Author Archives: Cory Morgan

Dogs are evil!!!!!

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 Let’s see now; you have done everything you thought possible to be “green”. You have slogged your way back on foot from the organic market with overpriced, wormy and shrivelled, fair-trade produce to feed your vegan diet. You suffer frostbite during these trips as the organic hemp-wear outfit you have allowed yourself the luxury of is not quite as insulating as you would like and the global warming that you were confident would arrive has not appeared for some reason. At least you will have the smug satisfaction of being green as you apply organic, locally-grown bandages to that peeling skin, you have not frivolously used a carbon belching, combustion-driven machine to get to the trough.

 You shiver at night while trying to read the dog-eared, second hand book that you borrowed as you refuse to turn the heat past 10 degrees. Again that hemp-quilt seems a little inadequate. Your eyes are strained as you try to define the print under the weak light of a $50 special green LED light as conventional illumination is indeed the work of Satan. Hey, even if you go blind it is OK; you have been wearing those little round John Lennon style glasses for effect for years now. Finally you will be able to justify a prescription for them.

 You dedicate an hour a day in summer to hand weeding your lawn as you fear the allegations of environmental effects of herbicide. Sure no study has proven such ill-effects but hey, we must be green right? Keeping up is difficult as the nearby city property is a sea of yellow due to Pincott and Farrell having been successful in banning city use of such chemicals. Your day is rather crunched though as what used to be a 10 minute drive to work is now a one-hour, hair-raising bicycle ride or even longer walk as you have eschewed the evils of motorized transport.

 You grow a herb-garden in the back yard in a futile attempt to add flavor to your rather bland and lifeless vegan diet of unpronouncable beanish things. You have fertilized the garden with a mixture of regular compost mixed with your own feces in hopes of saving our waterways. You recycle every conceivable thing despite reports that we really don’t actually have efficient means to recycle them. Who cares about reality? You need a distraction from the self-loathing that you endure in having been born a natural enemy of the earth. A distraction from the itch and burn in the nether regions due to the use of single-ply, recycled, organic toilet paper (only one sheet per poop as Sheryl Crow told you) is nice as well.

 You do it all. On your weekends you attend any rally opposing pretty much everything that you can find. You don’t quite understand what globalism is but dammit you are strongly opposed to it. Your compatriots are smashing windows at these rallies, assaulting police officers and wearing designer shoes that were made in third-world nations by child labor. That’s OK, you are confident that their facial piercings must be organic at least. It does not seem to make sense to you but those who lead you tell you this is worthwhile in saving dear Gaea. You do what the herd does as you revel in your perception of individuality.

 You have allowed yourself to indulge in one pleasure in life. It does feel wrong but you can’t help yourself. With 23 hours per day dedicated to self-sacrifice in the name of mother-earth you need one hour of pleasure.

 Yes, you have adopted a dog. With days filled with guilt and self-hatred, the unquestioning love that is displayed in your furry friend’s eyes give a break from stress and restraint that is unparalleled. The dog does not get on your case for having eaten meat in your youth. The dog does not harp on you for having eaten that Nestle chocolate bar in a moment of weakness in 2002. The dog does not even complain about the meat-locker style cold that you live within. The dog is always overjoyed to see you as you experience joy in seeing it. The dog never complains of the scent you emit due to a refusal to use detergent-laden soap or deodorants that may offend the environmentally sensitive. The dog does not want to talk about the plight of the albino, Equadorian sea-slug nor the endangered booger-lichen of the Northern Andes.

 This little indulgence can’t hurt can it?

 ALAS!!! YOUR ECO-LEADERS HAVE DETERMINED THAT DOGS ARE KILLING MOTHER EARTH!!!!

Sadly and unsurprisingly, some eco-driven scientists in New Zealand have determined that owning a dog is actually twice as bad as driving an SUV. The dog consumes food that could feed children in the third-world and his farts are eating our ozone. Cats are evil as well by the way and these nuts have even found that owning goldfish is the equivalent of using two portable phones.

 Your dog ownership has completely countered the sacrifice and misery that you have endured in your adult life. Those fawning brown eyes were simply there to distract you from the reality that your pooch was put on this earth (like yourself) simply to ruin it. You collapse on the floor in despair. Sadly, no neighbors hear the collapse as your malnourished vegan body creates nary a flop. Gluten-free, vegan, organic, fluoride-free tears become free-range as they flow from your sunken-eyes.

 Ohhh woe is you. How many acres of Brazilian rainforest are you now directly responsible for the destruction of? How many hairs have fallen from the arses of how many polar bears due you your selfishness? Will a new hole in the ozone be named for you? Why didn’t you just enjoy a little bacon now and then? Questions. Self-doubt is now mixed with your self-loathing. Your high-horse has vanished. You are no better than those neighbors with the sports car that you sneered at. Perhaps you are worse. You should have known better.

Exposed for what He is, your supposed best friend approaches and offers you what humans have offered His species for a century when it is found (by somebodies definition) that you no longer serve a beneficial purpose to the planet.

 All I can say is that I hope a degree of reality has kicked in by now you trendy, eco-kook.

 Oh and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

If you feel like making your eyes bleed for some reason….

