570News Blog: Glenn Pelletier

I can’t believe election day is only days away.

I’m looking back on the last several weeks, trying to recap the highlights of the election campaign and quite frankly, I can’t think of any! I cannot recall a more lacklustre lead-up to voting day. Perhaps the events on the hustings were upstaged by the credit crisis in the U.S. and the global market meltdown. Or perhaps it has more to do with the candidates themselves.

Mr. Harper, unlike his extremely well-run ‘06 campaign which was high on policy, appears to be laying low in the hope that Mr. Dion will simply self-destruct. Dion has not suddenly become captivating. In short, there is but one main issue that no party has been able to fully capitalize on - and that’s the economy. There has been no glancing blow, no pivotal moment.

Remember Brian Mulroney’s shot at Prime Minister John Turner in the 1984 leaders’ debate in which he said “you had an option sir.” That exchange is considered one of the great knockout blows in the history of political debate. Or Prime Minister Kim Campbell saying in the 1993 campaign that an election campaign is no time to talk about serious issues. These were pivotal moments that captured the attention of the electorate and got people talking.

What are people talking about regarding the current campaign? Darned if I know. But we seem to know a heck of a lot about Sarah Palin.

With apologies to those of you who think television reached its zenith with the creation of “Alf” or “Saved by the Bell”, I have been waiting for years for a messiah of the airwaves to appear. And lo and behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, for some wonderfully creative folks have borne unto us a son, and his name is “Mad Men.”

I stumbled across it the other night while channel surfing, mumbling to myself the Springsteen lyrics “57 channels and nothing on”, when I landed on channel 55. Something immediately spoke to my sense and appreciation of quality - superb acting, unique setting, visually appealing with attention to detail….it had the look and feel of a movie.

Set in the Madison Avenue advertising world of the early sixties, it chronicles the professional and private lives of its characters. It moves slowly, with the focus on the story, the dialogue. You’ve got to see it.

Every so often, a television program jumps out-of-the gate, so obviously superior to its competitors. “Mad Men” is great television. I no longer feel like a boob…..for watching the tube.

I recall it like it was yesterday, the 1988 federal election leaders’ debate, 20 years ago this month, in which then-Liberal leader John Turner railed against Prime Minister Mulroney, accusing him of selling out the country to the Americans. And, while Turner had been specifically voicing his opposition to the free-trade deal during that moment, his comments serve as a reminder about just how much American politics and culture and sport has become part of the Canadian consciousness.

I mention this because there is much speculation and expectation that more Canadians will be interested in seeing how U.S. vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin performs tonight in her debate with Democratic candidate Joe Biden than they will be in watching the federal leaders debate. Shame.

I understand it though. Style over substance - a celebrity with a chance to stumble amid expectations that she is not up to the job versus Gilles Duceppe and Stephane Dion tangling with Elizabeth May. Still, there is something regrettable about seeing an American political event potentially upstage ours.

When I was a kid (and here I am sounding like an old man wagging his finger in homage to the good old days) we watched the Grey Cup over the Super Bowl, saw the Leafs and Canadiens win all but one Stanley Cup in the decade of the 60’s, and travelled across the country in summer in the family station wagon. Why go to Epcot when you could visit the Bay of Fundy or Lake Louise?

You get the point. Stompin’ Tom - you’ve got write a song about this.

When Kitchener city councillor John Gazzola agrees on something, you can rest assured he has crunched the numbers. Known for his attention to detail on any and all proposed city expenditures, Mr. Gazzola has told 570 News he supports the proposal by the Kitchener Public Library board to expand and renovate the main branch on Queen Street for an estimated 39-million dollars. That expenditure was less than one of the proposed options….and more costly than another.

City council is fully expected to give the proposal the green light when it meets on October 6th.

I for one, agree with Mr. Gazzola. Every large metropolis should have a number of core institutions, and a state-of-the-art library surely should be one of them. It is an investment in the future. And after all, wasn’t Kitchener recently described in a leading publication as one of the “smartest cities” in the country?

The current library was built nearly 50 years ago. It needs a facelift.

So i go to renew my vehicle permit the other day. 74 bucks for one year.

I walk up to the woman behind the counter at the motor vehicle office, hand her my driver’s license, current ownership paper and insurance….and twiddle my thumbs waiting to pay my fee and be on my way.

“That’ll be one-thousand, one hundred and eighty-six dollars. Please.”

I said “pardon?”

She said “that’ll be one-thousand, one hundred and eighty-six dollars.” (no “please” this time). I said “pardon? What the +*&%$#@?

