We demand?!?!

"We demand immediate action and call for full regularization of all undocumented people and permanent resident status for all migrant workers!"

You demand??!!  Really??!!  This is what some guy named Syed Hussan, spokesman for the 'Migrants Rights Newtork' uttered the other day.  Who the hell does he think he is??!!  He represents illegal criminals, for Gawd's sake.  The very fact that they're here illegally makes them criminals, but this lunatic is demanding they be automatically given permanent status!

I'm getting very sick of "you people", as the great Don Cherry dubbed them and was fired for it.  B waited for five years to be accepted to Canada with his family.  Five years, not five minutes.  That's how things used to be done.  Legally. 

It's estimated there are 500,000 undocumented illegals without valid immigration status working in Canada, but frankly, no one really knows how many there are.  The borders are sieves and need to be tightened up.  As I keep saying, countries have borders for a reason.  Sadly, no one seems to care.

The latest Liberal immigration minister is someone called Lena Diab, a first-generation Lebanese-Canadian who, although born in Halifax, moved back to Lebanon with her parents at age two.  The family then moved back to Canada to escape the Lebanese Civil War, which is what thousands of these Canadian citizens of convenience do regularly.

Gee, I wonder where Diab's loyalties lie?

I'm sick of it.  

   

Everyone's effed

I pulled this bombshell from the CBC off the internet. You just wait until lawyers representing Indigenous land claims all across Canada get ahold of this ruling!

Hitherto, all Indian lands were on Crown land, given over to them for their use. But the title was in the Crown's name. That's basically over and we're all effed. Now the Indigenous -- only four percent of the entire population -- will lay claim to every inch of land in the entire country. You just watch! Here's what's happened:

________________________

"The British Columbia Supreme Court quietly issued its long-awaited decision in Cowichan Tribes v. Canada on Thursday.

"In a decision that is sure to ruffle feathers, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Barbara Young declared the Cowichan Tribes have established Aboriginal title to roughly 800 acres in Richmond."

All now owned by the Cowichan.

This land includes very expensive real estate and a golf course (see above), but woe betide anyone who tries to sell any of it because title will automatically revert to the Cowichan, so no one will buy it! The Cowichan are on Vancouver Island, but they claimed that they used to hunt and fish on the mainland, so that's their land. Get a grip!

"A B.C. Supreme Court judge has recognized the Cowichan Nation’s Aboriginal title to parts of Lulu Island and the Fraser River’s south arm, concluding a five-year, 513-day trial — described as the longest in Canadian history.

" 'I agree that Aboriginal title is a prior and senior right to land,' Young writes in the ruling. 'The question of what remains of Aboriginal title after the granting of fee simple title to the same lands should be reversed. The proper question is: What remains of fee simple title after Aboriginal title is recognized in the same lands?'

"The 863-page judgment will have wide-reaching legal implications.

"The court confirmed the Cowichan Nation has legal ownership, known as Aboriginal title, over specific lands on Lulu Island and parts of the Fraser River’s south arm."

_______________________

So, in effect -- not that anyone (except me) has noticed yet -- our entire country is invalid. It's apparently owned by the Indigenous and we have aided and abetted this notion by encouraging anyone who stands up to speak in the public thoroughfare first acknowledge the gathering is on some unceded territory of Band X or Tribe Y.

So, thank you Justice Barbara Young. You have just thrown the baby out with the bath water and opened the door to giving away the entire country.

Let that settle in, folks. Let it. Four percent of the population of one province will now dictate to the rest of us. And we can't even vote in their elections! As I said, let that sink in.

Toodaloo, Muriel

In a brilliant decision, Trump has ordered the National Guard to take over policing in Washington.  So it's ta ta, Muriel Bowser, the Democratic mayor who has failed to control crime and ruination in the city.  

"This is unsettling and unprecedented," said Bowser.  "But we will continue to operate the city in a way that makes citizens proud."  Really?  From what I have seen, if she's making it a source of civic pride, then she and I have vastly different definitions of the word.

