There are many definitions of the cynic. The one I choose for this article describes the person who is hostile toward the past that he knows and hospitable toward the future that he does not know. The clearest example of this form of cynicism about which I am aware belongs to a former colleague of mine who shall remain anonymous: “Marriage is [...]
Andrew Lawton If something is false, you don’t need to censor it. If it’s true, you shouldn’t. Nevertheless, there’s an inclination from those less confident about their beliefs to shut away uncomfortable truths things they can’t or don’t want to explain. Graphic abortion imagery forces viewers to confront the reality of abortion, which is why so many people want these [...]
Law Matters John Carpay Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Think back to the year 2000, or even 2010, and imagine someone telling you this: “The law requires every school to set up a Gay Straight Alliance for K-12 children. No exemption for religious belief or parental opposition. The law makes it illegal for teachers and principals to inform parents [...]
It’s been almost a year since General Motors announced that it would be closing its Oshawa, Ontario automobile assembly plant, ending over a century of car manufacturing in the city and putting nearly 3,000 employees and management out of work. This spring, however, the company announced that it would reinvest $170 million dollars in the plant, converting it to stamping and sub-assembly [...]
Josie Luetke It may just be my impression, but this past Pride Month seemed particularly vociferous. On numerous occasions, socially conservative friends and coworkers dutifully noted: “Pride cometh before the fall.” Now, I mean no offense to them and believe they were just offering a sincere warning, but it’s easy to see how this verse could be recited proudly, as [...]
Light is Right Joe Campbell So now I have to worry about sitting. Prolonged sitting, the media tell me, could shorten my life. They say it’s a risk factor like smoking, fattening and aging. Aging? Although I stopped smoking and fattening years ago and survived, no one I know of who stopped aging lived to tell about it. I’d rather [...]
A group of male pro-lifers arrived on the campus of Penn State University recently to dialogue with students about what is truly the most important moral issue of our time. The results were mixed. However, a few female students rigidly maintained that men have no business talking about abortion. Therefore, dialogue between men and women, in their minds, on the subject of [...]
Law Matters John Carpay In March of 2015, Alberta’s Progressive Conservative government rushed a bill through the legislature in a matter of hours, requiring every school in Alberta to set up a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) at a student’s request. Politicians promised the public that GSAs would merely be peer support groups, not political clubs that advocate for an ideology. Four years [...]
HBO’s miniseries Chernobyl arrived for streaming at a crucial moment for the company, just as the hangover from the end of Game of Throneswas starting to ebb. They needed a hit, and they got it with a five-hour story about the 1986 explosion at a nuclear power plant in the Soviet Ukraine. “Chernobyl is a thorough historical analysis,” wrote Sophie Gilbert in The Atlantic, [...]
Laying Down the Lawton Never doubt a group of politicians’ ability to find a cure that’s worse than the problem it is attempting to solve. This is truer than ever when it comes to the government’s efforts to curb online hate. Wishing to combat bigotry is a noble endeavour, but it isn’t the role of the state. Certainly not at [...]
Talk Turkey Josie Luetke What a whirlwind of a month, with abortion bubbling up in the public consciousness more so than ever before in my memory. The excitement began for me on the Tuesday prior to the National March for Life, at a screening of Unplannedin Ottawa. Friends who had already seen the film were raving about it, but I [...]
Light is Right Joe Campbell My good friend Bidwell is reducing his possessions and his weight. In common parlance, Bidwell is downsizing. As he is moving from a large two-storey house to a small bungalow, he sees no other viable option. When we last met, I found him brooding over several boxes of books he intended to give away. “It’s [...]
National Affairs Rory Leishman On April 20, The Spectator, one of the oldest and most influential weekly, news magazines in Britain, published an intriguing debate on the legalization of euthanasia by two avowed atheists, Sam Leith and Douglas Murray, respectively literary and associate editor for the magazine. In recent years, bills to legalize euthanasia have been repeatedly rejected by the [...]
Laying Down the Lawton Andrew Lawton If you want to practice medicine, leave your beliefs at the door. That’s the key takeaway from a May decision by the Court of Appeal for Ontario ruling that conscience rights for healthcare practitioners effectively don’t exist. At least not when doctors are anywhere but in their own homes with the doors locked and [...]
Law Matters John Carpay Passing a law against “hate” is a popular move, but one that seriously threatens free expression because people cannot agree among themselves on what constitutes hate. The House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights is now looking at changing federal laws to stem “the propagation of hateful acts and the enticement of hate [...]