Two years of combined unpaid parking tickets….combined that is….with those of my ex-wife……and that’s what I owed. And it’s not that I had that many tickets! But, if you don’t pay them within 15 days of issue, they increase to 31 and then 51 dollars. The thing is, if I didn’t pay the fine amount….I wouldn’t be issued my renewed vehicle permit. So, tail between my legs, I forked over the money. Never again.

Seems that when one asks most people their favourite season, the answer is autumn.

And what’s not to like? The glorious sunshine minus the humidity, the brilliant fall colours, crisp mornings, cool nights, the arrival of KW Oktoberfest, NHL regular season games, the World Series and Thanksgiving Day. (I’m sure have left out some other fall attribute).

However, I am curious. Do you prefer autumn or summer….or perhaps another season over fall?

Let me know by dropping me an e-mail to glenn.pelletier@570news.rogers.com

What a treat it was to spend a glorious summer afternoon at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton on Saturday….watching the Tiger-Cats take on the B.C. Lions. It was only my second time ever at the venerable stadium….the first time was a Vanier Cup game a few years ago.

Now I am wondering what took me so long to get behind the Tiger-Cats and root, root, root for the Tabbies! Great fans, lots going on before the game, and I got a real sense of Hamiltonian pride. This is a city that knows it is vastly different from Toronto, and wears its lunchbucket image on its sleeve. Both of my daughters were born in Steeltown, so I have extra reason to cheer for the Cats.

The team is struggling this season….and today fired its head coach….but it was an afternoon well spent and I am looking forward to my next game…..sporting my new Hamilton Tiger-Cats hat! Go Tabbies Go!

I hate to bring up the old “is there objectivity in news reporting?” debate, but after watching CNN’s coverage of the Republican National Convention last night, I feel I have no choice but to speak out!

In days of old, the major U.S. television networks would send their veteran news reporters to the Republican and Democratic National Conventions to provide accurate reporting on what was being said and by whom. Panelists representing both parties were interviewed with some tough questioning. The whole thing had a rather dull, newsy feel to it, but you had the sense that you were being informed and being given the straight goods. (witness Cronkite at the 1968 Democratic National Convention).

Now, in our age of broadcast journalists doubling as celebrities and even worse from a journalistic point-of-view……….personalities……….Convention coverage is more folksy, lighter, and more importantly………biased - not blatantly, but, however subtly, still painfully obvious.

The incident that comes to mind involved CNN news anchor Kyra Phillips. She has come under fire before over her perceived pro-Bush and pro-war-in Iraq bias, so it should have come as no surprise when, during a live report from Alaska, she offered up that she would love to have a beer with Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin (Governor of Alaska). To make matters worse, she then told CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer to say “hi” to a Republican Party spokesperson on the guest panel, who she referred to as “my buddy.”

You get the idea. Nothing wrong with being a Republican. Nothing wrong with being a broadcast journalist. Nothing wrong with being a broadcast journalist who happens to vote Republican, but when said journalist makes it obvious where her bias lies, how do we know we are getting the straight goods? How are we to treat Phillips’ reporting about the Democrats?

Anyway, the whole spectacle makes for great television, but it would be great if the news networks left the politicking to politicians and the objective analysis to the reporters.

It was my pleasure to take part for the first time in the annual Kitchener Rangers golf tournament on August 26th at Whistlebear Golf Club.

As you might expect, if you are at all familiar with the way the Rangers organization conducts itself, it was a first-class event all the way. The Rangers rookies have begun to learn how a top-notch club operates and in some small way, it will rub off on them both on and off the ice.

I spoke briefly with Rangers head coach/general manager Steve Spott, who has clearly picked up where his predecessor left off - an accomodating gentleman with a passion for the game, and a role model for the young men he will lead into battle this season.

As for the golf, I did not “tame the bear.” It mauled me. That said, it was a god-given day for golf and I consider myself fortunate indeed to have been out there on such a beautiful course.

Don’t forget the annual Rangers Fan Appreciation Day, Sunday, August 31st in the parking lot at the Aud from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Hope to see you there! Go Rangers Go!

I wonder if this has ever happened to you?

I’m lying in bed the other night, just about to doze off for the night, when the telephone rings. I pick it up and I am greeted by a Waterloo Regional Police constable, asking if I had put twenty dollars worth of gas in my car earlier that night at a Kitchener gas station. Suddenly, it dawned on me. I forgot to pay!

After apologizing repeatedly, the very gracious and understanding officer told me it happens a lot, not to worry, and to simply drop by the gas station the next day and pay for the gas.

“I wasn’t overy concerned,” the officer told me. “After all, you were reported to be driving a Nissan Altima and had two lovely little girls in the car with you.” Yes, officer, they are my beautiful daughters, not my accomplices.