Damn it.

One final point here for members of the PC caucus at Queen’s Park to consider: they are being asked this week to vote to make it easier for the premier to make decisions behind closed doors, and to lock those doors even more firmly. Government House Leader Steve Clark has presented a motion to whip the budget measures bill through the legislature without committee hearings, including the section that will eviscerate Ontario’s freedom of information laws. Many in this government find journalists and their insistence on factual answers annoying, fine. But the events of the last few days are a reminder that a culture of insularity and secrecy is bad for governments, and Tories might want to ask whether leaning into that dysfunction is really what they need right now.

New from me at TVO, on the whole jet thing: www.tvo.org/article/anal...

well there was that "criminal immunity" one

The Pentagon will stop requiring members of the military to get flu vaccines. Image Hegseth, wearing a blue suit, a tie and American flag pocket square, stands in front of an American flag. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that service members would no longer have to get flu vaccines.Credit...Pete Marovich for The New York Times The Pentagon will no longer require troops to get annual flu vaccines, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday, calling the policy an “absurd, overreaching” mandate.

George Washington LITERALLY would not have won the Revolutionary War had he not vaccinated the troops against smallpox.

Meanwhile, this idiot: www.nytimes.com/live/2026/04...

Plan for 33-storey building on Danforth Avenue Beer Store site to be heard by Scarborough Community Council – Beach Metro Community News The Beer Store at 3130-3150 Danforth Ave., between Victoria Park and Pharmacy avenues, is seen in this Beach Metro Community News file photo. By MATTHEW

Local councillor opposes Beer Store redevelopment because the proposed towers are "inconsistent with the character of the surrounding neighbourhood."

The neighbourhood has included numerous towers around Vic Park subway station *for decades*.
beachmetro.com/2026/04/21/p...

For 20 years Democrats have been kicked in the teeth by Republican gerrymanders, and in response to Trump *explicitly* calling for GOP states to do everything possible to create a one-party system D legislatures have responded in kind and all of the sudden Republicans have discovered fairness.

Noah Kahan: Tiny Desk Concert YouTube video by NPR Music

Happy Noah Kahan Tiny Desk Concert to everyone who celebrates.
youtu.be/M34D3Ktovfw?...

I am having a giggle imagining the coalition negotiations between Marit Stiles and Liberal-leader-to-be-named in this scenario.

PABLO TORRE FINDS OUT Follow Pablo down the rabbit hole, beyond the game — every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday — on his award-winning video podcast, now part of The Athletic Podcast Network. You’ll get a deep-dive "talkume...

EXCLUSIVE: @theonion.com tells me they've struck a (long-awaited) deal to take over Infowars.

New PTFO on how America's finest (fake) news source trolled Alex Jones, with the blessing of Sandy Hook families — and what @bencollins.bsky.social is planning next — will be up soon

👀

if by "cursed" you mean "I will be calling myself this from now on"

Battery storage is now the fastest-growing power technology in the world

* 108GW added in 2025, up 40% year-on-year
* 11x increase in installed capacity since 2021 (!)

6/10

It’s not that I think it’s inevitable, it’s simply that the GOP are going to see how these numbers are even worse in November in areas that are “rightfully republican” and feel incapable of not panically jamming the “try to fuck up elections” button as hard and as quickly as they can

Anthony Furey says he won’t run for mayor of Toronto Furey’s decision makes him the latest potential candidate from the political right to declare he won’t challenge incumbent Olivia Chow.

So that's pretty much it as far as non-Bradford conservative challengers goes. www.thestar.com/news/gta/ant...

Ford CEO Draws Line In Sand: Keep Chinese EVs Out Of US – 'Should Not Let Them Into Our Country' Ford Motor Company paused its electric-vehicle growth efforts, but is pivoting to a major push in 2027. With lower-cost production methods and new models in development, the legacy automaker’s CEO wan...

Just checking on how the Invisible Hand of the Market is doing

Links for April 19th, 2026 Been three weeks since I sent this out, yikes.

Links for April 19th, 2026. johnmcgrath.substack.com/p/links-for-...

Gonna spend the next two years spamming every elected Dem about the concept of "damnatio memoriae." Chisel his name off every inscription. Build over the various Trump Towers like they're Nero's Golden House. Remove him from physical memory, not to forget but as a sign of disrespect to the man.

Funny thing about this dog is how nutty she gets when what she *really* wants is for someone to lie down with her on the couch so she can relax properly.

Literal chat btwn me and my editor after publishing Friday's column:

Ed: You need to write about the Gravy Plane next

Me: Hang on, let's see if they dig in on this or bail before Monday

Pregnancy vaccine reduces baby hospital admissions for RSV by 80% A study confirms the vaccine gives excellent protection for babies against life-threatening chest infections.

Vaccines are humanity’s greatest scientific achievement.

Not for the first time noting some of the most enthusiastic proponents of online community meetings I've encountered are city staff who were astonished at how much more diverse participation became when it didn't mean needing to find a babysitter. Naturally, councillors want to kill it with fire.

I hate to hand it to him, but the Pope makes some really good points.

When simulation becomes the norm, it weakens the human capacity for discernment. As a result, our social bonds close in upon themselves, forming self-referential circuits that no longer expose us to reality. We thus come to live within bubbles, impermeable to one another. Feeling threatened by anyone who is different, we grow unaccustomed to encounter and dialogue. In this way, polarization, conflict, fear and violence spread. What is at stake is not merely the risk of error, but a transformation in our very relationship with truth.

pope tweets good

www.tvo.org/article/anal...

That's not to say that you shouldn't be careful how you use these glasses. Meta doesn’t have the greatest track record on privacy, and the company has continued to push forward with policies that are questionable at best. Even if you’re not concerned that face recognition will allow Meta to target immigrants or enable stalkers to find their victims, at the very least, people really do not like the idea that you could start recording them at any moment.

Probably the biggest hurdle to wearing Meta glasses is that even doing so seems like a gross violation of the social contract. After all, these are Mark Zuckerberg's “pervert glasses.” When I pop these on my head, I’ve had friends (and my spouse) recoil and say, “I have apps to warn me away from people like you.” The best part, though, is that Oakley and Ray-Ban already make really great sunglasses. Even if the battery runs out or you don't use Meta AI at all, these are stellar at shading your eyes from the sun

This is the most extensive disclaimer I’ve ever seen in a buying guide. www.wired.com/story/best-m...

Note that the Carney government is *not* disentangling us from this company. They're working with Cohere, who works with Palantir.

Mike Nellis @MikeNellis "I'M NO LONGER CATHOLIC!" Hannity ABANDONS HIS FAITH for Trump NELLIS X.com • +*+

Amazing that in the national divorce the libs are getting the NFL, butter and cooking oil, being attracted to adult women, standup comedy, Bud Light, and now also Catholicism

If you guessed "as much density as possible, regardless of the consequences" meant 4 units, congratulations to you (but, sadly, not to our city). But why does this site need a rezoning for 4 units if 4 units are already allowed in Neighbourhoods as-of-right?

Can't be possible, I've been assured Toronto's policies aren't getting in the way of new housing.

Fighting with HEB is like fighting with the Pope, except HEB might have more moral authority in Texas.

‘Robby Has Never Been Your Daddy’ On the set of The Pitt finale, the acclaimed series zooms in on its main character.

Love the Pitt, love reading articles about the Pitt, and have two very strong takes on the Pitt:
1) The bravest thing the show has done is to allow Robby to be a genuine asshole. Trauma does not make people saints!
2) The worst thing the show runners & writers could do is listen to fans.