Blog or white ... because it never is.

Comedian Mike Bullard's legal troubles increased this week after he faced three additional charges.  The most shocking part of that sentence for me was that Mike Bullard was referred to as a comedian.  Is that what he does?   I just never found this guy funny, I actually thought he was a sports commentator.  Also, he is 60 years old.  I can only remember him, maybe being generous, for the last decade.  So, what was he doing for the last 40 years.  A starving comic?  He actually doesn't look like he has missed too many meals.  Regardless, his three new charges relate to previous legal troubles of two failures to comply with bail conditions and an attempt to obstruct justice.  He appeared in Toronto Court where he awarded bail for $10,000.  I don't even know how to respond without cursing, which I am trying to be above.   So, I am going to say "Shut the Front Door" but I mean it times 100.  He has already f...

I always thought that the strength of Unions was the unity of workers for the protection and enhancement of workers against their employers.   The power of Unions was strength in numbers.  One worker could hardly make a difference in management, but their power together could make a huge difference.  Over the last century, Unions have been integral in establishing employment equity, protection against bullying and workplace harassment policies, negotiating fair wages and benefits, etc.  The Union represents their workers in grievances.  Unions have been successful largely because of their autonomy from the employers,.    In the last decade, however, society has started to question whether Unions have outlived their purpose.  That is a very complicated question and I have heard many thoughtful arguments on both sides of the issue. However, I really don't understand the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg. The fire fighters are empl...

I am a Law and Order junkie.  The original series was always my favorite, especially the early years.  SVU has evolved and continues to be one of the best series on network television.  Criminal Intent was my least liked of the franchise but still had many memorable moments.  One of the most profound moments for me was a scene between Goren and Eames.  They were working a class involving murders targeting doctors who performed abortions.   Eames asked Goren about his views on abortion.  Goren declined to answer saying, "I will tell you when I have a uterus."   Goren's character had unusual knowledge about every subject in the book, it seemed.  His character was almost savant like and he was almost a walking Wikipedia of facts.  Yet, when it came to an issue involving women's reproductive organs, he was smart enough to defer to women.  This proved to me that the character was genius.   Why can't more men be...

This special Senate election in Alabama seems to be the longest in history.   I am counting the hours now, a little more than 48, until it is over.  Long before the allegations came to the surface, I already was convinced that Roy Moore was a joke.  The rally when he dressed up as a Village People singer toting a real gun made that clear.  Now that the allegations keep coming forward, I have learned that he is also dangerous.  However, what is very troubling is that he is going to win.  Alabama is just a red Republican state and it has been for 20 years.  Roy Moore will never shake the asterisk behind his name in the minds of the American public, but he, unfortunately will also have the title of Senator in front of his name, so he won't really care much.  For some unknown reason, the allegations against him are not sticking.  It is wrong, of course, but it is also  reality so we have just lost this fight, so we need to stop wast...

Senator Franken's resignation today was not a victory for feminism.  About two weeks ago (things are happening so fast that it is easy to lose track of time) the photograph emerged.  Al Franken wrote a heart-felt and sincere apology to the victim and to all women.  His apology was authentic and took responsibility for his actions.  This was very much in contrast with other apologies that we see that are "I am sorry that you misunderstand my intentions".  This was real and indicated that he pledged to work hard to be a better man.  Senator Franken actually did a great deal of good in the Senate.  He was a strong voice for reason and he was a champion for those less fortunate.  Once more accusers came to light, he felt he was forced to resign.  Well, that is one gone without having to do any penance.  It wouldn't have been easy but he could have used his influence as Senator as a springboard to helping feminism in general.  He cou...

Yesterday was a very significant day in Canadian history.  100 years ago, the Halifax explosion happened.  2000 people lost their lives during the explosion and an additional 9000 were injured.  Despite the extent of this disaster, so many things occurred.  As many were left blind following the explosion, a desire to help ultimately led to the creation of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.  The casualties would have been worse if a telegraph operator hadn't diverted a train at the last moment before he died a selfless hero.  Medical personnel from Boston came to help creating a lasting friendship between Halifax and Boston.  Halifax is still thinking their cousins south of the border.  New and safer shipping regulations were developed.  From all accounts, this tragedy brought out the best in people.  23 years ago yesterday, the Montreal Massacre where 14 lives were ended simply because a struggling man blamed women for ev...

Michael Flynn will plead guilty today to one charge of lying to the FBI.  This is part of a plea deal.  He will plead guilty to a relatively trivial in exchange for something.  The news anchors are already so excited that they are not even pretending to be objective.  They are assuming that this development will be "consequential" to the Trump Presidency.   If anyone has the dirt that can bring down, it is Michael Flynn. I am not in the least bit excited.  We have seen this happen before.  We have seen an action that we attribute will be the end of this Presidency.   That day has been referred to as "every day of his Presidency".  This will also come and go.   This Presidency has been like the worst and longest Law and Order episode in history. I think there is only one person who can bring down the Trump Presidency.  Melania.  I think we need to appeal to her widely and publicly to leave him.   ...

Yesterday, Trump retweeted some hate videos aimed at a religion. This was sickening.   For one hour, this was breaking news all over the world.  People were interviewed.   The representatives of the religion targeted explained that they were shocked but not surprised.   They have long accepted that Trump does not view himself as President of all people in the United States, but only the right-wing minority.   They can only hope that the Republican Leadership can do something to end this tyranny.   Condemnation of the retweets was quick and decisive.  David Duke supported the retweets and cheered Trump. And, then, after the first hour..............nothing.  The hateful retweets were not mentioned in any newscast or in any webpage or in any search engine or it was very obscure.  Almost no one mentioned this on social media.   I mentioned a reference to this on my facebook.  It resulted in me having ...

