Mulcair: The man who would bring democracy to Canada Thomas Mulcair, that very capable MP who is leader of the NDP, has publicly committed himself to remedy our democratic deficit, as this post indicates. Mulcair is to be commended for two things. First, for signing the Fair Vote Canada declaration
Continue readingTag: political leadership
CuriosityCat: Pipelines and Ottawa’s dropping of the ball: Gordon Gibson nails it
Gordon Gibson: The Nailer If you are a politician, or work with any political party –federal or provincial or municipal – you should definitely read the succinct, well-written and politically significant articleby Gordon Gibson in the Globe & Mail, entitled Enough with pipelines. Refine it. Gibson summarizes, in one short
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: With An Eye To The Future
It is to state the obvious that all progressives long for the day that the Harper regime is ousted from office. What is not so obvious, however, is what shape our country will take once that happens. There are those who place their faith in Justin Trudeau. Others look with
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Kudos to Premier Wynne for remedying our democratic deficits
Political Reformer Premier Wynne While many premiers, MPs, politicians and commentators wring their hands about the low voting counts in elections, and the feeling of impotence of many citizens, Premier Wynne of Ontario has decided to stop whining and do something about it. With one bold step, Wynne will provide
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Explaining Justin Trudeau
No matter what the Liberal leader says or does, his popularity ranks at a consistently high level. While part of the explanation for his standings in the polls surely lies in the Canadian people’s weariness with the Harper regime, a regime that has shown itself, through its practices of division,
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Cowardly Leadership: We All Pay A Price
As I have written in the past, poor leadership costs all of us dearly. Whether looking at local provincial, federal or international politics, the price we pay for leadership that has too high a regard for itself and too little for the people is moral, social, economic and military disarray.
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Israel & Gaza: Is Kerry a Nebish?
John Nebbish Kerry? This question has been raised, given Kerry’s missteps in recent weeks: Nonetheless, one can’t deny Kerry’s almost inexplicable series of mishaps, faux pas and unfortunate events: on Friday it was the press conference in Cairo with the UN Secretary General and the Egyptian foreign minister that was
Continue readingCuriosityCat: USA: Elizabeth Warren takes the fight to Wall Street
The Real USA The highly intelligent, courageous and scrappy new senator is not stopping in her fight for the middle class. She is pounding the streets, raising money for long-shot Democrat candidates, and focusing on the rigged stock market that favours the wealthy and has a lock on many elected
Continue readingCuriosityCat: From My Quotes Cupboard: China’s leaders could have ruled the waves, but blew it
Decisions made can impact centuries, as China found out when its leaders made a shortsighted decision in the early 1400’s: In Nanjing today you can see a full-size replica of the treasure ship of Admiral Zhen He, the most famous sailor in Chinese history. It is 400 feet long –
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Oh, And One More Thing
It seems I, Martin Regg Cohn and Cheri DiNovo aren’t the only ones to take issue with Andrea horwath’s leadership these days: Re:Horwath admits ‘bittersweet’ election result, July 9 I wonder what Robin Sears has to say about Cheri DiNovo. The day Andrea Horwath walked away from the Liberal budget
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Andrea Comes Down From Her Perch
But only a little bit. And only because her campaign is being criticized from within. As I noted in a recent post, Ontario NDP leader Andrea’s Horwath’s hubris following what almost everyone else would call a failed Ontario election campaign has been both unseemly and wholly unjustified. She initially avowed
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Congratulations to Susan Delacourt
Susan Delacourt Susan Delacourt neatly sums up the state of play in Canadian politics in her article in the Toronto Star: In that same vein, we have been told repeatedly that Canadians want people in power who are “good managers” of the economy, but what about being a good manager
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Well Said!
The other day I wrote a post critical of the ‘blame game’ being played by the NDP’s Andrea Horwath to excuse her lack of progress during the recent Ontario provincial election. In a similar vein, Star letter-writer Michael Foley of Toronto offers his excoriating assessment of her rationalization: Re: Liberal
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Lisa MacLeod Revisited
The other day I wrote a commentary on recently re-elected Nepean-Carlton Ontario Progressive Conservative Lisa MacLeod. In a thinly-disguised job application/op-ed piece for the Star, Ms. MacLeod talked about what is needed for revitalized leadership of her party, brought to electoral ruin by the soon-to-be-departed leader Tim Hudak. Perhaps not
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Lisa MacLeod’s Ambition
I’ll say right off the top that I am no fan of recently re-elected Ontario Progressive Conservative Lisa MacLeod, and not just because she is a member of what has become an extremist party. Her embrace of the politics of division, her strident hyper-partisanship, and now, post-election, her hypocrisy, rankle.
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Better Angels of Our Nature
Like many who follow politics closely, I consider myself to be deeply cynical. Probably the best window into the human soul, politics is the arena where often the worst aspects of our natures prevail; greed, selfishness, abuse of power all have ample opportunity to find expression in this venue. Yet
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Visionary Concept of Wildrose Party’s Danielle Smith: A National Energy Corridor
Danielle Smith: Visionary Canada’s wealth depends largely on our ability to export goods and services that others want to buy from us. And one of our major exports is energy – whether it be electricity or oil and gas. Our ability to export large quantities of energy is under threat
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Ukraine: One possible Russian-driven solution
Bill Clinton: Ukraine Saviour? Ukraine is in turmoil, with positions apparently hardening on all sides, since the Geneva Agreement outlining a method of resolution was agreed upon a short while ago. The level of support for the anti-Kiev position in eastern Ukraine is unclear at the moment: Armed men have
Continue readingCuriosityCat: O Politician, behold The Shape of the Future
So, you’re a politician? You want to lead our country into a better future? You think the past cannot be relied on as an accurate predicator of the future of the country’s economy? You think the middle class deserve a better break than they’ve been given for the past decade
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Slip Slidin’ Away
Slip sliding away, slip sliding away You know the nearer your destination, the more you’re slip sliding away – Paul Simon I know, by his public efforts to appear reasonably normal, that Stephen Harper is a Beatles’ fan. Whether he has ever listened to or crooned any of Paul Simon’s
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