No more hiding out and playing it safe – we need to open hearts and minds, to stop arguing about who is right and who is wrong
We all have opinions about the validity of glass ceilings, racism, religion, victimization and such, but what makes an idea true for you? What moment(s) in time made you believe it? Your opinions have often been nurtured over years of paying attention to information that confirms firmly-held beliefs while ignoring information that challenges those beliefs.…
The federal government has tried to extort political gain from Alberta in exchange for approval of projects, while pushing job-killing policies
Albertans didn’t need to hold their breath for Ottawa’s approval of the Frontier oil sands mine. Reports of massive opposition within the Liberal Party caucus and rumours of an appeasing economic aid package for the province were strong indicators that the federal cabinet had no intention of approving the Frontier mine in northern Alberta. In…
When people believe it’s the government’s job to help someone, they stop doing it themselves
“God giveth and the government taketh away,” goes the old, wry saying. God aside, it’s people who won’t or can’t give when the government takes away. A recent survey of generosity in the United States and Canada gives proof. The more centralist and socialist a society becomes, the less voluntary giving occurs. Socialism doesn't help…
We may have different opinions, alliances, ideals, languages, skin colours, gender preferences. These are simply characteristics that add variety to life
Groundbreaking American anthropologist Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” In many ways, this is a call to action for all of us, regardless of our political or economic perspectives. We have the power to change the…
If you truly respect tradition and decorum in politics, Pelosi’s staged performance in front of the cameras was about as low as you can get
U.S. President Donald Trump’s state of the union address on Feb. 4 was memorable. He told members of Congress about his various political and economic achievements. He awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. He honoured a wide assortment of figures, from Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido to 100-year-old…
No other country has so deliberately turned itself into a climate-change martyr. Yet our sacrifices will have no perceptible impact
It’s been almost three decades since delegates from 172 countries, meeting at the UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, adopted the Climate Change Convention. U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data show that since then the Earth’s temperature has risen an average of 0.03°C per year. At that rate, the planet will warm 2.4°…
Public shaming may reach a new low by looking at how much we eat
Move over flight shaming: environmentalists may be getting ready to target a new group of individuals. Overeaters. Yes, overeating could potentially become the next shaming social media target. For months now, many have taken to social media to spread their concerns about choices made when travelling. The plane has been a special target of environmentalists,…
For business, an ideology-driven agenda – whether from the right or the left – doesn’t create favourable conditions for investment
Common sense is not so common, observed the 18th century French writer Voltaire. Sadly, he could be talking about politics in Alberta today. Albertans have been whipsawed by two back-to-back political parties that govern more by ideology than common sense. The NDP governed from the ideological perspective that the state should tax more and use…
In modern society, we tend to casually toss around words like racism and genocide. We need to be more respectful of these words – and their horrible history
If you are an activist who wants to persuade your fellow citizens of the correctness of your views, the first thing you should do is take control of the English language. Change the meanings of words so your enemies can be accused of any crime and your side can always claim the moral high ground.…
Neither the Conservatives nor Scheer displayed the remotest capacity to fight back by hammering home the counter message about a Liberal Party in disarray
In the end, it’s probably just as well for both the Conservative Party and Canadians that leader Andrew Scheer resigned. Drawing, quartering and hanging might have been all the rage in the Elizabethan era. But it is, to paraphrase a certain prime minister, 2019, and no one gains today by having public political execution preceded…
We all have opinions about the validity of glass ceilings, racism, religion, victimization and such, but what makes an idea true for you? What moment(s) in time made you believe it? Your opinions have often been nurtured over years of paying attention to information that confirms firmly-held beliefs while ignoring information that challenges those beliefs.…
