Reader Tips

Reader Tips 43 Comments

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to SDA Late Nite Radio. Tonight, for your delectation and pursuant to our distinguished lecture, documentary & interview series, here is Dan Ariely, professor of behavioural economics, head of the eRationality research group at the MIT Media Lab, and author of Predictably Irrational (an excellent book, I think), presenting his talk, Are we in control of our decisions? ¤ (17:26).

Your Reader Tips are, as always, welcome in the comments.

43 Replies to “Reader Tips”

  7. Daniel M. Ryan: Hey, we’re way ahead of everybody…. Courtesy of Herr Calvert, via infrastructure budget slashing and funding cuts to the RM’s, we’ve got miles and miles of gravelled dust-choking/pot-holed corridors that used to be ‘paved’ dust-free/ pot-holed corriders (;~

  8. Fritz – thanks for that link. Everyone should see that but the one A$$hole who won’t – sadly – is Letterman.

  9. What is the point of covering a bridge? Just watching Frame on Shaw HD and the current show is beautiful pictures of covered bridges. But it got me thinking.

  10. Democrats Trigger North American Trade War
    Protectionism is about as stimulating as a cold shower on a hot date.
    By Deroy Murdock
    As if America’s hands were not full already — from Iran to Afghanistan to North Korea — Democrats in Washington, D.C. have increased tensions with our next-door neighbors. Canada and Mexico, our top two export markets, are embroiled in trade feuds with the U.S.,
    More at:
    http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=Y2IyYTQ3MDg3YmViNTJiNWRiZTM0Mjg2ODcyYjA0YjA=

  11. What the world needs is a website where letters to the editor, reader comments and other material that is suppressed by CBC, CTV, Global and other major media sources, gets published. For example, tonight, I was reading CBC.Ca (Saskatchewan,) where three kids were killed in a car accident, most likely caused was excess speed and alcohol.
    My comment was a quotation that I read a few years ago, and that had been taken from the cell of an Arizona prisoner who had been condemned to death. He carved the following on the wall of his cell, only hours before his end. He wrote:
    “If I have done anything good in my life, it was to have served as a bad example for the rest of the human race.”
    Why was that supressed on CBC??

  15. OPEN QUESTION to SDA REGULARS
    At a party this past evening an old friend said the following to me, “You know, I was talking with a common friend of ours – who shall remain nameless – and this person said that the views you publicly express are very ‘American’.”
    Now, I don’t know about the rest of you, but in my experience when one Canadian says that to another Canadian it’s intended as a big insult. It’s also designed to shut down all discussion, as is the case in any discussions involving any reforms to our health care system.
    I responded as follows: “There are only 3 issues on which I am very conservative or ‘right-wing’ if you prefer: 1. Fiscal Responsibility 2. Law & Order 3. Free Speech. On all others I’m fairly liberal. So if that makes me an ‘American’ then I wear that as a badge of honour!”
    My question to you all is this: Have you ever had your political views labeled by other Canadians as “American”?

  16. Robert, I used to all the time in discussions with Liberal friends as I was being “pro-Bush”. Not so much now with Obama in charge, now it is called “Republican values” and linked to Harper who still is attacked by Liberals as supporting these values.

  17. Robert W All the time. You are right it is intended as an insult. There is something about the Canadian “values” that investing in your country, not being happy with the minimum standards or putting up with mediocrity is un-Canadian. When you finally get across that uni health care is a rationing system and you can improve your own life without guilt they agree but you are still un-Canadian. Go figure. One day I said the first hour of life begins to separate the winners from the losers. It was not meant to be critical but some kids aren’t born ‘lucky’ I got the response that all are created equal. I agreed CREATED equal and the first hour of life begins to separate the winners from the losers. All I was trying to say is life is not fair not that we shouldn’t do anything about those that are disadvantaged or need help. I could start to see the wheels turn. Of course I got the standard ‘I feel sorry for you” line. The point I was trying to make was not to sit there, feel sorry for yourself and expect someone else to provide your wants. You are able bodied and mentally fit so help yourself.

  19. Hey Robert..I happen to work in the ‘social services’ area,and you wouldn’t believe some of the crap I hear,whenever politics comes up!Absolute brain-dead rhetoric,full of ndp/union blather.Best story I can relate,is recently there was a conv.at work about possibility of an election,and one of the Soc.Workers,made the comment,she couldn’t vote for the PM ‘cuz he looked like he had ‘Mennonite hair!’..and that the ndp were the only party that would ‘help the workers’
    I asked this brain-dead tool,as she seemed to really be in over her head,’who is the PM? What’s his name?’..she ‘couldn’t remember’ This same moron,that was praising the ndp,also couldn’t tell me the name of ndp leader.Talk about informed voters!
    This isn’t an isolated incident..majority of my University ‘educated’ co-workers are as dense as doorknobs on current affairs,important issues..the hot topics at the watercooler you ask? American Idol,latest summer fashions,and who does the best gel nails! Un-friggin-believable,and depressing to think that some of these people do vote.

