Issues, ethics, memory
Former Liberal cabinet minister Irwin Cotler says that he will nominate Syrian Civil Defense, better known as the White Helmets, for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2019. The group has drawn world-wide attention for pulling wounded people, including children, from the rubble created by aerial bombing raids carried out by the Syrian government and the... Continue Reading →
Chris Hedges is an American journalist, author, activist, professor and, for good measure, a divinity school graduate and ordained Presbyterian minister. He was recently in Canada promoting his latest book, America: The Farewell Tour, in which he predicts the imminent demise of the American empire and the collapse of that society as we have known it.... Continue Reading →
My recent book book Pulpit and Politics has been reviewed in the Clarion Journal of Spirituality and Justice, an on line publication. The reviewer is Ron Dart, a professor in the Department of Philosophy & Politics at the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, B.C. You will see that he recommends the book and is pleased that it... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending The House of Commons is poised to vote on the fate of the long gun registry. The Conservatives would scrap the registry and destroy all of its records but most other MPs want to keep it. The showdown in coming and the vote will be close. The Conservatives have orchestrated this issue... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending Recently I received an email message urging me to read and then pass it along if I want to save Western civilization. The subject line said: Joys of A Muslim Woman: A MUST READ. Actually, it was not about joy at all but was an alarmist rant against Muslims. It was also... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending Canada’s long gun registry could soon be scrapped thanks to a vote on a Private Member’s Bill that passed in the House of Commons on November 4th. Candice Hoeppner, a Conservative MP from Manitoba, introduced it with the blessing of the prime minister, who sees it as a timely wedge issue to... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending I have been curious about where Barack Obama will find the antecedents and inspiration for his inaugural speech on January 20. American writer Kathleen Hall Jamieson is an expert on rhetoric, particularly that of presidents. Jamieson says that while modern speeches may contain some new content, they always draw upon a stock of... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending Some Canadian churches are posing earnest but polite questions for candidates and parties in the 2008 election campaign while religious conservatives are denouncing Stephen Harper for betraying them on abortion. The statements and election kits prepared by the churches fall into three broad categories: those that focus on questions of social and... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending Broadcaster Steve Paikan will moderate an English language election debate among the leaders of Canada’s five political parties on Thursday, October 2. He says that networks in the debate consortium settled on 10 questions to be asked. I have questions to pose about the election and I am sure that you do... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending Policy wonks may think that elections are about issues but linguist and political commentator George Lakoff says they’re all about cultural metaphors and stereotypes. The Republicans are proven masters at shifting focus away from issues and toward potent metaphors framed in a conservative way and with “family values†at their centre. In... Continue Reading →
Pulpit and Politics 