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| Below
are my Letters to the editor written to the Globe and Mail and
published in 2009. Letters published in other years may be
viewed by clicking the appropriate year above. |
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50 |
One day at a time:
Rex Murphy asks if America's overall stimulus package to
save jobs, banks and the world economy could be as much as
$3-trillion and if we can even comprehend such a large
number (Who Will Watch Over This Feverish Spending? - Feb.
14). To get some perspective, current theory suggests the
universe is about 13.6 billion years old. So if a celestial
piggy bank had been fed a mere 60 cents a day from the Big
Bang until now, we would have almost saved up enough to pay
down this debt. February
14, 2009
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51 |
Insights into Billy Bob:
Yesterday, I became one of the by then million-plus YouTube
viewers of the Q TV video showing the Billy Bob Thornton
interview. Billy Bob's responses to Jian Ghomeshi gave me an
insight that his music, not its commercialization, mattered
most to him (Tough Prima Donna - editorial, May 10). It was
refreshingly honest to see the disdain some artists hold for
the publicity machine their careers demand. True, Billy Bob
was touchy, had a chip on his shoulder from the start and
countered the perceived insult to his art with a graceless
insult to his host and audience. It reminded me of Lenny
Bruce, who also liked a little gravy on his mashed
potatoes. April 11, 2009 |
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52 |
So where
does one pin the blame for those Canadian flag pins made in
China (Tories Grilled Over Chinese-Made Flag Pins - April
28)? The contract went to a Quebec company that imports the
pins from China. Globalization is the sticking point. It
allows Canadian owners to make profits off working people
here while bleeding away their jobs. Get the point? April
29, 2009 |
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53 |
Wordsmithery in webdom:
Thanks to
Warren Clements for another opedeminent column (A
Slacktivist And His Crackberry Are Seldom Parted - May 16).
My own slacklustre inactivity is confined to letters
to the editor of The Globe and Mail, a reactive form of
civic participation with a long and honoured history. But as
John Ibbitson's latest book and The Globe's online
interactive partnering of it show, oppopulism is
becoming more efficient and widespread. I am most satisfied
when I see my musings and comments instantaneously displayed
online. I'm downright smugsated May
20, 2009 |
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54 |
The sound of one wing
flapping: A
haiku in memory of a fine actor who put the men back
in mentor (David Carradine Found Dead In Bangkok - online,
June 4).
Symbol
of wisdom,
although not wisdom
itself,
Kung Fu grasshopper
June 5, 2009
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55 |
Balls and Industrial Action:
Sorry if I appear to be balking at Rick Salutin's analogy
between the economy and baseball. But I can't tell if his
column , Cito and the Great Recession, is a wind up
or if his metaphors are pulling a strain while going into
the stretch. Now if he wanted to compare the Toronto Maple
Leafs and the Great Depression, that’s a pitch I could
catch. June 12, 2009
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56 |
Picture Perfect:
Brian Gable’s political cartoon ( Thursday July 16, 2009 )
captured the essence of Dante’s circles of hell. Lord
Black, the man who put the con in Conrad, reads of his
disgrace and his adversary Jean Chretien’s great honour.
Truly for him, a Black Day in July! July 16, 2009
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57 |
Why did Samoa cross the road?
The South Pacific island nation of Samoa has made a
revolutionary move that is fraught with danger – not to
mention opposed by a large portion of its tiny population (Chaos
Predicted As Samoa Tells Drivers To Switch To Other Side Of
The Road – online, Sept. 1). Moving from the right side
of the road to the left is meant to bring Samoa “in line
with driving customs in Australia and New Zealand” and “to
encourage some of the 170,000 expatriate Samoans living
there to ship used cars back to relatives.” This is taking
left-wing social management to the extreme. And as far as
safety is concerned, it’s a case of switch and abate.
September 8, 2009 |
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58 |
Cirque founder launched into orbit. Far out! October 1,
2009 |
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59 |
PM channels Ringo:
Stephen Harper’s National Arts Centre rendition of “With A
Little Help From My Friends” may have been a reference to
the survival of his minority government (Harper
Tickles The Keys – Online, Oct. 3). But perhaps there
were more fitting Beatles songs for the PM to have played
and sung. May I suggest “The Fool on the Hill”? Of course,
given Mr. Harper’s support from the gun lobby, any cut from
Revolver might also be appropriate. October 5, 2009 |
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60 |
No deadheads here
Re
Woman Declared Dead Gets Apology (Nov. 6): We shouldn’t
be so quick to blast government bureaucracy for this
admittedly embarrassing error. It happens in the private
domain, too. A few months ago, I received a very nice card
from the Cancer Society saying how a friend had honoured my
death with a financial contribution to their charity.
Someone at the Cancer Society had ticked the wrong box. When
I called to note the discrepancy between their data and my
heartbeat, they immediately apologized and said they were
happy I was still alive. I agreed wholeheartedly November
11, 2009 |
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61 |
Canadian passivity at Copenhagen may be a result of Prime
Minister Stephen Harper’s fear of making a commitment that
can come back to haunt him. Perhaps he’s heeding the advice
of Silent Cal Coolidge, the 30th U.S. president: “I’ve never
been hurt by anything I didn’t say.” December 21, 2009 |
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62 |
All Rhoads led to roam:
I don’t know if they were the Rhoads less travelled referred
to by Robert Frost (Couple
Stranded After GPS Leads Them Astray – online, Dec. 29),
but I’m sure the Nevada couple snowed in on a remote Oregon
forest road ended their journey with a sigh, as in the last
lines of Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken:
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
December 30, 2009 |
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