Yesterday, over at Northern Reflections, Owen Gray wrote a post entitled A Lost Generation, a reflection on the discouraging prospects our young people face in establishing themselves in gainful employment,…
I have written two previous posts about Alex Himelfarb, Director of the Glendon School of Public and International Affairs at York University, former Clerk of the Privy Council, and fellow…
Despite its oft-proclaimed demised, print journalism seems to be alive and well, at least in the GTA. As reported in today’s edition, The Toronto Star is enjoying record readership: The…
About two years ago, I wrote a blog post explaining why we cancelled our subscription to The Globe and Mail. At the same time, I sent an email with a…
There are some columnists whose work I am loathe to miss. For example, over at the Globe, unlike some people I could name, Lawrence Martin writes with precision and integrity,…
Despite its rather lengthy history, yesterday was the first time my wife and I attended Toronto’s Word On the Street, a celebration of books, literacy, and the dispelling of ignorance.…
Many years ago, the singer Mac Davis wrote and performed a satirical song entitled “It’s Hard To Be Humble,” about a man so impressed with himself that he has no…
Given that recent reports have helped to puncture the myth of job-creation benefits arising from corporate tax cuts and corporate welfare, I was pleased to read Martin Regg Cohn’s article…
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…
Recently I have been writing about the vital role critical thinking plays in a healthy democracy; this morning, after reading the letters section of The Star, I couldn’t help but…
That is the best way to assess the fact that last night, despite all of his gerrymandering, Dalton NcGuinty was decisively thwarted in his ruthless drive for the majority government…
The older I get, the less patience I have with government that preaches an austerity that has a disproportionate impact on the poor. Of the right-wing rhetoric and mythology that…
There are two letters of particular note in this morning’s edition of The Toronto Star, one a propaganda piece from our much beleaguered Minister of Public Safety, Vic Toews, the…
I have long believed it is not so much the ‘genius’ of the extreme right as it is their financial backing that makes them powerful propagandists. Their domination of the…
As we go about our daily lives, the majority of us, I suspect, share a hierarchy of concerns ranging in priority from the health and well-being of our loved ones,…
My sentiments exactly, Steve: Re: A G20 cop’s close call, Aug. 10 I am a 59-year-old middle-class law-abiding person. That said, I cannot help but remark on the juxtaposition of…
In many ways, as the cliche goes, laughter is the best medicine. I often think that within the media and the blogosphere, far too much serious attention is paid to…
As noted recently, the Harper regime, in its bottomless contempt and disregard for the environment, recently opened up the possibility of drilling for oil in the Gulf of St. Lawrence,…
Despite recent toned-down rhetoric, I suspect Harper and his minions are fooling very few people. Take, for example, the recent words of our Anti-Environment Minister, the integrity-challenged Peter Kent: Confronted…
In this time of unprecedented climate change, I think most people realize that Stephen Harper has an unhealthy addiction to oil, one that marks him as truly retrogressive as he…