"The city's police officers still report to me," she continued.  Well, that's about to change, Your Worship, because you have done a "terrible job", as Trump is wont to say about so many things.  

Some of the city’s police officers appear to be breaking from Bowser in support of Trump’s order.  Gregg Pemberton, chair of the Washington police union, called the federal intervention into the city’s police “a critical stopgap.  We stand with the President in recognizing that Washington, DC, cannot continue on this trajectory. Crime is out of control and our officers are stretched beyond their limits,” Pemberton said in a statement.

Do you think Carney will do that in Ottawa, where once-banner streets like Rideau and Elgin are now cesspools of homelessness, crime, drug activity and public disorder?  It is to laugh.  We drove down Rideau two years ago while on a visit and I was shocked to see people lying about and defecting in broad daylight!

Ottawa these days.

When I was growing up there, shopping with my Mother was a great treat and Rideau Street was a beautiful, bustling venue.  What's Mayor Mark Sutcliffe doing?  Apparently, nothing.  Time's up for him and Carney should step in.  But, of course, he won't because he is weak and afraid of his own shadow.  

Rideau is just a few steps from Parliament Hill, for Gawd's sake.  Tourists flock there and what do they see when they venture down Rideau?  People relieving themselves on the sidewalk and shooting up drugs.

It's a scandal and a disgrace to our country's capital.  Queen Victoria, who chose it, would not be amused.   

World champ!

Got a couple of texts from my swim buddy, Chris, who is competing in the World Swimming Championships in Singapore.  He won his first race!  His time was 1:01:58 in the 100 metre freestyle, which is amazing.  With three more to go, I am trying to follow him on the internet.

I mean, I knew he was a great swimmer, with several national championships under his belt, but to win in world's is amazing!  His texts greet me with "Hey champ...", which is ludicrous, but much appreciated.  Here he is with one of his sons:

He races in the 65 to 69 age category.  Don't know when this was taken, but he still looks like that.  What an inspiration!

Going to keep an eye on his astonishing results.  Who knew we had a world champ in little, old Cochrane?!

More nonsense

What have I said many times?  That the Indigenous and Métis have one fall-back position when it comes to resource development:  No.

That's because their billions are not dependent on any resource development whatsoever.  They get their funding regardless.  

It's insane.  But to drive home this ingrained position, David Chartrand, Manitoba Métis Federation chief, has announced he's flatly refusing to even meet with Carney to discuss any proposed initiatives.  His reasons are both silly, juvenile and uninformed.

Chartrand digging in his unreasonable heels.

"We won't attend the meeting alongside another Métis group that has no reason to exist," Chartrand announces.  Apparently, the problem Chartrand has it that he doesn't recognize any Métis people outside of the Red River nation.  "Ontario and Western Métis have no claim to the heritage and are infringing upon Chartrand's territory.  

Really?  Officially, the definition of a Métis is anyone of mixed European and Indigenous race, but Chartrand doesn't think so.  He calls everyone outside the Red River "fake".  That's his silly reason.

In his press conference, he said he expects Ottawa to respect "my government".  "To the prime minister, the door is open.  If you want to come and sit down with my cabinet in a government-to-government relationship, we will meet.  But if you want to insult us, they we'll see each other in a different political realms in the future."

The problem is, Chief Chartrand, you're not a government.  Like we do for the Indigenous, Canadians fund you.  You don't fund yourselves.  Federal funding for Métis communities is substantial and multifaceted, encompassing areas like infrastructure, housing, skills training and health. 

Budget 2024, for example, includes:

• More than $860 million for early learning and childcare; 
• $690 million for housing and more than $400 million for skills training and economic development; 
• A significant investment of $867 million for mental health and chronic disease management; and
• More than $360 million for the Métis Nation Post-Secondary Education Strategy. 

These figures represent a broad commitment to supporting Métis self-determination and well-being, says Wikipedia (colouring theirs; can't get rid of it.) 

Based on the financial facts, the above are his uniformed reasons.  It's always in the numbers.  That's the curtain you have to pull back, if you want the truth.

