Read the latest from our Politics section
The mistrust of government begins at home
The strong undercurrent of government mistrust that shades the American landscape is something relatively new to Canadians. But the recent Comox Valley Regional District open house on the HMCS Quadra sewer line replacement shows how and why that mood is changing. The...
At the end of America, Trump
For as far back as I can remember, people have warned me about the certain implosion of America. They made comparisons to fall of the Roman Empire and Sodom and Gomorrah. The unmistakable signs were everywhere, they said. As a teenager coming of age in the midwest...
Trump fact-less claims cause problems for journalists
In the era of modern journalism, reporters have operated on a few professional standards -- like detachment and objectivity -- and some ethical values -- like fairness and balance. But what’s a reporter to do when she’s assigned to cover a potentially dangerous...
The IRS won’t stop me from voting for Hillary
After watching the Republican and Democratic party conventions this week, I’m glad that I haven’t given up my right to vote in U.S. federal elections. This election is too important for the whole world. But, in the last six years, many American citizens living abroad...
Our hope for U.S. politics: Make America Think Again
The message of the Republican convention, repeated in a thousand ways over four days, was simple: be afraid; be very afraid. Here’s the executive summary of four days of fulmination: Our country is falling apart. The Black Lives Matter movement is destroying the...
In bed with a cadre of birthers, bigots and buffoons
Poor Paul Ryan. The nation’s highest ranking Republican and Speaker of the House describes comments by Donald Drumpf about a judge with a Hispanic surname as “a textbook definition of racism,” but can’t quite bring himself to withdraw his endorsement of the candidate....
B.C. should jump start pot regulations
British Columbia, a province usually anxious to tax anything within its reach, has curiously kept its hands off of a large source of potential revenue: marijuana. While Washington state, Colorado, Oregon and Alaska inhale multi-millions of dollars of tax revenue by...
A Little Change, but Big Consequences for cape lazo
During the latest Comox Official Community Plan process hundreds of Valley residents made it abundantly clear they wanted Point Holmes maintained as it was: large, single family lots and plenty of green space. To their credit, most of the Comox Town Council agreed...
A call for civility: ‘NIMBY’ is not a four-letter word
Don’t want a toxic waste dump built on the vacant lot next to your home? Better enlist someone from a neighboring province to become the face of your Stop the Dump! campaign. Otherwise, you’ll be dismissed as a NIMBY. People who live in Victoria neighborhoods near...