From time immemorial it has been understood that when there is a crisis, or in the aftermath of one, leaders are expected to be there to provide hope, offer comfort, demonstrate understanding, and show they are in control. Pierre Trudeau, the 15th prime minister of Canada, admired, even if not
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THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Quitting Time: A PM’s Resignation Has Lessons for Caregivers
Yesterday I learned that Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand who led her country for the past five years, resigned unexpectedly. In an emotional statement, she said, “I am human, politicians are human. We give all that we can for as long as we can. And then it’s time. And
Continue readingScripturient: Debunking Poilievre’s Freedom Myth
If you listen to Pierre Poilievre, the leading — and rightmost — candidate for the Conservative Party’s leadership, Canada is a dictatorship suffering under the thumb of the tyrant, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. To escape from the authoritarian rule of the Liberals, Poilievre (aka Skippy) promises to make us “the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Lauren Pelley and Adam Miller discuss the reality that Canada has never seen its previous COVID wave fully recede even as a new one looms, while the Ottawa Citizen asks people to exercise the responsibility and judgment that’s sorely lacking from their
Continue readingScripturient: Signs, Signs, Everywhere There’s Signs
The Town of Collingwood’s Facebook page has a post that shows photos of our council members grinning at the camera while holding a piece of paper with a word handwritten above a printed text. I am not aware that this bit of self-promotion has been covered in any local media
Continue readingScripturient: Conservatives Eat Their Own
So the alt-right segment of the Conservative Party dumped Erin O’Toole, its latest leader, for being too moderate. Too much like a human, methinks, and that made him vulnerable. The alt-right members are dragging the party into the Repugnican side of politics: an authoritarian, pseudo-Christian, racist, and separatist/libertarian ideology. The
Continue readingScripturient: Yet More Disrespect From Madigan
NB: This is a repost from Dec. 9, 2021. See below. Last year, I wrote about how Councillor Bob “Lapdog” Madigan had behaved in a churlish, misogynistic manner towards female members of council during open council meetings, first in March, 2021, and again in October. But if you thought the boorish
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Dealing With Lemmings, and The Delusional
“Never underestimate the power of denial.” – American Beauty” Cowards can never be moral.” – Gandhi “The world is a dangerous place, not because evil people do terrible things, but because millions of people let them.” – Einstein “Just because you bury your head in the sand, doesn’t mean the
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Do You Want To Be An Ape, Or A Lion? On Alphas and The Sociology Of Delusion
This video/talk (linked below) expresses the social psychology underlying the deep, global crisis of legitimacy which the ruling elite are now facing. Kudos for that. However, it also reveals an utter ignorance of anthropology (see Eisler, Gimbutas, and Bookchin), and it expresses support for an obsolete social model based on
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Leader vs Influencers: A Case Study Of Elon Musk
Top influencers does not equate to real leaders. Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin and Mao were top influencers, and they were all deranged. As for content of contribution, Musk’s boaring project misses the point, as do electric cars: we need decentralization and the slashing of shipping distances as an ecologically urgent top
Continue readingScripturient: Council: Disarray, Disunited, Disrespectful
Chris Pott’s latest blog post, titled “Council in Major Disarray” captures in part the stumbling, bumbling, and fumbling in-fighting that has become endemic in our council and is now on view for the public’s entertainment. Potts writes: Collingwood, when council starts fighting amongst themselves, you know we are in trouble.
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Religion, Politics and Leadership.
The admonition to never bring religion and politics into a conversation is a lot of B.S. They are two very interesting subjects and they are ever present in our daily lives—not only in Canada but around the world. In some countries, the subjects of religion and politics are the same
Continue readingScripturient: Why Master Sun Matters Today
Master Sun was a wise man. So wise that his famous treatise, The Art of War (aka The Art of Warfare), has been read, written about, critiqued, and discussed for roughly 2,400 years. It has been used as a model of strategy and leadership for the military, for business, romance,
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Pick your battles.
If you want to win, in war or in politics, you pick the battles you can win. Losers fight any battle that comes along. It is the problem facing the major opposition parties in the coming election. It is a special problem for conservative leader Erin O’Toole. He is between
Continue reading52 Ideas: And the World moves on…. (or why Alberta needs to pay attention to the way other people are getting their energy)
When I was a child, I was privileged in that I got to travel to Jamaica and Barbados to see my relatives. The trips were amazing; and, each time I went down, I learned more about the Caribbean. At some point, in the 1980s and 1990s, my education about my
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: The solidarity of the right.
Is Erin O’Toole a fool? The conservative leader would not be so stupid as to reject the support of the extreme right of the conservative party? Yet we read that he does not think he needs them. It was that kind of thinking that enabled Preston Manning to create the
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: O’Toole’s new hue of blue.
Erin O’Toole, the new conservative party leader brought a new hue of blue to parliament on his late arrival. Delayed by covid-19, the conservative leader brought a new approach to the minority parliament. Where catcalls and rudeness have prevailed for so long, the new leader brought reason, conciliation and understanding.
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Cynicism & Hope
I firmly believe in the fundamental importance of freedom of speech. Without it, freedom dies, and democracy is impossible. I don’t believe in censorship, because censorship always leads to tyranny. But if there were ever a single book worthy of burning, I’d say it is Lord of the Flies. What
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Elon Musk & The Limits of Genius
“We don’t have heroes anymore. We have people who are known for their knownness.” Having no heroic public figures left, we resort to worshipping people who are merely well-known, simply because they are well-known. What idiocy! I overstated the matter here, as I studiously avoid doing in general, to make
Continue readingBabel-on-the-Bay: Leadership and legacies.
This was prodded by a reader. He asked me to search my mind for leaders of Canada’s federal parties and determine what I would consider their legacy to the country. It was a somewhat disappointing search. While hardly a recent leader, I started with Sir John A. Macdonald. It is
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