The Elephant in the Room vs a mighty mouse (Mississauga Musings)

Video "Allow the Ontario Ombudsman into Municipalities!" Please click here to go directly YouTube

Email from a reader --a most tenacious dude who continues to remind me that I'm still only on Point 1 of "50 Ways Mississauga Governance is Like The Bush Administration."

The problem is something always comes up that's more important to write about. Either it's some new "even-more-corrosive-to-the-soul-topic-than-my-last-corrosive-to-the-soul" topic or it's picking up some loose thread on an old "corrosive-to-the-soul" topic.

And danged if just a few days ago, I hit on a newspaper editorial that...well read for yourself the last paragraph of:

'Ordinary citizens' challenge corporate political agenda
Editorial - Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Despite the frightful lack of good investigative journalism in the mainstream press these days, I take heart at the courage and determination of so-called "ordinary citizens" who seem addicted to getting to the truth. Citizen journalism, too, is a relatively new phenomenon that may help us learn what is really going on. Without visionary leaders, or reporters capable of analyzing current events, grassroots people seem dedicated to challenging the corporate elite and their manipulations of our democratic processes. As Gandhi stated long ago, we must become the change we want in the world. That would include journalists, I should think, not to mention those who would be our leaders.

JO HAYWARD-HAINES Shanagarry Drive Ennismore

Got this far, did you? Great. Go back and read that paragraph again.

I don't know how the other "ordinary citizens" feel, but me, it has nothing to do with "courage" and everything to do with relationships. My April 12th Blog entry explained:

"This Blog is going to be about RELATIONSHIPS. Yeah. Because when you hear Mississauga Council (that's elected officials and also the senior staff you'll see televised on Rogers) a familiar theme they'll chirp is how local government is the closest, most relevant and most personal government to citizens.

Council will say, when people have problems, it's Mayor and Councillors they'll turn to, not their M.P.P.'s or M.P.'s."

How could I have possibly known back in April that 75 year old Mr. Antonio Batista --long-time resident of Toronto and new to his Meadowvale neighbourhood would have this to say about The Corporation of the City of Mississauga during his May trial.

"We should be treated well by these people and we are not."

Relationships.

From the emails I get I know about the kinds of relationships that people have with their local government and they all echo what Mr. Batista said.

"We should be treated well by these people and we are not."

Relationships.

Then there's fellow citizen-journalist, Patricia Storms, who drew this cartoon in her Citizen's Blog "BookLust"

And my cartoon. Relationships.

SECRETSOCIETY

Or insight from this morning's email --a fellow "ordinary citizen" from another municipality regarding the Ontario Ombudsman's "SHARPENING YOUR TEETH: ADVANCED INVESTIGATIVE TRAINING FOR ADMINISTRATIVE WATCHDOGS" course:

"If I had the money I would go, yes please take really good notes.

Please ask about how detailed agendas must be in terms of the "In Camera"
items.

I feel ours are too vague and nobody really seems to care."

Relationships.

Or an email from the other day --someone I finally convinced to contact the Ontario Ombudsman even though I told him that while Mr. Marin has no jurisdiction into Municipalities, he will listen.

"I was interested in one particular thing that you wrote in your last e-mail......Andre Marin, Ontario Ombudsman....part of me feels like giving up...

But you have given me food for thought....it may be worth one last shot...."

"one last shot"

"nobody really seems to care."

"We should be treated well by these people and we are not."

And I can't even share the emails with swear words in them.

Relationships.

And then there's the mainstream media... Relationships.

The reality is there's one huge Elephant in the Room. and it's one smug elephant. It knows it has inviolate legislated protection from the Ontario Ombudsman's oversight --no matter how many citizens it tramples into moist spots in the ground (no offense to elephants).

Which brings us all the way back to that remarkable newspaper editorial... this part:

"Despite the frightful lack of good investigative journalism in the mainstream press these days, I take heart at the courage and determination of so-called "ordinary citizens" who seem addicted to getting to the truth. Citizen journalism, too, is a relatively new phenomenon that may help us learn what is really going on. "

What's so remarkable? This editorial comes from the Peterborough Examiner --yes, the same Peterborough Examiner that we handed out our Mississauga Watch "Edward R. Murrow Heads Up Award for Journalism" to for this editorial.
peterboroughexaminer070803

Neat, eh?

So. Mississauga Watch presents the "Edward R. Murrow Heads Up Award for Journalism" award for the second time to the Peterborough Examiner for its latest Editorial, "'Ordinary citizens' challenge corporate political agenda"
EXAMINEREDITORIAL070829

Who'd have guessed that Ontarians have a mighty mouse press in Peterborough willing to squeek its squeek at the Elephant in the Room?

THIS TOO FROM THE "GOOD NEWS DEPARTMENT"

Also in email today, a response from the Ontario Ombudsman's office.

Seems I won't have to worry about bein' poked in the eye by the word "stakeholders" the next time they announce that Investigators Course of theirs.

Relationships.

Signed,
The Mississauga Muse

(Thank you to "screenplaying" for his message regarding the "elephant in the room")
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TOWERpelcoTEXT
"We must employ every possible tactic to dissuade those who try to silence us with fear"
---The Mississauga News Editorial (2007-03-24)