Month: April 2026

The plea of Hegseth for spending on military resources appears to me as being like the drunk draining the last of the bottle while knowing a life-threatening withdrawal is coming. The bravado is just sad.

At the same time, a protocol office displayed Australian flags (thinking they were Union Jacks?) along with the Stars and Stripes to welcome King Charles III. 

The thing is, they were not entirely wrong, just as they would not have been entirely wrong had they displayed the red maple leaf Canadian flag. The “King of England” (as American media refers to Charles) is the head of state for Australia, Canada, and numerous other places, along with the U.K., consisting of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. He’s a big deal.

He represents much of the world.

Canadians, from where I sit,  seem to figure it’s OK to have a king, or queen, as long as they recognize they have influence, but not actual power. Kind of like celebrities. Speaking of which:

Katy Perry’s boyfriend’s father, Pierre Trudeau, espoused a policy that was known as “The Third Option.” That option promoted a lessening of dependance on trade relations with the U.S. and U.K. and building ties with Europe. Sound familiar? See what a guy named Carney is doing?

Hopefully, the visit of King Charles to America can rekindle a connection of the real America to the rest of the world. We miss you. Meanwhile, Americans should please not be offended by Canada’s reaching out elsewhere. We love you. We just hate your choices. 

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Musical Addendum: The Threshold

Apple Music

Spotify

YouTube

https://youtu.be/968mgPysphU?si=EjwvDC7DjtZZ72rd

Global real estate agency Knight Frank LLP is predicting there could be 4,000 billionaires in the world by 2031, up from 3,110 in 2026 (from the Financial Post). The biggest growth is expected in Saudi Arabia. Here in Canada we’ll have, apparently, an increase from 49 to 63. Full disclosure: I won’t be one of them. 

While there are those who are insanely rich beyond all reason, I do not consider it innately evil to have a lot of money. One might ask, however, “What are you doing with it?” I suppose that might be considered rude. So would: “How are you managing your stewardship of wealth?” 

Nevertheless, I think it’s fair to question the morality of wealth if the presenting mantra is just “Mine, mine, mine,” and “More, more, more.”

You sometimes hear the misquote: “Money is the root of all evil.” The quote is from the Bible, and it’s actually “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” It’s fair to recognize you don’t have to have a lot of it to be afflicted with that love.

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A recipe for true riches: Just Add Sunshine

Apple Music
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/just-add-sunshine/1842205622?i=1842205623

Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/track/0LEMtM9dpdVgljH35Ugb8r?si=8Xpg-iKcT9yNrEV5ihBHlw

YouTube
https://youtu.be/hkEZZ7ScRkA?si=aVwzdeY21pJi9TdC

Are you tired of being taken for a fool?

The stark reality is that the front persons of the ultra-immoral elite know exactly how to push human buttons—either building up those predisposed to their depravity, or making life especially miserable for those whose hearts and minds, and often relationships, are ravaged by their lies. Whatever that was in Washington, D.C. yesterday, April 25, it brings out key elements of what the crap Americans have been going through is about, in my humble view.

Consider your own setting

I’m no sociologist, psychologist, or expert on anything, but I presume to think an element or two of my own experience suggests how this manipulation works, and how it can be countered.

If you have a master manipulator in your life, say, at work, one of their key tools (among many) is coddling of the impressionable, together with character assassination for others—those who might put blocks up against their self-elevating and ego-stroking designs.

Their strategy against rivals:

Step 1: Identify a character flaw that can be hung around your neck. At some time we all have acted defensively or taken something personaly. That gets generalized and elevated into being a defining component of who you are.

Step 2:—and here’s the key, and transition to the larger political picture—They know the buttons to push to elicit the characteristic/s they have chosen to highlight in you—to destroy your credibility and clear their way, whatever that might be, in your group/org/project.

Your plan: Have the self-awareness to identify what your “buttons” might be and don’t let anyone push them.

Some things are clear

Re what happened at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner:

1. Trump, as President, has always boycotted this event, castigating the media. The event is intended to be fun and light-hearted.

2. This year he announced his plans to come, and brought a significant entourage from his Administration.

3. Very shortly after the incident, a composed Trump, surrounded by a weirdly cheerful entourage, helpfully pointed out that what had just happened underlined the need for a White House ballroom.

Something is seriously off here. Worst case: This was a sick ploy to push a lot of buttons.

Summary

There is one key element on which the designs and actions of oppressors and tyrants depends. That’s the buttons in us that can be pushed. We all must have the humility to identify the buttons on our personhood, buttons that have to do with our fears, our flaws and delusions—whatever—and refuse to let them be used. Let’s just acknowledge them and, probably with help and support, deal with them. That, I believe, is the real key to shutting down all the crap.

Bottom line: Don’t let anybody push your buttons.

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Musical Addendum: For Emerging

Apple Music
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/for-emerging/1824860872?i=1824860873

Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/album/7i1XTzIf0LE1msbIFMQ7Rq?si=9XxpitJrThOhqbRWjVN72Q

YouTube
https://youtu.be/QZDkpQVyC2c?si=zH8V_9LuBeeAvqtg