© Ellen Valley
PHEASANT ~ NORTHERN VERMONT
CORONA NUMBERS UPDATED
WORLD: OVER 66.3 MILLION
CASES.
DEATHS: 1.52 MILLION.
USA: CASES - 14.77 MILLION. DEATHS - 285,656.
CANADA: CASES - OVER 402,000. DEATHS - 12,496.
HCR LATEST REPORT
Posted
12.5.20
ALWAYS FOLLOW THE MONEY. ALWAYS...
While coronavirus continues to burn across the country, Trump is
focusing instead on continuing to contest the election results and on
the Pentagon.
The main story in the country continues to be the coronavirus. As of
tonight, according to the New York Times, more than 14,441,700 people in
the U.S. have been infected with the virus and at least 278,900 have
died. Official daily death counts are well over 2000.
As several states continue to count votes from the November election,
President-elect Joe Biden's popular vote margin over Trump is now more
than 7 million.
Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, and
Michigan, all states in which Trump contested the vote, have already
certified their election results for Biden. In all six of those states,
judges have ruled that Trump's lawyers have provided no evidence of
fraud. They have used words like "baseless," "flimsy," "obviously
lacking," "dangerous," and "not credible."
Trump's obsession with winning an election he has clearly lost has
brought into relief the struggle for control over the Republican Party.
Trump is clearly trying to turn the party into a vehicle for loyalty to
him and him alone.
He has always turned on those who no longer serve his interests: Alabama
Senator Jeff Sessions was one of the first elected Republicans to
support Trump's 2016 presidential candidacy, giving it an air of
legitimacy. He left the Senate to become Trump's first Attorney General,
only to have Trump turn against him when he recused himself from the
investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, because he
had lied about his own contacts with Russians. Trump forced Sessions to
resign, and when Sessions ran again for the Senate, endorsed his rival
and attacked Sessions on Twitter. Sessions lost his primary.
Now Trump has turned on men who similarly sacrificed their careers for
his.
Three days ago, Trump's loyalist Attorney General, William Barr,
undercut Trump's election fraud arguments when he said that he had not
seen such fraud. This apparently so infuriated Trump that he is
considering firing Barr. Then, this morning, Trump turned on loyalist
Louis DeJoy at the head of the United States Postal Service, who removed
mail sorting machines and changed USPS rules to slow mail-in ballots
expected to be for Biden.
Trump tweeted that the USPS "is responsible for tampering with hundreds
of thousands of ballots" and thus stole the election from him. He called
the USPS a "long time Democrat stronghold," although DeJoy is a major
Trump supporter and donor.
While Trump is talking about running again in 2024, his turning against
his most loyal supporters in the Republican Party will not inspire
others to rally to his banner.
Instead, it may simply be that he's keeping the idea of his candidacy
alive because it keeps money flowing in. Since the election, he has
raised more than $200 million in donations.
While he is fighting over the election results, Trump has done very
little else except to replace civilian employees at the Pentagon with
his own hand-picked loyalists. This is unusual in a lame duck period,
when presidents usually try to smooth the transition to the next
administration.
Far from trying to smooth that transition, Trump is making it as bumpy
as possible. His appointee at the General Services Administration
delayed the start of the transition for weeks. Now that Biden's team
finally has access to Trump's people to learn about their planning for
the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, it turns out there hasn't been
much planning.
Biden today noted that "There is no detailed plan that we've seen,
anyway, as to how you get the vaccine out of a container, into an
injection syringe, into somebody's arm.... It's going to be very
difficult for that to be done and it's a very expensive proposition....
There's a lot more that has to be done."
Also disturbing is that the Trump administration has denied the Biden
team access to U.S. intelligence agencies that are controlled by the
Defense Department, including the National Security Agency (which is the
nation's largest U.S. intelligence service), the Defense Intelligence
Agency, and other intelligence services with a global reach. The Biden
folks have, though, been able to meet with their counterparts at the CIA
and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The refusal of the Pentagon to meet with Biden's people comes at a time
when Trump has been shaking up personnel there. Immediately after the
election, Trump fired his fourth Defense Secretary, Mark T. Esper, and
replaced him with an acting secretary of defense, Christopher C. Miller.
Miller, in turn, has presided over the installation of a number of Trump
loyalists both in the Pentagon leadership and on the Defense Policy
Board, a group of advisors who consult with the Defense Secretary on
specific issues when asked. Pushed out were about a dozen advisers,
including former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Henry
Kissinger, as well as former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
Today, there was another major purge at Defense, this time from the
Defense Business Board, a nonpartisan group of about 20 volunteers from
the business sector who are appointed to give business advice to
Pentagon leaders.
The White House threw nine people off the board -- informing them with a
terse email—including its chair, Michael Bayer. Trump replaced them with
his former 2016 campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, and that year's
deputy campaign manager, David Bossie, among other loyalists. Both
Lewandowski and Bossie are outspoken Trump supporters who have led the
fight to contest the election.
So has another Trump nominee for a Pentagon post, Scott O'Grady, who has
endorsed the idea that Trump won by a landslide and that Trump should
declare martial law.
Trump has nominated him to become an assistant secretary of defense for
international security affairs, overseeing operations in Europe, the
Middle East, and Africa.
Exactly what Trump is doing with this packing of the Defense Department
is unclear. There are, though, three major issues on the table right now
that may or may not be involved, but are worth keeping in mind.
The first is that Trump is trying to remove many U.S. troops from around
the world before he leaves office, and had gotten serious pushback on
that from the people he has now purged from the Defense Department.
Today, he ordered nearly all of about 700 U.S. troops out of Somalia,
where they have been training local soldiers to hold ground against
terrorists. They will not come home, though; they are being sent
elsewhere in Africa.
There is also still hanging out there the administration's sudden
announcement of a $23 billion sale of arms to the United Arab Emirates,
including a number of advanced F-35 fighter jets and Reaper drones.
Lawmakers of both parties object to this sale, concerned about risks to
Israel and that the UAE could transfer the technology to China and
Russia. The Senate will vote next week on banning the sale.
There is also the effort by the White House to force the Pentagon to
lease its airwave spectrum to a private company, Rivada Networks, to
create a nationwide 5G network. Rivada is backed by major Republican
figures, including operative Karl Rove, but established Pentagon
officials have little interest in the project, pointing out that there
is no proof that Rivada knows what it's doing or that the plan would be
legal.
It's also not clear that the use of this spectrum for private
carriers wouldn't impact its use for national security. The Defense
Department spectrum the White House would like to lease to private
investors is worth between $50 and $75 billion.
I always believe in following the money, and that's especially true now
as Trump's years in the White House, which have given him access to huge
sums, are drawing to a close.
©Heather Cox Richardson
Letter from an American
WHAT'S WRONG WITH
"SOCIALISM"?
Posted 11.15.20
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | American friends are certainly now on the road
to a healing presidential term. The Republicans may rant about
individual counts, but we can also be certain that they are busy
studying their playbook, "How to Sabotage a Democrat
President."
WHERE'S MY
MAGAZINE?
Posted 11.12.20
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Then, I thought damn, I let my subscription lapse. When one
gets older, one does that sort of stuff. I called the Economist
subscription department and checked. Carol told me that my subscription
was good through February 2021; and, besides, I was on automatic
renewal. FRANK"S COMPLETE ARCHIVES
Click
Here
TITILLATION WITH
DISASTER?
Posted 11.4.20
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | Our world
is so connected -- everyone's in touch with everyone else, all the
time. People out for a nice dinner spend much of it on their Faceplant
posts. Kids go to sleep with their phones under their pillows, ready for
the beep-beep. We have messages from everywhere, about all topics --
with accompanying video bursts. It's a little exhausting, really, when
you stand back and look at it all unfolding, day after day.
FRED'S COMPLETE ARCHIVES
Click Here UNIVERSAL BASIC
INCOME ~ NOW!
Posted 10.24.20
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
In his presidential campaign, Andrew Yang proposed a UBI,
which he called a "Freedom Dividend". His plan would provide every U.S.
citizen age 18 and older $1,000 per month ($12,000 per year). Yang
said, "The Freedom Dividend would provide money to cover the basics for
Americans while enabling us to look for a better job, start our own
business, go back to school, take care of our loved ones, or work
towards our next opportunity". (https://www.yang2020.com/)
SOCIAL UPHEAVALS: THE
MONEY TRAIL
Posted 10.19.20
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | It
seems clear that modern societies have major inequities virtually built
in -- when 1-to-2 percent of the population controls well over 50
percent of the wealth and income increases, or when we have a few
families controlling majorities of the properties and assets of the
world. This is inherently unstable -- as the wealthy classes and
oligarchs learned in France, Britain"s American colonies, Russia, China,
Cuba, and others, prior to major revolutions.
FRED"S COMPLETE ARCHIVES
Click Here
LOOKING
SERIOUSLY AT AMERICAN HEALTHCARE
Posted 10.12.20
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Over the next few days, as he fought to live, he found
reflected on the fragility of health, not recognized in America as a
human right but without which all rights and freedoms have no
meaning. FRANK"S COMPLETE ARCHIVES
Click
Here
THE ELECTORAL
COLLEGE: FIXING IS NEEDED BUT HOW TO DO IT?
Posted
10.08.20
FRANK BERNHEISEL
When we look back at the last five elections, we
see that three were won by a person who had fewer votes than the
opponent. That is because of the Electoral College, which many are
discussing. What is the Electoral College? FRANK"S
COMPLETE ARCHIVES
Click Here
PLASTIC
Posted 9.22.20
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Plastic, it"s complicated.
RIGGED
Posted 9.13.20
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
It exposes decades of secret operations -- by the KGB, the CIA,
and Vladimir Putin"s Russia -- to shape electoral outcomes.
Rigged melds deep historical research with groundbreaking
interviews with more than 130 key players, from leading officials in
both the Trump and Obama administrations, to CIA and NSA directors, to a
former KGB general.
WE HAVE A BIG BIZ MODEL --
HYDRO-QUEBEC
Posted 8.30.20
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC |
Before the pandemic, the media, including this newspaper, received a
steady flow of messaging from business associations and pro-business
foundations and think-tanks. Apart from immediate flash-points (any
change to tax law, for example), these messages have been consistently
critical of any government intervention in the economy, and even in
social matters. Some even urge privatizing health-care.
POSTCARD SENT WHILE IN
ISOLATION AT THE VILLE N. L.
Posted 7.17.20
NICHAEL
CRAMER
Nichael Cramer makes poetry in
Vermont.
CHINA, INDIA
FACE-OFF IN LADAKHON
Posted 7.12.20
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
We all seem to be so focused on Covid-19 that nothing else in
the world matters. Reality is that many other things in the world do
matter, and not just to the remote part of the world where they are
happening.
TRUMP AND HIS
OLD GLORY
Posted 6.25.20
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
So, while it may not be illegal, using our flag for personal
gain and to denigrate others, is in really bad taste.
MINI-NUKE REACTORS:
FROM THE OTTAWA RIVER VALLEY TO THE WORLD?
Posted
6.22.20
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | Just when Canada has
its attention diverted by policing protests and the pandemic, and with
no urgent need, a group of corporations has launched a new zombie
attack: Chalk River will rise from the ashes of that terrible plan to
build a astoundingly large radioactive dump just up stream from most of
the Pontiac"s population.
UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME:
TIME FOR A SERIOUS LOOK
Posted 5.30.20
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Not only is UBI not a new idea, it has been successfully in
operation since 1976 in Alaska.
WHEN WE REACHED
RONDA
Posted 6.7.20
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Ronda was first settled by the early Celts in the sixth
century BCE. Followed by the usual parade of invaders in Spain:
Phoenician settlers, then the Romans in the Second Punic War receiving
the title of City at the time of Julius Caesar, the fifth century CE,
brought the Suebi (a Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river
region in Germany), conquered a century later by the Eastern Roman
Empire, later Ronda was part of the Visigoth realm until 713, when it
fell to the Berbers, who named it Hisn Ar-Rundah ("Castle of Rundah").
The Islamic domination of Ronda ended in 1485, when it was conquered by
the Marquis of Cadiz after a brief siege during the Reconquista.
FRANK BERNHEISEL: I FEAR FOR MY COUNTRY
"After 86
years, I am concerned that the American Dream is dying."
Posted
5.13.20
CONTINUE HERE
FELLAS, IT"S
MOTHER DAY
Posted 5.10.20
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC |
The pandemic, no matter how close or distant it seems to any of us, is
affecting us all, and, the most social amongst us, women -- largely,
women -- appear to feel the lockdown"s limitations most profoundly.
What can be done to help? Certainly not demanding that the isolation
rules be dropped. But how can we help our partners? How can we ease
their anxieties, as well as our own, with so much isolation?
ON THE
SEPARATION OF POWERS IN THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
Posted
4.9.20
FRANK BERNHEISEL
James Madison acknowledged that the topic of
separation of powers was one of the principal objections by the more
respectable adversaries to the Constitution and that no
political truth is certainly of greater intrinsic value. He pointed
out that The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and
judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and
whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be
pronounced the very definition of tyranny.
AND ON TO GRANADA
(part 2)
Posted 4.1.20
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
The design includes six palaces, five of which were grouped in
the northeast quadrant forming a royal quarter, two circuit towers, and
numerous bathhouses. The decoration within the palaces comes from the
last great period of Andalusian art in Granada.
VIRUS: WEEK 2 VS WEEK
22
Posted 3.31.20
ROSS MURRAY
Week 2: Anxiously refreshing social media to hear
the latest updates on the Coronavirus pandemic.
Week 22: Anxiously
refreshing social media to hear the latest stupid thing Madonna
said.
COVID-19
Posted 3.21.20
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
The MITRE medical team that projected the trajectory and
consequences of the Ebola outbreak, has published a white paper, which
analyses existing COVID-19 data. It also has a set of recommendations
for individuals and the country. Given all the noise in the newspapers,
on television and on social media, I found this summary very
helpful.
LOCK DOWN
MESSAGE
Posted 3.19.20
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
We are in lock-down. Here in Fairfax County, Virginia, the
schools, libraries, day care centers, and parks are closed; and Virginia
banned all gatherings of 100 people or more. In some cities and states,
lock-down is more severe than here.
AND ON TO
GRANADA
Posted 3.19.20
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
We cruised all night, had breakfast at 6:30 AM, and by 8 AM the
Harmony V was tied up at the quay in Almeria harbor. We immediately
boarded our bus, which would take us to Granada for the day. We traveled
west along the southern coast of Spain to circumvent the Sierra Nevada
mountains, that rise to 11,000 feet above the sea.
THE BIDEN
TEAM?
Posted 3.15.20
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
The last couple of weeks of the Democratic primaries has Joe
Biden well in the lead; it appears to be "Bye Bye Bernie," So as an
anti-Trump voter, I thought it would be a good idea to get beyond the
campaign rhetoric to see if I could find some substance in Joe Biden"s
thinking.
SAILIING TO
CARTEGENA
Posted 3.9.20
FRANK BERNHEISEL
The Harmony V cruised through
the night, entering this strategic defensive harbor on the southeast
corner of Spain, just after breakfast. In the outer harbor, we passed a
major petroleum port and storage area. As we entered the inner harbor,
its importance as a naval seaport became clear -- we could see the
Spanish Navy ships and the large naval shipyard. As far back as the 16th
century this was one of the most important naval ports in Spain because
of its strategic location.
A PLURALITY OF
SINS
Posted 03.08.20
NICHAEL CRAMER
Just a small bit of LeapDay silliness
that came out of a recent (friendly) argument about appropriately
trivial matters. (In other words, anything to avoid watching the
news...)
CHINA-BASHING LOOKS
BACKWARDS, NOT TO THE FUTURE
Posted 2.28.20
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | China, both "communist" yet economically
successful -- something"s wrong there! -- plus racially different:
there"s an enemy for us! That seems to have been the extent of a lot of
the mental activity within the Canadian/American thinking class (as they
like to characterize themselves). And, presto, we are awash in
accusations of industrial spying, 5-G sabotage (via Huawei), COVID-19
rumour-mongering, and the maleficent intentions of the Belts & Roads
initiative, plus the spread of Confucius Institutes - around the
world!
MUNICH SECURITY
CONFERENCE 2020
Posted 2.24.20
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
It is generally attended by about 350 senior figures from more
than 70 countries around the world to engage in discussion on current
and future security challenges. Mike Pompeo, Mark Esper, and Nancy
Pelosi attended and spoke.
HOW I KILLED
DISCO
Posted 2.21.20
ROSS MURRAY
I am 13 years old. My brain is not fully
formed. It"s 80 percent lizard brain. I want to dance and have fun and
maybe start growing hair, you know, there. Despite my scrawniness (or
maybe because of it) I think I can dance, and my brain is not about to
tell me otherwise. Unaware of all the cultural-sexual baggage it
carries, disco is the ideal conveyance for my tiny tweeny body on the
dance floor.
SHAKEN, NOT
STIRRED
Posted 2.18.20
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
A recent Friday was martini night for Paul, John, and I, held
at John"s house. Paul was the bartender and he used the olives cured in
vodka that I had brought. (Technical note: Martinis are made with gin,
shaken not stirred and served up.) Once settled with glass in
hand, we had a wide-ranging conversation on the topics of the
day.
ON
TREASON
Posted 2.6.20
FRANK BERNHEISEL
When you have an asset
someone wants and you demand an equivalent service because an equivalent
asset is not available, it is a bribe.
IN CANADA: MEXIT to the
Pontiac?
Posted 1.24.20
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | Although
Quebec"s Pontiac region is no royalist hot-bed, the plight, or flight,
or fight, of the Duke & Duchess of Sussex has captured the attention
of many of us. It has been a long time since anything much Royal was on
the tongues of the Pontiac -- not, perhaps, not since the hoopla about
creating a Duchy of Pontiac! And that was the early "90s.
IN CANADA: CONSERVATIVE --
OR CONSERVATIVE?
Posted 1.3.20
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | So
the Conservatives of Canada are about to pick a new leader -- giving
us even more exciting and stimulating campaigning! -- The need is
obvious, but shouldn"t we finish digesting all that we were fed prior to
October 21? -- Is what we call democracy just being in a big rush?
