The white plague has fallen on Montreal. And not a lot of it at that. Drivers, however, are carrying on like it's the first time they've ever driven in snow. Selective amnesia no doubt. Do you not remember last April?"Holy shit! What is this? It's cold, it's slippery! I'd better slow down to a maximum of 10 km/hr and snarl up traffic for the rest of the day."
Oy.
As if it weren't snarled enough already. As if we didn't live in a country where road conditions suck for half the year. How is it that you're taken by surprise people?! It's nearing the end of November! What did you expect fer chrissake? (Insert heavy sigh, eye rolling and shaking of froggy Jazz head)
And speaking of cars, the Quebec press is having a field day. Or maybe field week, or two? Julie Boulet, the Quebec transport minister is in the middle of a "speeding scandal" , which is sort of ironic when you know that she just introduced a bill to crack down on speeding in Quebec.
The Journal de Montréal clocked her limo doing 132 km on the highway, when the speed limit is 100 (60 mph). The excuse? She was sleeping. Of course.
Who takes the fall? Her driver. Of course. Ultimately, she's the one giving her driver orders, but hey someone's gotta pay, it can't be the minister.
What I find most funny about this situation (other than the irony of her being caught when she's presenting her bill - I suppose it's only natural that the press try and catch her now, though) is how, all of a sudden the media and the population have become so holier-than-thou about speeding. As if they actually drove at a sedate 100km/hr. As if they ever will drive at a sedate 100 klicks.
C'mon, who're we kidding here? I can't remember the last time I drove at 100 on the highway except if there was lots of traffic. Maybe what, 1 person in 5000 consistently drives at the limit?
So this whole "scandal"? It's bullshit. It's not news. Get the hell over it.
PS: There are still a few questions to be answered which I'll get to soon. Looking at this weather is not very blog inspiring, dontcha know.
13 comments:
Snow -- ick! I hate snow with a passion and vengeance.
I hearken to Ezra Pound:
"Winter is icumin in.
Lude sing 'goddamn!'
Skiddeth bus and sloppeth us,
And how the wind doth ram.
Sing goddamn, damn, lude sing goddamn!"
Evil Spock loves snow. It covers all of Evil Spock's crimes until the thaw in the spring . . .
In this city, drivers don't slow down for anything, especially pedestrians. Snow would probably make walking around here easier, everyone who drove would be in a crash.
Its snowing a bit down here too. Sucks. And yup, traffic was snarled a bit, too. Same bullcrap every year. There are a lot of stupid people out there.
Media groups the world over are always looking for an excuse to sensentionalize the mundane. Its how stories are made, and ratings won. Everyone knows its all bullcrap, but its fun to be up in arms when we havn't anything else to do.
That's like Vancouver. As soon as it rains, traffic grinds to a halt. As if we never get rain in Vancouver.
Our Premier was arrested for drunk driving in Hawaii. His mug shot was all over the news, but nothing was ever done about it.
I've already decided that when I next get a speeding ticket I won't complain because I've missed getting a ticket on all the other 364 days in the year.
Cheers
I'm shocked, SHOCKED to find hypocricy in government. Thanks for the disillusionment...*sob*
Oh...and on the "every year winter is a surprise" topic...Every fall the price of gas goes up and the oil companies say it was because of the unanticipated need for home heating oil.
Uh...guys? Remember last year around this time? The heating season is an annual event. Maybe go ahead and build it into your production strategy NEXT year, in case winter happens again.
Does anyone in Québec drive at 100 km/hr? You should try the 417 to Ottawa, some of them must have their pilot's license cuz it's more low flying than driving sometimes.
We haven't got the snow - yet - in Paris although there have been some forecasts saying it's on its way. That'll be perfect in the midst of this transport strike!
I love snow in principle. Actually, I love snow in the country but in the city it quickly turns to slush and misery.
I love that picture! Is that where you live? I'm so jealous of people that actually live in cities. After all the snow we had last season we will probably not have any this year. It was 77 today and we have a "cold front" coming so it will "drop" to 54 on Thursday. Brrrr, (chuckles).
We had snow this morning in Ottawa, too!! Wet, slushy stuff. I'm excited because this is the first time in years and years that I won't have to shovel the stuff!! I'm looking forward to my first real cold and blustery winter in Ottawa afer 9 miserable wet, slushy winters in Halifax.
Ian - Who the hell calls a kid Ezra?
Evil Spock - And when it thaws it stinks. And you're busted!
Ticknart - And everyone who walked would be knee deep in slush
Rachel - People really need to get lives. I hear they're on sale this week at Target.
Josie - You mean it rains in Vancouver???
Maddy - Now that's an attitude. Thanks for stopping by.
Ev - Maybe they think that somehow global warming is going to turn North America into a tropical paradise in 6 months. Oh, and thank you too for stopping by.
BB - I dunno. Do you? You strike me as being a very sedate driver. Or are you one of those pilots when no one is around?
Dumdad - I hate snow even at our cottage up in the country. I am so not a winter person. Thanks for commenting.
Geewits - I got it off the internet, but though it's not my street, by the looks of it it's in my area. I love city living. I lived in the 'burbs way to long to ever go back.
UrbPed - A the joys of appartment living. Unfortunately I do have to shovel. Bleh.
So glad to hear that the wilfull abuse of power is shared by politicans throughout North America.
Living where we do, snow is a once in a while thing. And when the "once" hits, our city grinds to a halt too. But there are always the idiots who fail to understand that their cars can't stop in the distance they will on dry pavement. That's why we carry insurance, I guess.
Post a Comment