Covid Journal, April 5, 2020
Donald Trump continues to prove that he’s a villian to the planet. He’s trying to get 3M to cut off sales / supply of N95 masks to everyone but the…
2020
Public shut out of Working Group meetings on forest reserve consultation ‘to avoid potential disruption and increase productivity,’ minutes reveal
It took a freedom-of-information request to North Cowichan, but sixmountains.ca has finally obtained the official minutes of the first meeting of the citizens’ Working Group that is helping to guide…
Park Board launches Champions program to support physical distancing in parks, on beaches
Public safety is the highest priority of the Park Board and the public is being urged to adhere to the directives of staying 2 metres apart. Camil Dumont, Chair of…
The Politics of the Blockade by Devin Zane Shaw
I wrote this essay in late February 2020, in response to the state suppression of blockades across Canada. The blockades remain an important touchstone for militant politics, for it is…
Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Jim Stanford writes about the need for a new Marshall Plan to rebuild once we’ve won the fight against COVID-19: For many…
After the Pandemic
A face mask adorns a statue of St. Francis of Assisi in the town of San Fiorano in Italy. Photo by Marzio Toniolo. When people emerge from their homes after…
Canadian TV masterpiece “Schitt’s Creek” comes to an end…
Billboard promoting Schitt’s Creek this season I just want to write a quick shout-out to the great TV comedy Schitt’s Creek, which is coming to a series end this Tuesday…
A Constructive Proposal for the Moment
As our country and provinces respond to Covid-19, we’ve seen a heartening coming together by people from across party lines to tackle the problems that are coming each day. We’ve…
You need to wear a mask. Here’s how.
From the Washington Post. First, masks of any type help prevent the user from infecting others by acting as a physical barrier that will block large droplets from
Six Founding Principles Of Good Government
Or, Public Policy 101: Tax “Bads”, Not Goods Public policy, or government policy, should reflect certain basic principles. Let’s set out a few. Not everyone will agree, but polls repeatedly…
Straight Talk From Italy
Perhaps more people would obey the mandate to self-isolate if more politicians spoke like this: Recommend this Post
What Is Online Learning?
I have a lot of sympathy for those working in educational technology positions at schools and universities today because they have been thrust into the unenviable position of converting a…
Thank you, Philo T. Farnsworth
Cast of The Shield In this time of the Coronapocalypse, let us pause for a moment to salute one of the greatest men of history, a man who made this…
streaming follow-up: we need a universal watchlist app
On my recent post about streaming — five reasons streaming is still better than cable and etc. — I alluded to something towards the end of the post that I…
Why The Left Is Once Again Wrong
Also happening now, and further showing the continued failure of the left: the left is shouting in defence of payroll taxes – which kill jobs, as they are a…
Eating in quarantine: Chicken tacos with homemade flour tortillas
In the before times I didn’t do that much cooking outside the weekends. But now, with nothing but time on my hands I’m cooking all the time and trying some…
Cadet Bone Spurs
Donald Trump now refers to himself as a “wartime president.” That claim rings astonishingly hollow. Maureen Dowd writes: Donald Trump is trying to build a campaign message around his image…
Palm Sunday
Won’t be getting to Mass, for some reason, so I will do so right here at 10:00.
What was left under the rug?
There always comes that time when we have to look under the rug. Maybe we were just sending the rug out for cleaning but we can hardly ignore the detritus…
Some Perspective….
The current average world wide population increase is estimated at 81 million people per year, without COVID-19, we would expect 60 million global deaths in 2020, with a third or…