TUNE-UP THE NUCLEAR WASTE
PLAN? ARE THEY CRAZY?
Posted 12.29.19
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | This is an opinion column. I live within Chalk
River"s disaster radius; my children and grandchildren, too -- as do
thousands of Canadians. The issue is not a technical detail here and a
repair-job there, the central fact is that this consortium is proposing
to store mega amounts of toxic materials in our back yard.
NEWS? WHAT THE HECK?
Posted 12.11.19
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | When the news is delivered to us -- daily via
air-waves, paper or device -- are we getting the news? Or are we given
an interpretation of the news? Take this fall"s federal election -- big
news. What we received were the election results, but inevitably
delivered to us as an opinion, and as a car-wreak: the result was an
unstable minority government, radical regional divisions,
under-performing leaders.
IT"S A WONDERFUL SOAP: LOOKS
DELICIOUS
Posted 12.6.19
ROSS MURRAY
Donning my traditional Christmas
shopping outfit (elf shoes with bells; tights; that"s it), I set out on
the weekend to look for gifts at some of the holiday markets that pop up
this time of year. I entered the first church basement and began to
circulate, making sure to not make eye contact with the vendors who
stared like rabid, bloodthirsty hounds -- but in a good way.
BRINGING IT ALL BACK
HOME
Posted 12.3.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | As several
friends and I were driving recently, one passenger noticed that all four
of us had been part of the quot;back-to-the-landersquot; movement in the
Pontiac in the 1970-80s. He was glum about it. quot;We didn"t re-invent
any wheels -- all pretty naive!quot; Naive, yes, but inventing wheels
was never the plan when my wife and I bought an abandoned farm on the
Coulonge River in 1972.
HOMAGE TO
CATALONIA: DAY FOUR
Posted 12.2.19
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
The Plaça shows the two things that are ubiquitous in
Barcelona: motor scooters and construction cranes.The Plaça is
Barcelona"s most central area and a favorite meeting place for locals
and visitors and connects the Eixample and the old town. There are six
sculptural groups around the plaza: representing the four Catalan
capital cities, wisdom and labor. In the center of the picture is the
monument by Josep Maria Subirachs for Francesc Macià", president
of the Catalan Government during the Second Spanish Republic
(1932-1933).
OUR RURAL QUEBEC HOSPITAL:
DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS?
Posted 11.30.19
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | For those of us who have spent the best part of
our lives in the Pontiac, the single institution which represents our
community is the modern hospital in Shawville. Up until the last five
years or so, Pontiac"s hospital was ranked as one of the best-run,
most-successful of all Quebec"s rural hospitals. We have supported and
fund-raised it -- and we feel especially fortunate to have it serving
us, when we hear horror stories from nearby city hospitals.
ON AMERICAN INCOME
INEQUALITY
Posted 11.27.19
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Recently the Census Bureau reported that income inequality in
the U.S. is at its highest point since it started collecting data more
than 50 years ago, according to Census Bureau numbers. The census
reported income overall increased by 0.8 percent from 2017 to 2018 to a
median household income of almost $62,000. (Note: In 2018 the median
individual income was $39,048 or $19.14 per hour for a 40 hour week,
which indicates more than one individual working in each family.) Even
though the income increased, it was not distributed evenly.
CANADA"S ELECTION 2019:
WHAT WENT RIGHT?
Posted 11.24.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC |
It"s puzzling why most media reports the election just past as a
failure, a political car-crash. Apart from specific contests, and
certainly for the NDP & Greens, and Liberals on the prairies, apart
from them, what went wrong?
HOMAGE TO
CATALONIA: DAY THREE
Posted 11.22.19
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Thursday was the last full day of our stay in Barcelona, and we
were on our own until dinner. Kathy, Mary and I decided to walk in a
different neighborhood and visit the Casa Batlló Gaudi. Dave had
a painful leg due to a banged shin and chose to give it a rest.
BARR.
NONE.
Posted 11.21.19
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Yesterday when I was driving around running errands, I listened
to CSPAN radio. They were broadcasting a talk that Attorney General
William Barr was giving to the Federalist Society. The same Federalist
Society that has been vetting judges for President Trump to make sure
that only conservatives get to be federal judges.
YOGA:
SELF-TAUGHT
Posted 11.17.19
ROSS MURRAY
I can do this, except I call
it "tripping." I begin by finding a quiet place. There is snow on the
ground, so that means the neighbours have decided the street is a
snowmobile drag strip; there is no quiet place. I reach deep within
myself to find a centre of calm and deep within the drawer to find a
pair of earplugs.
HOMAGE TO
CATALONIA: DAY TWO
Posted 11.12.19
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
We walked back to the hotel to meet Mary and Dave and go to
dinner at a small tapas place they had picked out. We sat at a tall
table that made a triangle with the tables along the walls. In the
corner was a couple so enamored with each other that I thought they
might make love right there. The show was not enough to distract me
from the excellent tapas and wine.
HEY, CANADA, ONE MORE
ELECTION THING...
Posted 11.7.19
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | The election isn"t over. Tired of election
talk? Sorry, but many seem still fascinated with the ins and outs of the
campaign. Trudeau"s victory, qualified as it is, remains a victory and
one worth remembering when we consider how much ground the Liberals were
able to make up during the brief campaign. "Brief", compared to the
Americans.
HOMAGE TO
CATALONIA: DAY ONE
Posted 11.6.19
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
It was a Sunday afternoon here in Virginia when Bernie
picked us up and deposited us at Dulles Airport a good two hours before
our 5:40 p.m. flight to Barcelona, where we would meet brother Dave and
his wife Mary. We checked in, all was good, and people started to
board. Then, we heard the announcement of an engine problem; it would be
fixed in 45 minutes. At 10 p.m. we were back home -- the flight was
cancelled. Next day, we were placed on the 5:40 p.m. flight. And
so, finally, off to Catalonia...
HOW TO WRITE A HUMOUR
COLUMN
Posted 10.27.19
ROSS MURRAY
The first ingredient of a
humour column is the idea. Ideas can come from anywhere, although most
often from Bangladesh where idea labour is cheap. Many people frown on
sweat-shop ideas, but remember that if it weren"t for these idea jobs,
those people would be forced to work in fields with no ideas at all,
like the US film industry.
LET"S MAKE HYDRO-QUEBEC A
VERB. AND USE IT.
Posted 10.25.19
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | With at minimum six parties powering (sometimes
sputtering) through the federal campaign just passed, voters had a
near-full slate of proposals to choose from. Not full; nearly full.
Canada had no Bernie Sanders -- nor any Trump either -- even the NDP
with its innovative record, or the Greens"wisely generous proposals, and
the new PPC on the Right, offering a tight-fisted menu, and even with
the Bloc back in the game -- plenty of voices, plenty of bases covered,
and yet the solutions proposed by all of the parties are the old ones,
slightly tweaked, pumped up or budget-slimmed ... but hardly novel.
UN STEPS INTO CHALK RIVER
RADIOACTIVE DUMP DISPUTE
Posted 10.10.19
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | After over a year of side-stepping the dangers
of a proposal to create a mega-dump for radioactive materials at Chalk
River, along the Ottawa River above the Pontiac, it appears the United
Nations itself has intervened. Acting on complaints from five First
Nations and about 40 citizen groups, the federal government invited the
United Nation"s atomic energy overseer (IAEA) to investigate. An
24-member investigative team wrapped up its survey, September 13.
BAH, WHAT DO KIDS
KNOW!
Posted 10.1.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | So much
praise for the climate-action demonstrations of the youth last week!
Finally modern kids are waking up -- "the way we woke up in the
Sixties,", or "fighting Free Trade in the Americas," or "protesting
globalisation." But others dismiss the whole thing with a "Bah, humbug,
what do kids know!"
.HEIGH-HO, HEIGH-HO,
IT"S OFF TO WORK WE GO...
Posted 9.26.19
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Since 2008 the U.S. coal production has generally moved down as
can be seen in the Energy Information Agency (EIA) chart below. The
reason for both the increase in production and the decrease in
employment has been increasing productivity due to technology in the
industry.
OTTAWA FLOODING: OUR
RIVER, OUR SELVES
Posted 9.15.19
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | The flooding of 2019 is not over -- we are
still dealing with its aftermath. One issue is the province"s
flood-plain identification plan with its preliminary mapping and
building restrictions. These questions cover the province, wherever
flooding occurred.
SHARKS ARE THE LEAST OF
YOUR WORRIES, MOM
Posted 9.8.19
ROSS
MURRAY
Before Deb and I left (alone!) for our vacation in New
Brunswick, my mother sent an e-mail warning that sharks now frequent the
Bay of Fundy, our destination, including great white sharks, even in
shallow water. Also, there are seahorses now, which, by the way,
awwwwwww!
SO YOUR ROOMMATE IS FEASTING
ON YOUR SOUL!
Posted 9.13.19
ROSS MURRAY
Welcome, students, to another
exciting year in residence! Living in rez is just one of the many
amazing aspects of university life, and, working together in a
supportive, positive, inclusive atmosphere, we can make it a
super-memorable experience for all!
ELECTION CANADA: GUESS
WHO"S BACK!
Posted 8.31.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | The IDU"s
own funding is unclear, since most comes from non-profit foundations
which do not have to reveal their funding amounts nor the people
involved. The Koch Brothers, US billionaires, have not been shy. One
former employee, Mike Roman (his Koch salary in 2016: $286,000), has sat
not only on the US Republican Party National Committee but as treasurer
of the IDU. He has acknowledged, with pride, digging up dirt on liberals
of all stripes, on environmental groups, unions, etc.
IS THE AMERICAN DREAM
DYING?
Posted 8.29.19
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
To begin, I live the American Dream. However, after 85 years, I
am concerned that the American Dream is dying.
ALL ABBA ALL THE
TIME
Posted 8.24.19
ROSS MURRAY
The first album I ever bought was by
Valdy, a barely remembered Canadian folk artist, and it wasn"t even the
album with that one hit. I have no idea what prompted me to buy it. I
mean, Side 1 was live. Live! Live folk music!
A NATIONAL DEBATE IN
CANADA ON CLIMATE CHANGE?
Posted 8.21.19
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | National polls consistently register that
"action on climate change" is one of the top concerns of Canadian
voters, even Conservatives (although with less gusto). The polls results
vary with place, time, class, education, income, age, affiliations, and
occupation, but, clearly, the issue remains high on
Canadians"all-governments-must-do list.
IF LEGALIZATION WORKS, HOW
ABOUT NATIONALIZATION?
Posted 8.15.19
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | Legalizing cannabis has reduced the violence
associated with illegal pot production, distribution and sales --
according to researchers in Norway and the USA (Economics Journal, July
19, 2019). It may be early for Canadians to draw such optimistic
conclusions, but this study looked at the legalization of medical
marijuana, which has been in effect in many places since the late "90s.
California legalized medical use back in 1996. We can be forgiven our
optimism if we project these benefits into recreational uses -- a more
massive market than for the medical herb.
CHICKEN KILLING AND
SUCH
Posted 8.12.19
FRANK BERNHEISEL
President Trump recently
ordered ICE to raid seven Mississippi plants owned by four companies --
Peco Foods, Koch Foods, PH Food and Pearl River Foods. The ICE raids
arrested 680 gainfully employed workers who were undocumented migrants
to this country.
WE ARE ALL POPULISTS,
RIGHT?
Posted 8.8.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | Populism is
not new; the concept stretches at least to the 1800s with political
parties using that term in both the US and Russia. Then, populism was
left of centre, advocating for collectivization in Russia and the
nationalization of public goods, like railways, in the US. US populists
(The Peoples Party) argued for a graduated income-tax, and it is curious
that today"s born-again populists are pushing to reverse tax laws, so
the wealthiest citizens pay the same as do the poorest.
MEASLES? TB? WHAT"S
NEXT?
Posted 7.30.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | Finding
three cases of measles in this region in 2019 (barely half-over) has
re-ignited the debate over making vaccinations mandatory. Measles was
once conquered, easily avoided by childhood vaccinations. Yet it"s back.
So, too, is tuberculosis. Could polio"s resurgence come next? These
scourges of humanity were considered gone, and, given their seriousness,
their partial return has prompted varieties of hysteria.
A LETTER FROM YOUR
UNIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT OFFICE
Posted 7.22.19
ROSS
MURRAY
Dear alumnus/alumna/aluminum: Here at Ross Murray
University, as we lounge in our yak-skin recliners vaping with impunity,
surrounded by floodlit portraits of our beloved founder in various
states of undress, we think of you, our former student, as you make your
way in the world. We think about your time here at good ol RMU. We
wonder if that rash ever went away. We ask ourselves: got any
money?
ON U.S. FEDERAL LAND
MANAGEMENT REORGANIZATION
Posted 7.19.19
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
I have read several articles about the Administration proposing
to reorganize the Interior Department, including the one in yesterday"s
Washington Post, on moving the management of the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) out of Washington to western states. As a dedicated
user of our public lands, National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, National
Monuments and including undesignated lands under BLM for hiking,
camping, education, and just enjoyment, I object. I object for several
reasons, including:
WAX
WINGS?
Posted 7.18.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | The older I
get, the more unavoidably obvious are changes in our climate. Perhaps
for someone who lives mostly indoors, in a city condo maybe, or those
who hardly notice such things as trees and snowfall, birds and heat
waves, as they rush from car to work to car to home ... perhaps it"s
understandable that the whole idea of a climate catastrophe is
irrelevant, or a luxury, almost, when the daily chaos in just making
ends meet eats anyone"s time ... perhaps the climate is not speaking to
them, not saying a thing. Is our climate is mute or it"s us who aren"t
listening, looking around?
CLIMATE CHANGE AND VOTING
REFORM
Posted 7.11.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | Real-media
news seems focused on climate change, with a recent report of polling
firm Abacus showing climate change as the number one concern in
voters"minds across Canada. Climate change polled high even among
committed Conservative voters.
ABOUT ONE QUEBEC
GRADUATION
Posted 7.05.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | First, this
relatively large graduating class"teachers and administrators were
female. Of the 18 teachers on stage, two were male. The influence of a
female-heavy administration pervaded the whole ceremony -- decorations,
music, all the hugging (rather than only male-ish hand-shaking) and
general excitement. These are clichés, but they reflected an
ambiance.
YOUR MIDDLE-AGE GUIDE TO
GRUNTING
Posted 6.30.19
ROSS MURRAY
Your Middle-Age Guide to
Grunting
Grunting: Not Just for Tennis Players AnymoreWelcome to
middle age, a beautiful time of life when your body is going through
many changes, all of them accompanied by sounds you had no idea you were
capable of.
ON CHINA
TRADE
Posted 6.14.19
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Ms. Barshefsky discusses China"s entry into the World Trade
Organization (WTO) and how the U.S. failed to utilize the WTO to its
benefit, trying instead to work with China on a bilateral basis. She
also discusses the impacts of the U.S. mismanagement of the Great
Recession of 2008 on the relations with China and their attitude toward
the U.S.
CANADIAN MILITARY AND
SEXISM
Posted 6.11.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | One of
Canada"s national news items was our military"s failure to reduce sexual
harassment within its ranks. This is serious (anyone dismissive should
think of their sisters, daughters, grand-daughters), and the military is
taking it seriously.
ON
AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE
Posted 6.5.19
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
During his campaign in 2016, Donald Trump promised to make a
huge, HUGE investment in infrastructure and that the
private sector would invest through public-private partnerships. Well
nothing has been done in the last two years on infrastructure.
AFTER THE
FLOOD...
Posted 5.27.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | With the
floods in retreat, the long cleanup underway, summer soon will be
full-force, full of BBQ, kids, a road trip or two -- and we"ll be in the
midst of a federal election. Over a year ago, this scenario (apart from
the flood) would have raised only a yawn. The election then seemed a
slam-dunk for the governing Liberals, but since then they and the world
around them have collided, providing us a very different set of
electoral possibilities.
QUEBEC"S BILL 21 -- FRED
THINKS -- IS "LIBERATING, NOT OPPRESSIVE"
Posted
5.17.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | Bill 21-- Quebec"s
efforts to "secularize" its public service -- includes minor
ramifications, some rarely-heard, some with deep implications. Bill 21
implies that religious belief, what we hold in our hearts as well as in
public, should first be a private and personal thing.
UN : RESHAPING LIFE ON
EARTH
Posted 5.13.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | About 75
percent of land and 66 percent of ocean areas have been "significantly
altered" by people, driven in large part by the production of food, says
the IPBES. Cropping and livestock co-opt more than 33 percent of Earth"s
land surface and 75 percent of its freshwater resources.
HARD-WIRED TO
SELF-DESTRUCT?
Posted 5.8.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC |
This month, following the first peak of the flooding, a group took to
the streets to protest the provincial government"s secularization
proposals. Naturally, they were met by another group, much smaller,
supporting Bill 21.
THE HAIKU OF POLITICAL
HARD-HEADEDNESS
Posted 5.1.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC |
Besotted as we are, finding ourselves in yet another season of flooding,
giving us just a taste of the anguish and massive expense to come,
assuming we continue to refuse a concerted and personal effort to thwart
the changes we ourselves are forcing upon our climate, how about an
editorial different from the usual -- un-cynical, when cynicism is
understandable, focussed on the tiny, when the big picture needs our
attention, one step, one life-change, every day ...
ON
CITIZENSHIP
Posted 4.26.19
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Most Americans were born in the United States, and are citizens
automatically, as is specified in the 14th Amendment to the
Constitution, which states: All persons born or naturalized in the
United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of
the United States and of the State wherein they reside. Others, who
were born elsewhere, can become citizens through naturalization. Being
born here is easier.
WHOSE PLANET IS
THIS?
Posted 4.22.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | Many
households have been watching the series "Our Planet" on Netflix, with
the slow, wise voice of narrator David Attenborough reminding so many of
their grandfathers. Attenborough has much of Aylmer sitting in a circle
around him as he tells us the tales grandfathers seem best capable of
passing along. But he"s not our grandfather; he is relating to all of
humanity the modern tales we do need to hear about our world and its
future. His measured tone and his observations, combined with absolutely
stunning photography, makes this series a must-see for us all.
