The Next Edmonton Centre MLA...

The Edmonton Centre Progressive Conservative Association welcomes Bill Donahue as their candidate in the next provincial election...

Come out and meet Bill...

Tuesday, November 27th
Basement of PC Headquarters
(9919-106 Street)

6:00pm - 7:00pm

NOMINATION!

Edmonton Centre Nomination
Thursday, November 15th
5pm - 9pm
Polish Hall, Lower Banquet Room
10960-104 Street

What you need to vote:
- a 2007 PCAA membership
- two (2) pieces of identification, one of which shall be a photo I. D.

Both pieces of identification must indicate the same residency within the constituency Edmonton-Centre.

Memberships will be made available for purchase.

For more information contact Rochelle Marshall at 990-6585

Could I Have A Side Of Policy With That?

Here we are, less than 20 days from our opportunity to choose the next Premier. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a decision making feel to it as much as it’s got a Canadian Idol, high school student council election feel to it, with a dash of a Seinfeld episode for posterity and dissolution. I can understand how it can be frustrating for some…

The more I read the newspapers and columnist’s opinions on Alberta’s leadership race the more it becomes clear that there is no end in sight to the rainbows and teddy bears. As an example, on the weekend the Edmonton Journal reported on each Candidates favourite/least favourite food… as much as I want to know that Jim Dinning loves ice cream but dislikes brussels sprouts, or that Dave Hancock and Mark Norris couldn’t share dinner because cheeseburgers and filet mignon don’t go together that well, I would much rather hear their remedy for Alberta’s spiraling health care budget, or how they plan to fix the employment disaster so that we can get the “service” back in the service industry.

One of the main arguments I keep hearing to rationalize the lack of policy has something to do with the mindset that because we’re not in a general election policy isn’t necessary. Well then, when will policy be necessary? Once we convince party members to just roll the dice on who they think has the most appropriate appetite… someone told me that Martha and Henry really enjoy a good moose sausage, so I guess they be voting for Lyle Oberg?

How is anyone supposed to take the process seriously if they have nothing to believe in? A leader is supposed to lead, whether it’s a general election or a leadership election, throw us a bone, give us something to follow.

Some will argue that it’s best to be a little of everything to everyone. I’m more of the mindset that it’s best to stand for inspired ideals fraught with passion… you’d be surprised who would follow that.

We are less than 20 days away from deciding the next leader of the most prosperous jurisdiction in Canada, I expected more inspiration and ideas and a lot less rainbows and teddy bears.

Tax Breaks, Tax Breaks, Rolly Polly Tax Breaks

Most of the leadership candidates, if not all, are promising tax breaks...tax breaks everywhere!

Jim Dinning was going to give a tax break to under 30 year olds but then changed his mind for some reason. Shouldn't have changed...I like guys who stick to their guns but whatever...it was flawed from the beginning but if you are going to bring it up stick to it, don't change on the fly...not yet anyhow.

Ed Stelmach today is saying that he wants to give a tax break to seniors...flawed, flawed policy but he better stick with it...he threw it out there.

We, as a government, removed Seniors from paying health care premiums...another flawed policy.

And here is why I think this is the case.

If you want to give a tax break, you should do so on the basis of what one pays on their income tax. There are some stinking rich under 30 year olds and there are some stinking rich seniors. Why should they be eliminated from paying a certain amount of taxes just because they fall into a certain age bracket? Should it not be the case that if you make a certain amount of money you get taxed a certain amount?

Same with the Health care premium thing. There are some wicked wealthy seniors out there who are not paying health care premiums but probably use the system far more than anybody under the age of 65. So would it not be better if everybody under a certain amount of income is relieved of paying premiums rather than an age? Grouping people by age and deciding what they pay based on their age is kind of ridiculous.

Instead of discriminating based on age, discriminate based on what you make. It is the Canadian way! I think a better option would be to say...if you make less than x amount, you do not have to pay premiums. If you make more...ding ding, pay up.

Instead of giving an under 30 year old a tax break how about we say that if you make under x amount (maybe 30K or something) you don't have to pay nearly as much tax.

But that was the way we had it before wasn't it? And then we moved to the flat tax...I like the flat tax, so how can we make the two work.

I think you just have to raise exemptions and the like. I know I am making this sound like an awfully simple way of doing it, but it is just my opinion on these policies. And I only pick Jim and Ed because they are the only two I thought of this morning...I am sure the other candidates fail or succeed in their own ways...the policies mentioned are what I thought of right off the top.

So that is how I think our tax policies should work in this province...don't be classifying tax payers based on age but rather do so based on income. And you may want to throw some incentives in there for students or something, but this is just my quick idea for now.

Go ahead, pick it apart...that is why I bring it up.

Two More Years of Pain and Wasted Public $’s

I originally wasn’t going to post this story, but the rage and annoyance has been building since the spring and today it exploded.

Back in the late 60’s there wasn’t a lot of entertainment options for Canadians. If you had a TV the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) was status quo. I wasn’t alive then and I’m not going to pretend to know, but I will make an assumption… Canadians didn’t know any better, they had spent 30 years listening to publicly funded radio, why not embrace publicly funded television. Without the CBC many Canadians wouldn’t have had any broadcasting options.

You know what else was standard operating procedure in the late 60’s… Otis Redding was sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay, Simon and Garfunkel were getting busy with Mrs. Robinson, Trudeau was Prime Minister, Led Zepplin was putting out their first album, Americans and the Soviets were racing for space, Nixon was President, Stan Mikita was the NHL’s MVP.

As Bob Dylan penned, ironically in the 60’s, the times they are a changin’!

