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HRM has been whining about depleting this year’s snow removal budget. So, can you tell me why, after yesterday’s rain storm, my street was ‘plowed’ a half dozen times during the course of the evening? And why don’t they fill potholes with dirt instead of blacktop that simply pops off when it thaws?
This article appears in Feb 14-20, 2008.
20 Comments
It pisses me off that they squander money like this. LAST YEAR, we didn’t have any fucking storms, so where did that snow removal budget go? Stupid assholes, they could bank this money in case we get a bad winter, but noooo, the waste it and spend it on something stupid like a fucking cat shelter.
My sentiments exactly.
The problem with government, whether it be provincial, municipal or federal is that often you can’t carry your budget until the next fiscal year… so what you get is a bunch of managers holding off on spending until Feb or March and then it’s either spend or lose the money… so they end up spending on usless crap… It’s jsut a big waste of taxpayers dollars…. you should be allowed to carry forward into the new fiscal for things that really matter. Managers are not able to “manage” resources properly….
I never understood this policy. I can see if you have a carry foward every year that you may be getting more money than you need, but what’s wrong with saving one year to spend the next? Like Ernie said, the current system just encourages frivolous spending.
I work for the Feds Miles and it just irks me to no end when I see this kind of spending. If you have good managers, they are able to spend on the things that matter throughout the year and actually “manage” their budget. Unfortunately, the way the system is set up, whether it be through Treasury Board or other… frivolous spending is encouraged… and the motto is…”spend that money this year cause if you don’t, you won’t get the same amount next year regardless of weather you need it and provide a good rationale for it”.
I’m with you on that one, Ernie. The driver should have stopped, even just to help. I also agree with Brad that dogs should be leashed where there is traffic. It’s just common sense. Still, the loss of a pet is a very difficult thing to deal with, especially if it had been preventable.
Yes he should have stopped but think about the state you would be in after your dog was hit and killed…I would not get out of the car because I know how crazy I would be too. Now I certainly am not condoning not stopping but maybe the driver was scared of what would be done to their person and their car. You never know how someone is going to react…you can usually only think of how your own personal reaction would be…maybe the driver knew heshe would kill someone for hitting their dog and just freaked out and ran?
So Brad, do you think all animal shelters are ”stupid”, or just cat shelters? You’re an asshole! Just a fucking cat, right? So animals arent of any value to you then? Fine enough, but dont be so goddamn insensitive to all of us who love animals!! Obviously you’ve never been a pet owner. I rescued my beloved dog from a shelter almost 10 years ago, when he was three months old. If you cant see the value of animal shelters, what they do for lost, abused, or neglected animals then you’re blind. I’ve had my dog through everything, including my move over here to the UK, I brought him with me. He just died last night, wasrun down by a car after he squeezed past my boyfriend through the gate in my yard to chase another dog! Best of all, the fucking scumbag who hit him took off instead of stopping to help, Yeah, no matter..maybe he just thought of this precious member of my family as a ‘stupid’ dog!!!! Fuck you, Brad!!!
Hey, NMH, your venom is misplaced. You’re taking your anger out on Brad when it should be that numbnut who ran over your poor dog. I believe Brad was commenting on how much money and time was wasted on that fucking cat law which, in my estimation, is just another tax grab. No one wants to see animals mistreated although, I must admit, I’ve known animal lovers that would step over a starving human to save a starving dog. Now that’s fucked.
Very sorry for your loss NHM!!! I’m also a dog owner / lover and I sympathize with you! That’s certainly a trajic way to lose your pup! FUCK YOU to the asshole who hit him and didn’t even stop to help / say they are sorry…. That’s just unacceptable.
NMH, I know we “battle” at times but you have my utmost sympathy, I would absolutely lose it if Molly was run over. Hope the asshole who hit and ran gets their ass run over repeatedly anytime they are a pedestrian.
NMH, this isn’t the first time you have tried to rip somebody a new one without really understanding the posters comments. Brad, it seems, is upset that tax dollars for SNOW REMOVAL are being squandered while HRM seems more concerned with a cat bylaw and, as a result, the associated shelter. I highly doubt Brad hijacked the thread to espouse his hatred of animals.There are privately run shelters in HRM, maybe not enough, but they are there. I don’t think it has anything to do with his hatred of animals and everything to do with his hatred of HRM council. I could be wrong; only Brad knows for sure. I would agree with him in the sense that council is dysfunctional and the cat bylaw (and associated costs to taxpayers) is not the most prudent use of their time and our money. Does that make me an animal hater??? I would argue NO.I too am sorry for your loss last night. Maybe you were a little emotional and had to let it out …. but c’mon …. what you said to Brad was totally over the line.
