Like a lot of 90’s kids, I have quotes from the Simpsons come spontaneously to mind just about all the time. The other day a moment came to mind where Ned Flanders (with whom I deeply identify) is chairing a meeting of the Springfield Parent-Teacher Association where he is trying to mediate a strike between…
You’ve heard, no doubt, of the “No True Scotsman” fallacy. The idea is that when a counterexample is posed to some general truth (i.e., “Scotsmen are brave”), that counterexample is fallaciously refuted by saying that anyone who doesn’t fit that truth cannot be a “true” instance of the type. Point me to a cowardly Scot…
David Cameron wanted to be Prime Minister of the UK. He ran for the position in two general elections and won both times. He was leader of the Conservative party for over 10 years. But he didn’t really like leading. His party was deeply divided over the question of whether the UK should stay in…
During an election more of us pay more attention to politics. That’s fitting. But it is also a time when politicians pay more attention to us. Over the last few weeks, we had a greater opportunity to make our voices heard, not just through our vote but through direct, eye-to-eye contact with our (prospective) representatives,…
The United States is neither poor nor weak. It doesn’t have to sell out its most treasured traditions, its longest-standing allies and its reputation as a generous, law-abiding and cooperative nation in order to put the screws to its own people, to its allies and to those who depend on it for survival. Cutting social…
I’m a bit of a newshound at the best of times (and by “best” I mean “most politically boring”), but now – largely thanks to the black hole of political chaos down south – I’ve been struggling to think about anything else for the past month and a half. I suspect a lot of you…
Donald Trump (oh, I’m already so tired of writing about him) appointed Pete Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense of the United States (a post for which he is dangerously unqualified, I should say). An unintended side-effect of this is that it has brought into the wider public gaze a concept from my own intellectual…
Donald Trump is a hard guy to ignore, even for us Canadians. Lately it’s been even tougher because he’s been talking about us. And featuring in Donald Trump’s bloviations is almost never a good thing. In case you’ve missed it (lucky you!), he’s moved from threatening massive tariffs against Canada (unless we solve a largely…
My neighbourhood in Edmonton has been struggling through some changes over the past year. The city changed its zoning regulations (which I wrote about last January) and allowed the development of higher and more densely packed housing than we were used to. What’s more, we are seeing more unhoused people in our part of the…
“He has shown strength with his arm;/ he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts./ He has brought down the powerful from their thrones/ and lifted up the lowly./ He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” Luke 1: 51-53 I’m writing this column the day…
There is a strain in “conservative” thought that says that the world is harsh and that “grown up” societies face that honestly and refuse to premise their social hopes on the idea that people or institutions can be made “nice,” “safe” or “gentle.” This strain is a healthy corrective to the often naïve (or just…
My wife is pretty sure I have ADHD. She’d know; after all, she’s got an ADHD diagnosis as have two of our kids and I’m a lot like them (perhaps unsurprisingly). My mom, however, is less persuaded. I was a restless kid but I always did fine in school and wasn’t any more disruptive than…
|
Uploaded
Failed
|
 |
