Me and Dave hooked up at Ponsonby PS in grade four. We were inseparable buddies till about grade seven or eight, after which our high school careers took us in different directions.
I'm thinking about Dave because there's a story in today's Globe, penned by major league practitioners of the dismal science, that heavily references my old pal.
Seems Dave was the first Dismal Scientist to stick his neck out for the proposition that increasing the minimum wage did not necessarily mean that jobs would be lost. He more or less got his head chopped off for that.
Twenty years later everything old is new again.
Raising the minimum wage is not a job-killer after all!
Dave will no doubt have a Nobel with his name attached in a few years.
Good on you, buddy!
Friday, June 30, 2017
Forget about those towelheads 'o terror; YOU MUST FEAR THE BIKERS!!!
Laura Stone has a front pager in my Globe today about retiring RCMP Commish Bob Paulson.
Paulson has been Canada's top cop for the past five years, heading up the 30,000 strong Mountie outfit.
After we're told that "organized crime" is a bigger threat to Canada than the various strands of Islamic militants, he gets around to naming names; "he said the national police force has noticed a resurgence in outlaw motorcycle gangs , such as the Hells Angels, across Canada."
Really? Do you think that might be due to the fact that the only actual "Islamic terror attacks" in Canada have been carried out by a couple of Frenchie nutters? And that most of the anti-terror operations that the RCMP have squandered hundreds of millions of dollars on have been around whack jobs like the infamous "tards 'o terror," Nuttall and Korody?
It's not just the bikers we must fear... you know, those dastardly demon-seeds who are so secretive their clubhouses are on Google Street-View. Nope, it's our Italian neighbours too!
Oh, give it a rest, Bob!
You guys have been waving the bikers and the mafia at us forever to sow fear and raise your budgets! If the pols did the sensible thing and treated addiction as a health problem instead of a law enforcement problem, 99% of "organized crime" would be out of business overnight.
Other than that, Paulson seems to be a reasonable enough guy. He speaks against the militarization of police forces and for community policing, initiatives that the think tank here at Falling Downs has long been in favour of. Good on you, Mr. Paulson!
But I wouldn't be too hasty in writing off the towellers. Just in the past few days we've seen all manner of chest-thumping in our national media about how great one of our snipers was for setting a new world record for a long-distance kill. Of a Muslim, of course.
There's got to be a Muslim refugee somewhere who takes umbrage with all that gloating...
Paulson has been Canada's top cop for the past five years, heading up the 30,000 strong Mountie outfit.
After we're told that "organized crime" is a bigger threat to Canada than the various strands of Islamic militants, he gets around to naming names; "he said the national police force has noticed a resurgence in outlaw motorcycle gangs , such as the Hells Angels, across Canada."
Really? Do you think that might be due to the fact that the only actual "Islamic terror attacks" in Canada have been carried out by a couple of Frenchie nutters? And that most of the anti-terror operations that the RCMP have squandered hundreds of millions of dollars on have been around whack jobs like the infamous "tards 'o terror," Nuttall and Korody?
It's not just the bikers we must fear... you know, those dastardly demon-seeds who are so secretive their clubhouses are on Google Street-View. Nope, it's our Italian neighbours too!
Oh, give it a rest, Bob!
You guys have been waving the bikers and the mafia at us forever to sow fear and raise your budgets! If the pols did the sensible thing and treated addiction as a health problem instead of a law enforcement problem, 99% of "organized crime" would be out of business overnight.
Other than that, Paulson seems to be a reasonable enough guy. He speaks against the militarization of police forces and for community policing, initiatives that the think tank here at Falling Downs has long been in favour of. Good on you, Mr. Paulson!
But I wouldn't be too hasty in writing off the towellers. Just in the past few days we've seen all manner of chest-thumping in our national media about how great one of our snipers was for setting a new world record for a long-distance kill. Of a Muslim, of course.
There's got to be a Muslim refugee somewhere who takes umbrage with all that gloating...
Thursday, June 29, 2017
Trump's foreign policy; too much too fast
I'm not suggesting that Trump actually has a "foreign policy". It is well beyond obvious at this juncture that Trump has no policies whatsoever.
I'm pretty sure he just makes shit up on the fly.
But when you're the putative leader of the "free world," making shit up on the fly has consequences.
Getting a building permit for a new build in Manhattan is no doubt a tough gig. I respect Donny J for having the smarts to do that.
Policing the world is a challenge of an entirely different magnitude.
The "deep state" operators who determine America's future have never had a more pliable piece of putty in their hands than they have in Donny J today.
Not Nixon.
Not Carter.
Not Clinton or anyone with the surname "Bush."
So if our deep state operators find it expedient to nuke N. Korea, they've got the perfect patsy in the White House, don't they?
I hope I'm wrong.
I'm pretty sure he just makes shit up on the fly.
