Our dystopian neighbour, summed up. Canadians, we must guard against this from becoming our reality. There are forces here who want this in our country too. Look at the conservative party platforms, federally and provincially. They call for unfettered access to guns, 1/
Minimum wage reductions, privatized health care and education, erosion of workplace/consumer/environmental regulations (aka "cutting red tape", or "eliminating gate-keepers"), fewer social programs, 2/
Control over women's bodies, pay to play politics, reduced immigration and othering of the BIPOC population, free speech but only if they agree/it flatters them, control of the media, theocratic governance... 3/
It's like they are looking at the carnage and suffering in the US and thinking, "How can we get all that happening here?" Is it b/c American politicians get lots of wealth? Or is it just that they approve of poverty and desperation for some? 4/
It's hard to fathom. It's hard to reconcile the obvious outcomes and costs of such policies on the general public with the notion that we elect leaders to work for the public good. #StandOnGuard and #NeverVoteConservative 5/5
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Something that really bugs me is how politicians on the right, and their various spokespeople and media affiliates, can brazenly lie about things and get no pushback. Right now in Alberta, Danielle Smith is robocalling all Albertans to say the NDP is lying about her 1/7 #abpoli
thinking about privatizing healthcare. She basically says it never crossed her mind, obviously, because that would contravene the Canada Health Act. And yet, she wrote a policy paper in 2021 for the U of C that says exactly that. And then, while campaigning for the UCP 2/7
leadership, she says it again, over and over, on video. And, even since she won the leadership race and became premier, she has said it, again, recorded. These artefacts don't cease to exist just because she was suffering in the polls and decided she needed a different 3/7
I watched the Waco documentary on Netflix. Then I went and scanned the Twitterverse for commentary. I don't know anything about the filmmakers. I finished watching with the feeling they were very sympathetic to the Branch Davidians and very condemning of the FBI.
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And, certainly, it is clear that the situation was handled very badly. But the lack of communication and co-operation by federal agencies, and the weird screw-ups they made along the way, does not make what was happening at Mount Carmel right.
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Yes, the authorities bungled the operation from day 1. Yes, there was terrible loss of life in the end, including many children. None of this makes David Koresh or the Branch Davidians heroes in this story.
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Have to get on a plane tomorrow. I hate going through airport security. One time I was randomly selected for scrutiny. Female officer grabbed my belly fat and asked, "what's this?" I'm like, "I'm a middle-aged woman with 3 kids. It's belly fat." Still traumatised every time I go
through security. I go to great lengths to avoid having any metal whatsoever. No underwires. No pants with rivets. No one should have any part of their body grabbed and squeezed just because they need to go somewhere. Never mind having to discuss unwanted weight.
I only carry fat on my belly. Maybe that's why she thought it was suspicious. But nothing seems to work to get rid of the little bulge at my middle. I've birthed 3 humans. Cut me some slack. I am already doing all the things. Take off my shoes and coat and spill my
This seems timely to repost. Remember Maher Arar? He was the man who was so unfortunate as to fall within the sights of one Bob Fife. Fife's writing, among others, resulted in Mr. Arar being detained and tortured. What the journos wrote ... 1/12 #cdnpoli thewalrus.ca/hear-no-evil-w…
was completely wrong. They took something they had been told and caused an innocent man to be imprisoned and tortured. That they have never shown any contrition for this speaks volumes about them. If I had written something that caused such grievous wrong, I don't think I
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would ever write again. I am sure they don't feel they are to blame. They just reported what they were told. But should they have? The most charitable way of looking at it is, they were given "exclusive" info that would make a huge story, and they ran with it...
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I'm still all discombobulated by the break-in on my truck and I have now realized they took some things that are of no use to anyone else, but deeply important to me. What is wrong with people? I know, poverty, primarily, along with trauma and addictions. But, 1/6
Why take things with no resale value? Things like prescription glasses, and made-to-measure items that are not modifiable for someone else? It feels just mean. And I realize, in a smash-and-grab situation, people are probably not being very discerning. But... 2/6
Just ditching the things somewhere after realizing the resale value is zero, and the replacement value for the one person they fit is large, feels cruel. Like, put it back. Why not put it back where the person who needs it might find it? 3/6
I went looking for videos, short accessible videos, that demonstrate why public education is important to society. I believe it is important, vitally important, regardless of whether I personally have children in school, because society only functions when we have an educated 1/
Public that can think critically and understand the problems we face and analyse the merits of possible solutuons. We need an educated public who can evaluate the political options and elect people who will work in our best interests. 2/
However, I was dismayed to find that there are dozens of videos that claim the exact opposite. Videos that claim the public school system is bad, unnecessary, and a detriment to society. Is this seriously a widely-held view? That is an extremely depressing notion. 3/