Transitioning to Summer Content

This past weekend marked a series of transitions ....

It was my wife's birthday on Friday.... and the occasion was marked by the visit of several Ontario family members (she expected two but we welcomed six!)....

Friday evening we celebrated with about 50 family and friends. Saturday included a side trip to Elbow Falls while yesterday was a day of worship and fellowship (when we had the priviledge of a BC uncle and aunt joining us as well). We celebrated both Kathy's birthday and Chris' graduation and to all who helped make it such a memorable time, thank you very much!!

While I was busy partying, my colleague and friend Brian Harskamp kindly gave this site a visual facelift... thank you Brian!!

As we move to summer, the content of this page may end up with a bit of a different emphasis. While current events will continue to draw comment, I will be heading to Europe this Friday for a time of vacation. Part of that will include attending the Calvin500 conference in Geneva as well as some time in Germany and the Netherlands. While I don't promise a travelogue, I have indicated to several who are interested that I would use this page to share as opportunity presents itself (obviously dependent on accessible and affordable internet connections.)

Unofficial Summer campaigning

Time to catch up on the political prognosticating that this page tries to keep up on. Since my last posts on this matter, we had Mr. Ignatieff announce his four conditions for avoiding an election, Mr. Harper's willingness to negotiate a blue-ribbon panel to study the matter, and the deal which avoided an election for now and set up another show-down for late September. The latest poll suggests that playing such brinkmanship games is not serving to endear Mr. Ignatieff' to Canadians but I would not put too much stock in polls either way at this point.

On my flight this morning, I caught a bit of Graham Richardson on CTV Newsnet making a point I had not really factored into my calculations on election timing - namely, the Olympics. I think he is right in suggesting that the Olympics make it practically impossible for an election to be forced anytime during the first quarter of 2010. The implication of what he was saying was either we have a fall election or some party would have to support the budget in the early part of 2010 to allow the government survive through the Olympic period. The Olympics themselves run from Feb 12-28 and the Paraolympics run from March 12 -21. I suppose it would be possible if a budget were introduced in late Feb / early Mar it is possible for a debate and non-confidence motion to be timed in a way to avoid political upheaval during the time of international spotlight, with an election called sometime after late March for May or June of 2010.

So when the house returns in the fall, those are the options -- an election called at the end of September 09 for mid November or an election called late next spring. I am still inclined to think next spring is the more likely option (i suspect the Bloc will find a reason to support the conservatives this fall as i think the pension vesting issue will be a more significant one in their caucus.) There is also the chance, of course, that the blue ribbon panel on EI comes with a proposal that allows the government enough wiggle room on the issue to prevent its defeat.

In the midst of all of these unknowns, all of the parties will be in unofficial campaign mode putting themselves in the best possible position for September. I still think 2010 makes more sense but it would be unwise for any party or leader to let up at all at this stage.

Hectivity trumped by being a Thankful Father

It has been a week since my last posting, something I resolved not to do without notice when I started this blog, but the hectivity of the past week has simply prevented me from getting around to blogging. My five flights, several thousand kilometers of car rides, and numerous meetings of various varieties are nearing completion, but tonight all of that was put aside for the grade 12 graduation of my son Chris. We have just returned from a most special evening which not only marked Chris' graduation, but the closing of the doors of Canada's only blended classical Christian school (to the best of my knowledge).

This is not the place to get too detailed regarding the special evening it is when someone as close an only son achieves a significant milestone in his life, overcoming significant challenges and persevering along the way, but it is an evening in which the various aspects of life come together. The importance of family as together we have dealt with various issues over the years; the support of community as an essential part of the Timothy Center education was the cultivation of relationships (the house system was at work with older students expected to provide leadership and mentoring for younger students); the important role of teachers and role models who gave themselves sacrificially for the good of their students; and the primacy of faith as the focus was always to discover and learn to defend truth as it is revealed in the word of God. The Timothy Center was a unique place where students from a wide variety of denominations were encouraged to think through and defend their beliefs, debate and learn from others.

Humanly speaking the temptation on a night like this is to be proud and I would be dishonest if I pretended not to have a tinge of pride in my son's accomplishments. But I know full well that while I have done my best as a dad to make my contribution, the reality is that the success of our children is not a matter of parental accomplishment but divine blessing and so what dominates tonight is a sense of thankfulness to God.

