PONDERABLES
How many people will die as a result of COVID-19, not because they contracted the disease but because they couldn’t access timely life-saving surgeries and treatments because of it?
Will we ever again hear a politician answer a question with a simple “yes” or “no?”
Is there any recorded incontrovertible evidence that a camel’s back has ever been broken by a straw?
(This one will be meaningful only to Toronto radio listeners.) At Spence Jewelers, why doesn’t Mr. Jones talk to Callum himself rather than always going through Michael? And who is Sara?
THINGS I FIRMLY BELIEVE
The awful situation in Ukraine has again proven the United Nations is a completely useless organization and a total waste of money.
The Conservatives need to figure out how to unite their own party before even thinking about uniting the country.
National Post columnist John Ivison’s description of social media as “the anger machine” is wonderfully accurate.
Auston Matthews scores goals in more ways than any other player.
Shirley Eikhard is Canada’s most underrated singer-songwriter.
“That” is the most unnecessarily used word in writing, and “only” is the most often syntactically misplaced.
The southern-US expression “y’all” is a very useful conversational tool.
SOME MORE TANTALIZING COUNTRY SONG TITLES
They Don’t Break ‘Em Like They Used To
You’re Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation
Wine Me Up
I’ll Be Over You When The Grass Is Over Me
Getting Back To Norma
You’re The First Time I’ve Thought About Leaving Him
I Need Somebody Bad
JUSTIN TRUDEAU’S EARWORM
Justin Trudeau’s tour of Europe is costing Canadian taxpayers a ton of money and is really nothing more than a serial photo op. Anything he wanted to say to European leaders could easily have been conveyed via video. But that wouldn’t have satisfied his insatiably narcissistic ego. His earworm is probably Mac Davis’ 1980 hit It’s Hard To Be Humble. In case you’re not familiar with it, here’s the chorus:
“Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
When you're perfect in every way
I can't wait to look in the mirror
Cause I get better looking each day
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a man
Oh Lord It's hard to be humble,
But I'm doing the best that I can.”
AND A MUST-READ REX MURPHY COLUMN ABOUT TRUDEAU
I became a Rex Murphy fan decades ago when he hosted CBC’s Sunday afternoon radio show Cross Country Checkup, and I now enjoy his National Post columns, which is where I discovered we have something in common: we both think Justin Trudeau is a deeply flawed prime minister. Murphy’s March 8th column, Trudeau Knows About ‘Slippages” In Democracy is an enormously effective example of Trudeau’s duplicity. Both his supporters and critics alike should read it.
HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN FOR BASEBALL FANS
Major league baseball owners and players have finally reached an agreement and there will be a full schedule played in 2022. It was hard to pick a side between billionaire owners and millionaire players, and the issues were so arcane, nuanced and partisan that even avid baseball fans (of which I’m one) really had no idea what the dispute was actually all about.
The settlement’s only two changes of significant interest to the vast majority of fans are the addition of two more playoff teams and the adoption of the designated hitter by the National League; both are good for the game. Two more playoff teams will mean more meaningful games late in the season, and not having to endure the agony of watching pitchers futilely trying to hit is a welcome relief.
Both sides would now be well-advised to turn their attention to speeding up the games. And while they’re at it they should also agree to start playoff and World Series games earlier; perhaps even have some afternoon games. As it is now, young kids whose bedtimes are about the same time the second inning starts (and if the game is dragging it might still be the first) are not apt to ever become loyal fans.