Warning! American democracy on life support. The threat is very real!

On a recent Meet the Press, the host explained that Trump and Biden are so close in the polls because "they both have significant liabilities. with the American electorate." What liabilities? " For Trump they're "the indictments and allegations of criminal wrongdoing," said the host. For Biden. "His age."  

- Robert Reich, Afternet, Microsoft, September 2023

Sound the alarm bells!  Donald Trump is a disgrace and he should not be allowed run for public office.  The 2024 U.S. presidential election is still over a year away.  A lot can happen during that time. Nevertheless, if Joe Biden and Donald Trump remain their party's respective candidates, the election may very well turn out to be the most consequential in  American history.  It may decide whether the United States remains a democracy or not.  I do not write those words lightly.  I am a Canadian and what happens in the United States affects my country and the entire planet.  What a tragedy for the world if  Donald Trump becomes president again. The thought ends shivers up my spine.  I am extremely concerned.

Since I am not an American citizen, I cannot cast a vote in next year's presidential election, but I can definitely write about it.  This website is one of the few outlets that I have to express my deep concerns.  Democracy is fragile.  It can vanish in the blink of an eye if it is not nurtured.  This is a heartfelt plea in support of democracy and he rule of law in America.

I am sickened by the thought of the United States losing its democracy.  It is truly shocking that America is in a such a state of moral decay that a man such as Donald Trump is the leading candidate for the Republican nomination for president.  This is a man who behaves like a mob boss.  He is a man who preaches hate against immigrants, refugees, Blacks, Latinos, Jews, Muslims, homosexuals, liberals etc.  He continues to degrade, diminish and disrespect women and disabled persons.  

It is disconcerting that so many Americans consider him a credible candidate for president and that they equate him with President Joe Biden.  I know that Donald Trump's MAGA supporters are brainwashed.  They believe lies, distortions and conspiracy theories.  The have a cult mindset and they follow their Dear Leader blindly.  Nothing I write here will sway them.  My hope is to sound the alarm for Americans sitting on the fence.  My hope is to reach moderate conservatives, independents and undecided voters.  

Americans may not be enthralled with Joe Biden.  However, Biden will never be a threat to democracy.  He is not an admirer of  dictators such as Vladimir Putin of Russia or Kim Jong Un of North Korea.  He will graciously concede if he loses the 2024 election.  He may not be an entertainer like Trump.  He may not be charismatic, but he gets things done.  He doesn't receive the credit he deserves, so I will remind Americans sitting on the the fence of Biden's achievements.

* President Biden has passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package to increase investment in the national network of bridges and roads, airports, public transit, national broadband internet, waterways, and energy systems.

* Biden's American Rescue Plan helped get more than 500 million life-saving COVID-19 vaccinations in the arms of Americans.

* Biden ended a streak of federal inaction on gun violence by signing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that created enhanced background checks, closed the "boyfriend loophole," and provided funds for mental health for young people.

* He cut child poverty in half through the American Rescue Plan.

* He capped prescription drug prices at $2,000 per year for seniors on Medicare through the Inflation Reduction Act.  

* He made a $369 billion in climate change, the largest in American history, through the Inflation Reduction Act.

These are real achievements.  The fundamental question is: Do Americans prefer drama and entertainment over solid achievement and good government?  Sadly, some people are entertained by Trump, but do Americans need a reality show host or someone who actually makes life better and easier for them?

Donald Trump and the Republicans have done masterful job of painting Joe Biden as old and senile.  There is not a great deal of difference in the ages of Biden and Trump.  Biden is 80 and Trump is 77.  If Trump (God forbid) becomes president again, he will be about 84 when his second term ends.  Who knows if Trump would ever allow another free election in the United States.  He will expand presidential powers and do whatever he wants.  That means the end of American democracy.  How can decent Republicans support such a man? .  He can cry "Witch hunt!" as much as he wants, but most people realize that he has engaged in a great deal of criminal activity.  On January 6, 2021, Trump and his unruly supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington, D.C., the heart of American democracy.  They tried to change the results of a free and fair election.

Remember that Joe Biden has a stuttering problem.  Even if he were a bit senile, the U.S. would be much better off with a senile Joe than an authoritarian Trump who behaves like a mob boss and threatens violence.  Donald Trump criticized Biden's cognitive ability, but Trump's mind isn't too sharp.  The former U.S. president blundered through a speech in Washington where he warned of the threat of World War II.  He appeared to confuse Joe Biden with Barack Obama.  

I don't think enough Americans are aware of the danger Trump poses, especially if they only watch Fox News.  The ex-president has been inciting violence.  He will continue to send dog whistle messages to his followers.  He is a very dangerous man.  According to a recent poll, seven per cent of Americans believe that Donald Trump should be restored to office by force.

