One of the perennial frustrations in following federal politics is the tendency of media coverage to default toward a Lib-Con duopoly. That pattern typically manifests itself when polling data and other circumstances create an obvious opening for an alternative, and is particularly striking when one of those parties is still
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Accidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Jim Brumby writes about the multiple growing disruptions to economic health and security which could be addressed by a wealth tax. – Kim Siever highlights how the oil industry continues to scam Alberta while pretending that its interest is that of the province
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Anna McMillan reports on the disproportionate effect COVID-19 has (predictably) had on First Nations reserves in Saskatchewan. And Maan Ahmidi reports on the appearances and realities arising out of the Libs’ continued appeals against orders to stop withholding equal access to services from
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Jim Stanford discusses the reality that even from the standpoint of GDP and economic activity, we’re better off implementing strong enough measures to control (or better yet, eradicate) the spread of COVID-19 rather than allowing the virus to run wild. But in
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Rebecca Solnit discusses the importance of accurately describing Donald Trump’s attempted coup, rather than euphemizing a violent attack against democracy. Enzo DiMatteo highlights the similarities between Trump’s playbook and that of the federal Cons. Murray Mandryk writes that the U.S.’ experience with
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Jesse McLaren offers a reminder that a COVID-19 vaccine isn’t a cure-all, as measures to help people through the pandemic (including paid sick days) remain a must. – Aris Roussinos writes about the UK’s “guilty men” responsible for a feckless response to a
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your Boxing Day reading. – Kyle Hanniman and Trevor Tombe examine the relative fiscal positions of Canada’s federal and provincial governments – concluding that while there isn’t a need for austerity anywhere, there’s a lot more room to maneuver at the federal level than in most provinces
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Umair Haque discusses the tragic mistake governments in Europe and North America have made in refusing to make plans sufficient to wipe out COVID-19 altogether, rather than assuming a substantial level of spread could be controlled. Sarah Rieger talks to Stephen Duckett
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Daniela Gabor writes that there’s no reason to treat the spending needed to allow people to survive a pandemic-induced recession as an excuse for avoidable austerity. – Seth Klein comments on the need to treat climate change as an emergency rather than a
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to start your week. – Jim Harding writes about the Saskatchewan Party’s politically-driven lack of action to get COVID-19 under control. Gillian Steward discusses how empty any bleating about “freedom!” sounds when it means needlessly exposing people to a deadly virus. And David Climenhaga calls out Jason Kenney
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On implausible impersonators
Other commentators have taken note of Erin O’Toole’s attempt to co-opt the language of labour unions in an effort to portray himself as less hostile than his predecessors. There’s certainly reason to be concerned about this being yet another area where right-wing leaders pretend to be sympathetic on fundamental issues
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Assorted content for your Labour Day reading. – Gregory Beatty discusses the class struggle as it’s playing out in the time of COVID. Jim Stanford offers a reminder as to how collective action is more important than ever, while Jerry Dias discusses how the labour movement is exercising its strength.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Aaron Wherry discusses the dramatically different effects of the COVID-19 pandemic based on inequalities in income and privilege. And Katherine Scott draws on Canada’s most recent monthly jobs report to highlight the need for a recovery centered on women. – Meanwhile, Heather Scoffield
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On obstructionism
I’ll give Yaroslav Baran credit for explaining in this thread how Parliament’s standard procedures have been modified over the summer. But it’s hard to see how that offers any justification for the Cons’ contrived outrage over Parliament being “shut down”. In essence, the process boils down to two elements. First,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On incentive structures
Sure, this is one possible interpretation of the choices facing low-income parents whose school and child care have been taken away: This is heartbreaking: One family decided to voluntarily put their two children into a foster home so they could be cared for. https://t.co/jpCxKVDzik — Natascia Lypny (@wordpuddle) May 2,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On continued embarrassments
Abbas Rana’s revelation that the Cons have decided to protect all of their incumbent MPs from any internal accountability seems to have received relatively little attention. But it’s particularly worth paying attention to it given how many Cons have gone out of their way to demonstrate they’re not up to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Carson Hammond and Rob Rousseau each make the case that Canada needs a left movement for change comparable to the wave of U.S. activism propelling Bernie Sanders toward a presidential nomination. – Brigid Delaney argues that we need to stop settling for
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how the criticisms which were used to push Andrew Scheer out of the Cons’ leadership role in fact reflect the fundamental problems with a party built around selfishness as the sole ideal to be pursued. For further reading…– David Akin reported on Scheer’s prolific spending when he was
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Brigid Delaney writes about the significance of the truth about climate breakdown. Graham Readfearn reports on the risk of outright firestorms as bush fires burn out of control. And Geoff Dembicki writes about a case from the Philippines seeing oil companies held responsible
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Arwa Mahdawi writes that the outsized influence wielded by billionaires makes them something beyond merely wealthy people. Tom Whyman challenges the worship of the excessively wealthy as a particularly destructive religion. Robert Reich points out that the means of accumulating a billion
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