Speaking of people who should quit . . .

If you are a Liberal, with any hopes of bringing down Stephen Harper in the next election, you need to have Joe Volpe quit. I would encourage all of the front runners (cause they listen to obscure blogs) to try and cut him a side deal. If he gets out now and makes himself scarce he can be a junior cabinet minister. (Might I suggest Minister of Tomfoolery)
While I do think people should be innocent until proven guilty, if he stays in the race until the convention and is cleared of all of the allegations surrounding him, he still loses. Not like close vote loses either, more like the way King Cobra always lost to G.I. Joe. (Wow, that's a random 80's reference)
Anyways, I really think the Liberals would be good to distance themselves from this man. Especially, since they already have this they stole money from us thing hanging around their head.

Also spoke with another leadership candidate and I have started to notice a interesting trend in Alberta politicians. They come off more unpolished than politicians in Ottawa, but I haven't decided if maybe that's just their polish.
For example, in my years in Ottawa interviewing all kinds of people I never once heard a politician or a lobbyist say "I don't know." I heard plenty an answer that indicated they clearly didn't, but I never actually heard the words.
Ted Morton, an Alberta PC candidate said those words in an interview to me. I asked how one segment of his rural economic plan, which would see more royalty revenue flow to municipalities would affect municipalities also facing high costs, but (like Westlock) devoid of oil he said "I don't know." I can't decide if stuff like this is either genuine politicians being genuine or a disturbing new trend where nobody wants their PM or premier to be the smartest guy in the room.

I am Ryan's sloth filled weekend

This weekend was the first significant time off I had in a while. I calculated it on Friday when I was finishing my week's worth of stories and, as of Friday, I had worked 23 of the last 24 days.
We had a special supplement on natural resources and a bunch of other things and 24 days later I had done an ass-load of work. Some of those days were half days, but others were days and half.
When I first decided I was going to leave foreign affairs I started looking at daily newspapers exclusively. In retrospect that was a mistake.
I am doing very good work out here. I was complemented recently by my boss who also gave me a raise upon the end of my three month probation. It has occurred to me that you don't have to be at a big newspaper to do good work, but you do have to be at a good newspaper.
The crazy amount of days I work are because I work on a lot of stories. Everyone else I work with also works crazy hours. My boss works six days a week every week, I think the other reporter has been working as long as me if not longer , but we all want to see a good paper at the end of it.
I told my boss on Friday when we were putting the paper together that I thought the other reporter might be close to a burn out.
I am trying to decide whether I warned my boss because I was worried about the other reporter or my burgeoning workload. I think it's perhaps 50/50, maybe 60/40, possibly 90/10.

Jan Wong should really quit

Ok,

I could make a big long argument about all of the reasons why, but all I am going to say is that she's not very good. She's an excellent writer, but a horrible and unethical reporter and this job has two sets of skills.

She doesn't have the other set.

Random thoughts

Knifefight's twin?

So I am driving around town this afternoon and a cat runs in front of my car. It was about 20 feet ahead of me so there was no danger, but the cat stopped looked at me and stood there for a bit.
As though to say "I know you can run me over, but I am going to stare at you for a bit." Suddenly, knifefight's tragic accident seems easier to understand.

Welcome foreigners

It has come to my attention that the blog has a new found Scottish audience. (the actually from Scotland kind as opposed to my immigrant parents)

Welcome.

So I got out a map and decided to share some info. Westlock is about as far away from Toronto, where many of you have visited, as Glasgow is to Eastern Russia, assuming you could drive across the North Sea.
The town I live and work in is about an hour from the provincial capital Edmonton. Alberta is experiencing an unprecedented boom economy because there is oil here and apparently, international demand.
The oil we have here is mixed in with the sand as opposed to being under it and is expensive to refine without the help of vast amounts of engineering and science that I don't fully understand.

Wow, Plastic bag!

My attention span has become even shorter since I started reporting again. I know some of you who lived with, worked with, raised me might find this hard to believe, but, um hey is that a shiny thing. Yes, yes it is!

Alright that's all for my thoughts today.

There is another leadership race?

So I met with one of the candidates from the Alberta leadership yesterday and I have to say I realized how much I have been ignoring provincial politics out here.
This isn't an Ontario kid bias, I have never cared about provincial politics and I find that provincial politicians are generally uninspired and petty (not to say Federal politicians aren't the same some times).

If I had my way they would be stripped of most of their powers and reduced to street naming and holiday proclamating. (Not the kind of holidays you get off, the stupid ones people randomly declare and have certificates and photo-ops for.)

But off topic rant aside, in our current state of affairs the provincial governments hold sway and I suspect Alberta will hold much of that sway in the years to come. You know, with the giant pile o' money and the oil and did I mention the money.
So the leadership race is important, especially since the PC leadership winner will be premier. The chances of the Liberal or NDP Leader becoming premier are about as good as Darcy's ill-fated run for pope. (You had my vote champ)

The leadership candidate I met was Ed Stelmach (seen to the right) or as I have taken to calling him, much to the dismay of my colleagues, Ed! He was a fairly standard politician no direct answers, broad ideas, no controversial stands.

