PONDERABLES
Who ever thought that kids would be begging to go back to school?
How did Donald Trump manage to talk to “hundreds” of governors when there are only fifty states?
“Separate the men from the boys” is a common phrase; how come we never hear “separate the women from the girls?”
THE WE/LIBERAL PLOT THICKENS
It was revealed last Monday that Minister of Diversity, Inclusion, and Youth, Bardish Chagger, had a meeting with WE co-founder Craig Kielburger on April 17th, almost a week before Trudeau announced the creation of the now infamous student program, which had it gone ahead would have paid the WE charity group a fee in excess of $40 million. There are also rumours that at least a couple of other ministers were approached by WE. Also earlier in the week, Toronto Sun’s Brian Lilley revealed that the charity’s financial statements contained a note that it was in breach of its bank covenants, a clear indication that it was in financial trouble. If these two are connected, the Ethics Commissioner is going to have to hire more staff and order a couple of more filing cabinets.
THE CLERK OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL’S TESTIMONY
Testifying before the commons finance committee, Clerk of the Privy Council, Ian Shugart, said, “In a sense, the prime minister’s involvement (with WE) being in the public domain, I must say that it didn’t particularly cross my mind that there was anything that needed to be disclosed.” Well, what about the tens of thousands of dollars paid to the PM’s family members? That tidbit wasn’t “in the public domain.” Let’s hope Shugart’s position is just naivete and not the result of him being in the Liberals’ pocket like his disgraced predecessor Michael Wernick was. Michael Wernick just happens to be Rachel Wernick’s brother. She’s the senior assistant deputy minister at Employment and Social Development Canada, and is a central figure in the WE situation. Cozy, eh?
BILL MORNEAU SHOULD BE TOAST
All that needs to be said about this guy is that anyone who can’t keep track of his own financial affairs has no business looking after the finances of an entire country.
A VERY STRANGE ENDORSEMENT
Eyebrows were raised all across the country last weekend when Deputy Prime Minister Crystia Freeland stated that she had “complete confidence” in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Public votes of confidence are usually bestowed by the boss on subordinates, not the other way around, as was the case here. Makes one wonder what’s really going on in the Liberal caucus.
A VERY WEAK CABINET
The current cabinet is, arguably, the weakest in the history of the Liberal party. The combination of regional representation and Trudeau’s obsession with gender equality has resulted in a number of ministers who are simply not qualified to be anything other than apprentice backbenchers. Besides the PM there are 34 cabinet ministers, many of whom could be replaced and no one would even notice. Although there are a dozen or so competent ministers, Crystia Freeland is the only superstar.
SOME COUNTRY MUSIC OPINIONS
A family friend recently became interested in country music and decided to do some research. Knowing that I’m a country music fan (not so much today’s country, but what’s become known as classic country) he got in touch and asked me to suggest 100 songs to pursue. Instead, I suggested particular artists for him to check out. Our exchange of messages resulted in my revisiting country music opinions that I’ve held for a long time, and I found that I haven’t changed my mind about any of them. They follow.
Best male singer: Marty Robbins
Best female singer: Patsy Cline
Best group: The Statler Brothers
Most charismatic performer: Johnny Cash
Most influential country music personality: Johnny Cash
Best country song ever: Sunday Morning Coming Down, written by Kris Kristofferson and made a monster hit by Johnny Cash
Best five-piece band: Hank Snow’s Rainbow Ranch Boys
Best big band: Merle Haggard’s Strangers
Best western swing band: Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys
Best instrumentalists: Guitar, Chet Atkins; Steel guitar, Leon McAuliffe; Bass, Roy Huskey Jr.; Rhythm guitar, Ed Hyde; Drums, W.S. Holland; Piano, Floyd Cramer; Sax, Boots Randolph; Banjo, Earl Scruggs; Dobro, Jerry Douglas; Mandolin, Jethro Burns (who was Chet Atkins’ brother-in-law)
My favourite contemporary country artists: Male, Marty Stuart; Female, Alison Krauss; Group, Lady Antebellum; Band, Marty Stuart’s Fabulous Superlatives.