March 2018
Facebook Moves to Block Cambridge Analytica. Too Little, Too Late?
Here’s the problem in a nutshell: “It’s no exaggeration to say that minds can be changed. Behaviour can be predicted and controlled. I find it incredibly scary. I really do.…
My St. Patrick’s message, every year since 1980
There’s nothin’ for us in Belfast The Pound’s old, and that’s a pity OK, so there’s the Trident in Bangor And then you walk back to the city We ain’t…
The National Post Goes After Justin Trudeau. Again.
When I last checked out Paul Godfrey, Postmedia's Big Boss, he was cursing Justin Trudeau, and demanding money to bail out his sinking operation.And his frantic employees were running around,…
Donald Trump and the Madness in the White House
It's a scary sight, but the Trump White House is starting to look a lot like the last days in the Fuhrer bunker.With the Orange Fuhrer raging like a madman,…
Well, Kids, Uncle Donnie Has Plans for Your Future and They Involve a Lot of Carbon
Is Donald Trump about to unleash a fossil energy disaster on the world? CBC News reports that Trump is after nothing less than “energy dominance” and he’s not talking renewables…
Not The Man
The latest poll suggests that Doug Ford will be the next premier of Ontario. Alan Freeman hopes the poll has it wrong: The new Ontario Progressive Conservative leader and would-be…
This all could have been avoided
It makes me so bloody mad. This: Of the 1,637 Ontario voters surveyed online between March 12 and 14, Campaign Research found that 43 per cent of decided voters intended…
Homelessness and employment: The case of Calgary
I’ve just written a blog post about homelessness and employment, with a focus on Calgary (where I live and work). Points raised in the blog post include the following: -Persons…
In defence of populism.
From the first time I met John George Diefenbaker, I have admired populist politicians. For the benefit of our younger folk, John Diefenbaker was a Prairie populist politician who served…
Your Weekend BS: The straight poop on profanity in politics and the state of public discourse in Alberta
PHOTOS: Alberta politicians Deron Bilous, Jason Kenney, Derek Fildebrandt and Thomas Lukaszuk, all from the author’s vast collection of snapshots. Trigger warning! This dispatch from the Annals of Political Discourse…
Musical interlude
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Necessary Evil
America’s Answer To The Homeless Problem
Call it thinking outside the box, but a U.S. candidate for the Senate has a novel idea about the homeless problem: arm them with shotguns. Here is Libertarian Brian Ellison’s…
Prosecutors Say A Woman Who Went Undercover With An “Anarchist Extremist Group” Will Testify At Inauguration Protest Trials (repost)
In the next round of trials against people charged with rioting during President Donald Trump’s inauguration, federal prosecutors want to put a witness on the stand under an alias who…
Assembly of First Nations, RCMP co-operated on response to mass protests in 2007 (repost)
The Assembly of First Nations worked closely with the Mounties and provincial police to exchange information about protests and develop common stances before a national aboriginal day of action in…
B.C. Fracking Inquiry Won’t Address Public Health or Emissions, Government Assures Industry Lobby Group
B.C.’s scientific inquiry into fracking won’t address risks to public health, the government quietly assured the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) nearly six weeks before government publicly announced the…
Why are American evangelical Christians so cruel?
The article in Forbes’ Magazine, March 11, didn’t ask that question I used in my headline. Instead, the headline simply stated the piece would explain, “Why White Evangelicalism Is So…
Mismanagement of Canada’s Largest National Park Is Attracting International Scrutiny. Here’s Why.
One year ago, after scathing reports by international agencies, the federal government promised to better protect Wood Buffalo National Park, with Environment Minister Catherine McKenna saying a warning from the…
KINSELLACAST #5: resisting the Trump/Brexit agenda!
By popular demand, here’s my Merv Leitch QC Memorial Lecture, delivered at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Law. If there’s one section I want to emphasize, it’s this one:…