As a dual citizen, I have a heartfelt perspective from both sides. As an US citizen, I feel a complete abandonment of American leadership in the world with respect to decency, democracy, and rule of law. It’s been abandoned in an instant. Americans willing,y chose to abandon those values. As a Canadian, I fear the successful Trumpism political strategy of lies, grievance, isolation, bigotry, and conspiracy will take a firmer grip and similarly erode our own values and leadership in the world.
It’s impossible to deny that Danielle Smith takes her cues from Fox News, Trump, and the Republican party. Lies, grievance, isolation, bigotry and conspiracy….. It’s all very undeniably familiar. She will be now emboldened to go further and without any shame. All while propping herself up with a preposterously contrived 91.5% support level that would make any authoritarian proud.
I expect Trudeau will be trounced in the upcoming election. And in any sane world it will be deserved. But I truly worry about what we will vote to replace him with.
We are currently presented with an alternative that looks far different than what that same alternative looked like in the last two elections. We should be demanding better than simply “not Trudeau”.
Thanks Dave. Keep writing about provincial politics. World changing events and their undoing have their origins at local levels. And now more than ever independent journalism and independent voices are needed and need to be supported.
I for one am not going to be kind to MAGA or their Canadian Wannabes. These are the Stupid Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned about in his writing On Stupidity. "Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice." They are an existential threat to western liberal democracy. And given the bizarre policies overwhelmingly embraced at the recent UCP AGM, a threat to actual survival. Their self-delusion borders on the need to be medicated. The obsession MAGA and their Canadian Wannabes have with transgender people is weird and unhealthy. The only explanation is they need some group to hate in order to survive.
This is no time for "Sunny Ways". There is no political campaign strategy that can overcome stupid. It is time to act like Canadian democracy is on what Sun Tzu in the Art Of War calls "death ground" because it is. (As an aside, this book was recommended reading by business schools.) Maybe political parties are not the most effective way to mitigate stupid. Maybe a new dynamic will emerge.
The US election has ushered in Bro culture - TechBros, CryptoBros, TheoBros, PodcastBros like the elderly Bro Joe Rogan. Like any well played Bait and Switch grift, this US election is very shortly going to become the Vance and Heritage Foundation presidency. The Heritage Foundation on their website was accepting names from people who were interested in applying for jobs in the US federal government. Project 2025 is The Conservative Promise. Is this the plan Canadian conservative parties have for Canada's future? Could there be some introspection on the part of those claiming they are conservative to realize traditional conservatism and its values are now gone, consumed by stupid and the predators who manipulate them.
As a dual citizen, I have a heartfelt perspective from both sides. As an US citizen, I feel a complete abandonment of American leadership in the world with respect to decency, democracy, and rule of law. It’s been abandoned in an instant. Americans willing,y chose to abandon those values. As a Canadian, I fear the successful Trumpism political strategy of lies, grievance, isolation, bigotry, and conspiracy will take a firmer grip and similarly erode our own values and leadership in the world.
It’s impossible to deny that Danielle Smith takes her cues from Fox News, Trump, and the Republican party. Lies, grievance, isolation, bigotry and conspiracy….. It’s all very undeniably familiar. She will be now emboldened to go further and without any shame. All while propping herself up with a preposterously contrived 91.5% support level that would make any authoritarian proud.
I expect Trudeau will be trounced in the upcoming election. And in any sane world it will be deserved. But I truly worry about what we will vote to replace him with.
We are currently presented with an alternative that looks far different than what that same alternative looked like in the last two elections. We should be demanding better than simply “not Trudeau”.
Thanks Dave. Keep writing about provincial politics. World changing events and their undoing have their origins at local levels. And now more than ever independent journalism and independent voices are needed and need to be supported.
I for one am not going to be kind to MAGA or their Canadian Wannabes. These are the Stupid Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned about in his writing On Stupidity. "Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice." They are an existential threat to western liberal democracy. And given the bizarre policies overwhelmingly embraced at the recent UCP AGM, a threat to actual survival. Their self-delusion borders on the need to be medicated. The obsession MAGA and their Canadian Wannabes have with transgender people is weird and unhealthy. The only explanation is they need some group to hate in order to survive.
This is no time for "Sunny Ways". There is no political campaign strategy that can overcome stupid. It is time to act like Canadian democracy is on what Sun Tzu in the Art Of War calls "death ground" because it is. (As an aside, this book was recommended reading by business schools.) Maybe political parties are not the most effective way to mitigate stupid. Maybe a new dynamic will emerge.
The US election has ushered in Bro culture - TechBros, CryptoBros, TheoBros, PodcastBros like the elderly Bro Joe Rogan. Like any well played Bait and Switch grift, this US election is very shortly going to become the Vance and Heritage Foundation presidency. The Heritage Foundation on their website was accepting names from people who were interested in applying for jobs in the US federal government. Project 2025 is The Conservative Promise. Is this the plan Canadian conservative parties have for Canada's future? Could there be some introspection on the part of those claiming they are conservative to realize traditional conservatism and its values are now gone, consumed by stupid and the predators who manipulate them.