Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday, June 3, 2016
Inspired by a letter to the editor of the Hamilton Spectator which stirred a bit of feedback
If you are such big believers in one amalgamated city, why do you let people sign letters with their old suburban town names? There is no Stoney Creek or Dundas. We are all Hamilton. You should stop allowing people to live in the past. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)
By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday October 16, 2012
In 1924, asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, Englishman George Mallory is famously reputed to have answered, “Because it’s there.” A similar sentiment was likely on the lips of Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner on Sunday before he jumped out of a helium-filled balloon 39 kilometres above the Earth.
Mallory and his climbing partner, Andrew Irvine, died in their attempt to conquer the mountain, demonstrating, if nothing else, that extreme feats of courage and idealism can end badly. Baumgartner landed, happily and literally, with both feet on the ground.
In his descent of more than nine minutes, and before popping his chute at 4:18, he reached a speed of 1,324 kilometres per hour in free fall, or Mach 1.24, faster than the speed of sound. No person has fallen so far or so fast.
Humans have always attempted the impossible, for no better reason, it seems, than to prove it is not impossible. Escape artist Harry Houdini broke out of steel padlocks and chests buried underground in the early 20th century. Aviatrix Amelia Earhart flew by herself across the Atlantic Ocean in 1937. Just last June, the daredevil Nik Wallenda became the first person to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope.
Every generation is transfixed by these feats and every generation thinks that the limits of human accomplishment — if not human foolishness — have been reached. But only one thing is certain: a new Everest will always be there. (Source: Winnipeg Free Press)
By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Wednesday October 4, 2012
Councillor Lloyd Ferguson thinks Hamilton made the wrong decision about the location of the Pan Am stadium.
In fact, Ferguson — a co-chair of the Pan Am subcommittee along with Councillor Bernie Morelli — thinks the city’s decision to rebuild Ivor Wynne Stadium was so misguided that he tried this summer to convince the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to reconsider the west harbour.
“I’m frustrated. I don’t know what to do. I feel helpless. I think it’s wrong, but I feel helpless. So I’ve decided to open up,” Ferguson said. “What I’m hearing clearly from my community is, ‘You shouldn’t have put it there.’”
However, Ticats president Scott Mitchell says agreeing to move the stadium so late in the game would mean jeopardizing the funding from the other levels of government.
“Any discussion about changing it could have put the total financial burden on the city alone in siting and constructing a stadium,” Mitchell said in an email. “In essence, it would have ceased to have been a Pan Am stadium and that certainly didn’t seem realistic.”
Ferguson’s comments come only days before Infrastructure Ontario (IO), the provincial development agency in charge of the Pan Am Games venues, is set to announce the design of the $150-million stadium. The plans and cost of the new Ivor Wynne will be revealed Friday, Oct. 12 at 2 p.m., said TO2015 spokesperson Carlene Siopis.
Though the location of this announcement hasn’t been confirmed, Siopis said it will not take place during halftime at the Ticats game — a rumour circulating a few weeks ago. (Source: Metro News)
Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday July 27, 2000
The naivete expressed in this letter seems to be common among many Canadians. But, contrary to the writer’s definition of democracy, once elected, a government does become omniscient and omnipotent.
It does mean that it no longer has to consult the people. Remember the amalgamation of Hamilton-Wentworth in general and freedom of self-determination for Flamborough in particular?
It does mean that a government does not have to listen to the elected representatives of the people. Remember Toni Skarica and Brad Clark?
It does mean that a government can tell the people’s representatives what to think. Remember how Premier Mike Harris cowed his caucus by telling them that a vote against the amalgamation of Hamilton-Wentworth was a vote against him?
It may not have been democratic to take power away from our local school boards, but it is quite evident that this action was a response to the inability of individual boards to withstand the steamroller of the teachers’ unions. It is widely perceived that teachers are grossly underworked and obscenely overpaid with benefits, vacations and pensions that the average worker would kill for.
The gravy train had to stop somewhere.
Until such time as the rest of us average Joes come even close to the level of the self-created elite laughingly called the civil service (teachers, firefighters, police, bureaucrats and politicians of all stripes), we will tolerate demigods like Harris. True to our nature, we will vote him out when it suits us.
Personally, I would like to see a form of participatory democracy instead of the alleged representative democracy that we are presently saddled with.
As for expecting fairness from government, don’t hold your breath. (Hamilton Spectator, A10, 7/27/2000)
Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday November 23, 1999