would be - wanna be

UPDATE (May 18, 2006) - Check out an updated Alberta PC leadership roster here.

**UPDATE (October 11, 2006) - Check out the entire list of MLA endorsements for the Alberta PC leadership race.**

Well, with yesterday’s prediction by Tory MLA Lloyd Snelgrove (Vermilion-Lloydminster) that Alberta's glorious and blessed leader, Premier Ralph Klein, is on his way out, I decided to take a look at some of the “would-be” Klein successors. Here are some of the old (mostly white) men stepping up to lead the 34 year-old Tory dynasty...

Jim Dinning – The 'Paul Martin' of the Alberta PC Leadership race. This former Provincial Treasurer (1992-97) has been bidding his time in the private sector since leaving electoral politics in 1997 (private sector, hmmm. Sounds more like the John Turner of this race). He’s looking to be the “everything-to-everyone” candidate. Under the “why Jim” category of his website, apparently one of his qualifiers for leader is: “He's been an active Party member since the 1970's.”

Lyle Oberg, MLA Strathmore-Brooks – Currently the Transport Minister, Oberg was affectionately known as “Lyle, Lyle, pants on fire” by teachers, parents, students, and trustees from across Alberta during his time as Learning Minister from 2001 to 2004. His arrogant style will no doubt help him fit in with many of the other candidates in this race.

Ed Stelmach, MLA Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville – Elected in 1993, after unseating two-term ND MLA Derek Fox, Stelmach quietly toiled as Transport Minister for years until being appointed Intergovernmental Affairs Minister last winter. He seems like a nice guy, but I really can’t name anything he's done in his past 12 years.

Gary Mar, MLA Calgary Mackay – Once considered a serious contender in the race to replace Ralph, Mar had a wrench thrown in the wheels of his machine after it was discovered that this former Health Minister paid almost $400,000 in an untendered contracts to his former Executive Assistant. Now toiling as the lowly Community Development Minister, Mar is cutting ribbons instead of talking Health Care-reform.

Dave Hancock, MLA Edmonton Whitemud – Currently the Advanced Education Minister, Hancock was only one of two Tories elected in Edmonton in 1997 and is now 1 of 3 Tory MLA’s in Edmonton. Probably the most decent Tory MLA in Alberta, unfortunately he’s from Liberal Edmonton and I’m sure this will have a negative effect on his leadership chances.

Mark Norris – In 2001, Mark Norris was called a “giant-killer” for unseating then Liberal leader Nancy MacBeth in Edmonton McClung. In 2004, Norris was “giant-killed” himself by Liberal Mo Elsalhy (sources tell me that Mr. Norris took a week off during the campaign to go on a golfing vacation). Currently with no seat, I really don’t consider him a serious candidate. But things got a lot more interesting last month when Mr. Norris joined Klein and his mafia on a trip to Klein’s BC Fishing lodge. Is Norris Klein’s padwan?? Hmmm. Sounds like a kiss of death to me.

Ted Morton, MLA Foothills-Rockyview – Ah yes, the dark horse of this race. Not terribly charismatic, Dr. Morton is a hard-line right-wing ideologue. The former “Senator-in-Waiting” was elected last November under the slogan of “More Alberta, Less Ottawa.” Though he is shunned by many in the Tory establishment, he may draw the support of the hard right-wingers that the other candidates cannot. If he wins, look for a lot of Tories to jump to the Liberals. One of the rumours going around is that if he looses the leadership, he’ll jump to the floundering Alberta Alliance Party.

So, there we have it. Pretty homogeneous, eh

Klein on his way out: Tory MLA

Well, it's begun, and it's coming from Tory MLA Lloyd Snelgrove...

MLA predicts Klein gone by fall

Last updated Jun 3 2005 10:50 AM MDT
CBC News

EDMONTON – One of Premier Ralph Klein's MLAs is speculating on when his boss will step down, predicting a fall departure.

Vermilion-Lloydminster MLA Lloyd Snelgrove has stepped forward as the first caucus member to openly talk about when he thinks Klein will retire.

Klein, elected to a fourth majority last fall, says it was his last campaign. And while he maintains that he will serve out a full term, many believe he will go earlier, and campaigns to replace him have already been launched.

"It could be within the year, it could be sooner. I just think that it will be sooner than later," Snelgrove said. "I just have to guess from the leadership activity that many of those think the same way as me.

"They seem to operate in a different information system than we do, so I don't believe they'd be as active if they didn't feel that the leadership race would be sooner than later."

Snelgrove says within the party's inner circles, when Klein will go is the subject of much discussion.

While Snelgrove would like to see Klein stay for another three years, he says speculation among those close to the premier has him going as early as this fall – which would be Klein's 25th anniversary in politics.

He was elected the mayor of Calgary in 1980.

The gates are open. The "tirekickers" are banging at the gates, and the King is a lame, lame duck.

Retire Ralph, you're way past your best-before-date.

I'm it!

I’ve been tagged by Aaron at Grandinite into some sort of name-that-book game which is quickly spreading across the blog-o-sphere. I guess I’ll play along. Game On!

As of late, about 99% of my reading tends to lean towards policy reports of the "PSE" flavour and are usually work related. But, when I do read on my own, this is where I lean...

# of Books that I own

I’m gonna wing it and say about 300. I have this really neat set of original classroom textbooks published in 1917 titled "True Stories of the Great War." They're such propaganda peices, but a fun read. A lot of text University text books too.

Last book I bought (not including text books):

*Alberta Politics Uncovered: Taking back our Province by Marc Lisac - great book on Alberta politics.

Last books I read:

*Harry Potter and Philosopher Stone by J.K.Rowling – Such a fun book!

*Digital Fortress by Dan Brown – I borrowed it from my former roommate and forgot to give it back to her. Picture: DaVinci Code at the NSA.

Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas

Five Books that mean a lot to me.

1.The Discoverers by Daniel J. Boorstin. This is a great book for history buffs. It was a gift from a good friend.

2.History on the Run: The “Trenchcoat” Memoirs of a Foreign Correspondent by Knowlton Nash – One of the best reads I have ever experienced. I picked up the book for $1.50 at a used book store in St. John’s, Newfoundland last summer and read it in 2 days.

3.The Winter Years by James H. Gray – A great book about the depression on the Prairies.

4.The Chronicle’s of Narnia by C.S. Lewis – These were the first series of books I ever read on my own (outside of school). I still think they’re great.

5.Shredding the Public Interest by Kevin Taft – this may seem politically hackish of me, but this book was one of the reasons I began to get involved in politics (way back in good ol’e 1999).

So, at this point, I'm supposed to "tag" other bloggers as "it" :)

I tag:

c-lo
Five of Five
Gauntlet
Rempelia Prime
Senator Catalyst
Zita

my grewal post

hmm. Gurmant Grewal. Tapes. Editing. Pizza. Ujjal Dosanjh. Ambassadorships. Tim Murphy.

Sounds like a made-for-TV Movie.

I thought about posting on the Grewal tapes, but there seems to be a huge saturation of Grewal-gate related blogging out there. I would recommend Buckets of Grewal (one of the better and entertaining Grewal resources), Calgary Grit, Section 15, Mr. Cherniak, and Rational Reasons.

My take: the ENTIRE thing looks shady. If the tapes were edited (as it looks they may have been) then it gets even more shady. What do you think the chances of the Grewal's being booted from the CPC Caucus are?

Also, props to the good senator for the following. I enjoyed it quite a bit!

Policy

In the beginning was the Plan.

Then came the Assumptions.

But the Assumptions were without form,

And the plan was completely without substance.

And the darkness was upon the faces of the workers.
So they spoke unto their group heads, saying: "It is a crock of shit, and it stinketh!"

And the group heads went unto their section heads, and sayeth: "It is a pail of dung, such that none can stand it!"

And the section heads went unto their managers, and sayeth unto them: "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none here may abide the odour therof."

And the managers went unto their Director, and sayeth unto him: "It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength."

And the Director went unto the Director-General, and sayeth uto him: "It contains that which aids plant growth, and it is very strong."

And the Director-General went unto the Assistant Deputy Minister, and sayeth unto him: "It promoteth growth, and it is very powerful."

And the Assistant Deputy Minister went unto the Deputy Minister, and sayeth unto him: "This powerful new plan will actively promote the growth and efficiency of the department, and this area in particular!"

And the Deputy Minister looked upon the plan, And saw that the plan was good.

And the plan became policy...

i must be unparliamentary...

