Canadian democracy in decline: An essay (7 min read) “All politics is local." – Tip O'Neill I remember the day, November 27, 2017. A Monday morning. The sky was blue, the coffee fresh, my adrenalin flowing. I said to my computer, “Today’s the day.” For two years, I’d been writing a column in the daily newspaper, Northumberland Today––as a volunteer––and Read more...
sacrifice a principle for personal ambition." Who said it? (7 minute read) Oh, okay, that's an easy question to answer. But inherent in the answer is a much larger question and a much more revealing answer. In death, John McCain's belief in putting principle before personal will not only be amplified but may well write one of his most Read more...
fine line between open debate and abusive control (6 minute read) The tragedy in Charlottesville Virginia last week cannot be equated with millions of daily infringements on free speech but its violence exposes the problem of maintaining the fragile balance between two fundamental pillars of democracy: the people's freedom versus the autocrats' control. When free speech turns abusive and Read more...
and the hens will never stop being a bunch of chickens Three things you might not know Why did the turkey cross the road? To prove he wasn't a chicken. But being a bunch of turkeys doesn't get us anywhere either, except over to the other side of the same road, which, as Plato established 2,400 years ago, is Read more...
They're coming, they're coming ... can the farmers save the urbanites? As published in Northumberland Today, May 15, 2014 In 1973, Oregon State passed a law to protect farmland and they drew a circle around every town and city in order to curtail urban sprawl. This was at the height of suburbamania when "new towns" were spreading like spilt milk across Read more...