What will happen if Donald Trump secures the presidency?  I can guarantee that he will undermine American democracy and assume authoritarian powers.  He will expand the powers of the presidency and he will attempt to muzzle opposition media.  Remember that one the first things an authoritarian does is take control of the media.  Trump has already called the media "the enemy of the people."  On Sunday, September 24, 2023, he declared that he intends to thoroughly scrutinize and restrict NBC News and other news agencies if he wins the presidency in 2024.

Trump currently faces four criminal indictments that include 91 felony counts across four jurisdictions. Theses charges include both federal and state charges, all of which are felonies.  Of course, Trump has denied and wrongdoing in each one.  He never admits to any wrongdoing.

For the sake of the United States and the world, this man should face the consequences of his actions.  He should be imprisoned if he is found guilty in a court of law.  He should not be permitted to run for public office by virtue of the 14th Amendment , Section 3 insurrection clause.  It states that anyone who "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" after taking an oath of office to defend the Constitution is forbidden from holding any public office.  That is exactly what Trump did on January 6, 2021.

- Joanne          

Ford cancels Greenbelt development: Democracy at work

Democracy isn't perfect.  No system of government is perfect.  However, when democracy works, it is a wonder to behold.  Ontario Premier Doug Ford has cancelled his disastrous plan for developing the Greenbelt.  I doubt that Ford cancelled his plan because he had a change of heart.  He would have followed through with his plan, except for one thing.  It probably would have cost him the next election.  Due to the Greenbelt fiasco, his Progressive Conservative Party has been losing support in the polls.  Ford listened to the will of the people.  That's why our right to vote in a free and fair election is so precious.

For readers who are unfamiliar with the Ontario Greenbelt, the Greenbelt Foundation webpage describes it as "two million acres (over 809,000 hectares) of protected land that provide clean air, fresh water, climate resilience, and a reliable local food source to help Ontario thrive."  The Greenbelt was created in 2005 through Ontario government legislation.  It was regarded as major step toward preventing over-development on the province's environmentally sensitive land.  It has great cycling routes and hiking trails.

At a press conference in Niagara Falls yesterday, Doug Ford announced that his government would reverse the controversial land swap decision it made earlier in 2023.  It was a "mistake" to open the Greenbelt, He said.  It was a "mistake" made in an attempt to combat the housing crisis that established a process that moved too fast.  Frankly, I don't buy his excuse.  The housing crisis was just an excuse to allow the developers to run rampant on our precious Greentbelt.  Doug Ford has been extremely friendly toward developers and there was a great deal of money to be made.

I will give the premier some credit for publicly admitting to a mistake.  Some politicians. especially a certain former American president, would never ever acknowledge a wrongdoing.  However, that's setting the bar far too low.  My hope is that the experience will make Ford realize how precious the environment is to Ontarians.

Doug Ford

If Premier Ford did not have to face the electorate, he would have done exactly what he wanted.  Power to the people!  

- Joanne

The Wit and Wisdom of Will Rogers

William Penn Adair Rogers was born on November 4, 1879.   He was a Native American vaudeville performer, actor and humorous social commentator.  Born a citizen of the Cherokee Nation in what is now part of Oklahoma, Will was known as "Oklahoma's Favorite Son."  During his career, he made 71 films, 50 of which were silent films. 

 Will sometime before 1900

In December of 1922, Will launched a national syndicated newspaper column.  It was known as "The Weekly Column" in the Sunday edition of The New York Times.  During his lifetime, he wrote over 4,000 columns on a variety of subjects.

On August 25, 1935, Will Rogers and aviator Wiley Post died when their small plane crashed in northern Alaska.  Will was 55 at the time of his passing.

A selection of  Will Rogers quotes.

I never met a man I didn't like.  

• "One of his most famous and most quoted remarks. First printed in the Boston Globe, June 16, 1930, after he had attended Tremont Temple Baptist Church, where Dr. James W. Brougher was minister. He asked Will to say a few words after the sermon. The papers were quick to pick up the remark, and it stayed with him the rest of his life. He also said it on various other occasions" ~  The Will Rogers Book , by Paula McSpadden Love, niece of Will Rogers and curator of the Will Rogers Memorial in Claremore, Oklahoma.
  • Variant: I joked about every prominent man in my lifetime, but I never met one I didn't like.
  • John D. [Rockefeller] sure carried out my old saying, "I never met a man I didn't like." Nationally syndicated column number 219, Rogers Gets Six Shiny Dimes From Oil King (1927). 

When I die, my epitaph, or whatever you call those signs on gravestones, is going to read: "I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I dident [sic] like." I am so proud of that, I can hardly wait to die so it can be carved.

- Will Rogers, 1930, from The Will Rogers Book , by Paula McSpadden Love

Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.

Daily Telegram #1172, Will Rogers Sees No Value In All The Time We Save (28 April 1930) 

• The only time people dislike gossip is when you gossip about them.
• As quoted in The New Speaker's Treasury of Wit and Wisdom (1958) by Herbert Victor Prochnow, p. 190

ON WAR AND PEACE

When the Judgment Day comes civilization will have an alibi, "I never took a human life, I only sold the fellow the gun to take it with."

