Owner: The Moderate Separatist URL:http://www.themoderateseparatist.com/ Join Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2006 19:40:33 -0500 Rating:1 Site Description: A Canadian small 'c' conservative Rants on subjects from the political and social worlds. The Moderate Separatist's observations cover issues such as the failure of Canadian confederation, the importance of winning the War on Terror, and the crushing lib Site statistics:Click here
Lost Cause 2007-11-13 12:57:00 It all started with an idea. Being a proud and patriotic Albertan with a strong dislike for much of what has made Canada not-so-great, I decided to explore the little-known world of the Alberta separatists. A book was the vehicle I was intending to use in order to get some exposure on what I believed was going to be my new political home. After all, joining a ragtag group of like-minded individuals all with the same goal of Alberta independence would be a natural fit, right?I jumped into the scene in late May, 2005. After doing some intense research, I found a few online forums where I began establishing relationships with a few insiders. My blog (as primitive as it was) was born soon after. It seemed that I was off to a great start with the contacts made. So well in fact that my focus quickly changed. Instead of a book, I wanted to contribute right away and use these tools to spread the message that not only do Alberta separatists exist, but the stereotype that federalists hav Read more:Cause
Duncan Hunter a Definite Maybe 2007-11-12 01:34:00 Trying to choose a favorite in the Republican race for the presidential nomination brass ring has been an interesting experience. While the Democrat campaign has become so morbidly boring that you actually have to remind yourself to pay attention (or, more likely, force yourself to pay attention), the Party of Reagan has seen some interesting quirks thus far.The problem is that each new twist causes me to rethink who I will be cheering for to win it all. First was Rudy Giuliani. In fact it’s been Giuliani since September 12, 2001. Remember after the Towers came down, how even some lifelong Dems said they’d vote Republican if Rudy ran? Funny how memory fades and times change. At one time it was Rudy, hands-down. Now, I’m not so sure.Then it was the anticipation of having Ronald Reagan II, a.k.a. Sen. Fred Thompson, come out of the closet and finally announce his candidacy. The media-induced snowball effect of that story is now a thing of legend. Day after week after month saw ever Read more:Duncan
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Future Bargain Bin Special 2007-11-10 07:24:00 Continuing in the fine tradition of Trudeau, Chrétien, and other Eastern Canadians afflicted with delusional self-importance comes the latest example of ‘them’ telling ‘us’ in Alberta how to live.Montreal journalist Bill Marsden’s new book, “Stupid to the Last Drop” targets the most evil of all evils, the Alberta tar sands, and our nonchalance to the impact he claims it is having on our environment. Painting a picture that seems right out of some apocalyptic science-fiction story, Marsden attempts to describe our province as some backwater community whose citizens can’t get the oil out of the ground fast enough, trees and the cute little forest creatures be damned!He doesn’t limit his attack to just the northern part of Alberta. Marsden spreads his sky-is-falling focus to the south as well, waving his finger at Alberta for "carpet-bombing its southern half with tens of thousands of gas wells." Oh, brother.Meant to be a warning to all Canadians that Alberta is rushing Read more:Future
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Wake-up Call for Canada 2007-11-20 13:37:00 I ‘virtually’ met Saul about a year ago. The fifty-something Israeli comes from a family that is very politically aware and, with relatives scattered throughout the globe in places like Canada
, the U.S., the U.K., and the Far East, has been able to formulate a very unique and distinct view of the world. We have been engaged in email ping pong ever since he happened upon my blog and sent me a comment, and our discussions have run the gamut from his Homeland to the War on Terror to international trade. A wise and most certainly knowledgeable man, he possesses the ability to nail home a point. Such was the case when the topic was the Canadian people and their attitude towards terrorism. Even a proponent of my nation’s involvement in Afghanistan such as me was surprised when told that Canada is considered to be ‘naïve’ on the world scene. “The people who know Canada, who know modern Canadian culture and the trends of your country’s society, are beginning to shake their h
