6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday March 31, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary Guest Columnist New hospital site was available four years ago Ted Chudleigh Halton MPP ometimes you just have to shake your head. Way back in the spring of 2003 I was part of an Ted Chudleigh announcement by the Tory government which ceded hundreds of acres of provincial land to the "After building new Town of Oakville to be environmentally protected homes for four long and an additional 50 acres at Dundas and Third Line for a new, and badly needed, hospital. years, today's Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) Oakvillians are still simply cannot be expanded any more on its curshort of schools, rent site. With huge numbers of new Oakvillians, roads, health care crowding at OTMH isn't going to get any better. facilities and a host of As Oakville grows, its infrastructure must other necessary grow too. infrastructure." Since 2003 the McGuinty Liberal government, hospital and Town representatives have been trying to decide between the original 50-acre site at Third Line or a smaller site at Dundas and Trafalgar. They've been in deep thought over this for nearly four years. Earlier this month Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn was on hand to announce that they have all agreed to the original, larger site at Third Line. Hallelujah -- let's start digging. But wait -- they have to finalize the plans -- for three more years. Then we can start digging. I'm a little surprised that hospital representatives would refer to Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn's support as "phenomenal" given that this "phenomenal" support has wasted four years and has produced exactly nothing, zero, zip, nada. Oakville residents deserve better than this. According to Mr. Flynn, his work on behalf of Oakville residents is largely done. He said, as reported in this very newspaper, "This is something I've worked very, very hard on. If I don't do another thing in my political life, I'm so proud to stand here today." Well who could argue? Mr. Flynn has worked "very, very hard" for four years achieving nothing. And by his own admission, that's as good as it's going to get. Meanwhile, after building new homes for four long years, today's Oakvillians are still short of schools, roads, healthcare facilities and a host of other necessary infrastructure. And apparently tomorrow's Oakvillians will continue to be in dire need of these services, at least until 2013 when the hospital doors will open. But hey, Mr. Flynn's "very, very hard" work has been "phenomenal" while Oakville patients are worn down by outdated and insufficient facilities, while students scramble to find schools and while gridlock continues to hold commuters in its grip. Like I said, sometimes you just have to shake your head. 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It's even currently in use as the catchphrase for a group seeking solutions for California's continuing energy crisis. According to some experts, with the ongoing onslaught, er, advancement of the Internet, Power To The People is also becoming a reality as regular Joes (and Josephines) are finally taking the reins of power. People are truly becoming the masters of their own (web) domain. Even venerable old Time magazine talked of a new digital democracy, and the shift from institutions to individual citizens, when it selected You (not me, baby: You) as it's 2006 Person of the Year. You being anyone using or creating content on the World Wide Web. Personally, I think it's all a load of hooey. The sort of thing you could feed to the horses and fertilize the fields. But then, I'm not Time's Person of the Year, You are! Seriously, there is no denying that in this new digital democracy, anyone who wishes can have a say. Anyone can become a star on sites like YouTube. Anyone can voice opinions via personal websites, blogs and such. But, personally, I'm not sure all of this is a good thing. I mean, there are people setting their hair on fire in attempts to gain a Warholian 15-minutes of fame. Further, I think all of this dishing out of power is only abetting the dumbing-down of society. Take Rolling Stone magazine. Early on in the advent of the Internet, most newspapers and magazines chose to Andy Juniper ignore the fledgling medium (burying their heads in the sand and hoping the whole web-nonsense would just go away). Conversely, Rolling Stone was fairly quick to embrace the technology, creating an entertaining and informative website written by its esteemed stable of rock journalists. But of late I've noticed a disturbing trend. Content on the website has been hijacked. Taken over by (or, rather, readily handed over to) the People. Now, instead of enlightening articles there are blogs. Where the website was once filled with insight, humor and razor-sharp satire, it now brims with comments made by and for the People. Alas, most of these postings are of the intelligence-level and ilk of the scribblings found on bathroom walls in grade schools. Irrelevant talk of sex, penis and breast size, puerile insults (hurled at other bloggers), tasteless jokes, that sort of swill. And Rolling Stone is by no means alone. Most media websites designate considerable space for the People. Why? Because they're altruistic and believe the People deserve a say? Or, because blogger copy is...free? That's right, it's pure economics. Equally as annoying are the polls that have popped up on even the most respected mainstream-media websites. Created in the name of "interactivity," these polls typically waver between the insipid, the inane, and the idiotic: Do you have Spring Fever (Yes or No)? Are the Toronto Raptors for real (Yes or No)? How many beers are in a six-pack (Yes or No)? I can't sleep at night, awaiting the results of these People polls. Seriously. But, hey, I'm sounding old and cynical. Maybe I just can't comprehend this new and enlightened age. Where People have power. And they ain't afraid to abuse it. Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com.