10 Tough Questions with Gregory Hough

Gregory Hough has been an avid blogger on several of our local blogs (known as WRCU2) , and a regular here on The Hamiltonian. Greg has always intrigued me, based on his unique style of getting his points across. I readily accepted the opportunity to meet Greg face to face to get to know the man behind the posts. We met at a Hamilton standard- the Tim Hortons at Ottawa street. Behind the mystery, I found a quintessential Hamiltonian- engaged, interesting with a genuine concern for our city. I was also impressed with Greg's quest to volunteer in the community. Additionally, he hails from Buffalo, NY, and it was thus very interesting to hear his perspective on Hamilton. I am pleased to have him on 10 Tough Questions. Greg has elected to answer all 11 questions I put to him. Welcome to 10+ Tough Questions with Greg Hough. Comments welcomed.

1. You originated from the United States and are now living in Hamilton. What brought you to Hamilton and what are your impressions of our city?

I could say I was brought to Hamilton by Tracy in a Green 1995 Dodge Neon but that wouldn't be much of an intro. I met Tracy through an online dating site called match.com at the turn of the century. We played a game of chess through email, we got to know one another and I simply followed my stomach to the heart of a fine Canadian girl.

We spent our first year together in Pickering before moving here to Hamilton for two very important reasons. One was to be closer to my daughter in Kenmore, N.Y. and the other was affordable housing. We have never regretted that move. Hamilton has been for us a land of opportunity, something this Buffalo Boy hadn't experienced too much of south of the border.

2. Do you think the Integrity Commissioner position will be helpful, or do you think it will be ineffective?

That is a tough question. If a defendant were to choose his own jury I think that would be helpful for his acquittal but would render justice completely ineffective. Why has it taken so long to choose an Integrity Commissioner? That alone suggests to me that the defendants had to wade through a jury selection list where few friends applied for the position.

3. What are you impressions of Mayor Eisenberger?

I only seen Mr. Eisenberger once in the flesh. I found him to be a well spoken individual in person, however, I have met many well spoken people in Hamilton so that really isn't all that it takes to be a good leader or the mayor. Without being specific about which attributes define good leadership or the mayor, I'll simply say that Mayor Fred Eisenberger doesn't have what it takes in proper measure. At least not that I've seen. He may think his Winona decision was in the best interest of the city, but I do not. Albeit for my own sake, I am not liable to say anything more about the man so as to diminish my respect for the office he holds. For a more authoritative look at this principle, I recommend  re-reading "Fox In Socks" A Tongue Twister for Super Children by Dr. Seuss 1965.

4. Councillor Merulla is responsible for your ward. Have you had any occasion to engage Clr. Merulla in any issues. If so, how have you found him in terms of responsiveness etc?

Believe it or not, Mr. Merulla is responsible for my renewed belief that a representative government can work for the people. I have had many opportunities to engage Mr. Merulla on issues from garbage collection to the distribution of power. Councillor Merulla is always ready to listen and is perhaps the most responsive person, let alone councillor, I have ever sparred with due pleasantries through our emails, Sir.

5. We've had a number of scandals in the last few years, mainly involving city Councillors and, on one occasion, The Mayor. Now there are allegations against senior staff in the city with the Abdul Khan complaint. How do you, as a Hamiltonian, react to these things?

I am not surprised when scandals occur. A scandal is nothing more than a dirty secret revealed. I am more concerned with how the mainstream media picks IT up and where they run with IT. Justice becomes more awkward with each incremental increase in complicity. If only one person were to blame, only one head would roll, but this will probably involve many heads and capital punishment distributed amongst a group of individuals ensures that not a single head will roll. We will probably see a lot of wrist slapping or perhaps a dismissal or two.

6. A Hamiltonian poll, which is ongoing for the moment, seems to suggest that most Hamiltonians who responded to the poll, would like to see someone new, not the current Mayor and not anyone on the current council, as our next Mayor. Do you share this belief? Please explain why or why not.

