When the provincial NDP were elected in 2017, one of their first orders of business was a very positive change to campaign financing at the municipal level. Within months, they passed legislation prohibiting donations to municipal political parties from corporations and unions, and banning individual donations over $1,200. Vancouver’s two developer-friendly municipal parties — Vision…
Category: Trumpism
No justice; no peace; no racist police
From Beverly Hills to Brooklyn, America is burning. The gruesome police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis has understandably reignited the fear, anger and concern about centuries of systemic racism — not just in the U.S. but also here at home in Canada, where racism has been embedded in society all the way back to…
How to counter a dangerous trend
I was astonished to learn that on Monday, May 11 about 50 people congregated outside of St. Paul’s Hospital to denounce COVID-19 as a hoax and urge the lifting of restrictions. They allege that doctors and scientists are lying, and hospitals are empty. This is about the fourth hoaxer march in Vancouver. I don’t know…
When courage really counts
Tuesday night, I watched the Democratic presidential candidates’ debate — the last debate before the South Carolina primary on Feb. 29 and the Super Tuesday vote March 3, when about 1/3 of Democrats cast their ballots in 15 American states and territories for who they want their presidential candidate to be. For a large part…
The challenge: A progressive in ultra-nationalist times
I watched President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night and, like me, if you did, too, you probably were turned off big time. It was a typical Trump event — a speech filled full of false facts with a lot of reality TV gimmicks thrown in for good measure. It was anything…
Here’s hoping Iran/US talks resume
I was waiting on tenterhooks for President Trump’s press conference Wednesday morning. In response to the Iranian ballistic missile strike on US airbases in Iraq the day prior, would he order a retaliatory American attack? Were we going to end up with another war in the Middle East? Iran, with a population of 80 million,…
The shadow of Geoff Meggs
Big news on the political front: Geoff Meggs is leaving civic politics and moving to the provincial scene, where he will be working for premier-designate, John Horgan, as chief of staff. While I have been very pleased with all of John Horgan’s other announcements so far, this one leaves a bad taste in my mouth….