I'm just a boy-ish, sitting in front of a computer, hoping that resistance isn't futile after all.
Apr 11 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
The punditocracy is killing democracy.
It's absurd to think the federal government needs to abide by rules of protocol, while erstwhile partners obstruct, sue (and lose) in court, use the Notwithstanding clause and enact legislation to prevent others from working with them.
Context matters. I don't doubt that respondents to pollsters are tired of this federal government, and are ready to give Poilievre a huge majority. But I'd be interested to hear what the issues are from their perspective, and whether they are correct to blame the feds.
Feb 12 • 22 tweets • 4 min read
Joe: Why are you wearing a string of garlic Fred?
Fred: I just read in the HBR that garlic keeps the elephants out of the office.
J: That's crazy, Fred! There are no elephants in the office!
F: See? It's w o r k i n g.
Brief guide to (a lot of) partisan politics.
Now, this is a generalization, and the thing about generalizations is that they only apply generally, and generally not too precisely.
But let's look at 2 Conservative notions:
• Service Ontario in Staples brings consumers convenience
• Private delivery could solve healthcare
Nov 14, 2023 • 25 tweets • 5 min read
It's not that the polls are "wrong". It's that telling us that Canadians have been misinformed and misled as never before in history, without examining the misinformation, or who's misleading and why, or setting the record straight is just simply more misleading propaganda.
I'm not saying that increasingly large numbers of Canadians are not absolutely prepared to vote for Poilievre, or blame Justin Trudeau for problem after problem, they clearly are. But when those problems are global occurrences (climate change, inflation, COVID), and when...
Oct 8, 2023 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
If you had told me in 2014 that the fed. govt. would have cut poverty in half, legalized weed, created $10/day daycare nationwide, renegotiated NAFTA (w/Trump), got us through a pandemic with one of the best economies, with record O&G production…
…I’d find it hard to believe.
And while in a minority situation for over 4 years. Not to mention having ended drinking water advisories at the vast majority of indigenous communities, become a global leader in refugee resettlement, enacted the first effective climate action over the obstruction of most…
Mar 18, 2023 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Today’s piece in the G&M is incredible: first, because the paper attempts to make the secret accusations more credible by secretly (anonymously) adding qualifiers whilst simultaneously refusing to be any more concrete;…
…and second, because while the erstwhile noble whistleblower refuses to do the one thing which would properly throw this all into high relief — reveal him/herself, give him/herself up and reveal the actual facts that motivated them to act,…
Jul 21, 2022 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
Let me give you folks a rundown on what I shall euphemistically call "air travel" in July 2022 looks like: 1. Traveling to Europe with a friend from Montreal. His bag was lost by Air Transat on the Montreal - Toronto leg. 2. WestJet got us to London fine. Leaving...
...from Heathrow was VERY different than in 2018, last time I was there. Chaotic, with all kinds of line-ups and chicanes, and weird stuff. BUT we did leave it as scheduled! We feel "lucky" in that regard. 3. Leaving Helsinki was pretty good. Arriving and leaving Stockholm...
May 28, 2021 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
What I learned from Doug Ford’s presser:
* Ontario has the world’s leading vaccine rollout
* Thanks to Trudeau’s botched procurement, our vaccine rollout has been horrendous
* Almost unique amongst politicians, the buck stops with Doug
* The variants of concern are preventing...
...opening up earlier, thanks to Trudeau refusing to secure the borders
* Doug really wants to open up schools
* Schools can’t open thanks to Trudeau, and the anonymous folk that Doug texted 10 minutes ago demanding input, unless they say it’s okay, in which case it’s back...
May 8, 2021 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Here’s the problem with the CPC’s latest WE/SNC flyer: it has multiple, *unconnected* bits that are being treated as if they are all one. First, there is Gen. Vance’s egregiously unprofessional, abusive, self-serving and disqualifying behaviour. Second, the long-term...
2 ...relationship with Maj. Brennan, and her own questionable behaviour as well as being victimized. Third, the issue brought forward by Ombudsman Walbourne, the manner it was brought forward, and the handling of it by Walbourne, Min. Sajjan, the PM and PMO. Fourth,...
Apr 14, 2021 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
It’s end of March, 2020. A not inconsiderable number of Canadians have been rescued by govt-chartered flights, or paid $000s to get back from abroad. Everyone is hunkering down and concerned for their health, their jobs, the future. Scientists are still trying to describe... /22/ ...what COVID is, and how it might spread, mutate and be beaten back. By April we know it is a variety of coronavirus that is primarily spread via aerosols. Toilet paper and Lysol are hard to find. And the scientific consensus is that we need vaccines to create herd... /3
Apr 12, 2021 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
How is Canada doing? 4 slides
First, cumulative vaccines delivered
We compare favourably with every nation other than US & UK, to which no one is comparable.
