Solidarity forever.

 This video displays excellently why the time for organized labor and their sense of entitlement is past.

 Leave it to idiot unions to strike during a recession and to do no holds barred negotiations with companies going bankrupt. Enjoying those auto layoffs fools?

From the appearance of that gal, I would say she clearly is not lacking in a food budget and has not been overworked in any physical way. What exactly are they striking for anyway?

Idiocy wins.

 

 Well, Druh Farrell was quite petulant and perturbed about having her senseless plan to close a portion of Memorial Drive for pedestrian use brought up for discussion in city hall. How dare the electorate question the notions of Druh?? How dare people want discourse on issues that we pay for???

 Well, despite five aldermen showing common sense and opposing what has to be one of the silliest notions ever to come from city hall, the motion to end this lunacy failed.

 The discussion in city hall was nauseating on this one. NDP Bob Hawkesworth actually wrote a sad little poem showing the offense he has taken with democratic exercise. Gord Lowe went even farther and chided the entire room. There seems to be nothing that these overpaid stooges get more worked up about than open discussion of policies. How dare the public try to express their views??

One columnist at the Sun wrote a poem in response:

Dave Breakenridge

We bring you editorial verse,

Because Ald. Hawkesworth

wrote one that was worse,

about an asinine lark

to make a roadway a park,

that’s sure to make all drivers curse.

There once was a council in tatters,

that gave in to ridiculous chatter

to shut down a road,

common sense was KO’ed

by people who think only they matter.

Brought forward by a member named Druh,

who with her presumptuous crew,

shot down all good reason and made driving treason,

no matter how angry we grew.

Then the jester stepped up from his chair

and proceeded to bellow hot air.

He poked fun at the press

and made discourse a mess

But his limerick was too much to bear.

Opposition was soundly defeated

Ridicule with which they were greeted,

called them all petty,

with the brains of a yeti,

while the victors look simply conceited.

Calgarians do like to party.

When it comes to the outdoors,

we’re hearty.

But this plan seems absurd,

the worst many have heard.

Why not move it and compromise partly?

So we’re left with a council divided,

just because a few members decided

that what all of us need

is for them to take the lead,

but it’s they who deserve to be chided.

Please bring back municipal sense

and do away with ideas so dense

And while we’re at it,

the sniping

and political griping

that comes at great civic expense.  

 

  Despite nearly universal opposition to this lunacy shown by Calgarians, city council has marched on and forced this idiotic road closure down our throats.

 Thankfully, while Druh initially wanted to make these closures a regular thing, it has been pared down to a one day test run.

 In August we will see one of two outcomes. The weather will be poor and we will see traffic backed up for miles while belching exhaust due to the road closure or the weather will be sweltering and we will see traffic backed up for miles while belching exhaust due to the road closure.

 In both of the above scenarios, we can rest assured that the closed lanes of Memorial Drive will be empty. Nobody will be out in the pouring rain nor will people choose blistering pavement over a river path right next to them.

 Aldermanic clown Brian Pincott will now no doubt feel inspired to push further with his notion of spending $250,000 in taxes per year in order to hire an official city poet.

 We have little more than a year left to endure this crop of idiots in city hall. They very well may do some terrible damage in that time, but there is hope. Think of how much better this city will be when the self-entitled parasites Druh Farrell, Bob Hawkesworth, Brian Pincott, and Gord Lowe are gone. Losing the organ grinder Bronco would be nice too.

Why, why, why?

 I just finished listening to a frustrating and circular interview of Lindsay Blackett on an Albertan radio show. While Blackett should be commended for being willing to respond to callers (most PC guests refuse to), he really did not have much of worth to say.

 The subject was the contentious Bill 44 that is going before the legislature. Some months ago Blackett mused about the need to reform Alberta’s human rights act as section 3 was leading to infringements on free speech. Blackett was applauded by supporters of free speech and no opposition to this reform was heard.

 Finally the day arrived when Lindsay Blackett presented the bill to reform the act and it looks like pretty much nobody was prepared for the idiocy contained within the bill. While the free speech amendments appeared roundly popular, Blackett was compelled to drop that aspect of reform. Protection of free speech is not a priority for the Stelmach Progressives. Alberta can look forward to more attacks on the press and individuals in the future by people claiming hurt feelings. Press can continue to feel the chill and activists can continue to abuse our tax funded human rights commissions in order to stifle contrary opinions.