Speaking of money, Carney just announced a doubling of the loan guarantees for Indigenous bank projects.  The figure now is $10 billion.  That means that any project bankrolled by the Indigenous bank, funded with money Canadians give it, that fails will be covered by the federal government -- i.e., you and me.  Same people!

Huh??!!  I'm no economist, but then again, neither is Carney with his PhD in philosophy.

Projects don't even have to have a deadline.  So, an Indigenous group can go to the bank and lay out plans for this-project-or-that and then sit back and do nothing, while taking the money.  

I kid you not!  That doesn't work for any project you or I go the bank for funding for.  We have to have plans and deadlines and guarantees and on and on, or else the funding is not granted.  The banks are accountable to shareholders; the Indigenous bank has Canadians as guarantors -- no questions asked.

Why don't people wake up?! 

   

 

1,200 versus 60,000

That the ratio of Jews killed in the October 7th attack to the number of Palestinians killed to date in that horrific war.

That's obscene.

They call it the Israel Defence Force, but "defence" has long been abandoned.  It's just plain brutal attacks on women, children and anyone else who happens to live there.  The destruction is unconscionable.  Now even Jewish columnists like the usually one-sided Marsha Lederman are calling the massacres a genocide.  

Corpses piling up in morgues await burial.

"We Jews have a special obligation to speak out against what is happening," she wrote.  As Mark Kersten, professor of criminal justice at the University of the Fraser Valley wrote, "Genocide is a process, not an event.  It starts slowly and gradually spreads and widens while people don't seem to notice.

A man tragically holds his dead child.

"Under international law, there is no hierarchy of international crimes," Kersten writes.  "But genocide is generally accepted as the worst and it is being accomplished through starvation.  Israel is chipping away at life in Gaza.  What will states like Canada do to stop it?"

Nothing.  As for Trump, remember he has a Jewish son-in-law and Jewish grandchildren.  These realities factor into his policy on Israel, make no mistake, because ultimately everything is personal.  As I have said, look at Carney.  His green, lunatic wife greatly influences his poor decisions on all files.  The guy is weak.      

What is happening in Gaza is the deliberate extermination of an entire people. Canada, England and France's announcements that they will recognize a Palestinian state in September will only make Israel bolder in its desire to decimate Gaza.  It's a futile finger-wagging exercise, plain and simple.  

Carney predicated his announcement by saying recognition would only happen if President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to free elections.  As if that's going to happen.  Hamas -- a terrorist entity -- is Palestine.  The people elected Abbas and he has been president for 20 years, but refuses to hold an election, so why would he now?  He's effectively declared himself  'president for life', so that's done and dusted.  

We all know that a sitting prime minister cannot be removed in Israel while a war is waged.  That's why Netanyahu keeps it up because the minute it ends, he'll be back in the dock and convicted of corruption.  It'll be jail for him, so he has to continue the genocide to save his own skin.

Zelensky is also doing the same.  He was elected to fight corruption, but he's right in the thick of it and conveniently and secretly tried to take over the running of two independent anti-corruption bodies to save his own hide.  That didn't work, as thousands of Ukrainians found out and took to the streets in mass protests.  He backed down, but he too will be facing charges when his war is over.  

As I have blogged, google his personal wealth since he became president.  A ton of nest feathering has gone on there.  He's now worth millions.  That's where a lot of the money thrown at Ukraine has been skimmed --  into his own personal bank accounts.

Please, please, someone has to do something. 

He gets the dunce cap

 “Under the auspices of B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People’s Act, Premier David Eby has admitted that provincially significant projects on Crown land will not be expedited under its own fast-track law without the consent of Indigenous groups. At the same time, an effective veto is already being written into a growing number of agreements with Indigenous groups covering vast swaths of the province.”

Yep, that's NDP Premier David Eby of British Columbia effectively strangling economic development and further crippling Canada's economy.  What a dunce!  Does he not know that three quarters of Canadians support building a new oil pipeline to the West or East?  Obviously not.  He behaves as it he's still in high school writing essays and doing projects on never-never green projects.  Dave, you're the premier.  Until green is ubiquitous, we still need oil!

