Where’s our news?
I ask because I’ve noticed that the UCP is adept at flooding the media with good news stories about what they’re going to do to help Albertans but not so good at following up when they’ve failed to deliver the results they promised (see examples below).
This is a problem not just because its misleading but because the UCP party and the astroturf groups that support it amplify the ‘good news’ stories thereby creating the impression in many Albertans’ minds that the Smith government is doing a good job.
Given the lack of critical media—it’s so much easier to regurgitate a Smith press release than it is to do the analysis to determine whether it makes any sense—I would like to suggest that the NDP can do more to inform the public about what the government is doing (or not doing) for Albertans.
And I don’t mean just telling us that Smith and the UCP are awful and are only interested in serving their corporate masters. We need specifics.
For example:
More teachers, yippee!!
In Feb 2024 the Calgary Herald reported that the UCP government was going to spend an additional $842 million for K-12 schools over the next 3 years to meet the pressure of historic growth and to support students with special needs.
Yippee!
Then in June 2024 Press Progress reported that over one-third of Alberta’s school divisions will be cutting teaching positions next year, eliminating more than 250 teaching positions across Alberta.
More teachers? I don’t think so.
More doctors, yippee!!
In January 2024 the Calgary Herald reported that Dr Paul Parks, the head of the Alberta Medical Association, told the Smith government that family medicine was on the brink of collapse and said the AMA had submitted a new compensation model to the government to help rectify this dire situation.
The Smith government committed in Budget 2024 to implement a new funding model for family and rural physicians and ensure that Alberta is able to compete with other provinces in the recruitment and retention of doctors as well as providing additional funding to address historic population growth.
Yippee!!
However, on Aug 1, 2024, in an AMA President’s Letter, Dr Parks advised that the Smith government had failed to respond to the AMA’s proposals and the crisis in healthcare has gotten much worse.
More doctors? I doubt it.
The problem
The media is quick to report Smith’s ‘good news’ announcements but slow to follow up months later and tell us that she’s failed to deliver.
Obviously this works to Smith’s advantage because the UCP party and its astroturf organizations send out tons of emails to UCP supporters touting Smith’s ‘successes’ and creating the illusion that everything is going well.
The rest of us who’ve had to stuff our kids into overcrowded classrooms and search for a new doctor for the third or fourth time know Smith’s policies are not working, but have no evidence other than our personal experience to refute it.
It would help if the NDP would take a page from the UCP’s communication strategy and send out a weekly newsletter outlining Smith’s brainstorm of the week, and in a few words, explaining why it would or did fail. These updates could be backed up by links to reports from Pembina, Press Progress, mainstream media, and academic articles.
For example, a quick note from the NDP referring to the Globe and Mail article that said 53 wind and solar projects were abandoned after Smith imposed a seven month moratorium on renewables projects, despite Smith’s assurances that the moratorium would have no impact, would be a good way to show the harm the Smith government has inflected on the renewables sector.
The world is moving very fast. If political parties want our continued support, they need to equip us with the tools to do so effectively.
Also it would make a nice change from the fund raising letters we’re continually finding in our inboxes.
Susan on the Soapbox 
This is a great idea Susan and I hope the NDP (and anyone else who wants to hold this government to account) uses it.
Thanks Public Servant, a friend sends me copies of the UCP newsletter and it’s a very effective way to spread the message they want to spread.
Totally agree – especially regarding the regular requests for $$$
Beverly, yes, it’s a good way for the NDP to give us useful information and would reinforce the reason why our donations matter. I mean, how many people read the AMA President’s Letter to get the real scoop on what the UCP is doing or not re: supporting our doctors.
I completely agree with what you have said. The NDP need to step it up and provide information to show that the Premier has not followed through on her promises. We need to counteract her diversions and gas-lighting.
Sherry: exactly, and putting this information into a newsletter that goes out to all 85,500 NDP members would be a great way to get the facts out. Let’s face it Smith is on the radio, in the press and the party and its astroturf organizations have a pretty wide reach. The NDP can’t rely on the press to counter the baloney the UCP is putting out there.
Susan,
I always enjoy your aricles and posts.
It’s funny how the UCP and CPC and the American Republicans can come up with meaningless cliches and sound bites that resonate with the uniformed (Axe the Tax, Drain the swamp, Freedom, Make America Great Again), but the Democrats, Liberals, and NDP show little creativity in returning anything that resonates with voters.
Also, there is hardly a day goes by, when I don’t hear complaints about the daily assault of emails from the NDP Asking for money. They need a different approach to fundraising.
doug Hart
Lacombe Ponoka,
NDP Rural Caucus
Doug Hart
(403) 963-4278
“The chain is only as strong as its weakest link”
Doug: I agree 100%. The NDP need to get creative and spark their supporters. They also need to remember that many of us are receptive to facts. One of the best summaries of why trickle down economics don’t work was delivered by Shannon Phillips in a speech in the Legislature…no one reads Hansard and few watch the debates so a newsletter providing a link to the speech would have been terrific.
Ues! There are so many debated points by our NDP mlas that show their understanding and concerns about ucp downright harmful actions. A weekly or evn more often newsletter (email) wi
I think those nice little news letters should also be sent to the media, I believe that’s how Smith and company get there stuff out… Just the facts ma’m. just the facts.
As well this would give the average NDP supporter the facts with which to debate a …. let’s say nonbeliever.
Bill: Very good point. agree. Also while I see many NDP MLAs and supporters on Twitter, it’s such a scattershot way of getting the message out. My husband is an NDP supporter but he’s not on Twitter so these little messages fly right by him. I’m sure there are many others who would appreciate a newsletter in their inboxes once a week as well.
lost my post?