Congratulations Chris and wishing you the Lord's strength and blessing in the years to come as you seek to use your talents in His service!

Philosophers Who Believe

Todays travels took me from meetings in Grand Rapids to South Bend Indianna for meetings at Notre Dame University. I must confess that during my my 18 hrs in Grand Rapids (which included an overnight), I managed to stop at three bookstores and add nine new volumes to my collection. Tonight I ate supper alone and managed to get a good start on Philosophers Who Believe: The Spiritual Journeys of 11 Leading Thinkers. A provactive quote of interest (p 10):

The Christian has as much right to start from Christian assumptions as secular thinkers have to start from the assumption of naturalism. The Christian need be not always to be on the defensive, and may start with Christian beliefs and theorize on the basis of them.

Iggy's Options

Scanning the headlines this morning as I wait to catch my plane, I notice that most are speculating the Mr. Ignatieff will not be forcing an election this morning, which is as I expected. Understanding that what is to follow is totally cynical and based only on electoral politics and not on principle (which is not beyond the thinking of our politicians), the only option for Ignatieff to force an election would be to try and shift the blame to the NDP and Bloc. One way to do that might be to announce this morning that the Liberals, after carefully reading the Conservative report from last week, cannot support for reasons A,B,C,D (citing reasons from the report that are more specific and haven't been the news focus to date.) Since the Liberals are the opposition party, they will do what they are called to do - carefuly critique the government and provide an alternative to Canadians.

That said, agree out loud that Canadians generally do not want an election but focus the blame entirely on the NDP and Bloc for forcing one if there would be one. After all, they were the ones who announced opposition to this fiscal update before reading the plan. They were the ones who are playing politics, opposing for the sake of opposing.

It is a bit of a risky play in that it puts the ball into the opposition court and you may end up with an election you don't want and still may be blamed for in the court of public opinion, but if the Liberals can turn this into a debate for Quebecers about the merits of having the Bloc in Ottawa, they may open up some potential seats for themselves from the Bloc which are not accessible to the Conservatives and may also end up marginalizing the NDP.

I doubt this tact will be followed and it has its risks, but it is one way for the Liberals to oppose the government while changing the focus of their negativity to the Bloc and NDP.

Getting ready to board my plane... by the time I land in the USA the outcome of these games will be a bit more clear.

Saturday Loose Ends

A few loose ends and quick thoughts for your consideration....

On Monday I noted why I doubted a summer election was in the offing and I really don't think Thursdays economic update changed anything, the various suggestions to the contrary notwithstanding. My read of the polls is that the best the Liberals can hope for (if the polls stay as they presently are) is a minority, and that would require them to capitalize on the Quebec vote which it seems they don't have the on-the-ground capacity to deliver on, and it seems a pretty risky proposition. Forcing the election now results in a campaign focused on the economy, the one area where Harper still retains the advantage as an economic manager. Given the mixed critique to date from the Liberals that the Conservatives are getting the money out fast enough (spend more, in other words) and that the deficit is growing irresponsibly (which if you are spending more, means you need to raise taxes), the Liberals will have a challenging time improving their numbers during a campaign based on an economic narrative. Which means they will be left to try and capitalize on the dislike for Harper, which will result in negative campaigning and the charge that they are simply self-serving in seeking power back again. Given the Conservatives resource and organization advantage, it seems a high-risk game for the Liberals to try and defeat the government, plunge the country into a summer campaign that no one seems to want, and have to defend the charge they put their self-interest for power ahead of the countries need for stability in economic tough times. In minority Parliaments, stranger things have happened but my guess is Mr. Ignatieff is a smart enough man to know he only has one election to run as a first-time candidate and there is a better time to do that then right now.