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 May I suggest that you read some of the wisdom provided within the forums and articles at rabble.ca.  

 Rabble has been around for some years now as a haven for elements of Canada’s extreme left wing. The site initially enjoyed government subsidies and actually offered tax-receipts to donors. After having been exposed the site lost such benefits in embarrassment but sadly still does exist. Despite their constant pleas for funding in the past (and demands for tax dollars) it is obvious that an online discussion site does not require multiple full time staff members (as rabble used to have).

 Either way, I do pop in there now and then when I am seeking a distraction. Reading the rabblers tying themselves into knots while discussing ways to save the world without ever offending anybody in any sort of way is entertaining in a dark-comedy sort of way. The infighting on their threads is worthy of a chuckle for the political voyeur as well as one tries to out-extreme the other in their self-styled political correctness. It does appear that the only thing that these people can really unite upon is their deep seated loathing for individual success on any level.

 Going through their labor threads, feminism threads etc. etc. one constantly sees calls for the boycotting of this and that. It must be incredibly difficult to be an extreme left wing consumer in this day and age. The obvious purveyors of evil such as Wal-Mart go without saying in demanding boycotts of course. It is the ever growing list of other companies that is laughable.

 I see they hate American Apparel stores. Now American Apparel prides itself on purchasing and selling only domestic-made products and refusing to exploit third world labor. Isn’t that what the left has self-righteously been demanding of all businesses? Well aside from the clear American involvement (lefties hate all things American of course), it turns out that American Apparel may be guilty of refusing to hire enough ugly people. Yup, I am not kidding. I saw the term “lookism” for the first time in my life on rabble and nearly choked on my coffee (no it is not free trade or organic). Wow. Now what should be done? Shall there be quotas set for a level of ugliness among the employees? Perhaps a union of the esthetically challenged should be formed (I would hate to attend their rallies). What happens if an ugly person evolves into a good looking person through change of diet or something? Should this neo-attractive person resign any management positions? Decisions decisions.

 How about the Body Shop. They sell products that are natural, hypo-allergenic, fair-trade, yadda yadda yadda and have openly refused to sell anything that has been tested on animals. They are OK right? WRONG! The Body Shop is evil as somewhere in their corporate structure a subsidiary of another company that crossed paths with some corporate soul has made a many times removed connection to the evil empire of Nestle incorporated. Nestle is on the evil list for selling baby formula thus people MUST NOT shop at the Body Shop. This is of a limited dilemma to people on the fringe of the left anyhow since personal hygene has never really been a priority in their subculture. They can still roll in organic dust or something in order to get clean. Any other body aromas may be covered with copious application of pitchouli oil (as I have discovered at left-wing rallies to my dismay).

 No petroleum companies are good nor automotive. We are supposed to walk or bike wherever we go of course. Well what is a good place for walking and hiking apparel? Mountain Equipment Coop comes to mind of course. They are a coop thus are not evil capitalists, they purchase fair-trade and all that crap so why not? Well it appears that MEC is going too far into the bicycle market and they have displaced some small bike retailers thus they rallying cry has been sent; BOYCOTT MEC!!!! Yup, MEC got to that point where they could be considered successful thus they are now not worthy of the patronage of pompous lefties. Only free-range bicycles handcrafted by some local tinker are now socially acceptable.

 Where is that magic line where a company goes from a nice little outfit to a corporate demon anyway? Starbucks is a prime example of this evolution. Starbucks began as a snotty little outfit that justified overcharging for coffee by going out of their way to purchase politically correct everything. Lefties could gather and share their pretension guilt-free and drink coffee that was saving the world somehow. Alas, the model was too good and Starbucks is now yet another evil corporate empire worthy of loathing and boycott by the left. Sigh….

 Tim Hortons is out too by the way. They have some American ownership and they cause too much pollution. They make a profit too which is of course immediate grounds for boycott.

 The great thing with left-wing boycotts is that they are completely ineffective anyway. You see, the majority of those who are calling for these boycotts are students or graduates with liberal-arts degrees (waiters/waitresses) who really have utterly no economic clout anyway. Sure there are champagne socialists such as Maude Barlow and David Suzuki who make immense money on the left. These folks purchase their stuff from high end specialty shops that are not part of these boycotts anyway.

 The pains in attempted political correctness are fun to watch with them too. It is quite a lexicon that the left must keep up upon in order to avoid offending anybody. Crippled went to handicapped went to special which went to disabled which went to differently abled which went too…..  bah I  don’t know. The term used makes no difference, it is the respect that a person displays towards people within that identifiable group. Smug fools who feel changing the term used changes the reality are living in the wrong world.

 The feminism forum is an entertaining read. The embittered gals who fire their venom at everything even conceivably male is almost frightening in it’s profound hypocrisy and hatred. It must be nice to plant every personal shortcoming one endures directly on the feet of another gender. Much better to blame men for everything rather than to better one’s self. The feminists hate exploitation of women thus harped on pretty strongly against prostitution. Alas, some women who have chosen prostitution spoke up and a conundrum regarding choice arose. The battle was legendary. The solution was to make an entirely new forum catering to issues with sex-trade workers and the feminists stick to their own. The growth in side forums at the site is interesting to say the least.

