rip philip roth
I was literally reading this article in The New York Times about Philip Roth when I heard he had died. It’s a wonderful story: an 85-year-old celebrated author who has…
2018
Checking Chuckles’ Challenges.
Maybe it is just the pundits in Ottawa who are challenged to understand the leader of the conservative party. While some tend to treat him as the Joker character from…
welcome to the allan and laura new york city history reading club
The theme of this year’s TD Summer Reading Club — a national program (developed by Toronto Public Library) that more than 2,000 Canadian libraries participate in — is Feed Your…
Good news, bad news
Bill Good is in the news this week. David Ball wrote about this news reader turned political activist in the The Star Vancouver. In years past, Mr. Good was a…
Kevin Johnston and Ron Banerjee: "Hallmarks of Hate"
Back in August 2017, Kevin Johnston and Ron Banerjee (Islomophobic, misogynistic, and racist bigots who have been featured on these pages several times already) were sued by Mohamad Fakih, the…
We get letters: apparently Black Lives Matter and I are terrorists
Who knew? Also, I particularly like his email handle.
Is This Really Something To Be Proud Of?
I find myself these days thinking about the beasts that have been unleashed upon society. In the United States, of course, it is Donald Trump who has made it acceptable…
Innuendo, not guilt, in CBC story
By now I expect you’ve read the scurrilous CBC story written by Dave Seglins or at least one of its local spin-offs. For me, the best line in the CBC…
My Politics is about Witnessing the Wrongs done to Others
I am grateful to a man that I have never met. I was first introduced to him by a good friend. She had grown up in a place that used…
On Limits to Free Speech: Hate Crime Laws and Defamation Suits
Watching the excellent series The Handmaid’s Tale, at first I questioned the glaring lack of racism in the show. It’s supposed to be happening just a few years in the…
June 23: Our Eleventh Commandment
And Moses engraved the stone – Thou shalt be greedy. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/yemen-conflict-west-humanitarian-crisis-1.4714469___________________________________________________________ The following move by Trump includes Canadian water. Be prepared. U.S. capitalists are going to move in on Canada.…
Saturday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your weekend reading. – Jay Shambaugh, Ryan Nunn, and Lauren Bauer discuss the need for U.S. law and policy to adapt to protect independent workers who have…
Donald Trump and the Return Of the Blood Libel
It had to be one of the most obscene sights I have ever seen. Donald Trump using the dead to smear illegal immigrants as criminals.President Trump hit back on Friday…
Saturday Photo: The Ducklings Are Back..
The ponds in our neighborhood parks are home some years to duck families. This is the first time I’ve seen one in this particular park which is one of the…
Vote Trump’s Party Out
Today, in The Washington Post, George Will is writing that Americans should vote for Democrats in the November elections. And, earlier this week, another once staunch Republican — Steve Schmidt…
There is no statute of limitations on #MeToo
The headline is ridiculous, but the story is actually well-done, here. The revelation that the victim wrote the editorial was news to me, and it puts the whole matter in…
The Ego Has Landed.
Premier designate Doug Ford is in Queen’s Park. His reign of terror in Ontario is moving into gear. Before he has even unpacked, he is terrorizing the civil servants and…
Shaving redux
In mid-May, 2018, I published a post about my change in shaving technologies and techniques. I described why I thought it was a more environmentally friendly method, and somewhat of…