where ritter put the money.

The Edmonton Journal has a good run-down of Michael Ritter's background here titled "A free fall from grace." Interestingly, the article includes a brief list of where some of Ritter's stolen money went...

TRACKING THE MONEY
Michael Ritter stole $10.5 million US from Wall Street energy trader Dan Gordon, some of which he admits giving to various people and organizations. There is no evidence any of them knew they were receiving stolen money. Alberta Justice says it will not try to recover the money. Here's where some of the money went, according to an agreed statement of facts:

- $400,000 -- Paul Hoag, vice-president of Newport Pacific, Ritter's Edmonton-based financial services company
- $92,000 -- Newport Pacific
- $54,000 -- Lawyer Jeff Rath of Priddis
- $50,000 -- Metamorphosis Concert Society of Edmonton, the orchestra founded by former Edmonton Symphony Orchestra director Grzegorz Nowak
- $15,000 -- Pro Coro Canada, an Edmonton choral group
- $10,000 -- Leslie Green, one of Ritter's former University of Alberta professors and an associate of Newport
- $10,000 -- Banff Calgary International Writers Festival
- $5,000 -- Jeremy Carter, Ritter's former executive assistant
- $5,000 -- Juanita Amore, a former Newport lawyer

Check out the complete Michael Ritter Scandal Chronology.

ritter pleads guilty.

Michael Ritter has pleaded guilty...

Edmonton businessman pleads guilty to stealing $10.5 million
Charles Rusnell, Edmonton Journal
Published: Friday, October 27, 2006
High-profile Edmonton businessman Michael Ritter has pleaded guilty to stealing US $10.5 million and perpetuating a massive fraud scheme in the United States.

Crown and defence lawyers recommended a sentence of 10 years in prison. Judge Elizabeth Johnson of provincial court reserved her decision until Tuesday.

Ritter, Alberta’s former chief parliamentary counsel, pleaded guilty to the charges this morning.

In a 19-page statement of facts entered into provincial court as part of his plea bargain, Ritter admitted he stole US $10.5 million of the $43 million embezzled by a Wall Street energy trader and unwittingly laundered by Newport Pacific Financial Group, Ritter’s financial services company.

Ritter also admitted his role in willfully perpetuating a massive US $270-million fraud scheme that bilked more than 6,500 American investors from its base in Los Angeles.

In return for his guilty pleas, Ritter, 49, evaded extradition to California, where he faced a lengthy list of charges related to the massive fraud scheme.

On a more political note, I found this interesting:

Ritter's lawyer, Robbie Davidson, tendered 40 character reference letters from such people as former legislature Speaker David Carter and New Democrat MLA Ray Martin.

There is also more Michael Ritter coverage from around the news-world:
Globe & Mail - Alberta man pleads guilty to pair of money scams
Vancover Sun - Edmonton Businessman pleads guilty to international fraud
Edmonton Journal - The man who wasn't real

Check out the complete MICHAEL RITTER SCANDAL CHRONOLOGY.

more skeletons!

Our good friend Dr. Lyle Oberg is looking for skeletons again. This week, Oberg announced that he was going to hold a press conference while promising the media "blood" with allegations that another candidate was planning "dirty tricks" against poor old Lyle.

It turned out to be a sham. The media showed up. Oberg quickly backed off. Graham Thomson from the Edmonton Journal has a great recap of Oberg's political tactless press conference yesterday. Here is a clip of it...

Oberg overplayed his hand. He promised us “blood” on Wednesday — but then looked foolish when he said he had evidence of “misconduct” but wouldn’t reveal either the evidence or the candidate.

All he managed to do was smear the other seven campaigns while making himself once again look like a fool (remember his “I know where the skeletons are” comment in March which led to his ejection from government caucus for four months -- and he still hasn’t named any government scandals).

He should have cancelled Wednesday news conference until he could give reporters something other than innuendo.

His performance called into question his judgement.

Calling a news conference on Thursday to rehash the affair and release the document (which managed to find its way to the news media anyway on Wednesday) called into question his campaign’s desperation.

BOTTOM LINE
Oberg shot himself in the mouth — where his foot happened to be.

Well put, Graham.

rocking the peace or how we didn't have a plan and learned to love the boom.

I'm back from a productive three days in Grande Prairie and Peace River!

Lots to comment on, including this from our very soon to be former Tory Premier, Ralph Klein:

Premier Ralph Klein wants projects such as new schools and roads delayed because of spiralling costs, but critics say Alberta's infrastructure needs to keep pace with rapid growth.

"Costs are escalating at 30 to 40 per cent, so my message is simply to delay," Klein said. "I know there is a screaming demand for more infrastructure but, folks, the prices are beyond belief."

After meeting with local community leaders in Grande Prairie and Peace River, I don't think it would be far off to say that a very large majority of the folks in northwestern Alberta would loudly disagree with the Premier on this.

You pay the price when you don't have a plan. In this case, it looks like a 30% to 40% cost increase...

north.

I'm gone to Grande Prairie and Peace River for the next couple days, so you all may have to do without me for the next half week or so. I have been able to rangle a digital camera, so my trimphant return may be accompanied by the dazzlement of my photographic artistry.

If you have the chance, check out this fun site (props to nic for the link).

Feel free to take this opportunity to use my comment box to chat amongst yourselves on any topic you see fit...

an obergized tummy tuck.

Alberta PC leadership candidate Lyle Oberg has been taking out near-daily advertizements in the Edmonton Journal. Here's a picture of one of Dr. Oberg's Ad's. I thought it was pretty funny when you look at the Ad below it...

one week left for ritter.

As I mentioned in my previous post, it seems like it's been a while since we've all heard from our good friend Michael Ritter. But as I was pleased to discover this morning, Michael Ritter is today gracing the pages of the Edmonton Sun...

Accused multi-million dollar fraudster to learn fate next
week

By TONY BLAIS, COURT BUREAU

Michael Ritter - a high-profile Edmonton businessman and Alberta's former chief parliamentary counsel - is slated to be sentenced next week, court heard yesterday.

However, it won't be known until Friday what exactly the 49-year-old financier is going to plead guilty to.

Defence lawyer Robbie Davidson appeared in provincial court on behalf of Ritter, who is in custody at the Fort Saskatchewan correctional facility, and the matter was set over for sentencing to Friday, Oct. 27. Read the rest!

Check out the entire Michael Ritter Scandal Chronology!

jim dinning is not a lawyer.

I'm really interested in going to a Ted Morton Alberta PC leadership event before the masses of Tories place their final judgment on the Group of Six + Jim Dinning.

Does anyone know of an Edmonton event Morton will be at in the near future? I'm busy this Sunday, so it will preferably have to be during the week.

Also, kudos to Ken for this humdinger:

What if the latest Dinning Dunning Myth Buster was:
"Jim Dinning is not a lawyer - neither is Michael Ritter."

