Following the publication of our collection last fall of US election political memes, we’re back with a new and fast-growing growing collection of protest memes covering ignorant Trump phrases, tariff travails, fact checkers (not a game for the gentle-hearted), monuments on the move, thinking inside the boxing ring—the naughty PP interfering, a taste of moral... Continue Reading →
Enter the poet: HOPE
Every activist needs a poet. Very few are poets; certainly I’m not; I don’t sit still long enough; my powers of observation are limited. Like chess, I find poetry overly demanding of my short social media-distracted attention span. To engage poetry I must concentrate: Read the text out loud, several times if necessary; savour the... Continue Reading →
May in February
Inside Home Hardware, Osoyoos BC, proudly Canadian [While events have progressed since Elizabeth’s writing, the principles she shares remain relevant and potent. While Canada and Mexico now enjoy some breathing room, Trump’s ambition to annex Canada and enact economic warfare remain as strong as ever.] A message Sunday evening from Elizabeth May, leader of the... Continue Reading →
Joke? No, definitely no joke here
Well I thought the joke was funny: “Cut the power on Superbowl Sunday.” Clever too. What do Americans like more than politics? Sports, and especially the Superbowl. Gather the neighbours; whip up some snacks; set up the video in case someone gets stuck in traffic; fresh batteries in the TV controller. Watch on Netflix? Let... Continue Reading →
Apology? Yes, and No
A Sermon for the congregation of St. Saviour, Penticton — The Very Rev. Ken Gray — Sunday, January 26th, 2025 — The Third Sunday after the Epiphany The Sunday following the Tuesday, the day after the inauguration on Monday of this past week of President Donald Trump, when the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, the Rt.... Continue Reading →
We don’t sing this hymn much these days, but today we should
Standing in a Penticton pulpit yesterday I thought aloud about suitable music for the Epiphany season. Today, on the Feast of Epiphany itself I have a suggestion which came to mind during yesterday’s sermon, a text by the English clergyman and theologian John Hanry Newman (1801-1890) who in 1833 wrote Lead Kindly Light enroute to... Continue Reading →
Standing up to the bully — Old news is still news
Reposted from Facebook and Charlie's recent editorial in the National Observer [Charlie Angus] Donald Trump spent Christmas day publicly raging through his rolodex of political enemies. Canada remains near the top of his list. He has been insulting the Prime Minister, degrading our nation and musing about taking us over. CNN claims that these threats... Continue Reading →
Read this: Murray Sinclair on democracy
Tis the season for books, for my comments and recommendations for you, loyal readers of books I have read in the past year, and my own suggestion of titles for the year to come. Now half way through Who We Are: Four Questions For a Life and a Nation by Murray Sinclair I want to... Continue Reading →
A new climate in Washington
Excerpts from Climate Politics by Lisa Friedman at the NYT The expression "first do no harm" is a popular term used to express the underlying ethical rules of modern medicine. Although this is generally thought to have been taken from the ancient Greek Hippocratic oath, no translations of the oath contain this language. It is... Continue Reading →
Pray without ceasing . . . Now?!
This prayer by the Rt. Rev. Susan Goff, retired Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, has been shared widely on Facebook. I share it here as an example of genuine prayer and as encouragement to all who find it difficult to pray in this current political climate: My ConfessionGod, I can’t for the... Continue Reading →