Tanker ban still in place off the B.C. coast effectively blocking all oil exports to market.  Great job, Messers Carney and Eby!

Although not all Indigenous tribes are against development -- Chief Clarence Louie of the Osoyoos Band in B.C. being a strong and sane supporter of economic growth -- many are.  And for no reason, except to say they are against the Feds.  Why?  Just because.

The majority are lined up against Bill C-5 because, frankly, they have no skin in the game.  The billions given them by the Canadian taxpayer will be doled out with or without any shovel digging into any piece of dirt.  Said Jason Schulz, executive director of strategic advisory services of the Athabasca Chipewyan Band, "I'm sure if we asked a number of different individuals, their perspective on what those consultation requirements might entail could vary greatly."

I'm sure they would, Mr. Schulz, because most chiefs think "consultation" means "veto".  But in spite of what Dave Eby thinks, it doesn't.

 

Chris and Don and Dave

Or, the "Big Dogs" as I call them, swim with me at the pool here in Cochrane.  Well, they don't exactly swim "with me", I just happen to be in the lanes when they are.  All excellent swimmers, they are in their fifties and sixties, but ripped like 20-year-olds.  

The Spray Lakes pool in Cochrane, where I swim 1 Km, three times a week.  We are very lucky to have this beautiful facility in little, old Cochrane.

Of the Dogs, Chris is probably the best and fastest, but they are all in the same postal code.  I mean, he is the Canadian national champion in the 65 to 69 age group and is heading to World's on the weekend to compete in Singapore.  I'll be watching his results and hoping for a podium finish!  

Because I'm a creature of habit, I always like to have "my" locker.  Discombobulates me if someone else is using it.  I also like to swim in "my" lane, so when I arrived on deck this morning, lifeguard Grace said, "Nancy the Big Dogs are in your lane."  "No!" I replied, half-jokingly, but only just.  So I got in with Neil in the next one.  

Apologizing, Don said, "I'm sorry we're in your lane, Nancy, but there was no other when we arrived."  So there I was looking like a total baby, but laughing it off because it really is stupid of me to want the first lane by the stairs.  (The truth is I like to be in that lane in case nature calls, you know.....at my advanced age, you never know when she will summon you!)

So what did they do?  They switched lanes to the one I was in so I could move over to "my" lane.  Was it out of respect, or mockery?  Probably a bit of both.  "You know, Dave, if I don't have my lane, I might cry."  "Well, we can't have that," he replied.

That's the kind of guys they are -- fun, fast and respectful.  Here's to you, Chris, we'll be following you in Singapore very soon!

        

As expected

Lives ruined

So, the five young men charged with raping someone called "E.M." have been acquitted.  Frankly, from my armchair, the judge really had no other option.  I mean, there she was on video agreeing to sex and inviting the men to "have at it", so to speak.

Legally, Justice Carroccia's ruled, "Although the slogan, "Believe the victim" has become popularized of late, it has no place in a criminal trial."  Says Globe columnist Robyn Urback, "That's why #Me-Too hit a firewall when it came up against the doors of a London, Ont., courtroom and why it will -- or ought to -- for similar cases to come.  There are some things social movements cannot, and should not, change."

That's the law.

In this case, can you tell me what red-blooded young man would turn down an invitation like that?  Can't think of anyone; virile, vigorous men in their prime are always up for a "good time".

And whatever happened to "innocent until proven guilty"?  In spite of the fact that these five have been found not guilty, their reputations lie forever in tatters.  If E.M. could not be named, neither should the accused.  Why is a woman's name always protected, but a man's is blared and blasted all over the media -- pictures and everything.

The whole thing was a circus.  Firstly, they had to have only female prosecutors because can you imagine male prosecutors cross examining E.M.?!  Would never happen.  The defence lawyers were also women because that always seems the M.O. in such cases.  The best of this breed is Marie Henein, the lawyer who defended Jian Ghomeshi and won.  He too, however, has been ruined, which is too bad because the various CBC morning shows have never been a touch on 'Q'.