Lungta: I looked in the comments section…I don’t see your post anywhere. Can you try again? Sometimes WP is really finicky.
Hello Susan
Thank you for sharing your blog. I would like to recommend that you check The Tyee com They have a newsletter dedicated to critical analysis of Alberta issues You might find it helpful for statistical analysis
Regards
Shannon Jewell
Get Outlook for iOShttps://aka.ms/o0ukef
Shannon: thanks for the suggestion. I receive the Tyee, in fact I’ve contributed to it a few times and agree that it is a good source. What I’m looking for is something direct from the party which has the resources and the reach to give us the scoop.
We need to say what you’ve just said in our constituencies Susan, and say it loud and often. We continue to lose in this province because we aren’t pro active enough….and too often, I fear, we avoid tackling the policy needs that this UCP government pretends to be on top of.
The fires in Jasper are a case in point. By now, all NDP supporters should know the Klein government cut the part of the fire program most effective in catching fires before they become the beasts they have grown into by the time they are at some communities doorsteps….
WE need to talk long term policy on the New Fire normal……and we need to do it in ways that break the chain from a fire disaster to human interest stories and government press releases. Resilience is a desirable quality…..its no antidote to the fires climate is unleashing upon us now.
But is there the energy….or the desire….to make politics in Alberta something more substantive than a PR game?
Just a minor correction. It was the late unlamented Kenney government that “cut the part of the fire program most effective in catching fires before they become the beasts they have grown into by the time they are at some communities doorsteps”. The CBC says the cut happened in 2019. That’s after the even more unlamented Ralph Klein left this Earth. see
https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.6843279
Reynoldreimer: thanks for the clarification. Much appreciated.
Noklebym: this is an excellent point. As others have pointed out silly slogans seem to be effective with a segment of the population, but others of us are looking for more. If a newsletter came out on, say, Smith’s plan to reorganize AHS into 4 silos and it included links to policy papers that explained the history of how we ended up with AHS and the risks of ripping it apart, that would help. The NDP must have these policy papers somewhere or they wouldn’t be able to critique the plan, it would help if they shared it with their 85,500 members.
Absolutely….and I’m forwarding this post to my MLA. Dr. Luanne Metz likely knows exactly where these links can be found.
If educating the populace isn’t part of our policy going forward, we’ll all be the victims of the misinformation the UCP and their right wing shrink tanks are sending out on a daily basis.
I could not agree more. I am tried of name calling, I need the NDP to step up and start providing thoughtful substantiated analysis of UCP policy. They need to ignore DS the person and go after government action and inaction.
Amy: agreed. Name calling gets us nowhere. We learned that in the last election. We’re never going to win the diehard conservatives, so let’s not worry about them. Nenshi attracted over 85,500 members. Now he needs to think of new ways to communicate with them and get them engaged so they stay with the party for the long haul.
I notice that the NDP is being its old nicey-nice Rachel Notley self again, the same nicey-nice entity that lost us the last election. On their FB pages, including Mr. Nenshi’s, there are posts about attending festivals and posts about how wonderful various NDP MLAs are. Who cares about the festivals? NDP, would you please bare your teeth and go after the UCP the way Susan is suggesting here? If you continue down this path of talking about nothing but the festivals you attended and posting pix of some little diner you had coffee at, you are going to lose the next election too.
Michele: this is an interesting comment in that many politicians use summer to catch up with their constituents. That’s great on a constituency by constituency basis, but why squander the opportunity to reach out to all 85,500 members with a regular newsletter that updates us on what Smith is doing, has done, or is planning to do and why it’s a terrible idea. The NDP could also tell us how they would do things better.
An excellent suggestion & one I hope the NDP follows up on – further, they can do this in a very factual, non-mud slinging kind of way which nevertheless gets across the point that the UCP have been less than helpful when one examines the outcomes or lack thereof. I’m not overly shocked by mainstream medias lack of follow up – generally speaking, what mainstream media we’ve got in Alberta tends to be biased towards Conservative or any flavor of conservative politics in general, while decrying the horrors implicit if one is so foolish as to follow those lefty liberal types. No sir! Them there folks aren’t trusty folks. One may as well become a commie pinko type & be done with it. Far better to go with the tried & true, so what if they sell off our parks that we paid for ‘because they are underused’ – really? So who’d buy them if there isn’t a profit to be made? Yet sold they were & would be interesting to see how close the relationship is between the buyer & seller. Plus moving many more parks to a different bucket, which very conveniently allows them to be plundered since ‘the rules’ under said bucket allow for logging, mining, drilling of oil, gas, minerals etc. And let’s not forget charging Albertans to visit K country – you know, that provincial gem Peter Lougheed said was for all Albertans? Only if you’ve got the cash to get in, buddy. Too bad if you don’t.
Linda, you’re absolutely right. I think back to when the Kenney government got rid of Peter Lougheed’s coal mining policy. The push back didn’t ignite until people like Corb Lund took to Twitter to spread the word. That’s such a haphazard way for the NDP to get their message out. Like I’ve said the NDP have 85,5000 members…they should communicate directly with us. Relying on Twitter and FB to reach them all is a mistake.
Follow up for your readers, Susan?
So it seems you are suggesting we each contact Mr. Nenshi, our local NDP electoral district reps and if so lucky our NDP MLA and follow up with a summary of the points you so clearly make.
