This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Plenty of commentators are rightly speaking out against the Cons’ anti-democratic omnibus bill, including Tim Harper and the Star-Phoenix and Vancouver Sun editorial boards. And even John Ivison can’t muster much more than “but the Libs did it too!” in defence of
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Accidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Trish Hennessy assembles a handy set of ideas to deal with income inequality. – No, there isn’t much new in the Cons’ familiar pattern of deceiving the public, covering it up, then lying by about the cover-up by blaming civil servants who
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Julian Beltrame reports on the Cons’ concerted efforts to add to corporate bottom lines by attacking working Canadians: One of the measures is so sneaky, says NDP MP Pat Martin, nobody seemed to notice the line buried deep in the 452-page Bill C-38
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Martin Papillon offers up some lessons for the NDP in Francois Hollande’s French presidential victory: Being ideological does not have to mean being radical. It means anchoring your platform in a clear, coherent set of ideas that will resonate with the electorate, including
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Tim Harper gets somewhat closer to the mark than most pundits in recognizing that any talk an NDP/Lib merger is neither timely nor particularly well-placed. But the “one more time” message is a little bit off: again, we’ve still run precisely zero election
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Danielle Martin discusses the importance of federal involvement in Canada’s public health care system: Whose job is it to co-ordinate health-care reform in Canada? Canadians expect our federal government to play that role. We want to know that wherever we live, we will
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Harper Inc. Continues To Deform Our National Ethos
While it is probably impossible to define the soul of a nation, one aspect of the Canadian psyche must surely be a generosity of spirit and a concern for the collective that is absent in many other nations. It is the relentless attack upon this very spirit, with the intention
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Roundup
With the NDP’s leadership campaign entering its final week, it’s no great surprise to see plenty more punditry than usual surrounding the race. But what might influence the ballots cast this week (which may end up making all the difference)? – The most attention over the last day or so
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – The revelations just keep on coming in Robocon, to the point where the news of an offensively-named burner cellphone account used to leave fraudulent messages with Racknine has already been overtaken by more ridings and staffers being implicated – even as the Cons
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Tory Strategy of Fostering Voter Disengagement
I have long believed that a good part of the Conservative strategy to become Canada’s natural governing party rests on a strategy of disenfranchisement. By lowering the tone of public debate, by acting in high-handed and undemocratic ways, by hobbling data-gathering apparatuses, and by employing a myriad of other tactics
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to end your week. – Sure, it’s a plus to know that Canada’s military is ready and willing to leap into action to protect what matters most to the government of the day. Now if only that meant something other than serving as political operatives to protect the
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Tim Harper on the Vic Toews Debacle
In my opinion Tim Harper, a Star columnist with whom I tend to agree more often than disagree, misses the mark with his latest piece. Entitled A mean town just got a whole lot meaner, the article laments the ugliness that has ensued in reaction to Toews’ attempt under Bill
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Tim Harper on Caterpillar’s Betrayal of Canadian Workers
As it hauls its billions in profits south of the border, Caterpillar executives should make a detour and stop in Ottawa to drop off the money they owe Canadian taxpayers. Failing that, the Conservative government should be waiting for them at the border demanding the tax break and handout cash
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Assorted content to start your week. – Tim Harper comments on the Harper Cons’ collusion in a war against Canada’s middle class: Under the Investment Canada Act, (foreign) takeovers are supposed to demonstrate a “net benefit” to Canada, but, in fact, are acting as an anvil on wages, living standards
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Roundup
The NDP’s leadership campaign has been relatively quiet in the day-plus since Sunday’s debate as the resumption of Parliament offered other fodder for political discussion. But let’s follow up on the debate and what has happened since then. – Aaron Wherry live-blogged the debate, then rounded up debate reactions so
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Roundup
In the lead-up to tomorrow’s official debate in Halifax, the end of this week saw plenty of developments in the NDP leadership race – including both the familiar combination of endorsements, videos and policy releases from the campaigns themselves, and an increase in outside reporting that took coverage in a
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Roundup
A quick look at just a couple more days of developments in the NDP’s leadership race… – Niki Ashton proposed an increase in immigration, particularly when it comes to family reunification. – Paul Dewar challenged Thomas Mulcair to take a position on bulk water exports, provoking at least somewhat of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Evening Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Lawrence Martin notes that the Cons’ push for yet more layers of bureaucracy is based purely on a desire to cater to prejudice rather than any intention to improve the lot of Canada’s First Nations: Shortly after Stephen Harper’s Conservatives came to power
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: At Least They Don’t Discriminate According to Gender
For those who might have been concerned that the animus, hatred and paranoia of the Harper government is directed almost exclusively at men, The Star’s Tim Harper sets the record straight by pointing out how three fairly prominent women have run afoul of our overlords; however, unlike the stereotype of
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Dan Garnder rightly points out how too much concentrated power and a refusal to take advice can lead to bad decisions. And sadly, our federal government serves as a classic case in point: “Most of the time, taking advice benefits your accuracy,” notes
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