Monday Afternoon Links

Miscellaneous material to start your week.

- Samantha Hancox-Li discusses the need to ensure the rampant violence and corruption of the second Trump term is met with prosecutions, rather than another round of calls to sweep criminality under the rug yet again as long as it's being committed from sufficiently powerful positions. Alan Elrod points out the need for the Democratic Party to lead that effort (no matter how much more comfortable its legislative leaders are trying to pretend that Republican fascists are their friends). 

- Jonathan Watts discusses the dangers of trying to keep countries addicted to fossil fuels by force even as cleaner and more affordable options become readily available. And Carl Meyer examines the similarities between the anti-regulation, pro-dirty energy structures put in place by the Trump regime and the Carney government. 

- Sophie Hurwitz weighs in on the reality that opposition to data centres is one of the few truly unifying issues across party lines in the U.S. And Tom Chivers points out that young voters are particularly skeptical of artificial intelligence.

- Joseph Cox reports on the FBI's plans to buy U.S.-wide license plate reading technology to effectively allow for total surveillance of anybody with their own vehicle. And Michael Geist writes about the Carney Libs' continued push to impose absolute online surveillance on Canadians. 

- Finally, Luke Savage calls out the small-c conservative demand that the plebes work until they drop (toward the purpose of further enriching the ruling class). 

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Matthew Sitman writes about the fundamentally anti-social values being pushed by U.S. Republicans and their right-wing cousins - as well as the desperate need for pushback from progressives who actually value communities and the people who live in them. Gregg Gonsalves writes that the U.S.' political system as a whole is painfully prepared to let people die, whether based on explicit greed or simply a lack of willingness to fight to value their lives. And Jim Harding discusses how the health care crisis in many Canadian provinces is entirely the result of right-wing premiers' political distaste for public care services.

- Jessica Corbett analyzes how hikes in U.S. gas prices are the result of oil industry profiteering rather than any increase to its own costs. And Brent Jang reports on the predictably soaring price tag on the Coastal Gas Link pipeline - as well as the demand that carbon-polluting gas exports be subsidized in order to ensure the pipeline operator walks away with its expected profit. 

- Meanwhile, Paris Marx discusses how big tech's posturing as the only available provider of green development opportunities often serves as one of the primary obstacles to progress.

- Zachary Carter is rightly aghast at the theory that interest rate hikes with the purpose and effect of slashing jobs and wages would serve as anything but a disaster for the economy (as it affects the majority of people). 

- Finally, Max Fawcett offers a reminder that Pierre Poilievre's attacks on "gatekeepers" in fact reflects a desire to demolish institutions which protect people against abuse by the wealthy and powerful. 

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Zak Vescera reports on the combination of high rates of hospitalization and virtually nonexistent vaccination that's resulted from Scott Moe's surrender to COVID-19. And Nicholas Larsen et al. add autonomic dysfunction to the list of post-COVID symptoms which are common even among people fortunate enough to avoid a severe case. 

- Jonathan Josephs reports that the deliberate decisions of corporate vaccine manufacturers have resulted in a more severe pandemic due to a choice not to make supplies available more equitably. And Joel Lexchin discusses how the Libs have caved to big pharma in failing to keep their promise to rein in prescription drug prices. 

- Ed Yong writes that the systemic consequences of climate change include increasing the frequency and severity of infectious diseases. Oliver Milman reports that we're approaching a cataclysmic extinction of marine life. Shirin Ali reports on a new study finding that half of the U.S.' water is too polluted to be used for swimming, fishing or drinking. 

- Anders Fremstad and Mark Paul discuss how neoliberal ideology has been used to stifle meaningful action to protect our climate and planetary environment. And Jessica Scott-Reid reports on the obstruction by the meat industry seeking to stop the development of plant-based products. 

- Umair Haque discusses how the right in the U.S. has managed not only to shatter the Overton window with shifts not just off the political spectrum but outside objective reality, but also to convince itself that the exact opposite has happened. And David Sirota warns that an ineffectual and captured Democratic administration is only reinforcing that nihilistic sentiment. 

- Finally, Alex Himelfarb offers a message of hope and solidarity for collective action in a time which demands it. 

