37 thoughts on “O Canada, He’s Back”

  1. hardly a beautiful day in the neighborhood last week according to David Horsy at the Seattle Times:

    During a three-hour dinner at his ostentatious Mar-a-Lago club, President-elect Donald Trump goaded Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying Canada can solve its economic challenges by becoming America’s 51st state.
    At the moment, Canada’s biggest economic challenge is the incoming president himself. For no rational reason, Trump has threatened to slap a 25% tariff on all products imported from our neighbor to the north. Trudeau rushed to Florida to dine with the tariff-obsessed Trump hoping to talk him out of a drastic trade disruption that would not only wreck the Canadian economy but would have serious consequences in the U.S., particularly for the home building industry that relies heavily on Canadian lumber and the many American citizens who are struggling to afford a new home.
    Allegedly, the meeting was friendly and Canadian officials insisted the prime minister was not offended by the rude joke about demoting Canada to 51st state status. Maybe they laughed through gritted teeth, as well, when, the next day, Trump posted a manufactured image of himself standing under a Canadian flag, staring out at a tall mountain that was intended to be a peak in the Rocky Mountains, but which looked exactly like the Matterhorn.
    No word, yet, about whether that indicates Trump is considering Switzerland as a candidate for statehood, too.

     

  2. preparations on the way

    Attribution: Canadian Border Wall by Dave Whamond, Canada, PoliticalCartoons.com

  3. The Mending Wall – Robert Frost – Read by Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek’s Mr. Spock. An old worn 16mm film.

    warning: several minutes of musical intro before poem recitation begins

  4. Wiki does a good job discussing “The Mending Wall.” here’s an excerpt:

    Despite its simple, almost folksy, language, “Mending Wall” is a complex poem with several themes, beginning with human fellowship, which Frost first dealt with in his poem “The Tuft of Flowers” in his first collection of poems, A Boy’s Will.[1]

    Unlike the earlier poem, which explores the bond between men, “Mending Wall” deals with the distances and tensions between men.[4] The poem considers the contradictions in life and humanity, including the contradictions within each person, as man “makes boundaries and he breaks boundaries”.[5] It also examines the role of boundaries in human society, as mending the wall serves both to separate and to join the two neighbors, another contradiction.[6]

    “Mending Wall” also plays with the theme of seasons as recurring cycles in life, and contrasts those cycles with both physical and language parallelism as the men walk along the wall, each to a side, and their language stays each to a side.[5] Frost further meditates on the role of language as a kind of wall that both joins and separates people.[4][5]

    Finally, Frost explores the theme of mischief and humor, as the narrator says halfway through the poem, “Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder/If I could put a notion in his head” (28, 29). Mending the wall is a game for the narrator but in contrast, the neighbor seems quite serious about the work. The narrator notes how the neighbor seems to be walking not only in the thick shade of woods and trees but in actual “darkness”, implying ignorance or inhospitable sentiments or both.[4][5]

  6. Dumbass reminds me of the opposing party who I’ll call Bob in the case I had last Friday. Including Bob and the judge, 6 people were in the courtroom (with a 7th when a witness was testifying). At any given time there were 5-6 people living in one reality and the last one, Bob, living in some alternative reality. At one point during Bob’s testimony the bailiff, a 60 something guy who’s been an in-courtroom staff member was covering his mouth and laughing.

  7. anyone else experiencing a “deja vu all over again” at some of the headlines about what a failure Biden’s presidency has been?  they’re trashing not only the man (old age jokes, truthiness – -one supposed lie vs DOTUSelect’s thousands– his verbal disability, etc) but also his accomplishments which are on a par if not better than all his predecessors.   sure reminds me of how Jimmy Carter was trashed by both parties only to find out years later he wasn’t so bad after all. 

  8. verrry interesting

    from the guardian a couple of hours ago:

    Zelenskyy to discuss Nato membership with Biden in the ‘coming days’
    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said there are plans to discuss Ukraine’s Nato membership with the US president, Joe Biden – who leaves office next month – in “the coming days”, according to reports.
    Speaking at a news conference with Germany’s visiting opposition leader Friedrich Merz, he was quoted by the Independent as saying:

    I intend to call President Biden in the coming time to discuss the question of an invitation to join Nato.
    He is the current president and a lot rides on his opinion. Discussing it with Trump before he takes office doesn’t make so much sense.

    Zelenskyy has previously suggested ending the “hot phase” of the war in exchange for Nato membership for the Ukrainian territories not occupied by Russia.
    After Russia’s full-scale invasion was launched in 2022, Zelensky asked for Ukraine to be admitted to Nato – the 32 member western military alliance – as soon as possible.
    Nato said earlier this year that Ukraine had made significant progress on democratic, economic and security reforms, but said that a formal membership invitation would only be given when all the required “conditions are met”.
    Russia sees the idea of Ukraine’s integration into Nato as anathema and says it is an unacceptable security threat.

  9. Yep. They are whining about how much worse life has been under Biden, throngs of undocumented causing problems (we live in the middle of nowhere, and if they are here, they are just working on a farm), and how tRUMPsky fixed everything after Obama left.   Tried to explain that W left a mess, as did Adolf, and that Dems clean up the mess.   They feel they are right.  There was a piece on tariffs on TV, but they didn’t believe that, either.  I can see it coming: Any good thing that Biden did will be credited to SFB, and any bad thing will be Biden residue.  There are millions of these delulus.