 The reviews of the movie Avatar are interesting. Apparently the movie is racist, it is anti-disabled and is pretty much evil in general. What their issue really is of course is that the movie is popular and successful. Those are two qualities that the left oppose at every opportunity.

 It must be stressful and tough living in such a world where one has to constantly tiptoe and live in a politically correct world. One needs to embrace a complete disconnect with economic and pretty much general reality in order to do so. Rabble contains those willing to pursue that disconnect. Thankfully these folks are a tiny but vocal minority among us.

 We see the extremes highlighted on the right on a regular basis. The extremists on the left are often overlooked. There is little to be gained in reading rabble aside from a distraction. I do feel that people should pop in there now and then though if only to remind themselves that such lunatics do exist out there.

Holy Crap!! I’m mortal!!

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 Yeah I know, for most people that conclusion about themselves is pretty much a no-brainer. Of course, I was always aware that I was indeed going to pass on to the great beyond eventually. I took an assumption that the passing would not happen until well past my retirement. I have taken my health for granted through heavy smoking, poor diet and sending a little too much single-malt towards my liver since my adulthood. To be fair to myself (though it does not justify my poor living), I have been in excellent physical condition due to genetic luck and regular exercise. I had not seen a doctor in well over a decade as I had not had a single symptom of anything that demanded that I do so.

 Well in the last few weeks I have seen more clinics and doctors than I had seen in my entire life. I will back up a bit and explain here.

 A couple months ago I headed to Southern New York to work on an exploration program (Stelmach has assured that there are few to none in Alberta). Within a few days of my arrival, I noticed for the first time a small, hard lump under my jaw. I saw little of concern at the time but did decide to keep an eye on it. The lump continued to grow over the next few weeks and I did begin to become concerned. As I was indeed still considered immortal on my leaving Canada, I had never even considered purchasing any extended health coverage for being out of country. I had reached a point of concern where I was resigned to see a doctor but was willing to wait a couple weeks until I returned to Canada and coverage. Needless to say that last couple weeks in New York was rather stressful and I wisely compounded the stress by researching the many many things that such a lump could be. The internet can indeed be a cruel tool for a new and budding hypochondriac. I had convinced myself of the possibility that I had dozens of potentially fatal conditions by the time I boarded the plane home.

 OK, so I finally got my butt to a doctor and had this thing looked at. I still tried to convince myself that I was simply being paranoid and so indeed did my doctor until he examined the lump. On the bright side, my web based research led to an accurate self-diagnosis. With a hard and attached mass growing in that location it was looking pretty likely that I had a submandibular tumor. I was promptly set up for some blood work and an ultrasound of the area. The ultrasound confirmed a tumor due to the density and location. Now we needed to seek the cause and nature of this thing. The term that the radiologist used for my next step was “expedited biopsy”. Did I mention that I rarely even  get colds?

 OK, moving on a few more days I am nervously in the treatment room of a specialist who is doing my biopsy. The good doctor did a thorough head and neck examination before beginning. In doing so, he determined that my thyroid is enlarged and suggested that I get blood work and an ultrasound to find out the cause of that. The biopsy was performed and I was sent on my less than merry way to await the results.

 I went in a couple months from a carefree guy with no health issues to a person who couldn’t seem to visit a doctor without them finding something else wrong with me. I was rather dejected and went to bed that evening fully expecting that I would awaken to find that my testicles had simply fallen off during the night. I had enjoyed figurative emasculation in my last marriage, I figured that the literal one was well on it’s way.

 My knackers did indeed remain with me I am happy to report. I did have to sleep a few more times before finding out the results of my biopsy however. If a person ever wants to truly slow time for themselves, I must say that nothing has made a clock move more slowly for me than to await the results of my biopsy. My high school French teacher could not even rival such time-slowing abilities.

 Now for some good news. The biopsy determined no cancerous cells in my tumour. Since then, the blood work has found that there appears to be nothing wrong with my thyroid though the ultrasound did find slight enlargement. For the time being, we are leaving things alone and seeing how they progress. While it is likely that I will still have to go in and have this thing removed from my jaw, it is not immediately critical. As we are going to be together for some time, I have decided to name my tumour Ed. The name reflects a problem that needs to be rectified but that I am forced to live with until the opportunity for removal presents itself.

 Now, that long and babbling story behind me I may as well get back to the subject at the title of this rant; my discovery of personal mortality. The long and sleepless period I enjoyed while waiting for test results certainly put thoughts and plans into my mind that I never really dwelled upon. Some was simple self-evaluation and wondering if I have even come close to accomplishing what I wanted to in this lifetime and others drifted into spirituality (I still remain an agnostic). I did vow to myself that I would no longer take my health for granted as I had. So far, I have not had a cigarette in nearly a month. The diet and scotch thing will be easier to tackle after the holidays but it is my intent to improve in those areas as well.

 I don’t plan to turn into a health nut who eschews all that is enjoyable in life nor will I live in fear that death is always lurking around the corner waiting for me. I will stop assuming that I am fated for a long life however and certainly will not do any of the obvious things that can lead to a premature demise (such as smoking). I am happy with how I have come out of this. I think this wakeup call has given me an improved outlook on things. I still have a pile to learn about myself what to do with myself within this life but I do think I have learned at least one big lesson.  

