For those of you who believe Calgary is a land of milk and honey, for those of you who swallowed the Klein line of ‘The Alberta Advantage,’ and for those of you who believe that Alberta is rolling in the good life because of petro dollars, I encourage to read Don Braid’s column in today’s Calgary Herald, “Welcome to Hospital Hell. 14 Hours in the Emergency Ward.” http://www.calgaryherald.com/Welcome+Hospital+Hell+hours+emergency+ward/1506017/story.html
Braid in my book is one of the last remaining objective writers of conscience still plying his trade with the Calgary Herald, who tells it like it is. He describes what happens when ideologues take power and put into motion the pet theories of their cronys. In this case, the Alberta government under Premier Ralph Klein attempted to bludgeon the people in Calgary into accepting private medicine by shutting down one active treatment hospital and blowing up another. Neither have been replaced in almost fifteen years. See the demolition and hear the cheering of the brainwashed and brain-dead observers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y4zCNv00OQ
Braid in my book is one of the last remaining objective writers of conscience still plying his trade with the Calgary Herald, who tells it like it is. He describes what happens when ideologues take power and put into motion the pet theories of their cronys. In this case, the Alberta government under Premier Ralph Klein attempted to bludgeon the people in Calgary into accepting private medicine by shutting down one active treatment hospital and blowing up another. Neither have been replaced in almost fifteen years. See the demolition and hear the cheering of the brainwashed and brain-dead observers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y4zCNv00OQ
The population meanwhile has grown since by one third - from 750,000 to more than one million.
4 comments:
When I posted my "tongue-in-cheek" Calgary-bash yesterday, I expected Calgary bloggers to stand up for Calgary... lol...
Good post Darryl - what you say about Alberta medicare is very true...
First they came for the transsexuals, and nobody spoke up;
Then they came for the elderly and infirm, and nobody spoke up;
Who will speak up when they come for something that affects you?
With apologies to Martin Neimoller
WesternGrit and MgS
This is Klein's legacy. But remember, Stelmach was by his side every step of the way. They were birds of a feather and under Klein, Stelmach's rise was meteoric.
Of course the regime is still protected. The oil industry and its all-pervading power aided and abetted by their hand maidens in the print media, and the army of powerful PC's that they have spawned. The generations of entrenchment of the bad guys is indeed a formidable obstacle to a decent government.
Darryl, other than an outright revolution in this province (and country), some type of democratic reform, such as 'proportional representation', better be in the offering, and soon, or all hell is going to break loose. We can't continue being governed the old status quo way of looking after the rich while ignoring the plight of the poor and dispossessed... whose ranks are growing daily.
There is a feeling in the air that something has to explode. We can't stay immune from today's reality forever. Change is happening everywhere and many are starting to demand it happen here too. If not forthcoming, social pressures will force change from the status quo, soon enough.
Post a Comment