The Alberta Teachers Association often carries TV ads that speak to the cuts and challenges in current day classrooms. Not sure the publicity makes enough impact to shift UCP government action. The new provincial focus on grade 1-3 regular bench mark testing/ assessment is an example of of discounting the input of frontline professionals and acedemics.
Susan in Palliser: Thanks for your suggestion. I’ve talked with one NDP MLA who’s been pushing for a newsletter for a while, but so far with little success. Your suggestion would be a good way for us to send a message to all our constituency associations and local NDP MLAs to help drive this plan forward. How hard can it be. We have the UCP example which addresses 3 or 4 points, it’s a quick (biased) and easy read, we’ve got outlets like Pembina and Parkland, and the ATA, and others who’ve researched these issues. Surely the NDP has a communications team that can step up to the task.
Hello fellow fans of the Soapbox.
Follow up:
Susan’s thoughts were summarized re: improved NDP communication/ UCP accountability and emailed to Naheed Nenshi, Leader Alberta NDP, MLA Nagwan Al-Gueid and the Calgary-Glenmore NDP CA (the local chapter- from Lakeview to Woodlands and everywhere in between)
Response did come from the President of the local NDP chapter saying,
“There’s definitely some movement right now around reviewing and improving the party’s communication strategies.”
Susan in Palliser
Although the message you got sounds positive, it seems they are just satrting to realize there is a problem? That is not surprising but it is troubling. I do not think I need to explain.
It is not surprising because the NDP seems to just wnat our money and run with it. They seem to be assuming that everything else is fine. No wonder the ruch with emails to get the most money they can. When I tried to become involved more with the way the party works and how it deveolps policy I encounter the same barrier.
I came to the conclusion that all they really want is the donation. The reason I still donate to them is because it is our last alternative to be governed by people that still have half a brain. I wonder how many people are in the same boat.
Without a full commitment to the party it is very difficult to be very successful.
I apologize there are a couple of mispellings. My bad. Typing can be challenging LOL.
”Nicey-nice Rachel Notley”? Really? My impression of Rachel was that she breathed fire and trounced the UCP the same day as the media reported failures or successes of this government. Even if I agreed with her wholeheartedly and felt better about someone keeping watch, it didn’t do enough to win the election. I think the NDP has a big challenge on its hands as it works to influence UCP voters (many of them voting as dear old mom and dad who were progressive conservatives, not UCP) to consider another party in power for good personal and political reasons. I agree with Susan that Albertans need to be more aware of the failures of this government, and critical of biased media reporting, BUT a heavy handed approach will turn many swing voters away. What they need is a government that will educate them about the NDP platform as a viable alternative for Albertans because many refuse to see that.
Marci: Yes, I agree. It’s not enough to simply criticize the Smith government for their failures. Calling them out needs to be accompanied by information that explains why Smith’s policies have failed and what the NDP would do differently. A simple newsletter would give us the information we need to help help educate our fellow Albertans..
Brilliant Susan, news organizations should do more than cutting and pasting UCP releases but I am sympathetic to the pressures they are under. A fact check from the NDP would be a simple and welcome the counter act this narrative that every thing is wonderful.
Thanks David. As you said, many news organizations don’t have the staff or the resources to do a deep dive or even a superficial dive on stories. And many people don’t have the time or the interest to dig deeper themselves. The UCP understand this and provides a regular newsletter to its members to amplify the “success” of its programs. It works in their favour and it’s something I think the NDP should consider replicating.
Trying to get your message out on “earned media” – which is political strategy talk for news coverage that you don’t have to pay for – is a fool’s errand today. Too few voters get their news from legacy media, and for those that do, virtually all of them are either mouthpieces for conservatives (viz. Postmedia) or paywalled (Globe & Mail). And with all due respect, ordinary people that aren’t political junkies like us don’t read the Tyee or Press Progress. The only way to get your message out today is with paid advertising in multiple channels from digital streaming services to billboards … and that costs big bucks.
Do we really think it wise for the NDP to waste its money on digital ads that few people will see, because summer, this far out from an election? I don’t think so. The vast majority of the electorate isn’t paying attention, so it would just be screaming into a void.
Instead what the party needs to invest heavily in, IMHO, is really building up the ground game, especially in parts of the province where constituency associations are weak or struggling. An 87-seat strategy means having dozens, if not hundreds of volunteers in every constituency out door-knocking a year out from fall 2027, and that means strong well-resourced CAs. We also need 87 contested nominations no later than the beginning of 2027, which also means strong, well-resourced CAs. All those volunteers out door-knocking need a candidate’s name to drop on the doorstep.
The party needs to keep its media buying powder dry until the final few months before the next election.
jerrymcgap this is an excellent point. There’s nothing more effective that one on one interaction with potential voters. Given that we have a few years to to before the election we should use this time to get out there and tell the public who we are and what we’re about.
jerrymacgp: The NDP are going to have to find other avenues to address the wrongdoings of Danielle Smith and the UCP. We can’t endure another term with the UCP.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again! In over 50 years of following and watching Canadian politics I’ve seen countless elections where progressive parties have gone down to defeat by taking the “high” road. In order to get voters to change their allegiance it’s not sufficient to give them reasons to vote for you, you have to give them significant reasons NOT to vote for your opponents. Your opponents certainly aren’t going to do it, you have to: chapter and verse! In short: No more MR./Ms. Nice Guy!!
Ed Woodward: I first heard the phrase “when they go low, we go high” from Michelle Obama during Hillary Clinton’s campaign against Trump. As you said it didn’t do the trick. I read an interview with Michelle O in which she tried to explain what she meant by it.