DISASTER SCENARIOS
RANKED BY MY CHANCES OF SURVIVAL
Posted 4.21.19
ROSS
MURRAY
Zombie Apocalypse: When the flesh-eating hoard inevitably
swarms my home (hopefully, at first, making quick work of the neighbours
who are always outside yelling and drinking and therefore easy prey), I
stash myself in a virtually unfindable location, my small frame allowing
me to squeeze into tight spaces and my years of playing hide-and-seek
with the children informing me as to where those tight spaces
are.
SHOW SOME
RESPECT
Posted 4.12.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | Can"t we
finally acknowledge that climate change is moving faster towards us than
expected -- and that there are measures we can take to combat (and
adjust to) it?
WE NEED TO
VOTE
Posted 4.11.19
FRANK BERNHEISEL
We the People have elections
coming up in 2020 and some states, like Virginia have elections this
year, so let"s get active. Let"s support organizations that are working
for election changes, which accomplish the above changes; let"s support
candidates that articulate the equal vote goals; let"s talk to friends
and neighbors; and let"s VOTE.
THE HASKELL AND THE
BEATLES: IN SEARCH OF A MEETING THAT NEVER
HAPPENED
Posted 4.3.19
ROSS MURRAY
It"s strange to get excited
about something that didn"t happen, but for more than 40 years the
Stanstead/Derby Line border communities have transformed an event that
almost occurred into the stuff of myth: a planned meeting at the Haskell
Free Library and Opera House between the former members of The Beatles
that ultimately didn"t take place.
OPEN THE DOOR TO THE
BOREAL!
Posted 3.28.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | Talk to
most people about current affairs, public personalities, important
places and events, and chances are most of their news will be from south
of the border. Maybe you"ll hear some comment about events and places in
Canada, but they"ll almost exclusively be from the few big cities on our
side of that border. We live in the second or third largest and richest
country on the planet, yet our attention is focused somewhere else...
Why does our distant focus even seem natural?
ON
IMMIGRATION
Posted 3.27.19
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
We hear a lot of political talk about illegal immigration and
there is a lot of misinformation on the subject, everywhere. So first I
would like to summarize the Immigration Reform and Control Act, enacted
November 6, 1986, and signed into law by Ronald Reagan on November 6,
1986, which reformed U.S. immigration law.
MY MARCH MADNESS TAKE
(SINCE NOBODY ASKED)
Posted 3.23.19
ROSS
MURRAY
March Madness basketball is upon us, and as in recent years, I
will not be tuning in to the national college tournament because I have
no cable, nor will I be following online because I try to restrict my
screen time to hating myself for scrolling through Twitter.
POETRY: SPRING
HAIKU
Posted 3.22.19
NICHAEL CRAMER
GUARANTEED
ANNUAL INCOME
Posted 3.19.19
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
When looking to our Founding Fathers for guidance today, we
should include Thomas Paine. Paine was American political activist,
philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary. His ideas reflected
Enlightenment ideals of transnational human rights, particularly those
of John Locke.
YOUR
ANCESTRY
Posted 3.2.19
DAVE LEPITRE
Dave"s latest Your
Ancestry column is posted regularly on the LCC. More people looking
for ancestors.
HELLO, HOT SAUCE, MY OLD
FRIEND
Posted 3.1.19
ROSS MURRAY
It"s not like we haven"t
cleaned the fridge in 20 years. We changed refrigerators at some point
in there, so that mean"s it"s been sorted through at least once. No, I"m
quite certain that our refrigerator has undergone frequent if
unscheduled cleanings and/or purges.
"I"VE GOT MY OWN
SOURCES"
Posted 2.24.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | Don"t trust
the media? Too many "smut-seeking journalists"? Too much sensationalism?
Unchecked facts? Unverified claims and assertions, innuendos, rumours
reported as fact?
ALL SHOOK UP ABOUT
CHILDHOOD MOVIE TRAUMA
Posted 2.21.19
ROSS
MURRAY
Who
in their right mind thought it was a good idea to take me to see
Earthquake when I was 9 years old? And when did I start sounding like a
grandmother who uses phrases like "who in their right mind"?
POETRY:
SOLSTICE
Posted 2.20.19
SAM HAMILL
Courtesy
of Chrisopher Yohmei Blasdel
GUARANTEED
ANNUAL INCOME
Posted 3.19.19
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
When looking to our Founding Fathers for guidance today, we
should include Thomas Paine. Paine was American political activist,
philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary. His ideas reflected
Enlightenment ideals of transnational human rights, particularly those
of John Locke.
US SOCIAL
SECURITY REFORM
Posted 2.18.19
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
I worked for a salary for the 55 years of my career. Every
month my employer deducted payroll taxes from my paycheck. (The current
numbers are: 6.2 percent for Social Security and 1.45 percent for
Medicare.) My employers paid taxes equal to the amounts withheld from my
earnings. If I made more than the maximum taxable ($127,200 currently),
there was no Social Security tax on the extra income. However, there is
no maximum to the Medicare tax.
CANADA"S PM WITH A
PLAN?
Posted 2.14.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | With
Suicide Prevention Week just past, it"s a wonder the federal Liberals
didn"t take some of the Week"s precautions to heart. After foolishly
stepping into Trump"s neck-snare over China, then joining the distinctly
un-liberal gang-up on Venezuela, on-side with the hemisphere"s most
anti-democratic forces (Honduras, Guatemala, Brazil, Paraguay, and the
USA), and now protecting SNC Lavalin from bribery prosecution by, in
effect, firing the cabinet"s senior Aboriginal minister, Justice and
Attorney-General -- is something wrong with the lemmings in the Liberal
Party"s management? Heading for the nearest cliff, with only a few
months before the election, seems unwise.
FINDING INNER PEACE BY NOT
GIVING A FLYING FIG ABOUT PROFESSIONAL SPORTS
Posted
2.11.19
ROSS MURRAY
Hello, brother. I couldn"t help but overhear you on
this beautiful morning yelling at that squirrel about NFL officiating.
If you would stop kicking gravel at the pigeons for a moment, I feel I
can help you. Come, sit with me on this bench. Let me move my half-eaten
Reuben sandwich. Mind the dill...
WHY I GET UP AT 4 AM EVERY
DAY
Posted 2.4.19
DR. SEAN P. MAHONEY
HINESBURG, VT | I
am asked almost daily, "What time do you get up in the morning?" When I
answer 4 a.m,, most people tell me they could never do that. I didn"t
always get up that early either. I used to be a 6 a.m. guy and would
sleep in on the weekends.
EPITAPH
Posted 1.29.18
MERRIT
MALLOY
Courtesy of Clint and Vera Goss
FUNDING CANADA"S PRINT
MEDIA?
Posted 1.26.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | Recent
emergency federal aid for print media has proven to be a productive
decision, so far. This support is nowhere near federal support for
petroleum, pipeline, ship-building, and a few other industries. Yet it
seems proportional to the size of each sector"s difficulties -- and to
their economic and social importance.
HERE"S A BONE TO CHEW
ON
Posted 1.22.19
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | I"m
impressed by the dogs on Aylmer"s sidewalks and trails -- breeds one
seldom sees (Kuvasz or Great Pyrenees), and all their shapes, sizes, and
personalities. Everything from Danes and Newfoundlands down to miniature
mutts I cannot identify. "Mutt" is a term of endearment.
LISTEN TO YOUR HEART AND
OTHER BODY PARTS
Posted 1.18.19
ROSS MURRAY
When I was initially
recovering from prostate surgery, the common advice I got from people
was, "Listen to your body." This was not, of course, in a literal sense,
although that could be fun too. ("Hey, kids, come here and listen to my
body!") Instead, it was about allowing my body to dictate what I should
be doing. So I took that advice, and in those first days following
surgery, what I mostly heard my body saying was, "I don"t like
this."
THE PASSING OF JAMES SHEA
AND THE FUTURE OF QUEBEC SCHOOL BOARDS
Posted 1.9.19
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | West Quebec"s anglophones were saddened to
learn of James Shea"s passing after his lifetime of commitment to our
community. His funeral reminds us that the threat to minority-language
school boards is real. Mr Shea appealed for respect for Québec"s
minority community"s constitutional protections, especially school
boards.
ABOUT THOSE
MIGRANTS
Posted 1.5.19
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Illegal immigration into the United States ha,s been steadily
declining since 2007 as shown in the chart from the Pew Research
Center. In 2015 there were about 43.3 million foreign-born people
living in the U.S. of whom about half are naturalized U.S. citizens.
Only about one quarter of the foreign-born, 11.1 million are
unauthorized migrants according to Pew Research Center, and 75 percent
are here legally.
HOW TO TAKE CARE OF
YOURSELF
Posted 12.29.18
ROSS MURRAY
I recently came to a
conclusion: Donald Trump gave me cancer.
THE NIGHT
HORATIO SAVED CHRISTMAS
(an original story)
Posted
12.24.18
John Mahoney
IT"S THE NIGHT before Christmas and fat snowflakes
are falling thick and fast from the black sky. Everything - the trees,
the fields, the houses and barns and chicken coops, the pickup trucks
parked in the front yards - everything is covered with a soft blanket
of snow.
John Mahoney is the publisher of the Log Cabin
Chronicles.
His column archives: Click
Here
A CHRISTMAS
ENOUGH?
Posted 12.20.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC |
This is a rough time of the year for pessimists. Gift-giving, hearty
meals, and coloured lights reflecting off pure white snow are hardly
the stuff from which nightmares and disasters are made. In fact, since
these features combine better now than in any other public holiday
during the year, might we consider expanding its pleasures, fun, and
warmth? Expand it, you ask, how?
SEN. LEAHY ON TRUMP"S WALL WASTED
$$$ PLAN
Posted 12.19.18
US SEN. PATRICK LEAHY,
D-VT
WASHINGTON, DC | If Americans had any doubt that President
Trump is fixated on wasting billions of dollars to wall off our 2,000
mile southern border, all they had to do was watch his jaw-dropping
press conference yesterday (Dec. 11), demanding another $5 billion of
their hard-earned tax dollars for his political pet project that he
promised Mexico would pay for.
REMEMBERING CHRISTMAS 1953
I
was a young soldier then, and a long way from home.
By John
Mahoney, Editor, Log Cabin Chronicles.
ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS
NO TUBE
Posted 12.14.18
ROSS MURRAY
I decided to phone the North
Pole myself and speak to Santa Claus, who had removed my sugarplum, but
all I reached was his personal elf. "There must be a mistake. That"s
like three and a half weeks wearing a garland," I said. "Am I on some
kind of Naughty List?" The elf explained to me that, no, it was
simply that Santa Claus was on vacation.
Ross Murray is a
freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
SOME GIFT
ADVICE
Posted 12.7.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC |
No editorial today on any of the grand subjects; no political affairs,
no city management, arts & culture, leadership, none of those topics.
No blogs, pronouncements, or sermons -- just a reminder, "have you
considered this?" So, allow me to raise one not very grand topic:
gift-giving. Specifically, gifts for seniors. Older relatives, parents,
neighbours and elderly friends. All these people who, largely, have all
they need after a lifetime of work -- and family gift-exchanges. Most
of us have a senior or two on our list.
DON"T FEEL POWERLESS IN THE
FACE OF RACISM
Posted 12.5.18
ABBY MURRAY, GRADE
12
Stanstead College ~ Stanstead, Quebec
I work at the Haskell Free
Library. It is built right on the Canada-US border, so there are lots
of cameras and border agents, both Canadian and American. One day,
while I was working, two Mexican families came to visit each other, one
from Canada, the other from the US. Since they couldn"t cross the
border, they came to the library just to talk for a couple of
hours.
Ross Murray"s column archives: Click
Here
ONE MORE NIGHT, GIMME JUST
ONE MORE NIGHT
Posted 12.1.18
ROSS MURRAY
The last thing I want is to
be a bore. (Not true; the last thing I want is another biopsy, but I
think I made that pretty clear already.) However, I did leave my post
last week on a bit of a cliffhanger, so I thought I would give an
update on my medical progress before returning to regular
programming.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in
Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
ON DYING AND OTHER
AUTUMNAL CONSIDERATIONS
Posted 11.27.18
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | These are a few reflections on our final
autumns, on the end of life. We"re all heading there, so sooner or later
these lines might provide some understanding and, through that, comfort
to all our readers -- but let"s hope it"s later!
FRANCE ~
PARIS: DAY FIVE
Posted 11.25.18
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
We woke up in our nice bed and breakfast in Concale to a
pleasant, sunny day; and we were in Brittany -- Bretagne to the French
and Breizh to the Bretons. Brittany is the western most region of France
with a population of over 3 million. It forms a triangle poking out into
the Atlantic; referred to as Finisterre or End of the Earth.
I HAVE
CANCER
Posted 11.23.18
ROSS MURRAY
It"s rare you can put your
finger on the precise moment your life changed. In my case, it involved
an actual finger.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in
Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
CANADA"S POSTAL STRIKE:
CROCODILE TEARS?
Posted 11.23.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC |
News of the stalemate in the labour dispute at Canada Post includes an
announcement that 550 tractor trailer loads of parcels are waiting
across the country to be sorted and delivered. With the union applying
pressure where it would be most effective -- at Canada Post"s few
centralized big sorting centres -- the labour dispute has become
something more.
WHAT ABOUT
AUTUMN?
Posted 11.21.18
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Autumn 2018 is/was the time for the U.S. elections and the
airwaves and print were filled with propaganda, lies, and some
information. If you got caught up in this Party-generated game, you
could have believed that this game defined Autumn. But, you did not have
to get caught up in the game: handicapping winners and losers,
collecting stats, predicting outcomes based on polls, etc., and buying
into a party line.
PTSD AND YOU? AND
US?
Posted 11.20.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | Around
Remembrance Day, I was in a local Canadian Legion hall and saw on the
wall a collage of photos of Canadian servicemen & women who have
given their lives in Afghanistan; it was a simple yet noble statement of
the terrible costs of war, something which should balance our tendency
to rush off to foreign battlefields in the pursuit of grand
ideals.
FRANCE ~
PARIS: DAY FOUR
Posted 11.11.18
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
The TGV was smooth and comfortable and at times reached 200
MPH; there was a speed display at the front of the car. The full trip of
about 220 miles took us an hour and a half. Things were going great
until the train station in Rennes, which was under serious
reconstruction. This caused difficulty finding the Hertz office and
subsequently finding the car. This took at least 45 minutes, and then we
were off.
TOGETHER?
NOT.
Posted 11.9.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | Today we
view our society under multiple fracturing -- we divide ourselves
between immigrants and non-immigrants, among racial types, left-to-right
political positions -- all the dimensions into which we force our
communities, slicing and dicing ourselves, but one big divide we rarely
heard about is the rural -- urban split.
DOES ONE VOTE
MATTER?
Posted 11.7.18
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
On January 4, 2018, the race was decided by a coin toss
and...
FRANCE ~
PARIS: DAY THREE
Posted 10.31.18
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
As I get older, I find that it is harder to remember things --
names are the worst. In doing my trip write-ups, I rely on photographs
to remind me of where and when. On Day 2, I took the photo below at
Notre-Dame; but it was on Jon"s camera, so I lost the memory until a
couple of days ago.
FRANCE ~
PARIS: DAY TWO
Posted 10.21.18
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
We started the day with a nice breakfast buffet at Hotel du
Parc. Then we set off on a beautiful sunny day to find the Metro station
on Boulevard Raspail, and then to figure how use the Metro to get around
in Paris. It was easy; the fare card machines were simple, and the maps
and signs were clear.
QUEBEC"S CAQ: NEW KIDS ON
THE BLOCK?
Posted 10.15.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC |
With the groaning following Quebec"s October 1st election dying down,
where"s the thoughtful consideration of what just happened and why it
did? Post-election analysis is an integral part of the election process
-- if only to help us understand what voters really heard and
wanted.
FREE PRESS
THREATENED
Posted 10.14.18
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
The current news is full of stories about the possible murder
of Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent journalist who was seen entering -- but
not exiting -- the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul last week. But
Khashoggi is not alone.
FRANCE ~ PARIS:
DAY ONE
Posted 10.11.18
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
It was early Sunday morning when Julie, Jonathan, Kathy and I
disembarked at Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle and made our
way to find a taxi. The airport seems to be continually under
construction, based on our recent trips. As we neared the exit,
wondering what to do, we spotted a Viking Tours booth. Given that we
were going to take a Viking cruise later in this trip, I figured that
they could help us. They did; the lead staff walked us to the taxi area
and found a taxi large enough for the four of us plus four large
suitcases. We loaded and were off to Paris.
SO WHAT
HAPPENED?
Posted 10.8.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC |
Post-election, are we to accustom ourselves to a new era of change for
the sake of change? So it seems. Voters did want change, but every party
offered changes, big lists of promises -- and yet a lot of voters had no
idea what was on those lists. The voters knew mainly one thing:
"change." This seemed to motivate voters in the US presidential
election, in BC and Ontario elections, and now in Quebec. New era, or
back to the 1800s?
MORE CANADA POLITICS: GUNS
"N AMMO
Posted 10.4.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | However, if
gun owners want guns to protect themselves from "big goverment" -- this
is insurrection, clearly illegal. What"s wrong with owning a gun or two
or five, but keeping them in a regulated, secure environment? Is "gun
control" even the issue?
OH, LET"S BE
REGIONABLE!
Posted 9.30.18
ROSS MURRAY
When I first moved to Quebec"s
Eastern Townships, I was thrilled to learn that there was a CBC Radio
network dedicated to serving the English community outside Montreal. It
wasn"t long after this that I learned that CBC referred to all these
non-Montreal places as "the regions."
Ross Murray is a freelance
writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
THE COMING CANADIAN
DISASTER
Posted 9.27.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | The
question isn"t if the greatest disaster will occur, or a lesser one, or
something far worse -- the question is, why are we even taking these
chances? Why would we allow a gigantic radioactive mound in that
location, and under these circumstances, at all? Why would we even take
the chance?
