Most commented posts
- Short Men — 64 comments
- Bare Breasts: Objections and Replies — 27 comments
- Why Do Men Spit? (and women don’t) — 26 comments
- Short Men — 19 comments
- Walking Alone in a Park at Night — 11 comments
Peg Tittle
Author's posts
Jun 06 2011
My Job, My Self
I’m intrigued by the psychological devastation that seems to accompany layoffs, not to mention ordinary unemployment, as well as underemployment. It doesn’t seem to be just a matter of money – it seems to be a matter of self-worth, self-esteem; personal identity seems to be at stake. It’s an intriguing claim: one is what one …
May 23 2011
Women’s Fiction
I finished a novel by J. D. Robb the other day and also happened to read the back inside cover blurb: “Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than one hundred novels. She is also the author of the bestselling futuristic suspense series written under the pen name J. D. …
May 15 2011
Politics in Government: The Problem with Representation
Long ago and far away, I was one of several high school students to participate in a Federal-Provincial Government Simulation. Each of us took on the role of a provincial or federal minister and met for three days of plenary sessions, committee meetings, and caucuses. I was the federal Minister of State for Science and …
May 08 2011
What’s so funny about a man getting pregnant?
I recently read The Fourth Procedure by Stanley Pottinger, in which, during a surgical procedure, a man is given a uterus containing a fertilized egg. He is enraged when he finds out, afraid that if it becomes public knowledge he’ll be a laughingstock. Turns out he’s right. But I don’t get it. What’s so funny …
May 02 2011
Baby Androids
It finally dawned on me after reading one too many ‘failed android’ stories. I can’t remember whether it was sci-fi or AI, but suddenly I saw the problem: they always try to create an adult without a childhood. If it weren’t for Mary Shelley, I’d be tempted to put the blame on our sexist society: …
Apr 29 2011
Fiscal Conscription
It’s income tax time. Do you know where 9.2% of your taxes will go? Well, let’s just say that you bought the bullets. (Out out damned spot, you say?) Then again, $2500 (if your taxable income is about $25,000) might buy more than a few bullets. Maybe you can pay for a whole box of …
Apr 23 2011
Tax Exemptions for Charitable Institutions
If you believe in the supernatural and on that basis obtain a paying job, as a minister, priest, pastor, whatever, you don’t have to pay income tax. If you establish a group of like believers and buy a piece of land and/or a building for meetings, you don’t have to pay property tax. And if …
Apr 04 2011
Property Tax
Property tax (money one must pay to the government based on the land, and the building/s on the land, that one owns) is odd in that unlike sales tax (money one must pay to the government based on the goods and services one purchases), it is payable every year, not just once when you buy …
Mar 25 2011
Income Tax Deductions
In Canada, if one agrees to pay someone else’s way in life, one gets to pay $7,500 less in income tax. I’m referring, of course, to the spousal deduction. If one decides to make some people and pay their way, one gets to pay $7,500 less per person in income tax. The deduction for kids. …
Mar 14 2011
Who Owns the Water?
I am intrigued by struggles over ownership of water – not so much the issue of whether or not Canada should sell its lakes, but whether or not they are Canada’s to sell. Similar struggles arise in our international deliberations over blame for air quality. What intrigues me is not that we are struggling with …
fiction
