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| Below are my Letters written to the Globe and Mail in 2010. Yellow underlined passages indicate they were published in the paper or on-line the following day. ( As one can see, many are culled but few are chosen.) Letters submitted in other years may be viewed by clicking the appropriate year above. |
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At least one letter writer has noted that Stephen Harper has ‘ put the rogue into prorogue’. Let me add the Prime Minister has also put ‘mock’ into democracy in this rapid descent from decency. He’s an out-and-out cad, but I’d happily settle for just plain out. January 1, 2010 |
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Gauging the caliber of U.S. presidents In critiquing Barak Obama, Rex Murphy says, “His White House is as dagger partisan as Richard Nixon's.” Rex should review the Nixon tapes and revisit the movie “ All the President’s men “. Like Karl Rove, Sarah Palin and various right-wing Fox News commentators, Richard Nixon was more than just pointed in his partisanship; he went ballistic. January 1, 2010 |
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A bright idea - but a dimmer switch to obsolescence: Re Lawrence Scanlon’s article Reuse for recessionary times. They really do not make them like they used to. My personal testament to that is a light bulb in my garage. It was there when we moved in back in 1989. It seems to date to the 1930’s, a few years after our house was built. On average the light is switched on and off six times a day and I am embarrassed to admit we sometimes accidentally leave it on all night. It’s still burning bright. A few years ago I e-mailed Sylvania, the company that made the bulb back in the days when Sylvania was an American company. I thought they might want to know a product bearing their name was doing so well. They never got back to me. January 2, 2010 |
January 12, 2010 |
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Dug ourselves a hole, now looking for light at the end of the tunnel: The deficit is structural, as your editorial says, and it’s one of our own building. To deconstruct it, however, Stephen Harper must revisit his decision about the GST and then recalibrate ( he’s good at that. ) He will also face the politically difficult task of cutting back provincial transfers and putting the brakes on stimulus spending when the economy is more productive. In other words, we will soon be drowning in debt and the economy is damned if we don’t do something about it. Politically damned if you do, economically damned if you don’t. Ironically, Paul Martin’s hell or high water comes to mind. January 13, 2010 |
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Fat to fit in three 'easy' steps: A Statistics Canada study shows ‘ decline in overall fitness has taken place across all age groups’ in this country and that our weight gain is in fat not muscle mass. Although it flies in the face of today’s consumer-sedentary lifestyle, two common sense rules, ‘ move more and eat less ‘, address the problem best. My wife’s other rule for fitness is ‘ For goodness sake, Ken, look in the mirror before you step out the door!’ January 13, 2010 |
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By the grace of her majesty: I disagree with letter writer James C. Mullan who says the Governor General’s appeal for aid to Haiti was a disgrace because it ‘ evoked emotion unbecoming in the Queen’s representative’. On the contrary, far from disgrace, such feelings display the highest grace. Upon the untimely death of Princess Diana, the one quality missing in Queen Elizabeth II was the very compassion displayed this week by Michaelle Jean. As far as Mr. Mullan’s concern about a split allegiance between one's land of birth and land of choice, the Governor General has reminded us all that ‘we are the world’. January 15, 2010 |
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In for a penny, in for a pounding: US President Barak Obama looks more like Teddy Roosevelt than FDR as he takes on the banks. It’s risky but probably a good political move. While it’s helpful to have friends, sometimes in politics it’s better to have an enemy. Obama is picking a fight with someone the American public hates and distrusts even more than their own government, the banks. This could prove to be a nastier fight than the health care debate. The rich and powerful are not easily swayed by sweet words, no matter how eloquent the oratory. January 15, 2010 |
| Apple of my i: Congratulations to Apple for it last quarter phenomenal success. But I have to admit I have a hard time with a simple cell phone or even our cordless phone. As to state of the art ‘merged’ communication devices, I still rely on eye-books, my local public library. I have nothing against technology; I just wish it had nothing against me. January 25, 2010 |
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Tourtièreorist Plot: Newfoundland MP Gerry Byrne seems to be over-reacting in implying PETA is a terrorist organization after a pie-in-the-face stunt protesting the seal hunt. ( Is a pie in the face a terrorist act) The arrested protestor should indeed be charged with assault, but she’s more a Tourtièreorist than a terrorist. She seems flaky and Mr. Byrne is being crusty. I think both of them are guilty of having half-baked ideas. January 26, 2010 |
| While I agree with Lysiane Gagnon that the Tory take on crime is irrational, that is so only if one takes Stephen Harper’s motives at face value, that he wants to reduce crime. But really he wants to win elections. His demanding longer jail terms is not about law and order nor is it about crime and punishment. It’s all about vengeance. And that’s a surer vote getter than statistical safety or justice. Justice is a Lady but Vengeance is a Bitch. February 1, 2010 |