Speaking of our friend Mr. Ritter... it's been quite quiet on that front lately...

seriously.

Grow up.

It's more pathetic than anything else.

dinning and the big whopper.

Though a 17-point press release titled "Whoppers about Jim Dinning," Alberta PC leadership frontrunner Jim Dinning has gone on the defensive by attacking some of the allegations facing the Tory Dauphin.

All this Jim Dinning, Jim Dinning, Jim Dinning talk is starting to make me think of another politician...

Ted Morton looks like he is attracting a youthful metrosexual crowd of supporters in Calgary.

Lyle Oberg has come out with a slick looking policy platform. Though it is the most extensive policy platform so far released by the candidates in this race, it still remains fairly vague.

And Dave Hancock is continuing his open-letter writing strategy, this time Hancock has sent an open-letter to Alberta School Trustees...

it was the blog.

Really, it was only a matter of time...

Garth Turner suspended from Tory caucus
SCOTT DEVEAU
Globe and Mail Update

Outspoken Conservative MP Garth Turner has been suspended from caucus, after a motion passed citing "confidentiality concerns" on his often-controversial daily blog.

MP Rahim Jaffer, chairman of the Tories' national caucus, made the announcement Wednesday that the suspension of Mr. Turner, who represents the Ontario riding of Halton, was the result of a unanimous vote made by both the provincial and the federal Tory caucus.

"This is something that has been culminated since Mr. Turner's election to our caucus," Mr. Jaffer said Wednesday at a press conference in Ottawa. He said the primary sources of concern were confidentiality matters and attacks on other party members posted on Mr. Turner's blog.

This just in: Garth Turner may join the Green Party of Canada?

senator smith.

Too busy to blog much today. As a concession, I turn it over to Steve and his post on the U.S. Mid-term coming up on November 7...

Some of my favorite US Mid-term 2006 websites include...

Swing State Project
Politics1
New York Times Election Site
The Caucus

gst.

I only thought this was somewhat interesting...

McPherson promises to scrap GST (12:20 p.m.)
Alberta advantage would include an end to the six-per-cent federal tax

Jason Markusoff, edmontonjournal.com
Published: Monday, October 16, 2006

The “Alberta Advantage” should include an end to paying Goods and Services Tax in the province, says Conservative leadership hopeful Gary McPherson.

And even though it’s a federal sales tax, it can be done, he insisted today.

Instead of Albertans paying the six-per-cent GST at the cash register, the Alberta treasury would cover it all through additional cash transfers to Ottawa, according to McPherson’s plan.

“One of the best ways to maintain a vibrant economy in all sectors is to put more money in the pockets of consumers,” he said in a news release.

My question is: isn't this just paying Albertans contribution to the GST through Albertans taxes? So aren't Albertans still paying?

Instead of sending these tax dollars to Ottawa why not make an investment in Alberta itself? There are so many better things that the provincial government could do with that amount of taxpayers dollars. Premier Gary McPherson would be smarter to reinvest that money into Alberta's Post-Secondary Education system and fulfill the Tory Government's promise to give Alberta the most affordable tuition in Canada.

market nihilism.

I just got back from a wonderful weekend in Red Deer and Calgary. I would just like to give a big shout out to my family who made it to my cousin's wedding on Saturday - it was great to see you all!

Everytime I head off to Calgary, I'm blown away at how fast that city is growing. It's crazy.

Other than the suburbs, it seems that Calgary may be growing "up" as well. EnCana has announced that they will be building the Bow Tower, which is not only massive, but will block out most of the Calgary Tower... (here are the before and after shots...). Following this announcement, it seems like we have a "my johnson is bigger than your johnson" competition going on between EnCana and Imperial Oil, who also want to build a big town in Calgary...

And to end the post on a relative theme, I leave you with this...

Nihilist: We believe in nothing, Lebowski. Nothing. And tomorrow we come back and we cut off your chonson.
The Dude: Excuse me?
Nihilist: I said
[shouting]
Nihilist: "We'll cut off your johnson"!
Nihilist: Just you think about that, Lebowski.
Nihilist: Yeah, your wiggly penis, Lebowski.
Nihilist: Yeah and maybe we stomp on it and squoosh it, Lebowski.

Though it's really not fair to compare The Dude to EnCana or Imperial Oil, I can't help but remember the pictures of all those tarped-up half-built office towers in downtown Calgary following the last oil bust and economic recession in Alberta the 1980's.

I guess the economy is a nihilist.

leaf is a good cause.

Yesterday morning at 7:30am, I attended the 21st Annual Person's Day Breakfast put on by the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF). It was a really well attended event with what I would guess as over 200 guests.

The Guest Speaker was former Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan and the topic was "why aren't more women running for elected office." It was a really interesting talk about the societal, cultural, and structural reasons why women can't seem to break the 20%-25% involvement in electoral politics in Canada, along with some solutions on how to change this.

Other notable folks in attendance include blogging-types Sam, Nicole Martel, Ken Chapman, and many political types including Liberal MLA's Laurie Blakeman (Edmonton Centre), Dan Backs (Edmonton Manning), Bill Bonko (Edmonton Decore), Tory MLA Dave Hancock (Edmonton Whitemud), and NDP MLA want-to-be Rachel Notley (candidate in Edmonton Strathcona). City Councillors Jane Batty, Michael Phair, Karen Leibovici, and Linda Sloan were also in attendance.

ted morton's first mla endorsement...

...is from a different party. Alberta Alliance leader and MLA Paul Hinman (Cardston-Taber-Warner) is endorsing Ted Morton (Foothills-Rockyview) in the Alberta PC leadership race...

Alliance brass back Morton - Morton, Alliance share aim to unite the right in Alberta

UPDATE...

And almost as fast as Ted Morton gains an MLA endorsement, Alberta PC leadership candidate Alana DeLong (Calgary Bow) drops out of the race and endorses front-runner Jim Dinning...

That gives Jim Dinning 34 Alberta PC MLA endorsements... see the full endorsement list here.

all eyes on the yukon.

Though it is clear that Yukon electoral politics are more personality than party based, it is interesting to see the seeming decline of support for the NDP in the Yukon. Though this immediately be tied to the unfortunate situation with NDP leader Todd Hardy undergoing cancer treatment in Vancouver (hence, his inability to campaign full-time during this election period). The shift from NDP Governments (1985-1992 & 1996-2000) to Pat Duncan's Liberals (2000-2002) and then Dennis Fentie's Yukon Party Government (2002-present) is interesting. The Yukon NDP's decline from government to Official Opposition to Third Party status may signify something deeper than a mere decline in seat count.

