Meanwhile, On The Other Side Of The Pond

One can either be appalled by the clown show that is now British politics, or one can cultivate and embrace a wry sense of humour.

M.G. Duggan chooses the latter:

A new door has been fitted at number ten.

Seems About Right For The Times We Live In

 

The Next President?

Many think the swamp in Florida will yield up one of its fondest denizens, Gov. Ron DeSantis, as a contender for the GOP presidential nomination. The following reveals much about the heart of darkness that defines him:

Meanwhile, In The Land Of The Looney

Danielle Smith cultivates her tribe.

H/t de Adder

However, those inoculated against her lunacy beg to differ.

Anti-vaxxers are wilfully ignorant and uncaring about their responsibilities in society. To my mind, for Danielle Smith to say they are being discriminated against is akin to saying that incarcerating crooks is discrimination against the criminal class. Before discounting this comment, consider the thousands of people that failed, through no fault of their own, to get timely medical care because hospitals were unnecessarily challenged by unvaccinated, COVID-19 patients!

As of February 2022, over 900,000 people had died of COVID in the U.S. If the Canadian program had been in place, with 91 deaths per 100,000 people, the U.S. would have seen 600,000 fewer people die. This was because of Donald Trump rhetoric, like that of Smith.

These are irresponsible statements from a main-stream politician. Is Smith really this ignorant or dismissive of medical science? Or is this an attempt to garner votes?

Tom McElroy, Professor Emeritus, York University

The unvaccinated are the most discriminated against group Danielle Smith has ever seen? How does someone with so little lived experience ever get elected? A quick search for “Amnesty International” will show that unvaccinated are among the world’s most privileged and pampered victims ever.

Paul Collier, Toronto

As with Covid-19, one wonders when this pandemic of demagoguery, ignorance and manipulation will end.

Perhaps This Is Part Of The Answer

My wife, who is far from being the cynic of the family (that would be me), often concludes that humanity is a failed experiment. It is not an assessment with which I disagree.

I often find myself pondering why and how we have reached our current perilous, likely terminal, state. While there are many obvious factors, perhaps one of the biggest is that there are far too many people today. Beyond the physical pressures that our population puts on our planet, there is a breakdown of any sense of community with the larger world. Perhaps in earlier times, hunters and gatherers found it much easier to feel a kinship and responsibility for each other. Even today, we behave toward our immediate community, family and friends, far differently than we do with those with whom we have no immediate connection.

And with that loss of connection comes increasingly selfish behaviour, and self-regard often becomes our default position. If Covid has taught us nothing else, it is that large numbers put their personal freedom and comfort over the safety of others. Hence the outrage over mask mandates, vaccinations, etc. The same, I suspect, is reflected in our attitudes toward climate-change mitigation. While some can see the larger picture, others can only see the cost of gas, carbon taxes, etc. that elicit reflexive, often violent, reactions.

There is a letter in today's Star that got me thinking about the above. It expresses a perspective that succinctly puts all of us in our place.

Microbes may have swarmed Mars, Oct. 11

So French scientists have concluded that Mars may have harboured an underground world teeming with microscopic organisms …. Sadly, they say, these microbes may have themselves altered the atmosphere and triggered a Martian ice age, leading to their demise. These French scientists have further concluded that simple life like microbes might actually commonly cause their own demise.

I look at what is going on in our world today: climate change caused by humans; senseless destruction caused by the Putins of the world; the toxic environment created by politicians like Trump, Poilievre, Smith et al.

My non-scientific conclusion is that humans are no smarter than single-celled microscopic organisms.

 Patrick Stewart, Toronto

A Lioness Roars

I wonder how many millions of people Nancy Pelosi represents here. No doubt, however, the right will denounce her for her threats of violence against their 'man'.

“I hope he comes, I’m going to punch him out ... I’m going to punch him out, I’m going to go to jail, and I’m going to be happy.” — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s just-revealed response to the prospect of former President Trump potentially marching to the Capitol on January 6th.

Some Teachable Moments

I originally found the following on Twitter. You will see that the first speaker is earnest and forthright in his defence of diversity, The look on some of the audience members tells it all.

The second speaker is doing a sendup of those who would have students hew to a very narrow line of instruction, reading and discussion. Reading some of the comments that followed on Twitter, it is clear that many did not realize what he was doing.

I'm sure you will.

I trolled the school board meeting at Connetquot after they had a teacher remove the Progress Pride flag.

H/t Walter Masterson