HOW DID THIS
HAPPEN
Posted 9.24.18
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
As I"ve previously mentioned, I went to high school in
Wiesbaden, Germany, arriving there in June 1948. The devastation was
horrendous; piles of rubble where large apartments had been, smelled of
the dead in the summer heat, and there were millions of Displaced
Persons (DPs) in camps. This experience generated the question that I
have studied all my life: How did these really smart, cultured and
accomplished people go off the deep end and create this mess?
NOTPETYA ~ A CAUTIONARY
TALE
Posted 9.18.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | I stood for
some time behind a couple paying for two coffees -- with a debit card.
Next, a guy pulled out a fiver and paid for his in under two minutes.
Did that couple really not have a few bucks between them? That seems a
stretch, cashless out in the world, or maybe with a cell phone to make a
payment.
THANKS
CANADA
Posted 09.8.189
Robert Meadows (Circuit Court Judge,
Florida) wrote: "Have you ever stopped to consider how lucky we
Americans are to have the neighbors we have? Look around the globe at
who some folks have been stuck sharing a border with over the past half
century..."
NEED TO PREVENT
KAVANAUGH POTENTIAL LAW DAMAGE
Posted 8.24.18
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
I am of the opinion the Bret Kavanaugh will be even less
constrained by "settled law"than Justice Scalia. My opinion was
reinforced by the piece by Arthur Alschuler in this morning"s Washington
Post, about one ruling that Bret Kavanaugh made as a justice on the US
Court of Appeals, which over turned "settled law".
OPPOSING
KAVANAUGH"S APPOINTMENT
Posted 8.15.18
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Packing the courts with people with known and narrow political
biases is not in the interest of the United States, a country with a
diverse population. The nomination of Judge Kavanaugh is an example of
this packing and his vetting by the Federalist Society is an example of
how the packing process works.
LETTER TO COUSIN
MARJORIE
Posted 8.7.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | Cousin,
think about that -- wouldn"t you do exactly the same thing if you and
Ronnie decided to emigrate, say, to Argentina? Tell me you wouldn"t
insist on real maple syrup!
A PROJECT-BASED
LIFESTYLE
Posted 7.28.18
ROBBY PORTER
It took longer to abandon the
idea that I might someday have a career. Perhaps I would have accepted
my lack of a career more readily if it had been a private failure, like
obtaining happiness. But there it was in every introduction: "I"m a
carpenter -- I"m a furniture maker -- I run the snow groomer -- We
started a little business doing solar installations."
POLITICAL
DRUMBEATS
Posted 7.25.18
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
The July 18 Gallop poll, indicates that 22 percent of Americans
say immigration is the country"s most important problem. Immigration
replaced "Government", which had been the top problem in polls since
January 2017.
1968
Posted
7.23.18
ROSS MURRAY
1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday
of the Gregorian calendar. It was kind of a big year for Debbie
Bishop.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC.
He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
LETTER FROM MY FAMILY
DOCTOR
Posted 6.27.18
ROSS MURRAY
"Unfortunately, due to
family and personal reasons, I must close my clinic at the end of August
2018. I will be moving my medical practice to Abitibi, specifically the
emergency room in the hospital at Rouyn-Noranda. I will remain
responsible for your medical dossier in the coming
years."
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead,
QC. He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
FROM TRUMP TO FORD TO
QUÉBEC?
Posted 6.23.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC |
Your safety belts fastened? We have an election coming - - in October,
four quick months away. Growing parts of the world don"t have elections,
or they"re for show. And we did hear plenty about Ontario"s vote in
early June, but you"d never know we"ll be picking a new government,
soon, in our own province.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL
GEMINIS!
Posted 6.21.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QC | What a
birthday gift
to be born in this time of year...
O CANADA, O
DEFICIT
Posted 6.15.18
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Saturday, June 9 President Trump declared: "If they retaliate,
they"re making a mistake."
FOR STUPIDITY, HOW ABOUT A
UN MONUMENT?
Posted 6.21.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| When we think about Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, or Fukushima - - of
dikes bursting, cities flooded, and infrastructure built on earthquake
lines or on eroding sea cliffs - - and when the inevitable does then
happen, we inevitably exclaim, "What were they thinking!"
BOOKS, IN A SELFIE
WAY
Posted 5.4.18
FRANK BERNHEISEL
Our reading group has a couple
of classics on our upcoming list to read: Utopia by Thomas More
and Demosthenes, which is one of Plutarch"s biographical
sketches. Neither of these is in our library.
SONG FOR MUNICIPAL
WORKERS
Posted 5.31.18
ROSS MURRAY
There are potholes aplenty
just outside my house...
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living
in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
FIRST LINES FOR SOME POEMS
ABOUT SPRING THAT ARE WAITING TO BE WRITTEN
Posted
5.29.18
NICHAEL CRAMER
Nichael Cramer makes poetry
in Vermont.
ONTARIO"S VOTE WILL AFFECT
WEST QUEBEC
Posted 5.26.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | One
thing the Liberal government in Ontario has accomplished is to keep
Quebec tightly engaged with the federation -- as a deliberate policy.
While this would likely be continued under an NDP or coalition
government, it"s unlikely that relations with Quebec are even on the
Ford/Conservative radar.
REALLY, A TRUMP-TRUDEAU
AXIS?
Posted 5.10.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | When Mr
Trump was elected many Canadians wondered how our avant-garde "feminist"
leader would deal with the new president, already known for outrageous
actions and views. Canada has historically walked a very thin line
between what we profess and what our American protectors expect of us.
This would surely challenge that relationship.
MEET THE
PETS
Posted 5.8.18
ROSS MURRAY
STANSTEAD, QUEBEC | Over the years, I
have frequently referenced the many pets that have roamed this house,
not always in a flattering light. Not ever in a flattering light.
Sometimes you can"t even see the light because it"s blocked by too many
pets.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC.
He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
FALSE-FLAGS RIGHT HERE AT
HOME
Posted 5.5.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | The
most cynical of false-flag events are "public consultations." It"s a
rare one that actually consults with anyone. Usually they"re pubic
announcements: "this is how it"s going to be - - and how do you feel
about it?". That"s no consultation, although there"s a smidgeon of
feedback requested. Substantive changes rarely are birthed in public
consultations except in very dramatic circumstances - - say, as a close
election approaches.
MAKE
AMERICAN SCHOOLS GREAT AGAIN
Posted 4.28.18
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
My take on the learning of primary and secondary students is
that we have been shorting the public school budgets for years.
$1.2 BILLION MISDIRECTED
IN CANADA
Posted 4.24.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | The
Harper-Trudeau solution to our Canadian nation"s nuclear waste over-flow
- - dump it onto a mound, covered by a "membrane"- - is going to
backfire. Who doubts this?
THOUGHTS ON
ENLIGHTENMENT
Posted 4.20.18
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Many of the ideas and accomplishments attributed to the
Enlightenment were developed prior to the period we call the
Enlightenment. Contributions were made during the Renaissance and within
organizations throughout Europe, including the church. Human beings have
worked on governance throughout history, and what we have is a
continuum. As far as we know, because we rely on the written word, it
started with the Greeks: Pythagoras, Plato, etc.
VISITING WHAT
WAS ONCE YUGOSLAVIA:
PART 15 ~ VISITING SLANO AND
MOSTAR
Posted 4.12.18
FRANK BERNHEISEL & KATHY
CAVANAUGH
La Perla"s course from Korcula took her southeast along the
Peljesac peninsula. The peninsula is over 40 miles long and the isthmus
that joins it to the mainland is five miles wide. It is part of
Dubrovnik-Neretva County, the southernmost part of Croatia. The county
is broken in two by a 12-mile stretch of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which
provides their only access to the sea.
HOW TO FIGHT INERTIA,
SWEATPANTS, AND GO OUT DANCING
Posted 4.10.18
ROSS
MURRAY
STANSTEAD, QUEBEC | My getting ready to go out face. Tweety is
my wingman.
1. Are you already in sweatpants? Did you take your bra
off? It"s too late. You will not go dancing. Inertia has won. Start
again.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC.
He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
THE U.S. 2020
CENSUS ~ ACTION IS NEEDED
Posted 4.7.18
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
The 2020 Census is fast approaching and is currently being
given a test run in Rhode Island. At this late date, the Trump
Administration and Congress have decided to play games with the
decennial count of people in the U.S. required by the
Constitution.
IN THE GIG ECONOMY,
WHERE"S THE SYNERGY?
Posted 4.4.18
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | We"re constantly told that today"s world is
at a boundary. We"ve reached a no-return point, and life will be very
different in the future. We heard this first via predictions about the
changes digitization would be bringing us, and indeed that seems to fit
-- in our homes, work, in businesses, the arts, sports, travel,
etc.
ON PLAGIARIZING
NEWS
Posted 3.31.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | The
Bulletin"s discovery that one of its journalists has been plagiarizing
material published in another newspaper, while very embarrassing, has an
up-side, a lesson, as much for the reading public as for journalists
everywhere.
SCENARIOS IN WHICH I, ROSS
MURRAY, MIGHT CONCEIVABLY NEED A GUN
Posted 3.31.18
ROSS
MURRAY
STANSTEAD, QUEBEC | 7. I need to provide food for my family,
and all the grocery stores have been shut down due to an outbreak of
e-Cola, the "New Live-Bacteria Beverage That"s A Real Fresh-Maker!" but
actually turned out to be a real death-maker, and so with no provision
for provisions, I have to take to the woods (but not before letting my
food-deprived eyes linger hungrily over the cats, until I recall what
I"ve previously seen those cats licking)...
Ross Murray is a
freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
VISITING
WHAT WAS ONCE YUGOSLAVIA:
PART 14 ~ A DAY IN TINY
KORCULA
Posted 3.26.18
FRANK BERNHEISEL & KATHY
CAVANAUGH
The Bura wind was still blowing when La Perla got under way at
about 6 AM. The Bura makes for sunny, cool days on the Adriatic Sea. Our
destination was the town of Korcula, which shares its name with the
island. We arrive in the port of Korcula about 10 AM to find one of the
smallest villages we had visited. We had an our tour of the town, which
only took maybe 15 minutes to walk around. However, the pace in Korcula
was slower than any other towns we visited, so maybe 25 minutes.
THE WEARING OF THE OCHRE, OR
HAPPY ST. PABLO"S DAY!
Posted 3.24.18
ROSS
MURRAY
STANSTEAD, QUEBEC | I recently received the results of my
ancestry DNA testing, and in addition to 70 percent of my genetic roots
originating in Great Britain, and Scotland, I was very excited to learn
that 12 percent of my genetic makeup springs from the Iberian Peninsula!
I was even more excited after I looked at a map and found out exactly
where the Iberian Peninsula is!
Ross Murray is a freelance writer
living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
FACEBOOK & ORWELL,
TONGUE-IN-CHEEK-ISHLY
Posted 3.21.18
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | "One of any citizen"s rights is the right
to copyright material in our possession, generated by our processes and
devices. We have the legal right to copyright all information, photos,
data, numbers, and recordings generated by our various systems. The
purpose of this Notice is to inform you personally, as our valued
client, that Facebook has copyrighted your life."
ARE WE IN THE MIDST OF
WORLD WAR III?
Posted 3.17.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| While we await, certainly with trepidation, for the US President"s
next Twitter threat against North Korea (or Iran, Venezuela, Yemen,
Somalia, Niger ... ) it"s worth considering that America"s "War on
Terror" is actually a third World War. Add to Trump"s crazy threats, his
threats to end trade agreements that don"t favour America, and it seems
hard to say that we are not there.
ALL CLUTTERED UP AND NO PLACE
TO GO
Posted 3.13.18
ROSS MURRAY
When our son came home for his
break, he began to chuckle as he looked around the kitchen, as if it
were all strange to him. And that was his point: everything was strange.
"You ever look at the things in this house and wonder why they"re
there?"
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC.
He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
VISITING WHAT
WAS ONCE YUGOSLAVIA:
PART 13 ~ A DAY AROUND
HVAR
Posted 3.11.18
FRANK BERNHEISEL & KATHY
CAVANAUGH
This morning we sailed from Split to the island of Hvar and the
town of the same name -- a journey of about 40 miles. It is a very small
town with about 3,500 inhabitants -- the island has about 4,700. The
town of Hvar has a lovely, sheltered harbor, which was welcome because
part of the "ride" over was pretty rough. A couple people complained of
being seasick. Not surprising since the Bura wind was pretty strong
until we got on the lee side of the island.
PROM
DURESS
Posted 3.8.18
ROSS MURRAY
I am currently on my third
daughter in search of a prom dress. It"s February. The prom is in June.
I point this out, but Abby looks at me like I know nothing. It"s the
usual look she gives me these days, but in this case she backs it up
with fact: "This is the time you get your dress, Dad." I can"t argue
with that.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead,
QC. He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
WITHDRAW SPONSORSHIP
OF PRO-BANK CODDLING BILL
Posted 03.7.18
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
It is clear that the practices of banks and financial
institutions were responsible for causing the Great Recession and
despite the obvious malfeasance of the bankers in this, no one went to
jail. Now, Senator Kaine, you propose to take away bank oversight. You
claim that the small banks in Virginia need help but that does not
appear to be true.
THE ICE WAS TWO FEET
THICK, THE WATER COLD, BUT A LOT OF FUN WAS HAD BY ALL
GORDON
ALEXANDER
NEWPORT, VERMONT | During Winter"s last gasp at the end of
February, some 75 avid winter swimmers -- all members of the
Memphremagog Winter Swimming Society -- hung out, wetly, in a two-lane
25-meter pool chainsawed out of the ice just offshore from the Eastside
Restaurant hereon Lake Memphremagog.
VISITING WHAT
WAS ONCE YUGOSLAVIA:
PART 12 ~ ON TO SPLIT
Posted
2.27.18
FRANK BERNHEISEL & KATHY CAVANAUGH
The Greeks established Solona,
about two miles from Split, as a colony in the 2nd Century BCE. Salona
became the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia because it sided
with Julius Caesar in the civil war against Pompius and Crassus in 54
BCE. Salona was largely destroyed in the invasions of the Slavs in the
seventh century CE, and the refugees from Salona settled inside
Diocletian"s Palace in what is now Split.
IS READING
OVERRATED?
Posted 2.23.18
ROSS MURRAY
Chances are if you"re reading
this that"s all you"re doing. You might be eating breakfast or possibly
doing a chore. Maybe you"re folding laundry and glancing back and forth
at these words. If so, you"re not giving it your full attention, so you
might miss the part where I mention the lima beans, and later when I
refer again to the lima beans, you"ll have no idea what I"m talking
about.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC.
He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
AH,
STEREOTYPES
Posted 2.21.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | We"re
constantly reminded to avoid stereotyping, but I can"t get through a
single day without making a stereotype of one kind or another,
especially to myself. I"ve tried to stop, but, to be frank, it seems
most conversations would grind to a halt. (Or else blow into long-winded
storms of convoluted verbiage.)
VISITING WHAT
WAS ONCE YUGOSLAVIA:
PART 11 ~ LEAVING
OPATIJA
Posted 2.17.18
FRANK BERNHEISEL & KATHY
CAVANAUGH
On part of the journey over the mountains, we passed near the
birthplace of Nikola Tesla. His name had come up several times already
during the trip because Croatia claims him. It took a look at Wikipedia
to understand the claims about Tesla"s nationality. It turns out he had
Serbian parents. His father and both of his grandfathers were Serbian
priests.
LUDIS
VERUS*
Posted 2.16.18
JIM AUSTIN
CAPE BRETON, NS |
It makes me gag when columnists and TV sports show pinheads ignore the
world"s greatest sporting event. Nationally known sports guys Tony
Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon only give cursory coverage to the Olympics
all the while bloviating about the possibility of their favorite
baseball teams getting a high draft choice. Even Gaye Desveaux, local
gasbag and columnist for the Possum Tussle Monitor, cannot bring himself
to mention the Olympics.
VALENTINE"S DAY: LOVE"S
CHANGING NUMBERS ARE WRITTEN ON WATER
Posted 2.13.18
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | This arithmetic of romance is highly
emotional and usually calculated in-the-moment, not from an calm moment.
Any estimation of costs - - or benefits - - of a relationship is
ethereal and shifting; love"s changing numbers are written on
water.
DEATH
GOALS
Posted 2.10.18
ROSS MURRAY
"What do you want to do," I
asked Deb, "when you die?"
Ross Murray is a freelance writer
living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
VISITING
WHAT WAS ONCE YUGOSLAVIA:
PART 10 ~ DOING THE ISTRAIN
PENINSULA
Posted 2.8.18
FRANK BERNHEISEL & KATHY
CAVANAUGH
Another lovely autumn day with sun and cool temperatures. We
were picked up by the coach for a tour of the Istrain Peninsula, which
is the largest peninsula in the Adriadic, and is triangular. The towns
at the angles are: Savudrija, Opatija and Medulan, which is just south
of Pula. This area is heavily influence by Italy, of which it was a part
between the two World Wars. The highway signs have the town/city names
in Croatian and Italian.
"GIVE US THE MONEY, BUT
NOT YOUR RULES"
Posted 2.8.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| But look at the implications. Does the Conference of Bishops (all
unmarried males) really believe that any appeal to "freedom of religion"
trumps federal law? Where and when did we agree that our charters and
legal heritage are subservient to religious beliefs?
THAT I CAN TELL
YOU
Posted 2.4.17
JIM AUSTIN
CAPE BRETON, NS | Joseph
Goebbels was Hitler"s Minister of Propaganda during the WW2 years. If he
had not committed suicide the day after Adolf he might have obtained a
position at FOX news. Sean Hannity, whose head seems to be morphing into
one of those squarish chipped beef cans, could be the reincarnation of
Goebbels. Case in point, the Nunes memo.
TALKING WITH SONS ABOUT BEING
BETTER MEN
Posted 2.2.18
ROSS MURRAY
Boys, you probably feel bad
these days about being male, and you should. We"ve been terrible. Not
you, specifically, but the rest of us. My generation definitely. But it
wasn"t our fault. It was... the patriarchy. And the funny thing is, back
then, we didn"t even know the patriarchy existed, but it did, boy oh
boy! And was it fun.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in
Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
CLEAN, CLEAR, EASY TO FIND
AND UNDERSTAND
Posted 1.27.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| Accountability? The public deserves the project"s details. Details of
managerial salaries, consultant fees, contracting-out fees -- the big
costs. Quarterly reports. We have to know what the managers are being
paid, to assess the projects. (Sorry but privacy concerns their private
lives, not our tax dollars.)