Daily Telegram #926, A General Digging Out Of Old War Contracts (15 July 1929)

You can't say that civilization don't advance, however, for in every war they kill you in a new way.

• Daily Telegram #1063, Will Rogers Has An Idea About Disarmament Plans (22 December 1929)

• I am a peace man. I haven't got any use for wars and there is no more humor in 'em than there is reason for 'em.
• Daily Telegram (4 December 1931), as quoted in Will Rogers' Daily Telegrams (1979), p. 104; also in Will Rogers Speaks: Over 1,000 Timeless Quotations for Public Speakers (1995) edited by Bryan B. Sterling and ‎Frances N. Sterling, p. 304

         

I  doubt if a charging elephant, or a rhino, is as determined, or hard to check, as a socially ambitious mother.

• Daily Telegram #1808, Mr. Rogers' Heart Goes Out To Our Envoy To St. James's (10 May 1932) in The New York Times, 11 May, 1932 

You know everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.

• Nationally syndicated column number 90, From Nuts To The Soup (31 August 1924); published in The New York Times 

• We all can't be heroes, for someone has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.
• As quoted in The Complete Speaker's Index to Selected Stories for Every Occasion (1967) by Jacob Morton Braude, p. 16
• Variant: We can't all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.
• As quoted in Peter's Quotations : Ideas for Our Time (1979) by Laurence J. Peter, p. 240

• Personally, I have always felt the best doctor in the world is the veterinarian. He can't ask his patients what is the matter — he's got to just know.
• As quoted in Ether and me; or "Just relax." (1973)\

• An onion can make people cry, but there has never been a vegetable invented to make them laugh.
• As quoted in You Must Remember This (1975) by Walter Wagner, p. 175

• An ignorant person is one who doesn't know what you have just found out.
• As quoted in Peter's Quotations : Ideas for Our Time (1979) by Laurence J. Peter, p. 258

• We are here just for a spell and then pass on. So get a few laughs and do the best you can. Live your life so that whenever you lose it, you are ahead.
  • Inscribed on the Will Rogers Memorial Building in Claremore, Oklahoma.

ON AMERICAN POLITICS AND ECONOMICS AND IDEOLOGY

Will Rogers was a lifelong Democrat, but avoided partisanship.

• I am not a member of any organized party — I am a Democrat.
  • 'Rogers was a lifelong Democrat but he studiously avoided partisanship. He contributed to the Democratic campaign funds, but at the same time he frequently appeared on benefit programs to raise money for the Republican treasury. Republican leaders sought his counsel in their campaigns as often as did the Democrats."  ~ P. J. O'Brien, From Will Rogers Ambassador of Good Will, Prince of Wit and Wisdom
  • Variants: I don't belong to an organized political party. I'm a Democrat.
    I belong to no organized party. I am a Democrat.

• This country has gotten where it is in spite of politics, not by the aid of it. That we have carried as much political bunk as we have and still survived shows we are a super nation.
• Daily Telegram #1948, Will Rogers Favors Closing the Campaign Right Now and Letting The Boys Go Fishing (1 November 1932) 

• You've got to be optimist to be a Democrat, and you've got to be a humorist to stay one.
  • Good Gulf radio show (24 June 1934)

• That's one thing about Republican Presidents. They never went in much for plans. They only had one plan. It says "Boys, my head is turned. Just get it while you can."
• radio broadcast (21 April 1935)

This election was lost four and five and six years ago not this year. They dident [sic] start thinking of the old common fellow till just as they started out on the election tour. The money was all appropriated for the top in the hopes that it would trickle down to the needy. Mr. Hoover was an engineer. He knew that water trickled down. Put it uphill and let it go and it will reach the dryest little spot. But he dident know that money trickled up. Give it to the people at the bottom and the people at the top will have it before night anyhow. But it will at least have passed through the poor fellow's hands. They saved the big banks but the little ones went up the flue.

• Nationally syndicated column number 518, And Here's How It All Happened (1932), as published in the Tulsa Daily World, 5 December 1932.

• Communism is like prohibition, it's a good idea but it won't work.

     From The Autobiography of Will Rogers {1949], edited by Donald Day

- Joanne

Sand sculpture at Canadian National Exzhibition (CNE)

 

Last Sunday, I visited the CNE and I viewed a sand sculpture in the Better Living Centre.  This year's theme is endangered animals.  The 14 endangered species featured on the sculpture are as follows:

Sumatran Tiger - Sumatra (Indonesia)

Golden Lion - Tamarin - Brazil

California Condor - North America

Blue Throated Macaw- Bolivia

Black Rhino - Africa

African Elephant - Africa

Blue Fin Tuna - Oceans

Hawkbill Sea Turtle - Oceans

Orangutan - Borneo

Pangolin - Africa, Asia

Western Lowland Gorilla - Congo, Cameroon, Gabon

Monarch Butterfly - North America

Polar Bear - Canada, Russia, Norway, Greenland, United States

Beluga Whale - Arctic Ocean

KAREN FRALICH

About the artist

Karen and Star Trek sculture - 2016  Photo by Chris Robart 

                                                            https://www.flickr.com/photos/crobart/29223786105/

Karen Fralich is a Canadian artist known for sand sculpting.  She is based in Guelph, Ontario and has been creating sand structures for 28 years.  To  date, Karen has competed in over 150 Masters Level International sand sculpture contests, winning 27 First Place Titles,  Karen is a five-time world champion sand sculptor.  One of her first commissioned pieces was a 500-tonne replica of the Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz.

