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  • Lessons from the Dogs
    • Lessons from the Dogs

      Today warmed up to a balmy -18 C with the wind here in Ottawa so I got to go to the dog park with our two Miniature Schnauzers, Sadie and Clyde. They were so excited to get out of the house and the walk got rid of their restlessness. (You an only bark at squirrels for so long.)
      The walk was good for me too. I took my time to watch how excited Sadie and Clyde were to be out. By watching the dogs[…]

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  • First You Need to Know Where to Look
    • First You Need to Know Where to Look

      Many of the departments of the Canadian government conduct public opinion polling on a regular basis. This could be done to determine the effectiveness of a particular advertising campaign, as part of program evaluation or to gauge citizen’s views on potential future policies.

      For anyone who’s business is affected by government policy or regulation, (and that’s most businesses these days),[…]

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  • Do Your Homework!
    • Do Your Homework!

      With the return of classes I am sure a number of you will need to frequently use the line “Do Your Homework!” in order to ensure that all of the students in your family will succeed.

      Ah yes, the dreaded struggle that students face with the beginning of the school year. It can seem overwhelming that you would have to do work at home as well as in the classroom. “Haven’t we spent enough time on[…]

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  • 3 Small Words
    • 3 Small Words

      Oh I am sure by now you will have read more than enough analysis of “what went wrong with Tim Hudak and the Ontario PC’s?” I am also sure that there will be a steady stream still to come as we begin the leadership process. Here’s one more, but I just want to talk about 3 small words. They may be small but they would have made a significant difference.

      There has been a lot of comparison between the[…]

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  • Enough about Senate Scandals already!! Let’s not forget Robocalls!
    • Enough about Senate Scandals already!!  Let’s not  forget Robocalls!

      We have recently been overwhelmed by story after story about the plague of the recent Senate spending scandals with even more to come I am sure. Oh sure this makes for a good read as we see where every penny our taxpayer money gets spent in some questionable manner.  But really, we need to get past this and look deeper into a more ominous and potentially costly (politically and financially) scandal[…]

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  • The Theatre is now closed…Time to get to work
    • The Theatre is now closed…Time to get to work

      Every summer we get a barrage of news stories, editorials and cartoons about Parliament taking its summer break. They all bray on about how politicians get the entire summer off and they should be working harder for our tax dollars.

      The reality is quite the opposite.  The only thing that is closed is the theatre of Parliament and the media circus that comes with it.

      Question Period is such theatre[…]

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  • Welcome
    • Welcome to the blog of James F Miller.

      It’s all about questions. I am the type of person who likes to ask millions of questions. It’s the way I learn. I’ve always asked a lot of questions. Questions allow you to get answers, think about: what you are doing, where you are going or whether it all makes sense. I find questioning things as the way to enable learning.
      I have followed my own two[…]

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  • Starbucks “The Way I See It # 26”
    • Starbucks “The Way I See It # 26”

      (My Starbucks moment)

      I should pay more attention to the side of my coffee cup. No, not because of the warning “The drink you are about to enjoy is extremely hot” but for the great message it sometimes provides. I feel that I have read and re-read one particular Starbucks “The Way I See It” quote many times and finally decided I needed to take action on it.

      Starbucks “The Way I See[…]

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  • The Colours of Politics (or My Orange Tie)
    • The Colours of Politics (or My Orange Tie)

      Politics has become increasingly more partisan over the last decade.  There used to be a time when members of opposing parties could get together for a drink or two to share ideas and debate the issues of the day.  They might not always agree and often heated but friendly discussion would come from these disagreements.  Oh yes, the theatre of Question Period required them to make animated speeches[…]

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