In my latest Loonie Politics column I say the federal Liberals no longer even see the need to hide the fact that they created a friendly panel to advise them on which of their friends should tell them which friendly newspapers to subsidize.

“men who are called practical; and the much more practical pertinacity of the man who is called theoretical.”

G.K. Chesterton, Saint Thomas Aquinas: “The Dumb Ox”

In my latest National Post column I challenge those prone to declaring policy debates “settled” to tell us on which subjects, if any, an intelligent, decent person might have a different view from theirs.

“Yes, he [Santayana] is urging us to remember our mistakes so that we do not repeat them. But he wants us to remember, as well, our glories. To forget our mistakes is bad. But to forget our successes may be worse.”

Neil Postman Building a Bridge to the 18th Century

“I do not think that we can hope to understand the problems and policies of our own day if we do not know the problems and policies out of which they grew.”

Lionel Robbins The Theory of Economic Policy in English Classical Political Economy