As well, the delcine of NDP support on a federal level in the Yukon may be along the same lines. Currently represented by Liberal MP Larry Bagnell, the Yukon was represented by NDP leader Audrey McLaughlin from 1989 to 1997, and Louise Hardy from 1997 to 2000 (who is also Todd Hardy's wife).

Does this signal a political shift towards the centre and the right in the Yukon? Or is it mearly a transition back to the Yukon's traditional conservative represenatives (PC MP Erik Neilson represented the Yukon from 1957 to 1987). Or is it just me over analyzing things?

So, with the Yukon Territorial election over with, here is what the new Yukon Territorial Legislature looks like...

Yukon Party MLA's - 10
Dennis Fentie, Watson Lake (NDP MLA 1996-2002)
Brad Cathers, Lake Laberge (first elected in 2002)
Glenn Hart, Riverdale South (first elected in 2002)
Marion Horne, Pelly-Nisutlin (New MLA)
Jim Kenyon, Porter Creek North (first elected in 2002)
Archie Lang, Porter Creek Centre (first elected in 2002)*
Steve Nordick, Klondike (new MLA)
Ted Staffen, Riverdale North (first elected in 2002)
Elaine Taylor, Whitehorse West (first elected in 2002)

Yukon Liberal MLA's - 5
Arthur Mitchell, Cooperbelt (first elected in 2005)
Darius Elias, Vuntut Gwitchin (New MLA - defeated NDP MLA Lorraine Peter)
Eric Fairclough, Mayo-Tatchun (NDP MLA 1996-2006)
Don Inverarity, Porter Creek South (New MLA)
Gary McRobb, Kluane (NDP MLA 1996-2006)

Yukon NDP MLA's - 3
Todd Hardy, Whitehorse Centre (first elected in 2002)
Steve Cardiff, Mount Lorne (first elected in 2002)
John Edzerza, McIntyre-Takhin (Yukon Party MLA from 2002-2006)

*Archie Lang's twin brother, Kent Lang, was MLA for Porter Creek East from 1978-1992.

yukon, mush!

Busy busy busy... so much going on lately... so much to comment on...

I'll save the rest for now, but most importantly, the Yukon Territorial Election is today!

My prediction...

Yukon Party - 8
Yukon Liberal - 7
Yukon NDP - 3

Premier Dennis Fentie reigns?

I was right on my predictions for the New Brunswick Provincial Election, so let's see how good my political radar is for the great white Yukon...

RESULTS at 10:20pm...

YUKON PARTY RE-ELECTED...

Yukon Party - 10 (40%)
Yukon Liberal - 5 (34%)
Yukon NDP - 3 (23%)

YUKON PARTY MAJORITY.

10,000 trade unionists v. 33 mla's.

With Lyle Oberg in his new role as the now reborn Defender of the Workers, it looks like more Tory MLA's are flocking to frontrunner and Tory dauphin Mr. James Dinning.

Jim Dinning now has the support of 33 Alberta PC MLA's - Ministers Greg Melchin (Calgary North West), George VanderBurg (Whitecourt-Ste. Anne), and Ron Stevens, along with backbench Tory MLA's Janis Tarchuk (Banff-Cochrane), Doug Griffiths (Battle River-Wainwright), and Wayne Cao (Calgary Fort) are now endorsing Jim Dinning.

As much as some of my Tory friends would like to convince me otherwise, it's looking more and more like a complete and utter landslide for Jim Dinning in this race.

Here are the current Alberta PC MLA's endorsements in this race...

Total declared support:
Jim Dinning - 33 MLA's
Ed Stelmach - 7 MLA's
Mark Norris - 2 MLA's
Bob Cantwell - No Declared MLA Support
Alana DeLong - No Declared MLA Support
Victor Doerksen - No Declared MLA Support
Dave Hancock - No Declared MLA Support
Ted Morton - No Declared MLA Support
Lyle Oberg - No Declared MLA Support
Undeclared - 20 MLA's

Click here for the complete Alberta PC MLA endorsement listing...

trade unions buying tory memberships. backdoor fundraising?

This irked me... and it should probably irk the over 48,000 union members who are part of the Council.

The Alberta Building Trades Council has announced that it will be buying and selling 10,000 Alberta PC memberships for Dr. Lyle Oberg.

Assuming that by buying these memberships through a leadership camp, these organizations are only paying $5 per membership (some Alberta PC leadership camps are charging $10 per membership in order to buy a "special card" - translation: %50 donation to the leadership campaign) this money will eventually make it's way in to the coffers of the Alberta PC campaign war chest... why doesn't this bump into some sort of political contribution law?

Here are two examples:

Alberta Building Trades Council - buying 10,000 Alberta PC membership.
10,000 memberships x $5 = $50,000 political donation
10,000 memberships x $10 = $100,000 political donation (50% to the Oberg leadership campaign)

International Union of Painters and Allied Trades - plans to "give away" 2,000 Alberta PC memberships.
2,000 memberships x $5 = $10,000 political donation
2,000 memberships x $10 = $20,000 political donation (50% to a leadership campaign)

There are no laws or any sort of rules regarding what internal-partisan leadership campaigns can raise, but this must bump up in to regular Elections Alberta political contribution limits (which I believe are $15,000 annually outside election periods and $30,000 in election periods).
If not, isn't this simply a backdoor for political fundraising?

Regardless of whether this is happening in the Alberta PC’s, the Alberta Liberals, the Alberta Alliance, or the Alberta NDP - Alberta needs stronger laws regarding how political parties and leadership candidates raise money.

Don't Albertans deserve accountability and transparency?

Don't Albertans deserve to know who is lining political pockets and coffers in their province?

jumping the margin.

I'm not going to say too much about this, but the difference between 30% of the vote and 9% of the vote is a pretty wide margin...

“We need to give voters in Alberta the faith that their vote can bring about a change,” she says, disagreeing that the Liberals have a better chance of defeating the Tories than her party does.

yukon!

Yeah, so... the Yukon is having a territorial election on October 18...

It looks like an interesting show...

- Premier Dennis Fentie of the Yukon Party was elected as an Yukon NDP MLA in 1996 and 2000 before crossing the floor in 2002 to join the right-wing conservative Yukon Party. Only weeks after crossing the floor, Fentie became Leader of the Yukon Party and only months after that did he lead the Yukon Party to electoral victory. And he became Premier... (eat your heart out, Belinda Stronach ;-) ).

- Nearly half of the current Yukon Liberal Caucus crossed from the NDP... in February of 2006, NDP Leader Todd Hardy booted longtime NDP MLA's Eric Fairclough (also NDP leader from 2000 to 2002) and Gary McRobb out of the then-NDP Official Opposition Caucus.

Soon after, they both joined Arthur Mitchell's Yukon Liberals, making the Yukon Liberals the Official Opposition... only four years after the Liberals were destroyed in the 2002 election - going from 8 seats to 1 - they were now the Official Opposition.

