Roast and Toast – December 1, 2020

By Roast and Toast on December 1, 2020.

TOAST: On behalf of many, I’d like to express sincere appreciation to the lovely little musical family who provides All Saints parishioners with a number of uplifting spiritual pieces at the Sunday morning Mass. While singing is not allowed during these COVID-19 days, their music feeds our hearts and our souls as we offer up prayer, praise and thanks.

ROAST: A huge roast to Republicans in the U.S. who are praising a 17-year-old murderer who killed two peaceful protesters. A second roast to those who put up $2 million to post the killer’s bail.

ROAST: How can the United States, the world pinnacle of democracy and freedom, allow a rogue outgoing president to spend the next 70 days trying to create as much havoc and destruction as possible? All this to satisfy a fragile ego that can’t stand losing and a revenge vendetta aimed at Joe Biden.

TOAST: To the front-line workers in this pandemic. Doctors, nurses, aides and everybody else that bravely go to work every day to help our love ones. You are deserving of your angel wings. All you mask ranters, your mouth is big till one of your own gets sick, then you will be so humble and your yelling voice will be quiet prayer.

ROAST: It is very scary that “Because contact tracing can’t keep up, officials don’t know where 82 per cent of active COVID infections were contracted.” (Lethbridge Herald, Nov. 21). Maybe it is time to suspend all the “privacy” laws for a while and have the names of people sick with COVID released so others can know they should immediately be tested if they have been exposed. What they are doing now is obviously not working.

ROAST: To the City of Lethbridge for considering fewer ads in the Lethbridge Herald. Not everyone has a computer and what happened to “Support Local Businesses”? Shame on you.

ROAST: If stores are going to have big signs stating that customers must wear masks in their store then they need to enforce it. I was in a big-box store the other day (with my mask) and noticed a woman just inside the door without a mask. A very polite store employee walked up to her, reminding her of the mask order and offered to give her one to wear. The woman very rudely replied, “I’ve already taken my mask off and I am not going to put one on.” Instead of showing her to the door, the employee just walked away and let the shopper continue shopping. If you refuse to follow the store’s rules then don’t shop there.

TOAST: To Lethbridge residents who understand that bylaw officers respond to complaints received. I don’t know the exact number of bylaw officers employed in Lethbridge but it’s unlikely there are enough to drive around a city of 100,000 people finding and ticketing every infraction. You can report them online or by calling 311 so try that instead of roasting them in The Herald.

ROAST: To the person who blames unions for their family member having to wait until January to get treatment. I’m sorry to hear about your family member, but it is not the union’s fault he has to wait so long – if it was up to the unions, there would be adequate staffing and he would get treatment right away. Blame our UCP government, who puts profit ahead of people. They have cut staffing, initiated a fight with doctors, resulting in an even greater shortage of doctors to provide treatment and are trying to privatize our health-care system. If you wanted to have your family member treated right away in an American-style health-care system, be prepared to shell out several thousand dollars.

ROAST: Council considering to reduce advertising in The Herald. What a joke! It’s time to pick on the seniors again! You think about 20 per cent of seniors have no access to internet. What about all the unemployed who had to cancel their internet? How about city councillors and the mayor taking a 10 per cent reduction in their salary. This would surely cover the advertising cost in The Herald.

ROAST: City council thinks any seniors without internet could just come down to city hall and get a printed copy of the public information they normally print in The Herald. First they want us to stay home, now they say just jump on the bus and come and get it. Make up your mind!

ROAST: Why is the City supplementing the developers for advertising in The Herald? Why do all the taxpayers have to pay for this? No wonder Lethbridge has the highest taxes in Alberta.

TOAST: Thank you to the Lethbridge Herald for bringing those without computers and internet the latest news and sports.

ROAST: To the NDP and others demanding a province-wide mask law. Calgary and Edmonton have had such a law in place for over three months. Over 80 per cent of confirmed cases are in those two cities even though only 53 per cent of Albertans live there. Does not look like the mask laws are working.

ROAST: To Al Beeber for his incomplete telling of mask wearing. No mention in that story about wearing masks wrong, handling them wrong and disposing of them wrong. No mention either that most homemade ones are totally ineffective at containing the COVID-19 virus. Canada’s number-one killer, coronary artery disease and stroke, kills hundreds of thousands of Canadians annually. No instructional from internet/journalist scientists on how to eat, what to eat and how much, nothing. Heart and artery diseases account for one in every three deaths in this country and one person dies every five minutes 24 hours a day, and there’s no panic – COVID-19 has a long way to go to come near Canada’s number-one killer. Relax and mask if you will, but there’s a threat in your life way bigger than COVID-19 lurking in every household.

