LORD HIGH ADMIRAL OF THE KING 'S NAVEE

Anna has references in  the Community in Focus post on the Joint Facility project. One  in particular.

needs to be expanded. 

Anna remarks how  big a chunk of the  Arboretum  has been taken  for the town project. . 

Therein lies an irony. 

The town acquired the site from Joseph Lebovic at  a "good price". 

At one time, the developer inquired about possibility of changing the designation from industrial  to residential. Difficulty of access and rear of the parcel being  ravine were cited.  

The town disposed of the current works/parks site without offering it in a public sale. Whether an appropriate price was obtained cannot be determined.  

Mr Lebovic was happy to sell to the town. 

As noted by Anna, the  ravine is the Arboretum. Because it had to be protected. 

But not  from the town apparently. 

Problems of access  on a hazardous bend on a heavily travelled  artery intended  as an industrial bypass for Yonge Street were acknowledged. The solution  suggested was to double the points of 
access and egress. 

"Remediation" of the site contributes substantially to cost of the project. 

A shelf had to be built on the side of their ravine to create a  building site. "Remediation not available  to private developers. 

As noted in Anna's  post,  reason given by the director for extra cost of hiring a project manager  is "soil problems"  "discovered" on the site .soil problems are discovered when a site is being excavated And only if  soil tests were not completed beforehand. 

It seems when a shelf is being constructed on the side of a ravine slope ,the problem might be more of  a landslide rather than an excavation. 

Almost a year  into the project it has been realized by staff that  architects, engineers and staff all  had their normal work loads to accomplish. Adequate supervision of the project could not  be provided at the same time. 

Well ...DUH !

Readers may re-call compelling urgency to approve this  project. 

A call went out to invite candidates to fill  the vacant seat on Council to secure a majority. 

An exercise was undertaken with presentations from a number of candidates for a seat that did not have to be filled for three months. 

Two candidates said they would not accept compensation  for the task. Considering the timing the offer was reasonable. 

Don Constable , personal friend of Councillors was appointed. 

. When the  joint facility project was decided. Mr. Constable voted in favour  because " there was an urgent need". 

There never was an  argument about need..

Disagreement was about suitability of  location and  exorbitant cost. 

It seems full extent may not yet be known 

But revealing over-runs to correct" unanticipated soil problems " no longer  rest with he who was 

originally responsible. .

 Or the CAO who delegated responsibility. 

The latter has already flown the coop. 

The  former, no longer the Grand Pooh Bah. 

On hand  am I to answer questions needed to further clarify the idiosyncrasies 

NEITHER FISH ,NOR FOWL ,NOR GOOD RED HERRING.

Anna has a story of  total ineptitude on the  $26million joint parks and works facility project. 

Anna doesn't describe it that way.  It is my determination and was always my fear. The Mormac crew were intent on creating an apparatus that would serve their bidding with little regard for professional 

After the fact,the administration discovered required supervision of the $26million project would not be possible. 

After the fact of appointing Don Constable to fill the council vacancy to ensure a favorable vote for the project without a complete analysis. 

And after the  fact of the total screw-up of the Family Leisure Complex addition construction. 

My cataract surgery was completed last Tuesday. Three more weeks of eye drops and I'm good to go. 

I was actually good to go immediately after the surgery. 

Yesterday I  sat in a spot on Heather's driveway and  clearly saw two storks  with long legs and necks and small heads with long black beaks standing at the fountain at the rear of her garden. Weeks ago all I saw were indeterminate splatches of green. 

I had no idea how much my sight had faded.

 We live in wondrous times.

I took last week off from writing for comfort sake. 

I concluded I should stop writing the blog and start on the story of my Joust with Justice. 

But first I need to comment on a couple of things f

The media handling of John Tory's flip-flop on the police carding issue is worthy of note. 

Tory said he changed his mind  after listening to people and decided it could not be continue. He changed his mind again at the board meeting and voted to continue the procedure. 

Toronto's Mayor was  a right-hand man to former Premier William Davis. It was a puzzle that he could be so close to the power source and not understand that  police are governed by a body separate and apart from politics. 

I went into Wikipedia to  see if the Ontario Police Commission was still operating. It's a  body provides oversight and has authority of  the police function in Ontario.

