That was one caller's opinions of the striking workers at the IWK. What do you think? Take our poll today and let us know! Despite Bert's call, we had a lot of callers supporting the workers too. Sadly, Joan Jessome had to cancel her appearance on the show and didn't call us back during the 12 o' clock hour.
After Rick talked to Ray, I tried to find the C-E-O salary for both hospitals, but I could only find the Q-E 2. Their top person can make between 270-thousand and 350-thousand dollars a year! Wow! As Rick said, sometimes people take a C-E-O's salary with the grain of salt, but fly into a uproar when a union is asking for something like 3 per cent a year. Let's hope there's a resolution soon for this strike, the first one since 1981.
Rick Clarke, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour was in, talking about the strike, but also what happened on Saturday. It was the Day of Mourning for workers hurt or killed on the job in Nova Scotia. Rick brought with him some staggering statistics and 22 workers will killed on the job last year alone! I think that is outrageous and unbelievably sad.
Caller Dennis brought up the crosswalk issue again with some great ideas. He wants the city to paint LOOK before a crosswalk and two lines, one about 20 feet it front of it, and the other right at the crosswalk. It makes sense to me! Especially since I was nearly mowed down on Friday and today by two drivers talking on their cell phones! Thanks guys! Dennis suggested something else too. Red light cameras at intersections. I think the drivers of Halifax would probably protest since I see a staggering amount of drivers completely disregard red lights in this city. They would be impoverished!!! Dennis wants there to be free parking downtown, and have that income substituted with the income from these cameras. It's a cutting edge idea, so it won't go anywhere. But thanks for the call and the suggestion though Dennis! I agree - Dennis for Supreme Leader! At least he won't have to go head to head with Rick, who is holding out for "President of the World".
Did you like the Ant vs. Grasshopper story? The Canadian version of it Rick read on the air today was classic. I lost it when he mentioned Roy Romanow....that was so clever.
Since the weather sucks this week, it's a great time to sit back, listen to the Rickster and give us a call! Hope to chat with you tomorrow! Dave Rodenhiser is in, so basically it's an all open show. I was really hoping to gloat about correctly predicting the winner of the Nova Scotia Liberal leadership, but sadly, I cannot.
Until tomorrow,
Amber
Monday, April 30, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
Eating cheesies on the couch!!!!
That's what caller Scott accused AJ of doing during the sports hour this morning!! He called up and said he had a problem with the sports show, because AJ was on. So AJ told him he could outthrow him anyday and Scott responded by saying AJ has the co-ordination of his 3 year old! All Rick and I could do was sit back and howl with laughter as AJ went on the offensive. So apparently they are going to have some sort of "sport off". Rick and I have our money on Scott!
That call started off the show, which was a complete whirlwind of activity, thank you so much for the calls!!
We launched a Hotline phone assault against a Miramichi high school today. It's the school that suspended a Grade 9 teacher after he sent a student to the office for not standing up for O Canada. Unbelievable. We hope you gave them a (polite) earful when you called. It's a poll question today too, so be sure to vote!
The Liberal leadership convention goes this weekend at the Sportsplex. Dave Rodenhiser from the Daily News will be covering it, so be sure to check out his columns this weekend. It's interesting to read the online polls on both papers' websites. The overwhelming feeling seems to be apathy from Nova Scotians. But they do have around 14-hundred people going this weekend, so it should be interesting. I'm sure we'll have the winner on Monday's show. Who do you think it will be? I know MacNeil is the frontrunner (and DR's guess), but I think Diana Whalen might pull it out. It all depends on the speeches tonight. As Paula Lunn told us, the first voting results are expected around 11:30 tomorrow morning.
Rick described himself as "calm, cool and collected" today. Thoughts?
Well, I have to go grab some lunch before it starts pouring rain.
Have an excellent weekend - see you Monday!
Amber
That call started off the show, which was a complete whirlwind of activity, thank you so much for the calls!!
We launched a Hotline phone assault against a Miramichi high school today. It's the school that suspended a Grade 9 teacher after he sent a student to the office for not standing up for O Canada. Unbelievable. We hope you gave them a (polite) earful when you called. It's a poll question today too, so be sure to vote!
