As expected, Jason Kenney easily won the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta at a convention in Calgary on Saturday, with about 75% of the vote. Kenney was a steamroller who flattened his two remaining challengers, an inconspicuous MLA named Richard Starke, and an even less conspicuous guy
Continue readingAuthor: Maurice Tougas
In This Corner: Two Old Guys meet at a library
I had one of those Old Guy moments the other day. First, however, I should point out that I’m not that old. With the average lifespan of a Canadian male now at 81, I’ve got a couple of decades of living left just to hit the average. (Now that I
Continue readingIn This Corner: The Return of Stuff Happens, week 8: Trump’s almost good week; invasion of the super rich.
Donald Trump almost had a good week. And then he did what he does best. This week, the orange menace gave this first speech to congress, and he didn’t make a complete and utter ass of himself. The fact he didn’t insult anyone, didn’t tell any flagrant lies, and didn’t
Continue readingIn This Corner: The Return of Stuff Happens, week 8: Take us away from this, Oscar!
Nothing happened in the world this week, so I’m going to devote this blog to the Academy Awards. Yes, I know that things did happen in the world this week, but 90% of them involved Donald Trump, and I just cannot read, write or hear another word about the creeping
Continue readingIn This Corner: The Return of Stuff Happens, week 7: Horror in Sweden?
Doesn’t it seem like weeks ago that Justin Trudeau visited Donald Trump? It was the story on this side of the border for days. But Trudeau had barely lifted off from Washington and his visit was forgotten, overwhelmed by a tsunami of terrible Trump news. But let’s briefly look back
Continue readingIn This Corner: This is on you, American voters
Sixty two million, nine hundred and seventy nine thousand, eight hundred and seventy nine. That’s how many people voted for Donald Trump. And that’s how many people should be looking at themselves in the mirror and saying “What the #@*% was I THINKING?” Yes, you 62,979,879, this is on you.
Continue readingIn This Corner: The Return of Stuff Happens, week 6: All Trump, all the time
Has there ever been a leader (or, in this case, a ‘leader’) who has so dominated every minute of every news cycle the way Donald Trump has? In the pre-Trump era, you could easily go a few days without hearing or seeing one word from the President of the United
Continue readingIn This Corner: The Return of Stuff Happens, week 5: Horror hits home; Trudeau breaks a promise; Stupor Bowl ads
Events on Sunday in Quebec City served as a reminder, if we needed one, that Canada is not immune to madness. Last Sunday, a sad loser walked into a Quebec City mosque and opened fire on people who were praying. Yes, praying. He killed six, injuring many others; it could
Continue readingIn This Corner: The Return of Stuff Happens, week 4: Trump’s rule by fiat
We all know how powerful the President of the United States is. But I don’t know if we ever recognized just how powerful. Almost … dictatorial? Don’t agree? Well, what other kind of leader can decide, with the stroke of an expensive pen, to ban immigrants from 14 countries, on
Continue readingIn This Corner: The Return of Stuff Happens, week 3: Welcome to the world of alternative facts
“The only thing we have to fear is, fear itself.” Franklin Roosevelt, 1932 inauguration. “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” John F. Kennedy, 1960 inauguration. “From this day forward, it’s going to be America first, America first.” Donald J.
Continue readingIn This Corner: The Return of Stuff Happens, week 2: My hush money has arrived
Deposited into my bank account this week was a payment of $150, my “Alberta climate leadership adjustment rebate”. The rebate covers the period of January to June of this year, which is a rebate for money I haven’t spent yet (or, as I call it, a prebate). The prebate is
Continue readingIn This Corner: The Return of Stuff Happens, week 1: The taxman cometh
Here in the Glorious People’s Republic of Alberta, we have begun the process of saving the Earth, 4.5 cents a litre at a time. The NDP government introduced its Climate Change Plan Jan. 1 , slapping taxes on the stuff that we use to drive our vehicles and heat our
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Still Happens, week 52: Let’s recap 2016 … sorry, it’s the law.
Yeah, yeah, I know. It was a terrible year. One of the worst in recent memory. But the rule for anyone who writes a weekly blog or column is that you must write some sort of year-end recap. So, with apologies, here we go. Newsmaker of the Year Is there any
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Still Happens, week 51: The week with no Stuff Still Happens blog
So, what’s there to report on the week before Christmas? Well, there was a terrorist attack in Berlin that killed 12 people. Who wants to even think about that on Christmas? Another pathetic loser ruins the lives of much better people. Don’t want to talk about that. Then there’s the
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Still Happens, week 50 : Why won’t this horrible year just END?
A meltdown of humanity. That vivid phrase was used this week by a UN spokesman, in reference to the final days of the battle for Aleppo. It’s not a bad way to describe most of 2016. Aleppo is the largest city in Syria. It is several thousand years old, and
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Still Happens, week 49: On the ‘lock her up’ chant, and the woman they DID lock up.
Last Saturday, the right-wing rabble rouser, Ezra Levant, roused the rabble just enough to host an anti-carbon tax rally at the Alberta legislature. The crowd of probably a few hundred heard the usual stuff from the usual suspects, and the event was mostly uneventful. The Edmonton Journal’s story on the
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Still Happens, week 48: Why we (sigh) need pipelines
This week, the Trudeau government approved two pipelines, and rejected one other. Trudeau is winning lavish praise for his bold, statesmanlike decision in some quarters, hyperbolic, end-of-the-world scorn from others. Trudeau’s decision to allow two of three is simply the right thing to do, in some ways because we have
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Still Happens, week 47: Tarnish on the golden boy
Is the shine coming off the golden boy? Justin Trudeau is under the gun these days for what appear to be, if not lapses in ethics, at least some questionable activities. The Liberals have stretched the fundraising rules to the breaking point, engaging in cash-for-access fundraisers where well-heeled folks get
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Still Happens, week 46: Bird debate splits Canada! Or maybe not.
The fallout from the Nov. 8 U.S. election continued this week. And just like nuclear fallout, the devastation will be long term. President-elect Donald Trump (my fingers had a hard time typing that; they almost refused) announced that Steven Bannon would be his senior advisor. Bannon is a rabid right-winger
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Still Happens, week 45: President Homer Simpson
As always, The Simpsons predicted the future. In a season 9 episode called Trash of the Titans, Homer runs for sanitation commissioner against career civil servant Ray Patterson, voiced by Steve Martin. At one point, Homer gets into a shouting match with Patterson, and threatens to run for commissioner. “Wanna
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