Cosby’s fall, missing Angus, a summer of rock
It’s hard to believe that Bill Cosby has gone from America’s favourite father to America’s creepiest uncle. In the same vein, Jared from Subway went from a terrific role model for self-determination to the lowest of low on society’s ladder: A pedophile . ... If the Alberta Party would add the word ‘Progressive’ to its moniker, it might pick up a bushel of votes from people who aren’t quite sure who’s progressive, who’s regressive and who just wants to maintain the status quo . ... A fence jumper at the White House a couple of weeks ago elicited this comment from someone on Twitter: “Which direction were they going?” ... Haven’t picked up a fidget spinner yet and now I hear the craze is already passé. ... In Donald Trump’s prepolitical days, he was viewed as a fairly shrewd businessman, albeit somewhat egotistical, loud and arrogant. If the first few months of his presidency are any indication, however, he’ll go down in history as a laughingstock. And a dim one at that . ... Chamber of Commerce past president Chris Hellman was recently acknowledged in the House of Commons for his contributions and generosity to the community. MP Glen Motz bestowed the well-deserved plaudits upon Hellman for the whole country to hear . ...
Andrew Scheer seems like a likeable young man and the Conservative Party of Canada is definitely stronger thanks to some stability in its leadership. He will give fellow young turk Justin Trudeau a strong run to be Canada's prime minister, but in the early going, his popularity in Quebec hasn’t been very strong. Quebec, of course, is one of two provinces a party has to win (Ontario, naturally, is the other one) if it wants to be the governing party in Canada. It's easy to see how Western separatist talk gets going in our expansive country . ... Politics in Western Canada is certainly interesting: In Saskatchewan the right wing Saskatchewan Party governs, but trails the leftist NDP in the current polls. In Alberta, the NDP governs, but the right-wing United Conservative Party of Alberta leads the polls; and in B.C., the right (or centrist) Liberals narrowly won the recent election, but will sit back and watch the left side NDP and Greens call the shots by coalition . ...
Stephen Colbert and Seth Myers are the top two latenight funnymen, in my opinion. The so-called bigger names, the two Jimmys — Fallon and Kimmel — are fading, if you ask me. The Trump circus south of the border has given the late-night entertainers a virtual gold mine of material . ... Had to be out of town while Spectrum was on downtown last weekend, but I have to imagine it wouldn't have been the same without the late Angus
Henderson riding around in a cart, helping play an organizational role with Lorraine Dalla Longa. Angus, a workmate here at the News for a number of years and a great friend, passed away late last year. ... World No Tobacco Day was marked May 31 and the government tells us that 22 per cent of Canadians smoked in 2001 but that figure has dropped to 13 per cent (3.5 million people) today. The government’s goal is five per cent by 2035. Every 14 minutes a Canadian dies from a smoking-related illness; more than 100 died on World No Tobacco Day. It’s not easy to quit, but as thousands prove every year, it can be done . ... The summer is shaping up as a great one for music fans, especially those who love classic rock. The Medicine Hat Stampede will have the Stampeders, 54-40 and Glass Tiger on stage Wednesday of Stampede Week, and Blue Rodeo Thursday. Saturday features the country-pop group, The Band Perry. Meanwhile, on the Aug. 18-19 weekend, Trooper, Honeymoon Suite, Loverboy and Kick Axe will blow the lid off the joint during Cars and Guitars at the Canalta Centre . ... Maybe the terrorists are winning. Twenty-two young people in England are killed by a bomb blast following an Ariana Grande concert and it’s frontpage news for four days. Two weeks later, a massive truck bomb blows up in the middle of Kabul, killing more than 100 and injuring hundreds more and it’s one-day news in North America . ... Feel sorry for Tiger Woods? Or no sympathy whatsoever? A poll conducted by a Miami newspaper showed a 50-50 split following his arrest in late May for driving while in a zombie-like state due to a mixture of prescription drugs. Money can’t buy you a happy life obviously. The best (or second-best) golfer of alltime obviously has major personal problems... I can hardly wait for Medicine Hat’s Canada Day festivities. This city’s July 1 fireworks are always ultra spectacular, so I can’t imagine what organizers have in store for our country’s 150-year anniversary celebration . ... The Medicine Hat Public Library has an interesting fundraiser on the go. For $20, you can buy a ticket representing a particular square on the giant chess board downtown. A chicken will be let loose on the board July 27 at 10:30 a.m. and if he happens to drop some poo on your square, you win $5,000. That’s not just chicken scratch. So don’t be a chicken----, buy a ticket.