The Liberal leadership convention goes this weekend at the Sportsplex. Dave Rodenhiser from the Daily News will be covering it, so be sure to check out his columns this weekend. It's interesting to read the online polls on both papers' websites. The overwhelming feeling seems to be apathy from Nova Scotians. But they do have around 14-hundred people going this weekend, so it should be interesting. I'm sure we'll have the winner on Monday's show. Who do you think it will be? I know MacNeil is the frontrunner (and DR's guess), but I think Diana Whalen might pull it out. It all depends on the speeches tonight. As Paula Lunn told us, the first voting results are expected around 11:30 tomorrow morning.
Rick described himself as "calm, cool and collected" today. Thoughts?
Well, I have to go grab some lunch before it starts pouring rain.
Have an excellent weekend - see you Monday!
Amber
Thursday, April 26, 2007
GREEN, GREEN, GREEN
Lightbulbs.
Never did I imagine an entire Hotline program would focus entirely on lightbulbs.
I use the energy saving ones. I used them more at my old house and did notice a substantial savings on my power bill. My new house already had bulbs in, so I'm going to gradually replace them. I bought a couple of new ones from the grocery, but I really hate the light they give off. It reminds me of a bug light, it has a blue tinge to it and I hate it. I guess you've got to experiment to find the ones you like. One caller suggested "Phillips Marathon Brand" to stop the problem Rick experiences with the slow to turn on light. Another caller says there are dimmer switch friendly bulbs you can buy. Also, I'm pretty sure you can't use regular energy efficient light bulbs outside, you have to buy specialty ones. Anyway, it's probably a good idea to do a little research before investing in the bulbs, because they are very expensive.
Rick had an interesting conversation with Councillor Harry McInroy today. He says in Yarmouth, they paint crosswalk lines using fluorescent colours - something that's apparently illegal in Nova Scotia. But they do it anyway. So far, to my knowledge, no one's been arrested or charged. LET'S DO IT HERE!
Speaking of crosswalks, I have my nomination for Hotline Nova Scotian of the Year: Tina Chaulk. I'll be giving Rick my nomination in December.
Peter Duffy is always a riot don't you think? You can check out the website: www.mypetpeeves.com. It's hysterical to read other people's pet peeves! (and to relate to them)
One of the callers slammed the Police today saying: The police here couldn't catch a cold! Yikes!!!!
It came after I gave Rick the stat that there are 39 unsolved murders in Metro, the oldest dating back to 1955. I don't think that's entirely fair. I remember Stephen Kimber wrote this incredible article in the Coast about this detective who was so passionate about his job, but couldn't do it anymore because his body was breaking down. There are a lot of cops with a tonne of passion for the job, but hey, sometimes you just don't get the breaks you need on a case. Anwyay, being a police detective is a tough job and I certainly wouldn't want to do it. I have a hard enough time trying to crack the mystery that is Rick Howe's fashion choices!! Ha!
Enjoy the sunshine, as it's expected to rain this weekend!
Cheers,
Amber
Never did I imagine an entire Hotline program would focus entirely on lightbulbs.
I use the energy saving ones. I used them more at my old house and did notice a substantial savings on my power bill. My new house already had bulbs in, so I'm going to gradually replace them. I bought a couple of new ones from the grocery, but I really hate the light they give off. It reminds me of a bug light, it has a blue tinge to it and I hate it. I guess you've got to experiment to find the ones you like. One caller suggested "Phillips Marathon Brand" to stop the problem Rick experiences with the slow to turn on light. Another caller says there are dimmer switch friendly bulbs you can buy. Also, I'm pretty sure you can't use regular energy efficient light bulbs outside, you have to buy specialty ones. Anyway, it's probably a good idea to do a little research before investing in the bulbs, because they are very expensive.
Rick had an interesting conversation with Councillor Harry McInroy today. He says in Yarmouth, they paint crosswalk lines using fluorescent colours - something that's apparently illegal in Nova Scotia. But they do it anyway. So far, to my knowledge, no one's been arrested or charged. LET'S DO IT HERE!
Speaking of crosswalks, I have my nomination for Hotline Nova Scotian of the Year: Tina Chaulk. I'll be giving Rick my nomination in December.
Peter Duffy is always a riot don't you think? You can check out the website: www.mypetpeeves.com. It's hysterical to read other people's pet peeves! (and to relate to them)
One of the callers slammed the Police today saying: The police here couldn't catch a cold! Yikes!!!!
