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
Captain Kyoto!!! 2006-12-06 18:29:00
For years, many Albertan's have worried about another economic raid on our economy by the big, bad federal government. Those of us who remember the dreaded National Energy Program shudder every time the Liberal party is voted into power. We fear the thought of having our children go through the same situation we faced in the early 1980's - insane double-digit interest rates, high unemployment, small and medium businesses having to close, big business moving out of Calgary, and on and on.
It took over a decade for Alberta to recover, and only by making harsh and very controversial cuts to government programs did we manage to pull out of our nose dive. After nervously getting through the Jean Chretien/Paul Martin years of Liberal governments (and their passing of the poisonous Kyoto
Accord), Western Canadians relaxed slightly with the election of Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government. Newly-minded Environment Minister Rona Ambrose had repeatedly re-affirmed her governm Read more:Captain
The Leadership Campaigns: An Analysis 2006-12-03 20:43:00 The races are over, the winners have won. After watching two hard-fought political battles running simultaneously, it's good to finally be done with them. In both the federal Liberal and Alberta Progressive Conservative contests, the eventual victor was a long-shot who worked the voting system to their advantage. In both cases the favorite of the majority of party members didn't win. In both cases, deep divides were exposed within each party.
The federal Liberals:
Ontario hopeful Gerard Kennedy assumed the role of kingmaker when he dramatically dropped out of the race and delivered over 90% of his delegates to new leader Stephane Dion. This made the final ballot a two-horse race between Dion and part-time Canadian Michael Ignatieff. Dion won, and by doing so, ended the Liberal party's chances of gaining back any ground in Quebec. Reports of many delegates stomping out of the building while shouting that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's wish for a majority after the next election Read more:Leadership
, Campaigns
, Analysis
Distinct Society By Any Other Name... 2006-11-30 04:57:00 Reaction to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's latest bombshell, single-handedly removing the 'provincial' label from Quebec and swapping it with 'nation', has been swarming. Early indication is that the move went over big time in Quebec, with the wishy-washy francophones turning back to the Conservatives. It would give credibility to the theory that Harper pulled the trigger on this issue to salvage the free falling Tory support in la belle province. Of course if this is the case, the 'new' Conservatives would show themselves to be no different from the 'old' Conservatives of the Mulroney era - one that routinely bent over backwards in vain attempt to get the thumbs-up from Quebecers.
The Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accord experiments, both unbalanced and obviously flawed bribes were shot down by the people of Canada. The idea of a so-called recognized 'distinct society' in Canada, with special rights and privileges not allowed 'regular' provinces such as a veto over federa Read more:Society
The 'Nation' of Alberta 2006-11-25 05:03:00 I was at a loss. That's right, folks: An issue appeared, and I was thrown for a loop. For those who aren't in the know, I have been really impressed by the federal Conservatives ever since they came into minority power in Ottawa. I was aware of Stephen Harper's credentials, and was familiar with many of the new Tory cabinet members. With sensible ideas and actions on such issues as our military, the softwood lumber dispute, and especially their refusal to give in to reactionary demand and continue with the Liberal gun registry, I was willing to give this federal government a chance. To be clear, I still believe that an independent Alberta
isn't only a desire but an eventuality. But this government is Western-based. We might get some fairness after all, right?
Then Rona Ambrose started showing the effects of Early Socialist-Believability Syndrome by allegedly weakening in her opposition to the deadly Kyoto Accord. This, after the Conservatives 'pulled an Oberg' and made a horrible
Rosie Is Paranoid 2006-11-22 16:03:00
Another day, another allegation of homophobia by Rosie
O'Donnell. This week's target is Kelly Ripa, co-host of the morning talk show Live with Regis and Kelly. On a recent episode of the popular show, Ripa was joined by guest host and American Idol singer Clay Aiken. During a discussion about something completely unimportant, Aiken decided to cover Ripa's mouth with his hand - an unprofessional move, and one that caused Ripa to search for a face-saving comeback. Her response: '...I don't know where that hand has been.'
