I watched the sun go down for the last time on 2020, and it was as ugly and as threatening as the cursed year.
Which seemed right to me because it was the worst year I have ever known. One with more dead than anyone could count, more fear and more madness and the prospect of even more horror to come.
A year only the Grim Reaper could love.
But even in the darkness there were blinding flashes of light.
The heroic efforts of healthcare workers, who put their own lives on the line every day to try to stop Covid-19 from killing even more people.
The essential workers who kept food on our table.
The random acts of kindness that made humans look and act like humans should all the time.
And then there was the political scene. that also had some very bright spots, for it was the year that the Cons all over the world started to crumble.
The year more and more people started to realize that Cons are unfit to govern human societies. That in a dangerous world they can only make it more dangerous and deadly.
For as the sands ran out of the Grim Reaper's hourglass, Donald Trump's time in office also ran out...
As he was buried alive in his own excrement...
In the UK the Con buffoon Boris Johnson is now living on borrowed time after his disastrous pandemic management resulted in the unnecessary deaths of ten of thousands of people.
And now that his precious Brexit has finally happened, like his Little England "winners" he is sure to end up looking like a loser...
With many, including yours truly, sympathizing with the ones projecting this message last night on the white cliffs of Dover.
As well as with the many Scots who didn't want Scotland to leave the European Union, and now believe it's yet another reason Scotland should go for independence.
In Canada, our grubby Cons also had a bad year.
They were forced to look on helplessly as decent Canadians gave the ghastly Andrew Scheer the boot...
And his replacement, the useless Erin O'Toole, is already well on his way to suffering the same fate.
Con premiers like Doug Ford and Jason Kenney are also feeling the heat.
And as the latest Abacus poll suggests, Justin Trudeau is the only leader to come out of this Covid year a winner.
1 – The federal government’s approval rating and Prime Minister Trudeau’s personal image is better today than it was in January
2- None of the federal political parties find much more support than they did in January with the Liberals holding a slight advantage over the Conservatives at the end of 2020.
3 – Pessimism about the near term future of the economy is elevated compared to January, but personal financial confidence is remarkably similar to what we say at the beginning of the year.
Incredibly, after the many Covid catastrophes he had to face, and all the fake scandals courtesy of the Cons and their shabby bought media, Trudeau is more popular than he was after the last election.
Across the rest of Canada apart from Alberta and Saskatchewan, (where the Liberals have no seats and thin prospects at best) approval of the Trudeau government finished the year 8 points better than the January level, and Justin Trudeau’s personal rating went from a -3 to a +8. In the rest of Canada, the Liberals started the year with a 10 point lead and finished with an 11 point lead.
The Prime Minister and his government start the new year with more goodwill and general approval than when 2020 began. More view Mr. Trudeau positively than negatively after facing the reverse for most of 2019.
As for me, now that I'm sure than I'm going to survive 2020...
Like many Canadians I feel confident about the future.
Despite severe economic, health, and social disruptions caused by the pandemic, Canadians are as optimistic about the direction of the country as they were at the start of 2020 and as many feel confident about their personal economic situation as did before it all started.
I feel that generational change is finally happening, and that it will change the world for the better, and save the planet from destruction.
My greatest disappointment was not being able to travel to Scotland to visit my parents,
And join Sebastien in showing how we both feel about 2020...
In the...um... traditional highland way.
I'm also disappointed tonight that Covid has put a damper on the New Year's Eve celebrations, all over the world, and the parts I like the best, the firework shows...
But like everything else this year, if I couldn't do something, I improvised.
And these fireworks, shot by me in better times, will have to do...
To all those who like me dream of living in a Con-free world, thank you for your support and your friendship.
And Happy New Year everybody !!!!
16 comments:
Happy New Year! It likely won't be for months, unfortunately, but there's hope beyond.
I share your opinion of Cons -- the wonder of it all is that so many Canadians do not, despite having been beaten over the head with inactions and verbiage about "rights" (make that "business rights" in reality) uttered by the many amateurish incompetent ideologically conservative provincial premiers during the pandemic, let alone their idiocy on more mainstream matters. A state of emergency by its very nature does inhibit rights, and last time I checked, all ten provinces and three teritories are under one. Trying to straddle the fence rhetorically while weeping crocodile tears of pity for the common folk is an age-old right wing tactic. Underneath the facade is the simple joy authoritarians have for ordering people about when the chips are finally down, and no other excuses for allowing some people to act like dumbasses simply because they're political supporters can be dredged up. Meanwhile people die while dunderheads march to the beat of "I've got my rights so screw yours".
