Whatever you think of Donald Trump, he’s boldly gone where none of his predecessors went before. Barely into the second month of his term, he’s made his title and name into an oxymoron that matches my all-time favourite, friendly fire.… Read the rest
Canadian and American hockey fans booing each other’s national anthems is a clear and uncharacteristic indicator of how low President Donald Trump’s foreign policy has driven America’s image and standing in the arena of world opinion.… Read the rest
Since the beginning of the Cold War, the U.S. president has been self-styled and widely, if at times grudgingly, accepted as “the leader of the free world”. Less than a month into his second term, Donald Trump has superseded “leader” with “lout”.… Read the rest
The outrage over President Donald Trump’s “plan” to ethnically cleanse Gaza in all but name and turn it into a resort strip mall, is almost quaint. Did anyone expect rationality or humanity from someone demonstrably unable to differentiate between price, profit and value, and who surrounds himself with soulless moguls of his ilk?… Read the rest
America’s idea of itself as a great and enviable nation was encapsulated by the now defunct print edition of the Reader’s Digest and its signature feature, “Laughter, the Best Medicine”. For those in trepidation of what MAGA portends, the best antidote is a sense of irony and the absurd.… Read the rest
New Year’s resolutions being notoriously unkept, 2025 can be better than the unlamented year we just lurched through if the media harkens back to what its job is, or at least ought to be, and peacemakers take on board the lesson of a 13th century papal conclave.… Read the rest
In the spirit of good neighbourliness, I would like to take this opportunity to caution U.S. President-elect Donald Trump that his “great idea!!!” of making Canada the “51st state” isn’t even a good idea, because, frankly sir, we’d be more trouble than we’re worth.… Read the rest
After months of paying undue attention to political pomposity calculated to intimidate the indecisive, flatter the fools and fool the feckless, a break is in order. Ergo, I resolved to record one thing that made me smile each day between my last perch post and this one.… Read the rest
Nature has an unrivalled ability to still the depressing chorus of affronts to our intelligence by politics, and to the English language by those who bring the transgressions to our attention. It also gifts us metaphors for humanity’s foibles.… Read the rest
Trying to cut through and parse the rhetorical bedlam of current U.S. politics can be taxing to the point of painful. A useful tool is the advice a dear departed friend, who read voraciously and talked volubly, proffered whenever I lost track of what she was on about: “Listen to what I mean, not to what I say.”… Read the rest