In my admitingly limited research, I found most of the candidates for the leadership have, in terms of ideas, very little separating themselves. They all have different backgrounds and different experience, but there are few radical ideas.

The other interesting thing about the race is that anyone can join the PC party for $5 and cast a vote. Which, while also being democratic and open, is also a very clever fundraiser. Ralph Klein and his pals are not as dumb as I often assumed.

Speaking of Klein, now that he is a lame duck he has gone a little off the reservation. He has been on TV all summer saying all kinds of terribly entertaining things.

For example, earlier this summer he told the press at his annual BBQ that he doesn't understand why anybody would want his job because it is so much work. He also says it hasn't been nearly as much fun since the press made him quit drinking.

Why I am going to Hell (specifically)

Alright,

Most of you can probably think of a number of answers to the question posed above, some of you are coming with me.
But I have really noticed how often my journalistic instincts and my being a human being instincts can conflict.

For example, this week we were sitting in the newsroom with the scanner chattering away and next thing we hear "We have a line sprayer versus a semi collision all units report." I and for that matter the other reporter and our publisher looked at each other and expressed more or less in unison. "Wow, I bet that will make an awesome photo."
The guy in the paint sprayer was mildly injured and the semi driver was just fine, and I believe as shown to the right it does make a pretty sweet photo. (It was also one of the easiest accidents to find, just follow the freshly painted lines until you find paint all over the road.)

That said, it kinda reminded me of the discussion we often have around the newsroom about how often as journalists you benefit from tragedy in the lives of others.

Example number two:

I interviewed a guy last week who had just returned from Afghanistan. Other than he was a local guy and he had been in Afghanistan, I knew little to nothing about him.
Over the course of the interview I learned a lot of things, but there was nothing spectacular to the story.
Then I found out he had been sent home a month early because he was injured in a suicide attack. The attack killed two other soldiers and I suddenly had something to make the story interesting.

Even though he talked a lot about working with Afghan people and building bridges, giving out medicine etc., I still think the attack is the most interesting thing about his time there. Actually, I know it is.

I also know that the accident is a good photo. We are a mostly subscription paper, but we also sell quite a few in shops around town and a good photo makes all the difference in pick-up. In the end, the accident was our front this week.
I think reporters might just be more honest about basic human instincts. Of course, it is also possible we're all going to hell.

Prelude to the stupid

I interviewed our local MP this past week because he is going back to Ottawa soon. We talked about everything that will likely be on the fall session and, if he is any indication, we are in for a giant waste of time.
Westlock - St. Paul MP Brian Storseth is a rookie MP and to his credit he is very active in the communities he represents.
Storseth goes to lots of community meetings and this summer he has been at every fair, picnic, church outing, town hall, etc there was. He has also arranged his own get to know your MP nights. In fact, I watched him sit with less than ten people for two hours.

He also puts out community polls in his householders. The most recent, which thus filled up a lot of time in our interview, was on gay marriage. (He's opposed)

I talked with him about a whole bunch of things and like almost every politician he was evasive and avoided actual answers.

Essentially, his argument was the last vote wasn't free and fair because the Martin cabinet was forced to vote with their boss on the issue. I think it very unlikely the vote will change and even if the Conservatives call an open vote for their caucus the opposition parties don't have to do the same and they have more votes.

But a debate about reopening the debate is pointless if you don't talk about what you would do with the newly reopened debate.

I asked him why he was opposed to same sex marriage in general and he said, while he thought everyone should be treated equally, (same benefits etc.) he didn't like the idea of the government telling churches who to marry.
To which I said, doesn't C-38 specifically state no church will be forced to marry a couple against the church's wishes?
He told me he thought it could be interpreted differently. I didn't have the bill in front of me, so I couldn't call him on it, but does anyone think there is ambiguity in the following:


"It is recognized that officials of religious groups are free to refuse to perform marriages that are not in accordance with their religious beliefs."

It is right there in the bill that no church will be forced to marry a couple of the same sex. I suspect this issue has a lot more to do with votes than morals and I know it will take up a lot of valuable time.

In a country that is supposed to value equality, human rights, and diversity it seems insane that we will, I fear, waste a month debating rolling back rights we extended to a minority group.

The war in Afghanistan, labour shortages, the crisis poised by the baby boom's retirement, our healthcare system, national unity, skyrocketing tuition, and the price of stamps all seem more important to me than whether or not two people of the same sex can marry.

Even if I was opposed to the idea, I would like to think that I would want my government to spend time on more important things.

But hey, at least we get to waste some time, eh?

An anonymous member of the editorial staff wrote a similar version of this rant as an editorial this week, so I am expecting angry letters soon.