The ghost of Bible Bill Haunts us still
In the late ’30s and early ’40s Alberta’s premier was the colourful William Aberhart, known as “Bible Bill” for his bible studies classes and radio sermons. Founder of the Social…
Bill Longstaff
Inhabiting the Radical Middle
While I take an active interest in politics, and have always been a member of a political party (sometimes two), I no longer get directly involved in election campaigns. My…
Ed Whittingham seeks energy/environment middle ground
Alberta lives with two conflicting facts: first, humanity is faced with its greatest crisis ever—global warming—caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels; and second, humanity will have to rely…
Are U.S. capitalists going soft?
The aristocracy of American capitalism can be found on the membership list of the Business Roundtable. The Roundtable, one of Washington’s top lobbyists, includes among its 193 members the chief…
I Vote CBC
Well informed citizens are essential to a healthy democracy. In ancient Athens, usually considered the first democracy, citizens who wanted to hear the latest news and views went down to…
Too Big to Fail—A Sound Idea?
So the Ethics Commissioner has slapped the Prime Minister’s wrist, stating in his report I found that Mr. Trudeau used his position of authority over Ms. Wilson‑Raybould to seek to…
Trump/Netanyahu vs. Omar/Tlaib
Why are these two so frightening to these two?
Please, No Excuses for Maduro
In the early days after the Russian revolution, leftists would visit the country in order to view this experiment in collectivist society. They would be welcomed, given the grand tour…
Waeza Shamsia Afzal, U.S. Evangelicals, and the corruption of dogma
Reading about the courageous young Canadian woman Waeza Shamsia Afzal carried my thoughts to American evangelical Christians and their worship of Donald Trump. The connection is religion. Ms. Afzal is…
The state, not the private sector, invented the modern economy
I read an article in The Economist a while ago that insisted the state should constrain itself to providing basic services and otherwise stay out of the economy. That is,…
The surreallity of life in Alberta
Living in Alberta, I sometimes get the feeling I live in a place shifted a few degrees off centre from reality. For example, in the real world we are faced…
Trump is no Substitute for Unions
The major reason Donald Trump was elected to the job he is manifestly unfit for was his appeal to electors in the Rust Belt states. These states had seen a…
Is Andrew Scheer in the closet about Quebec sovereignty?
Not being a conservative, I disagree with most of Andrew Scheer’s pronouncements, but they rarely surprise me. One, however, surprised me very much. Indeed, I was surprised that any Anglophone…
Environmental destruction—more than a war crime?
The UN’s International Law Commission currently has on its agenda an item concerned with protecting the environment in times of war. The commission has drawn up 28 draft principles, the…
Calgary and the hockey barons
On November 18th of last year, Calgary held a plebiscite which attracted an impressive 305,000 voters. The question on the ballot was whether or not the city would host the…
A tar sands story
Canadian Natural Resources, Canada’s largest oil and gas producer, has set an ambitious goal regarding greenhouse gas emissions. It has announced that by applying advanced technology, including carbon capture and…
Religious Tolerance on the Decline
Quebec’s Bill 21 which bans public teachers, police officers, government lawyers and other authority figures from wearing religious symbols at work has met vigorous criticism. Its critics claim it violates…
Britain has bullied Iran for centuries
Britain’s imperial designs on Iran go back at least to the Great Game with Russia over control of trade routes through central Asia in the 19th century. Indeed, Iran’s southern…
Democracy Needs Gatekeepers
When the Internet arrived and then computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee unleashed the world wide web, a paradise of communication loomed. Now everyone could have access to all the world’s knowledge.…
The ungrateful species
I consider myself fortunate beyond words for my opportunity to experience life on this planet. I am here for a mere moment in the vast expanse of both time and…