The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - The Weekend Special #28 -- Enjoy

Episode Date: September 25, 2020

Lots of your thoughts, questions and comments in this the last week of September!

and hello there peter man's bridge here with the latest episode of the bridge daily it's friday that means the weekend special and this is the weekend special number 28. And I'm going to get right to it this week, because there are quite a few letters, quite a few comments, questions, your thoughts on various things. And a reminder that, once again, I don't read all of the letter. Usually just an element of it. Sometimes some of you pack these things with three or four different thoughts and comments and questions. I kind of pick one usually and go with that.

However, there's usually one or two letters where I read it in its entirety and near the end of the podcast because it may well have had an impact on me beyond just the natural curiosity of your questions and thoughts. All right, so let's get started. Tim Pohl from Winnipeg writes, Peter, I wonder if you've read this article, and it includes a link. I heard you wondering out loud how to deal with someone who lies all the time, and specifically how Joe Biden should deal with that during the upcoming debate against Donald

Trump. When I saw this New York Times article, I instantly thought about your question. The author and professor of clinical psychiatry, Richard A. Friedman, suggests that the use of derisive humor is the answer and not try to fact-check the lies. And he gives an example. Now, when I raised this issue, I was actually thinking more not about how Biden could deal with it, but how the journalists covering the story and the networks broadcasting the debate would deal with it in real time because that is

a challenge but obviously it's a challenge to whoever you're debating and how they react so in summary Tim was good enough to give us an example of what the professor was suggesting you can find his article, by the way, in the New York Times, and the writer is Richard A. Friedman. So here's what Tim says. He says Biden should say something like, this is like the bad joke about the arsonist

who shows up at the bonfire and started posing as a fireman. The guy who calls himself a stable genius seems to have forgotten that he's been president during all this violence. He's been the instigator in chief with his racist rhetoric. The country's biggest bully thinks he can fool you by playing sheriff. So that's the professor's suggestion of what Joe Biden could say in the middle of the debate, which is true. But is he going to say that every time Donald Trump lies?

I mean, listen, it'll be a shock on Tuesday night in the first debate if the current president has no lies. That would be a shock. We'll see how it turns out. And to be fair, politicians generally try to stretch when coming around to the accuracy of their comments. And Biden will be focused, will be the focus of the attention of many journalists as well on everything he says in terms of its accuracy. But obviously, Trump is a treat for those who like to watch for lies. Michael Redfearn of Waterloo, Ontario.

Did I say Tim Poole was from Winnipeg? That's what I meant to say if I didn't. We thank you, Tim, for your note. Michael Redfearn from Waterloo, Ontario. Your recent virtual Calgary conference keynote, that was yesterday, by the way, and I talked about it on yesterday's podcast, sparked a memory I wanted to share with you.

You were the keynote for an Ontario Teachers of English conference I attended back in 1990 or so. That's 30 years ago, Michael. Good for you. Obviously, it was a great speech. Was it the King Edward Hotel in Toronto? May well have been. Anyway, the only thing I remember from your talk... You don't remember the whole talk, Michael? Just kidding. The only thing I remember from your talk was something you said near the beginning. You made a point of stating that it was important to distinguish between an English teacher and a teacher of English. The line got a laugh, and I know endeared the audience of educators to you from the outset.

As a longtime former high school teacher of English and media literacy, I love how you have transformed since your retirement from the wonderfully objective daily newsreader to the daily gatewatcher. It's refreshing to have your broad Canadian perspective on the day's events. Michael, thank you very much. I try to be as objective as I can all the time. I'm not so objective anymore on Trump. I gave up on that.

I just find that it's... He has created an atmosphere, not just for himself, but for other politicians in the U.S. and elsewhere, and not all just of the Republican or conservative stripe, but politicians generally, where the art of the lie has become the art of some modern-day politics, and that is a shame. Gordon Enright from Toronto.

