Roxanne Tellier – Denial Is Not Just a River in Egypt

People are utterly fascinating, if you have the luxury of standing back and simply observing the way they think. Mesmerizing, but oftentimes, head-shakingly and misguidedly, arrogant. Best to avoid them in groups.

Take this week’s Supreme Court decision on carbon taxes; in his decision, Chief Justice Richard Wagner wrote that “Climate change is real. It is caused by greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities, and it poses a grave threat to humanity’s future.” 

He added, “The evidence clearly shows that establishing minimum national standards of GHG price stringency to reduce GHG emissions is of concern for Canada as a whole. This matter is critical to our response to an existential threat to human life.” 

Peter – What a Difference a Year Makes

What a difference a year makes! Over the last 12 months we have learned a lot about a lot of things, including ourselves and our society. Civilization has been challenged by circumstance, and the future promises us even more uncertainty than usual, if that is possible.

I blame the previous occupant of the Oval Office for introducing a veneer of intolerance not only to the American political system, but also to the public’s perception of the mass media.

Roxanne Tellier – I’ll Take White Fragility for $300 Alex

Earlier this month a meme starting going around that made a lot of people feel uncomfortable. The meme asked people to acknowledge that overcoming inherent bias, prejudice, and all the ‘isms’ was an ongoing thing, and that we are all ‘works in progress.’

I’m so tired of those that virtue signal, with various #NotAllWhatever hashtags. To hear these paragons of wounded nobility talk, they are the ‘exception that proves the rule,‘ because they’ve always treated women well, and never failed to give anyone of any creed or colour whom they’ve encountered, the same pure and unadulterated dignity, respect and opportunities as those that look just like them.

I rather think that anyone who COULD claim such innocence, is unlikely to ever do so.

As quickly as the meme travelled thru the internet webs, it just as quickly disappeared, which is an interesting commentary on how society is struggling with what those on the political right are calling ‘cancel culture.’

Peter Honours International Women’s Day

Monday, March 8th was “International Women’s Day”, so that’s what I will be writing about, or at least one aspect of it.

Let me begin by restating how much I support the strong women whom I am lucky enough to have in my life. I admire your enthusiasm, your tenacity and your strength. Many of you have been a major influence on me, and helped me understand a lot of things that life has thrown at me, both personally and as part of a collective, be it music, work or basic human rights issues.

Roxanne Tellier – My Fellow Americans

It is believed that the first president to use the term “my fellow Americans” was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in his Inaugural Address of 1933.

Roxanne Tellier – Eye Saw the Light

I’m not a big fan of this ‘aging’ stuff. But unfortunately, dealing with all the things that can go wrong as our bodies mature beats the snot out of the alternative.

Sometimes the drama of politics has to take a number and wait for my attention. This was one of those weeks. I had some routine cataract surgery that didn’t go as well as planned, and it took a lot of strong-arming to get that rectified.

I’ve long had the reputation of being the loudmouthed rebel, who takes no sh*t or prisoners, either for herself, or for those she loves. Not sure if it’s the Irish or the French in me, but that’s just the way I’ve always been. If you come for my people, you’d better come prepared for a fight.

Roxanne Tellier – Coming Down from the Sugar High

In the last weeks of January, and into the first two weeks of February, I was floating. I would wake each day, nearly bounding out of bed, and ready to take on the world. We were counting down the days to Biden’s inauguration, and even the horrific attack on the Capitol on the 6^th was but a speed bump, easily acknowledged by both Democrats and Republicans as an obvious and seditious attack on the Constitutionally mandated work of the Congress.

The Dems impeached trump AGAIN. Biden was inaugurated without incident. And with trump silenced by Twitter, life was sweet.

Sadly, however, a few weeks sans trump had left the GOP with a bad case of amnesia, and, just last week, they yawned like teenagers through video evidence of trump’s guilt, and voted to acquit.

Roxanne Tellier – Doomed to Repeat

When I was a kid in Montreal, most of the dads (and some of the moms) were veterans of the World War II, and the Korean War, which had ended just a few short months before I was born.

Roxanne Tellier – The Great Reset

I’m still marveling at how much more relaxed the world has become since January 20^th Feels like a luxury, not being on high alert every minute of every day, and I’m loving it.

As the fog of negativity lifts, there’s time to look around and marvel at how much our lives have changed, and will be forever changed, by our experiences. There’s no discounting that the very framework of our lives has been reworked by the ravages of COVID-19. Nearly everyone has lost someone dear to them to the virus, and many who became ill with the disease may have healthcare issues impacting them for the rest of their lives.

Roxanne Tellier – Post Trump Traumatic Stress Disorder

Eleven days post the Biden Inauguration, and I’m still on a high. It’s not about Joe Biden per se, nor even the wonder of the first black, South Asian-American female vice-president in history in the form of Kamala Harris. It’s not even about the days starting to get a little longer, with the sun coming up a little earlier every day.

No, it’s so much more than that.