Category Politics
Canadian Democracy
There are aspects of Canadian democracy that baffle outsiders. Independence referenda probably top the list. Twice residents of Quebec have been asked whether they want the province to become an independent country. Twice the voters have chosen to stay, through in 1995 it was a pretty narrow margin. Next month voters in Alberta will go […]
Lunatic Republic
Apparently Canada is not allowed to make an agreement with the European Union to have closer ties. Donald Trump will not permit it. trump says such a deal would be “laughable. But he doesn’t appear to be laughing. Such an agreement, he said, would be a “hostile act.” If it comes to pass, Trump says […]
Now I Am Scared
“The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!” – U.S. President Donald J. Trump, writing on Truth Social. Somewhere an AI model is laughing, or doing whatever the machine equivalent is. Maybe they all are.
The Bribe
In a democracy it is illegal to offer cash to someone to buy their vote. That is probably also true in the pseudo democracy called the United States of America. Of course, the law doesn’t always apply when it it the government offering the bribe. Canadians are used to new government programs, including some with […]
Twenty-five Years Later
I was walking along the beach in Maine last month when this thought came unbidden to my mind. “If the USA were attacked today like they were on September 11, 2001, would other countries come to their aid?” Twenty-five years ago today the US suffered the worst terrorists attack in its history. More than three […]
Jet Decisions
Without intending to, Donald Trump has made Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s life easier. And delivered a multi-billion dollar hit to the American economy at the same time. Canada needs new fighter jets. Our current fleet of CF-18 combat planes should have been replaced a couple of decades ago, but defence procurement is a political […]
Food For Thought America
Kinda speaks for itself, doesn’t it?
Friday’s Questions
“We defend Canada for nothing. We don’t get anything. They don’t pay us to defend Canada, but we defend Canada andthey understand that.” – US President Donald Trump. It is an interesting perspective. As long as I have been alive, Canada and the United States have cooperated militarily, joining in various UN and NATO missions […]
Election Meddling
He’s done it again. Donald Trump has interfered in a foreign election. This time merely by existing. Quebec’s Parti Quebecois has announced that if they win this fall’s election they will not hold a referendum on Quebec separation as long as Donald Trump is president. Previously holding such a referendum had been the cornerstone of […]
Quote of the Week
In 2022, Stephen Marche, a keen observer of American society and politics, published the scariest book I have read in years, The Next Civil War. It was so unsettling I couldn’t write about it here. On Monday I read an essay he published in the New York Times with his thoughts on the Canada-US trade […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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