The ethics of blogging

This falls in the realm of told wrongs...accountability, and listening to creditable sources.

US official may sue rightwing blogger
Shirley Sherrod threatens action against Andrew Breitbart over edited video that led to race row.

In an amazing article from Guardian UK, a blogger BigGovernment.com, posts edited video from an unnamed source, which seems to indicate that Shirley Sherrod, a black woman and US federal head of rural development for the agriculture department in Georgia at the White House, was accused of making racist comments against white farmers. She was fired by the White House, and then the full video was listened to by the Powers-That-Be and they realized their mistake. Her speech had contained a parable that was edited by someone, the blogger claims 'not me', that was misinterpreted. President Obama apologized.


Lessons learned-the takeaway message...

• In this day and age of blogging, we must be accountable. I would sue him...
• Perhaps the White House should be given a course on choosing reliable sources, 
• in checking 3 sources (which is what I always counselled my students when doing research), 
• and the corruption of power of some who make choices.

Video: USDA official resigns amid racism claims 2 days ago www.msnbc.msn.com

At least the White House corrected the mistake. Interesting editorial blogs (by 'real' journalists) who wonder at the people behind this story. This reminds me of the chaos around the distortion of the truth about Canadian medicare, twisted to suit extreme, white wing Americans trying to fight President Obama's universal health care. At the time, many Americans were asking me, through my Ontario Seniors' Health Care blog, for the truth around our system. I had spotted some bloggers who were citing private health information (illegal in Canada) about a particular patient, which was reprinted verbatim in many blogs. I follow Ontario health news particularly! 

Lies and gossip about senior health care

I am always amazed with the information people pass on to one another!

Canadian Health Care System - part I

I was asked to write about our system in Canada, as there is much misinformation in American news about our weird ways. They even videotaped a woman who was distorting her truth about her Canadian health care experiences. What criminal action this is, to bash away at our health care. Where does truth lie? Somewhere in the middle. Read with a critical mind. Reflect and research. All may not be as it seems.

Crazy times in Kemptville

We have had a whirlwind tour of S.E. Ontario. Lots going on, many weird and wonderful people.
The agents we have been working with (we are on #4, in 4 separate areas) are fabulous. But people all seem to be in a hurry the farther out they are from the city.

Lots of people on the roads.

Traffic is crazy. So are people!

After a delightful 2-night visit in a B & B in Kemptville (more on that later!) and a final night with cheese and crackers and wine, we left the B & B to move on to another region: Arnprior.

The car was hit and sent flying in the opposite direction.

As we drove down the road we looked up on highway #43 and spotted debris flying. My camera always at the ready, I captured a real mess. The car was headed northerly, and after the truck hit it, she ended up going south.

A young lady pulled out into traffic too soon, and didn't wait to cross the road, when a dump truck went flying into her.

Debris on the road. 

The truck driver managed to swerve to avoid her,  clipping her car, sending her into a 180 spin, while he drove into our lane. We could well have been hit. It was a bit traumatic. At the time the 3 of us who were witnessed, were worrying about the young lady, while the truck driver's hand was bleeding.





Praise the Lord for airbags! She was in shock, and the firefighters and many OPP arrived, as well as an ambulance. The truck driver went running over to see her. I told the young lady to sit down as she was feeling queasy.

The mother of the driver arrived, and then various firefighters, as well as OPP. We were relieved. Let the pros do their jobs.

Every one kept on driving speedily by!

EMS crews in Ontario are fabulous. What a great team.

Then the pros began to arrive.

Joe (AKA hubby, Brian- long story),  loaned his vest to a man who began directing the fast, heavy traffic.

Spit spot, clean up began.

The traffic is amazing east of Kemptville

Hooray for the OPP.

heron rookery

I am always amazed with nature.

How do these birds know where to build nests?

How do we know where to choose a house? This is really close to a house I really like! But is it the one????

Where is home to you?

In my childhood, home for me was Toronto, for the first 25 years of my life. Going to "The Cottage" was our endless summer pursuit. First with a husband, and then with 1, 2 and 3 children. At first we all crowded into the 3-BR cottage. Things became tough, and we first rented Aunt Adie's cottage, 4 doors down, while she stayed in her heated, winterized in-law suite in her cottage, with the older cottage wing - unheated, and truly a cottage. Aunt Adie was married to Mom's brother, Uncle Fred. They were a pair. 


