If you wonder why police are losing respect as a credible element in a peaceful, democratic, civilized society, watch this video [the slightly longer version is here]. Not only does a white shirt pepper spray an unarmed man at almost point blank range, watch what else happens. The white shirt
Continue readingTag: Morality
Politics, Re-Spun: Budweiser Stops Pandering to Rapists?
Budweiser, the perfect beer for rapists: Being up for whatever happens [even with its own hashtag: #UpForWhatever] + an evening environment that doesn’t include no in its vocabulary + all within our still vibrant rape culture = a recipe for Budweiser to demonstrate how pathetic they are at understanding how
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Vancouver’s Co-Working Co-op Stimulates Worker Empowerment
Tuesday night in the back room of The Tipper bar/bistro/restaurant on Kingsway at Victoria we are holding our Inception Meeting for a new kind of co-working space in Vancouver, one structured as a co-op. You can read about the project in The Georgia Straight piece last week, and on the
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Being a Better Ally: #IWD
Click me; it’s good for you! International Women’s Day is a check-in point for me: I try to take stock of what has improved or worsened since last year. Doing so helps me be a better ally. Our soul as a nation has suffered this past year. It has suffered
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Americans See Combating Climate Change a Moral Obligation. Speaking of Morality, Where’s Steve Harper?
Some are calling it the “Francis effect” after the forceful statements the Pope has made about the need to address climate change. A significant majority of Americans say combating climate change is a moral issue that obligates them – and world leaders – to reduce carbon emissions, a Reuters/IPSOS poll
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Pink Washing: Does This Pink Shirt Really Say Enough?
By Emily Griffiths Pink Shirt Day is almost upon us. The annual campaign to raise money and “awareness” on the issue of “bullying” takes place on February 25. As this date approaches, I’m sure you’ve noticed an inundation of bright pink. Even at this very moment, I am sipping my
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: MORE Sexism Against Female Canadian Athletes!
THIS picture respects the dignity of a tennis player. Not, “give us a twirl” demeaning, sexist abuse. Today is a terrible day for gender equity in sports. What it looks like is either continued sexism, or increased anti-feminist backlash against women who have been asserting their human rights to safety
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Yet Another Logistical Solution to Homelessness
So, Utah has been eradicating homelessness by giving people homes. The bonus is that it’s easier and cheaper to provide social services to people when their housing needs are met. From Amsterdam, we see yet another logistical solution for emergency housing while we have a national dialogue on a national
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Does YOUR Favorite Corporate Exploit Tragedy for Sales?
It’s not like capitalists deserve your pity when they accidentally offend people while they try to embrace their communities to build spirit. And profit. It is partly because corporations are pretend human beings, with no emotions, no social conscience [beyond PR gains] and no capacity for human empathy, which is
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Who Cares About Fixing Poverty in BC?
Well, it’s the Poverty Reduction Coalition! One of their many activities is to send recommendations to the government when the government deigns to ask people for their ideas. The Finance Committee is an all-party committee of the legislature, so the government usually ignores their recommendations. As citizens, we need to
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Why the Police Don’t Know Why People Don’t Trust Them
Laval police delete controversial photo from social media | Montreal Gazette. This is why the police don’t know why people don’t trust them. That, and killing First Nations youth, people of colour, immigrants and the mentally ill. Laval police delete controversial photo from social media | Montreal Gazette. Now, contrast
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Capitalists Working on Climate Change?
As you know, I’m not one to tout the marvels of capitalism, however there is this. Out of the 6 of the most hopeful climate stories of this year at the Climate Reality Project, is this one about businesses doing [if only slightly] more than greenwashing or PR sexied up
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Shhh, The Bold Revolution Has Started
We live in tumultuous times: Ferguson and other non-indictments of white police who murdered people of colour ISIL and other extremism Stephen Harper’s continued assault on democracy and embrace of soft fascism [has he had CRA audit YOUR favourite progressive group yet?] Accusations against Jian Ghomeshi Accusations against Bill Cosby
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: International Day of Action for Burnaby Mountain and ALL Land Defenders
This is an international day of action, so check the event page to see what’s up in your town, for TOMORROW! And if there’s nothing at your home, be the change! Let’s consolidate our recent victories and continue moving public opinion to transitioning to the post-carbon energy infrastructure: wind, solar,
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Entitlements? What About Understanding UNentitlements?
Punishing irony. OK, I’m fine admitting it. I focus on entitlements a lot. I’m often trying to encourage people to examine our unexamined entitlements: race, age, economic class, gender, sexuality, etc. But one way to understand entitlements is to understand how unentitlements work. I’m guilty of overlooking this. Until today.
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Ferguson?
If there’s anything you can learn from Ferguson this morning, it’s that we need to check our race- and class-based social, political and economic entitlements. It’s the least we can do this morning. "If racism is something you're sick of hearing about, imagine how exhausting it must be living it
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Carbon Energy Is Dead, Wake Up?
The math is so easy. So why is BC ramping up coal and LNG production? STOP THEM! It really doesn’t get any simpler than this. Climate realities mean not ignoring science. Here’s some math. Let’s get off the coal, oil and gas. Click on the image for more enlightenment!
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Rachel Moran’s Speech – FemiFest 2014
Wow, kick back and let Ms.Moran guide you though the problems of liberal feminism with regards to prostitution and the changes that are necessary to make in society. First of all I’d like to talk a little bit about what Radical Feminism means to me in the context of my
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Welcome to the 1,000th Politics, Re-Spun Editorial!
Steve Harper, the greatest threat to Canadian security in the modern era. Happy August! Happy Day! I have a few comments about this, the 1,000th editorial at Politics, Re-Spun. But you can read them below, about my sabbatical plan, new visions for this almost 12-year-old website, and other things. But
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: The Minimum Wage from first principles
The minimum wage, like most government policies, is first and foremost a form of wealth distribution. There are winners and losers from the distribution. The biggest group of winners is the obvious one: low wage workers who now get paid more. Raising the wage floor also raises wages somewhat for
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