The media sure knows how to spin things don't they? Last week, a story came out regarding the Saskatchewan Government deciding to cap a hefty insurance increase against motorcyclists. Originally, it was thought those drivers would be hit with a 73 per cent raise in premiums; but after a rather strong kick back from the community, the government has had a change of heart and it looks like that number will be dialed back to about 15 per cent. I've seen numerous reports that suggest other drivers will have to 'subsidize' the about face as the government pays out approximately $9 million more than what it takes in from motorcyclists, yearly. So, the majority of the rest of us will have to deal with increases, in the neighborhood, of $35 a year. Oh, the hardship. Those of you that are, staunchly, opposed to 'subsidizing' motorcyclists should remember that if you analyzed your taxes, you would find that you are 'subsidizing' different people and interest groups everywhere. I'll use myself, as an example. I've never used Employment Insurance ever in my life, but I pay it every single pay period. I'm 'subsidizing' that person who has been laid off or working on a seasonal basis (or worse, subsidizing an abuser of the system). Let's just understand that no formula is perfect, and yes they probably should be hit with a big increase but 73% is ridiculous; and spreading it out so thin that the rest of us pay an extra $3 a month is a good way to go. Full marks to the Sask Party on this one.
A number of weeks ago, I wrote a paragraph concerning the Canadian Senate and the apparent mismanagement of taxpayer dollars by Senators for travel and living expenses. I said that I had emailed Yorkton-Melville MP Garry Breitkreuz to get his opinion on the matter and an official from his office replied, promptly. To date, however, I haven't heard from Garry so maybe that big salary and larger pension plan is warranted, after all. If you are too busy to get back to an inquiring tax payer on an issue such as this within a period of three weeks, then I would suggest a raise should be in order. And, he's not even a Cabinet Minister. Just think how busy they must be! I'm no longer interested now anyway. Too much time has gone by, the issue is no longer in the news, and in typical Canadian fashion we all just roll over and continue to allow our politicians to spend like drunken sailors at our expense. I wonder if a bunch of us decided to block a highway or something over this matter if more attention would be given to it.
Major League Baseball starts this Sunday and there is some real excitement surrounding the prospects of the Toronto Blue Jays, as they went on a spending spree during the offseason by adding the likes of shortstop Jose Reyes, outfielder Melky Cabrera, and pitchers Josh Johnson, RA Dickey, and Mark Buehrle. Combine that with the likely decline of the New York Yankees and the continued dumpster fire that is the Boston Red Sox and you have yourselves a pretty good Canadian Major League Baseball team. I think they win the AL East.
The Texas Rangers may be on the way down too, but it sounds like they will continue to boast the game's best hot dog. Fans can purchase, for $26, a two-foot dog covered in cheese, chili, sautéed onions, and jalepenos. Local baseball icon Nolan Ryan, upon hearing of this concession creation, said, "It must be a tremendous wiener."
Hockey fans with a sense of humor need to follow a character called Not Dany Heatley (@DanyAllStar15) on Twitter. It's not for those easily offended or small children. If you get a kick out of that, look the guy up on YouTube as well. The man has too much time on his hands to be sure, but it's pretty funny. In fact, there are a number of sports parody Twitter accounts out there that are good for a laugh.
While we are on the Twitter topic, here are a couple of tidbits I discovered from First World Facts: '65% of people have the ability to sense when someone is staring at them'. Count me in the 65%, at least 50% of the time. Can some math whiz work that out please? The other revelation I read yesterday from First World Facts is that 'Some people have a natural alarm clock allowing them to wake up whenever they want, this is caused by a stress hormone'. I have stress hormones, but they are sleeping right along with me most of the time, so I don't fall into that category.
Heck, I could maybe sleep for days on end without some form of an outside alarm clock or window that shines light.
The 'experts' I bump into regarding the March Madness basketball tournament makes me laugh. I don't think any sports fan in Saskatchewan watches or pays attention to a single college basketball game all year, but yet he is an expert at filling out a bracket and is quick to boast when he's gone 14-for-16 to start the week.
Nice person mentions this week to Craig Stein, Craig Clark, Mike Dirven, Mark Nickolayou, and Debbie Sutherland.
