Roast and Toast – November 24, 2020
By Roast and Toast on November 24, 2020.
TOAST: To the Blood Tribe for sponsoring the COVID commercials. More people need to pay attention.
ROAST: Wow. Do as I say, not as I do. Re: Turning Point photo opp at city hall in Lethbridge Herald, Nov. 17, page A2. Great to see all wearing masks but what happened to social distancing. All of these people so-called community leaders should and do know better. Sorry, but just once dosenÕt cut it with this resident.
ROAST: To a local snow-removal company. Twice you have cleared the neighbourÕs driveway and the street in front of their house and took the snow and dumped it further down the street for everyone else in the cul-de-sac to have to drive through. I donÕt care if you smooth it out (your words) it builds up and gets no sunlight to melt. They have a south-facing gravelled front yard with no plants, common sense should be telling you to dump it there.
ROAST: A family member has come up with a painful nerve, muscle problem in a hand he needs to do his job. Jan. 6, 2021 is the first available date to see a specialists and an enhanced ultrasound; parking is $11 to find that out, and a prescription Ònot covered.Ó Anyone knocking the American medical establishment talking reckless trash about wages and costs, hasnÕt a clue what CanadaÕs union-run ÒfreeÓ health care costs every citizen. Some, like this kid, are going through hell waiting sometimes months for help.
TOAST: To city council for what appears to be a glimmer of hope and sanity. The proposed decision not to raise taxes and to possibly hold the line on other utility costs is to be applauded. Now if they could only abandon the ridiculous idea for a performing arts centre and discontinue future spending projects designed to satisfy small factions or needless causes they would be getting closer to the right track.
ROAST: To the conspiracy theorist from an alternate reality. Apparently you donÕt pay a City utility bill or youÕd realize that the City already charges sewer fees and have been doing so for well over 40 years. Please stop spreading BS like this.
TOAST: To the Toaster suggesting a way to fundraise the police department requests for more officers. I reside on Uplands Boulevard North close to the intersection you refer to and it is an ongoing daily hazard of stupid drivers not stopping. Also, going east and west there are no stops, consquently creating the ÒIndy 500Ó of stupid speedsters! Solution: traffic lights.
TOAST: To Dennis Brenner for his factual letter in The Herald Nov. 18, with the exposed facts re: opioid casualties and the now-defunct SCS. The taxpayers in the city can use common sense (not all that common anymore) to formulate an opinion on the perpetrated fraud that a minority of folks used to scam us. These people are no different than online fraudsters. As for the continuing LOPS, just why do they think they can continue breaking bylaws in the guise of continuing the deception?
ROAST: Call me the Grinch. Some people do not buy fire insurance and allegedly burn the house down with a tobacco product. The generous community then raises money to offset their loss. Why do I carry insurance if others will bail me out when my house burns down?
TOAST: A huge toast to Dennis Bremner for his letter to the editor ÒData doesnÕt support deaths linked to SCS closure.Ó It is time someone called the do-gooders on their numbers. They do not add up. Nor did the numbers in the SCS report to the City of Lethbridge. It is tough to support a point of view with numbers that do not support that view.
TOAST: To the letter from Dennis regarding the data and the SCS. Yes, enabling drug use is not helping anybody. Well said, Dennis!
ROAST: Received an impressive flyer in the mail (why not an insert in The Herald) for a local fast-food restaurant offering a festive season special. What a great deal, in bold print, a $10 voucher was included with my purchase for my next order. May I strongly suggest to read the fine print; this voucher can only used in a certain time period. I was OK with this deal until I got home. Looked in the bag and there was my $10 cash voucher and read this was only good if you had a $40 purchase when used on your next order. A heads up to family of two who have never spent more than $20 at this certain restaurant.
ROAST: Chicago has 500 murders to date in 2020,mostly Black on Black. The Black communities overwhelmingly are demanding more police presence, not less. Defunding, by any definition, would not service this purpose.
ROAST: I was surprised to hear from a roaster that MacleanÕs magazine has enough readership to warrant publication. My question: did MacleanÕs also list the dozens of accomplishments credited to the Trumpster? Remember Ñ fair and balanced. Incidently, please stop all the name calling.
ROAST: Yes, it would be very practical to have another bridge to the westside but at last count, several years ago the cost would have been over $200 million and that would require financing from our provincial government, which has not been forthcoming. Chances are, todayÕs cost would be well over $200 million which our city of 100,000 could not finance, but it might be helpful if our town fathers would reconsider their Òpie in the skyÓ projects.
ROAST: To all those not willing to hear the shaking of the Lord, with the coming of the virus. The shaking coming to the churches and its leaders first. They hear not His voice, they allow corruption… seek to hear His voice and be safe.
