I must share my gratitude for StichMethod Guitar over at Youtube. Ian’s down to earth approach, self deprecating humor, and technical framework for delivering material is superb. I’m discovering tremendous value in his Blues Master Class Series of which his next release is eagerly anticipated. Ian knows how to break down the mystery of how fabulous guitar riffs are formed without inundating the student with theory. He’s comforted that any musician can obtain good theory elsewhere and is passionate about ensuring that students learn the essentials of navigating the neck with his “pentatonic never lost system.” Although his free lessons are presented from the basis of the minor pentatonic for now, I won’t be surprised if he starts expanding into other scales and even modes. Anyone can now purchase quality video content from professional teachers utilizing youtube as a medium of communication. It’s quite impressive really. If you play guitar and feel like venturing beyond basic chords and into some soloing, I highly recommend Ian Stich from the Stich Method. As a bonus of tuning into the StichMethod, you’ll be curiously awestruck by Ian’s fascination for his favourite band Phish which has obviously been a huge influence for Ian’s passion behind the instrument.
Top Ten Traits of the Trump White House Employee
- Employment insurance benefits have run out
- You’re indebted to Trump
- Conducting sociology of patronage lab experiment
- Sado-masochistic tendencies
- Parole condition
- Transferee from broke Atlantic City casino gaming pit
- Flunked communications studies
- Possess twitter account with voluminous redneck followers
- Diagnosed with attention deficit disorder
- Wear suits with the Trump label
Boy Scouts Speechless After Speech
I suspect that an astute POTUS would have went away from the teleprompter having sensed that the wrong speech was loaded up for the Boy Scout brigade and made light of the error while creatively addressing curious boys with merits of their organization, benefits of community service, nation building through team cooperation etc. Instead, I guess Trump will castigate and maybe fire some guy handling speeches. Does anybody have a snapshot of the look on the face of some Scoutmaster bemused by Trump’s ramblings over political hardship amongst innocent boys eager for a return to scheduled jamboree fun?
CSIS Lawsuit and Your Tax Dollars
Here we go again. Now that Khadr has been awarded $10 million dollars in lieu protections inherent to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, next up is some malcontents working over at Canada’s spy agency. Apparently a group of four is looking for $35 million from you the taxpayer because they were called names in the work place. They were likely bullied. It’s probably true. Unlike other Canadians who have been in such situations who would have tendered their resignation and moved along, these folks have learned some things that I bet you never picked up in grade school regarding “The Charter”. Forget free speech or supervisor’s incompetence in dealing with complaints. Now it’s “The Charter” which could potentially impact you the taxpayer for years and years to come because of the evil nature of some of your fellow Canadians.
This will be a very interesting case because it could be precedent setting for any employer and not just the civil service. Employers dismissive of deploying proactive positive work place climates or who become lax in executing such measures could be faced with law suits from the “victimized”. This could be just one more overlay of business risk which would likely disenfranchise many employers from hiring. Obviously I do not condone or tolerate racism, bigotry, harassment or discrimination in the work place but I am one Canadian who believes in the free enterprise system and the activities inherent to keeping such a system vibrant. I believe that any Canadian who does not feel that they are treated properly should seek out a climate or create one that does. I also believe that any organization which tolerates behavior of the aforementioned is doomed for failure because of the inherent morale and productivity issues that consequently arise. Whistle blower legislation providing employment security for complainants in the civil service is a reasonable measure.
This taxpayer is getting sick and tired of paying off the malcontents. If you don’t like a situation, leave it but don’t come looking for my wallet because you were too lame to put the free enterprise system to work for you.
Trump Russia Plot Thickens
So why does Donald Trump Jr. feel compelled to hire a criminal defence attorney if there was nothing unscrupulous, unethical, or illegal about his meeting with a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin during his father’s election campaign? Why should he need a lawyer when at every turn regarding the Russian investigation, Donald Trump, the President is espousing “fake news?” What is one to think when the President’s son in law makes oversights on disclosure forms regarding contacts with Russian officials? Why would an attorney general of the U.S. also withhold information relevant to contacts with Russia? Why would a U.S. attorney general be receiving payments from Russia? Why would the President of the U.S. even consider a son in law for such position of “adviser” when a volume of other candidates would be much better equipped for the role? What is one to think when the President’s son is forced to reconcile his motive behind a meeting once information comes to light via Trump’s ex-campaign manager, Manafort that the intention was to acquire Democratic campaign party dirt? If there had been Clinton damaging campaign material provided to Donald Trump Jr. via this meeting with the Russian lawyer, what would he have done with it in the event that the material was elicited through surreptitious means? Why is Russia afforded any diplomatic grace at all in the context of operating under U.S. sanctions for the incursion of Crimea? Why can’t we get the straight goods from the President of the U.S. regarding his absolute position of Russian election meddling given that the FBI has proven that Russia in fact attempted to interfere? Does the president not subscribe to findings made by the FBI? Is the President privy to evidence unavailable to the FBI? Has President Trump been briefed on the evidence behind the FBI’s conclusion that Russia attempted to interfere in the election? If not, why not? Could it be that the FBI is mistrustful of the president given what they’ve already discovered? Is the relationship between the White House and the FBI now fractious in the context of Comey’s firing? Is President Trump reticent to besmirch Putin in lieu of President Trump’s business activities in Russia? Why would President Trump in private ask fired FBI Chief Comey to stop the Russian investigation in spite of material evidence if the President didn’t have something to hide? Did the President have something to hide inside his tax return regarding Russian income sources? Why all the buffoonery over a tax return and not just disclose it? Why the kind words toward the leader (Putin) of a corrupt occupying nation of a sovereign state during an election campaign?