 A perception of mortality and a realization that one could drop-dead at any given moment does not mean that I need to live in fear or assume that I will not live until a ripe old age. Were I prone to live in fear however, our society sure is eager to feed me with things to be fearful of. There are clowns calling for the end of the world surfacing daily and a sensationalist media that is more than eager to give these people ink. Hysteria built upon nothing is the order of the day and I see no end to it soon.

 Every year it appears that some form of flu or infection makes the headlines and we get to hear about how it is a disaster ad nauseum despite the actual fatality numbers giving any credibility to this fear mongering.

 How about the dreaded West Nile virus. This one did wonders for insect repellent sales and caused fearful parents to douse their children in DEET if indeed they dared venture outside at all. How many people has this insidious and headline making virus killed in Canada anyway? To have kept us in fear for nearly a decade the deaths must indeed be in the tens of thousands. West Nile Virus has killed 42 people in Canada in the last 6 years.  WOW. If that death rate doubles, it may get near the number of people killed by lightning.

 How about SARS. You know the one. That virus of Asian origin that assaulted the center of Canada’s universe and called for mass Toronto subsidies due to tourist losses. Well this one is tougher to find global numbers on but one estimate is that almost 800 people died worldwide in 2002!!! The world population is around 7 billion and I will let you do the math on the odds of dying of SARS. In Canada overall we had 39 deaths by the way. That puts things in the one in a million range locally. Yes, we saw an entire year of breathless hysterical coverage of a diseases that has killed one in a million people.

 The disease flavor for this year is H1N1 of course. Solid numbers are difficult to find but one thing that we can conclusively determine is that we have gotten much better at making much ado about nothing. You see, the flu kills thousands of people every year in Canada as do other respiratory illnesses. This year we have simply given a name to one of the more particularly nasty strains going about. The deaths have not even come close to warranting the spending, the media or the general fear caused by this. That has not stopped this story from leading the headlines and creating countless new cases of agoraphobia.

 Here is a beauty that nobody likes to touch. When I graduated high school in 1988, we were all told that we would all know at least one person who will die of AIDS within a decade. We were assured that the disease was rampantly leaving the high risk groups where it dwelled at the time and would be sweeping the heterosexual, non-IV-drug using community. Massive public campaigns were launched. Research funding for AIDS surpassed (and still does) the funding for killers such as heart disease and cancer. Well folks, AIDS is still incurable and it has been over 20 years, how rampant has the spread been? AIDS does not even come close to killing 1000 people per year in Canada. The vast majority of HIV infections are still gay males and IV drug users by the way. I am not saying we should care less because of the effected groups, I am simply pointing out that we have indeed been fed bullshit in the demographics in a (successful) effort to spread a general fear of a disease that most of us have little reason to fear.

 The death count from global cooling as forecasted by environmentalists in the 70s or from the contemporary hysteria of global warming remains at a grand total of 0 so far by the way.

 Lead toys, hairspray, water bottles, trans-fats, saturated fats, good sugars, bad sugars, saccharine, good cholesterol, bad cholesterol………. damn, what won’t kill us anyway?

 Why do we see such exaggeration of deathly threats anyway? Well one part of it simply goes back to the old “if it bleeds, it leads” mantra of the media. Will people stay tuned if a flu is reported to kill one in 10 million people? People will pay attention if the true number is left out and it is implied that this new flu is spreading like wildfire and may kill us all. This is not some nefarious conspiracy on the part of the media; this is simple economics. Ratings drive advertising rates leading to profits thus reporting is geared towards increasing ratings. Sadly, viewers respond and keep viewing when they fear for their (or their children’s) lives.

 The global warming hysteria comes down to money as well though on a couple fronts. Greenpeace is multinational corporation burning through hundreds of millions of dollars. They need to keep the revenue coming in if they expect to pay their thousands of staffers. Now what gets more income for Greenpeace; a flyer going out saying “there is a theory that man may cause global temperatures to rise .5% in the next 100 years” or a flyer saying “man is causing cute fuzzy polar bears to die, the oceans will drown all coastal cities due to rising and your children will fry like bacon”? 

  Copenhagen showed how socialist groups have found a new way to try and tear down democratic and developed nations too. Using fear to hide facts, people are being convinced that by impoverishing ourselves and giving our funds to third-world dictators so that they may further slaughter their own people we may somehow keep global warming from happening. Socialism has never needed to be based in fact and their latest efforts demonstrate that.

Fear is a powerful tool that is commonly used to move large volumes of people whether through media, government or special interest groups.

 Now to finish off what is a looong and digressing ramble. I have learned new levels in fear for my own life. I have learned that my life will indeed end at some point and I should make reasonable efforts to defer that as long as possible. I will not let myself be led into a pointless fear of everything as so many have been.

 I have learned that life is a finite thing and it should not be taken for granted.

 Eschewing countless pleasures due to baseless fears is wasteful and is a form of taking life for granted.

 I will not live in fear or guilt no matter what the hysterical eco/health groups tell me through the all too eager media.

Ed Stelmach is the worst Premier in Canada.

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 While most of us already knew that, it is nice to see an official poll come out to confirm it. A whopping 14% of Albertans approve of the leadership of Ed Stelmach.

