This week it’s a mixed bag of stuff including:
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Good piece that sums up the state of Canada’s governance situation at the moment, written by James Travers in The Toronto Star:
Imagine a country where Parliament is padlocked twice in 13 months to frustrate the democratic will of the elected majority. That country is now this country.
Imagine a country that slyly relaxes environmental regulations even as its neighbour reels from a catastrophic oil leak blamed on slack controls. That country is now this country.
Imagine a country that boasts about prudent financial management while blowing through a $13-billion surplus on the way to a $47-billion deficit. That country is now this country.
Imagine a country where a political operative puts fork-tongued words in a top general’s mouth. That country is now this country.
Imagine a country that refuses to fund the same safe abortions to poor women abroad as it provides at home. That country is now this country.
Read the rest of the article here: Toronto Star
A new show featuring:
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A brand new podcast covering a variety of topics. Here’s the rundown?
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One step forward, one step back for the U.S. this week. Finally, although not entirely perfect, healthcare. Just when you think there’s some progress, and that the U.S. is slowly climbing out of the tremendous wreckage left at the end of the Bush era, comes this. Texas is changing its textbooks to reflect a more christian, conservative agenda. Here’s the article from The Toronto Star:
March 21, 2010 Oakland Ross
FEATURE WRITER
Toronto’s public school board is considering four new specialty schools — one for boys, one for girls, a choir school and a sports academy.
Sayonara, Snoop Dogg, Wu-Tang Clan, and 50 Cent.
Adios, Cesar Chavez.
And a big welcome-back hug to Phyllis Schlafly, Newt Gingrich, and the ghosts of Stonewall Jackson and Joseph McCarthy.
If the Texas Board of Education gets its way – and it probably will – the complexion of history and social studies as they are taught in most U.S. schools is about to assume an even whiter shade of pale, while undergoing a sharp lunge to the Christian-fundamentalist right.
“I’ve just been muttering to myself all morning,” said Megan Boler, a U.S.-born educator, now a professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). “I can’t believe it. I’ve never seen this extent of revisionist history.”
Earlier this month, by a vote of 10 to 5, the body responsible for the contents of textbooks used in Texan primary and secondary schools gave preliminary approval to more than 100 controversial and ideologically driven amendments to state curriculum standards.
The vote followed three days of rancorous debate and proceeded along partisan lines, Republicans triumphing over outraged Democrats.
The public will now be granted a 30-day period to comment on the amendments, before a final vote takes place in May.
Given Republican dominance of the board, it seems likely the proposed changes will survive.
If they do, the amendments will overturn a broad array of long-standing tenets and beliefs about U.S. history and society, rejecting the constitutional separation of church and state, promoting a Judeo-Christian interpretation of the motivations that inspired the country’s founding fathers, dropping references to Latino heroes and accomplishments, and justifying the red-baiting, anti-Communist extremism that overran large tracts of the U.S. body politic during the 1950s, spearheaded by Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy.
Read the rest of the article here.
I read the following article in The Toronto Star today. It’s really frightening, like they’re indoctrinating kids into a regressive way of thinking. The part that really caught my attention was that because Texas is one of the biggest textbook buyers, this Republican dogma based education could be widespread. Unbelievable.
March 21, 2010 Oakland Ross
Farewell, Thomas Jefferson.
Sayonara, Snoop Dogg, Wu-Tang Clan, and 50 Cent.
Adios, Cesar Chavez.
And a big welcome-back hug to Phyllis Schlafly, Newt Gingrich, and the ghosts of Stonewall Jackson and Joseph McCarthy.
If the Texas Board of Education gets its way – and it probably will – the complexion of history and social studies as they are taught in most U.S. schools is about to assume an even whiter shade of pale, while undergoing a sharp lunge to the Christian-fundamentalist right.
“I’ve just been muttering to myself all morning,” said Megan Boler, a U.S.-born educator, now a professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). “I can’t believe it. I’ve never seen this extent of revisionist history.”
Earlier this month, by a vote of 10 to 5, the body responsible for the contents of textbooks used in Texan primary and secondary schools gave preliminary approval to more than 100 controversial and ideologically driven amendments to state curriculum standards.
The vote followed three days of rancorous debate and proceeded along partisan lines, Republicans triumphing over outraged Democrats.
The public will now be granted a 30-day period to comment on the amendments, before a final vote takes place in May.
Given Republican dominance of the board, it seems likely the proposed changes will survive.
…read the rest here.
Actually recorded Saturday night, prior to the closing ceremony, but I do talk about how bad a choice Nickelback is for the closing ceremonies. Talk Olympics, Ed Hardy, CTV coverage, and some stand-up from the brilliant Louis CK. Enjoy.
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Another week of talk radio, this time with an extra dose of hockey and politics. Here’s the rundown of show topics:
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The Josh Holliday Show Podcast #4:
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Sarah Palin is out on tour with her recently released book of fiction. You can learn quite a bit about an author by the intellect of her fans. Here’s a video with just that. Fans of Palin at an Ohio book signing: