Fiscal Fiasco Round 2: First the F-35, now the Fleet
Welcome to Fiscal Fiasco Round Two – and this time it’s really important, because we’re talking about ships. Earlier this spring the Canadian government announced that it was paying Irving Shipyards $288 million just to design the new Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) for the Royal Canadian Navy. Not build, just design.
Let’s Keep the Common Sense in the F-35 Debate
There has been a glimpse of common sense in the debate over Canada’s next-generation fighter aircraft, but it’s hard to see over all the name-calling, mud-slinging and partisan entrenchment. That glimpse of common sense was when our government decided, just before Christmas, to re-think the sole-source, non-competed contract to buy the F-35 as our next fighter. My worry is that common sense will now be banished from the discussion once again.
Is That A Beautiful Sunset, or Nuclear Fallout? The Cuban Missile Crisis (Sponsored Video)
In 1962, a young boy anxiously watches the tension escalate between Russia and the United States during the Cuban missile crisis, and has his fears brought into frightening clarity.
The Politics of Reproduction
Todd Akin’s uneducated, sexist and untrue statement, “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,” may be a blessing in disguise. 1. Education Surely education in the USA needs a serious overhaul … Read more →
A Scientist Thinks Outside the Box: The Null Hypothesis
Failing to respond appropriately and respectfully to differences of opinions about controversial scientific issues is bad pedagogy, and presuming that no legitimate controversy can exist, simply because the preponderance of evidence now at our disposal favors a particular theory, is bad science. How many theories, espoused within the last hundred years with as much fervor as those mentioned in the Tennessee statute, are now wholly or in part discredited?
The Power Of One
Every time there is an election my work colleagues complain that they have to vote (voting being compulsory in Australia). “What’s the point of me voting? My vote is not going to make a difference.” Then my mother’s voice goes off in my head … Read more →
Capital Gains Tax Breaks – Not Just for the Rich
Recently there has been a flurry of outrage concerning the fact that some very wealthy individuals, notably Mitt Romney, pay Federal taxes at the 15% middle class rate, because of a law that put a cap of 15% on taxes on capital gains and qualified … Read more →
Election-Year Paralysis Cripples American Legislative Process
Martha Sherwood provides some insight into current American election practices and how they impede effective legislative function by occupying our legislators’ time and forcing them to take short-term, popular stances contrary to the long-term public good. Could less frequent elections be a possible solution?
Reforming Congress – A Reactionary Approach
Most current proposals for reforming United States Congress are extensions of trends with a poor track record. Analogy with unreformed British Parliament, 1812-1822, suggests a less representative system might produce a legislature more responsive to national needs.
The Clear Plan to Change
Just like the French and American revolutions, the Occupy Wall Street Movement is motivated by the need for change in world equity and is inspired by hope, equality and freedom
