Bob Hepburn of the Toronto Star wrote an opinion piece last week that commented on Doug Ford of Ontario looking “downright ‘leaderly’.” I rarely argue with Hepburn, but in this case, I sense some wishful thinking. True, Ford is running a notch or two ahead of Trump but nobody ever
Continue readingTag: Doug Ford
Babel-on-the-Bay: The imperfect timing of Doug Ford.
It seems that no matter what he does, Ontario’s premier Doug Ford, finds that it always costs more than he saves when he makes cuts in Ontario’s government budgets. It costs him money to fire people. It costs him money to cancel projects. It costs him friends when he cuts
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Doug Downey doubles down.
That nice guy, Bill Davis, one-time Ontario premier, must be having some sleepless nights. Those idiots in his conservative party are busy destroying Bill’s legacy. They spend more money on their dumb ideas than any other Ontario government in the past. And they never get anything right. From the premier
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: “Most stupid people are conservative.”
This will be of small comfort to premier Doug Ford of Ontario. A friend reminded me the other day of the quote from 19th Century philosopher John Stuart Mill that “Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative.”
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Riding the bubble.
It helps if you think of the main aspirants for the federal conservative party leadership as Bland, Blander and Who(?) This perception was highlighted the other day. It seems one of them promised—if chosen—that they would immediately try to force an election to rid the country of those despicable liberals.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on the Saskatchewan Party’s refusal to accept that nuclear power is as impractical as it is unpopular – and how that fits into the view the province’s voters should take of Scott Moe’s government. For further reading…– The Uranium Development Partnership’s report is archived here (PDF), and Dan Perrins’
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The downhill dance of Doug Downey.
It is all Caroline Mulroney’s fault. Nobody wants a member of the legislature who constantly embarrasses the people in his riding. We sure got that in spades in Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte. And if only Caroline Mulroney knew more about Canadian and Ontario legal traditions, she would still be attorney general. Instead, Ontario
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Fernando Arce discusses how Doug Ford’s attacks on labour create public health risks. And Amanda Mull writes about the futility of telling workers with no safety net to stay home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, while Donald McNeil Jr. points out
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Anand Giridharadas writes that with Bernie Sanders in position to win the Democratic nomination for president, the U.S.’ election will answer the question of whether the country belongs to billionaires or to everybody else. – Emily Bazelon discusses how the Trump administration’s choice
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The difference between men and boys.
It seems that the difference between men and boys is generally believed to be the size of their toys. We might see a real-life difference soon if former MPP Steven Del Duca wins the leadership of the Ontario liberals. And, then again, we might find that Del Duca is not
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: The Real Doug Ford
During the federal election, Doug Ford kept his head down and his mouth shut. But, if you really want to know what’s going on inside Ford’s head, Martin Regg Cohn writes that you should pay attention to what he said on his visit to Washington: In the rarefied air of
Continue readingAlberta Politics: We do face a national crisis in Canada; it’s not caused by a few non-violent Indigenous blockades
We do face a serious national crisis in Canada. It is not caused by a few rail and road blockades by First Nations activists and their allies, however. Nor is it caused by environmentalists to some of whom the grave issues facing Indigenous Canadians may be secondary but who view
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Monika Dutt offers a reminder that some of the best investments we can make in improving public health are aimed at social factors: As a physician, I often see people at high risk of poor health because they live in poverty. We know
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Robert Reich comments that Democrats who failed to recognize and respond to a rigged economic system share in the blame for the rise of Donald Trump’s toxic populism. And George Monbiot notes that Trump is just one of many strongmen-in-the-making daring anybody to
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: ‘If the system works; corrupt it.’
The carpetbagger from Severn, Ontario is certainly doing the job for Ontario premier Doug Ford. Those conservatives who resented the appointment of Doug Downey as conservative candidate in our riding of Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte would have to agree that he is jumping to his master’s bidding. Look at what he is attempting
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Gabriel Winant reviews Matt Stoller’s Goliath, and discusses in the process the importance of challenging the assumptions capitalism as a system rather than presuming that it can be rendered just merely by taking steps to break up immediate monopolies. And Alexandra Posadzki’s
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The metrics of higher education.
Ontario premier Doug Ford wants our colleges and universities to earn their way. He wants some measurement on their economic performance. He wants to put a dollar value on that cap and gown. And when the minister of higher education is a lawyer, he seems to believe that such measurement
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: ‘Unencumbered as I am by experience.’
Ontario education minister Stephen Lecce is no mystery. Politics is full of people like him. Their ability as a con artist is far more important than any particular experience or training. They are chameleons. Lecce was actually prime minister Stephen Harper’s discovery. He gave the handsome young man a job
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The gang that can’t sell pot.
It pains us to consider the lengths some cartel bosses would go to if it happened them. Imagine an outfit that cannot even make a profit selling marijuana. We are talking about the Ontario government here! After a full year in the business of selling the stuff, the government swore
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Kate Aronoff offers a reminder that the right’s constant bleating about limiting government spending never applies to the cost of wars of choice. – Laura Glowacki reports on how Doug Ford’s choice to allow rent increases will only make matters worse for Ontario’s
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