Both exist. The interface between the public and private sectors of society need to be closely monitored, as the potential for nefarious ‘deep state’ activities is quite real. (Rebecca Gordon writing for Tom’s Dispatch writes) “McLaughlin told National Public Radio’s Greg Myre and Rachel Treisman that he had received
Continue readingTag: politics
cmkl: Palaces for the people
We need to stop obsessing with ‘cheap’ if we’re going to get anything done. Ottawa’s LRT is a screaming example. Read more
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Greed Fuels American Imperial Foreign Policy
The American people do not have an appetite for war and the suffering it causes. The same cannot be said about those who directly benefit when tensions rise and the likelihood of war increases. The arms industry and their associated lobby are firmly on board with the idea that adding
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Chomsky’s Optimism: On Climate Change, Nuclear War, and Activism
Truthdig‘s Scheer Intelligence series, hosted by Robert Scheer, recently posted a 3 hour podcast in two parts. I’ve summarized the gist of what Chomsky says below, in about a 15 minute read, with a few of my own thoughts and links added to the mix. You can listen to the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Being a liberal is tough.
Maybe I am not the only liberal who wonders where my party went. I got a copy of a rather angry e-mail the other day from a liberal in my riding of Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte. The e-mail was to the provincial party president. I know that this letter-writing liberal is a hard-working
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Alberta Politics – The Populist Dismantling of Alberta
I, for one, am not looking forward to the social fabric of our province being torn asunder by the austerity crazed UCP government in 2020. “Speaking of blaming others for Alberta’s ills, 2020 will see the UCP government maintain its pugilistic approach to issues via its Fight Back Strategy that
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Where is the vision?
In a recent commentary we complained about the lack of leadership of all Canadian political parties. What Canadians want from their leaders is vision. It is like the vision of Sir John A. Macdonald that ribbons of steel could bind this country together. It is our flag and the international
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The Shit-Life Syndrome – US Politics
Societies that do not adequately redistribute wealth face the Shit-life syndrome problem. Living on the margins is stressful at best. Living precariously is the reality for all to many Americans and Canadians and unfortunately it can lead to some very self destructive voting patterns. “My state of Ohio is home
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Neoliberal Ideas – Trade is *always* Beneficial
Believe the actions, not the words of the political class. We need to reassert the democratic will in our societies. “The idea that trade is always and everywhere beneficial has been the ‘American’ position, left, right and center, since the reemergence of neoliberalism in the mid-1970s. This is why
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Climate Solutions – We Need Politics
We will need to fight against market fundamentalism and help our politicians remember that they exist to serve not only the economy, but the people of a country as well. “As we have seen, cutting carbon with carbon pricing or regulation is not politically painless, so the main efforts
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Age of Oblivion: Another End of Decade Rant
Of course calendars are a construct and don’t mean anything, but the end of the year and, even more so, the end of the decade are useful times to take stock. In pop culture, we have the Ecco Homo moment as a cultural foreboding – the chutzpah to insist on a fix that pretends
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: #EightYears came early
A couple years ago when the IPCC gave us approximately 12 years to get emissions way down, I started using the hashtag #TwelveYears on stories related to how far we have to go yet now I’ve been using #TenYears, but I’m being too conservative. #EightYears is our presently calculated deadline
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Oil Is The Reason For The Season?
Don’t you dare suggest that oil could be bad, the sensitive folks of Oxbow, SK might get up in arms. They’re having a tough time with work you see, the oil industry that once paid them handsomely to ruin their kid’s environment, now only ruins their kids’ environment without paying
Continue readingpolitics – Christy's Houseful of Chaos: Where does political authority come from?
One of the books I’ve been reading recently is called Piety and Politics: The Dynamics of Royal Authority in Homeric Greece, Biblical Israel, and Old Babylonian Mesopotamia. One of the things it points out very early is that the divine authority of kings in ancient times is not necessarily the
Continue readingPaul S. Graham: My 2019 in Videos
This marks the 10th year of my YouTube channel. You can watch more than 350 videos here, but as it is the season to reflect on the past year, here is some of what I saw, through my unabashedly lefty lens, in 2019. Winnipeg Central American Migrant Caravan Benefit Concert
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: United Conservative Party – It is a Conspiracy!!
It would be nice if our current government would start taking responsibility for the mess that they are creating. Blaming the “Anti-Alberta Conspiracy” for the lacklustre economic performance of the economy reeks of desperation and deceit. Alberta’s Premier is busily talking out of both sides of his mouth when it
Continue readingThings Are Good: Good Conversations Might Need Some Regulation
You’ve probably already seen this pop up in your filter bubble a couple weeks ago but I want to make sure it’s not forgotten. Facebook (and likely other platforms) are being manipulated by powerful interests to edit what can be said and shared on their sites. They are self-regulating to
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Lawrence Lessig – On The Tribal Problem of American Democracy.
Lessig speaks to the notion that the media divide in American culture lies near the root of many of the countries problems when it comes to their democratic process. “What is the role of education in a democracy? Must the electorate be informed? What happens when we are operating
Continue readingpolitics – Christy's Houseful of Chaos: Sophists And Today?
Aaron Sorkin’s television show Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip aired in 2006. Already, the show feels somewhat dated and when watching it with our children my husband and I found ourselves trying to explain how the public debate was different at that time. (Just as one example, these days
Continue readingsomecanuckchick dot com: We have a new Speaker of the House…
Congratulations/Félicitations Anthony Rota! We have a new Speaker of the House… A little bit about the Speaker of the House, just in case you skipped, failed, or otherwise have no recollection of Civics class… In addition to some administrative, ceremonial, and diplomatic duties, the main role of the Speaker of
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