Hamilton - The Lazy City

When I moved to Hamilton back in June of '71 as a young lad of 17, I was amazed at what I saw. For someone who grew up in a rural environment, I was used to 1 story houses, barns, sheds and open ground as far as the eye could see. I wasn't quite prepared for buildings of 12 stories and more. The Center Mall was not to be believed when I moved near it. All kinds of different stores all packed into 1 large shopping area. Don't get me wrong, I'd seen similar in Dundas back in the '60's but nowhere as big as that ( I lived out in the rural area of West Flamborough as a kid and a trip into Dundas every once in awhile was a treat).

There were people on the go constantly. Rushing off to work most of the time. Or the kids all headed to school. The houses in the area I moved into were all well kept. Lawns nicely cared for. Houses were kept clean and fresh paint could be seen on almost everyone of them. Flower beds with almost every type of flower you can think of. City life looked pretty good for a kid that grew up in the country.

Here it is almost 43 years later and I'm ashamed to admit I call Hamilton home. People in this city have turned into lazy, hopeless people. Instead of walking 2 blocks to go to the store, they hop on a bus. I see it all the time. Gotta go to the drug store? Bus will be here in a minute. It's getting pathetic. People are so lazy these days, it's affecting our health.

It's not just being to lazy to walk anywhere, it's being to lazy to clean up after a pet. According to the S.P.C.A., there is a $125.00 fine levied on a pet owner if they do not clean up after their pet does his business on public or private property. In other words... If your dog craps on the main sidewalk or on my property and you don't clean it up, you can be fined $125.00. The problem is....City bylaw and S.P.C.A. are too lazy to enforce it because people are too lazy to file a report.

You can walk anywhere in this city and all you see is garbage, garbage, garbage. Garbage on the side of the streets, Garbage in the alley ways. Garbage in the parking lots. Most of the time, garbage on the streets or parking lots are within 10 feet of a garbage can. People are just too damn lazy to take the extra steps to put their garbage in the cans.

Mailmen would go from house to house with their sacks of mail and never walk on a persons lawn when I first moved here. These days, it's nothing for these over paid flyer deliverers to go from house to house in a mini mail truck. They pull up in front of one house, deliver the mail, get back into the truck, drive to the next house and deliver the mail (and so on down the street). That's how the mail is delivered these days (I witnessed it first hand so I know for a fact it happens). And Canada Post and the Government can't understand why there is such a large deficit. Well here's a suggestion for you. Get those lazy bastards back out on the street, teach them some respect for peoples property and get rid of the bloody mail trucks.

I guess my biggest gripe is with homeowners and business owners who are just to damn lazy to clear their sidewalks after a snow fall. Just for example, my wife and I went out to do a bit of shopping. We don't drive so we use a bundle buggy. She pushes it while I try to steady myself with my cane.As we were walking along one of the streets in East Hamilton, we hit a sidewalk about 8 feet long and completely covered in ice with a layer of water on top of it. Inside the front door of the business whose sidewalk we were trying to manouver over was a 50 pound bag of salt. The wife slid on the ice, I wrenched my back trying to catch her and all the while I was looking for a brick to throw threw the bloody window just so I could lay down some salt.

So to all those at Hamilton City Hall.....Sam Merulla, Bernie Morelli, Terry Whitehead, and the rest of you. How about getting off your asses and actually do something for the people who elected you to office. Hamilton used to look like a jewel in Canada. Now it looks like a cesspool because people are getting too lazy. Maybe if some by-laws were actually enforced, people made to be responsible, we could be proud of our city once more.

Sticking Up For Lou

On Tuesday November 19th, 2013, the CBC WEBSITE ran the story of the 2 brothers who are accused in the shooting death of James Lou Malone, affectionately known as Lou to those who knew him. While I have no problem with the way the story was presented ( I actually think the CBC did a pretty good piece for a change), the problem is with the narrow minded morons who felt the need to tear him down in the comments section and the CBC for allowing such trash talk.

The article states that Lou was a "FORMER" Hells Angel. He hadn't ridden with them for a number of years but the idiots who posted to the comments section just didn't seem to comprehend that little fact. Lou was a working man who, like most men, liked to relax with a beer or two, maybe play some pool, walk his dogs, and be supportive of his girl friend. Lou had seen a lot of tragedy in his life. He lost his Mother about 17 years ago, his Dad succumbed to cancer 6 or 7 years ago and Lou lost his wife a number of years ago and out of the whole family, he has 1 older brother left.

Lou was always giving candy and treats to the neighborhood kids or giving them rides when the parents said it was ok. I used to own the house next door to the Malones on Robins Ave and a greater bunch of people is hard to find. I remember Lou putting my son (who was 6 at the time) on his motorcycle and wheeling it around on the lawn. My son loved it.

