Wolves on the Wing

Well this has been a stressful thing to watch

Fri, 06 Nov 2020 00:00:37 GMT

I had been wondering why more frequent number updates hadn't been coming out of swing states like Arizona and Nevada until I saw the footage of the mobs surrounding the buildings. All I can say is that has to be terrifying for the poll workers, their families, the security at those locations, and everyone else who isn't a potentially armed lunatic. If I was in charge of a state's vote counting process I wouldn't release any numbers either until they were all counted and the staff were safely off site and heading home.

Really this whole thing is sad. I know the Democrats ran a bland, safe, moderate, political insider as a candidate in hopes of appealing to the central majority of American voters because it legitimately seemed like the best idea at the time. It was a sound concept in theory but the first of the three takeaways I'm getting from this election is that the US is so polarized any central majority has been pulled to the edges to the point there probably isn't a sizeable central majority left to appeal to anymore. It's gone and I don't see it ever coming back.

Which leads to the second takeaway, namely that winning American election campaigns cannot realistically be run on ideas that inspire across the political spectrum. From now on victory will go to the side that can most efficiently mobilize its own base while disenfranchising and suppressing the base of their opponent. Which of course begs the question whether or not such a system can truly be described as a democracy.

The Republicans have the edge here since they've been doing it as standard practice for longer but the Democrats have equally smart and skilled people. They'll learn to play and win at this new landscape soon enough.

As for the third takeaway its clear that polling is not currently effective in the age of 24 hour news cycles, social media, and government run disinformation campaigns. Frankly the octopus The Sports Network used to use to pick the winners of hockey games did a better job than pollsters did. So what does that mean? No idea. I don't have enough data just like anyone else trying to make any predictions.

So what does it ultimately mean? In terms of specific policies and decisions I have no idea. I do know that this election is not the waking from a four year bad dream that everyone hoped it would be. The polarization is too great and the divisions too deep and entrenched to heal. This election is merely confirmation that this national nightmare is the new normal of America and a sign that Canada has to seek new partnerships and alliances to secure its goals in this world

I take no pleasure in saying this but God Help America. I give them a decade or two before it starts coming apart. No country can continue to withstand this sort of damage indefinitely and its been tearing itself apart for 20 years now non-stop.

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Not sure what to do now

Wed, 04 Nov 2020 02:14:53 GMT

First the no brainer, no surprise. 2020 has been one of the most stressful years in my life, and I'm sure in the lives of 99% of everyone I've ever interacted with in any way, shape or form.

Its been terrible. This pandemic has unleashed all sorts of stress, health worries, financial concerns and you name it. Everything this year is harder and less rewarding. Nothing is fun. I have no idea how to fix anything and I'm fully aware that yes, it could be much much worse.

The scary thing is I'm expecting things will be and I don't know what to do.

Oh well. 99% of the planet feels this way. I'll just have to suck it up and keep going like everyone else.

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It's been a while

Mon, 01 Jun 2020 00:12:37 GMT

I haven't posted for a while because, well, frankly I am not sure I had anything left to say. The world is a pretty depressing place at the best of times, work is really all I do for social interaction, and my health has taken a giant cliff dive into liquid bird guano.

All of which I would say is a typical day in the life. Unfortunately we're not living in typical days, and I don't know what to say, or even if I should bother to try to say anything.

To put it bluntly I have no idea where we as a society go from here. I have no answers and I"m not even sure I trust myself to ask the right questions.

Of course I'm tired and have a crazy day at work coming up. Maybe its best to just table this discussion for a later time.

Stay safe all.

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Its perhaps not the beginning of the end, but at least the end of the beginning...

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 00:26:13 GMT

The question is whether is the end of the beginning of the Trump Presidency, or the beginning of the end of the United States of America.

I'm on the fence here on that one.

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I'm baaaaack!

Fri, 14 Jun 2019 04:38:21 GMT

So I've been away from blogging and posting for a while now simply because, well, I just didn't want to for quite a while.

*shrug*

What can I say? My head space isn't always in the necessary shape to want to socialize much, either online or in person. And I just didn't feel I had much to say. Sometimes I get like that.
But like the Romulans of Star Trek: The Next Generation I'm finally feeling up to decloaking for all the world to see, and to boldly go into the Neutral Zone of the internet. So what does that mean gentle beings?

Rant time! And be honest you all know you missed it! :-)

So what to rant about? Well while it would be easy to go after the low hanging fruit of Donald Trump following up his claims that the Mueller Report clears him of collusion with foreign powers by stating he'd happily collude with any foreign power that has dirt on his opponents, I'm not going to go there. Like I said, its just too damn easy. So lets stick to stuff that is not going to inspire any heated discussions or feelings. Yep, lets rant about Sports!

Yes, I am jerk. :-)

So first off, congratulations St. Louis on finally winning the Stanley Cup 49 years after a airborne Bobby Orr ended your last trip to the big dance with the most famous photograph in hockey history.* You went literally from dead last midway through the season to champion and for that I applaud you.

