My Canada Theory

I have this theory:  If the decent folks in the United States had to create a new country from scratch, the end product would basically be Canada.  

Now by way of disclosure, I will note that I am writing this from a rented condominium in Carleton Place, Ontario, Canada.  This is my third trip to Canada, with the fourth coming in August.  There can be more after that, and it would be perfectly okay with me.  

Canada is unique in that its is one of those places that manages to under-promise and over-deliver.  You hear that the people are nice, then you come to here and are still surprised at just how friendly people really are when you meet them.  You see pictures of how scenic it is, but then you come here and, well, you are pleasantly surprised just how much better things look in person.  You sense that this is an orderly kind of place but then you walk along the road and you see streets that are cleaner than most KFC restaurants.  It is a place of sometimes subtle, sometimes overt, understatement.  

As a United States citizen I feel like I should be saying sorry to folks here for just how asinine our government has been treating the residents of the Great White North.  Being here, there is one of part of U.S. policy that now make sense though:  The (U.S.) president's comments about Canada reflect how a bully sees those they view as "weak" and "vulnerable".  The failure of that logic lies in the fact that Canada is not a place for the weak (try lasting a winter here...) or the vulnerable.  Like most bullies, the current president chronically underestimates those he targets, up until the point where eventually one fights back.

Having spent a little bit of time talking to actual Canadians about the current U.S. president, the good news, if you want to call it that, is they:

1) Recognize that most U.S. citizens don't support Drumpf.

2) See him for being as ridiculous as most of us do.

Case in point -

Actual Canadian Teenager:  Why does he want to paint that pool in Washington D.C.?

Actual U.S. Citizen (me):  Because he's an idiot.

Actual Canadian Teenager:  Doesn't it cost like a lot of money to do that?

Actual U.S, Citizen (me):  Yes.  And he thinks this is somehow more important than providing healthcare of the poor.

Actual Canadian Teenager:  That's stupid.

Actual U.S. Citizen (me):  Congratulations, you are smarter than 32% of the U.S. voting population.  Want to run for Pennsylvania Senator?  If the current guy can run and actually be from Connecticut, then I don't see why a smart teenager from the Great White North (who has dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship, by the way) can't be elected as well.

(Part of the above is somewhat fictionalized)

One thing that I haven't sensed in speaking to actual Canadians is fear.  That's a good thing.  Fear is the currency that bullies trade in, and it's refreshing to know that most folks don't buy what Drumpf is selling.

As they say up here...

(Source HERE)

U.S. Midterm Elections - The Hungarian Dress Rehearsal

5pm ET, Sunday, Update - It appears that Viktor Orban has conceded defeat.  If true, and barring any surpises, this could be a very good sign for both Hungary and the United States.  For the record, sometimes being wrong is really, really good thing.  

******

This will be short and to the point.  

As I type this, citizens in the country of Hungary will be going to the polls with the outcome deciding the fate of current Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has ruled the country for 16 years.  

Hungarian Election Coverage -

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/hungary-elections-2026-live-updates-victor-orban-results-b2955998.html

Why should you care?  In part because Orban wrote the MAGA playbook.  He is to the current U.S. president as Mussolini was to Hitler.  His creation of an "illiberal democracy" has been the template for what many in the current administration are trying to achieve in the U.S.

What do I mean by an "illiberal democracy"?  Here's a good definition:

Seem familiar?  It should.  Note that U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance actually went to Hungary to campaign for Orban (citation HERE). 

If Orban loses his re-election bid, what happens next will be a test case, a dress-rehearsal if you will, for how the current U.S. administration prepares for, and responds to, the mid-term elections in November.  Expect immediate claims, evidence be damned, of wide-spread election fraud.  The potential exists for some form of action on the part of Orban to nullify the election results.  He will likely not go quietly.

In the case of the U.S., a significant Orban loss could create a further incentive for the current president to declare some kind of national emergency around election time, in an attempt to limit turnout or, intimidate voters via the public placement of armed forces.  It's entirely possible the current administration will simply refuse to accept election losses that will change control in Congress from Republican to Democratic majorities.  The current president has already attempted to use executive actions to nullify constitional protections (i.e., the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution).

This is a play that may not end well.  And today is the first act.

2025: A View from the Gutter

I am coming up, in about 4 months, to my 62nd rotation around the sun.  That's a lot of years, and I am both thankful and blessed to be here typing at this very moment (make that "moments", as this will no doubt get written in pieces).  There have been good years...such as any year when any of my daughters were born...and there have been bad years.  I think that, when all is said and done, the dust is settled, and the ink is dry, 2025 will turn out to be far more on the negative side of life's ledger (and not just for me).

While I don't talk about it much, losing my brother Joe was tough.  It's kind of like losing a part of your own body...a part where the loss doesn't physically harm you...but you still feel a tiny bit less complete.  It's also a realization that there is one fewer person on the planet who sort of understood things about our growing up, one less witness.  I've already told my brother Rich he's not allowed to die.

On the national front, I think we, as a nation, are suffering from a kind of chaos fatigue.  It's as if the current president is in a continual race to the bottom, except for the fact that there is no bottom to be reached.  We collectively just sit and watch while another cruel act is ordained, another late-night social media tirade is launched, and another group is maligned for no real reason other than being different.  The specific group doesn't matter by the way, as yesterday's Somali will be tomorrow's other marginalized group.  The fact that we have 3 more years of this is enough to make someone want to just crawl into a cave and wait it out.  In the end, and regardless of politics, no country or leader was "great" because of who they hated.  Let that one sink in for a bit.

Another loss in 2025 was that of my father-in-law, the Rev. David Rivers.  There are times when you meet people who are just so diametrically different than what you've experienced before in your life that you end up being changed in ways that can be equal parts subtle and yet profound.  That was David.  The world is now smaller, a bit less fun, and certainly not nearly as wise with him gone.  The only real consolation is the fact that some of his best traits are manifest in his children, especially his oldest daughter Christine.

As a relatively crappy year, I naturally decided to deal with a long-standing health issue, resulting in a late November surgery.  I am glad that it's over, but as I creep into my early 60's, I'm reminded that every machine wears over time...both the mechanical and physiological ones.  I need to take better care of my own machinery.  That's far easier said than done. 

On the professional front, I am at a sunset, if you will, of my working career.  That's equal parts relieving and terrifying.  I continue to push myself a bit too far, a point that others have made on more than one occasion.  I was raised, if you will, in a working world where there was a kind of constant competition.  That kind of ethos doesn't actually depend on specific circumstances...it just exists in whatever reality I work in...whether it makes sense or not.  Some things just don't come with an off switch.  Yet the lack of such an off switch meant that, in 2025, I did far, far less of the things outside of work that I enjoy, basically just hopping between stressful work assignments.  As I stare down the time off days I am losing, it's pretty clear that I have been far crueler to myself than I would ever tolerate in someone else.  None of the above is to claim that I don't find myself in a working environment that may be more demanding than it should be, but in the end, the only real resource and decision-making powers I actually have are over myself.

So goodbye 2025.  Don't let the door hit you in the tuchus on the way out.

As for 2026, the beauty of a new year is just that...it is new.  While I know I'll probably make mistakes (I/we always do) there is also promise and potential.  Here's to going into the new year a bit smarter for the wear, and a bit more kind...to ourselves and to each other.  I think our nation needs it, desperately.

(Fun facts:  This song paraphrases the quote reference in the title and the late Brigitte Bardot)

October 2025

I actually created this blog on October 27, 2008.  If you search by topic, you'll find that "October" is probably the most written topic in all these 2,189 published postings, although I have done a terrible job tagging said posts.  Bad blogger.  Anyway, personally and professionally, time and time again, October has consistently been probably the most challenging month of the year for me.  Yet I still welcome the month.  

Is this all about some weird version of the Stockholm Syndrome?  Have I been conditioned by October to admire it, despite reasons to the contrary?

