IS WEEDKILLER IN BABY’S DIAPERS A PROBLEM FOR YOU?

IS WEEDKILLER IN BABY’S DIAPERS A PROBLEM FOR YOU?

My educational background was grounded in science and the scientific method. A hypothesis is presented, research undertaken, results analyzed, and a conclusion is drawn based upon the evidence. Scientists in all disciplines follow this practise. Today, however, I seem to have encountered research results on the same issue, that have arrived at different conclusions. It is starting to make me nervous. Can I no longer rely on the scientific method?

For example, there are varied opinions on the value of prescribing aspirin to seniors. People without heart trouble who took a daily low-dose aspirin had a lower risk of heart attack, stroke and death; however, the modest benefits gained were balanced by a major risk, as reported by recent research. The daily dose increased their risk of bleeding in the gut or in the skull. The US Preventive Services Task Force, for example, recommends that some older patients without heart trouble take a daily low-dose aspirin, while the European Society of Cardiology does not. The US medical research says yes to the practise and the Europeans say no. 

This difference of opinion by professionals in two different continents is troubling. I don’t know which practise is most beneficial, but it bothers me that the medical advise I receive would depend on where I live. Dr. John McNeil, a professor of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in Australia reports that, “Aspirin confers no overall benefit to people over 70 and there was a suggestion of net harm.” I find mixed messages on critical health issues like this quite disturbing. Who should you believe?

Another example, was discovered in a very bizarre research report. France's national health agency Anses says it has found chemicals in babies' nappies (disposable diapers) that exceed safety levels. Tests found substances that are potentially dangerous to human health, including the controversial weedkiller glyphosate, the agency said.

Marketed under the name Roundup in the US, glyphosate is widely used but has been a frequent target for health and environmental campaigners after the World Health Organization study classified it as "probably carcinogenic”. But it remains the most widely used herbicide in Europe, as EU officials do not agree that the product is a carcinogen. Yet in the United States, a groundskeeper who sued a maker of the chemical was awarded millions in damages by jurors who agreed it had contributed to his terminal cancer. The weedkiller is due to be banned in France by 2021.

A specific chemical compound is found to be dangerous to human health in North America, but acceptable in Europe. How can this be? It either is, or is not, a dangerous substance! I would have thought that the research on the relative dangers would be conclusive. Again, it appears to be determined by the country you live in. A very unsettling situation in my mind. What has happened to the validity of quality research? Or are we now getting only sketchy and marginal research? I don’t know the answer, but something just doesn’t smell right to me. And it has nothing to do with the nappies!

DID YOU READ THESE “STORIES” THIS WEEK?

DID YOU READ THESE “STORIES” THIS WEEK?

Newspapers are slowly becoming obsolete, and most of them are now turning to electronic formats. It saves on paper and is more easily accessible to more people online. However, there is one disadvantage that I have been able to identify.  It appears to me that many e-newspapers are becoming desperate for enough stories to make their website interesting to readers. How else can you explain the following news headlines taken from a series of popular newspaper websites this week?

Could you fall in love with a robot?

Federal government opens consultations on definition of vodka

Vancouver eatery where rat allegedly found in soup to close

World’s cutest dog dies from heartbreak

Rent-a-sister: Coaxing Japan’s young men out of their rooms

'Why I wanted a tattoo on my mastectomy scar’

Romeo the frog found his Juliet

Emotional support alligator comforts Pennsylvania man

How sticky gloves have changed football

Roadkill for dinner? Rules vary by province and territory in Canada

Baby stingray grown in sandwich bag

Porn magazines scrapped ahead of Tokyo Olympics

Saudi Arabia to host Spanish-style 'bull run’

It seems to me that these kind of odd and bizarre headlines found in recent online news sites are not really news. They are attempts to elevate a non-story to something to fill space. They are designed to tantalize the reader to read the details and thus remain on the website longer. I don’t know if it works or not, but I seldom read beyond the headline. Have you read any of them?