It came after I gave Rick the stat that there are 39 unsolved murders in Metro, the oldest dating back to 1955. I don't think that's entirely fair. I remember Stephen Kimber wrote this incredible article in the Coast about this detective who was so passionate about his job, but couldn't do it anymore because his body was breaking down. There are a lot of cops with a tonne of passion for the job, but hey, sometimes you just don't get the breaks you need on a case. Anwyay, being a police detective is a tough job and I certainly wouldn't want to do it. I have a hard enough time trying to crack the mystery that is Rick Howe's fashion choices!! Ha!
Enjoy the sunshine, as it's expected to rain this weekend!
Cheers,
Amber
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Thank You
Thank you to all the callers who are normal and believe Rick when he says no one is controlling the show.
Oh, hold on, Rodney's here and just tapped me on the shoulder...hang on...
I'm back. Man, those Tories at Province House are just doing a fantabulous job aren't they? And Harper, wow. What vision, what drive, I mean eliminating energy inefficient light bulbs by 2012? The care and concern showed to the environment, and all Canadians for that matter, is (insert small tear) truly inspiring.
Enough said?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did you hear the father of the Eddie Power call the show today? He had just come from a meeting discussing the suspension of his son. A couple of callers thought maybe 1 day would have been enough, rather than the maximum of 5 days suspension. I think it's completely WRONG! A student is targetted by a group called the "Murder Squad", gets STABBED and then gets suspended for fighting? Yeah, he totally should have taken a knife to the heart. He'd probably be dead, but hey, he wouldn't be suspended!! I wish Eddie a lot of luck. He's going to get his one remaining credit and will not be returning to Halifax West. Maybe they should be looking a little deeper into the "Murder Squad" and suspending some of those students.
Did I mention the gang was called the "MURDER SQUAD"?
What did you think about the Mayor facing off with Ann? Here's some background - Ann says she called the Mayor about an issue on Shore Dr. in Bedford about 5 years ago. Ann is in a wheelchair and says she told the Mayor this and the mayor became kind of impatient and told her he had 15 more calls to respond to, and then he hung up. I don't think Ann is lying, but I know the Mayor. I can't see him hanging up on anyone. I've seen someone get right in his face, swearing at him right in our own studio and he didn't lose his cool. So I can't see him hanging up on someone with a very valid concern. He's the most even tempered man I've ever met, I've told him this. So, hopefully she called the office and they can get everything sorted. It was kind of funny..Graham Steele called for his interview and we were taking a break before putting the Mayor and Ann on together. Rick told me to tell Graham to call back in 5, but I told him what was about to happen and he wanted to stay on the line to listen!
Seriously...thanks to everyone for calling and recognizing that our show is a free and open one, with any issue up for discussion, except for the hours when we are discussing very specific issues, like gun control. It's fairly straightforward.
Tomorrow...one of our favourite guests - Peter Duffy!!
Let's see who or what whips Rick into a lather tomorrow!
Cheers,
Amber
Oh, hold on, Rodney's here and just tapped me on the shoulder...hang on...
I'm back. Man, those Tories at Province House are just doing a fantabulous job aren't they? And Harper, wow. What vision, what drive, I mean eliminating energy inefficient light bulbs by 2012? The care and concern showed to the environment, and all Canadians for that matter, is (insert small tear) truly inspiring.
Enough said?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did you hear the father of the Eddie Power call the show today? He had just come from a meeting discussing the suspension of his son. A couple of callers thought maybe 1 day would have been enough, rather than the maximum of 5 days suspension. I think it's completely WRONG! A student is targetted by a group called the "Murder Squad", gets STABBED and then gets suspended for fighting? Yeah, he totally should have taken a knife to the heart. He'd probably be dead, but hey, he wouldn't be suspended!! I wish Eddie a lot of luck. He's going to get his one remaining credit and will not be returning to Halifax West. Maybe they should be looking a little deeper into the "Murder Squad" and suspending some of those students.
Did I mention the gang was called the "MURDER SQUAD"?