On Wednesday I blogged about Ezra Levant and the Human Rights Tribunals. I notice that yesterday, Human Rights Commissioner Jennifer Lynch refused to appear on CTV's Power Play with Ezra. Kudos to CTV for standing up to her and exposing this refusal for what it was and providing Ezra the opportunity to speak, Ms. Lynch notwithstanding. The fear to debate your foes is not usually a great sign of the confidence you have in your own position. http://watch.ctv.ca/news/power-play/friday-june-12/#clip182575

And finally, last night was the final hockey game of the season, a Stanley Cup Game 7 no less, which for this Canadian boy who has enjoyed watching a good hardhitting hockey game as long as I can remember, is a special night. Being a Leafs fan, I only blog about hockey occasionally for obvious reasons, but reading the various facebook references to the game from my family and friends prompted me to re-read what I wrote at the beginning of the hockey season. I made three points. 1. A joke that Hamilton wouldn't get a hockey team because then Toronto might want one too. Hmmm, given what is going on now, does that mean that if Hamilton gets a hockey team, the Leafs may actually improve? 2. Some comments about the fact that the Red Wings lost the previous night and my pride in my six year old nephew who resists the family pressures to root for Detroit in favour of more refined tastes. All I can say is that the REd Wings lost last night too, and if my sister is to believed, the pressure continues to be put on Scott to change his allegiances but he continues to hang tough. Way to go Scottie! 3. The fact that it is very rare when Leaf fans can point to the standings and see that they are in first place (at least in a tie for one.) Given that the 2008-09 season is now over, the standings to show are the 2009-10 standings and once again, the Leafs are in a tie for first place. I can again root for my team, and have even enjoyed the opportunity to become a Penguins fan over the past few months as they did provide some very entertaining skilled and hardhitting hockey. Time to put the pucks away... I am going to play baseball this afternoon.

From Papyrus to Tweeting

The next issue of Cardus Policy in Public was released today and contains some very interesting copy.  (I suppose that if I didn't think so, there would be something terribly wrong given that in addition to my publisher hat, I am currently serving as the Interim Editor as well. )  It focuses on the changing nature of the media institutions that serve us.   From the promo email....

In this issue:

Cardus Senior Fellow and former newspaper executive Peter Menzies outlines, in our main feature "The Fall and Rise of Empires," how alternative media forms are as transforming to our public discourse as was the invention of the printing press only centuries ago.

Halifax author and journalism professor Stephen Kimber disputes Menzies' main conclusion, in "Real-Time Journalism: A Response." While admitting that the example of alternate media cited, live-blogging, may showcase the "sausagemaking aspects of journalism," Kimber suggests that the transparency inherent in this new form of journalism creates a new common ground or social meeting place.

In a similar vein, Cardus Director of Operations Milton Friesen highlights how new media provides an opportunity for broad-based participation and interaction which is creating a new form of institution, in his piece "Mediums and Meditations."

The process of news is becoming messier, in that the emerging media is much more individual than institutional and does not have the inherent checks and balances once associated with journalism. However, as Peter Stockland's review of Through a Lens Darkly points out, such checks and balances of the past were hardly foolproof and in fact, could be argued to have at times contributed to rather than resolved social confusion.

Finally, this issue is closed out by our regular Think Tank Index. We include this to draw attention to the thoughtful and varied voices that constitute public discourse in Canada today.

The Right to be Wrong

I haven't yet blogged about the human rights tribunal issues and freedom of speech debates that have been a topic of conversation over the past year or so, largely because I had nothing original to say.  Still don't.  However, Ezra Levant's interview with Steve Paikin on Studio 2 the other night does quite cryptically focus on what is essentially the core issue.  If we believe in freedom of speech, we will defend the right of those with whom we most profoundly disagree to speak their mind.

Ezra makes this point quite eloquently in response to Paikan's question "Is it 1984?" (at the 16:25 mark of the interview....

“1984 doesn’t happen like that.  It happens incrementally.  It happens when people say ‘O, Freedom of speech, but..  Freedom of speech, except… Freedom of speech, let’s limit it for other values.  Freedom of speech is the strangest thing.  It is a gift you have to give your enemies  if you want to keep it to  yourself.  Isn’t that funny?  I can’t think of anything else that fits into that same mold.  It is something you have to give to the folks you totally despise, people who are wrong, rude, and offensive…. We’re not Iran, we’re not communist China.  We have the right to be wrong.” 

When Private Words Become Public

Both Chantal Hebert and Don Martin provide some important perspective on the fuss that is surrounding the Raitt tapes.

Hebert writes:

In discussions with their editors, journalists routinely evaluate stories – including some that involve loss of life or some other grievous harm to their protagonists – in terms that would come across as insensitive to an eavesdropper.

Those back-channel conversations are part and parcel of assessing events and their relative place in the larger picture of a news day or, in this case, a government's work.