At this point, born in 1905, it was now the 80's, she didn't have a car anymore, and depended upon family for groceries. She would often tap at the door connecting the two places, asking for one thing or another, or reminding us not to put anything but toilet paper down the toilet. Still on an ancient septic system (dating 1960), I am thankful that the municipality is clamping down on old systems, and requiring cottagers to convert to sewers. The old systems cannot be healthy, and the environmental issues are extreme.


In 1981, my family moved to Ottawa. For the next 25 years the anticipation as we drove up from Gravenhurst, spotting familiar landmarks, passed Torrance, then saw Long Lake Road, and then the southern tip of the lake, we would all yell, "Yong Yake!", mimicking someone's youthful inability to pronounce L's. It was so exciting. After a time, Dad was fired in the bankruptcy of his firm of 25 years, losing his pension. They lived on Mom's salary, Dad found another job, but with the 80's came a dearth of building jobs. Dad was an Architectural Hardware Consultant. He would read architecture plans, and write up a list of required hardware. His company would bid on fitting the building with door handles, panic bars, hinges, etc., a meticulous job, with a gr. 10 education, he spend 4 summers in the US earning his certificate and qualifications. We were so proud of him! 


Our Toronto home was half of a semi-detached house, built on farmland that the Walker family (Walker Ave.!) had owned. Uncle Dee lived next door. He was Aunt Adie's brother. Small world. Mom and Dad had bought their half of the house from Aunt Adie and Uncle Dee's mother!



Finally, after Mom kept on working at the Rotary CLub of Toronto, a job she'd held for 30-odd years, at the ripe old age of 66 (1991), they decided to sell this ancient, delightful Toronto home, live in the cottage and build the house. You can see the front lawn, Mom always said it was the size of a postage stamp. The new owner, a single woman, converted the lawn to garden, as is the way with these small homes. I remember Dad mowing the lawn with the push mower.

TTC is 60 years old!

Uncle Fred died after an angina attack, falling off of our cottage deck. Aunt Lill, mom's beloved sister, died in her cottage, 2 doors down, in her bed with Aunt Adie at her bedside. Mom died in her home, with my brother at her side, on the same street in Bala.


Well, here we are...searching for a new home. Everyone who knew about this house has passed over, Mom & Dad were so happy to build it. Their first apt. was on top of a bakery, they had mice! They'd lived in this ancient house (right half) on Walker Ave. for at least 38 years. It's hard to pin it down, although I found a record of their names on a voting list for 1953. They were married in 1947.

Bala Bay Inn party

September, 2008

A wedding party, anxious for outdoor shots, crowded onto the balcony and the balcony collapsed. No one was seriously hurt. Thank goodness. Emergency Responders were there quickly.

The Inn is a popular place for wedding receptions.

July 17, 2010, they will celebrate 100 years. Originally called the Swaztika Hotel, situated on the old Bala road, which was a cow path in those days, it was renamed to be politically correct!

Muskoka firefighters

Two Different Stories About the Status of Muskoka Lakes Volunteer Fire Department

Go to Moose FM for more details.

Another Senior Muskoka Lakes Firefighter Has Resigned

Census long form: Tory government is making a mistake

I created this graph from StatsCan data. This data is crucial for developing policy, for business and municipal, provincial and federal governments in understanding the needs, and the shape of municipalities, provincial and federal citizens. It shapes research and practices. It helps those ensure that our transportation needs, as well as language, mobility, ethnicity, labour, income, housing, health, sociological, immigrant, and educational needs are being met.

How sad when politicians interfere with things of which they have little knowledge.

"Last week, Minister of Industry Tony Clement was given the task of defending the government’s decision to eliminate the mandatory long-form version of the census and move those questions to an optional survey. According to Clement, the long census—which asks questions about respondents’ ethnicity, education and income—is 'heavy-handed' and intrusive. Clement mounted his libertarian high horse: 'You try to limit the amount of state coercion that you have, you try to limit the intrusiveness of government activities, and that’s the balance that we’ve struck,' he said." *

This goes to the depth and the heart of those who prepare for changing demographics and ensuring that our needs are met as citizens. Now, I am no statistician, but I do know that many depend upon this data for accuracy and information. It is those most unable to stand up for themselves whose lives are protected by ensuring that there is infrastructure for them.You and I can buy services, those without cannot. White, middle-class people would be over-represented in data. Those with learning and physical disabilities would not.

