What Brits See in Donald Trump
Someone asked “Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?” Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England, wrote this magnificent response: “A few things spring to mind.…
2019
Is Democracy Unnatural?
Today is an exceptional time for democracy—the first time in history that most nations in the world may be called democratic (assuming we are generous with our definition). Democracy has,…
Greening the War Room
There are many things that go into successful election campaigns, much more than most people typically see from the outside. Yes there’s the policy, the money to run the campaign,…
Whither Goest The NDP?
In his column today, Rick Salutin offers a withering assessment of the NDP that I fear is all too accurate. In a phrase, what most ails the party is what…
This Year the Arctic is On Fire
It’s been damp and chilly down here on the island. It’s not great but at least the rains have been limiting the fire risk and we’ve yet to have one…
Public Banks and a Just and Green Transition
Illustration by maystra/iStock Public banks are resurgent, triggered by the failure of private finance to meaningfully confront the green transformation. But will resurgent public banks act in the public or…
Eating Off the Hill: Summerlicious Prix Fixe at Bannock
I’m in Scarborough for the summer, so expect some even more off the hill food reviews in the weeks and months to come. My first installment comes from a trip…
Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Mike Pearl discusses the climate despair of people understandably having difficulty working toward a longer term which is utterly neglected in our most…
The Most Dangerous On The Planet
Obamacare was never a simple, clean piece of legislation. Paul Krugman writes: The Affordable Care Act was an imperfect and incomplete reform. The political compromises needed to get it through…
The Case for a Lower Voting Age
When getting ready for election campaigns, all parties put together their various platforms. Inside each of those platforms are ideas that are well-known to the public, some that have been…
SFH Kinda Suck!
Snipe Yeomanson, Bjorn von Flapjack III and Yours Screwly played last night, and we were godlike geniuses, basically. Here’s our latest vid, directed by the brilliant Nick “The Knife” Nelson,…
‘Chuckles’ challenges secret(?) tax.
Conservative leader Andrew ‘Chuckles’ Scheer sent another letter to prime minister Justin Trudeau. He wants Justin to come clean on his secret tax. You know the one. It was the…
The Slaughterhouse Five #nlpoli
Coupled with comparable high rates of staff changes in the senior ranks of the public service, unprecedented staff turn-over in a critical part of Premier Dwight Ball’s office raise questions…
July 11: Keep an eye on Iran.
For much of the nineteenth century, Iran has been a democracy – if sometimes a limited one. Until right after World War Two, it was often a limited one –…
Election Prep – Lesson One
Are you ready for the upcoming election campaign? You’re going to hear more bullshit this year than you did last time and last time they really laid it on thick.…
Islamophobe and Racist Eric Brazau’s History of Violence
This might be a bit dated, but ARC just received some information that makes it relevant again. Back in July 2014, Eric Brazau entered a crowded subway car along with…
"Two Solitudes" – We’re At It Again
Donald Trump didn’t hesitate to boast “I love the poorly-educated.” They are, after all, disproportionately represented among his base. The same goes for Andrew Scheer, Dave Tkachuk, Jason Kenney and,…
Summer Break For Cowichan Conversations
Good morning, It is time for a summer break and I will be offline until September/October. I hope that you will be out in your gardens, down at the beach,…
Andrew Scheer Is Exposed As An Anti-Gay Bigot. Again
It's called "conversion therapy" It's a pseudo scientific practice that uses high pressure psychological techniques to try to turn gay people into straight ones.Some call it "pray away the gay"…