Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- George Monbiot highlights how his own experience being injured as a result of an unrepaired pothole demonstrates the cost of austerity for everybody. And Simon Enoch and Jon Milton write about the importance of defending Canada Post - particularly as communities which are already isolated and lacking other social infrastructure will bear the largest burden from any loss of services.

- Katherine Kruger discusses how the Trump regime is systematically handing the most possible power to the most pitiful losers it can find. David Dayen points out the utter farce of Russ Vought claiming that he's being reluctantly forced to carry out the type of traumatic cuts he's gleefully proclaimed his intention to inflict. And Melody Schreiber reports on Debra Houry's warning about the damage being done by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s takeover of U.S. federal public health.

- Samantha Hancox-Li writes about the need for Democrats to take on a war mindset to counter a fascist regime dedicated to their eradication. And Doug Saunders notes that Canada's choices in dealing with the U.S. will also include deciding who to side with as between the Trump regime and an opposing group of jurisdictions and entities.

- Finally, Jen Gerson discusses how the UCP's stoking of separatist anger serves mostly as a distraction from its own unwillingness to govern - and ultimately only proves that it can't be trusted to responsibly exercise the added power it wants to claim.

Musical interlude

Tomcraft - Loneliness (StereoUnderground Remix)

On changed realities

Readers may have noted that I've set up a reference page for the 2026 NDP leadership election, which will be updated with both reference information and my own posts on the race. (And yes, you can expect more new content here than I've posted recently.)

Before delving into the candidates individually, though, I'll take a moment to note what I'll be looking for throughout the campaign which will differ from past leadership races.

There has been plenty of acknowledgement that the NDP's dismal election result reflects both the change in political reality created by the Trump regime in the U.S., and the federal party's failure to respond to it with a campaign that took heed of a radically changed public mood. But with that in mind, one of the crucial tests I'll be applying to the leadership candidates is whether they're accounting for the Trump reality in their plans.

That doesn't mean that any particular leadership candidate, or the NDP as a party, can merely hope to step into the shoes of the Carney Libs as the main beneficiary of the public's general backlash against Trump. Instead, it means:

- organizing in ways which assist in developing a broader resistance movement on both sides of the border;

- identifying areas where the NDP can present a distinct and principled message, including by serving as the primary opposition to Trump's actions in areas where the Libs and Cons aren't prepared to do so; and

- pointing out the connections between Trump and his Canadian sympathizers and collaborators, while developing policies which help break the connection between concentrated wealth, corporate cronyism and government corruption.

While other issues will of course  be discussed as well, it's as much the case in Canada as in the U.S. that the other challenges of the time can't be met without a plan to counter or work around the abuses of the Trump regime. And any candidate who plans to use an outdated playbook can expect to fare little better than the party's national campaign.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- William Davies writes about the systematic stupidity being imposed by the Trump regime, while Noah Berlatsky notes that it's a feature rather than a bug for a fascist government seeking to keep the populace uninformed. And Aditya Chakrabortty discusses how Javier Milei is yet another right-wing darling whose government has proven an utter disaster. 

- Toby Buckle writes about the role of reactionary centrists in clearing the way for fascism. Waleed Shahid offers a reminder that bending over backward to appear "moderate" has done nothing to help U.S. Democrats win elections (and everything to cede political territory to increasingly radical Republicans). And A.R. Moxon warns against allowing the Trump regime to define political choices as a series of trolley problems where other people's agency is limited to making deliberately cruel decisions. 

- N+1's Editors discuss the best-case scenario for commercial-scale artificial intelligence as involving the generation of junk to further enrich the wealthy few. Edward Zitron points out the laughable improbability of AI living up to its hype based on obvious and inescapable resource limitations. And MacKenzie Sigalos reports on the disproportionate effect of crypto money on the 2024 U.S. elections. 

- Bill McGuire laments that politicians are responding to a worsening climate crisis by pouring perpetually more resources into dirtier activities. Niklas Boers et al. discuss the connection between key climate components which are all destabilizing. And Damian Carrington reports on a new study showing a dramatic increase in extremely hot days in the world's major cities. 

- Finally, Ratina Omidvar and Sabina Vohra-Miller discuss the need for a tax system that ensure the wealthy contribute to the well-being of Canadians. And Dru Oja Jay discusses the stark choice of directions for Canada Post - which can either be shrunk into uselessness to allow corporate raiders to take over profitable operations, or treated as nation-building infrastructure to support communities and services. 

NDP Leadership 2026 Reference Page

A one-stop source for general information about the NDP's 2026 leadership election. (And yes, there will be plenty more content to come as the campaign proceeds.)

