for me to jet. Thanks for the calls today!

Have a great weekend,

Amber

Ferry or bus?

Well, it's certainly been an exciting week, project wise. We've heard potential plans for a new bridge or tunnel, the fast ferry and a new convention centre. Wait, is there an election coming?

I think the bridge idea is, interesting. I heard Steve Snider on the show yesterday, I tuned in for a little bit while I was dying at home. I don't really think he answered the question really about what's going to happen to the cars when they get off this new bridge. I know he talked about his models and such, but do you think the Bridge Commission is just trying to stay relevant? Couldn't the city just as easily sell MacPasses to commuters? We have all this bureaucracy in this city, that if you cut back, would free up so much money!!

I've said it before, but I believe more Metro Link buses are the way to ease the traffic congestion. I think the fast ferry is a really neat idea, but buses are a little more practical, right? The Link buses have proven ridership, it may be good to get them throughout the city and go from there.

Anyway, I cringed today every time Rick talked about the guy who squeezed the baby. So disgusting. What did he think? Breaking the baby's ribs would make it cry less?? That's the brain cells of the moron we're dealing with. So sad.

Well, I have a backlog of stories to write here, so I'll keep it short. Thanks for the well-wishes to get better yesterday! They seemed to have worked because I feel alive again!

Have a great day!

Amber

Bernie's world

We got a sneak peek into Bernie's world today during the second hour of the show. It's a world we don't see often - a world with vision, determination and new, fresh ideas. Bernie Smith for President of the World!

Sorry for the lack of blog yesterday, I was sick! In fact, I was sick from Thursday night and still am, but I have regained my will to live. (Sorry, just wanted to make Rick roll his eyes there!) It was a memorable long weekend, but for all the wrong reasons. This strain of cold that's going around is just deadly.

Anyway, a couple of busy days to catch up on. Kudos to Bill Casey for his fight to help Brenda Martin. You know, we talk about politicians in Canada being corrupt, but then you've got to give thanks for what we have here when putting into the context of Mexico. It turns out Brenda Martin is being held as collateral until a couple of officials in Mexico get paid off. Sickening! Here is the address to mail the Ambassador to Mexico:


His Excellency Emilio Rafael José Goicoechea Luna
Ambassador, Embassy of Mexico
45 O'Connor Street, Suite 1000
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1A4

Good luck - if you hear back, let us know!

These child arsonists are kind of disturbing!! Honestly, parents should have to pay for their child's damage! I just can't believe that a 10 year old hasn't been taught about fire safety? Even if they aren't taught by the parents, don't they have those videos in school that teach you about fire, water and electrical safety? To all adults out there of procreating ability - if you don't want to raise a child, use protection! It's that easy! These kids don't ask to be born, you could as least pretend to care about raising them and not turning them into criminals. I mean, there was a 7 year old involved! 7! He probably can't read, but he knows how to burn down campers. Great work, guys.

Now to the other ridiculous story of the day - a new bridge? Yikes! We can't even afford to plow snow anymore, but somehow we're going to finance a new bridge from Woodside to the South End? Hendsbee says if it were built it would be the 7th longest bridge in the world, that's how far the span is. I agree with Blair and Bernie Smith who say we need to do what we HAVE to do first, then go for the extras. There aren't even lines on the roads, and they want to dump millions into a new bridge? We'll ask Steve Snider this tomorrow, but I swear he said the last time he was here that the debt on the new bridge will never be paid off! I forget who mentioned it, but doesn't it seem like council busies themselves with these pie in the sky ideas while totally ignoring the real needs of the community? Maybe it's the media that only focuses on these huge ideas, while ignoring the real issues? I'm just interested in hearing council's reaction to this bridge idea tomorrow. I just think it would be crazy for a town that pleads poverty at every opportunity to get behind something of this magnitude.

What's up with Jim Flaherty? God, don't tick off a federal Conservative...unless you want them on you like white on rice. Flaherty had the temerity to hold a news conference yesterday outlining what he wants to see in the Ontario budget coming down today!! Dalton McGuinty is totally stuck in his craw and it's just so typical for the feds to be so petty. The feds continually prove to us who they really are. But in the next election - will we remember?

Anyway, I'm going to keep drinking tonnes of fluids and overdosing on cough drops.

Have a good one!

Amber

Spring Awakening

Hmmm. First day of spring. Mother Nature certainly has a sadistic sense of humour, doesn't she?