Or perhaps the editors of our news sites are just trying to soften the harsh and often negative and depressing features that usually dominate the main headlines. Most days, feature stories regularly deal with political stalemates, war zone tragedies, major accidents, crime and weapon assaults, weather crises or economic downturns. These top of the page stories usually do not do much to provide a happy or positive start to the day for the morning reader. The odd and unusual features identified above may just be a buffer provided to help cushion the negativity of the main news stories. They may provide a moment of levity or just briefly distract our attention from the negative news stories.

As I reflected upon this technique of trying to ensnare the potential reader, I immediately recognized it as the same method I employ to tempt readers to read my blogs! Toss out an enticing question and hope that it might stimulate my two readers to want to find out more. I am not sure if it is the riveting question or the sheer brilliance of the explanation that follows, that keep my readers begging for more! 

I just know that the headlines above did catch my eye, and hopefully my leading questions will continue to catch yours!

ARE THE QUEEN AND THE POPE, RIGHT OR WRONG?

ARE THE QUEEN AND THE POPE, RIGHT OR WRONG?

A couple of interesting developments caught my eye this week. Two major global figures, Queen Elizabeth and Pope Francis, made public statements on two different political issues. Both of these respected individuals spoke out on topics that they normally don’t comment upon. The Queen seemed to be offering some advice on the Brexit problem in Great Britain and the Pope referred indirectly to the Trump obsession of building a wall between the USA and Mexico. Should they have?

In her address to mark the centenary of the Sandringham Women's Institute, the Queen urged people to "respect different points of view" and to come "together to seek out the common ground". While the monarch, as head of state, stays neutral on political matters, BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell said there was little doubt that she was "sending a message" about the highly contentious Brexit debate.

At the same time, Pope Francis took another shot at wall-building politicians, telling thousands of Catholics in Panama gathered for World Youth Day that "builders of walls sow fear" and "divide people.” The Pope's remarks seemed to be a clear reference to President Donald Trump's proposal to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. Trump's demand for $5.7 billion for the wall has led to a partial government shutdown for 34 days.

Their comments are probably echoed by millions of others who hold the same point of view, but the question is should they have been publicly commenting on political situations that were not a part of their purview? Since they are such significant world leaders, in totally different areas, should they be offering advice on political issues? Our world is full of influential parties, many in the world of sports and entertainment, who overstep their importance by offering political commentary and critiques that far exceed their expertise. Can Dennis Rodman, a former basketball player, associate with President Kim of North Korea and offer advice on American politics? Can the commentary and opinions of entertainment celebrities like LeBron James, Clint Eastwood or Opra Winfrey really be accepted as knowledgeable? Or are they simply taking advantage of their public persona to comment on their personal opinions on a big stage?

On the other side of the coin, perhaps the Queen and the Pope should speak out on issues that they see as being offensive or destructive. One of the qualities of a strong leader is speaking out on controversial issues and taking a stand that they strongly believe in. If the Queen feels that a Brexit failure is going to lead to significant economic and social hardships in her country, why shouldn’t she speak out? The Pope obviously understands the division and hardships that will increase with building a wall, and he feels his comments might have some influence on American decision makers. Both of their comments are based upon trying to prevent or decrease suffering for many of the most vulnerable. Their comments have both shown leadership on two contentious issues of the day.

So, were the Queen and the Pope right or wrong in making their comments? You decide!

SHOULD YOU HAVE YOUR DNA TESTED?

SHOULD YOU HAVE YOUR DNA TESTED?

My favourite Christmas gift this year was the Ancestry DNA testing gift that Darlene gave me. Sending in a sample of my saliva to the company will apparently allow them to determine my ancestral heritage in general terms. I think this practice ranks in the same category as fortune telling, palm reading, and teacup reading, but I thought it would be interesting to participate. A recent news story has now enthralled me even more, as I found out that my DNA results might be able to save me money and possibly even make me money!

