When Senator Richard Blumenthall asked U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett the simple question “Do you believe that human beings have caused global warming?”you might think this highly-educated woman…
As I post pearls of wisdom on my blog, including righteous criticism about this country’s follies, I rarely stop to think how fortunate I am to be able to do…
I have read so many articles about banks and investment firms high-tailing it away from oil recently, I hardly pay attention when another crops up in the news. Nonetheless, I…
In 2016, most Americans voted for Hillary Clinton. They got President Donald Trump. Republicans represent fewer citizens than Democrats, yet they have controlled the Senate for more than half of…
All those years ago when I earned my keep in the oil patch, I was fortunate to toil for Shell Canada. I was paid well, enjoyed generous benefits and excellent…
As a committed democrat, I would dearly love to be able to convince doubters of democracy’s superiority by pointing to its leaders. And in the past that has often been…
Sometimes you just have to take a stand. Enough is enough. Throughout its long history, the magazine Scientific American has kept to science and left politics to the politicians. No…
Alberta is the land of oil and gas, right? And of cowboys and rodeos. And mountains and skiing. No surprises there. But here’s a surprise. It’s also the land of…
According to a 13-nation survey by the Pew Research Center, the reputation of the U.S. has hit a record low. Significantly, the survey covered key American allies and partners, including…
Some surprising results in an Angus Reid survey of Albertans this week. The UCP and the NDP are tied in voter support, each at 38 percent. This is quite a…
In the 1967 film “The Graduate,” young Benjamin Braddock (played by Dustin Hoffman), fresh out of college, is taken aside by a middle-aged neighbour at a cocktail party and offered…
Reading The Guardian last week, two articles captured my attention. Set side by side were “A ‘tyrant-clown’ has destroyed my love affair with America” by Robert McCrum and “‘Chairman Xi’…
Guy Smith, president of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), sees a disturbing trend in the province. He suggests that, under the rule of Jason Kenney and his UCP,…
In times of economic crisis, an old but good idea to maintain employment is revived. COVID has brought just such a revival. With unemployment in the UK expected to rise…
Our premier and I come at politics from such different angles, it always comes as a surprise to me when I find myself agreeing with him. But sometimes I do.…
A recent Pew Research Center survey of 14 advanced countries indicated that most people (a median of 73 percent) believe their country has done a good job of dealing with…
Every Canadian concerned about the quality of democracy in this country frets about the inability of our electoral system to do the thing it exists for—create a government that represents…
Of all the damage that Donald Trump has managed to do in the last four years, the most serious is his assault on the environment. Aside from pulling his country…
According to the Global Footprint Network, August 22nd was Earth Overshoot Day. The day “marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds…
Seventy-five years ago yesterday, at 8:15 in the morning, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. The fireball charred every human being within two kilometre…