Well, you might have noticed the new template. New and cleaned up for the summer. Goodbye blocky blue template and hello minty white and blue! Enjoy.

I thought I would briefly touch on the interesting evening I had last night. As a staff member at the U of A Students' Union, I thought it would be a good gesture and an interesting expeditionary adventure to attend a Student's Council Meeting at the good ol'e University Hall.

So, the evening was progressing as one would expect a Student's Council meeting to progress when all of a sudden, things began to get slightly (only slightly) more entertaining. All of a sudden, without a moments notice the Speaker of Student's Council, the Honorable Gregory Harlow, threw down the procedural gauntlet and flexed his bulging parliamentary muscles by having an observer thrown out of the Council Chambers.

Fortunately, this observer just happened to be me. Apparently, whispering when the Speaker demands silence is a parliamentary "no-no."

I beg your forgiveness oh benevolent Speaker of the Council. :P

D :)

*BREAKING NEWS*

TINY, BUT PERSISTANT REPUBLIC LAUNCHES "FALKLAND ISLANDS" STYLE WAR AGAINST COMMUNIST CHINA
Daveberta Daily Star
By: Maxwell T. Ferdinand, Holtopia Bureau Chief

On May 31 at approximately 10:45p.m. (Holtopian standard time), armed commando forces of the Republic of Holtopia launched a tactical assault on the People's Republic of China, securing 3 acres of rice patties. The Holtopian commando’s outfitted in silver tennis shoes and green alien costumes, moved swiftly across the Chinese county-side causing much confusion in the local population as to who these green and silver costumed folks were. This hilarious confusion seems to be the strength of the small Holtopian army, and has led to the creation of their motto, "Laughter, Stealth, Strike."

The President of Holtopia declared May 31 to be a great day in the life of the tiny republic. "Today, we conquer China. Tomorrow, the world!"

A Chinese Government spokesperson described the invasion as a "simple domestic disturbance, which will be dealt with in due time."


*PRESS RELEASE*

DAVEBERTA SUPPORTS HOLTOPIAN INVASION
Office of the Ministry of Social Revolution

"It is my duty to announce that the greatest of the tiny little republics, Holtopia, has launched a "Falkland Islands" style war against the People's Republic of China" the President of Daveberta said at a press conference late last night. The President subsequently announced that the Grand Republic of Daveberta will offer financial aid, "tactical advice," and replacement tennis shoes to the glorious and blessed leader of Holtopia.

The President also described the war as a great economic opportunity for the growing tennis shoe industry that has boomed since the beginning of the NHL Hockey Strike.

my royal week

Well, for those of you who didn't know, Her Majesty the Queen was in Edmonton this week to help celebrate Alberta's 100th Anniversary. As a third generation Albertan, who's family arrived as pioneers in Alberta in 1896 (before it was even Alberta), I was looking forward to celebrating the 100th Anniversary of my home province. I had the opportunity to attend two events, one good, and one less than good. :P

On Monday's soggy afternoon, my good friend Lindsay and I made our way over to Commonwealth Stadium for what had been played up as Alberta's "Big Birthday Bash". Well, if by "Big" they meant small, and by "Bash" they meant sucks, and by "Birthday" they meant Ralph's going away party, then they were right on the mark. It was a cold, rainy, dreary, cloudy, and cold day here in Edmonton. The event started out with us finding our seats and pulling on our plastic rain parkas. On our way to find our seats, we went to pick up a free Alberta 2005, Alberta, and Canadian Flags. I'm assuming due to the low turnout (about 15,000 out of 50,000 tickets distributed) the volunteers were handing out flags like they were going out of style. Not only did I get 8 "Royal Visit" buttons dumped into my hands, but I also got 3 Alberta 2005 flags, 8 Alberta flags, and 6 Canadian flags. Sounds like a sound use of Provincial Tax Dollars.

After we found our seats (we were soaked from head to toe by that point), we unfortunately had to sit for the next hour and listen to two of Edmonton's "local celebrities" ramble on and on about how great Alberta is and how great the history of our province is, blah, blah, blah...

Due to the rain and cold about 80% of the entertainment was cancelled. Apparently there was no contingency plan for the party. In Alberta, where the weather can change on a dime, it surprised me that there wasn't some kind of contingency plan.

So, a couple of marching bands trumped in the Stadium, the main band was cancelled (so they stuck in a CD, very very classy), and then in came Ralph and his wife in a sporty little car. Woo hoo. The crowd was less than excited. So far, the day sucked.

Then the moment all 15,000 of us were waiting for, Her Majesty the Queen and His Highness the Duke of Edinburgh arrived. Their plane had been delayed, so they arrived about half an hour later than scheduled. They came in, the crowd, wet and cold, cheered. She walked around, and then sat down in a tent. At that point some singer came on stage and started singing some song about Alberta. At that point, we left. So, not only was there no “big party” at the end of the celebration (which we had been promised), but it seems they skipped the celebration entirely. Not even a piece of cake. Well, Happy Birthday, Alberta.

Reeling from the suckiness of the Alberta event, I was looking forward to the Government of Canada dinner in honour of the Royal visitors at Northlands Agricom on Tuesday evening. Things looked good, I rented a tux, my date was beautiful in her stunning pink evening gown, and we were ready to go.

Driving up in our taxi, we joined the line to get in the Agricom. Taking a look up the line of about 300 guests (I believe there were around 1200 guests at the dinner), I could see Advanced Ed Minister Dave Hancock, Tory MP Kevin Sorenson, and Liberal MLA Mo Elsalhy and their guests. Entering the main reception area, I spied with my little political eye many a politician. Jack Layton and Olivia Chow, Weslyn Mather, Jason Kenney, Jim Prentice, Ken Epp, Rahim Jaffer, James Rajotte, Rona Ambrose, Stephen Mandel, Michael Phair, etc, etc, etc… Also there was daveberta’s good friend Nic who looked fantastic (as usual).

The night smelled of decadence. It was like I was a member of the bourgeoisie for an evening and it was fun and funny at the same time. People looked great and I had some very interesting conversations with some very interesting people.

Sitting at my table were also some very interesting people. One of them, who I shall call “Lord Eric Chesterfield” (he looked kind of like this), was a British chap who was on the “Palace Invitation list” as he put it. He was an interesting gentleman who entertained us with stories of his entertaining the Royals on his private yatch in Victoria. He was so connected he even pointed out who the Queen’s hairdresser was.

Also sitting at our table was a member of the Palace staff; one of the Queen’s Footmen, which from what I understand is like a personal assistant/butler. He was a very nice guy who had some real cool stories.

When her Majesty was presented in, she was dressed like a Queen, from head to toe. The Prime Minister said a speech and a toast, and then the Queen stepped up to the mike and replied. During her response, she switched from English to French a number of times (which confused many people in the hall, as this is Alberta). She had a very nice reply and handled herself very well. Following her reply, the night progressed very smoothly.

So, overall, it was a very enjoyable evening.

Cheers.

D :)

forces of darkness defeated in labrador

Well, it seems that the Liberals have held their ground against Stephen Harper's army of darkness in the sprawling riding of Labrador.

Here's how the results of yesterday's by-election played out:

Todd Russell, Liberal - 5,438 (51.5%)
Graham Letto, Tory - 3,415 (32.3%)
Frances Fry, NDP - 1,045 (9.9%)
Ern Condon, Ind - 598 (5.7%)
Jason Crummey, Green - 68 (0.6%)
Total Valid Votes - 10,564 (54.1% voter turnout)

So, the Tories gained as expected but didn't win (also as expected).

Watching this by-election gave me the urge to look at the results of past by-elections. It turns out that since the Liberals formed government in 1993, there have been 33 by-elections. The Liberals have won 21, the Bloc Quebecois 4, the NDP 2, the former Progressive Conservatives 4, and the former Canadian Alliance 2 (Stockwell Day and Stephen Harper).

alberta blogs

An eye-jump down to the sidebar to your right will reveal that I have signed my blog up with the coolest new batch of affliated bloggers out there: the new alberta blogs group.

It seems like an interesting mix of Alberta bloggers from left to right to right to wrong and everything in between and senile. Check it out. If you're from Alberta or just blogging in Alberta, you should join up. Only then will we rule the blogosphere forever!!! mwahahaha...

yes...

Anyway, thanks to Aaron for setting this group up


Cheers.

D : )

*insert random title here*

I saw the new Star Wars movie yesterday. The acting/dialogue sucked, but the action scenes were pretty cool. Yoda is still the best. He's a 2 foot tall little green guy who kicks ass!!! How sweet is that!??!?!

