Christopher Hume On Ignorance

As usual, The Toronto Star seems replete with thought-provoking articles and ideas. In a column by Christopher Hume entitled, If ignorance is no excuse, how do leaders manage to get elected? published yesterday, Hume reflects on the current crop of politicians for whom ignorance of facts and disdain for expert analysis is endemic.

He observes that Rick Perry, a serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination "responded to devastating forest fires in his state by asking everyone to pray."

In a similar vein Michelle Bachmann muses "about whether America’s recent spate of natural disasters wasn’t really a sign from God of His great displeasure."

No matter what your view may be on the power of petitionary prayer, one does hope for something a little more from politicians than an infantile view of God as either a cosmic Santa Claus or a cosmic smiter.

Hume's piece, well-worth reading in its entirety, does not spare our Prime Minister from his withering analysis, describing him as one who "has made great strides pushing aside the facts to pander to Canadians’ lowest instincts and greatest fears." Hence the elimination of the mandatory long-form census with its hard data, the commitment to spend billions on prisons we don't need, and the gutting of environmental oversight when it is most needed.

Both Tim Hudak (he "won the race to the bottom long ago")and the Mayor of Toronto and his brother("Toronto’s great contribution to political vacuity") also come under Hume's scrutiny.

I hope people will find the time to read the entire column.

Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.

Time For A War On Error

Although I rarely reprint items from the newspaper in their entirety on this blog, occasionally someone says something so succinct and insightful that I can't resist. Roman Haluszka from Newmarket has the lead letter in today's Star that underscores the crucial role of critical thinking skills in today's world. Here it is:

Time for a War on Error

What we desperately need is a War on Error. We face these errors today economically, scientifically, historically, and socially.

Our economic errors are centered around budgetary issues as we spend far too much in providing subsidies to industries that don’t need them, from computer game makers to the oil and gas industry to agro-conglomerates and, of course, our wealthy elites (who pay far too little in taxes).

To pay for these errors we have been over-taxing the middle class, and are now engaged in dismanteling the “social safety net” that mainly benefits the middle class and the poor.

In the scientific realms we have allowed fundamentalist religious cranks the freedom to claim that Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is false, and substitute the utter nonsense of Creationism in its place.

We also allow (mainly conservative cranks tied to the oil and gas corporatocracy) to challenge climate change and the impact of human-caused pollution on it.

History is constantly being revised in Orwellian ways to justify invasions of other countries, territorial grabs from subjugated peoples; and the careful omission of facts is used to misplace focus on one group of people for all acts of terrorism, despite that group having ties to only 3 per cent of all terrorist acts around the globe.

Socially, we have allowed error to lead too many people to misjudgment of others, from Mike Harris claiming unemployed single mothers would spend welfare cheques on beer, and that teachers only work 4.25 hours per day, to Stephen Harper’s claim that Canada’s biggest terrorist threat is Islamicism.

Society is becoming more racist in its views, thanks to these politicians and the likes of Fox News and Sun TV.

An attack on error is not only overdue, it is essential to our well-being as a society.

Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.

The Timidity Of The Ontario NDP

I wrote earlier this month about the growing call from certain monied sectors for an increase in their personal taxation rates, arguing that they are not paying their fair share to support the country in which they grew and prospered. That plea, as noted earlier, is being egregiously ignored by all political parties, including Ontario's NDP, led by Andrea Horwath, a politician who is becoming increasing difficult to distinguish from the leaders of the other parties.

My observation, and I don't think it is a particularly startling or perceptive one, is that slowly and inevitably, the party, both at the federal and provincial levels, is becoming very 'mainstream' as the prospects for increasing their electoral success improve.

Take, for example, Ms. Horwath's position on corporate taxation. As reported last May in The Toronto Star, the NDP would raise corporate taxes by a mere 2%, to 14% from the current 12%. As well, as reported in today's Star, the party would cancel the entertainment tax breaks enjoyed by corporations, such as being able to write off some of the costs of a corporate box at the Air Canada Centre.

While I do not dispute that these would be useful measures that would hardly send corporations fleeing to other jurisdictions, they also strike me as extraordinarily timid, a kind of nipping around the edges of fiscal policy. I do realize there is an argument to be made for proceeding slowly in a compromised economy, but I worry that the stated policy direction suggests that should they ever regain power, the NDP would once again make the same kinds of mistakes that were made during the disastrous Bob Rae years, when the now interim federal Liberal Leader bent over backwards to placate business at the expense of party policy and principles.

Until I hear someone talk about raising the personal income tax rate on the ultra-wealthy, I shall remain dubious of the integrity of NDP principles.

Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.

Chris Hedges on the Aftermath of 9/11

I refused to watch any of yesterday's ceremonies honouring those who were killed 10 years ago in New York. I refused, not out of disrespect for those who lost their lives and for all who still suffer tremendously as a result of that horrible attack. I did not watch because of how those senseless deaths and that tremendous suffering have been used over the years as an excuse to kill hundreds of thousands of others, sacrifice some of our best young people, and impose unspeakable suffering on untold others.

Things could have been so much different. To get a sense of how different, I encourage you to read an essay by one of my favorite critical thinkers, the iconoclastic Chris Hedges. The piece, entitled A Decade After 9/11: We Are What We Loathe, offers some insights that rarely make their way into the mainstream press.

Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.

Another Way to Remember 9/11

While the loss of lives in the 9/11 attacks was tragic and, for me, profoundly shocking at the time, let's not forget the countless lives, not just North American but also Iraqi and Afghani, that have been subsequently lost in two totally unnecessary on-going wars. And, at the risk of sounding crass, there are also the financial costs of this perpetual war on terrorism that I was reminded of in an email from Ceasefire.ca.

A Tip of the Hat to Two Bloggers

Since joining the Progressive Bloggers' website, the daily listings of progressive posts have enhanced the depth and breadth of my understanding of social and political issues. Through their commentary and links, I have learned of things that would have eluded me entirely had I relied only on newspapers and television news.

In my humble view, there is an array of bloggers well-worth reading on a regular basis. Two of my favorites are individuals whose passionate sense of justice and outrage, whose refusal to "go gently into that good night" confirm for me that the human spirit is alive and well, as are critical thinking and the willingness to challenge authority.

If you haven't already done so, be sure to check out the latest offerings from Dawg's Blog and Orwell's Bastard.

Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.

Things Go Better With Coke (Except Taxes)

People of a certain age will remember the old ad slogan, "Things Go Better With Coke." Apparently France disagrees, as it seeks to impose a minuscule tax on the sale of sugary sodas.

In an unusually bald and public attempt to pervert government policy, the Coca-Cola corporation is suspending plans for a $24 million dollar investment in France, pending the outcome of the proposed legislation. As well, it is embarking on a propaganda campaign questioning the relationship between the consumption of high-calorie sugar-laden sodas and obesity.

Perhaps we can only infer that by targeting France in this way, the mighty cola corporation is sending a message to all countries who might have the temerity to in any way compromise Coke's unquenchable thirst for profit.