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Good cop-out, bad cop OUT: OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino says “I have the utmost respect for and confidence in the judicial system…” After so many scandals from the RCMP and the OPP in the last few years, I find I cannot say the same about law enforcement agencies in this country. But I am glad we have citizens like Gary McHale and journalists like Christie Blatchford to police the police. It seems our governments are afraid to do so. February 3, 2010 |
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Tea Party? Only available in America, you say? The Web-exclusive opinion piece by Tom Velk gives one perspective on America’s political philosophy. Tom Velk, who writes the column, "From the Right", envisions an image of the American political spirit, but his view is through a glass darkly. If I may summarize his article: the American people have always favoured what they know works and is familiar. To be popular, change must be incremental, not radical. How convenient and supportive of the status quo. The Ante Bellum Southerners wanted what works and what they knew too. As did the Robber Barons of the late 19th century. As do the symbiotic vampires of the military-industrial complex. As do Wall Street and the banks that have imperiled American society and the world economy. Mr. Velk describes the current US administration as " a distant, self-righteous and tutelary central power". Funny, that’s how I would label the Ayn Rand / Chicago School of Economics flacks who, for 25 years, have molded a society ruled by a corporate plutocracy. February 6, 2010 |
| Suited to a Tea(Party): After this weekend’s Tea Party performance by Sarah Palin, there can be no doubt the former Governor of Alaska fits H. L Menkin’s definition of a demagogue: "one who will preach doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots." February 7, 2010 |
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TV or not TV, that is the question: Clearly, Michael Craig, Toronto chair, China Rights Network, does not understand the nature of freedom of choice in a democratic society when he calls for censoring state-controlled propaganda from abroad. ( letters February 8 ) Freedom demands responsibility on the part of the collective and the individual. We have the freedom to choose and the responsibility to discern facts, opinions, honest reportage and outright propaganda. If distortion of the truth and deliberate promotion of hate disqualified a TV network from broadcasting in Canada, we’d be deprived of Fox News altogether. February 8, 2010 |
| This guy taught law? : Ian Hunter finds Parliament irrelevant to governance in Canada since 1982 when, he believes, Canada became a judicial autocracy rather than parliamentary democracy. This professor emeritus of law seems to object to the government having limitations like those imposed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as interpreted by the Courts. Parliament is still supreme, but within constitutional limits. No one is above the law, especially not the government. February 10, 2010 |
| Hit and Myth: In a fair and judicious world sentencing provisions would follow “ sound research into the likely social, legal and fiscal implications ” just as your editorial demands. But demagogues in a democracy are guided by polls, not truth. For them, justice and society’s best interests take a back seat to political considerations. Stephen Harper and his cabinet tend to rely on popular myths based on specious logic. But as American journalist H. L Mencken wrote, “ For every problem, there is one solution which is simple, neat and wrong “; he could have added “ wildly popular.” February 15, 2010 |
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Disown the odium: Margaret Wente has told an inconvenient and discomforting truth. While the British press have been venomous in criticizing the Vancouver Olympics, Canada may have set itself up in declaring it would own the podium. The true Olympic spirit of ‘doing our best’ was traded for ‘besting the rest’. Still, some media are being unfair and their comments border on petty hatred, hardly an Olympic spirit. Let us strive toward excellence and leave off the snipping. Let’s disown the odium. February 18, 2010 |
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Is the Globe's report half empty or half full? The Globe and Mail claimed the Supreme Court “ has spoken in favour of reducing prison terms for defendants who were abused by police.” (Top court bucks tough-on-crime trend ). But the previous on-line Globe 'take' of the outcome (Supreme Court rules against drunk driver beaten by police) reported the SCC ruling supported supremacy of minimum sentencing and that judges “ must follow mandatory minimum penalties in all but extraordinary cases.” Is this balanced reporting? Yes or No? Or both? February 20, 2010 |
| Cheers: To the ladies in red, our gold-wining women’s hockey team: Cheers! You got them from fans in the stands in Vancouver and across this nation. Among yourselves, but apparently not privately enough, you celebrated with cheers shortly after your win. The Bronx cheer some IOC Czars gave reflects more on those feckless bureaucrats themselves. They are not what makes people of all nations proud of the Olympics and the athletes who compete. Again, cheers! February 27, 2010 |
| A piece of the True Crosby?: It's just a stick and a pair of gloves. (Crosby's gold-medal gear goes missing ) Any value given to them is artificial, not inherent. Nor are they are not art, just artifacts which happen to be in the right hands at the right time. Even if found and put in a museum, they would be but symbols of that feeling of triumph and pride Canada felt from sea to sea to sea on that final day of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. As the Zen koan says, ‘The hand pointing at the moon is not the moon itself.’ March 3, 2010 |
| Re SEC Accuses Psychic Of Fraud, And Of Being A Bad Psychic (March 5): So is this a prophet and loss statement? The investors should have seen it coming. If it sounds too good to be true, it’s either a fraud or a Speech from the Throne. March 6, 2010 |