Random Notes from a Crank

With the Boutygate going on, there are a number of wild conclusions to reach:

• Moscow Don is a Manchurian Candidate selected by Russia
• Moscow Don is somehow leveraged by Russian interests to do their bidding
• Moscow Don has some kind of weird bromance with Putin

More sensible conclusions can be reached in this opinion piece: "Trump's Ugly New Spin on Russia Bounties Actually Incriminates Him." 

And here's a solid bit of analysis from The Globe and Mail: "A Presidency That Began with Bans on Foreign Travelers Now Sees Europe Off Limits to Americans." 

The column quotes a good talking point from Biden: "Because Trump can't do the most basic parts of his job, the United States is now viewed as posing a global health risk. Today, America is first in infections, first in deaths, and the EU has decided to bar Americans from traveling there as Europe reopens." 

I recently got a suet cake feeder for our front tree, and the birds are going through suet cakes like crazy. In particular, I've attracted some beautiful woodpeckers, specifically northern flickers and a red-headed woodpecker.

Stay Positive: Ontario

Yesterday the Nasty Family started a bit past 6am and drove from East Central Illinois to Niagara Falls, Ontario. We're on a family vacation based on the fact that my daughter has a national dance competition in Sandusky Ohio starting on Tuesday. We went to Niagara Falls for a couple days, and then we'll drive through upstate New York and Pennsylvania to get to Sandusky. 

We crossed the border at Detroit-Windsor and drove all the way to Niagara Falls, which had us cross a mighty good portion of Ontario, which is an enormous province. 

I wouldn't call the drive beautiful. It's pretty enough. The terrain reminds of certain parts of Michigan.

But I would call the drive impressive. 

Once we got past Windsor and out on Ontario Highway 401, Mrs. Nasty and I were both struck by the sheer number of wind turbines there are in that part of Ontario. In addition, we noticed many households that had solar panels, and there were a number of concentrated solar fields. 

This is what happens when a government provides smart incentives to its citizens to invest in renewable energy. I would say the first 50-60 miles of the drive on 401 there was not a landscape that did not have wind turbines dotting it. Very impressive.

As my daughter smartly said on the drive, "The US needs to take some notes from Canada." 

Here are some links about information and incentives given regarding clean energy:

• "Canadian Wind Energy Association"
• "Canadian Solar Power/Wind Power Generation"
• "Canadian Solar Energy Programs"
• "Solar Tax Credits, Incentives and Rebates in Ontario"

Once we got on the 403 and around Lake Ontario and the Hamilton metro area, there were wineries all over the place. Every exit around that area had at least two wineries featured. 

I'm not much a fan of Canadian whiskey (bourbon is my drink of choice), but I suspect I'd like Canadian wine, especially if they offer some good red wines. 

Today at the hotel I picked up the self-proclaimed "Canada's National Newspaper," The Globe and Mail. 

I read that paper today, and in comparison, USA Today, which is also available at the hotel, reads more like a newspaper for dumbasses, for Americans who don't like to read. 

Three articles in the paper offer some helpful, non-US takes on the G20 Summit where MoscowDon basically isolated the US and looked like the doofus he is:

• "Why the G20 Is Needed More Than Ever"
• "Global Steering Committee Hits the Ditch"
• "Beware the Populist Prescription"

I need to read The Globe and Mail more often.