Harpocrisy
Tony Clement was grilled yesterday by a parliamentary committee reviewing spending for "border security" in his riding. But, as Lawrence Martin writes this morning, "It's John Baird who is on…
Owen Gray
A Place To Talk
Dan Gardiner, in the Ottawa Citizen, asks the most important question Canadians are facing: "Why have a Parliament at all?" The question has become front and center because, as Gardiner…
The People They Refuse To See
As Stephen Harper jets off to Cannes, trumpeting his government's economic performance, someone should follow him with a copy of the latest Food Banks Canada Report. That report, which was…
The Ultimate Irony
I have long felt that modern conservatives lack a sense of irony. I can think of no credible explanation for this impediment. Perhaps it is genetic. But, as Paul Krugman…
Blessed Are The Peacemakers
Chantal Hebert writes in today's Toronto Star that, while the growing list of NDP candidates "has all the makings of a decent future NDP cabinet, it has few of the…
War Is Peace
The Harper government has turned Von Clausewitz' dictum -- that war is "politics by other means" -- on its head. For this prime minister, politics is war. Last weak, he…
And That Has Made All The Difference
Paul Krugman has been arguing against the doctrine of "epansionary austerity" for sometime. That doctrine holds that, if governments make deep budget cuts, the economy will expand. It has become…
A Pattern Is Emerging
When Stephen Harper appointed Angelo Persichilli as his new Director of Communications, he raised eyebrows. Mr. Persichilli is bilingual in a country with two official languages. But Mr. Persichilli's two…
The New Scapegoats
Tom Walkom writes this morning that, when times get tough, people look for scapegoats:In Germany after World War I, the scapegoats were Jews. In Canada during the slump of 1919-20,…
Scrooge’s Children
Last week, Brian Topp had the temerity to suggest that it was time to raise taxes on the wealthy and on corporations. Jim Flaherty, predictably, called that notion "dreamy." In…
When Mean Rules the Roost
In today's Washington Post, E. J. Dionne reminds his readers what the Republican Party used to stand for:The Grand Old Party instituted the Homestead Act and created land-grant colleges, the…
Is The West In Charge?
John Ibbitson wrote in Friday's Globe and Mail that the ascension of the Harper government confirms a power shift which has been happening in this country for over two decades.…
Suspicion Is The Prime Directive
Jonathan Kay is not a noted critic of the Harper government. But, in Thursday's National Post, Kay takes aim at Bill C-10, the government's omnibus crime bill. The Conservatives won…
Mitt’s Pursuit of Futility
Mitt Romney's pursuit of the Republican presidential nomination has cost him a great deal -- a great deal of money, a great deal of time, and a great deal of…
The CIW and GDP
For decades, many economists have noted that GDP is a crude index of a nation's well being. Yesterday, the University of Waterloo introduced a better idea. The Canadian Index of…
The 21st Century Bickersons
E.J. Dionne writes that last night's Republican candidates debate was like listening to that popular radio program from the 1940's, the Bickersons. But instead of Don Ameche and Frances Langford,…
The Rebranding of Canada
The Harper government has been working overtime to rebrand Canada. They hate what they see as the "mushy middle" which, for nearly one hundred and fifty years, has been the…
Life Gets Tough
Paul Krugman writes that the Masters of Wall Street are beginning to whine: "The modern lords of finance look at the protesters and ask, 'Don’t they understand what we’ve done…
Who Will Lead?
We may be at one of those moments when the whole world changes. Like 1848, 2011 may turn out to be a historic year for world governments. David Ignatius writes…
A Country For The Young
John Ibbitson, in the Globe and Mail, worries about declining voter turnout. In all recent federal and provincial elections, turnout has gone south:Ontario set a grim new standard last week,…