VISITING WHAT
WAS ONCE YUGOSLAVIA:
PART 9 ~ IN OPATIJA
Posted
1.31.18
FRANK BERNHEISEL & KATHY CAVANAUGH
Opatija, a small city of
12,000, is surrounded by beautiful woods of bay laurel. The city is
located on a rocky and picturesque sea-coast and home to many resorts.
In Roman times, the area was home to several patrician villas connected
to the nearby town of Castrum Laureana, the modern Lovran.
VISITING WHAT
WAS ONCE YUGOSLAVIA:
PART 8 ~ FROM ZAGREB TO
OPATIJA
Posted 1.27.18
FRANK BERNHEISEL & KATHY
CAVANAUGH
The rain had stopped and we had a sunny, cool, and very windy
day. The last stop before leaving Zagreb was Mirogoj, Zagreb"s central
cemetery. It is known as one of the most beautiful cemeteries in Europe
and was built by the famous linguist and leading person of the Croatian
national reformation, or the Illyrian Movement, Ljudevit Gaj.
CLIMATE CHANGE IS NOT THE
ONLY PROBLEM, FOLKS
Posted 1.27.18
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | "It won"t re-charge," he argued. Even if
the next ten years were as wet as the last were dry, and this because
the soil structure holding the aquifer has by now silted up and
collapsed; there is no longer much storage capacity down deep. Even if
the Americans were able to divert an entire Canadian river down there,
the aquifer no longer exists as it once did. The river would run off,
drain away.
SECRETARY ZINKE"S
FIRST YEAR IN OFFICE
Posted 1.25.18
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
After improperly billing the government for personal travel
expenses, Zinke received a Fitness Report in 1999 that blocked him from
being promoted to a commanding officer position, or to the rank of
captain.
VISITING WHAT
WAS ONCE YUGOSLAVIA:
PART 7 ~ OUTSKIRTS OF
ZAGREB
Posted 1.22.18
FRANK BERNHEISEL & KATHY
CAVANAUGH
I learned I didn"t even know Marshall Tito"s full name - -
Josip Broz Tito. Today, he is loved by many, ignored by many, and
unknown, apparently, to some of the younger people. The village of
Kumrovec is now a museum - - the whole small village - - and it is being
restored as it was in 1892 at Tito"s birth.
JUST DO YOUR
JOB
Posted 1.21.18
FRANK BERNHEISEL
In the past, Speaker Ryan, you
have said: "We will not duck the tough issues, we will lead ... we will
not spend four years blaming others, we will take
responsibility."
THE ME
SPECIES
Posted 1.19.18
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | Making
one nation great is clan-thought. Nations, tribes, even families,
religions, languages : each means one nation really can be separate. Yet
it"s obvious the world is a network, and it"s hard to imagine that
changing.
VISITING WHAT
WAS ONCE YUGOSLAVIA:
PART 6 ~ AND IN DOWNTOWN
ZAGREB
Posted 1.16.18
FRANK BERNHEISEL & KATHY
CAVANAUGH
We woke up to grey skies, cool temperatures, and wind in
Zagreb. Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of Croatia, with
800,000 people. It has a history dating back Roman times; the Roman town
of Andautonia was just southeast of Zagreb on the Sava River. We toured
Zagreb by bus for about 20 minutes and then met our local tour
guide.
VISITING WHAT
WAS ONCE YUGOSLAVIA:
PART 5 ~ ON TO ZAGREB
Posted
1.14.18
FRANK BERNHEISEL & KATHY CAVANAUGH
With five rivers in the town,
there are lots of bridges. One bridge we did cross was the Zmajski Most
or "dragon"bridge, which has two dragons at each end of the bridge. The
Ljubljana Dragon is symbol of the city and is depicted on the city coat
of arms as well as the Dragon Bridge.
THE SPIT IS IN THE
MAIL
Posted 1.13.18
ROSS MURRAY
For Christmas, our eldest daughter
ordered me an ancestry DNA kit. Through analysis of my genetic source
code, I will soon know exactly where I come from and whom to blame.
That"s really what we look for when we begin researching our ancestry:
culpability. Up to now, I"ve only been able to attribute my shortcomings
to my parents, but soon I"ll have an entire Old World to pin them
on.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He
can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
VISITING WHAT
WAS ONCE YUGOSLAVIA:
PART 4 ~ ON TO ZAGREB, BUT FIRST TO
LJUBLJANA
Posted 1.10.18
FRANK BERNHEISEL & KATHY
CAVANAUGH
Our first stop, on our tour of the city, was Republic Square,
which is the largest square in Ljubljana and where on 26 June 1991, the
independence of Slovenia was declared. It is the location of the
Academia Philharmonicorum from whose open windows we could hear the
students practicing their scales.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO START A
CAR
Posted 1.6.18
ROSS MURRAY
When it came to our car battery, I knew
we were playing with fire. Or rather lack of fire. It had come to the
point where simply leaving the key in the ignition would drain it. But
we had a solution: don"t leave the key in the ignition.
Ross
Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached
at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
VISITING WHAT
WAS ONCE YUGOSLAVIA:
PART 3 ~ VISIT TO LARGEST NORDIC SKI
CENTRE
Posted 11.3.18
FRANK BERNHEISEL & KATHY
CAVANAUGH
We visited the Planica Nordic Center, a very interesting place.
It has one ski-flying hill, seven ski-jumping hills, and indoor
cross-country skiing track in Planica, Slovenia. It is the largest
Nordic Centre in the world. nt>
Posted 12.30.17
ROSS
MURRAY
Without giving away spoilers, I liked the film. It took the
series in a new direction and undermined certain assumptions about the
Star Wars universe. It certainly had its faults, but I was entertained
and had popcorn as a meal, which is about all you can ask of an evening
out. The biggest flaw I saw was my purchase of a large root beer without
considering the absence of a pause button.
Ross Murray is a
freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
VISITING WHAT
WAS ONCE YUGOSLAVIA:
PART 2 ~ DAY AROUND BLED
Posted
12.28.17
FRANK BERNHEISEL & KATHY CAVANAUGH
The next morning, we met Sasha
and the others at 9 a.m. to go on a tour. Our first stop -- Bled Castle,
which was first mentioned in writing in the year 1011.
BEAST
MODE
Posted 12.22.17
JIM AUSTIN
CAPE BRETON, NS | The USA
is, at present, a writhing beast tearing its own guts out with claws
from the right and the left. Its agony will, without doubt, be suffered
by those of us who don"t have solid gold bathroom fixtures on our
yachts. That"s most of us.
WHEN MY BARBER RETIRES, I"M
OUT OF HERE
Posted 12.21.17
ROSS MURRAY
Data released this month
revealed that more people are leaving Quebec than arriving. This came
the same week that the provincial legislature unanimously passed a
motion ostensibly discouraging Quebec merchants (read: Montreal
merchants) from saying "Bonjour-hi" to customers.
Ross Murray is a
freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
LIMERICK FOR
KELLYANNE CONWAY
Posted 12.20.17
NICHAEL
CRAMER
Nichael Cramer makes poetry in
Vermont.
VISITING WHAT
WAS ONCE YUGOSLAVIA
Posted 12.18.17
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
In 2017, from October 19 through November 7, Kathy and I
traveled in what used to be Yugoslavia. We traveled with my brother and
sister-in-law (Dave and Mary) on a Vantage tour, which included a small
boat cruise down the Dalmatian Coast. Yugoslavia, which was a federation
of eight provinces, was formed as a kingdom after WWI with the breakup
of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After WWII it became the Socialist
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia under Marshal Tito.
"I"M FROM THE GOVERNMENT,
HOW CAN I HELP?"
Posted 12.16.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| The Quebec government just announced a budget to help "traditional
media," including small community newspapers. Great idea! The help? Oh,
that community newspapers stop being newspapers.
THE YAPPING DOGS OF
DISCORD
Posted 12.14.17
JIM AUSTIN
CAPE BRETON, NS |
The talking heads on MSNBC and CNN cannot suppress their glee at the
Moore defeat. The Democratic win in a blood-red state is a sure sign
that Trump"s base - - the "Yapping Dogs of Discord" - - are having
second thoughts about their alpha dog. Not that a victory over an
animated rat turd like Moore can be called historic. If the Republicans
had run a tree stump instead of Moore they would have won
handily.
THAT SO-CALLED
TAX REFORM STADIUM SCAM
Posted 12.12.17
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
What is in the American tax bill, that is the question. Some
good news -- in the House bill there is a provision that ends the
federal tax subsidy for private sports stadiums. Who would have guessed
it!.
HAVE YOURSELF A MURRAY
LITTLE CHRISTMAS
Posted 12.9.17
ROSS MURRAY
As a newly elected Stanstead
town councillor in Quebec, my wife was invited to the town hall annual
Christmas dinner, and as her spouse, I was invited along. That"s right:
I was political arm candy, and I"ve never been prouder.
Ross
Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached
at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
POEM: A
LETTER
Posted 01.31.13
ROBERT SEARLES
You were talking on the
phone
tonight about being 71
in less than 6 weeks...
Robert
Searles runs and writes in Hyde Park, Vermont
FIXING THE
AMERICAN BOOZE TAX MESS
Posted 12.7.17
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
The U.S. tax reform bill introduced in Mitch McConnell"s Senate
in November includes deep cuts to federal excise taxes on alcohol
producers. Does this have anything to do with Kentucky being a major
producer of bourbon whisky?
YOU ARE ALL
INVITED
Posted 12.1.17
JOHN MAHONEY
COBDEN, ONTARIO |
Some of my old portrait work is being featured in the December issue of
Dek Unu Magazine, out of Florida. The website is at Dek Unu Magazine. Four
current issues are on-line. Please have a look, and read the short
interview, if you are so inclined.
THE INTERNET AND NO
COMMUNICATIONS
Posted 11.28.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| Quebec"s federation of municipal governments -- the FQM -- this week
announced it"s support of efforts to extend high-speed internet to all
rural municipalities in the province. The FQM claims there are 244,000
households without real access.
SAFE JOURNEY, PETE
Posted11.27.17
JOHN
MAHONEY
They buried my old friend Pete Burlton on Wednesday, November
22 in the Vermont Veterans"Cemetetry in Randolph, Vermont. He had turned
82 on October 28 and died on November 16, following a lengthy
illness.
AT LEAST I DIDN"T MENTION
DADDY"S HOME 2
Posted 11.26.17
ROSS
MURRAY
My
wife and I recently took advantage of a much-needed getaway weekend, and
we did what most couples do when they ditch the kids and the pets and
the chores and find themselves alone in a hotel room: we watched a
movie.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC.
He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
ON BEING
THANKFUL
Posted 11.25.17
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
I woke up about 4 AM, thinking about Thanksgiving. The American
myth that I learned in grade school came to mind.
PROUD TO BE
CANADIAN
Posted 11.22.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| Canadian patriotism is big in 2017. National celebrations on July 1,
and the 150th projects and festivities have been inspirational, but just
what do they mean to us, as patriotic Canadians?
BACK TO WIESBADEN,
GERMANY
Posted 11.18.17
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
On Sunday, November 5 we (Kathy, brother Dave, his wife, Mary,
and I) had to change planes in Frankfurt, Germany on our way home from
Croatia. We decided to stay a couple of days and visit Wiesbaden to see
what had changed since my brother and I had lived there (1948 - 1951).
Kathy and I had visited Wiesbaden briefly 15 years ago, but it had been
40 years for Dave.
WEST QUEBEC IN PROVINCIAL
CABINET?
Posted 11.16.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| Even on the federal level, Pontiac had, for years, the senior minister
in Prime Minister Harper"s government - - Harper"s Quebec lieutenant, no
less - - and is there one project in the Pontiac which was helped by
"having a seat at the table"?
YOUR
ANCESTRY
Posted 11.14.17
DAVE LEPITRE
Dave"s latest Your
Ancestry column is posted regularly on the LCC. More people looking
for ancestors...today: Border Marriage Laws in the past.
BRANDING: NOT JUST FOR
CATTLE ANYMORE
Posted 11.13.17
ROSS MURRAY
The Ross Murray brand was
first established over 50 years ago and has undergone several iterations
- - Bad Haircut Ross Murray, Artsy Ross Murray, Ladies"Man Ross Murray
(recalled), Bad Haircut Ross Murray 2.0 - - until finally settling into
the Classic Vanilla Ross Murray we have come to know and
tolerate.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead,
QC. He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
CRITICS! METHINKS THOU
DOST WHINE TOO MUCH.
Posted 11.8.17
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | Not only does Canada have a new
Governor-General, an astronaut-scientist-engineer, but she"s not shy.
One of Mme Julie Payette"s first speeches -- to a science forum -- has
generated an uproar. Most GG"s avoid controversy, and many conservatives
are complaining. She dared to question creationism and embrace
evolution. And that was just the beginning. She restated the science
of climate change, lamented the quackery of cancer panaceas, and
dismissed astrology as junk science.
THE TROUBLE WITH
STORIES
Posted 11.2.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | This is
not about turning the profession of journalism into story-telling. Nor
is it about the stories we continually tell ourselves to explain our
actions, urges, mistakes, and achievements. No, this is about
surrounding ourselves with stories, drowning in them - - and shouldn"t
that be a concern for us, coping with an evolving world?
SPOOK-ULAR VALUES: A HALLOWEEN
PARABLE
Posted 10.30.17
ROSS MURRAY
It started with a body on a
bus. This was followed by a second body on a bus. The interval between
the discoveries was so brief that it felt like it couldn"t be a
coincidence, though it proved to be so. Still, there was no getting over
the public perception that there was now an epidemic of bodies on
buses.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC.
He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
EXPROPRIATE THE OLD RAIL
LINE?
Posted 10.28.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| However, the Municipality of Pontiac declined, and sold off the old
rail line to the line"s neighbours, effectively strangling the Route"s
access to the Ottawa Valley, and killing any chance of the
municipality"s own fledgling tourism businesses profit fro this popular
tourist link.
GUSHING OVER QUEBEC TAP
WATER
Posted 10.23.17
ROSS MURRAY
With the clarity of a
professionally maintained aquarium, St-Étienne"s water offers up
the delicate aroma of fresh snow, wet leaves and the slightest hint of
bowling shoes. Triggering nostalgic memories of drinking from the garden
hose and strange stirrings after spying your friend"s mom in a bikini,
our sample starts with a sharpness at the front of the tongue due to
calcium deposits, then finishes at the back of the throat due to
gravity. However, we remarked a certain shortfall in overall wetness,
and thus found it quenched our physical thirst yet not our thirst for
greater meaning in a relentlessly cruel world. 8.1/10
Ross Murray
is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
LOONY
ANTHROPOLOGY
Posted 10.19.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| Following the last full moon, I watched it rise and sail eastward each
evening - - until one night I was out before the moon. All the stars!
All exceptionally clear and bright - - and everywhere! Perhaps there was
less humidity on the air.
DéJà VU ALL OVER
AGAIN
Posted 10.16.17
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Last Friday -- that was Friday the 13th by the way -- President
Trump announced he would not certify Iran"s compliance with the 2015
nuclear agreement, which imposes restrictions on Iran"s nuclear program
in exchange for economic sanctions relief. The President said: "We
will see what happens with Iran. We"re very unhappy with Iran. They have
not treated us with the kind of respect that they should be
treating."
THE CAT WHO
CANCELLED THANKSGIVING
Posted 10.14.17
ROSS
MURRAY
Regular readers know that I harbour a certain prejudice against
cats, and like most prejudices, it"s defined by my own narrow
experience. But this summer, our middle daughter Katie moved back home
along with her own two cats, Lincoln and Chandler. That"s when I
discovered not all cats are jerks; only our cats are jerks.
Ross
Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached
at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
PIECES OF
FALL
Posted 10.6.17
NICHAEL CRAMER
Nichael Cramer makes poetry in
Vermont.
I AM RUNNING FOR TOWN
HALL IN STANSTEAD, QUEBEC?
Posted 10.9.17
ROSS
MURRAY
A
number of people have asked me about a rumour going around that I plan
to run for municipal council. If ever there was a time to address such a
rumour -- right before the nomination deadline -- this would be the
time. It gives me great pleasure, therefore, to confirm today that I
have also heard the rumour and that the rumour is, indeed, going
around.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC.
He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
RAINDROPS KEEP
FALLING ON MY HEAD
Posted 10.2.17
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
The U.S. was just hit by two HUGE hurricanes. Minimizing the
damage done by these storms depends on knowing where and when they are
going to hit; that is weather forecasting. The Washington Post
reported that the Gulfstream jet that collects high altitude data by
flying through hurricanes aborted its flight through Maria.
BYE-BYE
POOL
Posted 09.29.17
ROSS MURRAY
We warned the children we were getting
rid of the swimming pool. I swear we warned them. Maybe they didn"t
believe us, thinking it was one of our idle threats, like "We"re going
to move to the country!" or "We"re going to organize the yogurt
containers under the sink!"
Ross Murray is a freelance writer
living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
QUEBEC DAY-CARE
STRIKE
Posted 9.25.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | Four
hundred educators in the Outaouais have been without a contract since
March, 2015. There are 11,000 unionized workers in Quebec working with
no or with expired contracts. Is this the way to run an economy? How can
this be considered good government and good business management? How
family-friendly is it to push day-care workers to strike?
NAFTA: WILL QUEBEC"S
PONTIAC REGION GET MILK - - OR MILKED?
Posted 9.19.17
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | Meanwhile Canada is re-negotiating the
NAFTA pact with the US and Mexico, and this "revision" will directly
harm - - or help - - the Pontiac. Is NAFTA not news because Canada"s
farm supply-management system is not high on Ottawa"s priority
list?
