Why Don’t Politicians Like Democratic Participation?
Yesterday I opined on why democratic participation in our country is so muted, and offered two examples of what can be accomplished when people are willing to get involved. One…
democracy
No Debate… So What?
Rick Mercer rants against the erosion of public debate under the Harper Government® concerning various issues of the day and its paternalistic “My house, my rules” approach to enacting various…
Conservatives Don’t Hate Democracy, They Just Don’t Need It
In Canada our representatives are elected, our churches, charities, and businesses are not. Conservatives by their ideology believe that less power should be given to our democratically elected government and…
Labour leaders call on premiers to unite & defend healthcare
The open letter below was written to Canada’s Premiers from the Presidents of Provincial and Territorial Federations of Labour: An open letter to Canada’s Premiers: Labour leaders call on Premiers…
Our Mandate
“Well you know the Conservatives say, and we know the mantra those of us who have to sit through this every day in the House of commons, that Canadians gave…
Reflections on Activism
People keep saying that 2012 will be the year of protest in North America – the year when ordinary people rise up and demand better treatment from government elites. I’m…
Pink Herrings: Ethical (Sp)Oil and Pride (in Pipelines)
“Make a hard Right-turn at the Town of Wedgepolitics and keep going Straight until you’ve reached the City of Bigotry and Political Strategy.” Directions for Harper’s recent wedge-issue of choice,…
We Must Stop Stephen Harper and the 20% from Destroying Canada
There has been lots of discussion about how Stephen Harper’s majority only represents 40% of voters because of the way our electoral system works. But, in reality, his agenda has…
Ethical Oil and the Northern Gateway Pipeline Process
This piece is cross-posted from the Toronto Star’s Op-Ed Page. This week the “ethical oil” argument adopted by the federal government took an interesting twist. While billions from China pour…
Enbridge Gateway JRP Hearings Broadcast (Kitimat/Kitamaat) – January 10, 2011
Hi! My name is Tia! I’m a radical, eco-terrorist, and enemy of the state now! Whee! (This is almost as random as the people Harper appointed to the senate the…
Better Know a Flake
Give it up to the good folks in New Hampshire who last month actually staged a serious 2 hour-long C-SPAN forum for “lesser known candidates” running for President of the…
Day Three of Tragedy of the Market: From Crisis to Commons
Tragedy of the Market: From Crisis to Commons January 6-8, 2012 Vancouver/Burnaby All panelist biographies are here. Below are some lessons learned and observations from the sessions. Friday: The opening…
Day Two of Tragedy of the Market: From Crisis to Commons
Tragedy of the Market: From Crisis to Commons January 6-8, 2012 Vancouver/Burnaby All panelist biographies are here: Below are some lessons learned and observations from the sessions. Friday: The opening…
Opening Panel from the Tragedy of the Market: From Crisis to Commons
This weekend I attended Tragedy of the Market: From Crisis to Commons community gathering in Vancouver and Burnaby, sponsored by these groups and people. The basic premise is not so…
A good day for democracy in Montana
One of the biggest blows against democracy in American history occurred in 2010 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Citizens United case that government could not place limits…
On “fascism” in the U.S.
Paul Street on why the U.S. is not a “fascist” state: Even if real historical fascism could be translated across times and place to the modern U.S. it would be…
Why Canadians Want The Worst Politics Of America
Canadians would support our own political institutions if we didn’t idealize worse ones. The last few years have offered an incredible contrast in politics between what interests Canadians and what…
Liberals & Conservatives, Two Halves of One Party
Are the BC Liberals a coalition of federal Conservatives and Liberals or are the Conservatives and Liberals just a federal party not yet united? There’s an answer to that question…