And let's not forget that in 2022, E.M. settled with Hockey Canada for $3.5 million!  That should have been the end of it, but no, she was persuaded, apparently by her mother, to press charges -- even though the London police hadn't seen any case there at the time.  'Cause legally there wasn't any.  Will she pay it back?  Hahahaha!

Was this a case of two female prosecutors attempting to re-define "rape"?  Didn't work.

As you know, I was actually raped when I was 20 and I sure wasn't "asking for it".  I fought as hard as I could, but lost.  However, I did get my revenge a few years later when I bumped into my rapist at a parent/teacher night, where he was the speaker.  Yep!  He was by then a saint.  "Hi Bill," I said in front of a gaggle of his fawning admirers.  "Remember when you raped me at your parents' cottage a few years ago?" 

Ya, that was a good moment.

I have to put in a good word about NHL players back in my day.  I dated two Montreal Canadiens and both were complete gentlemen.  My Mother loved them and I always felt completely safe and respected in their company.  May they both Rest in Peace.   

More billions

Canada's immigration system is a mess.  So is our "management" of asylum seekers.  Both are destroying the country's economy and culture.  This headline tells you all the proof you need about the latter:

And that number doesn't even include the extra $1.5 billion given provinces to deal with their own messes.  So that's $2.6 billion and we're absolutely nowhere on either file.  As I keep saying, countries have borders for a reason.  Why can't we enforce them?

The department of immigration used to be called, "Employment and Immigration".  Remember that?  Immigration was tied to employment needs.  What a concept!  But successive governments since the fifties have mucked it up with all sorts of other categories which have nothing to do with benefiting Canada -- you know, family unification, humanitarian grounds, blah blah blah....

Right now it is estimated that we have 500,000 illegal migrants in Canada, working and hiding in various sectors.  Legal immigration is also currently projected to be 500,000, so we have equal numbers in both categories.  That's dumb.  The CBSA admits it has lost track of more than 500 illegals with criminal records who were supposed to be deported.  Can't find them!  (If they admit to 500, you can bet it's a lot higher.)

What are we doing at the borders?  The country currently budgets $224 per illegal per day.  Do the math, it's ridiculous.  Most are staying in federally-funded hotels -- some fully-booked for this purpose alone, like in Cornwall -- which means that ordinary Canadians can't enjoy them.  As I say, the whole thing is ridiculous. 

So far, Carney is doing zilch about the whole expensive shambles.  Is it just me, or does anyone else see how weak he is?  He has no presence, no gravitas and no leadership on any file.  Jim Balsillie says Carney's working with outdated economic models from the seventies, which bear no relation to how economies must be managed today.  I'm no economist, but that sounds about right.  By the way, Carney is no economist either, in case you thought he was; his PhD is in philosophy.

As I say, if you voted for the guy, hang your head. 

As an aside, why did he hang out and have a sleepover in his jammies with Doug Ford at the latter's cottage during the recent fed/prov meeting in Huntsville?  What an idiotic thing to do!  Talk about no judgement, that just undermines the whole process because obviously he and Dougie cooked up some side deals no one else was privy to.  As I have said, Dumb.      

I don't care!

That's my newest go-to comment on just about everything.  "Did you know that so-and-so has moved to Timbuktu?" B will say.  "I don't care!" I will shoot back.  'Cause I don't.  

These days, I have to focus on the little bits of minutia and data I need to remember in my ever-shrinking brain because they're important to me.  Stuff to do with my kids or grandkids, getting B's next batch of pills ready, finding my bathing suit, towel and goggles, checking to see if I'm out of wine.  You know, important stuff.

So, when I was in line at the bank the other day -- because their on-line system is for computer PhDs only -- I was more than a little annoyed by the guy behind me who started up a conversation.  "I don't care!" I almost screamed.  In the space of about 10 minutes I knew this guy's entire life story.  Where he was born, how long he'd lived in Cochrane, where he had just vacationed, all his ailments, aches and pains, where he gets his hair cut, what his dog did this morning, what his departed sainted wife was like....and on-and-on-and-on!