 It would appear that 86% of Albertans know what 77% of the dwindling Progressive Conservative stalwarts don’t seem able to figure out; Stelmach’s administration has been an utter disaster of incompetence. With nearly 80% of the party rallying around Feeble Ed while the vast majority of the province rejects him, the disconnect that the PC party has with Alberta is rather well illustrated.

 The economy excuse no longer holds water Ed. Saskatchewan has a resource based economy. Brad Wall is supported by 58% of the province. Newfoundland is enjoying the same recession that we are Ed. Their premier has 78% support.

 Rather than pursue some desperately needed introspection, Ed has of course lashed out instead. Yes, Ed has attacked the Wildrose Alliance Party today calling us such nasty things as “draconian”.

 Uhh Ed, the party you are calling draconian has taken the lead in the province of Alberta. Essentially you are calling a giant segment of the province draconian. Great strategy Ed. You should give Olsen another bonus from the tax-kitty for that one. Are you trying to get to single digit support Ed? You are certainly within striking distance of that record.

 Never have we seen such an utter rejection of an administration in Canada. Unfortunately, there is no way to get rid of this gang of fools until the Premier chooses to call an election.

 I think we can safely say that this will be Stelmach’s last term in office no matter how long he tries to cling to it.

Looks like it is Alberta’s oil this week.

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 When Central Canada is seeking money to bail out their failing industries they shamelessly take well over $10 billion per year from Alberta. The energy wealth generated by Western workers is a Canadian asset to be shared by the West. Westerners who dare question the socialistic program of equalization are immediately labelled as greedy and selfish. While thousands and thousands of energy workers have been laid off in the West, it is considered a national disaster when an Ontario chocolate factory shuts down and lays off a few-hundred people. While EI is nearly impossible for an Albertan to qualify for, a maritime worker only has to work a few weeks to qualify.

 The parasitic nature of Canada’s system is nothing new and there has been plenty of discussion on it. What is infuriating though is the ingratitude displayed by these bumming neighbors in confederation.

 While activists and politicians are falling all over themselves to try and cripple their home economies by signing into unrealistic emissions agreements in Copenhagen, Ontario and Quebec representatives are whining that they should not shoulder any of the costs as Canada’s emissions are pretty much entirely Alberta’s fault.

 Yes, while these provinces will happily siphon the profits from the West, they have no interest in paying the price for an active industry.

 How about this then. Ontario and Quebec are welcome to kiss the collective asses of the West. As long as Eastern hands are out and begging for dollars from the West, they have no damn right to complain about it.

 Ontario and Quebec are more than welcome to purchase blood-soaked Middle Eastern oil if they like as opposed to Alberta’s dirty oil. Rest assured, there are plenty of eager customers in the world for Alberta’s products.

 I am sure that Alberta could make very good use of that $14 billion per year that we pay in federal taxes with no return in services.  I am more than tired of the double standard of this nation.

ingratitude

They just don’t get it.

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 Being stranded in New York for the last while, my blogging lagged somewhat.

 I can’t think of a better story to get back in the swing of things.

Wildrose #1 in Alberta, poll finds.

 Now the Wildrose Alliance Party reaching the status of government in waiting is certainly worthy of discussion on it’s own. What I am finding more interesting at the moment though is the hysterical commentary from Liberal/Progressive Conservative stalwarts in light of these numbers. Blogs and the comment sections in newspapers are great places for insight into the mindset of the fast-dwindling supporters of the traditional Alberta parties.

 Liberal supporters are acting predictably. The number of commenters calling the electorate stupid and labelling Albertans as a collection of slack-jawed yokels who are too stupid to embrace what they consider as a good progressive alternative is appalling. I understand that the general concepts of democracy are often lost on those who embrace the left but come on guys, think about this. Whether you like it or not, those slack jawed locals have the power of the vote and they exercise it. Try to peek outside of your ivory tower for a moment and understand why your party has not been able to gain an inch in decades. Here is a political tip that I will offer for free, try listening to the electorate instead of constantly berating them as being a collection of fools. You may finally see a one point jump in the polls.

 I can understand the Liberal rage in Alberta. This is a party that has been in Alberta since the province was founded. Currently we have what appears to be the most inept provincial government since Harry Strom and an electorate that is salivating for change. Despite this situation, the Liberals simply can’t gain an inch in Alberta. This was reflected rather well in the Calgary Glenmore by-election. The Liberals pulled in every possible volunteer from across the province and poured every nickle that they had into the campaign. The NDP sat out the campaign and the Green Party no longer exists. The outcome was that a brand new party passed the Liberals and took the seat while the Liberals were mired at the exact same support levels that they enjoyed years ago.

 The writing is on the wall. Alberta is simply not a Liberal supporting province and never will be. Get over it and move on guys.

 Now the reaction from the few remaining PC diehards is telling as well. Currently we are still seeing denial. Shallow and short comments regarding their current status show that these folks still do not realize just how threatened their position of power is. Dismissing the Wildrose Alliance Party as irrelevant is sort of pointless now isn’t it? Well that seems to be the best the PCs can come up with. Firing out terms such as “bigots, rednecks, extreme” has not been too effective either particularly in light of all the socially conservative actions of the Stelmach regime in the last couple years. Here is a tip for you guys, pretending that the Wildrose Alliance Party will simply fade away is not a good strategy on your part.

