A while ago I received a summons to appear for jury selection. So I dutifully drove to the courthouse on the day in question ready to establish my fitness to serve. No, that’s not true. I drove to the courthouse on the day in question ready to answer their questions – and curious as to …
Category: government
Feb 13 2017
The Problem with Business Ethics Courses
The problem with business ethics courses is that all too often they’re taught by business faculty. And ethics is, after all, a field of philosophy. And with all due respect to my business colleagues, philosophy faculty are far better qualified to teach ethics than business faculty. As far as I can see, business ethics when …
Dec 27 2016
Telling our Members of Parliament How to Dress
So I recently found this on the Parliament of Canada website: While there is no Standing Order setting down a dress code for Members participating in debate, [84] Speakers have ruled that to be recognized to speak in debate, on points of order or during Question Period, tradition and practice require all Members, male or female, …
Apr 14 2015
How to Make a Man Grow Up
I was recently surprised to discover that in the U.S., men are required by law to register for the “selective service system”. Only men. I thought women were allowed in their military now. And required. I didn’t think they had ‘the draft’ anymore. When I expressed my surprise, hoping to engage someone in conversation, the …
Jan 05 2014
Snowmobiles Rule – Only in Canada. Pity.
Snowmobilers are often presented as enjoying the natural beauty of the North. Oh please. Not at the speeds they drive. Not while their exhaust pipes spew fumes into our air. And their engines roar at a volume that must be endured by everyone within five miles. And their tossed beer cans litter the forest until …
Jul 15 2013
Making Certain Words Illegal
Hate speech. Libel. Slander. Threat. Intimidation. Blasphemy. ‘Making words illegal violates our freedom of speech!’ Of course it does. But that freedom, like many others, isn’t absolute. Our freedoms are limited freedoms. They are limited by several things (Joel Feinberg identifies six liberty-limiting principles), one of which is the harm principle. That is, when our …
Jun 27 2013
Canada Day – Are you sure you want to celebrate?
Before you get all patriotic and fly your little Canadian flags in celebration of Canada Day and, presumably, of being Canadian, think about it. Are you really proud to be:
May 24 2013
Political Science – A Costly Misnomer
Science is the pursuit of knowledge according to the scientific method: hypotheses must be testable, and results must be verifiable by replication. Obviously, the more quantifiable something is, the more accurate and precise its measurement can be, and the more accurate and precise something is, the more testable and verifiable it is – it’s hard …
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