78 years ago today
D-Day remembered; the unintended consequences of flavored vape bans, and, Western University didn't mean *everyone* should celebrate Pride Month.
This puts all of my own worries and anxieties in perspective:
The whole story of Canada’s often-overlooked1 but crucial role in the D-Day landings is here. Meanwhile, here’s how North American audiences first learned about this pivotal day:
And the speech General Eisenhower thankfully never had to give:
And that night in a drafty cottage, under the roar of wind and planes, Eisenhower penciled a note on a small pad in his tight, precise, hand that he would need to deliver if the invasion went wrong.
"Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops," Eisenhower wrote. "My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone."
It's telling to see today where Eisenhower made changes in his note. He crossed out "This particular operation" to write "My decision to attack," which is emphatic and personal.
And he drew a long, strong line under "mine alone." When you see those words and that thick line on the note today, in the Eisenhower Library, you might feel some of the steel of a man who would so unflinchingly accept responsibility. Ike didn't try to camouflage failure in phrases like, "Mistakes were made," "Our projections were not met" or "I will say nothing pending investigation." He wrote, "any blame or fault ... is mine alone."
It’s easy to look at the past with rose-coloured glasses, and life in 2022 is better than life in 1944 in almost every way even aside from the raging war. But when you see a leader preparing to assume sole responsibility for failure like this, you realise we have lost something.
Further to my post last week about Mexico banning vapes, Geoff Russ in the National Post argues that Nova Scotia’s ban on flavored e-cigs is having some seriously unintended consequences:
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