Later, on ABC's The View, O'Donnell took the opportunity to accuse Ripa of being homophobic. Apparently, she took Ripa's comment as a slight against the sexuality of Aiken. This is no surprise to anyone, as O'Donnell seems to think that everything and everyone is anti-gay. In fact, ever since Rosie 'came out' as a lesbian, she has blabbed non-stop about several people and groups who she considers to be against the gay community. Her tirade was so distaste
Liberals Play Politics While Families Suffer 2006-11-19 02:37:00 The federal Conservative's attempt at getting tougher on crime is a move that many Canadians have been in favor of for a long time, and recent headlines have reinforced the need for such action. Every day we read news stories about murder, sexual abuse, and other various heinous acts being committed with less than reasonable consequences being leveled at the guilty.
Putting it directly, if you do the crime in Canada, you don't really have to worry too much about doing the time. A group of criminals, some under the age of 18, attack an individual with a baseball bat until the victim dies a bloody and savage death. The punishment handed down from the judge? Not much: charges dropped for some, house arrest for the killer most responsible. Basically, because of the murderer's young age, he gets sent to his room for ending the life of another.
Headlines are full of examples of killers, rapists, thieves, and other assorted scum of our society getting slapped on their collective wrists for Read more:Liberals
, Families
Thanks In Advance For Your Vote! 2006-11-15 16:02:00 Voting has begun for the
2006 Canadian Blog Awards
, and Rants from the Moderate Separatist has been nominated in 2 categories: Best Blog and Best Conservative Blog.
To vote, click here: http://cba.myblahg.com/ or click on the link to the right.
You may vote once per day until Round One is complete. Thanks
to all for casting your virtual ballot and supporting the Rants! Read more:Advance
Christmas Wish List 2006 2006-12-08 05:30:00 The Holiday season is upon us yet again, and it's time to make my Christmas
wish list. I know that it isn't politically-correct to refer to the Holidays as 'Christmas', as shown by my kid's elementary school which think's it's a better idea to have something called a 'Peace concert'. John Lennon's Imagine instead of the apparently racially-insensitive Jingle Bells....um, sorry...I got off topic on a different rant, there. Anyway, here it is:
New Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach: A healthy slice of Ralph Klein's charisma.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper: A majority.
Rosie O'Donnell: chloroform.
Federal Liberal Leader Stephane Dion: A lump of Alberta coal.
Failed Alberta P.C. leadership hopeful Jim Dinning: another chance.
The Alberta Separatist movement: one strong, single Party to rally around.
Our Troops in Afghanistan: our unending gratitude and overwhelming public support.
The Hour's George Stroumboulopoulos: a t-shirt that isn't black.
Liberal P.R. Meister Scott
Dion Believes Stronger Democracy "Completely Irresponsible" 2006-12-14 07:41:00 The long-awaited move to an elected Senate has finally come. Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Canada would finally start transforming into an actual democracy in action, and not in name only. The second level of the federal government system would not only be revitalized with a new purpose, but some real and honest power might be part of that new purpose. As Harper put it:
"Imagine that after a century and a half, democracy will finally came to the Senate of Canada."
Alberta's traditional desire for Senate reformation has been around long enough that it has become ingrained into us as a people. I can safely assume that the highest number of citizens, including Liberal and New Democrat supporters, that are in favor of an elected Senate are from the Wild Rose province. More than once we have held votes to make our democratic choice for Alberta Senator, and even make history in the late 1980's when Reform Party candidate Stan Waters won the inaugural vote and was actually
Alberta Separatists New Best Friend? 2006-12-16 04:22:00 The victory of newly-minted Liberal leader Stephane Dion has made some in the Alberta
separatist movement sit up and take notice. After several months in snooze mode, with the provincial P.C. riding an eternal wave of popularity and a comfy federal minority Conservative government in Ottawa, most in the movement have been taking a 'wait and see' position. We've kept the web forums buzzing with Read more:Separatists
Rosie vs. The World Part II 2006-12-22 19:05:00 With the Kelly Ripa - Rosie
tiff fading from the media spotlight, the mess that is a co-host of ABC's 'The View' decided to jump back into the gutter by slamming The Donald. I wonder how much more Barbara Walters is going to let go?
Read more:World
Rant Bouquets: Year End Edition 2006-12-24 18:29:00 It's Christmas and the end of the year is here, so without further ado here come the Rant Bouquets
.