Listening to you speak about John Turner reminded me of a story from my university years in 1988 or 1989. John Turner passed away a week ago, and he was somebody I covered, but also somebody who, in his retirement and mine, became a good friend. And it's been a sad week for a lot of us who felt that way about John Turner. Anyway, Gordon's letter.

I was taking political science at York University, and in a constitutional law class, my professor, the late John Saywell, who I knew of because he had written the foreword in a book I had read when I was younger called Trudeau and the French Canadians, a collection of essays Pierre Trudeau had written in Le Devoir. Professor Saywell regaled us with a story of a classmate in university, I presume UBC, it would have been, who kept correcting the professor, and as Saywell said, the student was usually right.

Well, that student and fellow classmate was John Turner. He was very bright. Regards to you, his friends, and family. From Gordon Enright. And that would be before Turner became a Rhodes Scholar, went to Oxford. Special man, John Turner, and he will be missed. Sarah Tacone.

Hi Peter, I'm confused about who's eligible to vote John Turner, and he will be missed. Sarah Tacone. Hi, Peter. I'm confused about who's eligible to vote in the USA. I'm hearing that black voters in North Carolina are restricted from voting four times more than white voters. I don't understand. Doesn't every U.S. citizen over 18 have the right to vote like we do in Canada? Don't they receive a voter card like we do from Elections Canada and present it when they go to vote?

I'm puzzled. Perhaps you can help clarify this issue. I'll try, Sarah. It's not the same system as we have, but it's supposed to be a system that allows everybody who's eligible to vote to vote and who screens out the kind of issues that you're talking about. But here are the rules. This is who's eligible to vote in U.S. elections.

Okay, this is on the U.S. government website. You must be a U.S. citizen to vote in a federal, state, or local election. You can vote in U.S. elections if you are a U.S. citizen, if you meet your state's residency requirements. You can be homeless and still meet these requirements. You are 18 years old on or before Election Day. In almost every state, you can register to vote. You have to register before you turn 18 if you will be 18 by Election Day.

Now, every state has different kinds of age requirements to register I don't know what North Carolinas are but maybe that has something to do with your question I'm not sure you can vote if you're registered to vote by your state's voter registration deadline apparently there's one state Registered to vote by your state's voter registration deadline.

Apparently there's one state, North Dakota, not North Carolina, but North Dakota, where you don't even need to register. You can just go and vote. Who can't vote in the U.S.? Non-citizens, including permanent legal residents. Some people with felony convictions. Some people, not all. Rules vary by state.

Check with your state elections office about the laws in your state. So this is another one of these situations where it's different depending on which state you're in. That may have something to do with the North Carolina thing you're talking about. Some people who are mentally incapacitated. Rules, once again, vary by state. And this one I didn't know of. For president in the general elections, this is who can't vote, U.S. citizens residing in U.S. territories. So I guess if you're a U.S. citizen in Puerto Rico, you can't vote for a president.

I don't know, something doesn't sound for a president. I don't know. Something doesn't sound right about that. But that's what it says in the rules. Check with your state or local election office for any questions about who can and cannot vote. So I don't know, Sarah. That may be as clear as mud. But that's what the official rules say.

And it sounds like there's different rules in different states. That, again, is unlike here in our country, where it is the same across the board. Jill Lees and Joan Kuhl. Jill's in Brantford, Joan's in Toronto. They write. I love this one. Peter, can we convince you now that our Toronto Blue Jays

deserve some credit this season? Come on, Canada, let's make some noise. The Toronto Blue Jays clinched a spot on the 2020 postseason berth tonight. She wrote this last night, obviously. Beating the New York Yankees. 4-1, by the way. I watched the game. Kudos to these young guys for coming together

and keeping up a great attitude, even without a home. That's right. They haven't played in Toronto all year. They're playing in Buffalo for their home games. My sister and I watch every game from our separate residences in Toronto and Brantford. So Jill and Joan are Jill and Joan. They're from the family that likes to name their kids starting with J.