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Zak Vescera exposes how the Saskatchewan Health Authority warned Scott Moe's government that it was extending a COVID wave, endangering lives and exceeding the capacity of the health care system by eliminating public health protections, only to have Moe barge ahead with his plans for mass spread. Linda McQuaig discusses how Doug Ford has chosen to let the denialist convoy dictate his province's COVID-19 policy at the cost of Ontario's health, while Becky Robertson reports on the locations bringing in their own mandatory masking policies to try to make up for the government's neglect. And Nora Loreto highlights the data deficit which has been an issue throughout the pandemic - even as it's been made worse recently due to the deliberate choice to deprive people of the information needed to assess their own risk. 

- Elizabeth Payne reports on a new study confirming that children are in fact substantial sources of spread within households. And Ashley Okwuosa reports on research showing how migrant agricultural workers were - and remain - particularly vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19 in Ontario. 

- Dru Oja Jay interviews Mostafa Heneway about his experience working at Amazon and the first successful certification vote at its Staten Island warehouse. 

- Jordan Press reports on the Libs' choice to exclude labour from any consultation on an announced skills training program. Clem Nocos examines the federal budget's funding for climate initiatives, while pointing out the folly of making a fossil fuel subsidy its largest payout. Barbara Shecter reports on the modest increases in taxes on the financial sector. But Darren Shore points out how those along with other announcements fall short of both the Libs' promises, and what's needed to ensure that the wealthiest pay their fair share.

- Finally, Mitchell Thompson discusses how what's presented for public consumption as small-government budgeting in fact reflects untrammeled racism. 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- John Michael McGrath writes that the Omicron wave of COVID may manage to be the most disruptive year, while Alex Press discusses how its effects at an individual level may differ drastically based on one's income.

- Ed Yong warns that the U.S.' health care system is grossly underequipped to deal with the Omicron wave. Ashleigh Stewart reports on the impending nursing shortage in Canada, while Nicholas Frew reports on projections that Alberta will soon see record high hospitalization levels. Lindsay Tanner and Mike Stobbe report on the U.S.' soaring COVID hospitalization numbers among children too young to be vaccinated. Roni Caryn Rabin notes that even children who recover from initial symptoms are at a higher risk of developing diabetes.

- Sharon Kirkey summarizes the current state of knowledge around long COVID - including the devastating effects people have suffered already, and the great unknowns about longer-term damage. Reuters reports on Finland's warning that it may become the country's largest and most severe chronic disease.

- But in case anybody thought greater awareness of the consequences of COVID and its variants would lead to more responsible choices, Adam Hunter reports on the Moe government's refusal to implement any limitations on gatherings even as health officials beg people to be more responsible than their political leaders. Jim Stanford rightly calls out the trend of Canadian employers demanding that employees come to work while infected and infectious, while Alex Press points out the same trend in the U.S. And Katherine Wu discusses the complete lack of logic behind the CDC's latest self-isolation guidelines.

- Finally, Scott Schmidt blasts the conservative messaging machine for having the nerve to blame others for the decisions of right-wing governments to expose people to avoidable risk while undermining any public response.

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Rich Mendes reports on new research showing that the longstanding focus on physical distance as a means of avoiding the indoor transmission of COVID-19 has been misplaced. Erin Anderssen and Marcus Gee examine some of Canada's hardest-hit intensive care units to show the day-to-day disaster caused by the spread of the coronavirus. And Denise Lu reports on the U.S.' excess death total which is higher than the one caused by the 1918 pandemic.

- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus writes about what should be a fairly simple choice for wealthier countries who can either keep the population of the entire world at unnecessary risk by prioritizing intellectual property rights over vaccinations, or help protect everybody at the cost of a few windfall profits. And Stephen Buranyi likewise argues that patents shouldn't stand in the way of vaccines for everybody.

- Andrew Nikiforuk discusses how Jason Kenney's UCP has provided a laughable excuse for consultation in order to push ahead with coal mining in the face of public opprobrium and the complete absence of an economic case for it. Ubaka Ogbogu and Lorian Hardcastle criticize Kenney's choice to protect the profits of long-term care operators responsible for the spread of COVID-19 among their residents, rather than at least allowing families to seek to hold them accountable. And David Climenhaga notes that the conservative "resistance" in Canada has lost both any influence it once claimed over climate policy, and any credibility with voters who have seen the consequences of its negligence in governing through COVID times. 

