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What's Your Political Stripe
- Are you more like George Bush or Nelson Mandella? Pope Jean Paul II or the Dalai Lama? Take a 5 minute test and find out where you fit. Email me your results if you want along with which Alberta Party you support today; PC, Liberal or NDP. I'll compile the results and post them here; anonymously of course.
- Take the test at:The Political Compass.
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- Let us know if you have any comments to contribute. If you find any interesting sites we would be glad to add them to the list. We'll post your comments with or without your name if we think they are appropriate. If you want your name used, please say so in your e-mail or it won't be used. We will never post your e-mail address. Hope to hear from you and hope you enjoy Ralph's World.
Ralph Klein has gone and it is time to retire Ralph's World. Thanks to all of you who have supported this venture by contributing material and through your comments. It has been fun.
Should we get another blog underway? Let me know your thoughts by e-mailing me at johnnyslow@gmail.com.
John Slow
January 1, 2007
Wednesday, December 31, 2003
Premier Klein Wins American Award
See this December 31st article By Joel Connelly in the SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
Our Premier has certainly impressed our American neighbours this year winning the coveted Foot in Mouth Prize. Here is a quote from the article.
After a heifer in Alberta turned up with mad cow disease, and the United States cut off Canadian beef exports, Alberta Premier Ralph Klein said that any 'self-respecting' rancher would have taken three steps to deal with an ill animal: 'Shoot, shovel and shut up!'
Six months later, with another mad cow scare triggered by an animal imported into Washington from Alberta, Klein had learned restraint. 'I'm saying, 'Let cooler heads prevail.' Let's do the investigating and let's deal with the problem,' he said Monday.
Do we trust this guy? No way!"
What can you say. Ralph may have learned restraint now but the damage was done when "Shoot, shovel and shut up" slipped over his lips into the minds of a skittish American and Japanese public. He represented Alberta to them and to the detriment of our cattle producers, many of them don't trust us anymore when it comes to how we handle BSE. This provides them with all the excuses they need to slow down exports of Alberta beef.
It would be better in the future if our Agriculture Minister Shirley McClellan spoke for Albertans on this critical matter as Premier Klein has lost all credibility with our most important customers.
Click here to see previous related postings.
Our Premier has certainly impressed our American neighbours this year winning the coveted Foot in Mouth Prize. Here is a quote from the article.
After a heifer in Alberta turned up with mad cow disease, and the United States cut off Canadian beef exports, Alberta Premier Ralph Klein said that any 'self-respecting' rancher would have taken three steps to deal with an ill animal: 'Shoot, shovel and shut up!'
Six months later, with another mad cow scare triggered by an animal imported into Washington from Alberta, Klein had learned restraint. 'I'm saying, 'Let cooler heads prevail.' Let's do the investigating and let's deal with the problem,' he said Monday.
Do we trust this guy? No way!"
What can you say. Ralph may have learned restraint now but the damage was done when "Shoot, shovel and shut up" slipped over his lips into the minds of a skittish American and Japanese public. He represented Alberta to them and to the detriment of our cattle producers, many of them don't trust us anymore when it comes to how we handle BSE. This provides them with all the excuses they need to slow down exports of Alberta beef.
It would be better in the future if our Agriculture Minister Shirley McClellan spoke for Albertans on this critical matter as Premier Klein has lost all credibility with our most important customers.
Click here to see previous related postings.
Monday, December 29, 2003
State of Alert in Calgary Health Region
This creative idea just in from a Calgary reader.
The US has a state of alert based on 5 levels. Currently the alert is at orange signaling that it is one colour away from severe.
I think that the premier should adopt a 5 tier alert system indicating the state of alert with regard to health care in each of the regions of Alberta.
Rather than colours I propose the use of pies. For example crab apple pie might be the lowest level followed by Saskatoon berry pie and strawberry pie (when in season). As things deteriorate the condition could move to pumpkin pie, (much like orange alert south of the border) signaling that things are getting progressively more serious.
Finally when patients in distress need to be airlifted out of the province from major urban areas, well . . . .I think that that deserves a richly appointed banana cream pie which signifies a severe problem.
The US has a state of alert based on 5 levels. Currently the alert is at orange signaling that it is one colour away from severe.
I think that the premier should adopt a 5 tier alert system indicating the state of alert with regard to health care in each of the regions of Alberta.
