The Conservatives, in a grand act of pettiness, have punted the Canadian Taxpayers Federation from the budget lockup on the 7th. It is likely in response to the organization holding the government’s feet to the fire. The budget lockup is a long tradition of the province that invites politicians from the
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Alberta Diary: Preston Manning’s well-funded ideological hobbyhorse takes aim at civic progressives
Calgary City Hall: The next target for former Reform Party leader Preston Manning’s not-very-merry band of far-right ideologues? Below: Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi and neoconservative ideological guru Manning back in the day. Is the so-called Manning Centre for Building Democracy preparing to target Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi and other progressive
Continue readingAlberta Diary: With no market for hate and right-wing drivel, Sun News comes cap in hand for public subsidy
More gruel, sir? The face of Sun News Network that Sun News Network would like you to see as they beg for public subsidies. Below: The real face of Sun News Network. Sun News Network, that fearless foe of state subsidies for the CBC, wants you, Dear Television Viewer, to
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Expense account outrages? Only in government, you say? Puleeze!
Executives of Covenant Health enjoy a bottle of 2001 Il Piggione over lunch at Edmonton’s Characters Restaurant. Catholic health care executives may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: Liberalbertaliberal Leader Raj Sherman. Alberta’s health care gong show continued to wheeze along yesterday with another revelation by the CBC that a couple of senior execs at …
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Harper Tories cry havoc and let slip the wars of dogs!
Meow! Prime Minister Stephen and Patron of the War Animals Laureen Harper with their Military Intelligence advisor “Trinity.” Below: the GRU and CSIS lapel pins. Note the similarity of design. Coincidence? I think not! A Royal Canadian animal hat: Here be Dragoons. And below that: Modern elephant-mounted light artillery …
Continue readingAlberta Diary: What kind of Canadian signs Jason Kenney’s petition for Jason Kenney? (Answer below)
“Gotta do something about those infernal refugees!” Some of Hon. Jason Kenney, PC, MP’s supporters get together for an evening of poker and political talk. Below: Riley Climenhaga. I recently received the following disturbing communication via email from someone named R.R. Climenhaga under the heading “Hon. Jason Kenney, PC, MP.”
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Unsuccessful at the polls, Alberta market fundamentalists want the courts to impose two-tier health care
What heath care for the rest of us will look like if the market fundamentalist right’s battle for insurance companies’ “rights” ever succeeds. Below: Private health-care advocate John Carpay; Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne; Alberta Liberal Health Critic David Swann. Not satisfied with their failure in the Alberta provincial election,
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Budget crisis? Civil service raises? Go pop a Valium, Smith!
Hey Marge! Danielle Smith says there’s a budget crisis and this is no time to be giving raises to civil servants! Marge? Typical Albertans may not be exactly as illustrated this summer. Below: Danielle Smith. It’s hard to imagine all that many Albertans getting their knickers in a twist at
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Severance Pay and Public Servants
I am an economist, not a lawyer or expert on the collective agreements in the federal public service, but I can still detect a hatchet job. The CBC have given a lot of play to a Greg Weston story that allegedly generous severance payments to public servants amounting to as
Continue readingMacKay being used as scapegoat to clear path for Jason Kenney as next Conservative leader?
Interesting article in the Straight about Kenney’s ascension in the Conservative ranks. The writer Charlie Smith feels that Kenney is the logical successor to Harper, with the scandals plaguing former favourite Peter MacKay all but eliminating the very elite Minister of National Defence from contention. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has
Continue readingMacKay being used as scapegoat to clear path for Jason Kenney as next Conservative leader?
Interesting article in the Straight about Kenney’s ascension in the Conservative ranks. The writer Charlie Smith feels that Kenney is the logical successor to Harper, with the scandals plaguing former favourite Peter MacKay all but eliminating the very elite Minister of National Defence from contention. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: ‘A pervasive culture of discriminatory bias’ – the justice model for Canada’s loony right
One of Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s deputies leads a prisoner, arrested for his shaky command of the English language, toward the chain gang. Racist and abusive Arizona police may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: “America’s toughest sheriff” hisself. Never forget that the Edmonton Sun, apparently a goodly portion of its
Continue readingCowboys for Social Responsibility: In defence of Peter MacKay (sort of)
See Peter. See Peter become a liability. Run Peter. You can run, Peter. You can not hide.We see that the right wing friends of the Prime Minister have launched their war on Peter MacKay. It must be a pleasant distraction from their rearguard action against the so-called War on Christmas.
Continue readingBlevkog: Dear Canadian Taxpayer Federation:
I have an idea for your next target research focus. Attawapiskat must pay Ottawa appointee $1,300 a day While the known costs for the auditor are $1,300 daily, that sum could rise significantly once travel and other expenses are factored in, said Grand Chief David Harper, of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak.
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: Not So Much Reform as Special Interest Groups
Jeffrey Simpson has an interesting column this week: Remember the Reformers? They’re still here In it he suggests that the Conservatives are now putting policies in place written for the Reform Party, two decades ago. However, while the cowboy law and order agenda was early Reform Party, most initiatives are
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: Rick Perry Steals Stockwell Day’s "Flat Tax" idea, who Stole it From the CTF, Who Stole it From ….
In 2006, Time magazine raised the alarm over Stephen Harper’s control of the media, which included his unprecedented secrecy of what goes on in cabinet meetings.However, if you want some idea of what they might sound like, watch the Republican debates …
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Never mind unions – let’s cast a little light on the darkest corporate corners!
Time to cast a little light in capitalism’s darkest corners? Below: Jim Stanford, Russ Hiebert.All the usual suspects clamouring for unions to be required by law to publicly reveal their financial accounts ought to be careful what they wish for. They…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading.
– James Laxer points out how overreach by the wealthy and powerful inevitably leads to backlash – and how we’re just scratching the surface of what’s to come:
(R)ight-wing revolts can get out of hand and can cre…
Accidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your weekend reading.
– Chris Selley nicely summarizes Jack Layton’s celebration of life today:
I can just hear people kvetching: Was this a funeral for a great man, or a rally for his party?
But again, this is surely to mi…
Continue readingWhat McFadyen’s cuts would mean to YOU!
We know that Hugh McFadyen’s personal ideology would compel him to balance the Budget on a year-over basis. Though Hugh has been trying to run away from this for the past couple of months, the fact remains that had Team Hughie been successful with their amendment to last years Budget, there would have been cuts […]
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