Noteworthy: Smoke be gone by order of tariffs

By Bruce Penton on July 16, 2025.

Republican politicians in Minnesota and Wisconsin want Canada to curb the amount of wildfire smoke drifting into the United States and “robbing Americans of their ability to enjoy the summer,” according to a Canadian Press report last week.

Next on their list of demands will be to stop mosquitoes from crossing the border and biting Americans.

Why doesn’t President Trump just put a 50-per-cent tariff on the smoke? Or build a wall to keep it out? There are so many solutions.

• I can’t imagine moving to Beijing and trying to learn the Chinese language. But it’s probably not as complicated as English would be for a foreigner to learn.

For instance, why do the words ‘glove’ and ‘clove’ not rhyme?

The word ‘enough’ and ‘bough’ end with the same four letters, but they’re nowhere close to having a similar pronunciation.

How does one explain ‘there,’ ‘they’re’ and ‘their’ to a non-English speaking person?

Why doesn’t a person who runs a restaurant have an ‘n’ in the word when you’re referring to him or her as a restaurateur?

Mango.com, a site dealing with languages, gave an example of one particular English verb – to pick – and gave a number of examples of how it is used in different ways.

– Pick out…to choose

– Pick up…to lift up in your hand OR to receive a signal

– Pick over…to search thoroughly through a selection of options

– Pick on…to bully

– Pick apart…to break something carefully into pieces (literally or figuratively)

– Pick up on…to notice

– Pick at…to take small bites of your food

– Pick off…to eliminate something one by one

– Pick through…to search carefully within a mess

Confusing to a foreigner? No doubt.

• Summer jobs for students are apparently harder to come by these days than they were in the past. A quick internet search of “summer jobs in Medicine Hat” showed openings for landscaping help, a food service helper at the Mustard Seed and a social and community service worker, also at the Mustard Seed.

But a recent story in the Globe and Mail said students unable to snag a paying summer position should consider volunteer work. “Any kind of volunteer work looks great on a resumé, said the newspaper story. Students could learn new skills and by getting out of the house, “students can build a network” by interacting with others. That in itself could lead to a future job because of the increased number of people you get to know.

Where is a good place to volunteer in Medicine Hat? Food banks and retirement homes are two good places to start.

• I’m no Dan Reynish when it comes to forecasting the weather, but if The Weather Network’s 14-day forecast for Medicine Hat is correct, the Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede should have almost perfect weather for its four-day extravaganza next week.

Hatters can recall a number of uncomfortably sizzling, 35-degree-plus days in years past, but The Weather Network says temps won’t surpass 28 degrees on any of the four days this year. A few showers Wednesday and Thursday may help to cool things off, and then the thermometer advances to the ‘just nice’ range -highs of 25 to 28 degrees.

Yahoo!!!

• Short snappers: Start the arguments: A recent post from HomesforSale.ca listed the nine best neighbourhoods in Medicine Hat. The top four were Desert Blume, Ross Glen, SE Hill and Riverside. … Picking up the News every day and not seeing Collin Gallant’s byline is going to be different. Good luck to my former colleague in his new position with CBC Radio in the Hat. …Penn State-bound Gavin McKenna turning down James Tubb’s request for a final interview leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The hockey star’s final words to Hatters, who gave him an extraordinary amount of support for three years, came in an Instagram post. … When wildfire smoke is at its peak, being outside for eight hours is akin to smoking six cigarettes, said a University of Manitoba professor of physiology and pathophysiology… Recent newspaper headline: ‘Life sentence for man who shot, beheaded father.’ Yes, but does he still get his inheritance?

Bruce Penton is a retired News editor who may be reached at brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca

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