“Take Canada Back” to when/what/where, etc., exactly?!? ICYMI Erin O’Toole is the newly-minted leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. Erin O’Toole ran on a leadership campaign platform that courted nationalists and populists, AKA hate/fear-mongering, racist, xenophobic, anti-Semitic, etc. pieces of garbage. Erin O’Toole’s leadership campaign slogan? “Take Canada Back”.
Continue readingTag: xenophobia
Tattered Sleeve: The Hate — Original Song #38
As we approach the sad 30th anniversary of a brutal hate crime that left a stain on my beautiful city, I find to my surprise this song of mine, written many years ago, absent from the history of this blog. No longer. RIP, Joe Well you know something’s been eating
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Has The Bigotry Of The Cons Fooled and Scared Canadians?
I think you know how I feel about Andrew Scheer's kooky far right campaign against the U.N.'s Global Compact on Migration.It's another Big Lie. It appeals to the worst instincts of humanity. It's the call of the loony fascist. And it's dangerous.But I have to admit I never thought that
Continue readingMontreal Simon: How The Migrant Caravan Is Exposing Trump’s Extremism
The irony couldn't be greater. With the midterm elections now only a week away, Donald Trump is stepping up his insane rhetoric.Accusing a caravan of desperate men, women, and children of trying to invade the United States. Even as he prepares to go where many do not want him. Read more
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Hog Trump and the Big Blue Wave
It's hard to tell when Hog Trump is honking louder than usual, for he does honk all the time.But he is squealing really loudly these days about a caravan of desperate men, women, and children fleeing poverty and violence.He's even accusing some of them of being Middle Eastern terrorists, even though there is no
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Rae On Diversity
Canadians like to think that, as a nation, we value diversity. Bob Rae reminds us that we haven’t always felt that way: Canada’s commitment to diversity and pluralism has become a critical feature of our identity. For many generations we were no such thing — a deputy minister of immigration
Continue readingNorthern Reflections: Rae On Diversity
Canadians like to think that, as a nation, we value diversity. Bob Rae reminds us that we haven’t always felt that way: Canada’s commitment to diversity and pluralism has become a critical feature of our identity. For many generations we were no such thing — a deputy minister of immigration
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Facebook’s Community Standards
Some time ago, I wrote about my disappointing experience with Facebook after I complained about what was essentially hate speech by a FB group. The response I got was that the racist anti-Muslim group did not violate their community standards. Since then, it would appear that little has changed. Yesterday
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Justin Trudeau, Scotland, and the Values That Define Us
It was only a tweet, but it was like a flash of decency in a darkening world.It has been favourited more than 500,000 times already.And it did send a powerful message to the bigot demagogue Donald Trump.Read more »
Continue readingMontreal Simon: How Canadians Can Help Defeat the Monster Donald Trump
I've been trying to ignore the monster in the window. I close my eyes and try to pretend it's just a nightmare. I crank up the music in my ears to try to drown out his mad bigoted voice.For even though I'm a Canadian I feel the same way these
Continue readingMontreal Simon: How The Media Made Kellie Leitch Our Trump Impersonator
I must admit I still find it hard to believe that an educated person like Kellie Leitch is doing what she is doing.Trying to whip up xenophobia for crass political purposes. And sounding more extreme with every passing day… Or more insane. For what else can you call a member
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Has Kellie Leitch Finally Lost Her Marbles?
It's always been a bizarre cabaret act, a real freak show. Kellie Leitch's squeaky voiced imitation of Donald Trump, and her xenophobic campaign to make us believe that only she can defend our Canadian values.Even as she disgraces them.But now that ghastly drag show is becoming even weirder, with Leitch claiming that the "liberal
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: How the Leader of the Free World Became the Leader of the Global Right Wing.
AmeriKa’s president, Donald Trump, will not be the leader of the free world. He will, however, be the leader of the global right wing. Across Europe, the radical right is embracing the next US leader as one of their own. Donald Trump validates their ugly bigotry, racism and xenophobia. He
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Will Trump Embolden Bigots in Canada?
Yesterday we read Kinsella’s post about a white power, Alt.Right handbill posted in his neighbourhood. Today we have an account from CBC Ottawa of a woman, Anna Maranta, a rabbi no less, who awakened in the early hours of Tuesday morning to find a swastika and the word “kike” spray
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: If You Are Judged By The Company You Keep
Watch this video for confirmation of things you probably already know about Donald Trump:Recommend this Post
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Republican Senator’s speech against McCathyism could have been about Trump
In the eleven years since I started publishing this blog, I have almost entirely focused on Alberta politics. But while my writing focuses on provincial politics here at home, like many Canadians I pay close attention to what is happening… Continue R…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Democracy In Crisis
This is a clearer and more succinct explication of the rise of dangerous right-wing politics than I think I have ever heard.
Don't let Trump fool you: rightwing populism is the new normal
It might be tempting to view the political success of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as something uniquely American. But, argues Gary Younge, rightwing populism and scapegoating of society’s vulnerable is cropping up all across the west. This is what happens when big business has more power than governments
Posted by The Guardian on Wednesday, January 6, 2016
A. Picazo: #RefugeesWelcome
This op-ed appeared in The Ottawa Citizen on November 27, 2015. “This is not a federal project, this is not even a government project, it’s a national project for all Canadians,” declared John McCallum, minister of immigration, refugees a…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: And Speaking Of Perspective
…along with xenophobia, bigotry and demagoguery, the folks at Fox News would seem to be quite ignorant about their country’s own history.Here is a timely festive reminder of that history for those soon to be celebrating American Thanksgiving:Thanksgi…
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Conservatives in Canada swing further to the far right – the other two major parties are little better
The Conservative party of Canada is clearly playing into fear, xenophobia and racism as a way to win votes, as its “War on Terror” narrative, its racial baiting and its new snitch line show. This is sickening. Mind you, the Liberals and NDP have eerily similar agendas to the Conservatives
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