The Stomp-out Communism Bouquet: Minister of Agriculture Chuck Strahl for taking the first steps to eliminate the Soviet-style Canadian Wheat Board, amid much opposition. Farmers in the West can and have gone to jail for attempting to sell their own product without going through the CWB. Farmers in Read more:Edition
Is Alliance Better Fit For Morton? 2006-12-29 18:38:00 When Ted Morton
made a splash with his bid to lead the Alberta Progressive Conservatives, the focus by media and Morton supporters alike was on the so-called re-emergence of the rightwing to the mainstream of the party. Morton, only a few years into his M.L.A. career, surprised many by making a strong run at the crown fueled by his experience as co-creator of the Alberta Agenda.
What was missed by all was the fact that the Alberta P.C. party has never been particularly rightwing. Sure, economically and culturally they lean to the right, but they have maintained a mix of both progressive and conservative since they came into power in 1971. Under the first of a list of consecutive P.C. premiers was Peter Lougheed, whose government shied away from getting deeply involved in social issues. Instead, it was Lougheed who help to reinforce our strong Albertan sense of individuality with his battle against Ottawa over the National Energy Program. Too bad he caved.
Don Getty's forgettable gover Read more:Alliance
We're Still Around 2007-01-05 20:48:00 The Alberta separatist movement - yes, there is one - has been around since before Alberta was a province. There have always been folks who have believed in the idea of an independent state apart from the rest of Canada, and aren't afraid to let themselves be heard. Those moments in our province's history where Ottawa and Alberta have clashed highlighted our independent spirit and our willingness to consider going it alone. Political parties and organizations appeared during these times, such as the Western Canada Concept party (and others) whose platform intended to take Alberta out of confederation.
The undercurrent of independence and the feeling that we are, as suggested by former Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien (in one of the few sentences I could actually understand), '...different...', is a part of who we are. Even many federalist Albertans have stated that, if the situation was bad enough, they would consider the separation route.
The current crop of Alberta separatist
The New Iraq Quagmire 2007-01-08 05:37:00
California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D - CA)
has taken her position as the first female Speaker of the House, and has officially ushered in a new Democratic era in American politics. The days of top-to-bottom Republican control is now over, and the change brings with it the possibility of some interesting battles between the governing Dems and President Bush. Never mind the obvious impeding duels on internal social issues where the Democrats and the Republicans are at the greatest of odds, the real attention-grabber is going to be on the Democrat's position on Iraq
. Interesting primarily because they don't seem to have a position.
Many of the more leftist in the Party That Bill Built want to see a quick end to the American involvement in the war-torn nation. These are the party members who believed, as many voters did, that a Democrat victory would result in a quick Vietnam-style pull out. These 'cut and runners' are at odds with the more centrist elements of the party who Read more:Quagmire
Dion Rearranging the Deck Chairs 2007-01-12 02:35:00 The ship is going down, and all of the rats are jumping overboard. At least that is the image that comes to mind these days when thinking of the federal Liberal Party. Within the past few days, the Grits have seen their numbers reduced by two seats in the House of Commons. Already a fairly ineffective official opposition to the governing minority Conservatives (and seeing very little, if any, gain in the polls under freshly chosen leader and nutjob tree-hugger Stephane Dion), the Libs became even weaker with the defection of one M.P. to the Tories and the resignation of a well-known cabinet Minister.
First, Ontario M.P. Wajid Khan came to realize that: "The best leader for Canada is the man who now has the job, Mr. Harper." Khan, who has been acting as a special advisor to the Prime Minister on Afghanistan and other Middle East issues for months and knew firsthand the realities and consequences of the War on Terror. Given the Liberals milquetoast position on our involvement overseas an Read more:Chairs
Anti-Dinning Crowd Running Scared 1970-01-01 00:59:59 The 'anyone-but-Dinning' forces are hard at work in the Alberta P.C. leadership race. Go to any of the political forums and you are sure to find threads attacking the front-runner, with pundits attempting to paint Jim Dinning with such horrible labels as 'too-business' and 'out of touch'. The old and tired 'liberal' tag is wearing thin, especially to those who know better, so now they are searching for other ways to discredit the man who would be king.From Lyle Oberg's tales of wrongdoing by the Dinning team to candidate Dave Hancock's wife spewing unfounded allegations on her personal blog, the anti-Dinning forces have been in overdrive desperately looking for a way to bring the Dinning machine down. So far, none of these phantoms have stuck. While the Dinning camp hums along, focusing on getting their message out, supporters of the other candidates seem content trying to find a chink in the Dinning armour instead of spreading the word about their own leadership hopefuls. Wh Read more:Scared
