Reader Tips

I was listening to Adler's show today and caught the news about the political watershed moment in Alberta today. I don't know much about the Wildrose Alliance though so I wanted to come to the best pool of experts in Canada: The SDA regulars.

Please enlighten us all, folks. What's going on in our wealthiest province and what are your predictions for 2010/2011?

Speaking as a life-long Albertan, modulo a few occasions when
I was working abroad, I predict that 2010 will result in 2011.

That's quite the leap there Vit. You sure about that?

Yes.

Robert W. - I just don't know. I think the Wildrose Alliance is a flash in the pan - charismatic leader, protest vote, etc. I just hope that Stelmach is listening.

What intrigues me is that I couldn't pick Stelmach out of a line-up - and how long has he been premier?? He just doesn't make an impression - and the only two things I can mention about the AB gov are the royalty mess, and health care

Now, the royalty mess - I don't know what he was thinking - but that was in high flying times, when oil prices seemed to have no upper limit. In any case, "we" in AB don't really seem to mind when oil companies are doing OK, because "we" all do OK as well. (Governing by the polls can really hurt you in the longer run.)

Re health care - that's a tougher one, because health care costs are going to mop up so much of EACH provincial budget. (BHO doesn't really have a clue what he's doing to the US in this regard, but that's another post). Tommy Douglas regularly gets slammed here, but he never had in mind an extraordinarily complex all-encompassing health care system. He just wanted (IIRC) people could to care without losing the family farm, which is fair enough to me.

But now, with modern technologies and pharmaceutical advances, we have to pick and choose IMHO. Say that a pill can save someone with an orphan disease - $200,000 per year. He's age 25.

Should the drug be covered? If it's my kid, of course. If it's your kid, let me think about it, OK?

Erik, here in B.C. everyone thought that Social Credit would be around forever. That unexpectedly changed and very quickly.

Please correct me if I'm wrong but my sense is that the Alberta Conservatives are no longer a conservative party and many Albertans are fed up with the excessive spending that is going on. Thoughts?

Well, let's put it this way - my grandparents were pretty much staunch NDPers - farmers. They had nothing, and shared everything. My parents - conservative - they grew up with nothing, and worked (as my grandparents did) - and said - please let me keep what I've worked for.

Me, I'm a bit my parents, a bit (but lesser my grandparents). My kids? They've always had everything. They have never had nothing. So they will never vote conservative. No. Why would they??

So, long story short. I think for AB, follow the demographics. The Conservatives will win two more elections guaranteed, due to demographics.

Then, in ten years, I have no idea what will happen.

When Peter Lougheed won the 1971 election, it was on the baby boomer generation and a shift leftward from Social Credit.

Wildrose Alliance has not revealed the source of its funding, but given it strength in Calgary and the fact the two defecting MLAs are from Southern Alberta, it would be a good bet that the money is coming from oil company interests.

The oil patch was upset over a revised royalty regime. Therefore, this is a struggle about who gets to keep most of the spoils of oil exploitation.

Does it belong to the people of Alberta, as represented by its duly-elected officials. Or, do the profits of natural resource extraction belong to those who get their hands dirty exploiting the resource?

There's an argument that Ralph Klein, the former mayor of Calgary, was enamoured with the people who ran Alberta's oil companies and looked the other way when it came time to develop Alberta's infrastructure.

A burgeoning population was attracted to Alberta because of the oil industry and, another argument goes, that oil companies should pitch in for schools, hospitals and roads needed to serve the direct employees and the economy that has grown around it.

The bottom line is ... who should pay for the necessary infrastructure? Or is it good enough for an industry of load up their own pockets, then leave?

An interesting debate, to be sure.

Robert, speaking as a resident of the former Socialist Republic of Saskatchewan and now moving toward being a free state, I would suggest that your post of 11:55 is very close to bang on. That is my view as a neighbour.

However, Vit's prediction for 2010/2011 is probably a Nostradamus like moment.

The 40 most obnoxious quotes of 2009.

A time-waster really, but we all enjoy a nice wallow in indignant rage; why it's almost as much fun as Schadenfreude!

Erik - one thing that bugs me is that I think Obamacare will destroy most high-level medical research. The $200,000 kid won't present a moral dilemma if that pill never gets invented.

Black Mamba - oh yeah. As other people have said before me, "as a Canadian I'm against US health reform, because then where can I go for my treatment"??

Re. the anti-progation Facebook group:
http://thestar.blogs.com/politics/2010/01/maybe-not-so-much-of-a-shrug.html?cid=6a00d8341bf8f353ef012876a627cb970c#comment-6a00d8341bf8f353ef012876a627cb970c
Ha-ha.

