It Doesn’t Matter
It doesn’t matter why they’re dressed as a tiger, have they got my leg? Just one more thing about educational reform. Well, for the weekend at least. It relates to…
October 2013
Blog Action Day 2013 – Human Rights #BAD13
On Friday I was invited to talk about blogging, on Regina’s community radio station CJTR. The show was Human Rights Radio by Jim and Gord, and we spent the hour…
Meanwhile, in Scotland
Agnes MacPummel made her living as a hired mourner, but her métier was punching the unsuspecting bereaved in the face, just as the casket was lowered in the ground. Alltop…
Cell phone packages and cable bills: Is this the real middle class agenda?
The Harper government won’t deliver its speech from the throne until Wednesday, but the theme has been telegraphed for months, and much of the contents well-leaked over the past week.…
The Radical Christian Right
Chris Hedges writes that, if you want to understand what is presently playing out in Washington, you have to understand the Radical Christian Right. They know what they want —…
How Much For That Bauble In The Window?
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Today, on our national holiday, most will be giving thanks for what they treasure in their lives, whether it be a loving family, good friends, a solid…
Be it resolved to rebuild Canada.
Thanksgiving Day in Canada is a good day to talk about our hopes for renewing our country. To this end, we are taking Justin Trudeau at his word that he…
Margaret Trudeau on Mental Health
There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. – Leonard Cohen From CBC Books I had the fortune of seeing Margaret Trudeau speak on mental health a…
How ‘Churchy’ is the Sunday Assembly?
Disclaimer: I’m one of the organizers for The Sunday Assembly Leeds and have met both Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans. One of the key ingredients to the early success of…
what this blog has been missing!
It’s strange to be so completely focused on something and not post about it here at all. So… OMG RED SOX That’s better! The 2013 Red Sox continue to thrill…
Flaws in Environmental Defense Fund’s Methane Study Draw Criticism from Scientists
Perhaps the single most consequential and controversial issue at the center of the onshore natural gas drilling boom is the question of methane leaks. Natural gas is primarily made of…
In today’s Hill Times: Not the real thing
So, Parliament returns. My hunch? Thirty-odd million Canadians won’t notice. The government that is led by Stephen Harper, and a few neatly-barbered, young Conservatives in PMO, is adrift—truly, officially and…
John Boehner, Speaker of the House, is unhappy!
Poor John Boehner. He wants to compromise on Government shutdown but Tea-bagger Repugs don’t agree with him. He is in a great dilemma.
Nunavut literacy
This is an ongoing problem. If you cannot read, and read well, you cannot compete for jobs. I’m involved in a project to bring more free books to Nunavut but…
Conservative Confusion #nlpoli
When they were high in the polls it was because they were making the right decisions. Now that they are in the political polling basement it is because they are…
Happy Thanksgiving
On January 31st, 1957, Parliament proclaimed… "A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed … to be observed on the…
James Moore and the Shiny New Con Scam
Uh oh. I see the Con regime is now so desperate to try to distract Canadians from the sordid Senate scandal, they're cooking up a whole new scam. They're dressing…
Get Ready for "Off the Charts" Heat in Your Own Lifetime
Lately, being older has come to feel like knowing you’ve got a reserved seat on the last chopper out of Saigon. You know there’s a slim to nil chance that…
The heart of darkness
The Globe and Mail has five stories about the terrible, awful, no good, very bad few hours on Friday when Rogers phones weren’t working: “It came at such a horrible…