Women of ABpoli Hot Flashes: Disturbances
This Week in AB
Ill-defined and unknown causes now top cause of death in Alberta
Searching for a tweet that I could use for this topic proved, unsurprisingly, to be heavily skewed toward anti-vax-conspiracy-theory land.
Conspiracy theorists aside, knowledgeable healthcare professionals were also quietly discussing this new development.
"Unknown causes" were added as a legitimate category of death in Alberta in 2019. However, the increase in use of this category was seen most sharply when the healthcare system was overwhelmed due to the pandemic.
We often think of the visual aspect of healthcare when we consider the pandemic: patients, their nurses, doctors, and healthcare aides but there is more to patient care than trying to keep them alive - there is also death.
When what we do see is completely overwhelmed staff and lack of resources, it's easy to forget that the other aspects of patient care we don't see are dealing with the same problems.
Though Alberta may not be the worst per capita, we still need to ensure that "unknown" causes of death don't become a catch-all category based on a lack of resources rather than medically unknown causes.
Is it asinine? It's a headline!
I grew up hating the news. My mom watched it every morning while she was getting ready for work and I'd always wonder why anyone wanted to start their day with violence and death.
The saying went "if it bleeds, it leads".
Today, I'm sure the same applies but there's also this fascination with making people who say stupid shit as well-known as possible.
In different cultures at various times, public shaming (and death or exile) has been used to discourage others from repeating socially unacceptable actions.
A headline was once able to produce a similarly corrective result - until it instead captivated a faction of the public as a protest against the status quo or "political correctness".
Danielle Smith's support for a province pretending it can ignore federal jurisdiction, Brian Jean's suggestion that the non-partisan aspect of the Supreme Court be replaced with partisan ideologues who put passion over reason, or Poilievre's insistence that public health isn't really a personal problem... the list goes on.
Add to that the annihilation of gatekeepers in both broadcasting and journalism caused by the internet and social media, and even trustworthy sources are forced to expend time and energy in response to erroneous content that would have once received a single, scathing rebuke but now takes article after article to keep readers coming back.
UCP Leadership update
Schulz also welcomed Stephanie Kusie (CPC MP for Calgary-Midnapore and forced birth proponent) to her campaign this week as well.
Former Amisk Mayor Bill Rock has decided to leave the race after not being able to get support from the local constituency association and an inability to raise the exorbitant $175,000 entry and compliance fee.
Rajan Sawhney took opening weekend of Stampede to campaign in Edmonton.
At CPC's Stampede barbecue Danielle Smith nailed down her support for Poilievre as CPC leader.
And Leela Aheer is hoping to expand that big blue tent.
I did forget to mention that Raj Sherman is also running for the leadership despite his membership waiver request being denied by both caucus and the Leadership Committee.
Quick summary: Sherman was most recently back working in the emergency department because he is an ER physician. Prior to that he was leader of the Alberta Liberal Party. However, before that, he was a PC caucus member who was ousted from caucus because he was told to keep a lid on problematic emergency room wait times and refused.
Canada and Beyond
Congrats to Hayley Wickenheiser!
Tamara Lich will remain in custody until July 14 trial
After being remanded into custody June 27, Lich had her fourth bail hearing on Friday, July 8th where the onus was on her and the defence to prove she did not, in fact, breach her bail conditions by attending the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom's annual Freedom gala with fellow convoy organizer people.
People of generally good judgement have apparently been swayed somewhat by the idea that Lich is being prosecuted for her politics rather than breaking the law.
I did talk with someone who (surprisingly) had been on bail. Their experience was that conditions are extremely strict. Being "out on bail" is regarded by the justice system as an immense privilege that is not granted on a whim.
With all of that being said, I want to bring more attention to the point I made later in that tweet.
I do not believe it was ethical in the least for the same group that is funding her defence to have put her in the position to breach her bail conditions.
Does Lich have her own agency? Yes, I believe she did.
Could she have attended virtually if she was concerned about breaching her bail conditions? Yes, I believe she could have.
