fellowtraveller

The OPs link is unusual in that it has no information about the website itself. No contact info, no backgrounder.....

Long past time to point out that Mr Lougheed has both a small audience and little influence in Alberta. Yesterdays man, but he remains the darling of the eastern media. Nobody has forgotten his role in the NEP days.

What I would like to know is: -what happened , exactly and specifically, to the $200 million that was stolen, and when can I expect restitution? - which politicians in which ridings received the money, and when will they be charged criminally? Nothing less. 'contempt of Parliament'? Who cares about that?

Not to be trusted? When somebody attempts to slide an archaic program of regressive social values down a progressive societys gullet - no, I do not trust him or you, if you agree with that approach. If he has earned your respect with his social views, you should know that he has simulataneously lost the vote of the majority of Albertans who do not share those views.. I don't care what deity you or Morton present as your master. But do not attempt to change the secular nature of my government by pimping a character like Morton. Morton actually did all of us a service by awakening us to the danger of evangelical zealots in the political process. We'll be paying attention from now on, so Ted may as well finish his term and go back to academia. He is done like dinner, and you can bet the farm on that. This is not America, and there is no need at all to cater to religious lobbies.

The oil sands plants burn huge amounts of natural gas, which is a major source of greenhouse gases. Perhaps there will be enough impetus to go nuclear, which is beginning to look inevitable. Natural gas should be reserved for heating homes. As an Albertan, I would have to insist that the high capital and operating costs of nuclear energy be borne by the oil companies.

Do you think it is coincidental that Mortons power base was from evangelical churches, that he is a believer in evolution, opposes abortion, etc etc? The oddest thing of all is a belief in evolution in a province where most of the money comes from decayed dinosaurs. And his wifes name is Bambi. I'm not concerned about his writing. If you do not see him as a hardcore, regressive social conservative, then you are just not paying attention. Our society and political structures are not just about money. Every politician is a package, and Morton has distastefully and voluntarily wrapped himself in ignorance. Morton is better known across Canada now than before the leadership election, and his stock has dropped further with the publicity IMO. Colleagues in Ontario and Quebec view him as the reincarnation of Bible Bill Aberhart, a laughingstock in our time. They may not be far off.

Is there anything in the ads that is not factual?

If Harper... or whoever comes next... attacks oil resources in Alberta for Quebec votes, which is very likely... we'll all be begging for Morton. He is currently a cabinet minister and no socon legislation has been tabled. Begging? I don't think so. Amend that, I know so. His strategy of mobilizing the Bible thumpers got Morton to the end game. A whole bunch of moderate Albertans recognized the end run and crushed him. Why? Because that kind of simplistic , Stone-age thinking has no place in a modern society. Add to that there is a very limited supply of hardcore Bible thumpers. He may be a Cabinet minister, but if he ever tries to flex any socon muscle- he'll be gone. Stelmach knows who voted for him, and who voted for Morton, and I very much doubt that he is in any way fearful of Morton or his crew of evolutionist Neanderthals. Stelmach beat him easily once, he'll do it easily again. It is Morton who is on probation, not Stelmach. You make Morton sound like a caveman. That's bullshit. Morton is a highly respected academic whose work on judicial supremacy is used in political science and judicial studies research throughout Canada. Morton might be a social conservative but there is a base for that. I think Albertans chose Stelmach as a "dark horse" candidate between Liberal lite Dinning and solid right-wing Morton. You and I can argue just how socially regressive Ted Morton is until the cows come home. The people have spoken though on exactly what they thought of Ted Mrotn, and voted accordingly. In a general election, he'd do far worse since his Biblepounding helpers would be a very small minority instead of just a small minority. Them's the facts, and "thank God for that" to quote Ted. In the society we enjoy today in Alberta, his views on abortion and many other issues are anachronisms. Mnay people recognize this, that is why he lost, and lost decisively. If he trots out that Bible thumping crap again, he'll lose again. The universe is unfolding exactly as it should. Look at it this way: If Oberg or Norris or one of the others had been on the final ballot instead of Morton, Dinning would have won easily. Much of the final vote was just as it appeared, a very strong vote against Morton and all the dark things he represents, not for Stelmach.

