Monday, August 31, 2009

Something super scary, and something cute


Okay - I'll talk about the scary part first - Thanks to the smart posting on Facebook by Pat Lee, I saw that the inestimable Peter Duffy has gotten a new job - the Halifax Regional Municipality has hired him for a six month term as a "community liaison co-ordinator" for the mayor’s office and he starts on Sept. 14.

I have talked about Peter Duffy here before - he used to be an "opinions" writer at the Chronicle Herald and a few months ago took a retirement package when they were having layoffs so that younger people wouldn't be laid off, such a gallant man he is. And then he went on the television and said horrible mean things about his employer of the previous however many decades who had been feeding his family and putting his kids through college. But I digress.

I am not really surprised that the HRM has hired him to "write speeches, news releases and reports for the mayor" - he'll just be one more dog hater down at City Hall - he'll probably fit in pretty easily. Whenever the topic of canine life companions come up - he'll bring all his background and life experiences to the subject and really be able to come up with some exciting and provocative things to write on the subject, I am sure - and Mr. Kelly - our Mayor, will love to deliver the things that have been written for him.

I hope that - as the community liaison - Mr. Duffy even gets to take part on committees that the public is included in - on maybe, bylaw reform committees - say, if there were upcoming meetings on reforming or changing bylaw A300 for instance - I sincerely hope that Mr. Duffy gets to be included in those meetings so that his voice gets heard on that issue - I'm sure that he would have some great insights to add to the conversation.

Maybe things like - in an article he wrote back in 2004 when he "called dogs man's "former best friend" and that it should be legislated that all dogs be muzzled when they're out in public"

Or in 2005 when Lloyd Hines was in the fight of his life with Zeus Cameron - a fight which he would dismally lose - Mr. Duffy felt it necessary to write a few lines, and said -

"In Guysborough, the local council is struggling to enforce a county-wide ban on pit bulls against a couple who insist on keeping their pet. When it comes to these dangerous brutes, my sympathy lies with the elected officials. Memo to the council: fight, fight, fight to avoid bite, bite, bite."

Yes, the HRM has gotten themselves a fabulous speech writer who will really write objectively on a wide range of topics - especially if he does it as well as he's done it in the past as he's done it about dogs.

And now for the cute part - - this is a shower curtain I found at the Atlantic Superstore on Joe Howe Drive on the weekend - it is just the cutest thing - it's see through and it's got all kinds of different dogs on it and it only cost $9.99 - I thought it was so cute. I had to put it here - because you know what they say - "a change is as good as a rest" - and it certainly counts when it comes to shower curtains - especially when it comes to shower curtains and you have pc points to pay for it.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:48 PM

    Hiring this HACK is not a good use of taxpayer money.

    Everyone, please remember the transgressions of this municipal government the next time we go to the polls.

    -Marc

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  2. They just did a story on CTV news about how an RFP was put out for the position and nobody applied for the job - so Peter Kelly hired Peter Duffy without a competition - so Mr. Duffy was hired against HRM policies and procedures - according to Sue Uteck - so there's some very unhappy people at City Hall right now about him getting the job too! Oh yea!

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  3. Anonymous9:00 PM

    More flouting of rules and regulations at City Hall?
    So what else is new? It's not like CTV or anybody is going to give the mayor a hard time about it - he's obviously not afraid of the press. Or public opinion. He knows not enough people bother to even vote, let alone get informed about his job performance.

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