 Come to think of it, I don't know why municipalities are responsible for providing police services, considering laws being enforced are provincial. 

I found an interesting  Wiki story about the Mayor of Peterborough being thrown off the Police Board because he was critical of the police.

 He defended himself with a lawyer. 

Said he had a duty to express his views on behalf of the people. 

The  OCPC  would have none of it. They  insisted he had to be thrown off because he had a legal right to be on the board. 

He  tried a couple of other moves to prevent it from happening. ....Like resigning. 

I am not making this up. They said he had  undermined the police with public criticism.

They didn't say what he said ...Just that it should have been said in private. 

As a contrast,John Tory's criticism of the carding policy seemed not to call for attention. The media, the President of the Police Asociation, they seemed to tippy-toe around the situation. 

The Province had nothing  at all to say about it until after the  board vote was taken to confirm the carding policy. 

In another contrast the Ford brothers were unfailingly  and pointedly supportive of Toronto police. 

No matter how clumsily, inappropriately and repeatedly former Chief Bill Blair spoke of investigating wrong-doing by Mayor Ford that was never proven. 

Bill Blair lost his $400ks a year plus benefits galore job and still the media makes no reference to the  difference between Tory and  Ford in this matter. 

But days later, they made the comparison  between the political rivals in support and lack thereof for Gay Pride week and raising the Rainbow flag at city hall .

THE UNEXPECTED

There were eighteen comments to the last post.,The last  one made me smile.

"Communist " it said in sharp response to "Neocon"

The reaction was not what I expected. 

Society is at fault.

Political Parties of all stripes  are the villains. 

Parents no longer care about their children. 

Broken families are responsible for society's ills. 

Teachers and the education system are to blame. 

The strap is no longer allowed in  schools. 

There are no consequences for bad behaviour. 

All the old saws we repeat to each other all the time were repeated in the comments

  

The most disturbing information provided in the post came from the psychiatrit's lecture at Hart House f

He said our children are being diagnosed with mental problems  and prescribed medication to control their behaviour as a result of  the pharmaceutical industry successful promotion of their product to the medical profession. 

He came out of retirement to make the statement .  Children  are being used, I would say abused, for no reason other than commercial greed of companies that manufacture mind altering drugs. 

TIME PASSES

John Tory's progress in the Mayor's office is interesting to watch.He is not a light weight. His loafers 

shift on terra cotta. 

Time is money.  Decisions must be made lickety-split. 

He reads studies and reports,takes a position and answers questions openly and transparently. 

He is comfortable in the spotlight and supremely confident pushing for ascendancy.

A decision made is worth two in the bush. 

The position is entirely  practical in the business world and to many in the electorate. 

 The Municipal  Act defines the Mayor's function to provide leadership and guidance. 

A couple of problems are inherent in the definition. 

Number one; the Act obviously anticipates the Chief Magistrate will be a person capable of judgement, knowledge and experience.  HA! 

Two ; the Mayor has a single vote. 

To provide leadership and guidance without personal experience or knowledge or ....Saints Preserve us.....judgement ...means  having enough sense to listen to experience,knowledge and judgement among the Council. 

John Tory's experience  was in the back rooms of  party politics where caucus members do as  bidden by party minions or risk expulsion. 

By contrast ,municipal councillors  have authority and opportunity to influence decisions.

Each  has a vote. 

Imagine all the foolish, airy-fairey notions of the  last term in Aurora that might passed had the people not been sufficiently well informed in time to bring them to a screeching halt. 

Think of the evil and appalling record of the previous term. 

Toronto's vote  last week on the Gardiner Expressway was a squeaker. It  has a long way to go and many hurdles to overcome. Many strong voices in the community are opposed 

John Tory's success has less than an even chance of prevailing in a fractured Council. 

Years will be wasted. 

WHEN IS ENOUGH ,ENOUGH

There's a comment today about eighteen teachers leaving a school in the Region because of mayhem in the classroom . Kids on drugs are throwing classroom furniture about. 

Last week a boy about ten was put off a school bus by the driver. It was recorded with a cell phone. and had all the elements of scandal until the school board responded with another video . It showed the driver being struck on the side of the head with a heavy school bag swung by the ten year old. 

The driver was physically stunned. 

