Pursuing Truth, Goodness, and Beauty
News, articles and opinion pieces
In January, Canwest newswire reported a piece of Canadiana was to be auctioned off: A curved piece of wood controversially billed as “the world’s oldest hockey stick” — and reputedly appraised at $4-million–is to be auctioned in Vancouver next month during the Winter Olympics. The object known as the “Rutherford Stick” has been displayed at…
Sidney Crosby’s overtime goal will be etched in the memory of every Canadian who watched that gold medal performance. Like the Canada-Soviet ’72 series and Paul Henderson’s heroics was for generations of Canucks, the Crosby goal will be the defining moment of our country’s game for younger generations. It was a glorious goal. That…
Here are facts on our Canadian debt (caused by big government and un-controlled government spending): Between fiscal years 2003-04 and 2009-10, the combined rate of inflation and population growth averaged 2.5 per cent. During this period, Liberal and Conservative governments have grown program spending by an average of 7.03 per cent annually. Canada currently…
Here is a series of short videos that help place the U.S. national debt and that country’s fiscal challenges into perspective. 1) How do the current “Obama deficits” in the U.S. compare with its past presidents? And how did the U.S. national debt get so big anyway. The National Debt Road Trip is…
On the eve of Canada’s federal budget address, here is a message from the Canadian Taxpayer Federation: The 2009 federal budget represented the largest spending increase in Canadian history, and the largest deficit ever recorded. Last year, the feds borrowed $153-million a day! If taxpayers don’t make their voices heard, we can…
Really, from the believe it or not ‘Canada file’: In English, it’s sold as the “Canada donut.” But in French, the chain hedges its bets by calling it the “beigne rouge et blanc”- the red-and-white doughnut, with no mention of the name Canada. And the fact that the sprinkles are…
Further to Chris Hedges’ argument within Empire of Illusion, here is his thought on the role of the Internet as a contributing factor in the devolution of our society. In a piece entitled, “The Information Super-Sewer”, Hedges contends that our society and man’s ability to properly communicate are threatened in having virtual realities replace the real world. He…
So, here’s Canadian federal minister Stockwell Day’s challenge as printed in a Canadian Press article today: Treasury Board President Stockwell Day told reporters the upcoming budget will begin laying out specific areas where the Conservatives will rein in public spending. “What we have to do is send the signal out that we…
Here’s the crux of the argument presented in Empire of Illusion, a disturbingly invigorating book on the demise of our North American society. The more we sever ourselves from a literate, print-based world, a world of complexity and nuance, a world of ideas, for one informed by comforting, reassuring images, fantasies, slogans,…
Chris Hedges’ Empire of Illusion is a must-read for those who want to go into the impeding crises our country face with their eyes wide-open. In the last of the book’s chapters on today’s political leadership, Hedges holds out little hope for the actions of President Barack Obama. Here’s a rather pessimistic take on…
I am currently reading a thought-provoking book on the end of literacy and the triumph of spectacle – Chris Hedges’ Empire of Illusion. Here’s a snippet on modern politicians (pg 46): Those captive to images [ed. -the majority of our population today] cast ballots based on how candidates make them feel. They…
From January 21, 2010 The Economist, “The growth of the state – Leviathan stirs again” “The question that we ask today”, said Barack Obama in his inaugural address, “is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works.” This is clearly naive: with deficits soaring, nobody can afford…
Citius, altius, fortius (Faster, higher, stronger) – Olympic Motto The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well. –…
Here is a video offering of 20 beautiful goals http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO1OMo6jJpM
It all starts with big government encroaching on every area of our lives. As government over-reaches, it grows. Big brother gets bigger. Big government simply becomes obese. Former President Ronald Reagan once commented, “Man is not free unless government is limited…. As government expands, liberty contracts.” Just how true is this! For example, today…
Here’s what was said about government spending in the President’s State of the Union Address last evening. The President started by providing a little recent history: At the beginning of the last decade, the year 2000, America had a budget surplus of over $200 billion. By the time I took office, we…
We commend Greg Weston for his history lesson on our country’s deficit budgets. His column from yesterday is a must read: Shrinking government won’t trim deficit / Doing unpopular things like hiking GST will. Here it is: http://www.torontosun.com/news/columnists/greg_weston/2010/01/22/12577276.html Weston writes Canadians are in for some rough times ahead: Canada’s history is littered…
A report analyzing and comparing world economies, prepared by The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation, screams the conclusion that “The U.S. economy is no longer “free”.” Dr. Kim R. Holmes, the Heritage Foundation vice president and co-editor of this new, comprehensive report states: “Unprecedented government intervention in the financial and industrial sectors…
Let’s settle on a definition when discussing Big Government. For us, “Big Government” is a term used to describe a government that is too big and insidiously involved in too many areas of private enterprise and personal affairs. It’s excessive and largely inefficient. Its size and growth are uncontrollable and its expense is indefensible….
In one of its year-end reviews, The Financial Post wrote of the emergence of a new generation of North Americans – Generation T, where T stands for tax. Paul Vieira of The Post explains: This group can be described as young Americans, maybe aged 16 to 30, stuck with forking over higher taxes to pay…