Questions for
NDP government
Dear Editor:
I have been watching with interest the news lately with regards to the Seniorsa国际传媒 Advocatesa国际传媒 report on long-term care in the Province of sa国际传媒 Besides reading the initial coverage of the report, sadly I haven鈥檛 noticed聽any 聽response from any political leader in the province.聽
Have any of you read the full report yourself? This is very disappointing as thousands of taxpaying, law abiding good citizens of this province go unacknowledged yet again.聽 We truly are invisible and disregarded by all of our provincial leaders.聽 Please correct me if I am wrong, and believe me I would love to be wrong!聽聽
It is frustrating to watch the parade of issues that make their way into the dialogue of our leaders with very little, if any, mention of long term care. This may be on your radar but until this terrible and horrendous situation, (Island Health 聽being the worst case, as mentioned in the Seniorsa国际传媒 Advocate Report) , is rectified or at least talked about by our leaders, how are we to know that anything is being done?
More of my questions follow:聽 聽 Is long term care on your radar?聽 What is your plan as the Elderly population of our province grows and grows?聽 Do you even think about this? Have you talked to any citizens who have loved ones suffering in inadequate 聽long term care situations both in the hospitals and long term care facilities.聽 For those who do not have a majority in the Legislature why aren鈥檛 you getting the press involved in this scandalous situation?
I hope to hear from some of you.聽 聽I am an invisible elderly person though, so maybe I shouldn鈥檛 be so optimistic. Please take the first step into this ugly wilderness and say/do something!聽 聽I hate to give up on all of you. Just sign me feeling disregarded, rejected and invisible in the beautiful Okanagan Valley.
Anne Hunter
sa国际传媒
Get ready for
Act II of Trump
Dear Editor:
We are not too far away from the inauguration of 鈥淭he Donald.鈥 Will he be original聽 as 鈥淭he Donald or will he be The Donald 2.0?鈥 No one really knows. We鈥檒l have to take many of his somewhat hair-brained ideas with a grain of salt, until when and if there are definitive, concrete plans announced
Keep in mind that Trump works on what I think might be termed as the 鈥渕ushroom theory.鈥 He feeds his MAGA supporters and others copious quantities of manure and keeps most of them in the dark. I wonder if he is a devotee of P.T. Barnum whose postulate 鈥淭here is a sucker bone every minute鈥 has been repeated many times in the past?
The Donald, resplendent in his new role as President seems to think that he is omnipotent and that the world will fall at his feet. Just as visions of sugar plums ran through heads in Night Before Xmas story, delusions of grandeur go through his head, so it seems.
The fact that he suggested that Canada become the 51st state and Justin Trudeau the Governor, seems to make one think that he is just visiting this planet. So too, the idea of purchasing Greenland, has been entertained by him.聽
However, Denmark has made its position abundantly clear. He was told that he couldn鈥檛 play in Greenlandsa国际传媒 yard.
He has made reference to dropping out of NATO unless he gets his way and everyone pays an equal share. He has chastised Germanysa国际传媒 politicians to the point that he has stated that they need to restructure everything to be successful like the States.聽
His proposed tariff increase to Canada and Mexico has implications that he has not thought about. Although the U.S. will impose new tariffs, it will affect the retail prices paid for goods by those in the work force. When and if this action occurs, it will be interesting to see the reaction of his loyal supporters.
If Trump executes any of the following: mass deportation; revamping of the Affordable Care Act; abolition of the FBI; being dictator for one day; restructuring the DOJ; pardoning of Jan. 6 rioters; stiff tariffs on imports etal, it could possibly trigger a cataclysmic Armageddon that the U.S. might never recover from.聽 Got your seatbelts fastened and airbags on alert?
Ron Barillaro
Penticton
Donald Trump: ugly American
Dear Editor:
While watching the news, I saw and heard that dangerously weird, soon-to-be president of the United States.聽
He was bombastically ranting about using American economic power to take over Canada and make it the 51st state.
I was immediately reminded of the novel, 鈥淭he Ugly American鈥. Itsa国际传媒 a semi-fictional book written in 1958 that depicts the American arrogance, incompetence, and corruption in Southeast Asia.
聽One of the characters in the story, a Burmese journalist, says, 鈥淔or some reason, the American people I meet in my country are not the same as the ones I knew in the United States. A mysterious change seems to come over Americans when they go to a foreign land. They isolate themselves socially. They live pretentiously. They are loud and ostentatious.鈥
Somethings might not change but others get worse.
Lloyd Atkins
Vernon
Scary, uncertain future
Dear Editor:
Canada and Western Europe faces an uncertain future. The reliance on American leadership has become a double edge sword.