Democracy Takes A Holiday 2007-11-28 11:50:00 Ed Stelmach’s Traveling Circus of a government continued its trend of controversial and/or embarrassing acts this month with the nomination of one Craig Chandler as their candidate in the Calgary-Egmont riding. With plummeting popularity never before experienced by Alberta’s Progressive Conservatives, added to the toxic public image of a governing party with a weak leader, the last thing the P.C.s needed was another controversy to hatch. Oddly, this one is much like the majority of other goofs and bloopers by the Stelmach-led government in that it is the party itself that is causing such dismay.I should state right here and now that this isn’t a rant against Craig Chandler or his victory in the nomination process. The Alberta papers and television news shows are filled with anti-Chandler rhetoric and garbage, and I’ll gladly leave that line of opinion to them (including some previously unabashed pro-Tory scribes). My point is quite the opposite.Photo courtesy of craigchandler.c Read more:Holiday
And They Were Worried About Jim? 2007-12-01 21:13:00 The word came down from on high in the Great Craig Debate, and the answer was ‘no’. The Premier Ed Stelmach-led witch-hunt against freshly nominated Calgary-Egmont Progressive Conservative candidate Craig Chandler wrapped up with the expected thumbs-down to the wishes of the constituency’s party members.As troubling as the complete disregard for the democratic process the governing party has shown, what is worse is the line of questioning that Chandler claims he had to suffer. You have to keep reminding yourself that this is a group that calls itself the Progressive Conservative party when you learn that Chandler was asked point blank such flavored questions as: ‘Are you a right-winger’ (in a conservative party? Whatever shall we do?), ‘Are you a social conservative?’ (as opposed to a far-leftwing bleeding heart ‘conservative’ like Stelmach, perhaps?), and the best one of all: ‘Do you believe in Jesus Christ?’.Once again, I must reiterate my own personal modera
Swear Jar 2007-12-13 22:58:00
I love this one. Read more:Swear
When The Dominoes Begin To Fall 2007-12-11 13:07:00 The most common theory used as reason to conduct the various military conflicts during the Cold War is as applicable to the current War on Terror as it ever was in the fifty year stare-down between the West and the Soviet Union. The "Domino' theory, which states that once one country falls to communism it will spread to neighboring countries and so on, is most certainly in play when it comes to the Middle East and Islamofascism.Speaking of Pakistan…The painfully forced smile on the face of President Pervez Musharraf was hard to watch as he fulfilled his promise to the West and to his political opponents to "take off the uniform'. Whether or not this will do anything to quell the huge tide of pro-radical Islamism in Pakistan is debatable. What we do know is that Pakistan is to the Afghanistan battle what Iran is to Iraq - a pest of a neighbor who claims innocence in public while taking financial and political advantage in supporting terrorism. With the country teetering
Top Ten Rejected 'Hillary Clinton for President' Slogans 2007-12-09 13:29:00 10] A pant suit in every closet!9] Finally, a PresidentClinton
with balls.8] I did a good job the first time.7] not available due to Hollywood writers strike.6] I still have the code for the nukes.5] Keep the Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton rotation going!4] Choose the first chick over the first black guy.3] Still has old White House era furniture.2] My name doesn't sound like a terrorists. Isn't that right, Mr. OBAMA?1] I promise that I'll leave my sleazy husband back in New York. Read more:Rejected
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EnviroNazis On Ice 2007-12-23 14:39:00 The EnviroNazi movement continued its quest to dominate our society with the latest move into previously uncharted waters. Having already infiltrated the easily-led leftists in Hollywood and the bitter, defeatist Al Gore supporters in the Democratic Party, environment-think has now entered the professional sports arena.Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference has been getting a lot of press this past week for his pro-environmental P.R. campaign. He has become the face of an attempt to create "green' programs and so-called "awareness' campaigns linking groups like the David Suzuki Foundation with the National Hockey League.Ference's mug has been inescapable here in Canada, with the national leftwing broadcaster the C.B.C. jumping all over the opportunity to promote its own agenda. (David Suzuki has been a fixture on the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. for decades, and has used the network to espouse his pro-environmental, anti-capitalist views ad nauseam.)Interview after intervie
Down the Rabbit Hole with Citgo 2007-12-18 12:26:00 Remember those tear-jerker telephone commercials of the "70s and "80s? Do you recall how they were as sappy and almost romantically sad, pulling on your emotional strings? Well, I don't know if they are the same writers or not, but the new public relations campaign by embattled Citgo leaves that same weird taste in your mouth.The oil giant, run by the Venezuelan government headed by the dangerous lunatic Hugo Chavez, has been under intense public fire lately. Recent similar P.R. stunts, such as whipping the New York media into mini-frenzy by giving poor, destitute American citizens free fuel for their homes, didn't have the overall desired results they had hoped. (Just ask actor/activist/career-suicide prone and publicity-hound friend of President Hugo Danny Glover how his public image has been since his Chavez love-in.)The attempt by Citgo to fight their image as part of a crazy mans empire has led to television commercials that hold up sacrificial "underprivileged' Ame Read more:Rabbit
