On the front page, no less

The sub-head on a picture on the front page of 'The Globe and Mail' today read, ".....after being told their son was killed......"  It referred to the Humboldt tragedy and contained two glaring grammatical errors.  Should have read "......after having been told their son had been killed....."

Hard to believe!  I was going to write a note to the editor, but he'd probably ban me from the letters' page.  Did send it to my old pal, sports writer Roy McGregor, so I'll see what he says because we were both trained by the ruthless Mrs. Jean Portugal and her brutal red pen. 

I'll let you know. 

Note:  My columnist friend said to sent the letter to the editor, which I did.  He replied and said he would forward it on to the appropriate editor responsible.  I'll keep you posted.

Sorry....

...but I don't see the point of "victim impact statements"?  The sentencing of the truck driver who ran a stop sign in the Humbolt bus crash is being delayed while parents line up to talk about how their lives have been altered/ruined by the death of their loved one.

Well, of course they have.  But to read out weepy statements neither dignifies the dead, nor does anything to change the law or the sentence.  All it does is prolong the ordeal and re-hash the pain already suffered.  I guess it makes everyone feel better, but I would not give such a statement were one of my loved ones killed.

These hearings will change nothing.  The law is the law and the sentence will be the sentence.   

Did I tell you this?

Stepdaughter stole thousands of dollars we had sent over the years for her kids' education.  She just stole and spent it!  I am not sure if she knows we know, but that's the main reason she has been disowned. 

There are many others, but you can't do that and think it's OK.  She also ripped off FEMA and her insurance company by making claims about Hurricane Harvey so she could re-model her house.  That will come back to bite her when her premiums go sky high.

B sent her an email the other day asking her to quit using his name, i.e., "Marley-Clarke".  That's how bad it is.  Apparently, nine people use the name, but only three are entitled to:  B, his son and me.  I guess all the "Nagy's" don't like that refugee-ish Hungarian name, so have adopted "Marley-Clarke" because it's more "English".  Were I their father, I would be pissed. 

Nice day for a race

Saturday was another 'Calgary Road Runners' race and the whole family competed.  I go along to babysit when Mum and Dad run. 

 

Reed, seven, came 15th out of 28 in the 4K adult race.  (I think it's in the genes.)

Hilary did the 1K with Dad

Guess who won the 8K? 



Absolutely correct

As I have said, I seem to share parts of my brain with Globe columnist Margaret Wente, probably because we are roughly the same age and vintage. 

Yesterday, her column zeroed in on the pummeling and death of traditional masculinity by the American Psychological Association in its latest "Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Boys and Men".  These "expert professionals" are now saying that..."traditional masculinity -- marked by stoicism, competitiveness, dominance and aggression -- is, on the whole, harmful.  This explains why men are responsible for the vast majority of violence in society."

Oh really?  I thought it was because in any violent encounter between genders, the male usually won because he was the stronger sex and overpowered the weaker female.  "No where in this remarkable document is evolution discussed because apparently the APA doesn't believe in it," writes Wente.  "Nor is there any real acknowledgement that certain male behaviours might be rooted in biology."

As far back as I can remember, I used to say how sorry I felt for the young men of today who had been completely emasculated by the "women's movement".  "Gawd, you can't even pay a woman a compliment without being accused of being a sexist male chauvinist pig," I remember remarking on many occasions.  It's all so sad.

"The APA would basically like us to treat boys as if they were defective girls," says Wente.  That's a brilliant way to look at it because it's true.  "The good news is that these men can be helped.  A good therapist can gently point out the errors in their beliefs in order to liberate them from their destructive male habits," she adds.  The bad news is that this association influences the work of thousands of practitioners and researchers in Canada, as well as the United States, and if these notions take hold, boys are doomed.

"The APA report is just the latest depressing example of the way theories grounded in social constructivism and critical gender theory have leached from academia into wider society," she adds.  In closing, she encourages parents to tell their boys to man up and redeem the good things about masculinity.  "It's time to reject the people who think it's a dirty word."

Frankly, I agree with everything she writes.  Boys aren't girls and girls aren't boys.  We are very different and our differences should be supported -- as long as both genders are afforded the same opportunities and not discriminated against.  Obviously, I am not talking about the Muslim world, where this will never happen because the minute girls try to break free, they are hunted down and killed by their families.  But in the Western world, lets bring back that old expression, "Boys will be boys." 

 

Two things....

....I don't care about:  Venezuela and what Nancy Pelosi thinks.  Why the airwaves are full of what's going on in that failed state and inside the cells of Pelosi's brain is beyond me?  Is there nothing else worth talking about in Canada?  Guess not.

How about the fact that McCallum finally resigned as ambassador to China?  Wow, that was handled brilliantly by the PMO wasn't it!  First there was no problem, then it was "he did it on purpose", now it's "you're fired".  Trudeau has absolutely no clue about how to conduct foreign relations -- and obviously neither does Freeland.  Where was she on this one?  Getting her hair done?!

You can't just "selfie" your way through international diplomacy.  As I have said, he seems oblivious to the fact that he is actually the PM!  Sadly, seasoned and wise foreign affairs officers have been sidelined and ignored, as all debacles are now handled in the PMO by sidekick Butts -- the same guy who drove McGinty into the ditch in Ontario. 

It's insane.       

Obviously hippies wrote it

And they must have been rich hippies.  I am talking about the latest Canadian Food Guide.  It's all nuts, fruit, vegetables and grains.  Have you priced nuts lately?  And salad out-of-season?  Most young families -- even with both parents working -- would not be able to afford to eat like this.  All the polls I've seen say your average "Joe" cannot, and will not, follow this diet.

When I was growing up, winter was all root vegetables and canned fruit.  You never saw anything fresh and green in February and we all survived.  I wonder what the Inuit would make of it?  All they have to eat is blubber -- not a vegetable in sight.  Ever.  One of my Y buddies is a large-animal vet and genetic researcher, Dr. David C, who specializes in beef.  I have asked him what he thinks and I'll let you know. 

Health Canada is totally out-to-lunch, with no clue how the average family survives.  As I said, hippies are in charge there.