Freedom Is Fundamental
There is a great deal of noise and commotion, fighting and fussing, conflict and division, in many areas and many regards, over how people should live. Valuing freedom, in practice…
LGBT
Glen and the Greens
I first took note of Glen Murray when he was mayor of Winnipeg. I was active in my community in inner city Calgary and Murray seemed to share my sense…
The bad faith “debate” about trans human rights
Recently, the National Post published a discussion that I engaged in with Jonathan Kay. I participated in that because it was an opportunity to provide a counterpoint for readers who…
The Conscience Chronicles
UPDATE: As this was being readied for posting, the Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members’ Public Bills voted to recommend that Bill 207 not move forward in its…
On “Unalienable” Human Rights
Screen capture, launch of the Commission on Unalienable Rights On Monday, July 8th, the U.S. State Department announced the launch of a Commission on Unalienable Rights, which is intended to…
“Unthinkable”
American religious conservatives have a problem. Riding high on their partnerships with the Trump administration and the perception of being political kingmakers, they need to be sure that they will…
Saturday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your weekend reading. – Jay Shambaugh, Ryan Nunn, and Lauren Bauer discuss the need for U.S. law and policy to adapt to protect independent workers who have…
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Dana Brown and Thomas Hanna discuss the possibility of a public option for access to medication in the U.S. And while the…
Free Speech, When The “Debate” is You (and You’re Not Invited)
Shout: “Help, I’m being silenced!” There’s a duplicitous game of sleight-of-hand that is taking place in discussions about freedom of speech in academia and the public square. Here’s how it…
Jason Kenney and the Ghastly Cheerleader Margaret Wente
He's the shiny bigot balloon of Alberta, the new leader of that province's United Conservative Party.And although he is widely despised by most decent Canadians, Jason Kenney does have one…
Leadership 2017 Platform Analysis – Jagmeet Singh
Having once expressed my concern that Jagmeet Singh would use his front-runner status as a means to avoid releasing much policy, I’ll again note that he’s instead offered up a…
Leadership 2017 Links
The latest from the federal NDP’s leadership campaign. – Bruce Anderson and David Coletto take a look at public perceptions of Canada’s political parties. And the relatively small differences in…
Gospel By Gaslight
If gaslighting is “a form of manipulation that seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or members of a group, hoping to make targets question their own…
Trans* Human Rights Bill C-16: A Look Back
Although I’ll be remarking on the passing of Bill C-16 elsewhere, I wanted to post Bill Siksay’s closing speech from February 7, 2011, back when the bill was in its…
Intolerance-inspired effort to defund Pride Toronto thwarted
The City of Toronto just thwarted an attempt by some right-wing councillors to force the city to pull its $260,000 grant to Pride Toronto, the non-profit organizer of the annual…
Desmond Cole, the Toronto Star and Another Existential Crisis for Professional Journalism
DISCLOSURE: I worked as a mainstream news reporter between 2003 and 2012. I see this as a two-fold issue; firstly, actions and secondly, words. I’ll consider both briefly and then…
What the “Walk on the Wild Side” controversy says about trans* awareness and a changing social movement
A little over a week ago, a University of Guelph student union drew international ire for condemning Lou Reed’s 1972 song “Walk on the Wild Side” as transphobic. This occurred…
Pitting “identity politics” against class struggle is backwards, and the path to self-defeat
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that one of the first things America’s political left would do during the 2016 election post-mortem is to attack minority groups like trans* people,…
Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Owen Jones highlights the toxic stress and other health problems borne disproportionately by members of the LGBT community who face systematic discrimination.…
Orlando shooting: Is there a link between being in the closet and being homophobic?
This research-based piece discusses the possibility that Orlando shooter Omar Mateen was motivated by a struggle with his own homosexuality, Islam and parental pressure. The post Orlando shooting: Is there…