Second, we compare very favourably on daily doses administered (7-day average)
Feb 12, 2021 • 21 tweets • 4 min read
Parsing Ontario Government pronouncements is always difficult, because we aren't given more than about 50% of the facts. But yesterday -- Dr. Brown saying we are headed for disaster -- should give us pause to reflect. 👇
2/ The first element of the presser was Lecce announcing that March Break was postponed until April 12. Why? If one accepts the answer, to keep transmission down by not providing a week for people to go out, congregate and keeping children in school...
Dec 9, 2020 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
Ah, the *vaccines*. The Cons went all in criticizing the government’s planning & preparedness, despite widespread recognition that the country had secured the most comprehensive and diverse supplies. Then they demanded that concrete dates be given, long before final...
2 ...test results were available. Then they demanded complete disclosure of vaccine distribution, despite lack of Health Canada certification and firm delivery dates, calling these facts — you guessed it — “Trudeau’s failure”. When pressed, Trudeau offered transparency and...
Nov 14, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Chris Hall and the CBC aggressively pushing the question of “where is the federal government failing in COVID response?” while, you know, also saying that healthcare management is provincial jurisdiction. Constitutional expert at Dalhousie says that invoking emergency act...
...tantamount to putting out a house fire with TNT—puts out the fire but all you have left is a hole in the ground. Immediately shifts to what’s working in Australia. Aussie reporter says it came down to effective provincial response and cooperation with federal government....
Sep 27, 2020 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
I flew today. Had to, and it was surprisingly safe and uneventful (though the plane was full, everyone wore masks the entire time and effective screening used).
Flew the new, quiet, cool, comfortable Airbus 220-300. And here’s the point of this story:...
...The Airbus 220 is actually the Bombardier C-100. It is a world leader in many respects, including cost and environmental footprint. But it now belongs to Airbus and Canada no longer has what was once a world class aircraft manufacturer. And no longer has it contributing...
Sep 8, 2020 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
Appalling interview of O’Toole by Matt Galloway this morning, consisting (other than about carbon tax) of fat softballs lobbed gently and no one catching. Claimed that regions were being deliberately hurt for ideological reasons. No pushback. Liberals corruptly awarding...
...millions to the friends of Trudeau and Morneau. No pushback. The debunked Silver/Telford attack. No pushback. Canned questions about China policy. Pushed him hard on racism, or should I say, O’Toole simply can’t say systemic racism exists. What’s the point of an...
Aug 9, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Such a great article!
The Unraveling of America rollingstone.com/politics/polit… via @RollingStone
"...at least in economic terms, the [USA] of the 1950s resembled Denmark as much as the America of today. Marginal tax rates for the wealthy were 90 percent. The salaries of CEOs were, on average, just 20 times that of their mid-management employees."
Aug 1, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
It comes down to a choice:
Are you the type of person that would vote for an actual clown, with big shoes and red nose, that ran the country well; or are you the type who would prefer a shellacked-hair, sober, bland, technocrat that said "wise" things and governed badly?
Because some people think our Prime Minister is a clown, and to me, so what? They are governing well. The economic indicators, social measures and everything not controlled by manipulative provincial Con leaders says so. Go ahead, kill WE. The Kielburgers seem pretty resourceful.
Jul 19, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
There is a usual suspects pile on on WE. Without any real investigation. Some source, somewhere, says something that fits their need for dirt and... why bother with explanations or context? @MarkBourrie has taken Canadaland to task, repeatedly, and Stella offers a good rebuttal.
As with SNC and JWR there is a “certainty” about what the narrative is (or ought to be), and a complete lack of effort to test the narrative. You want to investigate some NGOs? I’d suggest you start with The Fraser Institute, the CFIB’s “survey”, and the CTF.
Jun 27, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
An astute and accurate description of how Harper has been effectively destroying the electoral prospects of the party he continues to dominate.
It leaves out only his willingness to not just create niches of issue voters, but to engage in outright cheating to win power. This is alluded to throughout, but the fact is that Harper is one of the few ex-PMs to continue to try and recapture glory by dominating the party...
Jun 26, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
So the pandemic is not over, the education decisions have been deferred (until they can take credit for something), the Globe reveals that Ont was a basket case, problems abound, and Grain Farmers Ontario launches a pro-Ford, pro-Trump, anti-Trudeau ad.
Isn't the CWB a private enterprise now owned by the Saudis thanks to the Harper government? Isn't it odd that the thrust of the message is that Trump and Ford are good, Trudeau is bad, and the real problem is imposition of a carbon tax (complete with rebates and subsidies)?...
Jun 22, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
I spent a lot of time in OH, IN, AL, GA, SC and MI in the lead-up to Nov 2016. I never understood how the national polls then could blithely ignore what was visible on the ground: a huge enthusiasm gap that favoured Trump. /2
In some areas, Trump/Pence signs outnumbered Clinton signs 25 or 30:1. And people who were educated and worldly would assure me that Trump was the only one that "got it". There was the reality of following a (let's acknowledge it) black President,... /3