LITERARY GIANT? A PENNY
FOR YOUR THOUGHTS
Posted 09.16.17
ROSS
MURRAY
On
the way back from Prince Edward Island this summer, we passed Shediac,
NB, home of the world"s largest lobster. Children climb on it. Don"t
worry, it"s made of concrete. Watching children climb on a real giant
lobster, now that I would pull off the highway for.
Ross Murray is
a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
IS CBC RADIO OUT OF THE
NEWS BUSINESS?
Posted 9.12.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| Radio-heads will answer that there"s a news minute or two at the top
of every hour on our national broadcaster, and they"re right. But if the
fans call those few minutes "news reporting," are they actually
listening?
NOT THE FAIR"S SIDESHOW --
he"s our president, too
Posted 9.6.17
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | In the old days, when farm fairs began,
there were side shows with weirdos and wonders in which we"d find
Trump-like buffoons, orange comb-over, all mouth, little Napoleons - -
that sort of thing - - and we"d all marvel, laugh, and go home feeling
smug and superior. Today, the real show has taken over centre stage and
there"s no going home to avoid it.
CARBON TAX:
STILL A GOOD IDEA
Posted 09.1.17
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
A carbon tax is a fee imposed on carbon-based fuels (coal, oil,
gas, etc.). The purpose of a carbon tax is to reduce damage to the
environment and eventually eliminate the use of fossil fuels.
GOT
WOOD?
Posted 09.1.17
ROSS MURRAY
In the 20-plus years my wife
and I have been tent camping, we"ve barely changed our routine. We still
pile our kitchen gear in a laundry basket - - as portable as it is
inefficient. We use grocery bags to transport our dry goods, which
before the end of the day are spread across the back seat. And our
original luggage carrier doesn"t so much sit on the roof as cling for
dear life.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead,
QC. He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
PHOENIX POLICE
OPPRESSION
Posted 08.26.17
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
The cops stood on the their side of the street in full riot
gear and gas masks with two barricades and a street between us, before
they descended on the crowd. We were pushed, bullied, and assaulted
without provocation or warning.
A CHALLENGE FOR
ANTI-IMMIGRANTS
Posted 8.2 4.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| The spectacular media circus created by, largely, alt-Trump supporters
in the US has caught our attention - - how could it not? But less
attention, as usual, seems to be on events and issues closer to home.
Specifically, in Quebec - - and not that our province has a worse record
- - the mosque shootings in Quebec, the anti-Muslim cemetery campaign,
and more recent demonstrations of anti-immigrant feelings by groups,
like La Meute, "the pack", or individuals who put up large
anti-immigrant banners outside the venues housing immigrants make it
clear that we Canadians still carry old fears and prejudices.
FLUSHING TIPS FOR
GUESTS
Posted 08.18.17
ROSS MURRAY
Welcome to our home and, more
specifically, this little corner of personal hygiene privacy we like to
call the guest bathroom. Please make yourself comfortable and avail
yourself of whatever you need. We have provided a wide variety of
reading material, from an assortment of Archie digests to a well-thumbed
Victoria"s Secret catalogue, a subtle acknowledgement by your hosts
that, here, your business is none of ours.
Ross Murray is a
freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
AMERICA"S GROWING
NEO-FASCISTS
Posted 8.16.17
FRED RYAN
CHARLOTTESVILLE,
VIRGINIA | Again the leader of the "free world" is caught up in violence
and racism -- the Charlottesville, Virginia, rally by America"s growing
neo-fascists was last week"s top news.
GREAT REPUBLICAN CON
JOB
Posted 08.12.17
FRANK BERNHEISEL
Wake up America! You are being
conned! President Trump, with the help of Congress and the media, is
pulling the oldest trick in the book -- distract everyone with the
threat of war with some other country. In this case, North Korea.
NORTHERN VERMONT | The
Clan of the Hawk recently hosted its 28th Intertribal Powwow here on
tribal grounds on Route 58 in Evansville.
Posted
08.8.17
GORDON ALEXANDER
The opening ceremonies ritual Smudging, the grand
parade and ceremonial dances took place, despite threats of rain.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH
THIS US "RECOVERY"?
Posted 08.8.17
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
The employment figures for July have arrived and the numbers
exceeded expectations. Some 209,000 new jobs were created and the
unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent. That brings the total to more
than 1 million new jobs since President Trump took office, who proudly
tweeted: Excellent Jobs Numbers just released -- and I have only just
begun.
THE GHOST OF STUART MCLEAN
DESCRIBES CANADA"S SUMMER OF 2017
(Look, it"s a Canadian thing,
eh?)
Posted 08.5.17
ROSS MURRAY
It"s a beautiful morning. The kind of
morning that makes you want to leap out of bed, put on an old record and
wake the children so they can watch you shimmy. It"s the kind of morning
that makes you think of your childhood growing up in Cape Breton, and
the only plaything you had was an orange.
Ross Murray is a
freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
HARM REDUCTION, A SAFE
INJECTION SITE?
Posted 8.2.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| It is good news that a safe injection site has been approved for
Ottawa"s Sandy Hill area, and that Ontario has offered funding. It"s
important to note that it will be part of an existing drug and alcohol
treatment centre, one with a good record on all counts. The elephant in
the room, and not a silent one, are community fears that such a service
will attract more drug users and contribute to local criminality.
Surveys have shown that this is unlikely.
ME, AGE 110, EXPLAINING THE
SECRET OF MY LONGEVITY
Posted 07.31.17
ROSS
MURRAY
It"s so nice to have you reporterbots from GoogleThought
drilling into my consciousness for an interview. I remember when I was a
flesh reporter and I had to do these stories by actually talking to old
people. Human contact was so uncomfortable back then. This is much
easier, and I don"t even have to get dressed or unhook myself from
SeniorFeed.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead,
QC. He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
LET THE US
CONGRESS GET TO WORK ON REAL TAX REFORM
Posted 07.29.17
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
The next high priority item in the Republican governing agenda
is Tax Reform. Given the Republican"s track record on health care, I
thought they could use some help on Tax Reform. First I thought, WE (As
in "We the People" acting as stated in Article I, through the Congress)
need some goals for Tax Reform: (1) raise revenue (2) simplify tax
filings, (3) eliminate favorable treatments that some receive, (4) lower
tax rates, and (5) make taxation more fair.
JOHNNY MUSN"T
GRUMBLE
Posted 7.27.17
JOHN MAHONEY
A Certain Vermont Death
 OF COURSE YOU CAN HAVE ICE CREAM FOR
BREAKFAST
Posted 7.26.17
RON COHEN
Excerpt from Ron"s newly published
memoirs of more than 40 years as top-flight American journalist.
A LITTLE R-E-S-P-E-C-T, OR
A LOT
Posted 7.22.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | Just
back from a Zydeco festival in Louisiana, a musician friend was steamed
up - - about garbage, not music. "When the music was over and everyone
rolled up their blankets, the venue was 10 inches deep in trash! Wasn"t
our generation past all that?" (expletives omitted).
AND A 5 6 7
8...DANCE!
Posted 07.20.17
ROSS MURRAY
As part of our constant quest
for innovation and funkiness, Drinking Tips for Teens is pleased
to present the world"s first choreographed blog post. What"s black and
white and ready to boogie all over? Read on!
Ross Murray is a
freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
LIONS AND TIGERS AND TICKS, OH
MY!
Posted 06.26.17
ROSS MURRAY
If a tree falls in a forest, and no one
is around to hear it, is it because everyone"s afraid they"re going to
get lyme disease? Probably. This summer, the tiniest of insects are
public enemy number one and people are avoiding the woods in
droves.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC.
He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
NEW PROPOSAL FOR THE
NUCLEAR DUMP ON ONTARIO"S OTTAWA RIVER
Posted 6.23.17
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | Canadian Nuclear Laboratories
(non-government) announced a year ago their proposal to build a very
large above-ground dump for nuclear wastes, near a fault-line, not far
from the Ottawa River, up-stream from Aylmer, Gatineau and our nation"s
capital. [EDITOR"S NOTE: Our LCC home in Cobden, Ontario, is on
Muskrat Lake, which feeds into the Ottawa River. We buy our daily
drinking water from the Culligan plant in Pembroke, which is just down
river from the proposed nuclear dump site at Chalk River.] Apart
from local newspapers, this project has received almost no attention,
and even less from our political leaders. Isn"t their silence
unsettling?
MY APPROPRIATION
APOLOGY
Posted 06.21.17
ROSS MURRAY
In 2016, I published a novel
entitled A Hole in the Ground. In this novel, I referred to a
First Nations people, the Muskawatipaq, as well as their ancestral
territory, Petawodimocto. These references were entirely fictional,
created for the purposes of establishing a setting for my story and
making up words that sounded kind of cool. I regret that I culturally
appropriated faux-native culture.
Ross Murray is a freelance
writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
 NEW BOOK, 2ND
POEM
HOME WAS ELSEWHERE
Posted 06.17.17
STANLEY
FEFFERMAN
There is a lady lying north and south
with head breast and
thigh
rising...
Stanley Fefferman makes poems and photographs
in Toronto. More poems to follow in days to come.
WE"RE ALL NEWSPAPER
PEOPLE
Posted 6.14.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | Over
the years we"ve all noticed that: Radio was killed off by cinema. Movies
were then killed by TV. Television was wiped out by video cartridges.
And VCRs were destroyed by DVDs. Vinyl succumbed to cassettes, which in
turn were killed off by CDs. CDs themselves fell under multiple
streaming sites. E-books have ended hard-copy books (which mysteriously
increased 17 percent over e-book sales last year); flaming fake news has
built social media, and now real news is hammering social media.
DOROTHY
LEAVES KANSAS FOR OZ
Posted 06.11.17
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Sam Brownback has been a star of the Tea Party, both in
Congress and since he was elected Governor of Kansas. In May 2012, he
instituted a package of drastic tax cuts to produce what he predicted
would be "a shot of adrenaline into the heart of the Kansas
economy."
WHAT"S WRONG WITH YOUR
CAR? WHERE TO START?
Posted 06.8.17
ROSS
MURRAY
As
requested, we have given your automobile a thorough inspection and are
pleased to report to you our findings. In a nutshell -- or as we
mechanics like to say, "in a DIN 6923 swivel flange nut" (ha-ha!) -- you
have made the fundamental mistake that 9 out of 10 drivers make: you
have driven your car.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in
Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
NEW POEM:
TRUMPED
Posted 06.5.17
NICHAEL
CRAMER
In
Samoan to swear, you say "Kefe."
Nichael Cramer writes in
Vermont..
OUR CELEBRITY
COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER IS UNAVAILABLE
Posted 05.26.17
ROSS
MURRAY
I
know you are expecting me at this point to introduce our celebrity
commencement speaker. After all, the least we can do after your three to
five years of academic struggle and astronomical student loans is to
provide you with some sort of A-list entertainer offering high-minded
bromides to create the illusion that at long last you got your money"s
worth.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC.
He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
IN CANADA, THE MONARCHY"S
A GOOD THING
Posted 5.23.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| The old argument about Canada being -- or not -- a monarchy has indeed
grown old. It"s no longer a burning issue, except, probably, within the
Monarchist League and in various republican grouplets. Yet it"s still
worth some thought.
MAY
SONG
Posted 05.22.17
NICHAEL CRAMER
May we
hear the
phoebes
out back?
Nichael Cramer writes in Vermont..
THE PERENNIAL FIRST SIGN OF
SPRING
Posted 05.21.17
NICHAEL CRAMER
My wife grins
and...
Nichael Cramer writes in Vermont..
TERMINATE THIS
CHARADE
Posted 05.20.17
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
President Trump has ordered a review of all National Monuments
established since 1996, and you are responsible for this review. This
review effort is a diversion of the Department"s efforts and a waste of
resources. The restricted budget of the Department of the Interior is
insufficient to meet the maintenance needs of the parks and monuments.
The deferred maintenance in 2015 was estimated to be $12 billion by GAO.
A glaring example of the deferred maintenance is the Memorial Bridge,
which alone needs $250 million in repairs.
TRUMPWATCH 2017: THE MAD
TODDLER
Posted 5.18.17
JIM AUSTIN
CAPE BRETON, NS |
Those of us with frost on our collective pumpkins will remember the
reign of Idi Amin of Uganda. In the 70s Amin rose to power and
instituted an "psycho-ocracy" in Uganda. Among the many peccadillos that
Amin was known for was a propensity for cannibalism. To say his grip on
reality was tenuous is an understatement. He once said: "Sometimes
people mistake the way I talk for what I am thinking. " Does that
remind you of anyone?
ONE BRIEF SHINING
TOILET
Posted 05.15.17
ROSS MURRAY
Last year, I moved into an
office on the second floor because, logistically, logically, it made
sense. Six months later, logisticallyer, logicallyer, it makes more
sense for me to move back where I came from. It"s kind of like getting
deported, except I don"t fear for my life and the greatest inconvenience
is having to hang my pictures again.
Ross Murray is a freelance
writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
THE PRESIDENT"S
TAX PLAN
Posted 05.14.17
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
President Trump has proposed a plan to overhaul the tax code. I
think that this effort is timely. Overall, he proposes to reduce taxes.
His plan for individuals proposes to eliminate targeted tax breaks that
mainly benefit the wealthiest taxpayers and to repeal the Alternative
Minimum Tax are good ideas, but insufficient.
ONTARIO"S CHALK RIVER
PLANT: NUKE WASTE RISK, WITH NO GAIN
Posted 5.11.17
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | It is strange, indeed, if any good can come
from the flooding we"ve experienced almost everywhere in our region.
There will be many individual stories of bravery and perseverance,
certainly, but I am marvelling at the coincidence of these floods and a
great decision that is facing us -- the decision on the proposal for a
massive nuclear waste dump in Chalk River, upstream from much of Ontario
and also West Quebec. This is our decision, not only that of a "panel of
experts.
NEW
BOOK, FIRST POEM
HOME WAS ELSEWHERE
Posted
05.10.17
STANLEY FEFFERMAN
There are still wild horses in Colorado
with
shaggy coats the colour of earth. There are still hairy lavender
flowers
with hearts of gold closed against the
rain...
Stanley Fefferman makes poems and photographs in
Toronto. More poems to follow in days to come.
THE MAN WITH HIS HANDS
ON HIS HIPS
Posted 05.8.17
ROSS MURRAY
I want to be the man in the
room with his hands on his hips, and not in a swishy way, nor with my
hands balled into fists like I"m Charles Atlas, but sturdy and
confident. A man who seems to say, "Neckties are for chumps or for
strangling terrorists who make the mistake of infiltrating this
facility, which happened this morning, and I didn"t even crease my
shirt, though I did ruin a tie. It was my assistant Barlow"s tie,
because I don"t wear them, not being in the least bit
chumpish."
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead,
QC. He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
CANADA"S FIRST 150
YEARS!
Posted 5.3.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC |
Wouldn"t it be interesting to read readers"reflections on what Canada
means to them, as we look back over our nation"s first 150 years? It"s a
safe bet we"d prefer to remain Canadian and not "American", despite our
admiration for America"s achievements. Canadians admire
Americans"openness, friendliness, and optimism.
NEW POT FOR OLD FARTS: A
GUIDE
Posted 04.30.17
ROSS MURRAY
So, you"ve decided you"re
going to start smoking pot again. Congratulations! First, though, stop
calling it "pot." These days, the cool kids call it "weed," and that"s
30 percent the point of this entire exercise, right? To be cool again,
just like you were in your twenties when you wore a bandana and
regularly smoking doobies.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer
living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
ARE GOVERNMENTS ENEMIES OF
DEMOCRACY?
Posted 4.21.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | In
early April the CBC reported the closure of a reputable Mexican
newspaper, El Norte, in Cuidad Juarez, opposite El Paso, Texas. The
interview with the publisher focused on the assassination of one of the
paper"s reporters, a woman specializing in political stories, including
government corruption. Her murder was a message to journalists. She
was the third Mexican journalist murdered in March alone. The CBC
interview focused on the murder. Rightly so for two reasons -- one, to
congratulate ourselves that no matter how inexplicable things might be
at home, they are surely worse elsewhere. That"s the Canadian
mantra.
RESIST.
NOW.
Posted 03.20.17
FRANK BERNHEISEL
As some of you know, I went to
high school in Germany as US military dependant, arriving there in June
of 1948. The damage from WWII was starkly evident -- think of the
pictures of Syria you see, on steroids. I once visited a residential
section of Hamburg that had been firebombed; nothing burnable was left
and the bricks from the houses had exploded from the heat, resulting in
a brick-red sea as far as one could see.
TALKING TO YOUR KIDS ABOUT LEGAL
DRUGS
Posted 04.17.17
ROSS MURRAY
Sit down, son. I"d like to
talk to you about a difficult subject. No, not sex. No, not why all the
rock stars are dying off. I want to talk to you about marijuana. Now
that it"s legal in Canada, you may be tempted to try it for the first
time.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC.
He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
PUMP RAGE
Posted
04.7.17
ROSS MURRAY
My general state of being whenever I wait for a gas
pump to free up can best be described as "seething." I"m not great with
waiting, even in a car surrounded by the endless possibilities of radio
entertainment because, as it happens, I also seethe at commercial
radio.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC.
He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
IT"S NOT "FOR FAMILIES" AT
ALL
Posted 4.11.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | When I
was a young man, one fashionable idea was that the family is the key to
any society"s success. "Family units" were considered a community"s
building blocks -- social organization seem to grow from this format,
therefore all energies should go to protecting and encouraging "the
family."
NEW POEM: WOUNDED
JUNIPERS
Posted 04.1.76
STANLEY FEFFERMAN
Birdsong in the wide air
and on the fence
a silent robin.
Stanley Fefferman writes and
make photographs in Toronto.
RISKY DAYS FOR
COLUMNISTS
Posted 03.31.17
ROSS MURRAY
Hi there. How"s tricks? Does
anyone say that anymore? "How"s tricks? " Sounds Damon Runyon-esque.
That"s Damon Runyon, the American writer, not Damon Runyan, the Canadian
actor and star of "Degrassi: The Next Generation," though, honestly,
what kind of parent does that to a child? It would be like if my last
name were "Frankenstein" and I named my child "Brideof."
