Category Politics

What Happened? – II

Yesterday I reviewed Hillary Clinton’s What Happened. I realized as I was writing that I had more to say than I wanted to fit into one day, so today we pick up more or less where we left off on Thursday. Clinton, who spends most of the book rehashing the 2016 US presidential election campaign […]

What Happened?

I let the first anniversary of Donald Trump’s inauguration slip by without comment. It seemed better that way. However, I’ve been reading Hillary Clinton’s account of the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign, What Happened, and it seems like a good time to weigh in with a few thoughts on the book.  In 2008 I read […]

Politically Correct

The Senate of Canada has finally passed legislation to make the Canadian National anthem, O Canada, gender neutral. It has only taken a couple of years (or decades, depending on how you look at it). It has been a much- debated topic, reviving around the use of the word “sons” in the anthem in use […]

Political Appearances

To some extent I have enjoyed being retired from politics. Mind you, I still check the news several times a day, just in case there is something I need to know. Sometimes a news story makes my blood boil, but then my mind kicks in and tells me to relax, I’m not on the front […]

Only in Canada?

The Prime Minister is being slammed by the Leader of the Opposition because he won’t ask the Governor General to apologize for controversial comments. Welcome to Canada. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says the Prime Minister has offended millions of Canadians by praising comments the GG made last week about scientific knowledge and religious belief. If […]

Bending Politicians To Your Will

Graham Steele is breaking ranks. Politicians are going to hate his new book, which is being published today. Steele, a retired politician and former political staffer who spent some time as Finance Minister of Nova Scotia, has penned a readable guide to how ordinary citizens can get politicians to do their will. Call it a […]

A Home For Rodents

I have, as I think I have mentioned, spent a lot of time working and volunteering in the political realm. That means I have met a lot of politicians. Most of those I have liked as people, even if I disagreed with their policies. If they weren’t likeable, at least in small doses, they wouldn’t […]

Did You Know It’s Voting Day?

They go to the polls in northern Iraq today, the area residents call Kurdistan. By the time you read this the results may be known. No matter the outcome it is a political problem, not only for the central government in Baghdad but for the rest of the world. I have been to Iraq a […]

Policing Marijuana

Canada is decriminalizing marijuana next year. As of July 1 the entire country can get stoned at will, with drugs purchased in government sanctioned shops. I’m not convinced it is sound policy. Indeed, I think the decision was based not on science, not on evidence of social harm or benefit, but rather on a calculated […]

A Blind Eye To Corruption

The Premier of Ontario is in court today. Kathleen Wynne should be embarrassed by that. But she probably isn’t. Wynne is a witness in what essentially is a corruption trial involving her political party. It is alleged that inducements were offered to a potential candidate to stand aside so that the party’s preferred nominee could […]