Canada's federal election is this coming Monday, but these signs went up on Parliament Hill last week. I guess there's nothing like being prepared, but things are probably pretty quiet in the Members' Orientation Centre this week..

Pope Francis died on Monday. Not being Roman Catholic, his death didn't impact me emotionally, but it brought back memories of 2018, when I heard him speak in St Peter's Square. It was Easter Sunday morning, the annual Urbe et Orbe (City and the World) sermon, kind of like an American State of the Union address. Seven years later, I don't remember what he said - but I have difficulty remembering last Sunday's sermon, so that isn't too surprising.

Found this online. I haven't had to do this since my daughter moved out and took the cats with her. I don't miss them.

Canadians go to the polls in a federal election next Monday. A record number turned out at the advance polls this holiday weekend. Nobody knows if that is good or bad, but it shows interest in the election. The Prime Minister has been saying that Canada faces the biggest crisis of our lifetimes. I thought about that, and he's not correct.

Five years ago they tried to cancel Easter. Well, not really, but the COVID-19 precautions were extreme and certainly church services were canceled. But where we were they didn't stay canceled, and people found a way to celebrate. This post is from April 19, 2020. For those in the Orthodox and Coptic traditions (and a few others) Easter is celebrated a week later than other Christians.

I have been mostly absent here the past couple of months. I have rarely been so busy - explanation coming soon. But I can't let Good Friday pass without comment, so here's what I wrote in 2019. How is it possible to believe, how can anyone believe without fear and trembling that all of God was present in a man? Who can believe that God incarnate is dying on a cross?

I've seen this floating around social media a few times this past week. If you are Canadian you are smiling when you see these iconic images. Mind you, everyone's experience of a country and culture is different. I haven't asked my wife if she can name what all four of these are - but if I told her she would go "I knew that!" For example, she knows who the guy in the bottom right image is - but probably doesn't know what he looks like.

Even in Canada we don't expect to wake up to a winter wonderland on April 8.

Looks to me a lot like hubris, that excessive pride in your accomplishments. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has called a federal election for April 28. I think his Liberal Party is going to lose, and, if it does, Carney will enter the history books as Canada's shortest serving Prime Minister. Probably not how he wants to be remembered. Carney is riding high in the polls.

This showed up in my Facebook feed one of those algorithm things I guess. If you don't understand the allegory, ask yourself if perhaps you may be part of the problem rather than part of the solution. We've been neighbors for years. We've always gotten along. A few years back we agreed to plant some cedars between our properties. We drew a line.

President Trump does not seem to notice or care that if you betray people, or jerk them around, they will revile you. Over the last few weeks, the Europeans have gone from shock to bewilderment to revulsion. This period was for them what 9/11 was for us - the stripping away of illusions, the exposure of an existential threat. The Europeans have realized that America, the nation they thought was their friend, is actually a rogue superpower.

I'm a little surprised. I had expected the Russians (or the Americans) to hack into the Liberal Party's computers and disrupt the leadership vote that was to choose a new leader for the party, who would become the Prime Minister designate. The announcement that Mark Carney would inherit Justin Trudeau's crown was somewhat anti-climactic. The party establishment was backing him, even though he had never held elected office.

I love a bargain. Living across the street from a grocery store means I can check daily basis for the best deals. I was delighted earlier this week to discover a display case full of beef roasts, all with bright pink stickers saying they were fifty per cent off. I was excited, until I saw the original price. Beef at $121.24 a kilo is way out of my price range…

Your wife has told the media you are brokenhearted at Canadians' reaction to you these days. Funnily enough, that is how Canadians are feeling about you. Your continued silence says that you just don't get it. I'll try to explain. You were our hero. Whether we should put a hockey player on a pedestal is a question to debate another time, but you were The Great One.

My friend Paul posted a video that puts some of the more recent news events in perspective. Not that those who need to hear it will listen.

Three years ago today, Russia invaded Ukraine. Followers of Donald Trump please note: that is a fact. That Ukraine has held out against the aggressors is a tribute to the Ukrainian people. That there are those now suggesting that democracy should no longer be defended is shameful. As has been said so many times, the first casualty of war is the truth.

A certain politician has been musing about place name changes on maps, and perhaps even his country seizing other countries' territory. And no, I'm not talking about Vladimir Putin, though that is also part of his playbook. Since we are redrawing the map, here's one I saw online. It has no basis in reality of course, but I think that is the point.

I'm sure there are many in the United States who think it makes sense for Canada to join them and become the 51st state. They are looking at our similarities, and, as proud Americans, they don't understand why we don't want to be more like them. I could write volumes on the topic, but instead here's a graphic I saw on a friend's Facebook page that touches on one subject only, health care. There's a lot more that could be said, but this gives my American friends a little something to think about.

The big game is about to kick off - do you care? I must confess I don't. Oh, I will watch the beginning at least. And I may cheer for Philadelphia since they have one player on their team, but whether they or Kansas City wins makes no difference to me. My guess is I'll go to bed sometime in the third quarter.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the trade war Donald Trump threatened to start with Canada today is the "dumbest trade war in history." It isn't, Trump backed down Monday on his threat to impose across the board tariffs on Mexico and Canada today. Maybe tariffs were never intended as more than a negotiating tactic, maybe they will show up in 30 days.

It has been a busy day and I only now realized it is February 3 - the "day the music died." Every time I hear this song I am reminded of my youth - and feel a certain lament for lost times. If you are of my generation, not only do you know the words, you know what they mean.

My cousin reposted this image on Facebook. I checked the source page, but didn't find an attribution. I did find it to be an interesting set of questions. Maybe the man does his good deeds in secret so as not to draw attention to them. In my youth, with great wealth came an understanding of social responsibility. I wonder if that is still the case.

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and also the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, where the full extent of the Nazi genocide came to light. Today a post from five years ago about a different concentration camp. The first question I thought when visiting the Dachau concentration camp was: “How could they not have known?” Of course, many Germans did know of the concentration camps and bought the lies about what was happening there.

There's been a lot of serious stuff here lately, and probably too much Donald Trump for everyone's mental and emotional health. As an introvert, I can identify with this one. So let's take a break from politics and world affairs. Hopefully one of these will at least make you chuckle.

Donald Trump has been sworn in as president of the USA and the world didn't end. His first day didn't feature as much mayhem as he promised, but he does have four years to deliver on his promises. Some his plans just won't happen. Changing the citizenship rules would require a constitutional amendment. Those are notoriously difficult to pass, especially in a tight time frame.