Wildfires and Gordon Lightfoot
“Do the best with what you’ve got.”—Gordon Lightfoot News of Gordon Lightfoot’s death, while not unexpected, still came as a shock. We didn’t think he’d live forever; truth be told…
Rich and/or Famous
Thoughts on the Death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg
US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday Sept 18, 2020 at the age of 87. She was appointed to the court by President Bill Clinton in 1993…
An Interview with Beverley McLachlin, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
I was delighted when Shelley Youngblut, CEO & Creative Ringleader of Wordfest, asked if I would like to interview Beverley McLachlin, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada,…
A Shakespearean Analysis of Jason Kenney
How many books and articles have we read about the rise of Donald Trump in America, Doug Ford in Ontario and Jason Kenney in Alberta? How many more historians, political…
Personal Will, Anyone?
Question: What do Stephen Hawking and Shamsia Husseini have in common? Answer: They both know the power of personal will. Ms Soapbox has been thinking a lot about “personal will”…
An Evening with Michelle Obama
Last Friday Ms Soapbox and her friend spent an intimate evening with Michelle Obama. True, we were packed into the Stampede Corral with 6000 other people, but as soon as…
Jason Kenney Was Just Kidding about Peter Lougheed…really?
In 1999 a young Jason Kenney told the National Post that “Klein realized Alberta could no longer afford the neo-Stalinist make-work projects of the Lougheed and Getty years, and he…
Ten Things We Learned from Trump’s Presidential Campaign
Barring a catastrophe Donald Trump will not become the 45th president of the United States. At the risk of tempting fate Ms Soapbox would like to present a top 10…
Never Watch a Presidential Debate When You’ve Got the Flu
Ms Soapbox has the flu and missed Thanksgiving dinner last night with her family and friends. She stayed home and watched the second Presidential debate. It almost finished her off.…
How the Conservatives Spun Murray Edwards and Vicki Kaminski
This week the conservatives spun Murray Edwards’ decision to move to England and Vicki Kaminski’s decision to leave Alberta Health Services for a job in Australia to convince Albertans to…
Fortress Calgary: The “Gate” in Mahogany Manor
What is it about gated communities that sends us into orbit? Calgary Planning Commission (CPC) just approved the construction of a “gate” in the southern Calgary to keep the hoi…
Breakfast with Hillary Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton was in Calgary last week to give the keynote address at a breakfast meeting of 2500 Calgarians who paid about $500 to hear her speak. Luckily my…
“What Makes Canada So Great?”
Michaela Pereira, CNN television personality and news anchor (I use the term loosely) asked a member of the Canadian Olympic skiing team this question: “What makes Canada so great?” My…
Redford and Mandela: Hypocrisy Meets Hope and Learns Nothing
The Redford government’s capacity for hypocrisy knows no bounds. In the same week that Redford’s PC government passed two corrosive pieces of anti-labour legislation, Ms Redford reflected on what she’d…
Congratulations Mayor Nenshi!
John Macfarlane, editor of The Walrus,* asks the question: When did society turn against its best and brightest and more importantly, why? He was bemoaning the fact that Torontonians had…
Dinner with Justin Trudeau: Gimmick or Doing Politics Differently?
“Have dinner with me, Susan.” What a charming invitation. Too bad it’s part of a fundraising campaign directed at 300,000 supporters of the federal Liberal party. But wait…let’s think about…
Conrad Black and Danielle Smith
Conrad Black, the Canadian media mogul and convicted felon* was in Calgary last week to have a “conversation” with the Calgary business elite (and me) over lunch at the Calgary…