Columns & Essays
Beware the purveyors of fake science
Trans activists and their supporters argue that “gender” is nothing more than a social construct, subject to changes in social attitude. I don’t agree, but even if true, it still does not follow that boundaries between sexes in places like toilets and changerooms should be eliminated.
Free speech isn't dangerous, unfettered state power is
I do not march in perfect step with my fellow conservative travelers on many topics. One of these is hate speech. Many of my friends dismiss the concept of hate speech as nothing more than a left-wing invention used to justify laws that are then deployed to silence opposition to their agenda. Certainly, that happens, but as a member of a community that has historically been the target of mob-violence provoked by malignant speech, I can well understand the fear, and the desire to guard against it. That said, I remain an ardent opponent of hate speech laws, or any attempt by the government to regulate thought and speech.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour...even liberals
Earlier this week I received an email (yes, I read them all) warning me that a bill in Canada’s Senate, S-233, was about to pass third reading become law. The email asserted that if the bill did become law, Canadians who did not receive a COVID vaccine would no longer qualify for federal benefits such as pension and Old Age Security payments or Employment Insurance. The entire claim was, to put it gently, mistaken.
Conservative infighting hurts all Canadians
As one strolls across the metaphorical battlefield of Canadian politics it’s easy to tell which “soldiers” were on the liberal side of the battle and which were on the conservative side. Those on the liberal were all shot in the front, while those on the conservative were all shot in the back.
What the Conservative Party can learn about polling from The West Wing
There’s a scene in the television series The West Wing when White House strategist Josh Lyman is discussing polling numbers with pollster Joey Lucas. Citing the lack of public support for a particular provision on gun control, Lyman recommends backing off the measure, declaring that “the numbers don’t lie.” But Lucas disagrees, pointing out the numbers “lie all the time.”
Canada’s conservatives take the bait – again
As a long-time member of the Conservative party of Canada (and its previous iterations), organizer, and conservative activist I regret being put into a position where I feel the need to speak out against the actions of our party’s leader, Erin O’Toole, and those members who voted to eject Derek Sloan from the federal conservative party caucus.
Maybe people should just say "thanks"
Shortly after the recent fire at Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral was extinguished several prominent, wealthy Frenchmen stepped forward to pledge significant sums of money toward its reconstruction. One would think that people would be grateful for this generosity, and most are. But not, it seems, the high priests of the progressive-left who couldn’t help attacking these individuals for allegedly caring more for a building than people.
Is it time to place armed guards in schools?
This past week witnessed calls from across the political spectrum for politicians, political activists and media personalities in America to tone down their rhetoric and adopt a more respectful attitude to one another in the wake of a deadly shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue that left eleven elderly Jews dead and several more wounded for no reason other than that they were Jews. Pleas for a more respectful and civilized debate were quickly accompanied by demands for tighter gun laws. Both reactions are entirely predictable and understandable – and both miss the mark.
Ronald Reagan and the scariest nine words in the English language
Ronald Reagan used to say that the scariest nine words in the English language were: “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” The line was delivered with his trademark hint of humour, a trait that was at once charming and disarming, making it one of the most versatile and effective items in The Great Communicator’s toolbox. But Reagan’s humour could also obscure the importance of his observations with the result that his aphorisms were – and still are – cited more often as examples of his wit rather than the expression of fundamental principles that they almost always were.
Saving the middle-class?
The idea that the middle-class is getting a raw deal is not exactly new. Liberal pundits and politicians have been beating that drum for some time now in an effort to attract votes from a segment of the population that has historically leaned toward more conservative policies. Envy, it seems, is as powerful a motivator today as it has been throughout history.
Conservatism: A Rediscovery explains how Anglo-American conservatism became a distinctive alternative to divine-right monarchy, Puritan theocracy, and liberal revolution. After tracing the tradition from the Wars of the Roses to Burke and across the Atlantic to the American Federalists and Lincoln, Hazony describes the rise and fall of Enlightenment liberalism after World War II and the present-day debates between neoconservatives and national conservatives over how to respond to liberalism and the woke left.
