Category: Governance | Page 17

556 – Raging against the political machine

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May 172018

Rage against the political machine all you want, but as long as every gear in that machine turns leftward, the option of shifting gears in the right direction simply doesn’t exist. With few exceptions, that’s the reality in Ontario politics today – particularly now that the June 7 general election is underway.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government certainly deserves all of the criticism it is getting – and more. But simply ridding the province of Kathleen Wynne will do little to help alleviate the chronic shortage of doctors and hospital beds, or reduce the unprecedented cost of electricity, nor address the dramatically increasing poverty and drug addiction rates.

Considered Wynne’s leading opponent is Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford, hailed by many as the man to rescue Ontario. Unfortunately for Ford, he is ‘progressively’ being found to be far more of a ‘progressive’ than a ‘conservative’ – a circumstance that has found many traditional Conservative supporters in a quandary about how to justify their vote. Continue reading »

543 – The Nunes memo and the Deep State | Salim Mansur

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Feb 152018

Hot on the heels of the release of the ‘Nunes memo,’ Salim Mansur once again joins us to share an insight that both explains the incredible significance of its release, and offers a ‘who’s who‘ behind the illegalities and corrupt activities orchestrated by the Democratic Party against Donald Trump.

The ‘Nunes memo’ is named after Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) in the U.S. Congress, California representative Devin Nunes.

His January 18, 2018 memo to that committee summarized an “investigation update” on “significant facts relating to the Committee’s ongoing investigation into the DOJ and FBI and their use of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) during the 2016 presidential election cycle.”

The memo was declassified by the order of the President on February 2, 2018. As always, the devil is in the details and with Salim connecting the dots, the story that unfolds tells a tale that dwarfs the infamous Watergate scandal, a story that compelled then-president Richard Nixon to resign. Continue reading »

The Danielle Metz Show – 007 – The passion for politics

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Dec 032017

Ignore politics at your own peril because, as the old saying goes, “Even if you aren’t interested in politics, politics is interested in you.”

Just as the reasons for getting involved in politics may be many, so too the reasons for staying as far away from politics as possible may also be many.

What makes some people intellectually stimulated by politics while others remain bored or repulsed by politics?

That’s the elusive question of the week that Danielle and co-host Robert Vaughan tackle in this exchange of personal anecdotes and experiences. It appears that no matter where you sit on this question, there is no one perspective that is Just Right – unlike their conversations that always are.

When Science is Political | Jan Narveson

Environmentalism, Governance, Latest, Politics, Science, Science & Tech., Society, Video Comments Off

Aug 142017

Bob and Robert were invited to attend the Annual General Meeting of the Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship held at Western University on May 13th.

Here is our recorded presentation of Jan Narveson, Emeritus Professor of philosophy at the University of Waterloo. Dr. Narveson used the current controversy surrounding climate change to speak on “When Science is Political.”

509 – Councillors at large | Melissa Hailey & Chris Graham

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Jun 152017

On the heels of their recent attendance at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Conference in Ottawa (June 1-4), we are joined in studio by Chris Graham, councillor of Central Saanich (Victoria) BC, and Melissa Hailey, former councillor who served in Sidney BC.

Remarkably, each set a record for being the youngest (male and female) municipal councillor in Canada when first elected. Today, many years after their first election, our guests share their experiences, views and opinions on a potpourri of municipal issues.

As in Ontario, British Columbia is experiencing skyrocketing housing costs. Is the problem foreign investment and capital increasing the local demand? Or is the problem on the supply side of the housing equation?

Both Ontario and British Columbia imposed a 15% tax on non-resident home buyers, though unlike Ontario’s province-wide tax, BC only imposed the tax on purchases made in Vancouver. Continue reading »

489 – The very Presidential Donald J. Trump / Unfettered capitalism

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Jan 262017

In keeping with past Inauguration addresses made by American presidents, Donald Trump‘s Inauguration Address last Friday turned out to be very presidential indeed.

Criticized as being a “dark speech” the likes of which has never been heard before, it would be more accurate to suggest that Trump’s Inaugural Address followed a tradition that has been a presidential practice since the days of John Adams, the second president of the United States.

The parallels are striking and are part of the conversation on today’s Just Right, along with our point-by-point analysis of some key essentials in Trump’s address. Could Donald Trump’s address be resurrecting the symbolic “ghost” of John Adams?

“A nation exists to serve its citizens,” Trump declared, in stark contrast to the opposing philosophy that has been running the White House since the days of John F Kennedy.

Under Trump’s “America first” agenda, is “Buy American” an un-American slogan? Can trade restrictions and import/export taxes possibly benefit the general welfare, or are they simply a continuation of crony politics that benefit the few at the expense of the many? Continue reading »

488 – For the love of money / Freedom: The unknown ideal

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Jan 192017

FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY – FOR THE LOVE OF LIFE: “Tyranny of the rich?” That’s rich! But it’s a common belief among those who have a limited understanding (or outright dislike) of capitalism and what that word truly represents.

“Capitalism is slavery,” is another epistemological contradiction that is often heard in the blind rage against the singular economic system that is the very opposite of slavery.

Or maybe you’ve heard these before: “Capitalists prey on the poor” or “The love of money is the root of all evil.”

These are, of course, demonstrable falsehoods. Yet many accept these bromides as truths. To be able to counter these tragic misunderstandings (or to discover sinister intentions), one must be intellectually and morally armed against them.

On today’s Just Right, you’ll hear our response to these and many more similar bromides that lead to tragic outcomes when practiced as truths. Continue reading »