Sunday musings

Today is going to be a hodge podge or thoughts and ramblings.
A full week has come and gone in Canada and life as we know it has not come to an end with a majority Conservative Government. All the self centered eastern media pundits who cannot conceal their affection for the Liberal party are slowly accepting this fact.
One person who still lives in a sort of dreamworld is the Leader of the Opposition NDP who seems to believe he has the mandate to rule and what laws and direction the government should follow is his to decide.
Time to wake up and smell the roses Jack - you have less ability to influence this government that you did when it was a minority government - they just do not need your support and there is nothing you can do that will change this fact.
So get over it will you Jack!
If you follow hockey (as there are few outside Canada and a number of American cities) then you are starting to see the end of the season nearing. The playoffs are in the semi final stages and that will result in 2 teams competing for the Stanley Cup trophy.
A season that seems to start in August will end near the end of May or early June - finally.
Both Canada and the United States are nearing the horrific end of a majour snow filled winter with flooding in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec in Canada and all along the Missouri river system. The costs for recovery will be huge and spread throughout the insurance system so that even those not affected by these events will end up paying through higher premiums for their insurance.
It is interesting to see that start of the American Presidential campaign now. Even though the election is over a year away, all the groundwork is being set into motion now.
It is hard to imagine that the Americans would consider electing a Donald Trump or Sarah Palin as President.
Speaking of titles, why are all former US Presidents still called Mr. President but the title of Prime Minister ends when the person leaves office in Canada?
It is of interest to see the thickening of borders in Europe as a result of mass refugee flooding in countries. You see the Italians giving temporary visas to Tunisians in order to get them to go to France and other countries. The Roma, which seemed to have been persecuted for centuries (most recently by the Nazis and the Russians under Stalin ) are also having trouble traveling between countries. Why is it that when certain troubles occur that the first response of governments is to tighten border access?
This also happened in the case of 9/11 when the Americans effectively closed  the border to Canada on the basis of false rumors that the terrorists came from Canada and not as in reality they came from within and were trained in flight protocols in America.
On to another tack, we planted our garden today!
It is funny in a kind of reflective way that the planting that would take an hour or so 20 years ago now takes at least 2 hours to do.
Is it my imagination or are the seeds themselves getting smaller every year?
We have raised garden beds (this makes it easier on the back for planting and weeding and the like) and every year have to smile when we uncover the small stashes of peanuts that squirrels so carefully plant to overwinter themselves - damn squirrels!
The higher price of gasoline is impacting everyone these days. From produce to clothes to books (for those that still read on paper that is) to nuts and bolts, all are priced higher to reflect the higher transportation costs to the supplier. Of course the end result is that the consumer pays.
I read a blog this week where some academic on the west coast (probably has tenure and drives a bike to school) says that high fuel costs benefit the wealthy and does not impact the poor- huh?
Try telling that to the people that have to budget every penny for food, housing, clothing and transportation. They cannot take these hits, not by any stretch of the imagination.
On a personal note - but then again this blog is of a personal note - I am pleased to see that among my readers is one from the Philippines - Thank you to one and all, seeing the readership slowly increase in baby steps keeps me encouraged to do more and better.
So this afternoon we will take our bikes out from the shed, dust them off, pump up the tire and ride around the 'hood - I can hear my screaming butt already!
So have a super day and take care out there,
flatlander52