Rather than colours I propose the use of pies. For example crab apple pie might be the lowest level followed by Saskatoon berry pie and strawberry pie (when in season). As things deteriorate the condition could move to pumpkin pie, (much like orange alert south of the border) signaling that things are getting progressively more serious.
Finally when patients in distress need to be airlifted out of the province from major urban areas, well . . . .I think that that deserves a richly appointed banana cream pie which signifies a severe problem.
Premier Klein's View of Advocacy
Report by Lyle Aspinall, Editor, Lacombe Globe, December 23, 2003: Have a look at this story concerning an 18,000 hog operation South of Bentley and how the Farmer's Advocate, a Klein appointee, "represents" the views of citizens in Alberta. Hint: Their views are ignored.
Can we expect the same from our new Utilities Consumer Advocate?
The Job Description for a Klein-Appointed Advocate in Alberta seems to be:
1. Must be able to absorb calls from irate citizens with cheerful but non-commital response.
2. Provide confidential information to the appropriate Minister and Premier Klein using the following feedback form:
Instructions for use - please rate the citizen's irateness on a scale from 1-4 as follows:
1 - Mildly upset - can be appeased with promise that government might do something.
2 - Nasty - uses inappropriate language when refering to the parentage of Ministers responsible.
3 - Livid - is planning a march on the legislature.
4 - Apoplectic - might not vote for Ralph next time - regardless of the size of the rebate.
3. Provide public reports which tell the citizens they are happy as larks with the government and any concerns they might have is because they don't understand. In other words, everyone else is happy; if you're not you're stupid.
The Klein-appointed advocates and their staff costs taxpayers millions of dollars annually to protect the ministers from having to deal with the citizens of this Province directly. There are better ways to spend this money.
Can we expect the same from our new Utilities Consumer Advocate?
The Job Description for a Klein-Appointed Advocate in Alberta seems to be:
1. Must be able to absorb calls from irate citizens with cheerful but non-commital response.
2. Provide confidential information to the appropriate Minister and Premier Klein using the following feedback form:
Instructions for use - please rate the citizen's irateness on a scale from 1-4 as follows:
1 - Mildly upset - can be appeased with promise that government might do something.
2 - Nasty - uses inappropriate language when refering to the parentage of Ministers responsible.
3 - Livid - is planning a march on the legislature.
4 - Apoplectic - might not vote for Ralph next time - regardless of the size of the rebate.
3. Provide public reports which tell the citizens they are happy as larks with the government and any concerns they might have is because they don't understand. In other words, everyone else is happy; if you're not you're stupid.
The Klein-appointed advocates and their staff costs taxpayers millions of dollars annually to protect the ministers from having to deal with the citizens of this Province directly. There are better ways to spend this money.
Friday, December 19, 2003
Deregulation - Dismantling the Alberta Advantage in Utility Costs
The folks at SALT (Senior's Action and Liason Team) have an excellent position paper on Electricity Deregulation. Click here to have a look at it.
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
Tory MLAs Strangely Silent
Over the last six weeks I have sent a number of questions via e-mail to some of our elected members including two to the Premier Himself . I've kept track of when I sent them, when they were responded to, and what the responses were. You can click here for a summary.
Now the Premier Himself is the Minister in charge of the Public Affairs Bureau and he has set a stringent target response time for responses to e-mail questions from citizens to the government. It is as follows, pulled from the Public Affairs Bureau 2002-2003 Annual Report.
The second new measure tracks the number of Alberta Connects e-mail questions answered within the 72-hour target response time. Alberta Connects provides Albertans with a way to ask an e-mail question about any Alberta Government program or service. Questions vary widely in length and degree of complexity. The measure shows that 94 per cent of questions were answered within 72 hours, just below the target of 95 per cent.
Well that is a pretty good response time but it doesn't jibe with my experience. Here's my experience to date.