Karen is a globetrotting sand sculptor and her work takes her all over the world.  She has collaborated with friends, festivals and companies in 11 different countries.  

In 2020 and 2021, Kareen served as of two resident judges on Season 1 and Season 2 of CBC's Race Against the Tide.

- Joanne

Keeping Up With Connie Francis

1961 photo of Connie Francis

“I tried to see humor in everything, even when I was in a mental institution. But I have to say the support of the public has also been incredibly uplifting. They saw me through the best and worst of times and never stopped writing from around the world to encourage me.”

- Connie Francis, as quoted in The Jackson Sun, September 29, 2017

Connie Francis's sense of humour has helped her through a life of tragedy.  The versatile singer has performed a wide variety of songs from many genres, from pop, to rock to old standards and non-English language.  She has been plagued by misfortune, but she has been a survivor.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Connie Francis was one of the most popular female vocalists in the world.  Connie was born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in Newark, New Jersey on December 12, 1937 or 1938 (according to various sources).  She was the first child of working-class Italian Americans George and Ida ( (née Ferrari-di Vito) Franconero.  With the encouragement of her father, Connie entered talent contests and pageants at a young age.  At four years old,, she performed at the Olympic Amusement Park in New Jersey, where she played the accordion and sang "Anchors Aweigh."

Some of Connie's earliest years were spent in the Crown Heights district of Brooklyn, New York, an Italian-Jewish neighbourhood. She learned how to speak Yiddish and later recorded recorded songs in Yiddish and Hebrew.  In 1951 and 1952, Connie attended Newark Arts High School.  Her family then moved to Belleville, New Jersey, where she graduated from Belleville High School in 1955.

In 1950, Connie appeared on Arthur's Godfrey's nationally televised Talent Scouts program;  It was Godfrey's who advised her to change her name to "Connie Francis." because he found it difficult to pronounce "Concetta Franconero."  Godfrey also advised her to drop the accordion, and Connie gladly complied.  She was pleased to rid herself of the instrument, which she found to be heavy and and cumbersome.

Between 1953 and 1955, Connie appeared on Startime Kids, a children's TV variety show in New York City.  In 1955, Connie signed a contract as a vocalist with MGM Records, but her earliest recordings failed to attract an audience.  In the autumn of 1957, she finally achieved chart success with "The Majesty of Love," a song she had recorded with Marvin Rainwater.  The song eventually went on to sell one million copies.  Nevertheless, MGM Records informed Connie that her contract would not be renewed.

Connie then considered a career in medicine.  She was all set to accept a four-year scholarship offered by New York University when fate and her father got in the way.  On October 2, 1957, she  recorded what was to be her final single for MGM   It was a 1920s standard called "Who's Sorry Now?," which Connie sang as a rock ballad.  Connie didn't particularly like the song, but recorded it at the insistence of her father who was convinced that it had the potential to be a big hit.  He felt that adults were already familiar with the song and that teenagers would dance to it if it had a contemporary arrangement.  

"My father was the one that insisted on 'Who's Sorry Now?'.  "I fought him all the way, she told  .  "Although I didn't want to do that song, we had 16 minutes left in a session in the studio, so my dad told me to record it even if he had to nail me that microphone.  I did it in 1.5 takes, and I had a big hit, thanks to my father."  

Connie's father was right about "Who's Sorry Now?"  The song became a huge hit when it was promoted by Dick Clark on his popular American Bandstand television show for teens.  After the success of "Who's Sorry Now?," Connie searched for a follow-up hit.  She found it in "Stupid Cupid," a song written by Neil Sedaka  and Howard Greenfield.  

Sedaka and Greenfield presented Connie with ballads, which she rejected.  She requested a more up tempo song that would appeal to the teenage market.  At the urging of Greenfield, Sedaka played "Stupid Cupid" for her and she said "That's it. You guys got my next record."  "Stupid Cupid" was the first of a sting of hits that Connie recorded while working with songwriters Sedaka and Greenfield, including "Lipstick on Your Collar," "Everybody's Somebody's Fool, ""My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" and "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You."

1958 Billboard Ad

At the pinnacle of her fame, Connie appeared frequently on television, performing on American Bandstand and on The Ed Sullivan Show. On August 27, 1961, she was the mystery guest on the quiz show What's My Line?  She also guest-starred in a 1964 episode of The Jack Benny Program. Connie acted in several teen-oriented movies for MGM, most notably Where the Boys Are (1960), for which she sang the title song, as well as Follow the Boys (1963), Looking for Love (1964) and When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965).  She stated that "I should have made more movies or better movies."