No, I have a different theory: October has always been the month of change, be it for me or just the cycle of life stuff in general.  October has a way of being far different on its 1st day than its 31st, more dramatically so than any other month.  Be it going from 80's to 50's or thunderstorms to snow flurries, seasons pivot at October's whim.

Part of the pivot for me is the appreciation that summer has had its time in the spotlight, and I am personally tired of feeling broiled every time I do anything outside.  Granted that being cold doing anything outside is kind of a bummer as well, but for a few shining weeks, October offers a kind of mediation that makes time outside actually enjoyable.  

This year, October for me is at the forefront of some other changes that are coming not too far down the road.  I have a long-term physical issue that will be addressed via surgery next month, so there is work to be done to get ready for (as Fonzie once put it in an episode of Happy Days) "the rip out room".  Nothing life or death, but nevertheless very necessary.  Post that, I will be making some other changes with an eye towards improving my overall physical health.  

Another thing coming down the road is on the professional front, where I've already started to make some changes that will both help me on the physical front as well as help to improve the balance in my life.  That part of my life has been terribly out of balance for years now, which at the risk of repeating prior postings needs to change.  One thing that has changed?  I'm no longer doing the "coming in early and leaving when it's dark" thing.  

Lastly, and as I finish this posting, there are millions participating in No Kings Day protests across the nation.

Obviously, I am here writing this and not there protesting, but my hope is that this is yet another example of big change coming from October.  I will also note that, while I support this movement, I have yet to get a check from George Soros, I am not a member of Hamas or the mythical Antifa "organization", nor am I a Communist or an antisemite.  Instead, I am just a guy who wants a country where his children can grow old without fear of a far-reaching federal government bent on continuous revenge and intrusion into their lives, one that thinks nothing of dragging children out to be deported by masked men.

Here's to falling leaves and failing would-be dictators. 

Checking In

Saying that there has been a lot going in and around me over the past few months is a bit like saying "Nickelback may not be the most popular band out there".  Apologies if you actually like Nickelback, by the way.  So yes, things have been busy.

The swirl of things on "the outside", i.e., the news of the world, social media and such, is borderline blinding, to the point where I don't know that anyone could consume a steady stream of this and remain healthy.  This might be why so many seem like they are not so mentally healthy these days.  As for me, I am trying my best to be on an information diet, consuming enough to be informed, but not so much that I find myself falling into a literal rage vortex of every-circling feces.  Sometimes this strategy works; other times it does not.  I don't see too many alternatives out there though.  This isn't intended to hide myself from righteous outrage, but it is to prevent myself from constant outrage.  

In an odd sort of way I think that some of the powerful actually want a perpetually outraged populace.  They are like magicians...by getting folks to focus on the hand of outrage, they hope that they won't see the other hand engaging in near constant personal enrichment.  The trick for all of us is to be informed...but not distracted.  It's a tough act.

All of the above noted, I will note that I have followed, to an extent, the death of conservative media personality Charlie Kirk.  Getting killed right in front of your family during a public event with videos running everywhere is not exactly a dignified way for someone to end their life.  So yes, I do understand the outrage at his death that some feel. Here's the TRULY troubling part from those same people outraged at this recent death:

WHERE IS THIS SAME OUTRAGE WHEN LITTLE CHILDREN ARE GUNNED DOWN IN SCHOOL?

WHY ISN'T THE PRESIDENT HONORING THIS HERO CHILD*?

(*) See this video:  https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mZ3QUJz8yCI  (or any of the hero teachers who saved children during the all too common school shootings in this country.)

Let's be honest here:  The late Charlie Kirk has become more of an avatar for some rather than an actual violent crime victim.  It has become a reason to feed the outrage machine and distract from what the other hand is doing.  By the way, I received a donation solicitation from some scumbag feigning to be his widow last Thursday.  Yes, it's gotten that bad.