The week before we were treated to a seventeen year old student defying authority In the matter of appropriate dress for school.

Young women in Toronto have an annual walk called " Slut  Walk"   It was started as a protest against a

Policeman's fatherly advice that girls should not dress like sluts. 

Young women everywhere were outraged that anyone would suggest they could not wear what they pleased. 

 The media give the Slut Walk prominence. No negative comments are reported. 

At no other time in life can foolish behavior be excused.   It might be argued mistakes are essential to becoming sensible. Hard lessons are  best learned as a consequence of poor judgement. 

But comes a time when lack of judgement cannot be excused. Like when one is responsible for raising 

a family  or a salary is being paid. 

A significant element of  to-day's society may be the first generation prescribed drugs to control classroom behavior. Self- discipline is not evident. Entitlement is rampant. Social conscience is conspicuous in its absence. Integrity is obsolete. 

Forty-five years ago I covered  a school board meeting where the top regional student was being recognized for academic excellence. She. was seventeen. The only child of the Regional solicitor.  

The chairman of the board anxious to express hiigh appreciation for excellence said her generation would be responsiible for correcting the mess  made by their parents.

He was speaking of the generation that grew up in a depression, fought and knew deprivation and loss of war in teen years, afterwards worked hard for modest wages and paid taxes to provide high schools universities, community colleges and hospitals. So that life would be better for their children. 

They did it without complaint. 

There were no RRSPS and  no funds  to stash away for old age. 

The only asset they had was house they lived in. 

I remember thinking at the time, I hope that girl is sensible enough to know she's listening to pure baffle-gab. 

Now according to the phsychaitrist I listened to ,more children are being diagnosed and pumped with drugs than ever before. 

I'm not sure lessons are being learned. 

I think of a  citizen delegation demanding Council go to court to compel a communication tower 

erected within all the rules  be dismantled and my doubts are compounded. 

Imagine my thoughts as I watched elected representatives prepared to go that route.

Yet another lawyer was retained to tell them they couldn't win that fight. But some still were They were not inclined to listen to the solicitor on the payroll for the purpose. 

External legal advice allowed them to make the right decision while covering their political asses. 

They were rewarded. 

Disorder In the classrooms ..  It's not hard to believe . 

I've seen enough in other unexpected places. 

RAIN IS A GODSEND

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A BEAUTIFUL SATURDAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD":

No rain tonight - maybe we are done for a wee while.o

Posted by Anonymous to  Our Town and Its Business at 10 June 2015 at 02:51

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We put grass seed  down six days ago. The weather has been perfect...cool nights ,warm days and rain  Yesterday the light green haze was already visible on the dark earth. 

No need to use town water costing an arm and a leg and we are not allowed to know why.

 It's not good for the garden anyway with all the added chemicals.

But by some queer method of book-keeping  we pay for it anyway. 

The town advises the Region of  anticipated  need and that's what's billed ....used or not. 

Then if angicipated use does not occur .the water account is in deficit and has to be made up.

If you have trouble understanding that it's not because you have an attention deficit. 

It's because it makes no more sense than a treatment facility to remove salt from snow which could not co-exist with snow in the first place and could not be removed from snow-melt in the second place.

 Richmond Hill  constructed one of those phoney-baloney salt removal treatment facilities with approval from the Ministry of Enviraonment . So it must be practical , right yes.?

No .....wrong and wrong again. 

A few weeks ago , on TV Ontario I watched a phychiatrist in the wee small hours of a Sunday morning.  He gave a lecture at Hart House in Toronto. He had retired because of a sick wife and other reasons but a book he wrote was worrying him.

The book was  partly on the subject of diagnoses . After it was published, numbers spiraled upwards 

accompanied by a huge increase in use of prescriptive drugs. He felt obligated to give the lecture and 
try to undo some of the damage.l

He was obviously trying to push back on a tsunamai.The drug industry being the main force behind it. 

He said a third of people presenting will  get better on their own. A third are helped with place,and third benefit from treatment. 

The doctor's main concern appeared to be the level of prescriptive drugs doled out particularly to school children

A child having trouble settling down in a classroom can be directly related to date of birth.

Based on that factor, a child in a classroom can be a full year younger than the rest. Therefore 

less mature and less able to sit quietly at a desk and listen to a teacher. 

