Michael Hemmings News &
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This blog is about writing; engaging in creating (or inserting myself into) a community of writers (building relationships). My own writing and others; making commentary, asking for opinions, and having conversations.
‘Trump was right about Everything!’ Was he?
Donald Trump’s (DT) March 4, 2025, rant-speech is an excellent opportunity to examine this assertion. Note, also, that most of what DT said in this speech was first said in his inaugural. 1) What’s it all about? Dominance: ‘America is back’ [or is it that DT is back?]...
The economic consequences of major tax cuts for the rich
Whether you are conservative, liberal (whatever those terms mean anymore) or libertarian-I think we know what kind of animal these are now, the article whose abstract I copy and pasted here to whet interest, is a well-argued data-driven explanation about why the last...
To my American cousins; I understand why half of you are angry and disappointed…
To my American cousins; I understand why half of you are angry and disappointed. I understand why despite the sins, misdemeanours, criminal and subversive behaviors/actions and policy threat-statements that define Mr. T that you voted him into office again. After the...
Mr. Campbell’s Exaggerations and Misconceptions
bc election 2024- be careful for what you vote. Ask yourself: which party will promote equity in a constant search for balance with taxes. Which will not? Which will choose inequity in its choices?
No bias in media? Pierre Poilievre and myth making
The issue is not whether there is bias or not, but whether a writer or a newspaper or magazine or some site on the web identify their bias. Such overt acknowledgement is more important now than at any time in history because of how quickly a lie or a partial lie in an...
Homelessness: a five M approach
June 9, 2024 An open letter to members of Victoria City Council Homelessness: A 5M Approach The ‘action,’ of May 16, 2024, cleaning Pandora Street of tents, belongings and...
Jamie Hemmings, Obit – A Mnemonic Portrait
HEMMINGS, Jamison (Jamie) Harry November 11, 1962 - March 27, 2024 Remembering Jamie with love. Mother, Faye. Siblings: Denise, Michael, Scott, their partners, his nieces and nephews, other relatives, numerous friends and colleagues. Pre-deceased by father, Al. *** A...
Dara Horn, “Why the most educated people in America fall for Anti-semitic lies.
‘Jewish problem’ on university campuses
Israeli-Hamas war: humanity defined as ‘us, not they’. Yet the two are similar.
Israeli-Hamas war. After stating he will not allow a Palestinian state alongside Israel in the West Bank, the current prime minister of Israel (Mr. N), asked this non-rhetorical shrug-of-the-shoulders question: “What can we do?” It is a question that reveals both...
apocalyptic forest fires in Chile-what an image (below)
https://www.pressreader.com/canada/times-colonist/20240204/281651080001370 An extraordinary picture. Pause for a moment. Look closely. What do you see? People just living their lives and maybe their dream; sunning themselves, playing paddle ball, looking...
Federal conservatives choose bugbear of carbon pricing over support for Ukraine
ebastian Skamski, Director of Media Relations for (the conservative party of the) House of Commons tells Canadians they have been ‘suffering and in misery’ for 10 years, that the fed libs are ‘dividing and distracting’ Canadians about a new trade agreement with Ukraine.
US university presidents try to defend ‘kill all jews’ as free speech
Two important questions lie hidden in the controversy about what the presidents of Harvard, MIT and The University of Pennsylvania said or did not say. But first, let’s clarify the immediate controversy. The Harvard president could not speak to the issues at hand...
Elon, Offended
Mr. Musk; It is ironic that you are “deeply offended by ADLs [Anti-defamation League] messaging and any other groups who push de facto anti-white racism or anti-Asian racism or racism of any kind.”https://www.timescolonist.com/search?search=on&q=musk What do you...
hamas attacked Israel because meaningful dialogue towards coexistence was happening
Why did Hamas attack Israel now? On October 7, that is the question I asked. There must be, I thought, something going on that would start a new peace process or some kind of rapprochement toward a kind of life where the people of Gaza, Israel, Palestinians and more...
“Oh, let there be nothing on earth but laundry”*
While written out of the specifics of recent conflict, this story could be about any conflict involving hatred of a whole people and violence.
On effective debate, oil and gas, and the Victoria Times Colonist
A good debate is both honest and efficient when the disputants declare their biases, with enough nuance that can start the debate. A further step would be to a) produce evidence in favour of one's bias and b) take account of contrary evidence. Consider, for example,...
South African fire-fighters in Alberta to help fight fires.
Along with other countries in the world, Canada has experienced a virulent fire season in 2023. It is absurd to call this demonstration of climate change a 'season'. To do is so is to normalize these events. This enables us to anaesthetize ourselves to reality,...
Exorcism: Hunting Daemons in Lent: Palm Sunday-re. essential Christianity-its not what you think
We read Philippians 2: 5-11 as the second lesson today, as we do most years on Palm Sunday. Why? The short answer is: it is read to remind us of the central meaning of Christianity. That is, following the Nazorean messiah in humble service to others, a meaning which...
money laundering in BC – can’t do anything about it (?)
unscrupulous persons dodge their way into our financial systems through money laundering, paying no tax but are in essence subsidized by Canadian citizens who do. Yet we are told we haven’t the cash, the expertise (translating languages) or the time to pursue them.
Exorcism: Hunting Daemons in Lent: 1- Tests
Lent 1-first Sunday- a new way of thinking about christian spiritual practice. It is about you, not about God or Jesus. They don’t need the help; we do. The story of Jesus in the desert contains three human temptations. They are explored here as Lent 2023 continues.