, Rabbit Hole
Who's Your Best Choice for President? 2007-12-17 17:02:00 Check out the new link under the Cast Your Vote section on the right (or click here: http://www.vajoe.com/candidate_calculator.html). I've added a link to a cool Candidate Calendar that asks you a series of questions to determine which presidential candidate is the best choice for you.Your results may surprise you!Incidentally, here's my top 4. I guess I'm more conservative than I thought...91.38% - DUNCAN HUNTER (R)87.93% - FRED THOMPSON (R)87.07% - MITT ROMNEY (R)81.03% - TOM TANCREDO (R) Read more:President
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Yeah, THAT'S the Ticket! 2008-03-08 19:11:00 Last month, Bill Clinton announced for the umpteenth time that he was ‘staying out of the spotlight’ and was not going to be an attention-soaking news whore (as per usual) out of respect for his wife’s presidential campaign. This week, for the umpteenth time, Slick Willie Clinton has gone against his own promise and become an attention-soaking news whore.This time, his statements focused on a hot issue and added fuel to a rumor that won’t go away regarding a possible Clinton-Obama (or Obama-Clinton) Democratic ticket. Following the comments made by his wife who intimated a willingness to consider the idea, the former President explained that the ticket would be “unstoppable”.He then gave his reasons that had him come to this conclusion. Reasons, by the way, that would be called Read more:Ticket
Election '08: After the Dust Settles 2008-03-04 01:43:00 The votes are in and Alberta has reaffirmed its standing as being true blue Tory country. Surprising even the most vocal Ed Stelmach cheerleaders, the massive majority the Progressive Conservatives achieved shocked media and pundits alike.As the dust settles from Election
’08, here’s what the individual parties face in the aftermath:The Progressive Conservatives: Premier Ed proved that substance supersedes sizzle in the minds of Alberta voters. Albertans wanted change and Ed provided just that – change from the quotable and controversial Ralph Klein to rock solid, sensible and trustworthy (boring?) leadership. More than just being a choice of ‘the devil you know’ as opposed to one you don’t, Stelmach’s team came through with a plan that appealed to Albertans. Experts were cal
Wildrose Alliance Making Eddie Unsteady 2008-02-28 21:45:00 Premier Ed: Running scared?Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach and his Progressive Conservatives have run anything but a dull campaign so far, from eyebrow-raising quotes to flurries of costly promises filling the headlines. Sometimes Stelmach seems so far out of his comfort zone on the campaign trail that the label ‘leader’ doesn’t seem right. Like calling fourth-line center ‘Gretzky’, it just doesn’t fit.He seems to make a habit of going left when the prudent and logical direction would be to the right. The latest polls along with the buzz on the street has the Taft-led Liberals gaining ground on the P.C.s, with a major battleground shaping up to be the one-time Tory fortress known as Calgary (somewhere in a downtown Calgary office, Jim Dinning is killing himself laughing….).With t Read more:Alliance
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Top Ten Reasons Obama Should Be Prez 2008-02-26 03:36:00 The Democratic race is entering the final phase, and it looks like Obama
is gonna show Hillary who really wears the pant(suit) in the family. Here now are the top ten reasons Barack Hussein Obama should be president:10. Because Che Guevara never had the chance.9. Seriously, do you want Hillary?8. So his Chief of Staff can ‘Pimp’ Air Force One.7. Reparations? I’ll give you reparations.....6. Season tickets to Washington Nationals home games.5. People will finally stop calling him 'Webster'.4. Policy blunders would make people quickly forget about Bush.3. Obama, Usama. Usama, Obama.2. It would guarantee a Republican president in 2012.1. White House? My ass! Read more:Reasons
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AL You Need To Know 2008-02-21 11:03:00 This made the rounds a while back. Does the term 'charlatan' come to mind? HOUSE #1A 20 room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) heated by natural gas. In ONE MONTH ALONE this mansion consumes more energy than the average American household in ONE YEAR. The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2400.00 per month. In natural gas alone (which last time we checked was a fossil fuel), this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not located in a Northern or Midwestern ‘snow belt’ either. It’s in the South.HOUSE #2Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university, this house incorporates every “green” feature current home construction can provide. The house only contains 4000 square