Doh! anti-prorogation

Wildrose leader Danielle Smith if she wins will be the hottest Premier ever.

Well, there are more than a few rumours that Carole Taylor may take over from Gordon Campbell after he leaves.

Well, there are more than a few rumours that Carole Taylor may take over from Gordon Campbell after he leaves.

Robert, I think here in BC many people are fed-up with Campbell's government, so much so that the fledgling BC Conservative Party will create problems for the Liberals in the next election.

The BC CP probably will not siphon votes as much as WA in Alberta, but you never know what could happen.

Also in BC as you know the dynamic is a little different, because if the Liberals lose enough votes in the next election the NDP will walk up the middle.

Personally I hope the BC CP grows in popularity, as that might be enough to force the Liberals to rethink some of their more idiotic policies - carbon tax being one of many.

The winds of change may be in the air for both provinces!

Robert W....as an Albertan who is in the oil biz...let me just say that NEVER elect a farmer as premier.He has NO idea of what runs this province.Wildrose is not a flash in the pan.The red tories are scared,and they will not be re-elected.They will try to bring in new programs to please Joe and Jane six pack,but we are not falling for it anymore.The normal people of AB and BC are starting to get it(I hope)

The Wildrose Party, like the Reform Party was, is a Conservative party and this Party has Conservatives who used to vote PC as members. Most Albertans are Conservative (like most Americans - not surprising since most Albertans are of American heritage). I know this because I lived a good percentage of my life in Alberta and on the Alberta- Sask-Montana border( the Cypress Hills gave David Anderson and Lee Morisson 85% victories in Fed elections). Special Ed was not the choice of 95% of PC Albertans but they gave him a chance when he won the leadership race by default. Ed blew his probation by turning left and caving into the new arrivals who wanted to change the Redneck image of the province. Most Albertans like the 'Redneck' can-do nature of the province; they like the independence and freedom from gov't control that a Libertarian 'live and let live' government gives them.

Ralph turned right in his first years as Premier, he took on the Liberanos in Ottawa and won, he refused to legislate job killing smoking regulations, he encouraged business by keeping taxes low, and he was colorful - like Danny Williams. Special Ed is a dull, uninspiring, dithering Premier who seems to like to legislate against freedom and prosperity for individuals...he is finished, IMO with the PC attitude and his own "Joe Clark" stubborn stupidity. Albertans are booting out the PC gov't along with Ed in their minds and hearts and I am cheering for them and the new Conservative Party that will help Alberta prosper.

JMO.

Alberta's next door to BC and I think that jema 54 has it nailed. I think you can take that to the bank.

"Wildrose Alliance has not revealed the source of its funding,..."

Hello. I fund the WAP. Independant businessman, company CEO, geologist. I earn my living drilling the wells in Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and overseas.

I like small government that sticks to the basics, not government does everything. I don;'t like government that sets the price on commodities as if they owned the stuff. They don't, Albertan's do and Ed does not speak for all Albertans, he speaks for public service union Albertans. Period. The royalty review was "rigged" right from the start.

I especially don't like government that tears up contractual obligations negotiated in good faith. I don't like government that rules behind closed doors with no debate in the legislature, even if they have a majority. They don't handle their "power" very well. Powerful public sector unions are running this province and they really suck at economics. Higher pay and pensions for public sector employees, the rest of us paying for them can go pound sand attitude.

Ed's problem is he can't say no. He also can't control his government's spending when times are tough. For a farmer, I find that strange, but then farming is run on subsidies for the most part, from governments.

Another Globe Online Poll gone terribly wrong?

Question:

Are you concerned that new security regulations for flights to the United States will result in racial profiling of Canadian citizens?

Yes: 38% (940 votes)

No: 62% (1560 votes)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

My apologies if this is a double post. I can't see that it's posted.

A LOL for Dan Cook's "visual news" feature at the Globe:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/blogolitics/00006-of-canadians-are-mad/article1419177/

BTW, the Red Star is running a survey, trying to save the dinosaur. There are even sections where negative opinions are offered as choices. So if you've got 10 minutes to spare, maybe let them know that their biggest enemy is their bias.

"Would be Liberal leaders miss 2006 debt deadline"

campaign loan extensions for Six MP's expired on New Years Eve
the Ottawa Citizen, Jan.05/10

Dion, Kennedy, Hall-Findlay, Bevilacqua, Volpe & Fry all missed the deadline.

Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand is not allowed to grant further extensions.

Maude Barlow joins Heather Mallick in being ashamed to be Canadian..from column in G&M today(link at Natnewswatch)..what a surprise!

Maybe they can move to Cuba to live, and not just vacation?