Let me begin by saying that the CBC has NEVER served a purpose in my life except for one thing, and one thing alone… Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC). Well, maybe two, that Log Driver’s Waltz cartoon that they broadcast to take up time between programs was pretty sweet. Without HNIC the CBC is dead to me!

My above average discontent with the CBC first started during the 2006 stanley cup playoffs, Bob Cole and Harry Neale are arguably the most useless announcers in the history of the NHL. They excel in lacking the ability to form complete comprehendible intelligent sentences.

You know what was a mainstay for CBC in the late 60’s? Bob Cole.

Dumb and Dumber have to go, the gig is up. Seriously, give them an office job and get Jim Houston the call up… give ANYONE the call up. I chose to watch playoff hockey on NBC, without the glowing puck thank you very much, just so my head didn’t explode listening to the idiot twins on CBC.

They’re back… Bob Cole and Harry Neale will again provide play-by-play for HNIC. That’s the thing with publicly funded Canadian corporations… they refuse to listen to the public (unless you live in Toronto, aka the centre of the universe) and they refuse to change and grow to compete with other corporations… IT'S BULLSHIT!

Today I took a look at the HNIC schedule… particularly the high definition (HD) broadcast schedule. If you haven’t watched a sporting event in HD you are missing out… it’s like watching a completely different game. I figured that considering the Oilers came in 2nd overall last year and the Flames the year before… Canada’s two best teams over the past two seasons, the CBC would embrace that record and show a couple of Flames and Oilers games in HD. Well, they are showing 3 Oilers games in HD (one of which is against Toronto), 3 Flames games in HD (one of which is against Toronto)… I know what you want to know, how many Maple Leaf games are going to be broadcast in HD? 24.

The Maple Leafs didn’t even make the playoffs last year. The last time they won a Stanley Cup was in 1967.

Hey, 1967, around the same time HNIC and Bob Cole came into play… here’s an idea, since Leaf fans are all about curses, quit broadcasting the Maple Leafs, get rid of Bob Cole and MAYBE Toronto might have a chance at not sucking ass!

Crown corporations are only necessary when there is no other option to provide a service for citizens. In 1967 there were no broadcasting options… in the 21st Century there is nothing but options!

I can’t wait for this to happen… finally, the end of HNIC being Hockey Night in Toronto and the end of the CBC. It’s 2006, not 1967!

Political Trickery?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ibd/20061002/bs_ibd_ibd/2006102issues01

Where am I going with this one?

I could go many different ways on this link right here.

Most who will read this will think that the speaker has a problem with global warming and from those who have read my posts in the past know that I do have a problem with global warming...

I love it.

BUT that is not why I am posting this. I was more interested in his thoughts on the media in the past 100 odd years. That is really more up my alley.

The other point that caught my eye was the part about government making policy based on uncertainty. Basing policy decisions on uncertainty is, in my opinion, extremely short sighted and amateurish at best.

And I also totally agree that climate change should not be our focus...poverty, disease and hunger should be our focus if we are going to go all socialist! I would much rather help starving poor kids with aids in Africa rather than play the guilty card to the rich in North America and try to save our world from what...better weather in Edmonton?

I know, I know, you will jump all over me for that but it is true. The successful in the Western civilization are made to feel guilty for their success (by the left usually) and now they are trying to figure out ways to alleviate their guilt by fixing what...their climate exclusively? So the guilt is overwhelming. But there are better causes out there like starving poor children in Brazil or Mexico, or shoot, even the USA.

I believe our priorities are all screwed up. Won't somebody please think of the children??!??!!

We are moving towards a cleaner environment through technology and research and development. Why not keep using that and move forward even more? One day we will have zero emissions, I firmly believe it. But at the rate we are going, we may have zero emissions but what good is that if half the worlds children are DOA?

Why doesn't the media focus their energies on that first? It is extremely important. Is it because it is an issue that doesn't really affect rich North American? Is that what it is? Something doesn't fit.

We must not shy away from our success nor should be feel guilty for what we have accomplished. Why don't we use our experience and our knowledge to fix the main problems in the world: starving kids, disease, and poverty.

And yes I realize that it is literally impossible to alleviate poverty because it is a number that is created to show who is not as good as somebody else and therefore we always have somebody who is poor.

But hey, you bring real democracy to some of these places around the world and you will have success in a lot of those concerns.

Name me one country that is almost irreparable that is a true democracy? I can't think of one.

Get'r Done!

All Candidate Forums:

Medicine Hat
October 30, 2006 @ 7:00 PM
Medicine Hat Lodge
1051 Ross Glen Drive S.E.

Red Deer
November 1, 2006 @ 7:00 PM­
Red Deer Lodge
4311 49 Avenue

Fort McMurray
November 2, 2006 @ 7:00 PM
Quality Hotel
424 Gregoire Drive

Vermilion
November 7, 2006 @ 7:00 PM
Lakeland College-Vermilion Campus, Alumni Hall Theatre
5707 47 Avenue West

Grande Prairie
November 9, 2006 @ 7:00 PM
Grande Prairie Inn
11633 Clairmont Road

Edmonton
November 13, 2006 @ 7:00 PM
Mayfield Inn & Suites
16615 109 Avenue

Calgary
November 15, 2006 @ 7:00 PM
Details TBA

Lethbridge
November 16, 2006 @ 7:00 PM
Lethbridge Lodge
320 Scenic Drive

Election Days:
Polls are to be held between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
1st Ballot : Saturday, 25 November 2006
2nd Ballot : Saturday, 2 December 2006 (if required)

Advance Polls:
Advance Polls are to be held between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
1st Ballot : Wednesday, 20 November 2006
2nd Ballot : Wednesday, 29 November 2006 (if required)