An Embarrassment To All of Us
Like the dotty uncle no one wants to invite to family dinners anymore because of his wildly inappropriate comments, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver is fast becoming an international persona…
rick salutin
The Synchronous Decline of Peter Mansbridge and The CBC
I admit that I stopped being a regular viewer of the CBC years ago; I think the catalyst for my disaffection was its transparent policy of appeasement (under the pretext…
Sunday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your Sunday reading. – Ian Lovett reports on the use of “capital appreciation bonds” in California to ensure that future generations pay an inflated price to private-sector…
CBC’s Peter Mansbridge coulda bin a contender: Salutin
CBC’s Peter Mansbridge coulda bin a contender: Salutin: As a follow-up to my post about former fluff broadcaster and current fraud artist Mike Duffy, here is a link to a…
”Twere to consider too curiously, to consider so.’
The title of my post today, taken from Act Five of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, occurs in a graveyard. Hamlet begins musing on what may become of one’s earthly remains, as even…
Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Jeffrey Simpson marks Peter Lougheed’s passing by discussing what he brought to Alberta’s political scene that’s been sorely lacking ever since: Mr. Lougheed,…
Rick Salutin On Teacher Unions
We seem to be in the constant throes of anti-union sentiment during a time they are most needed. The right wing, including Ontario Conservative leader young Tim Hudak, seems to…
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Rick Salutin discusses the link between parity of wealth and democratic participation, while pointing out why there’s reason for people to engage much…
Referendums: The Perils and the Possibilities
Direct democracy is to representative democracy what extra-virgin olive oil is to refined olive oil. The latter is more cost effective and, perhaps according to some, just as good. But…
Rick Salutin on Democracy, Parties, and Electoral Reform
“Democracy,” as Winston Churchill famously stated, “is the worst form of Government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Somewhat less famously, he also…
Rick Salutin on Proportional Representation
The problem with parties is they don’t exist to represent the views of the public, or even sections of it, or even their own members. Maybe they once did, or…
Defining Democracy
Just back from a very brief holiday in western New York, I’m still feeling a bit too relaxed to post anything lengthy, but I do have a reading recommendation for…
Rick Salutin Today
While the CBC’s Peter Mansbridge may often pronounce ponderously and authoritatively on issues, there is another source of information that should, in many ways, be taken more seriously, says Rick…
Rick Salutin On Happiness
Our self-absorbed society could do worse than read Rick Salutin’s thoughts on the pursuit of happiness found in today’s Star. Recommend this Post
Leadership 2012 Roundup
News and notes from the last few days as the deadline to sign up looms just a week away in advance of a convention that’s set to far exceed the…
Saturday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your weekend reading. – Trish Hennessy points out that Rob Ford’s contemptuous attack on the idea of secure employment may offer an ideal contrast between the right-wing…
Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Jeffrey Simpson manages to write an entire column on important political developments he managed to miss in 2011 without uttering the words “NDP”…
Rick Salutin on The Decline of Deference to Authority
As is so frequently the case, The Star’s Rick Salutin has written a thoughtful and original piece, this time on some of the factors involved in our increasingly dynamic resistance…
Rick Salutin on Democracy
We live in time when the Harper government seems to be doing everything in its power to persuade Canadians that democracy is meaningless and that we, the citizens, have no…