In Mexico, the country's national carrier, AeroMexico, unveiled a program called "DNA Discounts," which offers discounts on flights to Americans who can show by taking a test that they have Mexican DNA. The amount of the discount depends on the percentage of Mexican ancestry. For example, a person who has 15% Mexican heritage qualifies for 15% off. The promotion is specifically targeted at states in the Western United States, including Arizona and Utah.

While this particular program stipulates Americans, I think it would be worth pursuing the concept with other airlines such as Westjet, Air Canada, and Czech Air. No airline is going to want to be left behind when a new marketing program has been introduced by a competitor. I am willing to accept any kind of airline discount that I can qualify for. 

There are other spin off benefits to getting my DNA tested besides cheaper airline tickets. While I know that I have no Mexican blood flowing through my veins, it would be a definite advantage to learn that there might be some First Nations red and white corpuscles pulsing through my body. I am already having visions of possibly receiving some treaty money or other compensation earmarked for indigenous individuals. Should I find that I qualify, I will probably be a little more supportive of the demonstrations of “my people” to prevent pipelines being built on “our lands.”

While I already have one famous relative dangling on my family tree, there are probably more. The author, Joseph Conrad, who wrote such classics as Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness, and Typhoon, is a distant blood relative whose mother was a Bobrovsky, and lived in the same region in Slovakia where my Father was born. And as I think of it, perhaps I may be in line to receive some of the royalties on his many works, which could have grown to quite a family fortune by now. If my blogs suddenly cease, you might attribute it to this windfall.

A friend has cautioned against me or anyone from having a DNA sample taken as it would forever be on record. I have no intention of committing any illegal act that my DNA could be used to implicate me, so I am not really worried. I am actually a little more concerned for my friend, who does not wish to be the victim of a DNA match! What is he/she afraid of? Although all of the human rights activists would be enraged, I think that every newborn should have a sample of saliva taken to provide a DNA fingerprint on file. I think it would have a major impact on reducing future crime if everyone knew that they could be identified if their DNA record was accessible. What do you think?

I will be happy to share my results after I receive them! Who knows, I might be even more famous than I already am!

DO WE REALLY NEED MARIJUANA VENDING MACHINES?

DO WE REALLY NEED MARIJUANA VENDING MACHINES?

I did a double take when I read the headline recently that, “Vancouver gets 1st licensed pot shop.” A little searching found that there are somewhere between 90 and 100 dispensers selling marijuana in the Vancouver area and they have been doing it for years. Of course, they have been deemed to be illegal, but the police have turned a blind eye for over a decade to dozens of marijuana store front operations. Now that pot has become legal in Canada, the noose may soon be tightening on illegal outlets - and maybe not. It is quite a confusing mess. 

The couple that has been granted the first provincial license to operate a recreational cannabis store have undergone incredible scrutiny. The new owners reported the licensing process was “extremely, extremely thorough.” “The province worked really, really hard to make sure there’s no organized crime in this industry. They went back 20 years with me and my wife to find out every job we’ve had and every vacation we’ve had,” said the new licensee. 

On one hand the government has done a 20 year audit on the lives of the two new owners to determine if they were “clean” and not connected to any organized crimes. At the same time, dozens of illegal marijuana outlets seemed to operate with very little inspection or scrutiny. The current illegal outlets are usually called dispensaries or clinics, under the guise that they are dispensing medical marijuana. A kind of pot head pharmacy. The whole scenario smells a little skunky to me!

Last year, one marijuana dispensary in Vancouver introduced the first pot vending machine in Canada which introduces another interesting twist into the pot purchasing program. You can now stop at vending machines for a pop, a bag of chips and a bag of weed on your way home from work. The current machine has  an employee on hand who will be checking ID before anyone can make a purchase. Future vending machines will have a customer set up an account using a government-issued ID and then uses a fingerprint scan to verify the buyer, before allowing a purchase.

