Is there room for 2 monarchs in Alberta?

[u4ic]

God knows how King Ralph will embarrass us next...:scared:

[tuvor]

1. All we generally hear about Alberta is that it's now debt-free.

I'll bet a lot of other provinces' citizens would trade premiers with you.

[Hand]

4. Thanks but no thanks.

Nova Scotia may be in chronically lousy shape, but we'd be worse off with that rumpot mishandling things. His sole strong point can be summed up in three words: Oh Eye Ell.
:puke:

[SnowBack]

5. Keep your right wing, anti-Gay fool of a Premier

Why would ANYONE want that idiot and his party of haters?

:puke:

[u4ic]

7. You must be joking!

:rofl:

A donkey could run Alberta and still pay off the debt...wait...we HAVE a donkey running Alberta...well, an ass - or more precisely an a$$.

And if you want him, PLEASE take him!! :woohoo: Then we can start charging adequate oil royalties and get our health care, education and social programs back on track.

[tuvor]

8. One question. Well, maybe two.

How far in the hole was Alberta when he was elected in 1993? And in which direction was Alberta's indebtedness going--digging further in, or climbing out?

I may be wrong, but I lived in Edmonton for thirty years until 1995, and I seem to recall that things were bad and getting worse economically when he ran on a platform of "I'm gonna get us back on our feet and out of debt and it's gonna mean sacrifice and pain for Albertans." (Let me know if I'm mistaken.)

Despite that, Alberta elected him and he pretty much kept that promise, didn't he? (And they kept on electing him!) Sure, he may be a buffoon or gaffe-prone or whatever, but look at the bigger picture. Alberta's the envy of a lot of other Canadians across the country. Maybe the envy of many of the states, too.

No politician's ever ideal, but I moved to BC in 1995, and often dreamed of trading Glen Clark for Ralph. Ralph may have run his course by now, but I have trouble believing Alberta'd be as well off as it is if they didn't vote for someone to do what he did.

Just my two cents, no big deal.

In the meantime, if you could answer those two questions for me...

Cheers!

[CHIMO]

9. Yep

You are right in their with the chicken littles.

He got seniors to give up a lot to make the sacrifice.
He got everyone complaining about the fat cats in ivory towers.
His most pertinent saying is you start the parade, see which way it is going, and then get out in front of it.

Each department in His government has PR people. Everything that comes out has to go through the central PR group. No MLA, no minister is allowed to say anything until it has been blessed by the PR group. These PR people, over 250 of them, are paid by the taxpayers.

The increase in the oil price was not anyones doing. It went up. Take a look at what Alaska asks for royalties. Or for that matter any other country.

The big thing about being debt free is crap. Alberta was debt free years ago. All one has to do is some bookkeeping and include the Heritage Fund in the calculation. However, one can't justify cuts in schooling and medicine with those facts.

Because the left can't get together I guess Canada has to wait for the right to split the right.

But have another glass of cool-aid.

[tuvor]

10. I asked for correction if I was wrong.

And you've done just that. I appreciate it.

Now, you can cut it out with the kool-aid crap, thank you very much.

[CHIMO]

11. OK

Then we will stop with the crap.

[tuvor]

12. Cool. Thanks.

I don't have time or inclination to pay attention to AB politics, what with trying to pay attention to what's going on in BC. And Ottawa. Just musing from my limited perspective.

Cheers.

[CHIMO]

13. Great

I can't understand BC politics. So from an eastern Canadian(someone east of the rockies) I will rely on others for BC politics.

[Maple]

2. Klein nearly speared the Queen today!

"Her arrival was delayed by a late landing in Edmonton and she was met at the football field by the Premier Ralph Klein, who had arrived with his spouse, Colleen Klein, in a 1913 Torpedo Phaeton, described on the scoreboard screen as a Locomobile.

At times grim-faced, the Queen had to walk through cold and wet grass to review the troops and then stand on a small riser to listen to both her own and the Canadian anthems and a royal salute that had to make do with one missing artillery gun that, according to Edmonton police, had been knocked out in an accident on the way to the event.

Then she walked over to a large vanilla-with-buttercream-icing centennial cake with Premier Klein, whose wind-whipped umbrella had a spoke sticking out rather dangerously. Obviously unaware of it, he leaned into her to hear better at one point, and the prong appeared, at certain angles, to dip toward the Queen's hat and then quickly away while those watching gasped at what might have been the greatest faux pas in the Alberta Premier's long history of awkward moments.

Had that happened, the onetime drinking habit, the spat with the homeless, the cracks about the disabled and all the rest of the long litany of Klein gaffes would have paled forever in comparison."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050524/ROYALS24/Front/Idx

[Hand]

3. CBC showed Klein committing another gaffe.

He walked in front of the Queen on the way to some display or another, blocking her way, which I gather is simply not done. His wife had to grab his arm and haul him out of the way... :dunce:

[u4ic]

6. Well, alcohol does loosen the inhibitions

not that he has many to begin with.

Maybe his wife didn't have the good sense to not marry him, but at least she's got half a brain.

[ninty]

14. I was part of the parade

for the queen yesterday in Calgary at the Saddledome. I'm from the Calgary Highlanders FYI. It was a good experience.

[u4ic]

15. Sorry I missed that ...

since you've got great uniforms!

[Maple]

16. How old

is that picture? Looks like WWII. :D

[u4ic]

17. Yep, it's WWII

I thought traditions ran deep in the military? ;-)

[Maple]

18. They do

The Scots are Celts, and Celts often went naked into battle. ;)

[ninty]

19. Second from the right.

From today's Calgary Sun:



Sorry for the size. It won't let me link to the image.

[Maple]

20. Oops sorry

shouldn't have asked.

But if that was you at the parade...you looked great.

Photos a keeper for sure

[u4ic]

21. I still like the previous uniforms better

:evilgrin:

These are pretty snazzy, though. :-)

You look great! Enjoy your 15 mintues of fame. Did she talk to you?

I live right across from Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, but didn't get tickets...I heard the festivities, and walked to the corner and did get a 'royal wave'. I saw her for all of 30 seconds.

[ninty]

22. No, she didn't talk to me...

and i'm happy about that. I think it would be kind of intimidating talking to the Queen. Youre first supposed to address her as "Your Majesty", then after that "ma'am". And your not supposed to ask any questions, just answer the ones she asks you. Too many things to remember...and too may things to mess up.

[u4ic]

23. Oh, well

there goes my plan if I ever met the Queen (not that I expect to, anyway)...I would have asked about her race horses.

With all the protocol, I guess it would be intimidating. Quite an experience for you, nonetheless. :thumbsup: