Demagoguery
On the information platform Medium, Jack Dallaire describes himself: "Former tech CEO turned journalist-in-training. Psychology degree holder with a mission to uncover how tech giants are shaping a digital dystopia."…
Norman Farrell
Be the People…
Michael James is a widely published journalist who lives in New York. He posted the following on Facebook and I think it is worth repeating.
Carbon taxes examined
Reading comments on social media and listening to statements by certain politicians, it is apparent that carbon taxes are often misunderstood. These impositions are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions…
What’s a billion?
If a Canadian were to put aside C$500 a week, it would take more than 38,331 years to accumulate a billion dollars, and more than 21 million years to accumulate…
Should I smite them?
In 2000, James M. Kauffman forwarded a satirical letter circulating the Internet, addressed to conservative talk-show host, Dr. Laura Schlessinger. As a result, he became entangled in the raging controversies…
Democracy is at risk… everwhere!
PhD historian Giordano Nanne wrote that his main focus was "comparative colonialism in the 19th-century British Empire; and more specifically, settler-colonialism in Australia." Nanni's focus may have shifted because he…
In hurting others, we hurt ourselves
Trump and his conservative supporters aim to hurt people who seem different from themselves. In the end, they will hurt us all.
Threats to North American democracy are real and unprecedented
I have observed and studied politics for more than sixty years. I have never been as worried about the fragility of democracy and I am convinced it is at risk…
In 2025, we need a vaccine against stupidity
In the summer of 1950, parents kept their children indoors for fear of a devastating and contagious virus: polio. That year alone, more than 33,000 Americans fell victim to the…
Sabotage, not reform
Poilievre has been heartily endorsed by Elon Musk and Trump promoter Megyn Kelly. To people on the far-right, those are meaningful endorsements. To humane conservatives, centrists, and progressives, any government…
After a record in 2024, 2025 starts with temperatures in new record territory
January 2025 beat the prior record set in January 2024 by a sizable margin... An unexpected record to start things off may presage higher temperatures this year than many of…
Sign the Pledge for Canada
Previous generations have fought to protect our democracy and made sacrifices to build the Canada we inherited. This now our time.
Wood fibre insulation — performance-competitive, renewable, carbon-negative product
PBS show This Old House had a segment involving an idle paper mill on Maine's Kennebec River, a site now used to manufacture wood-based insulation. TimberHP is the first wood…
Nothing Left anymore, right turns only
I have never liked the left-right, straight line concept of a political spectrum. I prefer to think of a u-shaped curve that moves from progressive to reactionary, with extremes of…
Theatre of the absurd
Who runs the Capital Regional District? Only 24 Board members. All politicians! Perfect! What could possibly go wrong?
Corporate fun and games
This situation involving the collection industry amuses me, but there is a serious issue here. Some elderly citizens have their capacity for self-protection diminish as time passes. Extortionate collectors know…
Terrifying descent into authoritarianism, racism, and cruelty
Rather than speaking truth to power, legacy media have become stenographers with amnesia, hiding the truth through the use of anodyne adjectives, convoluted phrasing and buried leads. In some cases,…
Gifted lifter of political veils and pretenses
A decade ago, the New York Times included American cartoonist Jen Sorensen on a short list of the "most gifted lifters of political veils and pretenses." Her work might be…
Pro tem PM?
An interesting commentary about the next Liberal leader arrived in my inbox from David Graham, a former member of Parliament, political staffer and journalist. Mr. Graham says only two Liberal…
Smile
SCTV, Canada’s best ever comedy series?