the post of orphaned notes
Like many writers, especially those of us who grew up before the digital age, I keep a notebook. I use it to capture ideas, capture thoughts about I’m reading, take…
history
what i’m reading: beaten down, worked up: the past, present, and future of american labor
Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past, Present, and Future of American Labor by Steven Greenhouse is exactly what the subtitle says: a history and analysis of the rise, decline, and…
africans were involved in the slave trade. why do you think that matters?
The statement If you are exposed to any bigoted, right-wing media or social media — whether by misfortune, sport, or a delusion that you must counter their arguments — and…
Settler forgetting in Saulnierville: the Sipekne’katik Mi’kmaw fishery as reminder
By Mercedes Peters One of the first things you’re taught when you’re training to be a historian in Canada is that Canadians have a memory problem. It can be a…
On Sir John A. MacDonald, Conservatives, Vergangenheitsbewältigung and Working Through Canadian History: the Approach Conservatives should take to Canada’s past
I believe that History matters. History matters because it teaches us how to be better. History provides us with the very best and worst lessons of what people are capable…
The Failure of Propaganda, The Crisis of Legitimacy, and The Resort to Fascism
The propaganda is hitting Goebbels level, it is getting that obvious and stark. The elite are losing the propaganda war – hence, the increasingly shrill and panicked, desperate measures. Keep…
"fine. biden. but this is bullshit."
I’ve said before and I’ll say it again: Donald Trump is the single greatest gift the Democratic Party could ever hope to receive. The Democrats have finally achieved their most…
The War On Democracy
(Comment below after listening to the most important three minutes of info you are likely to hear in decades, or have likely ever heard. Noam Chomsky on The Crisis Of…
Lessons from History
It is common practice to look back and conflate the events of the past with those of the present, seeking parallels, resonance, and answers from previous events that help explain…
the deadliest organized-crime and terrorist enterprise in the history of humanity: the catholic church
In the entire history of human beings on this planet, has there ever been a criminal enterprise more devastating — to as many people, over as long a period of…
Little House on the Prairie Books and the Problem of Messy History.
It is a perennial questions in homeschool circles, whether one should read the Little House on the Prairie books with one’s kids or whether the racism in it makes those…
wmtc "what i’m reading" posts to celebrate black august 2020
I thought Black August was something newly created by Black Lives Matter, but it turns out it has existed since the 1970s. I’m sorry I haven’t heard about it sooner,…
rotd: love and labor in alliance
Revolutionary thought of the day: Wherever capitalism appears, in pursuit of its mission of exploitation, there will be socialism, fertilized by misery, watered by tears, and vitalized by agitation. It…
The truth about history
What is historical truth? To get at the truth of history, we must know it and we must understand it, and these are two very different things. We can know…
Who Are The CIA?
Who are the CIA? This will tell you everything you need to know. Here’s where things really started to go wrong: 1947, the National Security Act, which created the National…
john lewis and c.t. vivian, rest in power
What a sad and moving coincidence, that two great freedom fighters died on the same day. I chose these photos as a reminder that doing the right thing may involve…
what i’m reading: political graphic nonfiction: this place: 150 years retold
This Place: 150 Years Retold, foreward by Alicia Elliott. In keeping with my posts about political graphic nonfiction, here is a quote from This Place. The book is an anthology…
essential reading on anti-racism: "we can’t tinker around the edges. we need to dismantle systems."
During the current focus on systemic racism, this is likely the best essay I’ve read. It’s written in a US context, but it applies to Canada, both for Indigenous people…
rest in power, larry kramer
We activists like to paraphrase the legendary labour activist Joe Hill by saying “First mourn, then organize”. Larry Kramer, who died yesterday at the age of 84, defined the phrase.…