1. E-mail to Tory MLA Rob Renner November 2, 2003. No acknowledgement, no response.
2. E-mail to Tory Premier Klein November 19, 2003. No acknowledgement, no response.
3. E-mail to Tory Premier Klein December 5, 2003. No acknowledgement, no response.
4. E-mail to Liberal Leader Ken Nicol December 5, 2003. Reply 4 days later.
5. E-mail to NDP Leader Raj Pannu December 5, 2003. Acknowledgement 12 days later with promise of a reply.
Now I understand that Mr. Renner is a busy man what with the Auto Insurance fiasco and I also realize that Premier Klein is busy what with practicing for his annual horse race and then the race itself. But you would think with all that staff they have in the Public Affairs Bureau they could at least acknowledge receipt of an e-mail even if they don't want to provide an answer.
Now the Premier Himself is the Minister in charge of the Public Affairs Bureau and he has set a stringent target response time for responses to e-mail questions from citizens to the government. It is as follows, pulled from the Public Affairs Bureau 2002-2003 Annual Report.
The second new measure tracks the number of Alberta Connects e-mail questions answered within the 72-hour target response time. Alberta Connects provides Albertans with a way to ask an e-mail question about any Alberta Government program or service. Questions vary widely in length and degree of complexity. The measure shows that 94 per cent of questions were answered within 72 hours, just below the target of 95 per cent.
Well that is a pretty good response time but it doesn't jibe with my experience. Here's my experience to date.
1. E-mail to Tory MLA Rob Renner November 2, 2003. No acknowledgement, no response.
2. E-mail to Tory Premier Klein November 19, 2003. No acknowledgement, no response.
3. E-mail to Tory Premier Klein December 5, 2003. No acknowledgement, no response.
4. E-mail to Liberal Leader Ken Nicol December 5, 2003. Reply 4 days later.
5. E-mail to NDP Leader Raj Pannu December 5, 2003. Acknowledgement 12 days later with promise of a reply.
Now I understand that Mr. Renner is a busy man what with the Auto Insurance fiasco and I also realize that Premier Klein is busy what with practicing for his annual horse race and then the race itself. But you would think with all that staff they have in the Public Affairs Bureau they could at least acknowledge receipt of an e-mail even if they don't want to provide an answer.
Thursday, December 11, 2003
Kiss up to Bush - it's good for business.
See Edmonton Journal Story by Kelly Cryderman: Lack of support for Iraq war costing Canada now, premier says
Premier Klein's approach is do what it takes to help business in this Province. If this means sending our troops to war in Iraq well so be it. We have to stay on the good side of George Bush or he'll hurt us economically.
I won't even touch the moral or ethical side of Klein's US Foreign Policy but it doesn't even work on the business side of things. True, the Premier did get 20 minutes of time this summer with US Vice-President Dick Cheney to discuss Mad Cow and whatever else they could fit into 20 minutes. The result of this was (how to say this delicately) absolutely nothing. Then there is the softwood lumber issue. We seem to be lurching to a resolution based on quotas that would permanently put many Alberta forestry workers out of work in order to allow a few of the larger companies to just survive. I don't think anyone, business people or workers, could call this a success.
President Bush and his administration could care less about Canada between now and the next U.S. election. If keeping the border closed to Canadian shipments of beef swing enough Republican votes in the Midwest states , the border stays closed. If tariffs and quotas on softwood lumber buy enough Republican votes in the southern states, then tariffs and quotas stay on. Premier Klein should understand this dynamic better than anyone.
Mr. Premier. Save your wooing of the U.S. until after the next election in November 2004. George isn't looking North these days. If you really want to help Alberta business why don't you turn you affections to Paul Martin. He's a Liberal but you could always put a bag over his head.
Premier Klein's approach is do what it takes to help business in this Province. If this means sending our troops to war in Iraq well so be it. We have to stay on the good side of George Bush or he'll hurt us economically.
I won't even touch the moral or ethical side of Klein's US Foreign Policy but it doesn't even work on the business side of things. True, the Premier did get 20 minutes of time this summer with US Vice-President Dick Cheney to discuss Mad Cow and whatever else they could fit into 20 minutes. The result of this was (how to say this delicately) absolutely nothing. Then there is the softwood lumber issue. We seem to be lurching to a resolution based on quotas that would permanently put many Alberta forestry workers out of work in order to allow a few of the larger companies to just survive. I don't think anyone, business people or workers, could call this a success.
President Bush and his administration could care less about Canada between now and the next U.S. election. If keeping the border closed to Canadian shipments of beef swing enough Republican votes in the Midwest states , the border stays closed. If tariffs and quotas on softwood lumber buy enough Republican votes in the southern states, then tariffs and quotas stay on. Premier Klein should understand this dynamic better than anyone.
