In 1984, Ronald Reagan unleashed one of the most devastating commercials in American campaign history. It helped him swamp Democrat Walter Mondale in a landslide, 525 electoral votes to 13. That ad, like that very age 36 years ago, is touchingly different from virtually every political spot for every office beyond dog-catcher today. What made
The Plague-Ground – Morning in America Read More »
While the play Shakespeare wrote that line for (Henry VI, Part 2) is hardly ever performed, the sentiment is not only enduring, it’s growing in Shakespeare’s not so green and pleasant land. Back on September 3rd, Britain’s Home Secretary Priti Patel posted a tweet that the government had expelled refugees arriving in small boats who
The Plague-Ground – Let’s Kill All the Lawyers Read More »
Now is the weekend of our discontent. Cases are spiking, leaves are falling, the wind is up, the market’s down – and organizing coffee is like planning an assault on Everest. By Monday, our mornings will start darker and by Tuesday, America may grow darker still. But take heart. In the midst of a pandemic, what we
The Plague-Ground – Survival of the friendliest Read More »
The e-mails sent to Democrats last week, seemingly from the Proud Boys, but really from Iran, made up in clarity for what they lacked in subtlety. “You will vote for Trump on Election Day or we will come after you. Change your party affiliation to Republican to let us know you received our message and
The Plague-Ground – Are We Digitally Dominant or Submissive? Read More »
Last night, I turned away from the Trump-Biden debate, not because it was another train-wreck, but because it wasn’t. My appetite for viewing curated chaos is now so refined that, not seeing any, I quickly left, the future of America be damned. What I did was tune in to Ozark, the hillbilly-heroin series on Netflix.
The Plague-Ground – The Binge Club Read More »
The First Amendment lets Americans say pretty much anything to anyone, anywhere. The Second Amendment lets them keep and bear arms. So can they turn up at polling stations on November 3rd, armed and belligerent and, in the words of their President, “watch very carefully?” No, they can’t. In this case, what reads like 1+1
The Plague-Ground – The right to bully voters is under threat Read More »
Finally, someone not only fact-shamed Donald Trump in real-time, she wiped the smile off his face. Until yesterday, I’d never heard of Savannah Guthrie, the host of last night’s Town Hall on NBC. Today, she’s my hero. She did what no other TV host, moderator or fantasy-inquisitor has done: when Mr. Trump tried to interrupt
The Plague-Ground – The Unmasking Read More »
Two years ago, the New York Times food editor Sam Sifton spoke at the University of Toronto about the rise of Syrian cuisine in Canada. He apologized for his President’s nasty immigration policies and their inhumane consequences, and said he loved Toronto because “more immigrants mean more restaurants.” We all cheered. It seems that our
The Plague-Ground – More immigrants; more restaurants. Read More »
“Trump … puts a kilo of pure uncut white supremacy on the table, and he has his minions just snort it up and it empowers them.” “It makes them feel strong. It makes them feel invincible, while everything around them is being destroyed. And the more that he gets in trouble, the more kilos he
The Plague-Ground – A Bad Night for White Rage Read More »
In 2014 when the Rogers’ family gave $150 million to create the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, part of that went to discover how AI can prevent and treat heart failure. Last year when Gerry Schwartz and Heather Reisman gave $100 million to build the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, part of
The Plague-Ground – When you’re the lead dog, the view always changes. Read More »
“Are you willing tonight to condemn white supremacists and militia groups?” asked Chris Wallace. “Proud Boys?” replied Donald Trump….“Stand back and stand by.” That was the defining moment from a Presidential debate that CNN’s Dana Bash called on-air — “a shitshow.” Yesterday, all kinds of articles explained who the Proud Boys are: America’s #1 anti-immigrant, all-male, all-white,
The Plague-Ground – NOT THE BEST CANADIAN IMMIGRANT. NOR THE BEST AMERICAN ONE, EITHER. Read More »
Were you like us last month in thinking you could head someplace warm in January or February for even a week’s relief from winter? Are you like us now thinking that’s not going to happen? Forget Florida and Arizona. In fact, forget anywhere warm like Colombia or New Zealand where you have to quarantine for
The Plague-Ground – Two Places to Spend Your Winter Read More »
