Contemplating the thought of three more years of Stephen Harper. Below: Mr. Harper himself. Tory times, as the old saying goes, are terrible times. So it should surprise no one that as we mark the first anniversary of Stephen Harper’s majority victory today, the country is increasingly polarized, students are
Continue readingAuthor: David J. Climenhaga
David Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: About Conrad Black’s return: surely Canadians deserve honest answers
Lord Black gesticulates at Communications Energy and Paperworkers Local 115A President Andy Marshall in 1999. Below: Omar Khadr, Jason Kenney, George Galloway, Farouk Adatia. Let’s mark this international day of the worker by having a grown-up discussion about the readmission to Canada of Conrad Black, the former Canadian citizen and
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Choosing a Speaker for Alberta: Your chance to vote … sort of
Your blogger with yet another of the candidates to be called Mr. Speaker, the dulcetly mellifluous Gene Zwozdesky, looking none too thrilled about this photo opportunity in Speakerly garb. I have been surprised by the amount of interested generated by my post suggesting there is a three-way or possibly four-way
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Assessing Alison Redford and Danielle Smith: one minute you’re a hero and the next you’re a bum!
Wellington rallies his troops during the Battle of Waterloo. “The nearest run thing you ever saw in your life.” Below: I think you’ve all seen enough photos of Alison Redford and Danielle Smith, so here are Wellington and Harold Wilson. All things being equal, if Alison Redford’s party had emerged
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Never mind the CCF! Perfesser Dave shows how the shadow of Stalin looms over the Harper Conservatives!
Gerda Munsinger: More proof if it were needed it that the Harper government secretly loves the Soviets. Below: Perfesser Dave; Pierre “Woody” Sévigny; the Avro Arrow, which we could have used against the Taliban if the same Conservatives now running Canada hadn’t scrapped it! JASPER, Alberta As readers of Alberta
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Calculating the odds in the race for Alberta’s Legislative Speaker
Your blogger with Robin Campbell, Ken Kowalski’s possible replacement as Speaker of the Alberta Legislature. Below: Laurie Blakeman, Gene Zwozdesky, and Wayne Cao with you-know-who. JASPER, Alberta Just when you thought it was safe to go out of the house again, there’s another election! But you don’t get to vote
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Why the Wildrose Party is not long for this world
The Wildrose Party Whip gets ready to get the Opposition caucus under control. Alberta politicians may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: Danielle Smith, Tom Flanagan, Joe Anglin, Dr. Gilles Tourette. The Wildrose phenomenon will disappear from the Alberta political scene almost as quickly as the party’s leader took a
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Shift happens, but not this fast – trying to understand Alberta’s wonky polls
Shift happens: An Alberta pollster runs down the road looking for a crowd of Albertans to survey. Nothing in sight, however. Below: Premier Alison Redford and Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith. Whatever went wrong with those notorious pre-election Alberta public opinion polls, it’s not, as many pollsters now appear to be
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Top Ten Losers and Winners of the Alberta Election
Danielle Smith, leader of the upstart Wildrose Party celebrates her… Wait! That’s not Danielle! That’s Alison Redford! (Reuters Photo, snatched from the Internet.) Remember: Alberta political winners may not always be exactly as illustrated by the media and the pollsters. Below: The real Danielle Smith. ’Tis late and the CBC’s
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: It’s election day and Alison Redford’s hole card is all she has left: Is it an ace or is it junk?
Alberta Premier Alison Redford, not exactly as illustrated notwithstanding the Stetsons, has only one good card left to play. Is it an ace, or is it junk? We’ll find out tonight. Below: The real Ms. Redford and Danielle Smith. As Albertans head to the polls today with large numbers of
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Why and how the Wildrose ‘wait time guarantee’ adds up to two-tier health care
Don’t expect the quality of health care in Alberta to improve because of a “wait-time guarantee” – unless you can pay. If you, dear reader, are one of the thousands of Albertans who has come to the conclusion the Wildrose Party’s health care wait-time guarantee sounds like a pretty good
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Alberta campaign ends with all-party disobedience of Fourth Commandment
Just stepped off an interstellar Greyhound from Alpha Centauri, AB? Alberta Diary is here to help. Toronto media here to cover the campaign may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: Tom Flanagan. As the 2012 Alberta election campaign moves through its final 24 hours this Sabbath day, all party leaders
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Where there’s smoke, there’s fire: Danielle Smith and Big Tobacco
What is it with right-wing politicians and tobacco, anyway? Below: Don’t worry, she won’t have to pay higher taxes for that cigarette. The leaders of all Alberta parties but one seem committed to ending smoking by young Albertans. The sole holdout? It’s the Wildrose Party, led by former Fraser Institute
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Are candidates’ 19th Century views actually helping the Wildrose Party?
Wildrose candidate Ron Leech explains the Caucasian Advantage to a broadcaster. Nevertheless, Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith says he’s a fine man and won’t discipline him. Below: Kris Wells, the man behind today’s “Pray for Alberta” newspaper advertisements. “Social conscience” and human rights issues continue to dominate the final days of
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Ian Urquhart and Len Bracko: a Senate voting strategy for progressive Alberta citizens
The Senate chamber – may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: Somewhat progressive ‘Senatorial’ candidates Ian Urquhart and Len Bracko, in his Senatorial toga; Ralph Waldo Emerson. Since the Alberta government is committed to hosing away an extra $3 million of our tax dollars on Monday on the ridiculous exercise
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: If you have any doubts left Alberta’s Conservatives are done like dinner, this should settle ’em
“I never thought I’d vote PC” … just embarrassing. Below: Ralph Klein back when he was premier of Alberta; Saddam Hussein. If you have any doubts left there are only three more sleeps before the end of the Progressive Conservative Era in Alberta, look no further than the video and
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Alberta needs a real progressive opposition, not a fake progressive conservative one
“Hi there, I’m progressive and she’s conservative…” Some Alberta political parties may be about as different as shown … and as creepy! Below: Pastor Hunsperger, Perfesser Morton and Rev. Trudeau. I know which one has my vote! Astonished to find itself with its back against a Wildrose wall, rejected by
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Be thankful for our Canadian Charter of Rights, 30 years old today, and remember who hates it
April 17, 1982: The Queen signs the Constitution as Pierre Elliott Trudeau, then Canada’s prime minister, looks on, apparently bemused. Below: The Charter; a sterner Mr. Trudeau. CALGARY Today is the 30th anniversary of our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. On April 17, 1982, Queen Elizabeth signed our new
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Cold cash enforces Wildrose’s Oilfields Omerta – but not well enough, apparently
Shhhhhhh! The Wildrose campaign team reminds unsuccessful nomination seekers of the Manyberries Mafia’s Code of Silence. Vitor Marciano and Tom Flanagan may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: The real Mr. Marciano, Pastor Allan Hunsperger. Every Wildrose Party news release ends with the following words: “Wildrose stands for free enterprise,
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: What Danielle Smith thinks and why Alison Redford’s Tories aren’t fear mongering about it
Typical Albertans react to fear mongering by … well, by anyone, really. We frighten extremely easily out here on the Great Plains. Typical Albertans may not be exactly as illustrated – then again, according to the Wildrose Party, they may be. Below: Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith, “Progressive” Conservative Leader Alison
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