WindyJMusic.com
  • Blog
  • Biography
    • Online Curriculum Vitae
  • Bookings
  • Contact
  • Research

You Are the Company You Keep

4/15/2019

1 Comment

 
In 2015 a man I developed a strong respect for as he ran for various political offices ran to become MP of my federal constituency.  I had a long phone call with him one night.  The most important question I asked him was “I’ve come to know you as a socially progressive, fiscally conservative man, but I’ve also seen such people enter the conservative world and either not be allowed to speak their social progressiveness or simply lose it altogether.  How are you going to maintain your principles and prevent that from happening?”
At the time, John Barlow told me that nothing about politics was worth his character, and that he would still maintain it.  So I told him “as long as that remains true, you have my support.”

I’m a man of my word.

In February of 2016, Barlow appeared beside actor Bernard the Roughneck, and that was my first glimpse that something was up.

In October of 2016, one year into office, he voted against including gender identity and expression in Human Rights legislation and the Criminal Code as prohibited grounds of discrimination, despite that vote being supported by other conservatives.

Another year later he endorsed Jason Kenney as leader of the United Conservative Party of Alberta.

Over the rest of the term thus far, Barlow has shown himself not to be a social progressive anymore.

This is important to note, because it provides evidence that you are the company you keep.

Jason Kenney’s leadership campaign is under investigation for fraudulent emails and votes.  His campaign is also linked to allegations of a “kamikaze” Jeff Callaway whose only job was to siphon votes from competitor Brian Jean.  So far a $15,000 obstruction of an investigation charge, and thousands of dollars of fines for irregular donations has been handed out.  An application for an injunction to the investigation was quashed by an Alberta judge.  And that is just so that Kenney could become leader of the new UCP.

It's not the only place this kind of nonsense has allegedly occurred.  In my own backyard, former MLA for Highwood Wayne Anderson and Carrie Fischer (two people I have come to respect despite having lost to them in the 2015 election) have both submitted complaints of irregularities in the nomination race for Highwood.  Alongside these complaints are allegations of sexual misconduct within the Highwood constituency association.  Frankly, these allegations do not come as a surprise, because linked to both the Highwood constituency association and the kamikaze campaign is conservative operative Wendy Adam, who also once called the #MeToo movement an affront to her gender.

Across Alberta we see UCP Candidates being removed from candidacy for not having been forthright with their contributions, xenophobic comments and homophobia.  Before that we saw many nomination candidates in hot water for xenophobia in Edmonton, Brooks-Medicine Hat, Calgary-Glenmore, Calgary-Shaw and Calgary-North, not to mention the homophobic attacks planned in Calgary-Shaw and the acceptance of illegal corporate donations in Red Deer South.

Even within the folds of the candidates who are remaining standing there is a litany of homophobes, xenophobes, climate-change deniers and misogynists.  Start with one candidate who called homosexuality akin to pedophilia, move over to a candidate who sought to fund Nazi and anti-Semitic propogandists, carry on to another who claimed the United Nations was trying to take over Canada’s border, strafe to two candidates (and a failed one) who stood shoulder to shoulder with white nationalists, shuffle to a replacement candidate who seems to have supported a “gay conversion” program, slide to a misogynist demanding women give their husbands “respect and sex” to make their husbands better, shimmy to a climate-change denier who called environmentalism “unspeakable stupidity”, and glide to another candidate who called climate change a “hoax”.  And don’t forget leader Jason Kenney has a history of his own in denying basic human rights to people who identify as LGBTQ+.

Moreover, each of the UCP candidates and their volunteers must be okay with all this attack on humanity.  Kenney and the UCP Board have the right to deny any of these people from flying the UCP banner, but they don’t, and in some cases they even support the “diversity of opinions”.

There is a difference between “diversity of opinions” and “hate”.

Calling Muslims “Satan-worshippers” is hate.

Calling homosexuality akin to pedophilia is hate.

Denying homosexuals the right to visit their partners in the hospital is hate.

And this isn’t limited to the UCP, although obviously the UCP has the bigger budget.  The Alberta Advantage Party makes no bones about wanting to do away with GSAs, and being selective about immigration.

So it comes as no surprise when we see swastikas, racism and phallic symbols drawn on election signs across the province.

If you can’t stand the NDP that much (which, frankly, I won’t blame you for, as they have some serious problems including a $2 billion electricity boondoggle, poor management of minimum wage, an incomplete pipeline with no solution in sight, and much more), there are other options that don’t require you to abandon your human decency.

If what you really want to do is stick it to the rest of Canada who doesn’t seem to give two beavers about Alberta, go for the Alberta Independence Party (although do be prepared for an infrastructure deficit as they move to get rid of all taxes).

If that’s not your main goal, but rather you would like to stick it to the NDP, consider the Alberta Party who have some pretty sound and researched policies (although do be prepared to have another government who wasn’t prepared to govern).

If you hate the corporate world, consider the Green Party, but don’t expect much more than environmental policy … they simply have no plan elsewhere.