The similar words which helped destroy communism in eastern europe??? If you want to compare the fall of the Catholic Church to the fall of Communism, be my guest. The similarities are there indeed. I'll take that a step further and compare today's religious-minded people to the Castros of the world and their followers who are grasping onto a proven ill-functioning ideology either because of greed or sheer stupidity. Ah,, atheism. The New Evangelism. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Tempest in a teapot. To curtail the wealthy gaining an 'unfair' advantage from income splitting, all the govt has to do is impose a ceiling on eligible total income. No big deal, it is applied on other taxation issues.

You are saying he is ready to go and the Conservatives believe they can win a majority? You're on the Conservative election committee? You believe they would win a majority if Harper called an election on Monday? Have you ever considered that you are asking the wrong questions? Consider these realities: - the Liberals, Bloc and NDP don't really want an election soon for a few reasons, money being a big one. - the Liberals can't really campaign on much. They did almost nothing the last few years in power except run from scandal. Dion simply does not have a record that he can be proud of, and win a campaign on. - despite your fervent wishes, the Tories have accomplished quite a bit with a minority in 12 months, and have not had any major scandal. Canadians may note the refreshing change on both fronts. You are focusing on a Tory majority only. Do you think Harper sees that as the only possibility in a snap election? He is now living on borrowed time. The Libs have now found a leader, and the Opposition attacks will become more and more coordinated and more focused. Here is another reality: since the Libs cannot run on their record, they will have to run on Tory mistakes. The longer the Tories cling to this minority, the more certain that they will make major mistakes. Which brings us back to 'asking the wrong question', which assumes that a majority is Harpers only good outcome for a snap election. Isn't another minority in a few months better than a defeat in Spring 2008? If nothing else, he'll be back in charge of an agenda that will be his, safe in the knowledge that his renewed minority must be unchallenged for another year. In order of preference, harpers choices are : 1 majority, 2. another minority, 3. losing . Each of the first two options already has a CPC plan and a timetable. I see what is happening now with the ads as possibly a gambit under option 2. Pursuing option 1 right now may be a direct route to option 3. Pursuing option 2 may be safest.

And some posters should examine their belief that you should believe everything you read in the paper or hear on the Imternet.

Read post 6, it's the evolution of the thread, I'm not hijacking it. It's a social-program, not a health-care issue. Or maybe he's read the data, agrees with it, and like many other British Columbians and Canadians he agrees that the government should be funding such social-programs and projects. Social program? I don't think so. Safe needle sites are about health, the health of the active users, and the health of people not yet infected with Hepatitis B and C, HIV....... Stop looking to Ottawa for the answers to your local problems. Health care is a provincial responsibility. Taking care of the health of your fellow citizens is shared between the individuals involved and their provincial government. Check the Constitution if you don't believe me. Check a map, your own OP is about BC, not 'the West'.

If Harper... or whoever comes next... attacks oil resources in Alberta for Quebec votes, which is very likely... we'll all be begging for Morton. He is currently a cabinet minister and no socon legislation has been tabled. Begging? I don't think so. Amend that, I know so. His strategy of mobilizing the Bible thumpers got Morton to the end game. A whole bunch of moderate Albertans recognized the end run and crushed him. Why? Because that kind of simplistic , Stone-age thinking has no place in a modern society. Add to that there is a very limited supply of hardcore Bible thumpers. He may be a Cabinet minister, but if he ever tries to flex any socon muscle- he'll be gone. Stelmach knows who voted for him, and who voted for Morton, and I very much doubt that he is in any way fearful of Morton or his crew of evolutionist Neanderthals. Stelmach beat him easily once, he'll do it easily again. It is Morton who is on probation, not Stelmach.