NMH, I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. As a fellow pet owner, I can’t even comprehend what you must be feeling right now. Hope you’re feeling better and smiling again soon.
It’s pretty obvious NMH was just venting. Hopefully brad will see that too and won’t hold it against her. Sorry for your loss there NMH. Lots of sadness on here this week.
Raoul, maybe if you don’t live in Halifax any longer and not up on gov’t hot issues, you may not interpret “spend it on something stupid like a fucking cat shelter” as to be anything associated with a battle between (I’m guessing) the municipal and provincial governments over a bylaw. Seeing as NMH posted that they live in the UK and is obviously upset, did you really have take the time to chastise them for their habits of ripping someone without understanding their comments? Geez, even Christopher was able to say something nice. I don’t live in Halifax either. I don’t think I’d assume that “spend it on something stupid like a fucking cat shelter” wasn’t coming from someone who really cared about animals and was making a statement on government affairs. Interestingly though, you seem perfectly able to interpret Brad’s intentions from his words…though he never said anything about bylaws. Maybe my mystic Halifax ability to know what everyone means or intended to mean faded since I left. :-(NMH, I am truly sorry for your loss.
NMH – Scream and hollar at whoever you want! Whatever eases the pain, I am so sorry to hear about your loss!
Holy sweet fuck. I don’t mind being the brunt of some ones anger because their pet got run over, but to call me an asshole and say that I don’t care about animals crosses the fucking line. MY animals won’t ever need a fucking shelter, they’re well trained and I take care of them, unlike some people in this fucking city. Do I think we need a specific cat shelter? No I don’t, I can’t see why they can’t use the current resources and shelters. Sorry about you dog, but really, what the fuck was the driver supposed to do, wreck his fucking car? So he was supposed to stop for what reason, to listen to you scream at him because your dog ran in front of his car while unleashed and chasing another dog? YOU are ultimately responsible for your animals actions. Accidents happen as you can plainly see. Fuck you for assuming that I don’t care about animals, you’re the asshole.As far as the snow removal budget goes, it figures that gov’t would have a policy like this that promotes waste of money. If it went into fixing potholes in the spring, fine, but wasting it on bullshit because they won’t get the budget for next year is absolutely criminal.
Not to criticize Brad but I do think that the driver of that car should have at least stopped out of curteousy and respect and even just to say “Sorry”. In my opinion, it’s the decent thing to do. I have a dog and if that happened to me, provided the the driver was not driving eratically or otherwise, I would very much appreciate them stopping to offer assistance, condolences, whatever. Accidents do happen but just to flee the scene is unacceptable.
I just want to say thanks to everyone for your kind messages, you too Christopher, thank you so much. They were really sweet, and they really gave me some comfort. I shouldn’t have logged onto the Bitch column that day; I was way too upset. Raoul, you’re right in a way, my venom for Brad was probably a bit misplaced. However, Brad made no mention whatsoever of any cat bylaw when expressing his frustration for the way the government spends money, so how was I to know? My retort was soley in response to his ignorant-sounding comment: ”spend it on something stupid like a fucking cat shelter’. To Brad: Where did you get the idea that the driver of the car who hit my dog was going to ”wreck his car” by pulling over?? This accident happened on a residential street, with a speed limit of 50. The asshole could have slowly pulled onto the shoulder, I’m sure he wouldnt have ‘wrecked’ his car. And I wasnt blaming the driver for hitting my dog; of course it wasnt his fault that he hit my dog. I was blaming him for not having the decency to fucking stop!! Every single person I know who has ever hit an animal in the street has stopped to see if help was needed. My ex once had to put a racoon out of his misery, after running him down on the highway. If the driver who hit my dog had stopped, there is just no way I would have sceamed at him, I’d have been thankful.
And also Brad, I NEVER let my dog wander off leash among city streets! He’s only allowed to be free on the beach, or in the park! My dog was sitting in my garden, behind a stone wall and closed iron gate. Unfortunately, when my boyfriend opened the gate, a puppy snuck up and my dog gave chase before my boyfriend could get the gate closed or grab him!