What did you think about the Mayor facing off with Ann? Here's some background - Ann says she called the Mayor about an issue on Shore Dr. in Bedford about 5 years ago. Ann is in a wheelchair and says she told the Mayor this and the mayor became kind of impatient and told her he had 15 more calls to respond to, and then he hung up. I don't think Ann is lying, but I know the Mayor. I can't see him hanging up on anyone. I've seen someone get right in his face, swearing at him right in our own studio and he didn't lose his cool. So I can't see him hanging up on someone with a very valid concern. He's the most even tempered man I've ever met, I've told him this. So, hopefully she called the office and they can get everything sorted. It was kind of funny..Graham Steele called for his interview and we were taking a break before putting the Mayor and Ann on together. Rick told me to tell Graham to call back in 5, but I told him what was about to happen and he wanted to stay on the line to listen!
Seriously...thanks to everyone for calling and recognizing that our show is a free and open one, with any issue up for discussion, except for the hours when we are discussing very specific issues, like gun control. It's fairly straightforward.
Tomorrow...one of our favourite guests - Peter Duffy!!
Let's see who or what whips Rick into a lather tomorrow!
Cheers,
Amber
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
If you're going to hurl...
...go to Ireland!
Seriously, you learn something new every day on the Hotline. Today we learned "Hurling" is the national sport of Ireland, and it has nothing to do with drinking beer!
http://www.gaa.ie/page/all_about_hurling.html
We want to wish Tony Griffen luck with his bike ride across the country! All money raised goes to 3 charities including Lance Armstrong's.
What a busy show! I know you love it when Rick gets fired up and the caller John certainly did that in the first hour! Just hearing Rick read about the torture from the newspaper article today made me sick. I am a firm believer in "Do unto others" rather than "An eye for an eye".
The rally at province house should be interesting tomorrow. Students from Kaitlyn Murray-Selinger's school will be rallying for better crosswalk safety measures. Kudos to them, as I feel this is another issue the media has focused on, and sadly, has had to leave it behind. As someone who has nearly been smoked at crosswalks in my neighbourhood, I wish them all the luck in the world.
Can you believe what went down at Halifax West yesterday? Someone gets stabbed over some windshield washer fluid? Wow. That's our poll question today - if a student uses a weapon on school grounds, should they be expelled for the rest of the year - take it and you can view the results right away. I was blown away by Will's story today too - the student who fought back against a bully and was suspended for the rest of the year. That is so bogus. I know someone who was bullied in school and the bully tried to beat him up one day, and ended up breaking his own knuckles! (This person has an extremely hard head!!) After that, the bullying stopped. But what was the student Will was speaking about supposed to do? Snitch and be a pariah at school, or continue to be bullied? As Rick said last week, bullying is a cancer. If only we put more resources into fighting this cancer, a few of society's problems might be alleviated.
What did you think about the gun debate? All I'm going to say is that I'm with JH on this one. It's a good debate though and not one that's going away anytime soon!
Ben called from the Island today. He didn't get on, but he took issue with David calling Rick "The Rickster"!! He says he has copyrighted it and he will be suing David for copyright infringement! Ha!! I guess he hasn't read the blog or I'd be on that list too. Ben's calls always brighten my day. Yesterday he called to volunteer to ride the Gay Pride parade float with "The Rickster". I think it's a great idea - but no thongs, please.
One caller started out the show suggesting we pray for gays and lesbians to change their ways. I won't be doing that. Instead, I'm going to be praying that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq end. I'm going to be praying that there isn't another school shooting. I'm going to pray that things that cause harm to people and to things are somehow alleviated by someone or something.
Busy show, long blog.
Talk to you tomorrow - it's an all open show! (I think!)
Cheers,
Amber
Seriously, you learn something new every day on the Hotline. Today we learned "Hurling" is the national sport of Ireland, and it has nothing to do with drinking beer!
http://www.gaa.ie/page/all_about_hurling.html
We want to wish Tony Griffen luck with his bike ride across the country! All money raised goes to 3 charities including Lance Armstrong's.
What a busy show! I know you love it when Rick gets fired up and the caller John certainly did that in the first hour! Just hearing Rick read about the torture from the newspaper article today made me sick. I am a firm believer in "Do unto others" rather than "An eye for an eye".
The rally at province house should be interesting tomorrow. Students from Kaitlyn Murray-Selinger's school will be rallying for better crosswalk safety measures. Kudos to them, as I feel this is another issue the media has focused on, and sadly, has had to leave it behind. As someone who has nearly been smoked at crosswalks in my neighbourhood, I wish them all the luck in the world.