- Former Yukon Party MLA and Justice Minister John Edzerza left the Yukon Party this year to sit as an Independent MLA. He is now running as a NDP candidate in his riding of McIntyre-Takhini.

Weird... the CBC has a great article about crossing the floor.

Here are the changes since the last election in 2002 and at dissolution...

2002
Yukon Party - 12
Yukon NDP - 5
Yukon Liberal - 1

2006
Yukon Party - 9
Yukon Liberal - 5
Yukon NDP - 3
Independent - 2

a tale of two provinces.

Last night, I attended a lecture at the posh Hotel MacDonald. It was the Eighth Annual Western Canadian History Lecture hosted by the Department of History & Classics at the University of Alberta. The two guest speakers included former Saskatchewan Premier Allan Blakeney and Dr. Ray Blake from the Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy at the University of Regina.

The two topics of discussion were “Reflections on ‘one province:’ Alberta and Saskatchewan 101 years later” and “From Mother’s Allowance to Medicare: Reflections on Canadian Social Welfare Polices From the West.”

It was a very interesting lecture and I have some thoughts…

1. I really wish all lectures (everywhere) were podcast so that I could listen to them again later.

2. Dr. Blake’s observations on the Mackenzie King Liberals implementation of Mother’s Allowance in the 1930’s was a very interesting one.

3. Allan Blakeney spoke quite a bit about the divergence in political direction between Alberta and Saskatchewan over the past 101 years and some of the many reasons for this. Following Premier Blakeney’s speech, someone in the audience brought up a good point that the partisan political divergence between Alberta and Saskatchewan could be seen in the 1921 provincial elections which occurred in both provinces – in Alberta, Henry Wise Wood and the United Farmers of Alberta succeeded in defeating the Liberal Party. In the 1921 Saskatchewan provincial election, an Independent candidates anti-establishment movement sparked which gained over 25% of the popular vote against the incumbent Liberal Party.

One wonders what would have happened to the political culture of the west had the Independent MLA movement achieved victory at the same time an independent mirror movement achieved dominance in its sister province, Alberta.

does god vote?

Ted Morton on the Miracle Channel

"If God was voting -- does God vote? well, sort of -- God does put these people in power... If God were voting, who would He put in power?"
-- the host, introducing our next Premier, Ted Morton.

(Props to DB for the link.)

look at all these delegates getting elected. that's what happens when you get on the ballot.

Other than still being slightly ticked off about my name mysteriously disappearing from the ballot in the Edmonton Strathcona DSM (a topic which I have a letter written that I shall send off tomorrow), I've been on and off watching the live results from the Federal Liberal leadership race this afternoon...

It's like crack. I can't stop checking it every 10 minutes...

It looks like Michael Ignatieff is solidified his lead with around 30%, with Bob Rae in second at 19%, and Gerard Kennedy and Stephane Dion fighting for third with around 17%. Ken Dryden, Joe Volpe, and Scott Brison are battling it out for fifth place...

DemocraticSPACE has some great coverage of the results...

daveberta not on the ballot.

I went up to the Federal Liberal Leadership Delegate Selection Meeting in Edmonton Strathcona last night only to find out that I wasn't on the delegate ballot in Edmonton Strathcona.

Not sure what to do, I spoke to the Local Returning Officer at the meeting. He said that I would need to call the central Federal Liberal Office in Edmonton. I called them. They didn't have my Edmonton Strathcona delegate registration form on file. I had sent in the delegate form before the deadline. It appears that they had no record of me registering to be on the ballot as a Gerard Kennedy delegate in Edmonton Strathcona.

Quite lame.

As someone who paid $5 to be part of this leadership selection process, I am quite displeased.

Though I wasn't sure if I would have the funds available to attend the leadership convention in Montreal this November, it looks like I won't have to worry about that now.

After talking with a friend, it appears the same thing also happened to a Stephane Dion delegate in Edmonton Strathcona (who apparently personally handed in his delegate registration form), as well as numerous problems of members not being on the voters list and hence not being able to vote.

As well, the confusing ballot was split in to two pages (one with leadership candidates and one with delegates) was extremely confusing. The explanation on the second page detailed that you could only vote for 4 youth (2 male and 2 female), 2 adult males and 2 adult females, 2 male seniors and 2 female seniors. With 30-40 listed delegates on the ballot, this process is a case study in ridiculousness. I wouldn't be surprised if I checked the wrong box and accidentally voted for Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae, or Pat Buchanan. It's a perfect case for a one-member one-vote system.

Though I understand that a leadership election is a huge endeavor, the importance quality, transparency, and accuracy is paramount. The price for not having one is huge.

It's legitimacy.

strathcona and u of a dsm results.

Here are the unofficial leadership votes from my source on the inside at the Edmonton Strathcona and U of A Liberal Club Delegate Selection Meeting last night...

Edmonton Strathcona
Gerard Kennedy - 82 votes (42%)
Stephane Dion - 33 votes (17%)
Michael Ignatieff - 25 votes (13%)
Bob Rae - 19 votes (10%)
Ken Dryden - 11 votes (6%)
Martha Hall Findlay - 9 votes (5%)
Joe Volpe - 3 votes (2%)
Scott Brison - 1 vote (1%)
Undeclared - 4 votes (2%)
Spoiled - 3 votes (2%)

University of Alberta Liberal Club
Gerard Kennedy - 14 votes (49%)
Bob Rae - 8 votes (29%)
Michael Ignatieff - 4 votes (14%)
Stephane Dion - 1 vote (4%)
Ken Dryden - 1 vote (4%)

bobo digswell of tuckborough

Is my hobbit name.

What's yours?

(Props to Nastyboy for the linkage.)

four plus three equals seven.

I've updated the list of Alberta PC MLA endorsements in the Tory leadership race. (You can find the total list here).

The list has been updated to reflect 7 MLA endorsements for Ed Stelmach: Health Minister Iris Evans (Sherwood Park), RAGE Minister Luke Ouellette (Innisfail-Sylvan Lake), and backbencher MLA's George Groeneveld (Highwood), Hector Goudreau (Dunvegan-Central Peace), Ray Danyluk (Lac La Biche-St. Paul), Fred Lindsay (Stony Plain), and Lloyd Snelgrove (Vermillion-Lloydminster).

Total declared support:
Jim Dinning - 27 MLA's
Ed Stelmach - 7 MLA's
Mark Norris - 2 MLA's
Alana DeLong - No Declared MLA Support
Victor Doerksen - No Declared MLA Support
Dave Hancock - No Declared MLA Support
Ted Morton - No Declared MLA Support
Lyle Oberg - No Declared MLA Support
Undeclared - 20 MLA's

If I've missed any, shoot me an email.

who's gonna go?