You know what I hope for spring? I hope they start painting bloody lines on the road!!! At night when it's raining, I can't see the lines to save my life. We've complained about the potholes all winter, now this spring and summer is going to be roadwork central!! Oh well, gas will probably be so expensive we won't be able to afford gas anyway!

Great show today, but not going to lie, I'm really looking forward to the long weekend. You know, it's that stretch between Christmas and New Year's where there are no holidays (Thanks, Rodney). The winter starts to really drag, so this weekend is hopefully going to be peaceful and relaxing. As for the bars being open on Good Friday, that doesn't bother me. Rick and I got into another heated discussion about that topic during one of the breaks. It's the same as Sunday shopping for me. Bars and stores don't have to open on Sundays, but they should have the choice and now bars do - end of story.

Good hour with Peter Stoffer and Mike Savage during hour 2. One caller phoned to tell Peter he should switch parties where he could easily become leader of the Liberals! Ha! I think the fact Bob Rae got elected is great, I'm a huge Bob Rae fan (and lived in Ontario when he was Premier!) He and Michael Ignatieff seem to have this ongoing feud, so it's going to be very interesting! Apparently Dion doesn't have a leadership review for a while, so he's lucky in that regard...and it seems in that regard only. I mean, I want Harper out of office too, but I don't think Dion has what it takes to be Prime Minister.

Well, call me crazy but it looks like the sky is brightening, maybe this storm will end earlier than expected? Let's pray for some spring type weather for this weekend!

Oh, some backstage drama about Roger Taylor from yesterday's show. He told us he didn't like the Rodenhiser song!! Can you believe that? Are there others that didn't love the best song ever? Rick and I used to play that 4 times an hour when Rodenhiser was on because it amused us all so much - we thought everyone liked it. It was a shock to hear it was unloved by someone else - I am really questioning Roger Taylor's judgement now!! Speaking of the Rodenhiser, I miss him on Fridays - hope you're well, Dave!

So, we're off tomorrow, but back on Monday. Hope to chat with you then!

Happy Easter,

Amber

Brown eyes, blue eyes

Wow.

Jane Elliott blew me away today. Talk about dynamic, focused, intense! Here is her website, I can't find where you can watch the clips, but I'd try www.youtube.com.

http://janeelliott.com/index.htm

Here's a page from Oprah's website on the exercise they conducted:

http://www.oprah.com/presents/2005/20anniv/oprah/oprah_moments_284_106.jhtml

We got a couple of calls off the air too with people tell me how much they enjoyed listening to her speak. It was thought-provoking and incredibly interesting, I'm definitely going to pass on the website to my teacher friends and get their thoughts on it. It's so true - we judge all the time, but you really don't have any idea what someone goes through unless you've walked in their shoes. Plus, I agree, you have to be taught to be racist and what an interesting point - there is such a difference between "growing up" and "growing older". Even if you're 60, it doesn't necessarily mean you're mature!

Lots of news coming out of council last night. I'm really shocked about this O' Connell drive business. I cannot believe the residents have to pay! It's like a Kafka-esque nightmare for these people. I hope they keep fighting, because this is not right! See, it continues, politicians seemingly taking care of their own.

Council also got a look at a proposed new taxation system which seems a little wonky to me. Taxes should absolutely be based on how much your house is worth. If your house costs a million dollars, you should have to pay a little more than someone that owns a mini home. Honestly, I don't get the taxation system out here. In Ontario, the tax rate is based on the value of your home, but they've passed legislation that makes it market value, not these crazy out there provincial assessments that don't seem to recognize the actual market, saleable value of your home. Plus, Ontario uses property taxes to fund education. You have to pick your school board, public or Catholic. I agree that Rick shouldn't have to pay for water and sidewalks, but at the same time I think it's crazy that there are places that don't have city water and sidewalks!! That's why amalgamation is crazy and we need to get out of it. The Councillors say we can't do that though, so we're stuck with it. It's hard to create a level playing field when there's not a common standard of living.

Don Mills and I agree on something! I've said it before, we need fewer councillors. Absolutely nothing can get done now with the amount we have. Cut it in half, raise the salary, make it a full-time job. It must happen.

Well, get ready for a horrible day tomorrow! It looks treacherous with ice pellets overnight and freezing rain tomorrow morning! Should make for an interesting walk to work...

Enjoy the sunshine...and I'll chat with you tomorrow...

Amber

The party ended too early.

