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                                                      AND NOW                                                                                               THE  INTIMATION CHRISTMAS

Snowbirds amassing at U.S. border       A White House senior aide has disclosed that the sheer number of retired Canadians amassing along the northern border is creating consternation amongst top State Department and the Department of Homeland Security. Experts anticipate that half a million of these snowbirds will migrate to the U.S. over the next month, dwarfing the immigrant caravan crossing Mexico, and placing undue stress on the quality of life for many Americans, while posing a growing security threat “It’s too much,” lamented the anonymous aide. “It’s a struggle for citizens in Florida, Arizona and California to find a tee time, the pickleball courts are full and God help you if you want to find a parking spot at an outlet shopping mall. My parents tried to register for a ukulele festival in Sedona and couldn’t get in because of all the Canadians.” Evidence collected last winter raised concerns that the normally reserved Canadians are exhibiting more unc...

Midterm elections occur halfway between presidential elections, which occur every four years. All 435 members of the House of Representatives are up for election every two years, with one-third of the Senate up for election. Members of the Senate serve staggered six-year terms.

Brooke Henderson and her Sister win the  Canadian LPGA Event. The 20 yr. old and her 26 yr. old sister caddie from  Smith Falls, Ontario. 

If you have Bell Internet Service they have  included a "Free" install of McAfee protection. For years this anti-virus software had mediocre results but it has updated recently and now included in the top "10" with some features the same  rating as Kaspersky. The down side if any that it may slow your computer as it checks out whatever you have been doing. It is worth about $25.00  if you were comparing antivirus protection. P.S. I have not noticed any slowdown of our 2 computers after install.

                                                     

The Creation of Canada Day July 1, 1867  : The  British North America Act  (today known as the  Constitution Act, 1867 ) created Canada. June 20, 1868  : Governor General  Lord Monck  signs a proclamation that requests all Her Majesty’s subjects across Canada to celebrate July 1. 1879  : A federal law makes July 1 a statutory holiday as the “anniversary of Confederation,” which is later called “ Dominion Day .” October 27, 1982  : July 1, “Dominion Day” officially becomes Canada Day.

It won’t be long before the Ontario Liberals start blaming the Progressive Conservatives for the financial mess they’ve left us in after 15 years in power. You can already see it happening in some smug media commentary, gleefully predicting Premier-designate Doug Ford and the PCs are going to be a disaster. In reality, outgoing premier Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals are the disaster — and they have created massive fiscal problems that will take decades, if ever, to correct. Today, let’s examine the biggest financial train wreck the Liberals have left us to address — the skyrocketing cost of electricity due to the idiotic way they blundered into green energy. According to a report by Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office, the per-unit cost of solar power to Ontario ratepayers as the Liberals leave office is a staggering $480 per megawatt hour (MWh), wind $173/MWh, biofuels $131/MWh.That compares to $69/MWh for nuclear power and $58/MWh for hydro.(Hat tip to Jeffrey Simpso...

NAFTA The question on the mind of every CEO, union leader, politician, investor, auto worker and trade lawyer—indeed, anyone with a stake in NAFTA’s survival—is what next? For more than 20 years, NAFTA has been a source of economic growth for the world’s largest trading bloc. Most economists view the free trade deal as a net positive for the three nations. In a speech in August, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Canada’s economy is 2.5 per cent larger every year than it would be without NAFTA: “It is as if Canada has been receiving a $20-billion cheque each year since NAFTA was ratified.” It’s safe to say that companies with the heaviest exposure to the U.S. will be hit hardest and fastest. “Canadian exporters would really get hammered in the capital markets,” Lee says. “When markets are uncertain, you err on the side of caution. What would the market do to those companies? They wouldn’t know how much of their sales would be going down. I can’t predict a ...

The cost to fill up a vehicle jumped to $1.36 a litre($6.12 a gal.)  this week at most North Bay gas stations. The price of fuel was a hot topic at the Tory meet and greet free breakfast event held at The Grande Wednesday morning. Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford told the crowd of more than 200 people that the price of gas is “absolutely ridiculous” and the elimination of the carbon tax will reduce the price by about 4.5 cents per litre. Eliminating the carbon tax is one of Ford's many campaign promises. “The price of gas effects every single thing that moves from Point A to Point B,” he said. “We're going to get rid of the worst tax there is – the carbon tax.” The Liberals controversial cap-and-trade program started on Jan.1,2017 and is aimed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from Ontario homes and businesses. The tax is estimated to cost the average Ontario household about $13 more per month to fuel a car and heat a hom...

Transportation Having a permit seized means you need to apply to get it back, which can take up to a year. There are also fines for misuse, ranging from $300 to $5,000. It’s unclear why the number of accessible parking permits issued in Ontario has jumped so dramatically. Service Ontario said it doesn’t know why there has been a spike because it doesn’t make the decisions about the permits; doctors, chiropractors and nurse practitioners do. Once a health care professional signs off on a person's permit, the province issues it, and in recent years the range of medical professionals who can certify that someone needs an accessible permit has increased. Service Ontario also points to an aging population and more drivers on the road as possible factors in the increased number of permits being issued. ____________________________________________________________________ Mutual Recognition of Parking Permits for Persons with Disabilities – Resolution 97/4 of the European Con...

Combat-trained school resource officer says campus fortifications, not armed teachers, are the way to protect students. Resource Officer Francis Smith served 21 years as an airborne infantry medic, he's jumped out of airplanes and is a certified SWAT operator who trains weekly to keep his skills sharp. In short, he's a badass. But he'll tell you that with all his training and combat experience, if he has to relyonly on his 9 mm Glock in a gun battle against even an amateur with an AR-15 rifle, he's outgunned and outmatched. "It's a suicide mission," Smith said. "You're facing an attack rifle that can shoot over 300 meters versus a sidearm that is effective for about 40 meters." "It kind of frightens me to have an educator come to school with the mindset that you may need to end someone's life. You need to be trained to have the focus you need for that, and you cannot wait for an adrenaline-rush event to do somethin...

The electoral college was added to the U.S. Constitution as a compromise. Some wanted Congress to elect the president. Others wanted popular vote to determine the outcome. The result was the electoral college, according to the National Archives. There are 538 votes in the electoral college. Each state gets as many electors as they have members of Congress (House and Senate). Electors are chosen at the state level, and state laws vary on the selection process. In order to win a presidential election, 270 electoral votes are required. But why was the electoral college process established in the first place? Some argue (like this commentary) that it was to balance  interests of large urban areas and lower-density rural areas. Others argue that the Founding Fathers didn’t trust the public to elect a candidate. After all, it was difficult for ordinary citizens to gather adequate information about candidates in the 1700s.  That thinking has been obsolete for years. ...