Connie with Jack Benny in 1964

By the mid-1960s,, Connie and other performers were overshadowed by the Beatles and the British Invasion.  With her popularity waning and her vocal abilities limited by nasal surgery, Connie was forced to put her career on hiatus.  In November 1974, she attempted a comeback by performing at the Westbury Music Fair in New York.  After a performance, she was brutally beaten, raped and robbed at knifepoint by a bugler who had broken into to her suite at the Howard Johnson Motor Hotel in Westbury, Long Island.  On the morning of November 8, police found Connie naked, bound and gagged, and tied to an overturned chair. After such a nightmarish and traumatic experience, she once again put her career on hold,

In 1974, Connie won a landmark lawsuit against the motel, which she claimed failed to provide enough security.  She returned to Westbury in November of 1981, but her assailant was never apprehended.  "For seven years, I was virtually in total seclusion after being raped at Westbury.  But I was getting thousands of letters from people who'd had bad experiences," she told the Washington Post in December 1981,

The savage attack led to Connie having a nervous breakdown, ruined her marriage to her third husband, Joe Garzilli, and stifled her career.  Unfortunately, the singer suffered another devastating blow in May if 1981 when her brother, George Franconero, Jr., was gunned down in the driveway of his North Caldwell, New Jersey home as he was scraping ice from his car  Franconero, 40, was a former partner in the law office of then-New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne.  He had pleaded guilty to bank fraud charges and served as a government witness.  Police indicated that it was a mob killing.

As result of all her trauma, Connie spent much time undergoing psychiatric treatment. Yest, she  resumed her singing career, even appearing on the American Bandstand 30th Anniversary Special. on October 30, 1981.  The revitalization of Connie's career, however, did not last long.  She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and attempted suicide in 1984.  

Connie resumed her recording and performing career in 1989.  She recorded a double album for Malaco Records entitled Where the Hits Are.  The album contained re-recordings of 18 of her biggest hits as well as six classics that Connie had wanted to record.  She continued performing right into the 21st century.  In late December of 2004, she headlined in Las Vegas for the first time since 1969.  In March and October 2007, she performed before capacity crowds at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco.  On February 14, 2008, she appeared in concert in Manila, Philippines.  In 2010, she did a show at the Las Vegas Hilton with Dionne Warwick.

Connie Francis has been married four teams, and all of her marriages were short-lived. The longest of those marriages lasted five years, while the shortest survived a mere four months.  In 1964, she was briefly married to Dick Kanellis, a press agent and entertainment director for the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas (now Planet Hollywood).

In January of 1971, Connie wed Izzy Marion, the owner of a hair salon, but she divorced him ten months later.  In 1973, she married for the third time, to Joseph Garzilli, a restaurateur and the owner of a travel agency.  They adopted a baby boy named Joey, but divorced in 1977.  On June 27, 1985, Connie entered into her fourth marriage, this time to TV producer Bob Parkinson.  They divorced in late 1986.

Singer Bobby Darin, of  "Mac the Knife" fame, was the great love of Connie's life, the one who got away. Connie told Fox News that she first met Bobby in 1956 when he came into her office one day to show her a song.  At first, she didn't get along with him, but they eventually developed a bond over their Hollywood dreams and aspirations.

Bobby Darin and Connie

The growing romance between Connie and Bobby never came to fruition, due to the interference of Connie's controlling father, George, who opposed the relationship because he viewed  Bobby as a threat to his daughter's career and reputation.  In an article for the website AmoMama, Daniella Segell wrote, "Connie and Bobby Darin met when they were both youngsters in the music industry.  When they met, Connie was beginning to excel in her career, which her father believed should be her sole focus."  

Connie's dad controlled her career and, unfortunately, her personal life, with an iron hand.  According to Connie, her father had an intense dislike for Bobby.  "He even tried to shoot him," she explained to Fox News.  "He came with a gun in his pocket.  And Bobby had a bad heart.  He had rhematic fever as a child, which is why he died at the age of 37.   I was really afraid of my father retaliating against Bobby.  So I stayed from Bobby as far away as I could.  So during that period of time, we kept in touch through letters."

In January of 2022, Connie's long-time partner, singer Tony Ferretti, passed away.  They had been together for 18 years.  Their romance began when they recorded some of her old music as duets, especially "You Made Me Love You."   

In December of 2022, Connie Francis celebrated her 85th birthday with a magnificent party at her home in Parkland, Florida. Connie still has the support of numerous fans and family members. She proclaimed that her party must have been "the largest gathering of lifelong friends."  Note: Since Connie celebrated her 85th birthday in 2022, she must regard 1937 as the year of her birth.