Oh, and let's talk about the "whataboutism"?  That would be "Oh yeah, well what about when _______ happened?".  Is that what I am engaging in right now?  

The simple answer is no.

The death of Charlie Kirk seems to be unique in U.S. political and social discourse.  What's not unique in U.S.?  Mass shootings and gun violence.  I actually think Charlie Kirk once spoke an uncomfortable truth about this very topic, a point which many of his followers conveniently now seem to forget:

(Validation:  https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/charlie-kirk-gun-deaths-quote/)

So in a very real sense, the death of Charlie Kirk is just "another" payment in our never-ending life debt to the Second Amendment. For the record, I don't think God gave us the right to kill each other with high-powered weaponry.

Let me be clear:  I am not placing any value judgement on the life of Charlie Kirk.  People can and have said that he was both a horrible human being and a brilliant cultural warrior.  Like most of us, he was a mix of both good and bad.  Personally, I have problem with anyone who demeans the value of another simply based on their religion, race, gender or ethnicity.  Was Charlie Kirk guilty of that?  Well you can find out for yourself.  

I would also be wary of any arugments that works along the lines of "well I only agree with some of what he said".  Why?  Because it depends on the things he said that one DOES NOT AGREE WITH.  Making stuff up, if he said that "I think there is too much crime in cities" and you disagree with that, such a thing is much different than "husbands should be allowed to vote for their wives" (again, just making something up...not attributed to him).  The magnitude of what you disagree with is an essential element in any evaluation of the person.  Failure to consider this runs into what I will call the "Fallacy of Mussolini", namely that "well, he made the trains run on time".  Yes he may have made the trains run on time, but he also did some terrible stuff that greatly outweighs the punctuality of public transportation.

The above standard should be held to Charlie Kirk as well.

The truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours

The title comes from a quote attributed to Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.  As I think about some recent events well, nothing could be further from the truth.

Decades of self-righteous talking heads, both male and female, made fodder over the decadence of rock musicians, heavy metal genre in particular.  Some of that was deserved, by the way.  But not all of it.  Then we have someone beloved by these conservative religious types, namely the current president of the United States, on a four-year quest for personal wealth enrichment.  Most recently, for example, using an official visit to Scotland to promote his golf course.  

On the other hand, we have the late Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath hold a concert that raised $190 million for charity.  Take Fox News' word for it...

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/ozzy-osbournes-legendary-final-performance-raised-staggering-190m-worthy-causes

...yeah, that Fox News.  Anyway, this was an Ozzy Osbourne who likely knew he was close to death but yet still wanted to do this one last thing.  Make that one last GOOD THING.  

There is a moral of this story in that sometimes what we think is black is actually white.  And what we are told is righteous is actually corrupt.  To the extent judgement is requested, wanted or needed, such a thing should be based on actions, not words.  For example, the "immoral Prince of Darkness" helping to raise $190 million for charity vs. the Christian Nationalist favorite president who had to pay a $2 million penalty for mis-using charity funds.  

https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2019/donald-j-trump-pays-court-ordered-2-million-illegally-using-trump-foundation

In the end, I know that Ozzy Osbourne was no saint.  But the president of the United States isn't either.  Given the choice though, I'll go with the guy who wanted to make people enjoy music, as opposed to the guy who sucks up to dictators and thinks that concentration camps are perfectly okay.

Let's Be Careful Out There

 

It think it is most definitely appropriate to begin this post about current events with a scene from one of my favorite television shows ever, Hill Street Blues.

In the case of this posting, it's not just the police I think should be careful out there, but everyone.  I speak of what's happening at this very moment in Los Angeles, California.  A few disjointed thoughts are in order.

We don't use the military against our own citizens in the United States.  If you are not from the U.S. this may not seem like much, but it is a very, very big deal.  And that line has been crossed with, as of this writing, the deployment of about 700 Marines in Los Angeles.

I grieve for the individuals living in fear of deportation.  It's a fabrication...a fiction of the highest order...that every immigrant in the U.S. who is not legally here is a criminal.  They are simply the target of a bigot, picked because, based on their status, they offer zero in the way of political resistance.  

