I’ve written extensively and in depth, for decades, in two published books and over a thousand published articles, with tens of thousands of references, on the rapidly shifting state of the world, the causes and major factors and historical unfolding of these changes, what it all means and entails, and
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Writings of J. Todd Ring: Yo, Podcasters! Read This.
An excellent, important video was the inspiration for this short post (linked here, below) from a generally lackluster podcast. The musings arising after watching the video, however, I would say are even more important. The podcast host asked for video ideas at the end of his presentation. Here is my
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: 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 don’t often see one. It was a chance to challenge some of the distortions and misinformation that have been circulating
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: “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 be able to sustain their momentum for years to come. And with the newly-stacked U.S. Supreme Court making the overturn
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: 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 works: at first, a person fishes for controversy by saying several things that they know will offend people. If this
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Spin, illustrated #nlpoli
Spin is a bit more than a mere biased interpretation or a clever reframing of an idea. In other words, there’s more to it than saying the glass is half full rather than describing it as half empty. Spin is deliberately deceptive. On Wednesday, the folks at Nalcor announced they
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Free speech, and the cruel shackles of empathy and mutual respect
In Canada, we tend to value freedom of speech very highly, and it’s often said that the best way to counter objectionable speech is with more speech. That’s the first thought that crosses my mind in the case of U of T professor Jordan Peterson, who declares in a series
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: CNN lies, distorts, while its own polls tell the truth: Bernie won the debate
CNN’s own polls show Bernie Sanders won the Democratic presidential debate last night, Tuesday, October 13, 2015, hands down. When CNN polled, and asked “Who won the debate?” 83% of people said Bernie Sanders. 83%. Yet, CNN headlines are splashing the big, bold message, Hillary wins debate by landslide. Can
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Conscience, Human Rights, and a Kentucky Clerk
So inevitably, a blog that’s all about religious freedom would need to comment on the ongoing troubles of Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, and her stand against issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. I didn’t want to rush on that right away, because I wanted to do so thoughtfully, and dig
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Conscience, Human Rights, and a Kentucky Clerk
So inevitably, a blog that’s all about religious freedom would need to comment on the ongoing troubles of Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, and her stand against issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. I didn’t want to rush on that right away, because I wanted to do so thoughtfully, and dig
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On full information
Michael Harris’ latest is well worth a read in offering a guide to avoiding the worst consequences of election-year spin. But it’s worth noting that his most important advice is only presented as an afterthought: Final note on street-proofing your vote? Inform yourself. Look at what the people who want
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Danger and Delusion: From ISIS to Ebola
There are very real dangers in the world, but let’s not lose all perspective. Perspective is everything. Don’t believe the hype. It must be stated directly: the majority of people have wildly irrational, and frankly delusional modes of thinking when it comes to risk assessment. And of course, pre-formed, unreflective
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Sodom: Review of a Russian Anti-Gay Documentary
On Tuesday, October 28th, Peter LaBarbera re-entered Canada for an immigration hearing, then to speak at an anti-LGBT conference, and finally on Thursday to face charges for mischief (which stem from an arrest while distributing anti-LGBT leaflets at the University of Regina). LaBarbera (nicknamed “Porno Pete” by bloggers because of
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: What is happening in Venezuela? It’s certainly not what the mainstream media is telling you
“Much of the reporting by the mass media gives the impression that Venezuela faces a national rebellion. The reality, says Miguel Tinker Salas, is that the protests have been restricted to mostly middle and upper middle class neighborhoods, not entire cities.” – Truthout, What is happening in Venezuela?(Many, many
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Trans kids, washrooms and the new harassment
On October 13th, a story appeared at the Christian Broadcasting Network about girls being harassed by a trans youth in the washroom of a Colorado-area school. Soon afterward, the story was picked up by the Daily Mail, the Examiner, FOX News, and several webmedia outlets. One even embellished it with
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Trans kids, washrooms and the new harassment
On October 13th, a story appeared at the Christian Broadcasting Network about girls being harassed by a trans youth in the washroom of a Colorado-area school. Soon afterward, the story was picked up by the Daily Mail, the Examiner, FOX News, and several webmedia outlets. One even embellished it with
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Today Big Oil’s spin gets a much-needed reality check
TarSandsRealityCheck.com launches today (May 16, 2013) to reveal the gritty truth about the tar sands and counter misinformation spread by the oil industry By: Environmental Defence Canada | Press Release: Toronto/Washington/Brussels – Launching today in Canada, Europe and the United States, TarSandsRealityCheck.com presents up to date, accurate facts about Alberta’s tar sands to counter the high-level
Continue readingCanadian ProgressiveCanadian Progressive: Don’t be fooled by the spin on the Canada-China FIPA treaty
by Gus Van Harten| Troy Media There is a lot of spin about the Canada-China investment treaty (or FIPA). Canadians should not be fooled into the deal. They should insist on an independent review of the government’s claims, before the treaty is …
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: MP’s trans predator fearmongering escalates.
On Friday, Sun News commentator Brian Lilley interviewed Rob Anders, the Member of Parliament who has drawn condemnation for conflating transsexual and transgender people with sexual predators in a petition he has been circulating on his website, and to at least one church in his riding. In “Children’s bathroom bill
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: Hypocrisy on Free Speech and “Protecting Freedom.”
On June 6th (the same night that the trans human rights Bill C-279 advanced to committee) Conservative MP for Westlock – St. Paul, Brian Storseth’s Private Member’s Bill C-304, An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act (protecting freedom), passed Third Reading in the House of Commons, and advanced
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