Year: 2012

Featured News

A Step Forward For Online Higher Ed?

Two who are bullish on the idea that web-based learning can make education “better, cheaper and easier to access” are Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok, the proprietors of the popular economics blog Marginal Revolution. This week, they announced the creation of “Marginal Revolution University, ” which will soon provide free instructional content in the field of economics.

Harvard professor’s race card, a step backward.

Elizabeth Warren’s public claim that she is 1/32 Cherokee is highly offensive to liberal democratic values. Race, language, culture are not moral attributes for which people should receive honours of any kind. They are accidental features of life for which we are not responsible; they are not active personal achievements.

How friendly will Pauline Marois be toward Alberta?

A new Parti Quebecois government in Quebec has got people asking questions as to what comes next. Naturally, perhaps, the prevailing questions have been about sovereignty.

But the sovereignty issue will not likely dominate the reign of Quebec’s first female premier. First, because Pauline Marois has no majority to make it happen and no ability to push it by coalescing with Quebec Solidaire (the other separatist party, which won 2 seats).  Second, the Coalition Avenir Quebec, CAQ (the new arrival that won 19 seats and nipped with their vote share at the statistical heels of the two large parties), ran explicitly on deferring constitutional questions in Quebec for a decade. Third, PM Stephen Harper is not likely going to allow Marois to draw him into constitutional squabbles and derail his government agenda. That means the PQ will find few partners to kick sand at in the constitutional sandbox.

As an Albertan, the question as to what the Quebec-Alberta relation will look like is more pressing in my mind.