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Politics

A Place To Stand…

Three dudes in a hot tub. Ridings Toronto-Danforth This is my riding. I’ve lived here for 6 years now, and I absolutely love it. It’s an amazing part of the city, and has been represented provincially throughout that time by the NDP member Peter Tabuns. Tabuns was in the running for party leader against Horwath, and it’s a pity he didn’t win. He’s a great representative for Toronto-Danforth, and a strong voice in parliament. During the last election, the Liberals ran a candidate who after a 10 minute chat, I determined to be an idiot. This time the Liberals seemed to care about the riding, had hopes, and were reliant… Read More »A Place To Stand…

I Love You, Ontario

“The equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world …  these principles have been confirmed in Ontario.”1 Your borders don’t define you. Your people do. We swim in your great lakes. We camp in your parks. Snowmen line the yards. While wet mittens sit on the radiators. Anishinabe, Missassauga, Mohawk, Algonquin, Cree, Ojibway. India, Brazil, Sudan, Ghana, Greece, Poland. Refugees and survivors. A place to build a home. From John Sandfield to Kathleen. Banting and Best, Cuddy and Keelor. French and English. Cantonese and Farsi. We sit amongst the trilliums, while seeking shade under the maples. Dancing in your… Read More »I Love You, Ontario

Ontario Declines to Vote 2014

Horwath. Hudak. Wynne. Horwath. Hudak. Wynne. Horwath. Hudak. Wynne. Horwath. Hudak. Wynne. Horwath. Hudak. Wynne. No. Tonight the leaders of the three major parties debated. We saw Premier of Ontario Kathleen Wynne, leader of the Liberal Party. Her major contender Tim Hudak, leader of the opposition and leader of the Progressive Conservatives. Also on the stage was Andrea Horwath leader of the New Democrats. Party Leaders The debate was horrible. My lord. Okay, let’s look at this. Mike Harris 2: Electric Boogaloo Tim Hudak is promising insane things he cannot deliver. Hudak is saying that he can deliver a million jobs to the province, but it doesn’t add up. Not only is stretching each… Read More »Ontario Declines to Vote 2014

Alex P. Keaton

I sometimes feel like I’m surrounded by Alex P. Keaton. Conservatives are everywhere. The generation that grew up before me were fighting against the hippies before them. So they went right wing. We had Reagan in the States, Mulroney up here, Thatcher in the United Kingdom. Ugh. I recently listened to a student talk about social justice, but the framework she used for her discussion was economics. It kind of disgusted me that the discussion wasn’t how to help people, but how to make things better for business to help the economy, to in turn help the people. The logic of trickle-down economics have been discussed over and over again,… Read More »Alex P. Keaton

Rt. Hon. Paul Martin

Paul Martin, former Prime Minister of Canada, came to my place of employment to talk to the students. He spoke about the future of Aboriginal education. It was an interesting talk, and I got to take a few photos. I’m only publishing one that doesn’t have any student faces.

Chester Station second exit

I am so happy I’m not an elected official. I went to the TTC’s meeting about the second exit for Chester Station. My councillor attended and she tweeted this just a moment ago. Since I don’t seek public office I can tell you the truth. What Councillor Fragedakis tweeted can be summed up as such… LIES! That was not a “good discussion.” The angry man who interrupted the session to proclaim that the TTC would have to buy his house if they wanted to put elevators at the main exit of Chester Station was not a good discussion. The man who decided to deride the TTC staff for calling the… Read More »Chester Station second exit

Campaign Rally

I did something today I’ve never done before. I went to a campaign rally. Here’s photographic evidence. Ignore that it’s a bad shot, as it was taken on my iPhone. Ignore Kristin’s head in half the shot. Ignore the fact that Councillor Mike Layton is giving me a death glare. Not only did I go to a campaign rally for the first time, I’ve also donated to a political campaign and have volunteered to help out Ms. Chow’s campaign. It’s no secret that I think Rob Ford was the worst possible choice for mayor. Amongst the three million possible Torontonians, he’s definitely near the bottom, but we’ve had to put… Read More »Campaign Rally

Rob & Doug

How were these two so prescient?

Crazy Town: The Rob Ford Story by Robyn Doolittle

Sigh. I kinda feel sorry for Robyn Doolittle. She’s an excellent reporter for the Toronto Star, but sadly her name is most associated with Rob Ford. Crazy Town is a book about our mayor, his family, and his problems. Crazy Town at times is extremely hard to read. We’ve lived through this drama for the past three years (longer, if you include his time as councillor). We’ve seen the insanity. Reliving it is not something you really want to do. However, Doolittle does add some interesting new revelations into her book that make it quite interesting. For non-Torontonians, I think it is a must-read. Anyone outside this city who has seen… Read More »Crazy Town: The Rob Ford Story by Robyn Doolittle

Political Parties

Parties are no longer about commitment, in the sense of principles, loyalty and tradition. Long ago, partisans rallied to Sir John A. Macdonald’s Tories under the slogan “the Old Man, the Old Flag, the Old Policy.” No more. A party is not a collective project. It is a “mutual fund.” Commitment has become investment, and investment demands appropriate returns. If “wasted,” it should be pulled out and put “elsewhere.” The party’s name and symbols are no longer marks of allegiance, but are merely a “brand.” Brands are corporate marketing devices for products. Brand identification is intended to promote sales. If sales falter, re-branding may be required.” – Reg Whitaker writing… Read More »Political Parties