Category Archives: Philosophy

Lifes Lessons, Philosophy, Politics

Donald Trump – I Told You So

Finally those Canadians with financial and social stature have come to the table wholeheartedly to denounce Trump. If it’s taken you this long….we needed you in 2014/ 2015. We needed you to speak out emphatically that a man of deviant morals and conduct unbecoming of political party leadership could not ascend to a position of political power. However; most of you were mute. You didn’t want to ruffle feathers. You didn’t want to leave any kind of perception with others that you empathized with his policies and that you could rationalize his character in favor of Republican ideals. You may have been fearful of retribution. I say this emphatically now if you were mute – shame on you!!


Shame on you if you bought into some conspiracy theory about the “deep state” without presenting proof. Shame on you if bought into his lies and deceit. Shame on you if you were so naive that he had nothing to do with the Capitol attack on January 6th, 2021 especially in lieu of his conduct on that day and a reference to a vigilante group of whose name he was familiar. Shame on you if you thought that all women alleging sexual assault conspired together for financial gain by falsifying claims of sexual assault. Shame on you if you discounted the 3,500 – 4,000 lawsuits for which he or his companies were cited in lawsuits as standard practice for business. Shame on you if you believed that he had every right morally to withhold presentation of his tax returns upon request given a quest for the Presidency. Shame on you if you had normalized in your mind a fabrication of Barak Obama’s birth records. Shame on you if you normalized a a man with a tawdry record as his 2016 campaign manager. Shame on you if you had watched episodes of “The Apprentice” and had not picked up samples of his character flaws. Shame on you if you hadn’t surmised that bankrupting companies would correlate with mismanaging a government. Shame on you if you were indifferent by his indifference toward Russia invading Ukraine. Shame on you if you believe that the fabrication of real estate’s market value is an innocuous clerical mishap in the context of a loan application. Shame on you if you believe that paying money to a pornstar in order to conceal a perceived character flaw is all good campaign practice. Shame on you if you believe that engaging in acts of deceit is what can be expected of a Presidential candidate.


Now Donald Trump near the date of his second inauguration has appeared before the media handling a question about whether he would annex Canada by force. Imagine that. Here we are. Canada’s relationship with the U.S. has been severely damaged by the imposition of tariffs and the abrogation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. He is referencing Canada as a “failed state”.

Lifestyle, Philosophy

Fifteen Years As a Blogger

Much has changed during my fifteen years as a blogger. I look upon this period as dramatic in context of the influence of technology on human relationships and culture. Establishing and maintaining a blog (vlog) in 2009 was not as easy as it is now for example for anyone to pick up a phone and post a video to youtube expressing anything within a wide boundary of free speech acceptance. I’m reminded of this today via facebook post of an old friend quoting a philosopher. We are more cynical than we were in 2009. We doubt at every turn now but before we could count on sources more readily. We care less than we did then. We turn a blind eye to the helpless injecting Fentanyl because we’ve come to learn that politicians aren’t willing to tackle the problem with vigor. Still the mechanics of law and order subsist despite some contingent of police officers who are indifferent.

This year I had not written much due to a focus on my youtube channnel and improving my guitar in particular. I do wonder why my propensity to turn to the pen has been lightened and I think this has much to do with the zealousness of others so inclined. S’pose I’m in a digestive mode in contemplating how seriously incoherent some opinions can be but reticent to call out suggestions of policy which conflict with values which others and I supposedly should hold dear. It’s exhausting to debate with characters whose ideals are basic and exempt of consideration of a higher order of being. We are capable of so much but lately there has been a compelling force to drive only to the lowest common denominator of conduct between ourselves. Obviously, the disillusionment with ridiculous liberal policy has had much to do with this era of malaise and disenfranchisement. Angst is rampant and goodwill for cooperation is repressed in favor of political grandstanding. Our egos keep getting in the way of progress.

If you’ve ever had a chance to read one of my posts over the years – thanks for tuning in! I appreciate your interest!

Philosophy, Politics

Trump As President Again

I’ll leave it to the historians to document Donald Trump’s “indiscretions”. Now, Trump is President again! He should not have been restored to hold this office and nor should the constitution / legal apparatus of the U.S. enabled him to access the office given his conviction on 37 counts of financial fraud and other troubles with the law.