  20. And oh yeah Robert,I also get the Harper=Bush=war comparison,and when I point out that it was the Lib.gov’t that was in power when our troops were sent to Afghanistan,I get the glazed over eyes look,and none of them can give me a coherent comeback!

  21. Robert, Sammy: There is a couple that I am very close too. The one problems is that they too, are university educated. We have talked some politics but just last week I was asked: Oh, What is the PM’s name? Unbelievable. One would think that you were talking about some foreign little country that never makes it on the news. It just goes to show you how narrow minded (blinders) these people are.
    They can only remember Harper’s name when they want to complain about him…..

  22. sammy and robert – yes, that’s the fascinating point – when you rebut the bias of the left, they don’t want to hear it, don’t want to debate it (eg Jennifer Lynch’s refusal to discuss HRCs with Ezra Levant) – and have no data to substantiate their empty opinions.
    When I point out that Afghanistan is a UN and NATO exercise, they drift away.
    When I ask questions that would have them substantiate their opinions, they drift away.
    For example, I would have asked; ‘what’s a Mennonite hair’?
    When someone suggests I have ‘American values’, I act pleased (and I am) and query: ‘Do you mean a basic belief in the freedom of people, equality, the value of innovation and work’? Yes, thanks, I do have those values. Do you?
    I’m frequently called a ‘fascist’ on blogs, and always, always, from people who use it as an insult and haven’t a clue what it means. I have to ask them to explain.
    The problem is, in every case, when you confront a leftist, you’ll find that their opinions are not based on facts and reason. They are pure irrational emotion, pure bias, unsupported by any reality. When you confront them with this, they get quite upset – which is why the usual retort of a leftist, is to try to insult you. That’s because their world operates outside of facts and reason.
    Listen to the sophistry of Jennifer Lynch. When confronted with facts, she runs. Listen to the sophistry of Obama; he denies reality and rejects dissent (Tea Parties). They are all the same, living in, as Plato said, a Cave, focused only on shadows on the wall.

  23. And what about the by now clear view that the Iranian presidential election was rigged by Ahmandinejad?
    Hot Air has a nice post on this, including the obvious one that the vote count for Mousavi was so low – beyond any reasonable count, and the haste by which the regime has accepted the vote count.
    A key problem is Obama’s acceptance of this vote. As Hot Air points out, this legitimizes that government, and antagonizes the Iranian electorate who wish for justice.
    How long can dictatorships last against the will of the people? That’s a key question in the Middle East.

  24. The rebellion of the neo-Gnostics: AGW.
    *The False Second Reality:
    “Once the glamour of the extreme takes hold on a society, the dearly achieved habitude of established order begins to disintegrate and the false second reality subdues standing judgment.”
    Canada:
    **”No matter if the science of global warming is all phony…
    climate change provides the greatest opportunity to
    bring about justice and equality in the world.”
    – Christine Stewart,
    former Canadian [Liberal] Minister of the Environment”
    ***Australia:
    “Sharon Grierson MP (Labor) in our federal parliament who recently shrieked across the floor of federal parliament during a debate on the ETS “We don’t care about the science!”.”
    *http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/3966
    **http://green-agenda.com/
    ***urlm.in/cpgw

  25. A fascist is just anyone a lib-lefty disagrees with. What is funny about the anti-american comments is how much these same people adore all things American like Obama, Clinton, Hollywood, Professional Sports, Jon Stewart, PBS, etc. The Liberal Party has American keynote speakers at its conventions. Chretien proudly boasts of playing golf with Clinton. Layton wants to be Obama. Yet somehow it is Conservatives who are American?