So, the Commonwealth Games Committee had about a million dollars left in the pot. No wonder they were embittered about the par-tay coming to an end. A great hour with Tim Bousquet from The Coast during hour number 2. A good discussion, but frustrating at the same time when you think there may be no recourse to punish these people for Commonwealth Party Time 2014. Parker was on to something today - what is it with people when they start having access to the public purse? Why does it always have to be abused? It's disgusting, it really is. Gloria McCluskey says there's a chance someone is going to recommend it go before the city's audit committee. What that might do is anyone's guess, but at least it's something, right? Gloria says she's disturbed by the fact there were city reps there who seemingly stood by and watched this go on. We need the public accounts committee on this!! Some of the media outlets that you would have thought would have jumped on this haven't, politicains aren't speaking out like I thought they would - why? Because it's a game of you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours and people are afraid to anger people because everyone has something on everyone. It's sick. If you want to watch a show that deals very realistically with society including politics, police, drugs etc, you've got to watch The Wire on HBO. It is the best show in the history of television - I promise you! (Sopranos - 2nd best!)

What the heck is going on with this wind? It's out of control! I had to get gas this morning and it was bad enough as I was getting barely anything for the spiralling out of control monetary figure on the pump, but almost being blown away was the cherry on top, that's for sure.

Rick and I disagree slightly on Robert Latimer and if he should have served jail time for what he did, but we agree on something now - he needs to go away. He says he wants a trial to be vindicated by his peers. Um, he already had one and he was found guilty. It's over, you lost every appeal, just serve your day parole and go back to Saskatchewan. I wrote in this blog I didn't think he was going to become an advocate for assisted suicide, but I guess I was wrong.

Well, I'm going to write up this Gloria McCluskey story for my C100 news this afternoon.

Stay warm and on the ground!

Cheers,

Amber

Getting to the bottom of things.

Do you think the people who seemingly recklessly spent our money around the world will ever be punished? Do you think they'll lose their jobs?



Nah, I didn't either.



I thought politicians would be outraged by this and would be speaking out. They're not. I think it's because they've all been guilty at one time or another of using public money for travelling etc. and maybe think it's hypocritical to speak out now. It makes me really sad. You can't trust anyone, that's the bottom line and they've further undermined how we look at people who have access to the public purse. It was already a bleak outlook and now it's worse. Thanks, guys!



More on this with Tim Bousquet on Tuesday, I am looking forward to it, but dreading it at the same time. No matter what we say and how much we hate what happened, the people who spent the money aren't elected officials and so they're untouchable. Sad, but freakin' true.



Anyway....we had a great debate today about health care with 2 very game participants. Even though Charles Cirtwell of AIMS had the flu he still came out firing! Kyle Buott held his ground very well though, I thought it was an interesting, entertaining debate.



We had another guest in for the last half hour of the show - Liberal leader Stephen MacNeil. Sounds like he is anxious to start putting some new ideas forward, says he doesn't want an election, but has all the players in place. I think the key to determining if there's an election before an actual budget vote will be to monitor the facial hair of the leaders. If we see the Premier grow a beard and then shave it - we know the government is going to fall because he's probably looking for a few more points!



If you wanted more information on the group examining Canada's place in the world, here's the website: http://www.canadasworld.ca/



Here's Bruce Devenne's hospital website: http://www.nshospitals.com/

Tim Bousquet

Rick gave him a Hotline round of applause and I have to echo that tenfold. Yes, Yes, Yes! Thank you, Tim Bousquet! I read the article yesterday and felt physically ill. Tim will be here with us on Tuesday, and although I love sinking my teeth into a news issue, this is seriously out of control! The allegations in this article are damning and I agree with Rick - heads have to roll over this. March break is over next week, you can rest assured a lot of politicians are going to want to have a save over this. I feel so disgusted, cheated and furious over the money spent. It's called excess, it's called greed, it's called karma and it better come back and bite these people you know where. I'm nominating Tim Bousquet for Hotline Nova Scotian of the year for his dogged reporting on this issue. The gravy train needs to stop and it needs to stop NOW.

I'm also with Rick on this Michelin issue. Caller Don clearly stated Everett Smith had a case today. First the judge is making Smith pay 300-thosuand dollars in legal fees? Rick's so right - if Michelin does pursue this and tries to take his house or something, it's going to be like Robin Hood. It will start with the Hotline, phone assaults, boycotts, you name it, it will be on.