But when you're the putative leader of the "free world," making shit up on the fly has consequences.
Getting a building permit for a new build in Manhattan is no doubt a tough gig. I respect Donny J for having the smarts to do that.
Policing the world is a challenge of an entirely different magnitude.
The "deep state" operators who determine America's future have never had a more pliable piece of putty in their hands than they have in Donny J today.
Not Nixon.
Not Carter.
Not Clinton or anyone with the surname "Bush."
So if our deep state operators find it expedient to nuke N. Korea, they've got the perfect patsy in the White House, don't they?
I hope I'm wrong.
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Ten bucks for sausage on a bun?
Get the f*ck outta here, you say...
I don't blame you. That's what I said too.
But me and the Farm Manager just got home from sharing one of those ten dollar sausages on a bun from Megan's food cart in Big Bay, strategically located on the corner just outside the Big Bay ice cream shop.
Gotta say it was well worth the ten bucks.
That was dinner for the two of us. For ten bucks? We're talking serious good value here, folks.
And shooting the shit with Megan for a few minutes, if she's not too busy, is worth the ten bucks even without the sausage on a bun.
I've known Megan since she was a brittle teen... she's a tough old bitch these days. Her dear Daddy was a big deal in the Canadian mining industry for many years. Made millions and squandered even more several times over. If I had any money I'd put it in his next project.
So if you're on a tour of the near north this summer, take a side trip to Big Bay. There's a great ice cream to be had, and if you have a serious hunger on, ramble over to Nork's Pork for one of those ten dollar sausages on a bun.
Tell her Neumann sent you.
You won't be sorry.
I don't blame you. That's what I said too.
But me and the Farm Manager just got home from sharing one of those ten dollar sausages on a bun from Megan's food cart in Big Bay, strategically located on the corner just outside the Big Bay ice cream shop.
Gotta say it was well worth the ten bucks.
That was dinner for the two of us. For ten bucks? We're talking serious good value here, folks.
And shooting the shit with Megan for a few minutes, if she's not too busy, is worth the ten bucks even without the sausage on a bun.
I've known Megan since she was a brittle teen... she's a tough old bitch these days. Her dear Daddy was a big deal in the Canadian mining industry for many years. Made millions and squandered even more several times over. If I had any money I'd put it in his next project.
So if you're on a tour of the near north this summer, take a side trip to Big Bay. There's a great ice cream to be had, and if you have a serious hunger on, ramble over to Nork's Pork for one of those ten dollar sausages on a bun.
Tell her Neumann sent you.
You won't be sorry.
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
A random sample of good-news bad-news stories from the CBC today
Here's a good news/bad news story out of Edmonton.
The bad news is that Edmonton still employs the widely discredited carding strategy to harass Natives and black folks living in poverty in the capital city of Canada's most prosperous province. At least it was the most prosperous till very recently.
Thankfully, the Edmonton chapter of Black Lives Matter is shining some light on this travesty.
Stop those "street checks" on Indians and black folks, you racist Edmonton cops!
The good news is that when they stop, we'll be better able to ignore the systemic racism that leaves Natives and black folks living in the streets in the first place.
Here's another one. Looks like the Trump Care initiative to repeal Obamacare is going nowhere fast. Trump Care is bad news. Obamacare was bad news. The good news is that studies have shown for decades that a vast majority of Americans want a single-payer health care system just like most civilized nations in the world enjoy today.
If, per Leonard Cohen, democracy ever comes to the USA, they'll have single-payer in no time.
And here's a good one; Ontario taxpayers just made a commitment to clean up the mercury poisoning in the English-Wabigoon river system that's been in the news since I was a teenager. The story talks about $85 millions, but that will only scratch the surface. We'll spend ten times that and there'll still be mercury poisoning in that river system.
But at least we're finally making an effort. The bad news is that the heirs of the greed-bags who poisoned those waters in the first place live unscathed in their posh mansions and get accolades for their various philanthropic endeavours.
As a taxpayer, I gotta say that sucks.
Finally, here's a good news/bad news story out of the Holy Land. Seems a few mainstream Canadian Jews have their kippas in a twist over the fact that the arch-racist Netanyahu regime has reneged on a promise to allow men and women to pray together at the Wailing Wall.
They didn't notice the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians.
They didn't notice the egregious colonizing of stolen land.
They didn't notice Netanyahu turning Israel into a pariah state.
They didn't notice the creeping apartheid.
But by God, they're paying attention now that the prayer-wall has been re-segregated!
And that's good! Maybe now they'll be more amenable to noticing all that other stuff.
The bad news is that Edmonton still employs the widely discredited carding strategy to harass Natives and black folks living in poverty in the capital city of Canada's most prosperous province. At least it was the most prosperous till very recently.
Thankfully, the Edmonton chapter of Black Lives Matter is shining some light on this travesty.