I don't care!!

Why do some people feel the need to vomit up their lives to complete strangers?  Don't worry, I was unfailingly polite and feigned sincere interest because that's how I was reared, but I just wanted to get to the teller, do my business and get the hell out of there.

So, with apologies to that guy in line, "I don't care!"

You knew it was futile

What was Mark Carney thinking when he decided to "consult" mostly after-the-fact with Indigenous leaders about Bill C-5?!  He rammed the bill through Parliament before it rose without adequate consultation with the natives.

Would any consultations ever be adequate?  Rhetorical.  Here is a letter I sent to 'The Globe and Mail', which didn't get in:

____________________________

Dear Editor,

While Indigenous leaders claim to support major infrastructure projects, their initial position is most often one of protest.  Mention the word "project" and the blockades, placards and press conferences shift into gear.

Consultation, cooperation and compromise are the only way forward.  However, "consultation" does not mean "veto" and this is where things fall apart.  I hope Mr. Carney's upcoming meeting with First Nations leaders bears fruit and allows industry to get moving with haste on key partnerships for resource development projects. 

But to make it happen, the old "us versus them" paradigm must be jettisoned.

Nancy Marley-Clarke

7 Glendale Way

Cochrane, Alta

403-710-9122 

________________________________

I knew it wouldn't because The Globe is increasingly woke these days, but I live in hope.  We need to strengthen and grow our economy, but the natives NEVER agree to anything.  Ever!  

You know who owns all native reserves?  The Crown.  Look it up.  "Native reserves in Canada are indeed on Crown land.  The legal title to reserve lands is held by the Federal Crown (the Government of Canada) for the use and benefit of a specific First Nation.  While the Crown holds the title, the land is set aside for the use and benefit of the First Nation."  

This is something Indigenous leaders apparently don't know.  They think it's their land.  It isn't, but the media never calls them on this inconvenient fact -- much to their shame.

So, why does every politician have to stand up and offer a "land acknowledgement" every time one stands up to make a speech?  Why do they always say, "We acknowledge we are on the ancestral lands of the...blah, blah, blah...nation."  Unnecessary because, as I say, it's Crown land owned by the Federal government.  

According to Chief Vernon Watchmaker of the Kehewin Cree Nation, "Bill C-5 centralizes power in Ottawa, lets cabinet override environmental laws, ignore treaty and inherent rights.  "This is not modernization, it is colonization in 2025. "  The problem is, chief, Ottawa does have power over what happens on Crown land.  You don't own it.    

"We must give free, prior and informed consent before anything is built," Watchmaker added.  The snag is that natives think this means they have a veto.  They don't.  Of course, Carney held the meeting behind closed doors, with no media access.  That was also dumb.  This isn't the velvet boardroom of a central bank, Mark.  The public has a right to know what you're up to.

Now nine Ontario First Nations have filed a lawsuit to have Bill C-5 struck down and have called for an injunction.  And as if that isn't enough, Carney now also has to consult with Métis leaders as well.  That'll go well.  Not. 

Chief Joey Pete of Sunchild First Nation in Alberta told a news conference that treaties must be honoured.  "We have to revenue share.  These are resources stolen from us illegally.  They were all ours to begin with."  

Really?  What were you doing with them?  Rhetorical.  Of course, natives want to share in the revenues, but will put no money up front to develop them.  

They vow more protests.  Of course they do.  At this rate, nothing will be developed and Canada's vast wealth will continue to be locked in the ground.  But the natives don't have any skin in the game; their billions will continue to flow from Canadian taxpayers regardless of what's developed or isn't.  The wealth we give them doesn't depend on getting anything to market.

A good solution would be for the Federal government to calculate what the yearly income of a project rejected by a native reserve would be and then deduct that amount from the $32 billion handed them every year.  In other words, you don't want that pipeline, here's how much your allotment will be reduced because of your objection.  That might have an impact.  Will the feds do that?  Never.