I picked up this little puppy from primeminister.ca. It's okay until about the 3rd question, when it starts to get boring. He didn't get mine: a muskox :P

labrador, ho!

Well, when was the last time this many federal politicians flocked to the great semi-province of Labrador? Well, considering that Tuesday's federal by-election for the Labrador seat could shift the balance of the House of Commons, all parties seem to be taking this seriously.

I heard this morning that Harper and Tory MP Gordon O'Connor were up there promising to build some super army base or something crazy like that while stumping for local Tory candidate, Graham Letto.

The Liberals are also sending in a posse to help out their candidate, Todd Russell. The posse will include newly minted Human Resources Minister Belinda Stronach.

Other candidates include New Demcrat Frances Fry, Green Jason Crummey, and Independent Ern Condon (former leader of the anti-Newfoundland, Labrador Party).

The Liberals took 62% of the vote in the 2004 election, with the Tories trailing in second place with 15%. The riding has gone Liberal in every election since 1952 save one (1968). So, any shift would be huge.

The results should be telling.

The Tony Abbott fiasco continues...

From Wednesday's Hansard at the Alberta Legislature...

The Acting Speaker: The hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre.

Notice of Privilege

Ms Blakeman: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I would like to give notice of a possible question of privilege. Under Standing Order 15(5) on behalf of the Member for Edmonton-Rutherford I’d like to be able to advise the House of the possibility that I would bring forward the privilege motion on the next regular sitting day of this Assembly.

There needs to be additional information sought and additional research done, but at this point I can advise the Speaker that this is being considered because of an altercation that took place immediately outside of the Assembly between the Member for Drayton Valley-Calmar and the Member for Edmonton-Rutherford. Although it is outside of the Chamber, I believe that there are sufficient citations to address a matter that takes place within the precincts of the Assembly and under the purview and control of the Speaker, particularly where the action which occurred involves a physical assault or molestation.

So, with those words, I will hope that that acts as sufficient notice, and when I have been able to do sufficient research to be confident that I would not be abusing the time of the Assembly, as I say, I’ve given notice and that allows me to bring forward the point of privilege motion on the next regular sitting day of the Assembly. Thank you.

The Acting Speaker: Hon. members, the hon. Member for Edmonton-Centre has given notice that she will bring forward a motion of privilege. As you know, the next sitting that we will have will not be a regular one. That will be the one at which the Queen will visit the Assembly. So probably this matter may not be dealt with until the fall when we reconvene. So it shall be dealt with at that point in time. Thank you.

Ms Blakeman: Thank you.

1 to 11 weekly round-down

Well, here’s my take on what has been one heck of a week in Canadian politics…

1) Belinda Stronach:

Like almost everyone, I was surprised and shocked to watch this high profile Tory MP and former leadership candidate cross the floor to the Liberals and accept a position in Cabinet. Pure opportunism. She’s an ambitious politician who knows what she wants, and obviously saw this as the best way to get there (the PMO I’m assuming). The sexist outrage and blasts coming from Tories were unacceptable and only boost the case of why I don’t vote Conservative. The voters in her riding of Newmarket-Aurora will hold Minister Stronach accountable for her actions when the next election comes around. Now, can we have some civility, gentlemen? Which leads to...

2) Welcome to the sausage party!

With the departure of Stronach from the Tories, this now leaves Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition with only 10 women and 88 men. Hmmm. This is quite a troublingly disproportionate number. Not to say the Liberals or ND's are much better...

3) Chuck Cadman:

The MP from Surrey North listened to his constituents. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for this former Reform/Alliance/Conservative to vote with the Liberals and NDP, but I respect him for not caving into the “protection offered” by Mr. Harper (he must be taking some lessons from Mr. Gagliano) and instead listening to his constituents. There should be more Independent MP’s in the House of Commons; it could cut down on the partisan hackery.

4) Gurmant Grewal, the new Ambassador to France

Opps, I jumped the gun on that one. I really didn't pay attention to this story, it sounded to "made up." Apparently there was a tape or something? Was anybody keeping tabs on where Rahim Jaffer's assistant was during this ordeal?

5) THE VOTE:

Yes, the vote that political hacks from Victoria to St. John’s tuning in to watch (yes, I watched it on the big screen on SUB stage). I’d never seen something like this before, so close, so dramatic, so intense, so fun to watch! 153-152! It’s like the Stanley Cup for political nerds!

6) Campbell gets it twice!

In BC, Gordon Campbell's Liberals were re-elected. No suprise. Carole James' NDP went from 3 seats to 33 seats. Wow. STV fails, democracy loses.

7) The Queen:

Yes, currently flying under the national news radar is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada. Her Majesty arrived in Saskatchewan on Tuesday and will tour around that province until tomorrow, when her and His Royal Highness Prince Phillip will spend the weekend relaxing in beautiful Jasper National Park. Following their weekend retreat, the Royal couple will visit Edmonton for a big 100 anniversary celebration party at Commonwealth Stadium (which I'm going to) and numerous tours around Canada’s greatest city. Next Tuesday, (still-) Prime Minister Paul Martin will be hosting a gala dinner in the honour of Alberta’s Royal visitors. I was lucky enough to be on the invitation list, so my lovely date and I are getting all spified up and going to have dinner with the Queen and 900 or so other lucky Edmontonians (I had to rent a tux :P). I will definitely let the blogosphere know how that goes.

8) Alberta Centennial Celebrations:

Well, what can I say, so far they suck. Other than the Queen coming for 3 days, I haven't heard of any other real celebration party. Saskatchewan looks like it's having more fun than us. We only celebrate 100 once, Ralph! The least you could do is spend some of that massive surplus to buy us some booze for a change. Such a money hog.

9) Candidate nomination mania!

Well according to this site, quite a few candidate nominations have occurred in preparation of a possible election (averted for now). From what I can tell, in my lovely riding of Edmonton Centre (the best riding in Alberta!), I know of three candidates: Deputy PM Anne McLellan (woo hoo!), Tory Laurie Hawn, and New Democrat Donna Martyn (who got thumped by Kevin Taft in Edmonton Riverview during the 2004 provincial election). I'm expecting a Green, at least an Independent, and probably a Marxist or "Progressive Canadian."

10) Oliver, the Liberal Heartland:

Today, I was pondering from my downtown perch when it dawned on me that I live in the Liberal heartland of Alberta. My federal riding has been Liberal since 1993, my provincial riding has been Liberal since 1993 (and NDP from 1986 to 1993). Both my MP and MLA are women (Anne McLellan and Laurie Blakeman). My polling district went solidly Liberal in both the last federal and provincial election. Of course, I'm sure that it has a lot to do with the large population of low-income renters, students, the large gay community, people who think for themselves, and no-good transients such as myself in the area.

11) The Federal Tories have updated their normally boring website into a more election style format. Did someone forget to tell them they lost today's vote?

And to answer your question. Yes, I am a political nerd.

Have a nice weekend.

D :)

n is for non non-confidence vote

woo hoo. I was right.

T-minus 10 minutes

well, 10 minutes until the non-confidence vote!

I'm heading down to the main level to watch the vote on SUB Stage.

My prediction, based on pure instinct, the government will win the vote. Cadman will side with the Liberal/ND/Parrish Coalition for Confidence.

I guess we'll find out in 10 minutes :P

D

T-minus 1 hour

Just over one hour until Judgement Day in Ottawa.

Belinda Stronach showed up for her first question period today as a Liberal MP and Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. She was sitting in the second row beside Ethel Blondin-Andrew and Ken Dryden.

she's an independent...

"Come hell or high water, there's no frigging way I'm going to let one ovary bring the government down."

- The ever-eloquent Carolyn Parrish, Independent MP for Mississagua-Erindale

tony abbott, the reverend of rage

No wonder the rest of Canada think's we're a bunch of rednecks.

Members of Alberta legislature have spitting match over Stronach insult

Lorraine Turchansky
Canadian Press
May 18, 2005

EDMONTON (CP) -- What started out as a crude swipe at Tory-turned-Liberal Belinda Stronach morphed into a nasty confrontation between two members of the Alberta legislature Wednesday.

Tony Abbott, a rural Conservative backbencher who is also an evangelical Christian minister, found himself apologizing repeatedly for saying Stronach was "whoring" herself by defecting to the Liberals.