As usual, the most ostrich-like head-in-sand Canadians inhabit Northern Ontario and the prairies. I gave up decades ago wondering about their illogic. Quebec? Who knows what the hell Legault thinks he's up to, but unquestionably his has been the very worst response to the plague. Big Daddy Doug Fraud? God help you all in Ontario where municipal pols have had to try to fill in his mental gaps and grasp of nothing in a communal societal sense. On the other hand, he's a maestro at covering his own fat arse and those of his cronies, including old time Con pols like Harris who run LTC's for fun and excess profit. They're curs of the very worst kind.
Meanwhile, where the virus situation has been explained properly and openly from day one by an amazing Chief Medical Officer, restaurants are re-opening on Monday. Nova Scotia. People here have outperformed the Canadian herd, while Upper Canadian academic "explainers" say it's because we're a simple rural folk living miles apart in log cabins surviving on lobster and Kraft Dinner. What a crock from people who've never visited and written us off - all they've got is book larning, attitude and no experience. They assume. Far too much.
The reality is there are two universities having been fully open with students from all over the world and the other four partially open, all the military personnel running the East Coast Navy running around, rotational workers from Alberta and BC constantly re-infecting us, and last time I checked the tiny hamlet of Halifax had over 300,000 residents. Beating the virus can be done, just not with nutbar Cons at the helm overriding public health advice because they believe only they personally possess a special kind of genius. Nobody has ever been able to discover what that genius might be, and the man with the lawn-shears haircut nominally running the UK and ruining my birthplace has put all his citizens in a giant toilet and is frantically trying to pull the chain while uttering plummy upper-class twit words of complete bullshite.
These Con artists have downloaded the results of their gross incompetence onto health care workers of every kind. It's cowardice, preying on peoples' caring nature and ability to sustain overwork to compensate for their own ideological inadequacies. I spit on them and their uselessness. They are not fit to "lead".
Ontario had 1,000 times the new infection cases today compared to NS. One thousand times three, with a population only 15 times greater (220 times worse per capita). Quebec had 1,000 times the new cases with a population only 8.5 times greater (330 times worse). Kind of says it all. Don't vote for Cons masquerading as PCs or CAQ.
This message brought to you with the aid of several drams of Highland Park single malt.
BM
Happy New Year, Simon.
May all your dreams come true.
Best wishes for the new year.
Happy New Year Simon. Biden gets to tell Trump "You're Fired" in three weeks and it can't come soon enough. So best wishes to you and everyone in Canada for a Con-free 2021.
That said, the Order of Ontario is officially a useless participation trophy. Fuck Doug Ford and Fuck Mike Harris. This is like when Trump awarded Rash Limbaugh the Medal of Freedom. Nice to be rewarded by the "back-slapping boys' club" for having so much damn blood on your hands.
Considering the damage they've done at the provincial level, here's a wish that they stay the fuck out of Ottawa. #WhereIsTrudeau ? Not Barbados, that's for sure, not St Bart's and not Costa Rica. He's in the prime minister's chair where he hopefully gets to stay for a long, long time.
The fools pushing the #WhereIsTrudeau hash tag and its conspiracy theories are as stupid as the #IStandWithTrudeau crowd and their constant claims of fake scandals and Opposition/media plots to get the PM.
As I look back on 2020, my beliefs were reinforced, time and time again, that the Liberals genuinely try their best to do right by Canadians while the Cons did their best to undermine them at every turn. Lying and deceiving is their only path to victory and when you have an MSM that completely ignores or sugar coats their ugly antics, it's no wonder these self serving assholes could still pull off an upset in 2021. Unlikely but still possible so we battle on.
As for our southern neighbors who don't live on planet Trump, The 20th is coming and at 12 noon I will be celebrating along with you as Trump's pathetic ass is kicked out of the white house for good. So long Donnie, have a nice life, sentence I hope.
Simon, thank you so much for doing what you do and all the best wishes for a healthy, happy 2021 to you and all.
