Christmas is upon us. Three more sleeps until Santa Claus comes wiggling down the chimney, and it is time to sit back and either enjoy a mug of eggnog or ponder a lump of coal. Who among us should get which?
The most deserving recipient of a lump of coal this year has to be our downtown stable mate. The downtown daily should be thoroughly embarrassed by its 59 Carden St. blog.
For those who don’t know, a blog is an Internet thing where you can comment on the content. I have one, and every week I post these columns to it. Anyone can post a response, but few do.
The Carden St. one is a cesspool of anonymous and ignorant comments. A few people post over their real names, but not many. Some anonymous comments are thoughtful and well presented. Most are not. It is a cacophony of complaints posted by obstinately mindless blowhards.
The paper never prints anonymous letters to the editor about its articles. It shouldn’t allow anonymous blog comments, either. I say that after having done so twice during a discussion of economic inequality.
Mind you, most online news outlets that allow reader comments are in the same boat. The CBC website, for example, can be just as bad.
These forums are ditches on the edge of the information superhighway, and the comments are the litter and broken beer bottles clogging them up.
No editor should moan about a decline in the quality of public discourse while allowing this to continue.
What about the mugs of eggnog? There are several deserving recipients out around town.
I’ll raise a glass to all those who did their Christmas shopping in locally owned independent businesses. They bring a whole new dimension to the “occupy” movement that dominated the news for much of the second half of the year.
Opinion polls showed that a majority of Canadians supported the goals of the movement. December is a good month to put our money where our mouths are.
We can stop feeding the “one per cent” by refusing to give them our money.
The majority of the retail sector is controlled by a few giant corporations. There are a lot of local enterprises much more deserving of our financial support. Downtown is full of them, but they can be found all over.
Except for the east side, of course. It’s practically devoid of shops, big or small.
Some eggnog should also go to the city councillors and staff people who endured a steady barrage of unwarranted criticism over construction on Carden Street and at the organics composting plant. Both were plagued by problems, but the city will be a better place when they are completed.
It was tough to tell the Carden Street merchants to be patient, that better days are around the corner. They are turning the corner now, and their businesses will be better for it. It is just as hard telling it to the residents on Stone Road. They will also get to the corner soon. It’s Maple Reinders’ job to get them there quickly.
A final toast to all those who have a five-month old puppy roaming the house. My wee Westie is charging around my desk right now, attacking a squeaky toy with great gusto.
I bought a book on puppy training at the Friends’ giant book sale in October. He ate it.
Will I ever be able to leave my socks on the floor again? Can my table legs hold up for another few months?
Here’s to Charlie and to all of you. Have a good one on Sunday.