She said, “For me, going high is not losing the urgency or the passion or the rage, especially when you are justified in it…Going high means finding the purpose in your rage. Rage without reason, without a plan, without direction is just more rage. And we’ve been living in a lot of rage.”
I’m not sure if her explanation makes any sense, but that’s not how I interpreted it when I first heard it.To me it sounded more like turning the other cheek and overlooking the nasty policies being put out by the conservatives/republicans. Which absolutely does not work.
Seems to me what we have to do is tell it like it is when the UCP/CPC trot out horrible policies and we need to do it in the bluntest, clearest way possible because the voters don’t get it if we pussy foot around.
@Susan. Absolutely right. Blunt, clear, and CLEAN. Refer to W. Shakespeare for clean.
There are negative ads, and then there are negative ads. Compare and contrast to your opponent? Great. Warn the voters what might happen to government programmes and services they value if your opponent wins the election? Absolutely. Argue that your opponent is a crook or untrustworthy? Yes, but only if you can back it up with solid evidence. Call your opponent unhinged or weird? Well, I’d be careful here, but there may be times when this is OK … *cough*-Donald Trump-*cough*.
But then there are ad hominem attack ads, and those need to be off-limits. The most egregious example in my lifetime had to be the horrible 1993 attack ad against then-Liberal Leader Jean Chretien by the Kim Campbell-led Progressive Conservatives that called attention to his facial asymmetry – the result of Bell’s Palsy, a neurological disorder – in which they asked, “is this a Prime Minister?”, as though this deformity disqualified him from the role. The PCs went on to a stunning defeat, ending up with a mere two seats in the House of Commons. Now, correlation ≠ causation, and we can’t say for sure that this ad was the cause of the PCs’ decimation – but it didn’t help.
I remember this attack on Jean Chretien and it was disgusting. Say what you want but his era was without a doubt one of the most prosperous of the last 40 years.
He of course was a human being and promoted neo-liberalism but I liked his love for Canada and Canadians. He was definitely one of us. Along with Paul Martin they created the very first 10 billion dollar surpluses of my lifetime.
I like Jean Chretien just for the fact that he loved and was proud of Canada. I am not so sure we ever have another one like him. Pierre Poilievre for example is more in love with himself than anything else. He will do nothing because he knows nothing other than populist slogans.
Susan: Thanks for sharing another great blog. The UCP are good at lying and misleading Albertans, and doing mistakes that cost so much money, and have harmed people. Democracy and ethics are also something the UCP doesn’t care about.
The media says nothing about any of this, and gives the UCP a free pass. Postmedia is a good example of that.
So, it’s up to us to do something about this. We are to speak out to people that we know, and also show the UCP how unhappy that we are with their decisions. We must do this on a regular basis.
I’ll share some more music. This is a Dave Mason composition from his first solo album, Alone Together, which was recorded and released in 1970, called Sad And Deep As You. Dave Mason is on guitar, and Leon Russell is on piano. Dave Mason was in the British rock group Traffic, with Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, and Chris Wood.
Dwayne, thanks, I absolutely agree with you that we need to “speak out” to people we know. I think we’re more persuasive with some solid information. My friend sent me the latest UCP newsletter entitled News You Can Use 📣 Power Your Conversations. This one 7 stories including one headlined :Premier Smith’s train boss rips Green Line train wreck which is essentially a repeat of Bell’s column on the Green Line overruns (without mentioned the UCP’s role in holding the whole thing up for 2 years). Anyway, these stories paint the UCP out as heros and Nenshi and the NDP out as idiots. We have to counteract them. And our own newsletter to all NDP members would be a good place to start.
Because as you point out, Postmedia certainly isn’t interested in helping us.
Thanks for the Dave Mason piece. I thought the lyrics were particularly poignant. .
Susan: Danielle Smith has a media outlet (a propaganda outlet) which is paid for by taxpayers. It’s a similar thing to Ontario News Now, that Doug Ford created in Ontario. On this media outlet, Danielle Smith has a host, who happens to wear fancy socks, and she lies on this media outlet, which has videos.
The hypocrisy is so blatantly obvious here, because there are people who want the CBC defunded, because they believe it is a Liberal funded propaganda outlet for Justin Trudeau, when it isn’t.
In the 1930s, and in the 1950s, a federal Conservative government created the CBC, first with a radio channel, and then with a TV channel, because people in remote areas of Canada, such as farmers, fisherman, loggers, those who worked in mining, and people who operated traplines, needed a way to get news, sports, and entertainment, because they were far away from any city.
On any given day, even with her press conferences, Danielle Smith lies. There was one today, about the Jasper wildfires. Danielle Smith was acting, and also mentioned something along the lines of the municipality having the ability to make its own decisions, and then talking about collaboration with the provincial government and the federal government. Before, Danielle Smith was wanting control over municipalities in Alberta, and she was also bashing the federal Liberals for the wildfire situation in Jasper.
It never ends with her.
The NDP need to make videos explaining what they would do to help Albertans, while exposing what the UCP are doing wrong. They need to disable the comments, so trolls can’t attack them. That’s one solution.
Susan: Here is my next song pick. This is from Jim Capaldi, and was recorded and released in 1981. It is Old Photographs. Jim Capaldi was also a founder member of the British rock band Traffic, with Steve Winwood, Dave Mason and Chris Wood. Jim Capaldi, like all the other members of Traffic, is a great multi-instrumentalist. He is primarily known as a drummer and percussionist, but he is also a great singer and songwriter. On August 2, Jim Capaldi would have turned 80. He passed away on January 28, 2005, at age 60.