Mr. Premier. Save your wooing of the U.S. until after the next election in November 2004. George isn't looking North these days. If you really want to help Alberta business why don't you turn you affections to Paul Martin. He's a Liberal but you could always put a bag over his head.
Saturday, December 06, 2003
Time to Fish
A few of us have been working on this project for a few months now trying to create a place for political discussion in Alberta. We thought we might have an official announcement of this site in the New Year after we got things working a little better but, like politics, things don’t always get better. So here we are, for better or for worse. It was time to fish or cut bait and we have decided to fish. We'll work on the glitches as we go.
To find out more about us and how you can contribute click here or on the link at the top right of this page. If you want to look at some of the past commentary they are organized by topic (click here) or by date (see right side). New links of interest will be added as we hear about them.
This government spends millions of dollars annually collecting input from Albertans and millions more telling us what we told them. We will happily provide the input part of that for free here at Ralph’s World.
Enjoy.
To find out more about us and how you can contribute click here or on the link at the top right of this page. If you want to look at some of the past commentary they are organized by topic (click here) or by date (see right side). New links of interest will be added as we hear about them.
This government spends millions of dollars annually collecting input from Albertans and millions more telling us what we told them. We will happily provide the input part of that for free here at Ralph’s World.
Enjoy.
Friday, December 05, 2003
Party Money for Leader's Pleasure
I read with interest an article in today's Edmonton Journal in which Premier Klein talked about a special fund for his pleasure. Click here to read the article. The premier said and I quote "It's my money," he said. "I mean, it's the party's money for my pleasure. But it's my money."
My feeling is that some clarification of the size and use of these funds would be in the public interest. Consequently I have sent the following e-mail addressed to the leaders of our three main parties; - Premier Klein, Ken Nicol, and Raj Pannu.
To: Leaders of the Alberta PC, Liberal and NDP Parties
Subject: Party Money for use at the Leader's Pleasure
To further assist me in understanding the ways of politics in Alberta could you please answer the following questions regarding the use of your party's funds for use by your leader. This question was prompted by Premier Klein's recent discussion regarding his acceptance of private flights for personal use. The Premier is quoted as saying "It's my money," he said. "I mean, it's the party's money for my pleasure. But it's my money."
The questions I have are:
1. What is the current size of your party's fund set aside for this purpose and how much typically is spent per year from this fund?
2. Specifically, what types of transactions is the money used for? Could you provide some recent examples with their associated costs?
3. Does your fund come from political contributions which are eligible for an income tax credit for political contributions? If the answer is yes, is this not equivalent to the Alberta Tax Payer subsidizing this fund? If this is not the source of funds, could you please say what is?
Thank you in advance for your consideration of this issue. I look forward to your response. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours truly
John Slow
johnnyslow@hotmail.com
As always, I will post any responses if and when I receive them.
Click here to see responses to letters that have been sent to MLAs.
My feeling is that some clarification of the size and use of these funds would be in the public interest. Consequently I have sent the following e-mail addressed to the leaders of our three main parties; - Premier Klein, Ken Nicol, and Raj Pannu.
To: Leaders of the Alberta PC, Liberal and NDP Parties
Subject: Party Money for use at the Leader's Pleasure
To further assist me in understanding the ways of politics in Alberta could you please answer the following questions regarding the use of your party's funds for use by your leader. This question was prompted by Premier Klein's recent discussion regarding his acceptance of private flights for personal use. The Premier is quoted as saying "It's my money," he said. "I mean, it's the party's money for my pleasure. But it's my money."
The questions I have are:
1. What is the current size of your party's fund set aside for this purpose and how much typically is spent per year from this fund?
2. Specifically, what types of transactions is the money used for? Could you provide some recent examples with their associated costs?
3. Does your fund come from political contributions which are eligible for an income tax credit for political contributions? If the answer is yes, is this not equivalent to the Alberta Tax Payer subsidizing this fund? If this is not the source of funds, could you please say what is?
Thank you in advance for your consideration of this issue. I look forward to your response. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours truly
John Slow
johnnyslow@hotmail.com
As always, I will post any responses if and when I receive them.
Click here to see responses to letters that have been sent to MLAs.