Comments such as...

" Hoover"...
Didn't know James Malone, guess he was worth spending the rest of your days in jail for...

Or this one

"fllyer"...
You might have a different opinion if you lived at the house on Robins that sustained gunfire. Bikers generally make neighborhoods less appealing. Any wonder why?

These yahoos have no idea who the man was or what his character was but just felt the need to assasinate his character just because he was an "EX" biker. I blame it on pure ignorance on their part and pure ignorance on the CBC websites part. Comments like theirs should not have been posted.

Rob Ford And His Media Maggots

So according to Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, the media is nothing but maggots (story can be found HERE) because certain people in the media are trying to find the truth about his involvement with crack.

Excuse me Mr. Ford but wasn't it the media who helped you get elected? Oh sure, you did the door to door campaigning bit and all but without the media, how far do you actually think your election would have gone? If the media played no part in helping people get elected, people such as yourself would have as much chance as a snowballs chance in hell.

To both Mr. Fords.... I have nothing personal with either of you. I just cannot stand hypocritical people, arrogant people and people who cannot admit to past transgressions and move on. To me, both of you fit in at least one of these categories if not more.

For the greater good of Toronto (which in my opinion isn't saying much), you both need to address a very serious problem in a straightforward manner. Rob Ford, you said you will be the first to sign up for the next election for Mayor. At this point in time, your chance to be re-elected is minimal at best. This latest incident combined with past mistakes casts a dark shadow on any re-election plans. Any right-minded person would not vote for you with this type of dark shadow hanging over you. And Doug, while being accused of selling hash is no big deal these days, if you're not guilty, prove it. After all, it wouldn't be hard for someone with some pull to access any criminal charges against you. That's the great thing about the "Access To Information" our Gov. has allowed us.

Just a few things to think about boys.

Mayor Fords Follies

I've been following the latest nonsense concerning Rob Ford, the Mayor of Toronto and I must say, I find it very interesting that he "SAYS" he's not a crack cocain user and that the allegations are ridiculous". He says he "Was not" a user of coke but not that he never did coke. Did he do coke in the past? Was the "supposed" video one of Fords skeletons coming out of the closet? Will Jimmy Fallon, John Stewart and the rest of the world know for sure? Not if we have to put up with Robby's little shuffle.

Mayor Rob Ford.... It is now in your best interest to come clean. Either start legal proceedings against the "Toronto Star" and Gawker.com or admit that you made a horrendous mistake in your past, step down as Mayor and let Toronto get on as a growing city.

As much as I would like to see Ford do the right thing, I don't see it happening. Reason is simple....Ford is an arrogant S.O.B. who won't admit when he's wrong. He will never surrender his seat as Mayor. His brother Doug, while I will give him credit for sticking up for his brother, is only going to end up going down that same slide as Rob. Enjoy the ride Doug. As Forrest Gump would say..."Stupid is as stupid does".

Rogue Cop Or Racist Cop

Canada is a nation of people from every country in the world. Some come here looking for a new life. Others come here looking to escape political persecution in their homeland. Whatever the reason, they come here to be free to raise their families and to prosper.

One of the things these people expect is protection from harm by the local constabulary. The police are expected to preserve the rights of Canadian citizens and to protect them from harm. What happens though if the one inflicting harm to the new citizens happens to be a member of a force sworn to protect them?

I give you Hamilton-Wentworth Police Constable Ryan Tocher.

In the five years he has been a police officer for the Hamilton-Wentworth force, he has been investigated for use of excessive force. Excessive force which resulted in deaths in 2 of the incidences.

In April 2007, the S.I.U. (Special Investigations Unit) cleared officer Tocher of a shooting after a Cambodian refugee named Soun Saing attacked a pool hall owner with an axe and a knife. Soun Saing died of his injuries from the shooting.

Tocher was charged with assault following the May 2010 beating of Po La Hay, a Myanmar native, during a botched drug raid.
Mr. Hay, in his fifties and very frail, did not understand police instructions, and suffered facial cuts, three fractured ribs, and a fractured vertabrae.
Tocher was cleared of all wrong doing.

On the morning of Feruary 13th of this year, Phonesay Chanthachack, originally from Laos, was shot and killed by police while trying to elude arrest
. His crime...There was a bench warrant out for him for failure to appear for a break and enter and theft charges. Not an offence where a death sentence is warranted. The officer who shot him....Officer Tocher.

It's hard to tell if Ryan Tocher is just a rogue cop who likes to inflict pain and death or f he's a racist. After all, the three victims Tocher assaulted or killed were all of Asian descent. Is this the type of man (and I am using that word very loosely) that any community wants representing law and order? This is his third strike. No more free passes I say. Get this piece of scum off our force and charge him with murder.

