All hail the carpenter philosopher
In my Ottawa Citizen column this week I enthuse, loudly, about the new heritage building program at Algonquin College that combines building, construction and other craft stuff, including practical business skills and significant elements from the humanities.
What wags whom, and for what?
Fascinating story in The Atlantic (behind the paywall) on the power that Fox News thinks it has over American electoral results. While the network has done a lot over the last two decades to influence the culture on the right (the war on christmas very much is its thing, thanks for nothing), this influence has not translated into electoral results despite its best efforts to push its favourite candidates. The latest example? Ron DeSantis who has been gushed over even more than Rick Santorum was back in his days, with even less political success. If you’re into that sort of thing, you’ll enjoy the article muchly. At least in Canada Sun News had better success with its obvious electoral preferences, particularly during the 2011 election which, in fairness, is the only election that was held during the network’s brief existence on the air. An election Stephen Harper would no doubt had won without Sun News, and I'm being kind-hearted and unduly generous.
Republicans in Florida, in their endless quest to show the rest of the world they are about as stupid as we know them to be, have a new target for their hatred: Flags that show a viewpoint. “The bill, FL HB901 (24R), requires K-12 schools, colleges, universities and government agencies, as well as local state government buildings, to remain politically neutral by targeting flags touching on viewpoints that explicitly include ‘partisan, racial, sexual orientation and gender.’” I guess that means Gadsden, MAGA and Confederate flags will be banned along with pride and BLM flags. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Meanwhile in Montreal, a fantastic story (in French): A doctor who insisted on repeatedly being a jerk to a transgender patient seeking gender-affirming care got a three-month suspension for his inappropriate and disrespectful attitude. Un médecin a été radié pour trois mois pour son « attitude inappropriée et irrespectueuse » envers un patient trans qui le consultait pour obtenir un traitement hormonal.
En français
À Vancouver, les transports en commun sont non seulement efficaces mais rentables aussi. Grâce en partie aux investissements provinciaux, certes. Mais si vous avez eu le plaisir de prendre le SkyTrain, vous savez à quel point il peut être agréable de se faire transporter en mode prolétariat. Et quand c’est agréable, fiable et utile, les gens l’utilisent.
Et finalement, une excellente analyse du malaise américain actuel.
En fait, les Américains qui ne se reconnaissent pas comme démocrates ou républicains forment la catégorie majoritaire de l’électorat, et ce, sans interruption depuis 2009. Ils sont aujourd’hui 43 % à se dire indépendants. Avec la campagne présidentielle en cours, le désaveu des partis républicain et démocrate se double d’un rejet des deux hommes qui incarnent la sclérose du bipartisme étasunien. Cette crise démocratique aurait dû interpeller urgemment, et depuis longtemps, la classe politique qui contrôle l’accès et le maintien au pouvoir. Mais, au lieu de répondre à l’inquiétude quasi existentielle du peuple américain à propos de sa démocratie, les partis dominants tentent d’imposer Joe Biden et Donald Trump, des candidats dont la majorité des électeurs ne veulent plus depuis au moins août 2021.