Abbott said he made the remark out of anger but decided to retract it after getting plenty of negative feedback from his constituents -- including his wife. read the rest here...

for shame

Like many Canadians, I was shocked and surprised to hear that Tory MP Belinda Stronach had crossed the floor and joined Paul Martin's Cabinet. But what shocked and suprised me the most was the wave of negativity, anger, and pure outrage that came from Conservative MP's, MLA's, and their supporters.

The comments, many, which came from Alberta Conservatives, were embarrassing and insulting not only to Ms. Stronach, but to all Canadians. Accusations that "she whored herself out for power," and that she is a "dipstick" are completely unacceptable and show a complete lack of class and integrity from the politicians who threw the insult.

Yes, Ms. Stronach is an ambitious and opportunistic politician, and the voters in her riding will hold her accountable for her actions. But, the sexist outrage that has been thrown at her by her former Conservative colleagues is unacceptable and disgraceful.

It is the perfect example of how little we expect of our elected officials.

Shame.

what goes around comes around...

I get the feeling this is how David Orchard may have felt...

my bc election predictions...

Based on pure instinct... here I go...

Seat Projections:

Liberal - 53 (46%)
NDP - 25 (38%)
Green - 1 (10%)
DRBC - 0 (3%)
Other - 0 (3%)

Predictions:

- Campbell will keep his seat in Vancouver Point Grey.
- James will win in Victoria Beacon Hill.
- The NDP will win nearly every seat on Vancouver Island (Malahat-Juan de Fuca will be a close NDP win against DRBC Leader Tom Morino) but be the minority in the Interior and the Lower Mainland.
- Green Leader Adrienne Carr will be elected in Powell River-Sunshine Coast by a very slim margin.
- The largest amount of popular vote will go to the Liberals.
- The STV Vote will be defeated.
- Expect a low voter turnout.

So... tonight, we will all see how acurately attuned I am to the BC political climate...

belinda the liberal

This is huge. http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/05/17/stronach-liberals050517.html

Belinda Stronach, MP for Newmarket - Aurora, has crossed the floor from the Tories and joined the Liberals. She is now the Minister of Human Resources and Democratic Renewal.

Prime Minister Paul Martin said:

"I am very pleased to announce that Belinda Stronach will cross the floor and has agreed to join the cabinet as Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

In addition, Ms. Stronach will assume responsibilities for democratic renewal and will help guide the implementation of the recommendations that flow from the Gomery Commission’s final report."

wow.

more commentary later.

poll results are in

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!

LIVE FROM DAVEBERTA, HERE ARE THE OFFICIAL "UNRESPONSIBLE POLLING" ELECTIONS POLLING RESULTS...

THE QUESTION: If an election were to be held tomorrow, which party would you vote for?

Liberal - 35% (35 votes)
New Democratic - 26% (26 votes)
Conservative - 18% (18 votes)
Green - 15% (15 votes)
Bloc Quebecois - 4% (4 votes)
Other - 2% (2 votes)
Who ever Ralph Klein is running for - 1% (1 vote)

What do you think?

our glorious leader

Alberta. Home of the beautiful baldass prairie, Jasper, Banff, and Lake Louise, the mad cow, the giant perogy, the Calgary Stampede, the Senator-in-Waiting, and of course, the Lodgepoll Pine. This free spirited province flavours its politics as western populism, where the roots of the Manning dynasty and the Reform Party flourished in a longstanding democratic tradition of down to earth politics and social conservatism. And last but not least: Alberta, the personal playground of our glorious, blessed, and beloved Leader, Ralph Klein....

Klein no doubt enjoying 'personal time' away from dome: Regards question period a time for opposition to ask him 'stupid questions'
The Edmonton Journal
Sun 15 May 2005
Page: A6 Section: News
Column: Capital Notebook

When Premier Ralph Klein revealed Friday he was taking "personal time" instead of showing up this week for the closing of legislature, it marked the latest chapter in his long-standing lack of interest in house business and question period, its public highlight.

In fall 2003, he skipped out of Edmonton for trips to Ontario and England and missed about half of a skimpy three-week autumn session.

The opposition was miffed he was ditching his democratic duties -- and their chance to grill him during QP -- but Klein responded with contempt.

"My sole purpose to exist is not to satisfy the Liberals," the premier said.

"Their whole performance depends on whether they can grill me and try to embarrass me and to ask me stupid questions to which I'm expected to give intelligent answers."

For QP-watching junkies, the last one this spring will either be Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, depending on how swiftly MLAs can go through the remaining legislation debates.

which province are you?

You're British Columbia. You're hip and happenin'
but also a nice person who isn't a snob. Career
is important to you but it isn't your whole
life. People assume that your life is perfect
and that you have it all, like you were born
with a silver spoon in your mouth. But it's not
true; you do have your own set of troubles just
like everybody else.


What Canadian Province Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

an exciting business oppurtunity!

I'm very excited to let the blogosphere know about an exciting business oppurtunity which I may soon be part of! I have attached the email corresponse below, please feel free to read and be jealous of my soon to be overflowing bank accout! I will post any response which I receive!

Cheers.

D :)


To: daveberta@linuxmail.org
From: moeyademaa@adinet.com.uy
Subject: Business Proposal(Confidential)
Date: Date: Sun, 8 May 2005 18:34:47

From: Moses Eyadema
Av. Joaquin Vilumbrales,
3 Alcorcón - 28924 (Madrid) Spain.
Mobile Phone:+34686717232.
SAT TEL; +873 763 430 525.
SAT FAX: +873 763 430 526.

Dear Sir,

I am Moses Eyadema the son of President Gnassingbe Eyadema,the
president of Togo, Africa's longest-ruling leader, who died on -
Saturday February 05, 2005 3:29pm after suffering a heart attack.

I know this letter might come to you as a surprise but I honestly do
not intend to surprise you. I write this letter in respect of my
intention to invest the sum of US$56M (Fifty Six Million United
States Dollars) with you.

I escaped to Madrid, Spain because of the fear that I might be arrested
by my stepbrother Faure Gnassingbe, who is now the country's new
president.Actually his mother and my mother are not in the best of relationship because of
who among them will be the first lady Tussle and this ultimately affected
us their children. My father disclosed the existence of these funds to my
mother before his death.

My mother advised me to leave For Madrid, Spain where these funds were
deposited cash in a trunk box for safe keeping in a Storage Vault in Madrid Spain.

On getting to Spain where I have been living now then as a political
refugee I am seeking for a reliable foreigner who can come down to
Madrid,Spain for a meeting and to clear the funds in his name as the
sole beneficiary of the Consignment as I am afraid of being defrauded.

Honestly I contacted you because I don't want to invest this money in
Madrid Spain due to my status here as a political Refugee. And moreover
I wouldn't want to take risk because this money is all that my Mother and
I are depending on. My stepbrother Faure, who is now the present leader
of my country has seized all my father's assets and he left us empty handed
without knowing about these funds deposited here in Madrid. That is why
I decided that investing this money abroad should be the best investment
for me. I will be honored if I can be given the privilege of investing this money with you.

I expect you to be trustworthy and kind enough to respond to this
distress call to save My Mother and I from a hopeless future. And if
you agree, I hereby agree to compensate your sincere and candid effort in
this regard with Twenty percent of the total amount.Whatever your decision
is please reach me immediately, and keep this letter tight secret for the
interest of my Family. I will get your immediate response through my fax
number stated above.

Best regards,

Moses Eyadema


To: moeyademaa@adinet.com.uy
From: daveberta@linuxmail.org
Subject: Re: Business Proposal(Confidential)
Date: Date: Wed, 11 May 2005 18:31:23


Dear Mr. Eyadema,

I thank you very much for the email which you had sent me last week. I feel truly privileged that you chose to send this very important correspondence to myself, a lowly university student, when you could have sent it to possibly millions of other email addresses. I am always looking for exciting opportunities, and this seems like an exciting one indeed.

Being a prudent minded individual myself, I have taken the liberty of “googling” your address in Madrid. I was very surprised to find that this is also the address of Mr. Antonio Savimbi, (the exiled son of the late Jonas Savimbi founder of Unita - the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola), and Mr. Moses Kabila (the son of the late Democratic Republic of Congo President Laurent Desire Kabila "of the blessed memory").

I am glad to see that a young group of exiles such as yourselves have found comfort and companionship by sharing a flat in sunny Madrid.

Regarding our potential business deal, though I am not sympathetic towards the family of any tyrannical dictator, I am a liberal at heart and do very much feel the need to help my fellow man (or woman). This in mind, due to the risk involved in this venture, I’m afraid that a 20% gratuity will not be sufficed. A 40% gratuity would be more appropriate in my mind.