Stop those "street checks" on Indians and black folks, you racist Edmonton cops!
The good news is that when they stop, we'll be better able to ignore the systemic racism that leaves Natives and black folks living in the streets in the first place.
Here's another one. Looks like the Trump Care initiative to repeal Obamacare is going nowhere fast. Trump Care is bad news. Obamacare was bad news. The good news is that studies have shown for decades that a vast majority of Americans want a single-payer health care system just like most civilized nations in the world enjoy today.
If, per Leonard Cohen, democracy ever comes to the USA, they'll have single-payer in no time.
And here's a good one; Ontario taxpayers just made a commitment to clean up the mercury poisoning in the English-Wabigoon river system that's been in the news since I was a teenager. The story talks about $85 millions, but that will only scratch the surface. We'll spend ten times that and there'll still be mercury poisoning in that river system.
But at least we're finally making an effort. The bad news is that the heirs of the greed-bags who poisoned those waters in the first place live unscathed in their posh mansions and get accolades for their various philanthropic endeavours.
As a taxpayer, I gotta say that sucks.
Finally, here's a good news/bad news story out of the Holy Land. Seems a few mainstream Canadian Jews have their kippas in a twist over the fact that the arch-racist Netanyahu regime has reneged on a promise to allow men and women to pray together at the Wailing Wall.
They didn't notice the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians.
They didn't notice the egregious colonizing of stolen land.
They didn't notice Netanyahu turning Israel into a pariah state.
They didn't notice the creeping apartheid.
But by God, they're paying attention now that the prayer-wall has been re-segregated!
And that's good! Maybe now they'll be more amenable to noticing all that other stuff.
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Wheels of justice turn extra slow in Waco
What do these folks have in common? They're all collateral damage in the long-forgotten "Waco biker massacre" of 2015.
I must admit that I too forgot about the story. Then, while killing time indoors on account of the monsoon rains battering The Bruce today, I decided to check in with The Aging Rebel website. That's run by a guy who's an advocate for bikers' rights, and he's been on top of this story from the get go.
So what's new in Waco?
Nothing!
The same clique of lying douchebags who were sandbagging the constitutional rights of the folks whose faces you see here are still hard at it two years later! Yes, the jiggery-pokery continues unabated. Why this story is so under the radar of big media is a bit of a mystery.
But maybe not. Don't forget these are all "bikers," and big media and their sources in law enforcement have been brainwashing the public for a quarter century that bikers=criminals.
The bikers will need some powerful allies if this case is ever going to get the attention of Wapo and the NYT.
I think I've got a plan...
Check out the dude in the bottom row, fifth from the left. Is there something about him that makes him not like the other ones? I dare say we could be looking at an African-American!
Let's get Black Lives Matter on the case! Waco would be on the front page of every major newspaper in the land in no time flat!
I must admit that I too forgot about the story. Then, while killing time indoors on account of the monsoon rains battering The Bruce today, I decided to check in with The Aging Rebel website. That's run by a guy who's an advocate for bikers' rights, and he's been on top of this story from the get go.
So what's new in Waco?
Nothing!
The same clique of lying douchebags who were sandbagging the constitutional rights of the folks whose faces you see here are still hard at it two years later! Yes, the jiggery-pokery continues unabated. Why this story is so under the radar of big media is a bit of a mystery.
But maybe not. Don't forget these are all "bikers," and big media and their sources in law enforcement have been brainwashing the public for a quarter century that bikers=criminals.
The bikers will need some powerful allies if this case is ever going to get the attention of Wapo and the NYT.
I think I've got a plan...
Check out the dude in the bottom row, fifth from the left. Is there something about him that makes him not like the other ones? I dare say we could be looking at an African-American!
Let's get Black Lives Matter on the case! Waco would be on the front page of every major newspaper in the land in no time flat!
Friday, June 23, 2017
When your national pride is contingent on killing a man two miles away, you're f*cked
Lots of hoo-ha and boo-ya and chest thumping in Canada today about that remarkable story of a Canadian sniper setting a new record for a long-distance kill.
So far, the only noteworthy political voice calling this gloating into question has been Angry Tom.
Must say I was pleased to see that the Globe and Mail saw fit to print several letters to Ed from folks appalled by the news coverage around this disgusting story.
One of those letters actually drew a line from this story to future Islamic terrorism in Canada. That's a letter-writer who'll be getting a visit from CSIS in short order.
Good luck to you, pal!
So far, the only noteworthy political voice calling this gloating into question has been Angry Tom.
Must say I was pleased to see that the Globe and Mail saw fit to print several letters to Ed from folks appalled by the news coverage around this disgusting story.
One of those letters actually drew a line from this story to future Islamic terrorism in Canada. That's a letter-writer who'll be getting a visit from CSIS in short order.
Good luck to you, pal!
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