The shock amongst us whom intuitively perceived of his moral weakness early is that voters discounted his character so dramatically in lieu of their personal plight that they actually returned him to the Presidency. The thought that this is the best they can do as a leader is outright shocking.

It should go without saying that in absence of moral compass, there is the potential for an absence of moral judgment disposed in administering policy. First and foremost this fundamental predicate should way on the minds of voters upon casting a ballot and if it doesn’t then one is safe to assume that a personal plight is so compromised by current policy that any one different would suffice.      

In visiting punditry post election, we consume the following:

  1. Biden should never have run for a second term
  2. Disenfranchised young men flocked to Trump in a spirit of “aspirational masculinity”
  3. Abortion issue isolated via referendum from candidate selections in some jurisdictions
  4. Latinos feeling alienated via democrat policy
  5. Manufacturing sector still not delivering good jobs to working class
  6. Perceived failure of democrats of weak border policy
  7. Elitism and failure to address wealth gap

Was it a comedy of errors in delivering a message? Were the democrats obtuse in failing to acknowledge sentiments uncovered by the Trump campaign? Did voters need to be told how to vote by Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift? What about the non-union worker earning under $15 / hour? What about the inner city communities in San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia, and L.A overwhelmed by homelessness and drugs? What were you going to do with tax receipts received via increased rates applied to the ultra rich in context of the people facing financial hardship? Were you going to reduce interest rates deemed usurious? Were you going to apply carry forward tax credit for those looking to get re-trained? What about single family households with a child at home whose spouse is deadbeat? What about specifics on reducing gun crime and gun access? What about the state of a tawdry legal system ineffectual in delivering timely results? What about an education abandoning “excellence” and “performance” as central to delivery.

Get this – half the country voted for a man bereft of good moral character and this speaks volumes.

Lifestyle, Philosophy, Politics

Beyond Calgary’s Water Pipe Fail

It’s quite interesting to listen to the mayor of Calgary talk water restrictions in lieu of the recent major water main fail. Naturally, the message of conservation is easily heard but for some it’s fallen on deaf ears because the utilization should have dropped more dramatically than it has. 

For good reason the city has asked overtaxed taxpayers to help and we step forward but subconsciously we wonder why with water flowing abundantly through the city in two rivers that such a crisis has emerged. What has the city not done in anticipation of potential water main breaks? Why is it that the city has made decisions to increase urban sprawl via single family dwellings in face of obvious resource limitations and the smaller 21st century family unit? Why do we have office high rises empty in the downtown core thereby impeding the efficient utilization of infrastructure?

I hate to say it but civic generosity is decline and the relatively poor water conservation rate in Calgary in face of a crisis is indicative of the public’s lessening appetite for being neighborly. You see…the income disparity in Canada has grown. Those sensing an inequity wonder whether serving their neighbor any longer serves them altruistically, financially, with their higher power, or the greater good. They turn on the news and see a convicted criminal earn the nomination for a chance at the Presidency. 

So when people are being told how to brush their teeth and skip flushes and scrape their plates without rinse, some will pause and ask…..what about those homeless people you walk by every day? What about the unenforced civil infractions? What about the closed swimming pools? What about the ridiculous tax payer funded public art? What about the bridge we didn’t need? What about frivolous debates amounting to nothing? What about the failure to regulate unnecessary noise? What about…..

Lifes Lessons, Philosophy

Cerebral Yet Delusional

It’s a perplexing phenomenon. We empathize with those who lack capacity but you’ve seen the ones who have been part of your company who on the surface have everything going on intellectually but then fail at logic when confronted with facts which contrast with their preferred ideology. Objectivity is lost when facts conflict with philosophical bias. Those transparent interpretive thinkers come away bemused / disappointed / shocked at the shortcoming of a friend or acquaintance who fails to connect events concisely through to conclusion and wonder if he / her too has been afflicted with online group think, paranoia, fear, or even subversive like resentment. A reference to the “deep state” has captured the imagination of flailing citizens reaching to grasp for reason of circumstance for misfortune, apathy, and an inertia laden lifestyle. Instead of looking within, the despondent gravitate to those looking to assuage. The affinity for fellowship amongst followers begins to define the persona leading to isolation and ultimately impenetrable borders of being. The aberrant becomes the norm. White becomes black and the reasonable take respite and artificial intelligence takes the stage