In Calgary-Centre, Unite the Left may not have worked.
There will be some who feel that if the anti-CPC vote had coalesced around 1 candidate last night, Joan Crockett might not be going to Ottawa, which she narrowly did…
November 2012
You told us, we told them: A report-back from our meeting with Telus
When several senior representatives from Telus asked us to meet with them we knew immediately what we wanted the meeting to include: direct citizen stories about disrespectful and expensive cell...
If You Think Rob Ford Is Off the Wall
Hairstyle by Batshit Crazy SalonMeet Idaho Republican state Senator, Sheryl Nuxoll. Ms. Senator Nutjob thinks it's still possible for Romney to become president if only enough states refuse to participate…
Family Council Network Four launches long term care letter/petition campaign
Tired of broken promises on long-term care? The Family Council Four Network – the largest of Family Council Networks in Ontario – is organizing a letter writing/petition campaign to improve…
What a jerk
So Toronto Mayor and noted loud-mouthed schnook Rob Ford is being kicked out of office for being a loud-mouthed schnook and both he and his equally loud-mouthed brother still think…
Review: Terrorist Assemblages
I have complicated feelings about this book. In some ways, that I am choosing to work out some of these feelings in this specific review is arbitrary and unfair, as…
Canadian democracy—always good for a laugh
Headline: Conservative Joan Crockatt wins Calgary Centre by-election with 37 per cent of the vote. So … I will now have an MP most of my fellow constituents don’t want…
No, Taylor Swift. No.
I’ve been mentally composing this blog for forever and
How did English evolve?
Here’s a fun little video from TED about the evolution of English. This video describes the early days of English’s changes. Some of the more recent alterations are not included,…
Calgary-Centre: The Day After
It has been a wonder of a campaign. For the Harvey Locke campaign the Liberals doubled their support from 2011 (going from 17% to 32%) and sent a message that…
Interview: Filmmakers Explore Enbridge Tanker Route Along BC’s Rugged Coast
British Columbian filmmakers Nicolas Teichrob and Anthony Bonello are leading a grassroots campaign to protect BC's waters from Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline. In an effort to bring awareness to…
Edgewater Gardens: LTC Staffing cuts should be a red flag for Ministry, LHIN
We all remember former Health Minister George Smitherman tearfully promising a revolution in long-term care. That revolution never really happened. Now we’re beginning to wonder if what modest gains were…
By-election Winners & Losers – #byelxn41 Edition
Last night's by-elections in Victoria, Calgary Centre, and Durham ridings, and all three had different stories to talk about. Two were close, one was a complete rout, but in the…
Mayor Ford, Michael Coren, and Political Hypocrisy. . . .
I am very seldom shocked by the hubris and hypocrisy of the rightwing. That is not to say that the left is never guilty of hubris or hypocrisy, but that…
Adam
I know him, and I know he is no extremist. He is the kind of person we need more of, in fact. I’m proud of what he did, and how…
Mark Carney’s tenure and the state of monetary policy
Mark Carney’s tenure as Governor of the Bank of Canada overlaps some challenging economy history. Appointed in early 2008 just as the US housing bubble was popping, Carney took the…
Mandatory Minimum Accidentally Applied to Powerful White Man
Many political observers in the Canadian province of Ontario are calling for a change to the law after a mandatory minimum penalty was accidentally applied to a powerful white man.…
Taking stock of yesterday’s by-elections
The media love a good narrative, and once they decide on a narrative they’ll do anything to force events into their box, whether the events fit inside that box. Right…
Oh Dear Lord – Prayer in the PEI Legislature
A couple weeks ago I was asked to go sit in the gallery of the PEI Legislature, during Question Period, as a reminder to MLAs that folks from the ‘Stop…
Giving the Devil the benefit of the law
A Man for All Seasons (1960) —————————————————————————————————- Roper: So now you’d give the Devil benefit of law! More: Yes. What would you do? Cut a great road through the law…