ROAST: With COVID cases rising enormously Lethbridge needs to take a much more aggressive strategy to fight it.
ROAST: To all those holier-than-thou roasters who are so uptight about the pop-up tent. Must I remind you that we donÕt only have drug addicts but we also have booze addicts, smoking addicts, food addicts, gambling addicts, sex addicts, porn addicts, religious addicts, just to mention a few. The cost to the public purse to treat all the addictions runs into the multi-millions. If we lock up all the addicts, that would leave only you and me and I ainÕt too sure about you.
ROAST: To the city council for even thinking about cancelling print advertising. A lot of us seniors do not do internet Ñ but we do vote.
ROAST: To the Lethbridge Herald for the photo of the pole walkers on the front page of last ThursdayÕs edition. No masks, no social distances. I did not expect to see this in the paper.
ROAST: How do you undermine the results of an election proven to be 100 per cent fair and provide worldwide embarrassment for your country? Easy, you support a president on the way out who refuses to allow the new leader to take power and begin fighting the COVID crisis. And do this group of conspiracy-gulping followers care about the thousands of lives to be lost and democracy threatened by not allowing Biden to begin work? Sad to say but I doubt it. And let me put it this way, if Trump told them the sky was falling they would all be looking for cover.
ROAST: To the City of Lethbridge Transit Department. Time to use technology to review your operations. Have you noticed 95 per cent of buses are like ghost buses with less than five people riding? Same pre-COVID. You could change out 95 per cent of your buses for mini-vans or shuttle vans and save the taxpayers a lot of money. Surely you can track your lack of ridership with modern-day technology and reduce your routes accordingly.
ROAST: To all the people who donÕt clear their sidewalks. Please respect your neighbours and make sure pathways are safe to walk on. There is a city bylaw, please follow it! Snowy weather is just starting and people are already being lazy!
ROAST: To mayor, City council and City planners for again making plans to be less than transparent to the people they serve Ñ this time by cutting back print advertising and telling us to go online for information about public notices and hearings. And to say those who rely on the newspaper could instead go down to city hall to get a printed copy! How out of touch can this mayor and council be! They tell us to stay home to prevent COVID spread Ñ but wonÕt provide information in the local newspaper so we can keep up with City affairs. They tell us to support local business Ñ but donÕt do the same. Put the costs of the notices where they belong Ñ on the developers. Or take the $400 supplement theyÕve been giving developers from the mayor, council and City plannersÕ salaries! City government is supposed to be accessible to all community members.
TOAST: To councillors Miyashiro, Hyggen, Mauro and Coffman, who seem to be the lone voices on city council trying to speak up for the people the entire council was elected to serve. The others seem to have forgotten us and live in some kind of elitist bubble.
TOAST: To the Lethbridge Herald for supporting SACPA by inserting the notice and the link each week so we can get our weekly dose of intellectual information. A Toast to all the SACPA volunteers who make it possible.
ROAST: I cannot believe what is happening in the USA. Their election process leaves a lot to be desired. As the leader of the free world something has gone very wrong with their democracy. The president is a good friend of a well-known dictator and obviously is trying those ideas in his country. President Trump deserved to be impeached a year ago and should have been; the country is paying for that mistake now. I am also sure that Trump would sell his own mother if he thought that it would keep him in power.
TOAST: To Michelle Browne whose letter to the editor entitled ÒCondemning scare tactics about socialismÓ was excellent and right on point. It was very well-written and accurately portrays the UCP governmentÕs lack of humanity as regards the most vulnerable people in our province as well as their undermining of our health-care system. If the UCP wants the USA type of health care and politics, be my guest and move there; you should feel right at home.
ROAST: Roast once again to our judicial system. Who is running the bail office? Why are certain offenders time and again released? And sometimes without dealing with previous infractions? IsnÕt there some kind of oversight on these people working out of the bail office? I know at this time there is no in-person release, but done over the phone. We are spending so much money on chasing down and then releasing these guys over and over. They should be held in custody after the first bail infraction.
TOAST: A hearty toast to Michelle Brown for her condemnation of scare tactics about Òsocialism.Ó After all, are we not in some form of socialism in our daily lives? Were we not taught to be kind to our neighbours and help the needy? If we omit the political definition of the term, ÒsocialismÓ is defined as: Òa system of operation of the means of production and distribution by society or community of those products É with all members of the society or community sharing in the work and products.Ó In the broad sense, many of us are all ÒsocialistÓ minded. I am thankful that my neighbours are ÒsocialisticÓ enough to shovel my sidewalks when I canÕt do it myself! If we give in to the rhetoric spouted by ÒleadersÓ who merely spout a philosophy given by a political leader, then we maybe are falling into what Ms. Harder defines as Òsocialism.Ó
TOAST: A heartfelt toast to the cartoonist IRICE who so deftly expressed what some of us feel about the naysayers and mask haters during our current pandemic. If one believes that COVID-19 is a hoax, and ÒchoosesÓ not to heed the warnings about the spread of COVID-19, then he or she has no right to expect or demand care when they contract this ÒimaginaryÓ disease.