- Hiroko Tabuchi reports on a new U.N. study which concludes that methane leaks - and reliance on natural gas - are incompatible with our achieving any reasonable climate targets.

- Finally, Kerry Black takes the insolvency of Laurentian University as a starting point to question our refusal to properly fund universities generally.

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Andrew Nikiforuk writes about Canada's contributions to the evidence showing how COVID-zero strategies have produced better results in terms of both health and economics - though sadly the Conservative-governed provinces are determined to keep up the harm from allowing the spread of the coronavirus (including its new variants of concern). And Katherine Wu writes about the dangers of people taking time off from the requirements of public health rules and recommendations, while  Stephanie Hogan discusses the stress the pandemic is putting on everybody affected by it.

- Nafeez Ahmed writes about right-wing anti-science disinformation as it's been applied to the coronavirus pandemic. And Heather Mallick offers a reminder that individual decisions not to get vaccinated (or otherwise take responsible steps to stop community transmission) will have real consequences for others who don't enjoy the same choices.

- Paola Rose-Aquino reports on positive news from the CDC to the effect that vaccination appears to prevent an individual from spreading COVID-19. 

- Robert Hiltz calls out Jason Kenney's insistence on fighting Bigfoot rather than lifting a finger to deal with the real problems facing Alberta. And Max Fawcett discusses how Kenney's decision to inflict an outdated and laughably biased curriculum on students doesn't offer a lesson in anything but pitiful governance.

- Finally, Alex Nguyen reports on new research showing no scenario in which using public money to complete the Trans Mountain pipeline offers any net benefit to Canada. And Ian Sherriff-Scott reports on the CCPA's latest report on the importance of legislated support for workers in transitioning to a clean economy.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Steven Lewis examines how Canada can and should learn from Australia's success in controlling the coronavirus, while Robert Danich writes that conservative governments need to learn that they have responsibility for social health and well-being rather than pointing the finger at individuals. And Richard Matern observes that COVID-19 represents one of many dangers where none of us are truly safe unless everybody is protected.

- Derek Thompson takes note of the amount of effort being wasted on "hygiene theatre" rather than steps which meaningfully reduce COVID transmission. Martin Regg Cohn offers a reminder that masks rather than vaccines are the key new measure available to reduce individual exposure to COVID-19 (though of course social distancing remains the most important factor in reducing community spread). Cory Stieg examines the California jobs which are facing the greatest increase in mortality risk as a result of COVID-19 - with line workers and labourers bearing the brunt of the virus. And Wallis Snowden reports on what doctors were able to learn from the Edmonton curling bonspiel which turned into a superspreader event.

- Meanwhile, Peter Zimonjic and Vassy Kapelos report on the millions of rapid tests which are being wasted by provinces who demanded them in the first place (with Saskatchewan standing out as not even bothering to report on their use). And Stephanie Taylor reports on modeling showing nearly 19,000 asymptomatic COVID cases in Saskatchewan.

- Linda McQuaig highlights the unfairness that results when publicly-funded vaccine research turns into production and distribution designed to maximize corporate profits. And Joel Lexchin offers a historical reminder as to why Canada has been scrambling to find private vaccine supplies, rather than having meaningful public capacity available. 

- Kate Korte points out that free post-secondary education would be particularly valuable in the wake of the pandemic. But Ian Froese reports on the Pallister government's plans to instead force Manitoba students to systematically pay tuition in order to perform work for private employers. 

- Finally, Bruce Campbell writes about the prospect that 2021 could be a decisive turning point on climate action - but that it's still far from certain whether we'll end up shifting in the right direction. And PA Media points out how many lives strong climate action would save in terms of other factors including healthier lifestyles and reduced air pollution.

Thursday Morning Links

 This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Tom Kibasi examines how the UK Cons' mismanagement - both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic - has resulted in disastrous public health consequences. And Denna Berg and Karin Taylor find that right-wing governments in general have seen far worse outcomes than parties which aren't hostile to the concept of state action in the public interest.  

