I missed the Stampede weekend events, including the Canada Day celebrations in the park, not through lack of interest. My spirit was there, just not the rest of me. From all accounts the events were successful, the attendees happy. Congratulations to all who made it happen.
Interesting political news on our federal scene and south of the border. In both countries, the leaders are being asked to resign.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is blamed for what is being called a “shocking” loss of the long-time Liberal constituency, St. Paul/Toronto, in a by-election. An interesting part of that story hasn’t made the headlines. Two records were set in the by-election. First, there were 84 candidates on the almost metre-long ballot. That’s an unheard number for anywhere, anytime. Also, 77 of them were part of an organized protest against the First Past the Post voting system. The independents got 1,068 votes. The Conservatives won by 633 votes.
The second record was that one independent candidate got zero votes, a first in Canadian history, maybe North American history. He couldn’t vote for himself because he doesn’t live in the constituency. Ordinarily those two items would be considered newsworthy.
There are howls for President Joe Biden’s resignation because, they say, he lost the Big TV Debate. He didn’t out-yell or out-lie his opponent, former president Donald Trump. Since then the US Supreme Court has ruled that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for actions “considered” to be within their constitutional authority. This means Trump can’t be prosecuted for all his doings if he’s re-elected.
Is the democratic form of government getting a tad wonkey? Do Americans really believe Trump will Make America Great Again? Is the media on both sides of the border a bit biased? Just asking.
