How Shallow are we?

“Government is too big and too important to be left to the politicians.”
  - Chester Bowles

Almost all of the media coverage of the election race is focusing exclusively on the recently revealed pictures from 18 years ago that show Justin Trudeau at a theme party dressed up as the fictional character Aladdin (probably more accurately in Arabic as Al Ad Din).  This seems to be the rational that we are supposed to use to determine who we vote for on October 21^st.  Is he racist?  Is he disparaging Arabs?  Will this be a reason for us to lose favour with the rest of the world?  My answer is wsag (who gives a sh&t)?

“It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.”
  - Abraham Lincoln

If this is the reason we are going to use to determine the future of our country, we are a very shallow people indeed.  If the past is going to be used to determine our future, we really need to give our collective heads a shake.  

“Man is a credulous animal and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones.”
  - Bertrand Russell

The stupidest political statement that was ever made was Kim Campbell’s comment that elections were no time to discuss serious issues.  Of course they are the time to discuss serious issues!  When else does the voting public get a chance to ask serious questions about policy of potential politicians?  Once a party is in power the decisions on serious issues are out of our hands.  The die is cast as the saying goes.  You next opportunity is the next election when, supposedly, we are again not to discuss serious issues.

One of the main issues we must face is climate change.  Last Friday, millions of young people from around the world showed us that this was their priority issue.  If we want to make a better world for the young, we better be paying attention to this plea and get serious about doing something significant about it.  One article in Saturday’s Ottawa Citizen recorded the failure of successive Canadian governments to do anything that has any hope of doing any good in this fight.  In the current election, there is one leader who has at least instituted a carbon tax (which too many provinces are wasting taxpayers’ dollars fighting in court) while the other has said he wants to pump more and more oil and gas into the world.  You decide what’s worth while.  Which of our leaders is going to show real leadership on this issue?  Real leadership is the courage to get people to do what they may not really want to do, but that is necessary for the betterment of all.

There are other important issues that should be discussed.  Foreign relations would be a good start.  How are we going to manage our relations with the US?  With China?  Will “getting tough” with China really work?

I’m getting sick and tired of each successive government trying to buy my vote with so-called goodies.  If I could find a party that would not try to buy my vote with my tax dollars, I would become a champion of that party. 

But as we all know, and as the press keeps telling us, the only really important issue in this election is Justin Trudeau’s blackface costume.  How shallow!

“Politics is made up largely of irrelevancies.”
  - Dalton Camp

It shouldn't be.

Waiting for the . . .

Second boot to drop?  Next government scandal?  The upcoming recession? Dental appointment?

When my wife and I first got married we lived on the bottom floor in a two story apartment.  In one of the apartments upstairs from us, we would hear a boot drop.  We waited for the second one, which duly arrived.  But then would come a third one.  Unnerving to say the least.

Governments at all levels and in any country are prone to gaffs, scandals and stupidity.  It has become almost a daily event and we wait anxiously for the next one to arrive.  The latest in Canada has been the Ethics Commissioner’s report on the performance of the Prime Minister during the SNC Lavalin issue.  To my mind, the worst part was not the report itself.  What is the most damaging was the refusal of the PM to apologize for his behaviour.  He said that he would not apologize for saving Canadian jobs.  But there was never any danger of jobs being lost since the projects that the company had would still go on and they would still be done by Canadian workers.  See my previous blog on this subject at http://gordf.blogspot.com/2019/03/snc-lavalin-fantasy-of-numbers.html. 

The President of the United States wants to buy Greenland to add to its colonial empire.  Denmark, which “owns” Greenland says there is no way that they would sell the world’s largest island.  So POTUS took umbrage and cancelled a visit to Denmark.  Another so-called US ally down the drain.

In the UK under a new Prime Minister, Brexit staggers on to sad conclusion.  The UK has to learn that this is no longer the Victorian age where Britain could claim to be the most powerful and commercially successful country in the world.  It is now the age of globalization and despite those who deplore the idea, globalization is not going away.  Multi-national corporations now control most of the international commerce and they are not going to let that go.

“You will find that the State is the kind of organization which, though it does big things badly, does small things badly, too.”
  - John Kenneth Galbraith

“Too bad the only people who know how to run the country are busy driving cabs and cutting hair.”
  - George Burns

There is a lot of talk these days about “the” upcoming economic recession.  Most of this talk is in the financial press, but it sometimes leaks into the news section.  This is the way a lot of recessions begin; with predictions in the press.  Which makes me wonder if this press coverage becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Because of the press coverage, people stop buying goods and services.  Investors stop investing.  Companies stop making improvements or hiring new hires.  Voila, a recession.  Maybe if the press shut up about it, things would be fine.

“In journalism, there has always been a tension between getting it first and getting it right.”
  - Ellen Goodman

 I was at my dentist the other day.  As I was led to the dental chair by the dental assistant, I took off my glasses and my hearing aids.  She said, “You don’t have to take those out.”  I said, “Oh yes I do.  I hate to hear myself scream.”

Donald Trumps motto:  “The public will believe anything, so long as it is not founded on truth.”
  - Edith Sitwell

And what are you waiting for?

Barbeque Tips and Quips

It’s summer, at least in the northern hemisphere, so it must be time to turn attention to barbequing.  I like barbequing most things.  But I sometimes wonder at the way we go about things.

Let’s take steaks for example which is a barbeque favourite to most.  Personally, I cannot barbeque a steak properly. I follow directions, I marinade it to death, I sear it and it still turns out like shoe leather.  But a lot of people do cook them properly and really enjoy them.  They know the right cuts of meat to buy.  They prepare them when the steaks are fresh.  Then they drown them in marinade the night before and then slather them in barbeque sauce while the steaks are cooking.  All this so that they can get that real steak taste.

Hamburgers are another favourite for summer barbeques.  You can acquire hamburger patties in a number of ways.  The easiest way, and my favourite method, is to buy them already made.  But, of course, this does not satisfy the purist.  They must be made by hand in your own kitchen.  So first you go out and carefully shop for the perfect ground beef; from the best type of beef, with just the right percentage of fat.  Even better is to choose the best cut of steak and grind it yourself.  You now have the best meat in order to make the finest burger patties.  You know they are going to be juicy and taste incredible.  You mix the meat with a few spices, a little salt and maybe even a touch of pepper. You gently shape the patties to just the right shape, size and thickness.  Oh! These are going to taste wonderful.  It’s now time to flash up the barbeque to just the right temperature.  What’s you favourite heating method?  Does your barbeque have to have charcoal briquets with a sprinkle of hickory mixed in?  Or are you okay with propane or natural gas?  I much prefer natural gas for its convenience and consistency, but of course I’m not a purist.

Now you’re ready to cook these marvellous creations.  You carefully watch for any change in the temperature of the barbeque.  You watch the burgers as they sizzle and brown.  You cook them fairly slowly so that the heat will get right through them.  You have your water pistol handy in case of flare-ups.  You don’t take any chances.  A minute or two before the burgers are ready, you bring out the fresh buns and put them on a rack above the cooking surface so they will toast a bit.  And finally, everything is ready.  People’s mouths are watering in anticipation.  You carefully pair each burger with a bun, except for your teenage son who wants two burgers on his bun.  Oh, and of course there is your teenage daughter who has just announced that she is a vegetarian.  Nonetheless, everyone sits down with their burger.

And now the final ceremony begins.  Everyone starts ladling the accompaniments on their burger; tomatoes, onions, pickles, ketchup, mustard, relish, cheese and lettuce.  All the better to bury the taste of that lovely burger patty!