 What I see from the party stalwarts in both the PCs and the Liberals is a stubborn insistence on staying the course. Despite the astronomical plummeting of support for the PCs and the flaccid state of support for the Liberals, neither party is even considering making large and real change. The electorate is simply leaving the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives behind.

 Historically Albertans have always been ready to embrace change. From giving women the right to vote to creating entirely new political movements Alberta has led the nation consistently.

 The people of Alberta are ready for another wholesale change and the traditional parties will not let themselves realize this. It is clear that the Wildrose Alliance Party has become that vehicle for change and I don’t see this trend stopping. The membership is still seeing explosive growth, an increasingly skilled set of people are involved in the management of the party and our ground organization is coming along excellently. I suspect that even Stelmach is not foolish enough to call an early election at this point and with two more years of organization the Wildrose Alliance Party will be quite a force in the next general election.

 Let the remaining supporters of the Liberals and Conservatives continue to fiddle. Alberta has discovered an option and Albertans are embracing it. The future looks bright for the Wildrose Alliance Party and Alberta itself.  

Of course there is room for cuts.

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 I wonder what the Stelmach deficit will really total by the end of the fiscal year? At the rate that it is escalating, it is looking likely that we will be $10 billion in the red by the time the year is finished. Iris and Ed’s fiscal predictions have proven to be utterly worthless and off the mark by as much as $15 billion in a one year period. It is frightening to think of what these clowns will do to our province with a few more years to mismanage us.

 The voices of the status-quo apologists are dwindling as most people with any degree of fiscal common sense have migrated to the Wildrose Alliance Party. These people have learned that to try and repair the tired old Progressive Conservative machine is a lost cause.

 Still, there are a dogged few who try to make excuses for the freespending ways of the Stelmach government. It is sad to see them smugly state to critics “Well, where would you cut?” as if that is some sort of knockout blow dealt to critical comment. A better question is; where to begin?

 Virtually every department has had massive increases in expenditures despite Albertans seeing little indication of benefits from this spending. The reason to put it simply is that the spending has been directionless and money is being outright pissed away. Bureaucrats are raking in millions in bonuses from Ed Stelmach while displaying gross incompetence in the spending of hard-earned Albertan tax dollars. What incentive is there for these parasites to improve performance? Firing is one of the best things these people can think of happening to them considering the multi-million dollar golden handshakes that Ed likes to give to senior civil servants.

 Special Ed and others have trumpeted that we are in the midst of an infrastructure deficit. This is a sidelong (and rather sad) way to try and blame our fiscal shortcomings on the previous administration.

 Lets assume that this infrastructure is indeed critical. Does that mean that we can’t cut the spending on it? NO!

 A regular reader of this blog (an rare breed indeed) passed on a couple stories to me that really help demonstrate the efficiency being displayed in the construction of Alberta infrastructure. The contrast is striking and I don’t doubt that hundreds of other projects can be compared similarly.

 Wal-Mart announced a few months ago that they will be constructing a giant store in Calgary’s Southeast. The store will be 185,000 square feet and will be the largest of it’s kind in Calgary. The projected cost of this project is about $11 million dollars.

 Now recently, the province of Alberta and the city of Calgary proudly cut the ribbon on the opening of a new police station in the Ramsey district. The station is 36,000 square feet and cost $19 million to build.

 Now I do understand that there are different needs between these types of facilities but come on, look at that spread in costs. I don’t doubt that Wal-Mart will be installing top of the line security that will rival the police station along with administrative space. I am sure that there are many things that the retail facility will need that the police station would not.

 I see that Canadian Tire is building a store along with a Work Warehouse and other shops in Canmore Alberta. That project is projected to come in at around $11 million dollars. This is in one of the most expensive property areas with the most expensive labor in the province.

 There is plenty of room for cost-efficiency folks and we need not eschew much infrastructure in order to save money. The first step would be to investigate and find out why government funded projects cost twice or more  as much to construct as comparable ones in the private sector. Such an investigation would mean that senior civil servants, unions and contractors with a government relationship and sense of entitlement would likely get their backs up. Alas, our current government will never have the courage to take this on.

 We have all sorts of room for spending cuts people. What other departments are wasting money? Who else is bleeding the taxpayer?  We need people in the legislature with the knackers to ask these questions and demand answers.

 ht to Max for the heads up.

The outcome of appeasement.

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I finished yesterday’s rambling post by mentioning how people occasionally use the word compromise in a derisive manner when what they actually should be saying is appeasement.

 We see cowardly actions of appeasement quite often when the law and politicians are dealing with protesters of all sorts of stripes. I observed the G8 summit protests in Calgary in 2002 to observe just where the trouble stems from when these left-wing protests almost inevitably go off the rails. The police handed out brochures telling just what the bounds of peaceful demonstration are as people gathered. Ironically (as many of these protesters are self-styled environmentalists) most of the brochures were thrown to the ground and they littered the area quickly. I watched masked people lunging at a fence and lifting their masks to spit on police officers who stoically restrained themselves from retaliating from these assaults. I observed windows being smashed from legitimate businesses who were unfortunate enough to be in the path of the mob. I saw a few people arrested when their activities went well beyond the pale.