Yesterday, President Trump presided at an event honoring Native American Veterans.  It was to recognize the remarkable courage of the Native Code Talkers, particularly for their contributions in World War II.  We were led to believe that in addition to honoring these Veterans, they were also to receive an apology for not being previously acknowledged as the heroes that they most certainly are.  He went off script for one comment.   In that one comment, he made a racial slur.  The three Navajo Veterans present responded with shock and silence.   Their class and dignity was apparent in contrast with the former reality tv star. I was shocked.  I don't know.  Despite all evidence to the contrary, I still want to believe that somewhere underneath that ridiculous hair lies a brain that understands the significance of his office.  I still want to believe that in his heart he is capable of empathy or atleast compassion to someone who does...

We just survived Black Friday, Black Friday weekend sales, and are on the verge of surviving Cyber Monday.   Yes, the previous weekend holiday was used to be called American Thanksgiving.   Now, it is eclipsed to be all about shopping and getting deals. I think Americans have forgotten about the spirit of Thanksgiving.  It is my understanding that originally it was a holiday about two cultures getting together and celebrating fellowship, each of them contributing their own culture and being grateful for the celebration.   Despite two different colours of skin, we can still break bread together.   Instead of focusing on what divides, it is supposed to be a feast where we celebrate what brings us together, and it is not the pursuit of a big screen television. Let us review what happened on the weekend.  Trump spent the actual day of Thanksgiving engaged in a twitter war with an otherwise irrelevant stage mom known as Lavar Ball.  ...

It has started.  Holiday gatherings.  I was at a gathering this past weekend and I found myself standing in a circle of 5.  I knew the other four by name only, so we just getting to know each other by small talk.  In my circle, there were 2 women and 3 men.  So, we talked about the weather.  We all concluded that it is cold in Winnipeg in the winter.  So, with this knowledge, one man asked a woman if she had any plans for a winter vacation?  The other two men reacted quickly and told that questioner that he needed to be careful "these days" and that question could get him labeled as a pervert and a sex offender.  Who knew, it was possible someone was filming this conversation on their cell phone and it would be all over the internet exposing him as a sex offender.  Both of these men started to denigrate women saying they are so touchy and misinterpret things and you have to be careful when you open your mouth.  Really.  A...

So, this just happened...... My partner is physically ill today.  Believe me, there is a significant part of me that is not feeling any sympathy at all for him, but, that's another blog.  However, I am willing to go through the motions of being a caring spouse.  He wanted a McDonald's breakfast this afternoon and I felt obligated enough to get it for him. I entered out on my 15 minute quest. First, I had to make a quick stop at my ATM.  There was a time when going to an ATM was a quick impersonal experience.  A time to take a break from the pressure of having to make small talk with a teller.  Now, even going to an ATM is an experience.  The ATM now knows my name and thanks me for my visit and before I can withdraw a measly $20 of my own money, it has to engage in a conversation with me.  It has to tell me information.  Today, it told me that bank fees were changing on June 15.  Well, I know what that means.  I've had that con...

Two stories caught my attention on the weekend which demonstrate the power of the people.  When we get together, we can really make a difference? First of all, a United Airlines passenger went to twitter after witnessing two teenage girls not being allowed to board because they were wearing leggings.  This was retweeted and spread more rapidly than a tweet about Justin Bieber.  People demanded answers from United.  This seemed so unfair, especially since we have all seen really questionable attire on flights that were actually inappropriate. People are trying to make this a news story, a cause that we can all be behind, but, this is a non-issue. It turns out that these girls were on a "buddy pass" or whatever the term used by United.  They were getting a free flight by being a family/friend of a United employee.  In this case, in order to receive a free flight, they agreed to a certain dress code.  Their fault for not reading the fine print.  Le...

A lot of people talked yesterday about the end of free speech in Canada.  They felt that M-103 was going to be the slippery slope that would end our free speech.   The motion, M-103, reads: The government should: ( a ) recognize the need to quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear; ( b ) condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination and take note of House of Commons’ petition e-411 and the issues raised by it; and ( c ) request that the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage undertake a study on how the government could (i) develop a whole-of-government approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination including Islamophobia, in Canada … I happen to be a big defender of free speech and a free press being a foundation for democracy, so I would be vehemently opposed to anyone threatening this.  I just don't see this motion is much of a threat. It is not a Bill which means it is a not a ...

This past Monday was a Statutory Holiday, i watched the local news and one of the top stories featured a man labelled a community activist for Wise Up Winnipeg. Apparently, this group is trying to get the reduced speed while travelling in a school zone waived on a Statutory Holiday. Hey, I get it. They are trying to save roughly 20 seconds of drive time. Over time, this really adds up. I can imagine that over years this will  add up to roughly the equivalent time that they spend waiting in a Tim Horton's drive-thru every day. However, this was not a news story. I know there is a lot of talk lately of fake news and it is hard to differentiate what is and isn't a news story. i will attempt to help with this clarification. A news story occurs when something actually happens. A man holding up a sign in the middle of the street is not news, it is actually sad. I love the idea of community activism and I think it is desperately needed. The idea of community members ...