References

*Sometimes a gaffe is more than a gaffe

POTTER: The comedy of Clement failing basic economics aside, it’s scary that he doesn’t understand his file

by Andrew Potter on Friday, July 16, 201

Census of Canada

 Census data ... The census provides a statistical portrait of Canada and its people.

Proposed Changes On How Canada Collects Census Data Not In The Public Interest

The long form is the basis for collecting data on language, immigration, Aboriginal peoples, mobility, ethnicity, education, labour, income and housing.

Skywatch Friday - what a gift!

Getting soaked by the open door, I decided I'd best close it. There, on the other side of the lake, a rainbow. Grabbing my camera, I ran out into the rain. The video is noisy with wind and rain.




The sunset was striking, too! What a treat.

rebels and quackers and feathered snackers

The ducklings pick off the bugs on the lily pads, roaring around like little motor boats.

This kid was casting, while big sister paddled, and he spotted Rebel duckling who paddled like a cartoon character to find mom.

Running up for safety on the rock like a rocket. A boy's joyful laughter echoed across the lake. I hope he has a better appreciation of wildlife!

Go, ducklings, go! I often wonder how the adults manage to get enough food as they maintain vigilance for weasels, fishers and the like.

I love watching the animal world as they juggle for territory. They never fight to the death, and they just do a 'who is in charge' dance! The ducklings love the foliage, as the bugs dance about in the shelter from the wind. You can see this dance in the video below.

Scary on the roads

What is it about driving in Cottage Country?  know I have complained about the lakes, but the traffic is amazing on the roads.

People do the stupidest things. Is it the wider roads that lull them into a sense of security?

I saw a woman signaling to pull out - I was shocked. A signal. In Port Carling. Someone actually broadcasting their intention to pull out into traffic, instead of squeezing themselves between you and the Mercedez in front of you.
I stopped, and waved her out.

I knew it was too good to be true. This important person did a U-turn in the middle of the afternoon, in the middle of the street, while traffic piled up behind me. The roads in Port Carling are delightful. Lots of wide spaces for parking. Now that the construction is over, things are looking up.



In summer, this is THE place to find Vanity Plates. It has to be the capital of Vanity Plates...and I have collected a few here and there.

But the traffic in this town...often you will see a group biking. I think they are nuts!

The way people drive in town...they risk their lives.

OK, not so much how they drive, but where they park.

The dude in the SUV had an important missions in, yes, you said it, the Apothecary Shop. Good thing we have great pharmacists there. I need some headache tablets.

Now, we had a meeting in the library, but we took the time to park behind. This guy didn't seem to care that he was blocking a driveway for public parking. (Can you hum a few bars of Ironic - by Alannis Morrisette?)

This chickie (right) was parked in front of the Apothecary Shop, then she backed up, as the truck insisted in pushing her backwards so that he could park legally.

It seems to be a pattern. Important people with important mail to pick up. They do not have the time to park behind the library, in the large parking spot, or time to park in the right direction!

This person with a roof rack pulled right in front of us just as we were leaving the parking spot, meaning we had to back up in order to pull out onto the street. 

This guy was parked in the exit for the parking lot. Just for a minute, mind you. Other people can wait. 

Poor parking skills, or disrespect for others, is not limited to Port Carling.

We visited the Cranberry Bog/Muskoka Lakes Winery. Now, they have acres of land, and parking that accommodates busloads in peak season (Cranfest). If you've been there, you know what I mean.

Yet, this person parked behind out car, while Brian was sitting in the car and I was in buying a bottle of my favourite (blueberry). In front of our car was a pile of sand, beside us was a couple in a car getting ready for a trip, with maps in hand. Brian could not navigate his way out and we had to ask the couple to move their car.

And then there is Gravenhurst.

Boston Pizza was pretty busy that day. There were cars parked right from there up to the Tea Shop.

He pulled a left turn at the light, the stopped abruptly, got out of the car and was waving a piece of paper in his hand walked towards the building.  I leaped out of the car, to my hubby's disgust, and too a photo.

His passenger, after we honked, opened her door and yelled, "Pull around!"

We could have, if a car wasn't coming the other way towards both of us. In addition, there was a car behind us. Stuck in the intersection on highway #169. Good drivers look around them. They respect others. They appreciate that they are not the only ones on the road.

This guy had just moved back behind the truck while hoping to pass. Too bad, we were in the way, as well as a half dozen other cars.

Of course, the double yellow lines are only a suggestion. Only chumps stay inside the lines!

This guy couldn't wait while we made our turn. Obviously late for something.