More Praise for Kevin Page
Readers of this blog will know that I have a deep and abiding respect for people of real integrity, those capable of moving beyond narrow self-interest to embrace ethics and…
Lorne
Just Trust Us
We all remember the abortive attempts by Kevin Page, Parliamentary Budget Officer, to find out specifically how federal budget cuts were going to affect programs. The Harper regime was of…
The Scourge of Wealth
I often think of the famous line from the New Testament in which Jesus says “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than…
Internet Interruptus
Today is the second day I have been without direct internet access owing to some sort of problem on the Bell network. Yesterday I was in the midst of writing…
Pondering Pandeering Political Parties
I am long past the age where I expect very much from politicians of any stripe. While it is easy to target (and I frequently do!) the Harper-led Conservative Party…
Some Inspiration From Kevin Page
There is an excellent piece in this morning’s Star by outgoing Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page. In it, he talks about how his son’s death was the catalyst for his…
Conservative Equilibrium
Ever wonder what would happen to the reactionary conservative sense of identity if it ever ran out of things to be outraged about? Happily for its psyche, that is not…
More On Harper’s Dereliction of Environmental Responsibilites
As is so often the case, Star readers eloquently speak on issues close to the hearts of many. Reproduced below are two from this morning’s edition that address the Harper…
We Are Not Alone
Those of us who write in the progressive blogosphere, I suspect, often have a ‘dark night of the soul,’ fearing that we are only preaching to the converted in our…
Some Low-Hanging Fruit
My, my, my, they are incorrigible, aren’t they? Recommend this Post
Can We, In Good Conscience, Allow This To Continue?
There are, without doubt, many justifications and rationalizations that people have for being willfully ignorant of the larger world around them: work pressures, home stresses, lack of time, lack of…
Porter Air, Pension Funds, and Invisible Strikers
Many years ago, in the midst of my teaching career, there was a movement by a group of us to try to get the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan to divest…
The Deteriorating Conditions at Walmart
Perhaps the land of low prices and deteriorating conditions could learn something from Costco, which believes in paying its employees a living wage. Recommend this Post
It Certainly Took Him Long Enough
His Mad Face? Seasoned cynic that I am, I can’t help but think that Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair’s denunciation of police misbehaviour is little more than a public relations…
Cancer, E.I., and Government Hypocrisy
The Faces Of Common Humanity Without doubt, to battle cancer must be a grueling and depleting experience. But to face rebuke and betrayal at the hands of one’s government because…
Dennis Kucinich: US An ‘Orwellian State’
Some refreshing honesty from an American politician – well-worth watching: H/t Disinformation Recommend this Post
Administrative Hypocrisy
I came across this letter in The Hamilton Spectator yesterday. I consider the topic of feckless school administrators, operating without integrity, to be quite appropriate for this blog, given how…
A Message from Noam Chomsky
As usual, Noam Chomsky addresses issues whose existence others refuse to acknowledge. Recommend this Post
Kafka, The Toronto Police, and Toronto Community Housing
“Someone must have been telling lies about Joseph K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning.” – The Trial, by Franz Kafka Last evening, I…
Some Misplaced Right-Wing Anger
The ‘lady’ in this video, so agitated by the number of Americans on food stamps, is right to be angry, but for the wrong reasons: H/t Eric Dolan Recommend this…