Fear and Loathing South of the 40 : It’s a Zoo Out There

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R.I.P. Mr. Albert

A story came out last week about a Laval couple being given a speeding ticket while they were rushing to the vet to try to save Mister Albert, their pet Chihuahua. The couple was issued a $258 dollar speeding ticket, which they intend to contest, for driving 107 km/h in a 70 km/h zone. Francine Monette was in tears and giving Mister Albert mouth to mouth resuscitation when the officer approached the car. Whoa! Yes you just read that, mouth to mouth. I know, what you are thinking, in what world would giving mouth to mouth to a Chihuahua be a good idea. But even with the mouth to mouth poor Mister Pierre passed away at the Centre Vétérinaire Laval. Rest in peace Mister Albert.

#firstworldproblems

The Gazette ran a story Love-in for Coderre in Westmount about Montreal’s Mayor Coderre giving his first official speech at Victoria Hall in the upper end neighborhood. He spoke of bike paths, mailboxes and potholes (you know, Montreal’s really big problems). The article went so far as saying that he and Westmount Mayor Peter Trent were having a “mayoral” bromance. He praised Trent’s leadership, Trent said the Mayor was refreshing, yadda, yadda, yadda. The question is who cares? Of course they like him. Bike paths, pot holes and mailboxes ARE Westmount’s biggest problems. How many people in the crowd were under 60 or making under 25k a year? For that matter, how many people in the crowd were getting their next meal at a food bank? Lets quit wasting time folks, we have real problems to deal with.

A Mile In Your Wheelchair

Michael Nadeau, 20, is in a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy. Every time he tries to take the STM West Island bus #200, either from Ste-Anne de Bellevue or from Beaconsfield into Pointe-Claire, the ramp on the bus doesn’t work. So what happens, his brother Mathieu, who also has cerebral palsy, lifts Michael onto the bus, then lifts the wheelchair onto the bus. Not the bus driver, Not anyone on the bus, but his brother (I repeat) who also has cerebral palsy. “OK, once I understand. Twice, sure. But three times and any time after that it’s just ridiculous and unacceptable that we should have to pay for something that doesn’t work,” Mathieu said. He filed a complaint with the STM — the city of Montreal’s public transit authority. Here, my friends, are some of the STM’s vice-president Marvin Rotrand’s response. “We asked our manufacturer to change to the type of ramp that deploys at the front of the bus,” Rotrand said, adding that the new ramps are more “reliable.” Buses are brought in for maintenance and checked at least once a month. Finally, “My feeling is it’s unlikely that every ramp on every bus on a particular route wouldn’t work every time. I would be rather skeptical.” Ok then Mr. Rotrand, here a couple of questions for you. When was the last time you took the bus? And when was the last time you did it in a wheelchair?

The List You Might Not Want to Be On

Best headline of last week came from CTV News, it read, “Soldiers on Viagra part of a list of secrets held by Harper Government.” I immediately thought to myself, “Good God in heaven why does such a list exist?” followed by “Does the public really need to know this?” HERE is the article if you would like to read it. (I’ll pass thanks very much)

Last Week at a Glance:

They Probably Didn’t Understand What Was Being Said Anyway

One of the big stories last week was Scotland’s independence referendum vote. The “No” side ended up winning with 55.3 percent of the vote, keeping Scotland in the United Kingdom. Best part was how the Parti Quebecois had MNA’s in Scotland to survey the outcome. Martine Ouellet, Alexandre Cloutier and guess who? PKP! (Yes the Pierre-Karl Peladeau train is back on the tracks) went down last Tuesday. Wonder what lessons they are going to bring back?

The Lady is a Bat

I am probably going to get in trouble for this one but I am putting it out there. Last weekend was Montreal Comiccon, which yours truly attended. It was frickin packed let me tell you. It appears there is a problem at Comiccons, and that problem is “Sexual Harassment!” “Just because I’m wearing a sexy Batgirl costume, it doesn’t mean you get to grope me,” says Maery Morrison, a Montreal tattoo artist and Batgirl fan. She goes onto say, “Sometimes an interviewer will ask you for your breast size, or when posing for a photo the person will take a little grab.” Now I am in no way at all saying that it is ok to grope people, male or female. But I need you to take a moment and google “Cosplay” (which means Costume Play). Go ahead, do it then come back. What did you see? Mostly very scantily clad young women, right? Now take into consideration that Comiccon is pretty much targeted at young men with raging hormones. So I hate to be the one to say it, but when you take scantily clad women, lock them in a big room with horny young men, what the hell do you think is gonna happen? Not saying it is ok, just saying it’s inevitable.

Last Word of the Week:

Emma Czornobaj was back in the news last week. She was interviewed at CBC, saying why she did not belong in jail. If you do not remember Czornobaj, she is the young woman who stopped her vehicle on the highway in order to let a family of ducks cross, this resulted in the deaths of two motorcyclists in 2010. She was found guilty on two counts of criminal negligence causing death and is awaiting sentencing, which could be up to 14 years in jail. “It was just a reaction to what was on the road. Some people, which really hurts me, say she chose between human lives and duck lives and that’s not what happened,” said Czornobaj. So I ask you dear reader, is she a criminal or someone who made a really stupid error in judgement? How harshly can we, as a society, judge a this woman when we let people like Guy Turcotte, an admitted child killer, walk free? I am pretty sure I am not the only one thinking it, but something is wrong out there folk.

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