Tag Archives: USA

What’s A Billion?

The numbers boggle the mind. Talk about rags to riches. Overnight. It was an American news story that I probably would have missed if I hadn’t been on vacation in the US and consuming American media. The rags may be metaphorical, but the riches certainly aren’t. Sometime when I wasn’t looking (because I don’t play […]

Holding True

In recent weeks there have been a number of mass shootings in the United States. I thought about commenting, then decided I had nothing new to say. Today though I’m saying something old. Sadly, nothing seems to have changed in the seven years since this piece first appeared here. In Canada we take government restrictions […]

Thoughts on America

Is it a failed state, as many seem to think these days? Or does it remain the best example of democracy and a hope for the world? It seems appropriate on July 4, as Americans celebrate Independence Day, to give some thought to the state of the United States in 2022. Are things as bad […]

Reflections on 9/11

Twenty years. A defining moment. You probably remember exactly where you were when you heard the news. So many lives lost. Not just that day but in the wars that followed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Thousands on September 11 in the US, more than a million, according to some estimates, in the violence that followed. […]

On The Beach

It is 6 a.m. on a Sunday morning, and everyone on the beach was a smile on their face. Quite simply, there is no place they would rather be – even at this early hour.  I feel the same way. It was been 102 weeks since I last stood on this beach – 714 days. […]

Chicken or Egg?

A judge in Californa has overturned the state’s ban on owning assault weapons. He expecially noted that the AR-15 assault rifle is “a perfect combination of home defense weapon and homeland defense equipment.” Wikipedia tells me the AR-15 has been the weapon of choice for many American mass murderers because it is lightweight, accurate and […]

Another Castle

Given the travel restrictions, I didn’t visit many castles during our last 18 months in Germany. Then again, once you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all. Tourists don’t feel that way of course. Living in Germany, with a ruined castle on every second hill, I quickly reached the point where castles lost their appeal. Seen […]

Trump Free

After more than a hundred days of the Biden presidency, Donald Trump seems like a faded memory. Or perhaps a nightmare we have all woken up from. It is amazing how quiet he has been since his banning back in January by the social media platforms he was using. Maybe traditional media is finding things […]

How Many More?

I had decided to skip the anniversary this year, to not re-post anything about the 1970 Kent State killings. Then last night I changed my mind. The deaths of four student protestors at Kent State University in Ohio, USA, at the hands of the American National Guard on May 4, 1970, changed me. More than […]

A Matter of Perspective

I remember it as if it were yesterday, even though it was more than a decade ago. February 19, 2009. For some people it was a really big deal. Barack Obama was coming to Ottawa. Traditionally an American President’s first foreign visit has been to Canada. Donald Trump didn’t follow that, and who knows if […]