A Minor Snipe

Here's a snipe we saw a few weeks ago on a Sunday drive.

I was going to use it as an illustration for a post where I went on about various politicians from Premier Ed Stelmach to George W. Bush.

Stelmach recently gave himself a raise as did several cabinet ministers. A few days later three of Alberta's top doctors, all women, quit. The Health Minister and the Premier made some noises about how all three left for better-paying jobs and that the Province only had so much money to pay for these positions. At least one of the doctors said money was not the only issue. For the record Alberta has just recorded another obscene multi-billion dollar surplus.

Mr. Ed and the boys gave themselves raises because, as Ed said, you've got to pay the big bucks to attract the best people.

So, Ed, you and the boys in cabinet (most are middle-aged white guys) are not the best people for the job and you know it? Is that what you're telling us, Ed?

And that you don't need to pay the doctors all that much money because... oh, never mind. My brain hurts.

As to incurious George, well, he has managed to mess up the US economy, found a way to ignore and offend the US constitution, and has tanked the great country's reputation throughout the world.

What do they have in common, Ed and George?

Well, they're both out of their leagues.

But Incurious George will be out soon while Mr. Ed will be in charge of the Province until such time as he completely tears it up and poisons the air to get out the oil.

Whatever else Dubya has done to offend the Constitution and the American people at least you will be rid of him soon.

I hope you like the photo of the snipe.

I was going to use it to illustrate a post, and apparently I did.

Hitting Nerves

I had my usual weekly check of my blood clotting factor. This involves nothing more than a quick needle and extraction of blood. I have it done a few dozen times since mid-December. Yesterday the lab tech hit a nerve. I gulped air and my legs swing out and back a few times. I blinked to clear tearing eyes and I breathed through my mouth.
She asked me if I wanted her to pull it out, but it was filling nicely and I wasn’t keen to give her a second shot at me.
She seemed nearly as traumatized as me. My pain was transient even as the memory of it stayed, so I’ll be fine. I’ll see her again, probably even today as I have to go back to the lab to get a Holter Monitor.
I hope she’s gotten over it.
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This put me in a fine mood for reading the newspaper.
I was so heartened to read that George W. Bush was so profoundly moved by sending all these men and women to injury and death in Iraq that he manfully gave up playing golf. Such leadership. If I had anything left in my tear ducts yesterday I’m sure it would have flowed.
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Our own Glorious Premier outdid himself by calling the liberals “subversive.”
Premier Ed Stelmach is embarking on a $25 million re-branding campaign for the province and apparently, anyone who doesn’t like it is wrong and hates Alberta.
The Progressive Conservatives have been in power since 1971. They have long forgotten that this is a democracy. So have most of the rest of us. He and his party truly believe that speaking out against something the rulers want means you don’t deserve Alberta. Mr. Stelmach, Alberta has done nothing to deserve you.
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I rarely pay attention to what comes out of the Vatican, but this made my day. Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Chief Astronomer at the Vatican, essentially said it’s okay to believe in space aliens.
I did already. Star Trek was always real to me.
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When nerves are hit and heads must shake, it is best to find something calming, like running water.

Elections and the Divine Right to Rule

Albertans are gutless and like to be bullied. Oh, and more than a little gullible.
We’ve got a provincial election coming. This should mean we're smack in the midst of a vigorous campaign. Instead we’ve got the two largest opposition parties sniping at each other and the other two opposition parties struggling for relevance.

The conservatives have been in power since forever was just a pup, 1971. They’ve all but declared themselves as having a divine right to rule.

Every so often the party gets a new leader to perpetuate the illusion of change. The last fellow, Ralph Klein, was a drunk and a bully who lied to us and we lapped it up. He said we were getting our fair share of oil royalties. Turns out we weren’t. But if Ralph said it, then it must be so.
This is a man who went to a men’s shelter at 2 a.m. near Christmas time 2001 and picked a fight with a homeless guy. He usually went to work hung over. Even Dubya said of him, “Who is that asshole?”

Now we’ve got Stumbling Ed Stelmach. He’s a nice guy, a decent sort, and he’s got a chance to distance himself from Klein and can’t do it. It might work out for the best in that maybe voters will get disgusted with the benevolent dictatorship and vote in a healthy opposition.

I know better than to believe it’ll happen. I have hope for a new party in power, but my province is a one-party state. We actually buy the nonsense we’re fed by the ruling party that there is no one else capable of running the province. It’s because they have no experience, we are told. Ralph told us this, therefore it must be so. Well, how can they have experience when the conservatives have wielded the bludgeon of power for 37 years?

Plenty can happen between now and Election Day March 3. The only opinion poll that matters is the one in the ballot box.

The conservatives took over in 1971 after 36 years of Social Credit rule. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll get someone new running the joint next month.

I have hope. It and my vote are all I’ve got.