May 31: the next Saskatchewan Liberal Renewal Workshop

Saskatchewan Liberal Party Renewal Workshop

If you are a current or former candidate, riding association board member, or interested member of the Saskatchewan Liberal Association, please join us for an opportunity to start a dialogue on the current state of the provincial Liberal Party and where we go from here. We recently had a very encouraging meeting in Saskatoon about the state of our party and would like lots of you to come out and participate!
Mark your calendars today!
Saturday, May 31st
Regina (11am at Skara Restaurant – south Albert Street by Garry Oledski’s campaign office)
Those attending can order lunch off of the Skara menu at their own expense.
For more information, please contact:
Michael Huber Carroll Bell John Murney
(306) 591-4040 (306) 543-6998 (306) 529-8832
mjhuber04@hotmail.com sjbell@accesscomm.ca johnmurney@yahoo.ca

Residential School victims to get federal government apology 11 June

This is long, long, long overdue and most welcome.

This apology, along with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, should lance the boil of the Residential School Abuse horrors. The infamy of the Residential Schools are a dark stain on Canadian history. The legacy of the residential schools will continue to be a blight on our nation, until we go through the process of a national apology, and everybody gets to vent their spleens through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I sincerely believe that without full disclosure and closure on this matter, that somebody we will all reap a bitter harvest from the abuses. I am looking forward to the day where Canadians can begin a new chapter without the evil of the residential school abuses dangling over our heads.

Venezuela and Colombia, on the road to war

Map of northeastern South America, focused on Colombia and Venezuela. the Guajira region in the northern most tip of mainland Colombia. Map courtesy of www.wikimedia.org

Are Venezuela and Colombia on the road to war? I think maybe so. I would view this as nothing less than a proxy war between Venezuela and the United States, with Colombia the proxy for the US. My reason for saying this, is because Hugo Chavez has become a sworn enemy of the Bush Administration, and Colombia's government gets lots of financial support from the US in its civil war against Marxist rebels.

The only question on my mind is about the timing of the war. When will war erupt between Venezuela and Colombia? I'm hardly in a position to speculate about this. As long as Chavez is President of Venezuela, I think a proxy war or direct war between Venezuela and the United States is inevitable.

Sigma Analytics poll on Saskatchewan nuclear options

here is the story.

First off, the statistician in me is a bit concerned about the poll results purely from an empirical point of view. Sigma Analytics has done excellent polling work in the past (especially when Doug Faller was there!). This sample size is very much on the small side, and the margin of error is a tad large. As someone who dabbles frequently with statistics and the like, I am duty bound to note these things.

Now that I got that done, I have to say that even if the numbers are off somewhat (a big if), generally speaking the results do not surprise me in the least. Over the years, I have found the overwhelming majority of Saskatchewan people I've talked to very much support an expansion of the nuclear industry in Saskatchewan. However, there is always a caveat on that support; that the expansion all take place in northern Saskatchewan.

I'm glad we're finally having the nuclear debate in this province. I predicted last year that within one year of the Saskatchewan Party taking office, that the development of a nuclear reactor would be on the political agenda, and now here we are. We need to have a rational debate on this issue. That means there shouldn't be a lot of fearmongering going on, but rather good, solid arguments made for or against expanding our province's nuclear industry.

For me, the nub of the discussion always comes down, to what to do about the waste produced by a nuclear reactor. Maybe Saskatchewan needs to be on the cutting edge of research into recycling or properly storing spent fuel rods. It may be that there is an opportunity for Saskatchewan to become the international home of used fuel rods. I throw this out there because if we are going to have a rational discussion on this issue, we have to put all ideas on the table, regardless of where you stand on this topic.

Pope blesses idea of aliens

I don't know about this. I'll believe there is intelligent life on other planets when I find evidence that there is intelligent life on this planet first!

Trevis Smith's appeal is shot down

Good.

I have waited a long time to comment on this case.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are considered role models in this province, not merely ordinary people. The players are instantly recognizable, and stand out from the crowd due to their star status.

