I am, for the record, perfectly comfortable with where and how I have positioned myself. I am passionately and steadfastly in favour of freedom, democracy, constitutional rule and human rights; liberty, equality and solidarity; and of course, as a result, I am passionately and steadfastly in favour of freedom of
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52 Ideas: Rex Murphy’s poor argument about the Tragedy in Texas made me write this post
“In reality, failures in natural gas, coal and nuclear energy systems were responsible for nearly twice as many outages as frozen wind turbines and solar panels, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state’s power grid, said in a press conference Tuesday.” No, renewable energy is not primarily
Continue reading52 Ideas: And the World moves on…. (or why Alberta needs to pay attention to the way other people are getting their energy)
When I was a child, I was privileged in that I got to travel to Jamaica and Barbados to see my relatives. The trips were amazing; and, each time I went down, I learned more about the Caribbean. At some point, in the 1980s and 1990s, my education about my
Continue reading52 Ideas: Within the decade, Electrification Technology will quickly impact the Alberta Economy & Athabascan Oil Sands
If I were the Mayor of Calgary, an Alberta MLA who goes to Edmonton or a MP for a riding in Alberta, the thing that would terrify me the most is the decreasing cost and improving efficiency of Electric Vehicle (EV) battery back technology. In reading OilPrice.com – a leading
Continue reading52 Ideas: Germany’s pandemic recovery has a direct effect on Alberta
It is rare for the Province of Alberta to feel the effects of a policy decision made by the German Federal Government. However, it is clear that over the next few years, Alberta’s economy – from Calgary to Edmonton, from Banff to Lloydminster – will begin to see an unprecedented
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Are We Serious About Human Health? The Rhetoric and Gestures Say Yes, But The Evidence Says No
The government pretends to care deeply and profoundly about human health, using police state measures in a time of crisis, justified by their supposed great concern for health. Yet, the federal government has repeatedly slashed health care funding for the past 40 years. The blatant and extreme hypocrisy and deceit
Continue reading52 Ideas: I wish Rex Murphy would understand that change is coming…
In 2018, the Toronto Paramedic Service (TPS) introduced 11 hybrid-electric ambulances into their fleet. Like many other North American cities, Toronto has been working on reducing its carbon footprint. The adoption of hybrid-electric ambulances was just one step in changing its consolidated vehicle fleet. In the City of Toronto Consolidated
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Importing From China, Part Two: We Need A Green New Deal, Not An Orwellian Police State
What is the state of China and the West? Here is a brief synopsis and overview. This much, at least, should be perfectly clear: switching off fossil fuels – with a full speed, WWII level effort – is urgently required, and renewables are the clear answer, along with the even
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Canada, Climate Emergency and Economic Cataclysm: A Proposed Response In Brief
Or, On Trolls and Concision, Sound-Bite Culture, and The Importance of Thinking For Yourself (Please see my recent essay, titled, Canada, eh?, for part one of this present meditation) The following issues require immediate, urgent attention, thought and action, proritized in the highest degree by all levels of society,
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Elon Musk & The Limits of Genius
“We don’t have heroes anymore. We have people who are known for their knownness.” Having no heroic public figures left, we resort to worshipping people who are merely well-known, simply because they are well-known. What idiocy! I overstated the matter here, as I studiously avoid doing in general, to make
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Six Founding Principles Of Good Government
Or, Public Policy 101: Tax “Bads”, Not Goods Public policy, or government policy, should reflect certain basic principles. Let’s set out a few. Not everyone will agree, but polls repeatedly show the great majority, from the moderate grassroots right, across to the left, in general agree, and in general strongly
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Why The Left Is Once Again Wrong
Also happening now, and further showing the continued failure of the left: the left is shouting in defence of payroll taxes – which kill jobs, as they are a tax on hiring and employment, as well as a regressive tax that hurts small and medium business the hardest. The
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Central Challenge Of Our Time
What is the central challenge of our time? It is not what most people think it is. It is not race or gender, or climate change, or the environment broadly, or issues of war and peace, or poverty, or justice, or equality, or fighting terrorism, crime or violence, WMDs and
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Collapse of Modern Civilization
More than 150 years ago Thoreau commented, “Our sills are all rotten.” He was right. It is for that reason that Western, and Westernized, “modern” “civilization” is collapsing. This could be cataclysmic, of course, (as in, an ecological holocaust), or relatively peaceful, (akin to the Maya abandoning their great cities
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Importing From China: A Virus? Or A Totalitarian Model Of Elite Control?
Someone prescient once said, “Those who would sacrifice a little freedom for a little security, deserve neither, and will lose both.” We would do well to remember those words now. And we are most definitely in the process of losing both, as we speak. But maybe we aspire to be
Continue readingThings Are Good: 18 Countries Easily Decreased CO2 Emission with Policy
There’s now even more evidence that countries around the world can reduce carbon emissions without sacrificing economic growth. Carbon intensive industries often argue that regulations will destroy the economy and do little to protect the planet. They couldn’t be more wrong. A recent study looked at emissions and economic growth
Continue readingThings Are Good: How Good Policy Alongside Good Design Improves Lives
Tishaura Jones, the first female treasurer of St. Louis, set out to improve her city through good design. Through her own struggles dealing with the city’s bureaucracy she identified many problems with how information is presented, she noted she wasn’t the only one running into bad design. Jones decided to
Continue reading52 Ideas: What does Alberta Future Look like?
In 2018, an Alberta Government Department – called Alberta Economic and Development and Trade developed a pamphlet. Entitled the “2017 Highlights of the Alberta Economy”, it noted that Alberta had “one of the world’s most productive agricultural economies, with a total farm area of 50.3 million acres or 20.3 million hectares”.
Continue reading52 Ideas: We should reform, amend or change government but we should never attack it.
When I was nineteen, I joined my first political campaign. In some ways, it was odd. For, while, I lived in a house that talked about the problems of the world, a house where the news was avidly watched, I had never thought about joining a political party. I just
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Tying A Few Things Together
I have written a few posts recently which criticize quite strongly the recent spate of conservative “we must cut everything” hysteria over Alberta’s budget: On Alberta’s Budget 2018 On Government Finances and Debt About Hospitals and Ian Brodie All of these posts revolve around the basic theme of how ridiculous
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