O Canada

[O Really]

"The Best Places In The World To Live Were Just Ranked"
We're #20, we're #20 (25 when you consider the ties)

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/lifestyle/tra ... li=AAggNb9

[O Really]

One of the best articles I've read lately, by a Canadian writer in Al Jazeera

I am so tired of the United States of America.

Perhaps you are tired of America, too. You may be an American who has – like many of us outside of America – become exhausted by and with America.

If it is any consolation, exhaustion is one of the telltale symptoms of America Fatigue Syndrome, a condition that, I suspect, much of the sentient world is suffering from – consciously or unconsciously. The other signs include a near chronic agitation, bewilderment and sense of déjà vu.

Sadly, there is, as far as I know, no cure.

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022 ... ome-do-you

[Vrede too]

One of the best articles I've read lately, by a Canadian writer in Al Jazeera

I am so tired of the United States of America.

Perhaps you are tired of America, too. You may be an American who has – like many of us outside of America – become exhausted by and with America.

If it is any consolation, exhaustion is one of the telltale symptoms of America Fatigue Syndrome, a condition that, I suspect, much of the sentient world is suffering from – consciously or unconsciously. The other signs include a near chronic agitation, bewilderment and sense of déjà vu.

Sadly, there is, as far as I know, no cure.

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022 ... ome-do-you

... It may be too late.

[O Really]

... It may be too late.

It is, indeed. I think that's largely because what we have now isn't much different from what's always been here, except more extreme and less humane. Now, there are no longer any positive forces that can improve or offset.

[Vrede too]

... It may be too late.

It is, indeed. I think that's largely because what we have now isn't much different from what's always been here, except more extreme and less humane. Now, there are no longer any positive forces that can improve or offset.

For example:

GOP Rep. Ronny Jackson Rants About Email Interference, Gets Sent Straight To Spam
"This can't be real," one critic fired back at the former White House doctor who once raved about Donald Trump's "excellent" health.

Too many hilarious responses to excerpt. Prior to his move to the White House beginning in 2006, this cretin had real patients.

[GoCubsGo]

Too many hilarious responses to excerpt. Prior to his move to the White House beginning in 2006, this cretin had real patients.

[neoplacebo]

I think he was even in the navy. I should have kicked his ass out a long time ago.

[GoCubsGo]

I think he was even in the navy. I should have kicked his ass out a long time ago.

Who ya gonna call?

[neoplacebo]

That's a nice rig. And since it's a Fishman, I assume it can deliver a fine fish slap as well as a death ray.

[Ulysses]

That's a nice rig. And since it's a Fishman, I assume it can deliver a fine fish slap as well as a death ray.

Nah, it's an electronic pickup for an acoustic guitar. I think.

https://www.fishman.com/portfolio/neo-b ... ck-buster/

[O Really]

There once was something called "conservative thought" or philosophy, based on an intellectual understanding of governmental and societal process.
Some very bright and well-educated people were conservatives, such as conservative leader and shaper Bill Buckley. Buckley's views might be considered extreme by some standards as he opposed most civil rights legislation and de-segregation efforts, but his "conservatism" excluded people like the Birchers and Ayn Rand. I mention Buckley only to draw a contrast to what is now considered "conservative" and how it once valued education and intellect and now values ignorance and.

Though many examples sadly can be found every day, the horrible situation is capsulized in one story from Ontario.

Under the headline "Discontent with PCs [Progressive Conservatives] fuelling rise in non-mainstream conservative parties in Ontario" the story discusses how Doug Ford, one of the most conservative Premiers ever elected, is now not enough. But the really sad part is in what they want in replacement. From the article:

For Guy Lem, the pandemic made all the difference.

A self-described “die-hard” conservative voter, he tells the National Post questions over how Ontario’s government handled the pandemic shook his confidence in both the Progressive Conservative party and Premier Doug Ford’s commitment to the conservative cause.

“The Ontario Conservative party has shown me that they are no longer conservative,” he said.

As COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns wore on, voters like Lem grew increasingly frustrated that questions he felt deserved answers weren’t being asked by Ontario’s government.

“They never questioned any of what the medical professionals advisers were telling them,” Lem said.

“They were following orders from unelected people — and to me that means they’re not fighting for us.”

Consider: Lem is mad because the Premier followed the advice and counsel of medical and scientific professionals on a matter of national/world health in the face of a pandemic instead of "questioning" the experts and "fighting" for citizens. Whether consciously or unconsciously, this guy thinks that (a) the medical/scientific professionals either don't know what they're doing, are intentionally acting against "the people" or both; and (b) Ford's government must be in cahoots with the medical/scientific professionals in some nefarious way and apparently should have ignored their advice in favor of - what?

And that's the ummm, "thinking" that's taking over America and infecting Canada.

[GoCubsGo]

That's a nice rig. And since it's a Fishman, I assume it can deliver a fine fish slap as well as a death ray.

Twofer!

[GoCubsGo]

There once was something called "conservative thought" or philosophy, based on an intellectual understanding of governmental and societal process.
Some very bright and well-educated people were conservatives, such as conservative leader and shaper Bill Buckley. Buckley's views might be considered extreme by some standards as he opposed most civil rights legislation and de-segregation efforts, but his "conservatism" excluded people like the Birchers and Ayn Rand. I mention Buckley only to draw a contrast to what is now considered "conservative" and how it once valued education and intellect and now values ignorance and.

Though many examples sadly can be found every day, the horrible situation is capsulized in one story from Ontario.

