Keepin’ it irrational: The first six months

Let's start with the inaccurate assumption that Jason Kenney and the UCP government are making rational decisions - evidence suggests otherwise. 

Do your own fact checking in five steps

...there are a few simple things you can do – call it personal due diligence – before posting information on your own channels

UPDATE: We ALMOST gave a conspiracy theorist a platform

It’s a cautionary tale for any volunteer-run, non-profit organization. The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) is a respected association of professional communicators that has been around since 1970. Which is why I was shocked to learn that an upcoming professional development conference in Banff on October 27th featured Vivian Krause as the opening day …

How about we not give conspiracy theorists a platform?

In early September, I was going through my email inbox reading and deleting the crazy amount of newsletters I’ve subscribed to (note to self: stop subscribing to so many) when a familiar name popped out from my screen.   Vivian Krause, lobbyist, writer and researcher in Canada (and Alberta) is known for her association with …

The Day After: Reflections on International Women’s Day

Another International Women’s Day has come and gone and along with it another round of clever hashtags, hopeful social media posts and frankly, hollow pledges of support. We’ve been through it before. Some of us have been through it more times than others and after a while, there’s a certain fuming cynicism that sets in. …

Why Trudeau’s reversal on electoral reform is so risky

This past week, Canada’s prime minister announced an about-face on a major campaign promise -- electoral reform. Sadly, he barely blinked as he explained his reasons for betraying voters. Meanwhile, the world was spellbound as President Donald Trump proceeded to honour his campaign promises…one-by-one. Such is the sad, confused state of democracy in North America …

Everyday sexism is the toughest battle, but one worth fighting

Women should not be denied representation, sold into slavery or prevented from voting simply because of their gender. These are examples of issues involving basic human rights that most of us would not dream of challenging. There is a Universal Declaration of Human Rights to settle most of these fundamental questions. This, of course, does not …

Redux: Inspiring a disillusioned electorate

This is a repost of another blog entry written in the context of the provincial election. I'm revising it slightly in light of the Municipal Election happening now in Alberta. See the original post here. If there's one thing that unites most, if not all politicians, it's the ongoing bafflement about how to motivate an …

Fools rushing in? Legislating social media without understanding it first

The Texas Tribune is reporting today that legislators in the state have  introduced a "bevy of bills" relating to social media. According to the article, the bills stem from "concern about privacy and safety." Most of the proposed bills sound like steps in the right direction, but legislators need to tread carefully here. Social media is …

POLL of Calgary-Centre websites: Give feedback to candidates on their websites

UPDATED NOVEMBER 11, 2012: I'm a little late adding NDP candidate Dan Meades to this poll! I don't know about you, but I am pretty tired of candidates who don't listen to their constituents or respond to their requests for information. It seems that politicians want to get elected by telling you as little as …