Here Comes the Judge

There has been some buzz from out west on judicial appointments. I have been seeing the headlines, but had not had the chance to dig in. They have a point. This is tricky stuff for any country? You do not want to enact a nation rending strategy, but judicial appointments ... are a big deal. Look south. When people feel disenfranchised, they lose institutional faith. Caution is required.

The rule being rammed down Western throats is that Supreme Court justices need to be bilingual. Except they don't. Spanish doesn't count. Mandarin doesn't count. Pashto doesn't count. You get me? They don't mean bilingual, they mean French speaking, and not that European crap they speak in Paris. Less than 5% of senior judges from out west are fluent French speakers. Our Supreme Court currently guarantees Quebec three seats out of nine. If you legislate that the other six must be bilingual, then chances are, you are going to have a court skewed to the east. I'm OK with that, more people live in the east ... but a farmer from Saskatoon will probably not see it that way? The devil is in the details. Could we not drop that requirement and hire a couple of top-notch translators? You need two, as one might be sick or on vacation. Maybe it's time to guarantee an Aboriginal seat? How about we cut the Quebec guarantee to two and guarantee the four western provinces two. Let the chips fall where they may for the rest under the standing rules. It removes a craw from western throats at a time when we may have a generational chance to mollify separation anxiety from that quarter.

The U.S. used to have a pretty good system? You needed 60 votes, out of 100 Senators. You therefore needed votes from both the right and the left, so a successful candidate had to be somewhat down the middle. No lunatics. Then Mitch McConnell did something incredibly stupid. A decision that will haunt this legacy forever. He blocked the Obama nominee for over a year until Trump became president. Then he changed the rules so you only needed a majority. 51 votes. They called it the Nuclear Option. Trump slammed three very originalist, fundamentalist practicing Roman Catholic judges onto the court. Of course, they blatantly lied their assess off all during the confirmation process and said that Roe v. Wade was established law. The decisions they have since taken have changed the course of American society. We are seeing the worst predictions of George Orwell and Margaret Attwood being played out before our very eyes on the evening news. Here in Canada, we have a proud tradition of following the U.S. down just about every road. It boggles the mind that a small vocal minority of Canadians watch that news and say, sign us up for some of that! Schools for rich people, different schools for poor people. Crap health care. Guns for everyone. Religious freedom (for Christians). ICE raids. Could we, just for once, when parroting our neighbours to south, take the road less travelled?

(More) Things That Make You Go Hmmm

Katy Perry uses 498 tons of fuel on an eleven minute space tourism flight. Then she goes to Davos to blow Justin ... and promote climate action. The irony. It burns! (PB)

Best of 2025
I was going to do a big blurb on this subject but it seemed pretentious. So here is the short version. Best TV that we watched last year (and if you are looking for something) ... The English, 1883, Landman, Slow Horses, Blue Lights & Pluribus. One the movie front, we liked Dillon, Creator and Dune 2 . If you are only going to read one book ... Project Hail Mary. The Ryan Gosling movie will be the movie of this year! I might even go the the theatre and see it on the big screen (anyone?).

Our Optimum Week

SWMBO is not impressed with the smell of curries bubbling away in the scullery. I on the other hand, love these Blue Dragon products that were on sale last week. I bought one of everything. You get a umami brick, a packet of spices and a sauce.

You stir fry your protein and vegetables (the more the merrier) separately and serve it over something. I have selection of whole wheat pastas that I am forced to consume but lately, I've been on a bit of a cabbage kick. Pickled shallots, garlic, ginger, ghee, and finely sliced cabbage in just enough stock to steam it, then continue until most of the liquid is gone and edges are turning crispy. I used a slivered pork chop, carrots and broccoli with the Thai green curry kit. What a feast! We have continued to eat out of our pantry and SWMBO is away next week, so our food budget will be cut by three or four percent 👀 ! I did stock up a bit on my Saturday morning run and spent $158 grabbing 28K in points. Here is your list:

You might notice that I gave you wings and blue cheese. That was no accident. There are hundreds of blue cheese dip recipes but I like the ones where the sharpness of the mayo is cut with some sour creme. I also like a couple of shots of Valentina hot sauce in mine. Your call. This will get you started:

Local Boy Makes Good
Sometimes, there are unexpected benefits to being cheap. One lately was the early discovery of Steve Dangle. You see, most days, I didn'thave enough cable coverage to be able to see the Leafs games. The radio would have worked for me, but I wanted the play by play on my computer. I found this guy on YouTube who would watch the game (offscreen), tell you what was happening, do his own colour commentary. There are thousand of these guys in every sport imaginable but they are almost all universaly obnoxious and unwatchable. One guy that does frisbee golf ( I hate that sport) needs a meteor strike at his location followed by plague. Steve is none of those things. He is simply an unapologetic rabid Leaf fan who seems to know and follow every aspect of Leaf nation in particular and the hockey world in general. Five years on, he has done what almost none of these self-appointed pundits have been unable to do. He has garnered, for himself, some legitimacy. I see him referenced in print. I hear him on sports talk shows. He gets real hockey people to appear on his channel. All of this is just a short lead into his hilarious diatribe on the questionable ancestry and flawed genetic make up of the leafs coaching and scouting staff following the their disastrous conclusion to the trade deadline. Destined to miss the playoff, the Leafs had a singular opportunity to trim some fat, make some structural changes (like get a little bigger and meaner), hey get a star goalie or a second tier defensemen? None of that happened, Here is the short version"

• We trade one of our only good young defensemen (McCann) to Seattle for a 4th round pick next year (97th to 128th overall) and a 2nd round pick in 2027. Huh?
• We traded a first round pick and a prospect for Scott Laughton last year. They just traded him to the LA kings for a conditional 3rd round pick. Wow.
• Calle Jarnkrok and Nick Robertson are both going to be unrestricted free agents this off season. Leafs did nothing with them. Leafs will now get nothing for them.
• Tanev gone for the season and when he comes back, one more concussion will likely end his career? That leaves Benoix and OEL as the future. Unless Reilly learns some new tricks that's our dream squad leading three defensive lines for for 2027?

Anyway, I don't know enough about hockey to understand what all of that means, but his sputtering indignation is fun to watch. I will also say it right now. The Leafs will miss the playoffs next year as well.

Mitch & Maddie

P.S. - Captain Predicto - "Even a stopped clock is right twice a day"

I thought is was Oscar Wilde but apparently Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (?) coined the phrase. Every once in a while, one of my predictions comes true. SWMBO has to watch as I dance around the kitchen. I told you, I told you (!) ... two months ago. I predicted that. I have had these "lucky" guesses for a few Guelph businesses over the years. (Hey Rona .. tick tick tick) So I waws reading two unrelated stories and it occurred to me ....

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will take a bribe. Everyone in Washington knows this. His mother's house, a gigantic Winnebago, luxury travel, all expenses paid! He has more shame than Robert Menendez (actual gold bars found in his home), but not by much. I am thinking that Trump will find a way to funnel an eight-figure crypto windfall into his coffers in return for a "failing health" resignation. Trump will appoint Ted Cruz (yes, the snivelling, obsequious, incompetent, shit stain from Texas) in his place. This will need to happen before he loses the Senate in the mid-terms. That assumes he doesn't have a hundred thousand ICE agents standing outside every urban polling station to ensure that brown people don't vote. Or he could just suspend the mid-terms due to the war with Venezuala? Or Iran? Or Cuba? Columbia anyone?