By Jason Menard
Like so many times before, the death of mainstream media has been greatly exaggerated. But if anything has died as a result of the questionable coverage of the Boston terrorist bombings and subsequent manhunt, hopefully it’s the prevalence of jumping the gun when reporting potential smoking guns.
And that’s something for which both traditional and social media are guilty. Continue reading
By Jason Menard
In the interest of informing its citizens, It may not only be time for London’s municipal government to join the party — but it may also be time for potential ‘guests’ to send in their 2014 RSVPs early.
Though I’m generally opposed to party politics, I’m not so naive to think that there aren’t like-minded councillors representing wards in municipalities across the country. So maybe it’s time to ‘out’ the factions at the beginning of the process and afford London’s citizens the respect they deserve by giving them the information they need.
It can be argued that the municipal level has the most day-to-day impact on our lives; yet it’s also the level of government that many know least about. Being up front and honest about pre-existing affiliations at the municipal level would help citizens make a more informed decision. It would behoove citizens to know not only who’s drinking which flavour of Kool-Aid, but — more importantly — who may be spiking the punch bowl with potentially biased information. Continue reading
By Jason Menard
The band War may have asked “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” And while psychology and biology may have some answers, for our personal and societal growth, I’d rather take my inspiration from another group of musical philosophers: Paula Abdul and M.C. Skat Kat who once famously expounded all the wonderful reasons why “opposites attract.” Continue reading
By Jason Menard
A creative solution to save a piece of our history; a small group of dedicated activists rallying the greater community to act — the survival of the African Methodist Episcopal Church is a feel-good story for the ages, right?
Yes and no.
A feel-good story it may be, but it’s one that masks years of neglect and apathy. Continue reading
By Jason Menard
To paraphrase the sage Uncle Ben, with great blogging comes great responsibility — and, for me, that responsibility is first and foremost to allow reader comments.
However, I believe there is a caveat: allowing reader comments does not equal allowing ALL reader comments.
I believe that if you’re going to publish a blog in a public forum — sharing your thoughts, opinions, and ideas with the world — then you have a moral obligation to allow readers to reply. To not do so, in my opinion, betrays a touch of arrogance combined with a heaping helping of missed opportunity. Continue reading
The M-Dash by Jason Menard 