The welfare state and the American dream
The American founding fathers had a vision of a roughly equal society. At least for white people—others didn’t count in either the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. Equality was…
Bill Longstaff
ExxonMobil—good science and bad behaviour
Back in the dim past, society entered into a great debate about the health effects of cigarette smoking, a noxious habit I practiced myself for many years. There were always…
Davos and me (and some Conservatives)
In 1971, German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab founded the World Economic Forum (WEF). The Forum is funded primarily by its corporate members—typically global corporations—with some public subsidies, and guided…
Why this Albertan doesn’t want the feds to “butt out”
Our quasi-separatist premier insists that her infamous Alberta Sovereignty Act was all about forcing Ottawa to “butt out” of areas that constitutionally belong to Alberta. She has however been somewhat…
Rachel disappoints me
After Rachel Notley recently suggested Ottawa should trash its proposed “just transition” legislation, she was asked if her position might alienate her base. As someone who qualifies as a member…
Constitutional ramblings
Constitutions are in the news these days. More perhaps in Alberta than the rest of the country because of Premier Danielle Smith’s separatist manifesto the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United…
First the U.S., now Israel
2015 was a good year. May brought the “Orange Chinook.” After 44 years of Conservative rule, the longest-serving provincial government in Canadian history, the NDP won a close-fought election. Then…
Pierre is no ladies’ man
Angus Reid recently reported a survey of Canadians’ attitude towards our federal political leaders, and it was not good news for the Conservatives new head honcho Mr. Poilievre. While he…
The noble Nobels
The collapse of the Soviet Union, the “Evil Empire,” was perhaps the most welcome event of the latter part of the 20th century. Almost three hundred million people freed from…
England no longer a Christian nation
England is having its troubles these days. Economy in recession, a plague of strikes, living standards falling, highest inflation in 40 years, National Health Service on life support, millions can’t…
Et tu, AMLO?
I have often despaired at the way in which seemingly progressive leaders in Latin and South America show great initial promise and then drift into an autocracy not unlike their…
Homo sapiens—a hierarchical species
Observing the recent political shenanigans in Alberta one notes an intriguing pattern of human behaviour. During the recent competition for leader of the UCP, and therefore for premier of the…
Jason Kenney, a moderate?
During Jason Kenney’s reign over our province, I never thought of him as a particularly nice man. Actions like de-indexing the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped program from inflation…
Queen Danielle and the separatist coup
When Danielle Smith first proposed her sovereignty act, I assumed, naively, that she meant the sovereignty of Alberta. Now, after the act has been presented and has seen the light…
Xi puts women in their place
When President Xi Jinping introduced his Politburo Standing Committee at the 20th Communist party congress in Beijing, one thing stood out. Of the seven, none were women. Furthermore, of the…
The Earth groans
Tuesday, according to the United Nations, was eight billion day, i.e. the world’s population was projected to reach eight billion souls on November 15th. Even if you like people, and…
Gain Danielle Smith, lose Deena Hinshaw—not a fair exchange
On Monday Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, was in effect fired. Thus our new premier, Danielle Smith, kept a campaign promise. We get Danielle Smith, a conspiracy-spouting…
And after Putin?
Russian President Vladimir Putin is not happy in the modern world. A child of Soviet Communism and of that particular enthusiasm bred by service in the KGB, he prefers government…
U.S. voters (and conservatives) trash Trump
The Democrats are quite pleased with their showing in the U.S midterm elections. From where I sit, it doesn’t look quite that cheerful—they lost the House of Representatives and may…
Time to friend-shore?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently introduced a concept she referred to as “friend-shoring.” In her words, “Friend-shoring is the idea that countries that espouse a common set of values…