The Buzz May 11th 2024: The passing of an old colleague, lying in…

Hello and welcome to the weekend. The Buzz is ready for you with some news behind the news I found thought-provoking this week.

First, a few words about my old colleague Rex Murphy who passed away this week.

He was special. Unlike anyone else I ever worked with in the business. From his days at Here and Now in Newfoundland and Labrador where I first encountered the Murphy wit, charm, and intelligence to some of my most enjoyable nights anchoring The National. Those were Thursday nights when we coupled At Issue with Rex’s POV (point of view). Those nights became must-watch television across the country, where you could like one segment or the other or both, but you somehow watched the whole package.

Rex’s contribution was often the capper, guided (and sometimes gently restrained) by brilliant producers like Lara Chatterjee. Rex and I both left the CBC around the same time, 2017: I retired and Rex didn’t get a new contract.

I’ve always thought Rex’s loss was an unfortunate decision by the CBC, one from which Thursdays have never really recovered. You didn’t have to agree with Rex, and many didn’t, but you did have to agree that he made you think. Well, he's playing to a different crowd now and we’re all left the poorer. You can bet he'll shake things up, up there.

Okay, let’s talk a little politics. Rex would like that.

Most people think politicians stretch the truth when it benefits them to do so. Some stretch the truth a lot. So much so it created that old line, “He only lies when his lips move.” I can think of a few times when that line worked very well.

Of course, nobody lies like Donald Trump. He’s made it an art form, with tens of thousands of lies registered and vetted by news organizations in the United States. To the point where now, people talk of the “art of the lie” in politics as if it’s become an acceptable part of the process.

Which raises the question: do we need a law against lying in politics? Take it away, Max Fawcett from the National Observer:

We need a law against lying in politics 🔒

Read >

Last week we talked about Pam Damoff, the three-times-elected Liberal MP from Ontario who has decided she won’t run again because she simply doesn’t feel safe outside her own house.

It’s a pretty strong description of how odious she feels the situation has become for politicians in general. Michael Harris of The Hill Times sees the Damoff situation as the canary in the coal mine:

Pam Damoff’s departure a canary in the coal mine on polarization

Read >

The headline pretty well says it all: “Pierre Poilievre called lobbyists ‘utterly useless’, but they’re still attending his fundraisers.”

So, what does that tell us? Well, first the facts, and there are a lot of them in this piece from a team at the CBC led by the award-winning Ashley Burke:

Pierre Poilievre called lobbyists 'utterly useless,' but they're still attending his fundraisers

Read >

More on national politics on Good Talk with Bruce, Chantal and me – you can catch the YouTube version by following the link at nationalnewswatch.com

Internationally, I found this story interesting this week.

While much is made of Hungarian leader Victor Orban (and especially how the North American right seems to have cozied up to that country’s strongman leader) who knew he was being challenged?

Mark down the name Peter Magyar and let’s see how far he gets in a race for Hungary’s top job. It’s a longshot at the moment, but something seems to be happening as Magyar drew a crowd of ten thousand last weekend.

Hungary tired of ruling elite, Viktor Orbán challenger tells large rural rally

Read >

Do you use those self-checkout machines at grocery stores and the like?

The first time I did I couldn’t figure them out and stood there embarrassed and waiting for a sixteen-year-old intern to come and show me how to do it in a flash. I still fumbled. It’s taken me a few years, but I feel somewhat comfortable now handling a few items myself although I tend to get challenged at the point where they’re asking how many bags I want.

Meanwhile, everyone around me is zipping through like they’re playing a handheld computer game. They’re through the machine, out the doors, into their cars and halfway home while I’m still trying to figure out which way to scan my credit card.

My luck, by the time I’ve really got it figured out the machines may be gone – read this from the Wall Street Journal:

Retailers Shake Up Self-Checkouts to Curb Irritation—and Theft

Read >

I’ll admit it, I was a Madonna fan.

But that was forty years ago. Surely the days of big crowds for the material girl are gone now. Think again. How about 1.6 million in Brazil last Saturday:

Free Madonna concert draws crowd of 1.6m to Brazil’s Copacabana beach

Read >

It was a toss-up this week to decide what item to close with.

I had two to choose from. That Madonna item you just read (you did read it, right?) or one about UFOs.

I couldn’t relegate Madonna to last place. After all, just like a prayer, she drew 1.6 million last week.

But last place should be interesting too and this one is a bit of a mind-bender:

Top senators believe the US secretly recovered UFOs

Read >

That’s The Buzz for this week. Keep an eye on the night sky this weekend, not just for UFOs, but also there may be some interesting solar storm stuff happening that could trigger the northern lights. See you in seven days.

Hello and welcome to the weekend. The Buzz is ready for you with some news behind the news I found thought-provoking this week.

Okay, let’s talk a little politics. Rex would like that.

We need a law against lying in politics 🔒

Read >

Last week we talked about Pam Damoff, the three-times-elected Liberal MP from Ontario who has decided she won’t run again because she simply doesn’t feel safe outside her own house.

Pam Damoff’s departure a canary in the coal mine on polarization

Read >

The headline pretty well says it all: “Pierre Poilievre called lobbyists ‘utterly useless’, but they’re still attending his fundraisers.”

Pierre Poilievre called lobbyists 'utterly useless,' but they're still attending his fundraisers

Read >

More on national politics on Good Talk with Bruce, Chantal and me – you can catch the YouTube version by following the link at nationalnewswatch.com

Internationally, I found this story interesting this week.

Hungary tired of ruling elite, Viktor Orbán challenger tells large rural rally

Read >

Do you use those self-checkout machines at grocery stores and the like?

Retailers Shake Up Self-Checkouts to Curb Irritation—and Theft

Read >

I’ll admit it, I was a Madonna fan.

Free Madonna concert draws crowd of 1.6m to Brazil’s Copacabana beach

Read >

It was a toss-up this week to decide what item to close with.

Top senators believe the US secretly recovered UFOs

Read >

That’s The Buzz for this week. Keep an eye on the night sky this weekend, not just for UFOs, but also there may be some interesting solar storm stuff happening that could trigger the northern lights. See you in seven days.

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