PONDERABLES
When will the federal Liberals upgrade Chrystia Freeland’s title from deputy prime minister to acting prime minister?
Who was the pathetically cynical Baseball Hall of Fame voter that didn’t vote for Jeter
THINGS I FIRMLY BELIEVE
Far too many people believe far too much of what they read online.
The adage “this, too, will pass” is usually worth heeding.
THE SENATE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL
“Beyond a reasonable doubt” is the benchmark the quality of evidence must meet in a fair trial. One thing this travesty established “beyond a reasonable doubt” is that Republican Majority Leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, is a corrupt and reprehensible politicia
IT MAY BE FAINT, BUT IT’S STILL A HOPE
In 1985, while filling in for the legendary broadcaster Betty Kennedy on CFRB in Toronto, I had the pleasure of doing a 30-minute interview with John Dean, a main Watergate figure and the person most credited with bringing down President Richard Nixon. We also chatted for about an hour off-air, mostly about politics and the entertainment business.
Little did we realize that at the same time we were shooting the breeze, there was a despicable, arrogant, narcissistic ignoramus by the name of Donald Trump traipsing around New York, who three decades later would wreak havoc on the world. But it’s that long-ago conversation with John Dean that gives me some faint hope that Trump may not be around for as long as he and his odious enabling Republican senators believe.
When I asked Dean how it felt to be the person who brought down Nixon, he acknowledged that although his “cancer on the president” comment may well have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, he went on to say that the whole Watergate scandal was so widespread and deeply-rooted that it would have eventually crumbled under its own weight. And therein lies my faint hope: that the ever-increasing weight of Trump’s maliciously dangerous, decency-lacking, vindictive behaviour will eventually bring him down.
GERARD GALLANT’S CLASSY ACT
Recently-deposed Las Vegas Knights’ coach Gerard Gallant once again demonstrated his character by removing himself from his All-Star divisional coaching position even though the NHL would have been happy to let him fulfill the role which he’d earned by virtue of his team’s record. Gerard said that he felt withdrawing was simply the right thing to do.
People who know Gerard, and those who have closely followed his career, would not have been surprised by his decision. Throughout his entire playing and coaching career he’s always carried himself with dignified class.
Gallant’s firing was a shock to the hockey world. Seldom has any NHL coach had the kind of success he’s had over the past two-and-a-half years with even an established team, let alone with an expansion team. Until last week I didn’t know anything about the Knights ownership; now I know everything I need to.
CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP RACE
I was looking forward to a race that included Rona Ambrose, Peter MacKay, Jean Charest and Pierre Poiliere. Without Ambrose, Poiliere, and Charest, it’s probably Peter MacKay’s to lose with Erin O’Toole having a slim chance.
DON’T STOP AT THE THE HEADLINE
I’ve long advocated that headlines alone are unreliable, the entire article should be read. The reason being that headlines are written by someone other than the author of the article, and headline-writers, trying to be clever, often skew the gist of the piece.
Although I haven’t seen one, an overly-clever headline dealing with Larry Walker’s election to the Baseball Hall of Fame this week, joining Ferguson Jenkins, the only other Canadian in the Hall, could be a case in point. “Number of Canadians In Hall of Fame Doubles” would be accurate, but fails to convey that there are now two Canadian inductees instead of one.
A NEEDED CHANGE IN ELECTION LAWS
Unless you are keenly interested in Ontario politics you can be forgiven if you have no idea who Amanda Simard is.
On June 7, 2018, Simard was elected as a Conservative MPP in Ontario. Less than six months later, disgruntled with the government’s refusal to fund a francophone university, she decided to sit as an Independent, she’s now decided to become a Liberal.
It’s hard to imagine a better example of why federal and provincial election laws should be changed to require an immediate by-election when a sitting member decides to change affiliations.