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 →
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 →
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 →
In small towns like ours here in Summerland, throughout most of Canada Remembrance Day observance is a major event. Shortly before 11:00 tomorrow downtown at the Memorial Park cenotaph literally hundreds of folks of all ages will brave rain, wind, or occasionally snow, all bundled up to join the parade or watch from the sidelines—veterans,... Continue Reading →
Shared on Facebook by the author, Andrew Coyne Nothing mattered, in the end. Not the probable dementia, the unfathomable ignorance, the emotional incontinence; not, certainly, the shambling, hate-filled campaign, or the ludicrously unworkable anti-policies. The candidate out on bail in four jurisdictions, the convicted fraud artist, the adjudicated rapist and serial sexual predator, the habitual... Continue Reading →
Thanks Jim Hodgson for sharing stories of those who are shaping a response to the incoming Trump administration. I encourage readers to read Jim’s blog in full; I share only extracts below. You are right — the time for grumbling and finger-pointing is over; it is time to develop a response to a new US... Continue Reading →
This morning, I received a note from a Canadian friend who watched last night’s election results from a family member’s home on Sanibel Island, near Fort Myers Florida. She asked me for some thoughts on what we have all woken up to this morning, and about how I see the future before us. I have... Continue Reading →
US senator Bernie Sanders is chair of the health education labor and pensions committee. He represents the state of Vermont, and is the longest-serving independent in the history of Congress. The following opinion piece from is The Guardian, Wed 30 Oct 2024. I strongly recommend that you read the full article here complete with links... Continue Reading →
One week to go, and the memes and media columns keep coming. There’s an edge on everything written, drawn or spoken in the last week before US election day, an edge as hard as the polls are close. I hear repeatedly, “how can people vote for Trump and his minions? Are they stupid, or mad,... Continue Reading →
I know, we’ll all gobsmackingly sick of the US presidential election. We definitely want the Harris/Walz ticket to win, but watching the cheating, disinformation, voter manipulation, and rubbish reaction of hardcore Republican Trumpian actors is so very tiring. Yet if we say nothing, or do nothing, then they win. Simple as that. And don’t think... Continue Reading →
Take Note - Reflections on life, music, politics, retirement and more by Ken Gray 