They say one of the biggest challenges of writing something
is to figure out what to write about.
That is often the case for a casual blogger like me. Something will cross your mind, but by the
time you get to your computer, the idea has passed. In other cases, many things will come to mind
but you just cannot pick one to concentrate on. If you try and be timely with a story, you
find that things move so quickly that you cannot keep up. I am somewhat in that
situation right now. Oh the trials of
the semi-imaginative writer!
For this post, let’s look at a few things somewhat at
random.
A good place to start is with President Trump as it
frequently the case. He is on his first
foreign trip this week to visit Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Rome, and to attend
two meeting, one at NATO and the other the G7 in Sicily. An interesting sidelight came up with his
trip to Saudi Arabia over the issue of head covering for women. Some years ago, he criticized Michelle Obama
for not covering her head when on a similar visit, but there he was with his
wife and daughter at his side, both uncovered.
A few days later, he visited the Pope where a picture shows him with his
wife and daughter both of whom were solemnly wearing head coverings.
While at NATO headquarters, Mr. Trump gave a speech to the
other member heads of government accusing them of not spending enough on
defence. He stated that this was not
fair to the American people. Whether
this would be fair to other nations’ people was of no interest to him. This was, like all of his speeches and
pronouncements aimed squarely and solely at his American base. The fact that the US spends more of its GDP
and tax dollars on defence (which of course includes offensive weapons) is an
internal US decision since they consider that they have a responsibility for the
entire world. No wonder they do not have
a decent health care system for their citizens.
Should Canada spend more on defence?
Probably. But that decision
should be made by the citizens of this country, not by Mr. Trump.
In Canada the Conservative Part is about to choose its new
leader. The only person who has shown
any promise to me is the lady, Rona Ambrose, who was unable to run. She has done a lot to re-establish some
credibility in the party during the time when she has been interim leader. I don’t think that any one of the people
currently in the leadership race would have a chance of winning my vote in a
general election nor could win the next federal election.
On a totally different note, on the front page of the Ottawa
Citizen Driving section today (Friday, May 26) was an article extolling the
virtues of a new sports car, the Lamborghini Huracan. The story boasts about the 600 plus
horsepower and the 2.9 second 0 to 100 kph acceleration. Really?
Who needs over 600 horsepower in a car?
Who needs to go 0 to 100 kph acceleration? In western countries where we have speed
limits and traffic laws, who needs this performance? On out roads full of ruts and potholes, who
can use this performance? We are, I
thought, becoming more conscious or the environment and the burning of fossil
fuel. Extolling these kinds of cars and
their outrageous performance is hardly responsible in these circumstances. Don’t get me wrong. I am a car lover and have been all my
life. But I have always respected
efficiency in cars over brute power. Let’s
see more responsible reporting in newspapers and car magazines.
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