Coming from a large family where half the siblings are in the U.S.A. and the other half in Canada, there is no lack of discussions between us of current affairs in both countries. No subject is sacred. With lots of religions represented as well as the LGBT community, family re-unions can be lively, learning events. […]
Continue readingAuthor: Peter Lowry
Babel-on-the-Bay: Polls and other time wasters.
A friend in Barrie called and left a message the other day about public opinion polls that said Conservative Leader Patrick Brown was more acceptable as premier than Liberal Kathleen Wynne. He was aghast that a nebbish such as Brown would even be considered as a serious candidate for the job of premier. What he […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: With only a little hypocrisy.
There are sunny days and there are also easy days. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had one of those easy days recently. All our PM had to do was go to a sledge hockey game with Prince Harry. The Queen’s favourite grandson was here to promote the Canadian Invictus Games next year before going to the […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Donald Trump’s bandwagon.
In the U.S, primaries, we are watching what is known in politics as the bandwagon effect. We have been watching it build for American billionaire Donald Trump. In a lacklustre mob of Republican primary candidates, it was no surprise that Trump started with a lead of around 30 per cent of the Republican votes. Against […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Au revoir Pierre Karl.
We finally found out the difference between millionaire Pierre Karl Pèladeau and billionaire Donald Trump. As leader of the separatist Parti Quèbècois, Pierre Karl realized he was a square peg in a round hole. There was nowhere he could take the Quebec separatist party but downhill skiing. Conversely Donald Trump still thinks he is God’s […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Waiting for the Left to shine.
If you are old enough to remember hearing the 1960s Les Paul and Mary Ford recording of the World is Waiting for the Sunrise, you might also be wondering when the New Democrats are going to be old enough to know when they are going to shine. And with the success of the federal Liberals […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: When controlling media, look like you’re not.
The other day Lisa LaFlamme of CTV News was actually gushing when she said she was reporting from Northern Iraq. She was flattered and delighted to be reporting from just down the road from where the dreaded Daesh, or ISIL or ISIS, or pretenders at being an Islamic State are holed up in the Iraq […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Not by half Premier Wynne.
Once again Ontario Premier Kathleen has taken small steps when big steps were needed. She has failed us. She promises much and delivers little. She said she would release the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) report on the Andrew Loku death. What her government has released is just going to cause more distrust of our police […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Donald Trump is still a long-shot.
When Babel-on-the-Bay put out a morning line on Donald Trump’s run for the Roses of the American Presidency, 25 to 1 odds was the best we could predict. Nothing has changed to improve his position. Donald Trump is still an out-of-control egoist. As any farmer can tell you, you can paint a pig any color […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Donald Trump’s evolution.
The Donald is supposed to be evolving as he emerges from the sewers of the Republican Party primary race. He has invested some money in an old-time political spin doctor who now explains that Trump is in the process of evolving into a persona more suitable to America’s highest office. And if you buy into […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Meeting ordinary Canadians at Kananaskis.
You have to hand it to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He really knows how to get out there and meet with ordinary Canadians. And when your cabinet needs to discuss further fixes in Employment Insurance, what better place than another luxury resort. Nestled in a cradle of the Canadian Rockies, Kananaskis is the jewel of […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Doors still open to municipal corruption.
If virtue is its own reward, what is the reward for hypocrisy? And what does it mean when municipal politicians tell you that there will be no more corruption when they ban corporate and union donations? What problems does that solve? What is the point when the most important contributions to campaigns are not recognized […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: All the Honourable Persons.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must be looking at the Senate of Canada and wishing he had taken a different approach. There is no guarantee that the honourable persons that he appoints to the Senate will have any more restraint than the returning Senator Mike Duffy. A judge has declared that Duffy’s sense of entitlement was […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The Left’s lost moment in time.
Why do so many political writers believe that groupthink is achieved by constantly rewriting history? Never a fan of Ed Broadbent or the Broadbent Institute, it was still dismaying the other day to read a puff-piece in the Toronto Star about the so-called institute. It was promoting itself for activities planned for the next year. […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Democracy begins on our street.
It is impossible to sum 50 years of membership in the Liberal Party of Canada in less than 500 words. The problem is that in today’s world if you cannot make your point in fewer words, you are not communicating. But there is little excuse for the pique we have been in lately. One thing […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Happiness at Queen’s Park is…
…is whatever makes the press gallery happy. The other day they had pictures of three opposing party leaders in Ontario all taking shots at their nemesis Premier Kathleen Wynne. No need for separate interviews. They wanted to show solidarity. Mind you there was a lot of hypocrisy in that threesome but it is hard to […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Kathleen Wynne’s plan: An Incompetent Cabinet.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne seems to have figured it out. The more incompetent her cabinet, the better she looks. Take Madeleine Meilleur, Ontario’s new attorney general. She was a disaster as minister of community safety and correctional services and was recently promoted to attorney general. She must have fit right in with the premier’s plan: […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: I can think for myself Justin Trudeau.
Having helped rewrite many constitutions over the years, Justin Trudeau’s proposed constitution for the Liberal Party comes as something of a surprise. Becoming a Registered Liberal—as members are to be described—will require no membership fee, no particular principles and no responsibility other than to support the leader and his Liberal candidates. No thanks. That is […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: No honours for Elizabeth at 90.
If the Brits really get lucky, Queen Elizabeth might outlive her son Charles. It seems that the British monarchy is holding up better than the country’s membership in the European Union. Mind you if that green little island gets cut adrift from Europe, there is no telling what will happen. One of the worst-case scenarios […]
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Yes, you can bet the rent money on Leap.
One of our favourite bloggers insists that you should not bet the rent money on the Leap Manifesto. While agreeing that no gambler should ever bet the rent money, we will take that bet. Despite the naysayer being one of the best read and erudite of left of centre Canadian bloggers, he might lack our […]
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