I am in total agreement with that poll. Hamilton needs a strong mayor to lead us to the next level, to oversee laying the groundwork for the Pan Am Games and Light Rail Transit. We need a mayor who will make our municipal water works work and not lobby to privatize our precious resource. We need a mayor who will be determined to clean up our harbour sooner rather than later.

Hamilton is on the verge of a complete turnaround if only we could capitalize on the moment and build the momentum. Every one of these unnecessary and avoidable scandals is a set-back to our city's success. We all have jobs to do and we must do them to the best of our ability. It doesn't matter if you're a city manager or a housewife, when you screw up it affects others around you. It is always best to admit when you are wrong, offer sincere apologies and become a better person from the experience.

7. You have been an avid blogger on many blogs, an engaged Hamiltonian and a community minded person. Your blog posts are often colourful, unique, laden with clever word play, and creative. I would be remiss if I did not ask you this question. Why do you opt of this unconventional style to express your thoughts and opinions?

I would be disappointed if you hadn't asked Cal. I am turned off by business as usual these days. Things like war, mainstream media, music, debt, etc. IT is always the same thing day after day and IT bores me. I comment on blogs to relieve the boredom of a stagnant existence. I am not falling behind but I'm not getting ahead either, this is what I mean by being stagnant.

I blog for the sheer fun of IT; Just like the mainstream media for pure entertainment, for the chills and the thrills. I use rhyme when I feel like singing, I mesh words together when I wish to twist the readers inner tongue or criss-cross the mind's eye. I frequently utilize a prolepsis style of prose, incorporate onomatopoeia and have had my writing described as dualistic diatribe. I love big words, slang the apostrophe and the hyphen. I like to be grammatically correct in that I capitalize and punctuate where appropriate and I like to spell correctly. If a word is seemingly misspelled, chances are I minted IT that way.

Ultimately I enjoy helping people who can read well, try a little harder to think. I always have dictionaries close by because the English language has so many wonderful words we can use to say exactly what we mean, I often encounter new words to learn. Sometimes I'll look a word up just to see if I still got the definition right. Words are powerful tools. The Lord God Father of Heaven created the entire universe with His word. He spoke everything into existence. We should all consider choosing our words carefully because once we've let them go, we cannot take them back.

One other reason why I write weird is for the web bots. Web bots are software incantations of plain and simple robots. "Danger Danger Will Robinson!" says the robot as he flails his mechanical arms wildly about. There are many forms of these data mining tools listless in cyber space. Many of them creep and crawl Internet sites searching for linguistic patterns or for shifts in public opinion. Some are involved in public profiling, some are controlled by hackers and some of those hackers work for governments, numbered corporations or simply for themselves. I will on occasion configure my own bot to go out and glean specific information. I generally don't mind bots visiting my web server so long as they obey "The Robots Exclusion Standard." There has to be rules of engagement when giving and receiving information especially in light recent reports that AI femme bots are now stalking Internet boards seeking unsuspecting human victims to humiliate and plunder. Must be that sinister Dr. Smith.

8. What have you noticed about Hamiltonians? As a people, what common characteristics have you noticed?

That is wide swath of a question which begs a narrow answer and I'm a bit winded from the last one I gave. I haven't even met one tenth of one percent of the population of Hamilton and of that inuscule slice, one has to realize I move in very smallish circles, therefore I do not rub elbows with many high mucky mucks. My opinion of the Hamiltonians I know is a humble one. They are down to earth, well grounded grassrootsarethewayforward kind of regular folk. Most of them do not understand why I even bother to waste my time blogging so much and I dare say, I'm beginning to wonder that myself.

9. What is it like making ends meet in Hamilton?

This is certainly easier than in Toronto. My family and I are not struggling but I will note there are three working adults required to keep our home afloat. Back in simpler times a man could support his wife and children on a single income. Not so today for the average worker like myself.

I foresee a time when we will be struggling because the economic system we live under was designed to fail. You cannot loan 10 dollars into the system and expect 11 back. That 10% interest was never put there in the first place so where does IT come from? IT comes from our children in the form of perpetual debt. Ever think about how many transactions may be made with a single dollar before the government takes IT all back in taxes?