Jill and Joan. These guys show you us the best of teamwork and working towards a common goal, a refreshing change from all the other crap that we hear from and see every day. You got it. Hey, I watched that game last night. And, you know, it's been a funny season. Not only are they not playing at home, they're playing in Buffalo.

But it was a short season, much shorter than, what, a third or a quarter than the normal number of games. But they are there they are in the playoffs they did what the Leafs couldn't do they did what the Raptors did do unfortunately Raptors didn't get past the second round I'll tell you what I love about watching the Blue Jays is the majority of those players are really young and they seem to really enjoy each other's company like playing with each other many of them have been playing with each other for quite a long time because

they were in minor ball together but you know the sheer enjoyment on their part last night after the game i mean the celebration on the field went on for, I don't know, 10 minutes. And they really looked like they meant it. You know, this was a big deal for all of them, as it should be. They're in the playoffs. Who knows what will happen? Anything could happen. And the way these guys play lately, they either get absolutely bombed out of the park by the other team or they bomb the other team out of the park.

This week they played the all-powerful Yankees, what, four times? They won three of the games? Last week they played the Yankees, I think, four times and got hammered in most of the games. Anyway, they'll be fun and good for you for writing to make sure that I mentioned the Blue Jays. Emma Penny from Pasadena, Newfoundland. Remember Emmy?

You should. Hi, Peter. A lot's happened since I wrote you in May. May. That feels like a century ago. A lot's happened since I wrote you in May while refinishing the juniper floor in our shop in Pasadena, Newfoundland. And that shop's called the Gifts of Joy.

Gifsofjoy.ca if you want to go online and see it. It turned out great. We reopened in mid-June to a different retail climate. My staff returned and so did many of our customers and that makes me happy. People are wearing masks, practicing physical distancing and doing what it takes to stay safe. Consequently, our numbers in Newfoundland are low. Our shop has been busy and we recently started Facebook Live online shopping events. We'll do one every two weeks and they've been a lot of fun and has helped our sales. I feel

blessed that our shop has been able to survive this pandemic. I want to say a heartfelt thank you to all who supported us. We live in a community of 3,700 people, so we don't take this support for granted. Emmy Penny. Loved hearing from Emmy in May. Love hearing from Emmy in September. Gifsofjoy.ca. This podcast is brought to you by gifsofjoy.ca in Pasadena, Newfoundland. Well, it was today anyway.

Marianne Zacharias. I listened to your podcast with Bruce Anderson with earbuds. The volume disparity is too much. Bruce's voice is perfect. But when you respond, I have to adjust the volume. You're too quiet in comparison. Is it me or can something be done about it? Bruce never told me he had a cousin named Mary Ann Zacharias. His voice is perfect.

Please, give me a break. Alright, I'll check again. Somebody mentioned this on the first race next door, that they'd had a little issue with volume disparity, that Bruce is much louder than I was. I'll check it again and see. Remember, this is a hobby podcast, right? I try to even these things out, but I can tell you this, that

The Race Next Door is the most listened to podcast every week of our series here on The Bridge Daily. They're all well listened to. Apparently we're in the top 1% of all podcasts, all podcasts in North America. And it's the only Canadian one in the top 10 of Apple's chart of Canadian political podcasts. And yours is the only complaint

we've had this week in the thousands of downloads that have taken place. But nevertheless, I will check it again, Mary Ann, and I'll let Bruce know that his cousin was writing, talking about how wonderful his voice is. Glenn Cumming writes, I love the bridge, never miss it. I want to suggest a podcast topic.

