Albertans Once Again Set to Elect Senators-in-waiting

In Alberta here we had lead on senate reform being the only province to ever elect a senator. First was Stan Waters who PM Brian Mulroney appointed in the '90's.  Then in 2004 senate elections were held where Bert Brown who PM Stephen Harper appointed,  and is now a sitting CPC Senator in the Upper Chamber.

We were supposed to have senate elections last fall along with our municipal elections but out going Premier Ed Stelmach decided not to hold them.instead extending the current senators-in-waiting their term.  Now the PC leadership candidates have vowed to bring senate elections back to coincide with the next provincial election which could be as early as this fall.

Bring it on! We will be electing senators again regardless it seems because Danielle Smith and the Wildrose Party are also committed to Senate reform. They're at the moment looking for nominees.

Let's be leaders again! Hopefully the other provinces will take note and decide to do like wise.  We must make sure we keep pressing  all the PC candidates and the Wildrose to make sure this happens.  We should all know politicians by now of all stripes just because they promise something doesn't mean they'll follow through.  Don't let them off the hook!

Government IS The Problem

The financial turmoil in Europe and the US and the riots in the UK and Greece are basically caused by governments living beyond their means. Spending has gotten out of control.  

The western world have become welfare states over the last fourty years with more and more and bigger and bigger social programs that are unsustainable. The citizenry have become dependent on those programs to take of their every need.  Now, governments are in trouble.  Debt and deficits are spiraling out of control and economies are on the brink.  The standard of living is on the brink.

Yes even in Canada too.  We too have programs that are unsustainable such as  universal healthcare, and government pensions. Even though spending has ramped up in recent years the government now wants to make spending cuts instead of stimulus to promote economic growth This is long overdue but of course the NDP is going to fight the government every step of the way.

Lorne Gunter says that government is the real cause of our problems.

What do Obamacare, the London riots and a possible French debt crisis have in common? They are all proof that Western governments have grown beyond all reasonable, sensible limits. All these examples, and many more, demonstrate that we have grown utterly dependent on a ubiquitous state. Without one, we are at a loss about what to do.
We have lost the ability to fend for ourselves and think for ourselves. Like teenagers accustomed to electronic stimulation to occupy their minds every waking minute, we have no idea what to do when the power goes out. We are dumbfounded that the TV does not come on to amuse us, or the Xbox or iPod or smartphone.
In short, we no longer know how to be self-reliant.

Bingo! It's true we don't know how to be self-reliant anymore.  Like former President Ronald Reagan said at his inaugural address in 1981, "Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem."    



Yes, government IS the problem!!!

If our standard of living is to be retained or improved, governments everywhere at all levels need to reduce their size and get out of our everyday lives.   As individuals it's time we take responsibility. Self-reliance is the key.  We need to learn how to do for ourselves  and  become less dependent on government.  Government should NOT  be taking care of us from cradle to grave.  

A Rare Apology from the MSM

Apologies are a rare occurrence when it comes to the mainstream media but Global news has admitted a mistake and has apologized.   for wrongly suggesting that Conservative MP Shelly Glover's comments about former Liberal MP Anita Neville being "passed her expiry date."  Global initially insinuated Shelly's comment meant she thought Anita Neville was too old.

An important clarification and apology regarding a story we first reported on this program on Monday, March 28th. The report centered on excerpts from an interview with Shelly Glover, Conservative M-P fir St. Boniface. During the interview, Mrs. Glover commented on then Liberal MP, Anita Neville's performance, saying she had "passed her expiry date."
In our story, we inaccurately suggested that Mrs. Glover's comments meant she thought Ms. Neville was too old for the job when Mrs. Glover never made any comments related to age.
A review of the complete interview transcript supports Mrs. Glover's assertion that she was reffering only to Neville's performance in Parliament on behalf of her constituents.
Our story, which ran during the federal election campaign, resulted in some harsh criticism for Mrs. Glover, which was unjustified. Global News Acknowledges that in this case, proper journalistic checks and balances were not adequately followed and that Mrs. Glover's quotes were taken out of context.

  Even though the apology was a bit late at least acknowledged it and decided to issue one.  Kudos to them!

Maybe CBC and CTV should take note.  I'm still waiting for an apology from Robert Fife for calling conservatives "knuckle draggers."