Yet in Grade one they are being diagnosed  with attention deficit disorder,prescribed drugs and labelled for the rest of their school years. The damage from both is horrendous. 

Involvement of the pharmaceutical industry.is the main culprit. Doctors are wined and  dined and treated to golf vacations and  many other enticing gratuities by drug salesmen

It starts with pizza lunches for med students, said the phsychaitrist. 

That scandal  hit the news decades  ago.

 It seems nothing has changed. 

Except now the smallest children in school are the victim

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

Yesterday was a beautiful day. 

Today was glowering and threatening like a Mormac Meeting of Council. 

Yesterday was the Chamber of Commerce Street Sale. 

Colourful throngs of people and hundreds of pretty pagoda canvas roofs  transforming Yonge Street for one day in the life of Yonge Street, Aurora.  

Today was Monday. The day after . Thank goodness. 

Anna Lozyk Romeo has a nice video of the affaiir on her blog. 

Anna's blog just keeps getting better all the time. 

I believe it will become a force to be reckoned with in the community.

Chris Watts and Anna are a dynamic duo with separate skills. 

The town is the better for their being here. 

A BEAUTIFUL SATURDAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Age means not able to do all things previously enjoyed.

A  blessings is having a loving ,helpful family. 

Yesterday, we made a trip I look forward to at least once a year to Bradford  Greenhouses.

It is thrice jpleasurable.  A drive into real country that used to be within two minutes of my front door. 

Rolling  hills ,well-kept green fields, the breeze from the lake behind the hills "Borne like a zephyr on the soft summer air"

Garden plants are freshly grown,competitively priced and  in great variety. Those out of my 

financial  reach are a joy to behold. They increase in variety every year and are not to be seen elsewhere  in the vicinity. 

Pots, garden ornaments, furniture,and this year a ladies boutique reminding of Granville Island. 

Every year it grows. Of course it gets busier. But the best thing is that it is local enterprise going 

 from strength to strength like things always used to be. 

Effect of York  Region's "Northern Solution " (a sewage treatment  plant on Lake Simcoe)   remains to be seen . if it gets past the environmental process. 

We were a garden party .Heather, Adam and Stephanie. 

Stephanie has two garden composters cooking and two worm culture bins producing all the time. 

Even she was amazed by this Spring's production.  Of course it creates work  but that's all the cost. It is our contribution to the  environmental health of the planet. 

As well, it provides delightful surprises in our garden. 

Now I must go into Wikipedia and discover if snails are an aid or hindrance in the garden. We have a bigger army than Vladimir Putin. 

Stephanie is off to read for a play in Kitchener. 

THE ANSWER IS NO !

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WHY OH WHY?":

In any of these lawsuits (provincial or yours) isn't there a deductible that must be paid ie by the taxpayers

Posted by Anonymous to  Our Town and Its Business at 6 June 2015 at 08:49

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Litigation  between Premier Kathleen Wynne and  Opposition members is not government business any more than my law suit. Clearly there is no government liability. 

Imagine what it  would be like if politicians were free to  libel and slander each other  knowing they would be defended  from litigation with unlimited public resources 

The parties in Ms Wynne's action are each paying their own costs. The Litigation is against a statement made in public, damaging to  the Premier's reputation; an accusation of wrong-doing. 

The Premier has publicly stated an apology would make the litigation go away. 

The provincial government has no responsibility in the matter. 

    

Zilch...Zero....Nil...Nothing....Nada. Not a farthing of public resources expended.  

By contrast, the  S.L.A.P..P. action against three residents of Aurora  was  financed straight out of town coffers. 

Unpaid at the time of the election,the new Council led by G Dawe made the decision,with one dissent, to pay out of town finances. Costs are still being incurred  because of that decision. 

Defendants, law-abiding  victims of  Mayoralty Rage and Lust for Revenge , were not compensated  entirely for costs and no recognition given for anguish endured. 

The town's solicitor provided the only affidavit against them. 

He did not act independently.

He was terminated because of the judicial  ruling he had evaded questions and lied to the court

He received settlement from the new Council  of a year's salary. 

On staff advice .

The better part of $200k. 

