Alta Liberal Leader David Swann: I'll Just Lay Here And Bleed, Thank You Very Much

If you can't vote Liberal, vote for someone else?  That's his message?  Not: we're Liberal and we've got great, progressive ideas?  No!  It's:  WE'RE LAME!  KICK OUR ASS!  PLEASE!  BETTER YET: KILL US! WE'RE TIRED OF THE WHOLE FUCKING TAWDRY SPECTACLE!!!  And that's the kind of message that gets your party mentioned in paragraph 19 of a 22 paragraph story.

A Hard Luck Campaign For Minister Penis...I Mean Denis

Just some notes recycled from twitter:

@davecournoyer @a_picazo Prentice to self: "I'll just call an early election.  What can possibly go wrong?"
— Bigcitylib (@Bigcitylib2) April 25, 2015

And:

@a_picazo @davecournoyer This is same guy had to deny he defaced his own signs to read "penis" for "denis".  Rather poor luck this campaign.
— Bigcitylib (@Bigcitylib2) April 25, 2015

And:

@pierrebourque @bourque This is this guy: http://t.co/nk2lU8eslJ  He's had a rough campaign. #cdnpoli
— Bigcitylib (@Bigcitylib2) April 25, 2015

Just to come clean here.  I thought the Prentice budget was an honest attempt by Albertans to enter the modern world of governance.  But it went over like a drowning duck off the top of Niagara Falls.  But whatever.  I hate Alberta the way everyone else in Canada hates Toronto.  So let Chaos reign!  Either the NDP or WRP rule OK by me.

Oh Alberta! NDP Way In Front?

Even the pollsters involved don't quite buy it.  And they are using "google surveys" to compile their results, so make of that what you will. 

As an aside, sure he's wildrose but I've met Derek Fildebrandt once or twice and he seems a decent enough fellow.  

Another Day, Another Wildrose Kook

In a news release, the Buddhist Society says [Wildrose candidate John] Oplanich then violated its tranquility "through bullying, intimidation and threats."

As well as directly criticizing the Buddhist faith, threatening to call the RCMP, and warning about funding the Society receives through the government.

Looks like they're still going to win, though the size of the victory may be in question.  They better learn some manners, though: those pipelines have to go somewhere.

Finally, Someone Has Noticed

...that the Wildrose Human Rights platform goes a wee bit beyond repealing the hate speech section of the.  From WK's Sun column today:

Wildrose’s platform wants to kill a section of the Alberta Human Rights Act that prohibits posting of signs like “no blacks” and “no Jews” for employment or lodging or service.

It sounds kooky, but its true.  I've written about it here, but Jennifer Koshan at Canadian Lawyer Magazine spotted it first.  The Wildrose platform does not only seek to eliminate the prohibition against publications, notices, signs, symbols, emblems or other representations that might likely to "expose a person or a class of persons to hatred or contempt", but also would eliminate the prohibition against publications and etc. that indicate an intention to discriminate against a person or a class of persons.  Which really does mean that you would be allowed to post "only Whites need apply" signs.

Link Byfield Going Down?

 Westlock County Councillor Maureen Kubinec placed highest among our poll takers with 41.43 per cent of the vote. Kubinec was followed by former Alberta Report publisher Link Byfield with 30 per cent of the poll vote.

An "informal" poll, unfortunately, so it doesn't tell us much.  More links on Link here and here.

Wildrose Candidate Ron Leech: I Can Speak For All Because I'm White

During the interview, Leech said, "I think, as a caucasian, I have an advantage. When different community leaders such as a Sikh leader or a Muslin leader speaks they really speak to their own people in many ways. As a caucasian I believe that I can speak to all the community."

Even better is party leader Danielle Smith's response:

"I'm not concerned about [his remarks]. I think every candidate puts forward their best argument for why they should be the person the way represent the community....

Apparently that's the best Ron could come up with.

Glad Somebody Noticed

 Ms. Smith’s [firewall]  language may prove attractive to voters, but it means Alberta will likely be pursuing a more aggressive strategy at a time when it most needs the co-operation of other provinces, said David Taras, a political scientist at Mount Royal University.

“Just as we need more and more help to get our pipelines through,” he noted.

The odds that Northern Gateway will ever get anywhere near Kitimat are low enough as it is.  Send in the knuckle-walkers, and it will fall to zero.

Which I suppose is one reason to cheer for a Wildrose victory.

Well, At Least Albertans Are Normal In THAT Respect

From The Lifesite:

EDMONTON, Alberta, February 27, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - More than one-third of young teenage boys aged 13-14 report viewing pornographic DVDs or videos “too many times to count”, a new study from the University of Alberta found, with boys living in rural areas the most likely to access porn.

[...]

Nearly half the boys from rural regions said they had viewed pornographic videos or DVDs at least once, compared to children from urban areas who reported a one-in-three rate of exposure to pornographic videos.

I guess cow-tipping gets a bit stale after awhile. Whereas city kids can always go to the opera. Sonya Thompson, lead researcher on the study, went on to comment:

“If you’re 13 and you can’t put a number on the times [you’ve viewed porn], that’s a little frightening.”

It's also a terrible indictment of the Alberta educational system, and an opportunity for Kevin Taft and the Alberta Liberal Party. I see a slogan: Vote Lib., And Your Kid Will Be At Least Know How Many Times They've Masturbated.