*golf claps*

And now with that achievement in mind I have to apologize to every emotionally manipulative sob story of a kids movie that features a plucky band of nonathletic misfits defeating the heavily favoured trust fund kids from the country club. Yep, you heard me. I apologize. Your plot actually did come true, once, in a proverbial Blues moon.

Yep. I dropped a pun. Its going to be that sort of rant. :-)

So, continuing to speak of things that are happening once lets look to the playoffs Canada actually cared about this spring. Yep, lets head to Jurassic Park and tell Raptors fans to hey, chill the hell out because you're making the Warriors look like good guys with your antics. And that's hard to do despite Drake's non-stop efforts to be the biggest troll since The Three Billy Goat's Gruff.

Look, I'm as big a bandwagon fan as every other Canadian who literally hasn't cared about basketball since injuries stopped me from playing in Grade Ten back in the days when the first George Bush was president, but really, lets not embarrass the country here by cheering Kevin Durant's Achilles tendon injury**, or by heckling Steph Curry's family. Cut that crap out, Raptors fans! That's just as classless as a Warriors part owner shoving an opposing player so hard he shoved himself out of his own team's building for a year. But hey, its at least not to the level of that most heartfelt expression of sport fan emotion, the death threat. So with out further ado lets head to:

Part the Third! Death Threats and Classless Goal Celebrations courtesy of the US Women's Soccer Team in the World Cup.

Ok, ok, I sort of get why people were upset with the criticism leveled by some at the US team for celebrating a points total more likely to be seen at the Superbowl than the World Cup. Goal differential is a big part of determining standings in short format tournaments like this and so yeah, you score as many as you can, when you can, against whomever you can, without mercy, and without letup. Having a better goal differential can be the difference between getting an easy victory that sends you to the semi finals, and a first round sudden death ticket home. So with that said, I get why they gave the Thais the largest demonstration of American firepower since Operation Rolling Thunder tried to shut down the Ho Chi Minh Trail in neighbouring North Vietnam. And to be fair Canadian female soccer player turned analyst Kaylyn Kyle, who criticized the celebrations, gets that too...along with the aforementioned death threats for criticizing said celebrations. So with that said what do these death threats mean for US soccer in general?

Well, and I know I'm going to the fiery place deep underground for this but it means American soccer has made it to the big time! Honestly, I never thought I'd see the day where US soccer would begin to inspire the passions it inspires among other Western Hemisphere countries like Columbia, where players are shot dead for accidental own goals, and Honduras & El Salvador, who fought a shooting war over a soccer game. Heck, considering how technology has advanced I have to consider death threats from American sports fans passe. Frankly I'm surprised Ms. Kyle wasn't obliterated in a state sanctioned drone strike moments after calling for simple common sportsmanship.

Honestly, it brings a tear to my eye. Whoever would have thought the beautiful game, soccer, with all its riots, its hooliganism, its bat shit crazy levels of you've got to be kidding me insanity, would have ever captured America's imagination like stately, gentlemanly baseball did in the previous century? I mean when was the last time you heard of a baseball player getting shot for no valid reason?

Oh. Right. Bad example. Well let me just send my best wishes on your recovery Big Papi. Red Sox Nation and all sport fans wish you the best.

And with that I think that's enough laughter at the expense of recent sports insanity.

Have a great day all! :-)

*I'm not going to post it. Its on the internet and its the most famous photo in hockey history. If your curious its easy pickings to find.

**Any one who has laughed at someone who has suffered an Achilles tendon injury, even a mild one, is an asshole. Full stop. Those suckers hurt, and are terrifying because forget returning to pre injury form, if its bad enough you might not even walk correctly after. I hope he makes a full recovery but he's probably lost a lot of money in free agency with that injury, and that's unfortunate.

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I realize these jerks are a minority but damn, I have to vent

Sat, 16 Feb 2019 01:11:42 GMT

To the short sighted and callous members of my province who called 911 and flooded social media to complain about the Amber Alert that roused them from their sleep last night, I have one thing to ask and one thing to say:

First I must ask what the hell is wrong with you? It's an AMBER ALERT, you swine droppings. While I grant you that it was ultimately ineffective due to him already having murdered the child in question the police were 1000 to the power of infinity% correct to have issued it in the hopes that someone who was awake might see them in time for them to intervene.

Secondly, grow the fuck up you emotionally stunted cretins. Not everything in society is about you. Sure, it sucked to have my REM sleep interrupted, especially when I've been getting so little of it, but you didn't see me calling 911 to complain. That's because I have the maturity to understand that my beauty sleep doesn't matter more than a shot at saving an abducted child's life, even when later information seems to indicate that she might have been dead long before it could have been issued.

Seriously, what's next? Complaining when the local emergency room doctor makes you wait for your sore throat so they can deal with the heart attack someone just had? Getting road rage when a fire truck rolls through a red light so it can go put out a fire at a nursing home? Cussing out an airline gate attendent because your connecting flight is delayed on account of it crashing and killing all onboard?