- Bruce Arthur questions Doug Ford's absolute failure to take signs of rapid spread in Ontario seriously, while the Globe and Mail's editorial board notes that a fall wave is somehow catching conservative governments by surprise as it arrives on schedule. And Oliver Moore reports on the additional measures taken by Toronto's city council while the provincial government wastes valuable time.

- May Warren shares stories and suggestions from some of the people who have suffered from the coronavirus. Andre Picard warns against getting complacent about COVID-19 based on recent death numbers which don't reflect the continuing risk from the virus. And Zeynep Tufecki highlights why we should pay more attention to dispersion effects from superspreaders (rather than averages) in planning to mitigate harm. 

- Jillian Horton writes that mask wearing is the one free lunch available to us in limiting the spread of COVID-19. And that makes it particularly foolish of Scott Moe and his denialist crowd to be normalizing the anti-social choice to fall short of the bare minimum level of individual responsibility - particularly while refusing to respond adequately through public policy either. 

- Finally, Bob Weber reports on new research in the Canadian Medical Associaion Journal showing how income inequality is reflected in health outcomes. Kendall Latimer reports on the Saskatchewan Party's utter refusal to deal with an outbreak of HIV, particularly among Indigenous people. And Moira Wyton discusses how shortages of rural health care impose high costs on people who are often unable to afford them.

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Heather Scoffield writes that contrary to the spin from corporate mouthpieces, workers have been eager to find work when it's been available in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. And John Cartwright comments on the need for a recovery to be just and equitable for everybody.

- Instead, Anand Giridharidas highlights how it's billionaires who have taken advantage of the coronavirus to line their pockets with unprecedented fortunes, while Oxfam examines how COVID-19 has exacerbated inequality and allowed employers to put even more extreme pressure on workers. And Ed Yong writes about the U.S.' coronavirus death spiral.

- Paul Vallely discusses how philanthropy serves the wealthiest few, rather than the people who are supposed to benefit from charitable contributions.

- George Monbiot discusses how the UK is relying on little more than corruption for its political and economic foundation. And Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean points out how the model of "fiscal conservatism" at the base of Western Canada's right-wing parties involves brutal austerity for the people who can least afford it, but extremely loose spending when it comes to political friends and donors.

- Finally, Dan Fumano reports on the successes of British Columbia's new regulator which has been taking long-needed steps to improve the condition of rental housing since the province finally elected a government interested in the public's well-being. And Jordan Press reports on the push from municipalities to ensure that available housing is made affordable for people who need it, rather than turning into a cash cow for already-wealthy property managers.

Wednesday Morning Links

Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading.

- Justin Ling discusses the dangers of the U.S.' fever swamp conspiracy theories as they get shared - and warped - for Canadian marks. Ryan Cooper writes about the conservative victimhood complex which has made it impossible for the U.S. to be governed in the public interest. And Megan Garber notes that the rise in media echo chambers - and connected decline in local news - has kept far too many people from having credible sources reporting on the world around them.

- Laurie Adkin and Ricardo Acuna highlight how Jason Kenney's UCP has taken direct aim at democratic rights and norms in Alberta to replace it with an unaccountable kleptocracy. Gil McGowan warns against Kenney's plans to replace any labour rights with U.S.-style anti-worker laws. And CBC News reports that the Municipality of Wood Buffalo is having to sue tar sands operators to pay taxes owing - even as the UCP shovels more and more money to the fossil fuel sector based on the laughable promise that it will pay off at some point.

- Greta Thunberg offers a travel diary from her efforts to motivate the world to finally act to avert climate breakdown. And Nerilie Abram, Matthew England and Matt King discuss the threat posed by the destabilization and disappearance of Antarctica's ice sheets.

- Meanwhile, Kevin Ma reports on the perpetually-increasing amount of electronic waste being disposed of every year.

- Finally, John Muscedere and Russell Williams write that seniors deserve far better than to be warehoused in for-profit long-term care operations - and that much of the answer may lie in ensuring supports are available to allow people to remain safely in their own homes.

Tuesday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Tuesday reading.