1 - 87¢
2 - 76¢
3 - 66¢
4 - 57¢
5 - 50¢


After five transactions at 13% tax, the government has taken back 50% of  that dollar, But wait! I neglected to include an income tax charge to each person receiving the money. Let's try that again with an income tax surcharge of 25% after each transaction.
 1 - 87¢ - 25% = 65¢
2 - 56¢ - 25% = 42¢
3 - 37¢ - 25% = 28¢
4 - 25¢ - 25% = 19¢
5 - 17¢ - 25% = 13¢


Now you can see why this system will fail because an ordinary buck can't  go very far anymore. After five transactions, the government has  actually taken back 87% of the dollar in income and sales taxes. This does not include interest, fees, penalties or even property taxes! But we got what we deserve didn't we? We don't hold our mainstream media accountable and we don't vote. Se la vie, IT is what IT is and I hope you're enjoying the show.

10. If you could pick a percentage between 1 and 100%, what percentage of turnover would you hope for, in the next term of city council. In other words, what percentage of new faces would you like to see on council?

I am gonna go out on a limb and use the percentage I calculated above. We citizens should claw back 87% at the ballot box in November 2010, an eye for an eye sorta speak. That means all but two councillors will be shown the door. One of the two councillors I would like to see remain in office is Sam Merulla. Mr. Merulla has done some wonderful things here in the fourth. The Ottawa Street North BIA is probably the most exciting Business Improvement Areas in the city and with a BIA proposed for Kenilworth, along with the new Centre on Barton nearing completion, I would be comfortable knowing Mr. Merulla is still in charge and here to talk to. The other councillor I would like to see reelected for another term is Margaret McCarthy because like Sam, she has a determined look and great hair.

11. Do you believe in term limits for councillors? Why or why not?

I am not entirely in favor of term limits for the same reasons I believe a Master Plumber should be allowed lay pipe as long as he chooses. He has worked hard to get his license and he has paid his dues. The real problem with dead weight in council is low voter turnout, hidden agendas and special interests. If we as citizens we're to become more involved in our government and the mainstream media were to do a better job of telling the truth instead of trying to sell us entertainment as news or manipulate our opinions and views, all the bums would be easily voted out. That is not to say anyone there is a bum because I can really only speak with any authority about my own ward. So on the same token, really effective reelected men and women would continue to do a better job and gain valuable experience managing this great city.

There is a point where two important change agents come together at an apex. Citizens and their media meet in an interactive forum currently known as a BLOG. Some individuals will dismiss this as balderdash.and poppycock. "That is a preposterous assertion," the litigants are libel to object. Think about that. We are very close to electronic ballots and @home vote casting is pretty much commonplace already with an Internet connection. Look at all the voting we do here in The Hamiltonian and how Cal uses the information that is obtained. What do you think of all those silly polls over @theSpec? Not so silly when you see how all that information is compiled with proprietary third party databases. Our friends in the media are well aware of the Jane Doe and Joe No-Dough Q. public and what drives them absolutely bananas. That's why we see gal's like Sarah Palin get so much attention at dinner-time. We feast like little curious George chimps on this crap. Just so the man in the yellow hat can GET /us foaming @theMouth.commenting about this garbage entertainment as though IT were the most important news of the day. Be careful not to slip on your peels. Meanwhile IT takes the heat off what really matters where in chambers IT is motioned to reconsider or to consult with staff or forthwith amend in camera. Not that these are all bad things mind you, these are important delay tactics for due process but our Respectable Lords and Ladies up @theHall.cannot continue to drag things out ad nauseum. Here again is where a courageous and eager new mayor can be our greatest asset in Hamilton.

The Internet is where we must meet-up within this 21st century and until the end of the age. In the (G)olden years of print media, letters to the editor arrived with a stamp and two days grace, today IT is a mere seconds race. Perhaps IT is TIme for us all, to pick up the pace.

To All Hamiltonians Merry Christmas And A Prosperous New Year With Much Truer Cheer!


Thanks Greg for your interest in Hamilton and for your contribution to The Hamiltonian.