The Barron Blog

Monday, 8 October 2007

We Have Lots To Be Thankful For

Today is Canada's Thanksgiving Day which started appropriately enough in Newfoundland around 1578. That beats the first American Thanksgiving by quite a bit.
I was born in Canada and the province of Ontario. I'm very thankful for that. I enjoy both the city and rural life of Ontario very much.
I'm also thankful for the multicultural aspects of our country that enrichs all parts of our life.
I'm also thankful that I have a good job and a good pension with Canada Post. This is something that many Canadians don't have.
I'm thankful for my late mother, Doreen Barron who helped me and my loving wife through troubled times. Bless you, mom. You're still missed.
I'm thankful to God for my good health and my ability to express my thoughts on paper.
I'm thankful that I live in a democratic country where I can exercise my fundamental human rights.
Finally, I'm thankful that I have a sense of humor and that humor sometimes finds it way to this blog.
Have a good Thanksgiving eh!!! Have a Lakeport (It's a buck a beer.) to celebrate and keep cheering for the Leafs. They'll win the Stanley Cup in your lifetime or your kid's lifetime or......have another beer.

Posted by qualteam at 11:10 PM EDT

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Sunday, 7 October 2007

The Modernization Of Canada Post And The Toronto Exchange Office

I certainly wish Canada Post all the best in modernizing Canada Post's post offices.
With some trepidation, I remember the last moderization moves of Canda Post
during the middle 1970s.
I was at Gateway just after it was built in 1976. I also have bad memories of equipment that didn't work very well like "Trailer Dumpers", "Bag Shakeouts" and "Automated MAPP Carts".
The Post Office "modernized" to the tune of an 800 million dollar deficit. This is scary stuff. None of us would want this to happen again.
As far as international mail is concerned, the U.S. Post Office has an international sorting centre that is the same size of Gateway. FedEx has just opened up a large building near the Pearson Airport.
In discussing upgrades to the Toronto Exchange Office, a Post Office manager stated a somewhat modest amount of less than 25 million dollars to do it properly.
Having the Customs people and TEO on the same floor is the ideal setup for this operation. It ran smoothly and quickly this way at Drew Road and the Lakeshore Road during the 1980s and 1990s.
Also, I like belts with auto dumpers rather than those that are loaded manually. An autodumper dumps more mail on a belt quicker than any human can. If you know how to operate an autodumper properly, you won't overload a belt.
I want to continue to see Canada Post grow and remain properous. Our pensions are dependant on this happening.
The National Post's Latest Article On Canada Post

Posted by qualteam at 10:10 PM EDT

Updated: Sunday, 7 October 2007 10:18 PM EDT

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Friday, 5 October 2007

My Respect For Howard Hampton Just Went Up
Mood: a-ok

There's so much posturing and spin doctoring in elections that I found it refreshing when I watched Howard Hampton's tirade against the lapdog media.
The faith base issue was a good one for Howard to focus on.
1. It's a stupid mistake from someone (John Tory) who should have known better. 2.It's a dumbed down concept so any moron can understand it. 3. It's controversial. 4. It's an easy no brain issue for instant public attention on the campaign trail. 5. It's a easy way to avoid other difficult issues in the election race. 6. It's played right into the hands of Liberal strategists for their attack ads.
The NDP's Program For Toronto

Posted by qualteam at 9:39 AM EDT

Updated: Friday, 5 October 2007 1:38 PM EDT

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Wednesday, 3 October 2007

Too Many Political Ads On TV Are A Turn Off

Going into the last week of the Ontario election, the TV ads have been very "dumbed down." They more our less state, that "Our party has another good reason why you shouldn't vote for the other party." We get pounded with these ads on just about every channel. It's driving me to American TV.
Both the Liberals and the Conservatives are the worse offenders of this "media overkill".
Only the NDP has produced some (not a lot) depth in their ads.

Posted by qualteam at 10:59 PM EDT

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Monday, 1 October 2007

Poverty And Global Warming Are Big Issues In The Ontario Election

I'd like to point out that both the Liberals and the Conservative have a poor record on these issues. The Liberals broke their promise to get rid of the Nanticoke coal plant in 2007 and they've also done very little to bring affordable housing to the working poor in Ontario. The Conservative record was barbaric cuts to social services in order to finance tax cuts in the middle 1990s.
Both the Conservative and the Liberals want to invest over 50 billion dollars in dangerous nuclear plants that are very costly to maintain. Very little attention has been put on alternate energy projects that could actually save Ontarioans lots of money.
Business CEOs are hopping on the Green Bandwagon too.
I believe that either the NDP or the Green Party are prepared to address two of today's biggest issues, poverty and global warming.

Posted by qualteam at 11:09 PM EDT

Updated: Monday, 1 October 2007 11:23 PM EDT

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Thursday, 27 September 2007

Being A Good Citizen Of Ontario

This would require not only knowing what the political parties stand for, but also understanding the referendum question about "proportional representation". There are websites that can help you with this. One of the best ones is "Billy Ballot". The other one is "Your Big Decision".
Personally, I'll be voting for "proportional representation" because it allows a voter to vote on a political party as well as an individual. This gives Ontario citizens more choice and more responsibility. If you were a supporter of the NDP or the Green Party, You'd have the feeling that your vote counted for something and it wasn't wasted.
We can only have good government if we have a good understanding of the issues and the different policies.
Watch! Learn! Decide! The election is on Oct/10/2007.