"There's gold in them thar hills," but it'll never get anywhere.

So once again, we're check-mated and doomed.  Poor Mark, aren't you glad you're the PM?  Not only are you getting pummeled by Trump, you're getting drubbed right here at home. 

 

Woke Insanity

This just shows you how incompetent the Federal Library and Archives is.  How can you remove historical documents if you are an archive??!!!  I don't know why I received this notification, but it highlights just how "woke" and insane Canada has become.  

This was sent to me by the 'Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy', located here in Alberta.  The chief archivist who is dismantling the historic record of Canada is Leslie Weir:

Needs to be fired.

"Dear Nancy,

"I am writing to you about one of our key priorities at the Aristotle Foundation: educating our fellow Canadians about why knowing history and learning from it is important.

"This past week, two items crossed my desk that illustrate why it’s so critical to know history and learn from it. 

"The first was a Blacklock’s story about how 7,000 pages were removed from the federal government’s Library and Archives Canada website. That included historical information about the RCMP, initially based on the complaint of one 'Toronto Star' reporter, Jacques Gallant.

"The reason? The Chief Archivist told her staff “outdated historical content no longer reflects today’s context and may be offensive to many.”

What??!!  You're an archive!  You can't scrub history!

"I tweeted about this on X (formerly Twitter) and noted the following: “This of course misses the point: Historical writings exist, including views in a previous era. To scrub that is to send history down an Orwellian memory hole in favour of a presumed omniscient interpretation of millennia of human history today.”

"It turns out plenty of Canadians share our concern at the Aristotle Foundation—and yours—that nuance and context matter to history. Plus, it’s hard for people to learn from history when it’s “cleansed” because it might be “offensive.” As of this writing, 116,000 people viewed my X tweet.

"This is positive. It shows Canadians care about our history. It reveals how many also think that erasing history because previous generations of Canadians were imperfect is immodest in the extreme: All of us are imperfect as well.

"If you’d like to see the danger of being perfectionist about the past, watch our “George Orwell comes to Canada” video which has already been viewed by 18,000 people.

"Aristotle Foundation"

Good for him

CBC anchor Travis Dhanraj nailed it when he resigned.  He slammed the CBC for its culture of controlling journalists and editorials -- but mostly for being shameful Liberal backers.  He claims his attempts to interview Conservatives were routinely overruled and prevented him from practicing objective journalism, but he really let them have it and it's about time.

The taxpayers fund the Mother Corp to the tune of $1.2 billion per year and Carney just handed it another $205 million!!!!  The latter went a long way towards boosting free PR for the Liberals in the last election campaign.  Imagine handing the CBC more funding while it was covering an election you're running in!  

What do I always say about the odious Rosemary Barton?  David Cochrane?  Adrienne Arsenault?  Dhanraj doesn't mention any names, but we all know who he's talking about.  Ya, those three.

And then there's ex-president Catherine Tait -- she of the orange hair and smug, arrogant mien.  As I have blogged, I babysat her when she was a toddler and she was a spoiled brat back then. 

Arriving for her swaggering appearance at a Parliamentary hearing into CBC's out-of-control finances.

The CBC needs to cut the obscene bonuses its executives hand themselves.  Tait herself makes $520,000 a year, or $43,000 a month.  $43,000 a month!$%@#!!!  Under her are two exec vp's who make about $400,000 each and three ordinary vp's who pocket about $350,000!!!!!  Last year, just to top it all off, they handed themselves $16 million in bonuses!!!!!

But Dhanraj outed the whole bunch and kudos to him.  Now lawsuits are flying and it will be delicious to watch Tait, et al, squirm and face the music in court.  I can't wait!  An MP has called for a parliamentary committee investigation into the mess.  As I said, it'll be fun to watch!

__________________________

The latest incomprehensible move is that net-zero-green-lunatic Carney has come out publicly and said there's a "good chance" a pipeline will be built.  Just as he vowed Canada would become, "An energy powerhouse," he's weaseling his words again with "good chance".  A "powerhouse", but in what kind of energy?  A "good chance" smells like no chance to me.