However, I also believe her counsel had a duty to attempt to dissuade her from attending and I have seen no evidence that they did so, in fact, they claimed to be in attendance (which I do not doubt) and still allowed her to appear with persons she was specifically restricted from being with.
Again, while I believe she had her own agency to make the decisions she did, I question the ethics of the her legal counsel.
Gatekeepers no more
There was once a time when a leadership candidate would have to respond to a journalist's questions in order to be "on the record". Now, they can just post a statement on Twitter.
Global News' Rachel Gilmore isn't the only journalist who is asking how far right is too right but maybe she's the only one who bothered to ask Poilievre if he felt any accountability for cuddling up with those who seem to be way beyond the comfort level of a majority of Canadians.
As it turns out, he thinks it's "unprofessional" to ask if someone who wants to run the country has any such responsibility.
Convoy people do hate media that challenges their disillusionment.
Speaking of the CPC leadership...
Patrick Brown has been disqualified from running for the CPC leadership and the details are, as ever, curious.
The news came around midnight that the Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC) had voted 11-6 to disqualify Brown after allegations of breaking Elections Canada rules had surfaced "weeks ago".
There were rumours going around about financial irregularities before Michelle Rempel-Garner saw her opportunity to make a quick exit under the guise of running for UCP leader at the end of June.
The LEOC claims they tried to bring Brown onside with Elections Canada rules but were unsuccessful and had no choice but to hand over the allegations to Elections Canada for investigation and disqualify Brown.
The allegations came from a campaign volunteer who wasn't really a volunteer because she was being paid but she wasn't being paid by the Brown campaign and was instead paid by a third party who also wasn't being paid by the Brown campaign, though if either of them were, it wouldn't have been a violation of election finance laws - I don't think.
Some have said this is a boon for Poilievre but I disagree because ranked ballots are funny.
I'll try to explain.
Polling showed Poilievre in the lead with Charest in second and Brown in third, followed by Poilievre-esque Baber and Lewis, and moderate Scott Aitchison in some order that doesn't really matter.
Ranked ballots work this way: the first choice candidates all receive their allotted first votes. If no candidate reaches 50%, the candidate who received the least votes is dropped and whomever their supporters chose second receives that candidate's second choice votes.
With Baber and Lewis in two of the bottom three positions, their supporters' votes are likely to end up with Poilievre. Therefore, having two of the contestants most likely to vote for you drop off before the more popular moderates benefits Poilievre.
The votes only continue to be counted until one candidate reaches 50%. So, if Poilievre has 35% after the first ballot, he only needs Lewis and Baber to have a combined 15% that would go to him once they're knocked off, and they're currently in a position to go before Brown.
If Charest had 35% after the first ballot and Brown had 25%, yes, Brown's second votes would give Charest well over 50% if they all went to him but Brown stays in longer than Lewis and Baber, and their combined 15% puts Poilievre over the 50% first because Brown is more popular.
If that makes sense, that's why I'm saying it might not be such a benefit for Poilievre to have Brown out of the race because there is now a potential for Brown's second choices to go straight to someone else (who is probably not Poilievre).
I could be wrong, but this is how it worked out when Erin O'Toole took the leadership in 2020 - it depends on who is losing first and without Brown, I think the race might have actually become a little tighter.
Brown does plan on appealing the ruling but I don't think it will help him before the race is over.
Republican candidate doesn't want July 4 mass shooting to take away from Independence Day celebrations
The only people celebrating their freedom on July 4th were the guys with guns shooting families who tried to enjoy a parade and cops who were on hand to give people a false sense of security. Over 220 people were shot on the July 4 long weekend. Just another day in the USA.
The UK though...
“Who knew Hugh Grant would bring us such joy? https://t.co/ihPa0AK8yq”
After a very rocky week in England's parliament that saw more than 50 caucus resignations, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has resigned. Hugh Grant decided to reach out to an oft-seen protester near parliament who apparently takes song requests.
In advance of the expected resignation, Grant asked the protester if he could play Yakety Sax, the Benny Hill tune. He did, and subsequently, each semi-solemn forward-looking interview after Johnson's resignation had the benefit of being set to music and it was entertaining AF.