It seems to me that the amount of government money spent on regulating, scrutinizing and licensing marijuana sales could be better spent in areas like child welfare, low cost housing and work projects to get people off the streets and into a better position to develop a more healthy life style. But what do I know!

HAVE YOU EVER DINED IN THE NUDE?

HAVE YOU EVER DINED IN THE NUDE?

I don’t know about you, but I was only mildly surprised when I read that the first nudist restaurant in Paris is set to close after just over a year of serving classic French dishes to diners in the buff. The O'Naturel will close soon for financial reasons. After opening in 2017 to great fanfare, the restaurant received rave reviews from customers with an average score of 4.8 out of 5. Many customers praised both the food and the unique experience after enjoying a naked meal, shielded from passersby by a thick white curtain.

My interest in the restaurant was probably best captured by a noted French food critic who said, "Great restaurant, futuristic in the audacity of its naturism, promoting the beautiful values of naturism, tolerance and non judgment, living together, all together, as we are, and in osmosis with nature, all natural.” I don’t have the slightest idea of what the hell that means, but I believe that it is high praise - for something!

Diners at O'Naturel remove their clothes in a cloakroom, where they also leave their mobile phones for privacy reasons. And while those eating may be naked, the owners are fully clothed as they serve the food.

My mind continues to spin as I try to develop reasons why I would want to eat at a restaurant with strangers and friends while only wearing my birthday suit. Do you have to be an exhibitionist, or a voyeur or a pervert on the prowl? I keep wondering if your butt would stick to the chair and how would you respond if you dropped a hot hors d’oeuvre into your lap. Would you ever make eye contact with any of the other diners or would you eyes be downcast for the entire evening? I certainly have  more questions than answers. 

And nude dining isn’t the only activity that has been promoted by the French. A designated nudist zone was launched in the Bois de Vincennes park in 2017 with the aim of attracting some of the estimated 2.6 million nudists in France. Last year, contemporary art gallery Palais de Tokyo opened its doors to naturists for an afternoon of art, uncovered. Then in June, the city's Nudists Association hosted a giant picnic for naturists. 

I don’t think that the nudist activities or the promotion of naturism would flourish in Canada, especially in the winter months. I have trouble visualizing the family enjoying an afternoon skating in the park or tobogganing down a hill in the nude even if they were allowed to wear mittens and a toque! Their noses would freeze!

HAS A TEACHER STRIKE EVER CHANGED ANYTHING?

HAS A TEACHER STRIKE EVER CHANGED ANYTHING?

Somebody has to tell it like it is and I accept the challenge! About a quarter of a million teachers in the Los Angeles school system are on strike. The primary reasons, as always, are the call for better pay and reduced class sizes. These two demands have been at the heart of just about every school strike or potential strike that has happened in the history of public schooling. Nothing ever changes with regard to the demands. What has really changed is the nature of the job and the teacher’s place in society. 

In the days of Little House on the Prairie, the teacher was a respected and valued member of the community and the school’s primary role was to teach the three Rs. Well, not any longer! Many teachers today are often treated with disrespect and many parents seem to believe that their child’s teacher works for and is employed directly by them. Parent’s can make any demand they wish and the teacher is the parent’s servant. 

Teaching is a tremendously difficult job. Consider trying to teach a class of thirty students that would typically include the following characteristics:

• a mixture of at least five or six different ethnic groups and cultures
• numerous students reading below grade level
• several non-English speaking children 
• many children of single parent homes or mixed marriages
• children on welfare or living in families with low incomes
• children who either do not eat or have breakfast or lunch at home
• abused or neglected children
• boys and girls who are refugees from war torn countries
• children with social, emotional or mental problems
• children with ADHD or OCD
• children who receive no support with their learning at home
• a child with a severe physical handicap, often immobile
• student’s requiring a full time assistant to sit with them in class
• students lacking motivation or any interest in school
• average and above average students who receive little teacher attention because of the above demands on teacher time.