For many young women in this province, the opportunity to have sex with a Saskatchewan Roughrider is considered a big deal, and Smith allegedly knew that. Smith knew that he was considered a prime catch for many women here, and that all he allegedly had to do was shut up about his HIV status, and he would allegedly be able to have unprotected sex with as many women as he wanted. That is what is so revolting about this case.

So what is the moral of the story? Trust no one, and don't have unprotected sex unless you absolutely trust your sexual partner, and even then, be suspicious.

Changing the name of the Alberta Liberal Party?

Alberta Liberal Party logo, image courtesy of www.albertaliberal.com

I draw your attention to the contest to change the name of the Alberta Liberal Party.

Alberta Liberals can change the name of their party if they want, but it won't solve the problem. As long as Alberta Liberals insist on running on a socialist economic platform, their party will continue to go nowhere in Alberta. If the Alberta Liberal brand was associated with free enterprise, common sense values instead of socialist ones, then the party's support would begin to grow. Albertans are never going to elect a socialist government to power, not when their province is the bastion of free enterprise.

Cumberland by-election

The first by-election of the Saskatchewan Party Government must be called pretty soon. Joan Beatty resigned as the New Democrat MLA for Cumberland back on 3 January, when she was appointed by Stephane Dion to be the federal Liberal candidate in the 17 March Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River by-election. The by-election ended in disaster for Beatty and the Liberals.

Anyhow, to give you an update, the Saskatchewan Party and the Saskatchewan NDP have nominated candidates for the by-election. Dale McAuley, the Mayor of Cumberland House, will be the Sask Party candidate in the by-election. It is interesting to note that the Saskatchewan Party sold a ton of memberships for this by-election. That is a good sign for the Sask Party in a traditionally NDP seat.

Meanwhile, the Saskatchewan New Democrats have nominated Doyle Vermette as their standard bearer. Vermette beat two other people to win the nomination.

TD bigshot says commodity prices are too high

I draw your attention to this.
I find this interesting, because my perception is that commodity prices are very high right now because of the gargantuan demand for commodities of all kinds in China and India. Is Ed Clark suggesting that the Chinese and Indian economies are about to loose some steam? If not, what else is going to happen that could cause the price of oil to drop substantially?

Another few bricks in the sack for Regina taxpayers

The age of bloated government continues in Saskatchewan, with Regina taxpayers being the latest victims.

I know, I know, the mill rate increase only amounts to a very small increase for this year. It is a 'small' increase, and reduced from the original proposed increase. However, I liken the increase to adding another brick or two to the sack of bricks that homeowners in this city already carry. "Here you go, another few bricks won't kill you!"

Why is it that Saskatchewan politicians have a fetish for spending more and more of our money each year? There is no good reason why city councillors couldn't have taken another look and trimmed some spending somewhere. This episode reinforces the idea that there is altogether too much government in Saskatchewan, that somehow the orgy of public spending in this province is a badge of honour that many people wear. City Hall will get away with raising our tax load this year, but some day, maybe some day soon, ratepayers surely will say enough is enough. I can hardly wait for that day to come.

SUN members offered 27% pay increase

All I can say is wow.

A long term plan to beef up the Canadian military

Here is the story.

I think the Prime Minister is exaggerating when he says beefing up our military is the "most pressing priority". After all, I think it could be successfully argued that there are other national priorities that come ahead of this plan.

That said, the Prime Minister does have a point. For all of the anti-Americanism in Canadian society (and there is a lot of it), we don't complain about how the US armed forces play a large role in defending Canada. Our sovereignty and our place in the world is forfeit unless we begin to modernize the Canadian Armed Forces. Any nation that could not repulse the weakest of invasions will have a hard time being taken seriously on the international stage. Relying on our American friends to defend Canada's borders makes us little more than a tributary state.

How Jean Charest turned around his party's political fortunes

this is very interesting. Having met Jean Charest more than once over the years, I know he must be thrilled that his party's sagging political fortunes from last year and 2006 have been reversed. I wonder if Charest will call a snap election this year, given his renewed lease on political life?

