A person on Facebook posted the following relating to the problem of accessible housing: Isabella Gamk shared a post. Thought the group would like this Isabella Gamk "Housing Shortage"? This is not that old of a building and could be fixed up. This building has been shuttered to make room for a condo. There are many such … Continue reading Taking Possession of Vacant Housing and Protecting the Environment from Profits: The Need to Consider Both Process and Product or Result
Critique of the View That the Government or State is Neutral: A Critical Look at the Assumptions of the Leader of the New Brunswick NDP (New Democratic Party) Mackenzie Thomason
Introduction On my Facebook page, I made some notes and comments on a post by Julius Arscott, a member of the supposedly radical organization here in Toronto called Socialist Action in relation to the public union strike in New Brunswick in the late fall of 2021. The poster referred to the following 49-minute podcast https://open.spotify.com/episode/45SB74uv1Hj0zRvQkPPa9z?fbclid=IwAR36H2KzFsopOUYcfwzkl5ocP1p3gNhdvIgLs-btRwZy4z_QtWEjpvWPJQw. … Continue reading Critique of the View That the Government or State is Neutral: A Critical Look at the Assumptions of the Leader of the New Brunswick NDP (New Democratic Party) Mackenzie Thomason
Guilty Until Proven Innocent: The Real Assumption of Some Bureaucratic Tribunals, Part One
It is supposed to be a fundamental principle of criminal law that a person is presumed innocent until proven otherwise by the State (government). This is the ideology or the rhetoric (which much of the left have swallowed). The reality is otherwise. In reality, the administrative apparatus of various organizations of the government and semi-governmental … Continue reading Guilty Until Proven Innocent: The Real Assumption of Some Bureaucratic Tribunals, Part One
Management Rights Clause in a Collective Agreement in France: Progressive Discipline Is Better Than Arbitrary Discipline–But It Is Still Oppressive
Introduction Discipline permeates our world--family. school and work. In an earlier post, in the context of schools, I have already explored, briefly, the difference between intrinsic or internal discipline and external discipline (see Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Ten: Intrinsic or Internal Discipline Versus Extrinsic … Continue reading Management Rights Clause in a Collective Agreement in France: Progressive Discipline Is Better Than Arbitrary Discipline–But It Is Still Oppressive
Exposing the Intolerance and Censorship of Social Democracy, Part Four: Critique of the Idealization of Publicly Owned Infrastructure, Etc.
Introduction This is the final post of a four-part series of posts. For the context of where the following fits into my participation and withdrawal from the organization Social Housing Green Deal, see the first part Exposing the Intolerance and Censorship of Social Democracy, Part One: The Working Class, Housing and the Police. People's Pandemic Shutdown … Continue reading Exposing the Intolerance and Censorship of Social Democracy, Part Four: Critique of the Idealization of Publicly Owned Infrastructure, Etc.
The Rhetoric of Unions and Social Democrats or Social Reformers
I read the following on Facebook. It is quite typical of social-democratic or reformist unions and social democrats or social reformers in general: The use of rhetoric to justify their activities without engaging in any form of discussion or debate. All bolded words or phrases are my emphases: Support OPSEU Local 5119 ON STRIKE at … Continue reading The Rhetoric of Unions and Social Democrats or Social Reformers
Economics for Social Democrats–but not for the Working Class, Part Two: Critique of Jim Stanford’s Theory of Money, Part Two
Introduction In a previous post (Economics for Social Democrats–but Not for the Working Class, Part Two: Critique of the Social Democrat Jim Stanford’s Theory of Money, Part One), I questioned Mr. Stanford's theory of money as purchasing power, as well as his implied reduction of Marx's critical dual or twofold theory of commodities to a … Continue reading Economics for Social Democrats–but not for the Working Class, Part Two: Critique of Jim Stanford’s Theory of Money, Part Two
Law (the Legal System) and the Coercive Power of Employers as a Class
Introduction It is interesting how little discussion arises over the nature of the legal system and how it contributes to the exploitation, oppression and economic coercion of billions of workers throughout the world. Unions rarely if ever discuss such issues--it is considered to be utopian at best--whereas unions dealing with the "real" problems that workers … Continue reading Law (the Legal System) and the Coercive Power of Employers as a Class
Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Ten: Intrinsic or Internal Discipline Versus Extrinsic or External Discipline
This is a continuation of earlier posts. When I was a French teacher at Ashern Central School, in Ashern, Manitoba, Canada, I started to place critiques, mainly (although not entirely) of the current school system. At first, I merely printed off the articles, but then I started to provide a summary of the article along … Continue reading Critical Education Articles Placed in the Teacher Staff Lounge While I Was a Teacher, Part Ten: Intrinsic or Internal Discipline Versus Extrinsic or External Discipline
Fair Contracts or Collective Agreements: The Ideological Rhetoric of Canadian Unions, Part Four: The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) (The Second Largest Union in Canada)
Since in this blog I have often referred to particular union reps referring to collective agreements as fair in some way, I thought it would be useful to provide further examples of this rhetoric to substantiate the view that unions function as ideologues for the continued existence of employers--even if the unions are independent of … Continue reading Fair Contracts or Collective Agreements: The Ideological Rhetoric of Canadian Unions, Part Four: The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) (The Second Largest Union in Canada)
The Abolitionary 