It won’t happen while Donald Trump is in power, or by threats, but the idea of Canada and the US eventually joining together to become one self-contained mega country makes sense. Those who can’t think past their pride can imagine it as the US joining Canada as 50 new provinces. In actuality, it would be an entirely new country with a hybrid universal constitution and a blueprint for a free healthcare system that works. So obviously it won’t happen overnight.
Nowhere in the world do two such large countries border together that are so similar. If a mutually agreed upon merger of any two Countries ever happens, it will be here. Both Countries still have some evolving to do, but as that happens I believe we will become even more alike.
Forming a self-contained mega-country that is easily defendable would also preserve our freedom. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s secretive agendas, we should never assume we will never be challenged. Not to say we shouldn’t have trade with other countries, just not be dependent on it.
In a world that has seen nothing but Countries splitting apart or taken over, the voluntary merger of Canada and the US would demonstrate cooperation never seen before. They could be an example of what other democratic Countries strive to be like and join once they achieve it.
What better legacy for a president, prime minister, and the people of 2 countries to leave behind than the merging of two nations, laying the cornerstone for world peace.
Another dog owner has had their beloved pet snatched away, helpless to do anything but imagine it crying out for their help as it is torn apart by Coyote. A haunting memory that will stay with them for years. There have already been averted attacks on small children but it’s only a matter of time until a mother is needlessly made to endure what far too many dog owners have gone through.
Toronto’s idea that dangerous wild animals belong and can co-exist in the most densely populated urban areas of Canada is as baffling as their idea that converting lanes of traffic to bike lanes reduces gridlock. These coyotes are quickly becoming less afraid of people and typical hazing techniques are no longer effective. The only solution is also the most obvious, Get rid of the coyotes! one way or the other.
It’s hard to get kids to play a game they perceive to have little or no hope of winning. Chances are they will be bored, disruptive, and may cheat out of frustration. Eventually, they will refuse to play at all. Even as an adult, how pointless it would be to join a game of Monopoly that has already started. All the properties have already been bought up and the $200.00 for passing “Go” doesn’t even get you halfway around the board. For far too many people working for minimum wage, this game scenario is their life. The effects are similar to the kid’s game, lack of self-worth and hopelessness leading to mental issues, disruption, drugs, and crime.
Not everyone has the drive, ability, opportunity for education, luck, or family to help them get a high-paying job, especially these days. But those who work 40 hours a week at a minimum-paying job should be able to afford the basics of food, clothing, medical care, and a place to live. These days, they are lucky to have food or shelter.
Food banks and charities are bandaids that don’t address the problem. Raising the minimum wage to a living wage is the only solution. Gradually increasing the minimum wage every year by twice the rate of inflation until it reaches a living wage would provide hope and relief to workers, and a foreseeable path for employers to adapt. Prices will increase, some businesses will fail, and consumer spending will change. Necessary pain to stop what is becoming “minimum wage slavery”.
As the number of people who have no money continues to grow, and the wage gap widens, instability for everyone increases.
I don’t think anyone knows what President Trump’s plans are, not even him sometimes. That being said what’s clear to me is, that he is fed up with the US thanklessly doing the lions share of policing the rest of the world and wants to begin withdrawing support. Because of the worldwide instability this will cause, he wants to fortify the US borders and make the US independent of relying on importing goods from other countries. By placing tariffs on imports, it will encourage start-up companies in the US to begin producing currently imported items themselves, not to mention pouring billions of dollars of revenue into the government. Telling Canada that by increasing border security, tariffs can be avoided when he has no plans to drop them, is just a trick to get a gullable Canada to pay more towards fortifying the US border for him. Hopefully, our politicians will figure it out soon.
Although I understand what he wants to accomplish, his methods are economically reckless. He should have started with lower tariffs, at around 10 percent, increasing them year over year. This would allow US startup companies time to begin producing tariffed items without the US consumer being forced to suddenly pay 25 percent more overnight. It would also allow time to work out the complex problems tariffs will bring. That being said, 25 percent is most likely Trump’s phasing in point and we should be preparing for 50+ percent by the end of his term.
Trump’s tariffs could turn out to be a double-edged sword for US citizens should the US go back to free trade. Profitable companies born out of tariffs during the Trump term could go under if they can’t match the prices of imported items without tariffs.
There is not a lot Canada can do to stop Trump and we should be preparing long term, to start losing the US as a trading partner, at least for the next 4 years. Forget about increasing border security! If anything, threatening to reduce it back to what it was and use the money to subsidize Canadian businesses affected would be a much better strattagy. That, along with the counter tariffs planned is all we can do. Outrage by US citizens from the pain he causes them is the only thing that will change his tariff stratagy.
Okay, it doesn’t have the relaxing jets of a traditional hot tub, but if you own a pool with a heater, you know there are times when you just want the water to be warmer. The 150,000 BTU heater used with this 24-foot X 52-inch pool takes about an hour to warm all the water by one degree Fahrenheit. By adding a small soft “inflatable ring pool”, you can have a small sanctuary 10 degrees warmer than the rest of the pool in about 25 minutes. In about an hour and a half, the temperature can get 20 degrees warmer, all with the same heater.
This 8-foot stand-alone pool (photo below) works perfectly as a hot tub right out of the box and has nothing sharp that could damage your pool liner. It retails for well under $80.00 (you don’t need the filter and can buy the pool without it). Besides this, all that’s needed are a couple of pool hoses and some rope to hold your new floating hot tub in one place.
Setting up the hot tub is simple. Inflate the ring to about 3/4s of its air capacity and throw it in the pool. To keep it in position, tie it off to the pool between the pool-heater water outlet and the water return outlet(s) by using two ropes looped through two of the hot tub drain holes. Adjust the temperature on the pool heater to the desired temperature you want the hot tub to be. Temporarily insert something into the hot tub drain holes to slow the water from getting through until the hot tub fills and takes shape. Next, attach a short flexible pool hose to the pool-heater water outlet on your pool and use it to fill the hot tub. The hose needs to continue to fill the hot tub as long as it’s in use so you may need to secure the end of the hose to keep it in the hot tub. The water coming from my pool heater gets to a maximum of 10 degrees warmer than the temperature of the pool water going in. It takes my small 2500 GPH pump about 25 min to fill the hot tub. Lastly, once filled, remove whatever you used to temporarily block the drain holes in the hot tub so the water can drain out, warming the pool, and circulate back through the system. Here’s the tricky part. If the drain holes are too big, the hot tub will not hold its shape, use something to reduce their size. If the drain holes are too small, the inflatable ring will get pulled underwater and become too stressed, you need to make them bigger. Every pool is different depending on the size of the pump and the brand of “inflatable ring” pool you use for the hot tub. Mine worked perfectly with the 3 existing drain holes.
By adding the optional hose shown in the diagram above, you can increase the temperature of the water going into the heater, therefore, increasing the temperature of the the water coming out to more than 10 degrees above the pool temperature. In the 50/50 split shown in the diagram, the water in the hot tub will eventually rise to 20 degrees warmer than the pool water.
Getting in and out of the hot tub from the main pool is easy. You can just swim over the soft top, or since the ring is only filled to 75 percent of its air capacity, it is easy to push it down below the surface and step in and out. Because the water level inside the hot tub ends up being slightly higher than the pool water after you adjust the size of the drains described above, the inflatable ring appears to be completely inflated.
Removing the hot tub only takes a few minutes. Disconnect the hose(s), deflate the ring, and rotate the pool while underwater to the upside-down position. Pull up on the bottom, dumping out the water as you go, then let dry in the sun. The heat from whatever warm water that was in the hot tub is instantly transferred to the pool.
Dave Lister
listerlogic.com
Note: This is an original idea by me but there may be similar products or patents already. I am not an expert, if you attempt to build always consult with an expert and check with all local codes and laws. Build at your own risk.
