Even the Teflon Don can’t get out of this one. Everyone except his most fanatical supporters knows Trump is a pig, a boor, a crass, classless thug. Now we have the best evidence yet of exactly what kind of person Donald Trump really is. An audiotape of Trump on a
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In This Corner: Stuff Still Happens, week 37: Judging the judges
This week, an Alberta judge found Travis Vader guilty in the deaths of elderly couple Lyle and Marie McCann. Queen’s Bench Justice Denny Thomas found Vader guilty of second degree murder, despite the facts that no trace of the McCann’s has ever been found, no weapon was found, and the evidence was entirely circumstantial. Oh, […]
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Mel Hurtig, a great Canadian – and, full of beans, as we used to say
PHOTOS: Mel Hurtig with his Canadian Encyclopedia, without which, once upon a time, no respectable Canadian home was considered complete. I am grateful to Mr. Hurtig for one thing not mentioned in the short commentary below, and that is my accidental i…
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Still Happens, week 26: Oiler fans say, ‘What the Hall?’
It’s summer here in the Great Green North, the brief respite from the snow and cold and ceaseless hockey talk. Or at least that’s supposed to be the way it goes. While there are no reports of winter weather, hockey news just never goes away. This week, the obsessive fan base of the Edmonton Oilers […]
Continue readingAlberta Politics: After the fall: The world needs more Meat Loaf
PHOTOS: My only, terrible, mobile phone photo of Meat Loaf on stage, before the fall. Below: The author and his daughter in their Meat Loaf T-shirts, likely to become a collectors’ item if the remaining dates in the concert tour are cancelled. Reader…
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Still Happens, week 22: Muhammad Ali, when boxing mattered
The death on Friday of Muhammad Ali, described by the New York Times as a “titan of boxing and the 20th century” reminded me of a time when boxing mattered. There was a time, before Ali and for a while after he retired, when boxing was one of the premiere sports in the world. Everyone […]
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Still Happens, week 9: Skinny cable is malnourished; Justin Trudeau, superstar
The big news in Canadian TV was all about the skinny. Last year, the CRTC ordered Canadian cable providers to provide a basic package of cable channels — commonly called skinny — for only $25. The package had to include a minimum local and regional TV stations, channels with mandatory distribution (like the watched-by-no one […]
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Still Happens, week 7: Horse racing put down; The Rebel yells
Edmonton Northlands, the so-called ‘agricultural society’ that has been a force in Edmonton since Edmonton was in diapers, announced a sweeping plan to rebuilt the soon-to-be-vacant arena and the area surrounding it. It’s partly a great idea, and partly nutty. The great idea, if they can find $85 million between the government’s couch cushions, is […]
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Still Happens, week 3: The slow death of the daily newspaper
And so, the era of competitive newspapers in Canada has come to an end. This week, the wretched Postmedia group consolidated the newsrooms in four cities where they own both papers, including Edmonton. The Edmonton Journal and the Edmonton Sun — once bitter foes whose rivalry benefited Edmonton — are now together in one newsroom, […]
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Still Happens, week 2: Caution, bad news ahead
Hoo-boy, what a bad news week for Alberta, and Canada. Oil continued its slide, falling to below $30 a barrel. The Canadian dollar continued its slide, falling to below 70 cents US. If it weren’t for the fact that Mexico already has the peso, we’d be calling the loonie the peso of North America. Thanks […]
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Happens, week 51: It was a very bad year
Well, I did it. And I’m sure you’re thrilled. When I started writing this blog, I vowed to write a weekly review of events as I saw them. I did it mostly as a personal challenge, a way to instil a little discipline in my undisciplined life, and to boost my memory of the events […]
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Happens, week 47: Farmers raising hell; this week’s gun atrocity
I have to say I am greatly enjoying watching the NDP government squirm over Bill 6, their farm safety bill. The bill would force farms to apply the same safety regulations that apply in other industries, something that is commonplace across the country. I don’t disagree with this at all; in fact, I think it […]
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Hello Canada? This is London calling! … and we’re mildly confused
PHOTOS: BBC listeners, suitably equipped because they think they’re listening to Ezra Levant, tune into my words of wisdom from Canada. Actual 21st Century “media consumers” may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: The weather in Britain ……
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Happens, week 45: Everybody loves France.
The world is still coming to grips with the Paris attacks of last week. From late night talk shows to international soccer (a.k.a. football) matches to Facebook postings, the world is showing solidarity with the French. This might be the one good thing to come of this horrendous event; next to Americans, the French are […]
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Whatever happens next, Justin Trudeau has brought the Liberals back from the brink
PHOTOS: Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau addresses his supporters in Edmonton this morning. Below: Mr. Trudeau’s supporters line up in the pale morning light to get into his rally; Mr. Trudeau greets supporters as he bounded to the stage. Charisma matters. I don’t know if Justin Trudeau’s Liberals will win the
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta’s Wildrose Opposition: just off the turnip truck … or what?
ILLUSTRATIONS: Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital, back in the day. Below: A newer version of the same hospital, one of the buildings that’s now falling apart. (From CardCow.com) Below that image: Wildrose Health Critic Drew Barnes; Richard Starke, MLA, and Richard Starkey, MBE. Anybody who’s been inside the Royal Alexandra Hospital
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Happens, week 38: Too close to call; ‘stuff happens’ in Oregon; what was the Pope thinking?
The finish line of the federal election is in sight, but we’re no closer to seeing a winner than we were weeks ago. The latest polls indicate that support for the NDP is beginning to fall — turning their famous Quebec ‘orange crush’ into an ‘orange crash’ — while support
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Happens, week 38: Too close to call; ‘stuff happens’ in Oregon; what was the Pope thinking?
The finish line of the federal election is in sight, but we’re no closer to seeing a winner than we were weeks ago. The latest polls indicate that support for the NDP is beginning to fall — turning their famous Quebec ‘orange crush’ into an ‘orange crash’ — while support
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Happens, week 37: He’s Pope-tastic; cabbies go wild; NDP plays giveaway.
Pope Francis made his North American debut this week, and he was boffo. The pontiff, who is not very popular with the right-wing of the Catholic church (which means he is doing something right) drew ecstatic crowds in his first U.S. visit. English, however, is clearly his second or third
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Happens, week 37: He’s Pope-tastic; cabbies go wild; NDP plays giveaway.
Pope Francis made his North American debut this week, and he was boffo. The pontiff, who is not very popular with the right-wing of the Catholic church (which means he is doing something right) drew ecstatic crowds in his first U.S. visit. English, however, is clearly his second or third
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