A group of parents in B.C. are adamantly opposed to the Burnaby school district enacting an LGBT-inclusive anti-bullying policy. Catholic school districts in Ontario want to ban rainbows and Gay-Straight Alliances. Charles Adler is worried that a calendar that is a teachers’ reference (and notes the Transgender Day of Remembrance) might cause kids to become
Continue readingTag: Religious Right
Pushed to the Left and Loving It: The Republican Debates Now Turning Into the Reform-Alliance Debates
Watching the Republican presidential hopefuls duke it out to determine who is the most absurd, I’m reminded of how far this party has fallen since the days of Eisenhower. I doubt they’d get anyone “normal” to run now.In the latest round of insanity, Ri…
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: The Canadian Manifesto 11: God, Guns and Gays
Throughout the 1990s, especially the early years, the Canadian Reform Party and the American Republican Party were forging ties, that have proven to be lasting.They share policies, initiatives, staff, and even financing.One name that comes up ofte…
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: The CBC on the Chopping Block is No Surprise to Anyone
I came across this image for the CBC. I think it was for an event that was sold out. However, as soon as I saw it, I thought how appropriate.There is a bit of angst over the future of the CBC, with poor Stephen Harper losing sleep over…
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: The Canadian Manifesto 10: The Exploitation of Religion Has Many Victims
David Kuo was a foot soldier in the Evangelical army that stormed the White House for George W. Bush. He eventually came to realize that his role was purely political, and that the Bush administration had no intention of honouring their promises.At a p…
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: The Canadian Manifesto 9: Retribution and the Bottom Line
William Wilberforce (1759-1833) was a British politician, best known for his work to abolish the slave trade. He helped to pass legislation that imposed fines of £100 on shipowners, for each slave found on board.It backfired, because when these men sa…
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: Will Rob Ford Put an End to Blissful Ignorance?
On February 15, 1983, the New York Times ran a headline: Reagan Misstatements Getting Less Attention.Ronald Reagan was not only the first American President to bring the Religious Right into his administration, but he also launched an era of …
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: Where is Barry Goldwater When we Need Him?
“I think every good Christian ought to kick [Jerry] Falwell right in the ass.” Barry Goldwater Many American Neoconservatives claim to have become politically active, after the trouncing of Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election. Deemed to be too far rig…
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: The Canadian Manifesto 7: From the Book of Genesis
The idea of a “new conservatism” took root after World War II, ignited by the fear of Communism. But it was Irving Kristol, a former Trotskyite, who first promoted the idea of creating a political movement under the banner of Neoconservatism.A confirme…
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: The Canadian Manifesto: 3. Religion Goes Corporate
Rick Warren is considered to be one of the most important Evangelical leaders in the United States. He turned the small Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, with a congregation of barely 200, into one of the largest mega churches in the countr…
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: The Canadian Manifesto: 2. "Signaling" For Good and Evil
Messaging and carefully crafted language, has always played a key role in the neoconservative movement. From Leo Strauss’s hidden dialogue [Plato] to Preston Manning’s calculated ambiguity, speech is used not to inspire, but to manipulate, ob…
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: What Sun Media Doesn’t Want You to Know About Anders Behring Breivik
When Ann Coulter came to Canada to speak, and fabricate a threat to free speech, her visit was sponsored by two right-wing organizations: The Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute and the International Free Press.Clare Booth Luce is a conservative women’s…
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: From Archie Bunker to Don Cherry: Why Words Matter
One of my favourite episodes of All in the Family was the one where Archie Bunker is singled out by a group of “concerned Americans” and asked to join their club. At his first meeting he has a rude awakening, when they all put on white sheets.For sever…
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: Gary Bauer’s Focus is the Harper Government’s Vision
I Burned my Bra For This? REAL Women of Canada and the Men Behind ThemAnother soldier in the war against American women, who helped to the launch a similar war against Canadian women, is Gary Bauer. Bauer was with the Moral Majority/Religious Right pol…
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: So You Want to Return to the 1950s? OK. I’m Game.
In reading books and essays written by, and not just about, the neoconservatives, I’ve found many common elements, from the philosophers they quote to the people they hate.One common desire most share, is to return to the 1950s, when women knew their p…
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