The other day I was searching through the videos at Kahn Academy and I came across a series on the French Revolution. Intrigued, I decided to watch them. As the chronology of events was laid out, the narrator kept coming back to the same point. In his opinion, one of
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the disgruntled democrat: Oligarchic Rule Begets Crisis of Legitimacy in Quebec
In a democracy, there is a consensus that the rule of the majority is legitimate. Those who disagree with the will of the majority must respect the fact that they are in the minority and go along with the desires of the majority. However, what happens when political decisions are
Continue readingthe disgruntled democrat: Baby Losers in Quebec Show Some Backbone
Ah, it is spring in Quebec and the university students in my town barricaded themselves in the main building of their university in defiant opposition to the court injunction that was granted that would prevent them from demonstrating on university grounds to protest a substantial rise in tuition fees. Much
Continue readingthe disgruntled democrat: Canada’s Greatest Cultural Achievement: The Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Thirty years ago, the Canadian government repatriated its constitution, thereby officially ending our colonial status, and added what is our greatest cultural achievement to date, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. No other document, song, poem, novel, film, or play has had such a profound influence on how Canadians
Continue readingthe disgruntled democrat: Maybe Canadians Don’t Want to Live in a Democracy
In writing a scathing article that comes out and accuses the Conservative Government of having lied to Parliament and then to the Canadian people with regard to the costs of procuring the F-35 jet fighters, Andrew Coyne ends his piece with an interesting observation: “it is about whether we live
Continue readingthe disgruntled democrat: Millennials Are Changing the Face of Canadian Politics
Change the manner in which information flows and the power structures will soon follow. Politics are changing in this country and for once it’s not because of the blasted baby boomers, although they have played a hand in bringing about the change because it is their offspring that is changing
Continue readingthe disgruntled democrat: Canada’s Parliamentary Democracy in Tatters: A Nation of Disgruntled Democrats?
With this week’s publication of the Auditor General’s Report that shed light upon how the present government misled Parliament and the public with regard to the cost of procuring the F-35 fighter jets, the question that needs to be answered is whether Canadians have reached the tipping point in their belief
Continue readingthe disgruntled democrat: Living in the Age of Stupid
I know that many before me have felt that they live during times in which their fellow man’s limited intelligence rules the day, much to their chagrin. I can imagine how learned people felt in Europe during two thousand years of endless war and carnage, first in the name of
Continue readingthe disgruntled democrat: Canada’s Gatekeepers Conspire to Prevent Greens from Taking Their Rightful Place in Canadian Politics
We are well aware that Canada is considered to be among the dinosaur nations when it comes to environmental matters by the rest of the global community. Some would try to pin the blame on the present Harper government, but the antipathy towards what Greens militate for goes way beyond
Continue readingthe disgruntled democrat: Robocalls Show Disdain for Canadians and for Democracy
Slowly, ever so slowly, we are learning about the devious practice of automated phone calls that would prevent Canadians from showing up to the correct polling station to cast their votes. Underhanded, you say? It depends on your point of view. Maybe it’s just part of winner-take-all electoral politics and
Continue readingthe disgruntled democrat: Vote Suppression is Systemic in Canada
So many people seem to be in a huff about the automated phone calls that were made during the last federal election in order to confuse voters as to the location of their polling station, thereby making it more difficult to cast their vote. Scandalous. How could the Tories stoop
Continue readingthe disgruntled democrat: Canada’s GDP Set to Take Off in 2012
“By the end of the year, we expect that we will see a record number of Big Ass Canadians showing up in our analysis of Canada’s economic well being.” (Niles Crumbley, Annual Report on Canada’s Gross Domestic Posterior) A new report from the D.V.D. Howe Institute to be released later
Continue readingthe disgruntled democrat: Canada’s Third Solitude
When I was a boy in elementary school, we would all stand up and sing at the end of the day when “God Save the Queen” was piped over the intercom. Later, as an adult, I moved to Quebec and mastered the French language. It would seem that I would
Continue readingthe disgruntled democrat: Connecting the Dots from the Electoral System to Income Inequality
It warms my heart to see how the Occupy Wall Street has taken hold. At long last, people have realized that the politics of economic growth are conceived to enrich the top 1% of the population at the expense of the bottom 99%.However, one huge questio…
Continue readingthe disgruntled democrat: It’s Now Up To The Supreme Court of Canada
Seven years later, two refusals to entertain the evidence, we finally arrive at the end point of our journey: applying for leave to appeal our case concerning the constitutionality of the first-past-the-post voting system to the Supreme Court of Canada…
Continue readingthe disgruntled democrat: There’s Something Rotten in the Province of Quebec
This week was a remarkable week. On two levels, I witnessed now badly the situation has unfortunately deteriorated in la belle province.I am of the opinion that under the guidance of Premier Jean Charest, Quebec has devolved into a kleptocracy and Cha…
Continue readingthe disgruntled democrat: Epilogue: The Tao of Politics
Having taken a break from writing this blog over the summer, I have had the time to reflect over the texts that I have read and written over the last two years. I’d like to share those reflections with you.
At the heart of the Tao is the dynamic int…
Continue readingthe disgruntled democrat: The Last Post
Well that’s about a wrap for the Disgruntled Democrat. I’ve said pretty much all that I have to say about the political economy. In doing so, I have had the opportunity to discover my own sense of politics and to push certain questions beyond the typ…
Continue readingthe disgruntled democrat: Trickle Up Economics and the Perversity of Cuts to Public Health Care
It’s common knowledge that throughout Canada, the UK, and the US continued economic growth has not translated in increased living standards for the masses. For example, in the US the economy has doubled in size over the last 30 years, but the median w…
Continue readingthe disgruntled democrat: We Are All Protestants Now, Slouching Towards the Apocalypse
Well, not exactly all of us, but with Conservatives now in the driving seat in the UK, Canada, and the US, a Protestant derived mindset is firmly in control of the Anglo-American Empire as we leave behind the gains that secular humanism brought about f…
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