I want to say a public thank-you to the emails of support I
got from last week’s column concerning the overkill traffic blitz that was held
in Yorkton a couple of weeks ago. A few people asked if I was sour
because I, in fact, got a ticket. No. I stayed off the roads those
two days. I’m sure I would have. It seems like everyone else
did. I got my ticket in January and while I considered fighting it in court,
I realized I don’t have any recourse. If a police officer says you have
blown a stop sign, you have blown a stop sign. The odds of a stranger,
paying enough attention to another vehicle to determine whether or not I
stopped for three solid seconds, is slim and none. The chances of me
finding this stranger to appear on my behalf in court are also slim and none
and slim just walked out the door. Isn’t it funny how traffic
offenses really offer no real means of a defense for those that are
accused. Meanwhile, it’s getting to the point that you almost need to
capture a murder on video in order to get a conviction.
I won’t beat a dead horse, but some of the stories I
received from folks telling me how they got their tickets is mind boggling and
should be embarrassing to those that handed them out.
Am I the only person that feels as though International
Development Minister Bev Oda belongs in a prison cell? In June 2011, Oda
attended an international conference in London, England. Organizers had
rooms reserved at a five-star hotel; but Oda chose to upgrade to the Savoy
Hotel (known for housing royalty and Hollywood stars). Since Oda was no
longer staying at the site of the conference, she needed a taxi, so she
chartered a limousine at a cost of $1000 a day. And, somewhere she found
the time to drop $16 on a glass of orange juice. This is why you can’t
take politicians seriously and why more and more of us are becoming apathetic
to politics. Oda has repaid most of the money, apparently, but I’m
betting only because she got caught. The majority of us in the general
public just roll our eyes at such stories and move on to the next one about a
corrupt politician.
An American insurance company is promoting ‘marriage
insurance’ as a way of financially protecting couples who don’t stay married,
while also rewarding those who do. While marriages that end in divorce
would be ‘softened’ by the fact the union has insurance on it, couples who stay
together for 25 years would receive a $100 000 pay out on their anniversary.
In a deteriorating world of local broadcasting, the morning
duo of Heather Anderson and Rustie Dean are a breath of fresh air. Check
them out on Global Regina every morning from 6am-9am. I’m a harsh critic
when it comes to broadcasting and feel there are way too many people trying to
make a living at it when they have clearly missed their calling. Public
appearances are fewer and farther between than even ten years ago. But,
Anderson and Dean are highly visible in the Regina area. Of course, if
the announcers aren’t much good, does the public even have an appetite to see
them? Yorkton’s best is sports guy Craig Stein (and it’s not even close
for second). Stein is also very visible in the community through hockey
broadcasts and banquet speaking engagements. With a young family, it’s
not easy for him to be at all these things, so kudos to Craig.
In fact, if I was hiring a hockey play by play announcer and
I received Craig’s demo tape along with TSN’s Gord Miller’s demo tape on my
desk for the same job; I’d hire Stein in a heartbeat.
The second season of Breakout Kings wrapped up on
Sunday. It’s a ‘can’t miss’ for anyone that dug Prison Break in its
heyday. Nick Santora is the writer of both programs. If you haven’t
been up to speed, but think it’s something you’d like to check out I think it’s
on Netflix.
The only thing worse than paying athletes way too much to
play, is paying athletes way too much to go away. The Anaheim Angels,
since August 2009, have released the following: Justin Speier ($6.5 million),
Scott Kazmir ($9.5 million), and Bobby Abreu ($9 million). They also
traded and ate a lot of the contract signed by Gary Matthews ($21
million). That’s a lot of cake.
Twitter was shown at its worst following the
Washington-Boston NHL playoff series last week when a bunch of people who
haven’t left their living rooms for years tweeted racial slurs toward Joel
Ward, who scored the OT winner in game seven. Twitter was also shown at
its best that same night when Alexander Semin tweeted: “Hi, Mr. Thomas
(Tim Thomas, the Boston goalie). This is Sasha form the Leo J. Martin
Memorial Golf Course. I’m calling to confirm your 9am tee time tomorrow.”
Nice person mentions this week to Glen Vargo, Ken Karius,
Martin Smith, Trent Meyer, Karen Renton, and Ryan Hoffman.
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