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…
democracy
Insanity From The White House
American voters foolishly chose a fascist dictator for their President, and now everyone is going to suffer. The Orange Menace is attacking Canada, and others, so we’ll have to retaliate.…
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.
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,…
Monday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week.- Ryan Meili discusses how we should define Canada as a country through an ethic of care - rather than through opposition to any foreign…
Economic and cultural sanctions needed
I won't post again on the platform owned by today's lead promoter of fascism. Only psychopaths aim to revive a movement responsible for a conflict that left more than 50…
Christy Clark is a Damn Liar Like Many Conservatives
And she’s not good enough of a liar to be Prime Minister of Canada. There’s she’s caught lying about being a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. You know…
Ten Ways to Fix American Democracy
American democracy (such as it is) suffered a blow last month with the election of clownish demagogue Donald Trump. But that is no reason to wallow in despair. A country’s…
Trump’s Tariffs
Yesterday Trump threatened, "'On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL…
New and Improved Propaganda Machines
We carry propaganda machines in our pockets. Propaganda isn't just to misinform, but to distract us and exhaust the capacity for critical thinking. When you're struggling to decide between 25…
Democracy, taken for granted and less valued
While BC voters moved to the right in October, the voting pattern was not substantially different than in earlier times. The same cannot be said for the USA. More than…
The end of the republic?
Did the American people just vote, in a free and fair election, to terminate their... The post The end of the republic? first appeared on Views from the Beltline.
Was the 2024 US Presidential election irrelevant? Yes and no.
Was the 2024 US Presidential election irrelevant? Yes and no. If Trump and Kennedy do end the war in Ukraine, as promised, that will be a giant victory, because it…
Why I Dislike Ranked Ballot Voting & Why I Support It
After four years studying Political Science at Laurentian University and over thirty years working for the House of Commons I tended to approach electoral reform more as a political scientist…
It is crucial that Harris win but defeating Trump is not enough
It is crucial that Harris defeat Trump in today’s election. A Trump victory would be a disaster, a Harris victory a reprieve. Will Harris be able to build on and…
Is Trump intimidating the press?
Quite a list of American publications, including The New York Times, Boston Globe, Seattle Times,... The post Is Trump intimidating the press? first appeared on Views from the Beltline.
It Can’t Happen Here
About 90 years ago Sinclair Lewis wrote his novel, It Can’t Happen Here. It’s uncanny. In the novel “Buzz” Windrip, a senator, a showman, a demagogue, a conman wins the…
Post election comments
The NDP holds one more seat in the Legislature than the BC Conservatives. David Eby will continue as Premier by depending on support from Rob Botterall and Jeremy Valeriote, two…
The 3.5% Rule
One of the persistent reactions to Breaking Free of Neoliberalism has been doubt that big change – the kind of change the book clearly hopes for – is possible, in…
The Good Life: we have the vision – what’s lacking is the will
When the 2007-2008 financial crisis hit, a loud chorus of pundits and politicians, for what turned out to be the briefest moment, came to see that we had got it…