“The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president”. Those words were spoken a couple years ago by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. It was a sentiment that Republicans at the national and state level, along with corporations, business owners and Supreme Court Justices put into action even before those words were spoken.
Category: Quiet Mikes Mumblings
The Corporate Welfare State
Conservatives in North America identify Europe (Scandinavia in particular) with its high social safety net, health care systems and high tax rates as “welfare” states. […]
Florida Voter Suppression: 2012 Edition
A little over a decade ago, George W. Bush with help from the Supreme Court became the 43rd President of the United States. He won […]
Don’t Believe the Canadian Hype
Noam Chomsky once said “Any dictator would admire the uniformity and obedience of the US media.” For Jean Charest, the embattled Quebec Premier, the English Media in Canada must seem like a wet dream come true. Every news broadcast/newspaper I’ve seen in the last month has labelled the students protesting tuition fees and bill 78 as “rioters” “criminals” or “entitled students” at one time or another…
Bill 78: Quebec Clamps Down on Democracy
A few weeks ago I wrote about the student strike in Quebec and its importance. Now it seems after months of ignoring student demands to rescind planned tuition hikes, the Charest Government has gone from keeping its ears closed to students to putting a zipper on the mouths of everyone…
Austerity in Europe
I’ve said for years that if a country tries to put austerity into practice for an extended period of time, an eventual revolution will be the outcome. In Greece and France this past week that is essentially what happened. I have no doubt there is more to follow. France elected Francois Hollande of the Socialist Party last week…
MCA & Me
Anyone who knew either of his names knows by now about the passing of 47 year old Beastie Boy Adam “MCA” Yauch. He passed away last Friday after a three year battle with cancer.
Looking back, I find it hard to uncover a bigger musical or political influence in my life then that which the Beastie Boys left. Adam Yauch of course had a big part in that.
The Spring of Student Discontent
The student strike and protest is now entering its fourth month, they have spawned more than 160 protests in 72 days in Montreal alone. The protests have now garnered international attention including coverage on CNN and Al Jazeera. In my (new found) opinion, the actions of the students are completely justified. This whole state of affairs revolves around the Quebec government’s rising debt…
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Versus Democracy
If anything good has come out of the unfortunate death of Trayvon Martin, it has to be the unwanted exposure of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC is not a lobby, nor is it a front group, it is a council made up of 2000 legislators and 300 corporations. The corporations sit on nine different task forces and vote with these legislators to approve “model” bills…
The Rise of the South
Hemispheric leaders gathered in Cartagena, Colombia this past weekend for the Summit of the Americas. From the onset, it seems one thing was made perfectly clear; the flock no longer fears the wolf. Decades of influence and meddling on the part of the United States left many Latin American countries as poor, failed states; a consequence of propping up puppet dictators across a continent…