Of course, this in only a partial list of some of the issues that must be dealt with by a teacher on a regular day-to-day basis, relative to students. But the teacher’s responsibilities do not stop there. They must complete endless government forms to maintain special funding and develop personal learning plans for each child. They must supervise kids at recess and noon, monitor school buses, attend staff meetings, prepare report cards, attend interviews and endlessly counsel students with all types of problems that occur daily. Lesson preparation, for the United Nations of students in the class, and marking, generally are done on the teacher’s own time at home. On top of the “regular” duties the teacher must appear willing and eager to respond to every parental request for extra help or more patience or please accept the late assignment or can you find Billy’s mitts. Thirty students, thirty parents, everyday!

The perpetual plea for more pay has made little progress at all, relative to the cost of living. Perhaps it is time that the schools provide parents with more demands to address some of the learning diversity that exist in schools. If parents can make demands of teachers: teachers can also expect parental support and participation in helping all students become more successful. For example:

• All children should know their alphabet letters and sounds before enrolling in school.
• Children must be provided home prepared lunches each day 
• Homework and nightly reading must be supervised by parents.
• Children will memorize basic number facts at home until proficient with them
• All children should sleep for at least 8 hours nightly
• Children should all be toilet trained and manner trained at home
• Children shall attend language acquisition school if necessary before enrolling in the regular public system in order to more successfully function
• Special programs for severely dysfunctional students must be available.
• Failure to comply with the above, will result in non acceptance into classrooms in our schools.

Well, so much for my dream fantasy. It has the same chance of flying as Trump apologizing for his ‘7000 and counting’ lies. But it feels good to get it off of my chest. Since the issues teachers face are so multifaceted, there is little chance of most of them being resolved. Instead, teachers will do what they have always done. They will assume the role of parent and provide hot breakfasts, a loving hug, extra tutoring, warm clothing, rides home for students, as well as teach them about sex, HIV, First Aid, provide for inoculations and eye tests, deal with First Nations history, LGBT issues and on and on and on.

Teachers will again work harder than anyone gives them credit for and continue to fight for a decent wage and a little more respect than they often get.  When the LA teachers eventually go back to work, they will have suffered financial losses, more negative societal sentiment and they might have one less student in class next year, but don’t count on it. Nothing significant will really change and in twenty years you will again be reading about teachers striking for better wages and smaller class size. Qua sera, sera! Sad, but true!

HAVE YOU EVER WATCHED A BALLGAME IN MEXICO?

HAVE YOU EVER WATCHED A BALLGAME IN MEXICO?

I’m not sure whether my favourite part of the evening was trying to choose between having beef tacos or sushi for dinner. Of course, there was also a wonderful assortment of other food choices. There was BBQ’d sausage, meat or fruit filled tarts, potato chips covered in hot sauce or regular burritos. For dessert there was a choice of mini donuts, popcorn, cotton candy, fresh fruit cups or carmel corn. I wasn’t at the carnival: I was at a baseball game in Mazatlan.

Twenty years ago I also enjoyed a baseball game here, but today’s experience was a whole lot different. My first visit was in an old ball park that might have been the cousin of old Buffalo Stadium that used to stand where EauClaire Market in Calgary sits today. We sat on wooden benches with no backrests and the stands were crowded with families sharing a meal from a box or bag and cheering on the home team. Smoke billowed up through the seats as a variety of meats were being grilled below the stands as we watched the game. It was very informal, smokey and rustic, and the old green scoreboard was operated by two guys changing all of the numbers by hand.

Today’s ballpark could have been found in any major city in the US or Canada. It seats over 16,000 in modern comfort. A monster electronic score board displays all of the stats and replays that modern baseball fans have come to expect. The executive suites appeared to be full and a modern press box was state of the art. And of course, advertisements never stopped streaming along the electronic message board that circled the outfield fences.