His energy pronouncements always come with a "wink wink nudge nudge", which means they are not sincere.  

You'll notice it's not guaranteed.  The fact that Carney has kept Bill bill C48, aka the Tanker Ban in place off the coast of B.C. -- thank you David Eby -- means that any oil getting out of Alberta will not get past the West Coast.  Duh!

People need to wake up and realize the guy's a charlatan.  It's been revealed that he has major financial holdings in at least a 100 companies that could put him in a conflict of interest as PM, so he will have to recuse himself from debates on a myriad of files.  

It's not a good sign for the country if he continues to vote on issues that will influence the personal finances of this multi-millionaire.  As I said, if you voted for this fraud, you were had.

________________________

A word about Canada's doctor shortage:  I dearly wanted to go to medical school, but didn't have the math marks required at the time, so I lost out on my dream.  Frankly, why do you need math to practice medicine?  I have no clue!?  

Ironically, when I recently found my birth family, I discovered two of my five sisters are physicians.  I guess it's in the genes.

____________________________

Another word:  Wimbledon.  Spotting the great Stephan Edberg in the Royal Box, I long for the days of serve-and-volley magnificence; he and Martina were beautiful to watch.  Now it's all pound, pound, pound from the baseline until someone hits it out, or into the net. 

(Note: Alcaraz is the exception; he has all the shots.) 

The other thing is if you play hard-court tennis on grass, you'll fall on your ass, as so many players are doing.  Today's players don't practice on grass, so they're in trouble a lot of the time.  

The magnificent Edberg, my all-time favourite.

Ah, call me old-fashioned.....

I love Shania

...but she has had way too much work done on her once-beautiful face, in my opinion.  She was parade marshal here for the Stampede and then headlined the grandstand show.  I bet she was fabulous, but she no longer looks like herself.  I know she's battled Lime Disease, but that does not affect the face; she should have left it alone.

Shania today.

 

The original Shania

Anyone who's local, including us, does not go to the Stampede.  Outside of the Rodeo and the Chucks, it's just another garish side show and midway.  And the prices!  $30 for a hot dog and a beer!  Insanity!  We watch the rodeo on YouTube and it's fabulous!  

We're also watching Wimbledon.  If I have to listen to Aryna Sabalenka screaming on every shot, I'm going to scream louder!  Who permitted this freak show in the first place!?  It was Monica Seles who started it all and it has only become worse.  That's not tennis, in my old-fashioned world.  It's more like wrestling, or fighting in the parking lot fighting after last call.

And then there's Ben Shelton's wife-beater shirt.  What's that all about?!  When did Wimbledon start to permit sleeveless monstrosities like this?  They have also begun to permit the ladies to wear colour underwear.  It's a slippery slope, folks,  until full colour dress sneaks in and Wimbledon -- the last vestige of civilized tennis -- becomes just another tacky tournament.  

I am disappointed.  We were there a number of years ago to watch Federer defeat Andy Roddick in the men's final.  It was thrilling and no one wore coloured underwear. 

________________

On a personal note, chatting on the phone with an old friend of mine, she said, "Poor so-and-so, she had four kids!"  Really?!  I was supposed to feel sorry for this woman!!??  Her husband was a successful architect and mayor of Rockcliffe, for Gawd's sake.  How tough could it have been?  She didn't work outside the home, so I'm not getting out the crying towels.

I had two kids and two step kids, of whom I had custody.  I also worked fulltime, travelled and had to navigate B's ex, who was a nasty obstacle at every turn.  So don't tell me to be sympathetic to a rich woman who had four kids and stayed home.  Not gonna happen.

I have always worked.  I remember when I first got married (may Bob rest in peace) and said to myself, "There is no way I am going to ask a man for $2 for nylons."  I have never lived on a man's money and never will -- unlike Gloria Steinem, who had a rich guy finance her various projects.  

Yep, the Queen of Women's Lib was underwritten and supported by a man!  You could not make that up.  So, next time she's blabbing on about liberation and empowerment, remember who's paying for it.