  26. 1. Covered bridges are covered to shed snow and thus reduce the load and make them easier to traverse. Imagine trying to shovel two feet of snow off of a bridge.
    2. Being called “American” should be worn as a badge of honour. Trying to get our country to be more like the greatest nation on earth is a noble objective. Were canadians inhabiting the united states there would be no cars planes computers satellites and no flags on the surface of the moon. Many Canadians are smug hypocrites when it comes to their opinions of their country.
    It is up to people like the vast majority who visit this site to tune them in and readjust their opinion and understanding of what a huge under-achiever this country is. Being self-assured enough to take being pro-American (the pro-bush, pro Reagan kind) as a compliment is an especially effective way to challenge the largely uncontested bigotry that many canadians have towards the US.
    Remember that this country was created by people who ran away from the singlemost important revolution in world history and a second group that was abandoned by its mother country but still holds out for a reunion with it centuries later rather than acknowledge reality. A society that has been created in such a fashion naturally has to engage in slurs and rhetoric that covers over such folly. While these biases have been long-held they can be relatively easily rebutted and you can slowly change the over all politic of this country if these bigots are dealt with in a firm and polite yet unapologetic manner.
    There is a an expert on how to do this. His name is prime minister Stephen harper.

  28. Further to my prev post,my own sister (who happens to live in Sask)and works in healthcare field has been badly ‘indoctrinated’ by ndp/unionista propoganda.It has been kind of a running joke between my hubby and I..albeit a sad joke..that whenever there is some kind of big political story,I will call to get her take on things.It doesn’t matter what the story is,or which party it relates to..the standard comeback is,’you just need to vote ndp,they are the only ones that are pushing to help healthcare’ I decided to test her knowledge of politics just last week,and she couldn’t tell me the name of ONE current politician!Her response to ‘who is the leader of the Lib party?’..’I think it’s some French guy!’and ‘who is the leader of the ndp?’..the party she is so adamant I vote for?..was,’oh,I don’t know his name..I can see him in my mind,he has a moustache!!!’ This same sister,whom I love dearly BTW,is only capable of repeating crap she hears at Union mtgs.,and reminding me,that as a Union member (mandatory)I should be voting ndp!
    As for ‘Mennonite hair’ ET,I guess living in Steinbach,I was supposed to know what that meant!!!!

  29. Yea Fritz, sadly for them they believe themselves to be the “Tolerant Ones”, and they are so stupid as to not see their intolerance is in hypermode. Liberals remind me of a crazy cow, when tranquilized, a crazy cow will try to ram anything around, their tongue hangs out and they have the slackjaw, droopy head and ears glazed over eyes and just run, attacking in any direction, just like the lefties, madly off in all directions. The bulk of liberals must thank God and their parents for the gift of inheritance, otherwise they would be on the street drooling their drivel.

  30. The NDP may have finally found a tax they don’t like.
    “The Lower Mainland’s health authorities will have to dig more than $4 million a year out of their already stretched budgets to pay B.C.’s carbon tax and offset their carbon footprints.
    Critics say the payments mean the government’s strategy to fight climate change will further exacerbate a crisis in health funding.
    “You have public hospitals cutting services to pay a tax that goes to another 100 per cent government-owned agency,” NDP health critic Adrian Dix said.”
    http://www.bclocalnews.com/surrey_area/surreyleader/news/47823327.html

  33. Thank you ALL for your excellent comments!! Insightful with a deft touch of humour – Mark Steyn would be proud!
    My favourite line of all came from ‘bartinsky’: “The bulk of liberals must thank God and their parents for the gift of inheritance, otherwise they would be on the street drooling their drivel.”

  34. One addendum to the ‘American’ issue:
    America’s motto is “Truth, Justice and the American Way.”
    Canada’s motto is “Peace, Order and Good Government.”
    If you’re sick of being called an ‘American,’ you can always play a round of “who’s the American?” using the above.

  35. I do a lot of work with homeless people and apart from those who have fried their brains on drugs and booze, I am amazed at how politically astute are homeless people. Many are well read and up to date on policy and personnel and can carry on political conversations that put their university trained social workers to shame.

  36. 1. Fiscal Responsibility 2. Law & Order 3. Free Speech.
    Posted by: Robert W. at June 14, 2009 3:57 AM
    I have seen Law & Order lanced on this site. So you must be thinking of some other site.