DemocraticSPACE has projected delegate candidate tallies for the Federal Liberal leadership delegate selection meetings this weekend. Interesting.

In my riding of Edmonton Strathcona, the delegate candidate tallies up to:

Stephane Dion - 19
Michael Ignatieff - 15
Gerard Kennedy - 13
Martha Hall Findlay - 7
Ken Dryden - 6
Bob Rae - 6
Undecided - 5
Joe Volpe - 3
Scott Brison - 1

Now, from what I seem to remember, delegates are selected through a conveluded process that weights individual votes for delegates with votes for the leadership candidates on the same ballot once again mixed with a quota system (4 Men, 4 women, 2 male youth, 2 female youth). It seems to me that a one-member one-vote system would make things a little simpler (or a lot more complicated if Joe Volpe is still in the race...).

On another note, there was a little spiff between a couple of blogging folks (Ken and Will), with an interesting post from Duncan...

schools matter.

Earlier this month, Public Interest Alberta launched their K-12 Education campaign - fill out their survey!

dave(hancock)berta?

ha ha. Aren't I clever?

I met with Alberta PC leadership candidate Dave Hancock this week.

At a small event at O'Byrne's on Whyte Avenue, I had a chance to chat with Dave Hancock one-on-one for about 20 minutes. It was a good conversation. Though he looked quite tired, our conversation spanned topics from the past and future of Post-Secondary Education in Alberta to the diminished role of the Legislature under Premier Ralph Klein.

Though Hancock and I agree that the role of the elected Legislature in Alberta politics has been very much diminished since Klein ascended to power in 1992, Hancock is not totally innocent in this act.

As Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs, Justice, Advanced Education, and Government House Leader in the Klein Government since being elected in 1997, Hancock has played a key role in the caucus and cabinet that shaped today's political environment. And though I believe Hancock has mostly good intentions, not he or any other Government MLA can be admonished of the negative decisions that have happened under the Klein government - which is a key weakness of many of the top candidates for the Alberta PC leadership (with the exception of Ted Morton, who is an outsider and only was first elected in 2004).

The same way that the Government of Paul Martin was held accountable for the decisions made under Prime Minister Chretien's reign, Alberta's new Premier will be held accountable to the past decisions of his party and government.

48%.

From the 2005-06 Alberta Advanced Education Annual Report released this week...

Public Agreement that the Learning System is Within the Means of Most Albertans

Target - 56%
2005-06 - 48%
2004-05 - 46%
2003-04 - 50%
2002-03 - 52%
2001-02 - 63%
2000-01 - 75%

who cares?

Oh no, Hedy!
Oh no, Belinda!

Though I'm not very sure that Hedy Fry's endorsement of Bob Rae really means much in a physical sense of an organizational term, but I'm starting to get very concerned that everyone else is seeing something in Bob Rae that I'm not (or vice-versa)...

As for Belinda Stronach's alleged affair with Tie Domi, I really can't express to you how much I really don't care.

How about let's talk about the things in the world that really matter.

i'm holding a summit on global warming.

If you haven't seen it yet, I really enjoyed this new ad from the World Wild Life Foundation.

I think I may hold a Summit on Global Warming myself. I could invite George W. Bush, Hugo Chavez, and Kofi Annan. I'll send out the invites first thing tomorrow morning.

more than just coke & mentos...

Just when I though my Diet Coke and Mentos experiment was great.

Check these out...

lecture galore!

It's Saturday. Here are some upcoming events here in Edmonton...

21st Annual
Persons’ Day Breakfast
The Anna Pellatt Memorial Lecture 2006
Guest Speaker: The Hon. Anne McLellan, P.C.
“Where are all the women? Why don’t we have more women in elected politics?”

Coast Edmonton Plaza Hotel (Downtown)
10155 - 105 Street, Edmonton
Parking available adjacent to and across from
$45.00 per person - Includes breakfast
$15.00 (Student/Senior/Underemployed)
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Tickets available: Contact Heather Grab at 233-8941 or heathergrab@yahoo.com

and...

Department of Political Science, University of Alberta
presents
First Mel Hurtig Lecture on the Future of Canada featuring Peter C. Newman
“Canadian Politics & the New Journalism: Making Facts Dance”
Friday October 6, 2006
4:00pm to 5:20pm
Telus Centre, Room 150

Peter C. Newman, is a legendary Canadian journalist, the recipient of numerous honorary degrees and distinguished awards and a best-selling author of twenty books. His memoir: Here be Dragons: Telling Tales of People, Passion and Power, was released in 2004 and his latest book The Secret Mulroney Tapes: Unguarded Confessions of a Prime Minister (2005) is now available in paperback.

Sponsored by the Mel Hurtig Annual Lecture Funds and the Department of Political Science

daveberta meets kennedy (part II)

As mentioned here, I met Federal Liberal leadership candidate Gerard Kennedy on Tuesday evening at a BBQ at the Ottwell Community Hall here in Edmonton (Also, today's Globe & Mail has an article about Kennedy).

The event was decently attended with around 60ish people packed into the community hall. Kennedy's speech was good, and the question and answer portion following his speech was typical of these types of events. It was the one-on-one conversation that I had with Kennedy that impressed me the most.

During the question and answer session, Kennedy answered a question by talking about graduate education and innovation. Towards the end of the event, I approached Kennedy and asked him what his ideas were on the Federal Government's role in Post-Secondary Education.

As c-lo agrees, I was quite pleased with Kennedy's response:

1. Creation of a national ministry of education.
2. Creation of national standards for quality and accessibility.
3. Creation of a dedicated transfer to PSE which will reward provinces who meet those national standards.
4. Creation of more federal grants for students over loans.
5. Setting student loan caps where any extra debt is forgiven.

Though I may continue to have major issues and skepticisms about the Liberal Party of Canada, but my hope that Gerard Kennedy will lead that party continues.

richard dawkins controversial?

Only somewhat...

I missed it, but apparently Richard Dawkins was a guest on Avi Lewis' new CBC show The Big Picture. Other guests included Ronald de Sousa (Emeritus Professor, University of Toronto, Philosophy Department, Atheist extraordinaire), Cheri DiNovo (NDP MPP & Reverend, Emmanuel-Howard Park United Church), Charles McVety (President, Canada Christian College
Imam Aly Hindy, Salaheddin Islamic Centre), Alia Hogben (Executive Director, Canadian Council of Muslim Women, Led the fight against bringing Sharia Law to Ontario), Joseph Ben-Ami (Executive Director, Institute for Canadian Values (faith based public policy think tank)), and Anver Emon (Islamic law historian, University of Toronto's Faculty of Law, Specializes in Religious Fundamentalism). Check out the video on the Big Picture website.

(Props to c-lo for the linkage...)

let's go!