I was trying to write this piece without showing favoritism for either side of the story but it's a little hard reading the press releases and such. Hell, Tocher played minor hockey and was known as an "enforcer". There have been clips of him losing his cool and swearing at refs plastered all over news stations. It's time he was held accountable for his actions. And now. Not later when someone else is killed by him.

The Absurdity Of Censorship

     Everyone has heard about the controversy over the rewriting of the books by Mark Twain. Because the dreaded "N" word was used in the tales of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, the books have recently been redone using different words. instead of the "N" word, slave was used. Instead of "Injun Joe", it's now Indian Joe. Just plain ridiculous if you ask me. Now comes a new round of absurdity.

      In 1985, British rock group "Dire Straits" came out with their biggest hit, "Money For Nothing". Since it's release, it garnered the following ...

• Billboard #1 single September 21 - October 5, 1985


• 1986 - Grammy for Record of the Year


• 1986 - American Music Award for Record of the Year


• 1986 - 9 MTV Video Music Awards

     The song was used for everything from the theme song for the WWE wrestling to MTV and has even been parodied by Weird Al Yankovich.

     Now more than 25 years later,  some over-sensitive woman from Newfoundland lodged a complaint  with  the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council  and had the song banned from airplay. Why??? because of 1 little word. Faggot.

     What the hell is wrong with people that they can ban works, whether art, music or video, based on the complaint of 1 narrow minded individual? There are a lot of things that deserve to be censored but a song that's been around for over 25 years is just plain ludicrous.

     If you disagree with the censorship of Money For Nothing, then let them at The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council know. E-mail Ron Cohen at ron@cbsc.ca or phone him at 613-233-4607 ext.#14

     To protest the air-play ban, here is Money For Nothing by dire straits. Uncensored.

A Letter To Hamilton City Hall

Dear Hamilton City Council

     Every week, it seems I am reading or hearing about what council is trying to do for the betterment of our community. And sadly, every week I am left with the same sour taste in my throat over some of the most ridiculous crap I've ever heard. The people of Hamilton elected you to help our city grow but what I've heard in the last few months is doing nothing but tearing our city apart.

     I was just made aware of a Spectator article concerning the change of venue for  Festival of Friends  and cannot for the life of me wonder why you would agree so fast to the decision. The article states that the festival is growing too big for the park. BULL####. There is plenty of room for the festival to grow at Gage Park. If everything was spread out a little more rather than trying to keep it all huddled around the bandshell, there would be no problems with space. The area by the King St. entrance closest to the delta for example had nothing there. More tents, rides or whatever could have been set up there with very little problems. There was a wide open field between the bandshell and the fountain that had virtually nothing there save for maybe 2 or 3 stalls. What should have been there was something like, oh I don't know, how about a dunk tank where people throw balls at a target and hopefully drop a councilor into a tank of Hamilton Harbour water.

     I used to go to Gage park for the festival every year since it began. I took my sons there and eventually my grandson. But if the festival ends up in Ancaster, I'm afraid that visits to the festival have ended for our family.

     There are a couple of other items that should be addressed, like the stupidity of an LRT in this city when the HSR is a load of crap, water mains that are forever in need of repairs, some of the worse streets in the province, exorbitant taxes which cause an endless number of store vacancies in the core. But that's all I'll say about those. There is one subject I can't ignore. The stadium/Ti-Cat fiasco.

     When Fred Eisenberger was mayor, he tried to push through the West Harbour area for a stadium. Shemp Howard could not have made a dumber move. There was virtually no access to highways and street congestion would have been a nightmare to say the least. Then there was the option of a stadium on the east mountain. Good move. Put a stadium way out in the boondocks where a lot of the fans can't get to it. Next came the area near Longwood Road. Problem with that is it would have had Hamilton taxpayers paying for it until Hamilton gets an NHL franchise (and we all know the likelihood of that happening). Now there is talk about the stadium being built in Burlington and the Ti-Cats playing there. Here's a little newsflash for you....

     If you people would get your heads out of the sand, especially a couple in particular I refuse to name because when I do I get nauseous, you will see that Confederation Park is the best possible site for a new stadium. It is close to the highway, it is close to hotels for overnight fans, it has great visibilty, local transit (as good as it is) isn't that far off and could be modified to accommodate games and it wouldn't cost nowhere near what the Longwood Road site would cost. I can't understand why a few think it's a bad site unless there are other plans in the works for something there like maybe a hotel or such thing.

      The more I think about it, the more I think that as tax payers who voted in the men and women on city council, we are as much to blame for our city degrading as it is. After all, if we hadn't voted in the same people as the last election (well except for Eisenberger) things might have been a little different.

          Signed......One Disgruntled Hamiltonian.