END NOTES

* Connie Francis became an advocate for the rights of victims of violent crime and for mental health awareness. In 1981, she joined the board of directors of the Crime Victims' Legal Advocacy Institute, which was founded in 1979 by presidential cousnsellor Edwin L. Meese.  

In May of 2010. Connie was appointed National Spokesperson for the Trauma Campaign of Mental Health of America for the servicemen and women who returned from Iraq and Afghanistan.  "That was important to me," she told Digital Journal.  "I spent eight years in a mental hospital, so it was very important for me to do something to help the mentally ill."

* In August of 1959, at the suggestion of her father, Connie travelled to London and recorded an Italian album at the famous Abbey Road Studios.  The title of the album was Connie Francis Sings Italian Favorites, and it was well-received.  It was released in November and included "Mama," which Connie claimed as her personal favourite in her extensive catalogue.

Connie's father encouraged her to record in foreign languages.  Besides Italian and Hebrew, she's sung in German and Japanese, among other languages.

* In 1960, Bobby Darin married actress Sandra Dee. Sandra and Bobby had a son, Dee, born in 1962.  They divorced in 1967.  On June 25, 1973, Bobby wed Andrea Yeager, a legal secretary whom he met in 1970.  In October 1973, the couple divorced amid Bobby's health problems.  Bobby died on December 20th of that year, when he was only 37 years old from the heart condition that plagued him for most of his life. He failed to take antibiotics to protect his heart prior to a dental visit.  As a result, he developed sepsis, a deadly systemic infection that weakened his body and affected one of his heart valves.

It turn out that Bobby had saved all the letters that Connie had written him.  After Bobby's death, The Daily Mail reported that the letters had fallen into the possession of Bobby's brother, Gary Walden.  In 2016, Walden decided to sell some of  Bobby's memorabilia, including the love letters between his late sibling and Connie Francis.  The letters went on sale on eBay and Connie eventually got them back from a Virginia woman, a fan of Bobby's, who beat her out with a $1,000 bid.  Connie contacted the woman who won the bid, and she voluntarily gave the letters to her.

* Connie formed Concetta Records, her own recording, so that her music wound be available to her fans worldwide.

* Connie has written two autobiographies: Who's Sorry Now?, published in 1984, and Among My Souvenirs: The Real Story Vol. 1, published in 2017.

* As far as I can determine, Connie Francis has not scheduled any tour dates for 2023.

SOURCES: Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Connie Francis: American singer;" AmoMama (amomama.com), "Singing Legend Connie Francis Turned 85 in 2022 - She Still Uses Lipstick, Dresses Smart & Lives in a Cozy House," by Wian Prinsloo, December 16, 2022; Fox News (foxnews.com), "Connie Francis reflects on her romance with Bobby Darin before his untimely death," by Stephanie Nolasco,  February 9, 2018; The Washington Post, "Connie Francis' Crusade, by Richard Harrington, December 16, 1981; Digital Journal, "Interview with Connie Francis: The First Lady of Rock and Roll," by Markos Papadatos, February 23, 2022;AmoMama (amomama.com), "Connie  Francis' Father Saw the Love of Her Life as a 'Threat' and Went to Lengths to Keep Them Apart, Daniella Segell, September 21, 2021; Wikipedia; Internet Movie Database (IMDB)

EDITOR'S UPDATE:  Connie Francis passed away on July 16, 2025 at the age of 87.  She died in Pompano Beach, Florida.

- Joanne

Justin Trudeau swarmed by protesters in Belleville - What has happened to civility in politics?

 

What has happened to civility?  Sadly, it appears that Trumpism and right-wing Republicanism is seeping into Canada.  On July 20th, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was swarmed by dozens of  protesters in Belleville, Ontario.  Trudeau was visiting the city to mark the seventh anniversary of the Liberal government's Child Care Benefit, to meet with Mayor Neil Ellis, and to spend  some time at a farmers' market.  He was also to meet about 10 vendors, but the event had to be cut short.

Protesters turned up at the market outside of City Hall as Trudeau met with community members and posed for selfies.  They prevented the PM from making his way to the other side of the public square.  It is no surprise that some of the unruly protesters were holding Trump flags, while others were shouting obscenities about the government and the media.  Whatever happened to respect for the office of prime minister?

Let me be clear.  Citizens have every right to protest peacefully, and they certainly do not have to agree with the polices of Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government.  If they don't like his policies. they do not have to support him or his party.  They can express their opinion through peaceful protests, petitions and at the ballot box. Canada is a democracy, they can vote him out of office at the next election.  

I am not picking on moderate conservatives.  I am criticizing the far right.  These kinds of protesters, as well as those of the so-called "freedom convoy" that caused havoc in Ottawa, are behaving like MAGA Trumpers.  They are sewing the seeds of hatred and discord.in this country.  For them, those who disagree with their politics are "the enemy," not their opponents.  They do not want to find common ground with their "enemy" for the sake of the country.  They only want to dig up dirt on their opponents and call them names.