Please advise me of your decision at the earliest convenience.

Best regards while in exile,

daveberta

yeah trudeau!

hhmmmm. The article below sounds vaguely similar to what my friend, Howard, and I had written in our op-ed peice in the Hill Times a couple of weeks ago...

so, I agree. Good work for calling it how it is, Justin.


Quebec separation close, Trudeau warns, Criticizes Liberals

Joe Paraskevas
CanWest News Service

May 12, 2005

CREDIT: Marie-France Coallier, CanWest News Service

OTTAWA - Federal political life has become so concerned with mundane affairs
that it has blinded both voters and politicians to issues of real
importance, such as the growing appetite for separatism in Quebec, the
eldest son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau said yesterday.

"I think we are far closer to the separation of Quebec than we have been in
a very, very long time, and I don't think anyone in Ottawa particularly, but
in the rest of Canada [as well], are either enough aware of it or ready to
properly deal with it," Justin Trudeau said at a Parliament Hill reception.

Mr. Trudeau, 33, did not say the rise of Quebec nationalism is due to the
alleged mismanagement in the former government's sponsorship program.
Instead, he suggested Canadians and their politicians have simply forgotten
what matters in political life. "We live in a very fast-paced, easy world,
where we're looking for immediate gratification, immediate satisfaction," he
said. "And the kind of politicians we have now are all about satisfying
those immediate responses. And that, while it satisfies you, allows for sort
of long-term hunger."

He did, however, criticize the Liberal government over the sponsorship
program, which was set up to promote the federal government in Quebec after
the 1995 sovereignty referendum.

Mr. Trudeau said the Liberals failed to renew their party since taking over
almost 12 years ago. By acting complacently through the 1990s, a time when
their opposition was also relatively weak and could not check government
authority, he said the Liberals gave rise to conditions that allowed the
sponsorship scandal to happen.

"[The sponsorship scandal] is a symptom of having had no real opposition for
a long time to be able to counterbalance what's going on in Ottawa and to
keep an eye on it," Mr. Trudeau said.

"People in power for too long tend to get a little bit sloppy. There's a
lack of rigour perhaps and a little looseness that happens around the edges
-- not at the centre, but around the edges -- that allows for things like
this to happen. It's unfortunate. It links back to the fact that
Confederation or Canadian democracy isn't set up to represent regional
interests."

He said the Liberal party should be included among the many aspects of the
federal political scene in need of renewal.

"I think there was an opportunity for renewal when [Jean] Chretien stepped
down [in 2003], and that was attempted but wasn't really taken on."

Asked about his own political future, Mr. Trudeau, a former teacher who has
pursued an engineering degree in recent years, demurred, saying he is happy
as chairman of the board of directors of Katimavik, the federally funded
organization that sends youth across Canada to do year-long volunteer work.

He declined to comment on the hostile climate that has enveloped Parliament,
as the Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois try to bring down the Liberals.

He maintained that if Canadians are unhappy with the partisanship in the
Commons, they should consider themselves responsible. "It's vicious because
we've allowed it to become so; we as voters, we as citizens," he said,
adding he is not in favour of a spring election.

on a non-political note

Someone found my blog by googling: laval "nasty show"


wow?

how appropriate

Today's Word of the Day


resile \rih-ZYLE\ verb

: recoil, retract; especially : to return to a prior position

Example sentence:
The politician said he was sorry that his comments had caused offense, but he stopped short of resiling from his position.


Did you know?

"Resile" is a resilient word; it's been around in English since at least 1529. It's also a cousin of "resilient" — both words derive from the Latin verb "resilire," which means to "jump back" or "recoil." ("Resilire" in turn comes from "salire," meaning "to jump.") "Resilient" focuses on the ability of something to "bounce back" from damage, whereas "resile" generally applies to someone or something that withdraws from an agreement or "jumps back" from a stated position. "Resile" is a word that shows up only occasionally in U.S. sources; it is more common in British and especially Australian English.

hip to be right-wing?

Not in my books.

I thought this was good for a laugh or two. It looks the like Conservative Party solution to their youth problem: Don't give them any real power within the party, instead, give them a website.

Watch out! Here come the fiscally conservative radical youth of the CPC! :P

More commentary on this soon.

D : )

where art thou holtopia?

hmmmmm. You've been awful quiet lately. Perhaps a little two quiet...

Me thinks treachery is afoot.

Labour Majority

BBC has declared a Labour Majority victory. This is Tony Blair's 3rd consecutive majority.

As of 9:30pm Edmonton Time:

Labour: 331 (-36 difference dissolution)
Conservative: 159 (+23)
Liberal Democrat: 52 (+10)
Scotish National Party: 6 (+2)
Plaid Cymru : 3 (-1)
Repect: 1 (+1)
Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern: 1
Independent: 1 (+1)

Check out the full scoreboard

Best Quote of the Night

George Galloway (Respect Party Leader and newly elected MP for Benthal Green & Bow) to Tony Blair: "I've come back to haunt you."

check the stats

UK ELECTION FULL SCOREBOARD

BBC is so entertainingly British. I've never heard any Canadian politician talk about how "delightful" it was to campaign in my constituency.

How would you like to the Member of Parliament for Southhampton Itch? What a name.

'Edmonton' has gone Labour. I'll update when I find out the results.

8:28pm Edmonton time

Labour - 288
Conservative - 93
Liberal Democrat - 36
Other -11

Labour losses. Conservative gains (they won their 1st seat in Wales since 1997). Liberal Democrat gains and losses.

I'm quite enjoying Peter Snow's election swingometer

Check out the live results page

I'm sitting here watching the UK Election live on BBC (over the internet).

Tony Blair's Labour Party is looking for their 3 majority victory against a Conservative Party led by Michael Howard, and the Liberal Democrats led by Charles Kennedy.

So far, the results being reported (as of 5:55pm Edmonton time) are:

Labour - 32
Liberal Democrat - 2
Conservative - 1 (gained from Labour)

324 seats needed to form a majority government...

off

Well, for those of you who know what I've been up to lately, my little adventure has been called off.

THIS is where I was supposed to be going next week following my lovely London adventure. Getting blown up is not on my "to-do" list for this summer.

So, that means no London, Istanbul, Diyabakur, Irbil, or Athens for me this summer.

I was so looking forward to getting a good tan in the middle east. Quite seriously.

Vancouver Island sounds nice and safe to me right now.

lies! all lies!

Two smear campaigns from the opposite sides of the lovely BC Election

From the BC Liberals:

"NDP - THE REAL STORY"

From the BC NDP:

"The Amazing All-Purpose Fool-Proof Never-Fail LIBERAL TRUTH TRANSLATOR"

On another BC note - the picture of ND Leader Carole James on the pre-front page of the ND website has to be the scariest looking picture of her that I have ever seen. It's like she has a dark side... Darth Carole?

Sidenote: check out this website for a good laugh.

my pimped up sidebar

Check it out: Progressive Bloggers. Way cooler than the Blogging Tories.

london baby! yeah!

This is where I'm going to be in 12 days!

sweet.

a couple of days ago, it was +24C, today it's -4C with a cold wind.

I really dislike the schizophrenic weather here.

i like it, but will it work?

Harper, Martin, Layton, and Duceppe 'playing nice' for the camera's during the 2004 Leaders Debate


According to the Globe & Mail, Prime Minister Paul Martin and NDP Leader Jack Layton reached an "agreement in principle" meaning that the NDP will support the minority Liberal Government's budget when voting time comes. The NDP support came in exchange for the Liberals cancellation of promised corporate taxcuts (but not the proposed taxcuts for small and medium sized businesses).

Here is an exert of the "Agreement in Principle" from Jack Layton:

"It appears likely that we will have an agreement in principle reached with the government. Families will pay less for their kids’ education. Workers will get better training. We’ll reduce pollution. Build affordable housing. Protect pensions – and have a place in the world that makes us proud.

This likely agreement in principle also gives real hope that the child care money and first installment of the gas tax can start to flow back to communities. It also lets the investment in the Kyoto plan move ahead. The Liberal plan doesn’t keep our Kyoto promise. It has major flaws. But it is vital we move ahead and ensure even the most basic first steps are protected…from year one to year five."

As a Liberal with NDP tendencies, I like it! I like the idea of a Liberal-NDP Agreement and I like the idea of scrapping the corporate taxcuts.