The 2006 Canadian Blogging Awards are coming up! As some of you may remember, this blog placed a strong second in the 2005 Best Personal Blog category against the wonderful Samantha Burns (the final result was 248-245).

Here is the timeline set out for the 2006 competition:

Timetable
Nominations Open: Monday October 2, 2006
Nominations Close: Sunday November 12, 2006
Round 1 Voting Opens: Wednesday November 15, 2006
Round 1 Voting Closes: Tuesday November 21, 2006
Round 1 Results: Thursday November 23, 2006
Round 2 Voting Opens: Saturday November 25, 2006
Round 2 Voting Closes: Friday December 1, 2006
Round 2 Results: Sunday December 3, 2006 9pm EST

So, *cough* feel free to nominate this blog on October 2nd...

sad news.

Sad news yesterday. Former Edmonton ITV Weatherman Bill Matheson has passed away at the age of 80. Matheson was the weatherman for that station (which is now Global Edmonton) from 1976 to 1999.

As one of many Albertans who grew up watching Bill Matheson talk about the weather on the 6pm news, I am sad to hear that he passed away.

tory leadership rules...

Alberta PC Party President Doug Graham released the rules of their fall leadership race this afternoon in Red Deer. According to the Press Release...

Those interested in being a candidate must meet the following requirements:
• A candidate shall be an eligible voter as defined in the Constitution and shall be a member in good standing of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, A candidate for nomination shall file nomination papers signed by at least five hundred (500) members of the PCAA,
• A candidate shall provide a non-refundable payment of $15,000 to defray the costs of conducting the leadership selection process,
• Candidates must pledge to support the successful candidate and to abide by the Constitution of the PCAA and the Rules, Guidelines and Procedures established by the Leadership Election Committee,
• Nomination papers must be submitted at or prior to 5:00 p.m. October 16, 2006.

Election day has been set for November 25, 2006. If a second ballot is necessary a second election will be held on December 2, 2006. Polls will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on both days.

I'm betting that not all of the 9 candidates for the Tory leadership will fullfill these requirements.

They have also updated their website with somewhat vague leadership information.

and the formalities are over...

From the Edmonton Journal...

A political era in Alberta will end later this year when Ralph Klein, the most colourful Canadian politician in recent memory, steps down after 14 years in office.

Klein, who went from most popular premier in Alberta's history to being forced out of office by his own party, has formally submitted his resignation to the Conservative party. In a letter sent to party officials Saturday, he said he will step down when his successor is chosen, likely in November or December.

His resignation formally kicks off the race to replace him, which has been under way unofficially for more than a year.

klein giving his two months today.

Tory Premier Ralph Klein is said to be sending in his letter of resignation today. Also, in Red Deer, the Alberta PC establishment is expected to gather and announce the final rules for the replacement race for Mr. Klein.

Will the rules be fair? Will the rules be transparent? Will the rules be accountable?

I guess we'll find out today.

daveberta meets kennedy.

Yes, that's right. I met Gerard Kennedy tonight at a BBQ at the Ottwell Community Hall in Edmonton. It was a decent event, with about 60 people turning out. I'll give more details later, but I really liked the outcome of the conversation I had with him about national post-secondary education and the role of the federal government...

More soon...

st. albert on the political scene.

Last night attended a meeting of St. Albert City Council. I found it really interesting to see how a the Council of a municipality like St. Albert operates. Though they deal with their own unique challenges it must always seem like the big capital city, Edmonton, is lurking above them (In sheer size, St. Albert is probably around 6% the size of its capital neighbour).

As my attending was completely work related I'm not going to mention what I was there advocating for, but I would like to give full props to St. Albert Aldermen Christine Brown, Len Bracko, Lorie Garrity, James Burrows, Nolan Crouse, and Neil Korotash for making a positive choice and being leaders in the Capital Region!

(Also, for a more entertaining background on St. Albert municipal politics, I defer to an ancient post by Mr. Smith...)

On the provincial level there are some interesting things going on in St. Albert's political world. St. Albert incumbent Liberal MLA Jack Flaherty has announced his intentions to seek re-election - Flaherty defeated two-term Tory MLA Mary O'Neill in 2004 with a 410-vote margin. Rumours as to who the Tories will run range from Mary O'Neill to former Mayor Richard Plain. I'm sure we'll start seeing more movement from the Tories after they pick a new leader.

In the other semi-St. Albert provincial riding - Spruce Grove-Sturgeon-St. Albert - Tory Agriculture Minister Doug Horner is one of two PC MLA's supporting leadership candidate Mark Norris (the other being Airdrie-Chestermere MLA Carol Haley). Though Horner will most likely face a tough fight for his seat in the next election (he defeated Liberal Ray Boudreau by a slim 581 votes in 2004) he has been a decent MLA as far as I can tell.

On the federal side of things, the fight to replace long-time Edmonton-St. Albert Reform/Canadian Alliance/Conservative MP John Williams is in full gear.

This fight has former Tory MLA Brent Rathgeber facing former Tory MP Scott Thorkelson and John Kennair for the nomination.

Rathgeber was elected MLA for Edmonton Calder in 2001 by defeating Liberal MLA Lance White. In 2004, Rathgeber was defeated in a tight battle with now NDP MLA Dave Eggen. Thorkelson was the Tory MLA for Edmonton Strathcona from 1988 to 1993 and is the brother of former Paul Martin PMO insider Ruth Thorkelson.

I will keep an eye on this one...

aupe leader resigns.

AUPE President Dan MacLennan is resigning as the leader of Alberta's largest union...

President of Alberta's largest union resigns

Dan MacLennan is quitting as head of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), marking the end of an era for the province's biggest union.

MacLennan announced Monday that he will be taking a job with Calgary's Bantrel Constructors Co.

Though there have long been rumours about McLennan seeking public office, but recent rumours hint that MacLennan may be seeking a nomination in the next provincial election... could it be with Kevin Taft's Alberta Liberals?

i'm calling the new brunswick election...

...ring ring...

My prediction for today's provincial election in New Brunswick...

Liberal - 29
Progressive Conservative - 26 (I originally wrote 28, but meant 26 - there are only 55 seats)
New Democrats - 0

Premier Shawn Graham? We'll find out...

UPDATE: Yes. Well, it looks like my predictions were smack on the mark! Premier Shawn Graham.

september redux.

Back in April, Tory Premier Ralph Klein announced he would sign a letter of resignation in September. Later, it was clarified that it would be September 16. It's now September 17 and no letter. Maybe he decided that he's fine with 55.4% support?

But seriously, it really doesn't matter if Klein sends in his resignation this week or next, the candidates for his replacement are in full gear ready to storm the ancient gates of Castle Klein. It will most likely start to get a little concerning for Tories if Klein hasn't made his move by next week, as I'm sure they'd like to take a look at the official rules of the race (and for the race to begin on paper at some point).