It would be interesting to talk to retired Canadian astronauts about their experiences in space, how their experiences affected their lives and well-being after leaving the space program, how difficult it is to adapt to everyday normal life after leaving the program, and what they're now doing

in their lives. Just a thought. Thank you very much. Keep it going. Thanks, Glenn. It's a good idea. And I'll keep that in mind for the future. Chris Hatfield is a friend of mine. And I'll talk to Chris, see whether he's got time to spend, you know, 20 minutes, half an hour with us on the podcast one day, and he would be terrific, as he's always terrific, to have a short chat. On those particular themes that you mentioned, and they're good ones. Obviously, you know, after I read your letter,

I was thinking, do astronauts in space ever get sick? And I don't mean like motion sickness, because clearly some of them do, and I think Chris had a battle with some of that. I know Mark Garneau certainly did. In fact, that was one of the reasons he was picked, so they could study motion sickness by sending Mark up. But I was thinking, you know, like,

they ever get sick? Do they get, like, a cold or a flu or a headache, whatever? And if they do, what happens? And how concerning is that to other astronauts who are on board? Anyway, next time I see Chris, I'll ask him if we want to do a little chat. Rosemary Gage.

She's in North Saanich, British Columbia. I discovered your episodes a couple of months ago. Haven't missed one since. I laugh at your week counts because on March 22nd, I decided I needed to exercise our COVID lockdown to make up for my visits to the pool. I'm on week 27 and walk 30 clicks a week on local trails here in North Saanich.

I believe you're on week 28. We are. You're obviously familiar with this area from the positive comment you made a few weeks back when you got an email from someone in Saanich. This is a beautiful area and it was ranked as one of the most, one of the best places to live in Canada a few years ago. There are a lot of retirees here with a lot of time on their hands. I'm one of them. But I can't believe an issue that's come up recently, and I can only envision an older, small-minded, unhappy individual. The issue involves a ferry trail that some young kids built on a public trail during their COVID confinement.

And then she proceeds to give me a back and forth between the complainer and the defender and the mayor on all this. I think the issue is still going on. The complaint is being taken seriously. It sounds unfortunate. It sounds like some young kids did something nice, but obviously somebody didn't like it. But I read that for the main reason being that people have taken their daily exercise, in whichever way they do it, to new levels throughout COVID, which is great.

And a lot of it's outdoors. Now, in North Saanich, BC, you're probably going to be able to do this for most of the year. Here, we're enjoying a great September weather-wise. It's been a lot of sun. It goes back and forth between cooler temperatures and warmer temperatures. Very warm today. But using the benefit of outdoors is really important

to get as much of it as we can before we get into the winter, where obviously we'll be doing less outdoors. But not ignoring it, because there's nothing better than fresh air. Carolyn Black writes from Waterloo, Ontario. Listening to the race next door this morning got me thinking about and wondering about if you would be willing to comment on your experiences with interviews, specifically if there was anyone that you refused to interview,

and also how you handled people who knew were telling lies. If you were still at the CBC, would you want to interview Trump? Absolutely, I'd love to interview Trump. I tried for the last year I was at the CBC before retiring, dealing with the White House, trying to get an interview with Donald Trump, tried both official channels and unofficial channels through some friends we both shared.

Anyway, it didn't work. It didn't seem like he had much of any time for interviews with anyone outside of the United States. Listen, in doing an interview with Trump would be no different than doing an interview with anyone else. If they seem to be speaking mistruths, lies, you challenge them on that. On the other question about have you ever refused

to do an interview with somebody? Yes, once. And you'll be surprised to know who that one person was. This one person was a U.S. politician who was coming to Canada selling a book and demanded that we, me, prescreen all the questions that I was going to ask. We don't do that. We don't do that for anyone.

I never have in 50 years ever done that and wasn't going to start with that person. And so I said, unless they dropped that request, they could get interviewed somewhere else. It wasn't going to be with me. You know who that was? Al Gore, former vice President of the United States, Bill Clinton's Vice President,

Al Gore wanted the questions, or at least his people wanted the questions. I mean, I never talked directly to him on this subject, but did deal with his people, and they wanted the questions beforehand. I said no. That's not just me. That's the policy of the questions beforehand. I said no. That's not just me. That's the policy of the CBC.

You don't give out the questions beforehand. In the case of my interviews, I rarely know all the questions beforehand anyway. It kind of depends on where the interview goes, where it takes you in terms of discussion. Anyway, there's your answer, Carolyn. Barb King of Okotoks. I continue to enjoy your podcast very much.

I'm trying to catch up this evening with the contents and political analysis of the speech from the throne that was given on Wednesday. Quick question. Who's actually in charge of writing the federal throne speech? Well, it's not the Governor General, and it's not Buckingham Palace. It's the Prime Minister's office. The government of the day writes the speech because the speech is an outline of the government's intentions for the parliamentary session ahead.

So when it says the speech from the throne, it is the speech from the head of state or that person who's, I was going to say pretending to be the head of state, the governor general, on behalf of their government. So technically it probably should be called the speech from the prime minister's office because that's where it's written.

Juliet Martin from London, Ontario. She has a long letter, but I'll read one chunk of it. As we change seasons once again, it seems like there's no end in sight to the pandemic and our restricted social world. Rather than using the terminology physical distancing or social distancing, Dr. Mario Puleo has suggested we consider using distant socializing

with the emphasis on the verb of socializing. The rationale is that we should seek new creative strategies for nurturing our social connections with family, friends, and our larger social circles. Fortunately, this pandemic coincides with myriad options for utilizing technology and social media in particular to maintain connectivity with our people. Even listening to podcasts such as The Bridge can help me feel connected as well as informed. I love the way you use the word myriad properly without the addition of the word of

because myriad means thousands of as we found out a couple of weeks ago right here on the bridge. Thanks Juliet, Juliet. Barry Hoffman from Burlington, Ontario. This might be a topic for the podcast someday.

It reminds me not only of the digital divide, but the potable water divide that we as a nation still have not resolved. I spent a summer doing geological survey work near North Spirit Lake, Ontario Reservation, where boil water was an issue, still is, and that was 1972. This digital gap, I fear, will only compound northern issues. Perhaps some of you, of your northern acquaintances and friends, could expound. Well,

Barry, you're so right. I mean, there are, I can't remember what the latest count is, but it's more than a hundred communities in Canada live under boil water alerts. They can't drink their water.

They have to boil it. And like you, I've been on many different reserves in northern Manitoba, northern Saskatchewan, and northern Ontario, where this has been the case over the last 50 years. And I was on one just two years ago, north of Thunder Bay, which I believe was at that time the longest running boiled water alert in Canadian history.

And it had been since, I don't know, the mid-1990s. Still, they still hadn't resolved the situation. This is Canada. And we tend to lecture other countries about the way they service some of their civilians. And here we are with more than 100 communities, at least that was

at last count, at least that many communities that still do not have drinkable water unless it's either boiled or bottled. Deb Greening.

Here's what Deb writes. She's in Saskatchewan somewhere. I don't know where exactly, but her email address is with SaskTel. Dear Peter, an observation regarding lower productivity with working from home. There are societal benefits to working from home that may not be reflected in the economic productivity measured by companies at this time. These societal benefits may at some point show up in the long-term economic analysis,

but for now may not be obvious. Happier human beings who are more grounded by home and family than those commuting through stressful traffic, working at the office for longer hours than is healthy, and being disconnected from familial environment could be achieving a quality of work that has more value than quantity. If the outcome of lower productivity is more employment and the costs of that offset by less infrastructure expenses for companies, that seems like a win-win for societal well-being and the economy. I have observed a family member now working from home who is happier and much more focused on the quality of her family relationships than in her entire 61 years. Her relationships with her clients have also taken on a more caring element than was the case in a busy office

setting. You would think during a time of pandemic, this would not be the case. Best regards, Deb Greening. Interesting comments, Deb. You know, I'm sure as we've witnessed already, there are different views on this subject, but I think you make the case extremely well for the benefits of working from home. All right, here's the last letter for this week. I like this one, as I've often liked this person's letters. Comes from Sherwood Park, Alberta. Aaron Koncer.

Aaron starts off by saying, I'm sure you're getting tired of my letters, and yet I find myself writing to you again. I'm not getting tired of them, Aaron. Your letters are always great. I always enjoy them. And as you know, occasionally put them on the podcast. As I'm doing with your letter this week, as it takes up the cherished, the much coveted last letter spot

on today's podcast, the weekend special number 28. So here we go. The last few weeks have been an adventure, to say the least. Last week, our youngest daughter came down with a cold, and any other time it would be simply dismissed as such, and life would go on. But now, in the times of COVID, this has meant quarantining her at home, booking testing for our family, and double checking with

my work to make sure I could still go on in. Thankfully, we're all negative, but it was amazing and exhausting at how many phone calls, emails, and text messages one tiny runny nose generated from our home. We've also survived our oldest first weeks of kindergarten, and she seems to be thriving at school. There have been the normal ups and downs that we've expected, but also some unexpected. With the staggered re-entry that our school board implemented, our daughter's first day wasn't until September 8th, and it was too short notice for me to take the day off from work, or to even trade my shift for an afternoon one. So I missed her first day.

I was at work, going through pathologist requests and preparing biopsies for cancer testing, while my husband was home getting her ready. She was so excited to tell me about her day and how much fun she'd had at school, but I wasn't there to drop her off, and I still feel a bit guilty for missing this milestone. But life goes on, and we're still celebrating the little victories and happy moments. I'm interviewing for a promotion today. Good luck on that.

As difficult as this year has been, I don't know if I'd change much about what we've gone through. I still have hope for the coming years. That's Erin from Sherwood Park, Alberta. And this time, she added a little picture of her kids. It's a great picture. And they look pretty happy, as they should be, with great parents like they have.

You know, it has been a difficult time for everybody. And, you know, in my family, I've got a son who's in final year at University of Toronto, who hasn't been on campus once yet. Everything's online. And he's not much enjoying that. I've got a granddaughter who is at first year university. Same thing. Hasn't been on campus. Hasn't been anywhere near campus. Has been a half a country away from campus. But is taking classes online and actually quite enjoying it. So far. I have another granddaughter who's at high school.

She's not enjoying it much. She's actually taking classes, but I don't know all the rules at her school, but I'm masks on all the time, and you're in the same classroom all day. There's no movement around. That's no fun. And I have a daughter who's a teacher who's got, I think at last count, 28 or 29 students in her class.

That's a lot of students facing the restrictions in life at school as they are today. So, you know, in some cases, people are okay with all this. In some cases, parents are okay with all this. Some cases, students are okay with all this. Some cases, students are okay with all this. But there is no sort of general accepted position. But I like the positivity surrounding Erin's letter. She feels guilty about not being there for day one. But at the same time, she's understanding the challenges of this time.

Yes, that is my phone ringing in the background, and it's going to have to keep ringing because I'm not going to start this whole podcast all over again because there's a phone ringing. I forgot to take the ringer off. Anyway, thank you to Aaron. And thank you to all of those who have written this week for a position on the weekend special number 28. And you'll always remember this one, because of the phone ringing in the background.

A very special sound effect that we brought in just to kind of perk things up near the end of today's podcast. Listen, I hope you have a great weekend wherever you are, whatever you're doing, hopefully the weather's good enough to enjoy some of this. Last weekend in September, it's going to be October next week. It's going to be Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks. This all started for us before Easter, and we're nowhere near through it yet. In fact, we look like we're about to go through another difficult period. But let's try to go through it together.

Let's try to help each other out. Let's remember all the basics. You know, keep your hands clean. Wash those hands. Wear your mask. And keep distant from others. Avoid big crowds. Do all those things.

And we're going to be getting through this together. All right, then. I'm Peter Mansbridge. This has been the weekend special number 28. We're heading into week 29. That's when we'll talk to you again on Monday. Thank you.