But, if you take a look at the numbers in the House of Commons, it may not make a difference in the face of a Conservative/Bloc non-confidence vote. So far, what we know is that if the Conservative/Bloc Quebecois alliance pushed a No vote on the Liberal Budget, two of the Independent MP's (former Reform/Alliance/Tory MP Chuck Cadman, and former Tory/Liberal MP David Kilgour would also vote No.

A Liberal/NDP coalition (which would support the budget) would receive the support of Independent MP Carolyn Parrish.

So, according to the numbers, here is how things work out...

Will vote for the budget
Liberal - 132
NDP - 19
Independent - 1
TOTAL - 152

Will vote against the budget
Conservative - 99
Bloc Quebecois - 54
Independent - 2
TOTAL - 155

So, an Liberal/NDP Agreement may not be enough... depending on who shows up for the budget vote... interesting times ahead.

nerdlicious quiz

: ) I'm not a nerd! : )

Thanks to Robert at Five of Five for the nerdlicious link.

west coast synopsis

BC Party Leaders

BC Liberal Leader Gordon Campbell


BC NDP Leader Carole James



BC Green Leader Adrienne Carr

The British Columbia election is on and the parties and their leaders are on their way to May 17.

In the 2001 BC Provincial election, Gordon Campbell's BC Liberals crushed the NDP government of Premier Ujjal Dosanjh (now the Federal Health Minister and Liberal MP for Vancouver South), taking all but 2 of the 79 seats in the BC Legislature. Much of this was due to the unpopularity of former NDP Premier Glen Clark and his equally unpopular government. The 2001 election also saw a massive rise in support for the BC Green Party. Since then, the NDP have changed leaders (twice) and elected a third MLA in a by-election, a couple of BC Liberals have became Independent MLA's, and one former BC Liberal joined the Democratic Reform Party.

The weird part about BC politics is that the BC Liberals are closer policy-wise to the Federal Conservatives than to the Federal Liberals. From what I can tell, BC politics tends to be pretty polorized, swinging from the left to the right (between the left-wing NDP and the right-wing Socreds/Liberals) and generally skipping the middle-ground.

Also, in this election, the BC electorate will be voting on whether to accept or reject a new form of electoral system known as STV (Single Tranferable Vote). I know how STV works, but unfortunately, I can't explain it in a reasonable amount of space, so... here are a couple of STV links:

BC Citizen's Assembly

BC STV

STV for BC

Know STV

Good coverage of the BC Election can be found at the CBC BC Votes 2005 website. Also, check out the BC Election Prediction Project for some interesting riding predictions. If anyone has anymore good links, feel free to post them in the comments section.

If I lived and voted in BC: I would most likely vote either NDP or Green depending on the riding and candidate, the BC Liberals are far too right-wing for my liking. I also would vote FOR the STV preposal.

My BC Election Prediction: A reduced BC Liberal majority (40-50 seats), an increased BC NDP Opposition (20-30 seats), and perhaps some suprise upsets on the way from the smaller parties (1-3 seats). I also predict that the STV system will be rejected due to the simple fact that it's nearly impossible to explain it to the average person in less than 20 seconds (this is the advantage of First-Past-The-Post, it only takes 5 seconds to explain: "The candidate with the most votes wins"). This is unfortunate, because I do believe that a move to STV would be a good one for Canadian Electoral Politics.

the old poll switch

In the spirit of all the new Federal polls being released lately, I've set up one of my own (see sidebar). Vote early and vote often!

Here are the results of the previous poll:

Should MLA's who are under criminal investigations be allowed to run for re-election?

No - 47%

Yes - 19%

Only Tory MLA's from east Calgary ridings - 33%

Don't know - 2%

Total Votes - 43

"Instead of being viewed as a problem, borders must gradually be treated like organic bedding pots, where each local growth is the transformation with the bonding of Earth’s human garden of families."

For the weekend, I leave you with this. I thought it was quite an interesting manifesto.

Cheers.

D :)

THANK GOD! EXAMS ARE OVER!!!

Wow. That felt nice.

labrador update

Well, i'm sure that other blogs are covering tonight's TV address by Prime Minister Paul Martin. So, if you would like to read about that, there are blog links on the sidebar that you can link to. I'm going to write about something different.

Last week, the PM called a by-election in the currently vacant riding of Labrador. As I am a political science student, it's in my bizarre nature to be interested in such events. So, here I go:

LABRADOR SHOWDOWN 2005

The skinny: A by-election was called following the death of Labrador Liberal MP Lawrence O'Brien. Mr. O'Brien, who had served as MP for Labrador since elected in a 1996 By-Election, passed away from cancer last December.

2005 Candidates (so far):

Graham Letto, Conservative - Mr. Letto is the Mayor of the Town of Labrador City (yes, it's a town of a city).

Todd Russell, Liberal - Mr. Russell is the President of the Labrador Metis Nation (and has a way better website than Mr. Letto).

No word yet on who the NDP or Green candidates will be. The final list of candidates will be announced by Elections Canada in the upcoming weeks.

There wasn't that much information that I could find on this by-election. For up to date breaking news on the by-election, keep an eye on ourlabrador.ca. I do know that if a General Election is called before May 24, the by-election would be cancelled and it would merge into the General Election.

Interesting Labrador facts:

In Labrador...

...there are 27,865 people.
...there are 20,049 registered voters.
...it costs $30.00 to purchase a dog licence.
...it costs $3.00 to purchase a cat licence.
...the average winter temperature is between -10°C and -25°C.
...the average summer temperature is between 5°C and 15°C.
...95% of North America's Puffin's breed in the Newfoundland and Labrador region.


Past Labrador Election Results

1997
Lawrence O'Brien, Liberal - 6,182
Randy Collins, NDP - 4,615 (Mr. Collins is now the NDP MHA for Labrador West)
Mike Patton, PC - 842
Stephane Girardin, Reform - 573

2000
Lawrence O'Brien, Liberal - 7,153
Amanda Will, NDP - 1,284
Hayward Broomfield, PC - 1,254
Eugene Burt, Alliance - 677

2004
Lawrence O'Brien, Liberal - 5,524
Merrill Strachan, Conservative - 1,400
Ern Condon, Independent - 919
Shawn Crann, NDP - 856
Lori-Ann Martino, Green - 178

UPDATE: The NDP have nominated Ms. Frances Fry as their Candidate. Read the ND Press Release here.

fresh off les presses

My friend Howard and I wrote the below OP-ED peice which was published in this week's

Hill Times.

PM may have ordered Gomery Inquiry, but courage is now needed to reshape Liberal Party, and to ensure this never happens again

By: David ***** and Howard ******

EDMONTON, ALTA. — As young Canadians who have been involved in federal Liberal Party politics for many years, we believe we speak for a great number of Young Liberals who are absolutely flabbergasted at the allegations unveiled at the Gomery Commission. We share the frustration, anger and resentment that many are feeling. The implications of these allegations, if proven true, are far ranging, and will sow the seeds of discontent for many years to come.

The decline of youth involvement in Canadian politics has been an issue which youth from all partisan backgrounds have striven to deal with for many years. Whether it is low youth turnout in election voting or the growing age of the average Canadian party member, democracy is losing the battle. Youth members from all parties have dedicated countless amounts of time and energy trying to involve our fellow young Canadians in our parties of choice. If one conclusion can be made from these exercises, it is that the youth of Canada are disenchanted, disengaged, and distrustful of politicians and political parties. When allegations such as those presented at the Gomery Commission are revealed, it only serves to grow the rift between the political process and the youth of Canada.

Young Liberals are, in general, moderates who steadfastly hold strong to eternaloptimism, a hunger to maximize equality of opportunity for all, and a belief that government can be a force for good. When we hear allegations that senior party officials, whom we look up to, are acting in a way that benefits a few rather than the many, we get angry. Perhaps we are idealistic, but young people demand that our leaders set our sights a little higher, and exhibit a betterstandard of behaviour. Nothing less should do, and nothing less will do.

Canadians have had a few weeks now to absorb the enormity of the allegations of wrongdoing. What is absolutely clear is that it is essential that we find resolution to potentially one of the greatest betrayals of the public trust perpetrated against the Canadian people. The Liberal Party of Canada requires a fundamental change in its mindset, its philosophy, and its way of operating. Governing a country is a privilege bestowed by the people who entrust it to accomplish the great aspirations of the nation. Governing a country is not a divine right to rule.

