Anyone ever notice the only news we get exposed to these days is filled with fear and misery? 50% of the stories are either about people dying (accidents, natural disasters, wars, etc.) or people lying (politicians, businessmen, lawyers, etc.). The other 50% are filled with nonsensical gibberish about some celebrity’s affair or fashion sense. So depressing. Unfortunately Quiet Mike is no exception. As much as I try to get people to wake up, think and question the status quo, I do have a tendency…
Tag: News
Missing the boat: The Nouveau Mouvement pour Québec and changing political tides
As a political junkie I suppose I should be stoked about the potential founding of a new political party in Québec, but I’m really not. The first mistake this group of mutineers in the Nouveau Mouvement pour Québec (NMQ) from various other political outfits is making, is timing. There has never been a time in my life when there has been a more fragmented provincial political scene, especially on the sovereigntist side of the equation. With Québec Solidaire, and, of course, the old war horse that seems bound for the glue factory, Partie Québecois, all competing for the same stagnate segment of hardcore/soft separatists. Blind to this undeniable political reality, NMQ vows to press on with their unpopular agenda…
A true progressive: remembering Jack Layton
The second last time I saw Jack Layton was at a garden party at Stornoway in late June. Speaking under a vast white tent as desultory raindrops punished the exiled mass of smokers, he declared his and Olivia’s new house, the residence of the leader of the official opposition, to be “the people’s house.” Shortly afterwards I caught him on his way out and sheepishly asked for a photo. I can’t say why really, I suppose I was overcome by the emotion of the moment. In seven years…
Corporate Tax Cuts and the Facts
As the American political landscape continues to show no signs of stopping its descent into what can only be described as an increasingly reactionary and carnivalesque sideshow, one begins to wonder if the more measured and sober voices in Washington have finally decided to call it a day. Even on our own side of the border the divisions continue to grow deeper and more virulent with almost no position free from partisan embelishment. However, to those who would suggest that the truth always lies somewhere in the middleoften with rather…
Candlelight Vigil for Jack Layton tonight in Montreal
Today we lose a leader, a friend, a family man and great influencer. Jack Layton’s legacy and commitment to changing Canada as we know it will live on for years to come. His dedication to his role as the leader of the NDP shaped and changed the way Canada, North America and the world saw Canadians and themselves. In his final years he motivated a generation that had otherwise been dormant to the political happenings in this country. He moved a province that had been neglected by other parties, and reminded Quebec they should stand and be proud of their French culture and Canada….
Rick Perry: The New Mouth of the South
When Rick Perry announced he was running for the Republican nomination for President of the United States on August 13th, he did so with much publicity and fanfare, he even managed 700+ votes as a write in candidate in the Ames Straw Poll that same weekend. He was instantly dubbed as a man with charisma, a man of action, and a man who isn’t too shy to let his voice be heard, kind of like a George Bush that can speak English. Perry has deep corporate pockets and will be a formidable foe for the other conservatives aspiring for the top job, but…
Ames Straw Poll: Who’s the most conservative of them all?
We are just a mere fifteen months away from the 2012 elections and the answer to the question of whether or not Barack Obama will be a one term president. With the conclusion of the Straw Poll in Ames, Iowa this weekend and the Fox News Debate that preceded it, we still have no idea who Obama will be up against but we do have a good notion of what type of person he or she is likely to be…
Victory Over the Sun: From Harper to Horton to Ford, is Platonic Montreal the way out?
Have you considered the Tory Omnibus Crime Bill? It’s not exactly light bedtime reading, but it’s worth knowing about. It is above and beyond all else a testament to absurdity. It is absurd yet delivered in such a fashion so as to seem sensible. It is irrational, illogical and yet is designed to seem appropriate. It succeeds because the intended audience is often so incredibly uncritical, of their actions inasmuch as those of government, that they will believe known falsehoods simply because it takes less mental effort than to formulate even a basic critical response…
How Sweet it is: Canadians Reject Harper’s Big Fat Smear on Turmel
In politics smears have a tendency to work. That’s why attack ads and mudslinging are the norm down south, and a growing trend here. It doesn’t really matter if an accusation is true, studies have shown that people are far more likely to pay attention to the original, shocking, smear than to any subsequent correction. With the debut of Fox News North (aka Sun News) and the success of Stephen Harper’s cheap shot politics, it’s fair to wonder if our smug sense of superiority about the gullibility of our neighbors to the south is warranted. Sure…
AA+: The Debt Ceiling Revisited
The other day Standard & Poor’s downgraded America’s credit rating for the first time in its history, knocking it down one level from AAA to AA+. The downgrade happened despite an eleventh hour deal between the Republican controlled House of Representatives and the Democrat controlled Senate to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, the deal was signed by President Barack Obama early last week. The deal brought an end to months of bickering by politicians over spending cuts and tax hikes. The battles that raged in Washington over that period of time came across as a battle of good and evil and not just differences of opinion…