Autumn reading

 Greetings to Number 16 readers,

If you are looking for some fun reading this fall, may I suggest my novel The Missing Reporter.  I think you will enjoy it.  It's suspenseful and it's an easy read.  If you are interested, click on the link below the book cover image  to view my author's page.

The Missing Reporter is full of mystery and intrigue.  Set in 1989, it is the story of Sandra McKay, a crime reporter from Prince Edward Island.  Why did she suddenly vanish after starting a new job?  Is her disappearance linked to the death of prominent dental surgeon Lawrence Somerville, whose brother works for a mob boss.  Intrepid private detective Norm Trapper ion on the case and he is searching for answers.

Here is the link to my author's webpage.  

https://joannemadden.ca/

By the way, I am working on my third novel, a sequel to The Missing Reporter.  

Thank you for your support.  It is much appreciated.

- Joanne

Niagara-on-the-Lake photos

Recently I visited my favourite small town in Ontario - Niagara-on-the-Lake.  It is postcard pretty with beautiful flowers and greenery.   It is not overrun by tacky souvenir shops and flagrant commercialism.

- Joanne

Here are some photos of some of the places I visited in Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Niagara region..

Below is a statue of one of my favourite playwrights, the great George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950).  It is located just outside the Shaw Cafe & Wine Bar in Niagara-on-the-Lake, right on the town's main street at 92 Queen Street.  Niagara-on-the-Lake's theatrical festival, the Shaw Festival is named after him.

While in Niagara-on the-Lake, I spotted this antique Ford with a Massachusetts licence plate.  I think it is a Model T, but I am not certain.  

Below are photos of The Olde Angel Inn.  It was built circa 1789 and burned down during the War of 1812.  However, it was rebuilt in 1815.  The inn consists of five historic guest rooms and the pub serves British fare, and of course, draught beer.  There is a sine bar as well.

VOICES OF FREEDOM PARK, NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE

I visited Voices of Freedom Park in the heart of the Old Town, which celebrates Black history.  It is described on its website as "an experimental installation designed to engage, educate, and challenge visitors about his most important aspect of our history.  Voices from the past will tell their stories, enriching visitors; understanding of how they shaped our town and nation."  The park opened in 2018.

ROYAL GEORGE THEATRE

A photo of the Royal George Theatre where I saw a production of Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution.

NIAGARA RIVER AT QUEENSTON HEIGHTS

Is Donald Trump too unwell to be president?

"I do the weave. You know what the weave is? I’ll talk about, like, nine different things that they all come back brilliantly together. And it’s like friends of mine that are like English professors, they say: ‘It’s the most brilliant thing I’ve ever seen,’” 

- Donald Trump

It is unspeakably dangerous for the president of the United States to be mentally and physically unwell.  It is obvious that Donald Trump is both.  He is a threat to the security of Americans and to the world.  Why isn't corporate media questioning Trump's fitness to be president more strongly?  The Republican presidential nominee is not funny and he's not entertaining.  He is downright scary, and yes, weird.  It is frightening that so many American's are willing to support such a man.  It's as if his behaviour has been normalized.

Trump's speeches have become more and more bizarre, and increasingly more incoherent. They are longer and more rambling. Trump realizes this himself, as you can tell from the quote above.  He is in no shape to be president.  To be blunt, he is losing it.  He does not have all his mental faculties, and he is only going to get worse.  If, heaven forbid, Trump should ever win the election because of the electoral college and the right wing Supreme Court, he will be a complete and utter disaster.

Nevertheless, Trump has the backing of the Republican Party.  Sadly, the party of Lincoln is no longer a real political party.  It is a cult party, completely controlled by a severely ill 78-year-old man.  Trump is in no condition to be anywhere near the nuclear codes.  He is in no condition to deal with Vladimir Putin or the war in Gaza.  He should never set foot in  the Oval Office again.

If you doubt me, just take a look at Trump's physical appearance.  He doesn't look healthy with his orange-toned puffy face.  He spouts incoherent gibberish about Hannibal Lector, Al Capone and sharks.  When Joe Biden appeared unwell during a debate with Trump, the pressure was immediate and relentless for  him to bow out of the presidential race, which he eventually did.  

Donald Trump did not expect President Biden to bow out, simply because he can't conceive of a politician voluntarily relinquishing power.  Trump doesn't understand why Biden put his country above himself.  He has no comprehension of sacrifice or loyalty to anything or anybody but himself.

There is clearly a double standard in America.  Much of the mainstream media are not focusing on Donald Trump's mental state and his obvious cognitive decline.  Why not?  Joe Biden was considered not fit for the office of the presidency.  Donald Trump is a great deal less fit to be president than Joe Biden.  Biden, who is only three years older than Trump, struggles with age-related issues.  However, Biden is not a sociopath.  He would never attempt to overthrow a democratically elected government, as Trump did on January 6, 2001.  Biden is not a convicted felon, as Trump is.  He is neither a racist nor a misogynist.  Unlike Trump, Biden believes in democracy and wants to preserve it.

