Thursday, May 18, 2017

Shameless Solicitation...

Top of the evening everyone.

Over the years, I have ridden for the Zareinu school here in Toronto.  The Zareinu school is a school for children with significant educational challenges.  You can check out their website at zareinu.org for more information.  They raise a significant amount of their operating budget through a bike-a-thon.  I missed riding the last couple of years.  It is good to be back in the saddle.

The boys and I have signed up to ride 50k to raise money for the school.  We have to raise a combined total of $2500.  At this point, we have $376.  The ride is June 11th.

If you would like to support the school via us, the best bet is to go to the website https://zareinu.donorpages.com/Moveathon2017/stats/ and look up either Jesse Gorman, Gavriel Gorman, or me.

Oh this is so exciting!!  And I will be out on my hydrofoil of aluminum.

Thank you all.

R/SCG

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Nothing to See Here - Addendum...

Good morning everyone.

Today, Pvt Chelsea Manning, US Army, was released from Leavenworth.  She was serving a prison sentence for conviction on 20 counts of espionage.  She had turned over countless documents at varied levels of classification to Wikileaks.  I remind everyone that Wikileaks is run by a man wanted for questioning for a rape in Sweden.  The man has been hiding out in the Ecuadoran embassy in London for several years now.  Former President Obama granted Pvt Manning clemency in the closing days of his presidency.

This is okay though.  For reasons that are lost on me, President Trump is not allowed to talk with his counterparts of other nations.

The hypocrisy of the reaction to the President is glaring today.

Have a good day.

R/SCG

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Steed of Steel...

Top of the evening everyone...

Over the last several years, my family has heard me say that I will be on my steed of steel.  That is what I call my bicycle.

Well, now I have three bicycles.  I have a fleet.  One of the bicycles is not made of steel though.  It is made of aluminum.  I have to tell you....it cuts the wind in a way that the other two do not.  It is such a delight to ride.  It is like being on a speedboat.

I have thus decided to call it my hydrofoil of aluminum.

I am wrapping up for the evening.

Have a good night.

R/SCG

Nothing to See Here...

Top of the evening everyone...

Yet again, the body politic is in a tizzy in the United States.  Apparently, President Trump revealed classified information to the Russian Foreign Minister.

And what was on page 2?

Folks, there are multiple levels of classification in the United States.  Sensitive, classified, top secret, top secret (special compartmented information), probably a few others, and President's eyes only.

In all categories of classification, the President is what we call the classifying authority.  That means that he has the authority to release any classified information at will.  That he might have shared something with a governmental representative of another nation is not at all without precedent.  It has been going on since time immemorial.  The most prominent example that comes to mind is when Prime Minister Begin directed that an assassination plot against Anwar Sadat be turned over directly to the Egyptians, instead of via the normal channels.  This led directly to President Sadat's historic visit to Jerusalem.

We can question his discretion.  We can decide that maybe we should have someone else in office come 2020.  That is perfectly legitimate.  There is virtually no crime whatsoever.

Nothing to see here.

Except that there is something to see here.  There was a crime committed, or at least a violation of trust.  How it is that a matter discussed in the Oval Office made it out to the press is of major concern.  It does mean that someone violated his/her clearance.  It means that someone within the White House just made an active effort to undermine the President.  This is major.

Mr. President, it is my strongest recommendation that you get control over the White House staff.  This is not the first unauthorized leak.  It is unlikely to be the last.

I am utterly disgusted with everyone taking every opportunity not to let this man be the President.  Get over it folks.  Like it or not, Donald Trump is the President of the United States.  You will do more to bring a bad name on the country by pouncing on every little thing he does than he will manage on his own.

Have a good night everyone.

R/SCG