Posted by qualteam at 10:44 PM EDT

Updated: Thursday, 27 September 2007 11:01 PM EDT

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Tuesday, 25 September 2007

Another Look At NDP Leader, Howard Hampton

There isn't any chance that the NDP will become the next Ontario Government, but there's a chance that they could have some influence on a Liberal or Conservative minority government.
Howard Hampton seems to be realistic and idealistic about what he would like to accomplish in a minority situation: This is what he told the Toronto Star yesterday:
"The price of NDP support would include: eliminating the health tax for lower incomes and cutting it for middle incomes; a $10 minimum wage and the rollback of MPPs' pay hikes; new environmental "right-to-know" legislation about air, food, and water toxins and rethinking nuclear power; fixing the school funding formula; expanding home care for seniors, and cutting university and college tuition fees".
The above program seems to be a humane and thoughtful approach to social and enviromental issues.
Anyone recommending more alternate energies besides nuclear and a rollback of MPPs' salaries is definitely on the right track.
Howard has been in Ontario politics longer than John Tory or Dalton McGuinty. I think he deserves a chance to prove himself.

Posted by qualteam at 11:07 PM EDT

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Sunday, 23 September 2007

Leisa Way's Tribute To Patsy Cline
Mood: a-ok

To begin with, Leisa Way isn't a country performer. She's a musical theatre actor who has done many plays and musicals in Canada including a six year stint as Anne in "Anne Of Green Gables".
Leisa has also done a Judy Garland tribute, but that's alright because Judy was one of Patsy Cline's role models.
The show was part biographical theatre and part musical. Leisa wasn't really believable as a Hillbilly cowgirl who was trying hard to succeed in country music, but wasn't doing so well. There were lots of recordings(i.e. 57) with Four Star Records, but only one hit, "Walking After Midnight".
When a new manager (Owen Bradley) came on the scene, he changed her sound to "pop country", suddenly, Patsy had a string of hits like "I Fall To Pieces", "Sweet Dreams", "She's Not You", and "Crazy', etc.
Almost over night, her venue moved from "The Grand Ole Opry" to "Las Vegas" and "Carnegie Hall". This kind of success was the first of its kind for a country singer.
Leisa's greatest success was demonstating how a country performer went from "hillbilly country" to "hillbilly rock" to "pop county" to "pop rock" to "standard pop" in a few years.
Two of the highlights of the evening was Patsy's/Leisa's version of Frank Sinatra's "Always" and Bobby Darin's "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey".
Patsy Cline brings memories back to me when there weren't big barriers between musical styles. In 2007, this great music still endures even though the performers may have died. Three stars. This tribute is well worth a viewing.
You Belong To Me

Posted by qualteam at 6:29 PM EDT

Updated: Sunday, 23 September 2007 9:53 PM EDT

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Friday, 21 September 2007

I Know Who I'm Not Voting For In The Ontario Election

The leaders debate last night was predictable and orientated to the converted of those parties represented.
I know now that I'm not voting Conservative or Liberal in the upcoming election. I was looking for an energy plan that could make Ontario an example for the rest of the world, but I didn't get it.
Both Dalton McGuinty and John Tory seem to have the same energy policy, more expensive, high-maintenance nuclear reactors for Ontario. Only Howard Hampton (NDP) seemed to stress other energy alternates.
I'm either going to vote for the NDP or the Green Party.
The Government should be encouraging "alternate energy" companies to come to Ontario and create good jobs with enviromentally friendly products.
Oil, Gas, Coal and even nuclear fission reactors will be phased out in the 21st century and replaced by renewable energy sources and nuclear fusion. Anybody with some foresight can see this coming.
Unfortunately, some politicians seem to think they can only get votes through negative attacks rather than having dynamic visions of the future.

Posted by qualteam at 2:50 PM EDT

Updated: Friday, 21 September 2007 3:41 PM EDT

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Thursday, 20 September 2007

The Ontario Election Oct/07

I'm not a big fan of anyone in this race.
I feel environmental issues have been given the short shift because of personal attacks on "Dalton McGuinty's Broken Promises" and "John Tory's Stand On Public Funding For Religious Schools".
Dalton McGuinty is the Premier of Ontario and I'm certainly not enamored by him. Neither do I support opposition leader, John Tory's position on school funding.
Both the Green Party and NDP are too socialist for my liking. Ontario needs to encourage big business to settle in Ontario. High taxes on them would discourage that and this province needs good jobs (Unemployment runs higher than the national average here.).
The best newspaper for best coverage on the issues is "The Toronto Star".
There's a referendum on proportional representation which I support. Probably, I'll decide who I'll vote for after I put my dot on "the proportional representation question".
The public funding for schools should be handled with a referendum just like it was in Newfoundland ten years ago. Here's my own poll on this "public funding question".

Posted by qualteam at 11:19 AM EDT

Updated: Thursday, 20 September 2007 10:01 PM EDT

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