The Liberal Party of Canada has reached a critical junction at which it has the option of sinking or swimming in the hearts and minds of young Canadians. In the past few years, it has been clear that this is a party in need of reform and redefinition. What is needed is a Liberal Party which is not solely concerned with following the ups and downs of the weekly opinionpolls to gain and maintain its place in government at the cost of liberal values. What we believe is needed is an association of Canadian liberals from across the country who are committed to Canadian liberalism in policy and practice; an association which truly heeds to the will of its members across Canada, rather than a select few party bagmen and backroom strategists.

The Prime Minister may have established the Gomery Commission to get tothe bottom of the rot, but courage is what is needed now to reshape the Liberal Party to ensure nothing like this ever happens again. The party cannot spin its way out of the present mess—there must fundamentally be a renewal that starts from within. We cannot wait until Mr. Justice Gomery releases his two reports this fall. Instead, renewal must start now, from the premise that the Liberal Party is a vehicle for setting before the electorate policies that will lead to a better country, instead of a vehicle for the lust of power. When we are privileged to be the governing party, we must always keep in mind that Canadians expect the party to implement its policies in a way that is accountable to and respectful of the Canadian citizen, voter and taxpayer.

There are many Young Liberals like us who hold, in the words of the late GeorgesP. Vanier, “An active desire to right, as far as it was in my power, the heinous wrong done.” The Liberal Party of Canada can dobetter, and it simply must do better.

David ******** and Howard ***** are long-time members of the Alberta Young Liberals.

http://daveberta.blogspot.com.

it's election time...

...by-election, that is.

The PMO has dropped the writ for a By-Election to be held in the Federal Riding of Labrador on May 24, 2005.

what day is it?

It's April 17... where did the month go!?!

Two final exams done last week, only two final exams left this week. More daveberta original political commentary to come after that.

What do you think? Election or no election? I've bet $20 on it being this year and $5 on it being in the fall. So, either I win $25 or $15. I'm set. :)

I added some new links to the sidebar for your blogging pleasure. Check them out when you get the chance.

Cheers.

D :)

budgetary observations 2005

Well, as promised, here is my recap of what went on at the Budget 2005 announcement at the Alberta Legislature this afternoon - a BIG THANKS to my favorite MLA for getting me a pass for the afternoon. : )

Well, this budget was labeled by the Tories as an investment budget, the first budget of the new debt-free Alberta. The air of excitement never caught on. These guys have been in power for 34 years and it shows. No new ideas...

So, instead of giving you budget details which you can easily find here, here, and here, I decided to give you a recap of my exciting adventure at Budget Day 2005 in Edmonton.

Enter scene: Cloudy spring day in Edmonton, Alberta. No sun, just clouds (it had rained the night before).

2:10pm - Left work, hopped on the LRT at University Station and waited 5 minutes for the LRT to show up...

2:20pm - Finally arrive at Grandin LRT Station, get off and run over to the Legislature Annex to pick up my pass for the Public Gallery. Got it! Yeah! Talk to some people I know and shoot the breeze for 5 minutes.

2:40pm - I run over to the main Legislature building with a friend of mine who works over there, get in (pretty lax security). On the elevator ride up to the fourth floor.

2:45pm - I join some people I know, in the Public Gallery overlooking the MLA's in the Assembly. The MLA's below are debating about snowmobiles or something... Tory MLA Wayne Cao says something about restaurants…?

2:50pm - Talk about an upcoming Federal Election begins amoungst us. Someone said they thought the Tories could win up to 5 seats in Quebec, someone else said they thought the election would be in mid-May. I still think it'll be in the fall.

2:55pm - Speaker of the House, Ken Kowalski calls for a 5 minutes recess before the Budget announcement by the Finance Minister.

3:00pm - MLA's start filling back in to their seats. ND MLA Ray Martin is in a wheelchair (I think someone said that he broke his leg - that sucks). More people begin filling into the Members and Public Galleries. I notice the disproportionately large amount of white haired men presumably over the age of 60 in the Galleries.

3:05pm - Finance Minister Shirley McClellan begins her speech. I notice that a rep from the Alberta Federation of Labour is sitting next to me and some folks from the good ol’ Parkland Institute are sitting in the row in front of me.

3:10pm – Promises, promises, promises…

3:25pm – Shirley McClellan is still talking. Tories cheer. Man, she's boring. I think the next time the Tories pick a Finance Minister, they need to pick someone with a little more ‘ompf’ than Mrs. McClellan. I think the perfect person would be...

3:30pm – Shirley McClellan is still talking and I think one of the old guys in the Members Gallery across from me has fallen asleep. I try to count the amount of grey haired MLA's in the Assembly. I lose count.

3:35pm – Shirley McClellan is still talking. I notice that one of my favorite Tory MLA’s has been conspicuously missing from his seat the entire time… hmmmm, very very very interesting.

3:40pm – It’s finally rapping up… Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft responds to the speech, says he looks forward to the debate beginning tomorrow morning.

3:44pm – We all file out, I say hi to Dan McLellan from the AUPE. He doesn’t remember me.

3:48pm – I take the stairs down to the Rotunda to check out all the media scrums going on. There are probably a few hundred reporters, MLA’s and staffers, spies and Tory goons, and political hacks like me wandering around. I listen to some of the scrums - Education Minister Gene Zwozdesky, Health Minister Iris Evans, the Finance Minister, and the gang. ND MLA David Eggen has a nice tie (yellow and blue), I like it.

4:00pm – I’m really thirsty, need a drink. I go and find a water fountain. Come back and the orgy of scrumming is still going on. I bump into Edmonton Gold Bar MLA Hugh MacDonald. We say hi and he asks me if I’ve seen some reporter from the CBC, I say no, he continues his hunt.

4:07pm - I go and check out what Advanced Ed Minister Dave Hancock is saying (He’s organizing for a bid at the Tory Leadership). I get semi-accosted by one of Mr. Hancock’s goons; he wants to know who I am, who I work for, and why I want to listen. What a nice man. :P After my beating, I got to meet Mr. Hancock. He seems like an interesting person. I think he must have dyed his hair at least 7 different times and colours since being elected in 1997. Out of all the Tories here in Alberta, he is the only one which I (grudgingly) *like*… I move on…

4:12pm- I run into Liberal MLA’s David Swann and Weslyn Mather, the critics for Environment and Childrens’ Services. Nothing for their departments in the budget... I guess clean air and cute kids (see the picture in my previous post) aren’t good enough for this budget… I have a nice little chat with the two of them...

4:22pm – I continue to mull around and check out the scrums. Things are starting to wind down, still no Ted Morton. To bad, I wanted to say hi.

4:29pm – Things are really winding down. I’m hungry, time to go home and get something to eat. (I exit stage left)

END SCENE

alberta budget 2005

Alberta's Future?

"Mr. Speaker, Alberta and Albertans enter our second century with nothing to stand in our way. And the single, over-riding purpose of this year's budget is to invest in Alberta's second century - a century that promises even more opportunity for future generations of Albertans."

Alberta Finance Minister Shirley McClellan (2 hours and 46 minutes ago)

ouch

I took the test...

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

join the revolution! vote mp3!

Why can't our elections be fun like the one's in the UK?

From the Desk of the Temporary Leader of the MP3 Party

"Gentlemen,

This is not a discussion club for like-minded intellectuals!This is a very beginning of a proactive and practical organization that is seriously planning to take power in the United Kingdom.

Some of us are not very liberal, many are not very green. Generally, we are not especially nice and several are outright dangerous. We all have different ideas and beliefs. This is OK (for now). We will sort what is right and what is wrong on the way, but first let get things rolling, pots boiling, sausages sizzling....Let us became a Power, after that we would have plenty of time for intellectual discussions, arguments and bonding.

If you feel being a part of "mp3-generation", "mp3-community", join us now !!!

Let kick some shit together!!!

Ruslan G. Fedorovsky (temporary Leader)"

Check out the rest of them here

a look around the political block...

Well, what an interesting week in Alberta politics.

1) It looks like David Kilgour, MP for Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont, is interested in rejoining the Tories. How many "cross-the-floor" monopoly cards does Mr. Kilgour have?

This contridicts rumours I have been hearing for a couple of months that he was planning on retiring before the next election. Maybe this is his way of distancing himself from the Feds and then retiring with somewhat of a good name? Though he's a Liberal MP, I have never really considered him to be a liberal, his right leaning views tend to clash with some of the basic principles of Canadian liberalism (he was a PC MP from 1979 to 1993, then crossed to the Libs). This aside, he has served the constituents of southeast Edmonton for 25 years and has obviously gained their respect (and votes!).

