I am a Canadian writer and blogger, and a former Member of Parliament. I use this site to share my ideas about politics, social justice, rhetoric, books, and memoir. You will see on the sidebar that I write two Blogs which I invite you to follow. I have written or edited nine Books, and you will find Journalism by me and about me posted on the site as well. I hope that you will read some of my work, and let me know what you think. I would love to hear from you in the Comments section below.
I also post here about things that I have written recently, or that have caught my eye. I refresh this page regularly.
Anniversary of Chilean coup
The 25th anniversary of the September 11 attack upon the US is being widely commemorated. It was a terrorist assault that claimed the lives of 2977 Americans and others, including twenty-four Canadians. The nineteen aircraft hijackers died as well. Many of us of a certain age are also marking September 11 as the 53rd anniversary of the coup against the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973. It was another terrorist act, this one conducted by the Chilean military led by General Augusto Pinochet. Reliable estimates are that 30,000 people were tortured by the Pinochet regime; 2200 people were killed, and another 1500 disappeared and remain unaccounted for. The CIA during the administration of President Richard Nixon was deeply involved in attempts to destabilize the Allende government in the lead up to the coup. Lest we forget.
Pope Leo XIV’s document on AI
Pope Leo XIV has published a document called Magnificent Humanity, which places the human person and the common good at the centre of the discussion about the increasingly pervasive technology of AI. I have posted about it to my Pulpit and Politics blog.
Literary Review of Canada article on Communist for the RCMP
The LRC has a review in their April 2025 edition of my book A Communist for the RCMP. The writer is David Shribman, a veteran U.S. journalist who was executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He teaches in the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University he contributes to The Globe and Mail. The review is titled, Serge Protector? The RCMP informant who saw red. It took me a few moments to get it, but eventually I did.
Quotable Quotes
“Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty.” – Hannah Arendt
“Indifference to the truth leads, slowly but surely, to a descent to totalitarianism.” – Pope Leo XIV
Dennis Gruending 