 I can understand why Special Ed Stelmach would like to curb free speech. Stelmach has been known to bully student bloggers who have dared mock him with legal threats. I am sure that Chairman Ed would like to expand his powers to suppress speech made by Albertans that he does not approve of. This move was sad but not surprising from a government that has little respect for democracy and discourse.

 What is really odd with Blackett’s bill was the inclusion of parental rights regarding education. The hornet’s nest has been poked and opposition to this addition is coming from all directions whether teachers groups or civil libertarians. Fears of people taking teachers to the human rights commission over the teaching of evolution and other such examples are abounding. Alberta’s unfair reputation as being backwards or redneck is only getting more deeply entrenched now.

 Getting back to the “why” of this. On the radio, Blackett kept downplaying the potential impact of this bill by pointing out that the Alberta School act already allows parents to remove their children from school if they feel the subject matter clashes with their religion. Uhh, OK. In that case, why do we need this added to the bill? The host kept asking and Blackett kept dodging. Blackett than pointed out that while there are over 2000 schools in Alberta, only 50 some people actually opted their kids out of any classes. Uhhhh OK. In that case why do we need this? Clearly it is a tiny minority that really even care on this issue. The host persisted on the why aspect and Blackett got increasingly flustered. The reason Blackett was flustered was that he really has no answer to the question of why we need this addition to our legislation.

 Stubbornly our PCs push on, enduring heaps of abuse and having our province labelled as being populated by bumpkins (considering the bumpkin nature of our premier, we really did not need more of this).

 From record deficits to needless controversy over unnecessary legislation, the Progressive Conservative government of Alberta is proving itself to be completely incompetent. To those who have been claiming for the last 8 years or so that the PCs can be reformed from within, give your heads a shake. The PC party is hopelessly inept.

A fundraising idea for the city of Calgary.

 

 Well, our Aldermen are bound and determined to spend like mad and are scrambling to keep up through tax increases and user fee increases. Parking is getting exceedingly expensive everywhere and we are getting nickled and dimed to death on home service charges.

 While the city is more than happy to have cash-cow style speed-on-green cameras installed all over the city, one area of law enforcement and money generation has been ignored by city hall.

CRACK DOWN ON JAYWALKERS!

 Anybody who has had the misfortune of driving downtown on weekdays knows exactly what I am ranting about. Massive congestion is caused as a flood of lenming-like pedestrians floods through a crosswalk and never stops until the light has completely changed. Instead of having a 1/2 dozen or more vehicles turn as the traffic light system is designed to allow, we see that perhaps one or two vehicles manage to make the turn at all per light.

 Our council is always claiming to be “green”. Well, how much extra-idling of vehicles is being caused by jaywalkers? If everybody obeyed the signals, we would see a great reduction of the time required for a vehicle to get through downtown. That means less emissions does it not?

 Instead of unenforcable anti-idling bylaws or notions of banning drivethroughs, why won’t city council work a little using laws that are already on the books?

 Jaywalking is illegal and we already have bylaw officers who can write tickets for it. All that needs to be done is to have these officers stand on streetcorners and begin writing. Rest assured, tickets will be issued as fast as they can be written. How long would it take before we see a reduction in jaywalkers? Not too terribly long I say. Nobody likes paying fines. The city does the occasional one or two day crackdown on jaywalking but those initiatives are rare and advertised. We need enforcement on this at all times. Emissions would be reduced, road-rage would be reduced and more money would flow into the city’s coffers. It is win win win.

 To add to that, it would be nice to see some enforcement in areas around high schools as well. While school zones are in place around elementary and junior high schools, I see the most irresponsible pedestrian behaviour being carried out by high school students. When the buzzer goes off, the streets are flooded with oblivious kids wearing their ipods or simply arrogantly blocking cars for kicks.

 While the risk to their personal health does not seem to disuade high school kids from walking in the middle of streets, perhaps giving the little darlings some tickets for jaywalking to take home may motivate them to abide by the basic rules of traffic safety.

 Perhaps enforcing current laws is just too simple for a city council that is too focused on overpriced bridges and closing major streets.