Women of ABpoli Hot Flashes: Just why
This Week in AB
Charter challenge of organ transplant recipient criteria dismissed
The challenge was brought by a woman who was sent to the back of the line for an organ transplant after she refused to get vaccinated for COVID.
"What happened to 'my body, my choice'?" One daft Twitter-user asked.
It's entirely your choice as well as everyone else who is on the list.
I mean, AHS specifically states that those with "an active substance misuse problem" will not be considered for organ transplant.
Your body, your choice, and all that.
What got little attention, especially so soon after COVID, is that medical professionals have to deal with ethical dilemmas whenever supply outweighs demand.
That includes chance of survival, which was also an issue in this particular case.
We saw this in Italy when the country was overwhelmed by COVID hospitalizations during the initial wave in 2020 -- with a shortage of ventilators, medical staff were forced to choose who would be given one and they had to do so based on the chance for survival. In that wave, elderly people had a much lower chance of survival than those who were younger.
Organ transplants are no different -- there are many more people who could benefit from a transplant than organs available for them.
Getting an organ transplant is not a right; it's both an earned (healthy choices) and unearned (country of residence) privilege combined with an incredible amount of chance (donor matching).
Until such time as there are more available organs than needed, there will be criteria used to gauge who will benefit more. For now, it's not up to the government who that should be.
Cabinet confidence waived as Dr. Hinshaw's recommendations become public
It's disturbing to read the data presented and compare that with decisions made by Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health and the United Conservative government.
While "personal responsibility" and "individual risk assessment" was touted as some sort of high-end liberty, in the case of communicable disease, it's simply egregious that the public representatives refused to do their jobs.
Don't forget that this particular court challenge is seeking to prove that the government infringed on Charter rights during the pandemic by a) demanding stricter measures than Dr. Hinshaw recommended, or; b) applying harsher restrictions on certain groups (ie. churches), or; c) retaining public health mandates longer than necessary.
Instead, we're seeing that Dr. Hinshaw and the governing party sought counterevidence to the data they themselves had available in order to justify less protection for the public during a health crisis.
I wouldn't expect that ethically repugnant decision to remain unchallenged for long.
By the by, the Masks 4 Kids Law Suit could use your help.
“I will always stand and make decisions based on science and advice from experts. #ableg #abpoli”
The government has one job: service to the public.
But speaking of the UCP leadership race...
Time for your weekly reminder that members of a private club will be given the opportunity to decide who will be the next Premier of Alberta prior to a general election.
So, what can you do?
Well, you can boast about your ideological purity and principles in abstaining from this vote, or you can actually help protect your province and the people in it by forking over $10 and buying the privilege of voting for the next Premier.
"Sure, give your money to fascists," one crackpot offered helpfully.
Yes, paying for the privilege of having a say in who is the next Premier will require you to give $10 to a party you hate and that money might help fund their re-election campaign. However, this particular band of fiscal geniuses had to apply for the federal wage subsidy to sustain them through the pandemic, so I wouldn't bet the farm on your dollars having a lasting impact.
"Why would you monetarily support a party you disagree with?"
Why do you pay exorbitant rates for gas and electricity in "Canada's energy epicenter"?
Because you get something you want for those dollars.
Do you prefer to wait for a general election to have your say in who will Alberta's next Premier? Fine. Don't whine about who the membership chooses to be the next Premier and back the hell off of those who are looking to make their voice heard in the system we currently have.
"If Danielle Smith wins the UCP leadership, it should secure victory for the NDP in 2023"
I was disgusted when the opposition conservatives appeared to be shitting on Alberta as an investment destination after the NDP won in 2015, and I'm disgusted by this complete disregard for what another truly awful leader could do for our province until the next general election.
You want to talk about treating politics like a game? That garbage is a "game".
Who in their right mind would want to subject Albertans to a Premier who seeks a medical opinion from a political science major?
What kind of sadist thinks it would be "helpful" to their cause for a person who snuggles up with a reality-challenged numbskull to be the next Premier?
I have a lot of respect for people who have made these ridiculously bad arguments but snap out of it.
Your principles are not at stake if you help stop an awful person from becoming premier but I will argue vehemently that they are non-existent if you don't.
And with that, I have convinced myself to renew my UCP membership. Your move, purists.
Why we can't ignore a UCP leadership candidate
“Why is anyone giving Danielle smith ANY airtime???? Stop interviewing her!”
I can both empathize and sympathize with the frustration. I've personally kept up with Smith's intellectual spiral because it fascinates me. I publicize my thoughts on that less frequently because, for a while, neither of them needed any publicity.
However, as I mentioned in last week's newsletter, journalistic gatekeepers are no longer able to ignore those who influence others because that influence continues to exist without them. The difference is in who is exposed to them.
While many of us are appalled at Smith's popularity generally, popularity of her ridiculous policy preferences exists within a very small segment of the population (a segment that is buying UCP memberships to vote for her, by the way).
The general popularity she enjoys is due almost solely to name recognition.
Her brand of wishful thinking needs to be publicized because she could well become the next Premier of this province. Unfortunately.
UCP hopeful tells all after application refused
I like how she got a raw deal and said "screw your confidentiality agreement, you're grasping at straws".
I also like how she admitted to being a member of multiple parties to stay informed.
I once thought I had to be a member to do that as well. By the time I found out I didn't, I was a member of almost every provincial party.
And while I know some people will dismiss her out of hand for wanting to run for the UCP, one of the reasons she gave for being a member of other parties was because she knew that, as an elected official, she would be representing everyone in her constituency, not just the ones who voted for her.
I hope another party reaches out to her because I get a "one that got away" feeling of a person who understands the much bigger picture here.
WTAF?
The RCMP visit senior Kenney organizer, Alan Hallman to interview him with regards to the alleged fraud committed by then-UCP leadership candidate Jason Kenney.
Investigation is still ongoing.
Canada and beyond
With Brown out of the CPC leadership, only two moderates remain
BURN.
And she's right. Too many conservatives feel disenfranchised because their leadership isn't telling them what they want to hear. So goes life sometimes, but not theirs, apparently.
Now, there is someone who is willing to tell them that all of their problems are the result of one, simple, easily rectifiable thing: the governing party.
That shit sells (Alberta paid a premium for it).
It doesn't matter if I don't have the education I need to get the job I want -- it's the fault of the governing party.
Grocery prices going up? The fault of the governing party.
Can't afford to buy a home? Governing party.
And wouldn't you know it? There's a simple solution for all of those things! Just elect another government and all your problems will disappear!
Albertan here... wishing the problems away didn't work but we do get to brag that we're back to being Canada's conservative heartland and really, isn't that what matters most when the bills are due?
Final thoughts
On "Alberta Day" announcement (totally different from "Alberta Heritage Day")
“Main floor of my house: pleasant, comfortable, I’m so happy it’s feeling like summer.
Upstairs of my house: 🔥🔥🔥🔥welcome to the death sauna, you won’t escape alive.”