Dwayne, this was a very nice piece. I’ve noticed a common thread running through many of your selections, namely Steve Winwood. I assume that’s because Winwood started young and was was very talented. Anyway, this piece was a nice bit of calm in a sea of craziness.
Susan: Here is my next song pick. This is a composition from Steve Winwood and Will Jennings, Back In The High Life. It was recorded and released in 1986. Steve Winwood is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and producer. He was in the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, and Blind Faith, and he also had a very successful solo career. This is in my music collection. I saw Steve Winwood twice live, as the opening act for Tom Petty.
Thanks for this Dwayne. I find the lyrics intriguing and wonder how autobiographical this song is. I was thinking that if anyone would know it would be you.
That must have been quite a show where Winwood opened for Tom Petty.
Dear Ms. S: Thank you, this column was very much needed. I was hoping the Alberta NDP with a new leader would get their elbows up. Presently, it seems to be a case of meet the new boss, same as the old boss and they appear to still want to be a polite and gracious punching bag. I appreciate the fact that the Alberta media is nothing more than the propaganda arm of the UCP and will never give the progressives a voice. However, it is incumbent upon the Alberta NDP to find a way to get the message out, loud and often.
If the NDP could come up with a cute campaign to have every one of its 85,000 members donate just $10 a month, it would raise $10 million dollars a year. For some reason, a simplistic money maker like this is beyond them. With this money they could hire someone that could finally come up with a decent campaign strategy.
Jaundiced Eye: Actually, Naheed Nenshi is taking the UCP to task for what they are doing wrong. He’s not letting the UCP off the hook.
Dwayne, I think the point here is that it’s not that Nenshi isn’t taking the UCP to the woodshed, it’s that the woodshed is in an isolated corner of the province and nobody’s there to see or hear it, or even hear about it.
With the legacy media being nothing but the UCP’s propaganda arm, how can the NDP get its message out? I have a certain point of view on this – see my comment above – but I do respect the point of view of Ms Soapbox and others here.
Jerrymacgp: “the woodshed is in an isolated corner of the province” Very well said. Thank you. …
Dwayne, I’ve seen Nenshi take the UCP to task but his words are lost in the mainstream media, and are not amplified to NDP supporters except through social media which isn’t enough. I’m seeing a few constituency associations send out a Nenshi quiz, did you know this about Nenshi, etc, but that came out after the UCP published their own Nenshi quiz which (of course) paiinted Nenshi out as a spendthrift, out of touch mayor . 0
The NDP really have to up their communication game. .
Jaundiced Eye: A campaign that grabs NDP supporter and encourages all 85,500 to donate just $10/month. Now, that’s a worthwhile objective.
The UCP newsletter comes out once a week, it keeps Smith and her cabinet front and centre in the minds of UCP supporters. The message is: (1) Smith and her cabinet ministers are good, (2) NDP/Nenshi are bad and just in case you missed the progressives are bad message, here’s Trudeau being bad. Then at the end of the newsletter the UCP ask for a $5 donation. It’s short, sweet and effective.
As you said all we’re getting is little bits on social media, Twitter, FB and IG. That’s no where near enough information to keep the NDP members informed or connected to their party.
Susan: Here is my final song pick. This is a composition from Steve Winwood, with the short lived supergroup he was in, Blind Faith, called Can’t Find My Way Home. This is a live performance of the song in Hyde Park, in London, England, on June 7, 1969.
In this group, Steve Winwood was the vocalist, one of the guitarists, and also played piano and organ. Eric Clapton was also on guitar. Rick Grech was the bass player, and also played violin. Ginger Baker was the drummer.
Steve Winwood was in The Spencer Davis Group, and Traffic. Eric Clapton was in The Yardbirds, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, and in Cream. Rick Grech was in the group Family. Ginger Baker was in various jazz groups, The Graham Bond Organization and in Cream, with Eric Clapton.
This is also in my music collection.
Dwayne, in an earlier comment I mentioned Steve Winwood’as a common theme through many of your music picks (and thank you for that). This last selection shows what a powerhouse musician he is. Amazingly versatile and talents. Wow!!
Susan: Steve Winwood was only 21 years of age in this live performance from Blind Faith. He was already in very successful bands, Traffic and The Spencer Davis Group before that. Steve Winwood was a professional musician, since he was around 8 years old, when he and his older brother Muff (Mervyn) Winwood, were part of their father’s jazz/dance band, in the 1950s. I heard that there was some old footage (likely from the BBC), which showed a very long line of people, waiting outside of a pub in England, to see Steve Winwood, with The Spencer Davis Group, when he was about 15 years of age (which is the year The Spencer Davis Group was formed). That’s how good he is. All these years later, he still is.
This reply is for Susan, and to everyone who has commented on this blog.
The UCP shows that they hate democracy, do not follow ethics, or the law, and are poor at governing, both from a fiscal, moral, and responsible standpoint.
Democracy in Alberta has been under attack, ever since the inception of the UCP party. Fines were issued to UCP members for not following election rules. The Alberta Elections Commissioner (Lorne Gibson) was fired by the UCP for issuing the fines, and investigating the VPN premier. Danielle Smith didn’t heed the recommendations of the Alberta Ethics Commissioner, for her ethics breaches, and they were replaced by a UCP lackey. Legislature sittings in Alberta have been reduced to practically nothing, preventing any criticism and debate. Numerous bills were crafted, which cut down democracy even further, by bullying municipal leaders, postponing the election date, and allow the UCP to be able to get away with doing anything wrong.