  10. https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/syria-war-rebels-assad-israel-12-09-24/index.html

    “One video, filmed by an individual driving among the collection and verified by CNN, shows more than 40 luxury vehicles in a large warehouse in western Damascus, north of the Al-Mazzeh neighborhood.”

    “Some of the cars seen in the footage include a red Ferrari F50 – which routinely sells for over $3 million – a Lamborghini, a Rolls Royce and a Bentley. At least one of the vehicles bears a Damascus license plate.”

    “In the face of an astonishingly swift rebel offensive, Assad and his family fled to Moscow and were granted political asylum, an official source in Russia told CNN earlier.”

  11. Craig, I love seeing your posts on Bluesky! 
     
    I may be a hit-or-miss poster this week. Will be off back east for the funeral of a dear older relative. Soon we’ll be oldest generation, if we’re not there already.

  12. Liz Cheney: “Donald Trump’s suggestion that members of Congress who later investigated his illegal and unconstitutional actions should be jailed is a continuation of his assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic.”

  13. Ivy, I have been inviting some folks on Bluesky who seem to be Trail Mix possibilities. Although a few have signed up, none have commented so far that I have seen.

  16. some folks on Bluesky who seem to be Trail Mix possibilities.

     
    please come, you folks on Bluesky, we’d love to hear from you/youse/y’all, however you say it. 

  18. Dear Bluesky

    The denizens are mostly harmless.  Feel free to drop from the rafters and introduce yourselves.  It’s not all politics as more than a few musical selections, book & TV quotes, with an occasional movie reference get thrown in to the mix.

     

     

  20. @pamsails.bsky.social
    Just in case it was missed earlier.
     
    I should add my profile contains references to my support for Ukraine and the NAFO OFAN organization which might confuse people.

  21. Caught in Altoona, Pennsylvania with an XRay of screws into bone, possibly the reason he killed the UHC CEO, maybe it wasn’t covered. Name is Luigi. Still in possession of his zip gun or whatever it is, not a veterinarian’s gun.  Still carrying same Jersey fake IDs.  Hope the quarter pounder with cheese  and fries were good. From now on it’s to be porridge and baloney-on-white bread and maybe potatoes.  Was he a modern Robin Hood of-sorts?  I heard that and it did not resonate.  Whom did his crime help out?  Nobody.

  22. I have been following what has been happening in Syria. It is kind of an interesting, confusing mess. At least from a USA pov.
    So who has been supporting the rebels and what have they gained? I know Turkey is involved with some factions , as are we but somebody besides us or Turkey have been supporting the main Islamists faction, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Because of their previous connections with al Qaeda, they are labled a terrorist group by the US and Europe. Hmm, I guess it wouldn’t be the first time that yesterday’s terrorist is tomorrow’s statesman.
    Here is a good article from Reuters, about the situation if you are interested

  23. Most interested in how all of the contretemps in the area will affect the Kurds who seem to have been the chosen victims by all concerned.

     

     

  24. Dex
    You can’t assign reason to the lone wolf American assassin/mass shooter. There is little reason involved just a grievance and a gun. 
    Jack

  25. Jamie
    The Kurds picked the wrong ally, we will sell them out for pocket change. Of course they should know this as it is not the first time.
    Jack

  26. I see Israel is taking advantage of the chaos to expand their control of the Golan heights.
    Jack

  27. The Kurds main problem has been that their homeland was divided between 3 countries with extensive experience at genocide. The Iraqi Kurds should emulate Israel and take advantage of the chaos to expand greater Kurdistan.
    Jack

  28. I’m in a rather cynical mood, I’m not sure why. 
    Maybe because 2:31 this morning marked another year I’ve been in this world. 71 years since my birth and somethings refuse to change.
    Jack

  31. Robin Hood?  I guess this is the Information Age. Attention is currency.  
    There are a lot of Sheriffs of Nottingham, though.
    I would like as much attention given to those who have suffered or even died from the corrupt health insurance system as to the shooter.  
    Death by paperwork, for the sake of a few big salaries, bonuses and shareholder happiness should also be illegal. 
    Medicare for all! 

  32. Jack – congrats at having a seventy-one year tour of the bright rock.
     
    My mother, 97 and just had a heart valve replacement to be good to go for more, has told me several times “Do not get old”. Believe her.  I am getting old and it is a pain.
     
    The only good thing I have with this go around with sfb is I am no longer a fed, USDA Transgender, and the USDA face of Transgender.  I am retired and that is all behind me.  However, his cult wants to get rid of my VA disability payments, my Social Security payments and literally ME. They want to eliminate Transgender people.  My mood swings around a lot. 

  34. Today is the 13th anniversary that someone in Oregon “labeled” my late daughter a “liberal atheist.” Pretty good for an Alabama girl. She told them she doesn’t like labels. So proud of her. 

  35. I did get to see the rare, endangered, nearly extinct Whooping Cranes this week, so there was that. 

  36. Jack, 

    Happy birthday!  Those excursions around the sun can be interesting, but are pretty much better than the alternative.  

    BB. Sounds as if you come from long lived stock.  Let us hope that neither if us needs to go back to working for a living in our 90s.

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