Saturday Morning Links

 Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Jack Goldstone and Peter Turchin offer an introduction to what they anticipate will be the Turbulent Twenties, while noting the need for the U.S. to develop a new social contract to shift from its current path.

- Meanwhile, Hadley Freeman rightly challenges the propensity of people in power to claim that any attempt to pursue accountability represents unreasonable politicization.

- Reuters examines how Big Pharma has sought to covertly undermine any effort to rein in prescription drug prices (including those related to a COVID-19 vaccine). And the New York Times reports on the Trump administration's interference with CDC reports to make supposedly neutral information fit the Republican agenda.  

- Sarath Peiris writes about the Moe government's grossly insufficient response to the public health dangers of HIV and addictions. And Jennifer Francis reports on the end of Tristen Durocher's brave trek to advocate for action against suicide - and Moe's callous unwillingness to cross the street to meet Durocher after his walk from Air Ronge.

- Finally, Jacob Hamburger writes about the mass cruelty which forms the basis of the U.S.' immigration detention system. And Aaron Holmes reports on the use - and abuse - of a predictive algorithm by a Florida sheriff's office to criminalize entire communities.

Thursday Morning Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Robert Borosage discusses why we shouldn't let conveniently one-sided calls for civility silence debate over progressive possibilities. And Alex Ballingall reports on the affordability anxiety which demands an effective political response rather than a contemptuous dismissal:

In a memo outlining the results, Coletto points to a “common concern” that life is getting less affordable in Canada, with 68 per cent of respondents saying the cost of things they use and consume daily has gotten “worse” within the last few years. At the same time, 59 per cent said they feel the difference between their personal salaries and those of the “richest one per cent” has gotten “worse,” while a majority — 62 per cent — said the profits of big corporations are better or about the same as they were a few years ago.

This “gap” between anxiety about everyday affordability and the perception the wealthy are doing well is “fuelling the angst that we see in the data,” Coletto writes — raising the question of whether Canada is increasingly fertile ground for anti-elite populism of the kind seen in the United States and Europe.
...
Coletto points to results that suggest avenues for political parties to tap into these sentiments. Most respondents who said they worry about affordability said they would choose lower costs over higher wages to assuage their concerns, indicating an openness to pocketbook policies that cut individual and household costs, Coletto writes.

Forty-six per cent chose the government forcing companies to reduce the cost of goods as one of three responses to affordability concerns, followed by 45 per cent who said it can cut taxes, and 42 per cent who said it can extend public health care to cover more services.

For Miller, some of this aligns with what a progressive party like the NDP — the party most closely associated with the Broadbent summit — can offer voters, whether it is creating a national pharmacare program or cracking down on tax havens used by the rich.

- Fox News (!) reports on polling showing that people's top priority on taxes is to make sure the rich pay their fair share. Meanwhile, PressProgress points out how Jason Kenney's plan for Alberta is to go in the opposite direction.

- Dennis Gruending responds to Republican nonsense by setting the record straight about Canada's health care system. And David Climenhaga examines how conservatives in Alberta and the U.S. alike are determined to take away health care as an end in itself.

- Emma Teitel writes that Andrew Scheer's embrace of hate makes him utterly unsuited to address the crime which arises from it. And CBC News examines the racism embedded in Halifax' policing practices.

- Finally, Dana Gee interviews David Moscrop about Too Dumb For Democracy? and the need for people to put time and effort into a responsive democracy.

Leadership 2017 Links

The latest from the federal NDP's leadership campaign.

- Alex Ballingall reports on Niki Ashton's environmental platform which identifies corporate greed as a major obstacle to environmental justice, and proposes a new Crown corporation to ensure public investment in response. Manishna Krishnan examines Jagmeet Singh's plan to end racial profiling, while Doug King comments on the mechanics of fulfilling the promise. And Angella MacEwen offers her take on the debate over universality and means-testing of transfers.

- Bill Tieleman offers his support to Charlie Angus while interviewing Angus about his candidacy. And Helene Laverdiere's endorsement of Singh offers his first Quebec caucus support - and likely ends any question as to whether he'd have trouble making inroads in the NDP's existing caucus.

- L. Ian Macdonald theorizes that the race will come down to Angus and Singh. But it's hard to make sense of his view that Angus is the candidate of continuity while Singh is somehow both the change and establishment candidate - and there would seem to be plenty of ways down-ballot support could end up favouring either of the other candidates.

- Meanwhile, John Ivison figures that Angus is the favourite for now barring a large number of new members signing up to support Singh.

- Finally, Dan Leger writes that while most of the candidates are new to NDP leadership campaigns, some of the choices facing members are familiar. And Eric Grenier notes that the NDP is in a relatively strong position at a time when it's choosing a new leader.