, Running Scared
What's Next? Spitting on a Veteran? 1970-01-01 00:59:59 It is the ultimate slap in the face of Canadian soldiers, past and present. The rallies against our involvement in the Afghanistan war is one thing, but this goes way beyond the realm of protest. The latest scheme by the granola-crunchers has given the peaceniks what they were hoping for - media attention - at the expense of our bravest.The anti-war movement, never at a loss of ways to make themselves look like absolute idiots, have started spreading 'white poppies' as a symbol of 'peace'. The Earth store (?) in Calgary has been selling these items of disgust for a while now, and this has understandably raised the ire of Veteran
s from coast to coast. What is worse, when interviewed on television the owner of this particular store suggested that the Veterans are upset because, as he puts it, "...they (the Legion) see this as some sort of competition...". Talk about disrespect! What a stupid a**hole.Not only do these 'white poppies' undermine the symbolism of the traditional poppy Read more:Spitting
Bilinguisme obligatoire dans Alberta ? NON! (Forced Bilingualism in Alberta? NO!) 1970-01-01 00:59:59 It had to happen. We knew it was just a matter of time. For years, Alberta
ns have been waiting for the other shoe to drop, and now we are reeling from the thud. It is amazing that it didn't happen sooner, to be honest.In a case that just might end up in Canada's Supreme Court, a man who describes himself as an 'Alberta Francophone' is challenging a simple traffic ticket - because his request to have the ticket translated into French was denied. Gilles Caron, a truck driver from Edmonton, then attempted to have his subsequent trial in French which was also denied. Now, Caron has decided to turn a traffic ticket - make that, a three-year-old $54 traffic ticket - into a language issue. He has hired a lawyer with the intent of 'justice', but who does he think he is kidding?This is nothing more than a blatant attempt to make Alberta fall in line with the East's perception of Canada. If successful, this trial could have implications from coast to coast, and essentially place the doctr
Democrat Victory Good for Terrorism 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Pelosi, Dean, Kennedy, et al: Does America want these clowns in charge?Only a few days left in the upcoming U.S. elections, and the buzz is everywhere. Focus has bounced from Democrat
scandals to Republican scandals; from whether President Bush is a help or a hindrance to the GOP campaign. All of the talk is about the depths in which American political ads have sunk, with more controversial advertisements being made by special interest groups than ever before. Since they aren't under the same scrutiny or rules as an ad made by an actual candidate, the creators have fallen all over themselves trying to out-sleeze each other. CNN has, by all accounts, gone ahead and given the victory to the Democrats in both the Congressional and Senatorial races. The agreed question by political pundits on both sides isn't if the Democrats are going to gain control of both Houses, but by how much. This despite recent polls showing some contests which were long thought to be going Democrat actually tig Read more:Victory
, Terrorism
By George, He's the Winner! 1970-01-01 00:59:59 The latest poll on my blog has officially closed, and there was a clear winner. The question was Choose the Most Annoying from the list of CBC's 'The Hour' host (and former MuchMusic VJ) George
Stroumboulopoulos, federal Liberal PR spinmeister Scott (Beer and popcorn) Reid, top CTV political mouthpiece (and great friend of the late Pierre Trudeau) Craig Oliver, and the Canadian humor equivalent of watching paint dry, the troupe known as the Air Farce.Voting was brisk, and I thank all those who participated. It was a tough choice, considering how many ways each of the candidates are annoying. Air Farce, still spreading their brand of grade 5 comedy from coast to coast thanks to a lack of alternatives on MotherCorp, got it's share of the votes. If that show were to go and stay in its original home - radio - I doubt many people would miss it from the small screen. Craig Oliver would be a good choice, as his fingernail-on-blackboard style of 'unbiased' commentary would get under the
Ignorance Exposed 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Gretchen is a proud member of Canada's anti-war movement. She has been to various rallies around Alberta and British Columbia, joining others in her quest to 'bring our troops home'. Armed with her choice of five signs, she travels sometimes up to four hours to attend a gathering. In a one-on-one discussion with her, there is no questioning her commitment and fortitude. There is no denying something else: a complete lack of knowledge regarding NATO's mission in Afghanistan.We began our contact online. She emailed my blog in response to my call for a good turnout at last Friday's Red Friday rally in Edmonton. After a few cyber chats, we connected on the phone. There were questions that I wanted to ask her, seeing as she is front and center in her group. What she told me was telling, indeed.She rattled off the usual arguments from her side: it's not our war, we don't have a plan, Canadians are dying for nothing. Trying to calmly explain my point of view got be nowhere. When I ment
