Dear Sir:
I sent the following letter to the Standard Freeholder but, of course, they did not print it. It seems to me the worst critics of politicians are often those who have never stood for public office themselves.
Claude McIntosh, of the Standard Freeholder, often refers to our Premier as the Hon. D. McFibber to which I object. In his 18th June, 2010, column Claude McNonsense belittles, in a very mocking manner, the HST explanation given by our MPP Jim Brownell, to whom he insolently refers as Jimbo. Mr. Brownell’s explanation of the benefits of the HST were, indeed, excellent and showed the public just what the values might be – this has not been undertaken before and reputable journalists have avoided providing a good balanced point of view. We, the public, need to know when changes in our tax structure occur, as they occasionally must. We need to be informed correctly and not be misled by the uninformed.
Any knowlegable journalist will recognize that taxes, whether we like them or not, are the basis upon which a sound society functions. Perhaps Claude McNonsense would rather we followed the Conservative mode and make us all pay through the nose by making everything privately operated. His good buddy Micheal Den Tandt would obviously prefer this because, in the same newspaper, same date, he advocates we consider some privatization of our health plan. Now that is nonsense.
There is no way that any private medical facility will undertake to provide a service to the people of Ontario unless they make a profit. That profit is the same as a tax except for one mere detail – the profit goes into someone’s pocket and does not get used for the common good of all people. Perhaps Claude McNonsence and his good buddy could set out a plan they have devised whereby taxes would not be necessary and no one would make a profit.
Again, on the subject of Micheal Den Tandt, he sounds like a desk wimp who has never kicked a soccer ball, even in anger. That he commits an entire column trying to discredit soccer players is quite foolish. Anyone who has played the game will know that the injuries received on the pitch can be excruciatingly painful for a short time – I know for I have played the ‘beautiful game’.
John E. Milnes, South Stormont Ontario
(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of the Cornwall Free News, their staff, or sponsors.)
Good food for thought Mr. Milnes
We need to know about tax changes BEFORE they occur though. We elect people to run certain functions on our behalf, and we therefore need to know what they are doing so we can counter ideas, ideas that go against the wishes of the majority, before they get rammed down our throats. People will wake up to the HST when the bills start coming in.
Profit is not a bad idea. Of course we already have private medical and they pay their people less than hospitals to be able to have a return. Of course they are not getting the building paid for and have costs. We still use our health card, except for the services that were delisted, but that is the same in hospitals.
The present health care system is broken and expensive, a correction must be made, soon. I would not say move all surgiries for example, but many services could be done away from a hospital. A discussion is needed.
McFibber has run 2 platforms based on lie’s. It is very difficult to go to a polling station and make a logical choice base on phantom promises. Claude McIntosh is reminding his readers of this. All I say to Claude is, thank you.
Well John, For the most part a credible letter. However it is pretty bad when you lower yourself to the level of those you criticize. You almost sound like that kid having never kicked the ball, but in your case angered cuz you were not allowed to play.
I do agree Claude is a trashy tabloid journalist at best and should only be permitted to write about community history articles. But it is a man in the same place for a long time. No experience and limited exposure combined with political inbreeding. It makes for a restricted point of view.
John you too have really provided no insight as to why this is happening either. You have an opinion after the fact. Yes someone will get rich if we privatize but if we maintain the liberal path we will bankrupt the system. More money and more entities to monitor are not the answer. Currently we seem to loose a good number of Dr’s to the US, could they have a better concept we can work with in Canada. Don’t give me any of that free shyte either or a good system. Just look at what is happening in Cornwall.
Would we not need a form of referendum or vote to play with the health care system before it is changed?
I concur with Mr. Milnes with regard to the poor judgement AND lack of journalistic skill consistently displayed by Claude McIntosh: a man whose often slanderous opinions would be more aptly displayed on the wall of a bathroom stall than in print. Such is the unfortunate state of our ‘local’ newspaper.
From all accounts, I don’t think it will be very long before Claude’s writings will be forced back to where they belong (in those very stalls) thanks to the unavoidable decline and demise of the Freeholder (thanks to Sun Publishing)… which will be a mixed blessing to be sure.
On the other hand, I’m not a soccer fan, so what do I know? 🙂
PS. Mr. Milnes Letter to the Editor appears in today’s Freeholder. Let the war of words begin!! LOL