Unattractive risk
Every young person is taught that willingness to fail is empowering and roads to success are built atop failures. Such precepts are generally true but it is also accurate to…
August 2019
Cowichan Valley Shakespeare Festival
New attendance records were set by Bard fans of all ages during this year’s Cowichan Valley Shakespeare Festival, director and actor Alex Gallacher says. “It was a record year. We…
Former leader of the National Alliance, at one time the largest hate group in the United States, now a PPC activist in Ontario.
I’m not sure I can articulate how big a deal this is. The National Alliance was founded by William Pierce and under his leadership became the largest hate group in…
The Amazing Voyage of Greta Thunberg
I greatly admire Greta Thunberg the Swedish teenager who has mobilized millions of young people to fight climate change.And as you probably know I love sailing.So needless to say I…
Andrew Scheer’s Fatal Abortion Confusion
In one of my last posts I revealed that Andrew Scheer has been quietly parachuting anti-choice candidates into ridings all over Canada.And said that the Cons should now be known…
The Koch Legacy
Following the death last week of David Koch, media coverage, I found, left much to be desired. MSNBC filled its two-minute report with fulsome praise of the man’s philanthropy, with…
The First Attempt
When watching our elected leaders at work, it’s always interesting to watch when someone decides to take a bold step and try to be the first to do something difficult.…
"This Is Our Country, Not Theirs"
A Freudian slip? Probably more like a white nationalist dog whistle. The Trump campaign issued a communique to the Trump faithful attacking Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Democrats who advocate abolishing…
US Cities Most at Risk from Climate Change Are the Least Prepared
If you’re from Newark or Los Angeles, Miami or New Orleans, when it comes to climate change it sucks to be you. A real estate web site, listwithclever.com, crunched the…
Never mind sparse facts in Alberta’s first-quarter financial update, its subtext is deep cuts are coming soon
The United Conservative Party Government led by Jason Kenney wants deep cuts, and, by God, it’s going to have them. That includes tax cuts, which will drive the province’s books…
While All Eyes Are On the Amazon…
Yes it’s a terrible thing. Yes the deliberately set fires ravaging the Amazon rain forest may have dire impacts on climate change, what are called ‘knock-on effects.’ Yes we should…
Motivational Interviewing can Help the Environment
Enviromentum wants to change the discussion around the climate crisis to be more positive. They do this through the practice of motivational interviewing which engages the interviewee in a meaningful…
This Is Gonna Hurt
It’s said that some people see a half-glass of wine as half-empty. Others will see the glass half-full. I see walls. Screw the damned glass. The wine glass business is…
What Is It With Scumbags and Proroguing Parliaments?
Who can forget how Stephen Harper, aided and abetted by a dim and spineless Governor General, pulled his fat out of the fire by proroguing Parliament as the 2007/2008 Great…
Mad Dog Nips at His Master’s Heels
He didn’t last very long but, while he did, former defense secretary, Marine general James Mattis, was considered to be the sane, calm voice inside the Trump administration. Now Mattis…
Mann’s Madhouse Effect
Michael Mann recently tweeted this: It’s dumb luck that I chanced to do just that! This book a comprehensive exploration of the issues mixed with clear examples and Tom Toles’s…
Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – John Nichols interviews Bernie Sanders about the importance of resurrecting the principle of economic rights. Gallup examines how the American public is again…
In plain sight
Robyn Urback is rightly concerned about the lack of discussion of Quebec’s systematic discrimination by most of Canada’s federal parties – only to gloss over the strong position taken by…
The devastation of Manitoba: An autopsy of Pallister’s austerity regime
Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister has called a snap election for September 10, over a year before required under the province’s fixed election law. It would be a mistake to think…
pupdate: did i say progress? i spoke too soon
Remember this? Recall from canned salmon and dehydrated liver treats? Worked once. Didn’t work a second time. On our next visit to Storey’s Beach, both dogs were completely absorbed in…