Martin suggests that Raitt's "problem is that unvarnished truth and political correctness are often incompatible concepts."

Last year I opined in the Calgary Herald that when the distinction between private and public conversation is lost, the ability to think out loud and ultimately, put our thoughts into words, will be lost and we will all be the poorer for it.  No one disputes that Minister Raitt made these comments in the full expectation of privacy with her trusted aides, and while the fact that they are public is a result of incompetence on her aides (and ultimately does reflect badly on the person who hired them), it is hardly the stuff of scandal or insensitivity.  

If I were advising Raitt on how to respond, I would have suggested that a simple apology for using insensitive wording in a private conversation might be in order, but then to proceed as she has, focusing on her actions on this file and leaving her opponents to expose themselves to the hypocrisy of their complaint by their continued raising of the issue. As Hebert rightly concludes: "If walls could talk and by the standards they apply to Raitt, would Michael Ignatieff, Jack Layton or Gilles Duceppe really have no cause to tender their resignations?"

Punny Signs that My Colleagues Care for Me

This morning my inbox contains the following note from a colleague.

"It’s very nerdy. I’m embarrassed to send this out from my own email account. Take this as a sign that I care about you as a person." What follows is a list of 24 punny statements. These clearly need sharing but I don't want to embarass my colleague so will publish them in this anonymous forum so that none of my colleagues will have to admit to the fact that they, although they succumb to peer pressure and groan in unison at my puns, deep down inside love this form of humour and spend their spare time looking up puns on the internet. Don't worry... I won't tell anyone.

1. The roundest knight at King Arthur’s Round Table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.
3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.
4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated in an algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.
5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationery.
7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.
9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
13. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, “You stay here, I’ll go on a head.”
14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said, “Keep off the Grass.”
16. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, “No change yet.”
17. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
18. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
19. The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
20. A backward poet writes inverse.
21. In a democracy, it’s your vote that counts. In feudalism, it’s your count that votes.
22. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
23. Don’t join dangerous cults, practice safe sects!

Why go to court over Raitt tapes?

So a Cabinet minister made some comments in a car while driving with her aides that were a bit less flattering about a cabinet colleague than the usual talking points. Anybody who spends any time around politicians knows that what was recorded is in fact, quite mild and hardly the stuff of scandals. The unfortunate part for Minister Raitt is that the conversation was taped by accident (easily enough done - I confess to accidently pressing a speed dial button on my cellphone once to let others listen into a quite personal conversation); that the tape recorder was left in a washroom by a political aide (a little more worrisome, given the same aide left a binder in a TV studio, but that is why she is no longer a political aide); and that given several months to retrieve her misplaced tape recorder, the aide never bothered to pick it up (probably the most egregious error of the lot, although obviously the aide did not think there was too much of substance on the tape to worry about.)

All of this are easily explained miscues in the hectic pace of political life, will predictably enlist the horrors of mock outrage from the opposition (who are trying to brand the government as incompetent and are aided by these sorts of sagas), but in the ordinary course of events, will slip from the headlines a few days from now when the next issue emerges to grab our attention. Neither the stuff of nationbuilding nore nation breaking.

The part of this story I don't get is why this aide went to court yesterday to prevent the publication of this material. If the protection of private conversations was the motive, the blame clearly rests on those who broke the confidence, which in this case was the political aide, not the media. Running this story seems no different to me than a journalist running with a story based on an overheard conversation on an airplane. My guess is that not knowing what all had actually been recorded on the tape, the aide figured it had recorded conversations much more damaging to the political reputation of the minister.

Freedom of the press is an important part of our democratic process and unless there was some compelling information that would damage national security or cause significant injury to someone not at all involved, it seems hard to understand what grounds there would be for suppressing this information from the media. Surely the court injunction was launched with little prospect of success and the litigants -- who are communications advisors after all -- would know that the mere fact of going to court would result in much more publicity than had they simply taken their lumps in a Chronicle Herald story.

So why go to court on an almost sure loser, give the media more fodder with which to draw attention to your mistakes, and pay lawyers for this expensive privilege to boot? Assuming the above logic is fairly elementary for political strategists and communications folk, they must have employed some other logical thought process to rationalize their actions but I am certainly having a hard time this morning figuring out what it might have been.

