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Michael Chong's Assault on Democracy: a "Reform Act" for Disloyal MPs

December 12, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 

Michael Chong’s proposed Reform Act, 2013 has been praised as a bill that would shift each party leaders’ power to their respective caucus members, thereby revitalizing an allegedly withered role of Parliament’s confidence in government, and facilitating a broader diversity of party policies and philosophies in Parliament. Whatever the merits of such arguments, they miss the essential nature and function of Mr. Chong’s would-be law, and the threat that it poses to democracy itself. The bill should be rejected by all MPs worthy of re-election. Read more

Tim Hudak's PCs: The Hammerhead Strategy (and why it fails)

November 7, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 

The headline aroused my suspicions right away: “Tim Hudak Seeks Andrea Horwath Support“. The story that followed it was comprised mostly of an open letter that the Progressive Conservative party leader, Tim Hudak, had written to New Democratic Party leader Andrea Horwath (and shared with everyone who would bother to read it). The letter started with a host of insults and attacks: Horwath and her party “don’t grasp” that the governing Liberal Party of Kathleen Wynne is not serving the public; are shockingly “not troubled” by Liberal corruption and moral bankruptcy; are “enabling” the Liberals; have priorities that are “in sync” with the Liberals; have chosen not to “put the needs of Ontario first”, etc.. It concluded with “So let’s sit down and talk about it, sooner rather than later.” In other words, it was a punch in the nose followed by a feigned invitation to kiss and work together. “Bush league”, I thought, “Hudak wants everyone to believe the falsehood that he wants to work with Horwath, and wants everyone to believe that Horwath refuses”. Read more

Short note to the smart, the beautiful, and the wealthy: who hates you, and why

November 5, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 

If you’re smart, they’ll say that you cheated on your exams, or that you’re ugly (and they’ll draw you accordingly).

If you’re beautiful, they’ll say you are stupid, and that you cheat by using your body – instead of your brain – to get ahead.

If you’re wealthy, they’ll say that you are stupid or ugly, and that you would be poor if you didn’t cheat others to get what you have.

The smart, the beautiful, and the wealthy are derided by the stupid, the ugly, and the poor for being stupid, ugly, or poor.

Their hatred of you is proof that they hate themselves, and resort to dishonesty – to cheating – to hide that fact from themselves.

Dear Apple / iPhone app developers: free new idea – how to make million$

November 3, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 

My youngest child’s iphone was stolen at his school gym. So here – after a Sunday dinner discussion – are some of the new iPhone apps/hardware mods that the extended McKeever clan would like to see developed: Read more

Right to work laws: a leftist assault on capitalism

September 26, 2013 by · 1 Comment 

Tim Hudak, leader of the Progressive Conservative official opposition in Ontario, is pinning his electoral hopes on a proposal to introduce “right to work” legislation: a law that makes it illegal to make employment conditional on the employee’s membership in a union. Union talking heads – especially Ontario Federation of Labour chief Sid Ryan – as well as many in the media refer to right to work laws as an instance of “union bashing” or “union busting”. What almost never gets mentioned is that right to work laws also bash employers. Far from being a capitalist tool, right to work laws are just another leftist assault on capitalism. Read more

Why the Ontario Progressive Conservative (PC) Party is in a free-fall

September 20, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 

The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party commenced a three-day policy convention in London, Ontario, today (September 20, 2013). For that reason, I tuned into “London Today” with host Andy Oudman, who can always be counted upon to deliver compelling political radio discussion. The show was a magnificent piece of civic reportage (click here to listen to it). The PC party’s key local membership – who called in to the show – illustrated that the PC party is a conflicted mess in political free-fall.

That free-fall is not confined to London. Read more

Neither conservative, nor liberal, nor libertarian: The "objective" label in electoral politics

September 15, 2013 by · 1 Comment 

In 2010, I produced my third episode of “Freedom School” with an actual group of people in London (the entire Freedom School series is available as a playlist on youtube, here) who were members or supporters of the political party I lead in Ontario, Canada: Freedom Party of Ontario (FPO). At one point during the session, the issue arose of what an FPO candidate or representative should call him/herself if he faces the “Are you liberal, conservative, libertarian?” question. My position then – as now – is that the candidate/representative should not call himself an “Objectivist” (which is a term referring to someone whose personal philosophy is that identified by author/philosopher Ayn Rand), but I didn’t get into why I held that position (the conversation went off in a different direction). Recently (see e-mails below) two Objectivists who have watched episode 3 of Freedom School have asked for my reasons. I’ve decided here to present, briefly, my reasoning against using the term “Objectivist” to refer to ones political orientation in an electoral context, and also to explain what a FPO supporter (and all others who share FPO’s views on the proper way to govern) should call himself. Read more

Firing Shurman: how Hudak is victimizing the public, rewarding swindlers

September 9, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 

The role of Ontario’s official Opposition is to oppose bills or governmental actions that the Opposition believe are wrong in one way or another. To do that job effectively, the Opposition cannot afford to engage in the very wrong of which it is criticizing the government. However, when the Opposition falsely equates the government’s violation of a good law with the Opposition’s compliance with a bad law, it does an injustice both to itself and to the government. The primary victim, in each case, is the governed. Read more

Right in Front of Your Eyes: Surveillance and Freedom

August 28, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 

Knowledge is not necessarily power. However, Edward Snowden’s disclosure that the U.S. National Security Agency (“NSA”) monitors the electronic communications of private citizens without a warrant has led many to conclude that the U.S. government is approaching the point of omnipotence, and to express fear and anger that the U.S. government will use that power to control them. That outrage stands in stark contrast to the support or resignation one finds in respect of substantive laws that allow the government to violate lives, liberty, and property. The contrast unveils both a bleak truth about the governed’s desire for individual freedom, and a requirement for its achievement. Read more

Canada to fund tribute to communism?

August 23, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 

Imagine a golden memorial to the victims of concentration camps being built buy those who ran the camps, and made by melting down the gold teeth of the victims. Such a memorial would not be possible but for the theft, imprisonment and murder involved in its creation. Such a grotesque and pain-invoking memorial would, in fact, stand not for the wrongfulness of letting people starve in concentration camps, but for the fact that the oppressors got away with their evil deeds. If you share my view of this, I can only hope you regard today’s news as being a stunning example of the same sort of perversion (though less graphic): today, the federal government of Canada announced that up to $1.5M taxpayer dollars will be given to a private group astonishingly titled “Tribute to Liberty”, so that it can erect a “Memorial to Victims of Totalitarian Communism” on crown land near the Supreme Court of Canada. Read more

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