Author Archives: susanonthesoapbox

The Rule of Law in An Age of Fear

“He who puts security before liberty deserves neither.” –Dennis Edney Q.C. quoting Benjamin Franklin Last week Dennis Edney Q.C. delivered the 2018 Milvain Lecture at the University of Calgary.  His topic was The Rule of Law in an Age of … Continue reading

Posted in Law, Lectures, Politics and Government, Terrorism | Tagged , , , | 34 Comments

Something is Seriously Wrong

How fitting. The UCP will close 2017 with yet another bozo eruption. Bozo eruptions were mildly entertaining in the past, but they’re occurring with increasing regularity and have taken on a distinctly anti-democratic tone. Here are two recent examples. NDP … Continue reading

Posted in Politics and Government, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 47 Comments

Merry Christmas!

While Ms Soapbox was trying to get the dog to sit still for his annual Ziggy under the Christmas Tree photo Mr Kenney was busy telling The Sun how he was going to prevent bozo eruptions in the UCP…and had … Continue reading

Posted in Celebrations, Politics and Government | Tagged , , | 50 Comments

Jason Kenney’s “Big” Win

Jason Kenney and the media describe Kenney’s win in the Calgary-Lougheed byelection with 71.5% of the votes as a “landslide” and the final tick in the box before Kenney cruises through the 2019 general election and sends Rachel Notley and … Continue reading

Posted in Politics and Government | Tagged , , , | 39 Comments

When They Go Low: the Kenney by-election debate

On Sunday afternoon Mr and Ms Soapbox were jammed into an overheated community hall listening to five politicians explain why they were the best choice to represent the good citizens of Calgary-Lougheed in the by-election triggered when Dave Rodney stepped … Continue reading

Posted in Alberta Health Care, Economy, Education, Energy & Natural Resources, Politics and Government, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 53 Comments

Stay tuned…

Ms Soapbox spent the afternoon in an overheated community hall listening to Jason Kenney (UCP), Dr Philip van der Merwe (NDP), Romy Titte (Green Party), Wayne Leslie (Independent), and David Khan (Liberal) tell us why they were the best candidate … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Who’s the Real Enemy?

“You’re either with us or against us.” — Benito Mussolini First the UCP demanded the Premier ignore the rules of the House, then they accused her of being against rural Albertans and siding with the criminals because she refused to … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Justice, Law, Politics and Government | Tagged , , , | 27 Comments

Politics and the Debate Club

I know, I know, you’d rather watch the Grey Cup game, so I’ll make this quick. Yesterday, Ms Soapbox and a friend judged the final round in the Sir Winston Churchill High School Debate Competition.  The competition was hosted by … Continue reading

Posted in Energy & Natural Resources, Politics and Government | Tagged , , , | 23 Comments

The UCP Vote on the GSA Bill: Free Vote or Rubber Stamp?

It started innocently enough… The NDP government introduced Bill 24, an act to prohibit teachers from informing parents their kids had joined a gay-straight alliance (GSA) unless the kids consented.   (Note: The Bill does not change a teacher’s general obligation … Continue reading

Posted in Education, Politics and Government, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Question Period? Really?

How much longer do we have to put up with this nonsense? The Alberta Legislature has been in session for eight days and the UCP is using Question Period to test-drive political slogans. Ms Soapbox’s personal favourite is the UCP’s … Continue reading

Posted in Economy, Energy & Natural Resources, Politics and Government | Tagged , , , , | 57 Comments