A life-long Albertan, I think the Conservatives are way past their "best before" date. Ed Stelmach is a completely uninspiring leader, but I would speculate that it started even in the last few years with Ralph Klein, where Ralph seemed to lose all focus and direction. The Tories have just been in power too long, plain and simple, and no party can stay in power that long without feeling like they are the natural governing party, somehow entitled to govern - I can only imagine how many crooked back-room deals are going on, makes me shudder. I think it is time for some new faces, any new faces, and since Danielle Smith is making an impact, I would say chances are good, if she plays her cards right, that those are the new faces that we will see, come the next election (unfortunately still years away). Smith needs to make good choices about those she surrounds herself with, and if there is a mass exodus of Tories her way, then in my opinion, those will not be new faces, but the same old faces.
I would go so far as to say that Alberta is ripe for any political change, and the change might have even gone in a different direction (maybe even Liberal - I know, bite my tongue) if there had been any inspiration in the leadership of that party at all.

They don't need no stinkin' coal - http://www.metro.co.uk/news/807821-pensioners-burn-books-for-warmth
via Gay and Right

A brick and a bottle? Hmm...

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=2407309

(PDF warning) Jeffrey Dressler and Carl Forsberg, The Quetta Shura Taliban in Southern Afghanistan: Organization, Operations and Shadow Governance

Much of the recent debate regarding the war in Afghanistan has focused on al Qaeda, specifically, the extent of their operations in Afghanistan and the Pakistan border region. Often overlooked in the strategic calculus are other enemy groups operating in the region and their ability to challenge the Afghan government and coalition forces for control in the war-torn country. It is precisely these groups that have provided al Qaeda a sanctuary to train, plan, and launch some of the most catastrophic terrorist attacks in recent history. Indeed, their relationships with key al Qaeda leaders have been forged over the past quarter-century of resistance.

For much of the past eight years, these groups have made substantial gains while the international community pursued a limited counterterrorism strategy coupled with insufficient resources. The enemy has seized the opportunity to expand their operating environment and have seized the initiative from the world’s most advanced fighting forces. However, these are not an amalgamation of rag-tag fighters. They see themselves as the legitimate government of Afghanistan in exile. Among these groups, one stands out far and above the rest, the Quetta Shura Taliban (QST)...

(PDF warning) Michael T. Flynn, Matt Pottinger, and Paul D. Batchelor, Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan

Burning the Books & Iffy, The Public Intellectual.

The natural end result of socialism’s AGW.
…-

“Iggy on Campus

In case you haven’t heard, Michael Ignatieff is coming to your campus. Why? Well, according to the Liberal leader, “Our country’s future is being shaped on our college and university campuses, by the energy and ingenuity of our young people.” (nnw)
…-

“Shades of Fahrenheit 451 – British retirees burning books to stay warm
5 01 2010

Remember these chaps? This time they’ll be putting out the book fires rather than starting them.

From Benny Peiser’s daily newsletter, it appears to be time for a revolt in Britain:

GREEN BRITAIN: PENSIONERS BURN BOOKS TO STAY WARM

Excerpts:
Hard-up pensioners have resorted to buying books from charity shops and burning them to keep warm.
…
Temperatures this week are forecast to plummet as low as -13ºC in the Scottish Highlands, with the mercury falling to -6ºC in London, -5ºC in Birmingham and -7ºC in Manchester as one of the coldest winters in years continues to bite.”
http://wattsupwiththat.com/

MP apologizes for staffer's views on climate change

Sounds to me more like the MP ought to apologize for his own views. The guy who answered the phone sounded like he knows what it's really all about. If the MP's statement mirrors the viewpoint of the CPC, and so far I have no reason to believe it doesn't (aside from PMSH talking about Kyoto being a socialist money-sucking scheme years ago), then I'll have to look elsewhere to park my vote.

Are you listening, CPC policy makers?

Quitting AGW cold: "poop on my dock,".
...-

"Hot Weather Convinces Media of Climate Change; Cold Weather Ignored

The news media constantly misuse extreme weather examples to generate fear of global warming, but when record cold or record snow sets in journalists don’t mention the possibility of global cooling trends. While climatologists would say weather isn’t necessarily an indication of climate, it has been in the media, but only when the weather could be spun as part of global warming.

In Iowa, temperatures are 30 degrees below normal according to the Des Moines Register. That’s a near-record low. Beijing is facing the coldest temperatures in decades according to Australia’s The Age.

And in Pichccahuasi, Peru, bitter cold may cause the extinction of communities of alpaca farmers suffering from pneumonia and other respiratory problems. Ironically, that Guardian (U.K.) report called the

(Excerpt) Read more at businessandmedia.org"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2421461/posts
...-

"Extended cold could kill invasive iguanas

With this week's evening temperatures falling toward the upper 30s, strange fruit may drop from South Florida trees: non-native, invading iguanas that many residents consider more pest than pet.