ROAST: To the City. It says it all when a new show on TV about drugs mentions Lethbridge as the new place to distribute their drugs. Lethbridge is definitely on the map in this country but not necessarily in a good way.
ROAST: To our Premier Jason Kenney. Where is he? He must be hiding out. No support for our medical experts. Deena Hinshaw seems to be holding on but she is not getting support from the man who should be next to her at the news conferences with support. Come on, Kenney, pull up your socks and show us you have support for our people here in Alberta as well as all the people working so hard to get our pandemic under control. Get out of the sand, my good man. LetÕs close down the province. Stop spending money for things not necessary. Make a decision without interference from your million-dollar buddies taking the province into the sewer. IÕm a senior and have been around for awhile. I am disgusted with the way our province has gone down the drain.
ROAST: To the City and bylaw enforcement or lack of. I for one am fed up with all the junk being put in back alleys, trees and branches overhanging sidewalks that smack you in the face as you walk by. Drivers parking on sidewalks, forcing you to step into the road and lazy people not clearing sidewalks after a snowstorm. Walking is hazardous for able-footed people, for seniors and the disabled it must be a nightmare trying to get around. Come on, bylaw person, do your job and enforce the bylaws.
ROAST: To people who choose to not wear masks in stores. We were in a Lethbridge store and saw at least three people without masks despite signage at doors. We will not be returning until store management does more to refuse entry to those people. Please stay home and order online if you cannot or do not choose to wear a mask in stores and other indoor public spaces.
ROAST: To our premier for his new Alberta Advantage. Alberta is now the only province not mandating face masks; it is one of two provinces without a good tracing app; and it is now has the second-highest-per-capita COVID infection rate! Way to go, Jason!
TOAST: To the Downtown Lethbridge BRZ for hosting the Outdoor Holiday Market on Nov. 21. Toast to all the people who took the time to come down and check out the vendors and to help support local small business. The weather co-operated by providing a clear day with very little wind making the experience even more enjoyable!
TOAST: Excellent article on masks by Al Beeber. Maybe we need to be like the Netherlands, where it is mandatory in all public buildings and transportation. No excuses, a ticket is issued! If you have a health concern and can prove it, then and only then will the ticket be forgiven. The fine is 95 euros or approximately $150. For not wearing one IÕve heard so many lame excuses, IÕm disgusted. CanÕt because they wear glasses, or theyÕll sneeze, or canÕt breathe. Tell you what, if you get corona you may not be able to breathe! Think about it and show respect to all those who do wear one. Many people need to wear one for their jobs all day/shift and it wonÕt hurt you for short periods of time. Enough, and uphold the bylaw.
TOAST: To Costco for their decision requiring customers to wear masks or shields. HereÕs hoping other stores will follow suit.
ROAST: A sad, disgusting sight at a big Lethbridge store. Non-maskers were swearing and screaming obsenities at a young girl who simply told them you need to wear a mask to come in. You must be very proud of yourself for bullying a young woman just doing her job. First, you owe that young woman an apology. Second, help all of us out. We donÕt want to get sick. Wear a mask.
TOAST: To Brook, who works at the Park Place A&W. It was a real surprise to see such a young person who uses common sense and treats the customer with respect and dignity. It was something I had not seen in such a long time. All that I can say is ÒKeep up the good work!Ó
ROAST: To the City of Lethbridge for enforcing the snow removal off the residentsÕ sidewalks. I seem to remember when people were issued tickets! Nov. 18, light snow nicely covered all the ice that was still left from almost two weeks ago and I have to say I did learn some fancy new dance steps, and was fortunate I remained vertical. Is there nothing that can be done?
ROAST: To every level of government around the Lethbridge area that refuses to mandate masks. I noticed that the Country of Lethbridge and the M.D. of Taber have about the same number of COVID cases as Lethbridge yet Lethbridge has six times the population. The numbers show that masks are obviously working. YouÕre all shrugging your responsibility for the health of people over some freedom ideology. You have to wear a seatbelt so you can wear a mask. Start acting like a government should and put health before politics. Your leadership is nonexistent. Time to wake up before we literally run out of hospital beds and staff.
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