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Opinion General
JONESIE: Spare a little empathy for government in teachers dispute
It’s so darned easy to support teachers in a dispute like this because we all know teachers. We see their faces, we know their families, our kids play together, we walk dogs together—they are real people.
PROSKIW: The lesson of the day: It’s okay to fight dirty
At a recent B.C. Teachers Federation anti-government rally, one of the speakers brought someone with her to the microphone. Her five-year-old son was suddenly before 300 cheering people on the side of a busy highway. The boy tries to hide in her arms a few times but after some gentle prodding he eventually parrots “I want school.”...
GOG: A good walk ruined by golf and no one even walked anywhere
Recently someone who doesn’t know me very well suggested we should play golf together. Apparently it’s obligatory when you live in an area of the country infested with golf courses. I must have had a few glasses of wine, because I agreed, despite never having played before. Once reminded of my obligation I thought I...
LOEWEN: Does Christy Clark need an intervention?
Christy Clark is a high-stakes gambler. It’s breath-taking to witness. It’s time for an intervention, folks. And, frankly, we’d better get on board this interventionist’s couch with Ms. Clark before she ruins her own life along with the future prospects of the families of British Columbia whom she is mandated to serve. Christy Clark’s gamble...
PARKER: Calling for re-integration to real life
The other day I got my first real pay check in two years and I immediately went and got my nails done, because I have priorities. Actually, first I called James, the guy who calls me twice a day from TD Canada Trust asking when I can pay down my student line of credit that...
ARCHER: Can you have your event and quiet weekend too?
There are always going to be people who don't approve of noise, location or some other detail of an event. Even events like Challenge that are very well accepted by the community and city officials get some negative remarks, such as blocked off roads, congested traffic and loud fireworks. Following social media this week, it...
GOG: Hello? Computer? Can you hear me in there?
Computers are stupid. The simplest of tasks, tasks that they were specifically designed to perform, can befuddle them completely. Last night I tried printing something. It said it was printing. I waited in growing frustration while it didn’t print. I tried talking nicely to it. Nothing. Eventually one of those annoying little boxes popped up...
LOEWEN: Whither the church?
What was once a weekly source of spiritual succour and a place for meditative reflection has been hi-jacked and turned into a turd. The church of my childhood has disappeared and returned as a big box store. Casting back the old eye-glass on the last half century, I understand the rot to have begun even...
PARKER: Daring to throw it on the line
Two weeks ago, closing the bar for the fourth night in a row, I blew a hole through the sole in my Converse sneakers. I’ve had them since I was 15, so I wasn’t devastated like I would have been if they were my polka-dot Kate Spade “walking shoes,” but I was disappointed. Those sneakers...
JONESIE: Do you even know what you are supporting?
WARNING: This column contains some graphic language I was born in a small Alberta town that wasn’t known for much and still isn’t and I remember when the little burgh made the news for the first time I was aware of. The TV station caught B roll of my cousin and his little dog running...