All the big newspapers endorsed Harper except the Star. And people seriously overestimate the CBC National News influence. They often are not even in the top 10. They are not even the top rated national news. And they don't endorse candidates. Indeed, all the big newspapers endorsed Harper (except The Star). CanWest's owners (David Asper) even went on the campaign trail with Harper. All the Jewish media (except the CBC and the Star) endorsed Harper for his pro-Israeli stance (and the GST cut which would be beneficial to media corporations unlike Martin's personal income tax cut). The Jewish media came out with headlines like "Why You Should Vote Conservative" the weekend before the election and then they go after the CBC for not being biased enough. Even Larry Zolf on the CBC went from criticizing Harper for his many acts of hypocrisy to nearly worshiping him after Harper's government became the first to openly support Israel against the Palestinians. And then you wonder why MacKay meets with all foreign ministers on his Middle East trip except the Palestinian minister, whom he openly snubs. It's a very mutually beneficial relationship the Conservatives have with the Jewish media. The Conservatives support the Jewish position and the media, lead by CanWest, get to ask all the questions at Harper's press conferences and endorse him between and during election campaigns. Wow. I find the comments above extremely distasteful. Is this sort of overt bigotry normally tolerated here? Or is everybody except me a victim of Zionist Mind Control?

Talk is cheap. Dion would be laughed out of Alberta. He's been here a couple of times, spends his time preaching to the (tiny) choir.

I go to quite a few movies and am pissed mightily at paying planty of money, only to be subjected to 10 or more minutes of commercials before the movie previews start. Now, we will no doubt see a slew 0f bank commercials first. I am trying to think of an effective campaign to protest this that doesn't involve hurling a 20 ounce soda at the screen.

Morton as Premier would have been an outright, wholesale political disaster for Alberta. His deep social conservatism would have been an embarassing and inaccurate confirmation that Alberta is the preserve of Bible thumping evolutionists. Fortunately, the mainstream rose up and smote him, so to speak.

BC Chick, you are threadjacking your own thread. Back to the OP: the drug site has funding for the next year, though I remain baffled as to why BC doesn't take responsibility for their own health care issues. Dion isn't courting the West, he is courting BC, and will say anything from Opposition since he has no requirement to back up his mouth with any actual action. In short- classic Liberalism.

And so it should be. As I undertand it, there have been no polygamy charges laid in Canada since the 1930s, despite the existence of many overt polygamous relationships. With all that has happened, I doubt there ever will be. A couple of years ago, Justice Canda was tasked with reviewing the legal situation n the Mormon communities. The result of those inquiries was never made public, but it is rumoured that they concluded the Charter would crush any legislation or prosecution regarding polygamy. With the newish Charter, and Supreme Court/Parliament affirmations of the absolute human right of gay folks to marry...how can polygamous relations be deemed illegal? Why are mariages arbitrarily defined as being only between two persons? What is evil or wrong about three, or twenty three? And as long as the adults are consenting, what is the issue?

That goes both ways. Which means many former NDP voters will be voting Liberal. Mmmmm, I don't think you can use the word 'many' with the phrase 'NDP voters'. The transition from NDP voter to anything else is actually almost automatic, as you grow older and realize how our country actually works. One of Laytons biggest mistakes was being linked so closely to Martins minority. Not only was he perceived as a close associate of something that reeked of corruption, he is now more or less indistinguishable from the Liberals. Bad move. At the time of BelindaGate, he should have stood on his hindlegs and brought down Martin. he would have gained more seats and would not be facing major indifference from the electorate today. Despite being the best leader in years for the NDP, he'd be in serious trouble if an election were held today.

And I agree, completely. Well said geoffrey. There is one. The LPOC. How can you possibly overlook the sterling work of the Public Service Alliance of Canda?

A year ago it loked like there was no hope of him forming the govt again. It seems that lately his stock has been on the rise, with some subtle and overt aid from Harper. Can he form another government, or are the PQ back in power?

Let's put i more bluntly. Who cares about the opinion that a terrorist like Zahar has about MacKay, the Conservative Government of Canada or any other topic? The day that any of us start respecting an opinion from a man like that, representing that organization .......

What will Dion run on now? He'll have to run on the environmental issue, there isn't much left for him. And by doing so, he'll hand over the campaign focus the Tories need, since Dion and his Party did so little while he was Environment Minister. I believe the term is 'hoisted on his own petard'. I think thye next election is for the Tories to lose, not Dions to win. Really, what can he point to as accomplishments that don't link him heavily to the corrupt Chretien regime? All he'll have are mistakes the Tories have made and will make before the next election - which is why this might be a good time for Harper to go the people. Actually, the best time would be right after the next budget, when Harper can engineer his own defeat on promises made, not on performance not delivered.