Trumpism is a fast-spreading cancer on the body politic.  It is metastatic 

- Joanne

Orillia and Stephen Leacock Home Photos

Last week I visited the beautiful city of Orillia, Ontario, about 30 kilometres (18 miles) northeast of Barrie in Simcoe County.  I photographed the sculpture of the great Canadian singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot.  Lightfoot was born in Orillia in 1938.  He passed away on May 1, 2023 in Toronto.  He was 84 years old.at the time of his death.

In addition ro Lightfoot's accomplishments as a singer and musician, Orillia is represented in the field of art by Franklin Carmichael of the Group of Seven, and in the field of literature by celebrated Canadian humorist Stephen Leacock.  Carmichael, known primarily for his water colours, was born in Orillia on May 4, 1890.  He died in Toronto in 1945 at the age of 55.

Carmichael in 1930

Stephen Leacock

Stephen Butler Leacock was born on December 30, 1869 in Swanmore, Hampshire, England, the third of the 11 children. of Peter Leacock and Agnes Butler.  When Stephen was six years old, he immigrated to Canada with his family.  They settled on a farm close to the village of Sutton, Ontario, near the shores of Lake Simcoe. In 1878, Stephen's father abandoned the family, leaving his mother to raise the faimily.  

Between 1915 and 1925, Leacock was the most well-known humorist in the English-speaking world.  In 1928, the success of Leacock's books allowed him to buy a summer estate.  He then spent the summer months at Old Brewery Bay, his home in Orillia, across Lake Simcoe, where he grew up.  It borders Lake Couchiching.  Leacock enjoyed boating and he was an avid fisherman.

Stephen Leacock died in Toronto in 1944 at the age of 74.  His summer estate was converted into a museum and was designated a National Historic Site in 1992.  I toured the museum and the boathouse.  Here are some photos.

  

The photo below shows Stephen Leacock's boathouse in the distance.

Below are chairs outside Stephen Leacock's boathouse.

 

- Joanne

Former Canadian PM seeks closer ties between Conservative Party and Hungarian quasi dictator

Has former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper been channeling his inner Donald Trump?  Is that why he wants his party to embrace a Hungarian quasi dictator who is viewed favourably by the former U.S. president and his Republican supporters.

Stephen Harper

Harper has called for closer ties between the Conservative Party of Canada and Viktor Orbán, Hungary's authoritarian leader.  That should give you a preview of what to expect from the Conservative Party should it form the government under its current leader Pierre Pollievre (Harper supported Pollievre for the Conservative leadership over his more moderate opponent, Jean Charest.).

Here is what you need to know about Hungary's authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán:

Viktor Orbán

He has extolled the value of racial purity, is vehemently anti-immigration, has cultivated close ties with Russia's Vladimir Putin and was a speaker at this week's Conservative Action Conference, known as CPAC, in Dallas,

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, 59, is widely criticized around the world for systematically dismantling his country's nascent democracy during his 12 years in power - but that hasn't stopped him from emerging as a darling of many on the right in America.

- Patrick Smith, NBC News Digital, August 6, 2022

A day after discussing migration with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyven in Brussels, Orbán made the following statement : "We don't think a mixture of Muslim and Christian society could be a peaceful one and could provide security and a good life for people." Has Orbán ever read the parable of the Good Samaritan?  

Numerous political scientists and watchdogs consider Hungary to have experienced a reversal of democratic rights during Viktor Orbán's time in power.  He has curtailed press freedom, eroded judicial independence and undermined multiparty democracy.  Furthermore, Orbán has criticized the polices of the European Union while accepting its financial support.  He has been accused of funneling that money to allies and family.

You should also know that between 2010 and 2020, Hungary fell 69 places in the Press Freedom Index and lost 11 places in the Democratic Index (The Economist). In addition, Freedom House has downgraded Hungary's democratic rating from "free to "partly free."  In 2003, The V-Dem Democracy indices ranked Hungary as the 96th electoral democracy in the world.

Orbán has characterized his policies as "illiberal Christian democracy."  He obviously has a skewed view of Christianity and democracy.  I shudder to think of the Conservative Party of Canada's foreign policy should Pollievre become prime minister.  After all, Stephen Harper supported the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.  In 2008, Harper grudgingly admitted that he was wrong about Iraq, after being goaded by then-Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe in a leaders' debate during the federal election  campaign that year.  

Thankfully, Jean Chrétien was PM in 2003 and he refused to send Canadian troops to aid the Americans in Iraq.  If Harper had been prime minister in 2003, Canada would have participated in the disastrous invasion.  At least Harper admitted that he made a mistake, which is more than once can say for Trump - but that's setting the bar extremely low.  Harper's support of Orbán demonstrates his continued lack of judgement in foreign affairs.

- Joanne

Canada Day Reflections

“My dream is for people around the world to look up and to see Canada like a little jewel sitting at the top of the continent.” 

