Abandoned Stuff by Saskboy

Stephen Harper’s propaganda in the federal election is about to pay dividends for the Saskatchewan Liberals and Sask NDP, as they will get a boost next election from the Sask Party musing on implementing a “carbon levy”. This carbon tax would apply to SaskPower (and other major polluters), which is a major greenhouse gas contributor, and so would indirectly increase customers’ power [hydro] bills. There is as of now no Sask Party plan to further reduce income taxes to offset the increased energy prices.

So in summary, the Sask Party which supported Stephen Harper’s Conservatives because they didn’t propose a Green Shift, are now in the planning stages of implementing a Green Shift without the important part of reducing income taxes to make the “levy” revenue neutral. Truth really is stranger than fiction in Saskatchewan. Name brand parties are more important to voters than ideas or action.

First of all have a look at the Sask Party getting a verbal beat down from the Leader-Post.

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And now I have a gripe with the Sask. Liberal Association, who didn’t manage to inform me of the cancellation of Stephane Dion’s lunch in Regina today, or perhaps didn’t even mark me down as RSVP’ed like I did at the start of August when I got the invitation. Ugh! Well, now I get to eat lunch by myself, and contemplate the afternoon instead of having something interesting to write about.

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The NDP and Greens haven’t done anything negative lately, but they haven’t done much positive either. The by-elections in Guelph and elsewhere are underway and the Green candidate in Guelph is certainly a contender. Nagy could certainly end up being the first Green Party MP if more voters decide that they can make the biggest difference in Canada by electing a new party to parliament, instead of just another Liberal MP.

This Fall, we ought not to let Americans have all of the electoral fun. Canada is in desperate need for an election, and Stageleft blog makes the case.

The writing is on the wall, and in your mailbox. And out of your mailbox, and into your recycling. That’s the Conservatives second In-and-Out scandal lately. From what I hear, there are others where the details are yet to hit the media.

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And in more election news, isn’t it cute when a rabid NDP supporter makes light of the Liberals electoral plight in Saskatchewan?

Ryan Bater has a better shot of being the next Premier after Wall, than Calvert has.

Karwacki wouldn’t be making this apology today, is what I’d guess, if he’d been elected. But, now we’ll never know.

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And in more Sask Liberal leadership news:
Ryan Bater to Launch Liberal Leadership Campaign

On Wednesday, June 25th, Ryan Bater will officially announce his candidacy for the Leadership of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party. Please join us Wednesday morning for his announcement to the media and Wednesday evening for a social meet and greet with Saskatchewan Liberals.

Campaign Launch Press Conference

Date:
Wednesday, June 25th

Time:
11:00 a.m.

Location:

Innovation Place near the fountain outside the Galleria Building
(inside the Galleria Building atrium in case of rain)
15 Innovation Boulevard, Saskatoon – north end of U of S Campus

[...]
For more information, please contact Ryan Androsoff at:
(306) 261-1202 or newday AT ryanbater.ca

Sunday night I watched “I Am Legend” [9/10] and really enjoyed it. Many people I talked to said it wasn’t good, but I stayed away from the previews (I only knew one plot turn) and it was all good, even with an intermission to get photos of the International Space Station and space shuttle Discovery as they zoomed over Regina. Find out when they fly over your city/town/farm.

-ISS is the faint dash in the centre. The white dot near it is a hot [dead] pixel on my 6 year old Canon PowerShot S30

-Discovery followed a minute behind, it’s the fainter dash to the left of centre.

A man walking down the street saw my friend Jesse and I standing in the middle of the Central Park baseball infield, and Jesse told him we were about to see the space station. The estimated time was a little off, but it showed up before I looked like a fool for dragging Jesse and a stranger into an open space to sky-watch. A couple walked past as the ISS was zooming out of sight, and saw it too. Then the woman noticed the shuttle overhead. They sounded in awe that it was almost 400km away (close to 340km right now). It was farther away than Saskatoon, yet it was visible as if it was a plane, and it’s only the size of a mansion.

And Canada is on Mars now. See the wordmark on Phoenix here.
And Canadian..bagels..in..spaaaaacccce! Watch for Canadian Pigs In Spaaacccce next. Canadian bacon probably, as the Americans would call it.

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And I ended up holding on in the top 10 political blogs in Canada with some rather well known bloggers. Yay PageRank 5! Seeing as I’d have to have about 10 times the significance to attain PR 6, It will be next to impossible to crack the top 3 with Kate, Matt Good, and Steyn. Plus, Robert J. has taken the step of adjusting the position of blogs who have inflated positions due to PageRank anomalies.

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John Murney has another detail of the outcome from the Saskatchewan Liberal Association’s grassroots rebuilding. The party members there graciously let me attend and say a few things about what’s keeping people away from party membership. I think many people of my generation don’t see any advantages to being a party member (of any party) and in fact see serious drawbacks from participating in the political process. Long workshops (that get started late), could even be a significant downside, even if they are a necessary part of party life.

Rural History has a blog in Saskatchewan. There are good photos and quotes of famous people, around the site.

Check out the upcoming Gardiner debate with the KKK re-enactment. It’s taking place in Lemberg later this Summer.

-Regina at sunset

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Meanwhile, it’s getting harder to photograph trains. I don’t think walking down tracks should be encouraged, and probably should be discouraged, yet there are many places where it’s not any more dangerous to cross than at a street. A huge stretch of track in downtown Yorkton isn’t fenced off, because it makes no sense to walk about 3 blocks in either direction to cross the tracks to the residential homes just to the south. If they hand out any tickets there, there will be many fuming people. My hunch is this is at least as much an attempt at cracking down on vandals, and drifters, as it is for safety. CN police had better use discretion when handing out fines, or this will be a PR disaster for the rail company.

While I think this will happen federally within the next twenty years, I don’t see it happening in Saskatchewan the next couple of election cycles.

I knew John Murney was going to write about this, and he did.

I think the Greens, both here and federally have to work on their communications strategy. Provincially it’s terrible. There are anti-nuke protesters setting the tone for the party, and while it’s OK to have that as a platform plank, it shouldn’t be THE issue that defines the party. I got an email today from the Green Party deputy leader Carr:
“We are at the highest level of public support ever in British Columbia: 20% province wide and 21% in Greater Vancouver”
Yet I had no idea that the Sask Greens had chosen a new leader at their March convention in Humboldt. That’s not effective communication, especially since I’d been in touch email-wise with the previous leader Sandra Finley. If I, a card carrying federal Green, had no idea who my provincial party leader was, what hope does Amber Jones stand of getting elected in 2011?

We need every party to take on a new approach to dealing with Canada’s sustainability problems, and crumbling infrastructure. Since the mainstream parties just seem to be paying lip service, it is still important for the Greens to gain seats, and eventually power. The sooner, the better.