Opinions
It’s all about the optics
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on August 21st, 2017
The controversy swirling around Derek Fildebrandt has finally prompted the United Conservative Party MLA for Brooks-Strathmore to step down from the party caucus. Fildebrandt issued a statement last Tuesday announcing his departure from caucus and noting “This young party cannot afford to be distracted from the formative period that it is in right now as ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!With questionable integrity, some politicians still stretch expense rules
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on August 18th, 2017
If there was one message Albertans thought had penetrated the walls of political power in the last five years then it would have been the stench of “political entitlement.” Evidently not. We still have elected officials who stretch the rules for expense compensation. What makes MLA Derek Fildebrandt’s expense claims so shocking is that he ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!MLA Report: Let good people do good things with their time and money
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on August 18th, 2017
“We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.” — Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States Reagan understood the vast potential of a giving, caring, conservative culture. I am pleased and proud that more than 100 Albertans joined Jason Kenney and myself on Aug. 2 to help kick off a series of endorsements ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!A dangerous game in Virginia
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on August 17th, 2017
For 70 years there has been no easier question for a politician than whether they approve or disapprove of Nazism. Yet, in an age of morphed messaging, parsing, high-volume debate, hair-splitting and political posturing, it’s beyond the top leadership in the United States. Donald Trump’s recent flip-flop on whether he condemns a hate rally in ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Guest Column: Feuding ideologies the second American civil war?
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on August 16th, 2017
Various commentators have concluded that America is in the throes of its second civil war. Dennis Prager, a conservative radio host, has concluded that the political left and right share no common value system (such as respect for freedom of speech), therefore there can be no collaborative coming together over core beliefs. He argues that ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!‘Frontier justice’ is not the answer
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on August 16th, 2017
There is no room for “frontier justice” in any form in a civil society safeguarded by laws and statutes. It is never permissible, for example, to go up to someone in the street and punch them in the mouth because you disagree with their opinions. Most in society would likely recognize the sense of this ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!What’s driving government’s sudden interest in craft breweries?
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on August 11th, 2017
Craft breweries have splashed on the scene, all of a sudden, like giant waves crashing onto the beach one after another. The Alberta government has gone all out with waves of announcements too, in support of the “new” industry. “Entrepreneurs are establishing award-winning distilleries, breweries and estate wineries and meaderies right here in Alberta. Modernizing ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Zoning flexibility would get us off the planning merry-go-round
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on August 10th, 2017
A tiny spot on Allowance Avenue gives a glaring example about how the public and official debate about zoning can go well off the rails. It also shows how “plans” put forward by the city’s planning department are not only misunderstood, but are a too-easy target. Council this week heard an application to rezone the ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!National Affairs: Trump doesn’t always get a square deal
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on August 9th, 2017
Donald Trump likes to portray himself as the victim. The purveyors of “fake news,” he says, undermine him because they cannot accept that he won the U.S. presidency. His paranoia isn’t entirely misplaced. Trump doesn’t always get a square deal. Actions that would be little-noticed in other presidents can be blown out of proportion if ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Never a dull moment in North American politics
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on August 9th, 2017
With the annual Perseid meteor shower set to reach its peak this weekend, and other heavenly phenomena of note such as the first total solar eclipse to be seen in North America since 1979 on Aug. 21, it might be fair to conclude chaos in the heavens reflects the chaos of the North American political ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Heading for a cashless society, but it’s not utopia
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on August 4th, 2017
The pace at which we are moving towards a cashless society is reason to be concerned on a number of levels including the public being misled about the so called advantages. This week it was reported a fast-food chain iQ Food Co., with 11 locations, will no longer accept cash payment. The entrepreneur claimed the ... Read More »
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