Heath Ledger Dead at 28

Please read this shocking news here.

Housing and History

If the nation's mayors are going to beseech Stephen Harper to fund remedies for homelessness, it would help if they knew their own history.

The federal government was in the social housing business in a major way for many, many years under the auspices of the Central Mortgage & Housing Corporation, CMHC.

About the same time that Ottawa abandoned funding for health care (from 50% to 18%), police and the military, funding for social housing was torn out of the CMHC mandate. For the past 30 years, this initiative has not been on the horizon.

Demand of the Prime Minister that CMHC be returned to its former role.

Watch Out for the BCTF - They are Testy

Of course the BCTF is against any kind of testing.

We have had this argument for years.

I work at a college. I see kids term after term studying for exams. Do they need an army of grief counsellors to cope?

Driving to the grocery store is a contest. It shouldn't be. It needn't be. But more often than not it is.

We are tested every day in a thousand little ways.

What do the well-armored folks at the BCTF want to do - keep kids in swaddling clothes until they are 16 and truly unable to face life?

Not really. They just want to protect their tiny domain.

Edwards, Who Cannot Win, Is Best

The headline says "Obama & Clinton Tangle at debate."

But that wasn't the story at all.

The real story was how articulate and focused and fascinating was 3rd place runner John Edwards, who easily outshone his opponents for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

At one great moment, during the increasingly tiresome cat fight between Hillary and Barak, Edwards interjected something like, "How is all this personal mudslinging going to get us better health care, education and housing?"

Hillary was sharp as always, if not lovable.

Obama was curiously mushing and deficient when it came down to details. He was obviously swinging on his own star. He seems to be magnificent when orating in grand terms, but less than assuring when it comes down to the nitty gritty of real issues. he seems to be a man who wants too much to be loved.

Edwards on the other hand was very impressive in every way. Solid, knowledgeable, passionate and reasonable.

It's too bad he hasn't a hope in hell. He might ,make a fine President.

But this is the day that the Oscars were announced.

In modern life, all is show biz.