Kenneyism (Jeremy Appel)

 

I've never been a big fan of Jason Kenney. Jeremy Appel REALLY isn't a fan of Jason Kenney. He actually makes him seem dangerous. Sometimes I had to roll my eyes at the hate-on he had for Jason Kenney. For example, in the chapter on immigration, I at first thought there was nothing wrong with Jason Kenney's policies...only let people who have skills in industries we need apply for immigration status. However, as he goes on to explain the underlying policies Kenney put in place, I was rather horrified. I also think he totally got it wrong with education, specifically with charter schools. It drives me crazy how so many news outlets go to the SOS (Save our Schools) organization to get comments about the problems with charter schools. They spew misinformation and fear. 

I have to say, Jason Kenney is a bit of a mystery. He claims to be a loyalist to the crown and a hard-core Catholic....but he sure has harsh policies for the citizens....which doesn't seem congruent.

Goodreads says:

The harsh moralistic worldview of Jason Kenney has spurred right-wing populism to the mainstream in Canadian politics, but he unleashed forces he couldn’t control.

From Jason Kenney’s days as an anti-abortion activist at the University of San Francisco, and through his years as a Canadian Taxpayers Federation lobbyist, Reform MP, top cabinet minister in the Harper government, and Alberta premier, he has been single-mindedly driven to bring his harsh moralistic worldview into the mainstream.

Kenney took on the old guard of Canada’s liberal consensus and won, playing a key role in shifting the country’s political discussion to the right. But the very right-wing populist forces Kenney cultivated would come back to haunt him.

Jeremy Appel has observed Alberta politics and reported on various aspects of Kenney’s agenda since 2017, when Kenney made his way across the province in his big blue pickup truck to rile up aggrieved conservatives. Kenneyism examines Kenney's political beliefs, his rise through federal political ranks, and his ultimate resignation from the leadership of the United Conservative Party.

Little Fires Everywhere (Celeste Ng)

 

This was a really enjoyable read. It's kind of an adult approach to the concepts in The Giver. Shaker Heights is this place where everything is just right, especially in Mrs. Richardson's world. However, the more she digs, the more problems come to light. Her youngest daughter, who she has a difficult relationship with, sees through all this and cannot stand the cognitive dissonance. There are current tales and tales in the past that all weave together to make it quite a compelling story.

Goodreads says:
Everyone in Shaker Heights was talking about it that summer: how Isabelle, the last of the Richardson children, had finally gone around the bend and burned the house down.

In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is meticulously planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colours of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother – who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenage daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than just tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother–daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past, and a disregard for the rules that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

When old family friends attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town – and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at an unexpected and devastating cost . . .