Category Archives: Politics and Government

Frankenstein’s Monster…Or Why Privatization of Healthcare is a Bad Idea

Posted on September 18, 2011 by susanonthesoapbox

In the late 1800s, the US government tinkered with a relatively benign creature and created a monster.  Like Dr Frankenstein, the US government acted with the best of intentions.  It wanted to allow corporations to raise capital to finance the … Continue reading →

Posted in Alberta Health Care, Politics, Politics and Government | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Frederick Lee – A Rose By Any Other Name

Posted on September 11, 2011 by susanonthesoapbox

Just when we thought Alberta politics couldn’t get any weirder up popped Frederick Lee.  This week we learned that PC leadership candidate Ted Morton used an alter-ego “Frederick Lee” for internal email communications when, according to a former staffer, “…he … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Government | Tagged | 4 Comments

The Wizard of Zwoz and his Lawyer

Posted on September 4, 2011 by susanonthesoapbox

It’s not easy being a lawyer.  You grind through 3 years of law school, 1 year of articles and then if you’re kept on at the law firm, you dive into the shark tank vying for the “good” files (work … Continue reading →

Posted in Alberta Health Care, Politics and Government | Tagged | 2 Comments

Zwoz The Wizard of Oz – The Sequel

Posted on August 14, 2011 by susanonthesoapbox

If men are from Mars and women are from Venus then the Health Minister must be from Nix, one of the 4 moons orbiting the non-planet known as Pluto.  The Mars/Venus paradigm is supposed to help the sexes understand each … Continue reading →

Posted in Alberta Health Care, Politics and Government | Tagged | 4 Comments

Zwoz: The Wizard of Oz

Posted on August 7, 2011 by susanonthesoapbox

It’s amazing what you can learn about a person in 45 minutes.  After 6 long months the Whitemud Citizen’s for Public Health (WCPH)* was granted an audience with the Health Minister, Mr. Zwozdesky.  It’s hard to describe the meeting, although … Continue reading →

Posted in Alberta Health Care, Politics and Government | Tagged , | 10 Comments

The Blue Moon And Its Impact on Oil Sands Development

Posted on July 24, 2011 by susanonthesoapbox

Once in a blue moon something remarkable happens in the world of politics—disparate opinions begin to align.  Last week the Federal government, the Alberta Federation of Labour, Greenpeace and Environmental Defence agreed with former Premier Peter Lougheed:  the pace oil … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy & Natural Resources, Politics and Government | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Lessons Learned from the Americans

Posted on July 17, 2011 by susanonthesoapbox

I just returned from a business trip to Washington DC.  It was hot, sticky, confused and angry—hot and sticky because 200 years ago some bright light decided that the best place to locate the capital was in the middle of … Continue reading →

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Musings on Canada Day

Posted on July 2, 2011 by susanonthesoapbox

Have you ever wondered why the American Declaration of Independence reverberates phrases like:   “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Government, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Russian Stacking Dolls

Posted on June 26, 2011 by susanonthesoapbox

We’ve all seen Matryoshka dolls, those wooden Russian stacking dolls that open up to reveal a smaller doll nestled inside.  You keep opening the dolls one by one until eventually you find the smallest innermost doll—a baby doll carved from … Continue reading →

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The Full Monty

Posted on June 19, 2011 by susanonthesoapbox

Remember the movie The Full Monty.  It’s the story of 2 unemployed steelworkers from Sheffield.  They’re desperate for cash when they stumble upon a Chippendales type strip show and realize in an ill conceived flash of genius that they’ve found … Continue reading →

Posted in Alberta Health Care, Politics and Government | Tagged , | 2 Comments