Some may think I spend too much time these days writing about the Benighted United States of America. Perhaps I do, but its seemingly inexorable slide into ignorance and autocracy is surely something that needs to be monitored and fought against. The latter, of course is not my battle
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Politics and its Discontents: Caught Without A Figleaf
While I have been retired from teaching for quite a number of years, every so often I am reminded of the often counter-productive influence that parents can exert over the learning experience. I’ll get to what prompted my latest revisitation of the past in a moment, but first, a couple
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: It’s All Connected
It isn’t hard to come to the realization that one of the common denominators in almost all of the existential threats currently facing humanity is our flawed natures; human folly, shortsightedness and credulity have much to answer for. Climate change, resource depletion and pandemics readily come to mind as examples
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: You Can’t Say We Haven’t Been Warned
Anyone who has ever watched the film Colossus – The Forbin Project or enjoyed the revamped Battlestar Galactica will know that artificial intelligence, whether embraced willingly or created accidentally, never ends well. Safeguards are overlooked or abandoned, or sometimes the A.I. develops unintended abilities that spell disaster for humanity. Hubris,
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Internet Sleuths
While the internet often does much harm to innocent parties, it also allows for a form of social and even criminal justice when bad things happen. Invariably, these bad things occur when people behave in ignorant, racist and unkind ways. One of the foremost sheriffs of this landscape is Michal
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Will Rogers Of Politics
Despite all of the green virtue-signaling that comes from Ottawa on a regular basis, those who follow such things know that it is largely empty rhetoric that hides some very, very inconvenient truths. On the one hand, there never seems to be sufficient funds to implement meaningful programs that would improve
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Clear And Present Danger
Clearly, the education system in the U.S. is subversive, eh? H/t Walter Masterson Left unchecked, will this lead to the horrors of a more compassionate and understanding society? Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
I do not fit the usual profile of a stalking victim. I am not young, rich, a public
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Thought For The Day (The Week, The Month, The Year, Etc.)
This from Professor Michael E. Mann: Sagan rightly feared the “celebration of ignorance”. He didn’t quite anticipate, however, the *weaponization* of ignorance that we are now seeing. Carl Sagan predicted QAnon more than two decades ago: If you have never read the book, The Demon-Haunted World is well-worth your time.
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Hard To Swallow
While there are many topics of pressing concern to write about these days, I can’t resist a lesser story that in my view underscores corporate greed, writ large. Some may have heard about the recent
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Signs Of The Times
I’ve been really busy this week and haven’t had time to post. The following reflects just a few of the things I haven’t written about, as seen through the eyes of Moudakis: Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Catholic Love
I offer the following without comment, except to say that it is incredible that in the 21st Century, we still have so many benighted people amongst us. Read only until you feel your gag reflex starting to kick in: Police were called in to deal with angry parents after
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Value Of Self-Censorship
I am one who firmly believes that far too many people are far too easily offended today, whether it is reflected in demands to tear down statues because of historical transgressions, as in the case of Sir John A., or tossing out all of Winston Churchill’s accomplishments because of
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Responding To The Corporate Siren Call
The other day, I posted about our successive governments’ inability to resist the siren call of the corporate imperative, wedded as they are both socially and ideologically to their summons. In my previous post, I explored how postal banking fell victim to that imperative. Today I explore another example of
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: About The Company You Are Keeping
If you haven’t read it yet, check out Owen’s post today about the uproar over Conservative MPs feting Christine Anderson, the far-right politician from Germany. Now embroiled in damage control. Con leader PP insists there is no place for such extreme views in Canada, claiming that his MPs knew nothing
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Genuflecting At The Altar Of Corporate Giants
For the longest time, I have been pondering the timidity of successive governments to be on anything but the good side of the corporate titans who walk among us. Certainly, we sometimes hear brave words that are scripted from the world of political theatre, but when the metal hits the
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Real Snowflakes
The extreme right seems to take pleasure in calling progressive people snowflakes, implying that they are such sensitive souls that any criticism or views that don’t accord with theirs hurt their feelings. Of course, the real snowflakes are the rabid right, who profess outrage whenever someone calls them what they
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Hidden History
Ideally, history teaches us about the past so that we can gain perspective on what came before and learn some lessons so that we don’t make the same mistakes made over and over again, ad infinitum. While recent history underscores the fact that we are not apt students, even the
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Shameless And Incorrigible
I was going to post about Doug Ford today on another topic today, but then I came across this video, yet another testament to his shameless lack of ethics and morality. It pertains to the recent announcement that Magna International will be the recipient of a $23 million Ford government grant for
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: About The Company We (Or At Least Some Of Us) Keep
Normally, I would say that the following consists simply of unsupported assertions. However, since it is about Doug Ford, and with the stench of corruption so overpowering, it is in my view justified, the Premier’s stout denials of impropriety notwithstanding. If we are indeed judged by the company we keep
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