PONDERABLES
How many millions of sports fans the world over rejoiced when the biggest jerk in the history of tennis, Novak Djokovic, got kicked out of Australia?
Given there’s no religious exemption for drunk driving, why should there be one for vaccinations?
THINGS I FIRMLY BELIEVE
If he wants it, Ken Jennings should become the permanent host of Jeopardy! Not only is he competent and likeable, his identification with the program’s brand is unparalleled.
About the only thing President Biden has going for him is he isn’t Donald Trump.
LENNY BREAU FOLLOW-UP
In my January 8th blog, How I Became Friends With Chet Atkins, I mentioned that Chet considered Lenny Breau to be the best guitar player in the world. So, just how good was Breau? Consider the following:
1. Every guitar player I’ve ever heard interviewed said the same thing.
2. He had his own band when he was twelve years old.
3. He played lead guitar in his father’s band when he was fourteen.
4. Because he wanted to play more notes, he had a seven-string guitar made that had both a high and a low A string.
Unfortunately, on August 12, 1984, a week after his forty-third birthday, Lenny was murdered in Los Angeles; a murder that has never been solved.
REALLY, GARY?
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman’s inexplicable compulsion to keep an NHL franchise in Arizona is exceeded only by his refusal to admit that relocating the original Winnipeg Jets franchise there in 1996 was a colossal mistake in the first place. Bettman recently had a virtual meeting with Quebec Finance Minister, Eric Girard, during which the finance minister assured Bettman the provincial government was prepared to fully support an NHL franchise in Quebec City. It was no surprise that Bettman was, as usual, annoyed to even have to discuss the matter, let alone give it any serious consideration.
But his arrogance and disingenuousness reached new heights when he stated in a press release, “While we’re appreciative and flattered by the interest expressed, unfortunately we’re not aware of any opportunity that could address that interest at the current time.” Can Bettman really be unaware that his beloved Coyotes are, by any measure, a dismal failure in Arizona? Hans Christian Andersen’s folktale about the Emperor’s new clothes comes to mind.
IT’S ONE OR THE OTHER
Prime Minister Trudeau sent Foreign Minister, Melanie Joly, to Europe to weigh in on the troubling and mounting tensions between the Ukraine and Russia, and has also authorized her to convene a meeting of foreign ministers to search for solutions to Haiti’s age-old constitutional and security problems. It’s hard to decide whether these decisions are depressingly sad or uproariously laughable. Joly has no experience whatsoever in foreign affairs, and that she was shuffled out of three previous cabinet postings doesn’t inspire much confidence in her leadership skills. The likely answer is that the vast majority of Canadians find the decisions depressing while the rest of the world is trying to keep a straight face.
JAGMEET SINGH’S DRAMATIC TUMBLE
One of NDP leader Jagmeet Singh’s political trademarks is adopting a holier-than-thou attitude when it suits his purpose. But Singh took an awkward tumble off his high horse this week when it was revealed his wife had accepted a gift of an $1,895 rocking chair from a Toronto furniture company on the understanding she would promote their product on social media; which both she, and Singh himself, actually did.That Singh didn’t know this was a flagrant breach of parliamentary rules governing gifts received by MPs or their families is simply not believable; he consciously went along with an unethical decision. The statement by an NDP spokesperson that the gift had been accepted “to help promote a Canadian company” was so ludicrous it worsened the situation
COMPARING JUSTIN AND PIERRE
Areas in which Justin surpasses Pierre:
Blackface performances
Ethics violations
Broken election promises
Apologies for other people’s actions
Idiotic costuming
Falsely pretending to be a feminist
Unnecessary appearances on network television
Appointing incompetent cabinet ministers
Sticking with incompetent cabinet ministers
Firing competent cabinet ministers
Out-of-control spending
Calling unnecessary elections
Dismantling the Senate
Areas in which he trails Pierre:
Intelligence
Maturity
Communication skills
Areas in which they are tied:
Narcissism
Arrogance
Admiration for communist dictatorships
Disregard for Parliament
Autocratic leadership
Quebec favouritism
Hatred of Alberta