The Oppenheimer Report 8/10/15

While I missed the U.S. debate, I understand Donald Trump complained that questions directed at him were more difficult than those asked of the other candidates. I am reminded of Ross Perot’s ill-fated U.S presidential bid many years ago. These rich and powerful hot shots in the private sector have no clue how to win an election, and it always amuses me to see guys like Perot and Trump, with all their bluster and hubris, go up against political veterans and the big bad machine. When one of them self-righteously “speaks the truth” and puts his foot in his mouth, his seasoned opponents and the press crucify them, and the foot-in-mouther then cries foul. The hypocrisy of this righteous indignation is glaringly obvious. Dirty tricks and indiscretions carried out in the private sector often remain secret; they are seldom held up to a microscope for public scrutiny. Politics is a different playing field. I understand Trump is a front-runner in the Republican race right now, but I’m thinking that will likely change. He’s already put his foot in his mouth a few times, and this is not a mudslinging scrum with Rosie O’Donnell. I am cynical enough to hope 'The Donald' remains a viable candidate, at least for a while, to keep things entertaining. Let’s face it, the elephants have been on the ropes ever since they fell off the right side of the table. I’ve been writing this report since 1992, and Trump’s pomposity and arrogance have been fodder for this grist mill ever since he spit Ivanna out like a watermelon seed. As for the recent Canadian debate, sponsored by Maclean's Magazine, I did watch as much of that as I could take. I found it to be “lies, damn lies, and statistics”. I know the average Canadian voter is probably better apprised of the issues than am I, but wow; I got lost in the weeds with the stats. I’ll be interested to see if disgraced Senator Mike Duffy manages to throw current PM Harper under the bus by implicating him in the much-publicized Senate scandal. That scandal would likely prove disastrous for the Conservatives. If ever there is an unfortunate caricature of a politician, it is Mike “Mr. Pork” Duffy. I came up with a line tonight that I want to someday incorporate into a song: the face of pork.

Last weekend, I attended the fifth annual Burk’s Falls Country Jamboree and I had the good fortune to hear some premier Bluegrass acts. I didn’t always enjoy Country and Bluegrass music, but it is growing on me. There are some great storytelling songs written in that style. Living up here, I have been exposed to some pretty good music, both at the radio station and from local friends, and it has expanded my musical appreciation. My favorite acts last weekend were Emory Lester, an excellent mandolin player (among the other instruments he plays), and a band called Winterline, out of Windsor, Ontario. I also had the good fortune to sit and chat with guitarist/ humorist Wendell Ferguson before his set on Friday night, and we had an interesting conversation. We are almost the same age, and Wendell confided that, growing up in Streetsville, Ontario, he used to watch Buffalo television. Of course that was something we had in common. We laughed about Buffalo news anchor Irv Weinstein, the prince of yellow journalism, broadcasting his doom and gloom on channel 7 out of Buffalo. Wendell also knew and had performed with Buffalo native, Gurf Morlix, whose songs I have played on my radio show, and who, to my surprise has a house in Minden, Ontario, not too far from where we live. I bought a lot of CDs this weekend; it might take me awhile to listen to them all. All in all a great weekend, and I look forward to next year’s show.  In two weeks, Shauna and I, along with Hunters Bay Radio, will be hosting a show at Sutherland Hall in Huntsville featuring our good friends Bobby Cameron and Juan Barbosa. The show coincides with the HBR Radiothon fundraiser, and we hope that by whatever means, we can get the word out that this community radio station is of enormous benefit to the community at large and worth supporting. We have listeners from all over the world tuning in, and recently hit a milestone 10,000 Facebook “Likes”.  

In the news last week. there were reports of deadly Typhoon Chan-Hom, which slammed into Southeastern China yesterday and forced the evacuation of about 160,000 people. Taiwan, Japan, North Korea, and Guam were also hit hard by this storm. Earlier in the weekend another (different?) super typhoon, Haiyan, pummeled the Northern Philippines and parts of SE Asia. As always, I am somewhat ashamed of my insulation from all the disasters which occur on the other side of the world. I just learned about those storms last night when I turned on the 11 O’clock news. I was much more distracted by the misadventures of “Squirrel Hair” Trump. So many stories make the headlines for fifteen minutes then it is on to the next road kill. Do these stories simply go away because the Western media stops shining a light on them? We North Americans may not be able to fix all that is wrong in the world, but I think these natural disasters are worthy of my attention if only to bluntly remind me of the human condition and my good fortune so far.

 

- Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2015 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED-