Misreading Your Opposition
Storm clouds continue to gather around Nycole Turmel. She is not the first federalist politician who has flirted with Quebec nationalism. John English has documented Pierre Trudeau's early affinity for…
Owen Gray
Putting The Children In Charge
Joe Nocera's column in today's New York Times will be quoted often in years to come. He and a few others -- like Paul Krugman and Robert Reich -- have…
This Is A Better Idea?
There are many around the world who are resting easier this morning. But Paul Krugman isn't one of them. He writes that the deal which President Obama reached with congressional…
Tea Party Time
Amid reports that Democratic and Republican leaders have reached a budget deal, Jeffrey Simpson's analysis of American politics, in today's Globe and Mail, offers some valuable perspective. The reasons for…
The Vultures Are Circling
John Boehner is in the same spot he was in a week ago, when he walked out of budget negotiations with President Obama. He doesn't have the votes. The difference…
When Ignorance Drives The Bus
When Margaret Atwood wrote this week that Rob and Doug Ford's campaign to cut public services was "swiftly approaching the 'let them eat cake stage,'' Doug fired back, "Well good…
Another Mountain To Climb
The news that Jack Layton is again battling cancer is very distressing. On a personal level, it must be a tremendous set back for the man and his wife, who…
The Dangerous Mr. Frye
Jim Bronskill reported in ipolics yesterday that the now defunct RCMP Intelligence Service kept a substantial file on the late Northrop Frye. He came to their attention because of "his…
The Children’s Hour
Ezra Klein cuts to the chase in today's Washington Post. The White House wanted $400 billion in revenues, and John Boehner knew he couldn't get the deal through the House:But…
How Little Wisdom
Paul Krugman has a right to be pessimistic. The powerful elites on both sides of the Atlantic suffer from group think. And, instead of proving the truth of the old…
The Refrain Is The Same
Jeffrey Simpson notes that income inequality in Canada is getting worse. According to a Conference Board of Canada report,The richest group of Canadians, those in the top fifth of income…
Raging Amnesia
George Orwell had a pretty good bead on the future. The only difference between 1984 and 2011 is that things go down the memory hole quicker. Certainly, writes Peter Beinart…
All That Money Can Buy
As the doinoees continue to fall in the Murdoch Saga -- the latest are Rebekah Brooks and Britian's top police officer, Paul Stephenson -- we are reminded yet again that…
Fearing Nothing But Fear
In a short piece for the Canadian International Council, Roland Paris asks the essential question about Prime Minister Harper: What Is Stephen Harper Afraid Of? It's been clear for some…
Smelling The Crazy
For Conservatives, Paul Krugman is more than an apostate; he is the Anti-Christ. But his column in today's New York Times is required reading. He writes that it's strange how…
Who Is The Real Stephen Harper?
To his critics on the left, Stephen Harper is a right wing ideologue. To his critics on the right, he is a Liberal in disguise. Scott Stinson, in The National…
Come, Let Us Reason Together
I have always thought that Churchill was right when he said that, "the United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative" I was a graduate…
Lester Pearson Would Be Furious
Yesterday, John Baird announced that Canada would boycott the UN Conference on Disarmament. Canada's objection, said Baird, was that North Korea would chair the conference:"It's just absurd to have them…
The Danger Of Getting Too Close To Royalty
After the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge left Canada to bask in the glow of Hollywood, the Prime Minister chose to do some basking of his own. Speaking in Calgary…
Student Debt and Myopic Public Policy
Gary Mason began his column in Thursday's Globe and Mail by reminiscing about the good old days:Once upon a time, getting money to attend university in Canada was easy. There…