Pick of the Day: Woodrow Lloyd Lecture

Transforming Power: New Paths to Social and Political Change. Pretty provocative title, eh? Because obviously new paths are needed if progressives hope to regain ground lost to the reactionary right in recent decades and begin to push forward again. I mean, let's face it, the last 30 or so years have been pretty bleak. Stephen Harper as head of the National Citizen's Coalition, I can live with. But Stephen Harper as prime minister of a majority Conservative government in Ottawa, no thanks.

This man, and his ideological counterparts elsewhere in Canada and around the world, must be stopped. But how? Sure, there's been the occasional victory. But there's been way more setbacks. Outgunned as it is financially, the Left needs to be as smart and focussed with its resources as it can to defeat the Radical Right.

Speaking at this lecture, which is named after former Saskatchewan premier and long-time NDP cabinet stalwart Woodrow Lloyd, is Judy Rebick. Currently the CAW Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy at Ryerson University, Rebick has roots in social activism dating back to the '70s, and is a co-founder of the activist website rabble.ca.

Further to her talk tonight, which is at Campion College's Riffel Auditorium at the University of Regina at 7:30 p.m., here's one last tidbit to chew on from the press release: "Globalization and mass communication technology are revolutionizing our understanding of power and producing profound new ideas about social and political life."

You want an example? You're reading it. A year and a half ago, prairie dog didn't have a blog. Now we do. As many individuals and organizations have discovered, maintaining a good blog is hard work. We've done an okay job, I think, and it offers us another outlet to be critically engaged with all the debates and struggles that are currently going on. But it was only a few months ago, if you can believe it, that we joined Facebook. And Twitter too. And we're still developing a website. What other paths to reach people are out there? Stuff like that is probably part of what Rebick will talk about.

And if you're looking for a place to chat after and have a wobbly pop, Chad Kichula & the Bystanders are at McNally's Tavern. Ironic, eh? "The Bystanders" part of the band's name, I mean.