A small pay discrepancy between men's and women's salaries for the same job may seem inconsequential. But over the years, salary discrimination adds up to a significantly smaller pension.

Statistics do not convey emotion. They shock us for a minute or two, and then we click again.

Investment in early education is not a Liberal or Conservative idea. Nor should it be decided along party lines.

I confess to feeling continued ambivalence about political life, aware of its shortcomings and disappointments, but drawn back to it again and again because of its infinite promise. Justice can triumph, wrongs can be righted, and pain can be alleviated, if the right fix is found. The optimistic illusion that one can change the world is difficult to resist, especially when from time to time that illusion is sustained by even a hint of reality. Change does happen in the political process.

To be political means to speak out, to risk being called 'catty', or worse. I don't hear men worrying about whether they may be right or not. They enjoy the fight, whether it is with words or fists. Women still tend to shy away from controversy, to be uncomfortable with competition.

A skilled worker, regardless of the job description, remains a treasure.

It is the future, of course, which politicians grapple with, and that is why politics is so disorderly. Only history clears away some of the debris.