All that was missing was the smokey atmosphere and family feel that I loved during my first visit. Instead we were surrounded by endless food vendors and between innings entertainment. We were serenaded by fire twirling baton artists, juggling acts, a dance troupe, a can-can demonstration and a dozen cheerleaders bumping and grinding their way seductively through the night. We were “delighted” by the gopher and deer mascots throwing fake baseballs into the stands and a couple of parades of modern cars around the infield between innings.

The evening did, however, end on a high note. In the eighth inning the home team loaded the bases and threatened to score. Led by the PA announcers, the crowd really got into chanting, whistling and cheering encouragement to the home town boys. The fans then began to light and hold up their cell phones so that hundreds of white lights danced in the stands similar to a Lionel Ritchie concert we had attended years ago when the fans all lit their lighters and waved them rhythmically in the air. The dancing cell phone lights were even more interesting as “the wave” raced around throughout the stands. Children blowing on plastic horns or twirling racket sticks, just added to the noise and exuberance of the evening.

Our enjoyable evening in a modern baseball park was just another example of how the world continues to evolve and move towards the same standards that we enjoy at home. If Mexico keeps adding state of the art ball parks, multi theatre cinemas, mega malls, Starbucks on a lot of corners and new high rise condos and hotels, we might just have to stay home in the future. It is losing a lot of its old unique flavour, just as we have experienced in Turkey over the years. If they took away the sunny climate, the sandy beaches and the rolling waves, we could just as easily holiday at Chestermere Lake!

PS Casey struck out with the winning runs on base, again!

PPS  Last night the playoffs continued at another city, but the local ball park showed the game on the Jumbotron screen for free to any avid fans that were interested. 

PPPS  All the culinary delights from our night at the ballpark were on sale along with a river of beer and the stadium rocked even without a real game on the field! Mexico loves its beisbol!

ARE YOU READY TO REVOLT AGAINST CELL PHONE COMPANIES?

ARE YOU READY TO REVOLT AGAINST CELL PHONE COMPANIES?

Our recent arrival in Mazatlan, Mexico has taught me another lesson on how we are still being taken advantage of by our telecommunications companies in Canada. 

I went to the main Mexican telephone company and tried to acquire the cheapest possible cell phone plan to use while we are here for two months. I don’t plan to make a lot of phone calls, but it allows me to always be able to get in touch with Darlene in the event she gets locked in a mall after closing hours. It is nice to be able to stay in close contact, especially in a foreign country, as well as phone the handful of other acquaintances that we have here in Mazatlan.

I thought I could just buy a new SIM card to replace the Turkish card that I had in my old Samsung cell phone. I shouldn’t have been surprised to learn that the phone was locked and the phone company would not unlock it. Thus I was forced to purchase another Mexican cell phone. That turned out to be one of the best bargains I have ever encountered in the wonderful world of cell phones and electronics. I purchased a Mexica Alcatel cell phone, including a SIM card, for the ridiculously low price of $20 Canadian. But then I was forced to purchase “time credits” to use the phone since I was not going to purchase a payment plan. My pay-as-you-go plan cost me $14 Canadian with unlimited calling to anywhere in Mexico, the USA or Canada for 30 days. I repeat, unlimited calls to anywhere in North America for the next 30 days! For the grand total of $35 I can phone just about everyone I know over the next month. Expect a call soon! 

This happy experience is certainly a far cry from any experience that I have ever had in Canada in dealing with any of the phone companies. Whether it is Telus, Bell, or Shaw, trying to get the best plan for my needs is like trying to decipher the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Rosetta Stone and the Koran all in the same day. Phone companies run you around in circles until you feel that you have been on a carousel. Trying to intelligently compare various programs, options, and alternative plans makes my head spin. Why could not one of the major suppliers just say, “Ken, for $35 you can phone anyone, anytime, anywhere in North America for a whole month, and we will even toss in a new cell phone?”

