I have reached the point in my life where whatever optimism about the future I might have once held has given way to a searing, even corrosive pessimism. Looking at the world as it is would seem to preclude any other position. And yet… There are still those among us
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: columns published since re-opening, parts 2 and 3
Ancestry Library: Your Library Can Help You Discover Your Roots As the lockdown began, I posted some “At Your Library” columns that were suddenly irrelevant, among them a column about Ancestry Library, then only available from a library branch — and the branches were all closed. Shortly after that, Ancestry
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: columns published since re-opening, part 1: library takeout
Since the lockdown ended, I’ve been writing my column in the free local newspaper again. These columns seem very specific and not of wide interest, but since I started collecting the columns on this blog, I want the record to be complete. At Your Library: Your Library Is Coming Back… One
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Donald Is A Dork
Paul Krugman writes that, if there is an axiom that applies in Trumpworld, it’s this: Take whatever Trump says and expect the opposite to happen. Three months ago, Donald signed onto a new NAFTA. Yesterday, he reimposed tariffs on Canadian aluminum. By now, such behaviour should surprise no one. But
Continue readingStop Canadian Complicity in Torture: "SHE IS "KICKING ASS" ! " (Shea says…)
Portable Sound weapons? Quebec KFH 808 plate? Criminals in control? MORE COMING SOON…
Continue readingWarren Kinsella: My latest: suck it up, Opposition whiners, and get to work
The metastasizing WE scandal has many tendrils, like a noxious weed. It is spreading, inexorably, into the centre of the Trudeau government. It may kill it. The fundamentals are well-known. Justin Trudeau’s immediate family received hundreds of thousands in secret payments – after he became Prime Minister. Trudeau thereafter handed a billion-dollar contract
Continue readingWarren Kinsella: The people this tweet is aimed at won’t get that this tweet is aimed at them
Dear political staffers: Ten years is a great run. That’s all you get. You aren’t supposed to be a staffer forever, because you get cynical and tired and miserable. It’s like the Beatles: it was *good* that they broke up after ten years because they were starting to suck. Yours,
Continue readingIn-Sights: Scraping the barrel bottom
The Trump campaign suggested journalists to be considered as moderators in 2020 Presidential debates. Jonathan Swan and Chris Wallace were not on the list. These people were…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Education Minister’s K-12 curriculum news conference by turns bizarre, deceptive, incoherent, and a comedy classic
No one who watched Education Minister Adriana LaGrange’s news conference on the United Conservative Party’s plans for Alberta’s K-12 curriculum yesterday could come away with the impression our province’s education system is in capable hands. Putting aside the government’s intention to send students back to schools ill prepared for COVID-19
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: First It Was Total, Now Exxon. The Verdict Is In. Athabasca Bitumen Is a "Stranded Asset."
When word got out on Wednesday that energy giant Exxon was writing down 20 per cent of its fossil fuel assets – Athabasca bitumen and natural gas – the writing was on the wall. It was the culmination of a quiet retreat by the world’s biggest institutional investors, global insurance
Continue readingCanadian Soapbox: How to fund smaller class sizes? Simple, take it out of the teacher pension fund….
Emergency measures have impacted just about everyone, people are having to deal with stresses they never before contemplated. With that being said it has certainly been worse for some, far worse than for others. While everyone has felt the impact of physical distancing, (I now refuse to call it social
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Remembering John Loxley
The progressive economics community, in Canada and around the world, lost a wonderful colleague, comrade and friend with the passing of John Loxley on July 28, 2020. Here I would like to share some personal reflections on John’s impact on my life as a progressive economist, and the very rich
Continue readingExcited Delirium: Covid Journal, August 6, 2020
I admit this is a full-on rant about what a mess our education system is, from the Premier to union to teacher to parent. We keep forgetting that kids are supposed to the clients or customers in all of this, not just bargaining chips.
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: It’s A Good Time To Quit Site C
Originally published by The Times-Colonist Increasingly dire reports of the instability of the land on which the Site C Dam is being built are deeply troubling. John Horgan blames COVID for the increased costs and Read more…
Continue readingScripturient: The day that reason died
I’m not a believer in alien visitations and UFOs, but I’ll bet if an alien did swing by, after an hour or two observing us, checking out Facebook or Twitter, they’d lock their doors, hang a detour sign around our planet, and race off. They’d tell their friends not to
Continue readingQueer-liberal: Trump has empowered racist jerks to act like bigger racist jerks…
The elected Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus in the United States and Member of the House of Representatives Karen Bass, who is also a leading contender to become Joe Biden’s Vice-Presidential running mate, said it best today: “Everything that has come out of his mouth, not just against Black
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: When We No Longer "Give a Sh_t"
Covid-19 statistics become a blur. Millions infected, hundreds of thousands dead. Slowly what once alarmed us no longer matters as much. “If I look at the mass I will never act. If I look at the one, I will.” These are the words of a woman whose acts of charity
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Chuck Collins asks why the billionaires who have seen their fortunes continue to grow during a pandemic aren’t giving anything back to their communities. And thwap points out that to the contrary, it’s been a non-negotiable demand that even the slightest bit
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