I neglected to comment on it at the time, but I found the semi-conflict between Klein and former Premier Peter Lougheed a couple of weeks ago to be quite interesting. I thought it was pretty low of Klein to take a shot at Peter Lougheed - a man who has more solid policy and province-building experience than Klein could ever dream of having. Edmonton Journal columnist Graham Thomson had some interesting experts from Lougheed on his opinion of today's Alberta on his blog.

Carolyn Bennett's withdrawal from the Federal Liberal leadership race and endorsement of Bob Rae wasn't a complete surprise. I'd heard rumours that Bennett was going to drop out and I don't find it totally surprising that she endorsed Rae (as this was part of the rumour). Interestingly, Bennett first unsuccessful ran for the Ontario Liberals against Tory Isabel Bassett in Toronto riding of St. Andrew-St. Patrick in the 1995 election which saw the defeat of Bob Rae's Ontario NDP government.

Bennett's withdrawal from the race leaves nine candidates left in the fight - Gerard Kennedy, Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae, Ken Dryden, Stephane Dion, Scott Brison, Martha Hall Findlay, Hedy Fry, and Joe Volpe. Both Gerard Kennedy and Martha Hall Findlay launched new websites last week.

The New Brunswick provincial election is tomorrow! Unlike it's provincial neighbour to the east (Nova Scotia), the political environment in New Brunswick is a near tie between Shawn Graham's Liberals and Premier Bernard Lord's Tories (poll results released on September 13 had the Liberals and PC's polling at a dead heat of 46% with Allison Brewer's NDP in a distant third at 7%). It should be very interesting to see what happens tomorrow night!

kennedy-ignatieff edmonton.

This past week, Michael Ignatieff was in Edmonton at a reception hosted at the home of Senator Grant Mitchell. I didn't get the chance to go, but I heard there was a decent turnout of around 50 people at the Mitchell residence in southwest Edmonton.

Speaking of Federal Liberal leadership candidates, Gerard Kennedy will be in Edmonton on Tuesday at a BBQ at the Ottwell Community Hall (5920 93A Avenue) from 7pm to 9pm. It's a free event too! I think I'll try to make it out.

Speaking of Gerard Kennedy, the by-election for his former seat of Parkdale-High Park in the Ontario Provincial Parliament was this week. Ontario NDP candidate Cheri DiNovo trumped Ontario Liberal Sylvia Watson. The final results look like:

Cheri DiNovo, NDP - 11,675 (41%)
Sylvia Watson, Liberal - 9,387 (33%)
David Hutcheon, PC - 4,921 (17.3%)
Frank DeJong, Grn - 1,758 (6.2%)
Stan Grzywna, FCP - 366 (1.3%)
Jim McIntosh, Libertarian - 162 (0.6%)
Silvio Ursomarzo, Freedom - 111 (0.4%)
John Turmel, Ind - 77 (0.3%)

It's not totally surprising that the Ontario NDP picked up the seat, as I am predicting they will pick up more in the next Ontario provincial election expected next spring.

mla leaps off 29-story building.

Edmonton Rutherford MLA and Liberal Finance Critic Rick Miller took the plunge this week and rappelled down the side of the 29-story Sutton Place Hotel in downtown Edmonton.

Why would anyone do this you say? For charity of course! At final count, Miller raised $2,314 for the Alberta Easter Seals - beating his target goal of $2,000.

Not only is Rick Miller one of the most effective Liberal MLA's, but he is for sure now one of the coolest.

On another note, it looks like Alberta PC leadership candidate Dave Hancock and I agree about the topic of my previous posts. The Edmonton Journal also has a decent editorial on Ted Morton and Jim Dinning's out-of-province fundraising for their Tory leadership bids.

dinning to stump for cash down east.

Following my previous post about the out-of-province that Alberta PC leadership candidates Jim Dinning and Ted Morton were doing in British Columbia, it appears that Dinning will be pitching for cash at Toronto and Winnipeg fundraisers later this month...

Former Alberta treasurer Jim Dinning's supporters also hosted a Vancouver event last week, and have scheduled fundraising bashes later this month in Toronto and Winnipeg, where they've canvassed previously.

This leaves the question: should candidates for provincial internal-party leaderships be allowed to fundraise outside Alberta?

Because there are no rules stating that Alberta PC leadership candidates have to publicly announce the names of the individuals and corporations that donate to their campaign, Tories, Albertans, and Canadians will have no ideas as to who or where in Canada the campaign money is coming from.

In a decisive internal-party race where the next Alberta PC leader will become Premier, are Alberta Tories really okay with letting out-of-provincers fund the candidate of their choice?

UPDATE: Paula Simons has a good article on the out-of-province fundraising issue: Outsiders help bankroll leadership candidates: 'If non-residents can't vote for a Tory leader, they shouldn't be able to buy one either.'

mackay-condi connection.

Not that I really think that there is anything of substance to the Peter Mackay-Condi Rice gossip, but it turns out that this blog is the 2# google photo hit for Peter Mackay...

UPDATE: Because the link to the Star isn't working, this is what I was referring to...

"my parents don't care about the root causes of crime" -morton

The Alberta Tories had their first unofficial leadership debate last night in St. Albert. Though 500 Tories showed up, it doesn't sound like it was very exciting.

I get the feeling that this might have been taken out of context (actually, probably not...)...

Dave Hancock's suggestion that Alberta lawmakers address the abuse of alcohol and drugs since 70% of people incarcerated are admitted addicts was quickly dismissed by hardliner Ted Morton.

"My parents don't care about the root causes of crime," Morton snapped.

okay... huh?

tomorrow is only a day away.

Yesterday, Kevin Taft's Alberta Liberals released their plan for Alberta's future:

Edmonton - A Heritage Fund of $120 billion is the centrepiece of a fiscal strategy released by the Alberta Liberals today, titled Alberta’s Opportunity: Funding Alberta’s Future.

The strategy provides a solution for turning Alberta’s non-renewable resources into a sustainable source of prosperity that will support world-class public services, an outstanding post-secondary education system and permanently competitive taxes.

“This plan will convert Alberta’s non-renewable oil and gas wealth into permanent prosperity,” said Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft. “Right now the province is booming, but we desperately need a plan to secure our future, or the boom will go bust.” Read the rest.

The announcement included a new document outlining the plan titled "Funding Alberta's Future."

UPDATE: Here are some news stories on the Alberta Liberals plan:
Liberals want $120B Heritage Fund by 2021
Boost Heritage fund for future: Grit leader

making a run for the border...

According to the good folks at Public Eye Online, two Alberta Tory leadership candidates are and have been making fundraising pitches due west of Alberta. Ted Morton and Jim Dinning have been spotted pitching for cash in British Columbia.