~ Attributed to Tommy Douglas, Premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 and Leader of the New Democratic Party from 1961 to 1971

Canada became a nation on July 1, 1867.  Our country is 156 years old today and we have much to celebrate.  I am proud to call myself a Canadian.  This is not to say, "My country, right or wrong."  It is merely to say that in an imperfect world, with an abundance of war and strife, Canada is one of the best places to live.  To the cynics I say, Canadians try to acknowledge our mistakes.  We try to atone for our errors and the dark moments in our history, just as we celebrate our great achievements. - and there are many

The last few years of the COVID-19 pandemic and the residential school revelations have been difficult and challenging.  This nation may have been bent, but it has never been broken.  The Canadian spirit is very much alive. It is amazing that Confederation ever came about in the first place.  Yet this vast northern land was brought together peacefully.  Against all odds, a new country was formed, eventually stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the Arctic Circle to the Great Lakes.  Canadians found a way to make it happen.  Immigrants from all over the world have made Canada their home.  

This country remains a beacon of hope  It is the land where Terry Fox made his dauntless run for cancer research.  It is the place where Frederick Banting and Charles Best, co-discovers of insulin, brought hope to diabetics around the world.  It is the home of artist Emily Carr of Victoria B.C. and author L.M. Montgomery of Prince Edward Island.  Our 14th prime minister, Lester B. Pearson, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for his part in ending the 1956 Suez Crisis.  Our 15th prime minister, Pierre Trudeau, was instrumental in patriating our constitution in 1982 and providing us with our Charter of Rights and Freedom.

In 1967, Canada wowed the world with Expo '67 in Montreal, as the country marked its Centennial.  There was a song that year that celebrated 20 million Canadians.  Our population has doubled to 40 million in the ensuing 56 years.  That is still a small population for a country with the second largest land mass in the world.  It is slightly less than than that of the state of California.  

Canadians have accomplished much, but there is still much more work to be done. Reconciliation with  Indigenous peoples is of the highest priority, as well as welcoming immigrants and refugees.  The meanness and cruelty of Trumpism and the far right must be soundly rejected.  

It is also important to know and understand our history.  As John Diefenbaker, Canada's 13th prime minister stated, There can be no dedication to Canada's future without a knowledge of its past. " I firmly reject the notion that Canadian history isn't interesting or exciting.  It just needs to be presented in a more interesting and exciting manner.  Our history is rife with fascinating stories.  They just haven't been told enough.  

A recent study by Leger found that just one in four Canadians (23%) would pass the Canadian citizenship test. The respondents answered 10 randomly selected question and the average score on the test was only 49%, significantly lower that the 75% required to pass.  That's not good enough.  We have to do better in making Canadians more aware of their history and their form of government.  

No country is above criticism, but Canada Day is a time to praise this nation.  This is a great country and we have the potential to be even greater by moving boldly into the future.

- Joanne

Remembering Canada's deadliest terrorist attack, the bombing of Air India Flight 182

Today is Canada's National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism.  It is observed in memory of the victims of acts of terror in Canada and abroad.  The observance takes place every year on June 23, to mark the anniversary of the bombing of Air India Flight 182, the deadliest terrorist attack in Canadian history.

Today is the 38th anniversary of the June 23, 1985 attack, which took the lives of 329 people. - 280  were Canadian citizens.  The airplane, a Boeing 747, operating on the Montreal- London-Delhi-Mumbai, route, was blown up by a bomb in Irish airspace.  It exploded off the coast of Ireland and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.  second bomb, intended to target another flight, killed two baggage handlers when it exploded at Narita International Airport in Tokyo, increasing the total number of victims of the attack to 331.  The attack was orchestrated by Sikh extremists.

Although flags across Canada are flown a half-mast on June 23, it seems that the majority of Canadians don't know the reason why.  Sadly, the results of an Angus Reid Poll (taken between June 19-21, 2023), are very disturbing.  Nine out of 10 surveyed admitted that they had little or no knowledge of the tragedy.  Only one out of five said they knew the incident was the worst act of terrorism in Canadian history.  Saddest of all, more than half of those below the age of 35, revealed that they had never even heard of the incident.  

The bombing of Air India Flight was Canada's 9/11.  It is disturbing that so little is known about it, especially among a younger demographic. Perhaps it is not really surprising if you recall that then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney called Indian president Rajiv Gandhi to express his condolences for India's loss.  He wasn't aware that it was Canada's loss and the most of the victims were Canadian citizens.  How embarrassing was that?

The tragedy of Air India Flight 182  will always resonate with me.  It hits home especially because I can put a face to one of the victims.  Her name was Vijaya Thampi, an employee of the Toronto Star.  Back then, I worked in the Star's library and Vijaya worked in Human Resources.  I didn't know her well.  I only spoke to her briefly, but 38 years later, I remember her as a pleasant woman.  I will certainly be thinking of her today, and the other victims of that doomed Air India flight, as will the family and friends of those who lost their lives in that 1985 aviation attack by terrorists.

- Joanne