GSAs…Here we go again
Last Thursday Mr and Ms Soapbox joined hundreds of Calgarians protesting Mr Kenney’s plan to out kids who join gay-straight alliances (GSAs) in schools. The question on everyone’s mind was…
Jason Kenney
How to save a province by destroying it: Jason Kenney releases the Full Monty, political version
About that 117-page “full platform” released by United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney on the billionaire Southern Family’s back stoop south of Calgary yesterday, the first thing it’ll do is…
Jeff Callaway bids to derail Kamikaze Campaign finance probe – why won’t he wait, like Trump?
Despite obviously having been tempted to shut down the “Russian collusion” investigation when he saw friends and supporters charged with lying to the FBI, aides to U.S. President Donald Trump…
The UCP health platform: mostly spin, some two-tier medicine, and scraps of red meat for the base
Jason Kenney’s health care policy announcement yesterday was a typical conservative political speech – a mish-mash of anodyne sentiment, misleading spin, market-fundamentalist nostrums, scraps of red meat for the base,…
Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Robert Borosage discusses why we shouldn’t let conveniently one-sided calls for civility silence debate over progressive possibilities. And Alex Ballingall reports on…
Rachel Notley drops hint about affordable child-care plan, mocks recent UCP bozo eruptions
It sure sounds as if Alberta Premier Rachel Notley will announce an affordable child-care plan for Alberta today. At any rate, at a rally in downtown Edmonton’s Polish Hall yesterday…
Episode 31: Game on. Week 1 of Alberta’s 2019 Election.
Alberta’s provincial election has been called and Albertans will be going to the polls on April 16. For the duration of the campaign, we’re going to be recording a new…
Jason Kenney and the Pope
Is there a limitation period after which we can safely disregard a politician’s scary comments? In 2000 Jason Kenney, then a 32 year old federal MP, gave a disturbing speech*…
The Alberta Advantage was Dependence
In the end, the “Alberta Advantage” was dependence. And in retrospect, undoing that dependence on the oil industry — a mixture of real and perceived — needed to be the…
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Michael Mikulewicz and Tahseen Jafry discuss the responsibility wealthy countries bear for increasingly severe weather events – as well as the best…
Has former Wildrose leader Danielle Smith become a (not so) secret admirer of NDP Premier Rachel Notley?
Danielle Smith nearly became the first woman to be elected premier of Alberta. As leader of the Wildrose Party, which despite her efforts was never quite successful at portraying itself…
On wilful blindness
One of the questions faced by the participants in any party leadership contest is the appropriate type of oppositional politics that’s appropriate between candidates and their supporters. And there’s certainly…
Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Alastair Sharp reports on the massive sums of money spent by oil barons in an attempt to undermine climate action. And Kyla Mandel…
Jason Kenney’s Quest.
There is something about being the big dog in a small kennel. It brings the walls to you and it feels all warm and snuggly. It must be what Jason…
The Prodigal Roughneck returns – Bernard the Roughneck throws his hardhat into the ring for FCP in Grande Prairie
The good news for Alberta’s Freedom Conservative Party is that it’s recruited a national figure as one of its candidates. The bad news for the FCP may be the national…
Alberta Election Day 2: Will UCP scandals keep traction once parties start rolling out their policies?
Premier Rachel Notley’s NDP clearly hopes to make Opposition Leader Jason Kenney’s character the ballot box issue for voters in the April 16 provincial election, but will the United Conservative…
Wednesday Evening Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Mark Olalde writes about the public subsidies being handed to U.S. resource companies who polluted water with toxic waste without having any plan…
The medium is the message: Rachel Notley calls an election for April 16
The medium is the message. And in March and April 2019, the medium and the message will be Rachel Notley. Rachel Notley, premier of Alberta, personally popular but leading a…