I wish I was surprised.

An ideologue may be defined as a mad intellectual. He is not interested in ideas, but—almost the exact contrary—in one idea. When he erects this idea into a system and forces the system to give birth to a way of life, confusion often results, usually to his great surprise [. . .] The intellectual is occasionally blamed for the work of the ideologue, which is like condemning the psychiatrist because he and the patient are both involved in the same thing, mental illness. The ideologue is often brilliant. Consequently some of us distrust brilliance when we should distrust the ideologue [...] The ideologue is often more persuasive than the intellectual because he has a simpler line of goods to sell and never questions its value. Sometimes he achieves great success by attacking the real intellectual.

- Clifton Fadiman


In "other news", see CFS' latest press release issued just prior to Bob Rae announcing his candidancy for the liberal leadership:

Media Advisory - Students say: "Bob Rae is a disaster for affordable, public education in Canada"
TORONTO, April 24 /CNW/ - Ontario students warn that if Bob Rae is successful in his federal Liberal leadership bid, tuition fee increases, massive student debt, and privatisation are in store for students studying at Canada's colleges and universities.

"A Bob Rae federal government would be terrible news for Canadian students and their families," said Jesse Greener, Ontario Chairperson for the Canadian Federation of Students, pointing to Bob Rae's track record as a staunch advocate for increases in tuition fees and student debt. "Rae's name is synonymous with bad public policy."

"As Ontario Premier, Bob Rae ushered in a decade of unprecedented tuition fee increases that out-paced the rate of inflation more than five times over," said Greener. "Rae increased tuition fees every year he was in office, even twice in the same year."

As Premier, Rae also eliminated Ontario's system of need-based grants, making it the only jurisdiction in North America and Europe without government grants for low-income students. During the following ten years, Ontario's students had to rely on loans as their only means of financial aid. As a result, average student debt for a four-year program tripled to over $25,000.

"Ontarians rejected Rae's elitist vision for higher education by dumping him after only one term," said Greener. "Liberal Party members should follow that example and stop him in his tracks."

Last year, Rae was commissioned by the Ontario government to review post-secondary education. His Review fell into controversy from the outset when Rae made public statements indicating his desire to see unregulated tuition fee increases before even beginning his consultation. "Rae had one conclusion on his mind, so it was no surprise that he ignored student and community input and recommended his own conclusions," said Greener. "Rae was the architect of 20% tuition fee increases recently announced by the McGuinty Government."

"Given that over 80% of Canadians think that tuition fees are already too high, it is clear that Mr. Rae's approach to higher education is still out of touch with the vast majority of voters," said Greener. "Rae's abysmal record leaves no hope for his future as a federal leader. At a time when access to post-secondary education is a crucial driver of the economy, Bob Rae-style leadership would be a disaster."

The Canadian Federation of Students, Canada's national student organisation, unites more than 500,000 college and university students from coast to coast, and over 250,000 in Ontario.

-30-

/For further information: Jesse Greener, Ontario Chairperson at (416) 925-3825 or (416) 301-5747 (cell); Joel Duff, Ontario Organiser at (416) 925-3825 or (416) 707-0349 (cell)/