Two things I'm getting really sick of

Two stories dominate the news here. One is the Dustin Paxton trial, the other is the "occupy Calgary" live-in. I'm pretty sick of both of them.

The gist of the Paxton trial is that this guy allegedly beat the sh-t out of his roomate for a couple of years and then dropped the half-dead victim off at the local emergency room, where he lay in a coma for a few weeks and is now mentally and physically crippled for life. Shouldn't this trial have lasted about a day at the most? I mean, the evidence is overwhelming. But no. It's gone on for more than a month. Every day Paxton's mug stares out at Calgarians from every newspaper. Every hour every newscast is filled with mortifying, detailed coverage of the degradation this guy endured in what amounts to a ludicrous sideshow. And you're paying for it. It's basically a male version of "battered wife syndrome": pretty cut and dried. Let's wrap this up -- please people!

The other carnival spectacle is the "protest" in Olympic Park. Last time I checked, you and I would have had to have obtained a permit to demonstrate. And if any of us decided to sleep in a public park, we would have been removed and fined. But no. These people have been allowed to live there for weeks, littering and damaging the place, with nary a discernable purpose or objective -- other than to....um, gosh...I have no clue??!! Judging by the inane, rambling interviews their "leaders" give, neither have they.

Mayor Nenshi has this one wrong. Move along, folks, move along.