Oops! Left standing in the middle of the dance floor?

House Votes to Cancel F-35 Jet Engine Program

The United States House of Representatives, including newly elected conservative Tea Partiers, voted to NOT support the F-35 the Harper Government is married to.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/us/politics/17-f-35-engine.html?_r=1&nl=us&emc=politicsemailema1
What are the implications of this? The main proponents of this addition to the military arsenal have been getting cold feet about it for a long time now.

Does that mean Canada's dance partner on this initiative has left the building?

Tory Action Plan Logo

Hi
Is it significant that the Tory Action Plan logo has a high-rising middle finger?

Mushroom Farming

Canadians can be heard chanting, "We're number one! We're number one!".

An academic study clearly shows our government is the worst of five studied in providing access to information.

In the January 9, 2011 Globe and Mail, Dean Beeby of the Canadian Press reports on a University College in London study into the effectiveness of freedom of information laws in Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. Indeed, we are the least effective.

(see http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-ranks-last-in-freedom-of-information-study/article1863083/ )

Canada's Information commissioner, M. Legault, reports a steady decline in responsiveness with an accelerated pace in the last 5 years.

Because of this PMO's determination to release only well spun yarns to the public, thereby keeping us in the dark, I truly am beginning to understand the life of the mushroom from my own experience.

Parts of the King - correction on November 14

On November, this blogger wrote something I really don't think makes sense.

87 MLA's are not 87 parts of the king because they govern in a democracy. 308 MP's are not 308 parts of the king because they govern in a democracy.

What I actually think makes sense is that each Canadian, each Albertan, in a democracy is an equal part of the government.

For practical reasons we elect people to use their wisdom and judgment to act on behalf of each of us in the act of governing. We, the government (the King), entrust our equally shared role of government to those elected representatives to use responsibly.

We change trustees from time to time through the election process.

It is then by our respective proxies that these elected officials become parts of the "king".

This is our country Canada. This is our province Alberta. We own it equally.

Think about that! We are equal partners in the ownership of the country!

Catalyst for Liberal Action

Ms. Terri Jackson eloquently and forcefully kicks the door open to healthcare reform.

I advise Liberals everywhere to use Ms. Jackson's letter as a call to health delivery reform arms.

More importantly, I strongly urge Liberals across Canada, including in Alberta, to recruit Mr. Duckett and Ms. Jackson to the cause of orienting health care delivery to be a patient driven service, enabling demand to lead where health care should go. Please don't insist they take a blood oath to become Liberals. Instead, respect their knowledge and ability by offering to engage them in the never ending effort to make health care more relevant, effective and efficient for the user/payers.

Stephen Duckett came to Alberta with interesting credentials. His strong public health background might have been the perfect camouflage for a cynical move back to the future where low income people could pay for health care by bringing chickens to the clinic, were they allowed to raise them in the backyard.

Mr. Duckett's wife is upset with his firing as any wife might be under any circumstances. However, she doesn't waste her breath simply leveling a blast at the powers that fired him. She delivers a considered essay describing the dysfunctionality at work and points to better ways of delivering a responsive, responsible patient driven health care system.

Ms. Jackson nails it! Well written, thoughtful letter with many clues to finding a meaningful roadmap to the future of healthcare everywhere, including Alberta.

Alberta made a mistake firing health boss, says Stephen Duckett's wife
Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Alberta+made+mistake+firing+health+boss+says+Stephen+Duckett+wife/3916229/story.html#ixzz170rZJYVv
LETTER: Firing my husband was a big mistake, Alberta
Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/LETTER+Firing+husband+mistake+Alberta/3916269/story.html#ixzz170rkrCTY

Thank you Ms. Jackson.

Liberals Need Space in the Blab-o-sphere

Michael Luo reports on the development of a Democrat's initiative to counter the Republican-leaning voices commanding much of web-based and talk radio space - the blab-o-sphere- in the United States.

I wonder how Canadians can do the same sort of thing. Why can't liberal think tanks be brought to the fore to develop and support meaningful policies across the spectrum of needs by Canadians, even Canadians resident in only one province?

(see the New York Times article here)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/us/politics/23money.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=a23

Far too much of the Canadian think-tank-o-sphere is far too narrowly focussed on simplistic partisanship supporting the power grasping of the neo-cons.

I think liberals can use our democratic perspective to develop facilities in the think-tank-o-sphere that are more heavily weighted on the think part and less so on the tank part.

Not elected to UNgovern!

The New York Times editorial of Saturday November 13 makes the point of electing people rather forcefully.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/opinion/14sun1.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=a211

I think we should take that message seriously. Opposition members are traditionally referred to as "members of the loyal opposition" for very good and sound reason.

If we think of a democratic government as the replacement for the king, we then have - in the case of Canada - 308 equal parts of the king, in the case of Alberta - 87 equal parts of the king.

Just like the various parts of a king, we would not expect some parts to disable the other parts. Rather, we would expect all the parts to figure out how to work together. The majority, or at least leading, party's political philosophy and the principles of that philosophy will be the head and heart of the kingly body, realizing the governance of the whole body in accordance with that philosophy and those principles. So the whole body may get into fights or not, may get slack or fit etc.

However, every part is necessary to the adequate functioning of that body.

In the same way, when people are elected, none are elected to disable the body from functioning or to kill it off with suicide. Yet, the out-of-control extreme partisanship we see all too often is evidence of that exact dysfunction.

Once the election is over, it's over. Time to get on with governing!