On top of this, many Albertans are suffering, and services are also being compromised. Power prices are unaffordable, hospitals have problems, schools have issues, including with overcrowded classrooms, and a badly designed curriculum, homelessness is being seen more in our major cities, rental costs are climbing, social programs don’t pay enough, seniors have a tough time getting by, and the environment is being neglected.
With all of this going on, the media refuses to say anything about this, because they are bedfellows with the UCP. That leaves it up to us to act. We have to be relentless, and take the UCP to task, for what they are doing wrong, well in advance of the next provincial election. Complacency, excuses, and reluctance to act, will only make things worse. That’s not going to get us anywhere.
Dwayne: I agree with everything you’ve said.
As someone pointed out earlier, those who follow this blog and post their comments are deeply committed to protecting democracy and ousting the UCP who appear to be bound and determined to undermine the institutions protecting our democracy and throwing the principles of ethics, fairness and the rule of law out the window.
The NDP got a much needed boost when Nenshi was elected leader. We are now looking for the Nenshi-led party to help us help them regain power. One simple tool I’m urging them to consider is a newsletter that gives us the information we need to refute the baloney the UCP and their friends in the media are shoving down our throats each and every day.
This is very concerning. Is Danielle Smith and the UCP going to blame Justin Trudeau for this? It’s not going to be pretty. Because the UCP are fiscally irresponsible, and they do very costly debacles, which often cost billions of dollars, what types of cuts will they invoke? What other excuses will the UCP have? The NDP aren’t in power in Alberta anymore, and the UCP can’t blame them for our fiscal problems. When the NDP were in power in this province, they inherited a bare pantry, caused by the Alberta PCs reducing Peter Lougheed’s savings to practically nothing, from a whole bunch of very costly scandals, were given a massive infrastructure repair bill, handed a costly orphan well mess, that is at least $260 billion to rectify, and were left with grossly underfunded services, such as healthcare, education, social services, and others.
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Oil-Prices-Continue-to-Tumble-as-US-Recession-Fears-Mount.html
Dwayne: excellent question. This is exactly the kind of thing the NDP could include in their newsletter under the headline “What are we going to do on the downside of the rollercoaster?” The link you provided is a good one in that it’s not generated by the NDP but comes from an independent source.
Frankly, I think Smith et al will blame Trudeau, he’s their go-to whipping boy whenever all the bounty they’ve promised fails to materialize.
Susan, you have raised an excellent proposition. I would add to it “tell me what the NDP will do to fix situation X”.
I know politicians sometimes regard this as revealing platform planks too early, to which I reply, so what? Keep repeating it. Establish that you are proactive, a builder and not a bitcher. I will remember at the ballot box.
I don’t trust politicians who do nothing but complain & blame (looking at you Danielle and Pierre!). Prove you are a statesperson, that you care about your all of your fellow citizens, whether they voted for you or not.
Gerald, this reply may show up twice (WP is driving me bananas). Anyway I know what you mean about opposition parties being reluctant to release their policies until just before an election. They’re afraid the government will steal their good ideas. But hey, we’ve got 3 years to go before the next election. The NDP can’t spend all that time poking holes in the UCP government’s policies without telling us what they would have done differently if we’d elected them instead.
As you said, show us you’re proactive and have intelligent solutions and we’ll remember that on election day.
I 100% agree with your last paragraph, although I fear Danielle and Pierre just don’t have it in them to become the leader for all their citizens, they’re too focused on their base. I take comfort in the fact that their base will turn on them just as it turned on Kenney and O’Toole, and Scheer. .The conservatives go through leaders like a sick person goes through Kleenex.
All I can say is where is the NDP?
After an awful election campaign the silence continues. I thought Nenshi would change it but NO. I have not heard from him in a long time. Did he quit his job?
I am sorry to say but the only thing they are good at is ending email after email asking for one thing – MONEY. It is actually disrespectful.
Yesterday I received one email from each of the leaders. I actually got to the point where I was ready to cancel my membership. Can they not do any better than silence and ask for money?
Too bad because there are issues galore out there.
I am not convinced the NDP actually wants to govern this province. The destruction continues with complete silence from them.
I am disappointed. I understand it is a tough job but I was hoping Nenshi would bring some changes. It certainly did not happen.
Carlos, this reply may show up twice. I’m on vacation and WP is giving me a hard time (ironic isn’t it).
Anyway I wanted to say that many of my friends (long time NDP supporters) are also complaining that they’re getting too many requests for donations and not much else.
When we consider how quickly the Dems moved ahead after Biden pulled out of the presidential race (June 21, which incidentally is one day after Nenshi was elected NDP leader) and Harris named Walz to be her running mate (Aug 6) and how effective they’ve been at rolling out their policies it makes you realize that politicians can move fast when they have to.
And yes, the US situation is completely different than our own. Their election is this Nov, ours won’t be until 2027, however the NDP have to do more to build on the initial excitement of Nenshi becoming leader. They need to show us they’re in touch with the members, getting our feedback, and are developing a strategy to build engagement that will carry us into 2027 or maybe earlier if Smith pulls a Rishi Sunak and calls the election early.
Thank you for the continued writing. I do enjoy your analysis and commentary.
I believe this is the best idea yet that needs to be passed onto the NDP! Getting the word out is critical!
John, Richard Jones: Thank you for your kind comments. I sent an email, including a link to this blog, to my NDP MLA and some others. I sincerely hope they will give the idea of a newsletter some serious thought, because they have to find a better way to counter the onslaught of UCP “information”.
The mainstream press doesn’t cover the NDP opposition and social media is hit and miss. Not very effective at all.