2) According to the latest EKOS poll (which has been covered in about 99% of Canadian blogs minus this one) was released recently, here are the numbers.

Canada-wide
Conservative - 36.2%
Liberal - 25%
NDP - 20.5%
Bloc - 12.6%
Green - 5%

The breakdowns has the NDP leading in BC, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, the Tories leading in Alberta (no suprise), Ontario, and the Maritimes, with the Bloc taking a massive lead in Quebec.

This doesn't look good for the Federal Liberals no matter which way they spin it. Interesting times ahead.

3) The Alberta PC convention rapped up last weekend with internal infighting and political divisions displayed front and centre. Premier Klein told leadership candidates to "cool their jets." But, I guess if by "cool[ing] their jets" he meant:

-set up campaign websites (such as this one and this one),

-host networking parties (ie: free booze and food),

-take out newspaper Ad's (a la Mark Norris),

-and print up some buttons,

then the Alberta Tories are one big happy family. Let the entertainment begin! : )

4) The Provincial budget is being released on Wednesday (13 days after the fiscal year began) - as noted earlier, I will be there and will bring you all the good gossip - apparently the government will finally be raising the AISH subsidy (still not even close to living wage though), present the already promised money for education, and won't be dealing out any tax-cuts. So, it looks pretty lackluster so far.

This is all for now.

D :)

good morning mr. president...

wait a minute... when and how did that happen?

damn. I swear, God just does this to see my reaction...

any money for me, mr. klein?

I didn't think so...

I'm going to the Budget announcement at the Legislature on Wednesday.

See you there?

gossip from the alberta pc convention

Check out Daveberta's thoughts on the First-Ballot of the Alberta PC leadership race...

(Make sure to check out the updated list of MLA endorsements in the Alberta PC leadership race.)

Well, I promised it, and here it is - some gossip from my ‘source-on-the-floor' of the Alberta PC Convention at Northlands in Edmonton this weekend.

Apparently, other than the disturbingly large amount of delegates wearing 'Lyle Oberg for Leader' buttons, the Tories made some interesting decisions related to their 'youth' wing.

In order to address the lack of youth involvement in their party, Alberta PC delegates came up with a truly Alberta Tory solution. They have voted to change the definition of 'youth' from 14-25 to 14-35. So, that means, if you were a 35 year old Regular PC member yesterday - today you are now a member of the Progressive Conservative Youth Association...

Oh oh! but it gets even more bizarre - under the new category, 'youth' members who are +26 are not voting members of the 'youth' association even though they are technically members.... does this seem really weird to anyone else?

And just when you thought there couldn’t be anymore juice!!

The big 'renewal initiative' that the Tories undertook after being slapped around in the last election recommended that they hire a staff member to support the youth-wing with organizing, etc. Well, apparently the President of the PC 'youth' association got up to the mike and spoke vehemently against this motion - to the chagrin of the 'youth' membership which he supposedly represents... the motion was defeated...

Wow, these guys are better than pay-per view TV!

quick linkage

Mornin'

Shannon the Futon Revolutionary has some great posts about the Tory Leadership contenders. It's a good laugh to start out your day!

Cheers.

D : )

PS. I noticed that since I put the site metre up a month ago - over 830 people have visited. Wow. Thanks!

shameless plug

For those of you interested:

The Edmonton Centre Liberal Constituency Association

presents...

A Fabulous Fundraiser from the Friends of Laurie Blakeman

BECOMING SHARP

By David Belke

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Doors @ 7:15pm

Curtain @ 7:30pm

Shadow Theatre

10329-83 Avenue

Reception following the performance.

(Send me an email if you'd like to buy a ticket - daveberta@linuxmail.org)

spiritual reflection in the a.m.

It's about 1:56am and Pope John Paul II's funeral is about to begin in a couple of minutes.

They say that there are over 200 Heads of State and Government who have come to the Vatican to pay their respects. Millions of people in Rome and millions watching on television from around the world. Including me.

...the jackboot of the bourgeoisie...

The Alberta Tory convention is this weekend. Apparently, there are no hospitality suites allowed! Now, say my name was Josiah and I was a Conservative party member who was coming to the convention in Edmonton all the way from Cardston or Cereal or something, and found out that there weren't going to be any hosptiality suites simply because the 'illustrious and *benevolent* leader-for-life of my great great great government for the millennia' Party didn't want his rivals to shmooze and party it up - I would be very bent up in the wrong direction.

Does anybody else think that it is quite ironic that Premier Klein is the one who doesn't want the boozefest of hospitality suites to flourish and spread their wings of alcoholic bliss upon the PC Convention?

But alas, I am sooo glad that i'm not in that situation and that I belong to a Party who knows how to party it up with the best of them.

On another PC leadership related note, I thought this was fun and a little ironic. Go to google.com and type in "elect dave hancock'. I was as shocked as you will be...

Ah, and soon to come: my review of Summa Theologica by our good friend, St. Thomas Aquinas.

-Keepin' it real since 1983-

D : )

rah rah rasputin

According to the Canadian Association of University Teachers, 0.3% of University Professors count themselves as Pagans.

awesome book

I decided that today I would write a post not about Gomery, corruption, publication bans, or any of those other things that has ticked me off in the past few days. Instead, I'm going to write about a good book.

Last summer, in order to escape what had been some of the 4 most stressful and trying months of my life (I'm not going to elaborate on this), I spent a month doing some solo backpacking across Canada's Maritimes. I made my way across Gaspesie, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and enjoyed every moment of it. Sleeping in hostels, bus stations, airports, ferry terminals, on ferries, and meeting the most incredible people.

FYI Halifax is an awesome party town: 6 nights partying in Halifax here, here, here, and others that I can't remember = tonnes of fun, some very wild times, a game of frizbee at 4am on the front lawn of the Lt. Gov's residence, stealing street name signs - then losing them, and a huge dent in my bank account. And St. John's NFLD was just as good. George Street was awesome.

But, as much as it was a great time to party, it was also a very spiritual, soul searching time. There's nothing like meditating on an Atlantic beach (wear a hat, it's usually windy).

The entire trip was great, but the best part was being on a boat 10 feet away from 3 humpback whales - one of the most incredible experiences of my life. It is an incredibly beautiful part of our country.

While I was in St. John's, Newfoundland, I stopped at a used book store to find some interesting reading material (I had bought the DaVinci Code in Halifax, and had finished it by then). What I found was one of the best books I can say i've ever read. For $1.50 at the Afterwords Bookstore (I still have the receipt in the book) I bought 'History on the Run: the "Trenchcoat" Memoirs of a Foreign Correspondent' by Knowlton Nash, the former National Anchorman for CBC News.

In this book, Nash writes about his time as the top CBC reporter in Washington DC during the turbulent 1960's. The Kennedy's (John and Robert), Martin Luther King Jr., Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Vietnam. It covers it all. What I found what touched me the most were the personal acounts Nash had with Robert F. Kennedy, including being one of the last reporters to interview him on his last trip to California, where he was shot and killed. It found it to be a very powerful acount of an important point in US history. I also liked Bobby Kennedy alot more after I read this.

So, if you are in the market for a really good book, check out "History on the Run" by Knowlton Nash. You won't regret it.

darkness on the horizon

If even half of this Gomery stuff is true, I am hugely disappointed.

Shame.

sunday night instant update

Reading: Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas
Listening: The rest of my life by Sloan
Drinking: Orange Juice (with pulp) by Tropicana
New Favorite Website: Dog Judo

my sister in rome

My sister just sent me an email from Rome... apparently it's nice, warm, sunny, and she's loving Italy. I am hugely jealous.

Cheers M! Can't wait 'till you get back!

D : )

sweetening the deal

TGIF!

I have again updated the sidebar to your right -->

I've moved the links sections around a little and added a bunch of new blog links (scroll down) - check'em out - half of them are interesting, the other half are filled with crazies! - you decide which is which.

I've also added a new poll - for those of your paying attention to this, this, this, and this, and of course this, this and this you will understand what I mean.

Here are the results of the former poll:

Question: When do you think Ralph Klein will retire?

Tomorrow - 7%

Summer 2005 - 2%

Fall 2005 - 21%

Winter 2005/06 - 7%

Spring 2006 - 14%

Summer 2006 - 12%

He should have retired ten years ago! - 29%

Ralph who? - 7%

Total Votes - 44

Hmmm. Interesting. Well... enjoy the new additions!