The McCain Dilemma 2008-02-19 13:19:00 With the race for the White House down to the Big Three (all apologies to Mike Huckabee fans, but facts is facts), the international community is starting to take an interest. It shouldn’t be forgotten that even though we don’t hold the power or the right to vote in U.S. elections, the outcome does affect those of us who live in other nations and perhaps none more so than Canadians.The choice of who to hope for has been especially difficult to make this time around, and for a Canadian conservative, perhaps even more difficult. Duncan Hunter, Mitt Romney, and a few others were the right wingers that caught our attention. Naturally, all are now out of it. So now we find ourselves with McCain
, Hillary, and Obama. Trust me when I say: American conservatives aren’t the only ones shudd
Spending Like It's 1992 2008-02-16 10:33:00 The Alberta election campaign is in full swing and the ruling Progressive Conservatives are off like a herd of turtles. Stumbling out of the gate with missteps and mistakes, Premier Ed Stelmach set the tone early with his ever-changing number of ‘new doctors’ promises. First poor Eddie loses his ‘personality’ to a smarmy blogger, and then he loses several hundred doctors on the way from Edmonton to Calgary.The local media, while loving the idea of the incumbent tripping, let these problems go by chalking them up to naivety. But now that we are in the heart of the competition, Stelmach’s habit of problematic promises has taken center stage. The Steady Eddie Money Machine has made campaign promises that are right out of a previous era – one that nearly crippled our economy.It mak Read more:Spending
(Un)Fair Trade 2008-02-10 12:12:00 First, a little bit of background. Throughout its history, Canada has always been more a collection of regions than a united country. Animosity between the French and the English is so entrenched that it has become part of our national fabric. Government after government has focused its agenda on appeasing the roughly 26% of Canadians who identify themselves as ‘French’. Social engineering has been part of Canada’s makeup, with such endlessly flawed concepts as forced bilingualism forever causing wedges to form between our peoples. The old adage ‘give them an inch and they’ll take a mile’ has become a tangible thing in this country. Successive Eastern-based federal governments have planted ill-fated policies that have led us right to a perpetually failing situation.In the Read more:Trade
, Fair Trade
David Suzuki: The Doctor is WAY Out 2008-02-08 22:32:00 The great national embarrassment known as DavidSuzuki
has done it again. Speaking at several events recently, the radical environmentalist/nutjob suggested on more than one occasion that politicians who refuse to walk in goosestep with his tree-hugging ideology should be…ready for this? – jailed!Zeroing in on his usual targets, namely anyone who isn’t one of his disciples, Suzuki spewed: "…we can no longer tolerate what's going on in Ottawa and Edmonton…" regarding those who he feels are criminals against the environment.He continued: "What I would challenge you to do is to put a lot of effort into trying to see whether there's a legal way of throwing our so-called leaders into jail because what they're doing is a criminal act."Like a leader of a cult (or member of a radical Isl Read more:Doctor
My Endorsement (For What It's Worth) 2008-02-04 22:33:00 The writ has finally been dropped. After the Stelmach government’s Speech from the Throne that was in reality nothing more than the official release of their election platform, the Premier stood in the Legislature and finally gave Albertans the election we have been increasingly demanding.Traditionally, Alberta government administrations are measured in decades. For all their popularity and lasting effects on the fabric of the province, the long-serving governments inevitably wind down and become stale. When change does happen, it is monumental and usually leaves the outgoing former powerhouse a mere shadow of its former self.This is what we are seeing now. The Stelmach government will no doubt throw all of its vast wealth and seemingly unlimited resources towards holding onto the power Read more:Endorsement
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The One Time We WANT To See German Troops... 2008-02-03 13:50:00 Germany’s refusal to send their Afghanistan-based troops into the volatile Southern provinces is symptom of much larger issues. By standing on the sidelines, the Germans join so-called NATO members Italy, Turkey, and that fierce-fighting nation France in supporting the War on Terror in words and little action. While the Northern part of the war-torn nation cannot be considered ‘safe’ by any means, the decision to keep the much-needed military and equipment support away from those actually doing the fighting in the South – especially the United States, Canada, Britain, and others – has shown a growing rift in the NATO alliance over the issue. Purely political, the governing bodies in the countries in question have failed to get the message of the necessity of the war to their r Read more:German
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Slick Willie Hurting Democrats 2008-01-28 13:39:00 Slick Willie