I'm in awe of Al Hollingsworth. He came out firing today (you should have heard him off the air!!!) and it was amazing. Shooting from the hip, no nonsense, straight goods from Uncle Al. I love this "media hour" every Friday. People who share their opinions, well at least most of them have shared their opinions, I'm thinking of one notable exception....
Having Al host the Summer Hotline would be incredible, I really hope that happens! Al gave us a great snippet today...apparently John Baird is loathed in his home riding of Ottawa-West-Nepean.

Will brought up something very interesting - the changes at the Herald. Since the Daily News folded, I find it unreadable. It's so dull, filled with piped-in news. The Metro is breaking more stories than the Chronicle-Herald! It sucks! I miss the Daily News so much, miss Rodenhiser, HFX, Martello Tower etc. It was a great little newspaper and now we're stuck with the Chronically-Horrid. Now I'm using that term because it's true.

Anyway, got some stuff to do here so I'm going to wrap it up. Tune in Monday, we're not going to let this Commonwealth Games thing die. The funny part was, Rick was trying to get Don Mills to come in and talk about Citizens for Halifax next week. I guess that's not going to happen anymore!

Cheers,

Amber

My wacky thoughts

Apparently Rick thinks some of my thoughts in the blog are "wacky". Well, okay. This is a man who drank some bottled water on the air and then pretended he had overdosed on estrogen and started speaking in a female voice. So, yes, if Rick labels it "wacky", he definitely knows what he's talking about!

I'm disappointed we only had Scott Taylor in for about 25 minutes. He's incredibly facscinating, knowledgeable and has gone to Afghanistan and Iraq - unembedded. He didn't do the sleeping with the miltary, rolling up the rim with Tim Hortons. He had to attire himself in cultural dress and he carried a machine gun. That is Scott Taylor. If you're interested, he'll be speaking at the Dal Law School Library tonight @ 7:30. I love how he calls Rick Hillier, "The Big Cod". Great nickname. The cost of this war is still boggling my mind - 7.5 billion dollars since 2002. Unreal.

I don't know about you, but Joyce Carter blew my mind today. Her strength, her class...when she said she couldn't make the trip to Ottawa, not going to lie, I cried. How can Stephen Harper look at himself in the mirror? It's one thing if he didn't promise, but he did! He promised! He looked her right in the eye as Prime Minister and promised!

If you want to e-mail the Prime Minister, here's his contact info direct from the web site:


Contact the PM

The Prime Minister appreciates receiving comments from visitors to his site. Simply choose one of the options below. Your views will be carefully considered, and when appropriate your comments may also be forwarded to a minister.

You can send your comments by e-mail to pm@pm.gc.ca or write or fax the Prime Minister’s office at:Office of the Prime Minister80 Wellington StreetOttawaK1A 0A2Fax: 613-941-6900

See, he appreciates your comments! He doesn't listen to you, but he sure does appreciate them. Ah, thanks Steve!

(insert gagging sound here)

All right...enough wackiness from me!

Enjoy your day!

Amber

The Atlantica Party

Very interesting...check out this link someone just sent me:

http://www.atlanticaparty.ca/index.html

Hmmmm....what do you think? Maybe Rick will try go get one of the members on the show this week.

That's one of a couple of things that might spark some debate tomorrow. Another is the government decision to pay a million dollars to a private company to use its facility to do orthopedic surgeries. The Nova Scotia Nurses Union has come out hard against it, so tomorrow should be pretty interesting!

What's in our drinking water, kind of scary to think about it isn't it!! Someone called off the air and wanted to know Helen's credentials. Good question! She's incredibly knowledgable yes, but is she a scientist? I'm going to google her right now and see what I can find. Well, I'm back and apparently Helen has a Masters in Science and a Doctorate in Education. So, there you go, informed, intelligent with the degrees to back it up! I completely agree with her though - how can the Halifax Water Commission say there aren't dangerous levels of pharmaceuticals in the water when they've never tested them? I told Rick it must be a money issue. The Water Commission can't even afford to replace ancient dying pipes in the ground, let along start a new pharaceutical testing program. So, it looks like we're just going to have to swallow what they're giving us, for now anyway.

Chickens. I thought 2008 was supposed to be the year of the rat, not the bloody chicken! Another chicken caper, this one in Upper Tantallon. This city is so backwards sometimes, it drives me nuts.

