There are many books weighing down my bookshelves into soft, drooping curves, but not many of them have the privilege of tenure. Only a handful have travelled with me for more than a couple of decades; a small selection of … Continue reading →
Continue readingAuthor: Ian Chadwick
Chadwick's Blog & Commentary: Is Tar Baby the new N-Word?
As far back as I can recall, the term “tar baby” was a metaphor in common political parlance for a “sticky situation.” It has no racial meaning in that context, any more than saying “honey trap” or “sticky wicket.” Both … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: The Hidden Costs of Gambling
Let’s start 2013 with a sober consideration of the social and economic costs of gambling. Back n 2006, the Canadian Medical Association noted that, “Provincial governments may be glossing over the societal and health costs of problem gambling, including depression and … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Happy New Year!
Happy New Year. 2012 is almost over. 2013 looms a few hours away. I wish you all the best of times in the upcoming year. What a year it’s been. For council, we flailed around in the tar-baby issues of the … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: And on the video scene… bargains!
December is always a good month for movie buffs, and for anyone who wants to buy TV series on DVD (no commercials!). Lots of places have before- and after-Xmas sales that make DVD shopping more interesting this month. In particular, … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: The Bedside Library
When the books stacked beside the bed get tall enough to hold not only a cup of tea at easy reach, but a plate of toast with no threat of falling, then perhaps it’s time to cull the pile and put aside those … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: A Council Christmas Carol – Part 2
STAVE TWO (continued from Part 1). THE FIRST OF THE THREE SPIRITS. I awoke in the dark, late Friday night. Winter days are so short that sometimes it seems a mere moment passes between sunrise and sunset. The day had whizzed by, … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: The Municipal Machiavelli is online
I’ve spent much of the past few days putting online my book in which I assess and rewrite Niccolo Machiavelli’s famous (or infamous) work, The Prince, in a WordPress format. I wrote this book earlier this year, but was unable to find a publisher … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Explaining Council Expenses
Tip of the hat to Ian Adams for clearing up any misrepresentation of council’s expenses and clarifying some information, in his most recent blog post. The total council expense allotment is well under budget this year. It usually is; we … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Four words about the Mayan Apocalypse
For all of you New Agers who expected something momentous to happen, December 21, because an obscure, millennium-old calendar ended on that date, and are disappointed that the world didn’t end, I have four words for you: I told you … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: A Council Christmas Carol – part 1
STAVE ONE. It was one of those long winter days. I was back in town late, that Thursday, well after dark, driving down the main street watching the heavy snow cover the road and sidewalks. I’d been out of town almost the whole … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Gambling and the local economy part 2
Seventy three dollars. It’s not a large amount if you’re middle class, certainly not if you’re Conrad Black. But for others it can be significant. If you’re on minimum wage, it’s a full day’s wage, before taxes. If you’re a senior on a … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Lost Worlds, Lost Words
Moidered. It sounds like something from the Three Stooges. Or maybe something Tony Soprano would say.”I moidered him.” But it actually means “crazed,” according to Samuel Johnson in his famous dictionary of 1755. It’s long since left the stage of English usage. … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Conspiracies, Secret Meetings and Backroom Deals
As the year comes to a close, I think it’s about time I ‘fessed up about the conspiracies, secret meetings, backroom deals, hidden commissions and other underhanded dealings council has had this term. There haven’t been any. Sorry about that. … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: America’s Intolerant WBC Fundamentalists
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I watched this. laugh because Russell Brand* just runs circles around these guys from the Westboro Church and they don’t seem to realize when they are being mocked. Fish in a barrel, I suppose. Cry … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Tax the Rich – a video
You really should watch this video. It explains in clear, simple terms the argument of the billionaires and the rest of us. I like it because – while it’s simplistic – it is succinct and presents its argument in a … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Someone is wrong on the internet
I discovered an entertaining site recently called Skeptic North. It’s a Canadian equivalent to several similar sites and blogs I read that are mostly American-based. It challenges popular assumptions, ideas, trends and pseudoscience and other claptrap. In a Canadian way, … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: The Known Unknowns
“There are known knowns; there are things we know that we know,” said United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld in a now-famous statement. “There are known unknowns; that is to say there are things that, we now know we don’t … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: How to Survive the Mayan Apocalypse
How will anyone survive the “end of the world” predicted for December 21, 2012? Easy: by breathing. That’s because it won’t happen. That the Mayans never predicted it would seems to have bypassed a few of the tin-foil-hat brigade. The complex … Continue reading →
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Mayors Under Siege: Why Laws Must Change
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is planning to appeal the recent judicial decision that ousted him from office for failing to obey one of the basic rules of municipal governance. In fact, during the hearing, he admitted never having read the Municipal … …
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