And that’s what’s really upsetting a fellow who stood next to another Liberal leader, Jean Chrétien, thirty years ago when that former prime minister didn’t take to being pushed around by anyone. 

Peter Donolo was Chrétien’s director of communications for many of those years, including the penultimate Chrétien decision in 2003 - telling George W. Bush that Canada wouldn’t be joining in on his disastrous decision to invade Iraq. That, my friends, was standing up.

Donolo clearly pines for those old days and said so this week in an opinion piece he wrote for the Toronto Star:

Opinion | Canada can respond to Trump in one of two ways: Suck up or stand up. We’re choosing the wrong way Read >

Now what do you call that space between stand up and suck up? 

Or more precisely, what do you call it when you actually know that you favour standing up to sucking up, but you just aren’t willing to publicly state it? That seems to be where a lot of, perhaps more than half of, Liberal MPs are right now on the question of Justin Trudeau. But has a couple of weeks of holiday cheer made them bolder? That seems to be what Shannon Proudfoot of the Globe is discovering:

🔒 Justin Trudeau’s detractors are growing more courageous Read >

So, where are we? I think it’s fair to say that only one person knows exactly where things stand and you can be sure it’s not where he said things stood when he talked to my friend Mark Critch a few weeks ago for a TV spot that ran on NY’s Eve. That was taped before the detonation which was Chrystia Freeland. Everything changed in that moment. So again, Peter, where are we?

Here's my guess: (And keep in mind my guessing record. Example: I’ve thought the Leafs would win the Cup each of the last five years)

My guess is that Trudeau has decided to go and will likely announce such in the next few days. But, and there’s always a but, still to be decided is how long he will remain as leader while a new leader is picked. I’m sure he’d love to stay but most feel that doesn’t help Liberal recovery plans. Would a leader picked by the caucus and executive be a better route, or would that be tainted by ignoring the wider party membership? You thought taking down Trudeau was messy? Well, this could get really ugly.

Anyone who knows me or who has followed my career knows that military history is important to me. 

Especially Canadian military history. While that encompasses hundreds of years, I’ll admit that Second World War history likely occupies the most space in my office library. That might be because my father, the late Wing Commander Stanley Mansbridge, has always been my number one hero. He flew more than fifty missions with the RAF, was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) by the King himself in Buckingham Palace, and yet, for the most part, was one of the many from “the greatest generation” who rarely talked about the experience. It was just too difficult. For many reasons.

All of this to say, the story that moved me the most this week came from the Substack of the former leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, someone who has been on my podcast a number of times over the years: Erin O’Toole. A former member of the RCAF himself, his essay this week is about a person he calls “Canada’s most courageous pilot.”  You’ll get no argument from me, my friend. There is a lot to take in here; it’s not all easy, and I ask you to pause over some of the stats and facts here – think about what these numbers reveal:

Canada's Most Courageous Pilot of WWII is our Least Known Hero Read >

So, when do you think Donald Trump will get sick of having Elon Musk hanging around? 

Sitting next to him everywhere. Living at Mar a Lago. Pretending he’s the real President.

Who will get tired first? Trump, or Tesla shareholders where the news lately hasn’t been good:

Tesla sales dropped 1.1% in 2024, its first annual decline in a dozen years Read >

We will be coming up on the third anniversary of the war in Ukraine in a few weeks. 

It’s called the “drone war” these days and there’s good reason for it. Both sides are using the latest in new, sophisticated drones. But the Ukrainians are using something else too. The same basic hobby drones that you can buy at the store down the street. Partly because they don’t have an endless supply of the big bucks needed for the ultra-sophisticated stuff and partly because the cheapies work too. Check this out in the NY Times:

How Suicide Drones Transformed the Front Lines in Ukraine Read >

I love Rome, but then who doesn’t? The people, the history, the food. Oh God, the food!

But when in Rome, you also have to do the fountain thing. The Trevi Fountain thing, for sure. You know, the turn your back to the water bit, toss a coin over your right shoulder. Silently wish for whatever you want. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t come true…. I mean, it’s Rome. It’s the moment that matters. No one who has done it will ever forget it.

And here’s something else. It matters to Rome, too. Just count the coins:

Fishing Coins From Trevi Fountain and Putting Wet Money to Work Read >