Scanned, recopied or Internet copy, if there are errors, please e-mail me with corrections: Opening comments: More at the end. Toronto Sun - Oct. 10, 2009 - By Ted Woloshyn, TED.WOLOSHYN@SUNMEDIA.CA Numb to sex, spending scandals All this tomfoolery in F1 racing, late night TV, government -- Mississauga sadly is no surprise anymore Last week in this column I opined that Mississauga did not need a new mayor, that Hazel McCallion was doing a fine job. I also suggested should she move aside, replacing her with Carolyn Parrish would be a "disaster." Not surprisingly a vast majority of those who chimed in agreed. One such reader, Cheryl Glassford, had already started a website, stopcarolynparrish.com, and my friend Phil is planning on selling T-shirts with the acronym C.R.A.P., for Citizens Rallying Against Parrish. Not unexpected at all. Nor have I been surprised by a plethora of sordid tales of late that should have astounded me, but failed to do so. I believe I've come to a point where I'm numbed by news. This is not a good thing. Let me share some examples that have driven me to this point. Recently it came to light that three people fixed a Formula One auto race in Singapore, and got away with it for more than a year. Over the weekend, legendary racer A.J. Foyt suggested another driver might have purposely turned into his car during the 1982 Indianapolis 500 because a number of Foyt's friends had wagered large money that A.J. would lead the first lap. Considering these guys race at break neck speeds I should have been astonished, but I was not. Last week, David Letterman revealed he had sex with several employees and was being blackmailed for $2 million. Letterman is a man noted for raking politicians and prominent people over the coals for their dalliances, so you'd think he would be the last person to commit those same kinds of mistakes. But again, I was not taken aback. Just a few days ago CanWest Global applied for bankruptcy protection. Imagine an iconic Canadian family business sinking that low? You'd think that would be startling, but it isn't. Not after witnessing the collapse of another regal empire, Eaton's. Last week it was revealed the outgoing president of the Sick Kids Hospital Foundation received in excess of $2 million when he "left" the hospital. Sadly, because we've seen way too many examples of top heavy charities and their fund raising techniques, it didn't even warrant a "How about that?" And then there's the usual display of political nonsense which will probably never come to an end. Sandra Bussin, or "Sandra from Toronto," calls John Tory's radio show and flips out, then offers a lame apology and states if she hadn't been cut off she would have admitted she worked for the city. Former federal Liberal MP Steve Mahoney is accused of inappropriate spending relating to his position as head of WSIB. And several days ago the province's auditor general slammed the McGuinty government for "favouritism," and allowing "untendered sweetheart contracts" in the billion-dollar eHealth debacle. The premier boldly proclaims, "We will do more to better oversight." Again, I was numb to the news, and the premier's feeble attempt to calm the situation. I must say these are sad and disappointing reactions to what should be startling news. I'm not usually this jaded, cynical or numb. But then again, I'm not surprised either. Comments by others, 6, to this web-page;
wayne October 12th 2009, 11:33pm Stan Schwartz October 11th 2009, 9:11am gary October 10th 2009, 4:07pm Wally Two October 10th 2009, 4:02pm Igor October 10th 2009, 1:21pm Home Page - Main Table of Contents - Back up a page - Back to Top [COMMENTS BY DON B. - ] |
Your Financial Donations are Greatly Appreciated The • |