Opinion General

There isn’t much that makes me squirm with discomfort. Apart from moths inside lampshades, unexpected penis pictures, the occasional episode of criminal minds and awkward small talk with old high school classmates, I’m pretty steadfast when it comes to most situations. More and more, however, I’m finding myself experiencing pangs of what can only be...

ARE YOU COMFORTABLE WITH A GOVERNMENT THAT IS BRANDED, BOXED, WRAPPED AND SOLD? I’ve developed a new hobby of trolling partisan voters — voters who have already drank the Kool-Aid and support one party over another or others. It’s easy prey because declared partisans have committed themselves to a path of poor logic. Take the...

SINGLE DAD LOOKING TO SETTLE DOWN: Seeking warmth. Security. Positive atmosphere. Must be okay with dogs, kid friendly. Preferably easy on the wallet — and the eyes. Clean and tidy a definite plus. No, it’s not a personal ad. It’s a wanted ad for housing — creatively embellished, though not unreasonable, as personals are —...

Justin brought Jean Chretien out of a gratifying obscurity last week to tell Canadians they are both better human beings than Stephen Harper. Chretien said Harper is an “embarrassment" to Canadians because of the way Harper is handling the refugee crisis. Justin had already sermonized on his moral pre-eminence. “You don’t get to suddenly discover...

The riots in Pakistan in 1964 and 65, culminating in the second Indo-Pakistan war, sent 600,000 hungry refugees streaming across the Delhi plains into the heart of an India that at the time couldn't even feed itself. By the time they reached the outskirts of Delhi they were literally starving to death. My mother, with...

In 1984, Madonna released a single that would permeate the entertainment scene like a stick of margarine on a chiffon blouse. “Material Girl” blew up — foreseeing the next 20 (maybe even 30?) years of economic dependence on department stores. While I wasn’t born until after the song left the billboards (’87), I was never...

Have you ever wondered why people need only one round of core vaccinations as kids but your dog or cat seems to need boosters until the day they depart? They probably don't and there's a way to prove it. There's now a relatively inexpensive test being offered by progressive vets that will determine if your...

On August 2nd, when PM Stephen Harper initiated the start of the Canadian federal election campaign, many of us looking at the eleven weeks looming ahead figured the guy was nuts. Eleven weeks? How could a disengaged electorate, stymied by the government’s intransigence in engaging Canadians with accountability and transparency, be expected to get engaged...

There's nothing like sitting in a cardboard castle on the shore of a lake on the edge of the Rockies late on an early September evening, reading by the soft yellow light of a Coleman gas lamp to get the mind drifting down odd alleyways. The setup finished, a soft rain ending, and my dog...