The statement  against myself,composed by a lawyer and published was also paid by the town

Defamtory comments by Sher St Kitts permitted at a Council meeting in May 2009 ,were not recorded despite a resolution adopted by the majority to do precisely that.

Mr. Garbe stated staff had conferenced and decided  against  following Council direction.  

The Municipal Clerk, statutorily responsible for accurate record of  proceedings was not invited to comment. In a matter of weeks ,the clerk was no longer a town employee. 

Publishing the comments in the record would have made the town party to defamation. 

It seems paying for it with town resources however was not a perceived problem. 

Town resources were freely and repeatedly accessed to accommodate activities outside the town's interest or function during that term. Checks and balances were conspicuous in their absence. 

Piracy  of Church Street School and  the scandalous contract to purchase culture  is already known and will not be forgotten. 

The S.L.A.P.P. suit,initiated during an election was the straw that broke the back of Mormac's camel.

Without it the town might  still be enthralled. 

Ironically to an extent, the next Council  continued to similarly operate. 

Defamatory statements  were made but  not published with names attached.Enough names might been  difficult to assemble.

BTW... the  statement published by Mormac's  crew carried the  logo....not the town's name ....

creating an iimpression of Corporate Authority without the reality 

Still the town's resources were used to pay .

ENOUGH OF THE SILLY STUFF

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "NONE SO BLIND": 

Because, 09:21, *someone* needs to take a good hard look at the "owner and operator" of this particular kool-aid stand. 

Posted by Anonymous to  Our Town and Its Business at 5 June 2015 at 10:12

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It's  not hard. All it takes is the tap of a finger and it's al there for anyone to view. 

We have had enough nittering  and nattering about who is elite and who Isn't. 

We all know silly snobbery when we see it. Condescension is easily recognized. 

I accidentally removed a comment from someone who visited the Tait Gallery in London. I planned to cut and copy and lost it instead. 

London has a myriad of galleries,museums,truly historic buildings ,horticulture gardens and  exhibitions

 

Centuries old buildings and palaces are everywhere for public viewing pleasure.

Old ones are treasured and spectacular new facilities continue to be built to serve the burgeoning tourist industry 

The Tait Gallery is world renowned. Our commenter failed to provide information about whether the facility is free to all comers or who operates the business and whether or not  it is self-sufficient. 

It's not the only aspect that makes Tait Gallery incomparable to Church Street School in Aurora. 

NONE SO BLIND

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WHY OH WHY?": 

I never made any such suggestion, KA-NON. In fact, I stated that no one would deny ex-Cllr Buck her right to bring suit against whomever.

Your 'what if' liability insurance claim scenario is apples-and-oranges in relation to commencing litigation over a perceived loss of reputation.

Also, I'm not a long-standing member of council with a reputation for watching the taxpayers' pennies. I'm not a vocal opponent of so many budget line items, either, failing to vote in favour of every Town Budget. I don't attempt to strike a righteous pose while looking to claim some moral high ground as the champion of the 'little guy.'

Most of all, with all that reputation for parsimony, I didn't decide to put private interests before the public 

Posted by Anonymous to  Our Town and Its Business at 4 June 2015 at 18:19

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Your list indicates who you are not ,what you have not done and what you did not decide. 

everything in fact except who you are ,what you have done and the decision that makes you 

so determined to prove my perfidy on my blog. 

You  pointedly ignore the indices of opportunity to settle this matter at numerous points prior to a trial. 

You completely disregard strong evidence suggesting the town's insurance contract did not contain coverage for this eventuality, that the first decision therefore was to deny liability and the second to recommend settlement. 

Close to a million dollars have been expended to defend an action entirely separate from the corporate business of the Town of Aurora. You show no curiosity about why that was allowed or made to happen. 

Several opportunities have been provided  in this space for you to prove your point.

In my judgment ,you fall  far short of that objective. Your motives are suspect. 

THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES

When we were contemplating emigration sixty years ago, Canada.,New Zealand and Australia were 

options. I worked in  the accounts dept of a law office in a building abutting Admiralty Arch and overlooking Trafalgar Square. 

I had lived in London eleven years. My husband loved his home town. I enjoyed it but few places in Britain are not steeped in history. It was commonplace. 

An office colleague had lived in Calgary. It wa her entire focus She never tired of describing life in Canada.  She carried photos of her Calgary apartment in her purse. 

