Free Republic

Why does the Elections Canada Web site deem it necessary to offer a feature that breaks down each riding's candidates by gender? (They throw in a couple stick figures, one wearing a skirt, one wearing pants, just in case we're truly confused.) For one thing, even the weakest-minded of us should be able to figure out for ourselves whether a candidate has two X chromosomes or not. First, there's the candidate's name as a clue. And if that's not good enough ("Lee"s and "Leslie"s can be confusing), we can conduct further investigation ... like doing a two-second Google search. Second,...

Jayson Blair, the disgraced New York Times reporter caught plagiarizing and fabricating numerous stories and quotes for the famous paper, recently gave his first post-scandal interview. In a discussion with the New York Observer, Blair explained his bad behavior at the Times and gave some insight into his personal and professional motivations. He also managed, over the course of the interview, to display an amazing public relations acumen that lends itself, quite naturally, to a series of helpful public relations tips, which are sure to come in handy the next time you find yourself caught in a sticky situation or...

Voltaire is believed to have said, “I may disagree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” While not necessarily accurately attributed to Voltaire, this passionate defense of the freedom of speech has been repeated again and again over the years for the eloquent way in which it captures the sheer necessity of ensuring everyone’s right to speak out, no matter how absurd or wrong they are, in order to maintain a free society. In the United States, citizens’ freedom of speech is guaranteed by the First Amendment, which states,...