JUSTCAWS

  Trust but verify, was a line from former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. I have heard it being used more now as there seems to be an erosion of trust in global affairs. It is a line I believe our news media needs to follow in a world where deciding between what is fact and fiction is only going to get more difficult. I have been an avid consumer of news for decades. Whether it be from watching a nightly newscast or getting the daily paper to now streaming and digital subscriptions - I will follow. Obviously, the evolution in the distribution model is what people will point to when discussing change in the news media, but I believe a more profound transformation has taken hold. Some argue that once the U.S. News became a profit centre for networks that the decline in journalism began. Just take a look at this prophetic article from 1986 in the LA Times that predicts pending doom . The onslaught of social media was the next salvo to hit the news as more people discovered they could b...

  I find stalemates frustrating at the best of times. Arm wrestles and tugs of war that don’t end quickly seem to go on forever.   Sadly, for the citizens of Ukraine these are not good times indeed.  The months of this war risk spilling into another year and no one sees an end to this conflict coming anytime soon.  Ukraine’s latest offensive has not been the success once hoped. It is becoming increasingly clear that without the West’s continuing supply of weapons and equipment, Ukraine can only hold the line.   The idea that Russian citizens will someday soon realize the madness of their leader and turn on Putin was doubtful right from the start. Now with drone attacks coming from Ukraine bringing the war to Russian soil - good luck with that. Russia is in this for the long haul. They are now well aware that they cannot prevail with the West’s long distance support of Ukraine.  Their only hope is that the resolve among the citizens of Western demo...

With the recent decisions from the Saskatchewan and New Brunswick governments regarding parental consent, I wanted to go back to a post I made when Florida was pushing back with its own sets of education policy changes. As you can read I did see this coming. As for this issue, my hope is that balanced solution will emerge that can respect parents rights and protects vulnerable kids. As always I try to see both sides of an issue as I have questions for both concerned parties. To those who support parental consent of name or pronoun change - I ask why? If you are even a semi involved parent - wouldn’t you be aware if your child was having identity issues. If not, perhaps it is because the child is not comfortable discussing them with you in fear of reprisal. If your kids know they grow up in a house of unconditional love - you shouldn’t need a note from school telling you what name your child goes by. For those opposed, can a child not express their concern of their parents expected or s...

As June begins I thought it would be appropriate to have a discussion about the pride flag being flown at Ontario schools. Recently, I opined publicly that the Canadian flag should be the only flag flown at schools as it should represent all of us. It is our symbol of unity, pride and progress.  That opinion, however, was liked and commented on by people who were not sharing my enthusiasm for the maple leaf, but liked the exclusion of anything pride. Their derogatory, inflammatory rhetoric made me realize we have not progressed  as far as I had thought or hoped. The importance of the Pride movement hit me more this year than any other. Some comments did give me pause though, to wonder if progressive voices were losing the room.  Even my own support of progressive causes and awareness campaigns is not absolute or without hesitation,  I’ve tried not to become numb to the constant awareness campaigns being pushed at schools for a variety of worthy causes and movements. ...

Another tragic mass shooting in the United States has Greg address the divisive issue of gun control. Sadly, the time for federal gun control in the States has come and gone. Too many rational citizens want guns to protect themselves from guns. This leads to escalation in madness with no apparent end in sight.  Only hope now resides at the state and local levels to enact their own common sense regulations. Time for progressives to get creative as lawmakers have done with abortion laws in conservative states. Perhaps with clear evidence of reduced gun violence in gun controlled jurisdictions a pathway out of this madness can be found.  My hope is for Canada to avoid this vicious cycle altogether. Canada’s superiority complex to the U.S. is deserved - on this file, but we haven’t done much lately to address the increase in gun related crimes. Most Liberal government initiatives are symbolic, and used to exploit divisions. Ban handguns - fine - but without  increasing penalt...

Originally Published in the Guelph Mercury -   January 12, 2008 Looking back at this column and its predictions...  There is much talk and concern about the alleged apathy of our young people when it comes to the political process and exercising their civic duty. Media campaigns and slogans are used to persuade young people to do something they haven't done in great numbers in the past --vote. But we need not worry. The youth of today do care and will vote. And perhaps in even greater numbers than previous generations, once they feel they are part of the process and truly believe that politicians are actually listening to what they have to say. We may be seeing this start to occur south of the border as young people are being turned on by the charismatic Barack Obama in the Democratic primaries. His ability to get out the youth vote could break the current practice of politicians catering mainly to baby boomers who have the numbers and who turn out to vote. The boomers' electo...

Like many people not shy to share their opinions I have been on social media  specifically twitter a lot more during this pandemic.  While it can be enlightening to gain perspective from different points of view, it is not without peril.  Social media like many indulgences is fine in moderation and self regulated use, but it can turn quickly agsinst you if abused. Witnessed that personally with friends and family. To avoid its trappings, I have my own set of guidelines.  When Facebook got started it was to connect socially with friends and families. Now it has become an immersive platform that many connect with first when they go on-line. People have their own rules, on who they "friend". I was pretty restictive with it to start as being a friend means a lot more than an aquaintance. But I moved on that, still keeping in mind I was sharing persoanl family pictures, stories and moments on the platform.  When I start writing for a brief time I would po...

  The plight of Guelph's lack of news coverage was a  focus last week when local police did not publicize liberal MP's arrest.  Globe columnist @JohnIbbitson  even took to twitter to sound off on the dangers of disappearing local news.  Said much of the same and more when the axe fell on our local paper a few years back ...   I can’t sleep tonight. The demise of my local paper, the Guelph Mercury, has struck a nerve. I believe I am like many citizens progressing through the stages of loss. My shock and sadness are giving way to anger, but my greatest fear is that we will move to acceptance. Like most of Guelph, I was not a current subscriber to the print edition. Even though I had contributed to the paper in the past, I cancelled my subscription to the Mercury because printed copies were available at my work. I enjoy the convenience of reading the news on-line and since it is the greener thing to do, I consume most of my news that way. I don’t have an ...