Last week, after almost three years of a pandemic-enforced exile from the United States, it was time to take the plunge across the border into Never Never Land.
Now, I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t do this with a certain amount of trepidation. News junkie that I am, I’m more than a little aware of the accelerating rate of mass murders, mayhem and political unrest on the streets of the Great Republic.
According to the US Gun Violence Archive, mass shootings are happening virtually daily in the US with an average of more than 13 mass shootings a week and more than 400 killed by the end of July 2022. And when they’re not shooting each other, many Americans are talking about the next civil war and when it will happen. Who wants to get close to that?
And that would be me. As well as my good wife Sandra, the one who likes to read newspapers so much.
So last Saturday, we nervously crossed the line into Idaho, one of the most dangerous states in the Union known for its white supremacists and neo-Nazi nativists including the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Aryan Nations and Panhandle Patriot Front. Idaho is also an “open carry” state where you can openly pack your Glock or any other handgun into the grocery store or school board meetings.
Bonners Ferry
Despite this, the border officer was friendly and after a few cursory questions and displaying our passports, she welcomed us to the Gem State and we were off to Sandpoint, a popular tourist and artist town on the sandy shores of Lake Pend Oreille with a population less than half of Cranbrook. It didn’t take long to find the park just off the downtown and soon we had our chairs set up and blankets spread out in the shade of one of the large cedar trees overlooking the expansive beach.
The scene was postcard perfect. A flotilla of paddle-boarders, kayakers and swimmers splashing in the clear blue water of the lake. Kids building sandcastles, teenagers diving from a raft and adults reading and relaxing in folding camp chairs watching the kids or cooking up a storm on portable barbecues they set up adjacent to the beach.
It was a perfect family tableau and it brought back happy memories of my childhood when we used to holiday in the same manner on the shores of Kootenay Lake. I couldn’t help but remark to my wife that I felt no danger in this tranquil scene and saw no evidence of the hate and vitriol poisoning American politics and no extremists or guns in sight. “No evidence of a civil war here,” I thought to myself. That was to change on our way home.
We were driving north on Highway 95 with a gorgeous orange sun setting behind us when we passed a crude sign on the right saying in large black letters: “Off Grid Doctor.” A bit odd I thought and then I realized we were driving across from Ruby Ridge where a dispute in 1991 involving a survivalist family and the authorities turned violent, resulting in three deaths including a mother, her son and a US Marshall who were highly criticized for their handling of the confrontation.
Obviously, the memory of Ruby Ridge hasn’t entirely faded I thought to myself as we headed north.
Then, just south of Bonners Ferry, a large wooden sign appeared that caused me to stop. “Welcome to TRUMP Country” it read in bold, black letters. “LOVE GOD, GUNS, FAMILY, FREEDOM & your NEIGHBOR. Below the main sign tacked on one of its legs was another ominous sign that said: “Ammon Bundy for Governor.”
Now that really got me thinking because political junkie that I am I’ve read a few things about Ammon Bundy and they’ve sounded scary. Generally described as a “far right, anti-government activist,” the burly rancher originally from Nevada was arrested and jailed but not convicted for leading two armed-standoffs against government authorities in Nevada and Oregon. The Washington Post describes him as “a popular renegade-type figure” riding the wave of Trumpian anti-government fervor sweeping the nation.
Wearing his signature brown cowboy hat and often armed, Bundy even attacks many Republicans who don’t share his extreme views including opposing vaccine mandates and believing the “Big Lie” that Trump won the election. “I’m tired of our freedoms being taken from us, and I’m tired of the corruption that is rampant in our state government.”
Whatever the case, the next time I go to Idaho I’ll be ignoring political signs and sticking strictly to the beach.
Photos by Gerry Warner
– Gerry Warner is a retired journalist , who prefers swimming to politics especially at Lake Pend Oreille.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
