Pursuing Truth, Goodness, and Beauty
(ed. – The American who wrote this is a college law student, studying law.) A Divorce Agreement between Americans Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al: We have stuck together since the late 1950’s for the sake of the kids, but the whole of this latest election process…
Tyrone was his teacher’s cross to bear. Because of his stupidity and clumsiness, his teacher was always yelling at him, “You’re driving me crazy, Tyrone!” One day Tyrone’s mother came to school to check on how he was doing. The teacher told his mother honestly, that her son was simply a disaster, getting very low…
For those that don’t know about the political perspective of history, here is a condensed version: Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter. The two most…
In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. – Voltaire Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. – Frederic Bastiat In my many years I have come to…
U.S. President Barak Obama was visiting the Queen. During the meeting, he asked the question, “Your Majesty, how do you run such an efficient government? Are there any tips you can give me?” “Well,” said the Queen Elizabeth, “The most important thing is to surround yourself with intelligent people.” Obama frowned, and then asked, “But…
Pinocchio, Snow White and Superman are out for a stroll in town one day. As they walk, they come across a sign: “Beauty contest for the most beautiful woman in the world.” “I am entering,” said Snow White. After half an hour she comes out and they ask her, “Well, how did you do?” “First…
These days, Americans are considerably less likely to identify themselves as middle class or upper-middle class – a growing percentage put themselves in the working or lower class. This is the finding of a recent Gallup Poll. Gallup tells us that 51% of Americans say they are middle class or upper-middle class, while 48% say…
Sarah was in the fertilized egg business. She had several hundred young pullets and ten roosters to fertilize the eggs. She kept records and any rooster not performing went into the soup pot and was replaced. This took a lot of time, so she bought some tiny bells and attached them to her roosters. Each…
This past week, taxpayers in Ontario were treated to the news of how both their federal and provincial governments will spend their money. On the surface the two budget documents were very different. The federal government document spoke of fiscal responsibility and a balanced bottom line. The provincial government document included a storyline that excused…
Amongst the political parties, there is always much said and written about fiscal competency and who is to blame or to be credited for the Nation’s economic health. This is particularly true during budget time. This week there was a great deal of banter about deficits and debt. The Conservatives wanted to crow about their…
Equalization payments are Canadian governments’ grand design to ensure all its citizens can live in a Province that will have the resources necessary to deliver similar levels of public services. This system has the Federal Government redistribute payments from those Provinces that are richer to those Provinces that are poorer. So, tax money is taken…
With the Mike Duffy trial dominating the Ottawa political headlines, By George Journal wishes to evoke the spirit of Harry Truman to relate that there are still some politicians who are honest and hard-working – like President Truman’s example demonstrates. Harry Truman was a different kind of President. He probably made as many, or…
From that clever Canadian rag The Beaverton, editors have given us “10 ways to balance the federal budget” Akin to the Letterman Top-10 countdown, here are the Beaverton’s suggestions: 1. Retrofit Royal Canadian Navy to use more fuel efficient sail technology 2. Reduce House of Commons expenses by putting all legislation for next century into…
Here are two off-the-wall political polls that will provide great entertainment fodder at your next cocktail social. First, there was a poll taken in January by Abacus Data that revealed how Canadians felt about doing common, everyday things with our federal political leaders. Participants were asked which of the three federal politicians best fit a…
This week we have Parliamentarians convulsing over Canada’s future role in the war against Islamic extremists. On one hand we have Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservatives willing to commit to a military engagement that has no clear objectives (at least publicly stated) and no clear end-game strategy. For the PM, it is a…
Vote for the man who promises least. He’ll be the least disappointing. — Bernard Baruch Do you ever get the feeling that the only reason we have elections is to find out if the polls were right? — Robert Orben Our elections are free – it’s in the results where eventually we pay. — Bill…
Here are some contrarian thoughts from a provocative book: Stealth Democracy: Americans’ Beliefs about How Government Should Work by John R. Hibbing and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse. The thesis explored in Stealth Democracy explains a lot about our society and the average guy’s lack of concern for what is and isn’t happening in our own country’s Parliaments….
AMERICAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one. You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have down sized and…
TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income. SOCIALIST: You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbour. You form a co-operative to tell him how to manage his cow….
Did we need further proof that Ontario’s public sector enjoys much more than “the rest of us”? Not really, though here it is: a Fraser Institute study just released says that “Government workers in Ontario receive higher wages and likely more generous non-wage benefits than their private sector counterparts.” Niels Veldhuis, president of the Fraser…