If you are insane enough to bypass the three big telecommunications companies and try to get a better deal with one of the new service providers that haunt the small kiosks in the mall avenues, good luck. I always find them intimidating as they are always manned with geeky high tech individuals that look like they should all be working for NASA or the CIA. I know that if I should happen to stop at one, they would laugh me out of the mall when I ask critical questions like, “How do you turn the phone on? or “How much is the phone with the little tv screen on the front?” 

All I know for sure, is that when you can buy a working new cell phone in a foreign country for a pittance, with no restrictions, in a matter of ten minutes, I think it is time for another revolution to begin percolating against our national cell phone companies. Are you with me?

DO ANY OF YOU POSSESS SUPERNATURAL WISDOM?

DO ANY OF YOU POSSESS SUPERNATURAL WISDOM?

Recently, President Donald Trump welcomed American pastor Andrew Brunson to the Oval Office to celebrate his release from nearly two years of confinement in Turkey. While in the Oval Office, the pastor prayed for the president to be granted "supernatural wisdom" to carry out his plans. 

My first reaction, as it often is, wondered just what “supernatural wisdom” was. After some study (googling) I learned that it is a religiously significant term that implies the endowing of wisdom by a greater Power. I can accept the explanation, but my first reaction after first reading the term was that it was like ordering a GIANT king-size Slurpee instead of the regular 40 ounce one. It was a wisdom greater than ordinary plebeian wisdom.

Either way, praying that Trump be granted “wisdom” of any variety or magnitude was a welcome occurrence. Wisdom, is certainly a gift that Trump sorely needs.

For example, Trump has repeatedly suggested, that in light of the number of shootings in American schools that the solution was fairly obvious to him. Teachers should bear arms while in school. He reasoned that teachers with weapons could respond to attackers by shooting back thus reducing the number of student casualties. Most non-NRA card carriers believe, as I do, that the suggestion of arming teachers is ridiculous. 

More recently, over a dozen people were killed or injured when a gunman attacked a Jewish Synagogue in Pittsburg. Donald Trump responded to the synagogue shooting by calling for more armed guards in houses of worship and other public places. Again the disconnect between armed police guarding a place of worship, not a bank or military site, did not seem to trouble the president or his distorted kind of thinking.

Whether the prayer to bestow “supernatural wisdom” on Mr. Trump will come to fruition will remain to be seen. I know that I would be overjoyed if he was endowed with just plain old fashion, run-of-the-mill “wisdom”. In fact, if all else fails, I would be satisfied with him being blessed with a small dose of common sense! Is that too much to ask?

If Divine intervention is not forthcoming, perhaps we could practice a simpler form of intervention. I propose that Trump be sent the poem “All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” by Robert Fulghum. It’s first few lessons include,:

“Share everything.

Play fair.

Don’t hit people.

Put things back where you found them.

Clean up your own mess.

Don’t take things that aren’t yours.

Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.”

All that would be left is to find someone who could read the poem to him and explain any of the parts he does not understand. 

WHAT PUNISHMENT SHOULD FIT THESE CRIMES?

WHAT PUNISHMENT SHOULD FIT THESE CRIMES?

I was always a believer that the punishment should fit the crime. The punishment should be fair, yet punitive, and in some way relate to the offence. Missouri judge, Robert George, apparently agrees with me. George sentenced David Berry Jr to a year in jail for illegally killing deer, taking only their heads and antlers and leaving the rest of their bodies to rot. And while he's in jail, he's required to watch the Walt Disney movie "Bambi" once a month. In the 1942 animated classic, Bambi's mother is shot and killed by hunters. I think his punishment meets my criteria. 

Of course this situation stimulated my idling mind into action. What other creative punishments could I propose for some of the other crimes that haunt our society. I shall provide two options for each offence and let you, the reader, choose.

