There was plenty of speculation amongst the political class about when Premier Grim Jim Prentice would call his (illegal) election. Monday came and went with no word. Then came the polls — suddenly the Wildrose was on the rise, and the polls were giving the budget the thumbs down. So Tuesday came and went, then Wednesday, then Thursday… then it was Good Friday, and Prentice would have been crucified for calling an election then. So, at earliest on Monday, but that’s Easter Monday, so Tuesday it is. Or is it? What a great way to run a democracy.
Gas prices took another inexplicable leap forward in Edmonton this week, jumping almost 10 cents, rising to almost a dollar a litre. Now if this sounds like a broken record from me, maybe it is. This is the fourth time I’ve mentioned rising gasoline prices in Edmonton in the 13 weeks since I started writing this blog. Meanwhile, the price of oil remains basically unchanged. How does this happen? I don’t know; wouldn’t it be nice if a politician, somewhere, asked that question?
Still on the provincial non-election front, the PCs continue their ugly infighting. The Edmonton-Meadowlark candidate was mysteriously disqualified in favour of a more sellable (i.e. female, TV-ready) candidate. Then Tony Caterina, who the last time I checked was a city councillor, announced that he was going to run in an Edmonton riding after getting a call from the PCs. Apparently, being a mere city councillor just isn’t enough for Caterina.
Another week, another atrocity. This time, the site was Kenya, the target Christian students at a university, the killers Boko Harum, and the death toll 148. No, the world isn’t getting worse, it only seems that way.
RIP: Cynthia Lennon, first wife of John Lennon, at 75. She was remembered as a “lovely lady” who was badly treated by Lennon … Gary Dahl, 78, came up with a nutty idea called the Pet Rock, which was a rock packaged in a little cage-like box and sold as a pet that you didn’t need to care for. Stupid? Sure. But in 1975, he sold more than a million pet rocks at $3.95, and became a millionaire. He tried again later with the Original Sand Breeding Kit (grow your own sand), but lightning didn’t strike twice … Robert Shuller, 88, one of the most successful of TV evangelists. His program, the Hour of Power from his spectacular glass Crystal Cathedral, was enormously successful. When he retired, however, the whole thing fell apart and the church fell into bankruptcy.
Elmer Lach, 97, the oldest surviving ex-NHLer, was a member of the legendary Punch Line of the Montreal Canadiens in the 1940s-50s which included Maurice Richard and Toe Blake. League MVP once, he won three Stanley Cups, and when he retired, he was the highest scoring player in the NHL … Character actor Gregory Walcott, 87, made dozens of appearances in films and TV from the 1950s to the 1970s. He would have been pretty much unknown, except for the fact he had a lead role in Plan 9 from Outer Space, widely regarded as the worst film of all time. “I don’t want to be remembered for that,” Walcott said in an interview. “But it’s better to be remembered for something than nothing, don’t you think?” Words to live by.
In This Corner 
The PC slush fund is growing as the taxpayers are being Bilked extorted and or raked over the coals of Alberta Energy and that fake crack spread.
Why is an election in Alberta illegal? If it is, as you say, why has the RCMP not arrested the Premier for breaking the law?
Unfortunately politicians who know nothing about commodity markets should keep their noses out of the gasoline pricing.
It’s illegal because we actually have a set election law in Alberta, passed by the previous government, that calls for an election every four years, except when the Lt. Gov. calls an election. So, he is actually violating his own election law. And as for gasoline prices, can you explain why they all go up, at the same time, on the same day? Can you say collusion, anyone?