There have been several American presidents who had serious health issues.  Abraham Lincoln suffered from depression.  Today he would have been prescribed Prozac.  Lincoln's depression was not anywhere near as serious as Trump's mental issues.  Lincoln was 56 years old when he was assassinated in 1865.

Lincoln

Woodrow Wilson had a near-fatal stroke on October 2, 1919, which left him incapacitated.  The severity of Wilson's condition was hidden from Congress and the American people.  All messages to him were relayed directly to his wife, Edith.  Wilson finished his term in office in 1921.  He died on February 3, 1924.

Wilson

In February of 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt was very ill when he met Josef Stalin and Winston Churchill for a conference at Yalta, a Russian spa on the Crimean coast.  FDR died about two months later on April 12, 1945, without completing his fourth term as president.  

FDR

In September of 1955, Dwight D. Eisenhower suffered an acute heart attack while vacationing in Denver, Colorado.  Eisenhower ran for a second term in office in 1956.  He won, defeating the Democratic candidate, Adlai Stevenson.

Eisenhower

In 1972, Democratic Senator George McGovern chose Senator Thomas Eagleton of Missouri as his vice-presidential running mate.  It was revealed that Eagleton had received electroshock therapy for clinical depression during the 1960s.  The senator was later diagnosed with bipolar II.  

McGovern initially backed his running mate "1000 percent"  However, after confidentially consulting with prominent psychologists, McGovern was told that a recurrence of Eagleton's depression was possible and could imperil the country should he become acting president.  At McGovern's request, Eagleton then withdrew his candidacy for vice president.

Eagleton was replaced by Kennedy in-law Sargent Shriver.  The addition of Shriver, a diplomat, and the driving force behind the creation of the Peace Corrps, was not enough to save the McGovern campaign.  He and Shriver were defeated by Richard Nixon in a landslide victory for the Republicans.

Eagleton

Eagleton was much younger that Donald Trump when he was forced to remove himself from his candidacy for vice president.  He was in his early 40s, while Trump is 78 years old.  Eagleton did not ramble incoherently.  He did not slur his speech.  Trump's mental state is so much worse that Eagleton's.  Yet the spineless Republicans still anointed him as their 2024 candidate for president.

Many of Trump's most ardent supporters are billionaires.  They desire the tax breaks he will give them if he becomes president again.  They don't care if it means a deranged man is the leader of the United States of America.  How this race is even close is beyond me.  In the United States, all are supposed to be equal before the law.  Trump has been able to evade justice at every corner, either by delaying tactics or intimidation and bullying.  On November 5th, the American people are going to have deliver the verdict on democracy in America.  If Trump wins, he will not allow another free election in the United States.  He will permit his friend and fellow alpha male, Putin, to run roughshod over Ukraine.  By the way, Putin and Trump may act tough on the outside, but like all bullies, they are mush on the inside.

I urge Americans to rise up and use your vote to prevent Donald Trump from regaining the presidency. The American judiciary system has failed to stop this deranged demagogue.  It will take the power of the people on November 5th to keep him away from the White House.  It will take the power of the electoral ballot to bring Trump down.

- Joanne

Our surprise parking ticket

Thursday, August 22 was an ideal day to visit the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto, which we locals call "the Ex."  It was sunny, but not too humid.  It was also a fine day for a football game.  So, my husband and I decided to spend some time at the Ex and then attend the Toronto Argos game at BMO Field on the CNE grounds.

We prefer taking the GO train to the Es, so we parked our car near the Mimico GO station.  There were many unoccupied reserved parking spaces close to the station.  We could have parked illegally in one of them, but we didn't.  Instead of taking our chances by parking in a reserved space, we chose to park our vehicle a little further away, on Wesley St.  After a short walk, we caught the next train to the Ex.  

After an enjoyable time at the fair and at the football game, we caught a GO train back to the Mimico station.  We soon noticed an unpleasant surprise on our windshield - a yellow parking ticket.  At first we were mystified because we hadn't noticed any NO PARKING signs where we parked.  However, we were fined $40 for parking longer than three hours.  Again, we were mystified.  We hadn't seen any sign informing us that there was a time limit.  Is the city so cash strapped that it is handing out parking tickets here, there and everywhere?

It seems so blatantly unfair.  Much more than three hours is required for a day at the Ex.  We don't see how we were careless or negligent.  We don't think we deserved the parking ticket.  We had no idea about restricting our parking time to three hours.  How were we to know when there was no sign?  If we are missing something, we would like to know.  We also don't want to give up taking the GO train to the Ex or to sporting events at BMO Field.

- Joanne