ROAST: To the Japanese Garden Society for asking for more during a time when everyone is having to tighten their belts. How arrogant.

ROAST: To City council and the mayor. Possible budget cuts and freezes for the Lethbridge Police Service may result. Maybe the few million wasted on the fad of blue-box recyclable pickup could have been better spent to provide needed funds for this essential and well-done service of the LPS.

TOAST: The premier asked people to buy locally in his last address to the province. I for one would love to, but if you don’t advertise I don’t even know you exist. I read The Herald daily and can’t be bothered by TV. Just a time consumer. So if the locals don’t advertise I guess I’ll shop Amazon because I don’t know you exist.

ROAST: To Rachel Notley, Shannon Phillips and the rest of the NDP – you do nothing but criticize the UCP. Have you ever told us what you would do in this time of crisis? If you truly wanted what was best for the people (all people, not just union employees) of this province, you would have voiced those ideas. Quit your beefing and help out.

ROAST: To anyone trying to extoll socialist governments. All socialist, union and communism ideologies share a common thread of control of the masses or members. If you ever belonged to any of these organizations they will consider that they own you and freedom of speech is as they order you to say, and everyone will be subject to surveilance, even the spies themselves. Ask anyone who endured life under a socialist republic such as North Korea or the old Soviet republics such as Latvia, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, etc.

ROAST: Huge roast to the NDP party for slamming the current government on the recent restrictions that were introduced. If the NDP had it their way every private service employee wouldn’t have a job and every union position would have a wage increase and added benefits that pay them not to work. Shame on you! It is the everyday Joes and Janes that make this world work. Who the heck do you think pays for your union positions – unicorns and leprechauns?

TOAST: Toast to the UCP for not shutting down businesses in your recent restriction announcement. Yes, there are some restrictions to individuals but hats off to you for trying to keep the economy running. You are in a tough spot where the opposition throws insults and criticism at you but I don’t think they could do any better. They just like to sound off and sputter negativity.

ROAST: To all who cheered the Biden win in the U.S., believing things will change soon. When the Lord has been pushed out the back door, and the dollar revered in his place, dream on.

ROAST: To Mr. Kenney and a grade of “F”. You’re concerned about the strain on our health-care system and yet support Shandro’s attack on Alberta physicians/nurses and plan to eliminate 11,000 AHS positions. For eight months my family members have followed the guidelines laid out by Dr. Deena Hinshaw and created a bubble and yet are now punished because individuals clearly did not follow the guidelines and possibly received no punishment/fines. Kudos for acknowledging the widespread damage these continued restrictions will have on an individual’s mental health and no doubt his health-care system will be inundated with individuals suffering from COVID mental stress. I would encourage a lawyer to provide Albertans with information as to whether individual rights are being violated – can Mr. Kenney dictate what individuals do in homes they own and pay property taxes on under the guise of a state of public health emergency?

ROAST: This pandemic has really brought out the worst in people. People are just thinking of themselves and no one else. If they don’t want to wear a mask they don’t have to. If they want to have large house parties they can. Well, thanks to those people our numbers are climbing every day, and thanks to them we are in the mess that we are in. So get with the program or we will be in this mess for a lot longer. Also, don’t throw your used mask down any old place, we don’t want to see them around town. Do you think people want to be locked down? Keep it up and maybe one of your love ones will come down with it, do you want that?

TOAST: To city council in Lethbridge for showing leadership by taking a pay cut and cutting expenses at city hall to achieve a zero per cent tax increase and a double toast to council for continuing to find and cut more fat at city hall. It’s about time. Thank you.

ROAST: Why do people keep putting in the PC or UCP party? The present government said they would create jobs; all I see is he is cutting jobs. The Alberta landscape will look a lot different with no parks, no doctors, no nurses. Who fights with doctors during a pandemic? The health minister said the money saved from the cuts would go back to patient care. Good thought but if you have less doctors what good is that? From Klein down to the present they had the same old policies. The problem with the PC and now the UCP, they did not keep up with the times. Did they expect the oil prices to always be there? Kenney was with Harper’s government in Ottawa; I never heard much from Kenney about a pipeline then. Also who needs a coal mine in the Pass? Kenney sounds like another Trump.

ROAST: To our local MP, Rachael Harder, who shared an article on Facebook that claims that only 10 deaths in Alberta are due to COVID since the rest had pre-existing conditions. Their painful and lonely deaths from a horrible disease don’t count. For an MP who advocates a pro-life stance with regard to abortions she thinks it doesn’t count for older folks who are more likely to have pre-existing conditions to die prematurely from COVID. How horrible and hypocritical!

ROAST: My disgust for our judicial system grows and grows. In the Lethbridge Herald one article stated that a 30-year-old woman assaulted her own mother, destroyed public property, went on to destroy property at a gas station and then stole her ex’s cellphone. A slap on the wrist and probation is what she earned. The article next to it stated some hunters shot a grizzly bear and assaulted the person who reported it. They received a $22,000 fine, a one-year conditional sentence and a three-year hunting suspension. How can this be called justice? Beat your mom but leave the bears alone!

ROAST: To the roaster complaining about a six- to eight-week wait to see a specialist during a pandemic, and $11 parking fees, while extolling the private American-style health care. Before complaining maybe check the costs of American health care. Firstly it costs several hundred dollars for X-rays, and just to see a doctor to get a specialist referral. Then $1,000 to $2,500 for CT or MRI scans needed prior to examination or surgery. Carpal tunnel surgery costs about $7,000. Follow-up and physio are extra. Health insurance premiums are several thousand dollars a year with several hundreds or thousands of dollars in deductibles that have to be paid before insurance coverage kicks in. Many insurance policies do not cover all hospital/surgery costs (called incidentals), so before you leave, the hospital wants payment. If you do not pay, collection agencies are sent after you.

ROAST: To the roaster complaining about wait times for treatment in Canada. We see numerous articles on shorter U.S. wait times vs. Canadian wait times – often comparing apples to oranges. In Canada nearly everyone is covered. In the USA, nine per cent, or about 25 million Americans, have no insurance coverage. They wait a lifetime for treatment! Insurance or treatments are unaffordable with low minimum wages barely covering basic food and shelter. Another 40 per cent, or about 130 million, are underinsured, having huge deductibles, meaning large sums are paid up front before their insurance kicks in, or their treatment is not fully covered, or the condition is uninsurable if it existed prior to insurance policy commencement. Many health insurances have ceilings on coverage so you will not get the treatment best for you. Many with insurance are left bankrupt if they have a major accident or illness!

ROAST: Unbelievable that the Kenney government would not make masks mandatory. Other provinces have done it but not us? What is stopping you? The quarter of one per cent of those whiners who oppose everything? By not making them a law hundreds more Albertans will die.

ROAST: To the Supreme Court of the U.S. who recently ruled that religious services don’t have to follow virus rules. Are you kidding us? This ridiculous ruling will result in thousands more deaths. The highest court in the land has put religious rights over the rights of people not to die.

ROAST: To any business large or small complaining about any kind of restrictions. Why would I support you when you have no regard for human life? Just by the nature of being open you are putting your staff and costumers at risk regardless of how “safe” you may think you are. Selfish. Unbelievably selfish.

ROAST: Dear bar and restaurant owners, how many lives exactly is your business worth? One? Five? Fifty? More if they’re over the age of 60 because they really don’t count anyway? You’re all for capitalism when it’s working for you; either adapt or go out of business. It’s survival of the fittest for the rest of us, why not you? You won’t be missed and there will 10 more to take your place when this over. Good riddance.

ROAST: It appears these UCP gentlemen are only in it for the $$$ and not for the good of Albertans. It’s past time for these people to step down or listen to and act on Dr. Deena Hinshaw’s recommendations. If it causes job losses that’s better than the alternative (death). It’s time for employers to step up and insist all employees wear a mask regardless of their type of work. Simple, wear a mask or go home.

TOAST: To the City of Lethbridge for cutting down the cotton tree in Heritage Circle green strip. The cotton coming off that tree last summer was ridiculous. The crew did an awesome job and helped me out immensely. Again, thank you so much.

TOAST: To the great people at Royal Lepage for finding a way to make the Royal Gala auction happen. Tough times meant a whole new approach. The need at YWCA Harbour House has not gone away; your extra effort in these tough times is commendable. THANK YOU.

ROAST: To those who think a life with “pre-existing conditions” is worth less than any other life. It seems to be the catch-all phrase for double standards. You would have no problem taking money from those some people at your business; seems to me your judgment is based on monetary concerns, not compassion or intelligence.

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