I’ve had a few days to digest Calgary’s latest hate march.  I don’t like to give ignorant racist groups that much time or attention, but I recognize that putting my head in the sand doesn’t make it go away.

Here’s the thing… it’s okay to be proud to be white if, in doing so, you include other groups.  For example… it’s okay to be proud to be a white Italian at your Italian cultural celebration if you are planning on including other groups in your celebration.  That’s a good thing.  If you message is, “I’m _______, come see how my people are different and share in our culture,” then it’s okay.

The message in Calgary this weekend was, “I’m WHITE, come see how we’re better than others and get the hell out of my country.”  That’s not inclusive.  That’s ignorant.

The Aryan Guard seems to think they’re just as entitled to “pride” as any other community.  Sadly, they don’t know what pride is.

Do you think about the statement you’re making when you spend money?

Do you remember the “Made in the USA” campaign geared to get people to buy locally made merchandise. It turned out, people weren’t willing to spend more money to protect jobs in the US. Buying cheaper merchandise made in China was more appealing than the helping people in the local community earn decent wages or even maintain employment.

This is why I won’t shop at Wal-Mart. As you may or may not know, Wal-Mart has so much purchasing power, they can literally close factories in the US and move them overseas. Losing a deal with Wal-Mart could be considered a commercial catastrophe. So, companies do what they can to keep the Big Blue Box happy. If that means firing 400 people and crippling the economy of a town, so be it. Bring on the LOW PRICES!

This isn’t really a message targeted at Wal-Mart. Most stores use buying power to garner more competitive prices, but Wal-Mart has taken it to a whole new level. Still, we’re faced with these choices all the time.

Here’s an easy exercise you can do to see the effect of buying products produced locally or in Canada, at least. Go to a Farmers’ Market and buy goods off local producers. You’ll be giving money to people in your community and you’ll instantly boost the economy. The same can be said for drinking your local craft beer at the pub.

Think of what happens when you loan a pal $100 to help him out. It makes his life easier and better and he’s able to be more productive and do something for you in the future.

Read the labels. Buying locally makes a big difference. It’s worth spending the money.

The Americans may be having such a hard time pitching democracy around the world because of how confusing it looks on their own TV.

For staters, it takes forever to figure out who to vote for.  That’s a drawn out process if ever there was one.

Now, the Dems are entering the homestretch and a clear leader still hasn’t emerged.  Hillary went into the Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island contests with basically a do-or-die situation and pulled it off.  It looks like neither Obama or Clinton will have the required 2024 delegates needed by convention time, which brings us to the topic of this post.

SUPERDELEGATES!!!!!

Who are these people and what do they do?

Superdelegates are current or former elected officeholders and party officials of the Democrats.  Unlike the delegates we hear about in the primaries and caucuses, superdelegates are free to support whichever candidate they choose for the nomination.

Ugh… this is still confusing.

Here:

Superdelegates are people who get to vote at the convention for whomever they choose.  There are 770 (ish) of them who will cast their ballot either way come convention time.  This is important because, at this moment, Obama leads Clinton with 1257 pledged delegates to Clinton’s 1127.  That’s a close race and by the look of things, it’s a race that will be decided by those elite superdelegates.

Phew.  I thought that would clear things up.  Probably not, though.

A lot of people look at the voter turnout and shake their heads and wag the fingers at those who don’t go to the polls. In Alberta, something like 40% of people voted the PCs to a landslide victory. 73 seats is quite a mandate.

What about the other 60%?

It’s easy to say that they didn’t care enough to vote. (In a million years, I’m not going to buy the “too busy excuse.” You’re employer HAS TO give you time off if you otherwise don’t have time in your day. Furthermore, you should be able plan a 15 minute task with a month’s notice.) The reality may not be laziness at all. Maybe that 60% pulled into the driveway of the home they own after working a lucrative job for eight hours and thought to themselves, “I see no need to vote. Things are ducky as they are.”

Yeah, I know. It’s the wrong idea and not the best use of the political process, but it’s probably a fairly honest reflection of the mentality of your average Albertan.

The result, a huge majority, is indicative of what Albertans want; an economy that will continue to grow while news of an American recession dominates the business pages.

It was a truly boring election with few issues worth remembering. In the end, Ed Stelmach looks better than anybody could have imagined.

Here’s a confession. I get emotional when I vote. I don’t break down and cry, but I feel it inside. I feel proud. I feel lucky. I feel like the leaders want to know what I believe.

Today, I believe that Alberta is the strongest jurisdiction in North America and one of the best economies in the world. I also believe that the dramatic influx of people here will see that this is an excellent place to live.

What I hope, is different. I hope that things will stay the same, but that we’ll trade in the buzz word “change” for the more appropriate “innovation.” I hope that we’ll fearlessly move forward with alternatives geared for tomorrow.

I’m a big fan of fiscal conservatism. We don’t need people who can spend more money. We need people who can revolutionize the thought process. New thinking… isn’t that what this is about?

The campaign ads are dominating TV now. It’s the last few days of a pretty vigorous campaign and this is when the war chests are being opened fully. Truly, it’s a beautiful thing.

