Photo collage: NPR Conan O'Brien and other top comedians brutally humiliate Donald Trump at the Kennedy Center โ ripping into the "orange a**hole" despite the MAGA coup to seize control of the famous cultural center. CONTEXT The John F Kennedy Centre for the performing arts, Washington D. C. Since the early 1960s the John J... Continue Reading →
Feel the Bern โ Robert Reich on Bernie Sanders
Opinion by Robert Reich reposted from Facebook Let me just come right out and say it: I love Bernie Sanders.While many in the Democratic Party appear to be asleep, Bernie is leading the charge against the Trump regime. His "Fighting Oligarchy" tour is spanning the country and drawing massive crowds in Republican leaning districts. He's... Continue Reading →
Canadians are cancelling U.S. trips as Trump sours relations
Ken Gray, with content from The Washington Post (Democracy dies in darkness) [Ken Gray] Some friends recently asked if I thought boycotts were getting the attention of Americans, especially legislators and business leaders. Itโs hard to say. With, for instance, groceries, changes in buying behaviour are obvious. There are some excellent bargains on American fruit... Continue Reading →
Canada eh!
Resistance to the Trump/Musk horror show is growing. In the US, social media now includes a variety of mea culpa statements by Trump voters. Many are hard to verify and may be fakes. That said, I am reminded of that stupid woman who admitted on the BBC a day following the โleaveโ victory that she... Continue Reading →
Waiting, waiting, waiting โ Stress testing telephone customer service
PREAMBLE This blog, takenote.ca, features a wide variety of topics. Recently, many daily posts have responded seriously to national and global politics, and rightly so. There is, however, a limit to what we and our readers can tolerate. Sometimes we need a break from politics and the serious matters which swirl around us. So today,... Continue Reading →
The truth gets uglier, day by day
UPDATED WITH ADDITIONAL IMAGES AND A VIDEO "Trump and Vance have revealed to Americans and to Americaโs allies their alignment with Russia, and their animosity toward Ukraine in general and its president in particular. The truth is ugly, but itโs necessary to face it." -- David Frum, The Atlantic, Friday, February 28, 2025 And one... Continue Reading →
Checkup, on Cross Country Checkup
Howls of protest surged online as the CBC News special 51st State: A Cross Border Conversation was announced and broadcast on multiple platforms across the U.S. and Canada this past Sunday. This was an international co-production between CBC Radio Cross Country Checkup with Ian Hanomansing and The Middle with Jeremy Hobson. Both hosts took calls from Canadians and Americans.... Continue Reading →
Trump is rapidly gaining a personal monopoly on the use of force
[Ken Gray] On this my 67th birthday I wanted to write something myself about the state of the world, of North America, and of Canada. A few ideas are in development, but for now, the words below published by Robert Reich today are best shared here. They answer a question many Canadians and Americans ask... Continue Reading →
Resist. Resist. Resist.
MuskRat OR Muscovites OR Muskatel โ You choose Resist. Resist. Resist. Let me count the ways. Letters to the editor of papers of record (if any are left); social media engagement, bot or not; join the queue for radio call-in shows; march in local protest rallies which are growing in number and size throughout the... Continue Reading →
News โ A double-edged sword
I am pleased to share a prayer from Irwin Keller, Rabbi, Teacher, writer, hope-monger. Rabbi Keller knows well how the news is a double-edged sword; it informs us about what is happening locally, nationally, and globally; likewise it often upsets us often to the point of despair. Whether we learn of events in the Middle... Continue Reading →