Stalin’s ghostly influence today
I recently finished reading the second volume of Stephen Kotkin’s magisterial biography of Josef Stalin: About 1,700 pages so far, with another 400 or so in small-type notes. Brilliant stuff,…
politics
“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…
Independant Media and the Canadian Budget
Today on Facebook I noticed a story about how the Trudeau government is creating “newspapers and websites deemed reliable.” That makes it sound like the government’s creating a serious official…
Mayor Tory asks the rhetorical.
Asking a question rather than making an accusation is another piece of equipment in the politician’s toolbox. Mayor John Tory of Toronto should be an expert at this form of…
How one Political Party Mocked Pro Global Warming Government
The current “conservative” government in Ontario hates the environment so much that they keep producing policies to increase Canada’s carbon output. Indeed, they’ve made it mandatory for gas stations to…
To the Rich Go the SpOILs
Oil and Gas don’t clean up their messes, we the Canadian citizen do. https://t.co/xaSJBNciJz — John Klein (@JohnKleinRegina) May 7, 2019 == Unrelated, the Bare Naked Ladies song $1000000 mentions…
The Politics of Conspiracy Theorists
Who knew? Populists have a ravenous appetite for conspiracy theories. You can feed those bastards just about anything and they’ll thrive on it. And people like Donald Trump would be…
Life After Warming
David Wallace-Wells’s book The Uninhabitable Earth starts out with a repetition of facts that won’t be news to anyone paying attention, but he has a lovely way with words. Four…
Meet The Neil Before Zodcast
I am so happy to announce the Neil Before Zodcast, Episode One – The One Where Neil Gets His Own Podcast (With Guest Lindsay Stamhuis). I talk about why I…
Like Rats Jumping a Sinking Ship
My class had a great conversation the other day about discrimination and W.E.B. DuBois’s “double consciousness.” I discussed the theory and solicited for comments, but there were none, as I…
British Columbia’s Carbon Pricing Works Well
British Columbia shows carbon pricing works while another province looks uselessly backwards. The regressive and antidemocratic Ontario “conservative” government is set to sue the Canadian government for protecting the environment.…
Coded language of the Yellow Vest Mission Statement
I wrote the following specifically for a conversation in a Facebook group, but I suspect that conversation might be deleted and I thought I’d like to share these thoughts here:…
On Anonymity and Neil Before Zod Sells Out!
This is the type of post that I usually criticize others for. The self congratulatory and self promoting media round up has now come to Political Potshots. It reminds me…
The Tony Clement Self Pity Tour And Peep Show
With the announcement that Tony Clement will not be seeking re-election in his riding of Parry Sound—Muskoka, it is time to revisit this story. In my opinion, Tony Clement was…
The Panama Papers Worked
Tax evasion is a problem in every country and it’s up to teams of investigative journalists to expose mass illegal international operations. A few years ago the Panama Papers exposed…
Loblaws Corruption Rewarded By Liberals, Conservatives Demand Their Chance
That $12 million in public funds that went to Canada’s second-richest family could have funded some needed and highly desired Indigenous-run renewable energy projects in the North: https://t.co/lpkdzCgMLt — Billy…
Have We Lost the Ability to Govern Ourselves?
It was October, 1980, and US elections were just a few days away. Ronald Reagan took to the airwaves and asked Americans “Are you better off than you were four…
73+ Reasons Why I March Against Doug Ford (Guest Post By The Girl Who Waited)
Doug Ford and his Conservative Government: Cancelled Ontario’s cap-and-trade system, that cost $3 billion in lost revenue according to Ontario’s fiscal watchdog. Fired Privatization Officer, Ed Clark. Fired Environment Commissioner,…
Disliking Liberals vs Disliking Conservatives
Christopher Bird explains what it’s like to be a reasonable Canadian observing Canadian political struggles of the largest 2 parties in their efforts to govern: I don’t particularly like Justin…
Bill 83 – Second Reading
Bill 83, An Act to proclaim a Day of Remembrance and Action on Islamophobia, passed Second Reading on April 4, 2019. Excerpts from the Hansard available here.