Gone? Not Really…

I cannot say I was surprised by the announcement by Premier McGuinty to resign last night.  When I saw the first tweet from Toronto Star Queens Park reporter Robert Benzie just after 6pm I knew the end was only a few minutes away.  Nor am I surprised that Queens Park will be prorogued, you see McGuinty doesn’t really want to leave.  So now he is gone, but not really…

This move makes it easier for him to stay and work without having to report to anyone.  He will not report to the Opposition MPP’s because Queens Park will remain dark until who knows when.  McGuinty will not have to report to the voters of Ontario because by the time there is another election he’ll be gone (for real).

The moves last night are merely another way that the Ontario Liberal Party will control the message and the Parliament of Ontario.  With QP closed for business the government will no longer be held to task for the Gas Plant closure, ORNGE, eHealth, the deficit and lack of Job Creation plans.  For the present time, no longer will the government have to face any consequences for their actions.

Hopes that the Lt-Gov. of Ontario will deny the prorogation are slim.  Both the PC Party of Ontario and the Ontario NDP have asked for the legislature to remain sitting to deal with the important issues facing this government and Ontarians.  The move made last night was a selfish move on the part of the Ontario Liberal Party to remain in power and continue to control the message and the direction of the government.  I am not sure they noticed, but the direction they have been taking Ontario is not the right path for a prosperous Ontario.

In Ottawa Centre and across this province the message will be of a better, growing and healing Ontario under a Tim Hudak PC Government.  Whether it comes tomorrow, two months or in 6 months, I and all my PC Party Colleagues will continue to bring to voters the PC Party Paths of Prosperity.  So while as long as Dalton McGuinty remains at the helm of Ontario for at least another 5 months Ontario remains at the mercy of the waste of billions of tax dollars that this government has orchestrated.

I am looking forward to continuing to knock on doors in Ottawa Centre and bring a message that “Yes, Ontario can lead again”.  Step 1 has been taken by the Premier, Step 2 will come, but not until the Ontario Liberal Party feels they are truly ready to face voters of Ontario.

But alas, Ontario will not truly be ready to be a leader in Canada until McGuinty is REALLY gone as is the Liberal Party of Ontario as the governing party.

I can be found Twitter @robertdekker and on Facebook at http://tiny.cc/n5l97
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Busiest Month Ever

I wish this month could sail by a bit faster, not because it is not going well.  Not at all as I am accomplishing much and achieving even more.  I only look at moving October along so I can get to November, a quieter month.  October has recently been the month that holds so much for me in terms of meetings, meetings and meetings.  This may be due to last October having an election and the needed election clean up.  September last year was all about the campaign not a normal cycle for me.  Looking back at months past I wonder if there is a pattern that makes October so busy this year.

November is Not so overtly busy as regular meeting schedules kick in and I normally count on one week per month of no meetings or events.

December for me is not the killer month it is for others.  While a couple of weekends are booked solid for Christmas Parties I am hired for I am not crazy about the busy-ness of the month.  I am more a Christmas Spirit person, not one to run around for the 24 days preceding Christmas.  I shop one day, do it quickly (it is well planned and with as few store stops as possible), I am not the shopper that retail likes.   New Years is a quiet affair, I last DJed a News Year’s Eve Party over 10 years ago.  2012 might proof different as we are planning on a Thunder Bay Christmas travelling on the 25^th heading north.  The highlight for me is the Daybreak Housing Christmas Dinner; I cook a Turkey and spend an evening with the women and men who rely on Daybreak for a place to call home.  Learn more about Daybreak here: www.daybreakhousing.com.

January is the December hangover, not many people able to move and the committees and groups I work with slowly get back up to speed.

February is my new favourite month and not because it is the shortest.  A normal schedule is back in place but more importantly I celebrate the anniversary of my wonderful relationship with Liz.  It is my happy month.

March and April are much like February, regular, well planned and routine (in a good way).