 I later read that those arrested were given tiny, token fines for their activities. In light of that, is it any wonder that these violent protests continue?

 A couple weeks ago, the kooks from Greenpeace trespassed on a Shell oilsands facility and stopped production in that section for almost two days.  The protest was ended when:

“”As long as we removed ourselves, (they) agreed to release us without any charges, either criminal or civil,” said Mike Hudema of Greenpeace.”

 OK, so these clowns broke the law, put themselves and others at risk and cost Shell untold money as production was halted. For these actions they were allowed to go their merry way with no consequences. Guess what happened?

 Yes, Greenpeace moved on and decided to block production at a Suncor facility.  In this case, the idiots actually chained themselves to a conveyor putting themselves (which is fine by me) and the workers/police (not ok by me) at risk as these twits had to be removed.

 Is this really a surprise though? The attempted appeasement at the Shell site simply told these people that they may disregard the law with impunity. They got the press they sought, they halted production and they paid no price. Of course these guys were willing to do it again. It really does not take a genius to realize that this would be the outcome of appeasement.

 The fools have indeed been charged this time at least. Twenty-one nuts were arrested and charged with criminal mischief over $5,000. It is worthy of note that only one of these kooks was actually Albertan and most of them are not even Canadian. I hope the courts press these charges to the full extent that they can. This crap has to stop.

 Further to the charges to the individuals, I strongly feel that Greenpeace itself should be sued and possibly closed down for encouraging criminal activity. Greenpeace is a multi-national corporation who had a net income of $202 million CDN in 2006. They can surely afford to cover the lost revenue they have cost while attacking these energy facilities.

 David Swann demonstrated his usual disconnect from reality on this issue with this statement:

“These are massive projects with significant potential to impact the environment and human health, and I think it’s incumbent on both government and the industry to review their security measures,” said Liberal Leader David Swann

 WOW. Talk about blaming the victim there Swann. The criminal and dangerous assault on oilfield facilities was the fault of the facility owners for not having stopped the criminals from entering. I have spent time working up there. These are facilities in isolated areas and they are well marked. People don’t accidentally stumble into them. What would be more effective Mr. Swann would be charging these fools when they purposely break the law.

 Peaceful demonstration is a vital right. We keep appeasing when demonstrators cross the line of legality though and we really should not be surprised when the lawbreaking escalates.

 There are many rational and effective environmental groups that have good points to make and are worth listening to. Greenpeace however is not one of these groups. Filling offices with fish and countless expensive and criminal trespasses do not do anything to serve the environment and the allowing of these actions must stop. Greenpeace is a large corporation and they should be held accountable for their criminal actions.

 Oh yes, and I shed no tears when the Rainbow Warrior sank.

Rainbow Warrior

 

 Compromise is finding a middle ground. Compromise is impossible with criminal extremists such as those with Greenpeace. Greenpeace seeks no middle ground, they only seek more publicity to fund their giant corporation. Appeasement with extremists like these is pointless.

Compromise (it’s not a dirty word)

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com·pro·mise  (kmpr-mz)

n. 1. a. A settlement of differences in which each side makes concessions.

b. The result of such a settlement.2. Something that combines qualities or elements of different things: The incongruous design is a compromise between high tech and early American.3. A concession to something detrimental or pejorative

 One thing that nobody can deny is that we are within one of the most interesting periods of Alberta politics in over a decade. Many people are surprised at the explosive growth of the Wildrose Alliance Party which is suddenly showing itself to be a very serious contender to be considered by the Alberta electorate.

 One of the key elements that has allowed the WAP to break out of what has been considered “fringe” status has been the ability of the people involved within the party to accept a degree of compromise.

 There are countless parties languishing within the political wilderness and the thing that will keep them on the outside looking in is their inability to accept compromise. Some parties are easy to identify as they name themselves based on a single issue that they will never compromise on (Green Party, Marijuana Party, Separation Party etc). While other fringe parties may not carry their burden right in their names, a glancing evaluation of their policies will invariably display why they will remain on the outskirts of mainstream politics whether federally or provincially.

 A giant step in the evolution of right of center alternative parties in Alberta occurred when the Alberta Alliance Party and the Wildrose Party merged. It became clear to people seeking an alternative to the PC party of Alberta that such an alternative will never come about if right of center movements keep splintering and fighting among themselves. Many people demanded that this practice end and the boards of both the Wildrose Party and the Alberta Alliance Party began the realize the futility of their walking along separate paths. The merger of the two parties took months of negotiation that was often heated and progress waxed and waned.

 Some people within the boards on both sides refused to accept compromise and it hindered negotiations greatly. Minor issues were nitpicked and hairs were split in hopes of derailing the process. Both boards realized that the merger would never come if a couple of key individuals continued in the negotiation process. The compromise that was reached was that each party would remove one of those individuals from the negotiation process. In one meeting without the participation with those two, the agreement was drafted which would lead to the memberships of both parties accepting a merger of the two parties.