I admire the protesters in Los Angeles.  Are there opportunists using this as an excuse to sow anarchy?  Sure.  Are the vast majority of those protesting upholding the best ideals we have...standing up for others, for their community...standing up to oppression?  Absolutely.  They are heroes.

Irony is dead in Washington D.C. among many Republicans.  You can't call what happened on January 6th a peaceful event on one hand and then condemn what is happening in Los Angeles on the other.  Yet many are, and it is beyond ironic.

We should hold the police, government agents and the military to the highest possible standards of conduct.  For example, United States Marines swear an oath to uphold the Constitution and follow orders...as long as those orders don't violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice.  No member of the military should be blindly following orders.  

Whether you’re talking about soldiers in the field or generals in the theater of battle, the general rule is service members have a duty to obey lawful orders. But there is also a duty to disobey manifestly unlawful orders—that is, orders that a person of ordinary sense and understanding would know to be unlawful.  [Citation HERE.]

I am sure there are individuals among the government agents, police, National Guard and Marines who are deeply troubled by what they are being asked to do.  Spoken far better than I...

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/14uCUYHkaA/

I fear this will get worse.  One need only remember what happened a few years ago...

https://www.npr.org/2022/05/09/1097517470/trump-esper-book-defense-secretary

...to fully grasp what could be happening.

Call me overly dramatic.  I don't care.  Ditto to charges of being "liberal" or many of its variations.  What is happening in our country is wrong.  We should not be the country of deporting children from schools.  We should not be a country of bullies.  We should not be the country where the military polices cities.  If you happen to believe otherwise, well that's your prerogative, and your soul.

We Have All Been Forewarned

By way of being forewarned, note that this will not necessarily be the most uplifting thing I’ve written in a while, but so be it.  Sometimes uncomfortable things need to be said out loud.

I have a theory:  The current president is actively looking for ways to increase his power.  Well, that’s not a theory…that’s an actual fact based on current events (including ignoring court orders... see below).  The theory part is the degrees to which he will go in the exercise of that power.  To that end, there are two scenarios that concern me.

First, the stripping of fundamental rights from non-citizens should concern all of us. 

Why?  If the administration can say to a student visa holder that you don’t have a right to an attorney if they are charged with an offense…or to be even told what that offense is in the first place…then the only thing that is stopping that from happening to me or to you is our citizenship.  What if the administration decided that they could strip citizenship from someone?  There’s an actual process for this, which can be found here:

https://www.usa.gov/renounce-lose-citizenship

An important point noted on the above linked website:  You can be stripped of your citizenship for reasons of Treason. 

What if the administration sought to streamline the process of denaturalization for reasons of treason? 

Second, the administration could use the Insurrection Act to suspend basic freedoms.

You can read more about the Insurrection Act here… 

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/insurrection-act-presidential-power-threatens-democracy

(note that this article was published before the last presidential election)

The Act could be used as part of a system of mass deportations.  It could also be used as a pretext to suspend or delay elections.  Would the courts generally allow this?  Probably not but see above:  The president and his proxies have shown a willingness to ignore court rulings, including those by the United States Supreme Court.  This isn’t just a “Steve Albert feels this way” kind of thing… 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/23/judges-trump-court-rulings

Finally, I will note this:  I loathe conspiracy theories, and as a general rule, I do not trade in them.  A review of my writing over the years (since 2008) will prove this to be true.  However…and this is a very big however…conventional wisdom and respect for precedent have flown away from us in the United States today.  We have a “might (power) makes right” president who has shown an eagerness to use whatever means are necessary to boost his power and upend constitutional checks and balances.  Note that the United States Congress is complicit in that second point (“…checks and balances”), with some buying into the argument that, since he won the last presidential election, he effectively has the right to do whatever the heck he wants.

Lord, I so want to be wrong about all of this, but mark my words...actions born out of anger and a desire for power rarely result in a good ending for anyone.