JD
Anonycon 4:39PM are you the same false equivalency troll from the other day who referred to Liberal supporters as a "cult of personality"? Real smart to attempt to "debunk" the cause of Liberals on the defense from opposition-contrived fake scandals by... comparing their solidarity in the PR war to an opposition-contrived fake scandal. Brilliant Con logic, or maybe you're a pox-on-both-houses Dipper troll chauffeuring Niki Ashton around Greece. Now that's an overlap that's become indistinguishable: the Cons' and NDP's unifying platform is a visceral hatred of Liberals, and in particular, Justin Trudeau. And apparently his family too.
John the Con Ibbitson today pulled some tired whataboutery from his ass and unironically compared Phillips to the Aga Khan bullshit from four years ago. Which we all know was a dirty sideswipe from Drona Ambrose while she was vacationing on some rich guy's yacht. So no, I'd say our concern about manufactured hit jobs is valid, and why we are always having to play defense. Take your gaslighting bothsiderism elsewhere, like maybe St. Bart's or Hawaii. We don't need it in 2021.
Beat wishes for you and your family in 2021 Simon. Thanks for your tireless effort in poking holes in the Cons retro reformatory boat to nowhere. Also thanks for providing a safe space for those that wish to comment without receiving threats in return.
As we face 2021 the winds of change are still blowing strong which will ultimately force us to adapt or suffer the consequences. There are those that believe that the general public are basically stupid and a strong authoritarian leader or wise communist overseers are required to dictate the path to salvation. Also there is our special brand of Reform-a-Cons that believe turning back the clock and watch it all blow over by burying their head in the sands of the past and scaring the destructive forces away by fluffing up their ass is the best strategy. All of these views are a croc compared to a strong democratic system where success and failure are openly evaluated and the path adjusted accordingly.Unfortunately we not only have to harness or adapt to the forces bearing down upon us but beat off the would be enslavers and killer ostriches at the same time. A huge challenge but doable.
RT
Hi BM....Thank you, and Happy New Year to you. You are lucky to live in Nova Scotia, for in the rest of Canada (with the exception of B.C.) the ghastly Cons have let us down badly. It’s no surprise, their hideous ideology is nothing but distilled selfishness, and more American than Canadian. At a time like this one all Canadians should be able to pull together for the greater good, but some just don’t get it and thanks to them the pandemic will just go on and on...
Hi Marmalade...Thank you, and Happy New Year to you too, and may all your dreams also come true. We’re living in difficult times, but as the Duke of Edinburgh once told me, when you stop beating your head against a wall it feels so good !!! 🙄
Hi jrkrideau....Than you and Happy New Year to you !! The way I see it, it won’t have to be that good, to appear so much better than this one...
Hi Jackie....Thank You and Happy New Year to you too !!! I am counting the minutes until Trump is evicted from the White House, or judging from his tweets today wheeled out in a pram. It has been a year to test us all, but at least we now have vaccines and that will eventually lead us back to a better world. As I recently wrote, I believe thie pandemic has posed the Cons for who they really are, and will hopefully usher in a more progressive world that can deal with the obstacles we must overcome to save our beautiful little planet....
Hi anon@4:39....As I believe Inhave said before, comparing the #IStandWithTrudeau hashtag to the #Where’sTrudeau one is absurd. One is a statement of support for a decent leader, while the other one is yet another attempt to smear Trudeau and malicious as onlybCons and their bots can be. Please do something about your party before it completely loses its way....
Hi JD....Thank you, and may 2021 be your best year ever. When I look back at 2020 I try to remember the good things first. The scientific accomplishments, the heroism of healthcare workers, the glimpses of a different and better world, the small acts of kindness. But I can't get away from the horror of what's happening in our hospitals, and I will NEVER forget how the Cons, with the help of many in our shabby media, played cheap politics in the midst of a pandemic. But Trump is about to get the heave ho, Boris Johnson's popularity is tanking, and our ugly Cons aren't going anywhere. Happy Happy New Year !!!
Hi RT...Thank you, and Happy New Year to you and yours. Despite the fact that the brain fog of the times has me firmly in its grip, and I can hardly handle the present let alone the future, I do think that the pandemic can lead us all to a better place, once the suffering and dying is over. But getting there won't be easy. Many people are in a very bad space, not just physically but mentally. So it will be a challenge. And if we want the kind of change we need to save the planet, we will have to fight for it. Good, I'm ready..
The Devil went down to Georgia, and lost.
NOW there are now excuses. The democrats run America.
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