What a week…
– Tory Education Minister Ron Liepert claims poverty. Finance Minister Lyle Oberg announces an $8.5 Billion surplus. For some reason, Liepert’s argument sounds more ludicrous today than it did yesterday…
– The Edmonton Journal Editorial Board rebutted Ed Stelmach in today’s editorial:
Stephen Mandel is right and Ed Stelmach is wrong. Edmontonians don’t need a plebiscite on new taxation powers. They need politicians with the courage to make decisions on this and other questions, to explain and defend those decisions to a skeptical public, and to be held responsible for them at election time.
In short, they need politicians who are more willing to do the difficult parts of the job for which they are paid.
In Stelmach’s case, one is tempted to note that a politician who has yet to subject his own premiership to a popular vote has a lot of nerve lecturing the mayor of Edmonton on the wisdom of seeking popular endorsement for his tax ideas.
– The House of Commons sheds a layer: Myron Thompson, Bill Graham, Michel Gauthier, Jean Lapierre, Jim Peterson and is about to make an unfortunate addition.
– Ted Morton wants to raise the drinking age from 18 to 19 years-old to cut down on crime and violence. I’d love to see Ted Morton’s data that shows it’s the 18 years-olds causing all the trouble, and not the rig pigs in town for a weekend romp.
– And finally, it wouldn’t be an election in Alberta without a crazy wingnut: enter Bill Whatcott.