While the U.S. remains a critical ally, it is increasing unpredictable particularly under Trump, whose 鈥減eace through strength,鈥 relies on exerting pressure, not building consensus.聽 These self-serving policies will obviously threaten to destabilize the world order on which the Western world depends.聽
A deeper malaise comes from President Trumpsa国际传媒 friend Musk, who bought his place beside Trump, - our very own version of American oligarchs, - armed with his 200 million X subscribers, enough to agitate loudly for any preferred polices.聽
For the last 70 years, the world has largely been governed by the Washington consensus. but that post war consensus is shifting.聽 According to the Global south, the American led West has long squandered whatever moral authority it earned for defeating Nazi-Germany. -our only 鈥済ood-war.鈥
The world is no longer governed by clear rules or shared values. This leaves the central cohesion threatened and the political center has begun to crack.聽 聽聽
Russia and China once eager to participant have grown disillusioned with the once promised integration and mutual respect. Now they find themselves pushing back against the old-unipolar world order that does not recognize its interests.聽
Ironically it is the constant manipulation and sometimes rejection by America, of the very rules it champions, which has thrown the system into disarray. Trump embodies that change, signaling a world where strength dictates outcomes.
Jon Peter Christoff
West sa国际传媒聽
Caden Price says thanks sa国际传媒
Dear sa国际传媒:
First, I want to say these last four years were truly the best four years of my life. I was so lucky to have the opportunity to play in this city for a first-class organization. I sometimes think we don鈥檛 realize how good we have it as players here with how nice the city is and how friendly the people are. I鈥檓 forever grateful for my time here and for the people that made it special.
TO THE HAMILTON FAMILY 鈥
I want to start off by thanking Bruce, Curtis, Gavin, and the Hamilton family. Ever since they picked me in the WHL Prospects Draft you showed that you believed in me as a player and as a person. I wouldn鈥檛 be where I am today without you. You have helped me so much along the way to achieve my goals and get me closer to the next steps in my career. Thank you for everything and all you have done for me these past four years.
TO MY COACHES 鈥
Kris Mallette, Josh MacNevin, Quintin Laing, Derrick Martin, Eli Wilson, and Glenn Carnegie - thank you for believing in me as a player and as a person. each of you have had a hand in shaping me into the player and the person I am today. I鈥檝e learned and grown so much each year, on and off the ice, and I wouldn鈥檛 be where I am today without any of you guys. Thank you for showing up to work every day, pushing me to help me get better and to reach my goals. You truly prepared me for the next level.
TO THE STAFF 鈥
Thank you to Scott Hoyer, Tim Webster, Regan Bartel, Paige Bednorz, Troy Durrell, Shane Curveon, Andrew Knopf, Kent Wagner, Gerry, and the rink staff and all the Active Care Health crew - all the little things you guys do behind the scenes that usually go unnoticed were greatly appreciated. Whether it was helping me stay healthy, sharpening my blades, helping me with the media side of things, getting the team safely to our road trips, or letting me into the rink in the early hours, no matter what, you guys were always there to help me and had my best interest at heart.
I also wanted to give a special thanks to Scott. We went through a lot together and you were always there for me, both mentally and physically. You were always someone i could go to for anything and the great conversations we had will be something I鈥檒l remember forever. thanks for everything Hoysy, I鈥檒l miss you.
TO MY BILLET FAMILY 鈥
Natalie and Darren, you took me in when I was 16 and have been nothing but the best. I truly view you like a second set of parents. No matter win or lose, hurt or healthy, you both, as well as your two little puppies, were always there for me to come home to with smiles on your faces. I was so lucky to have you as billets and I will never take that for granted. Thank you for all the support, helping me out and teaching me so many valuable lessons as you truly helped shape me into the person I am today. I will always hold a special place in my heart for each of you and be forever thankful for everything you guys have done for me.
TO MY TEAMMATES 鈥
Thank you, fellas, for making it easy to come to the rink every day and play the sport I love. All the lunches, card games, football Sundays, and everything we did together, I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it because I was getting to spend time with the boys. Most of us will be lifelong friends because of the relationships we have created, and I am so grateful to have met so many awesome people along the way and shared a ton of memories with. No matter the day of the week or how hard the day was you guys made every day an easy day. I wish everyone the best of luck in whatever the future holds. Thank you for everything.
TO THE FANS 鈥
Thank you for showing up each and every night no matter the day of the week, the time, our record, or who we played. You all are truly the best fans in the WHL and getting to play in front of you at Prospera Place was special and something that I will never take for granted. Your support was unbelievable and the passion everyone has for this team is unbeaten. Every time I got to fly out onto the ice through the Ogopogo and see everyone in the stands is a memory I鈥檒l have forever and something that every kid dreams of. Thank you for making every night at Prospera a special one.
This isn鈥檛 an easy goodbye, but I wanted to thank anyone who helped me in any form or fashion over the duration of my four-year journey here in sa国际传媒. This city and organization will always hold a special place in my heart and itsa国际传媒 a place that I will always remember.
Until next time, sa国际传媒.
Caden Price
Saskatoon
Try coming up with better plan
Dear Editor:
The column 鈥淐arbon tax needs to go with Trudeau鈥 by Kris Sims goes into great detail why the carbon tax should be shelved but there is no explanation of what we should be doing to address fired like those burning in California.
Surely it is unwise to throw out Canadasa国际传媒 only climate mitigation effort, even if imperfect, before an alternative is developed. I certainly don鈥檛 think doing nothing, in the face of our looming climate catastrophe, is the answer.
Complaining is easy. Coming up with a better plan is difficult.
S. I. Petersen
Nanaimo
Write:
sa国际传媒: letters@ok.bc.ca
Penticton: letters@pentictonherald.ca