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One of the great Jon Stewart episodes
One of the benefits of a DVR is that I can watch Jon Stewart’s Daily Show even though I’m too old to stay up that late. The following is one of the best episodes I’ve seen from one of the best reasons to watch TV: [Update: Because the original episode has been removed, I […]
Sorry… we aren’t drowning in taxes
Here’s a story that I have yet to find in the Vancouver Sun or the G and M. [Update: I did find this story in the National Post, but it was half the length of the Toronto Star article.] This is not the sort of thing that low-tax corporate media outlets want you to know; […]
A Response to The CBC News Series on E-Learing in BC ( produced by Theresa Lalonde)
http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Canada/BC/ID=1467283984 Theresa, As a long-time teacher and e-learning veteran, I’d like to thank you for your series on online education (now called distributed learning [DL] by the Ministry of Ed. mucky-mucks). Unfortunately, many of us had a chuckle when we watched the first episode. Sorry, but the biggest problem in DL is not office privacy! […]
Reading Wolin, Part 2: Plato and Politics
What is “politics”? According to Chp. 2 of Sheldon Wolin’s Politics and Vision*, it’s certainly not an intellectual conception he shares with Plato. Plato’s vision of politics is of the Good: the right and just principles that are common to all rational beings, and that ought to govern their political community. It is a philosophical […]
Reading Wolin, Part 1: Philosophies, Theories and Ideologies
In the world of political thought, philosophies, theories and ideologies are traditionally viewed as distinct entities. A philosophy is considered a systematic and logical understanding of the world arrived at primarily through reason and intellect. A theory is also said to be systematic and logical, but aims to represent empirical data and observed evidence. In […]
A Review of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road
I have a rather ambiguous opinion of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. On one hand, it’s a beautifully phrased novel, full of powerful images and rich language. On the other hand, the plot is rather pedestrian, and the author’s defiance of writing conventions is tiresome. There’s no doubt that McCarthy is a gifted writer. Many passages […]
Mark Bauerlein’s The Dumbest Generation
Mark Bauerlein’s The Dumbest Generation* argues that modern western society (and particularly American society) is moving from a relatively literate print-based culture to a post-literate technology culture. Bauerlein’s specific focus is on the new realm of social technologies (“e-mails, text messages, blog-postings and comments, phone calls, tweets, feeds, photos and songs” (p. x)) that he […]
An Exchange on Multiculturalism
I pulled myself into a discussion of multiculturalism and had a surprisingly civil discussion with another respondent. I say “surprising” because it was in the online discussion forum for Maclean’s magazine, a place I normally avoid. [The extremism of the current editorial board has really taken its toll on a once venerable institution.] I suppose […]
How Wall Street Lobbied Itself Into A Crisis
In today’s Globe and Mail (Dec. 31, 2009: B5), economics reporter Kevin Carmichael discusses a recent report from the IMF that draws a direct connection between Wall Street, political lobbying, and the current financial crisis. The IMF report has apparently caused quite a stir in the blogosphere and among the American political class. Here is […]
Olympic Fever?
With less than two months before the 2010 Olympics, I find it curious that only one person I know has Olympic tickets. Indeed, in my Fraser Valley community, there seems to be a distinct lack of enthusiasm for the Games. Many people have mentioned the high price of tickets, or the need to divulge sensitive […]