Bob Rae did the right thing today.
He has confirmed that he will not seek the leadership of the Liberal party. Some will be disappointed and some will be elated. In the last almost 150 years that this country has been around, there hasn't been a prime minister who was previously the premier of a province. The major reason for this is that there is always a point in time in a leader's reign when the leader ceases to be an asset to his party and begins to become a liability.
Bob Rae had that moment, as did Mike Harris, who resigned before he could face the music. So did Brian Mulroney, Jean Chretien and Pierre Trudeau. A former leader carries a history along with a record of everything that happened on his watch. So such history can be explosive to the party.
That is why leaders need to stay fresh. Once the decomposing begins, there is no stopping it.
Don't get me wrong. I think Bob Rae would have made a great Prime Minister, but his history will always be his greatest liability.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Monday, June 4, 2012
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Dear Hamilton Spectator
It's nice to be recognized as one the LINQ community voices.
But could you at least look at my blog to get my name right?
Love,
Ren.
Update: I did this entry on my son's computer and didn't realize that I spelled Spectator wrong.
Where's my proof reader Adrian when I need him???
But could you at least look at my blog to get my name right?
Love,
Ren.
Update: I did this entry on my son's computer and didn't realize that I spelled Spectator wrong.
Where's my proof reader Adrian when I need him???
Friday, June 1, 2012
One-way, two-way - Is there any way???
The gang over at Raise the Hammer are now debating how Main Street should look when some councillor begins the really crazy idea of slowing downtown to a crawl, not even during construction season!
Being a Hamiltonian, there is no rite of passage greater than the quest of navigating your way through downtown along the one way streets. It is your initiation into the great brotherhood of Hamiltonians. Of course that would go hand in hand with driving along Burlington Street and Industrial Drive (oh no! one way streets!) and coming out to either end of the road with your suspension still intact! But I digress...
I am only going to say this: I cannot get behind such a plan without a suitable traffic management plan which would have the same level of traffic flow or better. Any plan that would end up creating inconvenience for many to create some semblance of livability for the few is not a step forward.
James Street and John Street are now two way roads and while there is improvement to life north of King Street, there is chaos to the south. Not a day goes by without a pedestrian crossing St. Joseph's Drive, walking uphill along James Street South, experiencing a near miss from a car that was turning onto St. Joseph's Drive from James Street.
And what about the International Village stretch of King Street? How will anyone navigate through that while going through downtown to get on the 403? There's only two lanes and they both go the same direction. There would a lot of work to do, should we somehow head in that direction.
Hamilton used to be a place where people met and now it's not so much anymore and that's not attributed to one-way or two-way streets, but to the lack of vision and imagination that made cities like Toronto great and cities like Hamilton end up with more street level parking lots. Apart from Lister Block can you name a great office building or real estate project that could mill all the great visionaries over to us?
We are about to embark on building a new rapid transit system and a new stadium, neither of which required or solicited a radical vision, but radical visions are needed to keep our city vibrant and they need to move the city forward, and not turn back the clock.
Being a Hamiltonian, there is no rite of passage greater than the quest of navigating your way through downtown along the one way streets. It is your initiation into the great brotherhood of Hamiltonians. Of course that would go hand in hand with driving along Burlington Street and Industrial Drive (oh no! one way streets!) and coming out to either end of the road with your suspension still intact! But I digress...
I am only going to say this: I cannot get behind such a plan without a suitable traffic management plan which would have the same level of traffic flow or better. Any plan that would end up creating inconvenience for many to create some semblance of livability for the few is not a step forward.
James Street and John Street are now two way roads and while there is improvement to life north of King Street, there is chaos to the south. Not a day goes by without a pedestrian crossing St. Joseph's Drive, walking uphill along James Street South, experiencing a near miss from a car that was turning onto St. Joseph's Drive from James Street.
And what about the International Village stretch of King Street? How will anyone navigate through that while going through downtown to get on the 403? There's only two lanes and they both go the same direction. There would a lot of work to do, should we somehow head in that direction.
Hamilton used to be a place where people met and now it's not so much anymore and that's not attributed to one-way or two-way streets, but to the lack of vision and imagination that made cities like Toronto great and cities like Hamilton end up with more street level parking lots. Apart from Lister Block can you name a great office building or real estate project that could mill all the great visionaries over to us?
We are about to embark on building a new rapid transit system and a new stadium, neither of which required or solicited a radical vision, but radical visions are needed to keep our city vibrant and they need to move the city forward, and not turn back the clock.
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