She had had an extra-marital affair and became pregnant. The plan was to return to London ,have the child and Terry, her Canadian lover would follow. .

He never did. Years had passed . It was as if life stood still while she waited. 

I had read the Jalna books and was already half in love with Canada. Strange as it seems now, I had no sense of the country''s geography,the size of it or the story's location. 

We lived in Toronto for the first two plus years. Without a car. We enjoyed the city. Especially Kew Beach and the Island.  We lived between Bay and Yonge halfway between Wellesley and Bloor. We could walk to the ferry. 

A small legacy made it possible to buy a home. Regency Acres  was being developed in Aurora. .The homes were being advertised on the radio. The price was right and Aurora became  our next and last move. 

I was surprised to discover this was Mazda De La Roche country. Sibbald's Point Provincial Park became a favourite summer jaunt  and our first camping trip.  The happiest days of my life have been spent on a shore as a child and as a mother with my children.

I assumed Sibbald House was the site of the Jalna Saga. I loved that place. It  seemed right to be there. 

Years passed, I've come to believe a person's life evolves as it is meant to be. Like a giant jigsaw puzzle on a card table. With hands hovering waiting to move the pieces into place. Nothing is haphazard.

Occasionally it is positively spooky, sometimes unbearably tense but always interesting. 

Last week I discovered from Anna's blog, the Lundy house on St.John's Sideroad was more than likely the house described  in the Jalna Saga . 

That sounds about right.  

WHY OH WHY?

Hardly a day goes by that I don't write  a blog.

The posts are not published because inevitably they touch on details of the suit . And that is a no-no.

In the eight years of  writing, no matter how it starts, each post finds its own direction. Unless  I write what's in the forefront of my mind, it's hard to deviate.

The previous to last comment takes the position my decision to litigate was wrong. I  respectfully suggest that decision was mine to make. No-one else. 

The town's insurance company  acceptance of  liability is a legitimate question the public has a right to know. 

I suspect the argument about my decision  is intended to distract from almost  one million dollars being used or mis-used to satisfy an ineligible claim. 

Had it been eligible, premiums would not have increased 41%  in 2014 and every year hereafter

to cover the cost after the fact.

Expertise is hardly required to understand the rule of cause and effect

Familiarity with the Municipal Act is not required to understand it cannot possibly be  interpreted to 
breach of civil law for politicians. 

Premier Kathleen Wynne is suing two Conservative members for public accusations that reflect on her integrity. The Liberal Party is paying  the Premier's legal expenses. The Conservative Party are paying to defend the defendants. 

NO PUBLIC FESOURCES ARE BEING EXPENDED.

Every lawyer in Ontario is an Officer of the Court. As such He/she is bound morally,ethically and legally to uphold the law. Solicitor/client privilege notwithstanding.

Libel and Slander laws  are older by far than the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 
dating back to English Common Law. 

Even those laws were founded on religious principles predating Christianity: Judean-Christian principles.

It was Moses who came down from the mountain with Ten Commandments chiseled in stone. One of the prohibitions was taking away a neighbour's  reputation. 

You can't steal property either. 

Aurora taxpayers have a right to be angry that taxes were used to increase premiums to cover exorbitant legal  costs. 

There is an an obligation to explain why normal checks and balances did not prevent it. 

The question remains to be asked and answered.

WHY?

TO BE PRECISE

The legal saga  is in its seventh year. The sixth anniversary passed  on Citizen Awards Night. On that night in 2009 ,six  individuals went behind closed doors at the Town Hall and made the decision to retain and instruct legal counsel at public expense, to read  two of my blogs and interpret  same..

I started writing the blog for communication in August 2007 when it became apparent equal pportunity at Council would be sparse.

A majority slate had been elected in 2006 . Three others had no Council experience and had yet to discover what was what.

I was the odd one out.

 But I had a computer, a sense of it's potential and necessity became the mother of invention.

The Blog began.  Tentatively at first.

It was a paradigm shift. 

As a  veteran of fifty years, I am no stranger to political battles . I seldom back away.

But ... Duelling with a lawyer  is hardly an equal footing.

 I didn't start it.

Now the decision is pending.

I appreciate the continued interest but I still can't talk about it.