Numbers don’t lie: Islamophobia vs. Statistics

Pundits like Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and Bill Maher would like you to believe that Islamophobia is about religion, rather than race. They would also like you to believe that Islam is an inherently violent religion – that violence in the Middle East and attacks like those in Paris about 10 days ago are due…

How western racists and xenophobes help militant Islamic groups

The day after the terror attacks in Paris, there is understandable anger and grief. There are, as has become the custom, calls for revenge against ISIS and the entire region that they inhabit. While all of this is understandable, it is exactly what groups that practice terrorism want and are counting on. Former U.S. President…

Progress is made issue by issue, not by partisan politics

Last night’s historic election of Justin Trudeau and a Liberal majority government was met with mixed reactions, as all elections are. Liberals are elated about the results, Conservatives, New Democrats and Greens are disappointed. It seems to me though that partisan politics are frequently toxic and do not have the impact that people think they…

Anything But Conservative is good enough for now

For the last 10 years, Stephen Harper has been the government of Canada. I do not mean the Prime Minister of Canada or the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, I mean that he has been the government. Anyone in his party that got in his way was out of the caucus, shuffled to…

What if taxes on multinational corporations were collected (and re-distributed) by the United Nations?

This only as a hypothetical; a what if to which I do not have all the answers and have not considered all the angles. I know, at the very least, that the idea will give nightmares to people who fear black helicopters. I wonder if we couldn’t make life simpler by having taxes on international…

It looks like Canada is headed for a Liberal minority government

There are still two weeks remaining until the election. That means that any and all predictions and polls are subject to change. But, at the moment, it looks like Justin Trudeau will be the next Prime Minister of Canada. Éric Grenier’s CBC Poll Tracker still shows a slight seat advantage for the Conservatives. As of…

If you think the Green Party is progressive or science based, think again

If you’re like me, you’ve found Elizabeth May’s debate appearances impressive. The Green Party has some worthwhile positions on important issues. As they are fond of pointing out these extend beyond issues related to the environment.  With that said, there is a problem and it’s a big one.  The policies discussed in the debate and…

Am I still a “progressive”? It depends on who you ask

I have always considered myself to be “progressive” but, over the last few years, I’ve become uncomfortable with the term. I am certainly in favour of progress but many “progressives” seem to have fashioned it into a hard and fast dogma from which there is no room for variation. Because human knowledge and circumstances are…

The side of taxes and deficits that politicians and the press never talk about

We’re in an election cycle, on both sides of the border and budgets, deficits and taxes are all hot topics. We got in the habit, especially after the trickle-down era of the 1980s of looking at everything like it was a spreadsheet. Running government “like a business” became the new norm. However, that was always…