ROYAL WEDDING!!!
Well, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s tackle some actual news.
(With apologies to the 72, 873 Canadian journalists covering Wills and Kate just days before an important federal election.)
I get it, there's a wedding I'm supposed to be all over.
You guys want to pool our money and buy the Cromdale Hotel? Another Hotel, the MacDonald, took a beating this winter.
Parents of Montrose School are dealing with a third attempted abduction this school year.
The mayor of Strathcona County is looking to open a youth shelter east of Edmonton.
The chief of cardiology at the Royal Alexandra Hospital is honouring his father in the hospital’s newest addition.
The Sunshine Girl paper is talking about the Slut Walk. I’ll reserve zingers and just let you read it.
The Eskimos are testing out their new fieldhouse at Commonwealth.
*****
Anyone upset with strategic voting – the idea you’d be voting against someone or some party instead of for someone or some party you believe in – should know there’s a simple answer to turfing this plan. Electoral reform. If vote results better reflected who Canadians voted for this idea wouldn’t be needed. It would, likely, knock the Conservatives and Liberals from any chance of a majority government. Heck, it would probably mean we’d never have majority governments, just minorities and coalitions. But then MPs would be forced to work together to craft legislation that reflected the thoughts and feelings of more people. Geez, that sure sounds democratic.
*****
Carbon policy must not harm Alberta – There’s a way to keep any carbon policy from hurting this province. Green energy. Invest in solar, wind, geo-thermal, and renewable energy (even gas at this stage) and by the time carbon taxes are outrageously expensive you’re rolling around in clean money.
We’re in the money, we’re in the money…
Boom times don’t just mean more money and more oil. They mean more workplace deaths.
Re: Buying the Cromdale;
Yes! Let’s. And then we’ll tear it down and building some condos. I really think that would be a great location for condos (across the street from a grocery store and a few restaurants; walking distance to the LRT and Northlands; walking distance to 118th Avenue which, one day, will be a selling point instead of a concern…). We’ll all get rich! And we’ll have improved our city in the process! Win-win!
Re: Electoral reform;
Apparently, first-past-the-post actually hurts the major parties just as much as the smaller parties, so it would actually be in their best interest, too (well, sort of…): http://www.fairvote.ca/en/node/15534
Re: Cromdale
Let’s also make it a net-zero (or near) building! It’ll be a showcase of what can be done in Edmonton!
Also, I’m 100% behind electoral reform. How do we make that happen?
Supposedly by voting for the NDP. I’m not sure if I believe them or not, though.
I don’t think electoral reform can possibly be a 1 party thing. All the parties need to get on board for any meaningful change to happen…right?
Only if we don’t get a strong majority government. ;)
Seriously, though, if a majority government wanted to tackle electoral reform, they’d just have to pass a bill or two. I don’t think it would be difficult, as long as the party in power actually wanted to make it happen.
The problem is that if a party is able to get into power using the FPTP system, they are not likely to want to change that system.
On the other hand, we have a Senate that is stacked with Tory partisan hacks, so unless the Conservatives were on board a bill passed by an NDP or Liberal government would never make it past the Senate.
I know the NDP has pushed for electoral reform, especially after the 2008 vote when their percentage of the popular vote was much larger than their percentage of seats in Parliament (and the opposite was true for the Bloc in terms of national popularity to number of MPs).
Adam’s right, majority governments wouldn’t likely, and haven’t, pushed for any kinds of change on a national level. A majority tried a number of times in BC, but didn’t get enough votes to pass the changes. I really hope the NDP lands a lot of new MPs and puts electoral reform up as a bargaining chip in a minority or coalition government.
Also, go to http://votelab.ca and cast a “proportional representation” vote.
It’s silly for parties to choose their leaders with a 1,2,3 choice, yet deny that for the rest of the electorate. I’m hoping we see new ideas come from a new minority government elected on Monday.
I hate the Sun so much it makes me physically ill.
“Ladies, I’m not saying you had it coming because you’re dressed in my totally arbitrary definition of slutty clothing, but it might be a little bit your fault you got raped. But I’m not saying it’s your fault! But it totally is. Because no one ever gets raped in winter when we all wear parkas, amirite?”
Shove it, Sun.
Ugh, I somehow missed the Sun editorial when I read through this post on Friday. I just read it now, after seeing Jill’s comment. What a load of shit.
OK, yes, it is dangerous to walk in certain areas alone (and not necessarily just for women). But it shouldn’t be! However, let’s leave that point alone and focus on the one about “you wore a short skirt so you were asking for it.”
Um, no, that’s actually 100% false. Women don’t get raped because of what they’re wearing. Rape is not about sex, it’s about power. It rarely has anything to do with whether or not the rapist actually thinks that the woman is attractive or “slutty” or “asking for it.” It’s about the fact that she is a woman and he wants to hurt her for being a woman.
I could go on and on, but I won’t.