A recent article in The New York Times took me back to the latter decades of the 20th century and the debates over free trade agreements. The 1988 federal election was fought over the issue and the free-trade side led by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney won the day. A free
Continue readingTag: Democratic Party
Views from the Beltline: Finally—Democrats romance the working class
Early in the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign, Donald Trump was the subject of much mockery. No way this buffoon could win said the pundits. Michael Moore, left-wing rabble-rouser and and film-maker, disagreed. To put it in his words, “This wretched, ignorant, dangerous part-time clown and full time sociopath is
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: U.S. voters (and conservatives) trash Trump
The Democrats are quite pleased with their showing in the U.S midterm elections. From where I sit, it doesn’t look quite that cheerful—they lost the House of Representatives and may yet lose the Senate. Nonetheless, the prediction was for the usual midterm result which is a drubbing for the president’s
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Make America fair again?
The United States is the most unequal of the advanced countries. By far. And it’s getting worse. The ratio of the average income of the richest 10 percent to the poorest 10 percent in the U.S. is 18.5 whereas for most Western countries it’s closer to ten. (Canada’s is 9.4.)
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The difference between a Democrat and a Republican
One of the brightest lights to appear recently on the stage of American politics is the absolutely delightful Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Bright, charming, compassionate and—I have to say it—gorgeous, the Democratic Representative from New York brings a touch of polish to a tarnished democracy. And then there is her polar opposite
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Gary Mar on Keystone XL: Likely the only guy who can save Jason Kenney’s Keystone XL pipe-dream is Justin Trudeau
It may not quite be impossible for Jason Kenney to see his dream of completing the Keystone XL Pipeline to the U.S. Gulf Coast on his watch come true, but it will be almighty difficult with Democrat Joe Biden in the White House. What’s more, if the project is to
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: Requiem for a Fascist Clown
In a fitting end to four years of chaos, bigotry, and wilful aversion to the truth, Donald Trump is refusing to accept the results of the election that he lost, surprising no one. His campaign has filed lawsuits in multiple states, seeking to overturn, or at least forestall, Joe Biden’s
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: Requiem for a Fascist Clown
In a fitting end to four years of chaos, bigotry, and wilful aversion to the truth, Donald Trump is refusing to accept the results of the election that he lost, surprising no one. His campaign has filed lawsuits in multiple states, seeking to overturn, or at least forestall, Joe Biden’s
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The morning after the night before: Meet America’s Alexander Lukashenko, Donald J. Trump
If what is happening in the United States were taking place in another country, the American foreign policy and media establishment would now be denouncing the behaviour of President Donald Trump as that of a tyrant. As is well known, Mr. Trump did better than the polls had suggested he
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: Globe and Mail Letter
Clifford Orwin argues in a Globe and Mail op-ed that both Republicans and Democrats are behaving hypocritically in their fight over filling the Supreme Court vacancy before the election. In today’s Letters section, I concisely defend the Democrats’ approach: It does not seem like hypocrisy for U.S. Senate Democrats to
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: Globe and Mail Letter
Clifford Orwin argues in a Globe and Mail op-ed that both Republicans and Democrats are behaving hypocritically in their fight over filling the Supreme Court vacancy before the election. In today’s Letters section, I concisely defend the Democrats’ approach: It does not seem like hypocrisy for U.S. Senate Democrats to
Continue readingAlberta Politics: We have met the enemy and he is us — Alberta in the midst of a climate damn emergency
VICTORIA — The world is waking up to the fact the climate emergency is, well, an emergency. This certainly isn’t good news for Alberta, although, perversely, it may be good news in the short term of the United Conservative Party of Premier Jason Kenney and governments like his in other
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Sins of Assange
“Assange’s arrest represents an abuse of power, highlighting not only how true journalism has now been banished in the West, but also how politicians, journalists, news agencies and think-tanks collude with each other to silence people like Julian Assange and his Wikileaks foundation who are a nuisance to US imperialism.
Continue readingWarren Kinsella: It’s Super Tuesday!
Look who dropped by Daisy Group early this morning! Mayor Pete’s endorsed him! Beto’s endorsed him! Amy’s endorsed him! And he’s received more Democratic votes than anyone else! As some of y’all know, I’ve been supporting Joe for a long time – Hell, I supported him back to 2008, when
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta discourse may still be mired in climate change denial, but the rest of the world is moving on
Public discourse in Alberta may still be mired in climate change denial, but the rest of the world is changing and changing fast. Even the New York Times, which along with much of the mainstream media in the United States could be accused until recently of seriously underplaying the climate
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Why are Conservative-run Canadian provinces turning down federal cash? The answer’s in the Republican playbook
When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau observed back on April 16 that the Ontario provincial government led by Premier Doug Ford was throwing roadblocks in the way of Ontario municipalities accessing federal money for needed transportation infrastructure, Conservatives responded with angry denials, and not just in Ontario. The prime minister had
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Andrew Sheer would let Canadians rot in foreign jails before giving up an electoral edge!
I rarely paid much attention to John McCallum during his years as a federal Liberal cabinet minister under three prime ministers and, on the few occasions I did, he never left much of an impression one way or the other. But I was shocked last week both by the specious
Continue readingThe Democrats Reinvigorate Their Party and American Democracy
While there is much to despair about American democracy these days, there are also rays of hope, at least in the Democratic Party. If I had been an American during the 2016 election, I would have been an unhappy voter. Obviously, I couldn’t vote for the buffoon, but Hillary Clinton
Continue readingAlberta Politics: RCMP raid on UCP candidate’s business, polling trends, hordes of advance voters wind up the Internet
Alberta’s Internet was in a furious swivet last night. There seemed to be something to wind everyone up as we enter the final stretch of a provincial election both sides have characterized as an epochal event sure to seal the fate of the province if it goes the wrong way.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: UCP leadership campaign reveals ‘how an aggressive campaign could hijack online votes,’ U.S. journalist writes
Digital-election-theft allegations swirling around the 2017 United Conservative Party leadership campaign should be a sharp warning for the U.S. Democratic Party, which plans to use similar technology in some of its 2020 presidential primary races, says an American journalist who specializes in covering election technology and democratic issues. While a
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