War Against Science Waged in B.C. Classrooms
As is often the case with change, some people welcome the opportunity while others are wary of making things worse. For B.C. teachers, changes to the B.C. curriculum drafts in…
February 2014
A Troubled Canadian’s Mind
I have been a little under the weather the last two days, an illness that curiously began shortly after I had an unsettling thought about the federal budget. (I am…
Will He Go With A Bang Or A Whimper?
Yesterday, Jim Flaherty signalled that he is packing his bags. In announcing his opposition to income splitting, he placed himself in direct opposition to his boss and the men, like…
Baseless by-election blathering
So, the good people of Thornhill and Niagara vote today. Here are my predictions, and I expect all of you to mock me if (when) I am shown to be…
Texas sportscaster on gay football players…and what he says isn’t what you expect
This guy is my new personal hero. Just epic.
CC: Christy Clark and Chris Christie
They share the same initials, and they share the same tactics.
Byline: in which I suggest Jim Flaherty’s closest aides are Johnny Walker and Jim Beam
I’m about six minutes in, after Brian’s editorial. My speculation about Flaherty’s state of mind, and his whiplash-inducing flip-flop on income splitting: He has been taken hostage by officials in…
And the best of luck in Thornhill.
Today, February 13 is hard lesson day for Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. Despite the reasonably good turnout at advance polls, there is no rationale for neophyte Premier Wynne to anticipate…
cherry-picked data and undisclosed bias: the failure of freakonomics
Allan came home from one of his used-book sale sprees with copies of both Freakonomics and Super Freakonomics. I had read so many excerpts from, and reviews of, these books…
Food for thought
Work has kept me away from my latest long fiction project for a while, and this quote keeps floating around my head. (That, and some kind of growling sound…) Alltop…
The OU Did Not Invent MOOCs
Responding to Fred Bershears, who writes: Here are some quotes from Berkeley professor David L. Kirp on the British Open University. They were offering MOOCs long before the term was…
“Assisted” Reproduction – Oh, the Irony!
The federal government enacted the Assisted Human Reproduction Act in 2004 in an effort to regulate reproductive technologies and to prevent its commercialization. However, when examining the practical effects of…
(Part 1) Jones v. Tsige – Revisiting the Tort of Invasion of Privacy
A year and a half ago, Ontario’s highest court took the “incremental step” of recognizing the tort of invasion of privacy in the seminal decision of Jones v. Tsige. In…
The (un)booming economy and population growth
“Bullshit,” wrote philosopher Harry Frankfurt a few years ago, “is unavoidable whenever circumstances require someone to talk without knowing what he is talking about.” Enter Danny Williams, Doc O’Keefe, and…
Global Warming Denier James Delingpole Gets Ass Booted Out Door
Word is the UK Telegraph (the Torygraph, as they call it) felt he was an embarrassment. And of course, in his sign-off column he admits he knew nothing about science.…
Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is one of those weird non-holiday holidays. There’s issues with the ethics of cut flowers and a need to buy ethical fair-trade organic chocolate. There are those who…
Stephen Harper, Jimbo Flaherty, and the Fascist Pigs
It had to be one of the most bizarre sights I have ever seen in Question Period. And yet another sign that the Con regime is running out of steam,…
NDP grounds Commons committees over lack of hearings on Fair Elections Act
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/02/12/ndp_grounds_commons_committees_over_lack_of_hearings_on_fair_elections_act.html In response to the government’s refusal to hold cross country hearings on the Fair Elections Act, the New Democrats denied consent to approve the travel budget for House of…
Back to the future with Guy Boutilier: a run to be Fort Mac’s MP looks to be in the cards
Guy Boutilier in his Wildrose caucus office in Edmonton back in 2009. Notice Ralph Klein peering over his shoulder. Below: Other Fort Mac politicians Brian Jean, the Conservative Crossword King,…
Kicking and screaming
The real victims of today’s Senate expenses scandal are, of course, the three high-flying senators themselves, Don Meredith, Scott Tannas and Neil Plett.Being responsible adults and mature business leaders, they…