“If a sociology professor applies a day before a medical doctor, the professor’s application gets processed first … I mean, we don’t really need a sociology professor. “. Jason Kenney Stephen Harper’s recent refusal to call a public inquiry into missing and exploited Aboriginal women, should not come as a
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Accidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Rick Perlstein observes that Ronald Reagan’s most lasting contribution to American politics may be his admonition not to recognize flaws or past sins which might require serious responses – and that democratic discourse in the U.S. and elsewhere has yet to recover: (T)he
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Whatever the ‘Canadian Taxpayers Federation’ is, it’s certainly not a ‘tax watchdog’ – let’s stop calling it one!
“Canadian Taxpayers Federation” Alberta Communications Director Derek Fildebrandt dressed up for a typical CTF stunt, which the media falls for every time. Below: Mr. Fildebrandt back in the days he was part of the Reagan-Goldwater Society at Carleton University; CTF board members Karen Selick, Adam Daifallah and John Mortimer. (Thumbnail
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: It Was Wrong When Ronald Reagan Did it and Just as Wrong For Stephen Harper
In, albeit not their sleaziest act, the Harper government blanketed the Ontario federal riding of Scarborough-Agincourt with flyers, aimed at the Liberals, for the upcoming bi-election. Not unusual during an election campaign. What made these flyers beyond the pale, was their content. Hoping to tap into the abundant immigrant community
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Missing: Any discussion of what drove the Hancock Government’s Bill 10 attack on legally enforceable contracts
A system of contracts that can be enforced and adjudicated by an independent and disinterested court like this one is one of the key features of civilized society. This is a picture of the court used by a significant number Canadian law firms to illustrate their web pages. Actually, it’s
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Wicked Witch war of words: ‘Has Thatcher bashing crossed a line?’ Well, er… no!
The Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz. Below, Ezra Levant in an orange wig with a can of Orange Crush mocks Jack Layton’s funeral. RIP or give it a rest? Oh my – quelle horreur! – naughty Britons still appalled by the depredations visited upon their
Continue readingThe Ranting Canadian: Faces of Evil This one isn’t a music video; it is chilling…
Faces of Evil This one isn’t a music video; it is chilling old footage of Margaret Thatcher having afternoon tea with her close personal friend and political ally Augusto Pinochet, the murderous quasi-fascist dictator of Chile who overthrew a democratically elected government in a bloody coup. Thatcher was an evil,
Continue readingMy journey with AIDS...and more!: Lunch with Vito Russo
Disclaimer: My memories have been assisted by Google and a piece of paper, 8-1/2″ x 11″ divided in half, on which is written the following: After signing up for The Movie Network again recently, I came upon the film “Vito: A Man For All Seasons”. I was immediately transported back to
Continue readingAlberta Diary: The Redford Tories’ conundrum: Progressive reason versus Conservative passion
They kissed us once. Will they kiss us again? Alas, in Alberta right now, there’s no way to be cert- cert- certain. Alison Redford chats with a typical Alberta voter last spring – although, Alberta politicians and their supporters may not turn out to be exactly as illustrated. Below: The
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Are Republicans Finally Willing to Bury Reagan?
Ronald Reagan’s nearly 30-year romp, or rampage, through Republican ideology, launched by a sitting president already in the throes of early stage Alzheimer’s, may be over.Reagan was, quite possibly, the greatest and most destructive bullshitter in Ame…
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Undemocratic impulses? Who ya gonna call? Not Jimmy Carter!
When it comes to ensuring the integrity of foreign elections, take it from Alberta Diary, Jimmy Carter is outstanding in the field. Below: Alberta MP Linda Duncan and Ukrainian President Viktor F. Yanukovich. By the sound of it, the international observers of Sunday’s Ukrainian parliamentary elections did manage to catch
Continue readingAlberta Diary: About Stephen Harper’s ambassadorial timeshare: maybe he missed the lesson on the Statute of Westminster!
Canadian and British Joint-Embassy diplomats work out their timeshare arrangements. Below: The young Stephen Harper on the day he missed his history lecture after lingering too long over Atlas Shrugged; Perfesser Dave feeds lines to Opposition leader Tom Mulcair last weekend; Mr. Harper at the NCC. Like Sir John A.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on the tendency for political parties to try to glorify past leaders by plastering their names and faces on the map – and the potential for Jack Layton’s legacy to be based on a far more direct connection to citizens. For further reading…– Politico documents some of the Republicans’
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Remarkable Revelation!
I am a person who believes in a transcendent reality. I mention this only to provide a context for the book I am currently reading entitled Paranormal: My Life in Pursuit of the Afterlife, written by Raymond Moody, the psychiatrist who for the past four decades has done pioneering work
Continue readingAlberta Diary: As goes California, so goes the nation!
The Beach Boys, now, and, below, then. Below them, Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, then and now. As goes California, so goes Canada? As goes California, so goes the nation – the nation in the normal scheme of things being what the world knows as the Good Ole U.S.A. For many
Continue reading“The Ronald Reagan Impose Your Beliefs on a Woman’s Womb Act” and “The Tea Party Determines What Rights a Woman Has Act.”
Democrats have a sense of humour. The legislation (H.R. 3541), sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), was originally entitled the “Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenatal Non-discrimination Act of 2011.” … Offended at the use of the names of two civil rights heroes, Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) offered his own
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: A Half a Century Later and We are Losing Half a Century
The Canadian Manifesto: How the American Neoconservatives Stole My Country In researching the conservative movement on both sides of the border, one thing becomes clear. In the U.S. they don’t like to be referred to as Republican any more than Stephen Harper likes to be called a Tory. They are CONSERVATIVE,
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: If we’d heeded Tom Kent in 1981, our democracy would be healthier today
Tom Kent, chair of the Royal Commission on Newspapers, 1981. (Canadian Press photo). Below: The cover of the 1981 Royal Commission report; Edmonton-St. Albert MP Brent Rathgeber. Today we mark the passage of Tom Kent, the man who got it right about the state of Canada’s news media and was
Continue readingRed Tory v.3.0.3: Chris Christie Answers Questions…
Following his speech about American Exceptionalism at the Reagan Presidential Library in California last night, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie answered questions from the audience, most of which (predictably) concerned speculation about him possibly running to the U.S. President in … Continue reading →
Continue readingLeDaro: Michele Bachmann about to eat Ronald Reagan
Bachmann looks at a cake commemorating the 100th birthday of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington in February 2011. (Joshua Roberts / Reuters)
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