Can you believe what went down at Halifax West yesterday? Someone gets stabbed over some windshield washer fluid? Wow. That's our poll question today - if a student uses a weapon on school grounds, should they be expelled for the rest of the year - take it and you can view the results right away. I was blown away by Will's story today too - the student who fought back against a bully and was suspended for the rest of the year. That is so bogus. I know someone who was bullied in school and the bully tried to beat him up one day, and ended up breaking his own knuckles! (This person has an extremely hard head!!) After that, the bullying stopped. But what was the student Will was speaking about supposed to do? Snitch and be a pariah at school, or continue to be bullied? As Rick said last week, bullying is a cancer. If only we put more resources into fighting this cancer, a few of society's problems might be alleviated.
What did you think about the gun debate? All I'm going to say is that I'm with JH on this one. It's a good debate though and not one that's going away anytime soon!
Ben called from the Island today. He didn't get on, but he took issue with David calling Rick "The Rickster"!! He says he has copyrighted it and he will be suing David for copyright infringement! Ha!! I guess he hasn't read the blog or I'd be on that list too. Ben's calls always brighten my day. Yesterday he called to volunteer to ride the Gay Pride parade float with "The Rickster". I think it's a great idea - but no thongs, please.
One caller started out the show suggesting we pray for gays and lesbians to change their ways. I won't be doing that. Instead, I'm going to be praying that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq end. I'm going to be praying that there isn't another school shooting. I'm going to pray that things that cause harm to people and to things are somehow alleviated by someone or something.
Busy show, long blog.
Talk to you tomorrow - it's an all open show! (I think!)
Cheers,
Amber
Monday, April 23, 2007
Thong = wrong
Was it just me or were you getting grossed out when Rick starting talking about the Premier and the Mayor wearing thongs on the Gay Pride parade float? WRONG WRONG and more WRONG. It wasn't the best visual for a Monday morning!
Our poll question asked if the Mayor should ride the float this year. You know, call me naive, but I believe PK when he says he has scheduled commitments. He always does the flag raising at city hall etc. I guess I've had experience with homophobic mayors in the past, so I know PK is not homophobic. I went to school in London, Ontario and the mayor at the time, Dianne Haskett would not proclaim Gay Pride week. That was back in '97. The name might sound familiar. Haskett ran in that London-North Centre by-election and was trounced by a lady named Elizabeth May.
Another factoid from the show today: Stephen Harper's stylist is also psychic!! I'm surprised she didn't tell him having a stylist and being hypocritical about it would lead him to be slammed in the media. But maybe she doesn't have the amazing skill of our own Debbie Young!
What did you think of Gloria Mac and Andrew Younger? They were really attacking each other, but it wasn't personal, believe me, they are actually quite friendly. Gloria's surgery is on Friday and of course, we hope it goes well because city council would frankly, suck, without her.
Tomorrow's 11 o' clock hour should be very interesting - Tony Rodgers and Jim Hoskins will be in about gun control! It promises to be a good debate. As always, Rick needs your calls though, so hopefully we'll talk to you tomorrow!
Enjoy this great day,
Amber
Our poll question asked if the Mayor should ride the float this year. You know, call me naive, but I believe PK when he says he has scheduled commitments. He always does the flag raising at city hall etc. I guess I've had experience with homophobic mayors in the past, so I know PK is not homophobic. I went to school in London, Ontario and the mayor at the time, Dianne Haskett would not proclaim Gay Pride week. That was back in '97. The name might sound familiar. Haskett ran in that London-North Centre by-election and was trounced by a lady named Elizabeth May.
Another factoid from the show today: Stephen Harper's stylist is also psychic!! I'm surprised she didn't tell him having a stylist and being hypocritical about it would lead him to be slammed in the media. But maybe she doesn't have the amazing skill of our own Debbie Young!
What did you think of Gloria Mac and Andrew Younger? They were really attacking each other, but it wasn't personal, believe me, they are actually quite friendly. Gloria's surgery is on Friday and of course, we hope it goes well because city council would frankly, suck, without her.
Tomorrow's 11 o' clock hour should be very interesting - Tony Rodgers and Jim Hoskins will be in about gun control! It promises to be a good debate. As always, Rick needs your calls though, so hopefully we'll talk to you tomorrow!
Enjoy this great day,
Amber
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