- Ian Welsh highlights the false choice between lives and the economy which is being used an excuse to concentrate the power of the wealthy at the expense of both. And Paul Krugman makes the obvious point - yet one seemingly controversial among Republicans and Cons alike - that it's a success to help workers rather than condemning them to death.

- Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon reports on the latest move by the right to suppress facts about the coronavirus to that end, as the architect of Florida' lauded dashboard has been pushed out for insisting that it be used to provide accurate data. Caitlyn McGlade reports on Arizona's refusal to name nursing homes with known COVID-19 outbreaks because it might be bad for business. And Peter Geoghegan and Mary Fitzgerald discuss the UK culture war aimed at attacking the concepts of science and expertise.

- Shannon Osaka discusses the sleight of hand used by fossil fuel giants to claim to be pushing toward carbon neutrality while omitting the carbon pollution generated by their products.

- Shawn McCarthy notes that the pandemic only highlights the desperate need to act to rein in climate change. Michael Enright interviews Charles Taylor about his hope that we'll win the battle against a climate breakdown. And Akshat Rathi discusses the growing consensus as to the value of recovering from the COVID recession through a Green New Deal.

- But Mia Rabson reports that the Libs have decided to put even their already-meager environmental plans on hold while catering to the corporate class. And Beatrice Britneff reports that a modest increase to Old Age Security is likewise being delayed in favour of one-time relief, turning what would have been a predictable source of income into a single payment.

- Finally, Noah Berlatsky comments on "vice-signaling" as a prominent and growing facet of conservatism.

New column day

Here, on how the criticisms which were used to push Andrew Scheer out of the Cons' leadership role in fact reflect the fundamental problems with a party built around selfishness as the sole ideal to be pursued.

For further reading...
- David Akin reported on Scheer's prolific spending when he was running for the Cons' leadership.
- David Pugliese listed some of Peter MacKay's most prominent scandals, including his use of a military helicopter for a personal fishing trip. Global News reported on the donor-funded (and publicly-subsidized) top-ups paid to Christy Clark and Brad Wall. And Adam Hunter reported on Stephen Harper's current ride on the Saskatchewan Party's gravy train (with whistle stops to boost the local nativist demogogues along the way).
- And Kevin Drum looked at another application of the view of conservatism as the practice of promoting selfishness.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Owen Jones offers a needed reminder that no matter how often it gets trotted out as a basis to ignore the ideological underpinnings of parties oriented toward the concentration of wealth and power, the concept of compassionate conservatism is nothing more than a self-serving myth.

- Donna Borak reports that the Trump tax giveaway to the wealthy has predictably led to a massive increase in the U.S.' deficit (which is of course now being used as an excuse to call to slash social supports). And Scott Kohn notes that almost immediately after reversing course from its own exercise in trickle-down fundamentalism, Kansas is seeing its economy and budget start to recover.

- David Hughes points out that the partisan politics behind the purchase and approval of the Trans Mountain have nothing to do with the public interest. Fiona Harvey reports on the lack of reporting and planning from the planet's worst corporate polluters. And Don Thompson reports on a new California spill in which hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil were dumped into a canyon.

- Bronwen Tucker reports that a year after Greyhound shut down its intercity bus service (even after the Saskatchewan Party dismantled STC based on belief in magical free-market replacements), nobody has stepped in to fill the void on any substantial scale.  And the Canadian Press reports on Jagmeet Singh's call for a national cycling strategy as part of the transition toward cleaner and more community-friendly transportation.

- Finally, Michelle Ghoussoub reports on research showing a direct connection between residential school attendance in one generation and the taking of Indigenous children into state care in the next.

New column day

Here, on Scott Moe's choice to pursue strongman politics indistinguishable from the Donald Trumps and Doug Fords of the world.