General Information
NDP Constitution (PDF)
Leadership Rules (PDF)
NDP Leadership 2026

Candidate Information

Candidate	Website	Bluesky	Profile	Platform	Ranking
Rob Ashton	Rob Ashton - A Voice for Everyday People	@rob-for-ndp-leader.bsky.social
Yves Engler	HOME - Yves Engler for NDP Leader	@yvesforndpleader.bsky.social
Tanille Johnston	Tanille for NDP Leader	@votetanille.bsky.social
Avi Lewis	Lewis for Leader - Avi Lewis for NDP Leader	@avilewis.ca
Heather McPherson	Heather McPherson for Leader of Canada's NDP	@heathermcpherson.bsky.social
Tony McQuail	Tony McQuail Green Progressive	@mcquail4ndp.bsky.social

Posts
All Posts By Label

Discussion
Bluesky: #ndp - #ndpldr

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Jamelle Bouie offers a reminder that Donald Trump's assertion of the power of a dictator-for-life is based on his winning an election by electoral margins then embarking on a constant stream of reviled plans. Greg Sargent discusses polling showing that challenges to Trump's supposed economic prowess are proving particularly effective, while Gabe Ortiz points out that MAGA attacks on immigrants are a major cause of rising food prices. And Brian Beutler notes that for Democrats in the U.S. as for governments around the world, there's no point in trying to strike deals with a regime which considers itself entitled to thumb its nose at them. 

- James Hardwick highlights how financial speculators have set up a debt bomb which will eventually be blamed on (and directed toward) Canadian consumers. And John Anderson offers a reminder that postal banking has historically been a crucial part of the national infrastructure which has allowed Canada to develop - and is only being ruled out now due to the Libs' insistence that Canada Post not look for ways to better serve the public. 

- John Woodside writes that Mark Carney's attempt to address climate change through the morality and decency of the financial sector has proven as comically ineffective as one would expect, while Elizabeth May notes that Carney has abandoned climate policy altogether now that he holds power. Jocelyn Timperley discusses some of the most effective actions which are possible at the individual level, but Isaac Callan and Colin D'Mello report on on Doug Ford's dirty transportation policies as a prime example of governments sabotaging their already-insufficent climate plans. And Markham Hislop discusses yet another example of the oil sector slashing jobs while still demanding public policy concessions in order to extract massive profits: 

- Finally, Simon Enoch rightly calls out arsonists like Danielle Smith and Scott Moe for pushing separatism as a distraction from their working against their citizens. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Fall cat.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Truth and Reconciliation Day reading.

- Doug Cuthand offers a reminder of the systematic harm done to Indigenous people by a settler state seeking to eradicate them. And Tanya Talaga writes about the need to protect today's Indigenous youth, while Eva Jewell points out the Indigenous women who are still largely ignored as they suffer violence and discrimination. 

- Jonathan Last discusses how the Trump regime's abuses have exceeded even the seeming worst-case scenarios from a year ago. And Andy Craig writes that the least U.S. Democrats can do is stop funding an authoritarian government - which should make for an important consideration for other actors deciding how to deal with the Trump administration as well. 

- Lisa Held reports on the Democrats' much-needed efforts to point out how corporate control and consolidation are making food less healthy and more expensive. Sara Connors reports on the Libs' choice to cut funding for a program to feed Indigenous children in the Yukon. And Prem Sikka discusses how direct government investment and ownership are a must to support economic growth that isn't directed entirely toward further enriching the wealthiest few. 

- Mitchell Beer reports on the call by Canadian municial leaders for Canada's nation-building projects to avoid exacerbating the climate crisis. Dean Baker discusses how action against the climate crisis also helps to ensure affordability for the general public. And Kyle Stock reports on the popularity of used electric vehicles in the U.S. as a demonstration of the demand for cleaner transportation as long as it isn't artifically overpriced, while Enrico Moretti and Harrison Wheeler examine the benefits of reduced traffic noise from EVs.

- Aaron Gell exposes a new report showing how the insurance industry is booking massive profits while refusing to cover the most important risks people face. 

- Finally, Pamela Duncan et al. study how far-right Facebook groups have radicalized anti-immigrant bigotry in the UK. And Cory Doctorow discusses how the AI bubble is set to pop at any time now.

Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Chris Mowles discusses how growing uncertainty requires our public institutions to develop redundancies and alternate means of providing services, rather than focusing on the false "efficiency" of austerity. Emiliano Brancaccio reports on France's "block everything" movement against austerity as an example for citizens elsewhere. And Miiki Ilomaki notes that other countries should be following Finland's lead in ensuring stockpiles of food and needed supplies to deal with foreseeable geopolitical shocks.

- Maia Mindel discusses how the dangers of inequality are manifesting themselves as the greediest, most power-hungry few systematically take over more decision-making power. And Iglika Ivanova notes that British Columbia is yet another example of a jurisdiction where revenue giveaways to the wealthy few are being treated as an excuse to cut services for everybody else. 

- Nicholas Grossman points out that Ezra Klein offers a lamentable example of how the corporate media has greased the skids for Donald Trump's fascist regime by simultaneously normalizing its cruelty and tone-policing anybody who dares to engage in principled criticism. Adam Bonica writes that abandoning minority groups to the predations of the Trump regime is no way to build a resistance movement or opposition party, while Katelyn Burns discusses the parallels in the treatment of anti-trans and anti-science disinformation. And Brian Beutler laments the prominent Democrats who are refusing to engage with a system increasingly stacked against them. 

- Finally, Gilbert Gaul notes that the climate breakdown is making home insurance increasingly unaffordable (or just plain unavailable). And Paul Krugman discusses how the Trump regime is planning to send health care insurance costs into the stratosphere in order to partially pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest few.