Ross
Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached
at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
OH, THE CHALK RIVER
NUCLEAR PLANT -- WHAT COULD GO WRONG?
Posted 3.30.17
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | An 18-foot high mound, the size of multiple
football fields, all above ground - - not far from the once-mighty
Ottawa River, the source of life for much of the Valley - - picture it.
Of course it"s covered tightly, under and over with a membrane. A
high-tech membrane. There are pumps to suck out leaking - - what, you
ask? Here"s the kicker - - this big mound will be filled with
radioactive waste. What exactly, we can"t tell
MORE THAN
993,000 VIEWERS AND COUNTING
LCC"s ORIGINAL "BABY LAKE MONSTER
CAPTURED"ON YOU TUBE
If you haven"t yet viewed it,
you can
join the throng of folks who have.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNFMHKIT0-s
Seeing
is believing, eh? Or not.
FATHER-DAUGHTER-BEYONCé
BONDING
Posted 03.27.17
ROSS MURRAY
Abby and I get under each
other"s skin these days -- the sneering, the glares, the sarcasm, the
outbursts and eye rolls. And Abby"s pretty ornery too.
Ross Murray
is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
NEW POEM: BLACK
SPRUCE
Posted 3.26.17
STANLEY FEFFERMAN
Black spruce sway in the
wind
I turn to them for solace
because they never
complain
Stanley Fefferman writes and make photographs in
Toronto.
IGNORE TRUMP, WATCH
RYAN
Posted 3.22.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | Reader
Joanne Forsythe recent letter voiced her frustration with the media"s
wall-to-wall coverage of Donald Trump, and that"s probably media of
every stripe, shade, or ownership. "It"s Trump, Trump, Trump!", she
writes, expressing an anger many people share. Surely there"s important
news, not this man"s idiocies!
THE ONE-QUARTER BUCK
STOPS HERE
Posted 03.18.17
ROSS MURRAY
A Canadian quarter from 1907
turned up in my wife"s change from the liquor store last weekend. I like
to think it ended up there by way of a slow-moving nonagenarian war
bride in a cardigan purchasing her bi-monthly supply of Harvey"s Bristol
Cream. She is also the last person in Canada to pay for items in small
change, including pennies.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer
living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
YOUR
ANCESTRY
Posted 3.13.17
DAVE LEPITRE
Dave"s latest Your
Ancestry column is posted regularly on the LCC. More people looking
for ancestors...
COMING OUT OF THE
CRAWLSPACE
Posted 03.11.17
ROSS MURRAY
When I was little, my older
brother and I would spend hours tunnelling into the piles of snow at the
end of our driveway. This was back when we regularly got snowfalls of 17
feet at a time. Or something like that. I was a lot shorter then. And
less metric.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in
Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
NEW GUIDELINES FOR THE COMING
IN/GOING OUT OF MARCH
Posted 03.6.17
ROSS
MURRAY
The
management would like to inform you that, in accordance with our
recently adopted policy on heightened inclusivity and respect for
species fluidity, March is no longer exclusively required to come in
like a lamb and go out like a lion (or vice versa, i.e.
coming-lion/going-lamb).
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living
in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
U.S. COAL
REGULATION SCUTTLED
Posted 03.06.17
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
President Trump has overturned the regulation that would
prevent dumping of coal mining debris into nearby streams. He called it
a "job-killing rule" before he signed the order to overturn it. Members
of Congress from coal-mining states, including Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell, R-KY, Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WV and
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-WV stood around grinning.
TRUMPWATCH 2017: GUNS FOR
THE INSANE AND OTHER CRAZY SHIT
Posted 3.4.17
JIM
AUSTIN
CAPE BRETON, NS | As my legions of readers know (I estimate
them to be well into the single digits), I have always had a thing about
gun control. After several years of pursuing the goal of limiting
handguns, universal registration, banning assault weapons, and closing
the gun show loophole, I gave up.
IN CANADA: BROKEN PROMISE
-- OR UNEXPLAINED CHANGE?
Posted 3.1.17
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | The latest big topic in our region has been
the federal Liberals"plan to walk away from their promise to reform the
Canadian electoral system.
A CASE OF REFUGEE
ENVY
Posted 02.28.17
ROSS MURRAY
Dear Refugees Fleeing Would-Be American
Oppression: I see on the news that you "ve been crossing illegally from
the U.S. into Canada along our vast and largely unprotected border. It
"s been happening in Manitoba and it "s been happening about an hour
away from here in Quebec.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living
in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
NEW POEM: MUSIC IS IN THE
AIR
Posted 2.26.17
ADRIENNE FISHER
Gregorian chants fill the scented blue
air
Rolling over me, seeping into me
I breathe, I sigh, I am
simplicity with no frills
absorbing their sounds like dye colors
silk
Adrienne Fisher makes poetry in Jericho, Vermont
REVOLUTION IS IN THE
AIR
Posted 2.22.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | The
Brexit vote in Britain, Trump"s win in the US, the Hungarian and Polish
extreme-right regimes, plus Putin"s promotion of Great Russia
nationalism, all point to a political lurch to the right underway in the
world today. There are many explanations, and most may be correct within
their frame of reference, but the fact that these nationalisms seem to
be rising everywhere at the same time should indicate that there"s even
more at play here than a single, local explanation.
I WANT TO BE THE GUY WHO
DRIVES THE SNOWPLOUGH
Posted 02.21.17
ROSS
MURRAY
O,
I want to be the guy who drives the snowplough through the town.
A
vanquisher of snowstorms, mighty king of streets and roads.
Ross
Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached
at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
TRUMPWATCH 2017: MARCH
TO OBLIVION
Posted 2.16.17
JIM AUSTIN
CAPE BRETON, NS |
If you are a fan of salacious media you will have noted the googly eyes
that Ivanka Trump was leveling at hunky Canadian PM Justin Trudeau. She
was all dressed up in a slinky shift and her "fuck me" pumps when Trudy
met with Agent Orange to discuss "Women in Business."
THE FURIOUS INCIDENT OF
THE STUPID DOG IN THE NIGHT TIME
Posted 02.14.17
ROSS
MURRAY
The
stupid dog goes to the door around 5:30 a.m., maybe earlier. Dogs can"t
tell time. Every night when I come up to bed, Deb reminds me, "Did you
let The Beast out?" If I haven"t, I do, even though I know it"s probably
pointless because, at 11 o"clock, the dog doesn"t need out. The dog
needs out at 5:30 a.m., maybe earlier. Stupid dog.
Ross Murray is
a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
CARBON TAX
REDUX
Posted 02.12.17
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
James A. Baker III, Secretary of State and White House Chief of
Staff under President George H. W. Bush, has advocated a good idea: a
Carbon Tax (See Link). He is supported by Hank Paulson, Treasury
Secretary for former President George W. Bush; Greg Mankiw, who chaired
Bush"s Council of Economic Advisers; and Marty Feldstein, Chairman of
President Ronald Reagan"s Council of Economic Advisors. Also in support
are former Walmart chairman, Rob Walton; Thomas Stephenson, a partner at
the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital; and Ted Halstead, founder of
New America and the Climate Leadership Council.
TRUMPWATCH 2017:
THE NIGHTMARE CONTINUES
Posted 2.11.17
JIM
AUSTIN
CAPE BRETON, NS | Don"t like Trump? Think he"s an unmitigated
douchebag? There"s a support group for that. It"s called "Almost
Everybody." I"ll try to keep up with the atrocities unleashed by this
administration but it"s like trying to take cover from a cluster bomb.
So many lies, so many unethical shenanigans in so little time.
SLIME
POLITICS
Posted 02.8.17
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Last year the Senate, under the leadership of Republican
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, failed to do their job by denying
President Obama"s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, a hearing and
a vote. One could even make the case that members of the majority party
at that time violated their oath of office.
TRUMPED?
SKUNKED!
Posted 02.7.17
ROSS MURRAY
I am carrying this live skunk
to protest everything Donald Trump stands for. For the past weeks, as
I"ve watched the presidency of Donald Trump unfurl like a deep-fried
blooming onion at a county fair -- unhealthy, nauseating, greasy -- I
have asked myself, how can I make my voice heard? How can one small
person effectively express his utter loathing of Trump and his so-called
policies? Also, what can I do with this live skunk I happen to
have?
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC.
He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
A NEW REGIME SOUTH OF THE
BORDER -- OR NOT?
Posted 2.6.17
FRED
RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | Approaching the new regime in Washington,
analyst Gwynne Dyer borrowed Rene Levesque"s famous prescription: "OK,
everybody, take a valium!"
TRAVEL
BAN
Posted 02.3.17
FRANK BERNHEISEL
The travel ban sprung by the
Trump Administration initially looked to me like the typical blunder of
a bunch of newbies that are out of their depth. Of course, President
Trump is playing to his base and throwing these kind of bones will allow
him to avoid his real promises of saving coal miners and other middle
Americans from destitution.
TRUMPWATCH 2017:
HOMOGENIZING AMERICA
Posted 2.1.17
JIM
AUSTIN
CAPE BRETON, NS | FDR had weekly "fireside chats" to discuss
events in government and help people understand his decisions. Trump has
decided to tweet out an atrocity of the week.
JOHNNY MUSN"T
GRUMBLE
Posted 1.31.17
JOHN MAHONEY
Fever Dreams at -26 C
CANADIAN POLITICAL
LEADERS TRIP OVER TONGUES
Posted 1.30.17
PETER
BLACK
QUEBEC CITY | Say what you will about former Conservative prime
minister Stephen Harper (insert snide or sentimental comment here: ...
), he made a determined effort from an early age to learn and speak
French.
O, SUPPLEMENTED
YOUTH!
Posted 01.28.17
ROSS MURRAY
In the 1960s and early 70s,
Canadian children did not regularly eat fresh fruit or vegetables during
the winter months due to complex British Commonwealth rules that stated
that all food must be grey or mush or both.
Ross Murray is a
freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
TRUMPWATCH 2017:
LIGHTING THE FUSE
Posted 1.12.17
JIM
AUSTIN
CAPE BRETON, NS | I mention Canada"s current Trudeau"s hoo-raw
only so we Canucks can be happy we are not south of the border these
days. Some of you may be indulging in a bit of Schadenfreude but don"t
think the orange nightmare won"t be having a profound affect on us as
well. So, let"s see what parade of atrocities has our bloviating buffoon
saddled us with this week.
WOMEN
MARCHING
Posted 1.23.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | The
participation rate in the "women"s march" in Washington, the day
following the inauguration of Donald Trump, certainly upstaged the
official celebration. It is not difficult to gasp why so many women --
and men -- came out for this protest; the response of Mr. Trump"s press
secretary to a question about the size of the women"s march demonstrated
in the clearest way why they were making a statement with their
presence: "there were more people at Mr. Trump"s inauguration than had
ever come out -- but the press covered it up" or something to that
effect. A bold-faced lie, which he later retreated from. Too many lies …
was one element being protested.
WHAT DO WE DO,
NOW?
Posted 01.23.17
FRANK BERNHEISEL
We, in the United States, have
a government "of the People, by the People and for the People," which is
aimed at helping the peoples of the nation and the world. We the People
have just completed a very long process of choosing new leadership in
both the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch of that government.
This past weekend, we installed that leadership in its offices. Come
Monday morning and we discover -- similar to the discovery we make after
a long weekend drunk -- we have made a horrendous mistake.
TOWNSHIPSPLAINING THE PM
Posted 01.21.17
ROSS
MURRAY
Oh,
hi there, Prime Minister Trudeau, or as we say here in Quebec"s Eastern
Townships, "hi there."You see, Justin (may I call you Justin? I think I
may), the Eastern Townships is a pretty easygoing place when it comes to
the whole English-French thing. Certainly we"ve had our battles -- sign
complaints, bilingual status debates, health care access. But for the
most part, even during difficult times, both linguistic communities have
been fairly even-tempered, dare I say cooperative.
Ross Murray is
a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
BILINGUALISH TODAY, NOT
SO FRENCH TOMORROW?
Posted 1.19.17
PETER
BLACK
QUEBEC CITY | Most people these days likely would identity the
acronym APEC as Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, a group of Pacific
Rim countries, including Canada and, for now, the United States,
promoting free trade. For many years, though, APEC stood for something
quite different Canada. The Alliance for the Preservation of English
here was a group furiously opposed to the Official Languages Act of
1969.
PUTIN TURNS THE
TABLES
Posted 1.16.17
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC | Two or
three years ago it seemed that Russia had been backed into a corner by
the West - - from the Sochi Olympics to NATO"s forces stationed along
Russia"s borders, including the very-provocative NATO move to rotate
warships continually through the Black Sea, along the coasts of Russia
and Iran. NATO was negotiating for use of what used to be Russia"s
largest naval base in the south, Sevastopol in the Crimea.
EULOGY FOR A BIG
GUY
Posted 01.15.17
ROSS MURRAY
I learned recently that an old
university friend died. We spent two years together in Bennett House at
Mount Allison University in the mid-80s. His name was Jim Morrison. Not
that Jim Morrison. Not the Lizard King, though Jim was big like a T Rex,
and he tended to lumber like one. He was also legally blind, but only in
the sense that you wouldn"t want to get behind the wheel with
him.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He
can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s column
archives: Click Here
TRUMPWATCH 2017:
FROM OBAMA NATION TO ABOMINATION
Posted 1.12.17
JIM
AUSTIN
CAPE BRETON, NS | I"m sorry but I just can"t get behind the
crowd who says: "Let"s just wait and see how he does" nor can I follow
the advice of Kellyanne "Conjob" Conway, his female zombie minion who
said, "don"t worry about what comes out of his mouth, it"s what in his
heart that matters."
JANUARY NEWSLETTER OF RUSSIAN
CYBER-HACKERS LOCAL 301
Posted 01.07.17
ROSS
MURRAY
Holiday season is over in decadent West. Many bourgeois
families woke on morning of Magical Jesus Holiday to find new electronic
devices under freshly killed living room tree. It is musical ringtone to
Mother Russia"s eavesdropping ears. Soon all of West will be puppet for
Russian master and all of Russian people will have free subscription to
Netflix.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in Stanstead,
QC. He can be reached at rossgrantmurray@gmail.com
Ross Murray"s
column archives: Click Here
WINDING
DOWN
Posted 01.06.17
FRANK BERNHEISEL
The Viking Akun had cruised
through the night on the Volga as it wandered through the Russian Plain,
which is characterized by low hills and woods. We arrived in Yaroslavl
just after breakfast about 8 a.m. . This city of about 600,000 was
founded about 1000 CE on the banks of the Volga River on the site of a
Viking village. The Volga turns south at this point. The Vikings used
the river as their route to the Caspian Sea.
JOHNNY MUSN"T
GRUMBLE
Posted 1.4.17
JOHN MAHONEY
Don"t do a Cliff, eh?
IN RUSSIA: GOING
NORTH
Posted 12.23.16
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
The Viking Akun cruised north on the Moscow Canal through the
newer parts of Moscow heading for the Volga River. All along this part
of the route were new apartment buildings, cranes where apartments would
be soon, green park areas and many recreational facilities, including
amusement parks. What I read in the newspapers and magazines indicates
that the Russian economy is in bad shape. However, that was not what I
observed.
"MAD AS
HELL"
Posted 11.01.16
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
All of the talking heads in Washington and elsewhere are trying
to explain why there is so much anger in the U.S. voting public. I think
that Bill Clinton got it right in his 1992 campaign when he said: "it"s
the economy stupid."
WE NEED
IMMIGRANTS!
Posted 11.01.16
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| There are few villages and towns across West Quebec which are not in
decline. Given the exhaustion of our forest resources, the marginality
of tourism, the lack of infrastructure (even the internet!), the flight
of younger generations to the cities, given all this, is there any
wonder that Outaouais towns are almost zombie-towns?
THE
KREMLIN
Posted 10.22.16
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
On our visits to Moscow city center we had been all around the
Kremlin"s red brick wall with its towers, and viewed it from all angles.
As mentioned earlier, kremlin means fortress in Russian and many cities
have kremlins. The area enclosed within the Kremlin wall in Moscow is
over 68 acres and is almost in the form of a triangle. It includes five
palaces, four cathedrals, and a number of office buildings.
WHITHER
DEMOCRACY?
Posted 10.11.16
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
We Americans pride ourselves on being exceptional and being the
world"s oldest democracy. In the last few years, we have not been
setting an example for the rest of the world. Whatever happened to the
shining city on the hill? In our domestic policies, we are
disenfranchising voters, buying elections, and abandoning civility.
These actions plus the dysfunction of our government causes the U.S. to
lose its standing as a world leader. We see European countries like
Poland and Hungary following the lead of Putin"s Russia moving toward
oligarchy.
YOUR
ANCESTRY
Posted 10.05.16
DAVE LEPITRE
Dave"s latest Your
Ancestry column is posted regularly on the LCC. More people looking
for ancestors...
POEM: THE
LISTENER
Posted 09.30.15
LUCY BRENNAN
I watch the sky.
I am an
expert on skies.
Every morning I open my eyes
on a square of
window...
Lucy Brennan makes poetry in Canada.
A DAY IN
MOSCOW
Posted 09.20.16
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
We disembarked at the Moscow airport and walked to get our
luggage, and meet our transportation. The airport could have been
anywhere, except for the signs in Cyrillic. Fortunately, most signs had
English subtitles.
POEM: SUMMER
RAIN
Posted 08.29.15
BERIT LUNDH
There"s a warm summer rain
Falling
on me now...
Berit Lundh makes poetry in Canada.
CANAL BOAT JOURNEY:
TOURNON TO AVIGNON
Posted 08.08.15
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Tournon dates from Celtic times and is built on a narrow level
area along the river right up against granite hills. In the 11th century
a wealthy family of nobles, the Counts of Tournon, built a fort/castle
on the granite rock overlooking the Rhone Valley. The castle is above
the fortification in the picture and contains a museum, open to the
public.
I SEE MY FIRST AMERICAN
OPEN-CARRY GUY
Posted 08.08.16
JOHN MAHONEY
I saw him at Taft"s Corners in
Williston, Vermont, at the Majestic 10 Cinema on July 31. It was
approximately 5:45 p.m. outside Theater No. 1 where the (new, bad)
Jason Bourne flick was playing.
