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Take heart. We the people, who see Stephen Harper and the Conservatives as a Canadian tragedy and a world-class blight on global problem-solving, are still more than two-thirds of the population.
NOW supports its feisty independent journalism by selling advertising. It has run ads for sexual services throughout its history, because as a publication that stands for human rights and free expression, NOW has refused to discriminate against sex work and sex workers while allowing advertising from other less stigmatized businesses.
We are mindful of the fact that advertising benefits independent sex workers in particular, as it offers a much safer and more secure way to connect and do business with clients. For many, the alternative to access to advertising is street-based prostitution.
I support voting for the most politically experienced and best representative of our diverse and aspirationally inclusive city, the daring one who is explicitly caring, the unapologetic policy wonk and artist, the bicycle pedaller and community convener, the youthful grandmother warrior, Olivia Chow.
But I think we need to realize that there's something even more important in this race than whether Chow or John Tory is elected the next mayor. It is us.
The main and most important thing about this election is getting your ass out to a polling station and voting.
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Sexual shaming is on the prowl, not just somewhere far away but, sadly, right here, right now. And it is state-sponsored.
I'm talking Bill C-36, officially called the Protection Of Communities And Exploited Persons Act. This is Harper-speak for "Of course I will devilishly manipulate sexual anxiety, primarily female, to get my next majority." Sacrificing the lives of sex workers on that unholy ground? Not a problem.
I'm talking to you, fellow lovers, sharers and carers: where are we going with this Ontario election?
You know who you are, but for accuracy's sake, here's a checklist. Whether you're an NDPer, a Liberal, a Green or somewhere in between, you understand these are dangerous times.
First off, it isn't news to you that violence and repression are raging around the globe. You get that part of the reason is because inequality and corporate empowerment, both here and globally, are crazily off-kilter. Same for the fact that humans have destabilized the earth's climate and that life-forms on the planet are pretty much in a death spiral.
Folks, I'm warning you, there's a new threat looming at City Hall.
Listen up to all the solemn talk about rehab and Rob dealing with his "problem." Is this scandalous situation really about something as ordinary as addiction and its redemption? No way. That's just another pernicious new storyline that simply doesn't fit the crime.
I understand why the chorus of experts witnessing the Ford affair latch on to the familiar substance abuse drama. It's so clearly a major player in the cast of insidious characters now on the city stage. Of course Rob Ford is dangerous both to himself and others. But rehab doesn't cut it as an endgame. Even forcing him to step down doesn't do justice to the situation at hand.
True love and happiness? Is that a fairy tale? Not according to fearless 86-year-old social activist monk and Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh (pronunced "tik nyat hawn"), who's sitting serenely cross-legged onstage.
I'm about to get some very simple how-to advice, but right now I'm not happy. I'm tired, and frankly, some family drama just erupted and has taken over my brain. Of course it happened right before this Brock University retreat with Nhat Hanh that preceded his Toronto talk last weekend.
This is crunch time for the NDP. Here is the question a lot of progressive people like me are asking: Is Andrea Horwath just another wind-up politician or is she an actual leader?
Because the same-old, same-old populist posturing that's going on right now makes it look like she thinks it's all business as usual, which it is not.
We all do understand that she and the party are in a quandary. But this budget is unfolding in a dangerous context that forces us to expand the frame of this conversation and get real.
Okay, it's true -- we are actually living the climate change and radical impoverishment reality that those who invented Earth Day 43 years ago were trying to help humanity avoid.
Economic recovery has become the most elusive term in the language of business, green looks as if it's off the table, and being eco-aware feels like being under siege.
But there's a secret that the oilmen and financiers would prefer we didn't know: the movement to protect life is awesomely more powerful than we give it credit for. And it's only going to grow, because, let's face it, the situation is extreme.
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In media time, it's been light years since Attawapiskat chief Theresa Spence ended her 44-day fast last week. But beyond the dismissive attention span of Canada's mainstream body politic, there are different ways to count time.
In the near term, Spence has been shockingly belittled and underestimated because she spoke to the country in a new language, and I don't mean Cree, though that is also true.
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