The United Church of Canada’s recent report on Israeli and Palestinian policy made front-page news this week. But Shimon Fogel’s reaction in Tuesday’s National Post gets it wrong, when he suggests the report hurts the United Church’s reputation. I’ve read … Continue reading →

At the end of After Virtue, after a long argument about the cultural state of modern society, Alisdair MacIntyre says we are waiting for a new—albeit very different—kind of St. Benedict. Modernity and its institutions have ushered in a new … Continue reading →

Doubtless Conrad Black would prefer to forego the brass band and welcoming speeches on the tarmac when he comes back to Canada, a free man, in a few days. It’s a pity. He deserves them. And more. Much, much more. … Continue reading →

While preparing my income tax forms last week, a warning popped onto the screen. AUDIT RISK WARNING: Charitable donations exceeding 5% of your income. In our experience, this is a red flag that may put your return at increased risk … Continue reading →

Alex Himelfarb worries that our state is being dismantled and rebuilt as an ugly, uncaring, police state. The architect of this, of course, is Stephen Harper and his minions who crafted the budget: This budget gives pretty clear signals of … Continue reading →

Partisans of Alberta’s Wildrose Party will understandably be tempted to fall into “we wuz robbed” syndrome. They should resist. Mightily. The result of Monday’s provincial vote was win-win for conservatives and Conservatives. Wildrose, after all, quadrupled its representation in the … Continue reading →

My brother and I had an expression growing up that was usually invoked when my mother asked one of us to apologize to the other for saying or doing something hurtful: “Sorry doesn’t mean it.” It was a brilliant if … Continue reading →

The major central banks around the world began to cut interest rates in 2007 in response to the impending financial crisis. Interest rates throughout the developed world were lowered from approximately 5% in August 2007 to effectively zero by December … Continue reading →

“I’m just joking.” We’ve all used the excuse, when a joke’s recipient takes a cutting remark meant in jest as fact. Somehow the excuse is supposed to remove the sting. But in fact all such jests always have a modicum … Continue reading →

We now live under a kind of extrovert tyranny, says Susan Cain in her new book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking. It has led to a culture of “shallow thinking, compulsory optimism, and … Continue reading →