Ted Morton is holding a $1,500 a table fundraiser at the posh Hyatt Regency on Burrard Street in downtown Vancouver on September 22.

Morton's event is being promoted by Byng Giraud of Earnscliffe Strategy Group Inc. The Earnscliffe group shared very close political connections with former Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin and formerly employed Liberal campaign strategists Scott Reid and David Herle.

Jim Dinning was reported to have been "schmoozing at a pricey $250 per ticket fundraiser for his campaign at Gotham Steakhouse and Cocktail Bar. The event was apparently attended by "a who's who from the downtown Tory crowd." Public Eye Online also points out the appearance of Jim Dinning's strong corporate BC backers which include Finning Canada.

and the race continues, and may acutally be a race?

A new poll released last week by Ipsos places Jim Dinning in the lead in the Alberta PC leadership race...

Jim Dinning (54%) The Frontrunner In Favourability Ratings – Lyle Oberg (48%) In Second Place With Dave Hancock (44%) Gaining Momentum

One-Quarter (26%) Of Albertans Think Dinning Would Do The Best Job As The Next Premier, But Oberg (21%) Hot On His Trail

It's no surprise that Dinning is in the lead, but I find it very surprising that Lyle Oberg is placing second. As well, I found Dave Hancock's third place finish and the suggestion that he is "gaining momentum" to also be interesting. I wonder if this polling actually reflects the candidate's membership sales...

The first leadership debate for this race will take place tomorrow night in St. Albert. This is the first official Alberta PC leadership debate, which will occur before Premier Ralph Klein tenders his resignation letter next Saturday...

The contenders in this race now include Jim Dinning, Dave Hancock, Lyle Oberg, Ed Stelmach, Mark Norris, Ted Morton, Victor Doerksen, Alana DeLong, and Greg McPherson.

I'll write more on the other contenders soon, but since the entry of social conservative Red Deer South MLA Victor Doerksen, the rumour mill has been spinning... there seem to be three main rumours surrounding Doerksen's intentions...

1) Doerksen is running a legitimate campaign to be leader of the Alberta PC's.
2) Doerksen is really supporting Jim Dinning, but is running in an attempt to split the social conservative vote with Ted Morton.
3) Doerksen is really supporting Ted Morton, but is running in an attempt to energize the social conservative vote so that Doerksen can drop out and endorse Morton before the selection process - making it an endorsement of another leadership candidate, rather than just an MLA.

Does anyone else have any thoughts on this???

radio soundclash

Woot. I'm going to the Bedouin Soundclash and Radio Vacana show tonight. Should be fun!

More wonderful blogging coming soon.

UPDATE: Radio Vacana and Bedouin were great. It was a fun concert :-)

ted morton, the man in black?

A bit of an update for the first full week of September...

- The Tyee has an interesting article on the real effects of Ralph Klein's legacy.

- Maclean's magazine seems to be continuing it's right-wing slide with last week's online poll that asks if parents should pay for their adult children's post-secondary education. I've never been able to understand why the parents of an adult student should be even remotely responsible and expected to pay for their education costs. This is one of the greatest flaws in Canada's student finance system.

Maclean's used to be a good magazine, but now holds only one consistantly good contributor, of who's best work can be found online for free.

- This seems like quite the blow to Jack Layton's NDP. The defection of Paul Summerville to the Bob Rae leadership campaigns...

- Alberta PC leadership candidate Ted Morton has launched his new website. Campaign colours? Black.

- Also, props to the Calgary Grit for posting this one before I did...

internationally crazy.

I don't pay attention to international politics for a week and all of a sudden...

WE SHOULD NUKE IRAN
By: MICHAEL COREN

It is surely obvious now to anybody with even a basic understanding of history, politics and the nature of fascism that something revolutionary has to be done within months -- if not weeks -- if we are to preserve world peace.

Put boldly and simply, we have to drop a nuclear bomb on Iran.

and then...

Ahmadinejad calls for university purge
POSTED: 2341 GMT (0741 HKT), September 5, 2006

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran's hard-line president urged students Tuesday to push for a purge of liberal and secular university teachers, another sign of his determination to strengthen Islamic fundamentalism in the country.

I think it's safe to say that both these men are crazy.

debt please, mr. dryden?

This week, federal Liberal leadership candidate Ken Dryden unleashed his vision for "A Big Canada." I didn't read most of the document, but I skipped forward to the education portion.

I was shocked to see this included:

(a) We will establish a national income-contingent student loan repayment program (ICLR) to help individual youth and mature students finance their post-secondary education.

Income-contingent loan repayment (ICLR) is a bad bad idea, Mr. Dryden. These types of systems serve as methods of shifting the cost of post-secondary education away from the government (who should be properly funding the post-secondary education system in the first place) and on to students.

As well, income-contingent loan repayment schemes result in those with lower incomes paying substantially more for the cost of their education due to lengthy payment periods mixed with increasing interest payments.

Mr. Dryden needs to take a look at jurisdictions such as New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom that have income-contingent loan repayment schemes and have seen a corresponding and dramatic increase in tuition fees and other education costs since the implementation of this regressive system.

Instead of implementing an income-contingent loan repayment scheme, I would suggest that Mr. Dryden look at creating and implementing a dedicated post-secondary transfer payment from the Federal Government to the Provinces that will deal specifically with tuition levels - which leads to high debt and is the most direct cost that governments can affect. Proper investment in PSE will make regressive schemes like ICLR even more useless than they already are.

Time to step up to the plate, Mr. Dryden.

on partizanship.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The more involved I get in partisan politics, the more I dislike political parties.

I've thought about going to the Federal Liberal leadership convention in Montreal in November, but I just can't find the interest (and the money of course, how ridiculous is it that it will cost over $1000 to attend as a party delegate). Though I like Gerard Kennedy, and think he would be a better leader for the fedlibs than most of the other options, I'm just not really excited about Federal politics in Canada. Harper is boring (and a Conservative). Layton has a talented caucus, but he seems like a flash-in-the-pan. The only real excitement seems to be coming from Elizabeth May's election as leader of the Greens.

I still enjoy provincial politics in Alberta and municipal politics in Edmonton though.

I'm just not to hot on the partisaness anymore.

Maybe something will change.

On another note, this is fun.

bbbyyyaaaa!

I have a feeling that posting shall be a bit far and few over the next couple weeks, so I'll leave you with this, this, and this, this, and this...

no plan, man.

- There are a lot of Albertans who can feel a little vindicated today...

On his last day in the legislature chamber before retiring later this year, Klein did something he has rarely done in 14 years as premier: admit his Liberal and NDP critics were right when they argued his Conservative government did not properly prepare for the boom and the pressures it has caused.

"The opposition was right in their criticism, but as I said, no one could anticipate the phenomenal growth that took place, or the quickness of that growth," Klein told reporters.