First of all…it was anything but presidential. The parties, the candidates, and the country were not well served. I expected it and couldn’t resist tuning in having learned that I could get it on youtube.  Sadly, I also expected belly laughs and these two guys delivered on that count about twice. 

Despite Trump’s weak character, I found him to be somewhat compelling at times and was actually winning the debate early on. His problem though is his inability to recite honest facts which of course reverses any credibility he would establish through compelling moments of cerebral thought.

There was the obvious discord in context of COVID. Biden did poorly in reciting Trump’s missteps and Trump started to find some groove in talking about lifting lock down measures and the impact of lock downs on people’s well being.  

Biden was looking old and worn out and did not really possess the vitality to produce effective comebacks which is what we were all looking for of course. Trump has so much vulnerability that one thinks that it would be unfathomable not be able to produce stinging frequent jabs. However; Biden was on his heels partly due to Trump’s continual counterpunching which was at times effective Also,  the moderator’s attempts at policing Trump may have actually worked in Trump’s favour by extinguishing any eruption of emotion in Biden.

There were personal attacks. Biden referenced Trump as a liar and a clown out loud intentionally and not under his breath. Trump smeared Biden’s son and Biden’s record. Biden smirked and chuckled in reaction to Trump responses. Trump attacked, interrupted and exaggerated.

Tax return topic was addressed of course and Trump suggests millions of taxes were paid in 2016 and 2017 and not the $750 suggested by the Times. Apparently, the returns are still under audit and somehow this audit has not been expedited in lieu of the taxpayer in question. 

Trump was tested one more time to outright condemn white supremacist groups with a request to ask them to “stand down”. He stumbled and instead of voicing conviction, he referenced antifa.

The two of them were asked to articulate a message on climate change. Trump talked about managing the forest better and attempted to tie Biden to a radical plan differing from Biden’s actual plan. 

There wasn’t a lot of substance here and the biggest take away would be a simple feeling emptiness that this was the best that the country could produce in two candidates. I’m afraid that the democrats did almost as poor a job in appointing Biden as the Republicans did in appointing Trump.

A parent in the U.S. could have come away thinking that their child would be left with a worse off country given that the concluding question dealt a matter that an advanced democracy hasn’t had to face in decades….a question in confidence about counting ballots fairly and any collateral repercussions.   

It was a couple of years ago that I had the thought of providing my ski resort’s only hotel some business after a hard day on the slopes. Allow me to share a story of Kananaskis Lodge.. The Kananaskis Mountain Lodge is located in the Kananaskis Village at the foot of Nakiska. Actually the Stoney Nakoda is a half hour down the road as well.  I thought, why not grab a bite and a room and come back the next day after a night at the Kananaskis Mountain Lodge. 

Here is the thing. When reception greeted me, the price was $350 and rooms were available.

BTW….this story comes to you courtesy of inspiration derived from the Calgary Herald’s editing department who removed my dignified post in reply to an article today referencing hard times in hospitality in Banff / Canmore.   

I thought to myself….this can’t be right. “Excuse me” I exclaimed….did you say $350? Are there rooms available? Yes sir. Well, I’m not paying $350….can you do any better? No sir.  Naturally, I drove home. They didn’t get my business and neither did Nakiska the next day for lunch. My Nakiska early bird season pass was less than this one night quoted at the Kananaskis Mountain Lodge.

Fast forward to today. The vacancy rate is very high. The Herald is quoting 50 per cent today during our covid reign and other posters whose posts have managed to subsist over at the Herald have declared that rates have not come down. 

Am I empathetic to hoteliers given my experience? No. Am I empathetic to folks in the service sector who have lost their jobs because of idiotic decisions by hotels? More so but not particularly. They decided to keep working for the misaligned greed driven owners who weren’t willing to accommodate me and obviously others local to their establishment. You see….Isaac Newton said it best. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If one goes about their business defying natural law expecting a consequence in their favour aberrant to normal course –why should one be empathetic toward a predictable plight? Although COVID may not have been on the horizon, certainly the potential for a Black Swan like event has always persisted as a variable to cause harm to hospitality.

If you ever conduct your affairs in such a way that you take advantage of someone with unfairness, there will be a consequence. You’ll never know when that consequence will show up. There is always reckoning in spite of a cultural denial at every turn that judgment can be avoided.      

Blog followers have come to learn that I showcase society’s shortcomings here. If I tempt readers into challenging evolving norms, then there’s value.       

In spite of modern civilization undergoing stress tests in 2020, some folks are handling challenges better than others. I’ve always been sociologically curious. Undergraduate option courses were spent investigating the human mind and formations of societies. Course work included psychology, sociology and anthropology. My enthusiasm for the subject matter was never as pronounced as my phenomenal professor of anthropology but my intrigue lingers on. Now, why is it than some folks cope better than others?

The mind requires “malleability”. It needs to be uncompromising at times and compromising at others. It requires resourcefulness based on experience and training in order to know when to exert and when to withdraw. Hyper sensitivity is a problem and can lead to obsessive compulsive behaviour. What better environment to observe obsessive compulsive disorder than in the midst of a pandemic. There is common sense, government dictums, and cooperative execution with a predisposed mind. We should be empathetic while educational helping youth along in the context of social policy in flux because they don’t have experience yet they possess acute self interest.       

As we conduct our daily lives, we do so from the standpoint of expectations and needs. Now we also throw in Covid-19 protocols. There’s something eerily deflating to the ego about wearing a mask which is obviously a triggering variable in some of these anti-masker types. Despite the inconvenience and social estrangement associated with wearing a mask, in a mysterious kind of way, I actually revel in witnessing people expressing inherent vulnerability and thoughtfulness toward others by donning a mask.     

As I go through every day during this pandemic, I think to myself….there’s something larger going on here that nobody can comprehend but identifying with meaning would be repugnant in the context of life loss. So instead while empathizing with others more directly affected, I redirect time toward hobbies while reading excerpts from scholars in the humanities like Allen Liska -“Perspectives on Deviance”.          

CERB is a social program which has helped Canadians directly affected by the economic impact of COVID-19. Why is it taxable when it is not “earned income”? It’s like taking from Peter to pay Paul, right? Here is my theory.

1. Bankers want to see income on tax returns for the purpose of substantiating credit worthiness. The personal tax return is their universal tool along with credit bureaus.
2. The federal government wants to keep everyone in the tax pool despite income levels and the basic personal tax exemption. Imposing a tax liability even on the most vulnerable keeps people in the system.
3. Feeds the bureaucracy
4. Calculations of the “Canada Child Benefit” program along with GST / carbon tax rebates are now enshrined with the reporting of “taxable income”. Your government wants to include CERB income as a calculated variable.
5. It’s consistent with your government’s tax collection agenda given its propensity to overspend.