I know I'm ranting now but when shit like this happens I just can't defend it or the people who are this short sighted. I makes me want to stick my head in my oven in despair...and my oven's electric. That's how disgusted I am by these people.

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Dude. Marie Antoinette thinks you sound like an asshole

Sun, 25 Nov 2018 08:11:36 GMT

A few days ago Ross Romano, my local Member of Provincial Parliament, compared cancer patients with children demanding ice cream and Captain America toys as he voted to deny funding for their medication.

Ok I admit that's bad BUT before everyone grabs a pitchfork and comments about how Doug Ford's government is full of horrible people I do honestly need to thank him for something here. After all lots of people vote down bills that would do good things for people, because they want to do better things for people. That's called governing and that's ok. Good people can disagree about policy, after all. Happens all the time.

You know what also happens all the time though? People going into debt to get the medications they need so they don't die, all while having to undergo punishing treatment regimes, financial hardship, emotional distress, and all sorts of other things as they try not to die. And the reason they go into debt for that medication? It's because unlike toys and ice cream they are NECESSITIES, something the honourable member clearly doesn't seem to understand.

And that's also fine. Not understanding the difference doesn't automatically make any person an asshole. Neither does not being able to understand and empathize with the critically ill and working poor of the riding one represents. But it does make one out of touch with day to day reality and that is a sign of maybe, just maybe, that person is going to be a really shitty representative. Given that the Conservatives seem to attract those like iron fillings to a magnet we're in for a really lousy time!

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Georgia on my mind

Thu, 08 Nov 2018 04:08:34 GMT

I've been to Georgia (the US state, not the former Soviet republic) and I thought it was a nice looking place. That being said I can't honestly say that I think the vote there was free and fair. Having someone be able to oversee their own election is the definition of conflict of interest, and the amount of voter suppression he was able to achieve probably was the deciding factor of that election. Add in voting machines that ran out of power and a lack of a paper trail to verify and you get a result more be-fitting a banana republic than a functional democracy.

Oh well, at least now maybe a serious look at Cheeto Mussolini's taxes, collusion with the Russians, and general corruption can occur. It sure wasn't going to happen with the GOP controlling it.

Ultimately though that's not what really worries me. Sure I worry about the GOP stripping my nephews of their citizenship, or deciding to open fire on asylum seekers, or some other cruel atrocity but its not my focus. What worries me is what steps is Canada taking to disentangle us from the US when a straw finally snaps the camel back of civilized society? We have deeply intertwined economies, shared electrical infrastructure, a large relatively open border and numerous other vulnerabilities that we need to address now. We need to address them because I think its now inevitable that something is going to happen. I don't know what it will be that sets off major conflict in the US in the next few years but when it happens I want us to be able to handle large amounts of gun carrying refugees seeking to escape armed conflict safely and humanely. I want us to have a power grid that can survive riots destroying power plants in Great Lake states. And I want us to have a diversified economy that can allow us to better weather future US economic attacks.

What can I say? I'm neither surprised nor heartened by the results of the US midterms. It's still a dangerously divided country south of me, full of guns and possessing nukes. Optimism and hope isn't going to keep Canada safe if we don't plan for when things go bad.

And in the world of sports my NHL team may still be a raging dumpster fire but at least the entire team seems to burning it down together. So, Go Sens Go? I guess? :-(

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So haven't posted much lately

Wed, 07 Nov 2018 07:31:39 GMT

Just been a bit off the bite I suppose, and busy with work and things. I think I'll try to post a bit more soon.

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My thoughts on the news of late...

Sun, 28 Oct 2018 00:17:46 GMT

America, fix your shit.

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Happy Canada Day!

Mon, 02 Jul 2018 02:42:07 GMT

First off, Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians! 151 Years of the True North, Strong and Free! May you enjoy some solid fun today and tomorrow. :-)

Second off, to our friendly neighbours to the south, the Non-Trumpist Americans. Yeah those $13 billion dollars worth of tariffs we imposed in retaliation is not something I'm happy about but hey, we were attacked by an enemy determined to hurt us. When Trump stops his we can stop ours. Sorry that it hurts everyone needlessly though but we can't let Trump push us around. Appeasement never works against dictators.

And third off, for the Trumpists. Please tell the orange buffoon in charge not to bother sending us Canadians well wishes he clearly couldn't have written himself. After how he's treated us, other allies, and his fellow Americans his message affirming the shared values we hold was a laughable farce. He despises the values Canadians have lived and died for and I for one would prefer it if he just didn't bother to try to disguise his contempt for us.

Any way since its a holiday lets get some tuneage going here! I rather like this video for today's theme, actually. Here is some Kim Mitchell with "Patio Lanterns"!

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Well, I've arrived

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:50:28 GMT

Well, I've landed upon the beaches of these far and distant shores here at Dreamwidth. It will be interesting to see if this ends up becoming home, or if it just stays a basic place. Its really up to LJ now.

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I Live!

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:34:10 GMT

I'm alive! Muhahahahahahahhaha!

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