Later on, when the pennyroyal is more mature, a paste made out of the leaves will really do the trick ... but sadly the bugs are always here a good month before that's in the cards. Its been sixteen years since I quit smoking, and while I generally don't miss them anymore, this time of year I do miss the way that a cigarette would at least discourage the worst of the bugs.
Its also been years since I've used anything with DEET in it. During one of the NBCD( nucleur/biological/chemical defense) training bits that I did while in the army, our instructor told us that the antidote for ingesting anything with DEET was the same as for nerve gas:((( Haven't used it on me, my daughter or any pet of mine since.
After tomorrow, all those annoying little mudslinging ads should be over for a bit.... at least on the provincial level. Its been a short campaign, but outside of the ARPO - Advocates for Responsible Pet Ownership site, the society webpage, http://spcans.ca/ , my friend Joan's blog and the odd bit here, I have not seen one bit in the media about animal welfare issues.
A few days ago , I put the ARPO survey up here,( On the off chance that you haven't seen the result... ). IMHO, the Liberal response was unacceptable... and THAT was formed before my MLA tried to excuse it as a 'last minute special interest survey' that wouldn't even have been brought to the attention of Stephen McNeil. Good leadership involves being aware of what the 'troops' are doing and pleading ignorance is not the way to inspire my confidence in Mr McNeil's leadership capabilities.
On the 21st of May, SPCANS / aka the official body legislated by the provincial government to investigate and prevent animal cruelty, sent official letters to all three parties ( Nova Scotia SPCA urges party leaders to make the prevention of animal cruelty a priority ) The responses from the Parties:
- Progressive Conservatives ( dated May 29th)
- NDP (dated June 5th)
- Liberals (no response received yet)
So let me get this straight .... last fall, both Leo Glavine and Diana Whalen, both Liberal MLA's spoke up passionately in the House on behalf of the animals during the Second Reading Debates. This spring, when Lloyd Hines threw his hat in the ring as a Liberal candidate, my own MLA, Leo Glavine was quick to call my in response to my email and reassure me that Stephen McNeil was opposed to BSL and would never tolerate any introduction of it.
Is this the same Stephen McNeil who "didn't know" and apologized after the fact and AFTER the harm was done when one of his staffers circulated topless pictures of the NDP candidate in one of the most conservative ridings in the province? Is this the same Stephen McNeil that allowed some nameless 'researcher' to tell ARPO that "Liberals feel that the rights of municipalities to make and enforce their own bylaws should be respected and do not see a role for the provincial government to lobby for changes at the municipal level." ? Is this the same Stephen McNeil that couldn't be bothered to respond to an official inquiry from the official body legislated to 'speak for those who cannot speak for themselves'?
The last time I saw a politician underestimate the importance of an issue was Brian Mulroney. After the GST, the federal Conservatives did an abrupt 180 in the next election ... going from a strong majority to the wastelands of the 'fringe'
What time is it? Its time to remember that the single most effective thing that you can do this week to protect your pet is to go to the polls on Tuesday
No comments:
Post a Comment