 Now what is more important than the merger itself is the the people who remained and carried on with the newly formed party. People who stubbornly refused to accept any form of compromise were shed and a party executive that understood the benefits of examining more than one point of view was born. A broader vision was adopted by the party executive and critical discussions could happen without people petulantly storming from the room. Progress in party growth and evolution happened at a rate never seen before as the board worked with a cooperative attitude. Prominent and skilled people were drawn to the management of the party as it became evident that clear focus was finally coming from the helm.

 The next large turning point for the party was the annual general meeting that was held in Calgary last June. A massive cleaning of party policies was proposed and was accepted by the membership at the meeting. In a party with a fringe mentality, such a wholesale change would never have been adopted as the uncompromising would have dominated the room. The single issue folks with chips on their shoulders tried to fight back by utilizing the means of member driven policy by trying to insert the types of policies that hinder fringe parties into the new and improved policy set adopted by the membership.

 A motion calling for the party to accept a separatist stance was proposed. That motion was never even considered by the membership as nobody within the room would even second it. I was almost disappointed when that happened as I had prepared a long diatribe to speak against this idiocy and pursuit of political suicide and I never had a chance to speak it to the room. I comforted myself by ranting against an almost equally inane proposal that called for the provincial government to assume management of private trade associations. That motion was quashed by nearly 100% of the room by the way.

 Not only did we shed such fringe policy proposals in that meeting, we shed many of the proponents of these proposals which is equally if not a more important outcome of that meeting. The proponent of the separatist motion abandoned the room when it was clear her proposal was going nowhere. I say good riddance. While I would like to see as many passionate and involved people as possible working towards policy development within the party, we are better off without those who will only participate based on a single issue.

 I have been on the losing end of motions in executive meetings with the current party and with prior partisan incarnations that I have been involved with. I have felt frustration and have felt that the board took the wrong stance. Despite those feelings, never for a second did I consider storming off in a pout and no longer participating in the party. I had to accept that either; a) I did not make a strong enough case or; b) I was simply wrong (it has been known to happen). Our party has become dominated with people who can accept such things and this has shown in the unity we now enjoy as well as the wise decisions that have come from collective and open discussion.

 Other more recent events have been great factors in the exposure and growth that the party is seeing. The election of Paul Hinman in Calgary Glenmore was one event and the leadership race currently underway with two excellently qualified candidates is the other. Neither of these events would ever have come to play had we been dominated by a group of uncompromising individuals as fringe parties are prone to being.

 Part of what brings about my extended rambling here though is reading and hearing from uncompromising individuals regarding the leadership. So many that say they will storm into this direction or that direction if such and such wins. I don’t see our leadership race as having been that divisive and no matter what the outcome I am confident that we will end with a stronger and more unified party than ever before. While I would prefer that those who refuse to accept compromise grow up and learn to look at a bigger picture, I am almost as happy to simply watch them storm away after having not gotten their way. Such people simply foster division and hinder progress.

 I expect that no matter what the outcome of our leadership race that there will be some folks who will try to send a rallying cry with yet another new party. Personally I think that may not be such a bad thing. Let a new (or existing) party collect the single issue cranks. Let that bunch gather others such as Alberta’s perennial “leaders” who’s only wish is to be a big fish in a small pond. The absence of these people will only foster further growth and a better collective wisdom within the Wildrose Alliance Party. I expect the attempted rise of another right of center party will simply act as a crank-filter for us.

 I am a person driven by ideals. I began in politics by taking many unrealistic stands and pursuing many unrealistic goals. While doing so over the past 15 years or so I have been learning through my actions. What is more important to me? Dying on a hill of uncompromising idealism or actually making changes that will better the province no matter how small they may appear? My goal is to improve Alberta for all Albertans. Sure there are some dreamland events that I think would act as catalysts for quick and large change. I also understand that Albertans do not want to follow that path. I accept the collective wisdom of the province and now seek to find changes and improvements for the province that can actually be achieved. I find taking this rational path to be much more personally satisfying as I can see progress towards actual improvement in our province.

 While the Wildrose Alliance Party is learning how to compromise and to listen to a broader spectrum, the Alberta Progressive Conservatives under Ed Stelmach have been moving in the opposite direction. Catastrophic errors have been made by the government in the past few years. Despite that, the government stubbornly refuses to accept that it could have possibly erred. Ideas and compromise are not considerations. Health workers began to publicly speak out on problems. They were gagged. MLAs have spoken up for their constituents. They were gagged. The Chief Electoral Officer of Alberta recommended changes; he was fired. If the government put half of the effort into some introspection as they do towards shutting down dissenting voices, they may actually slow their plummeting in support within Alberta.

 Alas the StelmachPCs are incapable of compromise and it will indeed be their downfall.

 Excess compromise is a risk as well. A party can’t simply be governed by polls. A party at times has to lead as well as reflect the wishes of the electorate. That combination is impossible without a degree of compromise. Critical thought is impossible without compromise, progress is impossible without compromise and party growth is impossible without compromise. The degree of compromise is always and should always be up for debate. As long as it can be debated though the party is healthy.

 When people spit out compromise in a derogatory way, keep this posting in mind.

 Now appeasement is a different story altogether and compromise is often wrongly substituted for that word. The problems with appeasement are fodder for another rambling posting on another day. 🙂