THINGS I FIRMLY BELIEVE
The world will never again be the same as it was a year ago today.
Being late is insulting, being chronically late is selfish.
COVID-19 PHRASES I’M TIRED OF HEARING
Unprecedented times
Abundance of caution
Everything is on the table
We’re all in this together
There’s light at the end of the tunnel (without telling us how long the tunnel is)
Stay at home
SEVEN GAMES NOT ENOUGH
The NHL has suspended Washington’s Tom Wilson, the dirtiest player in the league, seven games for a completely unnecessary, vicious, and injurious hit on Bruin defenceman Brandon Carlo. Even though Wilson will also lose about $312,000 (US) in pay, the punishment is far too light; he should have gotten at least double that. This is Wilson’s fifth suspension, and he’s also been fined twice for excessively dirty play. Given that he’s only twenty-seven years old, Wilson has a good chance of overtaking Chris Pronger as the dirtiest player in NHL history. This injustice again begs the question of why Gary Bettman insists on heading the inaptly named Department of Player Safety with former goons. The current one is George Parros, who in his nine-year NHL career had a grand total of eighteen goals accompanied by 1,092 penalty minutes. That’s an entire game in the penalty box for every goal he scored.
A DIFFERENT TAKE ON OPRAH’S BIG INTERVIEW
As someone who was involved in media interviews for many years, both as a host and a guest, my perspective on the the Oprah interview with the former Royals, Harry and Meghan, was probably different than that of most viewers. For example, while watching the show, even though I instinctively liked Meghan, I kept reminding myself that she’s an accomplished actress. And even though I’ve always respected Harry, I kept reminding myself that he’s an old hand at being in the public eye. In short, I was as interested in how they said it as I was in what they said.
I thought they handled themselves effectively with low-key aplomb. What could have been an angry diatribe aimed at Buckingham Palace, instead came across as two people on one side of an issue calmly explaining their position. Of course, there were the two jaw-dropping revelations: Meghan’s admission that she had considered suicide; and, Harry’s disclosure that “a family member” had raised the issue of what colour their children’s skin might be.
Because neither was prepared to name the family member, many members of the Royal Family are now under suspicion. (Harry later clarified that it was not the Queen or Prince Phillip.) They should have just attributed the racist speculation to “The Firm” (the collective characterization of Buckingham Palace). But because this story, a 21st century version of the 20th century Duke of Windsor/Wallis Simpson drama, will keep journalists and authors probing for years, it’s highly likely we’ll eventually learn who it was.
HOW DOES HARJIT SAJJAN KEEP HIS JOB?
What hold does Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan have over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that justifies keeping him in his post? Four years ago Sajjan was caught lying about his role in the Afghanistan war, and indications are that he’s about to be caught in another whopper.
Former Military Ombudsman, Gary Walbourne, testified before the parliamentary defence committee that in a 2018 meeting with Sajjan he told him about an accusation of inappropriate sexual behaviour by Chief of the Defense Staff, Jonathan Vance, and offered physical evidence thereof. According to Walbourne, Sajjan actually backed away from his desk, declaring that he didn’t want to see the proffered evidence, nor hear anything more about it. Walbourne was subsequently ostracized to the point he resigned. Sajjan has weakly denied Walbourne’s version of events, and maintains he didn’t know about the allegation until last month. (The alleged inappropriate behaviour is reported to be an email to a much younger junior officer suggesting they go to a nudist colony together.)
There are four troubling considerations here: first, Vance’s successor, Admiral Art McDonald, has been relieved of his duties and is “under investigation,” but Sajjan, spuriously citing privacy considerations, refuses to even reveal what the investigation is about; second, Sajjan has steadfastly ignored the long and loud outcry about sexual improprieties in the military; third, Sajjan’s testimony before the parliamentary defence committee yesterday was beyond cringeworthy; finally, and probably the most troublesome, Sajjan and Vance are reported to be long-time good friends Yet Trudeau continues to stand by this apparently incompetent, and obviously unprincipled, defence minister.
A politically savvy friend of mine says it’s all about Sikh votes in B.C.