Last week, Donald Trump blamed the “disgusting and corrupt media” for not covering him “honestly” and for putting “false meaning into the words I say.” Philip Bump, of the Washington Post, writes:Donald Trump has the same ability as any other candidat…
Continue readingAuthor: Owen Gray
Northern Reflections: He’d Never Blame Himself
Last week, Donald Trump blamed the “disgusting and corrupt media” for not covering him “honestly” and for putting “false meaning into the words I say.” Philip Bump, of the Washington Post, writes:
Donald Trump has the same ability as any other candidate to say precisely what he wants to any voter in any state: By advertising. He can buy ads in swing states and run 30- or 60-second spots making whatever case he wants in any language he chooses. He can send mail, he can knock on doors. He can, in other words, run a campaign. But he’s not.
He isn’t running any ads, spending zero dollars on television (and getting outspent by the Green Party and Libertarian candidates). He isn’t contacting voters on doors or on phones, and has hardly any field offices. He isn’t sending mail. He’s tweeting and he’s holding rallies, and not much else.And he’s holding rallies in places like Connecticut, where he was on Saturday. He told the crowd there that he was going to make a “big play” for the state, which one has to assume isn’t true. Trump won’t win Connecticut, a heavily Democratic state. There’s no point in his wasting campaign resources on the state (in the event he starts expending resources anywhere) since it only holds a couple of electoral votes anyway. It’s simply baffling that he would hold a public event there at all, even if he’s not serious about carrying the state.
Northern Reflections: What Trump Means By "Loser"
Neo-Liberalism seeks to, in Henry Giroux’s words, “atomize individuals.” It’s not a new idea. It pre-dates the rise of Donald Trump:I have recently returned to reading Leo Lowenthal, particularly his insightful essay, “Terror’s Atomization of Man,” fi…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Trouble With A Capital T
The newspaper business is dying — slowly. Alan Freeman writes:I spent most of my career in newspapers and I’m not particularly nostalgic for the print version. Like most people, I now consume most of my news online. But I am worried…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: What’s Wrong With Democrats
Like Chris Hedges, Thomas Frank has been analyzing what has gone wrong with the Democratic Party over the last fifty years. Don Lenihan writes that, if you really want to understand what’s going on in this year’s presidential election, you should read …
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: It’s Hard To Say Goodbye
Stephen Harper has disappeared. Rumour had it that he was going to resign his seat in the House. Jason Fekete writes:He has registered his own company with two longtime aides and has all but left politics, but questions persist about exactly when Step…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Next Battle
In the 19th century, we fought over religion. In the 20th century, we fought over language. And, as the National Energy Board considers Trans Canada’s application for the Energy East pipeline, it’s becoming clear that, in the 21st century, pipelines co…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Dream Lives On
Mel Hurtig died last week. He was an economic nationalist who watched as Lester Pearson sacked his hero, Walter Gordon. And he watched yet again as Brian Mulroney and Stephen Harper integrated Canada into the American Empire. But, if you look aro…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: A Symptom, Not A Cause
Donald Trump is desperately trying to hit the reset button, But John Cassidy, writing in the New Yorker, believes it may be too late:There was particularly bad news for Trump from the battleground states. According to the latest surveys, he’s traili…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Don’t Let Anybody Tell You Differently
In the midst of Toronto’s most up market neighbourhood, stands Casa Loma — a monument to one of the last robber barons of the 19th century. Linda McQuaig writes:In the early 1900s, Toronto entrepreneur Henry Pellatt used his enormous wealth to build …
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: A Successful Con Man
Donald Trump’s behaviour last weak appeared to be absolutely insane. Some commentators have taken to calling him the Kamikaze Candidate. But Tom Walkom warns his readers that there is a method to Trump’s madness:The billionaire realtor may be the…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Andrew Bacevich On American Politics
There was a time, Andrew Bacevich writes, when “the outcome of any election expressed the collective will of the people and was to be accepted as such. That I was growing up in the best democracy the world had ever known — its very exis…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Train Is Leaving The Station
Change is coming to Alberta’s oilsands. Carol Linnit reports that:Suncor Energy CEO Steve Williams rocked the oil industry boat last week when he announced a plan to leave some of the company’s oilsands reserves unrecovered during a conference call…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Clinton Republicans
Bob Rae writes in today’s Globe and Mail that the American election will be all about voter turnout:The rise of Barack Obama, like that of Justin Trudeau in Canada, was about harnessing charisma, eloquence, charm, openness, humour and, yes, ce…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Time To Take On Bill C-51
David Christopher, over at rabble.ca, writes:After all, Bill C-51 represents one of the most dangerous assaults on Canadians’ basic rights that this country has ever seen. It turns the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) into wha…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: As Crazy As Ahab
Donald Trump is certifiable. The evidence of his megalomania is overwhelming. Michael Harris writes:Need examples? Let’s start here: Trump, who aspires to lead the free world, criticized Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Kai…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Pop! Goes The Bubble
It’s been almost a decade since the American real estate market collapsed, triggering a world wide recession. Unfortunately, we tend to track the United States — with about a ten year lag. And now, Alan Freeman writes, the Canadian real estate bubble …
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Hillary’s Mountain
Hillary Clinton has the Democratic nomination for president. Now the hard part begins. She’ll have to climb a mountain. A substantial number of Americans see her as the status quo in an election where the majority of them are clamouring for change. Tom…
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Meaning Of "Growth"
Economists are obsessed with growth. Unfortunately, Jim Stanford writes, they define the term much too narrowly — because they assume that good growth is inextricably linked to profit. Progressives should be fighting this idea. Growth means much more …
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Inside The Tent
Bernie Sanders’ revolution has had a profound effect on the Democratic Party. Once upon a time, that party didn’t cower to Wall Street. Linda McQuaig writes:In the midst of the 1930s Depression, Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt showed bac…
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