We shouldn’t fear or loathe elections. They are one of the greatest things Canada has to offer us. It’s the politicians handing us control of the gov’t; saying “pick’em!” So few of us take the offer. It’s easy, especially if you’re young, do be disillusioned, disinterested, or just disgusted by the whole process. We seem to have taken a gov’t model that should suit any nation well and morphed it into something that is easily exploited by partisan politics. Still, the give us a chance to change things ever 3-5 years and we, the lowly Canadian punter, don’t capitalize. Nearly two thirds of us apathetically tell the country that we’re fine with how things are done.

Vote. It’s simple. They make it really easy. Check out the Elections Alberta website and find out how convenient it is to get info about who’s running and where to mark and X.

But… don’t just vote. Vote for yourself. I’ve never been a fan of strategic voting. It makes zero sense. The purpose of our form of gov’t is to represent the population fairly. The only way that can function is if each citizen uses his ballot to reflect his interests and desires. Backing a candidate just to bolster numbers regardless of how you feel about his or her position on key issues undermines the process. If we vote for ourselves and pick the player we most agree with, only then will we have a truly representative gov’t. (I’m aware of the argument that popular vote isn’t reflected in our gov’ts.)

Using the ballot to punish or oust a party won’t speak for your interests. Don’t use elections to cause a coup. Use the ballot to speak individually about what’s important to you.

In Alberta, we’ve had PC reign for 37 years. There’s a reason for that: Albertans have voted for it.

Vote for what you want. That’s the message you want your ballot to send.

I wish it didn’t have to be said, but it does.

If you feel neglected by the current election format, I recommend you check out ways to implement real change. Here’s a Wiki page about the Single Transferable Vote. Maybe you’d like to talk to your MLA about backing something like STV.

It has been pointed out that I tend to have a negative stripe on this blog. I can’t deny it. I think that most of it is because politics is so frustrating. It’s like that magic trick theory: distract them with one hand so they don’t see what the other is doing. We get it from all leaders of all parties. Understandably, too. Why point out the deficiencies in one’s plan?

The word “change” is being kicked around in Alberta as much as it is in the States right now. People want a change. Or do they? The better question is, do they know what they want to change to?

You wouldn’t change out of your clothes without knowing what you were changing into. It’s as simple as that, but that’s not how we vote in Alberta, or Canada for that matter.

It’s important that you vote, but you have to vote FOR a party. Voting Liberal because you don’t like the the way the PCs are neglecting Calgary isn’t right. Vote Liberal because you like what they stand for. That’s what voting should be.

Kevin Taft (Alberta Liberals) is talking about pulling $800M from the Sustainability Fund (for disasters et al.) to help build the ring road.  Hey, I want the Calgary ring road, too.  That doesn’t mean I’d go out of my way to broker a bad deal to get it.

Let’s look at the South-West corner of it.  This is a road that is going to connect a huge portion of Calgary to Sarcee Trail.  Um… and that road will cruise you right by the Grey Eagle Casino… owned by the Tsuu Tina nation.  How much is that road worth to the Tsuu Tina?  Here’s a hint: MILLIONS!

As it is now, lots of gamblers are happy to keep driving to Silver Dollar, Stampede, Cash, Elbow River, or Deerfoot.  They’re all very accessibly from Deerfoot Tr. and Blackfoot.  To be honest, GE is tough to get to unless you’re coming down Sarcee Tr.

Yeah… a major roadway directly to the front door of my already-advantaged money printing business would be worth a couple hundred million to me.  We may as well give it away to the Tsuu Tina Nation… and toss in a couple hundred million as well.

Whew! I gotta say, this is some pretty boring action on debate night in Alberta. Maybe it’s because I’ve been watching the American debates of late. They’re great! Wait… The States… I digress.

Anyway, those are some serious debates with some heavy hitters. I know the stakes are greater South of the line, but that doesn’t mean our leaders have to look so minor-league when they cut each other up.

Here’s what I’ve gathered so far:

Ed Stelmach - Looks like Ernie of Bert & Ernie fame. Saves time by only using a 25 letter alphabet. (No T!)

Kevin Taft - He really took that “neither” response to heart. Came out of the gate trying to be really personable… dude. Also, seems to like choo-choo trains with all the “runaway train” and “derailed” comments.

Brian Mason - Seems like a capable leader, but has the worst ideas in all of Alberta. It’s fun to watch a guy think he can get elected while he bashes oil companies.

Paul Hinman - Badly needs a new suit.

Go vote on March 3rd.

If you observed Canadian elections for the last 10 years (probably more!) you’d think Canadians are the stupidest people on Earth. We keep voting for people who claim to be able to solve the same problem with the same solution.

Yeah… healthcare again. I know…

Read the Canada Health Act. Find out how limiting it is. There’s only so much a province can do to deliver healthcare to its people.

I don’t want to go to the ER and wave a big wad of bills around so I can get my broken arm set. I want to go to some guy’s business (AAA Aardvark limb menders?) where I have to have a big wad of cash to get it done. So do a lot of us.

And don’t give me this bullshit about “do you want an American system?” That’s idiotspeak. Say what you will about the US system. At least there, when you need a hospital bed, you can get one. Paying for it… that’s another issue.

I would be able to afford the privilege if the gov’t would quit taking 40% of what I earn and blowing it on the same broken system.