PONDERABLES
Will Justin Trudeau ever give a straight “yes” or “no” answer, or even one consisting of anything other than virtue-signalling talking points? And when will he stop using the pandemic as an excuse to trample democracy?
Shouldn’t the answer to the question of who to call in case of an emergency, in almost all cases be “911?”
When people brag about being humble, doesn’t that suggest that they’re not?
THINGS I FIRMLY BELIEVE
It’s obvious that the U.S. badly needs election reform establishing nation-wide standards.
It’s been reported that more than 1,000 economists signed a letter urging people to vote for Joe Biden. This is the first time in history that many economists agreed on anything.
Until the Speaker of the House of Commons is given the power to require MPs to answer the question that was asked, Question Period will continue to be a colossal waste of time and money.
U.S. ELECTION
(At the time of writing the winner had not been called, but it was far more likely that it would be Joe Biden than Donald Trump)
This was the 16th U.S. election in which I’ve been keenly interested. The first was in 1960 when the youthful, likeable, and charismatic John F. Kennedy aroused as much interest as the aging, hateful, and distasteful Donald J. Trump did in this one. I intensely want Trump to be discarded like the piece of garbage that he is, but I fully understand why the Democrats didn’t fare better. First, because most Republicans considered their party’s policies to be more important than the innumerable unattractive character shortcomings of their leader there weren’t many Republican deserters. Next, Trump won in 2016 because the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, was so intensely disliked that even many Democrats wouldn’t vote for her, and this time both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris had perceived electoral weaknesses.
During the campaign, Biden was sometimes bumbling and fumbling. For example, referring to Trump as “George,” losing his train of thought in mid-sentence, and lacing his comments with non-sequiturs. He also made at least two startling, vote-costing statements: saying he would “transition away from oil and gas,” and that African-Americans who would vote for Trump “ain’t Black.” Many voters were concerned about his age (he’ll be 78 years old in a few days) and his history of health problems. Making Trump’s mishandling of COVID-19 his main platform plank, while presenting no positive economic policies, was a huge mistake. As Bill Clinton strategist James Carville famously said during the 1992 presidential campaign, “It’s the economy, stupid.” And in that same vein, Harris, despite her many positive attributes, was considered, even by many Democrats, to be far too socialistic.
A DISTURBING TRUDEAU FLIP-FLOP
I don’t have the space here to repeat the context of the reporter’s questions and Trudeau’s answers, but in two separate news conferences in three days he made contradictory statements when asked about free speech, one last Friday and the other this past Monday. Whatever happened over the weekend to cause him to change his mind, his flip-flop is disturbing because it strongly suggests that he has no grasp whatsoever on what the concept of free speech actually means. Those of you who are not familiar with the context of the questions and answers can get the whole story in John Ivison’s column on the matter in the November 4th edition of the National Post.
MORE IDIOCY FROM JAGMEET SINGH
Jagmeet Singh wants to levy a hefty wealth tax on anyone who “has a fortune of $20,000,000 or more.” What he is willfully ignoring is that anyone who has that much money can live pretty well anywhere they want to, and if that tax is ever enacted they will move themselves and their “fortune” out of Canada as soon as they can, so tax revenues would actually be reduced rather than increased.
A MESSAGE FOR SANCTIMONIOUS “ACTIVISTS”
If Sir John A. Macdonald’s name has to be removed from all public institutions because he was prime minister when the admittedly-odious residential schools were created, then so do the names of all subsequent prime ministers who didn’t end the practice.
EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN
Famed Canadian physician Sir William Osler, often described as the father of modern medicine, in a speech he gave to Yale University students back in 1913, suggested that the best way to manage worry and stress was to live “in day-tight compartments,” meaning to take things one day at a time. That century-old advice is more relevant today than ever before.