If Stephen Harper’s contempt for the things we hold dear as Canadians isn’t reason enough to vote, what is? Recommend this Post
Continue readingTag: harper attack on democracy
Politics and its Discontents: He Said, She Said ….
Yesterday I wrote a post detailing a CTV report on the obstruction from the PMO over its refusal to hand over an email pertaining to the the Wright-Duffy Senate payoff scandal. The RCMP was reported as having been trying to obtain it for two months. It seems the PMO has
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Judgemental? Yes
But true nonetheless: You can read more about our perilous state here. Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: For Those Who Don’t Mind Gov’t Surveillance Because They Have Nothing To Hide
You might want to take a moment to read Rick Salutin’s thoughts on the implications of living in a country where environmentalists and others who oppose the government’s corporate agenda are regarded as terrorists. As well, this Canadian Dimension piece might also give you pause. Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Shh! Don’t Ask!
I have to confess to feeling a small measure of guilt each time I reproduce someone else’s words with little editorializing on my part. Yet my ego is sufficiently robust to be able to acknowledge the fact that there are many others with views that merit space in this blog,
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Let’s All Be Good, Quiescent Citizens, Eh?
It is no secret that this country, under the ‘leadership’ of the Harper cabal, has suffered a significant loss of democratic freedoms reflected in the abuse of and contempt for parliamentary procedure, the subversion of senate inquiries, the muzzling of civil servants, and the extollment of opacity in place of
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Is Our Freedom More Illusion Than Reality?
That is a question you may be prompted to ask yourself after reading this piece by Kevin Logan and watching the video below. Described therein are the measures and efforts designed to realize what I suspect is Mr. Harper’s fondest dream: a compliant, unquestioning, ‘disciplined’ and very passive populace, not
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Cry Me A River?
Can’t help but wonder if this is a salvo in the Conservative battle to undermine the credibility and legitimacy of Elections Canada, given the recent and past party ‘indiscretions’ that have come to the attention of that body. Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: In Praise of Political Cartoonists
Where would we be without their pithy insights? Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Sad Truth Here
H/t Chris Andersen Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: More From Our Friends at Canadians Rallying To Unseat Stephen Harper
I doubt that any of this requires further explanation. Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: On Our Democratic Deficit
These Star readers, whether you agree with them or not, have some interesting perspectives to offer: Re: Growing disconnect between Canadians and Parliament, May 2 Democracy is just a mirage, Letter May 5 Al Dunn is essentially correct in his characterization of democracy as it is generally practised today. But
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Stephen Harper – He’s Not Here For You
But of course I state the obvious here, don’t I? Nonetheless, for those who like regular and ongoing illustrations of the fact that the Prime Minister and his acolytes are in the thrall of ‘special interests,’ one need look no further than a report in today’s Toronto Star. Currently, non-financial
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: An Anniversary Many Would Like To Forget
In his column today, Tim Harper reminds us that yesterday marked the two-year anniversary of the Harper majority government. It is hardly an occasion that progressives take delight in as columnist Harper makes reference to some of the regime’s retrograde policies and ‘achievements’: – streamlined environmental regulatory reviews – the
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Dominoes of Democracy – Part 2
What is one of the chief effects of the Harper regime’s preference for an ideologically-based policy model over one premised on logic, facts and empirical evidence, as explored in my earlier post? The decline, perhaps even the demise, of a healthy democracy in which citizens are engaged and informed participants,
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Dominoes of Democracy – Part 2
What is one of the chief effects of the Harper regime’s preference for an ideologically-based policy model over one premised on logic, facts and empirical evidence, as explored in my earlier post? The decline, perhaps even the demise, of a healthy democracy in which citizens are engaged and informed participants,
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: This Can’t Be Healthy
As deeply suspicious and cynical as I am about institutions, it is probably not surprising that I view with a jaundiced eye the events surrounding the arrest of two terror suspects accused of a plot to blow up a Via Rail train. Many have asked questions about the sudden urgency
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Perilous State of Democracy in Canada
Over the past year I have written several posts on the woeful state of democratic participation in Canada, a state I am convinced is at least in significant part due to the debasement of our traditions engineered by the Harper regime. Contempt of Par…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Whither Goest Democracy?
This thoughtful Star reader provides his answer: As I attended the Remembrance Day ceremony on Sunday, I thought of all those who died and suffered for our democracy. It made me very sad, sadder than in past years, to think of the current state of d…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Stephen Harper’s Sins
On the day that Stephen Harper is to receive his World Statesman of the Year award from the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, presumably for his unstinting and uncritical support of Israel, the Huffington Post has a timely piece reminding us of some of the Prime Minister’s myriad failings on both
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