Drunken driving: If caught over the legal limit, the driver will have his car impounded for a month or have a large sign attached to the front doors and back window of his car reading, “Convicted Drunk Driver, Be Cautious.”

Speeding convictions: If caught exceeding the speed limit, the driver’s car will be impounded for one day for each km over the speed limit, or a regulator attached to the vehicle that will restrict its speed to a maximum of 40 kph for 40 days.

Theft and robbery: they total over 9 million reported cases a year in the US. The culprits must either be required to pay ten times the value of the stolen items in a given period of time or have their hands coloured with permanent orange paint that cannot be removed except by painful treatment (at their own expense).

Assault: anyone convicted of assault will be jailed and forced to listen to the music of Lawrence Welk or the songs of Barry Manilow for all 16 hours of their waking day or paint over all of the graffiti found on railway cars, by hand, using only a paintbrush. Although the punishment may not really fit the crime, the mental and physical punishment of either option might make them thing twice about a repeat offence. 

Graffiti “artists”: anyone caught painting graffiti on any public surface will be required to remove all traces of the graffiti at their own expense or pay to have it done, or suffer the discomfort of having any unused spray paint expelled into their anal orifice, to drive home the distastefulness of the practice of defacing public property.

Child molesters and pornographers: I have little sympathy for pedophiles or child molesters, so my three options are quite simple. The first option is castration, the second option is emasculating and the third option is neutering. I definitely don’t think that endlessly watching the Bambi movie would be appropriate punishment!

WOULD YOU WRITE OFF A 2.6 BILLION DOLLAR LOAN?

WOULD YOU WRITE OFF A 2.6 BILLION DOLLAR LOAN?

I think I am on the verge of quitting paying any more taxes to the Federal Government. I worked hard for my money and paid taxes on it faithfully all of my life and now I found out that the government has just thrown 2.6 billion dollars of our money away on a bad loan. The Liberal government has quietly written off a $2.6-billion auto-sector loan that was cobbled together to save Chrysler during the 2009 global economic meltdown. The write-off, among the largest ever for a taxpayer-funded bailout, is buried in a volume of the 2018 Public Accounts of Canada, tabled recently in Parliament.

The reference contains no explanation for the write-off, identifying neither the business that received the loan nor the sector of the economy. Investigators have confirmed that the money was lent on March 30, 2009, to Chrysler LLC by the federal government – a loan that grew with interest over the following nine years.

"After exhausting all potential avenues for recovery, a $1.125 billion US principal plus accrued interest write-off in respect of 'Old Chrysler' occurred in March," said John Babcock of Global Affairs Canada, the department responsible.

At the time of the 2009 auto-sector bailouts in Canada and the United States, Chrysler was split in two: an "Old Chrysler" that went into bankruptcy and a "New Chrysler" that became viable and remains in operation today. Now called Fiat Chrysler, the international firm reported net profits of $4.3 billion US for 2017.

I really don’t care that “Old Chrysler” went into bankruptcy, the “New Chrysler” which was born from the ashes of the original company, like a Phoenix, still has a moral and ethical responsibility to repay the loan. New Chrysler would not exist today if their parent company had not been granted the loan. Given that they make a tidy $4.3 billion profit last year speaks of their good health and thus their ability to work to repay their original loan over time. 

This news story quietly buried and hidden from the hard working, plodding taxpayers of this country needs to be addressed. I question how hard the Canadian government “worked” to recover the loan and interest. I am sure they simply danced around the legal wording of the original loan contracts and circumvented the repayment with legal and technical tap dancing. And if we bury the writing off of the loan deep enough in bureaucratic documents no one will ever really know. 

I also wonder how many of the individuals who were involved in this fiasco are driving new Chrysler products that they didn’t really pay for? Perhaps it is time to pay a visit to Luigi and Guido over at the pizza joint and see if they might be convinced to attempt to collect on the loan. I understand they are very skilled at such ventures!