For further reading...
- D.C. Fraser reported on Moe's willingness to stand with and behind Ford no matter how preposterous his claims. And Fatima Syed noted that both Moe and Ford are shoveling grossly inaccurate information in the name of exacerbating climate breakdown, while CTV's Question Period interview (see link in right column) featured Moe's declaration that he's not interested in facts.
- Andrew Coyne discussed the reality that a war on the truth is one of the defining features of the right - even when it occasionally backtracks on attacking the media directly. And Bob Hepburn noted that Ford and Andrew Scheer are following Trump's playbook.
- PressProgress has documented some of the Jason Kenney UCP's links to the explicitly racist right. And Gillian Steward wrote about his plan to go to war against environmentalists.
- Murray Mandryk and Tammy Robert highlighted the total lack of responsiveness from Moe's cabinet when faced with even basic factual questions. CBC reported on Moe's choice to meet with Ford alone rather than a national group of leaders - then to lie about his direction to pull Saskatchewan from any national talks while trying to claim national leadership. And Bryan Eneas reported on the sudden purchase of semi-automatic rifles for use in patrols in rural Saskatchewan.
- Finally, Mandryk argued that Moe is putting conservatism over the public interest - though I'd consider it worth distinguishing between ideological conservatism alone, and the strongman model which is actually taking precedence.

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Terry Schwadron writes about Donald Trump's war on the poor, while Rosemary Feurer and Chad Pearson highlight how U.S. businesses and their political pawns have undermined the labour movement. And David Climenhaga and PressProgress point out that we should expect exactly the same from Jason Kenney should he get the chance to make life worse for Albertans.

- Meanwhile, Matt Bruenig suggests that workers learn from the corporate consolidation of power to push for coordinated wage levels:

In theory, setting wages across the economy in a coordinated way through centralized labor agreements can solve both of these problems. It can make it to where you can employ everyone normally without risking inflation and can stop the wage suppression caused by low population and job-seeking frictions.

To understand why centralized labor agreements can solve the inflation problem that [a job guarantee] can’t, it is useful to conceptualize wage-price inflation as a classic collective action problem. Each individual, acting alone, has an incentive to maximize their wage, but if all individuals do it simultaneously and beyond a certain level, it sets off unsustainable wage-price inflation that ends up biting the workers one way or another. Coordinated wage-setting can solve this problem by ensuring that workers, and their representatives, hash out appropriate wage levels every few years. If the worker groups act responsibly, they will take note of what sort of wages productivity growth will permit and restrain their wage growth accordingly. In theory, this sort of wage price-fixing means that you can nip wage-price inflation in the bud and push unemployment all the way down without the need for jobseekers to bid down wages.

Centralized labor agreements also solve the employer market power problems that antitrust cannot. Rural workers will never have that many employers to choose from, but if those employers are forced to abide by the central wage agreements, the workers will be still be compensated fairly. Additionally, the diminished power that results from job-switching frictions need not suppress wages where strong unions can provide countervailing power that does not rely upon the threat of switching jobs.

- Neela Banerjee discusses how the U.S.' regulatory apparatus - and particularly the EPA under Scott Pruitt - has been turned into a servant of the corporate interests it should be regulating. And Carl Meyer reports on how the power of the state is being used to stifle reporting on public protests in Canada.

- Luke Savage reviews two new books on the causes and implications of increasingly authoritarian right-wing parties. 

- Finally, Sachin Jain comments on the role social interaction plays in individual health.

#MacKayTees

I won't claim to match Stephen Lautens' collection of #MacKayTees. But I will add a couple to the mix.

First, making using of a picture which fortuitously made its way around the Internets yesterday:

And second, encapsulating conservatism in four small words:

Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Dene Moore reports on Enbridge's efforts to turn the Northern Gateway pipeline review process into an inquisition against critics. But I'll point out that thanks to the Harper Cons, that strategy is even more insidious than it seems at first glance: because of inflexible timelines the Cons have deliberately built into review processes, any time Enbridge can waste on such side issues only raises the likelihood of the project receiving approval by default.

- Meanwhile, Carol Linnitt compares the sources of funding and support for critics and proponents of the Gateway pipeline - and not surprisingly, finds that the oil sector is where we should have some concern about foreign control. And Tim Groves discusses how the oil industry has been in cahoots with Canada's security apparatus to coordinate against critics.

- Bruce Cheadle reports on the Cons' latest ad spending revelations - with tens of millions of dollars being poured into a new ad blitz even as the programs being promoted have receded in the rear-view mirror.