Under the headline "Discontent with PCs [Progressive Conservatives] fuelling rise in non-mainstream conservative parties in Ontario" the story discusses how Doug Ford, one of the most conservative Premiers ever elected, is now not enough. But the really sad part is in what they want in replacement. From the article:

For Guy Lem, the pandemic made all the difference.

A self-described “die-hard” conservative voter, he tells the National Post questions over how Ontario’s government handled the pandemic shook his confidence in both the Progressive Conservative party and Premier Doug Ford’s commitment to the conservative cause.

“The Ontario Conservative party has shown me that they are no longer conservative,” he said.

As COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns wore on, voters like Lem grew increasingly frustrated that questions he felt deserved answers weren’t being asked by Ontario’s government.

“They never questioned any of what the medical professionals advisers were telling them,” Lem said.

“They were following orders from unelected people — and to me that means they’re not fighting for us.”

Consider: Lem is mad because the Premier followed the advice and counsel of medical and scientific professionals on a matter of national/world health in the face of a pandemic instead of "questioning" the experts and "fighting" for citizens. Whether consciously or unconsciously, this guy thinks that (a) the medical/scientific professionals either don't know what they're doing, are intentionally acting against "the people" or both; and (b) Ford's government must be in cahoots with the medical/scientific professionals in some nefarious way and apparently should have ignored their advice in favor of - what?

And that's the ummm, "thinking" that's taking over America and infecting Canada.

Buckley, George Will, Bill Kristol, Charlie Sykes...Reagan.

The list goes on.

Doug Ford?

Brother of Rob Ford?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Ford

[O Really]

Doug Ford?

Brother of Rob Ford?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Ford

Yeppers. Two nuts in a sack.
Thing was, he did a pretty decent job for the pandemic. Even made some comment early on about the pandemic being "too serious an issue to get wrapped up in politics" or something like that. And that's what these fools are made at him about - acting responsibility and in the best interest of the people.

[Ulysses]

One of the best articles I've read lately, by a Canadian writer in Al Jazeera

I am so tired of the United States of America.

Perhaps you are tired of America, too. You may be an American who has – like many of us outside of America – become exhausted by and with America.

If it is any consolation, exhaustion is one of the telltale symptoms of America Fatigue Syndrome, a condition that, I suspect, much of the sentient world is suffering from – consciously or unconsciously. The other signs include a near chronic agitation, bewilderment and sense of déjà vu.

Sadly, there is, as far as I know, no cure.

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022 ... ome-do-you

The linked article states:

...The latest convulsion occurred earlier this week. Five men and one woman in black robes have apparently decided to do what they once promised, under oath, not to do: overturn a Supreme Court ruling delivered 49 years ago that guaranteed a woman’s provenance over her body.

Precedent erased. Rights erased. Progress erased. Replaced by religious extremism masquerading as jurisprudence and a kind of authoritarianism that, unsurprisingly, has men dictating to women who has agency over their destiny.

In erasing Roe v Wade, Justice Samuel Alito and his rancid, right-wing confederates have revealed the other “big lie” about America – that it is a nation governed by the rule of law and not parochial passions....

The problem with that claim is that SCOTUS has not yet issued a formal ruling. For all we may know, the leaked document was just "spitballing". The article is dated May 6, by the way.

I'm willing to wait for the final ruling to be released. As I recall, that won't happen until September.

Needless to say, I hope the final decision is not to overturn Roe v Wade. But if it is, it might well give a boost to Democrats running for Congress.

YMMV

[O Really]

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Although celebrated for longer than the US version, Canadian Thanksgiving is earlier and less commercial than in the US. It's the second Monday of October, this year October 10. Origins are similar, i.e. giving thanks for the harvest and still being alive, but is earlier apparently because of earlier historical harvest times. Being on a Monday, much of the get-togethers are on the weekend, leaving Monday for travel. There is no "Black Friday" style shopping frenzy, but many Canadian stores run similar sales on American black Friday. Holiday food is generally similar.

[O Really]

A new Angus Reid study by Canadian digital health platform Felix says one in four people in our country — or 26% — say their mental health declines during the holiday season.

Claire, 25, who wished to go only by her first name, can relate.

“The holidays for me combine a lot of things that can make me feel quite blue or depressed,” said the transplanted Torontonian, who also sufferes from seasonal defective disorder, is on anti-depressants and has been seeing the same psychologist since 2019.

Somebody needs a better editor - in the US that would be called "seasonal affective disorder"

[Vrede too]

A new Angus Reid study by Canadian digital health platform Felix says one in four people in our country — or 26% — say their mental health declines during the holiday season.

Claire, 25, who wished to go only by her first name, can relate.

“The holidays for me combine a lot of things that can make me feel quite blue or depressed,” said the transplanted Torontonian, who also sufferes from seasonal defective disorder, is on anti-depressants and has been seeing the same psychologist since 2019.

Somebody needs a better editor - in the US that would be called "seasonal affective disorder"

Don't be mean, the writer might be a seasonal defective.


How a Town Famous for Xenophobia Fell in Love With Immigrants

Hérouxville, Quebec

[O Really]

How a Town Famous for Xenophobia Fell in Love With Immigrants

Hérouxville, Quebec

From comments: So I guess they allow those things now? (Hérouxville, the code warned, did not tolerate “stoning women to death in the town square” or “burning them alive” or “treating them as slaves.”)

[billy.pilgrim]

How a Town Famous for Xenophobia Fell in Love With Immigrants

Hérouxville, Quebec

From comments: So I guess they allow those things now? (Hérouxville, the code warned, did not tolerate “stoning women to death in the town square” or “burning them alive” or “treating them as slaves.”)

Seems like I learned that the US built its strength with our forward thinking "melting pot" theory of immigration.


Then There was Powell and reagan.