Road Warrior of the Week

Heroes and Good Samaritans

B.C.’s gambling advertising goes too far

 No Responses »
May 272011
 

by Terry O’Neill

Is gambling good for B.C. or bad for British Columbians?

Drive by Coquitlam’s Boulevard Casino at any hour on any day of any week in any month of the year and you’ll see a parking lot full of cars driven by folks who have gone inside to part with their money in amusing and diverting ways.

Losers always outnumber winners by a wide margin — that’s the nature of the gambling beast. But since no one is forcing any of the players to try their hand at the slots or poker, I don’t see much wrong with the way the casinos do business.

But I do have a larger concern…

Click here to read the full Tri-City News editorial, or

Click here to view / download a PDF file of the entire text.

Parents have primary rights in kids’ education

 1 Response »
May 232011
 

by Terry O’Neill

FACE TO FACE: Does court-ordered ‘socialization’ in Quebec case go too far?

Of the countless buzzwords that flutter around the practice of child rearing, none currently surpasses “socialization” in its pervasiveness.

We are informed that infants should begin to experience the joys of early socialization in daycare; that toddlers should go to playschool to better socialize with their peers; that pre-schoolers must attend kindergarten in the name of socialization; and that children should enrol in school in the name of several goals, among which socialization is in the first rank…

Click here to read the full Tri-City News editorial, or

Click here to view / download a PDF file of the entire text.

Click here to watch Terry O’Neill deliver this commentary during a RoadKill Radio webcast.

Canadians voted with their heads

 1 Response »
May 072011
 

By Terry O’Neill – The Tri-City News

FACE TO FACE: Oh, about that federal election…

For the many shell-shocked CBC lovers, Margaret Atwood acolytes and other Trudeaupian Canadians who are trying to explain away the new Conservative majority as nothing more than a deplorable result of a cockeyed electoral system or, perhaps, the appalling outcome of polarized politics, I have three words: Get over it.

The result of Monday’s election is a clear indication that Canadians voted with their heads to support a party that promises reliable management of the economy, less wasteful government and a fairer criminal justice system…

Click Here to read the entire Tri-City News editorial, or

Click Here to download the PDF file.

With criminals in jail, we’re all safer

 No Responses »
May 042011
 

by Terry O’Neill

FACE TO FACE: Is ‘getting tough on crime’ a useful approach for our country?

My colleague on the other side of the page has developed the habit of bashing, blaming or otherwise bandying about the name of the United States as a way of adding some gravity to his arguments.

He’s aware of his overuse of the references but will undoubtedly have had to wage an epic battle with his inner Maude Barlow to dissuade himself from dragging the U.S. into today’s debate about the Conservative party’s law-and-order agenda, which leftists throughout our country regularly denounce as being “American-style.” Here’s hoping he has been able to bring something fresh to the Face to Face table…

Click here to read the full Tri-City News editorial, or

Click here to view / download a PDF file of the entire text.

Christian roots are democratic roots

 2 Responses »
Apr 262011
 

FACE TO FACE: Should Canada formally recognize Easter’s Christian roots?

What have I done? I challenged my colleague this week to a debate on whether Canada — as a society and as a country — should do more to celebrate the contribution the Christian faith has made to the way we live. I admit I am now being nagged by the thought I’ve bitten off more than I can chew in 375 words.

Nevertheless, onward we go. I’ll begin by noting that I am gratified that our country continues to mark this day, Good Friday, along with Easter and Christmas as official holidays, even though the original meaning of the word, holy day, no longer registers on most people’s personal radar…

Read the entire Tri-City News editorial here or click here for a PDF version.

Oil tankers are already plying B.C. waters safely

 No Responses »
Apr 152011
 

FACE TO FACE: Should oil tankers be allowed off B.C.’s north coast?

Most British Columbians want to see oil-tanker traffic banned off the northern coast of B.C. and so it’s no surprise that many politicians running in the current federal election are of like mind.

To me, however, it’s clear that, until the wind blows at reliably brisk pace (which it doesn’t), and until the sun shines steadily upon our roofs (which it certainly doesn’t in the Tri-Cities), and until rivers flow at a reliable rate (which they never will), and until nuclear power plants are made safer and more acceptable to consumers (which may yet transpire), the world’s best, most reliable form of energy will continue to be carbon-based… Click here to read the entire article or click here for a PDF version.

It’s time to get tough with public sector unions

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Mar 302011
 

Published in and Copyright © by The Tri-City News, March 25, 2011

FACE TO FACE: Are public-sector unions the problem in government finances?

Wisconsin is best known for Milwaukee’s beer, Green Bay’s Packers and the state’s artery-clogging cheese.

But let’s not stop there. The state also gained prominence recently after it became a raging battleground between a cost-cutting, union-busting Republican governor, Scott Walker, and a thoroughly enraged unionized civil service, thousands of whose members stormed and occupied the State Capitol.

The great recession of the past two years hit our American cousins right in the chops and, as a consequence, many governments at all levels in the U.S. have been teetering near insolvency. In Wisconsin, the situation was particularly bad, leading Walker to call for laws to limit the power of public-sector unions — power that had led to levels of pay, benefits and locked-in job security unheard of in the private sector…

To read Terry O’Neill’s entire commentary, please visit Tri-City News

Or

Click here for a PDF file of the commentary.