The post I wrote yesterday elicited a rather spirited and passionate response from one of its readers. Since I promised a reply to Anonymous after reading the links he provided, I thought I would base today’s contribution on his observations. First, one of the points Anon made (I will reproduce
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Politics and its Discontents: A Law and Order Government That Loves Guns
Anyone still harbouring doubts about whose interests the Harper regime is governing on behalf of would be well-advised to read this story in today’s Star. Entitled RCMP concerned as Conservatives consider loosening firearms restrictions, it reveals the latest legislative considerations of a government that claims to be tough on crime,
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Clarification From Young Tim
Tim Hudak, the boy who would be premier, has issued a policy clarification: Hudak said the thrust of his proposal to put alcoholic beverages in corner stores, supermarkets or private specialty stores is to make it easier for Ontario consumers to buy a six-pack of beer or a bottle of
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Harper’s Debasement Of Canadian Foreign Policy
That Canada once enjoyed a sterling reputation in the international arena is something beyond dispute. That its standing has fallen precipitately under the misguided direction of the Harper regime is a truth that I suspect only the most rabidly ideological would disagree with. Perhaps the most egregious departure from norms
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Just A Fleeting Thought About Young Tim
I have a busy morning ahead, so just a brief post for now. That serial recycler of tired policy, young Tim Hudak, continues to maintain his naive faith in the virtues of the private sector as a panacea for all that ails us, yesterday calling for the end of the
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Just Wondering
What does it say about young Tim Hudak that this constitutes a major policy announcement? Just wonderingRecommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: On Polarized Politics
Well aware that the universe does not revolve around the City of Toronto, which is within an hour’s drive of my abode, I rarely write posts that pertain to it. I make an infrequent exception today because of a greater truth that the risible antics of i…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Harper Strategy Succeeding
Here’s the proof. Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Green Side of Tim Hudak
He must have one, since he recycles, recycles and recycless the same ideas at every opportunity.Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: An Odious Servitude
In its ongoing and odious servitude to a reactionary constituency, the Harper regime continues to use the heavy hand of government to target and harass those whose ideology differs from its own. I have already written several times about Bill C-377, …
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Unions Under Attack: A Star Reader Writes
In two recent posts, I discussed Bill C-377, a Harper-driven anti-union measure disguised as a private member’s bill. Introduced by Conservative MPP Russ Hiebert, it is designed to require full disclosure of all union expenditures, including monies a…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Thomas Walkom’s Perspective on Teacher Unrest
On this blog I have written periodically about unions in both a favourable and a critical light. I have argued both for their necessity to mitigate the depredations that employers are sometimes given to, and I have pilloried them when cronyism or ma…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Mature Discussion About The Fiscal Cliff
Mature, that is, until CNBC’s Rick Santelli opens his mouth: Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: From The Horse’s Mouth
Actually, were I not committed to a certain level of decorum on this blog, the mouth is not the part of the horse’s anatomy I would have chosen as the point of origin for young Tim Hudak’s latest utterances that are simply a pathetic recycling of pas…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Perilous State of Democracy in Canada
Over the past year I have written several posts on the woeful state of democratic participation in Canada, a state I am convinced is at least in significant part due to the debasement of our traditions engineered by the Harper regime. Contempt of Par…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Pension Envy
That’s what Martin Regg Cohn, in his column this morning, calls the resentment stoked by the right-wing towards those who enjoy defined-benefit pensions. In what passes for debate in the debased arena we call contemporary politics, politicians of the …
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Another Reason To Despise Harper And His Minions
Or maybe I just don’t understand the nuances of business and a right-wing mentality that will consign millions to early and unnecessary deaths. H/t Andre PicardRecommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Rand Formula Under Attack
The other day I wrote a post about Bill C-377, ostensibly a private member’s bill put forward by Conservative MP Russ Hiebert that would subject unions to unprecedented scrutiny. It is, in fact, a bill being guided by the Prime Minister’s Office. In …
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Sad Spectacle
“This comes down to left-wing politics. The left wing wants me out of here and they’ll do anything in their power. I’m going to fight tooth and nail to hold on to my job. If they do for some reason get me out I’ll be running right back. As soon…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Not-So-Hidden-Hand of Harper
Although I believe unreservedly in the vital role that unions play in both protecting and promoting workers’ rights, I make no apologies for the times that I have been critical of them. Cronyism, questionable expenditures, and corruption have no pla…
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