"It's a big deal for me," Jessica Morgan, a Margate homeowner, said as she watched a yard-long, bright orange male iguana roam near her butterfly habitat. The reptile has a slightly smaller green girlfriend.

"They climb up on the bank and will poop on my dock," she said. "Fingers crossed that this cold snap will kill them. I don't have the heart to beat one to death. I hope the weather does it for me."

(Excerpt) Read more at sun-sentinel.com"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2421406/posts

Canadian prof using an opportunity to lick Clinton's ass:

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2405445

Google again tinkering with auto-suggest feature

You remember when Google removed "Climategate" from its auto-suggest feature?

Well now they've removed "Islam is" from the same feature, while "Chritianity/Judaism/Hinduism is" remain."

Guvments take over Chryc, GM - What could go wrong?

Ford Sales Surge 33% In December, Others Trail. Chrysler Down 4%

GM expected to be down 9%

"Is there nothing that Obama can't do?"

Build an Allah-Mohl network.

Keith Olbermann at his assbestest.
...-

"White House probes Mole Network behind Fit 595 Terror- Report

WASHINGTON, DC -- Officials in the Obama White House are considering the possibility that the Christmas day attempt by Nigerian terrorist Umar Farouk Mutallab to blow up an airliner about to land in Detroit was deliberately and intentionally facilitated by unnamed networks inside the US intelligence community. This was the gist of a report by Richard Wolf delivered in this evening's edition of cable network MSNBC's Countdown program, hosted by Keith Olbermann. This report comes on the eve of a special White House interagency conference convoked by Obama to deal with the massive systemic failure of US intelligence in allowing the Yemen alumnus Mutallab to board the Amsterdam to Detroit flight while allegedly carrying a PETN explosive device on his person.

Wolf attributed his account to top officials in the Obama White House. The intentional sabotage of US antiterrorist screening procedures would explain why Mutallab had been able to use his US visa, escape interrogation and special searches, and board his flight, even though he was festooned with every red flag in the annals of airport security. If Wolf's report is accurate, these Obama officials may be pulling on a thread which could begin to unravel the entire secret structure of illegitimate power which has afflicted this country -- in this case, the apparatus which manufactures terrorist incidents for political purposes of mass manipulation, dictatorship, and war.


 
TURF WAR OR DESIRE TO EMBARRASS OBAMA?


 
Wolf offered two possible explanations cited by his White House sources for the intentional sabotage of security procedures, resulting in yet another egregious failure to connect the dots."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2421671/posts

Can some of you please help me? I'm a Luddite, as some of you know, and quite IT-challenged.

Why when suggesting a site is there sometimes a "PDF warning"? What's that all about?

batb, I assume it just means that if you click on the link then it leads to a PDF file, which means you have to have Adobe Acrobat installed.

I don't really see what the point is since most every computer has the PDF Reader installed, doesn't it?

Thanks, Robert W, for the explanation. Yes, I think most computers do have Adobe Acrobat installed.

But the "warning" does sound ominous!

Coyne. Spot on as usual.

"If MPs had the kind of backbone that would induce them to come to Parliament’s defense, they would have done so long before this. But of course they don’t. Any MP who showed the slightest tendency in that direction would find himself unable to get his nomination papers signed, and without the party’s backing could not hope to be elected. Independence of mind has been bred out of our MPs, much as dogs are bred not to bite."

http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/01/05/stop-or-ill-tour/

Are you listening, CPC policy makers?
Posted by: Johann at January 5, 2010 12:03 PM

Off course they are. You just don't matter.

Adler was on fire today discussing the Proroguing "scandal" with some Rabid Leftists: http://www.corusradio.com/Shared/AudioVault/CJOBAMaudioVault.asp?VaultDate=20100105&VaultTime=13&mysubmit=Listen

I'll repost on tonight's Reader Tips too.

If you're looking for some comedy, this is it!!! P.S. Ezra Levant appears in the 2nd half hour.

batb:

PDF warning is a polite way to say 'when you click you may not be immediately redirected to a web site, instead you may have to stare at a blank window for a few seconds/minutes, don't panic and hit Stop/Back buttons'

Thanks, Aaron. I learn something new everyday!

From the NP link to the alleged inauguration plot: "an informant walked into an overseas U.S. embassy and claimed that Canadian disciples of al-Shabab, the al-Qaida-inspired Somali militant group, had crossed the northern border and intended to detonate high explosives at the event, a source close to the investigation confirmed to the Citizen. Al-Shabab is an outlawed terrorist organization in the United States, but not in Canada."

Why aren't all "al-Qaeda-inspired groups" outlawed in Canada?