CANAL BOAT JOURNEY:
IN ANCIENT VIENNE
Posted 07.22.15
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Vienne is a really old Roman town that predates Caesar"s
conquest of Gaul by 60 years and the Roman town sprawled onto both sides
of the river. On our walking tour after the cathedral, we visited the
Temple of Augustus and Livia, which was built during the reign of
Emperor Augustus.
CANAL BOAT JOURNEY: IN
BEAUTIFUL LYON
Posted 07.14.15
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
The region around Lyon is predominantly agricultural with
tourism working up to second place. Cows are much in evidence and are
used both for meat and milk, which is made into a number of well-known
cheeses: Bleu d"Auvergne, Cantal, Fourme d"Ambert and Saint-Nectaire.
Cheese and wine are all that is needed to make Lyon"s reputation as a
culinary capital.
ONE WAY TO MAKE A
(SHAKUHACHI) QUIVVER
Posted 06.26.156
JOHN
MAHONEY
I
settled on this low-cost method of carrying a flute(s) on my daily
meditation/play/walk up the Muskrat Lake shoreline path to the local
park overlook, and other treks. This includes our annual week"s vacation
in July at Newport, Vermont, overlooking beautiful Lake Memphremagog,
where each day at sunrise I play shakuhachi and NAFs from the high front
steps of St. Mary"s church looking down the lake for miles into
Quebec.
John Mahoney is the publisher of the Log Cabin Chronicles.
This is the third in a projected series on his Shakuhachi
journey.
His column archives: Click
Here
CANAL BOAT JOURNEY:
LYON DAYS
Posted 06.21.15
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
After breakfast we went by coach north to the Beaujolais
region, which produces one of France"s most famous wines. The vineyards
stretch for ten miles along the Saône River and up the rolling
hills. Wine was first produced here by the Romans; and then through the
Middle Ages, winemaking was done by the Benedictine monks. Our goal was
the Chateau Ravatys (see below) for a tour of the vineyard and the
cellar followed by a wine tasting.
did something recently that I"m not very comfortable doing. No, not
that! Disgusting! No, I asked people for money. I"m normally much more
comfortable passively hinting for money or sighing heavily about money
until eventually people give me money to make me go away. I launched
a Kickstarter campaign to ask people to help me affray the up-front
printing costs for the publication of my debut novel, A Hole in the
Ground. This is serious business. I know because I"m using
business-y words like "affray" and "up-front."
Ross Murray is a
freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
Ross_murray@sympatico.ca
Ross Murray"s column archives: Click Here
CANAL BOAT JOURNEY:
PARIS DAYS
Posted 06.06.15
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Wine in hand, we all chose typical fare for petite
déjeuner -- Croque Monsieur, soupe à l"oignon, and Quiche
Lorraine -- while seated in the enclosed sidewalk café enjoying
the passing scene. The bright yellow Lamborghini playing Grand Prix on
the Avenue de Suffren was a hit.
DORIS AND THE BROKEN
LEG
Posted 05.10.16
RON COHEN
NEAR WASHINGTON DC | Doris Kraus, my
classmate at Nassau School in East Orange, N.J., was a sweet girl whose
parents came from Germany. It was kind of exotic having a
German-American friend during World War II, when every adult we knew was
saying bad things about those awful "Krauts." But you couldn"t regard
her wildly bouncing blond curls and her shy smile and think anything
except, "How cute!" This is an excerpt from Ron Cohen"s forthcoming
memoir, "Of Course You Can Have Ice Cream for Breakfast: Love Letters to
My Grandkids". Cohen retired after four decades with United Press
International and Gannett News Service, and is the author of the
award-winning "Down to the Wire: UPI"s Fight for Survival."
THEN CAME THE GUNSHOTS AND A
HELL OF A STORY THAT MONDAY AFTERNOON
Posted 04.07.16
RON
COHEN
NEAR
WASHINGTON DC | "The President has been shot!" In 40-plus years in
journalism, I heard these words twice. The first time was on November
22, 1963, and nobody alive then will forget where they were and what
they were doing when John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding in an
open limousine in a presidential motorcade in Dallas.This is an
excerpt from Ron Cohen"s forthcoming memoir, "Of Course You Can Have Ice
Cream for Breakfast: Love Letters to My Grandkids". Cohen retired after
four decades with United Press International and Gannett News Service,
and is the author of the award-winning "Down to the Wire: UPI"s Fight
for Survival."
LINES COMPOSED
SPONTANEOUSLY ON-STAGE AT YORK UNIVERSITY"S SAMUEL BECKETT
THEATRE
Posted 03.06.16
STANLEY FEFFERMAN
This is a theatre
Every
move is real
The world is watching
You are naked
The
darkness is all around
REMEMBERING SHIMON
ASH
Posted 03.04.16
JOHN MAHONEY
1930 ~ 2016. Artist, Musician,
Friend.
His column archives: Click
Here
ANSWERS FROM THE PRESS
CONFERENCE
Posted 03.01.16
ROSS MURRAY
"Well, obviously we would have
liked things to go a little differently out there today. We came
prepared, we had the training, all the robot warriors were in place, but
sometimes there are things you can"t control, like the weather and
gastrointestinal discomfort. I"m proud of the work we did. I don"t think
anyone should hang their head. Hold their nose, maybe, but definitely
not hang their head."
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in
Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
Ross_murray@sympatico.ca
Ross Murray"s column archives: Click Here
AMERICA, EXAMPLE TO THE
WORLD?
Posted 02.27.16
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| We seem to avoid meddling in foreign nations (most of the time), or we
may be really good at camouflage, but anyone watching the American
presidential primaries will have wondered what might happen if the likes
of Trump or Ted Cruz end up in the White House, unleashing their macho
rage-culture on the world. We may have to reconsider our hands-off
attitude toward other governments.
ANY GOOD
NEWS?
Posted 02.16.16
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| There is good news in the news; it"s not as rare as we think. There"s
plenty -- read through this newspaper! But bad news gets our attention
-- disasters, with warnings and scary items at the top of the list.
Especially scary. Good news can be medical discoveries that"ll save
millions of lives, eventually, but this becomes invisible next to a
gunman massacring school children -- because it"s awful and it"s
today.
STRUNK AND WHITE AND
TRUMP: THE ELEMENTS OF THE STYLE
Posted 02.21.16
ROSS
MURRAY
The
active voice is usually more direct and vigorous than the passive.
People love the vigor. I have been very successful with the vigor.
Everybody loves it. Hillary Clinton was the worst Secretary of State in
the history of the country. So much better, a thousand times better than
I think what"s happening to this country is unbelievably bad; we"re no
longer a respected country. What"s wrong with that sentence is so
obviously President Obama. Incredibly passive.
Ross Murray is a
freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
Ross_murray@sympatico.ca
Ross Murray"s column archives: Click Here
ADDENDUM TO: SAFE
DRINKING WATER, TOXIC LEAD LEVELS, AND SLASHING SAFETY
SPENDING
Posted 02.19.16
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
The anti-regulation industry and the "government is the
problem" folks have been attacking EPA for years. Adjusted for
inflation, the $100 million annual budget of the EPA"s drinking water
office has fallen 15 percent since 2006, resulting in a more than 10
percent reduction of its staff.
COSMIC
WEATHER
Posted 02.16.16
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| I"m convinced there"s something like "emotional weather.".
It"s not weather at all -- there are no clouds rolling in, no blizzards
or sunny days, except as metaphors, and as for metaphors, "weather" will
have to do.
WRITING THE WRITE, READING
THE READ
Posted 02.15.16
ROSS MURRAY
I was sitting in my office,
working the work, when the sole of my foot started vibrating. It was
very subtle, like maybe there was machinery operating under the floor.
It wasn"t a steady vibration but starting and stopping, with the rhythm
of an oscillating fan.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in
Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
Ross_murray@sympatico.ca
Ross Murray"s column archives: Click Here
PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED
DEPRESSION
Posted 02.11.16
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| However, there remains a big question, one raised last year by an
American surgeon, who asked why are we opting for a longer life, without
any thought of the quality of that long life? If life is painful and
incapacitated, due to terminal illnesses, or cancer, what is the purpose
in prolonging it?
HAIKU-ISH
STRING
Posted 02.09.16
STANLEY FEFFERMAN
Trembling aspen hairs
quick tail of squirrel
move in you
Stanley Fefferman writes and
make photographs in Toronto.
HAPPY DAYS IN
CANADA
Posted 02.08.16
ROSS MURRAY
According to a recent poll,
two-thirds of Canadians are "pretty happy." This to me is the perfect
Canadian answer. When you ask a Canadian "How are you?" nine times out
of ten, the answer will be "pretty good." Not "great," not "lousy," not
"get off my porch before I call the cops," but "pretty good." It"s that
kind of contained enthusiasm that has made Canada the mostly all right
country it is today.
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in
Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
Ross_murray@sympatico.ca
Ross Murray"s column archives: Click Here
MURRAY OF ATHOLL: BE CAREFUL
HOW YOU THAY IT
Posted 02.01.16
ROSS MURRAY
I love the Scottish language,
because it"s almost English. I can understand just enough to get the
gist of what"s being said. This is also, by the way, how I"ve lived my
life in French Quebec for the last 26 years.
Ross Murray is a
freelance writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
Ross_murray@sympatico.ca
Ross Murray"s column archives: Click Here
TALKING DIRTY: U.S.
WATER AND THE EPA
Posted 01.31.16
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
So why didn"t EPA solve this problem before so many people in
Flint, Michigan, were exposed?
HISTORY PHOTO: THE
STEAMER SS ANTHEMIS
Posted 01.28.16
GENEALOGIST DAVE
LEPITRE
She faithfully plied the summer waters of Lake Memphemagog from
Newport, Vermont, to Magog, Quebec, from 1900 to 1954. Here she is near
the end of her days at the Magog Wharf. Does anyone have a story or two
about this steamer they can share?
REAL CHANGE IN
OTTAWA?
Posted 01.27.16
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| While we, and apparently much of Canada, are still happy with the
results of last fall"s federal election, it"s worthwhile to consider
that election in terms of Canada"s electoral history. The most common
view is that Mr Trudeau"s convincing victory marks a significant shift
in popular feeling and in the country"s vision of its future.
ALL-PURPOSE ROCK STAR
OBITUARY
Posted 01.26.16
ROSS MURRAY
Music lovers were (A) saddened
(B) shocked (C) not surprised at all today to learn that (A) rock legend
(B) one-hit wonder (C) bong aficionado XYZ had died after a courageous
battle against (A) cancer (B) Alzheimer"s (C) a small pack of Girl
Guides. He was [insert age; probably 69].
Ross Murray is a freelance
writer living in Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
Ross_murray@sympatico.ca
Ross Murray"s column archives: Click Here
EDITOR"S
NOTE: Alex Liepmann is a brave, courageous, and strong young woman who
has faced, and coped with, more than her share of challenges in the last
half-decade. Here, she shares her story in the hope that perhaps it will
help others deal with their own particular circumstances. My hat is off
to this young athlete. MY STORY: EATING DISORDER/DEPRESSION TRIGGER
WARNING
Posted 01.25.16
ALEX LIEPMANN
I was in grade 7
and had turned 13 a couple of months earlier. I was still using MSN and
was the biggest fan girl on Justin Bieber, but here I was starving
myself, worrying about my weight when really a 12-13 year old girl
should only be worrying about how"s she"s going marry Justin
Bieber.
PROMOTING CONFLICT TO
PROMOTE SALES
Posted 01.19.16
FRED RYAN
SHAWVILLE, QUEBEC
| Obviously the incredible influence -- power -- of the NRA to prevent
and derail legislation aimed at tightening gun possession laws is
foreign to us in Canada. At least we think this.
OUT OF MY COLD, GELLED
HANDS
Posted 01.17.16
ROSS MURRAY
It was painful hearing Barack
Obama dance around the issue of gun ownership at his town hall meeting
last week. The U.S. president had to come across as anti-gun but not too
anti-gun. It was like watching a dad tell the kids he"s super-chill but,
hey, rules are cool, yo!
Ross Murray is a freelance writer living in
Stanstead, QC. He can be reached at
Ross_murray@sympatico.ca
Ross Murray"s column archives: Click Here
CAROLINE"S
LAUGHTER
Posted 01.12.16
STANLEY FEFFERMAN
Caroline"s laughter
is
jackhammer yammer
is mack truck grinding gears...
Stanley
Fefferman writes and make photographs in Toronto.
NO
CONSOLATION
Posted 01.05.15
STANLEY FEFFERMAN
There are still wild horses in
Colorado...
Stanley Fefferman writes and make photographs in
Toronto.
AMERICAN DESERT
DAYS PART 3
Posted 12.30.15
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
We were headed to the Pipe Spring National Monument almost two
hours away in Arizona. This small facility, 40 acres, is administered by
the Park Service and has a long history, which includes the Paiutes
Indians, Spanish explorers, and Mormon pioneers.
ENVOI
Posted
12.18.15
STANLEY FEFFERMAN
Taos Mountain, black-crowned peak...
Stanley
Fefferman writes and make photographs in Toronto.
CRECHE
MUSIC
Posted 12.24.15
ROBERT CARNEVALE
As long as that little heart
beats the tune will not lack for guidance
Robert Carnevale writes and
makes music in America.
EVERGREEN HILLS
RISING
Posted 12.18.15
STANLEY FEFFERMAN
morning mist,
grey...
Stanley Fefferman writes and make photographs in
Toronto.
WHO?
Posted
12.13.15
STANLEY FEFFERMAN
On the North Valmont Road are three
trees...
Stanley Fefferman writes and make photographs in
Toronto.
MEDITATION: WHAT"S IT
LIKE?
Posted 12.06.15
STANLEY FEFFERMAN
it"s like sitting on a
blowtorch...
Stanley Fefferman writes and make photographs in
Toronto.
AMERICAN DESERT
DAYS PART 2
Posted 11.29.15
FRANK
BERNHEISEL
Our itinerary said that this was "a dramatic flightseeing
excursion" and it was. We flew over the Canyonlands National Park where
the Colorado River doubles back on itself several times, as shown in the
"Badlands." In a moment of geologic time the river will break through
the low spot in the picture center and change course once more. We
dodged the peaks of the Escalante and Henry Mountains, and had a great
view of the Waterpocket Fold and other sandstone formations. Without
oxygen our planes had a height limit of 10,000 feet and the mountains
were over 11,000. The terrain was varied to say the least; changing
every minute.
POEM:
PRESENTS
Posted 11.26.15
ADRIENNE FISHER
With both hands around my
Chinese blue mug
I revel in the aroma of coffee
Leisurely
sipping its steamy comfort
in the soft quiet of early
morning.
Adrienne Fisher makes poetry in Jericho, Vermont
YOUR
ANCESTRY
Posted 11.24.15
DAVE LEPITRE
Dave"s latest Your
Ancestry column is posted regularly on the LCC. More people looking
for ancestors...
POEM: ODE TO SMALL
THINGS
Posted 11.18.15
ADRIENNE FISHER
It is a small thing, but maybe
not so small, if it is a sign of civility when oncoming drivers dim
their lights as they approach each other at nightfall.
Adrienne
Fisher makes poetry in Jericho, Vermont.
KUBA, THE LONE SURVIVOR OF HIS
FAMILY, 1944
Posted 11.12.15
ADRIENNE
FISHER
I
was his wife for 54 years
and I tell you,
he died a broken
man.
Adrienne Fisher makes poetry in Jericho, Vermont.
AMERICAN DESERT
DAYS
Posted 11.09.15
FRANK BERNHEISEL
The train from Chicago, the
California Zephyr, was a half hour late arriving in Grand
Junction, CO. We missed the sunset, but the sky was clear with plenty of
daylight. We located Rob and his black Suburban in front of the train
station; and he took us to the Red Cliffs Lodge in Moab, Utah.
THE SHAKUHACHI JOURNEY
CONTINUES
Posted 08.24.15
JOHN MAHONEY
Some years ago, back in
Quebec, two of my musical buddies coalesced into the duo Country
Subway. Their motto: "It"s not going anywhere, and it"s leaving
right now..." And they made some fine music in those days. Five years
ago, when I was 75, I hopped aboard my own train knowing full well that
I didn"t have 10,000 hours left to become a halfway decent shakuhachi
player. However, I reckoned that if I put in one to two hours every day
I might be able to play a mindful Ro or three, learn to breathe, and
experience Ma regularly before I take my last kick at the can.
John
Mahoney is the publisher of the Log Cabin Chronicles. This is the second
in a projected series on his Shakuhachi journey.
His column
archives: Click Here
A TOAST TO
FIFI
Posted 07.15.15
RON COHEN
NEAR WASHINGTON CD | Every July 14,
Bastille Day, I raise a glass of vin ordinaire to Thelma V.
Allen.
This is an excerpt from Ron Cohen"s forthcoming memoir, "Of
Course You Can Have Ice Cream for Breakfast: Love Letters to My
Grandkids". Cohen retired after four decades with United Press
International and Gannett News Service, and is the author of the
award-winning "Down to the Wire: UPI"s Fight for Survival."
FLUTE PILGRIM,
SHAKUHACHI WANDERER
Posted 04.29.15
JOHN
MAHONEY
I
came under the spell of the shakuhachi some 45 years ago, during the
same period that I was introduced to Zen Buddhism and the teachings of
Shunryu Suzuki Roshi by Mark Abrams, one of my photography students at
Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. I shall be forever
grateful.
John Mahoney is the publisher of the Log Cabin Chronicles.
This is the first in a projected series on his Shakuhachi
journey.
His column archives: Click
Here
SOMETIMES, WE GET
E-MAIL
Posted 07.06.14
LCC Columnist Frank
Berheisel, in just four sentences, has brilliantly summed up...(click
link to read on)
| |
JANE DOES THE
LAUNDRY
GALLERIES
WINTER SOLSTICE
This is one of 30 short
poems in the chapbook Placing No Markers by Jason Krpan. You can
download the book for free at Bookfellows.
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