Okay, the horrors of the American election have been over for a few days now, I'm calming down. Bush has already proven he was full of shit when he talked about working together and uniting his country, but that's not really any surprise. He has a lot of evangelical and corporate asses to kiss now for getting him into power, but as long as he only messes up his own country and not the rest of the world, it's not my problem. I'm looking forward to the influx of tax dollars anyway when educated American liberals decide to move here. Especially the gays and lesbians, as our constitution protects your rights and the people that want to change that are nowhere near having the power to do so.
Now I can concentrate on the Alberta provincial election if I can stifle the yawns long enough. This is Alberta. The Progressive Conservatives are going to win again. They've been in power for over 30 years, so you know they can do whatever they want and still get into power. Deregulate electricity and watch costs skyrocket? Pisses Albertans off. Natural gas prices through the roof? Pisses Albertans off. Insurance premiums rising out of reach of ordinary people? You got it, pissed off Albertans. There is a bit of a Mad Cow crisis on our cattle ranches right now, and a lot of it could have been avoided if the provincial government didn't screw up procedures. Cuts in health care increased waiting lines, cuts in education crowded schools. Tuition at our universities is out of control. At least our premier is courageous enough to get drunk and go to homeless shelters shouting at the bums to get jobs! At least he has the guts to come out and say that if a handicap isn't visible, a person isn't severely handicapped! Thanks to oil, we're the richest province in the country, yet aid to the severely handicapped (who aren't "severely normal", which Ralph Klein doesn't mind pointing out) hasn't gone up in almost a decade, welfare payments possibly longer, and our minimum wage is the lowest in the country. Makes me proud to be an Alberta, let me tell you.
Yup. A government with a proud record like that after 30 years is ripe for the dethroning, but this is Alberta. As long as the Tories continue to demonize Ottawa and the federal Liberals, as long as they appear to be socially conservative (though thankfully there's little they can do there), they'll stay in power. This is Alberta. We don't like too much change 'round these parts.
posted
by Tabby at 11/08/2004 06:50:00 p.m.
