cktimes.ca Archives for Notes from a Garage


Notes from a Garage

With John Gardiner

Some politics in cktimes – and where has all our power gone?

Tuesday, March 4, 2003

So, a few words about the movement that's currently afoot in Chatham-Kent to re-organize the municipality politically into something that might work a little better. We're not too political here at cktimes – at least not in this space – but I still feel compelled to add my two cents worth. I've lived in the periphery of Chatham-Kent since its beginning and I know for a fact that there is disatisfaction out here in the hinterland. We have generally been unhappy with a variety of things, but mostly our greatly reduced political representation. I think it's a given that amalgamation isn't saving us any money, and if you've been reading along with Jeff Wesley, you'll realize that there are some things happening in the municipality that are problematic to say the least. Amalgamation needs to be re-visited. I think Chatham-Kent Council should welcome the opportunity to lay the amalgamation dragon to rest for good. Let's put a question on this fall's municipal ballot, and if the results of the vote clearly show a need for change, then let's take a long look at it and maybe make some changes that will make us a happier bunch. My wife wondered about cktimes if the municipality restructures in some way. Hey, Chatham-Kent remains a great place to live and work and even if there's a political reorganization down the road, the area needs a good regional media source that'll highlight the positive about our area – and that's what I'm out to do. So, I'm confident that cktimes will remain a vital part of this community no matter what the future holds politically. Good work, by the way, to the community-minded citizens who are leading this movement – I know they have only the best interests of their fellow citizens at heart. I commend them for that.

So, we finally caught one of the big guys from the Al Quaida outfit. I heard the news on the radio while driving, and I found something deeply disturbing about his capture – I felt sorry for him. I mean, this guy apparently masterminded the World Trade Centre attacks that killed thousands of people, and I'm feeling sorry for him. The reason I'm feeling sorry for him is because the news has said that he's being "interrogated" by "teams of intelligence officers from Pakistan and the United States". It also said that he was spirited away to some unknown secret location for this "interrogation". This is spooky language for our side to be using. I thought I was back in the old Soviet Union about 1963 and the KGB had just captured a mole in the Kremlin. Why did I get a bad feeling when I heard this guy was being "interrogated" by "teams of intelligence officers" in a secret, unknown location? Why? Because I have the rather sick feeling that our guys use many of the same techniques as the so-called bad guys during "interrogations" of this sort. And that is so wrong in any democracy that's supposed to be fighting for truth and justice. I can't even....like I'm speechless. All life should be treated with dignity and respect. There's no room on this planet for this eye for an eye or tooth for a tooth stuff. That's how all this nonsense got started in the first place. I keep saying it, but nobody's listening. We should be fighting the war on terror with food and flowers, not bombs and bullets. Everything should be above board in a democracy – you can't hide people away and beat them with rubber hoses before they've had a fair trial – I even question doing it afterward, but boys will be boys. In any case, I hope I'm wrong with this rant. I hope we really are the good guys in all of this – that's what I want to tell my grandchildren – we were the generation that stopped the violence. Finally.

Amazing how many of you good folks are up and out of bed and tuned into CFCO every Sunday morning at about 10:00 a.m. I've been doing my Good News Report on Good News Sunday for the past month or so and what a wonderful reaction I'm getting. People really seem to be enjoying what I have to say. I'm trying to be upbeat and positive about the great stuff that happens in Chatham-Kent because I think there's a lot to be upbeat and positive about. There are plenty of community-minded citizens out and about who are really trying hard to make a difference. We should all get behind them and see what we can do to help. Think about it.

I attended the Band Spotlight, which I've been calling a Battle of the Bands for the last couple of weeks, out at the Eight Ball Tavern this past week and that was a pleasant experience for me. Not only did I get to hear some great live music, I got to meet Tony Meriano from Tony's One-Stop Music and he is another lover of live music – as might perhaps be expected when you own a music store. But I could tell from talking to him that he has deep feelings for live music and the current band spotlight has provided an excellent venue for local talent to strut its stuff. I got to check out Carpediem and they were excellent and I'm hoping to hook up with Tony for something in the future. Great to meet new friends weekly as I make my rounds for cktimes.

Why are we having warnings about hydro brown-outs or black-outs this winter? I don't get it. I mean, we never had this kind of thing happen back before Mike Harris and Ernie Eves started mucking about with the electricity system. I'm hearing the "experts" saying it's because of the extremely cold winter – same as they said last summer only then it was because of the heat. But this is Canada. We have extremely cold winters every second year and I can never remember having problems with power. Something has fundamentally changed in the whole way power is handled in the last 12 months and the result is that we no longer have enough power to meet our own needs. Remember, you read it here first. We should have a huge energy surplus here in Ontario. What's the problem?

Anyway, out of time for another week. Hope you're doing well out there in cktimes land. Take care and remember...."Hew to the line; let the chips fall where they may."




John Gardiner is a 25-year-veteran of the community newspaper business, but he is also a prolific writer of moralistic short fiction he refers to as "emotional thoughtscapes" or "adult fables". Samples of his fiction can be found at:

He has also produced a noteworthy piece of humanist philosophy which can be found at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~aboiten/ad502.htm He welcomes comments on his work.