: Interviewing another intern?Imagine the suffering those poor Democrats
are going through. After 8 years of sheer bliss having the most criticized and lampooned American president in history as a target, the Party that a Blue Dress Built was high on expectations for the upcoming election. They had the world at their feet, gleefully enjoying being on the public’s side on issues like the Iraq War and the economy, and managed to gain control of the government. They had even managed to put some mileage between themselves and the poisonous public image of Slick Willie.Then it all fell apart. Check out the news lately and you will see an old face from the past haunting the Democratic race. Bill Clinton has returned to the limelight just in time to throw a wrench into his wife’s Read more:Slick
Anybody But Dinning: Buyer's Remorse? 2008-01-27 13:35:00 Jim DinningSometimes it’s the little surprises that make your day as a writer. I was doing some online research for an article on a completely different topic when I came across the old ‘Anybody But Dinning’ website. At first I wondered why this site would still be active from a leadership race over a year done. Then it occurred to me that this could be a topic itself. I wondered if the A.B.D. group of PC members, who yelled ‘LIBERAL!’, ‘RED TORY!’, and ‘TOO CALGARY-BIG BUSINESS!’ were feeling some buyers remorse-like symptoms. Given a year of Premier Ed Stelmach, how many of them have said ‘oops!’?Largely because of their blatantly false and low-class smear campaign that targeted Jim Dinning, the membership vote was severely split which, because of the system in plac Read more:Buyer
Random Rants: First Edition of 2008 2008-01-25 16:20:00 We're now into the new year and candidates for both the Republicans and Democrats are starting to fall. Still no clear choice on either side, however........Barack Obama would do his suddenly-damaged campaign a lot of good if he was to finally address the chatter about his religion. Is he a Muslim or not? Post 9/11, we have a right to know that going in........The Manley Report on Canada's military mission in Afghanistan is a prime case of good news/bad news. It deflates the Liberals cut and run style 'pull-out' policy, but spotlights the lack of commitment by other NATO nations. The Canadian public won't put up with much more of a so-called 'international coalition' that puts only Canadian and U.S. troops in the danger zones........Alberta spitfire politician and social activist Pam Read more:Random
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Thanks, Pam. 2008-01-23 15:12:00 I was still unpacking some forgotten boxes after moving from Calgary to Edmonton in 1996 when I received a surprise phone call. “Mr. Sullivan! You’ve finally seen the light and came to a better city. Now you’ve got to keep going and become a member of my party!” the voice whooped in the familiar and unique mixture of sharpness and heart. It’s a voice that could have only come from one person: Pam Barrett.After the usual short pleasantries, we got down to business (debate) over the usual topics – her friend and opponent Premier Ralph Klein, funding for the underprivileged, unemployment, and as always: Jim Dinning. She took me back to our first meeting during the 1989 provincial campaign. I was just a year out of high school and was working my first ever election for the Din Read more:Thanks
The Fall of the Progressive Conservative Empire 2008-01-19 13:13:00 Today’s ratification of the merger of Alberta’s provincial Alliance and Wildrose parties might be looked upon by future Albertans as one of a series of historical events which led to the end of the Progressive
Conservative era. Once an unthinkable concept, Alberta’s ‘natural governing party’ has found itself in unfamiliar territory with low public approval numbers. With the formation of deep divisions within his own party, along with the pressure to call a spring election, Premier Ed Stelmach must be wondering just how ‘lucky’ he really was to unexpectedly win the leadership race.Being in power since 1971, the party has managed to morph itself several times in order to keep the support of the people. Successive leaders have made their mark, with their different styles and p Read more:Empire
Unions Score First Election Hit 2008-01-15 13:26:00 As the province of Alberta rumbles towards an expected call for a late-spring election, activity on the political scene is heating up. The pending merger of the Alberta Alliance and Wildrose Party is still topical water cooler chat, with positions for and against filling the op-ed columns. Now along comes the latest buzz. The first salvo has been fired in the unofficial campaign, and it wasn’t from the gun of the ineffective Kevin Taft-led Liberals or the sideshow Whyte Avenue New Democrats. The rocket that hit Premier Ed Stelmach’s bulls-eye (and has scored a direct hit) is courtesy of ‘Albertans for Change’, which describes itself on its website as:‘…an initiative of the Alberta Building Trades Council and other coalition members including the Alberta Federation of Labour, Read more:Election
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