Think that that dirtiest oil on the planet is only found up in Alberta? You might be surprised then to hear that there are tar sands deposits in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, much of which are on public lands. While none of the American tar sands deposits are actively being
Continue readingTag: Alberta
Rusty Idols: Conscience Rights in Action
May 2011 – (AP) NEW ORLEANS A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Red Shirt
Trekkies know what happens to the characters on away missions, if they are wearing red. Smith got the Vulcan hand sign for “Live Long and Prosper” incorrect. Her thumb should be held away from her hand. She’s a good sport not to have warp core meltdown after the paper let
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Alberta Party Pushes For Anti-Gay “Conscience Rights”
The Wildrose Party, a socially-conservative provincial party hoping to wrestle power away from Alberta’s current conservative government, is defending its election platform against some pretty serious criticism this month. The policy is pretty far to the right of the political spectrum, even by Alberta’s standards. One contentious point
Continue readingRusty Idols: Hello Wildrose, Goodbye Public Healthcare
In the States, that crazed pack of screaming ideologues known as the Tea Party only hate one thing more than the idea that a black man named Barack Obama could be their President and that’s his paltry industry supporting attempt to provide all Americans with healthcare. A plan that subsidizes
Continue readingCo2 Art: Wildrose Tainted by Association with Harperism?
Danielle Smith: A wildflower blooming virtuous and free on the Prairie…or a programed-from-youth apparatchik of big oil corporatocracy and U.S. Republicanism?A legitimate enough question.If only it were the only question.The problem for Wildrose is t…
Continue readingCo2 Art: Wildrose Tainted by Association with Harperism?
Danielle Smith: A wildflower blooming virtuous and free on the Prairie… or a programed-from-youth apparatchik of big oil corporatocracy and U.S. Republicanism? A legitimate enough question. If only it were the only question. The problem for Wildrose is that the federal Conservatives are not only their ideological “soulmates”. The Conservatives
Continue readingCo2 Art: Wildrose Tainted by Association with Harperism?
Danielle Smith: A wildflower blooming virtuous and free on the Prairie… or a programed-from-youth apparatchik of big oil corporatocracy and U.S. Republicanism? A legitimate enough question. If only it were the only question. The problem for Wildrose is that the federal Conservatives are not only their ideological “soulmates”. The Conservatives
Continue readingRusty Idols: Wild Rose promises to waste your tax dollars…
…by attempting to discriminate against gays and women seeking reproductive services, guaranteed to cause legal challenges equally guaranteed to be decided against the Alberta Government after expensive legal battles with preordained results. So called ‘Conscience Rights’ have been decisively adjudicated. People in government licensed positions like Marriage Commissioners MAY NOT
Continue readingTerahertz: Alberta’s next cabinet: Bigots and Theocrats?
After Naheed Nenshi became mayor of Calgary and Alison Redford won the Progressive Conservative leadership race, becoming Alberta’s first female premier, I thought things were turning around for my homeland. Moderate, pragmatic, and relatively progressive ideas were starting to take hold. Plans were on the way to improve the Alberta
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Investors: No More Flaring of Fracked Oil and Gas in Bakken Shale
exxon-gas-flaring-photo01.jpg The debate over flaring unconventional oil and gas in shale basins across the United States has suddenly heated up immensely (excuse the bad pun). On March 27, the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economy (CERES) penned a letter calling for an end to the practice, writing, We are a group of 37
Continue reading180 degrees.
180 degrees. About face. Alison Redford may have been called a flip flopper before, but this time it was a complete polar turn around. To be fair, I see nothing wrong with flip flopping. We all make mistakes and we all make decisions without necessarily considering the complete information. Reversing
Continue reading180 degrees.
180 degrees. About face. Alison Redford may have been called a flip flopper before, but this time it was a complete polar turn around. To be fair, I see nothing wrong with flip flopping. We all make mistakes and we all make decisions without necessarily considering the complete information. Reversing a decision simply means that … Continue reading 180 degrees. →
Continue readingArt Threat: Of Waves, Bears and Oil – Friday Film Pick: Tipping Barrels
Tipping Barrels (Ben Gulliver, 2012) is one part surfing movie, one part wildlife documentary, one part guy flick and one part political commentary. It’s for parts two and four that I include it as this week’s Friday Film Pick. The short doc, running at 18 minutes, gazes in on British
Continue readingRusty Idols: Danielle Smith: Wrong for Alberta
What happens if a rigid, far right ideologue who’s only experience in a public service role is a tale of obstruction, fundamental lack of understanding of the facts, radical disdain for the role of the public sector, childish spats and a seeming inability to compromise or work with anyone who disagrees with her
Continue readingThe cost of Conservative Government Getting Out of Healthcare: An Election
The Quebec Minister of Finance today warned that the Conservative government would lose an election if they didn’t recommit to their fair share of healthcare costs, citing Prime Minister Pearson’s commitment to 50/50 sharing of a National Healthcare program. There is going to be another federal election…We have time to
Continue readingLiberals release poll, continue with bold moves
The Alberta Liberals carried on day two of the provincial election campaign with another bold move. After suggesting that they had the best day one of the parties, I risk coming across as partisan when I suggest that they take the cake again for day two. The big bang came from releasing internal poll results … Continue reading Liberals release poll, continue with bold moves →
Continue readingLiberals release poll, continue with bold moves
The Alberta Liberals carried on day two of the provincial election campaign with another bold move. After suggesting that they had the best day one of the parties, I risk coming across as partisan when I suggest that they take the cake again for day two. The big bang came
Continue readingHotel stunt wins day one for Sherman
An election campaign is upon us and that means that each day will be filled with announcements, attacks, ideas, stunts and mistakes. It makes for an interesting time as Albertans spend 4 weeks discussing a wide variety of public policy issues (in theory). With so little surprise as to the
Continue readingHotel stunt wins day one for Sherman
An election campaign is upon us and that means that each day will be filled with announcements, attacks, ideas, stunts and mistakes. It makes for an interesting time as Albertans spend 4 weeks discussing a wide variety of public policy issues (in theory). With so little surprise as to the day the campaign would start … Continue reading Hotel stunt wins day one for Sherman →
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