Watching the Americans thrash about trying to put together a decent health care system prompts much head-shaking and eyeball-rolling. The Republicans have bitched and moaned about Obamacare for seven years, but in all that time haven’t been able to come up with a plan they can agree on. “It’s complicated,”
Continue readingAuthor: Bill Longstaff
Views from the Beltline: You can’t educate Republicans on global warming
Many progressives believe that if the public were better informed about the science behind climate change, people would be more inclined to accept the reality of anthropogenic global warming. A U.S. survey by the Pew Research Center suggests that’s only true for some people. Climate scientists tell us that global
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Will Alberta revert to Social Credit?
In August, 1971, Alberta had its quiet revolution. For 36 years it had been governed by Social Credit, a largely rural-based, social-conservative party led for most of those years by E.C. Manning, father of leading conservative intellectual and unite-the-right guru Preston Manning. By 1971 Alberta, like the rest of the
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Shell bails on the tar sands
I read with interest Royal Dutch Shell’s decision to sell sell most of its stake in Alberta’s tar sands. It brought back memories. I toiled for Shell Canada during my days in the oil patch, now a long time ago, and the last project I worked on was in the
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Shell bails on the tar sands
I read with interest Royal Dutch Shell’s decision to sell sell most of its stake in Alberta’s tar sands. It brought back memories. I toiled for Shell Canada during my days in the oil patch and the last project I worked on was in the tar sands. Shell was a
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Congrats to Commanding Officer Butterworth-Carr
It’s always encouraging to see a woman get a top job, and encouraging also to see a Native person get a top job. With Brenda Butterworth-Carr we get two for one. Ms. Butterworth-Carr, from the Tr’ondek Hwech’in Han Nation in Yukon, has been appointed Commanding Officer for the RCMP in
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Congrats to Commanding Officer Butterworth-Carr
It’s always encouraging to see a woman get a top job, and encouraging also to see a Native person get a top job. With Brenda Butterworth-Carr we get two for one. Ms. Butterworth-Carr, from the Tr’ondek Hwech’in Han Nation in Yukon, has been appointed Commanding Officer for the RCMP in
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Behold! Emperor Trump
What to make of U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed budget. A $54-billion hike in spending on weapons balanced with cuts in foreign aid, environmental programs and domestic agencies. It is if nothing else a major shift toward a military state, furthering a trend the country has been on for some
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Behold! Emperor Trump
What to make of U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed budget. A $54-billion hike in spending on weapons balanced with cuts in foreign aid, environmental programs and domestic agencies. It is if nothing else a major shift toward a military state, furthering a trend the country has been on for some
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: What kind of society encourages children to eat unhealthy food?
What kind of society encourages children to eat unhealthy food? Our kind of society. A society that bombards its children with 25 million food and beverage ads ever year on their favourite websites, 90 per cent of which are for unhealthy products, much of them high in salt, fat or
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: What kind of society encourages children to eat unhealthy food?
What kind of society encourages children to eat unhealthy food? Our kind of society. A society that bombards its children with 25 million food and beverage ads ever year on their favourite websites, 90 per cent of which are for unhealthy products, much of them high in salt, fat or
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Will city folk continue to be Alberta’s second class citizens?
Amid debate about adopting a voting system to replace the egregiously undemocratic first-past-the-post, another offense against fair voting is sometimes overlooked. In Alberta, an opportunity to redress that particular sin is underway. In accordance with the Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission Act, a commission has been established to set the constituency
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Will city folk continue to be Alberta’s second class citizens?
Amid debate about adopting a voting system to replace the egregiously undemocratic first-past-the-post, another offense against fair voting is sometimes overlooked. In Alberta, an opportunity to redress that particular sin is underway. In accordance with the Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission Act, a commission has been established to set the constituency
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Islamophobia—what’s in a word?
Words don’t always mean what they say. For example, anti-Semitism says “against Semites,” but it means “against Jews,” who actually only make up a small part of the Semite community. Yet confusion never arises because the word has become so firmly established as meaning anti-Jew. That is not the case
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Islamophobia—what’s in a word?
Words don’t always mean what they say. For example, anti-Semitism says “against Semites,” but it means “against Jews,” who actually only make up a small part of the Semite community. Yet confusion never arises because the word has become so firmly established as meaning anti-Jew. That is not the case
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: America’s "flawed" democracy or The Revenge of the Deplorables
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), The Economist magazine’s research division, annually publishes an analysis of the state of democracy in the world. Its report for 2016, entitled Revenge of the”deplorables,” focuses on the popular revolt against the “political elites who are perceived by many to be out of touch and
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: America’s "flawed" democracy or The Revenge of the Deplorables
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), The Economist magazine’s research division, annually publishes an analysis of the state of democracy in the world. Its report for 2016, entitled Revenge of the”deplorables,” focuses on the popular revolt against the “political elites who are perceived by many to be out of touch and
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Repeating history—the new need for unionization
For all Donald Trump’s failings, and they are profound and many, he deserves credit for one thing. He acknowledged the anger and despair of those Americans in the Rust Belt states and elsewhere who have seen stable, well-paid manufacturing jobs disappear in the millions. In their place are often low-paid,
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Repeating history—the new need for unionization
For all Donald Trump’s failings, and they are profound and many, he deserves credit for one thing. He acknowledged the anger and despair of those Americans in the Rust Belt states and elsewhere who have seen stable, well-paid manufacturing jobs disappear in the millions. In their place are often low-paid,
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Trudeau’s big lie
I am reluctant to refer to my prime minister as a liar, particularly when I generally hold him in high regard, but when the lie reaches a certain magnitude, one’s hand is forced. And this was a very big one—a whopper. The promise was unequivocal. The Liberal election platform of
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