For just a moment, forget that you hate the NDP.  Forget the reasons why you hate the NDP.  We as Albertans need to decide if we really are okay with homophobia, xenophobia, misogyny, climate-change denial and electoral fraud.

Because if you are, go ahead, vote UCP, and be the company you keep.
1 Comment
    Tweet
    Picture

    Archives

    October 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    April 2019
    March 2019
    October 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    October 2011
    September 2011

    Categories

    All
    2013 Flood
    Abuse
    Accountable
    Advocate
    AEMA
    Agriculture
    AHRA
    Airplanes
    Aisi
    Alberta
    Alberta Human Rights
    Alberta Initiative For School Improvement
    Alberta NDP
    Alberta Party
    Alberta School Boards Association
    Alberta Teachers Association
    Alison Redford
    Art
    Arts
    Arts Education
    Asba
    Ata
    ATASC
    AUMA
    Band
    Barack Obama
    Bargaining
    Berm
    Big Listen
    Black Diamond
    Bragg Creek
    Bridge
    Bruce Masterman
    Bruce Mcallister
    Budget
    Bully
    Byelection
    Calgary
    Calgary Centre
    Calgary-Elbow
    Calgary Foothills
    Calgary Sun
    Canada
    Canadian
    Cathy Couey
    Choir
    Christian
    Chuck Shifflett
    Class Of 2014
    Community
    Competency
    Composition
    Concert Bands
    Conduct
    Conservative
    Corporate
    Corporations
    Council
    Councillor
    Craig Snodgrass
    Culture
    Curriculum
    Danielle Larivee
    Danielle Smith
    David Eggen
    David Staples
    Deron Bilous
    Diana Mcqueen
    Didsbury
    Dike
    Dirty Thirties
    Discipline
    Diversification
    Donations
    Don Moore
    Doug Griffiths
    Doug Horner
    Downtown
    Dragan Brankovich
    Drama
    Drp
    DRP Advocacy Committee
    Education
    Elbow
    Election
    Electoral Reform
    Emile Blokland
    Energy
    Environment
    Esrd
    Evan Berger
    Exshaw
    Federal
    Festival
    Fine Arts
    Flood
    Floodplain
    Floodway
    Foothills
    Forced Entry
    Fort Macleod
    Fort Mcmurray
    Fred Horne
    Gay-Straight Alliance
    Golf Course
    Gordon Dirks
    Government
    Grads
    Graduation
    Grassroots
    Green
    Greg Clark
    Greg Weadick
    GSA
    Guitar
    Gun
    Guns
    Hamptons
    High River
    Highway 63
    Highwood
    Homeless
    Honourable
    Hope
    Hotels
    Ian Donovan
    Jamie Kinghorn
    Jazz
    Jeff Johnson
    Jennifer Burgess
    Jim Morgan
    Jim Prentice
    Joe Ceci
    Joel Windsor
    John Barlow
    Justin Trudeau
    Kathy Macdonald
    Ken Hughes
    Kent Hehr
    Kerry Towle
    Keystone XL
    Lake
    Laurie Blakeman
    Legislature
    Liberal
    Liberalberta
    Liberals
    Lions
    Local
    London
    Macleod
    Mayor
    Medicine Hat
    Melissa Mathieson
    Mentally Ill
    Michelle Glavin
    Mitigation
    Mla
    Modulars
    Mount Royal
    Mru
    Municipal
    Municipalities
    Music
    Musical Theatre
    Ndp
    New Year
    NFA
    No Zero
    Nra
    OECD
    Oil
    Okotoks
    Olympics
    Parents
    Parking
    Pc
    Peter Loran
    Philosophy
    Phil Rowland
    Piano
    Pipeline
    PISA
    Police
    Political
    Politics
    Polly Knowlton Cockett
    Portables
    Practice Review
    Premier
    Privacy
    Professional
    Progressive Conservative
    Protest
    Provincial
    Question Period
    Rachel Notley
    Raj Sherman
    Rally
    Rcmp
    Reality Check
    Richard Murray
    Rick Fraser
    Ric McIver
    Rob Anderson
    Robert Prcic
    Sandy Hook
    School
    School Boards
    Scott Wagner
    Self Regulation
    Self-regulation
    Service
    Shane Schreiber
    Siksika
    Socialist
    Speaker
    Stephen Mandel
    Stompin' Tom Connors
    Strings
    Students
    Sustainable Resource Development
    Teach
    Teacher
    Theatre
    Thomas Lukaszuk
    Todd Van Vliet
    Tran-Davies
    TransCanada
    Tripartite
    Trustee
    Twin
    United States
    Urban
    Vocal
    Water
    Water For Life
    Wayne Anderson
    Wedderburn
    Western Wheel
    Wildrose
    William Munsey
    WREM

    View my profile on LinkedIn

    RSS Feed

In my world, we don't accept "I can't." When you enter my world, you enter the realm of "I can't yet." It acknowledges a challenge, opens doors, and calls for action. Then, in my world, we act, and we always find success.

Social Media

Photo used under Creative Commons from Sam Howzit
  • Blog
  • Biography
    • Online Curriculum Vitae
  • Bookings
  • Contact
  • Research