100% what you said. It’s the UCP’s whole MO for their purchased premier to make bubbly, promising announcements, which the privately (largely foreign) owned press diligently and loudly report before dropping it down their ‘memory hole’. Meanwhile their (largely foreign funded) incels sneer signal the actual, undesired intent everywhere else, which forces folk like yourself to make efforts to note and report.
Let’s all try to visit the premier’s privately owned, and therefore pocketed, bully pulpit and remind her that many ALBERTANS’ memories are perfectly intact.
https://globalnews.ca/edmonton/program/your-province-your-premier/
Or maybe just Mr.Nenshi and some NDP mla’s could phone in and call the premier on her BS somewhere they might reach a wider audience than ‘Hansards’
Thanks again susan.
GoinFawr: Sorry, but listening to that makes me sick. There are people (the callers and texters) who make Danielle Smith look like she is a queen, and she lies incredibly on there. That talk show is guaranteed to be screened, so if someone were to show displeasure with her and the UCP, it’s unlikely they will be given the time of day. I heard a couple of those episodes, and the bulk of the callers and texters praise her. If there is any criticism of her and the UCP on that radio talk show, it’s very weak, because of the aforementioned screening. From seeing her in interviews before, Danielle Smith is incapable of answering legitimate questions that are given to her.
Hansard in Alberta, was created by Peter Lougheed. He did it to show an accountable, an open, and a transparent government. It was Stockewll Day, a cabinet minister of Ralph Klein’s, who cut the Legislature sittings back, under the guise of saving money (when it didn’t do that, and it was likely to make it so Albertans couldn’t see Ralph Klein making a fool out of himself).
Danielle Smith then went even further, and reduced the Legislature sittings even more. Even proroguing the Legislature happened when she was the premier of Alberta. She did this to avoid facing scrutiny for her reckless and incompetent government, and to avoid being caught lying. In 2023, the Alberta Legislature had only 5 weeks of sessions, and that wasn’t consecutive.
If the callers and texters on that radio talk show had intact memories, they wouldn’t be praising her and the UCP. Had more Albertans had sound memories, Danielle Smith wouldn’t be premier, and the UCP wouldn’t have been in power.
Dwayne, you’re right that the premier’s radio program is unbearable, opaquely curated propaganda. I certainly wasn’t trying to recommend it for edification!
It wasn’t pretty, and required patience, but I’ve broken through a few RW radio broadcasters’ screeners and been on the air live just long enough to get my point across before being cut-off and ‘final worded’. The thing is regardless of any rebuttal, facts are undeniable and verifiable things; pesky, persistent. Some facts stated clearly even once and there can be no turning back from them.
Re: Hansard: Mr. Lougheed was indeed a statesman, and the service is invaluable to Albertans. I just wish more of them bothered to pay attention to it.
PS
Heads up #alberta , Rachel Parker (?), a self purported ‘reporter’ who regularly posts on RW sites posing as ‘news’ which I refuse to link (search “She almost got booed” )
wrote an apparent attempt to goad Smith into speeding the introduction of her and Davey Parker’s dream of the Gibbon Brownshirts for Diagolon:
“M. Belanger and T. Elnaga supported Smith during the UCP leadership race, but now say she is taking too long to move forward key policies she supported during the race, like…an Alberta Provincial Police force.”-RP
Here is another interesting development. Let me guess who the UCP will try and blame this on.
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Canadian-Oil-Prices-Remain-Depressed-Despite-Trans-Mountain-Expansion.html
Have to say I agree that the UCP is morally bankrupt. We’ve got a UCP MLA announcing ‘progress on banning Covid vaccines’ which was later amended to ‘Alberta will continue to supply vaccines & Albertans can choose whether or not to vaccinate’. Quick walk back there, I’ve little doubt the original announcement was what was truly intended on the part of said MLA. Meanwhile, various Alberta medical staff are expressing their concerns given the number of folks who are dying due to lack of vaccination from illnesses that ‘should’ be at most a few days of misery if folks got the vaccine shots required. I’ve little doubt the UCP faithful don’t want to hear it, but Canada is now past 60,000 dead due to Covid. Oh wait, those folks would have died in any case, that’s right, so no issues. Well, I may be coming across as vindictive/callous myself, but given one can’t apparently cure stupid, maybe we shouldn’t try to save those folks who refused to vaccinate. Just let them die, after all, they’d have died in any case……
Meanwhile, legislation is/will be introduced to move the next election date to October from May, effectively extending the UCP rule by another six months because they didn’t choose the October prior to the original May vote – that would have shortened their term & heavens, can’t have that! This under the guise of being better able to campaign without pesky natural disasters clogging up the campaign trail. Really? We will never have any natural disaster occur in October? Just how exactly can one guarantee that result? Nope, I see this a a blatant add on to the term so they can continue to loot & plunder or in their case, blunder about.
Linda: Unfortunately, this hot mess is what Albertans are stuck with. I certainly didn’t support this.
Nice to know it is not just my perception.
https://albertapolitics.ca/2024/08/wheres-naheed-albertas-new-democrats-need-to-know/
Some people say that it is tough to garden in this province, but I think putting up with politics takes all the Olympic medals.
Here is another bottom feeder and there seems to be a infinity supply of them. I guess the oil business is no longer booming and they all need work.
https://albertapolitics.ca/2024/08/raj-sherman-is-back-again-this-time-as-danielle-smiths-man-at-the-head-of-the-health-quality-council-of-alberta/
More suggestions? I think it is time that all Canadians are included in the immigration process and how it is done. It is ‘disgusting’ says the Minister!! Oh yes it is and it is not the first one or the last. It is not just disgusting it is a JOKE.
