The city of Dubuque, Iowa is attempting to suck the fun out of winter for kids as they’ve banned sledding in 48 of its 50 designated parks, citing the high cost of liability. City council got cold feet on the activity after learning a Nebraska judge awarded $2-million to a family after a five year-old became paralyzed while sledding on a city owned piece of land. Council also cited a separate $2-million payment given to a Iowa man who was injured after he sled into a sign. One of these days, someone will invent a bubble for all of us to live in. No, wait. That won’t happen because if an injury occurred, the bubble company would get sued. No point.
Over the Christmas holidays, a couple of stories in Ontario caught my eye. The first involved a person pointing a gun at border guards at the crossing in Windsor. The man was taken down with a single shot from a guard, but not mortally wounded. The measure is drawing widespread praise as the criminal’s life was spared and he is now able to seek mental help (after all, it’s just not plausible that he be a bad human being). Police, on the other hand, have been criticized for their tactic of shooting in the chest when pressed to use their firearm. Here’s my problem with the whole thing: if the person approaching the guard was able to reach for his gun and get a shot off and hurt an innocent bystander, then shooting him in the leg really does no good. How much scrutiny does the guard come under if he’s forced to shoot the man several times before he stops approaching? People charged with keeping the peace can’t win.
The second story surrounds a man who was killed by police during an altercation after which he robbed a Scarborough TTC operator. The Toronto Star wrote a tear jerking tale about the man (again, mentally ill) as he was an aspiring rapper who was a great father to four children. There was no mention about the police officer who was forced to apply lethal force and the trauma he’s likely to endure for the rest of his life. Contrary to the belief of the anti-police movement that seems to be gathering steam, cops do not like to shoot people and one of the last things they ever want to do on the job is be responsible for a death. People easily forget the poor officer who took his own life after not being able to regroup after witnessing Vince Li chop off the head of Tim McLean on a Greyhound bus. Let’s have some pity for the mental illness that he, surely, suffered after watching that gruesome and unspeakable crime.
Another mentally ill man in Edmonton killed eight family members and friends over the Christmas holidays and it was revealed the law was far too lenient on the perpetrator, who later turned the gun on himself to avoid prosecution. The man had a long history of run-ins with the law, including domestic incidents and the uttering of death threats. Is it too much to ask for the punishment of a death threat to become almost that of which one could receive for committing murder? Fearing being killed may be worse than being killed in itself. I also have difficulty labelling someone who has a horrible temper and a penchant for spending too much money (as was the case here) as ‘mentally ill’. To me, it’s an affront to people who suffer from mental illness and deflects personal responsibility. There are a lot of folks who struggle with mental issues, but are nowhere near close to committing some of the crimes outlined above and I find it offensive to those people.
Speaking of offensive, Big Bang Theory star Kaley Cuoco came under fire last week after she said she wasn’t a feminist. In this day and age of anti-bullying, why do the majority of the population allow themselves to be bullied by special interest groups to conform to their beliefs? What’s so bad about Kaley Cuoco saying she’s not a feminist?
You have to love loopholes. My truck is under warranty and I also purchased an extended warranty. Just before Christmas, I made an appointment to get my truck looked at because the check engine light had come on. I wasn’t alarmed that anything was wrong, but I didn’t want to be looking at the light all the time either. The shop confirmed all was well, just an update had to be conducted. Cost: $200. You see, when something isn’t wrong, you pay. You only pay when there’s something wrong. So, either drive around with the check engine light on or pay $200 to get it turned off. But, there’s nothing wrong so warranty doesn’t apply. I call that a crock of dandelions. To the shop’s credit, I was refunded after I complained. Still, the manufacturer isn’t likely to compensate the shop for the labour.
Nice person mentions this week to Gerry Vandane, Rick Dillabough, Terry Stevely, and Rae Groeneveld.