  37. “Of liberty I would say that, in the whole plenitude of its extent, it is unobstructed action according to our will. But rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add ‘within the limits of the law,’ because law is often but the tyrant’s will, and always so when it violates the right of an individual.”
    — Thomas Jefferson

  38. Hope, fear, and despair, and George Sciaballaabablaab.
    …-
    “What Are Intellectuals Good For? by George Scialabba.”
    “Your conjunction of hope with despair, your indecision about utopia, your resistance to frivolity that occasionally, happily gives way—these are your footsteps. I don’t want to walk a mile in your shoes, but I will always want to read about your travels.”
    “What Is George Scialabba Good For?
    by Mark Oppenheimer”
    http://www.bu.edu/agni/reviews/online/2009/oppenheimer.html

  40. This from the President and CEO of Care Canada in the Chronicle Herald (Halifax)
    “…Millions of years ago, it is theo­rized the first humans to set foot in North America came as a re­sult of climate change.”
    http://thechronicleherald.ca/Letters/9012136.html
    Funny, I thought the first humans to set foot in NA came 14,000 to 16,000 (maybe even 20,000) – but not millions… if our archaeological models could be so “off” what’s one to think about our climate models…? 😉

  42. I was fairly tired last night when I posted that Open Question. Today I recalled another integral part of the conversation, which occurred after I was tarred with “thinking like an American” …
    To my friend who made that comment, and two others listening, I itemized my Top 3 conservative priorities. Yet I received disapproving looks as if Fiscal Responsibility, Law & Order, & Free Speech are somehow bad things to speak out in favour of!
    I was a bit incredulous at this so I focused in on Fiscal Responsibility and provided the example of Canada’s Health Care System. Paraphrasing, here’s what I said, “Were you aware that generally no one in our health care system knows what it costs to perform a given type of operation in a given hospital?” After getting a few “Of course they do” comments I continued:
    “No they don’t. I was once on-air with the past Federal Minister of Health, Ujjal Dosanjh, and he openly admitted that these numbers are not known. I then confirmed this with one of Paul Martin’s senior staffers, who I happen to know personally. So I’m telling you, the numbers are NOT known! Instead, what happens is that billions of dollars are given to each health care unit and the money is spent & spent & spent but there is no accounting system to keep track of what, say, a knee operation costs in one hospital compared with what the same operation costs in another hospital.”
    I looked at the 3 faces now staring at me and there was just a stunned silence. But the thing is, they weren’t aghast or remotely upset at this revelation. So either they thought I had drank too much or was off my meds and was just spouting nonsense -OR- they accepted what I was saying and it just didn’t bother them. I’m 99% sure it was the latter.
    All 3 of the gentleman I was talking with are university educated. One has an MBA. But it bothered them not one whit that the largest chunk of our taxes is spent on a system which has no adequate cost control system in place! Think about that for a second.
    Why is it that every private business in every industry absolutely wants and needs to know how the dollars are being spent but yet this is somehow unimportant and unnecessary for the Canadian health care system?
    If this same scenario were played out with a random sampling of 1,000 Canadians I would bet you that the same results would occur with the vast majority of them. Is it possible that what’s occurring is a cognitive dissonance? Have the supposed perils of that “horrible American style health care system” been so drummed into the heads of Canadians that fear overrides any tangible outrage over reforming an unaccountable, poorly run Canadian health care system?
    I related my frustration with all of this to a Canadian friend of mine who has been working in the U.S. most of his adult life. He responded thusly: “It’s the slow boil lobster effect. As long as you only turn the temperature up slowly, the lobster won’t try to jump out of the pot and won’t fight back. That’s what’s happened to Canadians and is starting to occur with Americans now.” Then he added, “Here, where I work in Seattle, we don’t pay a thing for any health care related issues but we do get a bill summarizing the cost of every doctor’s visit, every operation, every pill we take. Then there’s a deduction for 100% of this cost, which is covered by our company paid insurance. But at least everyone is shown in black & white that it’s not ‘free’.
    I think the solution in Canada is two-fold:
    1) Provide similar billing statements to every patient.
    2) The Conservatives should absolutely stop ‘withholding taxes’ being taken throughout the year, suffer the political hit and loss of interest revenue, and instead force every Canadian to pay their taxes in full, at once come tax time.
    These two initiatives would breed a whole new generation of conservative minded citizens.”
    His first idea I had been advocating long ago. But the second one I had never considered, perhaps because I’ve been working for myself for so long now that it is par for the course.
    Anyhow, I think his ideas are actually quite brilliant and would be immediately adopted by a REAL conservative party. But the Conservative Party we have now is afraid to even resolve our Free Speech problems. How likely would it be to do what my friend is recommending?
    What say you?

  43. If there were ever a contest for Least Coherent Faux-Iranian Citizen, I think I know who would win …
    Re: “A fascist is just anyone a lib-lefty disagrees with”
    Fascism is a distinct political system, ostensibly one with private enterprise and government direction, but in reality just another creepy form of socialism. However, lib-lefties often denounce anyone they disagree with as “fascist”, no matter what the opponent’s real views. We all know that the major lib-left argument is “shut up”.

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