This man was involved in a video on social media decapitating another human being and has been playing this game for 16 years and even got Canadian citizenship?
What the heck is happening with us? I would bet the officer who approved his entry his also from ISIS and so is the lawyer involve in his case.
What a display of incompetence. We were lucky no one died as a result of this joke. At least that we are aware of.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/marc-miller-toronto-isis-terror-case-1.7294165
I bet they will investigate it and then file it in some shelve all redacted so that no one will ever know what happened. The usual. It is called the Freedom of Information Act!!!
Carlos: Who let these people into Canada? How did it happen? Immigration to Canada has been quite strict for many years.
Carlos: Who let these people into Canada? How did it happen? Immigration to Canada has been very strict for quite some time.
Carlos: WordPress has issues. Sorry for the duplicate comment.
No worries Dwayne – I have had my share of problems with it
You know I read this morning that higher immigration saved us from recession. Interesting typical Neo-Liberal, non regulated furious capitalism.
The fact that in economic terms things seem to be rolling it does not matter if we are now prisoners of Landlords that ask what they want for a whole in some building. The fact that we do not have the resources to assimilate this many people is unimportant. So we are basically destroying our Health Care System and overwhelming our education system and be subject to lower wages because corporations do not care at all and just use the cheapest possible, is not a recession. A recession is only when unemployment grows and the financial elite cannot make bilolions. The fact that 90% of the regular population is struggling it does not matter. After all we are here to feed the capitalist system and the rest is dreams.
It is clear to everyone that we are in the middle of several crisis and we know for sure we are the ones who will pay for all of it and will suffer the consequences that are becoming clearer by the day.
Well tough luck you will make it. The political and social elites will continue with their great life and telling us we avoided a recession by bringing in 2 or three million people in the last couple of years alone.
know I am going to be accused of being a racist. The political correctness is at a peak along with the crisis we are going through. Is that a coincidence?
One cannot say anything that the people in power do not like. Why not have a national conversation on immigration and see what Canadians think? Because of course we cannot understand it. Just too complex for our pitiful minds and that is Democracy and we are happy with what we have.. So we have to leave it to the experts and witnessing the desintegration of our societies. But I understand why. To Meo_Liberals societies do not exist only INDIVIDUALS.
So lets get deeper and deeper in a dogs world.
So Neo-Liberals found a new tool to avoid recessions. Just bring in another million and they will all survive. Not in their back yards though that is the only regulation.
There are a lot of suggestions and this is one more although I know I am going to be accused of being a racist. The political correctness is at a peak along with the crisis we are going through. Is that a coincidence?
One cannot say anything that the people in power do not like. Why not have a national conversation on immigration and see what Canadians think? Because of course we cannot understand it. Just too complex for our pitiful minds and that is Democracy and we are happy with what we have.. So we have to leave it to the experts and witnessing the desintegration of our societies. But I understand why. To Meo_Liberals societies do not exist only INDIVIDUALS.
So lets get deeper and deeper in a dogs world.
Another suggestion is the issue of free speech.
Read the article on Tucker Carlson in the latest edition of the Alberta Views. Buy it and help them survive this other journalistic crisis. It is written by Jeff Gailus.
The article will amaze you but one of the things he said just absolutely flatenned me.
After saying what a normal human being consider pure psychopaty he goes on with this interesting subject.
Here is this part of the article-
‘ He then moved on to the federal government’s Medical Assitamce in Dying (MAID) program, which he maintaned, is ecouraging Canadians that are not terminally hill (he says) ‘”to submit being killed by the government, who will not release the statistics. Like what is that ? What is that!!!?
“Murder” yells a voice from the crowd.”
“Yeah , it’s genocide, that is exactly what it is. Its killimg large groups of people”
“And who are these people being killed by the government , by the way? Tucker asked ” Again we don’t really know, because the government has not released the stats. What percentage were born in Canada? I bet right around 100%” ‘.
“How many people that arrived in Canada in the last 10 years have opted into the MAID program? (he continues) I do not know but I bet right around zero”
I will let you guys read how he finished this god like thought.
Our premier was host to this and a lot more that you can get in the article.
This man who is nobody other than a liar and a pshyco, comes to Alberta, insults the federal government and us, at least 45% of us and it is acceptable. This is not hate speech? So what is it?
DISGUSTING IS WHAT IT IS.
No facts , no reality, no respect … nothing – he is above all of that. GOD apparently is with him.
Interesting
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-wind-power-green-energy-doug-ford-electricity-1.7297217
He had 750 projects ready to go before he cancelled everything. Just the smartest politician ever. Just like his cousin Danielle Smith. So smart that it is hard to understand them.
we would appreciate weekly communication from our NDP!
Well right now I get it weekly or daily but it is to ask for money. It seems that is all that matters after all.
I am amazed Nenshi has not been in public since his coronation. Unreal. Even with comments all over the place they continue with this strategy of silence.
Ok then
Maybe Naheed Nenshi is silent, because he is letting Danielle Smith have enough rope for herself? We will wait and see what happens.
I hope you are right
Great idea -let’s spread the word about the phoney “ do lots” announcements followed by the “do nothing” inaction!
Well the asylum does not win everytime after all
The disease still has not spread to our courts
https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2024/08/29/Alberta-Highest-Court-Jams-Smith-Coal-Plans/
It seems the NDP will continue the silence even after the announcement that hospitals are moving to the hands of someone else.
I am starting to believe that the NDP agrees with all of this and hence the silence.
We will wait and see and if that is the case ‘I AM OUT’