It's A World War, Stupid! 1970-01-01 00:59:59 The arrests this week of several Iranians inside Iraq by American forces seems to have shocked many on this side of the ocean. After all, Iranians and Iraqis aren't exactly the best of friends, right? They fought a bloody war throughout the 1980's on the basis of religion and regional dominance, with both sides claiming victory when none was achieved.The fact is this should surprise no one. It shouldn't even be a shock that those captured are part of the upper echelon of the Iranian military establishment. This isn't the first time intelligence personnel from Iran were captured inside of the war-torn nation, as several were found last autumn. What is surprising, however, is that nobody (including the American government) seems to see this as a major incident. The message that this sends is that Iran is committing war crimes, and because of the lack of consequences, will continue to do so. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has proven to be one of the new generation of anti-West Read more:World
, Stupid
, World War
What Is Harper Thinking? 1970-01-01 00:59:59 For the first time that I can remember, a government has actually made me dizzy. The federal Conservative government has played good-move, bad-move for months now, and it's getting hard on the nerves. The Tories get my support when it comes to their example of great leadership by reaffirming our committment to helping the Afghani people, then turn around and call Quebec a 'nation' which made me shake my head. They get full marks for keeping their promise on things like the Accountability Act and the cut in the G.S.T., then lose those marks for caving in on the environment issue. And don't get me started on the Income Trust issue. Now, the buzz is about allegedly leaked information that Harper
's proposal to fix the so-called 'fiscal imbalance' will include non-renewable resources into the equation. Well, 50% of them, anyhow. If this is true, it would not only be a broken campaign promise (just like income trusts), but would risk the foundation of the Conservative's voting base -
Random Rants 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Despite what the C.B.C. would have you believe, support for the Kyoto Accord isn't what it used to be. It seems the more people become educated about the issue, the more support for it dips........By the time the next federal election campaign comes around, Prime Minister Harper's biggest concern might not be how to get votes in Quebec, but how to keep votes in Alberta........As whispers of a new federal raid on Alberta's economy grow stronger, I'm starting to think Ted Morton should have been made Premier Stelmach's Intergovernmental Affairs Minister..........Message to Nelly Furtado: you're no longer distinguishable from the usual poptarts on the radio. Do us a favor and go back to your roots. You're first two CDs were unique and refreshing..........The Little Mosque on the Prairie is the perfect metaphor for the Canadian multicultural policy - badly written and not at all funny..........The job our troops are doing in Afghanistan is simply inspiring. Too bad our news grem Read more:Random
Unity, Not a Messiah, is Needed 1970-01-01 00:59:59 Ronald Reagan: Not even he could help right now.One of the favorite catch-phrases that independent-minded Albertans like to use is "we need a leader." Many of us have said on occasion that we need someone to come out of the woodwork and bring us together as a single force. If only, we have thought, The One would emerge and give us instant credibility, then we would be taken seriously. The problem is, it isn't a political messiah that we need. Heaven knows, from spending time chatting with many Alberta separatists, we have enough quality people with excellent leadership skills who could become the face of our movement and do an admirable job doing it. A lack of good candidates for the top job isn't the issue. The issue facing us is: will we ever be able to unify as one political movement, no matter who the boss is?The public perception of an Alberta separatist is that of a radically right wing redneck who probably is a farmer, and is perhaps a man of faith who old fashioned and not t Read more:Messiah
, Unity
A One Issue Nation? 1970-01-01 00:59:59 There is no doubt that the number one issue on the minds of Canadians is the environment. Poll after poll has shown cleaning up our air to be the primary topic of importance for us. Long sold on the Kyoto Accord, the majority of Canadians do not agree with the federal Conservatives original plan of scraping our involvement in the international Robin Hood agreement in favor of a more encompassing pollution reduction plan. This misguided allegiance to the deeply flawed and potentially disastrous Kyoto route has put enough pressure on the feds that they have shown definite signs of caving in to the demand of the public and the opposition parties, first by pulling their own Clean Air act out of circulation in favor of an all-party committee attack on the plan, then by yanking under appreciated Rona Ambrose out of the Environment portfolio and replacing her with Ontario showman and strong global warming believer John Baird.Given, Baird is more than capable for the job. He has proven to be a
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