Ben called off the air today, he didn't want to get on, but wanted to gloat because apparently there's an article in the Guardian today about Bon Jovi coming to Charlottetown this summer. He also told me he doesn't want to be called Ben anymore, he wants to be called "Loverboy"! Ha!! Ben rules.

Jerbear called in with a good one today too - what do you get when you spell "evian" backwards? Exactly!! Always a pleasure to talk to Jerbear!

So, the mission in Afghanistan has cost 7.5 billion dollars? Maybe we should look at the debt in the U.S. and take a sober second look at this.

Great cartoon from Bruce MacKinnon in the Chronicle-Herald today! All the major late night shows were on it last night too, it was hilarious. These are from people.com:

• Stephen Colbert remained deadpan on his Comedy Central Colbert Report, saying of Spitzer, "I sat next to the guy three times and I didn't pick up on any of this, and I usually have excellent whore-dar."

• "They're talking about impeaching Eliot Spitzer if he doesn't step down," said Late Show's David Letterman, "and I'm thinking, 'Whoa, a Democrat being impeached for extramarital sex. Well, happy days are here again!' "

• Spitzer, who was accused of being Client 9 for the call-girl ring, was even topic one with Late Night host Conan O'Brien, who joked, "Not surprisingly, clients 1 through 8 were Charlie Sheen."

• Finally, The View co-host Joy Behar opined, "Aren't you sick of men? Viagra is destroying our government."

On that note, I will chat with you tomorrow!

Cheers,

Amber

Why even bother?

Let me just point out this blog might be slightly embittered today because despite the brilliant sunshine I started my day off by seeing a man barfing on the street, then spitting a few times and then lighting up a cigarette.

I am totally disgusted by this Eliot Spitzer thing. I was a big fan of this guy, Mr. Clean, who took on things people didn't take on, like the Mafia!! He seemed too good to be true - and he was. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by this scandals. There was the prodigy mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick. A man of faith and ideals, who lied about having an affair with his Chief of Staff. They hyopocrisy of these people is just gross. Who can you trust?

Well, one person I do trust (and I pray he doesn't let me down) is Bill Casey. He popped in our studio today to ask for Rick's help in trying to reverse this asinine decision to do maintenance on the subs in Victoria! It's so true what they were saying, I wouldn't drive to Windsor, Ontario for an oil change! We'll do what we can Bill, we're so with you on this one. Oh, Bill says he's doing well health wise and I can report he looked great, very healthy.

As for Spitzer's wife, I got a couple of calls from people off air wondering why the hell she would have stood there with him as he made this "apology" to the people. I was wondering the same thing myself. I don't know if you ever watched "The Sopranos", but it's a wicked show! Anyway, it kind of reminded me of Carmela Soprano. Tony did horrendous things, but despite that she stuck around. There was love there. You can love someone even if they do terrible things, no matter how crazy we might think it is. Another important aspect is to always have your own money. If you're not dependent on someone financially, it's easier to leave when someone mistreats you. I'm not sure what his wife does, but hopefully she's doing what's best for her.

The Chief was in during hour number 2 and it really does seem like crime is down. I like this strategy to be right on top, surveillance wise, of repeat offenders. Good job! The Chief did throw out some crazy stats, for example, the Traffic Unit is on track to hand out over 50-thousand tickets this year, that's a new record. He says about half of them are speeding tickets! I agree that we need photo radar, the thing I don't agree with is red light cameras. I've talked about it before. There are barely any advance greens for left hand turns in this province, sometimes in order to get through a major intersection you've got to go on the yellow or red!! That's a lot of idling if people have to wait for 3 or 4 lights, not to mention the traffic back-up on a street where there are not even dedicated left hand turning lanes.

Totally random: I learned something kind of interesting from the Chief during one of the commercial breaks today. He had mentioned how there were a lot of rifles on the street and most of them were "sawed-off". I have always heard the term "sawed-off shotgun", but was never clear on why people sawed them off. Well, turns out it's for concealment purposes. Rick though it might have made for a more emphatic shot or something, but no, it's just so criminals can hide their guns when they're toting them around on the street. Good to know.

Man, I can always count on Ben to lift my spirits. His animal-esque wail, while disturbing, was also hilarious! Ben's singing leaves a little to be desired, but he's just so funny. Thanks for the laughs, Ben, keep 'em coming.

Anyway...I think I need to Roll up the Rim, still feeling the effects of the time change!

Have a good one and we'll chat with you tomorrow!

Cheers,

Amber