Over the years of writing this blog, I have made fairly frequent mention of the importance of critical thinking. At the same time, I have usually been quick to add that it is an ideal toward which I constantly strive, one that I frequently fall short of. There are,
Continue readingAuthor: Lorne
Politics and its Discontents: Snowflakery Spreads
It is common for the hard right to accuse progressives of being snowflakes, meaning, I guess, that they are inordinately sensitive and easily offended. The shoe, however, now appears to be on the other foot, as was recently demonstrated with the expulsion of two black state representatives from the Tennessee
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Still Lessons To Be Learned
The older I get, the more I realize how little I know. And to me, that is a good thing, because there is something both grounding and humbling in realizing the extent of one’s ignorance. And it is also an invitation to continue learning, right up to the end. While
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Beam In Our Eye
When you think about it, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with national myths. They seek to convey something special about one’s country. For example, there is the American myth about being a country where anyone can become anything by dint of hard work. In Canada, there is the myth that
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Ode To Democracy
A busy day ahead, so I shall let Theo Moudakis speak for me: Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: God’s Second Gift To Humanity
But, as Jesus said, “A prophet hath no honour is his own country.” Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Sharing Incompetencies
I was talking to my good friend Dave, from Winnipeg, the other night. Dave and I have been friends for 40 years. The affinities that bind us include books, movies and, of course, politics. Like me, Dave has a jaundiced, cynical view of those who represent us, seeing them
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Ideological Soulmates
Well, it appears Pierre Poilievre, that would-be master disinformation-trafficker, has found his true soulmate in another man-child, Elon Musk. They have had a meeting of the minds when it comes to the CBC – dearest Elon has agreed to PP’s request that the publicly-funded networked be labelled “government-funded
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Eerily Prescient
In 1986, Frank Zappa appeared on Crossfire, a show that billed itself as a forum for debate between opposing views. In the following clip, (you can see the entire episode here), Zappa makes an observation that, although hotly contested by the other guests, proves to be eerily prescient, given the
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Angry Talking Heads
When I was a teacher, it used to bother me to no end that it only took one or two ignorant, badly-behaved kids to spoil the atmosphere and discourse in a class. For those who think it should have been a simple matter to silence those voices, well, let’s
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: "My Family Sometimes Comes Second. It Has To"
The above are the words of one of the officers who recently entered the private school in Nashville which saw a horrible killing spree by a deranged former student. While I am often quite critical of the police and their abuse of authority, that many are brave and selfless is
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: "Such A Willfully Stupid People"
If you watch this brief video to the end, you will see the above assessment comes from the Highest Authority. Happy Easter, all. Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Gun Love And Race Hatred – A Powerful Convergence
Although no real good can come out of it, I continue to be both rivetted and repulsed by the ongoing devolution of American society. Everywhere one looks, it is apparent that political leadership inspired by vision and integrity is close to extinction, replaced by demagoguery and pandering to America’s basest
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Too Good Not To Share
From my favourite editorial cartoonist, Theo Moudakis: Trump’s Day in Court. Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Small Experiment
I have a busy day ahead, so I thought I would try a little experiment with A.I., having recently been given access to the Bing Chat Bot. I shall return to that in a moment. Yesterday, Keith Leslie posted this Tweet: Why does @ThermeCanada need a five-storey, underground parking garage,
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Don’t Cry For Me
Cry for Donnie: At least now, we know who the real snowflakes are. Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Freedom To Think? Not In Florida
Some may think I spend too much time these days writing about the Benighted United States of America. Perhaps I do, but its seemingly inexorable slide into ignorance and autocracy is surely something that needs to be monitored and fought against. The latter, of course is not my battle
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Caught Without A Figleaf
While I have been retired from teaching for quite a number of years, every so often I am reminded of the often counter-productive influence that parents can exert over the learning experience. I’ll get to what prompted my latest revisitation of the past in a moment, but first, a couple
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: It’s All Connected
It isn’t hard to come to the realization that one of the common denominators in almost all of the existential threats currently facing humanity is our flawed natures; human folly, shortsightedness and credulity have much to answer for. Climate change, resource depletion and pandemics readily come to mind as examples
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: You Can’t Say We Haven’t Been Warned
Anyone who has ever watched the film Colossus – The Forbin Project or enjoyed the revamped Battlestar Galactica will know that artificial intelligence, whether embraced willingly or created accidentally, never ends well. Safeguards are overlooked or abandoned, or sometimes the A.I. develops unintended abilities that spell disaster for humanity. Hubris,
Continue reading