Federal Liberals warned about Dion Kool Aid

The federal Liberal pollster is confirming what I've been saying all along about the carbon tax. In light of what Michael Marzolini is saying, is Stephane Dion still going to insist on campaigning on the carbon tax/drinking Kool Aid idea?

Israel at 60

Flag of Israel, image courtesy of www.eb.com

The Times of London has written a very interesting piece on the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel. I hope to see lasting peace between Israel and its neighbours some day. Hopefully that last peace includes an independent Palestine that permanently renounces violence against Israel. I hope for peace for Israel, but not at just any price.

Yup, it's Obama

I'm really not surprised by this.

What is interesting, is that it was the South Carolina Primary that pushed the Obama campaign into high gear, and it was the North Carolina Primary that helped seal his possession of the Democratic Presidential nomination.

Now Obama's attention is turning toward John McCain, who has already been fundraising and campaigning for the Presidency for weeks.

Hillary Clinton was considered the 'inevitable' candidate for President one year ago. However, Hillary failed to catch fire and win. Why? Well for starters, her vision for America is not exciting or compelling, and she lacked the same energy and charisma as Obama. Obama also seems to have assembled an excited campaign team, while is it not entirely clear yet what happened to the Clinton campaign; that will require more analysis.

The latest on Nepal

It hasn't taken long for Nepal's new Maoist Government to crack down on Tibetan exiles in the country. This is not an encouraging sign for democracy or freedom in Nepal.

Way too funny!

The Grumpy Voter is truly one of the funniest bloggers out there! This is WAY too funny!

Tough choices lie ahead for Japan

It appears Japanese politicians have some tough choices to make in the days ahead.

My prediction? Within the next 5 years, Japan will respond to its economic malaise with a military build-up, with the blessing of the US.

The end of the matter

I'm glad to see that the vindication of Jim Fodey is being properly laid to rest once and for all.

The Democratic Presidential contest is all but over?

There is now speculation that the contest between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton is all but over.

That may be wishful thinking. Clinton just dumped another $6-million of her own money into her campaign. The drying up of fundraising should be an ominous sign for the Clinton campaign, but the fact that Hillary remains undaunted in the face of defeat suggests to me that Clinton will fight on 'until the last dog has been hanged.'

Nuclear Power: as ye sow, so shall ye reap

Hahahahahahahahahaha!

This is hilarious! Saskatchewan is NEVER going to have a frank, open discussion about nuclear power. Why? Because our elected polticians are too afraid of 'offending' someone! Hahahahahahahahahaha!

The Alberta Liberal Party is also contemplating its future

With a h/t to Ryan Androsoff with the Prairie Fire blog, I draw your attention to this.

For me the most intriguing quote is this one...

But the nuts and bolts of divvying up the ridings will be difficult in an alliance. And a new party, he said, would have to draw a great deal of support from the centre-right to succeed.

"If the new formation is too left-wing, if it's too inclined to pursue policies typically associated with the NDP, that is not going to be appealing to a broad base of the Alberta electorate."

This is what I said back in March. What Mensah is trying to say, politely, is that
Laurence Decore had it right back in 1993 when he campaigned on a platform that at its core was classically liberal, to the 'right' of the Alberta Tories. A broad anti-Tory coalition that runs on a platform of economic socialism will fall flat on its face, as did the Alberta Liberal and Alberta NDP platforms in the March provincial election.

Cutting the fuel tax in Saskatchewan

Holy cat and dog! The Saskatchewan NDP has a good point! Maybe Lorne Calvert and his B.A. in Economics from the University of Regina is finally getting through to his caucus colleagues!!

People who are suffering from rising fuel prices certainly would benefit from a reduction in the provincial fuel tax. While a cut in the tax may seem minuscule at first thought, we should keep in mind that any cut in taxes, just like an increase in taxes, has a multiplier effect. In plain English, a cut in taxes would ripple its way through the economy and put more money in the pockets of taxpayers, motorists included.