Election Ground War - Building Plausibility Structures

Followers of this page know the reasons why I don't believe there will be a federal election anytime soon. However, that does not mean what is happening these days in Ottawa is irrelevant. In fact, both sides are working overtime to try and put into place the plausibility structure that will be required for their expected campaign themes to win the day.

The outcome of the next election, barring some major scandal or other similar event, will come down to the question of leadership. It is Ignatieff vs. Harper. For Harper to win, it is necessary to maintain an aura of competence and the confidence of Canadians that the Conservatives remain better economic managers. That is why the Liberals are spending so much time trying to create an sense of crisis around every issue that emerges. The Conservatives, on the other hand, continue with their message that Canada is doing better than our counterparts during this economic tough time and that the Liberals are open to such economically risky propositions as raising taxes. The ad campaign which portrays Ignatieff as out of touch may be distasteful, but is setting the stage for the hoped for gaffe that Ignatieff will likely make during the campaign. Expect to hear lines to the effect that any gaffe Ignatieff makes is due to him being out of touch, and while he may be a nice guy, interesting author etc., it is too risky to hand the government over to someone who has been out of the country and is out of touch with ordinary Canadians.

If both sides have their way, Canadians will have the option in the next election between incompetent Stephen Harper and out of touch Michael Ignatieff as their next PM. (If the positive campaigns persevere, it will be "regular guy whose done a good job Stephen Harper" vs "in touch with Canadian values Liberal team leader Michael Ignatieff" but my guess is we are heading more for a competition between the negative brands.

Right now is the time when these brands are being tested and the seed is being planted in Canadians mind. The campaign will be simply a five week sprint to see which leader can get across the battle field without tripping over the land minds that both sides are laying for each other today.

The mystery of ministry

My past four days were spent at the synod of the Free Reformed Churches of North America, of which I am privileged to serve as Assistant Clerk (primarily responsible for ensuring the proceedings are accurately documented and published both in the formal documents that are archived as well as in the annually published Acts of Synod that come out within a few months.)

The highlight of Synods for me are always the examination of ministerial candidates, and this year's synod was historic for our small federation in that three such examinations were conducted. Derek Baars is a young man born without eyes who recently completed his seminary education; Dr. Gerald Bilkes is a theological instructor at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary who will be ordained as a minister and Professor of Theology; and Rev. Tom Aicken who will become the pastor of the Langley FRC after previously serving in other federations. Synodical examinations are conducted in order to publicly ascertain a man's orthodoxy as well as to ascertain his sense of God's calling and leading in his life. Having now sat through twelve such examinations over the past decade in which I have been privileged to serve Synod in my present capacity, there are no two that are alike. Each man examined was led by God in a very different way to present himself as a candidate for ministry, and in almost every case there are aspects to their story which, from a human perspective, are unpredictable and even unlikely.

It is inappropriate to cite specific examples, but as I flew home last night, it reminded me of the powerful mystery that remains regarding how God deals with humanity. That the Christian church has survived through 2,000 years and continues to be a powerful institution of influence in the world (even though seemingly marginalized in our own present culture) is truly a miracle. There is no comparable institution of influence in human history, and there is no social theory which explains this. That men continue to be called to gospel ministry, having burdens placed on their hearts that they feel such a burden to preach the unsearchable ministries of Christ and troubled in their souls like Paul (woe is me if I preach not the gospel - I Cor 9.16) if they do not preach, is quite unexplainable. That "through the foolishness of preaching" (I Cor 1.21) lives are changed and people are transformed is hardly a logical process.

I recall the amazement that overwhelmed me being present for the birth of my son and seeing with my own eyes something a miracle of human life being born. My physical senses and the wonderment of unexplainable mystery (even though I rationally understood what had happened) met. I recall thinking how I both knew and did not know what had happened, and that this wasn't the cause of contradiction in my mind but in fact, a confirmation of the truth of what had happened. There was a confidence of the mystery that overwhelmed me when I contemplated that night how this child which I held in my arms was in fact my own son. The mystery of spiritual life is no different - a new birth takes place worked by God the Holy Spirit. Seeing the evidence of this life, and hearing first hand testimonies of the burden to preach the gospel from various men, leaves me with a similar amazement. It is an unexplainable mystery, yet rather than resulting in fear and confusion, it produces confidence and boldness.