- Finally, Purple Library Guy nicely highlights some of the inherent contradictions in right-wing ideology:

Charities do a pathetically bad job taking care of the poor compared to government programs; research on this is so clear as to reach confidence levels typical of physics rather than sociology. But my question is, how can they believe all those things at the same time? If welfare is bad for the recipients because they become dependent on it, then surely charity is also bad for the recipients because they become dependent on it. If those charities were actually better at taking care of the poor than the government would be, that would just make it worse.

The right also believes the government shouldn't create jobs and that there needs to be enough structural employment to encourage labour force "flexibility" (i.e. settling for low wages and crappy working conditions for fear of not having a job). Admittedly they don't often tell the voters about that last bit, it's more something they talk about in elite business and economics publications. At the same time they believe that if anyone doesn't have a job, or their job doesn't pay enough to live on, it is their own fault for not having more initiative and self-reliance (see above about welfare). Again, I don't see how you can have both these beliefs in one ideology; if you're deliberately arranging for a certain level of unemployment then you are making sure that a certain percentage of people, no matter how much initiative or self-reliance they may have, won't have jobs. Turning around and blaming the victims is vicious and hypocritical of course, but it's also a logical contradiction. Both facets of right wing belief cannot be true.

So on this as on so many other issues, the right is not just factually wrong (although it is) and not just deliberately engineered to benefit the few at the expense of the many (although it's that too). It's impossible, a system of ideas that contradicts itself from the get-go. It's not just that the Right isn't right. The Right cannot be right. It would have to abandon some of its beliefs before there was even a point to testing whether the remainder were accurate.

Sunday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Danielle Martin discusses the importance of federal involvement in Canada's public health care system:

Whose job is it to co-ordinate health-care reform in Canada? Canadians expect our federal government to play that role. We want to know that wherever we live, we will have access to an equivalent basket of services. We want to know that our governments are buying in bulk whenever possible, maximizing savings. And we want assurances that some basic standards are being met from coast to coast to coast. Health care may be a provincial responsibility, but we know there’s a need for a family to co-ordinate its efforts.
...
(T)he 2012 federal budget cut Health Canada, and said nothing about meaningful change. The only nod to improving the system was a three-year, $6.5-million study on cost-effectiveness in health care.

But that ignores the mountains of evidence we already have about how to improve our health-care system while making it more efficient. It’s becoming baffling to Canadians as to why our federal government wouldn’t co-ordinate a national pharmacare system that could save billions. Everyone knows you get a better deal if you buy in bulk.
...
Canadians are still optimistic about our health-care system. Most of us believe it’s the best in the world. We’re happy with a publicly funded system. A lot of us think that it takes care of our most vulnerable, and that it will be there for us if we’re ill or injured.

It makes you wonder why the federal government wouldn’t want to fight for that system, and lead the transformation needed to keep Canada ahead of the pack on health care. Canadians take pride in their health-care system — so should their government.

- Doug Cuthand highlights some of the important and inexpensive programs the Cons are attacking in the name of austerity (but with the poorly-veiled goal of eliminating accurate information on inequality in Canada) - with First Nations in particular standing to suffer from the Cons' bias:

The budget speech is all about putting a good face on what's in the document, with the nasty details buried to be dug out later. We learned from the budget speech that the First Nations Statistical Institute is gone. Next came the announcement that the National Health organization will shut down in June because its funding was cut completely.

As well, the National Council of Welfare has been scrapped. It was the only federal agency that had an exclusive mandate to improve the lives of poor people.

So what's happening? The Harper government is using austerity as an excuse to clean house and get rid of programs that were either supported by the Liberals or could provide valuable information to advocacy groups. In the process, aboriginal people are becoming collateral damage.
...
Unfortunately, we have a federal government that is more interested in spin and deception than in consultation and democratic institutions. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation is gone in addition to NAHO and the statistical institute. One can't help but wonder where this will lead us.

The prime minister's reaction to the housing crisis at Attawapiskat was a clear indication that he can't tolerate bad news. He blamed the community and its leadership. He sent in an auditor and put the onus on the community. Will this be the reaction to other First Nations that speak out about their sorry living conditions?