May is very much appreciated as the change in weather allows for altering plans and meetings.  We can once again enjoy our ‘outdoor room’ as we call the large balcony.  Meetings take a new turn, they are brighter and we see the outcomes take place that we have been working towards since the fall.

June is the first of two transition months, everything moves into summer mode determining what can wait until September and what needs attention through July and August.  Planning for the new cycle which starts in September is first brought up.

July and August, vacation months as many organizations take a summer break.  Even sitting on group executives as I do does keep me occupied, but not at the same pace as September through June.  There is enough time to have that work-life-community-fun balance.

September is the BIG transition month, one where we go from idling to racing in almost every aspect of our lives: school, work, government and sports.  The fact that we have a long weekend to start the month and the fall session of our lives allows us to catch our breath before we burn a little rubber out of the gate.

Back to October, I have no idea how next October will work out, but for the remainder of this month efforts are going towards smoothing the ripples of my activities to ensuring calm waters are ahead.

Adding more hours to a day, days to a month or months to a year would not help – we would just find that we can add more to do!

I can be found Twitter @robertdekker and on Facebook at http://tiny.cc/n5l97. Please follow me and send your thoughts on this and other postings.

Looking for Mr. or Ms. Good News

As of late I have been disappointed in the print versions of the newspapers I read, mainly the Ottawa Citizen and the Globe and Mail.  I have not recently been engaged in a newspaper that keeps me occupied for hours as I once was with interesting stories about people and issues.  I now get through my weekday Ottawa Citizen in about 30 minutes.  I rarely read an entire article as I have lost interest halfway through. I did try to reduce my Citizen subscription but only keep the Thursday through Weekend editions so I can keep my online access, but there was no option for me to do that, so I kept the 6 day delivery. Some days the paper does not even get picked up off the table and read.

Is it just me?  Or are there others like me feeling the same way?

What I would really like to see or hear is a Good News report, a weekly TV or Radio newscast that only broadcasts ‘Good News’.  No Wars.  No Crime. No Political Scandals.  Nothing that makes me do anything but break out into a smile and perhaps shed a tear of joy.

Just to be clear, I do not consider Media Releases and Announcements from Government types as good news.

I went looking for Good News, here is what I found.

Nothing says good news like great cuisine, the Good News Café in Thunder Bay looks like a place I need to go to.  I have to ask Liz’s daughter Briana and her husband Claude to check it out for me.  I can go there myself when we head to T-Bay for Christmas. http://www.goodnewscuisine.com/about.html.

Next was “Good News Everyone!”  This seemed to originate from the animated TV show Futurama featuring Professor Farnsworth; I don’t know how this would classify as good news – unless you are a fan of Futurama.

This popped up for me, http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/, they claim to be #1 on Google for searches of ‘Good News’, though for me the Good News Café came up on top.  This website only has Good News and was created by a TV producer who wanted to prove that good news sells.  It must sell as they have been ‘enthusing people’ since 1997.  The GNN is liked by over 24K people on Facebook.  But even Good News has to have a bad day – their website was hacked over the weekend, but the Good News was that there is no payment info (credit cards etc.) on their site, all payments are through PayPal.

Next up was Good News from the Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/good-news/.  Lead stories include a trash collector that returned $117K that was mistakenly thrown out.  There is an editorial on why we put happiness on hold (and how to stop doing it), a story about a New York cabbie that gives out candy and so much more.  Be warned though, one click to a link on the top banner leads you back to our world of chaos, mayhem and troubles.

On Twitter I can follow such good news deliverers such as @bbcgoodnews @goodnewsaol  @latimesgoodnews and the above mentioned Good News Network at @geriwc (she is the founder) to name a few.

Tell me what you come up with on your hunt for good news.  Happy Good News Hunting.

I can be found Twitter @robertdekker and on Facebook at http://tiny.cc/n5l97. Please follow me and send your thoughts on this and other postings.