Category Politics
Political Polling
Pollsters hate me. Which is strange, because I am such a willing participant – and these days it is tough to find people willing to give up the time to answer a few questions about politicians and the state of the country. The pollsters were right in their prediction of Tuesday’s Alberta provincial election. Right […]
Remembering Kent State
Forty-five years later their names are a footnote to history. But I remember them. May 4, 1970, Kent State University. A student protest against American expansion of the Vietnam war into neighboring Cambodia left four people dead, shot by the Ohio National Guard who had been called in to maintain order on the campus, To […]
The Slippery Slope
Those opposing the recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling that has opened the door to assisted suicide in Canada are frequently branded as alarmists by proponents of euthanasia. Supposedly there will be controls to ensure that only those who wish to die are allowed to kill themselves. A new study done in the Province of […]
Cash Cow or Cash Cat?
My wife tore up the letter from the City of Ottawa, or I would have posted it here. It seems Marshall’s license is due for renewal. If you read this blog regularly you know that Marshall was our cat, who died last month. The city knows we have a cat because the Ottawa Humane Society […]
Euthanasia II – The Price of Death
In the not too distant future, it seems, Ontario’s health care system will have to confront the issue of assisted suicide. The question won’t be whether to allow it or not. The Supreme Court of Canada has ordered Parliament to make it happen, and my guess is Parliament is too spineless to tell the Court […]
Euthanasia I – A Not So Modest Proposal
In anticipation of euthanasia being legalized in Canada, medical schools are scrambling to update their curriculum. Thanks to the Supreme Court they now have to teach physician assisted suicide. Or think they may have to – at this point there is no death curriculum. The whole issue is in legal limbo right now and won’t […]
A Principled Man
Canadian politician James Lunney made the news last week as he resigned from the governing Conservatives in order to speak freely. Normally when a politician says he wants to speak freely you can expect him to criticize his former party, suggesting that he was muzzled, but that is not the case here. Lunney, who announced […]
Ending with a Bang (or a Whimper)?
As a journalist (though not practising these days) I know how obnoxious we can be as a profession. They teach it in journalism school. I’m only half joking about that. Young journalists in training have it drummed into their heads that the story is all-important. Sometimes, they are told, that means you have to do […]
The Un-Canadian
Ted Cruz has declared his candidacy for the Republican Party nomination for the 2016 American presidential election. He is unlikely to win. He is the first to declare his candidacy. Voting day is still 20 months away. Historically those who declare first don’t capture the prize. I suspect party members become tired of them over […]
Buyukada Orphanage
I wrote about visiting one of the Princes Islands in Istanbul, and my interest in the abandoned building at the top of the hill. I recently discovered there is more to the story of that abandoned orphanage than what I learned on the trip. It has fairly recently been part of an important court case. […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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