With all the testimony this week on Capitol Hill, believe it or not there are still pockets of republican law makers squealing with disbelief still that Trump is guilty as charged.  Jim Jordan may be the last man standing and late night stand up acts will certainly be targeting him for his formulation of logic. Devin Nunes was another Republican so stained in partisanship over facts that he thought that somehow by referencing “poor TV ratings” in an intelligence hearing he’d sway the argument. With all the history of Trump’s lies, deceit, attacks on the vulnerable, twitter tirades, spinning of a conspiracy theory (Obama’s birth), associations with criminals (Manafort for one), apparent deeds of sexual harassment according to some 16 women, countless civil court cases prior to Presidency, obfuscation of publicizing financial history (tax returns), personal attacks on citizens competing for presidential nomination, business intent to operate in corrupt Russia, Mr. Nunes somehow thought by referencing old newspaper headlines that conflating matters would help his defence of this sham of a man, Trump.    

It’s been a harrowing display of partisanship and very disappointing to witness this presidency along with Trump’s character to those who hold justice dear. It was a great experiment in populism projected onto the American people by voters contemptuous of being marginalized with powerlessness. Ironically, the man sent to Washington to address matters of the powerless has abused the power bestowed upon him and a lot of folks saw it coming including yours truly. 

 If one fails to exercise objective thought in the face of political philosophy in a democracy, there are implications. If one turns a blind eye, one will be caught. It may not be today or tomorrow, but the facts will emerge. A steadfast adherence to ideology is healthy but if the implementation of such ideology requires the suppression and disregard to basic values and human rights, then such implementation in democratic form will require a reset in order to extinguish such aberrant conduct. While the trait of loyalty has absolute merit in the context of executing team cause, blind loyalty tarnished with misdeed has inevitable negative consequences including collateral damage. As a result of this Trump debacle, it becomes apparent that the whistle blower provision worked and thankfully there was an American sharp enough to step forward for the good of country and his / her fellow patriot to out this reprehensible conduct of bargaining political gain with earmarked military aid.

Incredulously, there is still the remote possibility that Republicans will grasp at some kind of rationale for defending a no vote to impeachment if proceedings actually make it to trial in absence of Trump’s resignation. I am one conservative ideologue not blinded by partisan ideology but strident in articulating repercussions from being stubborn and outright indignant toward thoughtful discourse.    

If you live in Western Canada and you don’t have a winter sport…consider downhill skiing. Here’s why I enjoy it so much.

• The Excitement

It’s outside of your routine and you’ll be amongst others like minded and keen in their pursuit of adventure

• The Landscape

You’ll be astonished by the horizon draped in glaciated peaks as you take a moment having exited the mountain’s highest elevated lift.

• The Comraderie

You’ll be trading stories about mountains, runs, conditions, and travel.

• The Finesse

Carving the snow and negotiating terrain become objectives of pursuit. A skill set develops in the spirit of continuous improvement.

• Natures Separateness

You will forget your day job. You will have escaped.

•  Safety

Start with lessons and advance. There is no rush. You will not break a leg. Equipment offers protection.

• Testing Comfort

Can you advance in terrain from season to season and challenge your fears?

• Travel

Experience uniqueness in every mountain and every community

• Family bonding

It’s something you guys can do together.

• The Anticipation

No two ski trips will be alike.

Last night while driving home from work, the main drag was congested so I took a residential route. Naturally, I slowed down to 30km per hour while driving through a playground zone. As is often the case, there was a pick-up truck right on my back bumper. I pulled over and let him pass. Tailgating is an epidemic and law enforcement isn’t interested in pursuing this infraction with tickets. Drivers will have a propensity for checking their rear view mirror to see how much closer the ahole is going to get when they should be keeping an eye out for for children.

Now, imagine driving through this zone at a crawl and then confronted with a new reduced 40km per hour limit after the playground zone instead of 50. People will be perturbed while now thinking about what they’re going to make for dinner or thoughts of being late to pick up the kids. Their focus will not be on driving as it would be at a reasonable speed of 50km per hour for the conditions.

One thing is for sure – if the residential speed limit is reduced to 40km / hr then a municipality will have more revenues from speeding tickets generated through camera catches that it would at a speed of 50 km /hr.

We would hope that child safety is the motivator for considering such a change but I’m suspect. The current residential speed limit has served Canadians well for decades. Current infractions on the books such as “failure to stop”, “crosswalk incursions”, “failure to stop in advance of a stop line”, “failure to signal” do not get enforced. , “Failure to turn into nearest lane”, “unsafe lane changes”, and “failure to give distance” don’t apparently get taught in driver’s school or are simply disregarded due to drivers understanding that sanctions against such poor driving habits will not be applied.

You have bloated bureaucracies in Canada looking for places to turn their attention when what they need to do is execute their current agenda with precision.

Lastly, you will have mothers who believe this is a good proposal. I suggest that strong parenting along with common sense supervision has worked for decades when it comes to children and traffic law.