Promoting Hatred In NYC Subways

It is hard to believe that a people that have been so dehumanized, disparaged and persecuted throughout much of history should think that this is acceptable.

'I Am Not A Crook'

In words eerily echoing Richard Nixon's famous "I'm not a crook" declaration, Globe and Mail plagiarist Margaret Wente truculently writes the following in her still extant column:

I’m far from perfect. I make mistakes. But I’m not a serial plagiarist. What I often am is a target for people who don’t like what I write.

With Wente's dishonesty being aided and abetted by an editor-in-chief who has lost his way and regards the situation as "a private matter between employer and employee," the entire debacle amply demonstrates how far Canada's 'newspaper of record' has declined since John Stackhouse assumed the top position.

A Celebration of Literacy

Despite its rather lengthy history, yesterday was the first time my wife and I attended Toronto's Word On the Street, a celebration of books, literacy, and the dispelling of ignorance. As a retired English teacher and keen observer of the political machinations that envelop our society, it was very heartening to see so many thousands of people, many families with their children in tow, recognizing the crucial role that reading plays in a balanced and productive life.

This morning's Star reports the following:

Amidst the myriad of folks of all ages swarming Queen’s Park Circle for the Word on the Street Festival are parents like Stephen and Tara Palmer.

For them, it’s vital that twins, Tristan and Jacqueline, 4, develop a lifelong love of reading as early as possible.

“I think to be successful later in life in the field they choose to be in, (our kids) are going to need those skills. They’re going to need those skills to be basically happy people in society, to be well-rounded and to be able to think for themselves. The only thing you really own in this life is your mind,” said Stephen Palmer, 39, of Scarborough.

A profound observation: The only thing you really own in this life is your mind. When you think about it, that observation cuts through all of the propaganda we receive on a daily basis about the keys to fulfillment lying in the next purchase, be it the newest IPhone, the newest car, or the biggest house. Indeed, if we really can think for ourselves, we will inevitably conclude that constant growth and expansion through consumerism really is unsustainable.

And that was certainly the message of two of the 'rock stars' of ScotiaBank's Giller Prize speakers' series yesterday at the festival. On a tour together, Canadian icon and renowned scientist and environmentalist David Suzuki, and Jeff Rubin, the economist who has now written two books projecting our future as our energy costs rise, both agree that 'smaller' is an inevitable part of what awaits us.

Listening to these two men, and the intelligent questions that ensued after their presentations, made me realize even more acutely how blinkered and Manichean the Harper regime's outlook is. While regarding people like Suuzki as the enemy of the economy, the regime ignores the fact, as he pointed out, that a healthy biosphere is essential to a healthy economy, and that the two are really part of the same equation. For his part Rubin allowed that he would not expand the development of the tarsands until Canada had extracted much more of its value by refining the bitumen in Canada instead of exporting it away to be done in the U.S., thereby denying the creation of good jobs here.

Both men said much more, but I came away from the festival, having listened to other speakers as well, with the renewed conviction that an informed and literate electorate is the only real weapon against those who would further enslave us through our collective ignorance.

Word On The Street

Word on the street suggests that reading books is becoming obsolete. This Word on the Street, which we are heading off to attend, suggests otherwise.

Victory for Lucene Charles!

Lucene Charles, the St. Vincent native who has been battling deportation from Canada for some time now because of her failure to fill out the proper immigration papers years ago, has finally achieved victory.

The decision in principle to allow her to stay has been made, a decision that will be finalized after the proper criminal and medical checks have been completed. A woman who is a valued and contributing member of the Hamilton community, Charles has worked for many years at St Joseph's Hospital.

The fact that Canadian immigration officials have come to the right decision is a victory for everyone, considering the publicity surrounding her case, and the flurry of social activism and petitions that ensued, were very likely major influences in this decision.

It would seem that even the Harper regime is not totally immune to the public will.

Sometimes It Is Hard Not To Feel Smug

Many years ago, the singer Mac Davis wrote and performed a satirical song entitled "It's Hard To Be Humble," about a man so impressed with himself that he has no insight whatsoever into what a buffoon he really is.

I sometimes think of that song when I ponder the shenanigans of Toronto's chief magistrate, Rob Ford, a legend in his own mind and, in his fevered yet cruelly limited imagination, the victim of unwarranted aspersions cast by the envious, aka the pinko left, the chattering classes, and, well, just the damned envious.

So it was with much delight that I read this morning's column by The Star's Thomas Walkom. Entitled Three cheers for Rob Ford, true face of the modern right, the piece suggests that unlike those who try to conceal their true agenda, (think Stephen Harper and the recently-exposed Mitt Romney),

... Rob Ford is never flummoxed. Or perhaps it more accurate to say he is in a state of constant flummox.

His hypocrisy is upfront. Any other politician who made his name fighting the so-called gravy train might be embarrassed when found to use public resources inappropriately.

Ford, however, is unapologetic. Did he pressure city workers to fix up the street outside his family business? So what? Did he break conflict of interest rules? He never read them. Is he using taxpayer-funded resources for private activities? Forget about it.

And so the psychodrama continues. But unfortunately, when pondering people like Rob and brother Doug (the alleged 'brains' behind the operation), I sometimes find that, to paraphrase Mac Davis' song, it's hard not to be smug, something I usually strive to assiduously avoid in my journey through life.

When Seniors Get Angry

You know you're in trouble when seniors start booing you. Too bad we are still asleep at the switch in Canada when it comes to the unnecessary cuts in OAS that Harper is making:

H/t ThinkProgress