How many books and articles have we read about the rise of Donald Trump in America, Doug Ford in Ontario and Jason Kenney in Alberta? How many more historians, political scientists and armchair experts do we need to tell us how we got into this mess and how to get
Continue readingAuthor: susanonthesoapbox
Susan on the Soapbox: Has Jason Kenney Evolved?
The Up Series is an amazing documentary that follows the lives of 14 British children over five decades. The children were interviewed every seven years starting in 1964 when they were seven years old. The next instalment, 63 Up, will be released in 2019. The children came from the working
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Day the Market Broke
It finally happened. Someone broke the free market and the NDP government has to fix it. Weird, eh? Albertans spent the last few weeks being whip-sawed between companies (Cenovus) who said the market was broken and companies (Imperial, Husky, Suncor) who said the market was just fine, thank you very
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Albertans Aren’t Feeling the Love
Last week Ms Soapbox wrote an article for CBC in which she called out the hypocrisy of the energy industry and various conservatives who want the Alberta government to impose temporary industry-wide production cuts to prop up oil prices. Isn’t government meddling in the free market a big no-no?
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Why Carpay’s Comment About the Rainbow Flag Matters
“History can familiarize, and it can warn.” – Timothy Snyder On Thursday Mr and Ms Soapbox attended Rachel Notley’s Octoberfest in November event. In her speech, Premier Notley mentioned that Jason Kenney, the leader of the UCP, is still supporting John Carpay, who in a speech at a conference organized
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Two Minutes on Novermber 11th
Today is the 100th anniversary of the end of hostilities in the Great War. Canadians will mark this day as they have for the last century with two minutes* of silence. We will remember the 61,000 men and women who died in uniform, most of whom are buried overseas in
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Hello Ottawa!
Ms Soapbox is on her way to Ottawa. There’s a good chance she’s in the air right now squashed into a tiny little seat trying to figure out why her WestJet onboard entertainment app isn’t working (luckily, she’s brought along her youngest daughter “Mini” who will fix the glitch in
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Razzle Dazzle ‘Em: Part Two
Last week Jason Kenney unveiled his Fight Back Strategy. No longer would Alberta be apologetic about the energy industry. From now on Alberta, the federal government and the industry were going to fight back. Prepare to be razzle dazzled! War Room Kenney will set up a war room in the
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Razzle Dazzle ‘Em: Part One
“Give ‘em the old Razzle Dazzle…how can they see with sequins in their eyes?” —Richard Gere as a corrupt criminal lawyer in the musical Chicago Prepare to be razzle dazzled! Jason Kenney spoke at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and the Energy Relaunch conference recently. This post will cover the
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: How a Party’s Nominees Reflect a Party’s Values
Racists, homophobes and xenophobes do not feel at home in the New Democratic Party consequently NDP nomination meetings are not derailed by bozo eruptions and do not attract much media attention. This radio silence means many Albertans are uninformed about the quality of the nominees the NDP considers of sufficient
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Political Discourse in Alberta: Seen through Orwell’s Lens
“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”—George Orwell It was fascinating to consider Jason Kenney’s comments on two issues that arose this week in the context of George Orwell’s commentary on political discourse. George Orwell
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: HAPPY THANKSGIVING
It’s been an intense week (aren’t they all). Today let’s pause and reflect. We have much to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. A turkey to serve cranberry sauce. Perfect.
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearing and How a Calgary City Councillor Sank PostMedia’s Credibility
The Kavanaugh confirmation hearing is like a mirror shattering on the floor, shards of glass are flying every where and women are demanding accountability. Everyone knows about the two women who confronted Senator Jeff Flake in an elevator and demanded he think carefully about the message he’s sending women by
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Blinded by the Brand
Why are people loyal to a brand that guarantees austerity today in return for the promise of prosperity tomorrow with no plan setting out how and when austerity will morph into prosperity and despite overwhelming evidence that similar promises failed to deliver prosperity in the past? It’s a mystery, but
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Notwithstanding Clause: A Gift from Doug Ford to Jason Kenney
Sometimes silence speaks louder than words. Last week Doug Ford went straight to the nuclear option when a judge told him no Doug, you can’t downsize Toronto city council in the middle of a municipal election just because you feel like it. Mr Ford says he’s going to invoke the
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: What Albertans Can Learn From Barack Obama
To paraphrase that old E.F. Hutton commercial, when Barack Obama talks, people listen. Last week Obama spoke at the University of Illinois. He broke with the tradition of ex-presidents stepping away from the podium to give the new guy a chance to get on with his agenda because these are
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Trans Mountain Pipeline Court Decision
Ms Soapbox spent the long weekend poring over the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision nullifying the Order-in-Council that approved the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX). Mr Bumble’s comment in Oliver Twist comes to mind. Mr Bumble said if the court thought he could control his domineering wife, the law was
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Maxime Bernier Opens the Diversity Debate
What lunacy is this? Maxime Bernier’s twitter rant condemning Justin Trudeau’s “extreme multiculturalism” policies ended with Bernier exiting stage (far) right, Andrew Scheer promising to fight asylum seekers who jump the queue and Michelle Rempel announcing the “Pathway to Canada” tour to consult with Canadians about immigration issues. Assuming Mr
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Fifteen Bucks an Hour
The government is gradually increasing Alberta’s minimum wage from $10.20 in Oct 2015 and to a cap of $15/hour in Oct 2018. Fifteen bucks an hour. This increase is not going to land anyone in the lap of luxury–$15/hour is $3.14/hour below the living wage for Calgary which currently sits
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Banning Alex Jones & InfoWars: Social Media Grows Up
This just in from the better-late-than-never department. Last week Apple, Facebook, YouTube and Spotify “deplatformed” Alex Jones’ InfoWars from their platforms and pages. It took them years to acknowledge that InfoWars violated their terms of service and it was time to say goodbye to the angry Mr Jones. The only
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