What the Mayor Said

Story Here. Please recommend this post

Quick thoughts on Tiny Perfect Blog

I should say right from the outset that I disagree with anonymous blogging, just as I am opposed to anonymous commenting on blogs. However, people have reasons to conceal their identity that we ought to at least consider. Sometimes anonymous muckracking from someone being subversive to their employer or organization is a very health antidote to mainstream print journalism and the culture of secrecy in Alberta. In case you haven't noticed Alberta's newspapers have not hosted a Bob Woodward, a Carl Bernstein or Daniel Elsberg. Not a single one. They don't bring governments down, they prop them up. Hence, anonymous bloggers are inevitable. All voices are welcome if they shine a light where there is no light.

The Alberta Government might think they can control the message by having David Sands travel the internet telling people to shut up, but that won`t work. Not anymore.

As an aside, watching one anonymous AB Conservative after another post comments at TLP criticizing him for his anonymity gave me a much needed daily dose of humor and irony. Oh the outrage, she screamed, barely audible due to the sack over her head.

It was not that long ago that I wrote about an anonymous Calgary Herald editorial that ripped a Mount Royal student for expressing an opinion anonymously. The anonymous Herald editorialist was genuinely anonymously outraged that someone would dare to opine anonymously. That kind of unnecessary malice from a daily paper made me sick back then as it does now. Presumably they wanted the student`s identity so they could subject them to a thorough beating from their readers.

TPB's daily criticism of the Albert Liberal Party was served fairly thick, was gratuitous, and often made me think I had accidentally dialed into Rick Bell or a Journal Blog. Not along ago a Journal columnist wrote a pointless blog post because she was upset that Dr. David Swann had merely called a press conference. Same attitude as TPL I say.

TPL was at his best when he/she was ripping into the Alberta Government for the severely under-reported scandal(s) at the Ministry of Children and Youth Services.

TPL's claim that Union was after him, is of course, completely unverifiable. As a reason to quit blogging it seemed rather unlikely to me. If it were me and an organization came after me I would step up my defense, not close the doors.

Anyway, look me up. I'm in the phone book. We'll do coffee. Tata. Please recommend this post

Blogging Should be Fun

I was thinking today about a time when blogging was fun for me. Before everything became a right-left hate fest. Before Stephen Harper came along and completely ruined my sense of Canada. Before Jason Kenney made me feel like a foreigner in my birth country. Before there was a daily fire hose stream of things to be angry about. Before people started waving flags like fascists and threatening to beat up people who didn't sing the national anthem the way they wanted. Before the Conservative Party and the Media killed the idea of Peace Keeping and overtly militarized our culture. Before Liberal bloggers decided that "Alberta" and "Calgary" needed to be the subject of bigoted diatribes.

It will probably get better. Things usually do. Hey, did you know that they have an International Rutabaga Curling Championship. Please recommend this post