Now we have to wait for the next shoe to drop. The word in the colonial office is that the government will make an announcement next week about grants and contributions. This is the money that flows to the First Nations and political organizations. Can we expect cuts? You bet we can. Just how deep the cuts will go is the question.

- Meanwhile, Dave points out the Centre for Plant Health, another of the casualties of the Cons' war on science. And Tim Harper raises his own concerns, while noting that the NDP is well positioned to claim the title of party best placed to provide responsible government if the Cons' cuts lead to predictable health and safety consequences.

- Crawford Kilian optimistically thinks there's a conservative soul to be saved through a splinter party from the Cons.

- Susan Delacourt proposes that political marketing and advertising be subject to publicly-enforceable standards.

- Finally, Dr. Dawg recognizes that there's only so much we can accomplish through a political system which the Cons are entirely happy to trash. But I'd see that problem as part of the reason why unofficial gathering places and a consistent flow of information to counter the Cons' publicly-funded propaganda - whether online or otherwise - are absolutely needed to help muster a movement to change course.

Saturday Morning Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Trish Hennessy points out that there's a debt crisis facing many Canadians that will only be exacerbated by public-sector slashing:

1.57 Trillion
Canadians’ household debt in the second quarter of 2011, reaching an all-time high this year.
...
150.8%
Canadians’ household debt ratio to personal disposable income in the second quarter of 2011, higher than our U.S. neighbours.

148.7%
Canadian households’ credit market debt ratio to personal disposable income, second quarter 2011.
...
1 in 10
Number of Canadians who say even with a credit card or line of credit they would have trouble paying an unforeseen $500 expense.

- Janice Kennedy discusses the Cons' efforts to shout down anybody who expresses even the most reasonable disagreement with them:

If differing opinions were anti-Semitic, then half of present-day Israel could be considered anti-Semitic.

It's like the neo-cons' familiar "anti-American" label routinely hung on Canadians opposed to the most recent Bush administration.

A disparaging word about George W. and his cohorts, and - zap - you were anti-American. Trouble is, such reasoning would have made an awful lot of United States citizens anti-American.

But such charges effectively shut down debate. That's their value.
...
(D)on't hold your breath waiting for some version of Speakers' Corner here. Our neo-con overlords wouldn't stand for it.

They have no qualms about denouncing human rights commissions - which, for all their flawed mechanics, do try to correct wrongs - as "star chambers." As newspaper readers, some of them threaten to cancel their subscription when the paper runs columnists not on their wavelength. They delight in turning up their noses at "political correctness," instead of the, yes, sometimes awkward impulse to reduce the sum total of offence given in the world.

And they apparently relish shutting down, and shutting up, the opposition.

- Naturally I have some doubt about Skippy's claim that conservatism has ever particularly opposed lying, stupidity or creative math. But there's no disagreeing with the reality that any aversion to those problems is sorely lacking from the right on both sides of the U.S. border.

- Finally, the good news when it comes to diversity in candidates in Saskatchewan's provincial election: First Nations are better represented than ever before in the main parties' candidate nominations, with the proportion of aboriginals among the NDP's candidates actually exceeding that in the general population. But then there's the bad news: CBC notes that there's a long way to go toward anything approaching representative levels of women candidates.

Update: Let's add Paul Wells on the NDP leadership race:

The worst thing for the NDP would be a coronation. I’ve been an admirer of Topp’s intelligence and strategic sense since it became obvious, in 2006 or so, that Layton grew bolder and more sure-footed whenever Topp was on hiatus from his labour-union day job to whisper in the leader’s ear. In private, on paper, Topp is the closest any party has to Stephen Harper for political skill. But the things nobody knows about him are most of the things that matter in politics. Can he fill a room with his voice? Stand up to brutal attack? Persuade people who didn’t think they could ever agree with him?

The Liberal lesson is that a problem doesn’t go away just because you wish it didn’t matter. Stéphane Dion’s incomprehensible English was a really big problem. Michael Ignatieff’s eagerness to please was a really big problem. Jack Layton’s last gift to the NDP is this: they have more to lose now than ever before. They should kick the tires on Topp and Mulcair and everyone else, hard.